I can already hear...

... you lovely readers saying, "Where the hell are the promised pix?"

Well, you're going to have to call Photobucket about that. I tried for several hours yesterday to get my pix uploaded but to no avail. I'll try to get back to it this afternoon.

Trip To Fan... Yep, my plane tickets are purchased, my post-marathon hotel is booked, Rachel is booking the marathon night hotel, my rental car is reserved and I'm about to start sending emails to redeem all the "let's do lunch"s I have gotten since I left Houston. I'll be there for a week before the marathon and a coupla days after, and it looks like I'll be lunching and dinnering with all my old homeys every day. I'm so excited I can barely stand it. Though... I didn't run today. *cringe* I went to bed late last night (yep, apple butter... the final jars have sealed) and was awakened by a fat baby kicking me in the gut (Sam's such a pushover, she cries, he brings her to bed for a snuggle *eye roll*) at 5:18am. I tried to sleep some more, but I'm such an alert waker that that never works for me. I got up with every intention of going for my run, but sore throat and chest burn threw up warning flags all over the place.

You remember last time I got sick? Remember how it started out as a "little dust" from the ship shipment and ended up being a three week trip through crapville? Well, not this time, kiddoes. I'm warding it off. I have to do a 25k (that's 15 miles for States-siders) this Sunday and I'm not going to screw it up by pushing myself to do a 30 minute run that could push this cold right down into my chest and wake up the pneumonia that has been living in there since 1996. Huh-uh! NO WAY! I'm going to bed early tonight and I'm going to drink a wicked quantity of fluids today and tomorrow and I'm going to get up Sunday and eat a 25k for breakfast, yo.

I have a lunch date today. So there! It's with a Japanese chick I met that day I went to do my French "journee civique" (remember? where I did The Joelie Show in front of all those people?). We're meeting downtown for grub. Sam and the fat kid are coming with us. (The fat kid has been sick, by the way--eyes glued SHUT with snot--but the doc gave us some drops and she's getting better.) I was supPOSED to go to a write-in last night for NaNo, but because the girls were sick and I felt sorry for Sam having to spend the evening with all three kids, I backed out of it.

But, I'm supposed to meet another chick (American, no less) this Saturday for another write-in. We're gonna go to The Smoking Dog (don't worry Ju, I ain't cheatin' on you... just convertin' others to the way of the Dog) and have a pint and write a little. This chick says she also lives close to the Parc, so we can even meet other times during the week next week.

Oh, just as a random FYI/BTW/TMI: I still don't use toilet paper or deodorant and I still don't shave... you should see my pit garden!

Sam's mom is staying in a rehab center she goes to every couple of years (remember, she has MS). It's in Lyon. So, he might take a kid or two over there tomorrow to see her. And then on Sunday, his dad will go see her and then come by the house for eats and visits. I'm cleanin'. When I get a few minutes, I scrub. I even cleaned the bathroom while the girls took their bath last night and no one drowned.

WHOA... I almost forgot to talk about the excitement... the milestone... *narrows eyes* Did I already mention that Lolo climbs up on Lily's bed, holds onto the foot rail and jumps up and down? When you take her off of the toddler bed, she SCREAMS and tries to climb back up on it. Then, Lily, who is VERY territorial, is standing there crying the whole time. One time, she took EVERYTHING off the bed as if to say, "Fine then, bitch. You can HAVE the bed, but the cover, the pillows and all the stuffed animals are MINE! How you like THAT?" (Have I mentioned they don't get along?) So, anyway, I figured that since Lolo can climb up into the bed, and since she seems to have staked some kind of claim on it, that it was time to go get Lily a...dun-Dun-DUN (!!!)... BIG GIRL BED.

I wanted to do it a week ago, but Sam was like, "Let's wait until she's a little older." NOPE. And then he was like, "Let's wait until pay day." GRRRR, BUT OKAY. "Let's wait until Thursday because Ryan will be back at school and we can take Lily with us," (because I wanted her to pick out her own bed). GRRRR, FINE. So, guess what yesterday was? Thursday!!!!

We went to IKEA (duh!) and went straight to the beds. Lily picked out the exact bed I thought she would--a very girly wrought-iron (painted white) convertible bed (it can be as short as a toddler bed, but grows two more lengths). It comes with a toddler sized mattress and two mattress extensions (oh, Europe!). We got the whole kit and caboodle--mattress pad, sheets, comforter set, fat pillow... And as we were passing through the kitchen area on the way out, I saw a wok for 4.50 Euros (I had JUST said the day before as I was eating my soggy (but YUMMY) stir fry that I wanted a wok... woohoooooooo!!!), so, I piled it on with all the bed stuff.

When we got to the place where you pick up your own stuff, they were out of mattresses and though the guy told me there would be some more later that night, and though Sam went all the way back out there to get it, there were NONE and there won't be any until next week. So, Lily will just have to wait until then. The other mattresses were WAY too thin for her and since I consider major purchases like this to be long term investments (It'll be Lily's bed until we kick her out since it extends into a single-sized bed), we want to get the good mattress.

Let's see... what else....?

Oh, I wrote a make-out scene in my new novel. *puts on best Borat voice* Zynice!!!

Oh, and I can't BELIEVE I forgot to tell you but I got my pasta machine!!!! The one that makes spaghetti and linguini!!!!! Haven't used it yet, but will do soon and will report back on it!

Oh, do any of you peeps have a pressure canner (NOT PRESSURE COOKER) you'd like to get rid of? I'm shopping for one.

Oh, I'm making a practice pumpkin pie this weekend. I've never made one from scratch (I mean, I've made millions of pie crusts, but I've never cooked down a pumpkin and turned it into a pie--always used canned punkin). I'm nervous and excited. If it goes well, I'm making one for Thanksgiving. I might even make one of my Great-Grandma Lula Belle's famous pecan pies (Sam WORSHIPS them).

Oh yeah, I'm inviting everyone here for Thanksgiving. They don't HAVE Thanksgiving here in France, but whatevah! I'm gonna cook up a turkey (well, it'll prolly end up being a chicken since my oven is so teensy). I even brought my injector and my baster just in case!!! woo HOOOO... I'm gonna have CORN on the COB (which NEVER happens in France... they're going to laugh at my little yellow (and yes, plastic! *gasp*) cob prongs I have especially for the sloppy, buttery eating of corn. It's going to be SO educational for them. I'm going to make STUFFING from scratch which I haven't done since Thanksgiving of 1998 when I was in France as a student. I can not WAIT!!! I doubt the French will be as DAZZLED as I'm hoping they are, but at least they'll be FULL. It'll be like the natives meeting the invaders again... Sorry, not funny.

Anywhoo... well, I guess that's all the news. Y'all be good. I'll see if I can't figure out what's up Photobucket's butt. Stay tuned.