Friday Favorites

Beauty Rush Liquid Liner

I love sparkly things. My Mom loves sparkly things. My sister loves sparkly things. I don't know what it is, but it's a weakness we all share. When we see something sparkly we always, without fail say "OOOOOH SPARKLE SPARKLE" I know...that sounds dumb. But it's just the way it is.

I was standing in line at Victoria Secret and I noticed a bin of SPARKLY eye liner. I picked it up...and you know what I said. Of course I had to grab some and try it out. I am happy to say, it is all I thought it would be! It's so pretty....and yes sooooooo sparkly. I especially love the Copper Hot color...it matches my brown eyes nicely if I do say so myself. At five bottles for $20.00 you can have all the colors!

So this is my Friday Favorite. You should try it out. Especially for the upcoming holiday season. Although in my opinion, any day is a good day for glitter.

Neuter Chick Magnet?

capon;

n. A male chicken castrated when young to improve the quality of its flesh for food.

My sister has decided to take Chick Magnet and let him live in her barn. She thought that a rooster this famous should not end up on the chopping block, or be dumped off in the woods to fend for himself. My only concern is whether or not he would be sad to live alone in a barn. I offered to send a hen along, but she doesn't want baby chicks running around.

I arrived at our homeschooling co-op and told my friends I had a possible solution for my rooster. Then something hit me like a ton of bricks....

Could I have Chick Magnet NEUTERED??!!!

This idea caused not a little laughter. I decided to call my vet right then. I dialed the number and put it on speaker phone so my five friends could hear the outcome....

Ring.....Ring....Ring....

Receptionist: Kulshan Vet, how may I help you?

Michelle: Ummmmm, yes.....Do you neuter roosters?

pause........

Michelle: This isn't a prank call, please don't hang up.

Receptionist: Neuter a rooster? You want to NEUTER a rooster? I don't know.....ummm hold on...

pause...... (insert friends laughing under their breath....holding heads in hands.)

Vet: Are you inquiring about having your rooster fixed?

Michelle: Yes. I am sick and tired of fertilized eggs but I don't want to get rid of him. I love him.

Vet: It can be done, but bird surgery is very risky.

Michelle leans over and mouths to Ranee...."THE CHOPPING BLOCK IS VERY RISKY"

Vet: I wouldn't feel comfortable performing surgery on a pet knowing there was a50% chance he could die. His little heart might not be able to take it. Maybe you should just separate him.

Michelle: Ok....I understand. (sob) I will find another option.

Vet: I'm sorry. I wish you luck. Goodbye.

Michelle: Thank you. Bye.

I hung up and faced my friends who were by now in tears from laughing at me. SIGH.........

I sat there stunned. Was there no hope? Kristy took her phone out and told me her sister is a vet tech in Missouri and she would call her. She wasn't available but the Vet answered the phone. Kristy explained my problem. He thought it was best to just get rid of him. Kristy took a breath....."But she loves him"......At that point he started to laugh and she handed me the phone. I told him the vet here wouldn't do it. He said it was very easy to do and the folks up in Washington State just didn't know poultry. I asked him if he would perform the surgery if I were to fly Chick Magnet out to him? He thought I was kidding and hung up.

I guess I am back at square one. One lady suggested I under NO circumstance let him die. She thinks he would be the perfect hero for a children's book.

HMMMM.............

Crack and Scream

I am really sorry if you all are tired of hearing about my rooster problems. But it is really stressing me out. Bethany, if you are reading this....Why did I let that cute face of yours talk me into stopping at the feed store that fateful day?

We now have two problems on our hands....For one, Chick Magnet has decided he hates Autumn. He tries to maim her anytime she comes near the coop. She now travels with a big stick to collect the eggs. We wait until he is in the yard and then we shove something in front of the hen house door and gather the eggs as he throws himself at us violently.

The other problem we have, I like to call "Crack and Scream". As I make breakfast each day I slowly get the eggs out of the refrigerator and stare at the carton. I wonder if I will find any signs of ....ya know....baby chicks....if I don't, I sigh with relief and tell myself I must be crazy for wanting to get rid of Chick Magnet. I mean after all he is just doing what he was put here on the earth to do. It's not his fault. If there IS any little surprise inside after I crack the egg, I scream at the top of my lungs, throw the egg in the trash and tell myself to just let Jerry send the hit man.

