Yum!

My friend, Kelly, is starting a cupcake business. How fun is that?

She is beautiful, talented and creative. I can't wait to order some!

We have to clean out our garage

The requirement on our foster care home inspection checklist is stated like this:

• Garage is to be free from clutter and hazards

Now, I've always thought garages were specifically set aside for all the clutter and hazards you don't want to keep in the house. So needless to say, we have a lot of work to do. Paint, a rusty weight bench, an old chainsaw, gardening tools, and on and on. So, I've started going through our stuff, deciding what to get rid of and what to give away and what to reorganize.

The first item to go was the old beat-up weight bench and the 500lbs of weights that go along with it. Not as easy as you might think. It cannot be thrown into the weekly trash bins-too heavy. I called for a special trash pick up-they don't take exercise equipment. My last and only option-drive this stuff to the Irvine dump and pay $37.35 to get rid of it. Whatever, I'm desperate at this point.

So, I found the dump in Irvine after circling the block a few times. Let me tell you, it is another world. It's a scary, loud place that smells of fish and fruit loops. Hills and hills of refuse.

I went after work, so I was in a white skirt and flip flops. Everyone was looking at me like, "What the &*^%?" I probably had the same look on my face. And I had to unload the stuff myself. Surprise! Filth, stench, and me hauling weights out of the trunk. Hilarious!

I need your advice

on some good toys for 3 1/2 year old girls. I want to get quality things for them that stimulate their imagination, but aren't ugly, noisy or Disney.

Some of my favorite things I to do with them are:

• beading necklaces
• watercoloring
• magnetic dress-up dolls
• sidewalk chalk
• bubbles
• playdough
• large legos

So, what do you think?

Remembering Made Me Laugh

Yesterday I was driving, and I had a memory from high school. It made me laugh out loud, in my car, by myself. So, here it is:

Lisa and I had two best friends in high school, Staci and Amy. The four of us were inseparable.
Every summer, the four of us would vacation at a lake in Northern California with Amy's family. Tanning (or burning in my case), skiing, swimming, jet-skiing. Chocolate malts at the Shake Shack, lunches at a little restaurant called The Kettle. So much fun.

Oh yea, and we thought it was really cool to howl, whistle, and yell out to cute guys driving or walking by. Thinking back now, I can't believe we did that.

One night, we were walking down the road as a jeep was approaching with four guys piled inside. So, we launched into our typical reaction-calling to them, whistling, etc. As they drove past us, one of them called something out.

We were split on what exactly he said. One of us thought he said, "Meet us at The Kettle!" Another thought he said, "Go back to the kennel!"

Ha! I guess we'll never know if we were complimented or insulted that night. What a bunch of geeks we were!

105

I didn't know a temperature could get that high.

But last night one of my little sweeties was that sick. Just burning up. Poor thing.

She was up most of the night. It was so sweet to be able to take care of her. To soothe her by giving her medicine and a cooling cloth and snuggling her and smoothing her hair.

I'm beginning to feel I need them as much as they may need me.

It's good to be a "mommy."

Sushi Love

Fresh, healthy, flavorful. Matt and I can't get enough sushi.
Tonight, around 9:30, we decided to get some for dinner. Neither of us had eaten yet.
Well, let me tell you, it is impossible to get sushi on a Tuesday night after 9:00 pm in this town. After driving to three different places, we gave up the fight.
We ate Mexican food instead. Good. But not sushi.

Overwhelmed

My head continues to spin, spin, spin. I am grumpy. I am stressed. I am not very much fun right now.
But, I did get to have a tall, ice-cold glass of fresh-brewed iced tea during lunch today with my sister. Iced tea and my sister at the same time. How bad can things really be?