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Friday, September 30, 2016

Bicycle Built for Two!

Tops is gonna ride the wheels right off that bicycle built for two commersh!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday to you!

Well, ya know, Friends, I am an avid hockey fan, and I like the Buffalo Sabres when I'm at home and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Gramma's house.  But Rhino Reilly is my favorite hockey player.

That's neither here nor there, though.  My talk today is about the Tops commercial featuring the Buffalo Bills coach and his twin brother.  It's a pretty neat commercial, as far as commercials go.  It shows the brothers eating a buncha foods and riding a bicycle built for two, while a catchy song about a bicycle built for two plays in the background. 

I really, really liked that commercial the first three times they played it during last night's hockey game.  I enthusiastically sang along with the song.  I thought 'Boyo boy, I like this commercial, and it gives me more positive feelings toward Tops Friendly Markets! I might just hafta lobby Mommy and Daddy to shop with me at Tops insteadda Wegmans!"

Well, thing of it is, they played that commercial during every commercial break, it seems like.  By the time the game was over, I was really surprised those brothers and Tops hadn't ridden the wheels right off'n' that bicycle built for two!

Needless to say, my fascination with Tops Friendly Markets has come to an abrupt end.  I'll continue loving my Wegmans!

I love ya lots, Friends!  But we don't need to ride a bicycle built for two or anything, mmmkay?  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!


Thursday, September 29, 2016

You'll Find What You're Lookin' For!

You'll find just what you're lookin' for, Friends, so be mindful of what you seek!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, Friends, I cannot get over the Magic in this world.  I just cannot.  I don't mean the bunny-out-of-a-hat, saw-a-lady-in-half kinda magic. Those are parlor tricks. 

I mean the Magic that makes the Moon wax and wane, and makes the leaves come out from seemingly dead twigs in the Spring and turn beautiful, vibrant colors in the Fall and makes kazillions of tiny, perfect, different snowflakes in the Winter.  I mean the Magic that brings thunder and rain in the Summer. 

I suppose you could call it Wonder, too.  Science, of course, which is a way to explain the Wonder.  Big People, the great thing about bein' Five is that you understand that even when you can explain the Magic through molecules and isotopes and polar spin, that there are molecules and isotopes and poles upon which to spin is no less wondrous.  Knowing how certain atoms or chemical combinations act do not render those reactions any more mundane for their predictability. 

What I'm saying is this world is a wondrous place.  I stand in awe at my window every morning, appreciating all the Wonder and all the Magic.  I go out looking for Wonder and Magic in everything I do.  And you know what?  I find them.  You bet I do!

Take the Sun, for instance.  Ancient peoples thought the Sun was a magical orb, if not maybe a little fickle.  They made sacrifices to the Sun to keep it happy, so it wouldn't leave them in cold, cold winter for too long.  Now we know that the fire in the sky isn't a temperamental, fickle being that needs cajoling and sacrifices to keep us warm.  It's a star.  It behaves a certain way and our planet reacts to the sun's rays and life behaves accordingly.  We kind of know what to expect from our Sun.  We know why there are Northern Lights and sun-flares and we know those things can make our radios act funny.

Thing of it is, Big People, from where I stand, I think it's just remarkable that we're just the right distance from the Sun so that we're warm enough, but not boiled dry (like Mercury and Venus!)  I think it's magical that spots on our planet wake up as the sun shines on them and go dormant when it's time to rest in the winter.  Everything works so well together, our Sun, Moon, and Stars.

I think it's magical, too, when someone pops into your head, and you feel an overwhelming need to drop 'em a line, and when ya do, it turns out that they needed someone to drop 'em a line.  I think it's magical when I smile at someone and give 'em a little wave, and they smile and give me a little wave right back.  I think it's magical that we can remember each other's names.  And probably most importantly of all, I think it's just magical that there are animals in our lives that are mates to our own souls.

I really don't care if ya think I'm kinda loony for believin' in this kind of magic, Big People.  This is how I choose to see the world.  As a magical, beautiful place.  And I find magic and beauty.  I bet if you're really mindful about it, Friends, you'll see that however you see this world, whatever you're looking for when you open your eyes, you find it!

Hey.  I love ya lots, Friends!  If ya get a chance today, see some Magic and Wonder for yourself, mmmkay?  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Inflatable Falloween Decorations!

What I wouldn't give for a two-story inflatable black cat!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

So!  How's it goin'?

Well, ya know, I'm a kid who loves all the holidays, especially those that run through the Fall.  I call the whole entire season Falloween.  I'm sure I'm not the first person to call this season Falloween.  At least I'm not saying everything is Spooktacular.  If you're wondering why that annoys me so, it obviously hasn't started in earnest for this Spooktacular Falloween Season yet, but just you wait.  I'm gonna check in with ya in a month, and we'll talk again about Spooktacular. 

Anyways.

I've been to the dang ol' Lowes a lot lately, and they're just perfectly decked out with all kindsa decorations.  There's a life-size Creepy Countess that talks and her eyes light up red, and I kinda want one, but Mommy says probably not, on accounta the Creepy Countess is so very life-size and nearly life-like, and we might forget she's there and come downstairs in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning, or come home from an expedition to be greeted by the Creepy Countess, and as we might not be thinking that she's even there at first, her presence might make us lose control of our bladder and bowel functions, if you know what I mean. 

I do understand.  I'm not a kid who gets creeped out very easily, but I do know that there's a difference in the way things look in the broad daylight and in the dusky light of night.  So I'm okay with no Creepy Countesses or Grim Reapers that ya hang up outside, or any of those window-peeper decorations. Nothing to make it look like there's somebody in our yard.  I get it.

However, there are these wonderful inflatable decorations that are just the right amount of spooky- cartoonishly spooky, or maybe even downright cute.  I just love 'em!  They're big, they light up, some of 'em move, some of 'em even make noise.  I've had my eye on this big Black Widow Spider they have at Lowes.  I also liked Dracula's Castle, the big Frankenstein's Monster, the blow-up bat, and all the inflatable, giant jack-o-lanterns.  I even saw a two-story inflatable black cat decoration that I really, really want, because it reminds me of my pal Buddy the Cat!

