Happy Birthday ARM!!

And when I say that, I'm not referring to one of my upper appendages, rather my dear Angela Ruth. Yeah, she doesn't have word-forming initials any longer, but that's how I know her. Today Angela is 23 and I hope she had a Happy Happy Birthday! Her and Clara celebrated, so we'll have more on that later. For now, I'm going to do my last birthday list (maybe... it's getting too time-consuming). Angela says she looks up to me, but everyone knows the dorky sister (me) always looks up to the cool sister (Angela), no matter who's older. Here are 23 things Angela does better than me/is better at than me: 1. decorating 2. accessorizing 3. being a good friend 4. designing 5. creative thinking 6. working out 7. buying gifts 8. writing 9. reading 10. memorizing 11. learning and understanding the Gospel 12. closing her eyes in pictures 13. buying cute shoes 14. creating her own style 15. taking pictures 16. getting arrested 17. grades 18. accepting different people 19. being attractive 20. playing the piano 21. eating healthy 22. appreciating helvetica and 23. dressing. Anyone that knows Angela knows she's an amazing and brilliant little girl and I happen to be very proud that I'm her sister. But who wouldn't be? I love you Angela and can't wait until we live next door again. Ha ha. :)

Okay, I went through some old pictures and died laughing when I found two with Angela's eyes shut... Ang, that's not a new thing, sorry. Also, I found so many of me loving Angela. I LOVED and still LOVE my sweet little sister. Finally, you might all dispute number 23 above after looking at this picture. Are you serious!?!?! We really dressed in those clothes? I don't think that was EVER in style!

Little Birthday Goose

One year ago today Clara joined our little family. I still remember the day perfectly and how exciting it was to experience child birth. I couldn't imagine having a little baby of my own to love and hold whenever I wanted. It's one of those things that you have to experience to really know what it's like, you just can't imagine (for me, anyway). I remember having her, them giving her to me after she was cleaned up and thinking, hmmm, I must be one of those moms that it will take a little while to develop that bond. Sure enough, my love for her grew exponentially over the next few days and I began to understand the love of a mother.


Looking back over the last year I think how different my life is now and I sometimes think how I felt happy, but now looking back, my happiness pales in comparison to what it is now. I guess my wise sister Rachel was right when she told me having kids is like paying tithing, you don't realize the blessings of it in your life until you do it. There have been many times when I have experienced a high from the joy that Clara has been in our home. Special moments where she smiles at me or giggles and I am filled with this euphoric feeling that is literally a natural high. The burning in my chest is nothing less than my heart swelling with love that I have this marvelous opportunity of raising such a precious little spirit.

From day one, well, actually from the first time I felt her move in my tummy, Clara really hasn't stopped moving except when she sleeps. She is quite active and as she gets older, her adorable little personality becomes more and more obvious. Clara has a very strong, independent personality but is also very loving and sensitive. She certainly enjoys attention and to entertain anyone and everyone. She is a very happy baby and is rarely grumpy unless she is hungry, tired or sick. She loves to scrunch her nose when she smiles.


I often worry about whether or not I will be able to teach her everything she needs to know and if I can somehow help her gain a strong enough testimony so that she will stay on the straight and narrow. I often think to myself that if kids knew how much their parents loved them, they would never do anything wrong. Unfortunately, you can't understand that love until you;re a parent. I can't help but think that our Heavenly Father must have similar thoughts... "If only they knew how much I love them!" That must be why love is so influential and can be so effective in inspiring others to do good. Hopefully Clara always knows how much Jason and I love her and want her to be happy. We want the best for her and the way we raise her will be based on that.

Clara loves to "talk", play with mom and dad, explore new things, play with her toys, tickle me and then laugh about it, be a goofball, go outside and chew on things. Everyday is happier because of Clara and I am so glad I've had her sweet little spirit to keep me sane this last year. I love this little girl more than words can tell and it seems sometimes more than my little heart can handle.

Don't Judge

Parents of sockless and/or shoeless kids really shouldn't be judged... I got Clara ready, instantly picked up the camera to try to get a few smiley pictures since she was extremely happy and this is what unfolded in less than a minute. Why do I bother?

