build me up

Also, today's song is in honor of BB.

Just so you know.

this time of year

There are many reasons to love this time of year. Cool breezes. College football. Colorful leaves. Speaking of leaves...the most beautiful place is right off the Trace. Take the Ridgeland exit headed to Rice Road...and then just pull over. You will find yourself totally surrounded by trees. Trees with all kinds of colors of leaves. And if you time it just right, some of those leaves may be falling. Like rain. And that, my friends, is the most beautiful place to be. Not even kidding.

Another reason to love this time of year is Candy Corn. I've already told you about my somewhat unhealthy addiction to Candy Corn -->here<--. I always start buying Candy Corn early in the season when it is fresh. There's just nothing like it. I promise. Sometimes you get Candy Corn on Halloween, but mostly you get chocolate stuff. Not that I have anything against chocolate, mind you.

The other thing you DO get on Halloween is Smarties. I'm not really sure that my friends even realize how much I love Smarties. My mama buys them for a couple of the grandkids, but never me. I don't blame her, tho, cause she just doesn't know. Anyway, my favorites are the orange ones. They kinda taste a little bit like those orange baby aspirin my mama used to give me when I was little. Sometimes, I would sneak those things. Not for the medicinal effects, tho. Just for that orange taste. Good stuff.

We have Fall Festival at our church every year on Halloween. We have space jumps and hayrides and cake walks and games and stuff. We give out candy. Every year we try to be careful giving out candy cause we don't want to run out. Every year we end up with candy left over and end up dividing out between whoever. This year, when the festivities were over, I went looking for my children and this is what I found.

Technically, only one of these girls belongs to me, but they were all stealing candy, nonetheless. I realize I shouldn't encourage stealing but it was left over and it was Halloween, right?! Anyway, LouLou (the one in the middle) scored a whole buncha Smarties. Yay!! So, here's what I've been doing almost daily since the Fall Festival.

Notice the orange ones around the perimeter. They are my favorites and I eat them last. Usually, I eat all the greens together and all the yellows together and so on. Sometimes, tho, I mix the pinks with the whites. Doing this causes the pinks to taste better.

Well, it's 11:07pm by my clock so I've gotta go. I have a new bedtime rule that is really working. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Or the next day. Or sometime.

crimson and red are NOT the same color

Once upon a time, Junebug lived in another state. And by "once upon a time," I mean the impressionable years. And by "impressionable years," I mean the years in which I became alot of who I am today. Also, when I say I "lived in another state," I mean I lived in a state where college football was life. SEC football. In this state, you picked sides. Even if you didn't care about football, you picked. Auburn or Alabama. One or the other. And where I lived, most people were Crimson. Most people lived and died on whatever came out of the mouth of Paul "Bear" Bryant. He was a winner. It was easy to go for Alabama. It was fun to go for Alabama. Alabama was a powerhouse. Everything was houndstooth, crimson and Roll Tide Roll. I remember this really great long sleeve tshirt that I got when the Bear won number 315. As a side note, that 1982 win came in a game over Auburn itself, I think. I forget what I was gonna say about that tshirt...no matter. That's enough background info.

Many years have passed since Junebug lived in another state. Junebug moved back to the state, and city for that matter, of her birth. This, too, is a state where you pick sides. I don't know if it's quite as intense, but it's definitely difficult. SEC football rivalries are serious business. Anyway, upon my return, I was forced to choose sides. I chose Ole Miss...for many reasons. I mean, why in the world would anyone choose MS State?? I, of course, went to a small Christian college but dated an Ole Miss student. He took me to all the home games and my love for the Rebels (and the Ole Miss student) quickly intensified.

So, before I go any further, do you see my dilemma? Do you have any idea of the position I put myself in? See, it's not just in-state rivalries. Those things cross state lines. People from Ole Miss do not like people from the University of Alabama. I could give you all kinds of reasons and tell you a whole buncha stories but I won't. Just trust me. For awhile, everything was okay. I think it was mostly because my relationship with the Ole Miss student was new...still kinda fresh. I think he forgave my love for Crimson out of his love for me. But, I eventually married that Ole Miss student and my Crimson began to take its toll. When Alabama beat Ole Miss, it somehow became my fault. I've blogged about this before -->here<--. Read it if you want.

