A Good Sign That You’re Overscheduled:

When your “nightmare” consists of retrieving the mail from the mailbox and discovering that there are four invitations to birthday parties and other festivities.

Was that a compliment?

Recently, I’ve grown more aware of my little town’s booming growth and the eventuality that someday, my little town will be a proper city. The signs are all pointing to it — increased traffic congestion, real estate developments popping up right and left, shortage of doctors, etc. I’ve also noticed that there is an increasing amount of vagrants hanging out in free, open to the public places like the library and the parks.

I go to the library once a week to get videos for our Family Movie Night and books for Sophia to read. Today I got there not too long after they opened, and made my way to the book return to drop off what I’d finished with before looking for new material. An older woman was there, hovering around the main desk, talking to herself. I walked past her to the video/DVD section. She followed me.

“Excuse me, miss,” she said to me.

I braced myself, not sure what could be coming next. “Yes?”

“Your hair is very pretty!”

I smiled. “Oh, well, thank you!” What a pleasant surprise. I totally was not expecting a compliment. I turned my attention back to the racks of DVDs. I went back to my quest for a good movie, and she wandered off.

After a few minutes, however, she was back. “You know what you should do?” she asked me.

I shook my head.

“You should get yourself a new pair of boot cut jeans and a little hoodie. Then you would look FANtastic!”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Complimented and subsequently dissed by a stranger who may or may not have been in full control of her mental faculties. I think I may have choked out an, “Okay, thanks.”

She leaned in a little closer and whispered conspiratorially, “That’s what I’m gonna do!” She gave me a sort of “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” kind of look.

I smiled and thanked her again, then made my way to the far opposite side of the library.

That was the end of the encounter, but all day I’ve been wondering how I looked. I thought I was reasonably well put together today, but apparently not enough to keep from getting unsolicited fashion tips! LOL

Only 25 Days Left of Summer Vacation

Just a little reminder to myself that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And what a glorious light it is!! While I’m blogging to myself, here’s my to-do list of things that I want to accomplish while I have all day, every day, to myself:

1. Read novels.
2. Read the Bible.
3. Paint my kitchen cabinets so they are no longer the color of split pea soup.
4. Paint the two remaining areas of our house that are dark hunter green.
5. Scrapbook.
6. List a lot of stuff on eBay so that I no longer have a backlog of inventory.
7. Have phone conversations in which I do not have to say as an aside, “Excuse me, but I am on the phone. Can it wait?!?!”
8. Nap (when needed).
9. Work part time… maybe. I think I’d really prefer to just turn up my eBay selling a few notches.
10. Go on photography expeditions (short trips afield to take pictures which would bore the kids to death if they were with me).
11. Read my daggone camera manual so I can figure out how to use the thing properly.
12. Keep the house tidy.

Bloggy Giveaway

I don’t think I really get that many readers here, but I’m all about free stuff, so here’s something I’m giving away to fellow bloggers as part of Shannon’s Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway.

A Scrabble tile “blog” bracelet! Now come on, don’t you really want that? If so, just leave a comment and I will pick one person at random on FRIDAY JULY 27 AT NOON (EST) to receive it.

The fine print: I am paying for shipping, and I will ship anywhere in the world. You do not need to have a blog in order to enter, but you do need to provide an email address. If you are the winner, I will need your name and mailing address so I can mail the prize to you.

UPDATE: Wow, I truly wasn’t expecting this big a response! In reading your comments, it seems like a lot of you are under the impression that I made this bracelet. I did not. It was made by another Christian blogger at Blest with Sons. She deserves all the credit, and if you look through her site you will see that she is quite a talented jewelry maker!

Tee Shirt

We saw this last night in one of the many tee shirt shops in our local resort town. I cracked up laughing as soon as I saw it.

Guilt Free Gluttony

Last week when I was in Wal Mart, I was perusing the ice cream section, trying desperately to find low carb ice cream for Dan (he gave up carbs for Lent).  As I looked over one of the cases, this box caught my eye:

I looked at the label, skeptical.  But there it was in black and white right before my eyes — ZERO fat and only 100 calories per 1/2 cup serving.  I decided to give it a try, since they did have my favorite flavor there (caramel with caramel swirl — yum!).

Oh. My. Gosh.  This is nothing short of heaven on a spoon, this ice cream.  It is so creamy and so rich tasting! It’s the kind of ice cream that you just want to roll around in your mouth for a while before swallowing so that it covers every single taste bud with its creamy goodness!  (No, I am not exaggerating even one little bit.)

Now, listen up, all you local folks.  Please don’t go to my Wal Mart and buy my ice cream.  Go to the one on the north end of town, or get a different flavor.  I want to make sure there’s more waiting for me the next time I go grocery shopping!