304. Trick or treat

We met up with some friends and had the best trick-or-treating experience!  Julia and her friends were constantly on the run and dashing about.  Despite her eagerness, she still helped to keep an eye on the little guys and gave away several pieces of candy, too.

She was a beautiful witch who stated "evil laughs are overrated."  

The things she says...

303. “We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.” ~ Andre Berthiaume

Optimistic and happy is how I want the world to see me.
Scared and uncertain is the part of me only a few will see.

Now You
52 of You - Masks
43/52

302. Too close for comfort

Around the corner from my school is this chemical factory.  In a weird and eery way, it looked beautiful this morning across the foggy field.

This is one of two factory facilities near my school.  Neither have ever had a spill or accident but we have a part in our emergency plan just in case.  Hopefully, we'll never have to use that part of the plan.

Tonight, I am going to a special dinner with Ron Clark as the keynote speaker.  Excited!

301. The little things

A weed pushing through the cracks.
Fallen leaves. Just a couple.
Remnants from a bird hatching.
Crevices in the brick path.

Taking a moment to study this little corner of my world.

300. Mummy Dog

I made mummy dogs in honor of Halloween week.  Julia was NOT impressed with the mustard eyes.  But she was thrilled with the smashed potatoes that were served on the side.

299. The hippy reunion

Twice a year, my husband coordinates a reunion of his hippy friends at our house.  It is always a lot of fun to hear the stories and get to know this interesting group of people.

This year, they got to meet Julia.  She was excited and even decorated a pumpkin with a vampire before the guests came.

We had a few friends stay with us so Julia happily gave up her room so that she could sleep in mine and Jeff's room.  She even moved in her stuffed animals and her new book so that she would have all her creature comforts.  Love that girl and her zest for life!

298. I am...

I am the mother of two boys.
I am the one who only wanted to have boys.
I am the educator who fell in love with a needy girl at school.
I am the one who struggled to overcome a helpless feeling when that girl was placed in foster care.
I am the wife of a husband willing to do a lot of amazing things for a girl he'd never met.
I am now the parent of that sweet girly girl.
I am in awe of the spirit and strength from this amazing survivor.
I am humbled.

I am learning to be the mother of a daughter.

Now You
52 of You - I am...
42/52

297. I waited all day

For this Faboo Chocolate Chip cake.  Thanks to Kendra for sending the recipe.  Julia gives it two thumbs up.  I wish I had extra thumbs for rating this cake.

I was in a good mood at work today -- and even though I had several parents yell at me today.  I just smiled at their ridiculousness and thought about coming home to chocolate cake.

Winning.

296. Fire Pit

My husband made a new fire pit today.  With the cooler weather finally edging down to south Georgia, it was nice to try it out.

295. Lego time

What I want to remember about this rainy, rainy day is that she was so excited to work on her Lego creation.  We had a holiday from school and we ran quite a few errands in the rain (can somebody say swim).  She was happy, happy when we finally got home for her to play.

Also, we had some wonderful friends over for dinner.  Julia set the table and really spent a lot of time figuring out who would get which cloth napkin.  She has a way of analyzing things like the color of napkins for specific people.  It is charmingly adorable.

294. Back to reality

Julia has been itching to dump out that bag of candy from trick-or-treating at Disney World but we convinced her to wait until we got home.  As soon as we got everything in the door, she was ready to dump that bag.

First, we weighed it -- TEN pounds of candy!  No wonder our shoulders were getting sore.

We dumped the candy on the dining room table and Julia sorted by type then wrote down how many of each.  I won't give you the specifics (though I listened as she read the entire list -- plus I listened as she discussed the amount of randomness of the amounts) but all total there were 342 pieces of candy!

She has already sorted out a bag for me to take to work to give away and she has filled the bowl for trick-or-treaters in a couple of weeks.  She is rich in candy... and love!

293. The happy girl at the happiest place

She loved it!  We went for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and it was a blast.  The park was open until midnight and we stayed until the park closed down.

Julia wore her "pretty witch" costume because she would get the chance to trick-or-treat throughout the park.  The special parade, the light show on the castle and the amazing fireworks made this a night to remember.

We rode quite a few rides, too.  When asked what part was her favorite, she said, "The whole day!"

It was absolutely amusing to watch her responses to various characters.  When she met a few of the princesses, she was rendered speechless.  Other times, she couldn't stop talking about a ride or something she saw.

What a privilege to get this opportunity to build some memories with the girl.

292. Fun

A fun day full of firsts for the girl.  We went to Downtown Disney to spend the afternoon and evening.

Dinner at House of Blues -- yum.
Watched Cirque du Soleil -- Wow!
Shopped at Little Miss Mismatched, the Lego store, and a huge Disney store -- cha ching!

Tomorrow is Magic Kingdom day.  I think she is almost as excited as I am.

291. When he is 89

We celebrated the 38th anniversary of some friends.  My husband did the math and he will be 89 when we have been married 38 years.  He better make that happen.