Yesterday I was sharing this with my fellow home school Moms while the kids were in classes. I happened to be peeling an egg that I had boiled that morning for my lunch. They thought the whole "Crack and Scream" concept was so amusing. I ate one egg and thought to myself how lovely it was that I was eating eggs from chickens I had raised from babyhood. Living off the land...with this economy it was the way to go. I showed the Moms the pretty green shell of the next egg I was peeling. I broke the egg in half....... and SCREAMED. There before me was a tiny little BOILED baby chick!!!!!! My stomach turned over and over. My friend Tammy was horrified. She said if that happened to her she would NEVER eat another egg again. Kids came over to look and I am pretty sure they were as traumatized as I was. What if I boiled it alive?! What if I had EATEN it?! It had little EYES....ugh....

AND HOW ON EARTH CAN A BABY CHICKEN FORM AFTER ONE DAY??????

We had asked Jerry how this could be happening if we collected the eggs everyday. He said it was impossible. It's as if Chick Magnet has some "Super-Hero Chicken Sperm"....able to form a baby chick in a single DAY.

I couldn't eat for hours. And when I did, I ate vegetables. That night I went through Taco Time and got a cup of White Chicken Chili. I took one bite and almost lost it. I dumped it in the parking lot and went into Safeway and got a protein bar. I don't know how long it will take before I can eat.....chicken ....again. I also now know that Chick Magnet needs to go. But I feel bad sending him away from the only home he has ever known. Roosters are tossed out on their ears everyday for just being themselves.

Sigh......I guess we can just let him roam free and guard our house? But then we will have to look over our shoulders constantly. He will be angry at us for taking him away from his hens and will retaliate. I just know it.

Darlene...if you are out there....what do I do???

Chick Magnet Part two

I am going to unfold for you more of the story about our rooster/hen, whichever he was. He seemed to recover from his sneezing fits nicely. We were now just so curious to see if we did indeed have a rooster in our midst. I decided to research his breed and learn what I could about it just in case. I don't like surprises. I like to know what I am getting into. Here is what I found out about Leghorn Roosters:

1) They are the meanest breed of roosters out there.

2) They are the meanest breed of roosters out there.

3) They are the meanest breed of roosters out there.

Great. I had a possible terrorist on my hands.

I read about a lady that had three Free-Roaming Leghorns. When she came home each night they would be standing in her driveway waiting for her with little leather jackets on and cigarettes folded up in their sleeves. They would wait until she got out of her car and then jump her. Needless to say they ended up as soup.

I couldn't find one positive story.... and I searched....believe me. I ended up back at the feed store to consult with Jerry. Poor, patient Jerry.

I walked in the door and this time he clapped and said "Look folks, it's my favorite customer!" I couldn't tell if he was being saucy. I decided to take it as a compliment and waved at everyone.

As I waited for my turn I tossed the words around in my head so I would know exactly how to convince him to take this chicken off my hands.

He smiled without teeth showing and looked at me. Blink....blink.... I took a breath, "Jerry....I think I have made a big mistake. I have a feeling that Leghorn is a rooster!" He didn't say anything. I went on to tell him that I had read about this breed and found out some very bad things. Things that would make a grown man cry. I feared for my life and the lives of my children. This was no laughing matter. I had to bring that little allergy ridden chicken back where I found him.

He put his hands on the counter and leaned forward...."Look....here is the deal." Ok...I was all ears. He talked slowly...."Best case scenario, it's a hen." Fine I thought...he is right, it could be. "Mid case scenario, it's a rooster, but he is nice" Yes....I suppose there was a chance of that. "Worst case scenario it IS a rooster and he's violent and dangerous...." I asked him what would I do if we had a worst case on our hands. He then looked at me with the eyes of an honest man and promised me that if that happened he would hire a hit man to come in at night and drag Chick Magnet out by his feet and kill him.

"Who on earth would do that?" I asked. Jerry shrugged and pointed to his employee. "Marshall will do it." I looked at Marshall and felt relieved when he nodded his head. Jerry told me it was his personal guarantee.

I had no choice.

It was my only option.

As I was walking out the door Jerry stopped me. "Ya know," he said, "I told my wife at the dinner table the other night about you. I told her that you used to drive me crazy, but that now you are really starting to grow on me!" He was smiling big. "Thanks," I said. I hoped he remembered that if I ever decided to get goats.

Autumn & Me

I'm sooooo bored........

