Seems prudent

It just seems like the right thing to do to post one more entry for 2005. Then again, I have nothing especially profound to say, so maybe I shouldn't. LOL! We are "celebrating" New Year's Eve by having a completely normal day. Alif took the kids grocery shopping. When they got home, Malachi spilled the beans that Caris had gotten lost for a brief time in the store. Alif says it was only about 10 seconds but that nonetheless there were tears and hugs. Thank God they're all home in one piece! I really got upset with him, but honestly, these things do just happen. Just not to me. HA HA HA Just kidding, I had an experience much like that with Malachi when he was about this age. It lasted only about THREE seconds but it scared the heck out of me anyway.

I sewed up several covers today. Finished up one for Alison and a girly medium for instock, cut out a couple of Denver Broncos and finished one (the other will be an AIO and I'll work on it tomorrow). I'm going to stock the store sometime next week or early the week after. I hope it's successful.

The kids are really driving me a little bonkers today. Graham had an especially fun day going to Build A Bear with my Mom, and Malachi was truly jealous for the first time (that I have noticed). He pouted around and acted generally unkind, and was just very unpleasant today. When they're together they're arguing more than usual, which just always puts me on edge. At the moment they're all on time out on various beds. Poor things are probably starving as it is 7:50 and they have not had dinner. I actually really can't wait to get on a more normal routine this next week! I wrote out menus for each day and so gladly, our meals are planned.

So - there it is, my last post of 2005 and it's almost all complaining! How's that? OH wait, I almost forgot one last complaint. We got this cool s'mores maker for Christmas, and we didn't realize it needed a 2.6 chafing candle (what the heck is that? I *think* I've seen them but no clue where or when). Alif is now out at almost 8:00 on New Year's Eve, scouring the entire East Side for a Chafing Candle. AAAAAAG!

Sweet!

I went to the doctor this morning, finally. The Physician's Assistant, actually. Her name is Jerilyn and she's very sweet. I mentioned that I'm still nursing my 2.5-year-old and she said, "good for you!" I said, "I don't hear 'good for you' too often." I absolutely loved her response. She smiled and had a wistful look on her face, paused, and said, "I nursed so long my whole family was scandalized." I love it! SWEET!

Rock Star

Malachi has been asking for a guitar for quite some time now, and Grandma and Grandpa Payne got him one for Christmas. My quiet boy is right now in his bedroom throwing a full-blown rock concert, playing his guitar, singing and shouting out sayings like, "Who wants to praise Jesus with me to-NIIIIIIIIGHT???" I called Alif and told him and he said, "I guess that guitar has evoked something in him." I guess so! Rock on buddy!

Up Close & Personal

A few minutes ago Graham asked me if he could go outside and ride his bike. I said, "sure." but thought it was odd because he doesn't know how to ride his two-wheeler at all, and hasn't shown any interest in it at all. He came back in after just a couple of minutes and I asked him if he rode it. He said, "When I got up close to it, it looked hard again." LOL

So Graham got sick Tuesday, I got it Wednesday and Caris got it Thursday. We're all still running fevers and coughing & congested! What a long time to be sick. We did go to Medieval Times yesterday and I'm so glad we did, but we have spent all day today lying around to make up for the rest we lost yesterday. It was well worth it to see Megan and Jason (and some of Jason's family, too) and to see the looks on my boys' faces as they watched the knights in battle. There was a point during the show when the valiant knight was battling the "bad guy" and I was spurred on to pray for my boys - that God would equip them to fight every battle, that he would instill in them virtue, integrity, chivalry - etc. It totally brought me to tears, and wouldn't you know the server came by at just that moment. How embarrassing! :-D Anyway, it was a good time and the boys have been talking about it on and off all day today. Alif loved it just as much as the boys did, and he's been helping them to use pieces of construction paper taped together to draw up their perfect sword. Next they'll cut them out of plywood and then paint them just so. Great Daddy & sons project!

Poor Grammy

Graham woke up at 12:30 and vomited a little, then slept fine after that. He woke up coughing this morning, so I went in and gave him some Robitussin. I got him up and situated on the couch, and took his temp. It was at 102.8. I gave him some Tylenol, and in an hour it was down to 102.6. Not a great improvement. He's been on the couch all morning, sleeping on and off. Poor baby!

