Gotta go, kids!

I'll be leaving for Columbia in the morning and will not have internet access for the next 5 days. I may die. The hotel does not have a business center. They have wireless internet service, but I have no laptop. This sucks. I'll be on the Mizzou campus, so perhaps I can sneak some online time somewhere. I should get all of my outstanding paperwork and reading caught up! I'll be home from Columbia Thursday and leaving for Nashville the minute I hit Cape. I still won't have internet access. This also sucks. By Friday I should be through my internet detox and hopefully won't beat my door down to get back to the computer when we get home that evening. If anyone really needs to speak with me, I'll have the cell. If you don't have my number, you probably don't really need to speak with me. :)

I leave you with a selection of my hotcodez.com country music favorites playing on the video player. If you don't like country, turn off the sound. The picture is really bad, but there's apparently nothing that can be done, since it's bad on every site I've seen that has it. Hope you enjoy it. If you miss me, come and listen to a tune. Actually, that may be depressing since I put 2 sad songs in the rotation. Oh well, see you all on Friday night. I'm off to learn how to access quality child care programs. There are field trips involved so at least it's not 3 days of lecture. Yipppeee! See ya soon! -Amy

I Love Paula Deen!

I love getting up each Saturday and knowing that Paula will be making something fabulous for me on the Food Network. She uses tons of butter and cream cheese. How can you go wrong with butter and cream cheese? Today she made these yummy little biscuit chili cups, mini Mexican pizzas, and little banana parfaits. Delish! I love that she uses everyday ingredients and rarely uses complicated cooking methods. Many of her recipes remind me of Pampered Chef recipes. I love Pampered Chef. I've even been a consultant at two different times in the past.

I am planning to make this recipe today. I just haven't figured out what to make to accompany it. Paula served it with chicken and dumplings. I'm not really up for doing the whole chicken and dumplings thing today, though chicken and dumlings is one of my favorite foods.

I'm still looking for a good recipe to take to a birthday party tomorrow. My friend, Becky, is throwing a Scooby Doo bash for her son, Matthew's, fourth birthday. It's an outdoor affair, so I'm thinking the chili biscuit cups will have to wait for a cooler day. Maybe I'll make Club House Chicken Squares. They're yummy and always a hit. I'll think about that.

Club House Chicken Squares
2 packages (8oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp mayo
1 small clove garlic, pressed
1 tsp All Purpose Dill Mix (optional)
1 can (10 oz) chunk white chicken, drained and flaked*
1/2 small cucumber
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
6 slices bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled

Oven to 375

Unroll one package of crescent rolls across one end of the bar pan with longest sides of dough across the width of the pan. Repeat with other package. Use the baker's roller to seal the perforations and press up the sides to form a crust. Bake 12-15 minutes, till golden, then remove to stackable cooling rack and cool completely.

Place cream cheese, mayo, garlic and seasoning mix in a bowl, mix until smooth. Spread this mixture over the cooled crust using the large spreader. Sprinkle chicken over filling. Score cucumber lengthwise. Remove seeds with corer. Thinly slice using slice & grate. Cut slices into quarters. Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Dice tomatoes. Grate cheese. Sprinkle cucumber, tomatoes, cheese and bacon over filling. Slice with pizza cutter and serve.

If I didnt' have this desire to save the children of the world, I would be quite content staying home to play June Cleaver. I'm actually highly qualified. My master's degree actually reads "Masters Degree in Home Economics Education." They have sinced changed the name to "Family and Consumer Sciences." More politically correct, but I kind of like the retro chic of my home-ec degree. I'm off to surf the Food Network archives a little further. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning.

Some silliness

I say … and you think … ?

Believing:: Seeing
Invasion:: Martians
Boys:: Girls
Island:: Paradise
Repeatedly:: nagging
Normal:: typical
Hex:: VooDoo
Tuxedo:: Prom
Virgin:: Not
Cereal:: Fruit Loops

If you dish it, take it, or shut up!

