in less than 2 hours...

i should be on my way.
i haven't started packing.
i took a shower and got dressed,
i did some laundry,
i skipped breakfast,
i cleaned the kitchen,
i baked some cookies,
i got the girl dressed for school,
i did her hair for tonight's dress rehearsal,
i changed her clothes,
i took pictures,
well worth it,
now i must pack.

if i don't get back here...
Have a ROCKIN' weekend!
i know i will.

Beautiful...

today she wanted to smile,
her eyes...smile.

odd & ends...

as i prepare to depart for the weekend, thought i might share some pics...

i posted here about this coming weekend...forgot to mention that the state fair also starts this weekend and Open Season comes out in theaters!
we never miss the chance to take the girl to the movies. she loves to have popcorn and a coke, that being the only time she even cares to drink coke.

saw this

and wondered, 'How do you define handicapped?'
could a handicapped person even get into this vehicle?
and then i realized it must be an intelligence handicap...i feel so bad for them. right.
on that particular day, i was shopping and bought this

for our bedroom.
very summer, i know, but the colors are very fall, they match the wall, so no painting necessary. i like the pattern, E doesn't dislike it, so we agree, i guess. and the cording around the edge and on the shams is chocolate brown, so getting 'window dressings' will be a snap.
anyway, i got it on clearance, so the King size comforter, bed skirt, and 2 pillow shams together cost me $45.00! and i got the pillows, also pictured, for $7.00 each! a deal i just simply could not pass up! 'cause i'm cheap.
speaking of cheap...
will be my contribution to dinner tomorrow night at the cabin.
i've never actually had this before - from a box, anyway - so i hope it is good.

and, something that doesn't happen everyday...this creature
attacked my car this morning as i was in drive-thru getting breakfast.
we were sitting waiting when something flew into my passenger side window, swooped in front of my car and flew into the window of the restaurant. it was then i noticed it was two birds, hunter and prey! the smaller bird got away after flying into the building, this one landed right in front of my car and just stood there. looking around as if to say, "did he just escape?...hmph, now what am i going to eat?" He was quite beautiful, actually. i wish i had gotten a shot of him with his wings spread...instead i got my sausage biscuits and hash browns and went home.
that was just the beginning of how badly i've eaten today.

well, tomorrow is another day.

Fine Art

Barbie the Spider Princess
as drawn by the girl.


Polly Pocket the Spider Princess

lessons learned...

last night.

1 - if you know you have even the slightest problem sleeping, do not drink Diet Lipton Citrus Green Tea while at your child's evening soccer practice.

2 - do not watch soap operas before going to bed.

3 - when trying to go to sleep, do not lay thinking about 'situations' you know nothing about, not having experienced them first-hand.

4 - when you dream at night, it is important to understand that your daily life, although separate from Rem sleep adventures, does in fact impact said adventures.

5 - when it is important that your dreams 'play out' so that the Rem adventure can be a satisfying one, you will be awakened at the most inopportune time.

6 - let it go.

Kudos...

just wanted to take a bit to let you all know how truly fabulous my hubby is!
yesterday he gave a presentation of his IT Security Tool (that he authored)to a HUGE client, the company's biggest client actually, and they LOVED it!
Awesome! because...
he has worked so hard on it
he has met with so much resistance from other teams
he has created a tool that is far better than security tools available in the industry
he (and his team...which he has hand picked) has not received appropriate recognition for his work, but it looks like that may all change

here are just a few excerpts from a third party email sent following yesterday's presentation...
the [he] mentioned below is a very important individual in said company's IT organization.

"thank you for the excellent job you did presenting the tool. [he] believes that this will get some traction very quickly as some of the people [he] thought were going to be the biggest stumbling blocks were very supportive of what they saw and no one could come up with a reason of why the tool didn't make sense to pursue."

"[he] mentioned that during the presentation there were reps from xxxxx management and xxxxxx management and both were like "holy *%*$, if it can do this i can get rid of (place various tool here)"!"

"[he] has always been impressed with [husband's creation] since you did a demo at the leader's meeting a year or so ago. [he] sees and says that others who attended can see there is a real operational value in [husband's creation] that can save millions in support costs. Be ready..."

he is so ready...

the most interesting part...

is just thinking about where i was 10 years ago.
and how fast life changes.
and how easily we change along with it...

You've Changed 60% in 10 Years

You've done a good job changing with the times, but deep down, you're still the same person. You're clothes, job, and friends may have changed some - but it hasn't changed you.

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

so, have fun with this weeks' blogthing, will do another next Monday!
~L

laughed until i cried...

so i couldn't not share...

