"Who are you?/ Who who who who"

A few months ago, my mom got an iPhone and she jumped on my plan so we could do the family plan and save some money. Apparently now when she calls from her phone, my name shows on caller ID since it is in my name. That's your background information.

I was sitting at home playing on my iPhone when the house phone started to ring. We have a phone where it will say the name on the caller ID out loud after two rings. So it started saying (in it's weird automated, accented voice) Call from Petrella Ansley. I looked down at my phone, still words with friends on the screen. I'm not making a call. But I keep hearing my name. HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!

Mystery solved when my mom called my phone and we realized that my name shows up when she calls. Still, I was a little scared. It was like that Urban Legend where the killer is calling from inside the house. And it's like the killer was ME!

This could also be because I am currently knee deep in watching The Walking Dead. I'm a little paranoid. Zombies! Run!

"I am so ashamed of all these unopened doors/ I am so ashamed of what I have become"

I'll admit it: I scare pretty easily. Not just in the like "I don't do haunted houses or watch horror movies" way but the if I turn around and my co-worker is standing there, waiting to ask a question, I give a little start. I can't help it. I'm skittish.

My sister's family is staying with us until their house is ready. They also brought along their dog, Remy. Remy has added a whole new element of startling to my day. His little paws are so quiet. And I turned around and he's just there. I open my door in the morning to leave for work, it's practically pitch black and what do I see? A little furry brown and white face staring at me. Just now I walked out of a room and he was sitting on the couch. Every time I yelp and jump a little. Remy is a rather scaredy-cat himself so I am sure I am scaring him as well. I can't help it. I'm not used to it. He's just there. All the time. But I do love him since I haven't seen him for 2.5 years! Welcome home Rem-Rem!

"I'm only fooling myself/ ... But maybe when you smile/ It means you'd stay a while"

You would think being the youngest of five that I would have a tough skin about being teased because I had four siblings to harass me growing up. It's actually quite the opposite-- I can't handle it and hate it when I'm teased/left out of the joke/ whatever. So it's very hard for me to laugh at myself. But I'm getting better at it! Example:

A few weeks ago I was walking into Target behind a woman and couple of teenagers were a ways behind me. I was walking just closely enough behind the woman that the automatic door sensor apparently didn't pick up on my presence (or I'm just that thin. Kidding! I wish). So as I'm walking in, the doors start to close even though hey, I'm walking here. And I think, well they are going to reopen right? As I have this thought, the doors continue to shut and I actually had to pull my head back as not to get my nose pinched in the doors. Awesome. Like I said, there were these teenagers behind me but I had to take a few steps back to activate the sensor. It was rather embarrassing but I just said with a feigned hurt voice "It rejected me." a la Stuart from MadTV. They laughed. I laughed. I grew up a tiny bit. Yeah for improvement!

Almost missed today! 5/5 bloggities. :)

"We'll be young forever/ You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream"

Oh ye of little faith. You thought I couldn't do it huh? But I'm back, baby!

Like I said, the reason I am not writing as much is because I am literally exhausted at any given point during the day. But I really am enjoying my job. I complain about issues with the kids but I am trying to remember that they are three years old and not little teenagers. Because in between wiping booties, cleaning off boogers, smelling little kid toots ALL day, and telling the kids to stop running/ spitting/ screaming, etc, there are some pretty cute moments that make it worth it.

My job is at a church so the kids have a bible verse to learn every month. And let me tell you, these kids have it down by the second or third day of going over it. Last month's was, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Deuteronomy 31:6" and some of my kids use it in everyday life. One of the moms told me that there was a scarily decorated house on Halloween and her husband wanted to take at least their older son trick or treating there. One of my threes said she wanted to go too but the mom told her she would be too scared. And the girl busted out, "But mom! Remember! Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid. Deuteronomy 31:6." Real world application people! And yes, she did go to the house but apparently it was really scary and she and the older brother high tailed it out of there. Still, A for effort.

Oh same little girl, different story: Her one year old sister was fussing one morning and she apparently said, "Don't worry mom, I got this. Bring it down, sis. Bring it down" *along with downward hand motions*. At least I'm not screaming at them to shut up, right?