Legislators need to hear concerns

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

To the editor:

Beware of the telephone police. Legislators say there are too many phone calls about Medicaid, and they must be stopped. Social services workers are told they must stop telling their clients to call legislators.

Who is working for whom? The people have a right to call their legislators about any issue they are concerned about as often as they want and when they want. There is no limit. It sounds like they want to send the phone police out and stop this harassment immediately.

Legislators need to be concerned about the 100,000 people knocked out of medical coverage. If I was one of those people I would be calling too. The Medicaid system needs to be on the agenda of every legislator. Spending in government needs to be brought under control, but dismantling Medicaid was the wrong course of action.

JOHN COOLEY, Jackson

I totally agree. I happen to know John's wife, Lisa. She's a great lady and great therapist. John has cut a Christian album with some other local doctors. I digress. When I read the original story covering this issue a few days I ago, I laughed out loud. The legislators actually told the call center supervisiors at Medicaid that they were not allowed to tell callers to contact their legislators. Apparently, they don't like being flooded with calls from angry citizens who are now without health coverage due recent cuts. Go figure. I'm guessing the poorly paid Medicaid call center employees are pretty tired of hearing from them too, especially since they have no control over what has happened to these poor people, yet are forced to bear the brunt of the frustration. This makes me want to call my legislators every day just to bitch. Tired of calls? Too freakin' bad! The last time I checked anyone could and should let their legislators know of their concerns and I'd say that being without health insurance is a pretty damn big concern. I can only assume that the legislators are too busy plotting what they can cut next to listen to the current concerns of their constituencies. These people suck.

Busy, Busy!

That's what I'll be for the next 2 weeks. I work tomorrow and Thursday. I may work Friday, but I'm hoping to avoid it. I have the weekend to get my house in order before I leave for training in Columbia Mon-Thurs. I arrive home Thursday evening at which time I will be picking up Greg and driving to Nashville for our appointment with financial guru, Dave Ramsey. We're tired of having debt and want to know the best way to get everything, including our house and student loans, paid for. We want no payments. Dave is on the radio here each afternoon. He's very informative. He's on from 1-4 on 1550 AM. His book is great too. It's called Total Money Makeover.I think we're actually meeting with his sidekick, Russ, but I am still anxious to hear what they tell us. My current Edward Jones financial advisor does not subscribe to the same philosophies as Dave, but she's also never been nearly as far in debt as he has. I am not looking forward to driving from Columbia to Nashville in the same afternoon/evening, but hopefully, it will be worth it. We'll drive home after our appointment on Friday. I'll be home for the weekend, go to work on Monday, and leave Monday evening for training in Jefferson City until Thursday. I think I'll be finished with training for awhile after that. I hope. I am tired just thinking about it all.

This weekend we went to a wedding reception. Greg told me the wrong time, so we missed the dinner and cake cutting. We arrived during the wedding party dance. We stayed for 30 minutes. Carson was crabby and we' were all hungry. On Sunday, we went to Sunday school, ate lunch with friends at Port Cape Girardeau and hung out at home for the rest of the day. It was very nice. I have no idea why all of my text is now being underlined. Oh well! My computer training ended today and I could not be happier. My eyes hurt so badly last night that I went to bed at 7:45. It was still very much light outside. Today wasn't as bad. The instructor was a computer person, not a teacher, and you could tell she wasn't used to teaching. She was rude and impatient. I hope her comment cards reflect her poor attitude. I'm a little bitter. Did I mention how rude she was???

Better go. It's time to get Carson ready for bed. Tomorrow is his last day of summer school. He couldn't care less, but I'm excited for him. Later.

Fluff for Saturday

Stole this from a blog that Bob had a link to.

