I am so annoyed at myself. There is something I wanted at Michael's this week and I had a 40% off coupon and I forgot all about it, until I woke up this morning, when the coupon wouldn't be any good, and remembered. Grr.

Football stuff: yes, that play was slightly controversial. But, sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it goes against you. There are angles of the replay that show his foot on the white line before he had control of the ball. Also, Bama's defense had been shutting down the LSU qb. We were going to win the ballgame. Yesterday I was much more stressed about losing the ballgame than enjoying the possibility of winning. I'm sure I'll be feeling that way next week against Mississippi State, not so much with UTChattanooga. But so already dreading the Auburn game. And then Florida in the SEC game, then possibility of a national championship. One game at a time, but we'll enjoy it when it's finished. I hope.

There was an article by Ivan Maisel on ESPN.com this week about Rolando McClain that is really good. It had a great line in it and I want to remember it - "If (Saban's) defensive playbook were a math text, it would be calculus. McClain knows it like a Tuscaloosa first-grader knows that two plus two equals 3rd-and-6. " Heh. This is so true. I learned my sevens times tables easily because it's scores in a football game - 7, 14, 21, 28, 35. Hee.

My dad saw Ivan in the press box last night and told him that I'd really liked what he wrote and had called my dad to read it to him. That tickles me that my dad did that, and that Ivan sent his thanks to me.

Are there bad things from drinking acai juice? I'm trying to decide if I want to start doing some immunity boosters as sick people season begins. People thing that it's a great idea to go paint pottery when you are sick. We spend a lot of time cloroxing the place after people leave.

Henry has learned how to set a table. Now he is obsessed. Last night (while I was trying to watch the ballgame), he decided that he MUST set the coffee table for a dinner party for ALL HIS FRIENDS. He then began to name them, while counting them off on his fingers. He named the same four kids about eight times, in a different order each time. Then he invited the cats to come to the dinner party. He made everyone hot dog bites. Now he wants to do the same this morning for breakfast.

I think in a minute we're going to go off on a walking adventure. I think that will be a good idea. Since it looks like Hurricane/TS Ida will be visiting us this week, it will be a wet one and we'll need to get all of our outdoorsness while we can.

Today I got a friend request on Facebook that was a porn spammer. That was a first, and another instance of Facebook becoming more and more like Twitter.

My son is all about colors. When he tells me about things, he always identfies things by color, and sometimes that's all he says. So, you have to know which book is the purple book (Marveltown, because the endpapers are purple. No other reason), which pajamas are the red ones (Mickey Mouse), etc. Yesterday he decided he wanted to make an orange and white cake. We were going to the grocery anyway, so this was pretty easy - we got a mix and some food color gel. It was fun to turn half the cake orange and then swirl them together. We did the same with the frosting. The cake itself wasn't very yummy - a little dry and I cooked it a few minute too long, but the three-year-old wasn't too concerned. We had an orange and yellow cake, and that's what mattered.

Today I hope will be a busy day at work. We need it. We have two parties and that generally means we'll be busy. I don't know why that is, but it's as if when there aren't parties scheduled, there is something going on that just keeps people from coming in. This upcoming week should be nuts - Veterans Day on Wednesday, then a party on Friday, three on Saturday and two on Sunday. Plus walk-in business. Christmas is coming, we can feel it in the air.

I painted two really cute samples this week. Now to just get the time to glaze and fire them. If Hannah and I can get the stuff we want to get done today (and I think we can) then I can do some of the other stuff I need to do. This is the time of the year when I would really like to just move into the shop. I never have enough time to do all that I want to do. Michael and Henry might not appreciate that, though.

We overslept this morning. The entire house is sleepy, I think. The cats weren't up thump thump thumping up and down the hall, which is what usually wakes me up. When I did get up (at 6:30 - seriously, that's an hour and a half later than I usually get up) I woke up the cats. I got up and made the coffee and woke Michael up at 7. It's 7:30 and Henry is still asleep. We'll see how this day plays out.