Mommy says she really likes those inflatable decorations, too.  She says they're just the right mix of macabre and marvelous.  She says she loves the visual impact each one would impart upon a Falloween scene.

But we can't have any.

You see, our town where we live is extremely windy.  Wind-swept heights.  Wuthering heights, if you will.  (Yes, I've read Wuthering Heights- it's in board-book form!)  Unfortunately for us and any inflatable holiday decorations we would adopt, the wind is strong enough that it would come along and rip the inflatables from their moorings.  If we were to tie them down even more, even tighter, as I suggested, they'd probably rip beyond repair. 

So I'll just hafta admire the inflatable Falloween decorations from a distance, or from the car as I ride past and spy them in other people's yards.  It's okay.  I can make peace with that. 

If YOU have inflatable Falloween decorations, Friends, let me know, and I'll ride past and look at 'em!

I love ya lots!  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

I Wanna Meet Scoop'n'Cookie!

For ice cream that could be a meal, ya can't beat the Frog!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, ya know, I LOVE goin' to the dang ol' Sweet Frog!  If I had to make a hard choice between the two, I'd say that the dang ol' Sweet Frog has replaced my love of the dang ol' Cracker Barrel, honestly.  I mean, I wouldn't be MAD if I wound up at the dang ol' Cracker Barrel, but thing of it is, Sweet Frog pairs nicely with other restaurants in the area such as Red Robin (Yummmm!), Texas RoadHouse, Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, and... yes, even Cracker Barrel.  Sweet Frog also stands on its own very nicely.

I think what I love most about Sweet Frog is that I can fill up a cup fulla frozen yogurt and toppings and make anything I want, insteadda settling for the Monster Sundae at another ice cream-based business.  Also, Sweet Frog has spoons that change colors in the frozen yogurt.  That's pretty rad!  Also, I really enjoy the bright pink and green decor in the Sweet Frog frozen yogurtery. 

The thing I really, really love about Sweet Frog is that they have two mascots- Scoop--n-Cookie, and I really want to meet 'em sometime! 

If I didn't know better, which I don't, I'd think that they designed Sweet Frog to appeal just to people like me!  I really gotta respect that kind of specialized marketing!

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Monday, September 26, 2016

When Ya Dream the Potty Turns Into a Crocodile!

You know a dream's awkward when the potty turns into a crocodile!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, ya know, I had a dang ol' bad dream the other night, and I couldn't sleep well at all because of it.  I dreamed that the lights went out and wouldn't come back on, which was bad enough in itself.  I mean, I am my mother's daughter, after all, and am therefore an electricity enthusiast.  Oh my goodness, electricity- I just love the stuff!

But what made it a hundred-million-billion times worse was that in my fitfulness, I woke up from the dream where the lights were permanently OUT, and fell back asleep into a dream where I was tryin' to find a potty, and when I finally did, it turned into a crocodile.

That's right.  The potty turned into a crocodile.  You know the type- big reptile, sharp teeth, dead eyes that still manage to be piercing, just the same.  Not the kind of thing ya want your hiney-butt around, a crocodile.  It's awkward, Big People!

Do you ever have nightmares where you're searching frantically for a potty to use, and there's something weird about every single one ya find?  Mommy says that when ya dream about weird potties, you hafta go to the potty in real life, and the weirdness of the potties in your dreams are your Dream Theatre crew tryin' to wake ya up so you'll go use the real potty and not the strange dream-potties.  I don't know about that.  I woke up from that dream and didn't hafta go to the potty after all, and I did NOT use the potty in my bed.  But I still had dreams about awkward potties that had turned into crocodiles, just the same.

Dreams are weird.

It has me wonderin' now if somewhere in a swamp in Florida or Australia or wherever crocodiles live, if there isn't a crocodile wakin' up right now and tellin' its crocodile family and friends about this dream they had the other night where they were just goin' along, mindin' their own business when they turned into a potty, and there were all these hiney-butts in their face.  I suppose I have a lot more sympathy for those crocodile potties in MY bad dream, now that I think about what it musta been like for the crocodile-potty.  I mean, maybe the dream was a bridge between me and the crocodile, and every time the potty I was trying to use in my dream would turn into a crocodile and scare and frustrate me, it was the poor crocodile on the other end of the dream, just trying to reclaim its identity after dreaming it had turned into a potty.

Either way, now that I think of it that way, I definitely did not end up on the worse side of that dream!
Be careful in Dreamland, Friends!  It's a wild and crazy place!

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Gettin' Closer Every Day!

I'll give ya a hint- it's red and green and tinsel-draped and ya get PRESENTS!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, today's the Twenty-Fifth.  There's something I really get a big kick out of reminding you is on its way.  But the thing of it is, I also know you don't like it when I say the word to you before Halloween. 

So I won't tell ya what's comin' up in three months.  But I WILL give ya some hints about what I'm talkin' about...

Ya bring a tree inside your house and put ornaments on it.  Ya string twinkle lights all over the place.  Ya give and get presents!  Ya sing cheerful songs featuring jingle-bells!  Ya leave treats out for a jolly fella in a red and white fur suit who also happens to be a great friend of mine!

Hey, don't be mad at me for reminding you that the Most Wonderful Time of the Year is coming soon!  I'm just tryin' to help ya out, Big People! 

I love ya lots!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!


Saturday, September 24, 2016

Fancy Nancy!

Fancy Nancy is a Kindred Spirit, as Anne of Green Gables would say!
Hiya, Friends!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, I'll tell ya what.   I am a reader, Friends!  I love havin' books read to me, and I've even started recognizing some of the words.  One of my favorite series of books is the Fancy Nancy books. 

I think that if I were to meet Fancy Nancy Clancy and her sister JoJo and her dog Frenchie, we'd all be great friends.  Why, I'd even be friends with Fancy Nancy's friend Bree and all the other kids in her class!

I like that Fancy Nancy can use big words and doll herself all up and be... well, fancy, but then she can play ball and run around and just be a regular kid. 

