My mama, the BOI*

So, I'm off for 10 days for a tour of the Galveston area. We're spending the weekend at a "resort" in League City and then moving to my grandmother's in Hitchcock for the rest of the week. And T-Bone and I have tickets to see Tom Petty at the Woodlands amphitheatre next Saturday - think there will be any "ba-skeetos," as Olive calls them? Nah ...

I have a homework assignment for you while I'm gone, should you choose to accept it. The many times aforementioned GD high school reunion is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I'm making a compilation CD for my "crue." I've scanned the great hits of the 80s and all of our old favorites, but I'm still missing something. The idea was hatched because somehow I ended up with a tape we made at one of those "studios" at Six Flags on our senior trip featuring me and the girls singing, no, yelling, "Jose Cuervo" and, of course, "That's What Friends Are For." I'd like to say we were drunk when we made it, but, it was a school-sponsored trip, and because it rained the entire day, we were forced to be creative as we waited for the buses to come back and get us at 5. Hence, the "I Cut Tracks in Texas" studio was rocking that day. I believe I also sang backup for somebody on "Purple Rain." Anyway - I'm adding those two songs as a surprise ending, but I want some random stuff to add to the usual suspects.

So, give me a couple of your favorite tunes from 82-86. Please! I'll be your BBFF.

* BOI stands for "Born on the (Galveston) Island." Now my grandmother and two aunts live on ranch property 13 miles inland that's been in the family over 170 years. And, yes, that causes all the drama you would expect, so it's always fun to visit.

Yes, I am that crazy*

Having recovered from the birthday festivities, I am now in full fall planning mode. I'm leaving town Friday with Peach and Olive for 10 days, and several deadlines will be cropping up during that time, so today and tomorrow are my days to cross things off my list:

• Take Peach's tuition and medical forms to school - check
• Sign Peach and Olive up for fall dance classes - check, check
• Sign Peach up for fall basketball - tomorrow
• Purchase Peach's Halloween costume - check

Don't judge. I know it's over 3 months away. But, Halloween is a big deal around the Bone household, and the costume is the biggest part of the big deal. Plus, Peach wants to be a witch, and when I saw the array of slutty/gothy/what-does-that-have-to-do-with-Halloween witch costumes available for little girls, I jumped on this one:

And it was half-off. So at least I'm thrifty. Now to find the perfect bat/spider/kitty/puppy costume as requested by Olive ...

* Update: Check.

Yeah, Mommy - You'll be 40 in two years!

That's what Peach told me this morning when I said that turning 38 wasn't so bad, based on the pre-celebration we had last night. After much anticipation and planning on the part of T-Bone and The Shorties, I was blindfolded and literally driven in circles to my surprise birthday dinner destination - which turned out to be Chuy's. Yum. Ugh. I have eaten more in the last two days than I have in the last two months. Seriously. T-Bone's parents and brother and sister-in-law joined us for the feast, which was followed by a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. Sure, why not?! I was serenaded for the second time in a week, thanks to my crazy mother and her attempt to embarrass me at dinner last weekend at another gut-busting feast. I haven't seen Peach this excited about a surprise since she chose a pink dress shirt and matching pink tie for T-Bone for Christmas. I have the cutest pictures of her watching him open them.

Speaking of presents, I am the proud new owner of my own MP3 player, which came adorned in a cute pink rubbery jacket thingy. And T-Bone surprised me further with tickets to see the Dixie Chicks in October. Here's the map he included that shows where the seats are:

He's had the tickets since a super secret presale in May and said it was so hard not to tell me about them. How cute is that. And if you want cute, check out the cutest birthday card ever, complete with 38 candles:

Today, the actual day of my birth, we started out with breakfast at Jim's, followed by more groaning and button popping, and, this afternoon, I skipped off to see "The Devil Wears Prada" all by my own self. THEN, I treated myself to four adorable patio chairs that I'm praying will hold the weight of my ever-expanding ass. Fat and happy. That's me.

Quick! Read this NOW!

I am so proud to announce that, as of this fleeting moment, my entire house is clean. In my usual whirling about before company comes (T-Bone's parents are on the way as we speak), I run out of time to do everything, so something always gets missed and then done a couple of days later. Like cleaning my bathtub, vacuuming the playroom, organizing the spices - you know what I mean. But today - TODAY - I did it! Well, WE did it. A feat like this takes teamwork, and I have a lot of people to thank. And if I leave anybody out, you know who you are.

Let's see - first off, I want to thank God, through whom all things are possible. I want to thank my family - T-Bone, you really came through for me on those kitchen cabinets. Thanks, man. It means a lot. Peach, Olive - amazing job on those Legos. You rock. I want to thank the good people at the Clorox Company for your All-Purpose Cleaner with Bleach, your Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach, and your Disinfecting Wipes without Bleach. I want to thank S.C. Johnson for your Extra Moisturizing Pledge, your Windex, and your amazing Scrubbing Bubbles Flushable Toilet Brush. I HAVE to thank Colgate-Palmolive for their incredible Ajax. You guys really saved me that time I spilled oil-based paint in the tub, and I haven't forgotten it. And finally, I have to give a shout out to Procter & Gamble for your Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - quite possibly the greatest cleaning product every made.

Oh - they're flashing the "Wrap it Up" sign! I know I'm forgetting people! I am so lucky to have so much support and encouragement. I couldn't have done it without every one of you. Thanks to this incredible team, you can now eat, sleep, and perform surgery on any surface in my house. Oh, SNAP! Except for the pantry floor. Gotta get the broom. Peace.

Your Girl for All Seasons

I've spoken before of Peach's artistic talents, and one area of great interest to her is fashion design. She's six. Anyway, for Christmas, she got a design kit with a bajillion templates to create forty bajillion outfits. And this ain't no Fashion Plates, yo. She has to trace each piece separately - choosing a hairstyle, upper body, lower body, and shoes, THEN adding accessories, texture, and fabric patterns, and THEN coloring the whole thing. And she doesn't half-ass it at all. She works for hours. Each look is complete and ready for the runway. The kit is supposed to be for "9 years old and up," but I can't believe many older kids would have better skills or more patience than my little genius, er, fashion maven.

All this to say, Peach has discovered Project Runway. I was a Janie-come-lately to the show and only started watching halfway through last season. I thought Peach might go for it, but I was a bit concerned about all the bleeping and the bitching. And then the new season started last week, and I let her watch a tape of the first episode. So now we're both hooked - her early favorite is the guy who designs for Barbie (natch). I'll be "previewing" the show for her tonight, and we'll watch and discuss tomorrow.

For now, I'll leave you with some of her freehand work: "The Four Seasons."