Now, we have a 14 year old son. A 14 year old Rebel. Honestly, I think there may be a big possibility that he loves the Rebels more than his daddy does. And he is not at all jaded. He hasn't gone through a jillion years of ups and downs with the Rebels. He believes the best of his Rebels and that, my friends, is contagious. It's easy to go for a powerhouse. It's easy to cheer for a team that figures out a way to win. Every time. It's a little more difficult to go through the trials with a team that doesn't always get a break. A team that isn't a legacy.

So, living in the house with the two of them has caused my Ole Miss blood to run a little thicker. The 14 year old wears an Ole Miss tshirt (or sweatshirt) almost every day of his life. He is constantly reading and/or researching the Rebels. He even has an "Ole Miss room." The Ole Miss student decided to take all 4 of us to every single home game this season. They were seriously pumped about the possibilities of this season. And if you know anything at all, you know the Rebels have not exactly lived up to expectations. I think it's ridiculous to rank a team like Ole Miss so high after one season of promise. I think they set us up to fall. I really think that. And it makes me really mad.

This is not at all where I intended this blog post to end up. I had a totally different direction in mind, but I didn't go there. If you've indeed read this far, you may even think there is no point. Even though that isn't true, I'm not gonna try to convince you otherwise. I am gonna go to bed.

Just do this for me...
BACK OFF my Rebels.

Kthx.

a tale of 3 BlackBerry Pearl housings

I've already given you at least a portion of the background info here. I will now attempt to get you all up to speed...and I will also attempt to do so in a timely manner. Here goes.

• Junebug purchased BlackBerry Pearl.
• Junebug dropped BlackBerry Pearl several times resulting in numerous annoying scratches.
• Junebug begged Funandone to replace BlackBerry Pearl.
• Funandone refused.
• Junebug began dealing with calendar issue on BlackBerry Pearl. (see above link)
• Junebug found a replacement housing for BlackBerry Pearl on Ebay.
• Junebug ordered and received replacement housing from Hong Kong.
• Junebug talked a guy at Southern Wireless into replacing housing for $15.
• Junebug purchased screen protector for BlackBerry Pearl at Wireless Wizard in hopes of preventing any scratches on this new device.
• Junebug continued dealing with same calendar issue.
• Junebug finally talked BlackBerry and AT&T into replacing BlackBerry Pearl.
• Junebug took faulty BlackBerry Pearl back to Southern Wireless to replace original, scratched housing so she can keep housing from Hong Kong.
• Tech at Southern Wireless tried to charge $45.
• Junebug refused to pay $45.
• Junebug instead paid $15...just like the first time.
• Junebug now has 3 BlackBerry Pearls. Well, 3 BlackBerry Pearl housings. (see photo below)

back to the blog

I've looked at this blog every day for the last umpteen days. I've looked at it partly because I really like the banner for October and partly because I think that a new post will have magically appeared. Funny how that never happens! Anyway, I'm not posting anything. It's not that I don't like to write, cause I do. In fact, things make way more sense to me if I write them down. And it's not that I don't have anything to say, cause we all know that's not true. Maybe it's because there are too many thoughts swirling around in my head. Too many to make sense of. Or maybe it's because here lately, there have been moments where I can promise you there is not one single thought in my head. Not one. And it's kinda scaring me.

No matter. Today, I decided to open a new post and write something. So, in an effort to get it going again, I'm just gonna share with you the first few things that float to the top. Here goes.

I think LouLou wore slippers to school today. There are lots of details surrounding this statement, but to save time, I'll just say that when I looked up to watch both kids walk to the door at the school, I really think I saw her wearing her pink flip flip slippers. I was still in my pajamas and looked really terrible, so there was nothing I could do at that point. I had to let it go.

