Okay, so I am a bad blogger.  Make that a terrible blogger.  But here are my two favorite people (and one with me) from Halloween.  Mac was a ninja.  Cheese was a beeeeeuuuuuutiful kitty cat.  They came home with a ton of candy... when I was a kid, our neighbors never gave us stuff like this.  They had those peanut butter wafer thingies that are in the striped wrappers, and those candy strawberries, and Smarties.  Now they have fun sized chocolate bars.  Mommy is taking her cut: 33% for income tax and Social Security from each.

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Candy Corn

My current favorite video.  WARNING: You will not be able to stop singing this song.  It will haunt you for days.

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What makes your best friend so special? 
Submitted by Jessmiloo.

Well, I have three people who I would call my best friends.  One who I've been friends with forever so she'll always be my best best friend.  One who is my current best girl photographer friend and who I do projects with and talk to on IM all day.  And one who is my current best guy friend (and, before you ask, yes, he's a GUY friend and not a BOYfriend).

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So, Jen.  We've been friends since our parents forced us to hang out at Fiesta Texas when we were, what, 19?  20?  Something like that?  She's smart.  She's funny.  She's the most talented writer I know.  She's the one person who gets me no matter what.  I swear, when I'm laughing so hard that I can barely talk, she knows exactly what words I'm trying to wheeze/snort out.  And here is a picture of our mystery woman, from a trip we took to LA when we were in college.  Wow, that was the best trip ever.  For those of you who can't figure it out, she's the one on the left.

Laura and me

Then there is Laura.  We've only known each other for a year, but it was friendship at first sight.  Laura is so talented and so in tune with people around her.  She can sniff out a lie or an excuse, even one that a friend is telling herself, from 30 miles away, and she'll always call you on it.  :)  She loves her son and her husband so deeply that it makes me cry listening to her talk about them.  She can also identify any font.  ANY font.  She's a graphic designer and looking at bad design and font choices really hurts her.

Tim

And then there is Tim.  I have a few other pictures where he looks sweeter ;) but this captures his personality better than any of them.  He's never afraid to speak his mind, even when he knows it's something that you really don't want to hear.  He's been a business mentor to me for, oh, what feels like forever but is really probably less than two years, and he truly knows his stuff.  He loves his parents and will do whatever he needs to, whenever he needs to do it, to help them and take care of them.  And he is probably the most loyal friend anyone could ever have.

You know, I am looking at these people and realizing how blessed I am to have all three of them in my life.  I am not good at relying on others -- I tend to do everything myself -- and I know that God has put these three in my life to teach me that sometimes, it's okay to share your needs. 

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Show us your favorite photo of yourself.

My favorite that was shot as an avatar.  This is from one of our "girls nights".

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My favorite candid, with my friends Mel and Teri, from some random photography conference party.

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So I was driving around with Laura today after lunch, waiting for Bugs to be let out of school.  We both saw this sign at the same time and cracked up.  I love a church with a sense of humor.

Park

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Show us something you own that is from a different country.
Submitted by Rev Stan.

Pierre

This is Pierre Le Pot Scrubber -- but please, you have to read his name with a French accent or he'll be offended.  My friend Melissa, the world traveler, brings me something odd back from every trip.  Pierre is the ultimate bizarre souvenir, and snuck into Mel's suitcase on a trip to Paris earlier this year.  She's spent more time in Europe this summer than she has in the US.

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I signed my daughter up for dance lessons for the fall, but now I think it might be a waste of money.  I think I'm just going to teach them "It's a Sunshine Day" from the Brady Bunch and maybe "I'm a Little Bit Country/I'm a Little Bit Rock & Roll" from Donnie and Marie.  And then we'll take this show on the road.

And yes, as it's the first day of school and my day off, I have too much free time on my hands.   And the little head cutter outer on JibJab is REALLY tough to use on tiny heads.

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I have a love/hate relationship with MySpace.

On one hand, it's a great way to keep up with old friends.  And I like that with current friends, we can share pictures and chat in a really casual setting, away from our respective online forums.  It's fun to change music and layouts to reflect my mood, and to see what my friends are choosing to reflect theirs. 