1. First Name: Amy
2. Were you named after anyone? Not really. "Amy" by Pure Prairie League was poplar in 1976, but I'm not sure what month it came out.
3. Do you wish on stars? If I see a shooting one.
4. When did you last cry? When Steel Magnolias was on satellite last week. Tears were streaming down my face and I've seen that movie at least 20 times.
5. Do you like your handwriting? Not really. My signature is illegible except for the "A" and the "F"
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? I don't really like lunch meat. I like the Seafood Sensation at Subway.
7. What is your birth date? April 20
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? None are embarassing. I like many genres of music.
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? Yes.
10. Are you a daredevil? Not really. I do want to learn to scuba dive and I would probably skydive if given the chance, but I haven't done either yet.
11. Who is your favorite cartoon character? Spongebob. I used to hate that show, but sometimes you just need to watch complete idiocy.
12. Do looks matter? Sad but true, yes they do.
13. How do you release anger? Scream and sometimes throw things. It's my worst trait.
14. Where is your second home? The scrapbook store
15. Do you trust others easily? Yes, to a fault
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Easy Bake Oven
17. What class in high school do you think was totally useless? none. they all taught me something
18. Do you have a journal? Nope, just a blog.
19. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Never! (Just kidding!)
20. What are your nicknames? Sis, Aim, Skrappygirl, Ames, Vern
21. Would you bungee jump? No. I would want a parachute.
22. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No.
23. Do you think that you are strong? Yes. Physically or emotionally? I suck physically. I really need to get back into the gym habit.
24. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Playdoh from Cat in the Cream, it's almond flavored ice cream with sugar cookie dough chunks
25. Shoe Size? 11 bordering on 12
26. Red or pink? pink
27. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? How easily I fall away from eating healthy and exercising
28. Who do you miss most? I don't really miss anyone. I know I'll see them again.
30. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? I'm not. I still have my night gown on at 2:00pm!!!
31. What are you listening to right now? The dryer
32. Last thing you ate? a scrumptious homemade pizza with pepperoni, black olives, onions, marinara sauce and basil pesto crust. Divine!
33. If you were a color what would you be? blue as the Caribbean Sea
34. What is the weather like right now? Hotter than the devil's butt
35. Last person you talked to on the phone? Greg
36. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? The skank factor
37. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I don't know the person I stole this from
38. Favorite Drink? Ice Cold Water
39. Favorite Sport? [to play]:swimming. [to watch]: ice skating.
40. Hair Color? Blonde
41. Eye Color? Blue
42. Do you wear contacts? Yes, blind without them
43. Favorite Food? Chicken and dumplings
44. Last Movie You Watched?Hide and Seek. Scared the living heck out of me.
45. Favorite Day of the Year? Christmas Eve. All that aniticipation inCarson's eyes
46. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? Happy endings. I'm just not up for scary movies anymore.
47. Summer or Winter? Winter sounds damn good since we have a heat index of 108 today
48. Hugs or Kisses? Yes and yes!
49. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Pie
52. Living Arrangements? Small ranch on the edge of town.1 husband, 1 child, 1 dog
53. What Books Are You Reading? Reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and listening to Angels and Demons by Dan Brown in the car
54. What's On Your Mouse Pad? No mouse pad at home
55. What Did You Watch Last night on TV? nothing, We watched Hide and Seek on DVD
56. Favorite Smells? McIntosh Apple from Yankee Candle Company and freshly bathed babies
57. Favorite Flower? Tulips of differing colors, cut short, bundled tight, in water.
58. Rolling Stones or Beatles? I like them both at times
59. Do you believe in Evolution or Creation Yes
60. What's the furthest you've been from home? Hawaii

A is for Amy ...

and afterglow. That was the word I chose as part of my introduction at tonight's "Surprise Party". We had to tell our names and a sexual word that began with the first letter of our first names. There were some creative combinations. My boss and co-host, Naughty Nancy, was gracious enough to open her home to me and my girlfriends tonight. I like to pretend that her house is mine whenever I go over there. My house would fit in one corner of her house. I think a good time was had by all. The shopping is done in secret so I don't know what everyone bought, but a few girls had some pretty big bags. I'll stop there since we agreed that what happens at Nancy's stays at Nancy's. 'Nuf said.