One day I was trying to teach my kids something, probably opposites or rhyming, I don't remember. But whatever it was, they were doing a good job at understanding it. So sometimes I am delirious and enthusiastic and make a BIG deal of them getting stuff right. So I jokingly told them we should just march right next door and put them in the Pre-K cause they are clearly too smart for my little threes class. One little boy said "No! We don't want to! We want to be in your class!" It was very sweet. They also told me today, most of them still want to be in my class when they are twenty-five years old. Awww.

Another little girl constantly tells me that I'm "still her best friend". Even when she told me the very first time, it was "still", but I'll take it.

And last but not least: the other day, a little girl yelled out from her position on the potty, "Ms Annie!" I was literally reaching for the "wipies" as I asked her "What?" and got a very unexpected response: "I just love you so much" she called back. The girl I work with looked at me and said, "Those are the moments that you'll remember forever." And I will. Especially since I wrote it down in this post. :)

Two bonus potty quotes:

Me: Guys, you've really GOT to stop with the spitting. I can't take it anymore.

K (without missing a beat): And the tooting.

One kid's, ahem poopy, is frequently a shade of a unique color.

Me (muttering to myself as I wipe them): What in the world could you possibly have eaten?

Little kid (very matter of fact): Pickles.

"Street lights/ Big dreams all looking pretty"

Tonight, I went through my box of artwork and assignments (spanning Kindergarten through high school) to find a craft that I am going to use with my kids tomorrow. That's right I'm old school. But as I was sorting through the various worksheets and artwork, I stumbled across dozens of stories I wrote in elementary school. I do not recall writing this many but evidently I did. I don't remember if they were always the assignment or if it was a free time choice but either way I wrote a lot. I totally could have been one of those kids who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up since infancy if I had been paying attention. Drats.

Anyway, I will now share some of these tales with you, dear reader.

We shall start with "Tornado- A True Story" written in the third grade. My most polished of the three pieces and dare I say, the most dramatic. Spelling and grammar as is as much as it pains me to do so....

A storm was starting up outside. The wind howled, thunder booned, and lightning flashed. Four people were home at the Petrella household. Annie and JP were watching Twister, LA was doing her homework, and Mrs. Petrella was walking Molly. Mrs. Petrella noticed a dark cloud over the golf course. She quickly put Molly away and ran into the house and started to watch the weather outside. Then the wind started to blow harder. Then she yelled "Everybody get in the bathroom!" Then once everybody was in the bathroom the electricity went out. Then pounding sounds hit the side of the house. Then hail started. Then after about 5 minutes the tornado stopped. Everybody went outside and they met Mr. Petrella. Trees fell over on electric cords and branches were everywhere. A tree had fallen in the driveway. Then JP called his friend to cut the tree with a chainsaw. John's friend did get rid of the tree blocking the driveway but the two that fell on the electric cord are still there. The Petrella family hopes another tornado will not come. THE END.

As it says in the title, true story. F1 on the golf course that was built next to our old house. Let's just say I have never watched Twister since this happened. Considering it was a gorgeous day and the actual storm brewing coincided with the one in the movie. NEVER AGAIN. Also, I see I suffered from my "can't-think-of-the-obvious-word" even at the tender age of ten since I couldn't some with "power lines" and instead used "electric cords". Potato, po-ta-to.

Now I present to you: The 2 Birds. Written by Annie in the 4th grade.

One day, two birds were flying looking for worms to eat. The two birds were Robin and Jay. When they landed on the ground they both started to peck for worms. Then they each found the same worm and thats how Robin and Jay met.

(next page)

Robin and Jay fell in love Then they decided to get marry. They went to Preacher Pecker. I now pronce you husband and wife.

(next page)

Then one day when they were flying. Robin was talking to Jay and wasn't paying attenion to where she was going. She hit a branch and broke a wing. She fell to the ground, and couldn't get up. Then the old nasty cat came and saw Robin. "Help" cried Robin. Jay flew down and got Robin before the cat could get her.

(next page)

Then they flew off to................................................................................ Holand. THE END.

Clearly I had to refer to a map for the geography at the end. I mean there is love, suspense, quotes, and conjunctions. I was developing some serious skills. It should also be noted I "dedicated" the story to the children's author who had recently visited our school (Nina Laden), my family, and my REAL (underlined twice) friends". Perhaps I was mad at someone at the time?