I really admire that in a literary character, because I, myself, love to doll up and be fancy, but I also like to be a regular little kid.

Friends, I'm really happy to live in a world where there are books.  I really learn a lot from them, and they inspire me.  I'm only just starting to understand how great Fancy Nancy is, and am only just starting to learn how much she can teach me, but I'm hooked!  Hey- I've gotta go read.  I love ya, Friends!  And I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Friday, September 23, 2016

Hold the Mozzarella!

Don't be puttin' any mozzarella near my tomatoes or anything else!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday to you! 

Well, ya know, I am not a fussy eater by any stretch of the imagination.  But I gotta tell ya.  I HATE mozzarella cheese.  HATE IT!!!

You see, I resent the blobby, bland taste of the mozzarella cheese.  It makes me SO MAD when it's made into Caprese salad.  I mean, there were those wonderful tomatoes, all innocent, growin' in the sun, nice and sweet and all, and then somebody picks it, slices it up, and makes it sit on a plate with gross, blobby, bland mozzarella cheese.

Friends, unless it's on pizza, don't bring that mozzarella cheese anywheres near me! 

I still love ya lots, though!  So long as you aren't havin' Caprese, we can still be friends.  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Happy Fall, Y'All!

Time to embrace a new season, Friends!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Thursday to you!

Also.  I understand we've had a change of season, and today is the first Day of Fall!  How the heck right about that?

Now, you know I love summertime.  I love the vacation, and I love the warm weather, and I love swimmin'!  There's really not much not to love about summertime, even when it's Quite Hot out. 

But I understand that where I live, year-round summer just isn't a possibility.  The seasons are gonna change, so I refuse to be sad about that.  Gotta accept and acknowledge and adapt, is what I say!

And it is FALL!  I've been seein' the green drainin' out of the leaves on the trees recently, and that's a pretty cool process to behold.  A lotta the trees are gonna wind up gold, I think.  They just have that look about 'em.  I've seen some orange peekin' through the green.  But the real show-stoppers are those red leaves.  Some of the trees have already put out their red leaves, and I'm so glad they have, because red leaves are striking enough with the other fall leaves, but when they get here early, they stand out in such a gorgeous way from their green back-drop, you know?

I was curious about why those red leaves look so striking against all that green, so I consulted my Little Kids Big Board Book of Color Theory and learned that red and green are complementary colors on the color wheel.  They fall opposite each other, so they're an especially potent combination when they're seen out and about together.  Other complementary color pairs are yellow-n-purple and blue-n-orange. Put complementary colors next to each other and be prepared for some serious intensity!

So that's what makes me so excited about Fall.  Lotsa fun things happen in the Fall, but you know, I kinda just like to take in the beauty around me sometimes, too.  Appreciate my world and all!

Hey.  It's still nice weather, Friends!  You go outside and appreciate the fall, too, mmmkay?!  I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

When Plans and Car Trouble Collide!

Luckily for the Jeep, I have a heart that forgives!
Well, hi there, you good-lookin' Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

So!  How's it going? 

Ya know, I'm a Little Kid who likes to have plans.   I'm also a Little Kid who loves cars, especially our Jeep.  In fact, I have adopted the mantra "Mopar or No Car!" as a personal meditation.  I like what I like.  Nothing against what YOU like to be driven around in.  But this isn't a personal essay on the virtues or vices of any make or model mode of conveyance.

It IS about the day, oh, about a month back, when the Jeep interfered with my plans to attend a corn roasting party.  We were on our way there, and it sounded like a balloon popping!  As it turned out, it really WAS a balloon popping- one of the airbags under the Jeep!

Who knew that when they say a vehicle has "air ride suspension" that they're talking about literal air in bags?!

I was flabbergasted when I found out! 

It meant we had to get the Jeep to the dealership to get it fixed, insteadda goin' to the corn-roastin' party.  That really cramped my style and made me re-think my personal mantra of Mopar or No Car.  It did.  For about a minute.

But my pal Rozzie helped me put it all in perspective.  As Rozzie pointed out, that Jeep is half a decade old and the roads around here are rough, ruff, RUFF-RUFF-RUFF-RUFF-RUFF!

Sorry about that.  Rozzie's a German Shepherd, and she has to keep us safe.  When we were conversating over the Jeep's airbag malady, a kid with a team of horses went by, and Rozzie hates that combination pretty much the most.

But she had a point.  The roads DO put a vehicle through its paces.  And it's a BALLOON under there, making sure those of us in the passenger compartment of the Jeep have a nicey smooth ride.  Also, she got on the dang ol' Fancy Thinkin' Box and showed me all the makes and models of cars and trucks that now have air-suspension, so she made me realize that given the set of circumstances, I coulda been in any flavor of air-suspension vehicle when the airbag popped, so it woulda turned out the same way for me.  It wasn't really the Jeep's fault. 

Then Rozzie scrolled over to Amazon and pointed out how they have Greenies there, which was my hint to get her a Greenie.  I don't know about you, Friends, but I think I have a pretty smart pal in Rozzie!

And I've forgiven the Jeep for ruining my plans that one day.  It has since been fixed and has carried me to a lot of other plans, without incident. 

So as my pal Rozzie tells me, Life is all about learnin' to roll with whatever comes your way.  Even broken air suspensions in your mode of conveyance.

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday without any automotive dramas, Friends!  I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

News from the Bingham Centre

My magnificent mall wasn't complete without a dang ol' Arcade!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday!

Well, ya know, at the beginning of this year, I went on a trip up to the Eastview Mall near Rochester.  It's a beautiful mall with skylights, and little lightbulbs along the skylights, and a double-decker carousel, and a food court, and fountains. 

I decided that The Greater Bingham Metropolitan Area could use a shoppin' center like that, so my Little Giraffe Associates and I formed a holdin' group and developed The Bingham Centre, the most magnificent underground, climate-controlled, imaginary, premier shopping destination in all the Bings, easily accessible from all points in the Greater Bing with a comfortable, convenient Underground ride.