Tomorrow I'm working for First Steps until 3:00 then I'm teaching some private scrapbooking classes for a lady at the scrapbook store. She's taking three of my classes in the same day. It should be fun. We have a wedding reception on Saturday and I hope nothing to do on Sunday. I need a day of rest. Good night to all of my newly empowered "Surprise Party" friends! Have a wonderful evening!

Panic at Gravois Bluffs

So, I go out to my car after checking out at Michael's and realize I cannot find my cell phone anywhere. I panicked. You would have thought I had lost my child. Apparently I was talking so fast that the workers at Kohl's (where I had tried on clothes and thought I may have lost the phone) could not understand me. They finally understood and called literally every department to see if the phone had been turned in. Nope. A lady who was checking out offered to call my phone repeatedly so I could hear it ringing as I retraced my steps. It was nowhere. I think the customers in the dressing room may have been a bit annoyed by me banging on the doors around the stall I had used and frantically asking them to search for my phone. As a last resort, I used the phone in Customer Service to call the house of the client where I had my appointment. Her dad walked to where my car had been parked and started laughing. The phone had fallen out of my car into the driveway and was somehow untouched by the three vehicles that had left the driveway after me. It is now safe and sound in the new purse I bought especially for the cell phone security pockets it has. That baby is locked up tight. I was freaking out more so than usual because since we have no home line, the cell phone is my only means of communication with the outside world. I would die in a day if put in solitary confinement. Thank goodness my precious little phone is back!

I am exhausted. I had a fun day, bought lots of stuff, including clothes for my new job and yummy food from Trader Joe's and I am heading for bed. Tomorrow night is my party! I'll check in if I get home early enough. Later.

Let's go here today

Doesn't that like nice? It's Anguilla, voted The Travel Channel's best all around beach for 2005. We could be there late tonight. I'm heading for St Louis and could go ahead and book the filght. :) This is actually a contender for my 2006 vacation. This will be the last vacation before we get started on Franklin Baby #2. I think I deserve Anguilla.

New Job!

I was officially hired yesterday as the new Inclusion Specialist for Child Care Resource and Referral at Southeast Missouri State University. Yay me! This was the third time I have interviewed for this position in the past 3 years. The first time I was not aware that I was a "pawn" interview and that someone within the office already had the position. The second time I made it to the top 2 contenders and lost to equity issues. My time has finally come! The first girl left to stay home with her kids and the second left as soon as she had completed had Master's degree at the employee tuition rate. Nice of her. My position involves helping educate child care providers about accepting kids with special needs as well as helping parents find child care for kids with special needs. Right up my alley. I complained all day yesterday that I was sure I hadn't gotten the job. I was working with a former boss of mine, who was also listed as a job reference on my resume. I whined that I was sure I didn't get the job again because the supervisor had not called any of my references. I was wrong. While I was inside whining, the supervisor was calling my cell phone in the car to offer me the positon. I am such a weiner sometimes. I start August 1. I am so relieved to finally be a permanant member of the professional staff of SEMO. I'll have my very own cubicle :) and be right around the corner from my dear friend, Heather M. Fisher, who I triumphed over in the 3rd grade singing competition that lead to my role as Marta in the Jackson High School production of The Sound of Music. She still hasn't gotten over that. I may start belting out a little Do-Re-Mi just to torment her. I can't wait to start! I'm keeping my First Steps positions, but scaling back on my caseloads.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Fenton for a 2:30 meeting for First Steps. I'm going early to shop at Gravois Bluffs and to make a run to Trader Joe's for some rations. I love shopping by myself. I like shopping with others, but it's really nice to take my time and not worry about rushing anyone or being rushed. My mother-in-law can't believe that I don't mind eating in a sit-down restaurant by myself. I'm used to it. I like to think that the diners around me wonder what I'm doing alone pouring over the stack of files I will ineveitably be updating while I wait. Probably not, but I like to think so.