My house is quiet. Yes, half of the people are gone right now....but I mean overall. I don't have babies running around. The kids are big enough to get their own drinks. Wipe themselves...well pretty much. They get their own snacks.They play together nicely and don't need me to entertain them. They just don't need me so much. I find myself alone more often.....I do enjoy it, but sometimes it's a little sad.....It's as though a chapter in my life is ending and I am going to have to find things to fill my time.

Ok...... as I was typing this Chase just came in, threw himself down on the couch and huffed. "I am really really really BORED...there is nothing to do Mom!" Ok...do I finish this post? My whole point is blown now....Fine. I am going to go play a game with Chase. He is looking at me with those big brown eyes....waiting. I guess I am still needed. I guess there are a few more lines to be written in this chapter.....and that makes me thankful.

So I may take this topic up again later.... hahahahaha

Chick Magnet...Part One

I began this chicken adventure in March. I was so excited to get baby chicks.

While I waited for them to arrive at the feed store I read. And read...... I researched breeds. I became familiar with color patterns. I tortured people who owned chickens.

I asked Jerry down at the feed store a million questions. He hated me. He thought I was making it harder than it needed to be. But I found out all sorts of things in the process. I bet you didn't know that chicken's eggs match the color of their ears? I also discovered I didn't NEED a rooster to get eggs. Nor did I WANT one.

I remember all too well being chased by my brother's rooster, GONZO. He was a two pound TERROR. He spurred my ankles raw. I detested that thing. I still have nightmares about him following me down dark allies.

On March 14th I brought the kids and a box to pick out our chicks. Well, we couldn't really pick them out. Jerry just grabbed them randomly and threw them in. We started with four. Two Rode Island Reds and two Americanas. Brown AND greens eggs...woohoo! I had read that you had to be careful not to let them "paste up" or they could die. Evidently you had to make sure their bottoms stayed clean so they could GO FREELY......Our very first day I just knew we had one in trouble so I raced it in to Jerry and asked him clean her little hiney. I think he was getting irritated with me. But he did it.

By then end of the day I had one more chick. A Buff Orpinton. She was SO CUTE. "Remember..." Jerry said..."These are tiny LIVING creatures. DON"T LOVE THEM TO DEATH" He looked so skeptical of us......

The next day we added another TWO. On day three we had Tayler's friend with us and she begged to pick one out. FINE! What's one more? Jerry explained that all he had left were fryers. And they could be either hens or roosters......Ummmmmm? Roosters???? Well.... these were LEGHORNS. And Jerry convinced me it would be so romantic to have a Foghorn Leghorn Rooster just like the cartoon for our hens. And I had a 20% chance that is was a female anyway. Besides, I would be giving one chicken a reprieve from the frying pan. How could I NOT? So off we went with Little Chick Magnet. We got him home..... and he promptly began SNEEZING! I just knew it was the bird flu and I was in danger of losing the entire flock...yes, flock. So I read up. Hmmmmm....You could mash up garlic in their water or give antibiotics. I decided to ask Jerry. I picked up Chick magnet and raced him back to the feed store. I busted through the door and told Jerry I had a sneezing chicken and.......WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT IT??!!!

He looked at me and said, "CHARGE ADMISSION." I stood there holding Chick Magnet. Waiting for him to sneeze. Nothing. Jerry was not concerned. Fine.....I stomped out the door and went home. The next day TWO were sneezing. BACK we went......"Jerry.....I now have TWO sneezing chickens. What am I going to do? It's spreading!" He was checking out a customer. He didn't even look up at me. "CHARGE DOUBLE," he said. My Dad was with me that day. He was embarrassed. He quietly told me we needed to go. So I took them back home. They recovered from their allergies and I didn't lose a one of them. I told Jerry later that week that it was touch and go for a while....He just shook his head and said I was what he liked to call a "Weekend Warrior". That meant I was a ......FAKE FARMER! A POSER!

Oh well......I was just happy I kept those eight chickens alive. (All while wearing my Romeos....)

My next plan was to find out if Chick Magnet was in fact a boy or a girl....

Poor Jerry. He wasn't rid of me yet....

Hawaiian Chili....So easy...So Yum

Hawaiian Chili

I have people ask me for this recipe all of the time. It's usually men that want it for some reason? You will think it sounds too easy to be very good.....but trust me. It's GOOD. It's a great choice when you don't have time on your hands.