Well, as you can imagine, the Bingham Centre has been a Big Hit with Little Kids and Little Giraffes alike.  Our Food Court has won Major Awards!  All the stores are everything a Little Kid and Little Giraffe and Stuffed Animal would want in a shopping center. 

But there was a key component from my "Shoppertainment" dream missing: the "tainment" part. 

So I talked to my Little Giraffe partners, and we decided to put in an ARCADE! We're talkin' pinball, air hockey, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, that skiin' game, carnival games, water-squirt games, skee-ball... I mean, if ya can imagine it in an arcade, it's in The Arcade at the Bingham Centre!  And pretty soon, we're gonna be openin' a Go-Kart course, and three different flavors of mini-golf!

Friends, the Bingham Centre is more fun than you can imagine!  Maybe that oughtta be our tagline!

Awwww well, Big People!  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow.  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Monday, September 19, 2016

The Monday Monkey

No, I am not the Monday Monkey.
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, ya know, Friends, we usedta have Joe the Camel starring as the Humpday Camel.  He'd go around to offices and places of work on Wednesdays and ask everybody if they knew what day it was.  The answer was always "Humpday," if ya knew what was good for ya!

Joe the Camel definitely came on a little strong, and even though I count him as a dear friend now, back when I first met him, he bugged the dickens outta me.  I was never so relieved as I was when I found out he got a job at a living manger scene at Christmastime, playin' the Archangel Gabriel. 

That was a dang ol' relief, right there. 

And as I shared with ya before, Joe the Camel is now the Dietary Dromedary at St. Laffalotatus- Mercy-Mercy Hospital.  It's a good fit for him and for the hospital.

But.  There's another animal in town.  The Monday Monkey.  The Monday Monkey comes into your office or cube or desk or corner on the floor where you sit and wait for someone to come along and ask you to make their copies or fetch their coffee.  Anything you had in good array, the Monday Monkey just sloshes around with his crazy tail.  He'll shuffle your papers.  He'll draw self-portraits on your TPS Reports.  He'll make copies of his butt on the Konica.  Which, Ewwwww, Monday Monkey.  And then, he'll just put random meetings and appointments into your schedule and telephone and email you at inopportune times. 

Friends, the Monday Monkey is more obnoxious and attention-starved than Joe the Camel ever thoughtta bein'.  I finally made friends with Joe the Camel.  I don't think I'll ever be able to rehabilitate my relationship with the Monday Monkey.  His acts are really, really egregious and unforgivable.  There's no findin' out what makes Monday Monkey tick.  There's just bitter, bitter distaste for Monday Monkey.

I don't like him, not one bit, Friends, and I don't think you do, either. 

If you have any information on Monday Monkey I can use to maybe neutralize him, or if you happen to know Monday Monkey, perhaps you could ask him to update his LinkedIn profile, so perhaps he could get a job in the monkeyhouse at the zoo or something?  Maybe he could go work in the gift shop?  I don't know.  His only skills are causing mayhem, from what I can tell at this point, but I don't think we need to introduce him to actual Mayhem from the insurance commercials, because I'm pretty sure Mayhem and Monday Monkey joining forces would cause some kind of temporal rip in the space-time continuum, creating a wormhole that sucks us to another dimension where...

Goodness, Friends, I've gotten myself all worked up.  I'm going to MoonDollars for a pastry and a Bambinoccino.  Don't tell Monday Monkey where I went, or that you even saw me, mmmkay?  Not even to get him off your own back.

I love ya, Friends, but I'm serious.  Do NOT send Monday Monkey my way!  Muah!

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Rootin' for the Under-Rat!

I don't care what my folks say.  Remy is a NICE RAT!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

So!  How's it going? 

Anyways, I was watchin' a movie last night called Ratatouille.  It's a Disney-Pixar movie about a little rat named Remy who has dreams of becoming a chef.  As you can imagine, this dream comes with a set of inherent complications. I mean, generally speaking, people don't take too kindly to knowing there's a rat anywheres near their food, let alone that there's a rat COOKIN' their food.

But Remy finds a way to make it work.  He teams up with a human who's kind of a bumblin' idiot, but together, they make Remy's dream of bein' a chef come true, at least for a little while. 

You know, though, despite the undeniable heroism of a little rat succeeding in a rat-o-phobic profession, my folks say they think Ratatouille is disgusting, and that they were rooting for the lady with the shot-gun the whole time.  Big People, though.  Just because you've had a handful, like a dozen, or a couple dozen unpleasant run-ins with rats in real life, doesn't mean ya hafta go and cheer against the rat that stars in a movie of Pixar perfection!

I'm not going to be influenced by my parents, Friends.  I'm gonna continue rootin' for the under-rat!  How about THAT?!

I love ya lots, Big People.  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Sword Play Saturday!

There Can Be Only One!  And it's me!  Zoe Blake of the clan Blake!
Hiya, Friends!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, I'm a kid who likes to learn lotsa things, and one of the things I currently like learning is swordplay.  I'm pretty good at it, too.

You see, I practice every day, especially Saturdays.  It makes me feel empowered.  I mean, sometimes, it's nice to be a princess, but it's even more fun to be a princess who can take care of herself. 

You never know when knowin' how to play swords will come in handy, Friends.  I could be out in tall grass and need to cut a path through, or I could find myself in a fruit-slicing contest.  Or.  There could be a bad immortal on my tail, and I'd need to know how to keep my head on while making sure I got the bad immortal's off 'em.  True fictional story.

So Friends, I'm gonna keep on practicin' my sword play.  It's powerful stuff.  I'll see ya tomorrow!  I love ya lots!  Don't be tall grass or a bad immortal!  Muah!

Friday, September 16, 2016

The Trouble With Apples

It's time to reclaim apples rightful place in the heroic hall of fame!
Hiya, People of the Big Persuasion!  Happy Friday to you!

Well, ya know, I'm a kid who appreciates a good apple, but the thing about apples is that they bruise so easily!  It's true.  Set 'em down a little hard on the conveyor belt at the store, they get bruised.  Stop too fast on the ride home, and let those apples tap the gallon of milk they're ridin' next to, and they get bruised.  Look cross-eyed at 'em, they get bruised.  You get the idea.