Thursday is my long-awaited Surprise Party. I had one of these parties as my bachelorette party and we had a blast. I was at one last year that was very fun and so hilarious. I can't wait to meet the "Surprise Lady". She sounds like a grandma. Who knows what I'll be coming home with that night! I haven't made a wish list yet and may just see what strikes my fancy that evening. I'm hoping that someone shows up since I've had several "no" RSVPs. I have the bucket of Mojito's chillin' in the freezer and lots of yummy snacks waiting for preparation.

I'm off to surf the net and read some other blogs. Later!

I can see the light and I'm racing toward it

Vacation Bible School may be the death of me. My son appears to have suffered from selective hearing loss during the 3 and half hours we've spent at church each night this week. He can't hear me screaming, "No, Carson! We have to stay seated until all our friends are finished eating." "Carson, come back! The other kids are still working on crafts." "Carson! We do not climb under the pews!" We've made several trips to the hallway for timeouts each night. Timeouts work on other kids. Carson is immune. Last night's conversation went something like this:
"Carson, if you don't stay on the carpet squares and dance with other kids, we'll have to call Daddy to take you home."

"Ok, I'll go with Daddy."

"You won't get to come back to Bible school for the rest of the week if you can't listen to Mommy."

"Ok, I'll play at my house."

These are not the responses I was going for. Next year, I may be taking a break from Bible school for many reasons. Hopefully, my child will have matured into a mindful 4-year-old by then. I definitely won't be helping in his classroom any more. It also drives me crazy to see all of these mothers of preschoolers, who are all members of my church, drop their toddlers off at 5:15 and not show their faces again until 8:30. I'm not sure why this still amazes me, but I still look at them in disbelief when they disappear for 3 hours of child-free solitude each evening, without giving a second thought staying to help with the other 100 children enrolled in VBS. I want to scream, "'This is your church! Could you maybe help out a night or two once in a blue moon???" (Get ready Becky! You're time is coming next week!) I need to shut up and consider myself lucky that I have it together enough to ALWAYS be in that 10% of the population that does 100% of the work. Keep that in mind if you need some help. I hardly ever say "No".

Enough with the ranting. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel ends with the concluding program tomorrow evening. Last year Carson made his way all around the altar area by climbing through the legs of all of the older kids. I'll be happy if he stands for a single song this year. We'll see! The joys of VBS!


Enough ranting

Attention! Calling all decent human beings...

Yesterday was one of those job days where I think it would be best if I quit doing social work and started tending bar on a tropical island. The child I visited is only seen once a month. I asked the family how her latest round of appointments with specialists (she has club foot) had gone last month. She got new braces that are to be worn 14 hours per day. She's not being made to wear them for a single minute per day. "Beacuse she doesn't like them." Well, gosh, maybe if you had made her wear them as an infant, as you were told, rather than trying to force an almost 3-year-old child to be confined for 14 hours a day it would have worked. She will now have to have major orthpedic surgery. These parents suck.

Their 10-year-old had a birthday last week. She got $66 from friends and family. She was forced to buy her 10 member family pizza, buy fireworks for everyone, and "loan" her mother money for cigarettes. I was literally speechless, and that never happens with this mouth.

Said children's father cannot work at this time because he prefers to sit at the courthouse and watch trials all day. None of the 7 adults in the house have jobs. They live on Grandma's social security check. I am having a hard time accepting that these kids futures will probably be similar, given that as optimistic as I am about the wonders of early intervention and education, the apple rarely falls far from the tree. Hmmm....maybe culinary school and my own Food Netork show if that bartending thing doesn't work out.

Quick Update

I am very tired. I was up until 2am doing paperwork and had to get back up at 7am to get ready for my interview. Here's the quick rundown of today's happenings:

Interview went well. I'll know in about 2 weeks if I got the job. There were 5 other interviewees.

