How are you? I've missed you this week!
As you can see from the heading, we've got a lot to talk about, so let's get busy.
RANDOMNESS #1 - On Monday, I told you I ran out of time while posting the Sweet 16 Festivities. And I did. I did run out of time.
This is the left-over from Sunday evening through Tuesday morning.
After an all-day Saturday volleyball tournament and Sunday church and family birthday celebration, Roxie was exhausted at 4:00 when everyone left our house. Happy, but exhausted.
She went to her room, closed her door and took a much-needed nap.
Exactly 58 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Taylor and Mary Allison had come to collect Roxie for another little surprise.
A quick tooth-brushing and hair-brushing, and she was out the door to be taken to meet a couple more girls and eat dinner at Habaneros.
I ask you... How much happy can one girl take?
Just so you know... She does not hug me like this when I wake her up unexpectedly. Roxie and Mary Allison.
And she doesn't throw her arms around me in the parking lot either. Roxie and Katlyn.
This is Roxie's "I-hope-they-don't-make-me-wear-the-giant-Mexican-hat" look. (I know it well.)
She wears the big hat well, don't you think? Taylor and Roxie.
This pic had TOO MUCH COLOR, so I toned it down a bit. Mary Allison, Taylor, Roxie, Katlyn and Kelci. Such pretty, pretty chicks.
RANDOMNESS #2 - As you might imagine, Monday was SO uneventful compared to Sunday, but we needed that quietness and sameness. You can't keep going on I'm-turning-16 adrenaline for days on end. It would drive your mother (and others) crazy.
But Monday night, while Roxie was spending her last night as a 15 year-old doing homework, picking out her outfit for her Driver's License picture, etc., some fun stuff happened in the front yard... and she found it before the sun came up Tuesday morning.
Taylor had asked me if she could decorate the yard the night before Roxie's birthday. When a teenager asks if they can decorate the yard, an adult's mind immediately thinks "toilet paper." Lots and lots of toilet paper.
Taylor told me she would do a good job, and she would be happy to clean it up Tuesday afternoon.
I told her, "No!" A rolled yard on your 16th birthday is a fun thing, and I didn't mind picking up toilet paper... not one bit.
But then, Taylor surprised even me. What a pretty, pretty birthday decoration. Balloons EVERYWHERE!
The balloons were even neatly placed exactly four feet apart all over the front yard, on Roxie's car, on the basketball goal, on the mailbox... I could go on and on.
It was breathtaking, I tell you. Taylor and Katlyn did an excellent job.
It made The Chick's day.
And then Ally drove in the driveway right before we left to take the Driver's License test.
I had told you Roxie didn't like sweets (other than caramel and Kit Kat bars), but I had forgotten about Milky Way Caramel Candy Bars, baby shower mints and ANY kind of chewing gum.
Thankfully, Ally remembered.
RANDOMNESS #3 - Then it was time to get the Driver's License. I was a little worried about Roxie because she was so hyped up on birthday happiness, I was afraid she wouldn't be able to concentrate on passing the test.
I even said, "Roxie. Why don't we get your license tomorrow. You're a little 'happied-out,' and I'm afraid it's going to affect your driving."
"No, no. I'll be fine. I just need a little caffeine to calm my nerves. Could we stop at McDonald's and get a large Coke?"
"Sure. And you can eat the candy bar and chew a pack a gum on the way to the Courthouse," said no mom EVER! (Except for The Enchanting Belinda!)
The Chick appears to be uber-confident 99 times out of a 100, but when she's nervous, she's extremely nervous.
This is a picture of her waiting for "her turn" to take the driving test.
She was a caffeinated, sugar-high mess.
Then she passed her test, and all of her uber-confidence returned... and then some.
And she gave me a ride home.
RANDOMNESS #4 - Okay. That's enough about The Chick. There are other members of The Faulkner Five who are crying out for attention.
That's right.
The Beagles have had enough.
My beagles can be described by one word each season.
In the Summer, The Beagles are LETHARGIC.
In the Winter, The Beagles are UNDECIDED. ("Do I want inside? No. I want outside. Nope. Definitely a mistake. I want inside.") And so it goes.
In the Spring, The Beagles are YOUTHFUL. They forget they are 70 years of age and they frolic and dig and play with puppy-like abandon.