Julia was excited to spend the evening with my parents.  Every child should have grandparents that worship the ground they walk on.  That girl -- seriously, she can do no wrong according to her Grammy and Grandaddy.

290. Oreo obsession

If Oreos are in the pantry, I can't seem to stop thinking about those guys.  It seems like I can hear them calling my name.

Now You
52 of You - Lips
 41/52

289. Summer still

After running this afternoon (it was hot!), I sat in the yard with the man and a cold one.  It wasn't quite as hot as summer -- but once the sun started going down, the temperature became just lovely.

288. Trying to be scary

She couldn't quit laughing though.

287. That little girl down the hall

We missed this happy face this weekend. It was great to know that she was getting spoiled by my parents and my sister -- but it was nice to come home to this happy girl.

286. Coming home

The sky was stunning as we drove home from Miami on Sunday.  Why is traveling so exhausting?

285. Such jokers

The party on Saturday night was a ton of fun!  It really was fun watching my husband connect with his college friends at the 80th birthday of their former theater professor.

284. Biscayne Bay

My husband and I are in North Miami to celebrate a friend's 80th birthday.  This friend is the former college professor of my husband and many of his friends from back in the 70s when they were theater majors (yes, my husband is a children's theater major).

It has an awesome weekend so far -- and I'm about to meet up with some ladies to practice being a second line dancer (got roped into this -- but it'll be fun).  Guess I shouldn't have been surprised that there would be performances from a bunch of theater majors.

Let's hope that this isn't a video that goes viral because of how bad we dance.

283. Abandoned

I searched all over the yard for a good spider web but could only find this abandoned home.

Oh well.

On a happier note, Julia got her report card.  She made Honor Roll and she was so excited (so were we).  We asked what she thought her reward should be and she tapped her chin as she thought.  "I know!  How about five dollars?" she finally suggested.

She asks for so little -- and she was so excited to get five dollars for each of her five A grades.  She is saving her money for some shoes she wants.  Such a girl.

282. Wacky Tacky

It was wacky tacky day as part of spirit week for the upcoming high school cross town rivalry and I played the part.  Actually, Julia picked out  my clothes.

"Hmmm... a busy and a busy.  That will look bad!" she said as she perused the clothes in my closet.

After school, I had to run by the doctor's office and then the pharmacy.  As I waited for my prescription to be filled, I set the camera on the ground and took this picture.

Too bad it couldn't capture the crazy looks I got.  By the way, Julia (who was equally crazy looking) wouldn't run errands with me.  "I have standards," she said in her most dramatic voice.

Now  You
52 of You - Dare
40/52

281. Reflecting

The wall of mirrors at one of my favorite restaurants.  Tonight was girl's night -- a great night to get together with some of my girlfriends and eat and talk and laugh.  The owner of this restaurant made a special vegan meal for me and a friend.  When she handed it to us, she said, "It was made with love."

I love my monthly dinner with the ladies.  The conversation and laughs are always good for the soul.

280. The Monday afternoon gig

She waits patiently for the hip hop class to end so that she can learn all about ballet, jazz, and tap.  On the way home, she said, "I didn't have time to play today."

I replied, "But you did have fun at dance, right?"

She quickly retorted that dance was NOT for fun and that she was working hard to learn her routines.

What a hard knock life.  :)

279. Cooking

Grocery shopping and then cooking -- the usual Sunday gig.  I like when I have time to get a little creative in the kitchen.  Tonight, we had homemade vegetable pot pie.

278. Foraging

It was a hot one today -- so hot that it felt like summer.

277. Ice Cream for Dinner

Why not have ice cream for dinner?

She had "the best day ever at school" today because it was Grandparent's Day.  It was the first time someone has come to be with her for a school event and she was excited.  When a couple of kids were sad because they didn't have a grandparent who could come, she shared her grandparents with them because she "remembered what it felt like to be lonely."

I love that girl's giving heart.

Grandparent's Day at school. My wonderful parents are a bit over the moon with Julia.

276. "There's never one sunrise the same or one sunset the same." ~ Carlos Santana

A breathtaking view on the drive to work.  Julia and I were in awe of the richness of the color.

"It's going to be a great day!" she proclaimed.

Perhaps too many little ones woke up on the wrong side of the bed because I dealt with a lot of bad behavior.  It was a day full of bad boys.  After being removed from his class while having a tantrum, one Kindergarten student yelled at me that he'd be happy when I was dead.

Well, now.  Don't hold back.  Really, tell us how you feel.

At least the bookends of my day were peaceful and calm.  And isn't that the part that matters most?

275. It's an imperfect world

Sometimes screws fall out (anyone know that movie reference?).  And eyes go wonky.  Ever since I turned 40 a few years back, my eyes have steadily gotten wonkier and wonkier.  I used to buy reading glasses only if they were cute.  Now I buy them in bulk so I can have them in all the places I need.

Now You
52 of You - Imperfect
39/52

274. The Governor's Wife

She came to my school today to read to our preschool students -- and she did a great job.  It was a ding dang big hoopla but those kids didn't care.  They still made their random comments about their mommas and their cats and their loose teeth and more.