Discovering a New Summer Favorite!

This is my Strawberry Lemonade Face, Friends!  Yaaaaaaaargh!

Hiya, Big People!  Hey, if you know me, you know I love goin' to restaurants in the summer, or any time, really.  In the summer, though, especially. 

Well, everything's better in the summer, I think.

But what really gets me excited about eatin' at restaurants in the summer is that they bring out the strawberry lemonade!

Some places call it just Strawberry Lemonade, and that's cool.  Red Robin calls it "Freckled Lemonade," which makes me laugh.  No matter what the place calls their strawberry-lemon mashup, I just love the dickens right out of it!

So Friends, my wish for you this Summer is for you to find a New Favorite Thing, or maybe discover an old favorite again for the second time like it's the first time.  How about that?!

Today's a great day for it, too, Friends.  Friday.  Friday, incidentally, is my FAVORITE day of the week.

Back to the Future's Past Future

Your Future isn't written yet!

Hey, hey, Friends!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, I really love the Back to the Future movies.  I think that Marty McFly is sucha relatable hero, Doc Brown is an excellent mentor for him, and the Delorean Time Machine is just the raddest ride this side of an AMC show!  I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart!

It really boggles my little mind, though, those Back to the Future movies.  Take the first one, for example.  Marty McFly almost erases his own existence, turns the big, mean bully Biff into Harvey Milquetoast, and then he goes back to the future and saves his friend Doc Brown from gettin' shot by the Libyans, effectively changing the whole entire course of history or something like that.

Well, think about all the things Marty changes about the Future when he comes back.  First of all, he killed one of old man Peabody's pine trees when he arrived in 1955.  So the Twin Pines Mall was known in 1985II as Lone Pine Mall.  Doc Brown was supposed to have perished in the Libyans' gunfire that night, but Marty goes back in time and tells him what happens, so Doc Brown wears a bulletproof vest under his radiation suit.  Doc Brown goes on to come to the Future, which is 2015, and he warns Marty that his kids grow up to be a buncha buttheads, and then he goes back in time to 1885 and finds a wife.  I mean if those fellas aren't messin' with the spacetime continuum, doing all that stuff, I don't know what they're doin'!

Unless Doc Brown was always going to have been warned by Marty about the Libyans, and he was always going to have put on a bulletproof vest before he set out for the mall that night. 

See, Friends?  It can get really mind-boggling, if you get to thinking about it energetically.  It really can.

One thing I especially loved, though, in the Back to the Future movies, is when Doc is on his magical time-traveling locomotive train, and he tells Marty that the Future isn't written yet, so it's fulla possibilities.  That really spoke to me.

You go ahead and have a great rest of your day, Friends.  And if you figure out how Marty and Doc got away with all the messin' around with the past and future that they did, let me know what you come up with.   I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow.  The Future hasn't been written yet, but our meet-up here on the interwebs is in my date book, and that's almost as good as havin' it written in pen in the Future.  Muah!

It Hurts My Heart

I can hear the laughter after I go to bed.  It hurts my heart.

Friends, I've gotta tell ya.  There's a downside to bein' me.  See, I hafta go to bed before everybody else.

Not only that, but after I've gone to bed for the night, before everybody else, if there's a groupa people around, I can hear my Big People laughing.  While I, the veritable life of every party, is languishing in a bed removed from the festivities, almost as though the Big People were waitin' for me to go to bed before they brought out the big fun.

I LOVE big fun!  And it hurts my heart to know that the Big People in my life can exclude me from said big fun, just like that.  I bet they don't even feel bad about sending me to bed before they all go to bed!  I bet it doesn't even cross their minds that such behavior on their part would hurt my feelings.

Friends, if there's a Little Kid in your life, and you're accustomed to puttin' that Little Kid to bed before the Big People go to bed, I ask you to put yourself in the place of that Little Kid.  How would you feel if all your Big People Friends, those people you love and trust most in this whole wide world, schuschelled you off to bed, unceremoniously, and then stayed up for hours, havin' fun and laughing and playing games and drinkin' Dang! Butterscotch Root Beer.  It sure as heck wouldn't feel very good at all, would it? 

Here's how you can help.  You can let the Little Kid in your life stay up as long as he or she wants, or at least as long as you Big People stay up.  Let the Little Kid participate in all the nighttime festivities, right along with the Big People.  Nobody likes to be left out of a party, Big People.  Not even Little Kids.  Think about it, please.

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

PEZManiac

I think I found my PEOPLE!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Hey, you know what?  I'm just fresh offa my trip to Cleveland, Ohio for the American Motors Owners Convention.  It was fun to see all those nice AMC cars.  There was a pink AMX that I told Daddy I wanted, but he said no, because that usedta be a Playboy Playmate of the Year's car, and he doesn't want me to grow up to be a Playboy Playmate of the Anything.  I don't even know what any of that means, but I like to play!

Daddy made it pretty clear that a pink AMX is NOT in my future, though.

Anyways, the reason I'm so happy today is because I think I've found my tribe.  You see, at the same hotel where the AMO convention was, they were havin' a PEZ convention.  I LOVE PEZ!!!!  I mean, how many times have I told you how much I love PEZ candies, and PEZ dispensers? 

