It's Blogging Chicks Carnival time (or it will be depending on when you see this) so make sure to pay a visit to this week's festival of women's writing. It seems to get better and better!

As for our little fam, it's off to one of the most wonderful places in the world, where the ancient live oaks greet us with warmth and familiarity...a sure sign Kiawah is moments away.

I cannot wait!

Tad and I had an unexpected date night yesterday when it ended up that all three of our children were with friends. That happens, you better believe we're going to carpe momentum!

So, off we go to one of our favorite restaurants. They had several featured wines listed, and since we were eating Italian, how could I not try one? It's summer, the sound of a "light-bodied Riesling with hints of peach and apricot" sounded refreshing. So I ordered a glass.

Graham the waiter said, "Ma'am, may I see your ID?" I looked him dead in the eye and said, "You're joking, right?" He was as serious as a heart attack (might I add, he was not a 20-something twit, he was a 30-something who was NOT wearing coke-bottle-thick glasses). I whined, "But my purse is in the car...I'M 43 YEARS OLD!" I then look around the restaurant to see who put him up to this. I'm thinking someone's just messing with me, getting a good laugh at my expense.

Graham's not giving, so Tad, being the gentleman that he is, whips out his wallet and gives him his driver's license. Tad's getting just as big a kick out of this, thinking "yeah, right...me? a 43-year-old guy with a 20-year-old girl.........!" Ick, it could be his DAUGHTER!

ANYWAYS......in vino veritas! Waiter-boy is my new best friend and if it was up to me, he woulda gotten a BIG tip. I hope Tad "did him right" just for blowin' so much air up my skirt!

Ah, but our GREAT night didn't end there.

Tad wanted to look for a golf shirt, so we headed over to our [Favorite Department Store] at the mall. Quite by accident, we entered through the baby section...instead of baby stuff, it was overflowing with "home goods", I guess because they were getting rid of the wretched excess. Well, a bin of decorative pillows caught my eye (his, too....he's got some metro in him ;) ), and there was a sign that said "50% off the lowest price" (some of my favorite shopping words to hear). I found one we really liked, and it was marked down to $17.99...that means it was nine bucks. I mean, the REST of the pillows were $70 and up (ridiculous), and this one was originally that much. How could I walk away from the perfect compliment to our sofa? For $9, I couldn't! Then, we saw a sign that said "All size featherbeds $20"...Rachel's been asking for one since Christmas before last, she's the patient type. Had to get her one, original price on that, $120. We also got a set of 310 thread count, Egyption cotton, wonderfully soft king sheets to replace the ones I didn't wanna give up that have gotten rather ragged, also about 20% of the regular price.

I LOVE BARGAINS!!!! And although Tad WILL NOT bargain shop, he couldn't walk away from this stuff either. He DID find a golf shirt...it was no bargain. Enough said there.

But my cause for smiling didn't end THERE...

He had gotten some shirts at an Eddie Bauer when he was in Washington. The salesperson forgot to remove the security tag, so we took it to EB here. Uh, oh. Fall stuff is already coming in (gimme a break) so they're moving out existing inventory. Marked half off, an additional 30% off that. I have a hard time finding pants to fit (if they fit my behind, they're too big in the waist :/), and they had some cute jeans & capris, so while Tad was having the security tag removed, I was trying on. Eventually, Tad and my-new-friend-Alvin-the-salesman kept bringing stuff back to me to try on. I was flying through shirts & shorts & capris & pants & you name it as fast as I could! Waaahoooooo, it was fun.

Really, for a rabid bargain shopper who honestly hates to shop otherwise, I was having a blast :)! It ALL fit!!! And dirt cheap for decent stuff. WHO COULD WALK AWAY FROM A $70 PAIR OF JEANS THAT NOW COST 10 BUCKS??? Not me! I WAS SAVING MY HUSBAND ALL KINDS OF MONEY. Can you feel the adrenaline rush I had? It's all coming back and I'm getting light headed just thinkin' about it, lol. Of course, I was convinced it was a conspiracy by Eddie Bauer to leave on the security tag so the buyer would come back and shop again. If so, "sucker" is stamped across our face.