Started Bible school tonight. I am Carson's leader and he was horrible. I really wish they would have honored my request to help anywhere except in his class. The props and activities were great.

Our house is a wreck due to the in-laws power outage incident and will probably stay that way until the weekend when Bible school is over. Yuck!

Here's a pic of the sanctuary. The theme is Serengeti Trek. It looks really neat in real life. More tomorrow!

What a Weekend!

(From an email reply to Becky-she made the mistake of asking how our weekend was!)"The painting is all done except for the stripes around Carson's room. I will never paint by myself again. Carson was very good about watching movies while I was working on his room, but I was worn out and frustrated by the end of the night. Both rooms turned out well and I can't wait to get his stuff put back in his room once we get the stripes done. I got to the crop around 2. By the time we got all of the painting mess cleaned up and ate lunch, it was already 1:15 and we still hadn't eaten. I got no pages done because I sat and looked at Joni's Disney World pics and talked to everyone. It was hotter than heck in the back room. Greg and Carson came to pick me up at 4:00 with bad news. Betsy and Cecil's power and phone was knocked out Monday during the storms and he discovered when he went out yesterday to turn the air back up and water plants that everything in their 2 freezers and 2 refrigerators was spoiled. It was disgusting. We spent from 4:30-10 last night bagging up rotten food and cleaning out blood from all the spoiled meet. Cecil had 4 whole frozen ducks in one freezer. It was enough to make you gag. To make it even worse, their well pump was hit, so my parents had to bring water from their house for us to clean everything. It was quite a night. Cecil and Betsy got back at around 2am and said the house didn't even smell bad anymore. Their well got fixed this morning, but the phone line was totally fried and won't be back on until late this week. Today we went to visit the minister who married us. He's at Bonne Terre United Methodist Church now. We took the Bonne Terre Mine boat tour and it was awesome. I think Greg is uploading the pics to Carson's web site now. I finally have my interview at SEMO at 9 tomorrow morning. I am hoping all goes well and that I'll be starting there in a few weeks. We'll see! Talk to you soon!"

Touring the mine has given me new resolve to really get in shape so we can get SCUBA certified. The water has 100 ft visibility and all of the equipment and mining hats, etc was left just how it was the last day the mine was open. With the pumps turned off, the mine naturally flooded with the clearest water I have ever seen. There is one lone fish, Bonnie the Bass, that has been able to survive. She's 5 years old and hangs around the boat dock waiting to be fed. There is no other life in the mine, so she nothing to eat. She also follows the SCUBA divers around like a puppy. It was very interesting. The diving is highly regulated now, with 2 diveguides per dive. In the 70's open diving was allowed and several divers were never found. It is amazing place and just a little bit eerie.

Wish me luck on my interview tomorrow. This will be the third time I have applied and interviewed for this position. Last time I made it to the top 2, but was beat out by some affirmative action issues. The girl stayed in the position long enough to fininsh her master's degree at the employee tuition rate and then quit. Nice. I love all the girls in the office and really hope to get the job. I'll be keeping my First Steps jobs, but paring down my client list to local kiddos only. The First Steps office is just down the hall in the same building.

Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow! I am in charge of Carson's group. Should be fun! Have a great week!

Greetings from a Grumpy Girl

I hate painting. I decided a few months ago that our bedrooms needed some updating. After gathering ideas for several weeks, I purchased bedding and ordered some blown-up pictures from Mexico for our room. I'm humoring Greg and going with a Caribbean-beachy theme in our room. Carson's room has a surfing theme. I began priming walls and painting ceilings at 2:00 yesterday. I went to bed at 1:00 am. Did I mention that I was here alone with my very curious 3-year-old son who has never seen anyone paint a wall before? He was actually very good.

