Preppy Girl's Guide

(Minne - WHAT - ha -R- ?)

Incidentally, the weather yesterday was a balmy 57 degrees and sunny - just in time for their departure.

Tired from driving, I fell asleep around 9:30 pm only to wake again around 11:00 with no hope of going back to sleep anytime soon. I decided to catch up on our Tivoed Studio 60's to see how far I'd get. I can honestly say I am now addicted. If they cancel this show I will cry. I love unrealistic witty banter and this show is full of it (Aaron Sorkin at his finest). If you aren't watching, START NOW. I watched 4 episodes in a row and I'm hooked.

Have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN everybody - and Happy Birthday Mom!

1. Retake pics of the Halloween houses (because the camera phone pics really do suck).
2. CLEAN my house again (*endless*). Friends coming this weekend...
3. Check the weather forecast. I think my Floridian friends are going to freeze their tushies off.
4. Install two car seats. Our friends have little ones.
5. Go to a meeting. This should be fun, as all meetings are (I say with no sarcasm).
6. Go to a luncheon. Someone in our department is leaving.
7. Color my roots. It seems like I have to do it almost every three weeks. Thanks Dad for that "premature graying" gene.
8. Move several bags of wood pellets in the garage. It's a LONG story but they are making it impossible for me to open my car door.
9. Finish this list... quickly (I'm going to be late for my meeting!)
10. Paint my garage doors. Somehow, I don't think this is getting done until the spring. Dangit.
11. Buy Groceries. Kinda rude to have guests and an empty fridge don't ya think?
12. Buy a pumpkin.
13. Get logs for the fireplace, because - who doesn't love a nice fire???

New Office TONIGHT!

So here's the skinny on the birthday party (because you were all dying to know - right?) In any case, here goes:

Galoot made SERIOUS hors d'ouevres. Some sort of feta, walnut, garlic dip with toasted pitas, a TASTY pasta salad, creamy salsa with cilantro, and of course, a Galoot/Preppy favorite, sliced baguette with brie (it took him a long tiem to make that brie!). To top it off, he ALSO baked a carrot cake! Yes, he's definitely up for father/husband of the year. I pitched in on the cake a bit and the end result you'll see below:



Okay, a professional cake decorator I'm not, but my son loved it so - WORD!

The list of gifts included a most excellent bouquet of ballons (courtesy of Princess Slea & family), a De-luxe Buzz Lightyear action figure (that my kids have been fighting over for two days) and a new bike courtesy of Papa (my dad).

And, as is always the best part, we had leftovers for dinner last night. Since the kids weren't interested (what? kids not interested in feta and brie?) I let them have apple jacks for dinner. Does that make me a bad mom?

Happy Birthday Petey!

For all you Project Runway fans, the following is an excerpt from an interview with Jeffrey on the Bravo TV website. Here, my friends, is proof positive he's a poser;

"I just think, you know, I did what I wanted to do, I said what I wanted to say, I knew what I was doing and saying. I really set out to create this sort of polarizing character. You know? I wanted to be an underdog. I said to my family when I left, I’m going to go and be an underdog. I wanted people to hate me. I’m going to bring this hand buzzer, these stupid tricks. I want people to look at me as this character who is so full of himself that he doesn’t know that these things aren’t funny. And hate that about me. "

Ya, it was all an act.

In other news, I have upgraded to the new Internet Explorer 7 and I kinda like it. All your blogs look super cool now (okay, it really just changed the font a little, and let's face it, they all looked super cool before). Everything looks a little cleaner - how do they do that? Damn you Microsoft.

Today is rainy and cold. My daughter's school has an inservice so I am playing hooky too. At least I should get some cleaning done (especially considering several friends and relatives will descend upon us tomorrow at 5 pm for Galoot Jr.'s birthday). Umm, guess I'd better start thinking about a cake, eh? Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Have a great weekend!

While this pic was not actually taken today, I thought you might excuse that fact considering how darn cute it is. Happy Wednesday!

Here's the weekend shakedown:

I finally let my new 'do air dry (instead of blowing it out straight). The results? - BOING! My natural curl/frizz/fro is alive and well. Word.