My cause for smiling didn't stop THERE, either ;).

But I DO think this is a good place to stop my post :D

p.s. Oh, yeah, although I DO NOT ENCOURAGE others to partake of the vino, I do feel sorry for any sbc couple where the wife will never have the RUSH of being carded, long after her "carding" days are over. When that kinda thing happens, it's good for everybody :). Man...lots of smiling on this blog.

If you're in the SBC, you don't have the luxury of deciding.

This is old news by about two weeks, but the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution on "Alcohol Use in America", effectively opposing anything related to alcohol "use"--manufacture, advertising, distribution or consumption. The topic has made great blog fodder, but 1) I haven't read anything about it from the Blogging Chicks I've visited and 2) as a (very happy) member of a SBC church, I haven't heard a word about it from members or leaders in our church. Nothing...notta.

The legalism of the resolution is what bothers me, I guess. It sooo reminds me of Derek Webb's "A New Law" from his Mockingbird cd:




To transfer the essence of the resolution to other sins, for gluttony this would not mean dieting or restraint in eating, it would mean a permanent fast; for the sexually immoral, this would not mean restricting activity to your spouse, it would mean abstinence; for those prone to gossip, it would mean a vow of silence, not thinking before you speak and not repeating, well, gossip.

I think a few word changes would have made the resolution in keeping with scripture; as it stands, it seems contradictory. This is a comprehensive listing of references to alcohol found in the Bible. This is a pretty thorough analysis of them. I picked up the links from reader comments found SOMEWHERE...I read so many, I lost track.

Great conversation about the subject, and if you take time to click the links, don't stop at the blogs--read the comments. As for me, I think I'd like to hang with Jesus at the dinner table. Locusts and honey don't hold a candle to a fine pinot noir ;).

Tony (click his associated links, too), Justin, Steve, Greg, and one a bit different, Mike.

Cheers! (she says with a room temperature bottle of Aquafina in hand ;)

Your Theme Song is Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf

"I like smoke and lightningHeavy metal thunderRacin' with the windAnd the feelin' that I'm under" A total independent spirit, you can't be held down or fenced in.You crave the feeling of wind on your face... and totally freedom.

Who are YOU?

note added 7/11/06--Looking for Salmarnir lyrics? Check out the comments :)


Why would I, a 40-something mom, even go there?

Well, 1) my 12-year-old son just got an iPod and mentioned wanting to download something from Underoath, and 2) I happened to get this email about the same time (you gotta click that second link for this to make sense).

After reading the review from Christianity Today, I have to say, I was intrigued and open to something new. So, I listened. To ALL 11 music clips.

Oh, my.

My first response was just to LAUGH! I soooooo didn't get it. The random musings that occurred to me, in no particular order are....

-- The audience for hardcore emo-screamo has GOT to be predominantly BOYS. Or grown men chasing their youth. The intensity and passion is nothing short of a testosterone release!

-- I would LOVELOVELOVE to see what it looks like (sounds like?) when they "boldly proclaim Christ from onstage"! Then again, I'd have to wear ear plugs for the remainder of the concert.

-- Just listening to the music conjured images of some mighty fine moshing and crowd surfing. Heck, it's why they were invented.

-- I can't imagine how long a lead "singer's" (should that be "lead screamer's"?) voice could last night after night of this stuff. They must have an excellent relationship with their ENT.

-- Thank goodness for Google lyrics search...I couldn't understand a single word otherwise.

-- At first I thought I was hearing the same song over and over but with a different title...it was nice to see some diversity with Casting Such a Thin Shadow and To Whom it May Concern...I heard the talent spoken of in the review. Salmarnir** also showcased a softer side, but I have no idea what they were saying and couldn't find the lyrics on that one.