Maybe not as much as I think I have, or as much as I THINK about PEZ, which is all the time.

But, you see, at that hotel, there was a whole convention of other people who are as much as or even more into PEZ than I am!  It was something to see!  There were signs all over the hotel, directing a person to people who had a buncha vintage PEZ dispensers to sell.  There was a guy there that REPAIRS dispensers.  I mean... WOW!  And there were tables-n-tables fulla PEZ things to buy: plush replicas of PEZ dispensers, pillows that look like rolls of PEZ, Tshirts proclaiming the wearer's love of PEZ... Friends, there was so much PEZ stuff in that room and in the hallway that I couldn't wrap my head around it. 

I went to Cleveland an AMC Kid, but I've come home knowing there's a place for me in another tribe. PEZManiacs.  How about that?!  How the heck right about that?!

The Secret Life of Books!

I'm gonna start learnin' Classical Greek next week!

Friends, if you know me, you know that I love to read books of all kinds.

What I get to wonderin' about is what goes on after the official story ends. 

Specifically, I'm wondering if things ever get awkward when Goldilocks runs into the Three Bears when they're out and about around the forest they all call home.  I mean, it can't be that bigga place.  I bet they run into each other in the Fairytale GreenGrocer, or maybe the movie theatre.

It's gotta be awkward for everybody.  For Goldilocks, because she got caught bein' a big ol' mooch when the Three Bears weren't home.  And it's gotta be awkward for the Three Bears, too, runnin' into Goldilocks, on accounta she kinda did that whole breakin' and enterin' thing on their house, and she broke Baby Bear's chair. 

If that happened to me, and some dumb girl snuck into my house and ate my cereal and sat in my favorite chair and broke it, and then went up and slept in my bed... why, you can bet I'd wanna hafta bring it up every time I saw the same dumb girl.  Hey, Goldilocks!  Remember that time when you broke into my house and ruined my stuff?  We shoulda EATEN you!  That's what I'd wanna say.

So that's what I wonder when I finish readin' a book, Friends.  How it turns out after "The End."  Because "The End" is never really the end.  Ever.

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

Why I Talk About The Weather So Very Much

Small-talk gives me an emotional base-line on the person I'm visiting with!

Hiya, Friends!  I sure hope you're havin' a great weekend.  The weather's bein' good to us.  It's been a complete turn-around from the way the weekends were treatin' us earlier this summer. 

Well, heck.  They were either cold or rainy for the whole month of June, now, weren't they?! 

What's that?

Why am I always talking about the weather?  Well, why not? First of all, weather fascinates me.  I can't get over the wonder of watchin' a day go from cloudy-n-rainy to bright-n-sunny, just like That.

The other reason I talk about the weather a lot is that it's just small-talk, and contrary to what some of you Big People think, Small Talk isn't a waste of time or phony.  It's a way for me to get an emotional baseline on whomever I'm speaking with. 

You see, weather's something that most people don't get too excited about.  While we're hob-nobbin' on the subject of the clouds, I get to see if my talkin' partner runs angry, or sad, or neutral usually.  That way, when we get to talkin' about the really important stuff like which is better, the green marker or the yellow crayon, I can gauge how the person really feels about the conversation, based on how their words and mannerisms have changed, compared to our original start-versation about the weather.  How about that?!

Well, because I'm still kinda new around here, you know.  I'm still learnin'.  So yes, everything IS kind of a social experiment for me.  It should be for you, too, Big People.  There's always something new to learn.

Something that shouldn't be news to you, though, is that I love ya lots.  And I'll be seein' ya again, tomorrow!

Muah!

Five...

Hiya, Santa!  See you in five months!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Summery Saturday to you!

I'm not sure if you noticed what day it is or not, but I am contractually obligated to bring it to your attention that it is now the Twenty-Fifth of the month, and therefore, it's time for me to tell you that there are five months left until Christmas.

What can you do to prepare for this inevitability?  Well, Friends, get your Wish Lists updated with a list of things you'd like other people to purchase or make for you.  People aren't always going to stick to your list, but at least you put it out there and give 'em an idea of what you'd like.

On the flip-side, now's a good time to start savin' your pennies so you can buy the things your lucky gift recipients would like to have.  Obviously, if they want fancy, extravagant things, you're not gonna get 'em that... unless your pennies you're savin' are a lot bigger'n' mine!  If that's so, rock on, you fabulous fairy godmother, you!

Just remember, even five months away from Christmas, the most important thing to know, whether you're on the givin' end or the receivin' end of a present, is "It's the thought that counts." 

So when I hand you a box with a painted rock in it, just smile big like it's that Maserati you have on your Christmas list.  Mmmmkay?

I love ya just the same, Big People!  Muah!

If Friday Were An Ice Cream Flavor

Friday!  How'djoo get back here so fast?!

Hiya, Big People!  Boyo Boy, if it isn't Friday again already! 

Well, I've gotta tell ya, Friends, if ya don't know, Fridays are just my very favorite day of the week.  If Friday were an ice cream flavor, it'd be all my favorite things, all rolled up into one fun and flavorful frozen cone of creaminess.