Monday Morning

The morning is starting out nicely but moving along much too quickly! We all slept in a bit, then I got up and had mucho motivation so I started cleaning right away. I got two rooms done, then read to the kids and made breakfast. Time to clean again!

Silly!

A friend sent me this silly link http://members.aol.com/frogiearno/dearsanta.htm and here's what resulted:


Santa Clause
North Pole, Earth
Dear Santa,

I have been a good girl.
It really wasn't my fault what happened at Lynette's Office party. It was Amanda who spiked the punch with too much Hot Chocolate. I can't help it if I drank 7 glasses. It was so good---smelled and tasted just like baby wipes.
I thought it was funny when I put Sarah's Shirt on my head and danced the Chicken Dance on the Leather Sofa while singing `Santa Got Ran over by a R'. I didn't mean to break Lynette's TV and don't know why Lynette would accuse me of Shoplifting.
I don't remember calling John's wife a Hairy Dog---even though she looked like one with Red eye shadow and Blue lipstick!
And when I threw up on Liz's husband's Arms, it was only because I ate too much of that Dogfood.
After all that fun, I admit I was a little tired. So I fell asleep on my way home and drove my Truck through my neighbor's Chimney. I don't think that was any reason for my neighbor to call me a Tall Cat and have me arrested for Hooking!
So, Santa...here I sit in my jail cell on Christmas Eve, all Slutty and Pink. And I'm really not to blame for any of this Delightful stuff. Please bring me what I want the most---bail money!
Sincerely and Shyly yours,Emily (Really a nice girl!)
P.S. It's only 7 bucks!

Flowers!

Alif purchased a whole bunch of flowers right before Graham's birthday party, and Graham & I planted some today! We planted 8 Stocks in deep pink, light pink and white, and 8 Narcissus, all in the front box under the window. I'm so excited! Oh, we put one white stock in a pot on the porch, too. Caris came out to see it all after her nap and said, "Awesome!" It was so nice having some alone time with Graham, and what a pretty end product too!

Respect for The working man

That's right, not just any working man, but *The* working man, my husband. He rises early every day and works, really hard, from morning to night. I've always thought it odd that he can fall asleep most anytime, any place, but I think his hard working must be a good part of the explanation for that. Today we were all working together, as previously mentioned. I needed breaks every hour, sitting for a few minutes, getting a drink etc. He, on the other hand, has been up and working since early this morning and hasn't stopped once. Not even to eat. It's almost 5:00 now, and he's still going strong. And what's really amazing is that this is a typical day for him. I really respect how hard he works.

My favorite kind of Saturday

I love Cleaning Saturdays! Alif is outside working on the yard: mowing, raking, weeding, the kids are helping him and checking in with me, and I can focus on all of the indoor cleaning I neglected during the week. Glorious!

Enough already, with the rain!

Well, our plans went to rot when we woke up to RAIN! LOL We had park day planned for today, but obviously that was a no-go. So, we did our schoolwork, I swept & mopped the living room, we had Lynette and the girls over to see the remodel, and then went to Lynette's to pick up her round stone and to Target and got a cute striped doormat. Megan and Jason are coming to dinner tonight. I'm really looking forward to that! Tomorrow is going to be party-preparation day and then Graham's birthday, and his party, are on Sunday. What a full weekend!

Caris is a Mommy

Caris put a shirt on her Bitty Baby and said, "Look! I did it all by myself! I a so good Mommy to my Bitty Bitty!" Agreed!

Back from Vegas!

We're home from Las Vegas, and my Mom & Rod are officially Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin now! How's that for exciting? The wedding was truly beautiful, not at all like you might think of a wedding in Vegas. The chapel was gorgeous, the minister wonderful, and Mom was such a beautiful bride I actually cried the second I saw her!

We had such a nice time visiting with Megan and Jason on this trip (and Amanda & Manuel too!). Everything was pretty hustly and bustly, but we did get a bit of hang-out time and that was good.

The funniest moment happened the day we got there, when everyone was a little grumpy from the drive. Malachi said, "I want to go home." and Graham replied, "Oh honey, don't say that, you're my best friend!"

The biggest bummer was that we'd all forgotten about indoor smoking being legal in Nevada. I think Caris must be allergic to it, because as careful as we are about avoiding food allergens, she broke out all around her mouth and under her eyes, and stayed that way the entire trip, despite massive amounts of Benadryl. She was a trooper anyway and had a really fun trip.

