Dead Eye

For a number of reasons, I am currently contemplating the purchase of a firearm.
I went to an indoor shooting range at lunch today with two guys from work to actually see what firing a gun would feel like. And also to try a couple different guns out so I'd be able to make an informed decision. I found out two things:

1. I liked it.

2. I'm a pretty good shot.


There's a cluster of holes in about the "1:30" area of the target in the second black ring that were from the .22.
I shot that one pretty consistantly high.
Then I tried the .357 with .38 shells. That's the cluster of green tinged holes in the middle.
It had a really nice sight on the top, so was a bit easier to aim.



Any suggestions as to a suitable choice for me are welcome. I'm going to exercise my 2nd amendment rights while I still can.

Score!

Our local scrapbook store is relocating. They have to be out of their old place by tomorrow. I was there last week when everything in the back room was 75% off. Let me tell you, that was nothing!

The deal today was anything left in the store that you could fit into a shopping basket (flush with the top) for a set price.

Here's what I got...

The best deals were the Making Memories date stamp I've actually been coveting, the girls each picked out an 8 x 8 album, a couple more mini albums and chip board albums for me, and then tons of embellishments and BLING!

Emily and I figured out the retail value of everything after we got home.

$551.80. Pre-tax.

I spent $40!!

It's going to be a crafty Christmas!

Intimidation

I was at the mall yesterday and came to a realization. I cannot bring myself to cross the threshold of a Hollister store. Is it because I know none of the clothes will fit me? I don’t think that’s it. Maybe I’m afraid that the skinny little girls that work there will be looking at me and judging me. “She’s not thinking that will fit her, is she?” Not that I’d buy anything there for myself anyway, but I’d shop for Katie. She can wear anything. And it would be obvious that the size 2 I’m looking at is a gift. Right?

But I can’t do it.

Does this look inviting to you?

Happy Gotcha Day!

It was three years ago today that Zhu Jian Xia became Maggie Jian Xia Berridge.

The memories are even more vivid for me because a family from the dance studio just came home with their new daughter, who is about the same age Maggie was. Every time I see her, I think "Wow, did Maggie look that shell shocked?". But to see Maggie now, you'd never guess how difficult those first few months were.

Here's a few reminders of the special day.

This next one's a family favorite...

And to prove she eventually got over it, here's a recent photo...

We love you, Maggie!

Identity Issues

Maggie is aware of, and often bothered by, the fact that she looks different than most of the people in our community. She routinely laments her shiny, straight, dark hair, her beautiful dark skin, her non-existent eyelashes and her little, flat-ish nose, all the things that we think make her beautiful. If it were up to her, she’d be Barbie.

We were at a party this weekend where Maggie was playing with Katie’s two cousins, who are Japanese. Martha witnessed this exchange in the kitchen as they ran through.

Maggie: “So we’re the same, right?”
N and L look at each other, then at Maggie, shrug shoulders and respond “Yeah”
Maggie again says : “We’re the same?”
N and L say “Yeah”

And off they run.

Wii -ner

Thanks to all of you who contributed to the 08-09 Dance Fund for the wii giveaway.
In order for those that do not get chosen to have time to procure Christmas gifts – we gave it away today. There were 11 different contributors, all with numbers from 24-50.
I went to a trusty online random number generator to select the winner


With 5 of the 11 contributors as witnesses, the ‘Get Numbers’ button was pushed…

And the winner is…..

Tim Laird!!

Thanks again to all who participated.

Star Girl

Emily is currently reading Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli in her English class.

The novel recounts the junior year of a boy named Leo at Mica Area High School, when a new student, "Stargirl" Caraway, sends the school, which up until that point had nothing unusual about it, into an uproar. Her unusual antics include wearing kimonos, Indian buckskin, 1920s flapper dresses and pioneer dresses to school. She carries her pet rat, Cinnamon, around with her in a bag with a life-size sunflower painted on it. During every class periods she puts a table cloth and a vase with a daisy in it on her desk. When it rains, instead of running inside like the other students, she runs outside to dance. She strums a ukulele during lunch every day and sings "Happy Birthday" to kids she has never met. She cheers for everyone at football games, including the opposing team.

At conferences last night, I was told by the English teacher that Emily is their Star Girl.

I couldn’t be prouder.

OK, OK

I've been told to update. I was trying to leave the wii post up in order to make it easier to get in on the fun, but apparently Katie needs to know what's going on at home.

The fall school, dance, soccer schedule is in full swing and seems to be manageable, thanks in large part to the car pool participants.

Last weekend I took Emily's Girl Scout troop up to Newaygo for the night. The girls planned all the activities and the menu, then rotated prep and clean-up duties. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. Especially because I didn't have to do all the work!

Maggie has been tearing up the soccer fields on weekends. She has scored at least one goal in her last three games. Last night at practice, her coach told me she was a 'little spark plug'!
GO ORANGE TIGERS!!

This weekend we will miss the soccer game, but are looking forward to the Halloween Haunt activities at King's Island with our friends. The Cedar Faire season passes have been well worth the money.

Wii!!!!

OK ladies and gentlemen.

In an effort to generate some much needed revenue for the upcoming dance season I am giving away a Wii!

That's right, I said GIVING AWAY.