Hey.  Wait a minute.  That's a GREAT idea!  If I worked for an ice cream company as their Director of Flavor Development, insteadda the job at Donut Dude's that I have as his Global Director of Donut Development, I'd develop a flavor if ice cream that represents what Friday means to me.

Come with me, Friends!  This could be fun!

First of all, Fridays are kinda like a party.  And when I think of parties, I think of cake.  Chocolate cake with buttercreme icing, so there we have it... buttercreme ice-cream base... maybe Italian Sweet Cream instead.  That sounds good!  Then some pieces of chocolate cake run through.  Sprinkles are a must.  The rainbow kind.  Not the chocolate ones. But lots and lots of rainbow sprinkles.  And some edible glitter.

Friends, I'm gonna go.  I've got to figure out how to work this up into a donut.  Thanks for helping me be creative!  I love ya lots!  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!

This Know-it-All Has All the Answers!

It isn't bragging if it's the truth!

Well, hiya, Friends!  Good to see ya again!

You know, recently, I was involved in a verbal altercation with a Big Person who said I was a Know-It-All as well as that I have all the answers.  It was said thus:

"Well, don'tchyoo have all the answers, Little Girl?"

and

"Aren't YOU a little Know-It-All?!"

My answer to both those questions was "Why yes!"

Now, before you go thinkin' that your pal Zoe missed the obvious sarcasm dripping from both those queries, relax.  I TOTALLY got it... the full force of it, too! 

Thing of it is, it isn't an insult for me to be called a Know-it-All, because when I DON'T know something, I go lookin' for the answers, and therefore, once I learn it, I know it.  I don't know about a lotta things, but I am a voracious learner.  Compared to SOME people, namely the ones who like to call me a Know-It-All, I s'pose I DO know it all.

That's their problem, not mine.

As for having all the answers, that's something I own about myself, too, although it doesn't tell the whole story of me.  What I really think is that I have a good measure of Common Sense, and I always have AN answer.  There are people out there who like to call me out on this one, too, but it's kind of like the people who say I'm a Know-It-All.  When you have NO answers, people like me who have AN answer always, can be a little hard to take.

Again, their problem, not mine.  There's a whole WORLD of learnin' to be had.  Choosing not to, and then complainin' about those of us who DO like to learn and share our knowledges is much like going to an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord restaurant, just eatin' the free saltine crackers and havin' a drink of water, and goin' away mad and hungry.  I just don't get it.  I like to learn, and I like to eat.

So now you know.  I am a proud Know-It-All who DOES have all the answers.  And I love ya lots, Big People.  I really do!  Muah!

No-Pressure Wednesday!

I'm a big fan of no-pressure Wednesdays!

Hiya, Friends! 

Hey, so it's Wednesday!  I like that.  I like Wednesdays.  This one's a no-pressure Wednesday, and do you wanna know why?  Because it isn't close to the middle of the month, like last week's was.  Oh, it was soclose, wasn't it?  I mean, if it were Wednesday, September Fifteenth, or Wednesday, November Fifteenth, or Wednesday, April Fifteenth, or Wednesday, June Fifteenth, it woulda been smack-dab right on.

But it wasn't, was it?

Nope!  We're in a Month of Thirty-One Days.  I know I covered this last Wednesday, so I won't belabor the point today.

What I would like to focus on is that I just love these Wednesdays where there's no pressure to perform.  Back when we usedta get a Wednesday visit from my friend Joe The Camel, there was always pressure to answer him correctly when he'd come through, asking at the toppa his lungs, 'What day is it?!'  Even though that was funny, there was some pressure to get it right.

I'll admit I cracked under that pressure a timer two.  I really did.

Anyway, Friends, I sure hope you have a Great Day today.  I love ya so much, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

The Icy Touch

Frosty might not be Olaf, but he's still my favorite frozen friend!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

You know what?  One of my favorite movies to watch in the summertime is "Frozen," because all that snow and ice cools me off after I've been outside playin' in the hazy, hot, and humid weathers.  

Plus, tell me it wouldn't be just a little bit handy to have some of the icy touch this time of year.  I'm not talking about the ability to set off an enchanted, eternal winter or anything, but think  about how convenient it'd be to be able to just put your fingertips on a bottle of ... say, Dang! Butterscotch Root Beer that you just pulled outta the box, all warm and the opposite of refreshing, and then give it just a little tap with the icy touch, and now suddenly, you have a nicey frosty Butterscotch Root Beer to enjoy instantly, insteadda havin' to wait for that slow refrigerator to do its thing. 

Or.  Say you're ridin' along in your car, and you stop to eat at a restaurant, or go shopping or do whatever you do that leaves you having to get into a boiling hot automobile.  How nice would it be just to twinkle your fingers and drop the temperature of that hot automotive interior down to a nicey comfortable sixty-eight-to-seventy-two?  No more havin' to ease gingerly down onto an over-pre-heated seat!

Yep, so watchin' Frozen here in the hot summer really works wonders for this gal, Big People!  It gets my imagination all up in its high gear, and it helps me cope with the hotness.

I hope you're stayin' cool and enjoyin' things today, Friends!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Don't Throw A Fit About Fitness!