At least apples are more resilient than peaches.  Peaches bruise if ya breathe on 'em and ya don't place 'em carefully on their silken pillow stuffed with angel-feathers.

But I'm not talkin' about peaches.  I like 'em, but in the pantheon of fruits, Apples are my main event.  I love their sweet-tart crunchiness and their iconic good looks, despite their propensity for easy bruising.

And you know?  Apples have fairy tales written around 'em.  I understand, apples sometimes play the role of villain.  That troubles me.

So, I'm reclaiming apples.  As you can see from today's picture, I am holding a statue of a green apple that looks as though it could star as the Poison Apple in a production of Snow White.  But it's a FRIENDLY little apple.  It isn't poison.  It's one of the good guys, because it wards off all the bad apples out there, just like a gargoyle or a tiki scares off the bad spirits.

So don't be all down on apples, and don't buy into their bad-guy, bad-apple reputation.  Apples are wonderful!  And so are you!  I'll see ya tomorrow, Friends!  But right now, you go and appreciate some apples, too!  Muah!

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Try Workin' In Donut Development!

I'm already developin' for dang ol' Valentine's Day with an eye to Easter.
Well, hiya, Friends!  Happy Thursday to you!  How the heck are ya?

Well, ya know, Friends, while driving through various towns yesterday between my house and Coudersport yesterday, I noticed that a lotta people have their Halloween decorations out.  Well, it IS fall.

But I've heard a rumor that there's a whiff of Christmas starting to creep up in the retail sector.  Holy smokes, doesn't that seem early?  Doesn't it seem like Christmas is aggressively creepin' up on our Falloween?

I suppose it would, if I weren't Donut Dude's Director of Donut Development.  You see, I hafta have the donuts all developed for each season so that there's time to test 'em out before the season, and be ready to go for the season.  So now that we're in the Falloween Season, and you're all up in the pumpkin spice everything, I've already been through cranberry and cider and frosted pear and frosted plum and peppermint and chocolate.  In fact, the donuts for Donut Dude's Exclusive NYE Black-n-Silver Special Edition Bubbly Donuts are already in the pipeline, and as you Big People settle in for Falloween, I'm workin' on developin' Valentine's Day donuts around a theme of Boxa Chocolates.

So if you think it's just horrible that Christmas stuff comes out in stores before you've even had a chance to eat up all your kids' Halloween candy, consider the Director of Donut Development, listening to Christmas musics at St. Patrick's Day, and bringing out the green as you're setting your Thanksgiving table.  It's a tough life.

I love ya lots, though, Friends.  I'm not complainin'.  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

The Dietary Dromedary!

I'm proud of my pal Joe the Camel, movin' on up!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you! 

Well, I still have my cold, I hate to say, but the happy thing is I think it's windin' the heck down. I'm not gonna give it another minute of airtime here on my dang ol' weblog, because that's just what it wants.  Attention.

So!

How's it goin' for you, Friends?  If my pal Joe the Camel were still goin' around tellin' people what day it is, he'd tell ya that it's Hump Day!  Camels are excellent spokesanimals for the Day of Wednes.  However, as you might or might not know, Joe the Camel took a job with the dietary department at St. Laffalotatus- Mercy-Mercy Hospital, designin' and deliverin' menus to our patients who hafta stay long enough to need a meal. 

His official title is Joseph T. Camel, Dietary Dromedary.  But I'll tell ya what, he could just as easily be a doctor of humorous healing like me, because you oughtta see him just light up the eyes of our patients, Friends!  You can hear him coming all the way down the hall: "Guess what time it is?!  Guess what time it is!  Guess.  What.  Time.  It.  Is!!!!!!  It's eatin' time!"

Three meals a day, that, and it never gets old.  The patients love it.  The visitors love it.  The doctors and nurses and staff love it.  And he can put together some pretty great food.  Nourishment for the tummy AND the soul!  I understand that sometimes, hospital food leaves a little something to be desired in the taste, texture, and fun department.  Not at St. Laffalotatus- Mercy-Mercy Hospital!  I mean, when your whole entire hospital is in the business of liftin' people's spirits and turning their frowns upside-down, ya can't serve depressin' foods.  Why, it'd be like Cleveland Clinic servin' those heart-attack burgers!

I'm really proud of my pal Joe the Camel.  He had a pretty sweet gig, going around reminding everybody it was Wednesday, but I think he's truly found his calling as the Dietary Dromedary!

Hey.  I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Despite Monday, I'm Still Wearin' My Crown Today!

Still wearin' my crown!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, ya know, I had a bit of a Monday yesterday, which is only appropriate, I suppose

And to toppit all off, I have a cold with the stuffy nose and general tiredness that comes along with it.  Apparently, there were germs aplenty up at the Museum of Play and the Mall and all the places I went on Friday.

It's okay.  Mommy and Daddy say that catchin' colds helps strengthen my immune system, and that once I catcha cold, I'll never catch that very same cold again, since my body has already zapped it once, and it'll know to zap it again.  I thought that sounds pretty great, but then I remembered that Mommy and Daddy have had lotsa colds since I've known 'em, and I woulda thought they'd caught all the colds by now.

Then I got the most Mondayish of Monday news: there are millions and millions of cold viruses out there, so even though I will never catch THIS cold again, there's still plenty for me to catch, throughout the course of my lifetime.

That was just the crapper-capper on toppa my Monday, finding that out, Big People.  I'm sure you can relate.

Anyways, despite everything Monday threw at me, and despite all the funny business it played on me, I am still wearin' my dang ol' crown.  You bet I am!

Monday isn't gonna take THIS kid out so easily, I'll tell ya what!

Hey.  I love ya lots, Big People, and I'll be seein' ya tomorrow.  You have a good Tuesday!  Muah!

Monday, September 12, 2016

Straighten Your Crown and Show Monday Who's Queen!

I've got my eyes on you, Monday. Don't do any funny-business.
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you! 

Well, ya know, I had a GREAT weekend, Big People. 