Today we went to Cape to get my paycheck and grabbed lunch at El Torero before stopping to get some spackle and a few other supplies. We started painting the color on Carson's walls at 2:30. I finished, trim and all, around 7:30. Greg and Carson just went to the store to get a few more supplies and we'll be starting on our room. I realize it is 8:53 pm and I'm probably going to be cussing for the rest of the night, but it will be great to get this all over with before the weekend. We just have to tape off Carson's stripes and paint in the morning, hang his really cool surfer pictures, and his new room will be complete. Our's is going to take a little more work, but should be finished soon.

Sounds like the boys are home! I'll check in with pics when we're done!

Happy Campers?!?!

Who decided that campers are happy? I spent the day at a local campground with my extended family on my dad's side yesterday. It was not exactly happy. A little background...I generally prefer indoor activities to outdoor activities year round. Being crammed into a campground with a thousand other people, many of whom are proudly flying the rebel flag and cooking unknown game meat over an open fire while sucking on a cigarette, is not my idea of a great time. I love my family, but we have very different tastes in recreation. My idea of roughing it is staying at a Days Inn instead of a Hampton or a Drury. (I just happened to get more beads than other ladies. No flashing was involved, although my lovely relatives gave me crap abuout this for the rest of the day.)


Remember my fear of open water? I would actually prefer to be dropped in the middle of the ocean with a mask, snorkel, and fins than swim in a river or lake. The river was packed. Carson splashed around for a little while, but I just couldn't bring myself to put my feet in the water. Call me a snob, but the idea that someone upstream may need a potty break is reason enough for me to avoid the water. Yuck.














On a better note, the food was great! It was cool how everyone in my family, plus their neighboring campers, showed up at 5:30 with a contribution for the community table. I was stuffed and the scale was up 4 pounds when we got home last night. It was only up one when I got up this morning. I still don't understand how that's possible. Where did the other 3 pounds go during the night?

There were some other good points. Carson entered his turtle, "Poop Butt," in the turtle race. (Gotta love the creative mind of an almost 4-year-old boy!) Said turtle sprang to his feet and raced to the finish line.....just as the race was over. Here's a photo of our champ minutes before the race.


















We intended to stay for the fireworks, but decided to pack things up early and head home. Carson was in a very crabby mood since he hadn't gotten a nap and Greg was tired of chasing him all over the campground. (I tend to start talking and forget to watch my son. I know, it's really bad. I am so lucky to have Greg! Thanks, Greggie! I know you read this!)

We've been invited to come to the campground anytime we want this summer. My aunt assures me it's a lot more fun when there aren't so many people there. I think I'll take her word for it. Call me a prima donna. I like the Drury Suites.

Why I Love Summer...by Amy E Franklin

I am such a nerd. I always loved writing the "What I Did on my Summer Vacation" essay the first week back at school. I was thinking about this on the way home from Perryville today. Here's a little list of things I am loving about this summer:

1. Carefree days. Though few and far between lately, I have had a few carefree days to do whatever I want. Today Carson, my mom, and I went to get my hair cut, to the used book store, to Galatti's Italian Ristorante for the oh-so-yummy lunch buffet, to So Simple Scrapbooking of Perryville, and to the grand opening of Rafiki's Children's Toys and Books. We had a great time. No real plan, just stopping in here and there. Yay!

2. Reading "junk food" novels. For some reason, I feel guilty reading chick-book fluff during the winter, but I am so loving reading my Janet Evanovich and Rebecca Campbell with a few James Patterson books thrown in for good measure.

3. Sitting at the picnic table at Dairy Queen in my wet swimming suit while eating a mini pecan cluster blizzard. Nothin' like it!

4. Being invited to a mid-week BBQ at a friend's house. Thanks Darren and Gloria!

5. Having no guilt about staying in the basement surfing the net because it's to doggone hot to go outside!

6. Getting Weight Watcher activity points for doing water aerobics. Seems like too much fun to be exercise.

That's my short list. I have many things planned for the next few weeks, so I'm sure I'll have many new things to love!