Practice makes perfect, Friends!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, ya know, bein' healthy is a big part of my life.  Learnin' new ways to exercise is one of my favorite hobbies!

That's why I'm startin' the day and the whole entire WEEK off, down in my gymnasium.  I think that if I start the week off by bein' active and doing something nice for my heart and lungs and muscles, the rest of my week will just go smoother.

Lotsa people say to me, "Zoe, I feel like sucha goof when I exercise, so I don't do it!"

To them I say, first of all, what's so wrong with bein' a goof?  I'm a goof, and I have so much fun in my life, because of it!  But if their complaint about feelin' like a goof really comes from maybe they don't feel very coordinated, or they're afraid the lacka coordination is gonna make 'em hurt themselves, then I really have something to work with.

Bear with me, Friends, and I'll tell ya why.

You see, all of us were beginners at a new thing, sometime.  We all looked and felt like goofs when we first started out.  I am an AWESOME aerobic dancer NOW, but when I first started, I tripped over my own feet so much, I had to remind myself to get outta my own way!  If I fell down too much, I just yelled "Ab Time!" and did some leg-raises insteadda the aerobics.  But I kept at it, and I got better-n-better, little by little, you know?  It's true.  Practice makes perfect, Friends!

And if you're rightfully afraid of hurtin' yourself, you start out small and gradual and make your way up to more advanced moves.  I don't think anybody oughtta be reachin' for the Really Big Weights or tryin' to box-jump on a super-tall box, just startin' out.  Just like I wouldn't recommend tryin' to do ALL the footwork AND arm-moves while you're aerobicizing.  Get one thing down pat and then add weight, or add moves, and pretty soon, you won't be a beginner anymore.

How about that?!

But I hope you never give up bein' a goof, Friends.  It's so much more fun to live life on the Goofy Side!  Muah!

Back to Goofball Island!

Goofball Island is my favorite Island of Personality!

Friends, have you seen Inside Out yet?  It's the story about all the little voices inside your head.  It's pretty great.  I learned so much about my emotions, and how all the feels work together in my brain to make me... well, ME! 

I also learned that there's a buncha islands inside my mind that make up different aspects of my personality.  I know I've talked to you about Goofball Island before, but I really can't describe enough how very Favorite an Island Goofball Island is for me.

I mean, I pretty much life on Goofball Island.  I love to do crazy stuff.  I love to do crazy stuff, especially, if it makes people laugh and laugh.

Other people laughing makes ME laugh! 

I know that sometimes, as we get older, Goofball Island becomes less important to us, but thingofitis, I'm really hoping I can hold onto Goofball Island for keeps.  It's quite literally my Happy Place.

I hope you find YOUR Happy Place, Big People!  I love ya lots!  See ya tomorrow!  Muah!

No Particular Place to Go!

I've got no particular place to go, except right through this dang ol' writer's block!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday!

Well, if ya haven't noticed from the quality of my posts, recently, I'm still sufferin' from the dang ol' Writer's Block.  Summeritis. 

Today, I'm deploying another strategery for dealin' with it.  I'm ridin' along in an automobile.  Sometimes, you've just gotta get in a car and ride.  Listen to musics.  Watch scenery go by.  Speculate on what the people you pass are up to, and invent little backstories for them.  You know, pretty much anything that gets the ol' noggin cookin' up great ideas.  Or at the very least, some passable ideas, you know what I'm sayin'?

Friends, this Writer's Block thing is just as frusterating for me as it is for you.  Maybe even more frusterating for me.  I sure as the diddle love ya for stickin' with me during this creatively tough time.  I love ya lots! Muah!

Zoe In Motion!

Dancin' sets your mind free, too!

Hello there, Friends!  Happy Friday to you!

Yes, I'm still dealin' with the summertime writer's block, but I'm continuing to write my way through it, and also, I've learned over my time as Toddler Blogger Extraordinaire that moving and jumping through the air really goes a long way in letting my mind let go to do the things it does best!

So what I'm gonna do today is dance like it's Friday, which, coincidentally and conveniently, it actually IS!  How about that?!

I don't care what kind of music's on, Friends.  Actually, I don't care if there even IS music!  I have a whole soundtrack up in my head, after all.  I don't even care if there's people lookin' at me, Friends.

Because dancin' just lets my mind just free right up and give me a whole buncha creative thoughts, just like that.  You bet!

Some people go out and weed the garden when they're havin' the summertime writer's block, but I say dancin's way more fun than weedin' the dang ol' garden!  How do you tell the Good Plants from the weeds, anyways?  You can't!  So it's better to dance, dance, dance! 

Awwww, I love the heck right outta ya, Big People!  Muah!

Summer Block Party

I have a case of Summertime Writer's Block.  It's just awful, Friends!

Hiya, Friends!

Hey, you know what?  I've been doin' a good job, keepin' up on making sure The Daily Zoe Blog really is DAILY.  I sure as all get-out have!

And I fully plan to keep up with that momentum.  But I wanted to confess to you that sometimes, even I, your pal with the prolific posts, suffers from some sort of the writer's block.