-- Their lyrics weren't negative, but I had to use a little creativity to see Christ in 'em.

Thomas also wanted to download AFI's Miss Murder. SOMEHOW, and I have no idea how, I had seen their performance on the MTV awards. Ummm, I didn't even watch the MTV awards, but I must have been channel surfing and caught them. I kinda liked the song, but of course, during their performance, I couldn't understand a word they sang. Well, before I let Thom download it, we listened to a clip...and I liked it again...until I downloaded the lyrics, too! Good grief, Charlie Brown, IT WAS ABOUT FREAKIN' SUICIDE! Painting it as a thing of beauty. I took a look at the rest of the stuff on the album, and all of it was dark and death-riddled. The contrast made Underoath look like a band of powderpuffs. (Before you get smart with me, no it didn't occur to me that "murder" in the title was so ominous...)

And, THAT, my friends, is where I draw the line at open-mindedness. I once read if you're too open minded your brains might fall out. I think that would be evident--and I would've had to turn in my parenting credentials--if I let Thomas listen to that crap (and, for the record, I let him look at the AFI stuff I found and he actually agreed :); that, after initially being ticked at me for not letting him download it...).

** If you check out the Comments, you'll see "Salmarnir" is Psalm 50 spoken in Russian...cool, huh?

and that woulda been a shame. I don't read the comics like I used to; they just haven't been the same since Bill Watterson retired "Calvin & Hobbes" and Charles Schulz died. But THIS cracked me up and I'm glad it caught my eye :). Guess it's because it's what I think everytime I say or hear the word.



Here's a Washington Post link to the strip if you can't read it here.

Realizing most of my readers (lol, I have readers?!) are women, this might not be the most pertinent of entries. Then again, I write more as an outlet, so if ANYONE sees this, that's cool. If anyone might benefit, waaaaaaay cooler. (If you don't read anything else, scroll down to the end, it's where I FINALLY make my point :D)

With Father's Day just having passed, I've been thinking about my own father quite a bit. As I posted recently, his health declined over the past year--a horrifying overnight decent--and that allowed us the...privilege...of role reversal, as child became the caregiver for parent. Gratefully, my siblings and I have a lesser role in his care due to his faithful wife of 15 years who has become his greatest advocate, and a team of home health providers.

I have had to slog through what it means to love him...to honor him...to see the value in his life (a body no longer able to process conscious thought). NOT just in lip service, but in action. The spiritual aspect of this, early on, was excruciating for me and my siblings. We have each acknowledged our need for a Savior, but my father never did as far as we knew. What an amazing time to search the Scriptures and to see what God had to say about hope. And that was enough (as you can imagine, that's another entire story in and of itself).

Before I lived it experientially, a child becoming a caregiver for their parent was a rather romantic notion to me. It sounded lovely and simple and noble. What I discovered was it was one of the most difficult "dying to self" moments imagineable. To witness your father recognizing his loss in ability and dignity, while requiring a dependence on others is agonizing. This is not pretty, but there is beauty. This might sound crazy, but each time I've taken a turn in his care, I've seen it as a high and holy calling...this is bigtime "not about me"...it's all about glorifying God through this act of service and love and obedience.

Okay....on to what I planned on writing about when I started today...!

My dad and I have not been close throughout my life, but we have always had a good relationship. He had a lot of baggage from his childhood and relationship with his parents (not good), and I'm rather certain that carried over into his marriage to my mom and to his children. I never knew what he felt about anything, but knew what he thought about most things. As an adult, and then later as a parent, I was critical of my father--inwardly, not openly. I saw his flaws, where he "failed" me as a parent. He was selfish, a compulsive gambler, and did not treat my mother well.

I have always attributed "how well I turned out" (that was NOT an LOL!) (LOL) to 1) my mother, in spite of the fact she died when I was in third grade; 2) to my in-laws, who prayed faithfully for their sons' wives from the time they were little, and 3) pure GRACE! My siblings and I did well in school, were diverse in our activites, chose good friends and enjoyed healthy relationships, were good employees, etc., etc. I've always said I was one of the most "normal" people I know (again, NOT an lol, and really, not a pat on the back. I guess by "normal" I just mean reasonable and even-tempered in my response to life...). I gave my father no credit.