Meanwhile, ::yawn::

The store is reasonably assembled. I still don't have the front windows finished, but I'll be able to finish it today. Or by tonight. We use the party room to store all our junk when we are doing things like this. Except that tomorrow we have two birthday parties and Sunday we have one. So... need the party room. Then I have to take over the party room again and start making ornaments like a mad woman because it's Christmas season and people want to paint them. Then next weekend we have a party on Thursday, one on Friday (I think - she may not have called me back after all), three on Saturday and two on Sunday. It is going to be a CRAAAAZY weekend.

Just looked over at the sofa, and the cats are already asleep again. Practically a cliche at this point.

I am not getting anything accomplished. It is making me insane.

Yesterday I was on my way to work early so I could go in while I had another employee working. On my way to the store, my worker called. She had gotten a call from the police department - her apartment had been broken into. Someone had come home at lunch and seen her door opened and called the police. So of course I told her to go on. She's had the worst string of bad luck in the past year. She first had to take a 30% paycut from her fulltime job (as they laid off the rest of her department) and then after four months she lost her job, too. She's a fantastic graphic designer, but in a town where Time, Inc. has laid off about two dozen graphics people in the past few years.... well, the job market is saturated. So she's working for me, and as a cashier at a grocery store, and doing any freelance work she can get ahold of.

So of course she went home, but those two hours of having help was really something I was needing. I'm at bare-bones on staffing right now and I'm working myself to save payroll money when I can. But yesterday showed that if something goes wrong I'm left hanging.

I am however at that point where it will all start to come together. I just have to get it all finished by about 6 today. I think it can be done. Of course I have a doctor's appointment at 11 because THAT'S what I need today.

Speaking of the doctor, I'm three pounds away from the goal I had given myself to be at when I had this appointment. She's going to be pleased with my progress, but I would have been a lot happier to go in at the goal weight.

Now I need to go make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the boy who has decided he wants a picnic breakfast. This will be fun.

Yesterday we started doing a total floor-change at the store. I am completely overwhelmed by this. I know what I want it to look like, but until we take all the shelves apart and redo them, it may not happen.

In other words, I have to make what I've got right now work, and then I can can rework what I've got later.

It doesn't help that I'm working sporadic hours, so I feel like nothing is being finished. Frustrating.

I have so much inventory right now, getting ready for Christmas. So many platters... wishful thinking, hoping I guessed right. I know that after Christmas I will not carry such a heavy inventory load again until next Christmas.

I have one incredibly awesome employee right now, and three less than stellar ones. I need to hire another awesome employees. One of the LTS will be better I think, one not so much, and one is a temporary fix. Awesome employee is so good that it makes it hard to work with the others.

In household news, Henry is waking up at 5 in the morning crying. He's not really awake, sort of in a dream state. Today he wanted me to read to him a bedtime story. He handed me a book and rolled over and went back to sleep. The worst part is that I bolt awake when I hear him, and then I'm up for the day. The good part is that he doesn't seem to remember that he wakes up. The better part is that he isn't crawling into bed with us when it happens. I keep waiting on that.

A few months ago, I got a friend request on FB from someone whose name I didn't recognize. We're from the same hometown, and had lots of friends in common, but he's a year younger than I am, and went to a different school. I kept thinking that I'd remember him, or maybe he was friends with my younger brother, since he obviously went to the trouble of sending me the request. I am the first to admit that I don't remember a LOT of things from before college. I just... don't remember.

Anyway. Today, one of our mutual friends posted condolences on his wall. Apparently, he passed away last week. I don't know the details. And I still don't know who he is.

In "I live in a strange state" news: last night our local CBS station did a story about two stores next door to each other: Hoover Tactical Weapons (sells automatic weapons) & Love Stuff (sells sex toys for consenting, maybe even happily married, adults). The weapons store is ok, but they're trying to shut the other store down. Oh, Alabama. You so crazy. I've heard they have the "Southern Baptist Special" where you can call in an order and pick it up at a back door and never have to walk in or park your car, in case you might be seen.

Also, this reminds me of my favorite joke:  Just as Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the head of their church, Southern Baptists do not recognize each other in the liquor store.