On the other hand, it's a lot like middle school.  People are embarrassed if they don't have enough friends, or the "right" friends.  Denying someone's friend request is like saying "um, no, you can't sit at this table.  It's reserved.  Why don't you try that group, over there."  I have a "friend" who brags about his hundreds of friends on MySpace, but it's like the kid who gets absolutely everyone to sign his yearbook.  They say yes because they don't want to be mean, but they don't really know him.  At first, I didn't know that who you chose for your top 8 was such a big deal, or that there was a method to choosing the order you had them in.  My Very Popular Friend told me how very very important it was, because his feelings were hurt that I didn't choose him for my Top Friends, and so he must think that we're closer than I do.  I also absolutely hate the language -- all of the "r u" junk.  "R U going to convention?  Kewl.  Let's catch up l8er."   Shudder.

As you may have guessed, I was once very innocent when it came to deciphering the nuances of the MySpace alternate universe.  For instance, in the middle of my divorce, my Nosy Cousin started a rumor that I was having an affair.  I had switched my status to "In a Relationship" because I felt that "married" didn't really describe me anymore (although it was technically true) and I wasn't legally single either.  Um, someone has waaaaaay too much time on her hands.  My friend Laura consoled me and warned me about my future on MySpace.

"You know, I'm your number one right now, but eventually, you'll meet someone and you'll move HIM up to your number one space.  And I want you to know that I'm okay with that."

I think I said something like, "Laura, I love you, but, um, that's just a little weird."  You see, I didn't understand yet how relationships work on MySpace.  And I am just as guilty of MySpace spying as my Nosy Cousin, because one really boring rainy day, I got to watch a couple go through a MySpace breakup.

Laura called me and when I answered, she didn't even say hello.

"Dude, get on MySpace and open up two windows.  I think maybe JT and Allison are breaking up."

To this day, I have no idea what they were fighting about.  But here's what happened.  I had to check with Laura to remember the details -- she can always remember what songs people were using to get their message across.

Allison, who is known for always having a happy, Sanrio-style puppy dogs and rainbows kind of page, had put up a really dark background.  Red text (which is a pet peeve of mine).  And her song was "You Give Love a Bad Name."

So I checked out her boyfriend's page.  JT always has a very "guy" kind of page.  Simple.  Nothing cutesy.  Some generic rock song.  His was dark too, with lots of lightning.  His song was "My Way."  Hmmmm... very interesting.

So we're lauging about how silly it is and wondering what they're fighting about, and suddenly Laura cries, "REFRESH!  REFRESH!"

Allison moved JT down to the bottom of her top 8.  JT switched his status from "In a Relationship" to single.  So then Allison did the same.  I heard a crunching sound through the phone.

"Popcorn," confirms Laura.

Then the beep.  Call waiting.  So I clicked over.  It was our friend Melly.  She sounded completely panicked.

"Allison is on the other line and she's yelling at me about stabbing her in the back and asking how could I steal her boyfriend.  HELP ME.  I have no clue what she's talking about!  Wait, call waiting.  Let me call you back."

So I click back over and tell Laura, REFRESH.

Turns out, JT had moved MELLY up to his top spot.  They live in the same town and he did it just to make Allison mad, but didn't think that she would call Melly over it.  So I called Melly back and said, "I can tell you why she's mad.  Go check JT's MySpace."

Melly says, in a very scary calm voice, "Let me call you back later.  I need to call JT."

So two minutes later, Allison has completely moved JT and Melly off of her top 8.  She's changed her song to "You Oughta Know." She's moved Tom, the MySpace guy, to her top spot.  JT realized his mistake and moved Melly's dog to his top space and moved Melly down to the bottom.  Melly moved Allison to her top spot and then left her a comment about what idiots men are.  We waited to see what was going to happen.  Melly called me back and asked, "Do you think she understands that I had nothing to do with this?  Will she ever be my friend again?"

I think I should add here, we're all in our 30s.  These are not teenagers.  I told Mel, "You know, tomorrow we can drop a note in her locker on the way to homeroom that says, 'are you still mad?  check yes or no.'"

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was probably more like about 8 minutes, Allison replied to Melly's comment.  "You're soooooo right.  We need to stick together."  Whew.  Crisis averted.