Until now. I think I've finally seen that he got some of the most important things RIGHT.

Our pastor shared some insight from Robert Lewis as penned in his book Raising a Modern Day Knight. He mentioned three things [all children] should hear from their fathers: 1) I love you; 2) I'm proud of you; and 3) You do that well [whatever "that" may be] . These are all things I've heard from my dad throughout my life, and often. I've also just completed reading Captivating. While I don't agree with everything Stasi and John wrote, and it was doggone hard for me to get through their flowery, artistic, and at times, far-reaching language, I saw additional things my father offered. He assured me (and my sister) of our beauty, both inner and outer; he saw our potential, and recognized and encouraged our strengths. He verbalized this affirmation and he was generous with his touch, hugging or kissing daily, even throughout highschool or whenever I was home to visit. I'm smiling now as I remember his "whisker rubs"--that rough, gruff, 5 o'clock shadow, sandpapered against a child's tender cheek, that we simultaneously hated but invited and loved.

So...to my father-friends (and to father bloggers)...you don't have to be perfect! You can have a gazillion flaws and your children can even see 'em. But you still have the chance to make a difference by getting the important things right. I am so thankful I finally have the eyes...and humility to see this:).

but, omw! look at Rach after some time with Bray at Hair Benders. I'm posting this because I don't think she (or I) can re-create this look again. She lost about NINE inches and gained five years! Right about now, we're more than thankful that she's who she is on the inside! And, like I said, for those of you who know her, you KNOW this picture is amazing...hair parted on the side--and she actually LIKES it!????

Although I've been bouncing around the blogosphere and reading a lot of good bloggers, outside of writing banal, inane posts on mice (not one, not two, not three, but FOUR!), I sure haven't felt like writing myself. We've been on the road a good bit since school was out (to the beach...twice :D, and yes, you may be pea green with envy, while I, on the other hand, sport a healthy bronze glow) and this week it was nice just hanging with my kids. Lots of pool time--VERY thankful to have one in our 'hood--some good times with friends, starting and actually FINISHING two books (ummmm, still in the middle of several :/) and settling into the lazy days of summer.

But...in the back of my mind since we returned home, the "Hallmark holiday" to celebrate the man who gave me life was l o o m i n g, and not in a good way....I guess because not only does my father not know it's Father's Day, he doesn't know what day or month or year it is.

This time last year, my dad's mental faculty was declining but he was still living a fairly "normal" life. Now 74, until the past year or so he's been pretty active and seemed younger than his chronological age. With his dementia onset on our minds, my siblings and I made it a priority for us to celebrate together (the four of us live in three different cities, two different states). I distinctly remember my brother saying "This might be the last Father's Day Daddy is around to celebrate."

In a manner of speaking, he was right. My father was "officially" diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the end of last summer, but we've known for years he was...changing. I worked at a continuing care retirement community until my first child was born (and continued in a minor consulting role until we moved), so I thought I knew something about aging and dementia. It's a whole 'nother ballgame when it's YOUR parent, and you discover how easy it is to downplay or excuse otherwise obvious symptoms, or simply dismiss them altogether.

Misplacing keys (haven't we all done that?)...opening a Coke and then forgetting where you left it...not finding the "right" words to complete a thought. Those are the easy things to overlook. Many things I just didn't know about; his wife of 15 years is an accommodating caregiver, and I think together they found a way to keep going without acknowledging any real "problem", at a minimum, its progression. Now, looking back, I can see how he was trying to control what he could and get "his affairs in order". He was ending friendships he had for years; trying to conclude some family business; easily frustrated and confused and "new information" was difficult to process; he actually had portraits made and I can't remember the last time he had his picture taken. There was also a darker side...paranoia, irrational behavior, imagining things that weren't taking place. Since I only get to see him a few times a year because of the distance between us, I didn't see those things.

