I Guess I Don't Need New Earrings

I have this pair of earring that I wear every single day of my life. You know the ones, those little silver hoops that my daddy gave me a few years ago. Well, the other night I was going to bed and taking off my jewelry and notice one earring missing. Whenever this happens, I get a knot in my tummy. I remember having them earlier in the night while sitting on the sofa, and hadn't done much since then, so that's where I looked. It wasn't there. I ignored the stomach pains and didn't look for the earring again until the next day. I thought, hmmm, the only time I really left the couch was when I put The Boy to bed, so I thought maybe its in his room. Thinking maybe it fell off as I put him in his crib...as I leaned over...maybe.....THERE IT WAS! Its a Christmas miracle.

NLJ

Be a Part Of It

I feel like going to the bar today. If I was childless, I would spend the day at the bar watching all the results come in. There's just something about the camaraderie you feel when you're with a bunch of people, whether you're watching election results or the Twins winning a ball game. Everyone cheers at the same time, you make friends with the guys at the table next you, and you over tip the bartender because you're in a good mood and he snuck ya a free drink or two. I guess in this case you need to make sure other people voted the same way you did, but I imagine there's at least ONE person in that bar that feels the same way you do. Today's a big deal. History will be made either way. Get out there and enjoy it. Say you were there. Make a new friend or two. Have a story to tell your grand kids.

NLJ

Pumpkin Turmoil

OK kids, need your help again. This year was the first year I carved my own pumpkin. Yes, I've done it before, like with my mom and stuff. But now I have one, and I own it, and I'm in charge of it, and I don't know what to do with it. Do you just throw it in the garbage? Should I put it in a bag? Can I throw it in the mini-forest in my backyard and let the squirrels, bunnies, and occasional deer have a little treat? Should I cut it up and serve it for dinner? What?

NLJ

Trying To Be Super Mom

I made Halloween cookies for The Boy's school. I was just going to whip them up quick and then get on with the rest of my day. You see, since I'm a mom now, I pride myself on always having the ingredients on hand to make cookies at the drop of a hat. You just never know when a cookie emergency might arise. Well, seems I didn't have cream cheese for these fancy things. And then I didn't have Cream of Tartar (what is that, tartar sauce?) for the icing. So I was off to the grocery store. I also picked up black food coloring, but didn't find orange. Nor did I find black or orange sugar. What? Its Halloween! Stock up people!

Now its noon, and I fully read the recipe. I see that the dough needs to sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours before using. Fine. Then I make the icing and color one batch orange and one batch black. The orange is a pale, "sunset" color. Not the dark pumpkin color I wanted. Fine. And the black is to be mixed into chocolate frosting, not the beautiful white royal icing I made. So I ended up with dark grey. Fine.

Now its 4:30. I finally got the cookies baked (some darker than others,) and decorated (some better than others), and then proceeded to smear the decorations while packing them in the box. The point is, long story longer, it took ALL DAY and they still didn't turn out at perfectly as I wanted. The good new is, I made them for kids ranging in age of 3 months - 3 1/2 years. They're just going to shove them in their mouth, not care that some are burned, that the black cat's eyes have run together, and that I smeared the windows on the haunted house.

NLJ

Learning a New Sport

I just learned that in hockey, when there's an injured player, they don't tell you the exact injury. They only say whether or not its an upper body injury or a lower body injury. I thought that was interesting and I thought you might like to know. Or not.

NLJ

Just When You Think You Have Them Figured Out

The weirdest thing happened yesterday. I let The Boy forgo nap time because he's kind of nasty when its nap time these days, and I figure if he's sitting quietly, watching a movie, at least he's resting. Then I noticed some of the other kids in the neighborhood were outside playing, and I thought it would be fun for him. So, they played for over and hour before everybody went inside. When we came in the house, I asked Henry if he wanted to have quiet time on the sofa, and he said he wanted his own bed. "Can I have my own bed? Pleeeeease?" Um, OK. So I took him upstairs and asked him if he wanted to nap in his own bed, and he said yes. And then he did, and then all was right with the world.

NLJ

Can YOU Help ME?

Advice please! I've been trying to step my wardrobe up a bit, just a bit. I'm trying to find casual clothes that aren't too casual, yet aren't too "worky" because I don't like work clothes anymore. Anyway, during the summer I was able to get away with a navy pair and white pair of Keds, along with a few sandals here and there. So now its getting to be winter and I want some new shoes...bad. I thought I'd head on over to the shoe store but I realized I haven't a clue what I want or even what all you fashionistas are wearing these days. Can you help me with a few ideas? Somethings that are cute with jeans, and not too high in the heal. I've decided to forgo the heals anymore. The old dogs just can't handle much anymore. Thank you in advance.

NLJ