Shhhh...

It's a surprise!

Tonight's party, that is.

My sweet Ruby turned SIXTEEN on Tuesday. So, we are having a surprise party in her honor tonight.




My In-love's are on their way from Sarasota as I type, Peach and I picked up the decorations last night, and as far as I can tell, Ruby has no clue!

Today will be filled with "Grandma and Papa are coming" prep (code for "we're havin' a party" prep), cake baking, and Mama's baby is a grown-up angst.

How did this happen?! She was walking around in her daddy's dress shoes just yesterday...today she can't even fit into MY shoes! Just last week she answered the phone, "Hey-yo, Daddy!", and today it's "Pink residence, this is Ruby speaking."

I have a very tender, wistful post in my head, but my heart won't let me type it. Maybe, just maybe, if I don't put it down in words, it won't be real. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and she'll still be three...

Maybe, but probably not.

And so, I'm out of luck.

Pray for me friends, this isn't gonna be easy.

I Think My Kids May Be Doing Too Much Cleaning...NAAAAAAH!

RedDaddy: "Hey, Scarlet, tell Momma about you 'thingers'."

Scarlet: "Well, this is my Pinkie thinger. This is my, is this my ring thinger? Yeah, this is my ring thinger. This is my middle thinger. This is my windex thinger. And this is my fum."

RedDaddy: "Which thinger is this again?"

Scarlet: "Daddy, you know, that's my WINDEX THINGER!"

The Land of Pink Has Gone Green.

How do I look?

I love this new template! THIS is me to a "T" (or maybe a tea *giggle*). I think I may miss my three columns, but I'm going to try it out for a spell.

Thank you Ashley for the tip :)

Opinions...suggestions...complaints...

Okay, so not so much complaints...wait, I have one: I still don't have the regular compose mode, only html mode. Also, that means I don't have font control. Weird, huh?

Anywho, do ya like?

I Found It! (I think)

Here's what I came up with for my new handbag:

It's the Vera Bradley Villager in Caffe Latte. I'm also fond of it in Raspberry Fizz, Mod Floral Pink, and Cupcakes Green.

In Caffe Latte it fills the neutral bill, it's plenty spacious, and I love me some Vera! However...it's not very much free.

THIS is on sale though:

So, what do I do? Go with what I can afford, or hold out until I can afford what I want?

Decisions. Decisions.

While the Cat's Away the Mouse Will Play.

RedDaddy went to a meeting for a possible business opportunity this morning, so the computer's ALL MINE. Bwahahaha!

I know how thrilled y'all are going to be with this list of nothingness. When one doesn't blog for months, one's brain fills up with junk bloggy goodness that must eventually be dumped.

**WARNING** Rambling randomness to ensue. (Rho, you should be so proud.)
1.) Rose (#4) turned FIVE!!
My sweet, little Rose will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. Denial, party of one. She got her ears pierced for her birthday (she picked pink flower earrings). Precious little thing; she didn't want to cry in the worst way :( Her daddy, on the other hand, didn't care who saw his tears!

2.) RedDaddy and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary last month. Denial, party of two. There is just no possible way I am old enough to have been married that long...NO possible way, gang! I am, however, blessed beyond measure to have been given such a wonderful man to spend my life with. Even if he is a little weird, given the fact that he married a ten year old ;)

3.) I'm in search of the perfect handbag. My criteria: Fashionable, Very Roomy (as I must haul all of RedDaddy's personal belongings as well as my own), Fairly Neutral, and here's the best part...wait for it...it needs to be Basically Free. So, anyone know where such an example of accessory wonderfulness may be found? Seriously, I'm thinking of doing a handbag carnival so that I can see pics of all your purses. Of course, it would be customary for me to do a giveaway and, well, yeah, no.

4.) I got my spring garden all planted:
Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Okra, Banana Peppers, Carrots, Radishes, Spearmint, Parsley, Cilantro, and Sweet Basil. I also had a few flowers left over from last year's garden which I replanted in a huge pot sprinkled with wildflower seeds. I'll show you when it gets to blooming. Funny: as I was preparing the soil in my square foot garden for this year's planting, I found a carrot in the ground! I had missed it last fall and it survived all this time, hiding under my overgrown herbs. I'm sure there's a sermon illustration in that (stay tuned).

5.) I've got a different hairstyle. It's still short, and has my signature red streak, but different.
Not a great photo of me OR the hair, but I know you people, and you'll complain if I don't post something!

6.) My blog needs a face lift. And the last time I changed my background, I lost some functionality in Blogger. Like that word, functionality? It's only 9:30 AM and I'm already firing on all cylinders. It must be the pot of coffee I've consumed :) Back to the background: I need some freshness. Anybody seen a pink background I might like?

7.) I'm teaching piano lessons again. Right now it's only RhoDelta and her Buggy, but my neighbor has asked me about her son, and I'm getting the word out. These piano lesson phases always come and go all on their own (more likely, all on God's own) without any advertising or much effort on my part at all.

8.) I am still dieting and exercising. My weight has hit a bit of a plateau, but oddly, I'm shrinking. I have been able to pull clothes out of the back of the closet! Of course, they're not in style, but at least my pants don't literally fall down. I also have had the opportunity to sow my too big clothes to others, and that is sooooooo rewarding! RedDaddy has begun a regimen also, and the teamwork is helping both of us. Ruby has lost almost 30 pounds!!! I am so proud of her!

9.) Speaking of Ruby, she is learning to drive, and doing quite well. And heading for more denial...she turns 16 in less than two weeks. That's it, I'm old!

10.) In honor of Mr. Monk, I had to have ten items.

Okay, I'll end the torture here. You've been such good sports to read my brain dump. Thank you one and all.