The very small dog smells really bad. She had an appointment with the groomer last Monday but the kids were out of school and I didn't want to get up early. So now she is way off her grooming schedule and I am paying the price for my own negligence. She has an appointment for this coming Monday, but I'm gonna have to bathe her anyway cause of her needing to spend Saturday at her grandparents house. I shoulda just taken her last week.

The candy corn needs to hurry up and go away. I am such a sucker for candy corn and I am eating bag after bag of the stuff. It is on that first aisle when you walk in WalMart and I cannot walk past it. I keep telling myself this is the only time of the year when it's really good and it'll be gone soon and it's just one bag. You know. Stuff like that. I think I'm an addict.

How come I don't have a North Face jacket? Funandone has a red one. JMatt has a green one. (I did wear JMatt's to his football game last night and then to the nephew's flag football game but it was just too big. Not to mention the fact that JMatt kept asking for it back at the flag football game.) LouLou had a light blue one and now a pink fuzzy one. I gave my very favorite black jacket to a friend and I cannot wear my brown suede one to everything, you know. Then all I have is that long denim one that I had in college. Honestly, I'm still wearing it! So, here's what's gonna happen. Funandone is gonna read this post and decide to get me one for Christmas cause that's what he likes to do. He likes to buy stuff for Christmas. Junebug likes to buy stuff right when she wants it. But, don't do it, Funandone. I really don't want a North Face. Get the hardwood floors, instead! Kthnx.

The light on my BlackBerry has been blinking for quite awhile but I just keep ignoring it. I don't know if it's a missed call or a text. It could be a tweet or something from Facebook. I don't even feel compelled to check. So, if I've missed a call from you, I'm sorry. It's not personal. It's just that I don't want to reach over there and pick it up.

Well, I guess I will get up now cause I'm hungry. I think I may eat the leftover Miss Nan Paydays for lunch. And I'll prolly check the phone on the way to the kitchen.

Later.

**update: I just retrieved LouLou from school. She, indeed, wore the pink flip flop slippers. Also, today was the 6th grade Honor Roll field trip so not only did she wear them to school, she also wore them to the food court in the mall!

the number 40 means absolutely nothing

My job is preteens. 5th & 6th graders. I plan stuff for them and hang out with them. I really, really like them. They make sense to me. On most days, I feel like I fit right in with them.

Recently, I've been reading a book by Gordon & Becki West called Dynamic Preteen Ministry. It's been very enlightening. Eye-opening. I've read alotta books like this, but this one clearly listed some emotional and intellectual characteristics of preteens. Here are a few...

• dramatic mood swings
• threatened by competition
• need for frequent affirmation
• self-critical and critical of others
• very reflective & prone to daydream
• very curious and, therefore, easily distracted

Now, if you know any preteens or have the distinct honor of one living in your house, you'll prolly whole-heartedly agree with this short list. Generally speaking though, preteens are a bit undefinable. Just when you think you have them pegged, they turn around and act completely opposite of what you were thinking. They live with one foot still in childhood while the other is taking a step into the teenage years. It makes for a crazy time in life.

Here's the thing, tho. This list is specifically about 10, 11 & 12 year old kids. So, why...why in the world do these characteristics fit me as well? I'm a 40 year old wife and mother. I've had 30 years to grow up.

I go from laughing to crying in a heartbeat. Just like my 11 year old daughter. I am a fierce competitor. I need to win but if there's the possibility of losing, then I prolly won't even play. I want people to tell me they think I'm fabulous. If they don't, sometimes I just ask them to tell me. Seriously. I am very aware of other people's mistakes and am quick to point them out. I am also acutely aware of my own shortcomings but do my very best to hide them from all of you. Well, most of you. I like to sit and think too much. You wouldn't believe the things that go on in my head. I promise it would all make for quite a movie! Then there's that curious thing and the whole idea of being distracted. Look around me. Tons of things are started. Most of them are not finished. I want to do a little bit of everything, but just can't seem to make it all the way there. And that's just the short list. *sigh*

See. I'm still a preteen. I haven't progressed past the emotional age of early adolescence. Maybe that's why I like hanging out with them so much. Go figure.

the banners