This Halloween, it’s my goal to make my daughter a bumble costume.  This is going to be a tough task seeing as I’ve never sewn in my life.  The extent of my artistic ability has been exhausted with a few latch hook projects from my childhood, and a brief period of time where I TRIED to knit, but just ended up getting stressed and having lopsided lines of yarn.  That project is in a paper bag at the bottom of the coat closet to this day.

However, I figure that the only piece I’m actually going to have to sew is a little black tutu big enough for a 6 month old.  I can figure out the rest with a little fabric glue, yellow lace and a long sleeved shirt/pants combo.  Angelina is going to be bee because my sister’s family has nicknamed her “Bumble.”  I’m not exactly sure why that name has stuck, but she already recognizes it and smiles when they call her by it.  Anyhow, my goal this weekend is at least get the costume started.  Angelina has her 6^th month pictures the week before Halloween, so I’d love to get a professional picture of her as a bee—that is if it’s not so embarrassing looking that it shouldn’t be caught on film!

Worst case scenario, I can start it and get the help of my 13 year old niece that’s pretty good at this stuff!

Angelina will be 6 months old on 10/21.  Madi (on the right) was a month old on 10/6.  Her mom Crystal is one of my best friends and my workout buddy (she’s back as soon as the doctor clears her!).  Anyhow, she came out with Madi to meet my trainer and I one night when I was working out, and my session soon looked like a daycare!  It was pretty cute to see actually.  A few people at the park couldn't help but stop by.

It’s so crazy to think Angelina was as little as Madi at one point!  I can’t believe it was only 6 months ago and she was so tiny in her car seat… now she just looks like she’s staring down the camera!

My little munchkin—I love her!  This week, she just realized we have two dogs… we’ve had them since long before she was around, but she’s in this phase of just laughing at them.  It’s the funniest thing to watch because she gets SO excited when they around.  Those poor dogs don’t know what they’re in for when Angelina is a little bigger and can get around on her own… she’s going to get them back for all of the times they’ve tried licking her feet and for all of those times they’ve woken me up in the middle of the night to go outside for 2 seconds and come back in…

Apparently, karma comes around for our 4-legged friends too!

I was at the gym at 530 yesterday morning.  I don’t think anyone REALLY wants to be at the gym that early, but I knew if I didn’t get there, I wouldn’t go and then I’d be kicking myself later in the day and not getting it done in the morning, before everyone else in my house is up… you know what I mean?

Anyways, there I was on the elliptical machine reading my Fitness Magazine (I only allow myself to read my many magazine subscriptions while I’m at the gym… bribery works, even when it’s self imposed).  I had forgotten to charge my IPOD, so I was stuck with the dance music that the guy who opens puts on.  Yuck.

Just when I thought the music was the worst I’d have to endure (other than the time on the machine), I hear some gym grunting with all of his might from the weight room. 

Mind you, this is a big gym and there are a lot of people, but everyone still manages to be pretty respectful and stays relatively quiet at such an early hour.  Not this guy.  Every 30 seconds or so, it sounded as if a giraffe was being slaughtered in the other room… or something equally horrific. 

I caught a few other people looking around to figure out who it was.  I was so close to just leaving my stuff on the machine and hunting him down… well, not really, but I was thinking it for sure!  I should come with a warning that says “Don’t irritate me before I’ve had sufficient caffeine.”

Eventually, he quit… or someone else got annoyed and told him to quiet down.

To the annoying guy at the gym yesterday morning:  No one cares how much you can lift and how “manly” you sound exerting yourself.  You’re just being dumb.

Have you been to the Big Fresno Fair yet?  I have but only for about 15 minutes tops.  Every year, I haul in my niece’s project animals.  The last few years it’s just been Mac’s lambs because Amber is in high school now and a member of the FFA and showing pigs, so they have that all covered.

Since yesterday though, I’ve taken over my husband’s truck and have been driving around with what is basically a cage in the bed of the truck so that we can move sheep.  We moved “9er” (can you tell Mac comes from a family of 49er fans?) in today with more speed than I expected!  It’s nice when you beat the rush of people coming in after school and/or work.

Anyhow, I’ve always loved the fair and the livestock.  I had a lot of fun showing cattle every year in high school and I try to help out when I can these days.  I’m going to go see my nieces show this week and go and watch the sale on Saturday.  I sure hope they  make a little money… it keeps getting more and more expensive to show for these kids (or make that my sister and her husband!)

While I’m at the fair this week, I might just have to indulge in a little of the fantastic food there—after all, what is fair without a cinnamon roll or a corn dog?!  Maybe I should wait until after Weight Watchers on Saturday morning though, now that I think about it…

Here’s what’s new in stores as of today:

New Music:

 

Joy to the World—Faith Hill

 

Kellie Pickler—Kellie Pickler

New DVDs:

 

2008 Olympics: Beijing 2008 Highlights—The Games of the XXIX Olympiad

 

Iron Man—One of the BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR!  Robert Downey Jr. is fantastic as a weapons dealer who has a change of heart after he is taken prisoner.

 

Forgetting Sarah Marshall—This one flew under the radar, but it’s a comical movie about an average Joe who gets dumped by his movie star girlfriend.  He heads to Hawaii to get away, only to find her next door with her new rock star boy toy.

 

When We Left the Earth: The NASA Missions

New Season Releases on DVD:

Beauty and the Beast

My Name is Earl

My Three Sons

Numb3rs

My mom bought some “cool weather” clothes for Angelina last week.  Actually, her intent was to buy her some pajamas, but apparently she got side-tracked.  I’m not complaining by any means but I did think it was funny to see the price tag above on the clothes.  I about gave myself whiplash!  Then I realized it was in PESOS!  Oh yes, my mom the bargain hunter got Angelina her first “south of the border” Disney outfit for a bargain-basement price of $7.99 (US) NOT the $188 I thought.

Here are some viable options:

New Releases in Theaters:

Choke—A con-man regularly fakes choking in upscale restaurants, gets “saved,” and collects checks from generous restaurant patrons.  It’s from the same guy that wrote “Fight Club.”  I read this book…it’s a trip.

 

Eagle Eye—Shia LaBeouf is forced to carry out the plans of a mysterious woman he has never met, but seems to know his every move.

 

Miracle at St. Anna—Four soldiers from the army’s Negro 92^nd Division find themselves separated from their unit and behind enemy lines during WWII in this Spike Lee flick.

 

Nights in Rodanthe—Richard Gere and Diane Lane star as unhappy strangers who share a life-changing romance at a seaside North Carolina inn, based on the book by Nicholas Sparks.  Critics are comparing it to "The Notebook."

Click here for movie reviews, show times, trailers and other info.

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