And last but not least, the story that had me receive the "Young Writer Award" in the second grade: The Magic Pencil.

Once apon a time, in the year 1995. There were three girls named Annie, Krystina, and Abby. They were best friends. They loved to play together. One day they went for a walk in the forest. Then Abby felt something hit her foot. It was a pencil. While Annie and Krystina look at a nest up in a tree. Abby stuck it in her fannie pack. Then they contined thair walk. The next day at school, Abby took the pencil with her. Last night she fon out it was magic. So doing work was not hard. She just said "do my work now". And it did. Then Annie and Krystina fond out. So the next day was the big math test. So Abby use her magic pencil. And their math test was ten pages long. But Abby took her magic pencil out of her desk. And she fineshed in 5 minuetes. And the next day the day they found out their test scores. Annie and Krystina both got a A+. But Abby got a F-. So Abby had to take the test agin. But she took it with a reglur pencil. And she got a A+ too. And she throut away the magic pencil. And Annie, Krystina, and Abby are still friend to this very day. THE END.

I mean, I taught a moral (cheating is wrong and will get you no where in life) and my main character had a "fannie pack". Winner! Not too shabby for second grade.

Seriously, I just got a particular kick out of these three stories and thought I would share.

All material is © 2010 by Annie Petrella. :)

"I get knocked down but I get up again/ You never gonna keep me down"

Work is going really well! My class is getting heaps of praise from my boss and their parents (like a parent took a picture of the note I wrote to one of my kids and put it on Twitter. Twice. No big deal)! Except yesterday morning when I told them this and gave them all a sticker, they apparently thought that meant they didn't have to behave anymore. Don't worry I got them back on track.

I had a hilarious thing happen yesterday. Honestly it's not even that funny when I tell it verbally so I'm sure all hilarity will be lost in writing. But since I don't record anything in journal-form anymore and I want to remember this it will just have to do:

We were on the playground and apparently a spider's babies hatched everywhere over the weekend because the kids have been finding them nonstop. And they feel the need to tell me and the other teacher every single time by pointing, staring, and yelling. So there was a web on the fence and after the thirtieth time a child told me about it, I tried to distract J and T by asking them to run over and show me how they can climb the little rock wall and wave to me from the top. The two boys took off in a dead sprint and of course they collided at the bottom of the wall in attempts to be the first one there. Little J was face down on the ground not moving (but he has a tendency to do this especially when he is upset and doesn't want the other kids to notice) so I called to him and asked if he was okay. I got no response and little C sitting next me said in a completely flat and serious tone, "He's dead." I know it doesn't sound that funny but I couldn't even move I was trying so hard not to burst into laughter. I could totally see the tone she used being said in a Pixar movie (kind of like this). And yes I did eventually compose myself, get up and check on J and he was completely fine and at the top of the wall in no time.

But I even watched a movie last night where a male character died in a pretty dramatic way and I just thought "He's dead" in C's little voice and I started cracking up. Oh kids, they're so funny and cute.

"Can we pretend that airplanes in night sky are like shooting stars/ I could really use a wish right now"

So I sort of abandoned this blog for a while there. Whoops. But I have a good excuse I swear! I got a job! As of right now it's just for the summer but hey, it's something! About a month ago, I pretty much got to the point where I had NO idea what I was going to try for next due to a lot of rejection and doors shutting. And then my boss from the summer job I had during college friend-ed me on Facebook. I thought Hmmmm... maybe I could ask her if they have any openings left for this summer so I took a chance and asked and she did! Hooray! So I am now the lead teacher of the three year olds class in a Weekday child care program (I essentially got promoted after not working there for three years. Boom). I'll include a few stories about work here and there but the employer and kids' names are staying anonymous. I'm not getting fired!