How do you become the lucky recipient of this technological wonder? It's easy. Just look over to your right a bit and you'll see the CHIP IN button on my sidebar. For every $10 donation you make you will get a number assigned by me. (I'll email you with your number). Once I've got 50 numbers, I'll use a random number generator online to choose the lucky number that will receive the wii. Easy, eh? So, donate!! My girls will thank you, and I will thank you, and you'll have a 1 in 50 chance to get a wii! If you want better odds, just donate more!

Books that cause me distress

I took INKSPELL up north with me this weekend. It's the sequal to INKHEART by Cornelia Funke. The first book was very imaginitive and wonderful. I had high hopes for the second. Imagine my dismay as I neared the end of the 633 pages and realized with about 20 pages to go that there was NO WAY the book would be able to wrap up all the loose ends in a satisfying package within the remaining pages. I kept reading, hoping I was wrong and Cornelia would pull some amazing twist to tie a neat little bow. Alas, it was not to be. How can an author expect us to read through that many pages and NOT FINISH THE BOOK!?!?!

Especially when the third book isn't even available in the states yet!

Reading is supposed to make me happy.
I am not happy.

conflict of interest

I’ve done quite a bit of buying and selling on Craigslist recently. I’ve sold Katie’s Honda Spree and our pop-up camper. I’ve bought our new vacation home, many of the items to furnish it, and most recently I found uniforms for Emily to wear at Blue Lake this week, saving myself about $80.

My problem is the incredible guilt I feel using Craigslist when I know that the newspaper industry, our bread and butter, is struggling so much to survive.

Kidefinition

Inspired by Maggie after using the port-a-jons at Picnic Pops last night:

Hanitizer: A supplement or alternative to hand washing with soap and water. A variety of preparations are available, including gels, foam and liquid solutions.

Dance placements

You may have seen the waiting mailbox post a few days ago. The days before and after dance placements for the coming year are recieved are very stressful. We love our studio and all the teachers and know that they do their best with placements and have the best interests of all the dancers in mind. The follow-up 'what teams are your girls on?' and 'can we carpool?' phone calls are at a frenzy for a couple days.

This is going to be a great year for the Berridge girls, although it might be a bit hard on Emily. Emily has been dancing for longer than Maggie has been alive. She takes it very seriously and has worked hard to improve herself in all disciplines over the years. She got great placements on 3 small groups - tap, jazz and ballet, and then large groups and lines also in tap, jazz, hip-hop and lyrical and will also be in the production number.
It was a bit difficult for her to see the dances her little sister was offered. Small groups again in tap and jazz, with a ballet added. The large groups to go with those as well, along with hip-hop and production. And here's the hard part...Maggie was offered a tap trio and solo. We are very excited for her, but it did take a couple days for Emily to come to terms with the hard facts, summed up beautifully by Aunt Stacey "Cute always trumps hard work."

Projects

In an attempt to justify the large amount of scrapbook supplies I have in my basement, I occasionally whip up some sort of crafty home decor item.


Check out the sign and memo board I made for the kitchen up at the lake.


The words for the sign are courtesy of my friend Cara.

And the memo board was a kit, but it came with some dark black and red papers. I replaced with the fun, bright colors to go with the kitchen.

Contest!!

Ok faithful readers (both of you!) , here's my chance to actually give something back to those of you who follow along with my goofy life.

Rick and I walked around the lake Saturday morning.
At one point, in the middle of the road, we come across a spread out pile of poo with about a 10 foot trail of toilet paper streaming from one of the 'nuggets'.
We were cracking up and for the life of both of us could not come up with a plausible story for how it got there.

We finished our walk and told Em and her friend about it. Of course they wanted to see. So I grabbed my camera and we drove back.
Someone had cleaned it up by the time we got there so you'll have to use mental pictures to inspire you. The contest is simple. Come up with the best story of how that little tableau appeared in the road. You have until Friday, August 1. Keep it family friendly, as the favorite will be chosen by majority vote of Rick, Em, Maggie and myself.
Winner gets a custom made, refillable journal hand made by yours truly.

Cue Tom Petty

Emily thought dance team placements for next year were supposed to be here by last weekend. I thought they were supposed to be mailed by the weekend. Either way, she'll probably be out there every half hour this afternoon.

The waiting is the hardest part...

Sold!

She's been good to us for the brief year that we spent together, but we have a new relationship now. We've moved on to bigger and better. But don't worry, we've found a family to step into our shoes. It's a lovely couple from Grand Haven who will take her away for nice weekends and appreciate her for who she is.

Buh bye little Jayco.

Now to decide how to spend the money...

In the market for a camper?

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/rvs/759442830.html

Where have we been?

At the lake, of course!

We had a fabulous 4th of July weekend with our friends, despite some plumbing issues.
Jay was incredible and probably saved us a couple hundred dollars in potential holiday weekend plumbing fees.
I've reserved a copy of The Complete Guide to Mobile Home Repair at our library so we'll be prepared for the next crisis.

This week is dance auditions. A gruelling two weeks will follow, with the girls running to the mailbox each day to see if their team placements have arrived. At least Emily has camp for the first week, so her mind will be otherwise occupied.

Girl Scout Day Camp

After a very busy, mosquito filled week, I am happy to say that my first attempt at Girl Scout Day Camp Director was a success. The girls all seemed to have a great time. I couldn't have done it without my good friend Joy
and her daughter Kendall.And of course the highlight of the week was our special guest author, my sister Stacey.

She was awesome and all the girls loved learning about the writing process and secrets about The Fairy Painting. Thanks to all who made it a great week.