A Special List For A Special Day

There are eight things I love about you:

1. I love the way I can hear you laughing from another room.
2. I love the way that you will not take no for an answer (but only when used on your dad).
3. I love it that you sing so loud and so off key.
4. I love it that you want to be the center of attention.
5. I love most of the phrases that come out of your mouth. Most of them.
6. I love it that nothing phases you, unless you get your feelings hurt.
7. I love it that you have never met a stranger, yet you're worried about making friends at your new school.
8. I love you so much. So so much.

Happy day Kells Bells. Happy Day!

Things People Have Said to Me Today

* when asked what she was going to do now that she's graduated college with a psychology degree, a friend mentioned a few career options, and then said "...or maybe I will just be a teacher for a while." Seriously, people, be aware of your surroundings and don't say that in the presence of a teacher. On the days that I'm fed up with children and parents and other teachers, I don't say "maybe I will just be a pilot!" I say "would you like fries with that?" What makes you think that you can "just" do something that I went through five years of college for?

* "Do you have a concession stand or something that I can get some popcorn or something?!" I am paying for my purchase at Target. Paying. Swiping my debit card. And some random lady comes and taps me on the shoulder and asks me that! But, because it was easier, I replied "yes, ma'am. Right down at that end of the store is our refreshment area." See, I can be pleasant and helpful when approached the right way.

* "Did you make this?!" when I gave away my last project at a baby shower. My gift was the only one passed around for all to see. It felt good.

And my favorite of the day...
I took Kells Bells and Katybug to IHOP, though Katybug, being the tween that she is, expressed her displeasure in being woken up on a Saturday morning (at 9:30 of all the ungodly hours) just to go to IHOP. We were discussing the new movie Ratattoulle (sp?) and Kells Bells said that we should go see it at Studio Movie Grill because it's a movie about food (which she and the rest of the family minus me did). I mentioned that we can't go see every movie there, because it gets expensive, and she says "Well, maybe if you'd pay for your own ticket it wouldn't be so expensive!" I'm not sure where she comes up with these things. For the record, her dad usually buys all the tickets together when the five of us go to the movies, and I keep her mother in a healthy supply of Diet Coke, so it all comes out in the wash!

Stupid is as Stupid Does

That quote is directed at Lindsay Lohan. She entered rehab today, and though I didn't necessarily plan on throwing out my views on the girl, the topic came up at dinner, and as the conversation unfolded, many soapboxes came flying at me, just waiting for me to hop on board.

I was sitting down to dinner with the girls. Now, I should say, I was sitting down to the pizza I picked up, lest you think I actually cooked. I sent KellsBells back to get Katybug to come to dinner, and as she sat down, she said that she heard today that Lindsay Lohan got arrested. At this point, I was already mentally chastising the poor little movie star about how her actions caught the attention of little cherub-faced innocent little girls all over the planet, and how she should know that because most of her movies are directed at the tween crowd, she is looked at as a role model and should step up to her position and use her powers for good instead of evil, and how am I going to use this little observation by a child to start off on a moral lecture about the perils of drugs and alcohol and which Bible verses would I use to illustrate my point.

Then, the conversation takes this turn:
KB: Do you know why she was arrested?
me: Yes.
KB: I always knew she was gonna do something stupid.
me: Really?
KB: Yeah. She's wild. She's, like, always changing her hair color. First it's blonde, then it's brown, then it's red. She's wild.
me: And she made some poor choices. It just goes to show you what can happen when you make poor choices.
KB: Yeah. You do something stupid.

So, I guess I don't have to lecture her on choices. I don't have to go all Biblical on her. (I've had to before, and it was pretty funny.)

As for you, Ms. Lohan, seriously? You're gonna get caught. You have a bazillion people with cameras following your every move and you don' t think anyone's going to see the bouncer have to carry your slumped-over self to your car?

And Lindsay's mom? BE A PARENT.

Soapbox done.