Food

It seems pretty much everything that's been going on in my life lately relates to food, which isn't a bad thing. But first I have to clarify that on my last post where I shared Jason and my conversation about my hair, he corrected me. At the end, he also said he liked my hair because he really just likes my face. Oh how sweet... On Tuesday I met some of my old co-workers for lunch at Cheesecake Factory. We had a good time joking around with each other and catching up. I wish I wasn't so far from the office so I could go visit more often. Afterwards, Clara and I walked around the Biltmore for a little bit. I love shopping, even if I don't buy anything. Tuesday night I was up late again. You see, I got another one of my great ideas. I wanted to do something for my co-workers at KS and MBP for Christmas, so I decided to make sugar cookies. They looked beautiful when they were done, but it was almost 2 in the morning and I still had work I absolutely had to do. So yeah, it turned out to be not such a bright idea. I didn't get a picture, which means I was really tired. I worked until about 330am and went to bed wondering why I do that so frequently.

Wednesday morning I had a meeting at KS for their retirement plan and it went great. I love productive meetings! After that I delivered all my goodies. Is this gross? For lunch Wednesday, we had cheese crisps. I love it when some of the cheese escapes the confines of the tortilla and gets fried. I think when I was little my mom would fry cheese, so I decided to make some fried cheese. It's kind of a gross thought, but if you think about it, all of the greese seperates so it's probably less fattening than eating straight cheese. Please tell me someone else does this!

Wednesday evening was KS' Christmas party at The Cheesecake Factory. Nylene watched Clara and we had a great time. I figure there's no need to have a family reunion when more families show up at the KS party than the actual reunions! HA! Jason got this HUGE burrito and Angela was completely fascinated by her mini magical lamp (too bad this one had salad dressing and not a genie in it). There was something funny going on with my food, but I was surrounded by good company. I'm not exactly sure what Jason's goal was in this picture, but if it was to look like a creepy crazy man, I'd say he accomplished it. After dinner, we had a little gift game and Jason and I scored! Jason got an ipod nano (which, I might add, he's pretty much been playing with ever since... even if we had money to buy him something nice for Christmas I don't think he would have liked it near as much as that thing!) and I got a giftcard to Kohl's. Oh goody, now I can buy Clara some clothes and not stress out about it. It is "funny" to me how little things like that always happen at just the right time.

Today I had a BOD meeting to go to in Phoenix. I took Clara and ended up just walking in, saying hi (while the administrative assistant held Clara) asking if anyone had anything for me, and leaving. But, they had invited me to stay for their Annual Steak Fry, so I stayed around to eat and mingle. Jake Flake was there and he kindly held Clara for me while I got my food. He's such a funny guy. I had a good time overall. It was, however, a relief to have it over because it was my last meeting of the week. I've had a lot of meetings this week and I'm not used to it so I'm trying to figure out how to keep things in order when I'm running around like crazy.

Okay, I have all these random comments in my head that have been making me laugh:
My neighbor's four year old son as his mom was changing his little sister's blow out: "Neighbor! Hurry come look, Kimberly exploded!"
Court at the party referring to his mom: "...Grandma Santa Clause" (I tactfully asked if that was the same as Misses Clause)
Jason, after saying bye, but just before he hung up the phone with Clint: "Enjoy your chocolates." (Clint got chocolate nuts at the party). This one, you probably had to hear it to enjoy, but I'm still laughing thinking about it. Jason said it so seriously and with no sarcassam in his voice and it was so quick Clint barely snuck in a laugh before the phone hung up.

Trains, Work & Men vs. Women

Having a husband is fun stuff! Lately when Clara and I go do something, Jason comes... what a new and enjoyable concept for us. Last Saturday we just kind of hung out. My mom bought me a desk at Goodwill for my "office" (aka the Guest Room that I'm no longer allowed to call the "front room"). It's old and not the most beautiful thing, but it fits PERFECTLY in the tiny little nook that was previously just wasted space. In the evening, we went to Wal Mart and then to Chili's. Jason got a little bonus and I told him he could eat wherever he wanted for working so hard for our family and I wouldn't complain about spending the money. We were right by Chili's and he loves anything that sells meat, so that was his choice based on convenience. The last several times I've eaten there, my food was pretty blah. The conclusion I came to after having the same experience is that it's not what I order, but the whole restaurant.

Sunday Clara and I stayed home from Church per Jason's request. Clara has been sick so not only did he not think it was a good idea to expose her to other kids, but he wanted her to try to get some rest. She did get a great rest, but I missed Church. I look forward to being uplifted, socializing and being reminded of the covenants I have made and the renewed energy knowing I can start the upcoming week fresh and work on being a better person.

