In Other Exciting News...

- I'm the cookie manager for Lexi's troop. We've sold something like 800 boxes of cookies. I picked up 116 cases of cookies and put them in my front room. Then, we sorted them all by individual girl so the people could come and get them. We did it perfectly the first time. It did not take us 3 hours. It was awesome.

And, every day, I get a number of texts and emails like this, "Can I have 1 box of Thin Mints, 3 boxes Shortbreads, 2 boxes of Peanut Butter Patties, and 14 Lemonades? When can I get them? If I say jump, will you ask how high?"

And, every day, I pull cookies out of cases and separate them so that the people can come by and get their cookies - ONE box at a time.

(They say thank you. They aren't total jerks, really. And people are weird about Girl Scout cookies so we try to get them their orders fast.)

- Speaking of Marti, she came for a visit. I did not take any pictures. Sorry.

But it was a great visit. We played soccer and sorted cookies and had a birthday party and went hiking at Del Valle (I did take pictures of that though). We also had a dance party. Allen did the worm so it was totally awesome. (I did not take pictures of that either.)

The kids call her Aunt Mart-EYE. She loves it and they don't know any different so it's pretty cute. Lexi goes in to her room at o'dark thirty to sleep with her. She plays airplane with them, and acts silly with them, and colors at the little table with them instead of doing chores, and doesn't yell at them. They adore her and love her.

For as different as we were as kids, it's like we share a brain now. We literally say the same things and the same time. It's fun to be together. I keep hoping they will move here. My dad's birthday wish to her was that she would "feel like she can live wherever she wants when she wants". That really meant, "you can move here right now thankyouverymuch. We all feel the same way, but get that they have a good thing going where they are right now.

Anyways, good times were had by all.

- Rehearsals for Annie are going well. They are extremely time consuming. It's been 3 hours a night, 4 nights a week. Lexi was getting really tired and her behavior was changing here at home. This week has been a bit better. Since she's been off the hook in the last week, she's been her normal self.

I think my bone marrow is being sucked out and replaced with the Annie script.

I sing in 4 songs. All of them have dancing. Thank goodness I mostly have animated gesturing while the other people on stage dance around me and Annie.

I'm still in shock that I'm doing this. And most nights I really wonder if the directors regret their decision.

I do have fun at rehearsals. The cast is a fun group of people and they are all working hard.

- Emmy has developed a fear of the bath tub. She will not get in. Not with or without water. Not in clothes or out of them. She cries hysterically and scratches and claws to try and get out.

We can't figure out exactly what triggered her paranoia. She didn't fall. The water wasn't too hot. Water wasn't poured over her head.

We tried the big, fun, mommy tub. We tried new toys. We tried showering.

Nothing helps. She screams and hiccups and wails and grips us like she's being drowned in acid.

Her screaming is now part of our night time calm down routine. It's been real.

- We're going back to New Mexico to collect the rest of our goodies. I'm excited to visit.

I'm not so excited to drive home in a Uhaul. The last time Allen and I drove a Uhaul, two grandmother age ladies flipped us off for going to slow.

No, the house hasn't sold. Yes, we fixed it all up with new flooring, new paint, new baseboard, and a new pantry. Yes, we've dropped the price again. No, we're not going to again. What are we going to do? Get screwed, that's what.



Cheers!