In the Fall, The Beagles are NOCTURNAL. Yep. You read it correctly. They are up all night! Well, from 1:54 a.m. until 5:03 a.m.
Because animals are creatures of habit (which, by the way, I usually enjoy), in the Fall of each and every year, some kind of woodland animal makes an appearance in our neighborhood at approximately 1:54 a.m. each and every morning.
And although The Beagles are in a large fenced-in backyard, they try their best to scare, attack, ward off, etc., the woodland varmint.
This is, of course, their territory. They are very protective.
And they are very loud.
I don't know if it is a fox or a giant woodchuck (we've seen both in our neighborhood), or perhaps a small bear or coyote (we have not seen these in our neighborhood). Whatever it is, it causes my poor dogs to sleep ALL DAY LONG.
Except when I go outside to take their picture.
Sparkle will raise her head to look at me, but she will not stand. You can tell she's tired by looking at her half-opened eyes.
And Copper... Well, if I didn't know better, I would think Copper was a much younger dog at times.
I'm going to leave the gate open tonight, and hopefully, whatever it is will be chased away by two very heroic beagles tomorrow morning around 1:55 a.m.
Or vice versa.
I'll let you know the outcome.
Blog Linkage - Get ready for some good readin'!
1. Go to www.kellehampton.com and read yesterday's post entitled "Small Things." And don't forget to enjoy the pictures.
2. Go to Confessions of a Pioneer Woman under My Blog List and click on Photography at the top of her page. She's having another contest, and the entries are really, really good.
Little Donkey/Steel City Pops Date
If you have a kiddo who enjoys Mexican food AND popsicles, this is the date for you!
My friend, Cam mentioned these two places last week. She didn't eat at Little Donkey, but she did enjoy a popsicle at Steel City Pops. In fact, she enjoyed a Mango Jalapeno popsicle.
This intrigued me.
MJ (My Josh) didn't have classes yesterday, so I asked him to try a couple of new restaurants with me, and being the eternally-hungry 18 (almost 19) year-old he is, he hopped into The Big Gold Van.
We went to Little Donkey in Homewood. (It's in a little strip mall along with Steel City Pops. Is it just me, or does Homewood have the BEST strip malls in the world? Yeah. I thought so.)
Little Donkey is an authentic Mexican restaurant. And when I say authentic, I mean I haven't heard of all of the items listed on the menu.
For example, Josh ordered from the Mexican Street Sandwiches portion of the menu... and it was SO good. Not too spicy, but absolutely delicious. (The bread was out of this world!)
I ordered a small taco with barbecue pork, pineapple, cilantro and feta cheese on a homemade tortilla. Oh... my... goodness.
I want to move to Mexico... or maybe Homewood.
It's a pretty restaurant. Colorful and comfortable at the same time. I'm taking Mikie there very, very soon.
The sign may be simple, but the food is not. So, so good.
Make sure you or your date orders a Mexican Street Sandwich. You won't be sorry.
I know what you're thinking. "Where's the pineapple?"
It's on the bottom, my friend. On the bottom.
And how cute is this little guy?
Yep. Take your date for lunch to Little Donkey, and then walk two doors down to Steel City Pops for dessert.
Again, it has a simple sign, but the popsicles are anything but SIMPLE.
The lady at Little Donkey told me to try Strawberry Balsamic, but I had my heart set on Chocolate Chili Pepper.
Thank goodness, Josh ordered a plain banana popsicle. I had to take bites of his when my mouth started feelin' the burn.
It was good, but there was a burn!
Next time, I'm definitely going to order the Strawberry Balsamic!
Weekend Happenings
Our weekend can be summed up in two words... Josh's Birthday!
I'm sure there will be a few pics of Roxie, but not as many as the last two posts.
Like it or not, Josh, you're gonna be on the blog!
I'm going to finish my posts on Ovarian Cancer Monday. I don't want to rush through it, and I'll have more time this weekend.
Have a tremendous Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It's the weekend. Anything can happen!
I'll be back Monday morning with information and pictures galore. (You'll want to stop by, I am sure.)
Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
P.S. We play things other than volleyball around here!
And I'm pretty sure there's a football around here somewhere, too! I'll have to find that this weekend.
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