We went to my mom's for dinner and afterwards went to see a train display. There were several homes that had these trains on display, but we just went to the one in my parent's neighborhood. Wow! I'm not sure that's what I would do with my disposable income if I had that much, but I can see how one can start something like that and become totally obsessed. It was really neat. It was like a little mini city. I especially loved the tiny little REAL plants all around. I didn't have my camera, but we took some (several, ha) with Kathryn's camera, but they are being held ransome until I give her pictures from the last four years... Don't worry Kathryn, that's fair, I don't blame you. :)

Monday was another action-packed day. I have so much going on this week and luckily, it's work and play all mixed together. In the morning I had to go meet with the Treasurer for my new client. I was so grateful my neighbor was willing to babysit; it made it so much easier than having to take Clara to someone's in the car. It was weird being in my "old" work clothes and carrying my baby in them. The two worlds never really existed at the same time, so it was weird. I was gone for just over an hour and glad I don't have to do that more than I do. The old life I dabble in... (makes me sound like some kind of addict) And the new life I LOVE to death...The rest of the day Clara and I played, delievered a few Christmas goodies and went and got my hair cut. Last time I got my hair cut, it wasn't as short as I had mentally prepared myself for. This time, it was much shorter! I was thinking the last time it was this short and the conclusion was NEVER! I actually love it, but didn't think Jason would. This is not the best picture, but the other one's I took make me look like a googly-eyed big nose freak, so this will have to do.We went to my mom's to meet Jason and seconds after my mom saw me she complimented my new hair. Niether James, Daniel nor my dad said a thing. I told my mom Jason wouldn't like it, but at least he'd notice because last time I cut off like 5 inches and he didn't even notice. So, Jason met me at my mom's and we went to meet lots of family and friends at the Train Park in Scottsdale. Well, we drove all the way there, still nothing. We got out, walked to the park, found our group and Suzanne said, "Your hair! I love it." At that point Jason didn't have an option but to notice. Just a reminder of men vs. women and confirmation that my husband is 100% man for not noticing I had chopped 9 inches or so of my hair off! Jason told me it made me look like a little kid and I was full of energy and a bit hyper and he asked if it's cause I looked like a kid. I told him to honestly tell me if he liked it and here's what our conversation was like:

J: Why'd you do that?
A: It's cute, isn't it?
J: Yeah
A: Seriously, don't you like it?
J: Sure
A: Tell me the truth, I won't care if you don't
J: No, I like it... It will grow.

We rode the train and the carousel and had a great time. I had never been to that park and highly recommend it, especially the train ride through the many Christmas lights. We waited probably almost an hour for the train and that was after we cut Cindy who'd been there forever. The way I saw it, it was a good time to visit and take pictures. Clara was super giggly and full of smiles. She loves having Jason around.
The park is free to get in and the train is $2/person and kids under 3 are free with a paying adult (it's just a little train, not the one below). Jason said it was the Desert Polar Express. Ha ha. It was weird because I felt like we needed to hurry because we were wasting Jason's time... Kind of like after I quit every time I hung out with someone I felt like I was wasting precious time. Oooo la la, I can't wait until he never has to go back to school! :)

Past Week

I had so much going on this past week and yesterday was certainly the peak of it all. Luckily for all my loyal blog readers, I survived and can begin to post again. :) I know you missed me. Let's see, Sunday and Monday were pretty typical. Tuesday was Jason's last final and that's when it became a realization what a great week this was going to be. Jason would be around A LOT more, we got a final approval on our loan and I found out our first mortgage payment for our home wouldn't be due until February (since everything took so darn long). Really, the two biggest stresses in my life the last few months have been not having a husband around at all and the beautiful home I've grown to laugh at. So, having those eliminated and relieved, respectively, I couldn't help but be oh so thankful. You know how sometimes you selfishly and impatiently wonder for so long if your prayers are being heard and then all of a sudden it dawns on you that yes, they are heard? Well, I had one of those comforting moments today. And I enjoyed it. That night I went to Angela's to get Clara's invites for her birthday party. It's no surprise that they turned out darling. Oh Angela, you never cease to amaze me.