That's what's occurring today, Friends.  I have the summer writer's block.  Like a summer cold, it's much like regular writer's block, but it feels like more of a nuisance, because it's SUMMER, and everything's supposed to be fun and easy in the summertime.  Not blocky and all stuffed up.  Nobody likes that.

The best way to break up a case of Summertime Writer's Block, though, is to keep on writin' through it.  I'll be here every day, Big People.  Writin' through my Summertime Writer's Block.  I hope you'll stick with me.  I thank you for your patience and persistence during this difficult time!

And I love ya lots, Friends!  Muah!

A Wabi-Sabi, Nearly Perfect Middle of the Month

I love it when all the middles align, pretty much!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Wednesday to you!  It feels so good to know what the heck day of the week it is, I'll tell ya what!

I like that the fifteenth of this month falls on a Wednesday.  Wednesday is the middle of the week, and the fifteenth is pretty much the middle of the month.  I mean, I know that technically, months that have thirty-one days, the sixteenth is the smack-dab middle of the month, and that would be more suitable for a Wednesday, but I don't wanna let little details like that ruin my happiness for today.

You know, the Japanese have a term for this kind of embracing the perfectly imperfect.  It's called 'wabi-sabi,' and not only is it super-fun to say, but it's also a wonderful way to approach life. 

So friends, get out there and just embrace the perfectly imperfect, wabi-sabi kind of middle-of-the-month we're having. 

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

When Your Happy Bugs Somebody Else

I could turn down my happy, but I just don't wanna!

Hiya, Friends!  How are you this Tuesday?

Me?  I've been better, you know?  Not for any GOOD reason.  It's kind of a dumb one, but one that's buggin' me a little, just the same.  Lemme wanna tell ya about it.

If you've been followin' along very much, you'll know that I usedta have a friend named Pidgie McDougall that I used to work with over at The Company.  And before I had a friend named Pidgie McDougall, I had a frenemy named Pidgie McDougall, and even before that still, I had an enemy and a nemesis named Pidgie McDougall.

They're all the same Pidgie, beeteedubs.  That's important.

You see, Pidgie and I didn't like each other the first hundred or so times we met, but eventually, we got over that.  Pidgie said she liked how I could make her happy.  She really has to work at bein' happy. I kinda liked that once ya got over Pidgie's mean-girl presentation, she could be really kinda nice and thoughtful, so long as you didn't say something to make her mad, or stumble into a discussion with her upon which you fell on a different side of opinion. 

I kinda learnt to take Pidgie's bad moods and put 'em in my back pocket. 

Well, then I had a bad day at The Company, and I quit in spectacular fashion, and went to work at my pal Donut Dude's, in his World Corporate Headquarters.  I didn't know Donut Dude was such a big deal, but he is, and he put me in charge of developin' new donuts for his company.  This is kinda a big deal, but to me, it's just fun.  I do it because it makes me lotsa happy!  Not because it's one of those big deal jobs. 

Not long after I wasn't miserable at The Company anymore, Pidgie said she didn't wanna be my friend.  She said I was too happy.  And she started bein' mean to me again, just like before we were friends.  Whether I was right there, or not. 

I got to thinkin' that maybe I was the problem.  Maybe it's a thing to be TOO happy, even though the idea seems absurd to me, I'll admit.  But, hey.  I can see things only through my eyes, and maybe I AM annoying to people who are lookin' at me from other angles.  So I tried to turn down my happy around Pidgie, when I'd run into her.  I didn't wanna bother her with my bein' so happy!  But no matter how much I'd turn down my happy, I was still 'too happy' for Pidgie's likin'. 

It got to the point where I actually started feelin' less happy, instead of just actin' like I felt less happy, and not just around Pidgie.  And she still didn't wanna be my friend.

It just isn't worth it, Friends.  If your happy bugs somebody else, that's their problem.  It's their job to manage their own feelings.  It isn't any of our jobs to try to anticipate and manage someone else's reactions to the world around them.  It isn't worth it, turnin' yourself into a less sparkly version of you, just to make someone happy who maybe doesn't have the happy chip in their brains, or they just like to see how far outta shape they can bend someone. 

I don't mean to disparage Pidgie McDougall.  I'm just not gonna stop bein' me, just to be friends with her.  Real friends accept who you are, on your own terms, and they find a way to work around your quirks like bein' too happy or too sad or afraid of the Dyson Air Blade hand-dryers at the dang ol' Red Robin.  I guess if there's a good side to bein' dumped as a friend, it's learnin' things like that.

As a token of my deepest appreciation, I've taken the liberty of sending Pidgie McDougall a glitter-bomb to her office over at the dang ol' Company.  But you didn't hear that from me, mmmkay, Big People?!

I love ya lots.  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Knock-Knock! It's Summer!

I think Summer got lost in the road-construction, but now she's here!

Well, hiya, Friends!  How was your weekend?

I'll tell ya what, the weekend where I live was just about the closest to a Chamber of Commerce weekend you could hope to ask for! 

It's true!  It was sunny, and not too humid, and warm!  Why, imagine my shock and awe when Mommy gave me wardrobe choices that didn't involve long pants and long sleeves!  I thought, what madness is this?!