Friday was my birthday, and I told ya all about all my adventures I went on. 

Saturday, I got to go to the Beef Haus and out for ice cream at Short's.

Yesterday, I was mostly quiet, catchin' up on my restfulness I used all up on Friday and Saturday.  I even took a dang ol' NAP without givin' Mommy any hassle about it. 

Ya know, on a side-note, I must be growin' up, because I look at naptime now, since I've turned Five, and at least right now, I totally get it.  I totally see the beautifulness in a Time of Nap.  Especially when I'm all curled up in a fuzzy blanket, nicey warm, with a cool breeze blowing on my face.  You would NOT have heard something like this come out of my mouth when I was Four, or Three, or Two, or One, or possibly even when I was a baby, as when I was a baby the Time of Nap was something that happened organically, sometimes when I was in the middle of a bottle or a meal or a sentence.  I had zero control over whether or not I napped.  But I'm Five now, and I see Naptime as a really nice time of the day.  You bet I do!

Anyway. 

Today is Monday, and as you can imagine, it brings with it for me a good measure of let-down-ness.  I'm sure it does for you, as well, Friends.  Especially since last Monday was a Day Off, and today is not one of those.  Monday can be kind of a bully, and that's not anything I wouldn't say right to Monday's face.  In fact, I told Monday first thing this morning that very thing.  I looked it right in the eye and said, "Monday, ya big bully, I am ready for you!"  and I put on my pink tiara and sassy pants and straightened up my spine.

You should, too, Big People.  You straighten your crown and show Monday who's Queen.  Or King.  The whole point is, you show Monday who's boss, like I'm gonna today.

I love ya lots, Friends!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Sunday, September 11, 2016

My Hope For a Better World

We can make it better, Friends.  We can be better.  We can make this world better, I just know it!
Hiya, Friends!  Today is Sunday, September Eleventh, Two-Thousand Sixteen.  I came home from the hospital exactly five years ago today.  That was a big day for me, as you can imagine, since I saw my house and my room and my Pal Rozzie for the first time ever.

But I'm thinking more about a September Eleventh longer ago than that.  I'm thinking about a late-summer morning, fifteen years ago.  I wasn't around yet, or even thought of, but I've heard about it.  It's been imprinted on the collective subconscious.

It was the kind of morning, a Tuesday that year, that causes such a rift in the fabric of time and space and life that everything that happened prior to that day was Before, and everything that happened or has happened since is After. 

I understand for you Big People that were around on that day, it knocked you off your footing to such a degree that even today, you cannot look at this day on the calendar and feel a deep and overwhelming sadness, even for a moment.  You can't help but wonder if Something isn't going to Happen Again.

I don't know what that's like, Friends, and I sure hope I don't ever have a day of that magnitude in my lifetime.  But hearin' about that day, fifteen years ago, makes me wonder sometimes what I've gone and gotten myself into, bein' born and growin' up in this world.

All I can bring with me is Hope, Friends.  It's all any of us can do.  Hope for a better world.  And with each day we get to be here, all we can do is make a sincere and conscious effort to make it so.  Be kinder and more loving and less afraid.  Insteadda bein' satisfied in not knowing or understanding, make it a point to know and to understand.  We're all the same inside.  We all have bones and blood and muscles.

We all have hearts.

We all have brains.

We need to use 'em.  Now more than ever.

My people, the Little Kids, we don't know this day first-hand.  For us, it's already History.  It is my hope that my people do not repeat this History, Big People Friends.  And I hope yours don't either.

Love one another on this day.  Remember those that were lost and respect the darkness, but please see the little candles shining through to light the way. 

I love ya lots, Friends, and I will see you tomorrow.  I love ya so much.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

I HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY!

My new Build-A-Bear Cat is great, but Rozzie's still the BEST!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to ya!

Well, as you know, yesterday, I turned FIVE, and I celebrated in a BIG way.  I got to go to the Strong Museum of Play! 

We went to the butterfly garden there, and a real live butterfly landed on me!  I think it's because there were flowers on my dress, and it thought it was gonna get food from flowers!

Then, we ate lunch in a real diner that's in the lobby of the Museum of Play!  It had boomerang formica on the tabletops AND on the ceiling!  How about that?!  And the seats were PINK, which I thought was pretty neat!

Then things got real.  We went to the playin' part of the Museum of Play, and I saw sections I had no idea even existed.  There were all kinds of little caves and nooks where a kid can just go and sit and chill out on a beanbag chair, if they need a little break. 

I got to work in the Little Wegmans.  I ruled the bakery department!  And then, I discovered a secret TV studio in around behind the Little Wegmans.  I did a cookin' show, forecasted the weather, and gave the nightly news.  My cookin' left a little to be desired, but I'll tell ya what, Friends, MY weather and MY news were better than anything you'll see on the real news!  I'm all about the sun!

We played in the arcade.  I played in a life-size dollhouse.  I did Operation on a teddy bear and I felt just like Doc McStuffins!

Then I went to Joe's Crab Shack.  They let me wear a princess hat while all the servers sang to me.  I got CRAB LEGS of my very own (and they were deeeeelicious!)  And the hostess came running out when we were leaving and gave me a toy shark that the bar puts in their Shark Bite drinks!  I thought that was pretty neat of the hostess!

Then, as though I wasn't feeling like a big enough cheese, we went to that nice mall in Victor.  East View, I think it's called.  The one that isn't a deadmall.  I just love it!  I rode upstairs on the double-decker carousel, then we went to Build-A-Bear Workshop.  Daddy's never been, and he wanted to get me something special on my birthday.  Guess what.  There was a LINE out the door!  Evidently, it was National Teddy Bear Day, and there was a rush on Build-A-Bear.  I picked out a kitty cat to make, right off the bat, and had over an HOUR of standing in line to make sure that's the one I really wanted.

I did!

By the time we got out of Build-A-Bear, it wasn't long before the mall was closing up, so we headed home. We got home just before midnight.  Rozzie was waiting for us, and we don't think she even had any accident in the house!  That's a big deal for my pal Rozz!

That's what I call doin' my birthday up right! 