At the end of November, his life changed, and consequently, so did everyone's in our family. He had three strange "episodes", two of which led him to the ER. Ultimately, we made the decision he needed serious medical evaluation and intervention, so following a family meeting, we insisted he be admitted to a facility specializing in geriatric care. Sparing the intimate details, many of which we'll never know ourselves, it appears Daddy was misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's, and instead has Lewy Body Disease (Here's a great link which explains the differences between AD and LBD, but you have to scroll down a bit). It STILL blows my mind I had NEVER heard of Lewy Body's disease and it's the second most common form of dementia behind Alzheimer's, accounting for about 20% of all patients. What's even MORE mind-blowing is the MAJORITY of people working in the hospital--EMORY!--had not heard of it (docs, yes, support personnel, no)! NONE of his doctors ever mentioned Lewy Body's...until we began questioning it, sadly, after the fact.

The problem is LBD patients can react severely to meds typically prescribed to other patients...this is what happened with my dad, as far as we can tell. He had a reaction to... something...and has never recovered. He now requires 24-hour care and can do little for himself. Overnight, everything changed. Initially we did not think he would make it out of the hospital; then he was given six months to live and placed under Hospice care; now, he's no longer considered a Hospice patient, and he could "live" like this indefinitely (thankfully he's still able to be at home).

Wow, it's hard to write about this and leave out so many details. We've gained an experiential education during this process and our family has had to find a way to agree on his "best interests". Difficult when you're dealing with four siblings and his wife (our mom lost a battle with cancer when we were young), but for the most part, we're on the same page (although some of the pages are fraying).

So...Father's Day...I've been rather pensive and thankful I could look at it through my CHILDREN'S eyes as they looked at their father. Rachel AND THE BOYS (!) stamped a card for Tad, and they all wrote in it. I'm a words of affirmation girl, so as far as I'm concerned, their card WAS the best part of the day. Even if they had not signed what they wrote or their handwriting been recognizable, their personalities sprang to life through their penned sentiments.

So, I've spent the past week contemplating my childhood and the influence my father had in my life--and I guess continues to have--and I saw some things for the first time EVER. But THAT will have to wait for another day. When I get tired of writing, I KNOW you're way past tired of reading :).

Okay, so some of you are smart enough to consider that when there's "one"...there might be two...or maybe even an entire freakin' family.

We were headed out today, so after slathering the trap in peanut butter and resetting it, we left it in the rodent's favorite drawer. I was hoping this was nothing more than an exercise in futility.

Ick ick ick! WRONG!! We went fishing and caught a MONSTER, well, in comparison to Maurice (may he rest in peace). Maxwell (as the kids were so quick to determine his name) doesn't even fit in the trap. I couldn't bring myself to take it out of the drawer just in case he wasn't quite, shall we say, "done in" yet. If he started wiggling, that mini-beast woulda been airborne and flung across the room...and THAT would not have been pretty!

I'm not squeamish about creatures in captivity, in boxes or cages, or even in their natural habitats. I've held snakes and turtles and hermit crabs and squirrels and lizards and iguanas and hamsters and even a tarantula...something comes to mind about a Madagascar hissing cockroach I touched at my children's school, too.

But I absolutely draw the line at a rat making a toilet out of my kitchen!

Sooooo...the gauntlet has been thrown down. As soon as I'm certain Maxwell has throughly departed this life, we're going for the hat trick.

This is NOT the picture I took this morning. It's the scene I found after my kids had discovered the "mini-beast" in rigor mortis. I spared you the gruesome sight of Maurice's...maimed body. He's sleeping with the fishes now.

Great................just GREAT!

So, this morning I get a 6 a.m. wake-up call, and it's NOT coffee. It's Tad, springing up the stairs to our bedroom to tell me I got him. Maurice. The mouse that's been loose in my house. The one my kids named.