My daughter had a busy Saturday. 11:30 am Birthday Tea Party followed by 2:00 pm ballet class. I'm not sure you should serve ten 5 year olds ACTUAL tea, but they did. The girls made some pretty funky looking concoctions (luke warm water + tea bag + milk + sugar cubes = sludge). They ended up throwing most of them away but at least the girls had fun. The birthday girl is now in Barbie heaven having received five.

I also searched for winter jackets this weekend. Why is it I can find adult jackets for 19.99 but all the little girls jackets are 30,40, and 50 bucks? I got frustrated and actually went to Sally Ann's - but that was a total bust too. I am starting to think the clothing companies are taking advantage of the fact that I NEED to buy my kids coats every few years. It's a conspiracy! (I've been hanging around Galoot too long).

Sunday found us at church with my son being a wiggle worm, as usual. I think he only asked to go potty twice (out loud) so it wasn't too terribly bad. I told him Santa was watching him from the choir loft which helped for a little while. Santa also watches him in the morning to make sure he goes potty before school.

Sunday was rounded out with dinner at my Mother-in-law's. It's always nice not to have to cook it yourself. A choice of strawberry cheesecake, apple pie, pumpkin roll and ice cream for dessert isn't too shabby either (I had a little of each - *oink*).

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend too!

1. I didn't pay for it (gift certificate).
2. Less drying time
3. I've secretly always wanted it this way
4. Short 'n' Sassy
5. My son can't pull on it like a handle
6. Easier to wash
7. Easier to Color
8. Easier to Style
9. Jealous co-workers (everyone wants to be me)
10. My daughter now wants her hair cut short (yippee!)
11. It will fit under a hat
12. No more barrettes
13. It's still a novelty

Whaddya think?

It either makes me
look a lot younger
or a lot older.
Whatever. I like it.

Looking down the street from my driveway this mornin'.


The leaves are falling like rain drops today. We are at peak!

1. I trimmed bushes, pruned small trees and weeded for 4 - 5 hours yesterday.
2. I am sore.
3. My daughter entertained herself with a worm while I worked.
4. She kept saying things like "Aww, he likes me" and "I have to give him a bath."
5. She played with it until she pinched its head off (or maybe it was the butt).
6. I found her another worm, but the thrill was gone. She abandoned it after a few minutes.
7. It was so freaking nice outside, I couldn't believe it.
8. It was 70 degrees and sunny.
9. I wore a tank top and shorts (the last time for a long time, I'm sure).
10. Our forecast for Friday morning? - Snow Flurries.

Kids don't always get things quite right. Here's a list of real-life words/phrases and their counterparts in kid-speak:

1. Making out - my daughter says "Naking Out." When I tried to correct her she said it was NAKING out because they get Naked. God help me.
2. Excuse Me - my daughter used to say "Scoozie."
3. Blanket - both my kids say "Blankly," at which point I stare at them blankly.
4. Brother, Father, Mother - my daughter says "Brudder, Fodder, Mudder."
5. Magazine - my daughter says, "MAZA-GEEN," then promptly tells me how hard it is to say.
6. Spaghetti - instead of the usual "Ba-sketti" my son says "Ska-betti." Cute.
7. Airplane - my son says very clearly, "HAIR -PLANE."
8. Nipples - my daughter used to call them "Meatballs."
9. Mower - my son says "Mow-der."
10. McDonald's - when my daughter was younger it was simply known as "Happy Meal."
11. Suit Case - my daughter called it a "Bathing Suit" for quite a while (or was it the other way around?)
12. Coochie - my daughter could never say this when she was younger and still refers to her privates as her "Chookie."
13. My son has a football book. When I point to the picture of Ben Roethlisberger my son has said the following: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Chicken Nugget, McDonald's and Pepperoni.

Ah, they crack me up. Anyone else heard any good ones?

Thought you all might be curious about where I sit all day and read your blogs work tirelessly. Take a peek.

Where the "magic" happens.

In retrospect, I wish I'd cleaned off my desk before I took this picture. See anything fun and interesting on my desk?

Enjoy your Mercredi!