I think FIVE is gonna be GREAT, Friends!  I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Friday, September 9, 2016

Happy Birthday, Me!

I was born to be alive, and now I'm Five!
Friends!  Hey!  Didja hear?  As of just after midnight, I am officially FIVE!!!!  That means that TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

I've pretty much been waiting for this day since my birthday last year, hahahahaha!

Anyways, I'm pretty excited about the day ahead of me.  I'm headin' up to the dang ol' Museum of Play in Rochester, and I'm gonna have ice cream for lunch and crab legs at Joe's Crab Shack for supper.  That's the plan, anyways.

And after that, I might request that we go to the nice and not-dead mall up there that I visited back in January.  That place really made an impression on me, Friends!

I'm really excited about bein' five, you know.  I'm pretty sure it's gonna be the best year of my life so far. 

Hey.  I better get myself around!  I have a big day ahead of me!  I'll see ya tomorrow, Friends, and tell ya all about it.  You be good to yourself.  Have ice cream for lunch and if anybody asks ya why you're eatin' ice cream for lunch, you tell 'em you're celebratin' your pal Zoe's birthday.

I love ya lots, Friends!  Muah!

Thursday, September 8, 2016

So Long, Four Years Old!

So long, Four!  I had a great time!  Thanks for the memories! XOXO, Your Pal, Zoe
Hiya, Friends!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, as ya know, tomorrow's my birthday.  It starts right about a half-hour after the day changes, so today's my last time ever of bein' four years old. 

I've loved it lots.  Four was a good age.  I'd heard great things about Four, and they were all true. 

I admit that it's a little bittersweet today, as I'm realizing that I'm never going to be Four again in my whole life.  But it's counter-productive of me to think like that, really.  Yes, Four was fun.  Lots of fun!  But I have FIVE to look forward to!  Why on earth would I want to live the same year of my life over and over again?

Anyways, Four Years Old, it has been a pleasure.  The best year of my life so far, and that's really saying something, because all the years of my life have been the best so far.  I will never forget Four.  It's gone a long way in making me who I am today.  But I'm ready for Five.

Friends, I'll see ya tomorrow.  It's a big day, so I'd better go get ready for it.  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

My Plan for the Next Five Years

The smart money's on the kid with a plan! And I'm that kid!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

Hey, so anyways, yesterday I talked about how I've pretty much just hit a home-run with my very first Five-Year plan that I put together for myself back when I arrived at Jones Memorial Hospital five years ago.  It got me to thinkin' that maybe I should put together a Five-Year Plan for the next five years.

The smart money's always on the kid with a plan, after all!  And I'm gonna be that kid!

I won't tell ya everything that's in my Five Year Plan, Friends, because that could get tedious for you, but since I'll be Ten when my next FYP expires, how'sabout I give ya my top ten things that are on my Five-Year Plan?  Does that sound great?

Okay.  Here goes:

My Second Five-Year Plan, Top Ten List Edition

1.  Become a super-duper super-hero of School
2.  Make some really great friends
3.  Master tying my shoes
4.  Learn to tell time on an analog clock
5.  Become a rockstar reader
6.  Be the type of kid who puts a smile on people's faces as I arrive, not as I'm leaving
7.  Meet Scoop and Cookie at the dang ol' Sweet Frog sometime in the next five years
8.  Learn to read and write fancy, joined-up, cursive handwriting.  Big People Code Busted!
9.  Learn to ride a real bike, but not off the couch or off the porch steps
10.  Be unafraid of fractions, decimals, or playin' kickball at recess.

Friends, I think I'm gonna rock my Second Five-Year Plan! I'll be seein' ya tomorrow, Big People!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Thoughts on my First Five-Year Plan

I think I've done pretty well for myself, these last five years!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you! Didja have a great Labor Day weekend?  I did!

Well, now that I've had a chance to settle down from my busy weekend, I've gotta tell ya, Friends, that this is my last week of bein' Four, so you might be in for some Very Reflective Zoe-ness. 

I hope ya don't mind.

You see, while I have been Not Four before, it's been a whole entire year, so as you can imagine, I've gotten pretty used to bein' Four.  Also, the last time I was Not Four, I was Three, which was kind of an event unto itself, Big People.

This time around, when I'm Not Four, I'll be turning Five, and this is a biggun, as far as birthdays go.  Five.  Halfa decade.  Standin' on the doorstep of bein' a Kindergartener.  Just a mere eleven years away from bein' able to drive cars on the road with a real license and everything.

It boggles the mind to think about, Friends, because only five years ago, I wasn't even born yet, and then once I was, it was pretty much a giant accomplishment that I could lift my head up and look around and see things.  I know we take it for granted, but basically everything I've done since then has been this great big, huge deal.  It's all been pretty unprecedented, actually, for me.

Never once did I ever imagine that there'd be such a thing as The Daily Zoe Blog or The Daily Zoe Facebook Picture Show.  It wasn't in my five-year plan when I was Brand New.  I distinctly remember what WAS in my five-year plan back then, though, and that was:

1.  Get to eat real food
2.  Speak for myself
3.  Make friends with that big white dog that lives in my house
4.  Accomplish facing forward in the car, because ridin' backwards is the PITS
5.  Disrupt at least one dinner out with my parents
6.  Develop a killer fashion sense
7.  Learn to use pens and paper
8.  Become a Play Doh master

There were other things, too, Friends, but I think you get my drift.  In the last five years, I have nailed my Five Year Plan, and then some.  And I've made friends with all of you.  I wouldn't trade it for the world, Big People!  Being friends with you is DEFINITELY a high-point of the last five years!

Anyways, Friends, this week is bound to be a Doozy.  Stick with me.  I love ya lots, and I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Monday, September 5, 2016

Happy Labor Day, Big People!

I'm on-call at St. Laffalotatus- Mercy-Mercy Hospital, but I'm thinkin' of the Lake!
Hiya, Friends!  Happy Labor Day to you!

Well, ya know, I hope you had lotsa fun this Labor Day weekend adn that you're takin' a much-deserved break today.