And I sleepily smiled and thought "finally!". Tad said he was gonna leave him for the kids to see, he thought they'd think it was neat. Sounded good to me. I took a picture for y'all (haven't uploaded it yet). Bloggers are nuts that way sometimes, but y'all already know that ;).

I had no mercy with this sucker. He launched a relentless attack on my kitchen drawers and cabinets and I was tired of having to disinfect every utensil or pot or pan we needed to use...not to mention the contamination of all my spices.

So this is what I get from Rachel: puppy dog eyes and a pitiful voice that says "Maurice is dead? How could you be happy he's dead?" From Stephen (same voice), he's 9: "I feel so bad for him because you killed God's creation. His head isn't where it's supposed to be." (ummm, broken neck). I think Thomas is engrossed in mindless drivel on tv, so no piercing words from him yet.

Any votes for mother of the year? :/

and their aroma, as well.

I'm talking coffee here....Mmmmmmmmm
De-li-ci-ou-so-GOOD!!

I just opened a new package of Dunkin' Donuts Original Blend and the hypnotic fragrance cast its spell usually reserved for my early morning, personal wake-up call. Can't you see the cartoon image of a character sniffing something absolutely heavenly and being lifted off her feet and floating to whereever the smell originates? That was me just now. I pre-set the coffee for automatic brewing since Tad gets up BEFORE the crack of dawn, and if it wasn't 11:00 p.m., I'd have made a pot right now.

We actually have a coffee subscription so Dunkin' Donuts is shipped directly to our door. The only store in our area closed during the past year, and although we first went into DTs, we were gratefully rescued by the world-wide-web. If you haven't tried it, you must, and soon!

When I was looking for a Dunkin' Donuts image just now, I came across this. Oh, my, it was funny to me, you gotta click the link. Not current but a little levity. Also came across this. Another dated post from a blogger I don't know, but the page spoke to me...especially with the aroma still wafting as I write.

Ah, already looking forward to the morning.

I don't use profanity for effect here out of respect for those who read me and would be offended, but if I did, now would be the time!
>:-( grrrrrrrrrr!!

Got home late on Thursday and have been catching up ever since. GREAT time away for all of us, more on that later. For now, get this:

I was cookin' a home-cooked meal last night since it's been a while...open my spice drawer, and I notice my bagged spices look weird. The white and black sesame seed bags are ripped open and EMPTY. Then I notice the basil bag is ripped and partially gone, cumin has a hole in it but is mostly intact. The crystalized garlic is completely untouched.

And it s l o w l y dawned on me that there was a mouse in my house (*&^&%$! I threw out the bagged stuff, took out all the bottles and sprayed them down with anti-bacterial spray. Like this was what I wanted to be doing WHILE simultaneously cooking dinner. I had to get something hot out of the oven and stuck my hand in the gloved potholder. It felt like crumbs were in it, so I dumped it out over the sink. I'm not too bright, b/c it didn't occur to me these things were related. Out poured a pile of black sesame seeds (yes, I'm certain they were sesame seeds).

Turns out, that [expletive deleted] mouse went drawer-diving and had a heyday in the process. Our floor was not yet sealed from our new oven being installed, so our visitor had free reign. I've had to empty ALL our drawers, run everthing that could be run through the dishwasher, wash cloth items, throw out stuff and disinfect the drawers...ICKY! Now, I'm off to inspect the cabinets which will make the drawer job look like a piece of cake.

The little sucker is playing a sweet game of hide-and-seek now, but his days are numbered. Callie is lurking.........:)

in a bit. In the South, we know that can mean minutes...or days. In this case, it's days :).

Off for some good times with family, then extended family, then friends. Yep, back to God's Country (South Carolina), including a beach stop, one of America's greatest cities & our hometown. If I wasn't on a laptop in quite a hurry, I'd be including pics...ahhhh, but let the vacation begin!

Mmmmmmm, summertime and the living is easy.