It was so awesome coming home to a mostly-clean house and a fresh, new living room and dining room! I told Alif on the way home that I am so excited about just doing a Normal Week in our new areas! It's not actually a TRULY normal week, since it's Graham's birthday on Sunday and we'll need to do our preparations. I can't believe he's turning six!

Sibling Rivalry

I had to laugh to myself, overhearing this exchange between the boys just now.

:::bickering:::
Graham: Why are you having such a mad holiday?
Malachi: I don't even like holidays.
Graham: Yes you do.
Malachi: No!
Graham: Then I guess later you won't have any pumpkin pie, because pie is part of a holiday.
Malachi: No!
Graham: Yes it is.
:::pause:::
:::back to regulary scheduled playing:::

WOW!

Late last night and early this morning, Alif finished the living room and dining room! Seriously, wow! They look GREAT! he put up the new baseboards and the fans, and what a difference they all make!! He'll go and pick up the couches today and we can finally put our house back together. How exciting!

Isn't that the truth!

The boys made a big mess in the back yard yesterday, and Alif asked them to clean it up today. Once we were all ready for our day, I sent the boys out to clean and pretty soon I looked out and Graham was standing in the mud, splashing around joyfully. I sighed and called him in, truly hating to interrupt his fun but knowing he had to be disciplined for being disobedient. I reminded him that he's to be focused on cleaning, and that once they were done the back yard would be ready for play again. And to help, this time I gave him a specific job to do - clear off the picnic table. About another 3-4 minutes later I heard much raucus laughter and looked out to see what was going on. There he was, tormenting his little sister with car tracks. Hey, at least he'd gotten them off the table! LOL So I called him in again and said, "Honey, what happened? Remember, you were supposed to be clearing off the table?" He looked down and said, "I can't even explain it." Oh man, how my heart grew with God's grace at that moment. So sweet to be five years old and willing to be honest that way. How many times should I just say, "I can't even explain it" instead of trying to excuse or justify myself. We're without excuse when we sin before our Lord, and we're fully dependent on His grace. It was a wonderful moment for the two of us, and one of those poignant reminders of how much my kids teach me.

Monday

Yeah, that boring - the only title I can think of is the day of the week. HA! I forgot to show a picture of the ceiling fans we got. Well shoot, it won't load so here's a link: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=134743-77127-HE-0411OLDWO
Hopefully that works. We got two to replace the current ones in the living room and one to replace the one in the dining room. I think they'll be pretty! Also I spent a good hour browsing decorating sites and came up with a cute curtain idea. The curtains for the living room will be floor-length and only on the very sides of the big picture window. I was in a quandry about what to do in the dining room, until I found a cute picture of a valance with beaded trim dangling from the botton. AHA! I'll just use the same fabric as in the living room, but do valances with a cute trim hanging! How fun! Now to decide on a fabric . . .

Day six, Final day! (kind of . . .)

Darling dear put the final coat of varnish on the floor today! It is looking gorgeous, and I can't wait to move back in. That won't happen until Wednesday, though. He's out right now looking for new ceiling fans. He'll put those up, plus the new baseboards he bought yesterday, and then he'll move in the new couches (also purchased yesterday) on Wednesdsay. What FUN!

Floor, Day 5

Sanding is complete! Alif wiped everything down with mineral spirits last night, and he's in there now, doing - I'm not sure what, but getting ready to put down the first coat of varnish. How exciting!

Busy, fun day today! Sil's baby shower and a hair appointment. A full day with my Mom! I can't wait!

Floors Day . . . Four?

More sanding accomplished, something about going around the edges? I think the sanding is nearly done now, and the entire floor is a beautiful blond(e?) that is just . . . well, it's exactly what I was hoping for but wasn't sure was actually under all that old, yellowed finish and all the stains and scuffs. Alif says he might put the first coat of varnish down tonight! I am growing increasingly tired of the house in such a state, and can't wait till everything is put back together again. Speaking of, I think we found our couches! I love them - we'll see how Alif feels. He's going to go look at them this afternoon. http://www.lanefurniture.com/products/ProdInfoDet2.asp?MasterNo=15139

Floor, Day 3

Alif began sanding last night, and it revealed a floor neither of us expected underneath! It's absolutely gorgeous! It's multi-tonal and much lighter than we thought it would be! Praise the Lord!