Who brought the cat?!?

when Septmeber ends...

ok. it is not possible for a song to be played more than this song is. period. i am so tired of it, i have been listening to other stations just so i don't have to endure..."summer has come and passed, blah blah blah..." enough, already. the other day i told my hubby that i was going to call the radio station and ask them if they planned on playing it after month end. like, no white shoes after labor day, don't play songs about september ending after september has ended, right?
anyway, aside from the song, i cannot believe all that is happening between now and september's end. for instance, the last weekend of the month...my daughter is supposed to be in a wedding with rehearsal dinner friday, the wedding saturday. she has a soccer game that saturday morning, 11am, i think. the pumpkin patch with animal petting zoo and pony rides opens that weekend. the neighborhood is having its annual block party...DJ music, balloon artist, temporary tattoos, limbo, sack races, cake walk, face painting, and sno cones! its a mini-frickin-carnival! the sort of thing we moved to this neighborhood for...and we won't be attending...at least i won't. why? because that weekend is also the weekend that book club will be meeting!
i will be out of town as of 1ish on friday, to return on sunday.
the entire weekend!!! woo hoo!!!
in a cabin,
on a private lake,
with all my gal pals,
hangin' out,
music,
cocktails,
relaxation,
no pets/no children,
just down time.
i {heart} it!
i look forward to it every year.

next weekend.

and it couldn't get here any sooner.

Picture day at school...

and so i had to do my own little photo shoot at home, of course!
this has to be one of my favorite pictures of her EVER!
i got a few pretty good pics
if she had smiled for me, this one may have been my fav.a little attitude
and then some real attitude...as though she is 13 already, i get the eye rolls.
*this is it for the photos...i won't be doing a gallery anywhere.

Staying on green...

allows you to go to the treasure chest!
The girl got some new bubbles as her surprise treasure and yesterday was the perfect bubble-blowing day, wasn't it?
today is just as beautiful...
soccer practice tonight.
ladies are dining at 6:30.
i am already hungry.

accomplished...

what i accomplished today...
enjoyed some hot coffee this morning,
watched a little Food Network,
listened to the rain most of the morning,
now getting in the groove of my oven
that bakes too hot...baked brownies,
watched a movie,
had grilled steak for dinner,
found my jewelry box that has been
missing since we moved in April,
took advantage of the cool weather
and cleared a couple pieces of
furniture from the garage to
storage...i wasn't actually the
one who moved it, but i was the
inspiration,
cleared nearly all of the junk/papers
from the bar,
sorted through 171 emails and
cleaned it down to 20 left in my
inbox,
stayed in my pjs ALL DAY,
its only 8:15,
kiddo is down,
i'm going to veg in front of the T.V.

for a bit of fun

you may notice on the right at the bottom, a huge photo thing...well i didn't know where else to put it...
and then i did this one too..
Click on the photo to see more of my celeb look-alikes...

gives new meaning...

to getting on the treadmill, but i'm sure its a good work-out just the same.
if you watch nothing else today, you really should see this. strictly for entertainment.

and,
today i went to start my morning off right with a nice bowl of raisin bran crunch, only to find that the milk i bought on friday was spoiled 7 days before the 'best before' date. i considered having a bit of last night's leftover pizza, but thought that might not be a good example to my 4YO...so i opted for a breakfast of champions...
decaf, of course.

and also,
i got a new pair of levi's this weekend. not the best fitting pair i've had in my life, but plenty comfy by my 'jeans standard'. a good pair of jeans is SO hard to find, but i did. Boot Cut 515's in this color.
petite, of course. although her legs do not look nearly as 'petite' as mine...oh well. i'm sure her 'backside' doesn't look nearly as 'curvacious' as mine, so nanh.

and finally,
for the team moms and family, i have added a new gallery of photos from last weekend's soccer game. feel free to check it out here. there is also a gallery link on In Print, enjoy!

have a fabulous day.
~L

soccer, soccer, soccer...

This will be our Saturday mornings for the next 9 weeks. This weekend was her team's first game. unseasonably warm, 3 on 3, no goalie, no score keeping...but we won. ;)

Her grandparents came in from Houston to stay the weekend and see her play in her first game...they left this morning.
Her Papaw came to see her also...
i do believe the adults outnumbered the children 6 to 1, filling the bleechers, so the opposing team's parents were out of luck.
When i asked her what her favorite part of the soccer game was she replied, "When the parents made the tunnel with their arms and they were cheering and we all got to go under the tunnel!"

Only because...

he has come up in discussion so frequently as of late...
i will have to see this.
car-pool reading...

It's All Good...

fun.

so, how do you know when you're too old for something?
well, you have to give it a try, of course!

too old for learning to skateboard? probably.
too old for spring break in the islands? almost positive.
too old for new body piercings? absolutely.
too old for sleepovers, absolutely not!

fabulous dinner!
hanging out with awesome girls and groovy tunes, coutesy of my music-loving friend!
drinking a bit too much wine, and other spirits!
dancing as if i were in college again!
manicures, pedicures and homemade facials with cool party favors! totally did not expect that! Thanks So Much!
looking forward to the next one girls!

Views of our days...

recently. just a little peek into the our life...
The girl had her first soccer practice, her first game will be this coming Saturday.

we had a little visitor in our back yard over the weekend.
she named him 'polly pocket' ~how absolutely indicative of her interests...
empty hooks where pool towels once were...soon to be filled with coats and jackets...
and we're starting to see signs of fall coming...
so i changed the flowers on the front door as a 'welcome' to the season that is most beautiful.
i look forward to seeing some beautiful fall colors this year; they were so shortlived last year.

i think no season is my absolute favorite, i love the change of seasons. its really all about when you're ready for the next season to come and you begin to see it happen. its all the promise of what is to come that is so wonderful. its all around you, and you can just breathe in the change.