Not a Good Day...

I'm feeling really depressed. Had a terrible afternoon which ended with my one-and-only aunt calling me "trash" and telling me to "go gain 20 more pounds, leave Riley motherless" because, as she texted, "its all about food and you." She then told me to "call your Mom and cry." All because I wouldn't jump in my car, drive an hour south and check on some friend of hers she hasn't heard from in two weeks.

Things have got to get better soon. Hopefully, good news is just around the corner and we, as a family, can make a fresh start! Keep me in your thoughts and prayers, please.

Happy Birthday to Me...

I woke up to this lovely decorating job from Charles and Riley this morning! They decided to decorate the space where I spend most of my days--my "home office" in the corner of the living room.

It's also a snow day here in Atlanta. Riley's out of school and the roads are incredibly icy. Our temperature is currently 16 degrees with a wind chill of 2 degrees...brrrr!

This is CNN

I feel so cool. I got a shout-out on CNN this week from the man himself, Tony Harris. Now, if I could only win a Beat 360 t-shirt, I'd be in heaven!

An Early Birthday

We had an early birthday party for Riley today at Jump 4 Joey so that would not interfere with the holidays--many of her friends from school were able to come. They had a blast!!

She had pizza, lemonade, an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery (devil's food cake with chocolate ice cream mixed with Kit Kats) and I made "magic wands" (pretzel rods dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with colored sugar) to go with her Harry Potter cake.

Our friend George took a couple of videos:

Alex, Riley and Paul in the birthday chair.

Riley really focusing on blowing out the candles...

Charles took quite a few pictures and I'll upload them later.

The Excitement is Killing Me!

I'm very excited--only five more days until the release of Under the Dome, the latest from Stephen King!! I feel like Christmas is coming early...

Check Ya Later, Halloween!

Well, another Halloween has come and gone. Riley had a full day on Saturday: Karate, a birthday party and then Trick-or-Treating with her cousin Ann.

The birthday party was for her school-friend, Abby, and featured a fun carnival theme. Unfortunately, the weather was quite cool and misty the entire time, but the kids didn't mind a bit. Most of the parents huddled by a fire pit to keep ourselves nice and warm.

Riley and Paul on the swings.

Paul, Riley and Alex wating on cupcakes.

Riley's cousin, Ann.

Riley and Ann help Grandma prepare their supper.

Grandma & Papa's dog, Snowy.

One very cute skeleton and an
adorable Minnie Mouse!

Halloween was a long, full day, but we all had a wonderful time. Riley's already planning next year's costume. Right now, it's a werewolf, but last night it was a zombie. I'm sure she'll change her mind hundreds of times between now and next October--that's the beauty of being a kid!

I'm Having Flashbacks to "It"

So, we finally got our pumpkin and decided to carve it on Sunday. I pulled out all my pattern books so we could choose a design. I recently bought "decades"-themed book and was hoping to carve a Pac-Man design (from the "Dig Those Decades" book) this year.

Unfortunately, with a five-year-old, plans mean nothing! Riley looked through the books and found a design we just had to use. Of course, she picks one that the book calls "challenging." I tear it out and soon realize that the design is way too small for our rather large pumpkin. No problem! I just walk over to the printer/copier and re-size the design. I hit print and nothing happens. No ink. Great.

Riley really wants to carve the pumpkin so I have to improvise. I pull out some tracing paper and tape two sheets together so I'll have enough room to increase the size of the design. I had to draw the design myself! I just looked at what I had and tried to double the size just by sight.

I must say, things turned out pretty well. We transferred the design and began disecting our poor specimen. Riley and I dug out the guts and she and Charles pulled out all the seeds. We roasted them in the oven later--yummy!

When I was drawing and carving, I thought the design was just a weird scary face, but--after finshing and lighting it up--I noticed it reminded me of someone else. Pennywise. You know Pennywise, right? The "thing" that dressed up as a demonic clown and terrorized a 1960s town in Maine?

Pennywise is the main dude in Stephen King's "It" and pretty much ruined clowns for me--forever. I hate clowns. They creep me out. Now, I have a morbid looking one staring at me each and every time I enter or exit the house!

Thanks Mr. King...and thanks to Riley.

Think I'm reaching? I don't think so...

Happy Halloween!