Wednesday got a little busy, but mostly because my client had another "urgent" matter. I get so frustrated doing everything I can to stay organized and then because of these firedrills I end up being totally frazzled at the end of the day. This time, I told him his emergencies always seem to land on my busy days. I did what I could and told him I'd finish the rest that night. I made sugar cookies for the Scouts, had to go to the store to get something for dinner, got dinner in the oven, went to Scouts, came home to finish dinner and pretend to clean my kitchen. It looked like a bomb exploded in my front room... and one in my kitchen. I got the kitchen done minus the dishes before Ryan, Kathryn and the twins came over for dinner. You see, we were supposed to get the papers to sign for our house, but they never showed up. Needless to say, who can turn down my cooking? Ha ha, just kidding. We had our HOA meeting at our house and then after Clara went to sleep, I went in my room dreading the amount of work I had. First, I had to organize some papers in my room and clean. I can't think clearly if my surroundings aren't tidy. When I was in school, I couldn't study if my room was messy. Anyway, I worked until about 200am, fell asleep, woke up (thankfully!) at 330am, worked until 630am and then got to sleep until 815am. That was no fun being awake working when Jason's alarm went off to wake up!

Then Thursday hit. Ugh. After getting VERY little sleep, I woke up having the following things on my schedule: KS' payroll, bank to sign and notarize two pounds of papers, Suzanne's to make ginger bread houses (okay, so I didn't HAVE to do this, but I have missed our Thursday get togethers and I was SO excited to make ginger bread houses, so I decided to squeeze it in), pick up a gift at my mom's to mail with my gift to Emily, go to the post office and copy and Fed-Ex the closing docs. The day went pretty smooth. I was told the papers were to be here by 1030, but really, it was Noon. They came at 1100, so that is better than Noon I suppose. We sure had fun: Ryan, Kathryn, Jason and I at the bank signing oh so many papers while trying to keep Clara, Elsa and Lucy happy, keeping the papers in order and making sure all of the specified ones got notarized. Thanks to Ryan and Kathryn for doing this favor for us. Now as soon as the house sells I can take them to T. Cooks. After that I went to Suzanne's for a bit and then to my mom's. I am pretty stubborn and proud, which probably makes things in my life more complicated than they need to be because I rarely ask for help. I did ask my mom if she could watch Clara while I did my other errands. Of course she was thrilled to help me and I decided I want to buy a house as close to her as possible. My goodness it would be convenient! I went and did payroll, copied and Fed-Exed our docs and went to the post office with TWO free hands. It got done so quickly and Clara got a little nap. Once that was done, I felt much relief because all of my "time sensitive" to do's were done. Later that night, we met Beka and Danny and their boys at the Temple to see the lights. Lights are pretty and Arizona is FREEZING cold right now. Danny and Jason were walking ahead of Beka and I, each with a stroller, and one of the sister missionaries told them congratulations on such cute kids. Danny put his arm around Jason and said thanks. Hmmm, should I be concerned? We went to Danny's parent's after and probably shouldn't have. Poor little Clara just coughed her head off the entire time so we left.

And now for today. Of course my little client had another emergency, but I got it taken care of. Clara wouldn't nap and you can tell the poor baby is miserable. We had our Ward party tonight and it was different. Karen came. We were in several groups and we went to different rooms where parts of the Christmas story were told. It was good, but too long, especially with kids. After the dinner, Jason went home with Clara because she was so sick, but it was even too long for an adult. Afterwards we came back to our house to visit. And now I'm sitting here not wanting to go to bed because I don't have a million things to do tomorrow.

My mom got Clara this little rocking horse for her birthday and she loves it. If you pinch the ears, it plays music and Clara starts moving up and down to it. She'll love it even more when she can sit on it without my help.

Fire Sky

Tonight was Jason's work Christmas party. I was grateful, once again, for having my mom live so close. I am so glad I have someone that is very willing to watch Clara and I can trust that everything will be fine. I can just enjoy whatever I'm doing knowing Clara is safe AND happy! The party was at the Fire Sky Spa and Resort in Scottsdale and it was awesome! I absolutely loved this place. I kept taking pictures of everything because even their Christmas decorations were rad. I can't figure out why I was so in love with it, but I was. I will go back, that's for sure! As we were walking around taking pictures, I asked Jason if he wanted to take a picture by this deer head and he said if he takes a picture by any head, it needed to glow, so we found the glowing heads and I got my picture.

It was funny because right when we walked in, it smelled SO much like alcohol and I realized I don't think I've been around that smell since I quit my last job. Don't ask why, but it seemed like I was frequently exposed to the smell in my last "life". We had a delicious dinner (salad, rolls, chicken, ham, beef (cut right off a huge chunk of cow), potatoes, green beans, tortelinni and yummy desserts). I got the chocolate cake and it had like a ganache frosting that was so good. I love free food, especially when it's this good! Seriously, it was good food.

