Guest Blogger.

Good news people! We have a very special guest blogger today.

Meet Lily.


She wants to tell you about a project that her class did this week. It's called "Personality Bag".

The rest of this post is Lily's.

A personality bag is something, um, where you put five things in a bag. It doesn't have to be a bag if you're blogging. But it does have to be a bag when you um, bring it to school or something. You do it to tell people about you.

Here are my five things:

1. This is teddy.


I got him on my sixth birthday. I sleep with him every night. I cannot sleep without him. I love him.

2. Monkey.


This is my stuffed animal littlest pet shop but it is not little, it is big. It is my favorite kind of animal.

3. The Pink Panther Movie.


I like making up jokes about The Pink Panther movie like this, "I don't even own a mace." or something like this, "This is just a harmless pair of nunchucks?"

4. Ready Freddie, Help a Vampire is Coming!


Ready Freddie is my favorite book even though you know I only have one. I finished it in two nights.

5. Puglsey and his ball.


This is Pugsley and his ball. He likes to play a game where he has his ball, pushes it under furniture and we have to get it out. We get it out and throw it to him and he does it again and we keep having to do the same thing until we take it away from him.

In case you were wondering, Lily is wearing a knight costume. Pretty standard attire for Lily actually.

All the news!

You guys are so awesome! Thanks for all of your sweetness and understanding about the too-too's.

Many of you also left comments about red patent leather Mary Jane's for grownup ladies.

Look what I found at Zappos.com!

Check out these babies! They will put you back 120.00.

I like these too!

In other news I took out two window air conditioners today and did not drop either one out the window!

Guess what else I did today? Cleaned the house, changed the sheets and put my fall duvet cover on my bed. I need to go get a heap of pumpkins for my porch and window boxes and I am all set!

It's going to get cold here this week. Other mothers on the playground were complaining about the forecast. I could barely contain my glee. I just love the cold.

You know what you should do today? Go check out my crazy cousin Cheryl's blog. She's having a chocolate giveaway and much as I want to win those suckers, it would not be fair to hog them.

Yes, I know that this post lacks cohesion. I could have told you all about my trip to the dentist today and how the hygienist told me that if I don't start flossing I am going to die, but I would hate to bore you with such unpleasant details.

I just remembered! I have some good news to share! David broke the towel rack in the bathroom! Why is that good news? Isn't it obvious?

I have a bonafide excuse to go to Homegoods and if other things just fall in my cart, well who am I to halt retail destiny?

The "My Junk is Your Junk" giveaway ends Friday so be sure to get your comments in!

The pit of despair...

Maybe not a pit really. More of a funk.

The last few days I have been a bit irritable.

A bit cranky.

I had had a run in with my too-too.

I first learned about too-toos when I read Victoria Moran's wonderful little book, Creating a Charmed Life. She writes about being a girl taking dance lessons. When she finally gets a tutu she is thrilled- until she looks at herself in the mirror. "Ditch the tutu." she tells herself. "You're too fat." Moran goes on to write about too-too's, the restrictions we put on ourselves. Some of us are too heavy. Others are too broke. Too old, too slow, too stupid.

You know what I am talking about.

Last week I got it into my head that I am too big, too fat, too homely. Into the pit I slipped, growling at those around me. I went from voluptuous and fabulous, to fat and frumpy.

Then the most tragic thing of all happened.

I gave up chocolate.

Mon dieu!

My misery was infinite and my entire family knew it.

This afternoon I was lamenting my horrible mood when the answer struck me like a two pound box of Godiva. I am essentially happy with who I am.

It was time to ditch the too-too.

Luckily I knew where to find the key unlocking my too-too. The Toblerone Bar that I had hidden for emergencies. As I bit into it the too-too fell away and I was restored.

Lose your too-too's ladies. There are keeping you down.

Fairies!

Today we took the kids to Fairies in the Park, an event run by Su Eaton of Magical Creations.

It was so lovely.

There were girls dressed with fairy wings everywhere!

One table had supplies for making fairy wands.




At another table girls could learn their fairy name using a magic wand.


Lily, Rebecca and a friend are working on a fairy house.


They ended up making it in a small fairy pool.


There was an area underneath a canopy for tea parties!


Lily had never had iced tea before.

Rebecca made this sparkly crown.



I love this fairy.

David decided to get in on the act!


There was a fairy shop too!




We absolutely loved it! I especially loved that my girls so easily dove into the fantasy and were able to completely embrace the magic of the event.

Thank you so much Su for creating something so perfect!

Epic Junking...