Turns out, it wasn't madness at all!  Turns out that Summer slipped in somewheres between rain-storms, and boy if it isn't ever GREAT to see her!

Now that Summer's here, maybe I'll get to use my NEW swimming pool.  My Mushroom Pool has gotten kinda tiny for me to really swim in anymore, but I still use it as a comfortable lounger, down in the gymnasium.  Now that Summer's here, maybe I'll get to get some wear outta my sandals I bought at the dang ol' Target about a month back. 

Or heck, maybe I'll just be able not to hafta wear sleeves for a little while.  You know, that's kind of a big thing, Big People!  Not havin' to wear a buncha layers in order to be comfortable!

Well, I love ya lots, Friends, but I've got some serious playin' to do today.  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

I Point to Magnetic Friday

Like a compass that always points North, I point to Magnetic Friday, I s'pose, Friends!

Hiya, Big People!  I hope you're havin' a nice Sunday!  Ya really deserve a nice one!

I've been mixed up on what day it is, most of this week, Friends. 

I got back on the ball for the Weekend, of course, but on Tuesday, I thought it was Wednesday for pertineer most of the day, and although I was corrected and learned that no, it was only Tuesday, by the time Wednesday rolled around, it definitely had more of a Thursday feel to it.

Boyo boy, Friends, did people ever think I was nuts.  By Thursday, which felt like Friday to me, I figured to heck with it all, celebrated the day just like it was a Friday, and then enjoyed a second Friday on Actual Friday.

You know what it is, Big People?  Do you know what my issue is?  I'm like a compass that always points north, you know?  Except my North Pole is Friday, and all's I wanna hafta do is just zero on Friday and head straight there.  Doesn't matter if it's Monday, Tuesday, or any NonFriday day.  Friday's where I'm headed, so outta my way, I guess!

Well, tomorrow starts a brand new week, doesn't it?  I can be more on the ball this coming up week.  Or not.  I haven't decided.  I know which direction I'm headed in the week!

I love ya, Friends!  I'll see ya tomorrow, whatever day that is!  Muah!

Oh Thank Heaven...

I'm not even sure what a 7-Eleven or a Slurpee is!

Well, Friends, today's 7/11.  I've only just learned that there's a chain of convenience stores called 7-Eleven.  They've declared today 7-Eleven Day and they've begun a tradition of giving customers a free 7.11-ounce Slurpee on 7-Eleven Day.

Isn't this just the heck of it, though?  The closest 7-Eleven to me is twenty-eight miles away.  Not exactly reachable by tricycle or even by the Model Z. 

Nope. 

For my "free" Slurpee, I'd hafta ask Mommy to strap me into my carseat in the Jeep, and drive to the nearest 7-Eleven.  By then, we'd be kinda hungry, and wanting more than just a little cuppa artificially-flavored ice slush. 

It'd be fun and all to participate, but it just doesn't seem worth it to this Little Kid.  I mean, if 7-Eleven were right across the street, or just down the road, like it is for lotsa people, I'd say 'let's go!' to Mommy. But it isn't like that for us.

Bein' a Little Kid from the Far, Unlit Unknown, you learn to accept and adapt to things.

Anyway.  In lieu of a free Slurpee today, I found a Slushee Mug in the freezer, and I've added to it some orange juice.  As I type, it's shaping up to be a nice slushy Arctic Orange treat.  I won't even hafta get strapped into my carseat to enjoy it, Big People!

Hey, if you're near a 7-Eleven, go participate in 7-Eleven Day.  It's probably one of those cultural things that's good to participate in.  I'll enjoy my Arctic Orange Slush treat.  I love ya lots, no matter whatchya do today, Big People!  I sure do! 

I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Sit Up And Drive!

I'm just gonna take this green car out for a spin on this Fabulous Friday!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Friday to you!

Hey, you know what?  One of my favorite movies is Wreck-It Ralph.  I love all the characters, even when that creepy King Candy turns into a giant lobster-spider and tries to impale Ralph and Vanellope.

But that's gettin' ahead of me.

The other reason I love Wreck-It Ralph is because one of the main characters is a plucky little girl, like ME!  And she loves to drive.  I love to drive!  I love cars of all kinds, Friends, but I especially love the Green Hornet that shows up periodically for me to ride in.  I love its hornet hood-art, I love its eye-catching green paint job, and I especially love its rumbly engine and exhaust. 

Man-o-Man, they don't build cars like that anymore, do they?  And it's a real shame.  There's nothin' I love more than riding around in that car, watching me go by the world outside.  Sometimes, I even take a nap in that car, just because the engine noises are like music in my ears.  They just are, Friends! 

I don't think that makes me a weird little kid.  I just like what I like.  Other little kids just don't get it, and that's fine.  Someday they will, by golly!

Anyways, I love ya lots, Big People.  I hope you sit up and drive today, whether you're tryin' to earn a medal, or just because you like drivin'.  It's a whole lotta fun!  Muah!

Life Is Like A...

I'd like a boxa chocolates right now, Friends... just sayin'!

Hiya, Friends! 

You know what?  Even though Forrest Gump said that "life is like a box of chocolates," which is kinda true, I'd also make the argument that life is like a ship, and you gotta steer it so it turns out good!