After the dinner they had a Casino Night. It's the third time his company has done this. We had fun playing Black Jack, but didn't win anything with our tickets. Oh well, I didn't mind because the highlight of my evening of gambling was when I had 17 dealt to me at the Black Jack table and I told the dealer I wanted to hit, so he did, and it was a 4. At that point, the sweet old lady (65ish?) next to me said, "You must has a horseshoe up your butt." I about died laughing. Ha!

It was so fun to go on a real (and free!) date with Jason since that part of our life has pretty much been nonexistent as of late. I miss dating, funny how that has slowly disappeared over the last few years... Yeah for grandmas to babysit and employers for throwing fun parties!

At Least I Tried!

Remember how I said Clara likes to keep the nipple in and crawl around with it (and yes, I let her empty the cupboard onto the kitchen floor... that's how they learn!)

Just now I was trying to be a dedicated employee and work and the website I need timed out. It won't let me sign back on. That's awesome, I get the motivation to work and I have a road block. As Jason always says, "Why put off today what you can do tomorrow?" But hey, at least I did try. About as hard as I tried to get Clara to smile in this picture... hmmm, today I apparently had a few failures!I forgot to mention I got my Christmas tree put up (after 3+ hours!) I'm pretty happy with how it looks. It's probably not the exact shape I'd pick out, but for $5 at a garage sale I don't think it could be better. I still need to floof some of the branches, but until I have more spare time, I think it looks great. Now I know why my mom always made us help put up the tree. It's a pain to make the branches look good with no help... or "reverse" help aka CLARA. :)Clara isn't as fascinated with the lights or the tree as I thought she'd be, just the ornaments, especially the glittery snowflakes. Little does she know I can always tell when she sucks on one because her tiny little mouth has a tiny little glitter border. Look at the innocent reassurance in her eyes, "I won't touch it mom, don't worry."

Some of my favorite ornaments...

In my Christmas box I found a bag of smashed bows. Clara loves them. She will put as many as she can in one hand and tote them everywhere she goes. And I occassionally stick them to her head so they go everywhere she goes without her having to do any work. My favorite Christmas gift from last year!

Today was busy busy. The lender called saying there were a few more things I needed for the loan to finalize, one being signatures. So I dropped everything and drove to ASU and got Jason to sign some papers just before his final, fed Clara at my mom's, went to Ryan and Kathryn's and then went to KS. This afternoon I made fry bread for the Pack Meeting (that I didn't go to). It wasn't until I was in the car on my way to Lily's orchestra concert that I realized I wreaked of frying oil. Of course that's all I smelled the rest of the night! I love Elementary School concerts. During this one, I couldn't help but consider how incredibly patient, understanding and easy going an Elementary School music teacher must be. I could never! After the concert, we enjoyed "Supper with Santa". Nothing beats cold pizza and warm soda. Too bad Santa didn't grace us with his presence until long after everyone was through eating. As we were walking to our cars, James was "flying" Clara all around and she LOVED it. She had this huge grin on her face the whole time. Even when I put her in her seat she was giggling and smiling. I really enjoy watching my little brothers play with her and knowing she is loved by oh so many people. I'm sure she gets sick of Jason and me so it's good to mix things up!Then, I went to a baby shower. I get so excited when I go to showers for first time moms. I just think there is nothing more joyous than a sweet little baby and experiencing that for the first time is such a happy time. Oh the memories. After that I came home and my good friends came to visis. Okay, so maybe it was just ONE friend (Beka) but she is a very good friend, so I think that counts as two. She always knows when I need a boost (the friend and sugar kind); I must start to get really negative on my blog or during phone conversations. It was fun to visit and eat the cookies she brought and I enjoyed chatting far more than I would have enjoyed working!

Coupons & Random Thoughts

As is typically the case when I'm blogging, I should be working. Tonight is no exception. But what's worse, going four days without posting or procrastinating a little work? I think we all know the answer to that! Plus, I have all week long to work! Actually, I had an urgent request, or demand, rather, from a client this afternoon so it threw my entire afternoon off. When things like that happen, I develop an instant bitterness towards work and have a much harder time getting motivated to work. I've actually been productive this week so I guess I feel like I deserve a littel break. I do find it ironic that while I'm cleaning something up, I let Clara make another mess elsewhere so I can finish what I'm doing. Like today, I was doing the dishes and let Clara play in "her" cupboard. It has all her dishes and bottles in it. She loves to get the bottle nipples and bite on them and let them hang out of her mouth while she makes sure to remove every other dish from the cupboard.