Floor Redo, Day Two

Our accomplishments so far: furniture moved out of living and dining rooms, baseboards, carpet, nail strips etc. removed, doorways taped closed with plastic sheeting. The house is looking a little crazy and feeling really quite cramped. I keep reminding myself that it will be worth it when it's done. It's going to be beautiful, it's going to be beautiful, it's going to be beautiful . . . Alif will sand tonight.

To escape the madness, the kids and I went out for a couple hours this morning. We dropped bags at Goodwill, returned library books that are severely overdue, did our banking, went to Wal-mart and then lastly, headed to the McDonalds playland for lunch and amusement. The kids had a great time and amazingly, didn't complain at all when it was time to leave! Hooray!

At Wal-mart, I got some B 100 vitamins. I keep hearing how wonderful the B vitamins are, and when I told Liz this morning that I'm feeling a little over the edge, she suggested that I go right over to Wal-mart and get some B 100s. I did, and I hope they help.

Floors

Alif has decided to redo our wood floors . . . NOW! Oh my! Wish us luck this week . . . this is going to be an adventure! :-)

Daily schedule

I don't feel like we're accomplishing what we need and want to each day. I think about when I went to school and when I worked . . . I didn't just do what I wanted when I wanted to, I had certain places to be at certain times. I have tried to make myself schedules, but I think I've made them just too constricting for my personality. But I also feel like if I'm going to achieve my goals, I've gotta give myself some guidelines. So here it is:
7-9 Get ready, breakfast, kitchen
9-11 Schoolwork, snack
11-1 Outside time, lunch, cleaning, storytime
1-3 Nap/quiet time (me: dinner planning, Bible study, laundry, crafts, internet)
3-5 Projects, errands, cleaning
5-7 Dinner, kitchen
7-8:30 Kids' bath and bed
8:30 - 10 Alif & Emily time

So hopefully, by giving myself a framework like this that still allows me to have downtime throughout the day, I can get done what needs to get done and not just end up all overwhelmed.

It's just too early

What does a person do when they're on a totally different sleep pattern from their spouse? Alif is up early every morning, whether he fell asleep at 8 or 12 the night before. I, on the other hand, would like to sleep until at least 6:00. I've asked him to just keep quiet until 6, but it's like he's simply driven to move, and by 5:30 he's just got to be up and around. The simple solution seems to be that I should just go to bed earlier and make good use of this early morning, but after a long day with my adorable kids, I relish the quiet, late-night hours. Don't get me wrong, I'm not up really late - I'm usually in bed by 10. What to do, what to do?

Hectic

Who knew being a "stay-at-home" Mom could get so hectic!? It's a busy morning cleaning, calling, putting away, playing, correcting, and generally running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

This morning Caris got in bed to nurse and I jokingly said, "Who are you?". She replied matter-of-factly, "Caris Payne."

I started cleaning my room this morning, which I actually thought would just take a little bit of time - it looked halfway ok when I started. I was fooled! The up-high shelves were very dusty, and let's just say that a few months of using my room as a stuffing spot has not done me any favors. It's going to be a slow process if I'm going to truly find spots for things and not just stuff them somewhere else. My personality tells me to just barge through the whole thing in one day, but then I'd end the day with a sparkling bedroom, no schoolwork done and the rest of the house in total disarray, so I'll just plug away at it and get it done slow and steady.

Dark day

As if the whole witchcraft aspect of today weren't enough reason to avoid celebrating Halloween (we do, though), Caris's peanut allergy gives a compelling reason to just stay in the house! Alas, we ARE going to a Halloween party, and we ARE going trick-or-treating, so we'll just have to be as vigilant as possible to keep her from the perilous peanuts.

Hyper Halloween

My kids have had no candy today. It's only 8:10 am. So, how do their little bodies know to be completely hyper today? It's all in the excitement, I suppose, plus that stupid time change that has everyone all wound up. Lord help me! ROFL!

Weight Watchers

I started Weight Watchers on October 1st, I think. In the first two weeks, I lost 9.9 pounds. Smokin'! Then the third week I just lost all semblance of control and ate mostly whatever I wanted. I didn't go to the meeting on Saturday either, for various reasons. Well, today I decided to buck up and go, and boy am I glad I did! I had only gained back .4 pounds! I'm still down 9.5 pounds total! Oh man, I literally cried on the way home, just so thankful for God's mercy. I had been just hoping to still have SOME net loss - as in, I hoped I hadn't gained back all 9.9 pounds I'd lost before. Whew, what a RELIEF!