As for me, I'm doin' Spirit Lifts at St. Laffalotatus-Mercy-Mercy hospital, on an emergency-on-call basis for today, but it's okay.  I love makin' people happy and liftin' spirits.  So it's okay with me that I'm on call on this holiday.  It's really okay!

Although I'm on-call, I'm keepin' my own spirits lifted by lookin' in on you, Big People, and also by thinkin' of my wonderful time at the Lake. 

Hey.  I've gotta go, Friends!  My pager's goin' off.  Those spirits in the Pits aren't gonna lift themselves.  You keep on havin' fun this weekend.  I love ya lots, and I'll come in and see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Sunday, September 4, 2016

If I Were Near the Water...

If I were near the water right now, Friends, this is what I'd look like!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, it's Labor Day weekend, which seems like a good time to be near some water.  I am not currently near some water, unless you count Llake Lloyd, which I do not, because I cannot see it from my house, nor can I go dip my toes in whenever I want, but I DID spend half a month near Seneca Lake, so that's what I'm focusing my memories on today.

What I think is so great about bein' near the water is that no matter how hot it is on land, it's cool in the water.  Sometimes it's quite cool, in fact. 

Besides that, when you're in the water, you get to splash.  Now, I splash sometimes when I'm in the tub, but it isn't the same as splashin' in a lake, since the water in the tub is warm, and the lake water is cool, as we've already been over.  But also, when I'm in the tub and I splash, I get in trouble, because then it makes a mess on the bathroom floor.

Another reason it's great to be near the lake, especially on Labor Day Weekend is that it's so much fun just to float around on a floatie in the water.  It's really difficult to do that in the tub, on account of there not bein' much room in the tub.  You try gettin' a floatie in your tub, Friends.  It's a cramped fit, at best.  So I send my rubber duckies around in a derby in the tub, pretendin' they're floatie-size, and that the tub is lake-size, and I'm some kinda giant.  Which, ya never know.  I could be.  In some other dimension, I could maybe be the Seneca Lake Monster people talk about but aren't sure really exists.  Other dimensions are funny like that.

Anyways, Friends, if I were near the water right now, on this Labor Day Weekend, you bet I'd be pretty darn happy. I'm pretty darn happy anyway, but I'd also be extra-special super-duper happy!  And cool and ridin' a floatie around!

You have a Happy Labor Day Weekend, Friends!  I love ya lots!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Explorin' a Different Culture with Elena!

The magic around here isn't as obvious as the magic in Avalor!
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, I'm a kid who loves learnin' about different cultures, and there's a new show on the Disney Channel that helps me do just that!

It's a show called Elena of Avalor, and it's about a princess who was locked up inside a magical amulet for 41 years!  An evil sorceress took over the kingdom of Avalor, and until the royal wizard could get what was left of the royal family out of the paintings and the amulet, they stayed right the heck there!

The catch is that they're the ages they were when they went into the magic protective objects, so Elena is sixteen, not fifty-seven, and that's problematic for her, now that she wants to be queen of Avalor!

The kingdom of Avalor is different from my culture because in my culture, we don't have flying jaquins or mon fuegoes or magical amulets... that I know about.  We don't have any noblins that have the golden touch.  We can't take a sailing ship to a magical island that has the fountain of youth AND a tree that makes ya older if you eat its fruit.  Those are some BIG cultural differences, if ya ask me, Friends!

But with as different as my culture is from Elena of Avalor, there are a lotta things that are the same, like how family is there for each other, and how it's best to be yourself and not to try to be anybody else, and to be open to learning, even though you think you're ready to rule!

Friends, I love ya lots!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Friday, September 2, 2016

Why, Yes I Am A Big Chicken!

'Scuse me while I crow about how good this chocolate in a waffle cone is!  Hahahaha!
Hiya, Friends!  Happy Friday to you!

Well, I'll tell ya what.  There's nothing that puts a smile on my face like an ice cream cone, and there's nothing that makes an ice cream better for me than pretendin' to be a great big chicken with an ice cream cone!

You know, Friends, sometimes I'm a big chicken in my real life, actually.  Public potties that flush themselves scare the bejeebers outta me.  Those hand-dryers in the bathrooms also light up my spine with fear.  Fire crackers, loud sporting events, the goal horn... all of it turns me into a three-foot-tall chicken.  Bawk-bawk-bawk!

Thing of it is, we all have our things that make us big chickens.  And a solid way to make yourself less afraid is to eat an ice cream cone.  True story.  I know this, because for my entire ice cream-eating career, I have been conducting research, and I have found that when I am enjoying a scoopa ice cream during a troubling situation, I am eighty-three percent less stressed out about it.

So.  The big chicken with an ice cream cone is onto something!

Hey.  I'll see ya tomorrow, Friends!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Septembrrrrrrr First!

Oh, hey, Warm Winter Woolies... I'm not quite ready to putchyoo on just yet...
Hiya, Big People!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, can ya believe that it's the first of September already?  We're into the -Brrrrrrr months now. 

You know what I'm talkin' about, Friends: Septembrrrrr, Octobrrrrrr, Novembrrrrrr, and Decembrrrrr.

They're called the Brrrrrr Months, on accounta they all end in the sound -Brrrrrrr, and also because the temperatures start to coolin' off during the -Brrrrr months.

Although if I'm not at the Lake, I'd just as soon have it not be ninety degrees, what I'm sayin' is that the -Brrrrrr Months can just slow their roll about coolin' things off too awful much.  I mean, we had a May that behaved like a -Brrrrrr month, snowin' on my flowers I just had planted.  That was a bummer!  So the -Brrrrrrr months can maybe hold off on gettin' too awful cold until maybe around the end of October.  I mean, I know to plan on engineerin' my Halloween costumes over a snowsuit by now.  This won't be my first trip to the spooky rodeo.

Anyways, here we are on September the First, Friends!  Summer is really, truly comin' to an actual end, but we don't need to be sad about it.  We'll find a way to have a Fun Fall, too!

I love ya lots, and I'll be seein' ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Still wear sunscreen.  It's still Summer for three more weeks.  Muah!