Tonight Jason stayed late at school to study for his finals tomorrow. I get so restless home alone so Clara and I went to Wal Mart and then Costco. Grrrr, I totally forgot to use my coupons at Wal Mart for Clara's baby food. That just irks me for days when I do that. I try to tell myself it's only $3, but it still bothers me. And no, it's not because we're poor, it's the regret of not saving every possible penny. Even when we weren't poor, things like this would bother me.

On Sunday, we had Angela take a few pictures of us for my mom's Christmas card. We tried to change the setting because it was getting dark and it made the shutter stay open WAAAAY too long. Angela told me we looked like ghosts and because of Jason's big eyes, he really does. HA! Clara loves lights, don't you just love that little tiny finger?

Before this last General Conference, I was praying to hear a talk that would bring peace into my life regarding our special little home in Salem. I didn't hear one that seemed to pertain very specifically to what I was needing. However, as I was reading the talks from the Ensign, I realized there was a talk that couldn't have been more relevant in my life than this one. One part I especially enjoyed was, "In these latter days, the Lord revealed that 'when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated' (D&C 130:21). The Lord makes generous promises, and He certifies that He will not vary from these promises, for, said He, 'I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise' (D&C 82:10)." The Lord CERTIFIES that He won't vary from his promises and I love the definitiveness in the statement. It's not a maybe, it's a solid promise. Lately that thought is the only thing keeping me from drowning myself in negative "What if?" thoughts. I also love that he concludes discussing the Biblical line, "And God remembered Rachel" and then he says, "And just as God remembered Rachel, God will remember you." Now if only I could always remember this and have more faith...

Saturday is a Special Day

I find it interesting that eventhough I'm not working a "normal" job anymore, I still look forward to and enjoy Saturdays. Jason is normally gone working so it's not even that I get help from him. Perhaps it's just the fact that no one will bother me from work or maybe it's because I know the next day is Sunday and a new week will begin, giving me the chance to do all those things I didn't get done the past week. Yesterday I went to lunch with Angela and some of her friends. I experienced one of her new favorite restaurants and would agree that it has great food. I can't remember the name of my sandwich, but it had proscuitto, tomato, fresh mozarella and fresh basil. The fresh basil was quite delicious.

Then, I came home and worked and started dinner. I have mentioned before, but my emotions are begging me to mention it again: I hate Bank of America. That's who KS banks with and let me just say, I am disturbed at their lack of service. I received a letter in the mail with a new online banking passcode. On my first attempt to log on, it said I had tried too many times to log on so I needed to call to reset my password. After being on hold for 30 minutes, I gave up for the day. But what I found even more unprofessional was the line in the letter that said, "Your passcode will expire if not used within 30 days of the date on the top of this letter." What is wrong with that? Only that there was NO date ANYWHERE on the letter. That could be the most TACKY thing I've ever seen from a professional organization. That, to me, is worse than a mispelled word.

Anyway, Jason had a huge project for school and he was helping some of his friends from school on it. He was going to meet them and I told him if he's helping them, they can come here. So all day and most of the night, the four of them sat in front of their computers working away at the table. Sometimes I miss being in school. Yesterday, I didn't miss it one bit! I got to make dinner for them. That was fun. I love entertaining, but haven't had the chance lately. Also, Karen came to hang out with me and I'm always amazed at how it seems we've been friends forever. We've known each other for about two and a half years but we don't get to hang out that often. I guess it makes a difference when you travel with people and eat three meals a day with them and then work side by side all day. And in Karen's case, we'd work together in our hotel rooms at night too. After dinner tonight, we went to the mall. Since it rained yesterday, our money tree grew, so that was perfect timing because Clara really needs more pants. I found a few pair of pants and a few long sleeved shirts so that was good. Now I just need some warm pajamas. Any suggestions? I need to try Ross because I am just too cheap to pay $10 for one pair of pj's when I wash them after every wear. Or maybe I just need to buy expensive ones and not let her eat her breakfast in them so she can wear them more than once. And then I won't need six or seven pairs. And just because I think she's the cutest little goose ever...