So, it looks like the stars were just not aligning to spell "Vegas" for me. On top of Jason's job keeping us here, AND getting sick, Grammy, who was originally going to babysit, missed her flight! So, we may not have even made ours anyway! Oh well, goes to show that things work out the way they're supposed to. The good thing is that she is still coming, and will actually be here any minute. So this one will be quick.

I just wanted to show you the cute gift I got from Courtney for my bee-day. How many times have you thrown your hot curling iron into your suitcase? I do it almost every time! And now I won't have to pack it in with my shoes!

If you want one, you  can go here. And if my stupid links still aren't working, then you can find it at www.verabradley.com.

And while I'm recommending stuff, I've been wanting to tell you about the awesome landscaper we found a few months back. His name is Morris. It took us a long time to find someone that actually showed up...let alone that did a good job, and was honest. So, if you are in San Antonio, and need someone great to do your yard, you can email him at lawnsoftexas@yahoo.com.

And while I'm at it, anyone else have any good recommendations or tips?

Either way, have a great weekend y'all.

This was on my doorstep yesterday afternoon. Sandee, originally a client, turned assistant, turned sweet friend had left it there. btw, it's not real. :) Isn't it cute? Thank you Sandee! You are truly one of the most thoughtful people I know.

Also, thanks to everyone who left comments and voicemails, and sent cards. And to all the girls last night who made me laugh at all the wine-related birthday gifts. I guess I'm easy to shop for...ha! Tonight I will be hitting the chicken soup. I think I caught the virus that the girls had. So I apologize if you're waiting to hear from me via email. I will get back to work tomorrow. But didn't want to let the day pass without saying THANKS to everyone who is out there who sent wishes for a happy day. You make a girl feel lucky...snot nose and all.    :0)

I think I jinx myself when I say I'm going to post over the weekend. Annie ended up getting a fever which killed some Friday night plans for dinner with DD and Beau. Saturday, I took the girls to ballet, but didn't want to push it. So we just hung around here and relaxed for the rest of the weekend. And by "relaxed", I mean, I begged and guilted Jason into helping me re-paint Chance's room. It would have been no big deal, had it not been for that god-awful wallpaper border we had to remove. First of all, whoever invented that pointless solution that "dissolves" it, was on crack. My fingertips are still raw. Not to mention the sticky MESS that covered everything. At one point, I contemplated burning the house down. Because I think building it from the ground up would have been easier. And even though now I hate wallpaper (deeply), I have to admit that the pain of it is slightly like child birth. Because every time I look into the new Shiny Green Big Boy Room, I have to repress the desire to canon-ball onto his bed. So that's success, right? Now I just have to shoot and hang up a few really huge black and white prints of him, to top it all off.

And speaking of needing to shoot photos of my own kids. I dropped Emily off for her first day of pre-school on Tuesday, and didn't even bring my camera. Not even the phone. Luckily my friend Tara was there to say, "WTF Maile, here's mine. Take some shots and I'll email them to you." Oh, and as if that's not bad enough, listen to this! On my way out of class, an old man who was standing at the door says to me, "Don't worry sweetie, she'll be fine." I didn't know what he meant, and just as I was about to say, "Oh no, she's been her for two years, she's crazy about pre-school!"...I realized this man had thought that I'd been crying. Yep. 1 week of getting up at the crack + 0 mascara = looking SO BAD that you might as well be bawling your eyes out. So I just said, "Oh, thanks." and smiled. And then ran to the car to look at my sleep deprived eyes in the rear view mirror.   

And that's how the rest of the week has been: a sequence of one frustrating, or worrysome thing after another. And tomorrow's my birthday (insert photo of Debbie Downer here). Want to know how I'm not going to be celebrating? Well, I'm not going to be getting on a plane to Vegas. Nor will I be sleeping in, or drinking myself silly  with my friends, while enjoying the first vacation with my husband since our son was born 8 years ago. We planned it months ago, scheduled Grammy to fly in. Then Jason's job turned him into an indentured slave. Turns out a project he's working on is more important than my spa date. So I spent Monday pouting. Tuesday, I moved on to "oh well". And I'm working on getting to "look on the bright side".

Because there are lots of bright sides. For instance, tonight is girl's night out.. My Mystic Tan is a streaking, but I'm excited. AND, Grammy's still coming for the weekend! That could mean Seaworld, or a pedicure, or a date night. Or maybe even another wallpaper-free home project. I'm feeling very nest-y these days (no I'm not pregnant). I think it's knowing the holidays are right around the corner. Feels like transition. 

Isn't he dreamy? Thanks Laura and Patrick! And thank you to my good friends DD and Katy for the referral! Cupcakes are coming your way today, and I don't want to hear anything about your diet either!

So it's Friday before the long weekend and I'm totally caught up. Miracles happen. Today I'll be focusing on the other important parts of my life, like using a gift certificate to the spa that my thoughtful friend DeAnna gave me. Then I will brave the self-tanning machine again. I'm too lazy to find the story I wrote a couple years ago about my Mystic Tanning near- death experience. Suffice it to say it should've been called Auschwitz Tanning Chamber. Since then, Katy found one that isn't as traumatic. You still have to get into the coffin box of horror, but the machine-lady-voice warns you before each pummeling of toxins. I did it once, and have been putting off going back. But girls night is tonight, so I have no more room for procrastinating. The things we do to hide ten pounds.

Tomorrow I get to take the girls to their first ballet lesson of the year (woo!), and Sunday we're going to a four year old's birthday party at a castle. Um, how guilty do I feel about Emily's birthday now?! :0) I will bring my camera, and might even blog over the weekend...seeing as I'm totally caught UP! Yippee!!

If you live in San Antonio, maybe you noticed that the Living show has a new format now. On Monday, we went down to surprise and congratulate Shelly. Then she said if we promised to turn off our cell phones, we could watch the whole show from their new prop couch. It was fun. And she was so cool under pressure, even after the main feature of the show had to be cancelled. They'd originally planned to interview a bunch or mommies at a coffee shop about the first day of school. But the truck broke down, and she had to fill five minutes on the fly. That's when I would have broken into terets and passed out. But she filled them up like it was nothing. Go girl!

The groupies.

Congrats again Shell!