2 cans pineapple tidbits

2 cans pinto beans

2 cans navy beans

2 cans diced potatoes

2 lbs ham chopped

6 cups chicken broth

1 tsp chili powder

4 tsp cumin

cayenne pepper ( to taste)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tsp Italian Seasoning

swiss or mozzarella cheese

Add all ingredients except cheese into crock pot. Cook on low for four hours. Add cheese before serving.

I serve it over sticky rice

Plumb...... She so gets it...

I am sitting here listening to "Blink" by Plumb. I love this album. It never fails to make me feel inspired. The melodies are lilting and beautiful. The lyrics strike you right in the middle of your heart. They are unpredictable and lovely. I have been brought to tears many times. It is Brilliant.

The lead singer is named Tiffany Arbuckle Lee. She has three children named Solomon Fury, Oliver Canon, and Clementine Fire. She began her career in 1997. I remember going to a Plumb concert in Branson, Missouri that year. She came out with long beautiful brown curls cascading down her back, wearing angel wings. Her voice was resonating....the music calming.

Her music ranges from rock, to alternative, to ballads about her children. Amy Lee of "Evanescence" has said Plumb is one of her inspirations. I love both of their voices for the same reasons, so I am not surprised. Tiffany wanted to leave the music industry in 2000. A few hours before her last concert she received a note from a girl who had been molested as a child and was thanking her for writing the song "Damaged" because it had helped her cope with the pain and had changed her life. That letter inspired her to stay put and keep producing music.

When you listen to "Blink" you will feel as though you have stumbled upon a journal written by a Mother to her children. It will bring to the surface feelings you didn't know how to put into words but knew they were always there. The awe and wonder of Mothering. The pain and joy that go hand in hand as you watch them grow up. The beauty and miracle of childhood. It's deep and timeless. I gave the album to my sister and she told me that it's almost hard to listen to at times because it pierces you. My kids ask me to play it all of the time. It reminds them of how much I love them. It also puts them right to sleep....and come on....that is just priceless..... :)

I LOVE MY ROMEOS

Who else loves these shoes? My Dad has always had them so I grew up thinking they were great. They are manly. They are handsome. They are cozy. They just scream "I am really hard working and look great while am doing it!"

We moved to a farm town and every other person wears them. I love it! It's just so authentic.

I have chickens. I have bunnies. I decided to get a pair. I went into Elenbaas Country store and talked to Jerry. Remember his name. I will be telling you more about him later when I post about my chickens.

Anyway he set me up. I put them on and smiled all the way out the door. I had heard how comfy they were and was thrilled for my own feet. I wore them for a couple of days. Much to my dismay I had a really bad sore spot on my right ankle where the shoe was digging in!?! It hurt SO bad! But I refused to believe it. These were ROMEOS. The most comfortable shoe ever invented. So I pushed through, limping. And when people would notice I had them on and compliment me I would say, "Yes, and they are so comfy" But what they didn't know is I had stuffed two of my socks in the side of the shoe to cushion the pain.

After a week I decided they must be..... defective. So back to the feed store I went. I walked up to the counter and told Tyler my problem. Jerry wasn't there...lucky for him. Marshall was surprised and looked skeptical so I threw my leg on his counter and showed him the purple bruise. He then picked up my socks that I had pulled out of my shoe. "See! I am telling you! It hurts...I had no choice" I whimpered, head down on my arm.

He walked to the back to switch out my shoe. No luck. All out of size 8. "Just give it time", he said. I turned around to leave. "Fine!".....and limped out the door, socks back in place. It took about a week and then "Wa-Lah" .....they were fine. More then fine, actually. They were cozy. They hugged my feet like a familiar blanket. They truly lived up to their reputation.

Now that Fall is here, I have dug them back out. I love wearing them again. Do you have a pair? You should. And if you don't, I can totally hook you up.