Y'all have a great week in the meantime (and click on my link in the last post!!!)

...and it doesn't really matter what the "win" is for. If you've read PENSIEVE at all, you also know I'm a BIG eleventyseven fan (our whole family is for that matter, well, maybe sans the hubby).

Anyhow, we joined their fan club, Team Unicorn. Don't think I've been a member of a fan club since I was reading "Tiger Beat" in the 70s...that was when I was IN LOVE with Donny Osmond (was gonna convert to Mormonism in order to marry him), David Cassidy ("I Think I Love You") and if I'm not mistaken, Leif Garrett (say it ain't so!).

Click on the banner below to see their soon-to-be-released video...it's pretty cute. Teens & tweens will especially like it, even more so if they have a MySpace page. Clicking on it will give us points, and we're hoping to break into the top 20 (of most hits from our site). Not sure what the winnings will be, but the glory pour moi is seeing our name rise to the top of the list.

Soooooooo, pretty, pretty please with tiramisu, creme brulee, chocolate cake & a caramel machiato on top, click the link below :) :) :)! THANKS!

Thanks to Kailani for this tag. Now you've seen it, now you're IT!

For my "friends" who read but don't blog, this would be a FUN one for y'all to post a comment to;).

Five Things in My Fridge

Butter (margarine, too, but that's nothin' more than a butter-wannabe)
Half & Half
Sourdough bread starter
Three different types of mustard
Tropicana Pineapple/Orange juice (which we can't find in this God-forsaken city ANYWHERE...actually bought this at the beach!)

Five Things in My Closet

Orange shoes (yes, more than one pair, just look at my icon du jour & this)
Bocce ball & Badmitten sets (why aren't they outside?)
My "princess" dress (she's waiting for the next opportunity to come out of the closet ;) )
Clothes I have an emotional attachment to (insane--some of my favorite outfits of my kids', the fancy lingerie I wore on my honeymoon, vintage pieces of my mom's (who died when I was 11) ). Bargains (aka junk I think I'll need for some reason in the future but was on sale for a really, really good price)

Five Things in My Purse (for me, aka the abyss....now, this one would not make my Youniquely Woman friends very proud)

6 tubes of lipstick (funny how I rarely apply, & definitely more rarely, re-apply)
A sewing kit (I subscribe to the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared!)
Matches (for the reason above)
Chocolate, gum & mints (ditto plus you never know when you might really need some foodibles)
Receipts, coupons & TRASH (anything I might actually need will probably have been thrown away by accident)

Five Things in My Car

Various articles of clothing my children shed and "forget" to take inside (MUCH worse when school is going on and they beginning stripping uniform pieces as soon as they get in the car)
Four books (that # changes daily, lol)
Cell phone charger & ear piece (supposed to make me a safe driver;) )
A picnic blanket (that is, IF Tad hasn't taken it out (that's an on-going battle); this is a GREAT thing to leave in 'cause you never know when you might need one....once again, that Boy Scout motto thing)
Swiss army knife, Leatherman tool, nail file, & yeah, I think we've had need for all more than once (my van would never pass through an airport metal detector)

A kid selling lemonade by the side of the road.

This isn't the one I stopped at yesterday, it's big business compared to the one in my 'hood. But the expression on their faces is about the same--hopeful, expectant, eager to please.

The big secret is kids don't realize us grown-ups will pay whatever they charge. My cold-but-watered-down serving set me back just 50 cents, and I got to keep the real cup they used (did mom know they were giving away their little brother's sippee cups? lol...I'll return it, no need for those anymore).

Gosh, it brought back great summer memories of me doing the same thing with my sister and brother or friends. This was a summertime tradition. We baked brownies, too, and I'm quite sure we never recouped our investment, not financially anyway. But, oooooooohhh, the fun, the thrill of the sale! The satisfaction when someone stopped to buy!!

Hope this is one thing you won't say no to either...it'll make their day, but I bet it makes yours even more ;).