Rally!

I have been dealing with a particulary ugly situation involving a boy. And my gal pals have been a fantastic support to me. Each of them has offered great advice with a different perspective. They all, however, agree that I should not give in and talk to the jerk again. This is an excerpt from an email my spud bud Valerie wrote me today:

"DO NOT CAVE AT ALL. Think of him as long gone. No more communication. He does not have good motives. He does not have your best interests at heart. He lies. He cheats. He does not want a commitment. Period."

Yep, that about sums it up. I cut and pasted it into a word document, shrunk it, and taped it to the back of my phone. Just in case I feel the urge to give in and text the loser.

Little Miss M turns three.

My former foster baby turned three years old last Saturday. I was invited to her party and took my nephew and sister along. It was a Hannah Montana/Transformers party theme. Go figure. Complete with Pin the Tail on the Donkey, a balloon pit, and a pinata. Little Miss M was shy at first but then warmed up to me again. She seems pretty happy and healthy. I felt a little weird to be there with her family but I'm grateful they're okay with me coming around. I love this little girl so much!

"I three!"

Too much fun (and sugar) for one day!

I heart Halloween

I don't know what it is about this holiday but I love it! Each year I get more and more into it. I'm not over the top with tombstones in my yard or creepy candy bowls and reach out and grab you or anything like that. I just like the idea that kiddos (and adults) can get dressed up and be someone else for a day. Like this...

And I love to decorate for Halloween. I only pull out my Christmas tree once every two or three years (because who really wants to put it all back up again?) but I can do Halloween every year. Here are a few shots from around my house:

A Long Time Coming

Over a month has lapsed...impressive, I know. Well, it's certainly been a full month. Some highlights: traveled to England, babysat my former foster baby, invited my little sister to move in with me, went to a biker rally, and took in a stray cat.

September 5-9: London, England.

Saturday - Jason and I hit the ground running. Hopped on the double-decker tour bus and learned the skinny on the city. Toured St. Paul's Cathedral and climbed the hundreds of stairs to get the Whispering Gallery and hundreds more to the observation deck around the dome. Travel tip for those of you considering the cathedral...save it for one of your last days abroad. My legs were so sore for the rest of the trip, most of which was on foot! Hit the Tate Modern museum. Warhol, Mondrian, Picasso, Leichenstein, you get the gist. Dinner in Picadilly Circus.

Sunday - National Gallery and Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Gardens, Houses of Parliament (Big Ben!), Tower of London (crown jewels!), Jack the Ripper walking tour. Scrumptious dinner at Wagamama and two different pubs. Monday - British Museum (Rosetta Stone), Notting Hill and Portabello Road Market, the Tate Britain (Ophelia is currently on display in Japan. Of course!), Union Station, Harrold's (shopping heaven) and Harvey Nick's. Spent the evening in Beaconsfield (pronounced "Beckinsfield") with Jason's work colleagues (could have listened to the Brits talk for hours!) at the most delicious Chinese restaurant ever. Could have done without the teeny tiny hotel room and lone twin bed. "Cosy" it was not.

September 12-14: 48 solid hours of toddlerhood. Wowza. I was so glad to see Little Miss M. that Friday evening. By Saturday morning I was ready to turn her over again! She was sweet and she was ornery and she was awful...everything a two-year-old should be. She seems to be doing just fine. Of that I am truly glad.

September 26-28: Bikes, Blues, and Barbecue in Fayetteville, AR. The rally was actually Thursday through Saturday, but I was in the area Friday through Sunday. If anyone would have told me a year ago that I'd soon be on the back of a Harley and attending bike rallies I'm pretty sure I would have laughed out loud. But I think it's so much fun! Maybe because it's so much of a shift from my "real life." I tell you, if my butt didn't hurt so badly after long rides and I hadn't experienced that pesky little scooter "incident" this summer, I might consider having a bike of my own sometime down the road.

September 29: I brought home a cat. A coworker's son found this little kitty in a QT parking lot and didn't have the heart to take off without her. Having considered the possibility of cat ownership for the better part of a year, I decided to give it a whirl. She's sweet and cute and is now named Olive.

Furthermore, my little sister is making some big decisions and we're going to try the whole roommate thing for a while. Hopefully it will give her the financial boost she needs to make her goals a reality. I think it will be okay but I can't shake the memories of chasing after her in Casa Bonita when she used MY quarter on a skeeball machine that went berserk and spat out the longest trail of tickets. I still believe I was the rightful owner of at least half of those tickets!

And no, I still haven't found that snake!