Oh, crum!

"Change my heart, O God. Make it ever new. Change my heart, O God. May I be like You."

Truly, this is the cry of my heart today. I'm in such a foul mood! It all started when I couldn't fall asleep last night until well after 11:00 (after having disciplined myself to go to bed at 10:00, instead of staying up to watch ER). I woke up having to potty and with a very stuffy nose at 2, then woke up again at 5:30 when Caris came into my bed with a really wet pull-up (had to change her). Dozed from then until about 7:20 and finally just got up. I had some coffee and though my legs are energetic, the rest of me still feels asleep. It makes me think of my body as an empty vessel that is now half-full, and I guess I need another cup of coffee to fill up to brain-functioning level. Wouldn't that be awful, to go from no coffee, to occasional coffee, to two cups a day?

Cloudy day

It's a cold (62º as I write this) day, and gray outside. It sprinkled for about 20 seconds earlier. I actually broke down and turned the heater on! Isn't it weird and gross that I look forward to that awful dust-burning smell the heater makes each year when it's turned on for the first time? It feels like the start of really a new sort of season, and I'm glad for it. I'm awfully whiny when it comes to being cold but truth be told, it's nice to have a change. This year especially, there are lots of things to look forward to during this cold season. Megan and Jason will be home soon, Mom's wedding after that, then Graham's birthday, then Christmas, weight loss all the while . . . it's exciting!

Towarding

Caris got in bed with me at 2 am, and I delivered her back to her own bed. She got in bed with me again at 6:30, which was fine. After I took my temperature (I finally remembered!) I turned over to nurse her. Soon after Graham cuddled up in bed with us. It was still dark and he whispered, "Mommy." "Yes, baby?" "Which way are you towarding?" "Toward you, honey." "Which way is Caris towarding?" "Toward me."
Very cute!

And in other, not-very-cute news . . . ok - last night the phone rang, and Caris and Graham ran out with Graham yelling, "We called 911, we called 911!" (Scared, obviously). I found the phone and answered and said that my kids had called and I'm so sorry. . . . she said, "Which one called?" I said, "why do you want to know?" She said, "You have three kids - which one called?" I said, "How do you know I have three kids?" She said, "You just told me." I said, "No I didn't, I said, 'I have curious kids." She said, "Oh. So who called?" I said, "I'm not telling you that." She said, "Ok, I'll cancel the call." I thought the whole thing was so totally weird - I mean obviously I had a BIG BIG talk with the kids, and it was wrong of them to call - but how odd that she wouldn't give me a reason for wanting to know who called!

Season Over

Today was the last day of the boys' 2005 AYSO Season! It went by so quickly this year but nonetheless, I am really, really glad it's over. Our evenings get so busy between karate, sports, church and just things that come up, it seems like a rare jewel when we have a quiet evening at home together. Now that sports are over for a while I think I'll get our game night going. It's so easy to live life toward some goal without truly relishing the life we're actually living *now*. It's a bummer to think of all the good ideas we hear or learn about and think they're great, but don't ever go to the time or effort to put them into practice. Game night seems like a simple, fun one. I just looked over at the dining room and sighed when I saw a mess there. Guess that'll need to be cleaned up in order for game night to happen. :-P

So at soccer today, there were so many "pincher bugs" (Earwigs), I can't really explain it here fully. It reminded me of when you look down and realize you've chosen an anthill for your picnic spot, so you move . . . only these are like 20x bigger than ants, and they're everywhere, so moving doesn't make any difference. Oh, and they fly. And climb on everything. They're perfectly disgusting. So guess who in my family absolutely adores these repulsive things? CARIS! She's dainty, she's sweet, she's TWO - and she adores Earwigs. She's lucky: they've taken our city by storm this year. She brings them to me by the handful and cries when any of them die. And yes, they do actually pinch sometimes, and she cries when that happens too. Because she loves them so much, and because she picks them up right after they bite and she throws them, I really think she is crying not out of pain but because it so hurts her feelings that her "friends" would hurt her. So today they kept her very busy at soccer, from crying when Graham took one of hers to showing any parent who would listen (disgusted looks on the parents' faces doesn't dampen her enthusiasm in the slightest), to begging me to pet and kiss them (no thank you) - she played with those Earwigs the entire time we were at soccer today. As gross as it is, I took pictures so she can look back at herself from teenhood and think I was a horrible mother for allowing her to play with something so vile.