Firstly, I have to tell you that I just rocked a baby to sleep in my arms.

Oh my sweet baby cheeks of love!

Baby Audrey is the five month old baby of a friend and she let me hold her baby. I held her and did the mommy rocking thing and that baby put her head on my shoulder, gave a sigh and fell asleep. She killed me. Her smell, the feel of her little head on my shoulder- sheer heaven.

Okay, now that you know about that I can tell you about the junk.

The junking was epic.

First I found Lily some shiny red shoes.


You should know that I love patent leather.

Can you say McCoy Pottery?

Because for .50 I can!

Now brace yourselves people because this story will give you chills.

I went to the junk store hoping to find something specific. I don't usually go into the junk store hoping to find a particular item because it angers the junk gods who prefer that you open yourself to possibilities that they lay before you.

Today however I had the idea that I would love to find a plaid woolen blanket for fall and winter. I could picture it draped on the couch, or maybe used as a blanket on an autumn picnic.

I have never seen one while junking, but still I harbored a secret and dear desire for tartan blanket goodness.

Behold!


Not, one but two!!!!!! They were each 2.99. I gasped aloud. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I felt unworthy of such bounty but snatched those babies up before someone else could grab them.

It gets better.

Know what else I have been looking for for years?

A sled to use decoratively in the winter. I haven't wanted to spend big money on one so I've just been keeping an eye out for one and until today I have never stumbled across one.



There it was for 7.99.

I also found some great clothes, but I won't bore you with that. The point here is that the stars were aligned and the junk gods bestowed upon me their favor.

To show my appreciation of the junk gods and my kind readers who tolerate my daily stream of blather I am having a "My junk is your junk" giveaway.

On my travels recently I have been collecting some things for you, my dear readers.

First a shiny red polka dottie teapot!


A lovely desk set...


It comes with some file folders, a notepad and some note cards in a lovely red holder.


A set of fancy cloth napkins. Why use paper when you can be fancy?


Want to win these lovelies? Leave a comment telling me whether you think I am too old to wear patent leather Mary Janes like Lily's. Winner will be randomly selected next Friday 5pm EST.

Good luck!

School!

School started today.

Let me just say that again because it hasn't really sunken in yet.

School started today!

Here we are getting ready to walk to school.


I had lots of quiet today and I have to tell you that I am not used to going several hours in one day without having a completely insane conversation with Lily, or Rebecca giving me an excruciatingly detailed plot summary of The Warrior Kitty books.

To celebrate the first day of school I went to Global Thrift for a little bit of junking.



My goal was to find things that would bring an autumnal feel to my porch.



I really love this bag! The deeper red with the black stripe is giving me some ideas for fall colors on the porch. The green flowerpot was perfect.

Some people say that you can have too many gauzy red table clothes...

but they're wrong.

Now that the children are back at school I am taking a cold hard look at my house and making a list of things which must be done.

1. Clean out fridge. You don't even want to know. So shameful.
2. Clean and organize attic. Trying not to cry just thinking about it.
3. The Basement of Horror. I think it's been discussed here before.
4. Deal with the weed patch in the back yard and mulch the hell out of it.
5. Yank dead plants from window boxes and refill them with gourds and pumpkins.
6. Put pumpkins in front of house.
7. Finish scrapbook projects.
8. Decorate house facade from junk store.
9. Sand and repaint Rebecca's floor.
10. Touch up chipped/scratched paint on moldings.
11. Come up with some new menu ideas for dinner.

I am a little overwhelmed.

I may have to hit my super secret emergency chocolate stash...

Speaking of super secrets...I am planning a give-away tomorrow!

What do normal people do?

Seriously.

When I get home from a trip I lug all of my luggage in the house, check through the pile of mail and unpack.

I put away the luggage and start laundry.

I dust bust the stairs and any corners where animal fur and dust have created an unholy union.

I sort through the fridge tossing anything that swears at me.

This is the part where I think that I might be abnormal.

I start rearranging things.

Today I took down anything with a summer feel to it and hauled out my fall decor.

At some point I realized that I hadn't eaten lunch so I munched on tortilla chips and salsa while festooning my home with fall leaves, pumpkins and bronze colored knick knacks.

I got home at noon. By three o'clock there was no evidence that we had been on a trip and the decor had been refreshed.

By four o'clock I dropped Lily off at dance class and headed over to Joanne Fabric for some additional autumnal hoo-hass.

What do you guys do? Do you leave the luggage out for a few days? Start the laundry the next day?

Am I "Isn't she just a little bundle of energy?" crazy or "She's out of her mind!" crazy!

Thanks.