Laura had finished the popcorn by this time and we both felt a little guilty about being involved and entertained as this whole spectacle unfolded.  It was like a train wreck.  It took two weeks for JT to change his status back to "In a Relationship" and put up "Miss Me Baby" as his song.  And a few more days for Allison to go back to the rainbows and big-eyed puppies, with JT as her top friend and "Hard For Me to Say I'm Sorry" as her song.

So now I am totally paranoid about MySpace.  I want to stay out of trouble.  I just started seeing someone and Laura once again reminded me that she's okay if I want to replace her as my top friend.  She had noticed that I am number one on his list and that he's changed his status to "In a Relationship."  But I think it's just too soon.  Sorry, honey, but you're going to have to live with being number four and with my "Single" status for a little while longer.  I just don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment.

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I actually got Charlotte to school this morning, even though it still feels like it is a week early.  Aren't you proud of me?  Last night we spent over half an hour searching for the new bag o' bobby socks I bought her two weeks ago at Target.  Never did find the bag, so she's wearing Mac's socks today.  It's not that she doesn't have any of her own.  It's that her feet have grown so much over the summer that none of them fit.

Poor kid.  Because we were in such a hurry this morning, and because I didn't go and pick up the studio camera last night, the only keepsakes she will have of this day are crummy snapshots.  My mom set the kids up and I didn't even take the time to move them to a better location.  At least I fixed the red eye.

Bugs was so excited that she was couldn't sit still.  Have you ever watched bumblebees dance in their hives?  That is what she looked like: all wiggly and bouncy.  She chattered all the way to school -- "I will get to meet new friends and my new friends will think that I am smart and funny and also pretty and I'll tell them to call me Cheese because I want a good nickname and I think Cheese is a good name ex-specially when they meet my brother and then I can see he's Mac and I'm Cheese and then we'll all go to lunch together and mommy packed me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some blueberries and I'll share my blueberries with my friends because I am very nice and we will go out to the playground and we'll play on the toys and then we will come back inside and take a rest and I will close my eyes even though I don't really want to rest but I will listen to my teacher because she's the boss and because I am very polite...".  She used so much energy on the ride to school that she'll probably crash at about 9 am.

She has been waiting for this day for over a year.  "Real" school.  I remember their first day of school last year.  Her brother was in MWF pre-K and she was in Mother's Day Out one day a week.  His classroom had desks and school supplies.  Hers was free and easy, with lots of toys and a "circle time" rug, but not a desk in sight.  I remember her crying huge tears as I left, not because she was going to miss her sweet mommy so much, but because it wasn't what she expected.  "Why can't I go to real school???  Why won't you let me learn???"

Have I mentioned she is a major drama queen?  I have no clue who she got that from. 

So, quickly changing the subject because I can hear you all thinking, well now we know what she was like as a kid... .

We had a really good weekend.  Friday I had an order come in from a portrait session I shot in early June.  The family lives WAY out of state and I wasn't expecting a very good order -- web ordering never goes as well as in person sales do.  But it turned out to be double my sales average so it was a very nice surprise.  I had the weekend to myself for the first time in a long while.  My kids spent it with their paternal grandparents and most of my friends are out of town, so I raided the 4 for $20 bin at the video store and came home with a few new (to me) treasures.  Watched High School Musical for the first time and yes, Jen, I loved it.  And then yesterday after church, I picked up the kids and then Jenny came over to just hang out.  It was so much fun catching up.  Jen, you're welcome over here any time.  I promise I'll come back and share my MySpace Breakup story in a bit.

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When driving alone, what do you do?  Sing along to the radio?  Think about your day?  Something else?
Submitted by carapiccoladiva.  

It depends on how long the drive is. 

On a short-ish drive, I'll usually pop in a CD or hook up the IPod and sing.  Driving alone means that you can listen to whatever guilty pleasure music you want, and no one will think you're crazy (except the people at stoplights who can see you singing your heart out to Barry Manilow's "Mandy"). 

If it's a really long drive, I'll usually spend an hour or two talking to my friend Tim.  We've shared long drives for a couple of years now and I know I can almost always count on him to pick up and keep me company for awhile.  He knows that I will return the favor.  I also know that if it's a work day, I'll hear every conversation that goes on at his studio or wherever he is running errands, and that in itself is pretty entertaining.  Thank goodness for bluetooth technology.

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