Well, ya know.  Ships can hafta deal with storms, and in life you have storms.  You've just gotta grab that ship's wheel and steer, steer, steer.  Some things, you've gotta leave up to chance, like that boxa chocolates, but that doesn't mean you can't steer your ship around 'em, or through 'em, whatever is the best course of action.  Be ready for anything, in other words. 

You know, though, Friends, the more I stand here at my ship's wheel, all duded up in my storm-gear, the more I think I'd like to enjoy a boxa chocolates, too, while I'm steerin' my ship.  I pretty much like everything in a boxa chocolates, especially the nougats, and even the jellies.  I make the best out of any chocolate I bite into, actually.

I mean, that's just how you've gotta do it, Friends. 

I'm sorry.  I can't get my mind off'n this boxa chocolates I keep thinkin' about.  So I'm gonna wanna hafta letchya go for right now and scare me up some chocolates.  I love ya lots, Big People, and I'll be seein' ya tomorrow.  Muah!

It's a Math Day!

Seven plus Eight is Fifteen.  I would like Fifteen lollipops right now!

Hiya, Friends!  How are you? 

Did you know that today's a Math Day?  That means that the numbers that make up the date also make up a coherent number sentence.  Observe:

It's 7/8/15 today!  So.  If ya put it this way, it'd be 7+8=15! 

How about that?!

Now, of course, if you put in the year as 2015, it messes up the whole works, so I'm choosing to ignore that, for my own convenience.  The math required to make that one work is above my current pay-grade. 

Math Days are kinda cool, Friends.  At least I think so!  I love it when there's more to the date than the date, you know?

Friends, I love ya lots!  Now go out and do some math on this Math Day!  Muah!

Lucky Seven-Seven!

This is the face of a lucky Little Kid, Friends!

Hiya, Big People!

Hey, as you know, today is July Seventh.  That makes it Seven-Seven, and to me, that seems kinda lucky!

Actually, when you get right down to it, luck is really a combination of hard work, persistence, perseverance, resilience, and timing.  It's all stuff you can work on yourself.  All of that is learnable.  It's doable.

So if you feel like you've got bad luck, you can work on working harder, being more persistant, and more resilient.  You can work on your timing. 

And.  It's a scientific fact, because I say so, that people who smile a lot are 87% luckier than people who stomp around with their mad faces on most of the time.  Smiling is definitely something you can train yourself to do more of!  You bet you can!

Hey, Friends!  I love ya lots.  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Tomorrow's a Math Day, and if you don't remember what that is, I'll be talkin' about that in tomorrow's post!  Muah!

Milk Glasses

I don't know why Mommy hates my milk glasses so much!

Hiya, Big People!

You're still talkin' to me after yesterdee's post!  Excellent.  Not that I was worried.  Not that I feel like I hafta apologize for the way I see the world.  I don't.  I just know it can be a polarizing issue, and I'm just glad we can all be friends and still believe what we each believe.  How about that?!

Anyways.  Check out my glasses I'm wearin' today!  Aren't they so cool?!  They're these crazy straw glasses.  I can put 'em on my face, put one end of the straw in my mouth, the other in a glassa milk, and just you behold the fabulosity!

What I can't understand is this: Mommy HATES my Milk Glasses.  I mean hates 'em with the white-hot intensity of a hundred-thousand suns.  We're talkin' top-level hatred, and if you know my Mommy, you know this is really sayin' something about how she feels about these Milk Glasses.

She says it's because they're a pain in the butt to clean.  I think it's because ultimately, Mommy hates fun.

It's the logical conclusion to which I've arrived, because yes.  See, the Milk Glasses are just pure fun.  Mommy hates the Milk Glasses.  Therefore, Mommy hates fun.  The end.

I still love my Milk Glasses, Friends.  And I sure love you.  I'll see ya tomorrow.  Be yourself!  Muah!

I've Got My Orange Crush: How I Restore My Soul

I know my Soul best; I'll restore it how I see fit!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you! 

As you know, Sundays are days that are good for restorin' the Soul, and for me, that means ridin' on my Kubota tractor that we call "Orange Crush."

Some people would call mowin' the lawn and scoopin' up dirt and moving it to other areas of the yard "work."  I call it "great fun."  I call it very restorative for my Soul.  You bet I do.

Here's why.  I feel closer to the Maker when I'm out enjoying and taking care of all the things He made, than I would if I were in a building, just bein' talked at about the Maker by someone who may or may not have ever met Him.  Get my drift, Big People?  I feel a lot more connected when I can walk up to a flower or a butterfly or a tree and say "Hey, God, wouldja LOOK at that?!  That's some IMPRESSIVE work ya just did!  I'm not only a friend, I'm a FAN!"

I get squirmy when Big People tell me how I oughtta be spendin' my Sundays.  I get squirmy when Big People tell me how I oughtta sit still in a building and not say anything and listen as another Big Person tells me how I oughtta see God, because that's the way THEY do it, and my way's different from theirs, so it can't possibly be right.  I get real squirmy when these things come up.