Monday morning. Post-Halloween.

What a bummer.

We took down the Halloween window display last night. The window looks so bare. It will be the weekend before I get the new windows up. The goal is Thursday, however, since my town is having an "open house" night Thursday. Since I'm off the beaten path, we get ignored in those promotions. But I want the store to look good for people driving by.

My Halloween window was awesome. I think my Christmas window will be okay. I'll be looking at it for two months, so... but I'm not falling in love with it like I want to.

I think one of my new hires isn't working out. She works with me on Thursday, so we'll see if it's getting better. If not, ithink it might be time for me to move on. I don't have time for dead wood at Christmas time.

My to-do list has suddenly gotten very long. I need to be super-organized this week. See if that can happen. It will start by not sleeping until 6:30. I need to use the time change to my advantage,

Halloween was much fun for Henry. The purple monster costume was a hit - and I think Henry learned a valuable lesson: homemade costumes and good manners score you more loot.



That purple pumpkin got stuffed. We came home because it was full. 

My husband got into a bad mood yesterday because I had to work (which, whatever and also grow up) and he being a pill until we went out trick-or-treating, but Henry's good mood fixed that. One neighbor had a sheet up in the yard and projected The Great Pumpkin on it. That was cool.

After we got home, I went to a late dinner with my cousin-in-law Monty. He was in town to go to a funeral - the father of a coworker. He's a HUGE Yankees fan, so we found a nice place showing the game. Great food. I adore him.

Time change has affected us all. I've been up since 5:30, Henry has been up since 6:30. It's "just" 7 and we're all hanging out. I think I'm going to have some cheese toast. We're going to brunch at 10, but I'm pretty sure I won't last.

It's Halloween.  And it's raining.

Mother fucker.

However, the local weather guys are ALL saying it will be cleared up by 6 p.m. We'll see. Otherwise, we're going to be driving around trick-or-treating at exciting places like Publix and other indoor options.

The purple monster outfit is finished. It's mainly a bunch of purple and lavender felt, cut into strips and glued on a white t-shirt that we sprayed with purple hair spray. Oh, and that purple hair spray? Is really more.... fuschia. Pink-ish. Henry is fine with it, and is sooooo ready to spray his hair tonight.

My stepson Joey is going back to my mother-in-law's house for a while. We "don't include him" in things, is what he called and told her. Of course, when we walk in the house he gets up, does not speak, and goes into his room. He eats in there, stays on the phone for hours, and doesn't come out until we go to bed. He then goes and gets a six-pack and stays up all night playing WoW and drinking, then goes to bed. This morning I woke up to find the beer cans still on the coffee table and the television not turned off. Of course, I can't find the remote that turns the television off (yeah... one changes the channel, one turns it on and off. Miserable set-up). So, we don't include him, but he doesn't include himself, either. I was talking to my friend about it, and she said it's like he's a miserable 14-year-old. And it's true, only with the added alcohol.

Now, my relationship with my mother-in-law is interesting. I think she is nice, but she can be nicety. She still talks to my husband's first wife (who is... interesting). She makes decisions about things like holidays and then tells us what we are doing, but never asks about what we'd like to do or what my family is doing, so I have to be the bitch and stomp my foot and go No, we're going to do this instead. I try to not react just for the sake of reacting. But she's pouting because we're going to be at my parent's house on Christmas, but she wants us at her house for Thanksgiving. One or the other, not both. Sorry, Memaw.

I am going into work today to get my staff starting on a few projects. We'll take down the Halloween windows and start putting up Christmas next week. I want to do an entire floor change, and that's so hard. I also need to find a chop saw to do some of what I'm wanting. Sunday will be fun! I'll miss the Halloween windows, thought. They are pretty.

Trick or Treat to everyone today! I hope you get only candy you like!

This is the recipe for the poundcake I make every Christmas. It's written on a piece of notebook paper so fragile at this point that I'm afraid I'm going to lose it. I'm putting it a few places so I can hope to find it again.

This is so good. I need to make some soon.

( Yummy! )