A daughter's request.

Dear Mom,

Do you know when you're going to the store? Because you need to get some candy corn. Lots of it. You know, I was thinking about maybe 3 bags instead of one. Or at least two. Because uh... those bags go down really fast and I mean really fast. So tell me when and if you'll get candy corn and how many bags of candy corn.

P.S. Please get more than one bag of candy corn.

double P.S. I like candy corn.

triple P.S. I LOVE candy corn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could be wrong, but I think candy corn is Michaela's favorite.

Only 60 shopping days left!

When posed with the question, "What would you like for Christmas?"

Michaela's response: "American Girl doll Rebecca, American Girl doll that looks like me, American Girl doll clothes, a camera, a laptop, my own cell phone, a DSi XL, Kindle Touch, iPod Touch, karaoke machine, and money.

Hannah's response: "A volleyball."

I don't know which one to shake my head at first...

Fall Break --- a Photo Essay

"What are we doing tomorrow?"

"We thought we'd drive around the (Great Smoky Mountains National) Park. There's a one-room schoolhouse with a presentation about what it was like to go to school there back when people lived on the mountain and before it was a national park."

"Did you go to school in a one-room schoolhouse?"

I'm afraid to ask her just how old she thinks I am...

Little bits of random

This week the girls are on Fall Break... we're going to spend a few days up in Pigeon Forge, just to get away. Horseback-riding, driving through Cades Cove, outlet-shopping. Good times.

I'm probably the last person to get on board with Pinterest (Get it? On "board"?) but now that I am, I love it! Are you on Pinterest? If so, click the button to follow me and check out my boards!

What new shows are you watching? I am loving loving loving these three:

Two Broke Girls, New Girl, and Person of Interest. I also really like Suburgatory, and I'm giving A Gifted Man and Up All Night a chance.

And, of course, I have my returning favorites: Modern Family, Parks & Recreation, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Hawaii Five-0, Survivor, and The Amazing Race.

In related news: I watch too much TV.

I've reached a milestone.

Or, as my husband oh-so-lovingly pointed out, I'm now halfway to 70.

Thanks, honey.

11 Movies to see in 2011

Continuing with my series of the top 11 movies I want to see in 2011:

#4 Puss in Boots

scheduled release date: October 28, 2011

Yes, the next film on my list of movies I most want to see this year is a cartoon. Puss in Boots is, hands down, the best character in the Shrek movies. And it's not hard to see why:

"Stay furry, my friends."

Check

It's been awhile since I've updated my 101 Things in 1001 Days list, but I've been able to mark a few more off:

16. vacation in Hilton Head

29. read 10 books by authors I've never read before

1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
3. The Radleys by Matt Haig
4. The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
5. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
6. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife and Darcy & Elizabeth by Linda Berdoll
7. Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell
8. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
9. The Other Mr. Darcy and The Darcy Cousins by Monica Fairview
10. Lydia Bennet's Story by Jane Odiwe
11. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
12. Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank
13. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
14. Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely

46. attend at least 3 concerts

• Dave Matthews Band - July 2010
• Kings of Leon - September 2010
• Josh Groban - June 2011
• Kings of Leon - July 2011

I'm making progress with a few other ongoing tasks... reading non-fiction authors and turning the playroom into an office, for example. But I still have quite a ways to go...

Guess who...

has the mutha effin' SHINGLES.

AGAIN.