They even have PINK ones now. Autumn is getting a pair for her Birthday. She will SO look the part while she feeds her rabbit. :)

Candi Cane

I told my sister that if she became a follower of my blog I would write a post about her. So here it goes. Some of my best memories of her are from when we were young. Those were the days when we were allowed to roam freely all over the planet. We were as happy to run out the door as our parents were to see us go. We would wake up on Saturday, watch our morning cartoons, then pack our Tupperware full of PB & J and Kool-Aid. What amazes me is that they never checked on us! We spent most of our time down at the creek swimming and catching crawdads. And we were SIX and NINE!!! It's amazing we survived! Oh how much fun we had exploring abandoned houses and wooded trails. The funny thing is that the ONLY time our Mom told us NOT to get wet, I almost drowned.....We were running down a very narrow trail with shrubs and brush all around us. We'd been there dozens of times. I remember coming around a corner and then all of a sudden there was only air beneath my feet. I splashed into the water below me and went under. My head came to the surface and I grabbed a hold of a culvert pipe with water rushing out of it. I started screaming because I was below spider webs, not because I was going under water. I wanted away from those spiders NOW. Candi ran to the edge of the water and came in to save me. It was very dramatic. She drug me to the shore and we sat there breathing heavy, thankful to be alive. Wet hair matted to our faces. We then realized we were in big trouble. We were wet. Drenched. We knew they would never believe us. We went home terrified. Well I was anyway. I have never asked her how she felt. Oddly enough I don't remember if we were punished. I will have to ask my Dad if he remembers. Either way I am sure they didn't appreciate the fact that they could have LOST US. I really should go back there and see it again. It's probably a just a little puddle about three feet deep with a teeney little pipe dripping water out the end.

I am thankful she threw herself in for me. I'm sure she would do it again if the situation ever arose.....I hope. :) I could go on and on about our adventures...I could talk about us beating off the sharks from our playroom rug.....but that's another post for another day.

Half-Back!!!!

I thought I would share an argument I recently overheard between my eight year old daughter , and my six year-going-on- 15- year old nephew. I was loading some things into the van at my Dad's house when I heard Autumn and Ace having a heated discussion. Finally they decided to take it up with me and I heard their little feet stomping towards me. Autumn was the first to reach me and Ace was standing behind her, hands on hips. "Mom!" she yelled. "Isn't it true that if you get your arm cut off it will grow back?!" I set my bag down and turned to face her. I had enough time to think to myself that I must be a first class failure of a home school Mom if she really thought that. I haven't really covered anatomy with them, but STILL..... One thing we spent a LOT of time on though was worms. HMMMM......I knew where this was heading. "No", I said. "That is not true." I looked at Ace out of the corner of my eye and saw him nodding his head and smiling. Autumn said.....here it comes......"But WORMS grow back when THEY get cut in half!" I explained to her that while that sounded so logical, it just didn't carry over to us people. It would be very....handy.....but it just wasn't so. I turned back to what I was doing, laughing to myself....out loud. Then Autumn stomped her foot and said, "Well, I saw someone at the Highland Games and she had an arm that was HALF-BACK" I leaned down so I was eye to eye with her and lowered my voice....."Autumn, honey.....her arm wasn't half back. It was half gone. Trust me. It wasn't growing BACK." "But she had new little fingers, Mom..." I had no words at that point. I just shook my head and made a mental note to pick up a nice anatomy book for our schooling this year. No more Insect Kingdom. Just basic Health 101.....

Needless to say she was not happy being shown up by her little cousin. He on the other hand was just fine with it...

Ok...cows do taste really good.

So I had a steak last night. I can count on two fingers how many times that has happened in the past seven years. For the past few months I have been tempted to throw in the towel on the whole "Only Fish And Chicken" lifestyle. I'm getting bored. I came up with a compromise. I decided to look for HAPPY cows to eat. Ya know, cows that were pampered. Really spoiled. Cows that roamed around eating real grass all day and visiting each other down at the pond. NICE cows. Cows that lived a rewarding and full life. If you go to the meat department you can find them. It will say right on the package. It will give you the family history and I think there is even a link on the wrapper that will allow you to view their pictures from babyhood on up. This is Bellingham....it's true. Prom pictures and all.... I was sharing all of this with a friend the other day. We discussed my decision to make the switch and my thoughts on the matter. But she had a different point of view. Why would I want to eat a NICE cow? That's just sad. They don't deserve that. That's sorta mean....I should instead look for a package that says,

This cow was a REAL JERK.

He bit people

He kicked people

He cussed out everyone near him for NO GOOD REASON

He gored three children

He DESERVED to get eaten.