Alif fell asleep on the living room floor at 6:00 pm. I guess now that soccer season has ended he can officially hibernate. So I got bold and bathed all of the kids, and that went so well that I thought we could read stories too. It was so nice! The kids were sweet, the boys read to ME quite a lot, which was fun, and Caris just loves books so she was happy. Well, until we didn't like her wooden elephant toy tromping across our pages - then she went off to my bed to pout and promptly fell fast asleep. At 8:30 Graham was in his bed and Malachi was all tired out, so I put them to sleep and then carried Caris infant-style to her bed, where she surprisingly curled into her pillow instead of waking to nurse. Sigh . . . really, a lovely evening!

Instock growing

I've got 3 diapers sewn to send to Nogginworks. This is good! I'm actually getting sewing done *without* letting the house go to (total) pot!

Tired

I'm tired today. I went to bed too late last night after staying up for most of ER, then heading to bed and reading a few chapters of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which is a silly, fun read so far. Then Caris woke up at 5:45. Why would she wake up so early? She went to bed at like 10:00 or something last night. I was out at Circle of Friends and when I came home she hugged me so much and stroked my face and hair and said, "(When) you gone I sad; I miss you so much!" AWWWW! Isn't she the sweetest! I love her all the time but don't really want to see her at 5:45 am. It is pretty cute how she whispers, "Mommy! Mommy, can I have my drinkie pwease? . . . " (waits) "Mommy! (still whispering) Mommy, want my drinkie." So anyway, she nursed and then apparently Daddy set her up with a Blue's Clues video. The boys were still asleep and Daddy was off to work, and yeah - about half an hour later there's my whispering baby again, wanting the other drinkie. I gave it and finally got up. Had some coffee, which REALLY jump-started me this morning, because I haven't had any coffee in quite a while. That was a good thing. Got tons of housework done and stalkingly tried calling Amanda G-P several times to see if I can come and pick up some of her laundry. I don't want her feeling sick during her pregnancy, but it will be nice to ease some stress for her if she will let me. I guess that is a big blessing to come out of my having been so terribly sick with Caris. I have not gotten ahold of her yet. The kids acted really unkindly with each other this morning so we are not going to the CHECK park day. This was mostly a relief to me but a little disappointing as well. I'm just a grouch today altogether. My abdomen feels odd and I can't help but wonder if I could be pregnant, but I'm sure it's more likely that my period is trying to come. I am going to start temping (I accidentally wrote tempting there, which is pretty applicable too, ROFL!) and charting tomorrow. I need to know where I am in my strange cycles. I feel like I'm totally in Cycle Wilderness, which is not a really fun place to be. Darn, someone has called my cell phone 2x today and it's the wrong number. That always makes me nervous. Go away man! So alright - kids are down for naps and I need to put in at least the 30 minutes of sewing I've committed to doing during naptime. Shall I have some tea first?

Out of Steam!

I've had a great day, but I am now officially Out of Steam! I'm tired and cranky and want all children in bed, and it's only 5:07 - still the most challenging part of today is yet to come!! Dinner, cleaning the kitchen, getting all the teeth brushed, all the pajamas on, changing sheets that smell like pee, ohhh the list goes on. And that doesn't even count that we have no pull-ups, so we'll have to figure that out too. How's that for complaining?

Menu 10/11/05

Dinners:
Taco salad
Meatloaf, salad, rolls
Cranberry chicken, rice, salad
Beef, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Hawaiian pork chops, rice, fruit kabobs
Chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese sandwiches

Lunch (rest are leftovers, snacky lunches)
Soup & veggies
Sandwiches & fruit
Chicken & veggie quesadillas

Snacks (other than fruit, yogurt, cheese, etc.)
Fruit smoothie
Chips & salsa

Trying it out

Ok, thought I'd try this out instead of Livejournal. Let's just see which we like better! Trying out various fonts at the moment, and wondering why it's not orange like I selected. Let me try again. Not a terribly huge number of fonts to choose from, but this suits me just fine, not that it'll go with my cute dots background or anything. :-D So ok, looks like everything's going according to plan so far.