Thingofitis, God and I are cool.  He and I go way back.  And I DO listen for Him, in the dark, in the mornings before I start my day.  During the day when there's a lull in activity.  I hear Him.  We talk.  And when I dance, He's right there, sending me warm sun-rays to dance in, or raindrops.  I like all the weathers.

So anyways, Friends, this is how I restore my Soul.  Getting out and being in Nature, in Creation.  I don't hafta set aside a special day.  I don't hafta go to a special building.  I don't even hafta let anybody else know that I'm restorin' my Soul.  I don't need to wear it on my sleeve or wrap myself in a billboard-cover that this is what I'm up to.  It's kinda between me and my friend God.  But just so you know, He says I'm doin' all right, doin' this my way.  And you're doin' all right, doin' this your way, too.  No sensa fightin' about whose way is best, because they're all best. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got my Orange Crush waitin' for me.  We're gonna go ridin' up and down the yard.  We're gonna stop and smell the flowers and visit with the butterflies. 

I love ya lots, Big People.  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow.  Today, restore your Soul however you see fit.

Happy Independence Day, Friends!

Hooray for the red, white, and blue!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Saturday! 

As you can see, I'm all decked out in my Fourth of July Finery, to celebrate Two-Hundred-Fortieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Well, I have some big plans for this Independence Day.  I'm gonna watch some fireworks, eat some food.  You know.  All American things to do. 

I won't be setting off any fireworks of my own, though, Friends.  Nope.  I want to, but I'm "too little."  Whatever. 

I'm not gonna let this hold me back from enjoying fully this Independence Day, Friends.  I'll be designing and executing my very own world-class displays of pyrotechnic prowess soon enough.  Soon enough, Big People. 

You just watch the heck out for me.  How about that?!

Happy Fourth of July, Friends!  Enjoy it!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Ridin' Along in My Automobile!

Drivin' the Model Z is ridin' along in high style, Big People!

Hiya, Friends! 

As you know, it's the start of the Fourth of July Holiday Weekend, and what better way to celebrate sucha big weekend than by goin' for a little drive in my Model Z?

I'll tell ya what's better than going for a little drive in the Model Z, Friends!  Goin' for a BIG drive in the Model Z!  This car is nothing but high style, if I do say so myself!

So what if it doesn't have fancy features like air conditioning or a Bose stereo system?  I don't need those things!  But I do insist upon comfort, and style, and a just-me-sized driving experience, and that's where the Model Z not only delivers, but delivers it all with a big pink bow!  How about that?!

You know, Friends, I've decided that I like what I like, and it doesn't matter what anybody else has to say about it.  If ya like my car, that's great!  If ya don't, I hope you find a car that you like as much as I like mine!  And I bet it'll be just the ticket for you!

I'd stick around a little longer, Friends, but I wanna get to drivin', mmmkay?  I'll ketchup with ya tomorrow!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Have a Beary Nice Day!

Bearie Zona Cloud is one of my best new friends!

Friends!  Happy Thursday!

Hey, you know what?  I love meeting new people, especially when those new people are very interesting bears like my friend Bearie Zona Cloud! 

Bearie Zona Cloud lives on the porch at Spragues Maple Farms up in Portville, and she greets visitors to her restaurant with a lantern-light and a nice place to sit and wait or just watch the world go by.

I got to sit and visit with Bearie Zona Cloud for a little bit after my recent trip to Spragues.  She was happy I liked my lunch, even though I had the Patty Cake insteadda the Berries on a Cloud- the dish that's named after her!  I told her I'd considered ordering the Berries on a Cloud, but saw that it's a lotta eatin' for a Big Person, so a Little Kid like me, with a Little-Kid-sized belly and all, wouldn't have a chance of puttin' a dent in that dish!  She agreed and said I'm a smart little cookie for orderin' the more appropriately-sized Patty Cake. 

It made my day, seein's how Bearie Zona Cloud is kinda an expert on Spragues foods. 

Friends, she's sucha nice bear!  I hope the next time you're in Portville, you take some time to visit with Bearie Zona Cloud!  You won't be sorry!

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

Goofball Island!

I live on Goofball Island!  It's my Favorite!

Hiya, Friends!

Hey, recently, I got to watch the movie Inside-Out at the movie theatre.  I thought it was fascinating.  I loved all the characters, especially the little voices inside the main character's head. 

But what I loved the most about Inside-Out was the tour through the different islands of our personalities!  For instance, there's Family Island, Hockey Island, and my favorite, GOOFBALL ISLAND! 

Aw, man, Friends, Goofball Island is great!  It's my inspiration.  Besides Hockey Island, which is a pretty big island of my personality (my first word was 'Hockey!'), Goofball Island is my FAVORITE!

Well, of course, I love my family, too.  Family Island is pretty nice.  But.  Goofball Island never sends me to my bedroom for climbing up the pantry shelves to reach the good stuff Mommy hides on the top shelf.  Cookies.  I'm talkin' cookies, Friends, and lollipops, and granola bars... Yeah.  Goofball Island never double-crosses me like that.

Goofball Island is where I love living the most right now.  I can be me there.  When ya get right down to it, Big People, that's all anybody really wants.  A place where they can be themselves.

I hope you've found your Goofball Island, too, Friends!  It's pretty great there!

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