I instantly saw the wisdom in it. I no longer felt the need to find the Mr. Rogers cows. I would just buy the darn beef and hope I was doing some child a favor by eating it. He would never charge anyone ever again. GOOD RIDDANCE!! And last night as I was enjoying my second steak in seven years I thought about that cow. I didn't think about it's big brown eyes, or it's deprived childhood....I thought about how AMAZING tasted. I didn't even want to swallow, just chew and chew all night. I was so sad when I got full! And guess what...at that moment I didn't care what kind of life it had led. I would have eaten it regardless.
I would call that a turning point....My kids will be so happy to see it on their plates from now on. They won't even have to sneak off to Auntie's or Grandma's house to get it. But I STILL don't think I will relent on McDonalds burgers... I will have to look into that one. But I am SURE their McNuggets are definitely from miserable, loser, gangster chickens....

One is silver, the other gold.....

Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver the other gold....

There is a lot so say for new friendship. It's exciting to meet new people and learn things about each other. You get to tell your story to them and leave out the parts you would rather them not know....You discover all of the things you have in common. Hanging out is fun and novel. You both put your best foot forward. Building new friendship can be rewarding and I highly recommend it. I have a couple of new friends that FEEL like old friends....we just click. We give each other understanding and grace. We are Gumby friends. We spend hours just talking and laughing. It's just easy. I guess those are my gold plated friends? I treasure each of them. That's for sure.

I am hanging out with a "Gold" friend today. She has been my friend for twenty three years. We played Cabbage Patch kids together. We fought over Ricky Schroeder.....he didn't turn out all that cute, did he? We rode bikes, made up dances that were way better then Stefani and Rikki's dances. We watched movies, rode in the back of her Dad's truck....(walk this way walk this way walk this way)We bathed together...until we were 17! Hey, it was a different time back then. We got in trouble together. We fought over boys. We tortured her sister. We wanted in the Pink Ladies club so badly. But there was one requirement. You had to have french kissed a boy. We were out of luck. There were no takers. We wanted IN so they made us kiss each other. Yes, she was my first kiss. But we hated every second of it and were very grossed out. We made that awkward journey from girl to woman together. We stuck up for each other no matter what. She knows me and all of my flaws and still loves me. Even though I laughed at her that time when she fell asleep on the carpet during prayer meeting and her braces got stuck in the carpet. Even though I took pictures of her when she fell on the ice at camp instead of helping her up. Even though I didn't have her as my maid of honor which is something I have always regretted. She still loves me.

We now have daughters who are friends. I hope they stay that way. I hope they grow up and have those fun memories together like we have. It's a rare thing in this busy world to keep any relationship going. Jen would still stick up for me no matter what. I can tell her anything and know she won't throw in the towel. I can call her when I am freaking out. I can cry on her lap, and laugh so hard I pee my pants.....which happened recently when a lady behind us in the van was having road rage and making fun of Jenipher's rabbit teeth. We still act like kids...which OUR kids sorta hate. :) Hmmmmm....oh well. I better go get ready. She will be here to get me in a couple of hours. She will be all organized, I will be running around late and missing things....She'll say "Mikki! You should have been up earlier" It's 6 am! I AM up early. But it won't matter...I will still make us late. :)

Off she goes....

I just hugged my 16 yr old goodbye. She is now an employee of Logos Bible Software and on her way to her first conference. I know she will do great. We have always been able to count on her. She was born responsible! In fact, I knew she was going to be some kind of girl the day I gave birth to her. After a whole night of painful, agonizing, epidural-LESS labor, Tayler decided to join us. The doctor gave me a shocked look after her little head emerged. I was a little bit busy myself, but I remember him sitting there stunned, suction in hand. He told me that in ALL his years of practice, he had NEVER seen a baby spit out her own amniotic fluid. And on his shoe, no less. His purple, high-top converse. She must have thought, "This is SO disgusting" and quickly disposed of it. Dr. Martinuzzi then looked at me and said, "Michelle, this girl is going to be a "Go-Getter" Well, he was right. She is. I remember when she was three years old and was balancing her little fake checkbook. I decided to write her a check in exchange for some kisses. So I handed it to her and said, "Ok, give me my kisses". She looked at me, folded the check perfectly, put it in her sparkly silver purse and walked away. I said "Hey, I paid for those kisses!" She turned around with a saucy look on her face and said, "Nope, not until your check clears".
I have stood back many times in her life and watched in amazement as she tackled hard situations with gusto. She has nerves of steele, and a determination that shines through in all she does. So have at it, Tayler-Girl.....enjoy. :)