Mindless Monday

Good Monday morning!

My house is very quiet. Disturbingly, unnaturally quiet.

Austin left at 5:45 a.m. to work at the Chick.

Josh left at 6:30 a.m. to start Wallace as a Freshman.

Mikie left at 6:45 a.m. to go to the office.

I left at 7:15 a.m. to take Roxie to school...

And then there was just me!

The first day of school is always exciting, new, scary and unknown. (Feel free to add a few of your own adjectives here.)

Now I am just waiting for Josh to be home at 2:00 p.m., Roxie to be home at 3:40 p.m. and Austin to be home at 4:05 p.m.

Mikie isn't coming home. He's going to meet us at Costa's in Trussville for our back-to-school dinner at 5:30.

After much prayer and preparation, this day has finally arrived, and I think we're all going to learn a lot this year. I just hope the tests (in and out of the classroom) are easy!

Roxie and friends ate at Olexa's for their back-to-school lunch this year.

My friend, Cam, introduced me to Olexa's this Summer, and I LOVED it! Kendall, Ciara and Ragan.

It is colorful and quaint, and has the best desserts ever... White Bride's Cake and Chocolate Groom's Cake... served warm. Absolutely lovely. Ally and Roxie.

As you can see, it's a real fancy little restaurant... and the chicks behaved nicely.

Josh had the obligatory new clothes for his first day of school, but this is his favorite shirt EVER, and he wanted to wear it today. And since MJ matched, I didn't make a big deal about wearing the new stuff.

But Wednesday, he is definitely wearing his new shirt and jeans. Definitely!

You can tell he's "in a Wallace state of mind" just by the way he walks, can't you? (For any out-of-towners, that's the college jingle. "I'm in a Wallace State of mind!"

Catchy, isn't it?

The girls looked and smelled wonderful this morning. Ally, Roxie, Ragan, Kendall and Ciara.

And look! The Big Gold Van transported the chicks for the LAST time to their FIRST day of school.

Next year, everyone will be driving themselves.

Unless their tires are unexpectedly flat the first day of school next year.

Hmmm.

And except for a little "can't get all my things together" mishap for Miss Ragan...

Where some "catching up" was required...

The girls began their Sophomore year.

Unbelievable.

And I don't think I did anything to embarrass The Chick this morning. At least, I hope not!

CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST! - This is my 991st post for A Simple Life. The countdown continues!

The Contest will be simple. The rules are as follows:

Beginning today, leave your NAME followed by the word "CONTEST" in the Comment Section of A Simple Life, e-mail me (mfaulkner1306@charter.net) or go to my Facebook page.

You can enter the Contest ONCE A DAY (each and every day including Saturdays AND Sundays) until Thursday, August 30 at midnight. (Your name could be put into the drawing bowl a total of 11 times between now and Thursday, August 30!)

I will write my 1,000th post Friday morning, August 31.

I will draw from a HUGE BOWL of names, and a winner will be announced the morning of Friday, August 31.

The winner will receive a $15 Gift Certificate to one of the following restaurants:

1. Another Broken Egg
2. Original Pancake House
3. Olexa's
4. Lucia's Italian Restaurant in Helena

It will be Winner's Choice!

If you win and you live somewhere other than Alabama, you will win a $15 VISA Gift Card!

"May the odds be ever in your favor!"

(I'm going to be saying that for the next 8 POSTS!)

NEW THING! NEW THING! NEW THING! - I'm going to post one of my favorite posts each day from the past four years until August 31.

Estrogen Issues - First Posted October 25, 2010

Even though it is Mindless Monday, I did want to share a little "estrogen" humor with you today. Some days it is harder to smile than others. I wanted to make it a little easier for you this beautiful Monday!

10 WAYS TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE "ESTROGEN ISSUES"

1. Everyone around you has an attitude problem.

2. You're adding chocolate chips to your cheese omelet.

3. The dryer has shrunk every last pair of your jeans.

4. Your husband is suddenly agreeing to everything you say.

5. You're using your cell phone to dial up every bumper sticker that says "How's my driving? Call 1-800-___-____."

6. Everyone's head looks like an invitation to batting practice.

7. You're sure that everyone is scheming to drive you crazy.

8. The Ibuprofen bottle is empty, and you bought it yesterday.

9. People no longer smile and wave when they see The Big Gold Van approaching. They quickly turn onto a side street, and hope I didn't see them!

10. You replace your daily allotment of eight glasses of water with EIGHT Caramel Frappe's from McDonald's... and you dare anyone to question your decision!

Have a great Monday. Tuesday's recipe is going to be a crowd-pleaser. You don't want to miss it!

Take care, and I'll talk to you in the morning.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda