Crazy Day

Good Tuesday evening!

The Gallery Pics are from our first day of school yesterday. These are not great pictures. These are not even very good pictures. But they are photos of my children nonetheless... taken the first day of school... as tradition dictates.

RANDOMNESS #1 - Since today's post is so late, I'm bumping everything over one day. Wednesday I will be posting a Recipe. Thursday I will be posting Wednesday Wisdom and a Seasonal Tradition. Friday I will be posting Blog Linkage and a Date.

So sorry for the inconvenience!

RANDOMNESS #2 - If you have tried to leave a comment under "Guestbooker" at the bottom of the blog, it does record your thoughts. To see all the comments, you have to click on the tiny, tiny numbers at the top. This is still not the best system, but it will have to do until I figure out something better!

RANDOMNESS #3 - I have a little story to tell you about the Roxie and Friends Back-to-School Brunch last week.

I took the chicks to the Original Pancake House on Southside. There are a lot of old buildings and funky restaurants in this little area of town. I would NOT take six 14 year-old girls to Southside during evening hours, but for a 10:00 a.m. brunch on a weekday... Well, I felt pretty comfortable.

Rookie Mistake Alert! Rookie Mistake Alert! - Never feel "comfortable" when escorting feisty and spirited 14 year-old chicks ANYWHERE!

After we ate brunch, we headed outside to take some really pretty pics around historic Southside. The fountain. The church steps. The Highlands Hotel lobby.

Finally, we were ready to call it a morning. As the girls successfully jaywalked/jayran across the busy city street (with me yelling at them as they did so), we arrived at the Big Gold Van.

I had parked next to a large, well-lit alley. In fact, it was a drive-through alley joining two of the streets. Not a dark, scary alley with dark, scary people waiting to mug us.

I noticed a HUGE bright pink and purple graffiti-type mural on the white painted brick wall. It was very well done... and so pretty.

"Girls. Everyone stand in front of that graffiti. Isn't it pretty?" I instructed.

The girls gladly struck a pose in front of the "thingie."

I was just about to snap a picture (the colors were marvelous), when a businessman carrying a sack lunch and a soda turned to cut across the alley to the next street. He stopped when he saw us. I thought he was being polite and waiting for me to snap the picture before walking through.

Instead, he started shaking his head... walked up to me and said, "I cannot BELIEVE you are taking the girls' picture in front of that sign."

I know. I know. He couldn't have known who I was. The Enchanting Belinda. Mother of three. Wife of one. Driver of the Big Gold Van. Middle School Director at church, no less!

"Why? Does it say something bad? I couldn't make it out." I continued to try to talk to him as he walked past me and the girls... still shaking his head.

Oh, I felt so bad.

"What did he say, Miss Belinda?" one of the girls asked.

"This graffiti must mean something bad because he said I shouldn't take your picture in front of it," I said staring hard at the mural.

All of the girls stood beside me and we stared at it. And then we stared at it some more. We even tilted our heads to the left... and to the right. We couldn't make out what it said. We couldn't make out what it was.

And then it occurred to me if it wasn't decent enough for me to take a picture of the girls standing in front of, it probably wasn't decent enough for them to be staring at trying to decipher. (I know. I'm brilliant that way.)

"Okay, girls. Load up." And with that, we jumped in the Big Gold Van (one picture short) and headed home to our lovely graffiti-less little town.

Just so you know, Mikie and I are heading to Southside this weekend... to try to figure out what on earth is on that wall!

50 Things I've Learned in 50 Years (Balance and Muffin Tops)

42. Balance is probably the most IMPORTANT thing you can learn and try to achieve during your first 50 years on this earth.

Spiritual Balance - Daily Bible readings, prayer, faithful attendance at church, prayer, make sure God is first in your life, prayer. (Get the picture?)

Physical Balance - Eat (the proper amounts of the right foods daily). Sleep (the proper amount of hours needed each night). Exercise. (I can't help it. You HAVE to exercise.)

Emotional and Mental Balance - Maintaining the first two things (spiritual and physical), as well as regularly taking care of important relationships in your life (spouse, children, other family members, friends).

I know. I know. It's very daunting, isn't it? In fact, I'm pretty sure if I'm here another 50 years, I'll be able to say I SUCCESSFULLY OBTAINED BALANCE in all areas of my life.

Yeah. Right.

43. In my youth, muffin tops were good things. In fact, the muffin top was arguably the best part of the muffin.

As I push toward the half-century mark, I have learned muffin tops are best left on a muffin as opposed to spilling over the top of one's low-rise blue jeans. Just saying.

Have a great Tuesday (what is left of it)! I'll be back in the morning with a FANTASTIC recipe and some Elvis stories to share. (Yes. It's that time of year... again!)

Take care, and I'll talk to you in the morning. (No. Really. I will!)

Sincerely,

The Enchanting and Ever-Elvis Lovin' Belinda