Today was a good day at work. I thought it was going to start off rough since several of the kids were extra clingy to their parents when being dropped off this morning (must of had a case of the Mondays). Little J especially had a hard time. So about an hour later during circle time, I had two books resting beside me. J excitedly said "I've never read those books before!" Then I said "Great, so they will be brand new and you won't know what's going to happen!" And J exclaimed "I'm so happy". Given his mood earlier in the day I asked him why and he said "Well I've never see these books before" and then he pointed at our Referee's Rules chart (Keep your hands to yourself, obey the first time, and so forth) and our sticker chart where once the kids get eight stickers for sharing, cleaning up, obeying, etc. they get to go to the dun dun dun daaaaa Totally Terrific Treasure Chest and said "And I've never seen these signs before". I don't know why he was so excited about the charts but I'll take it cause they are super cute (thanks mom for decorating them!). And the cherry on top, he said "And I love you" to me. Completely unprompted! Awwww. I wanted to give him twenty stickers but I fought the urge. I don't want to buy the kids' love (even though I clearly don't have to. Zing!).

Towards the end of the day I was reading a book about tadpoles and frogs to two of the kids. The little girl was saying how she had something at her house (maybe a pond or a lake, not sure) and she asked if I wanted to come over and see it. Now, maybe you don't know three year olds but this is one of the highest compliments you can be paid. If they ask you to come over to see them, babysit, or for dinner, you've hit the jackpot. Winner!

I've also gotten a drawing from one of the girls. Her mom also told me when little H was absent two weeks ago (stomach bug. super!) she said she knew that "Miss Annie was going to miss me so much today". And I did, I really did. Plus it worked out that all the girls were out that day so I was left with five boys. That was an interesting dynamic (read: Please God, don't ever let me be the mother of boy quintuplets).

Sometimes you have to come up with little games while you are waiting in line to go somewhere. My class is a big fan of "Simon Says Sitting Down" and "Raise Your Hand If...". I asked them to raise their hand if they were wearing sneakers. All of them were but all save one raised their hand. I asked little T why he didn't raise his hand since he was wearing in fact wearing sneakers. Little T replied, "These aren't sneakers. They're Pumas." Granted he was right but man it starts young doesn't it?

Oh and if you ever want to be entertained, ask a group of three year olds what they did this past weekend. Answers will vary from "I went to the zoo where there were 10 dinosaurs as big as houses!" to "I crashed my mom and dad's cars" (pretty sure both of these were dreams, but I'm not 100% sure).

"I want to thank you/ Thank you for being a friend"

I had a conversation earlier today with my friend TW. He works for a marketing company in Atlanta. We were talking about LOST and then he asked about the book (he is actually the 2nd or 3rd person I told about it in a moment of weakness when he berated me as to what I had planned for my life). Here is a snippet from the tail end of the conversation:

Me: So what's gonna be the cool new thing everyone has to have since you're ahead of the curve?

TW: Annie's book. Or so the data says...

Me: hahahaha. You just earned a million cool points for saying that. And that's why you got a big story line in the book. :)

See people? Big things can happen when you show some support. Well granted he had already shown support and got a big story line and now he is just adding to his awesomeness. Yay for TW!

"Hold your tongue and walk away/ Say it's been a heavenly day"

Here are a couple of short family stories that I found funny:

My mom and I went to visit my brother's family in B'ham for a few days. My newly six year old niece ME was telling us some of the Kindergarten gossip. She told us about a little boy in her class and how he was so "annoying" and "silly" and just went on and on about this kid. After a moment, my mom said, "You know ME, it sounds like you like this boy" to which she replied with an embarrassed smile, "I do" followed by a giggle. Man, it starts young doesn't it?

My niece MG went on a field trip to see a ballet a few days ago. She told me how her class got to meet a girl and boy ballerina (/ballerino?) after the show. I asked if they were still in their costumes when she talked to them and she said no. But then she dropped her voice to a whisper and said "And the boy ballerina, guess what? He had a ponytail. hehehe" Guess other boys in her class aren't following the hair styles of Ryder Robinson and Presley Crawford.

It's a pretty well-known fact that when you spend the night at Gran's house, you have pizza for dinner. Special place equals special treat, I guess. Around three o'clock the doorbell rang and it was an AT&T guy but niece CJ (4) asked "Gran, did you order pizza?" It was seriously like Pavlov's dogs. Well minus the slobber.

And I was talking to niece SD who is turning eight in a few months (even though I've placed numerous calls to the Birthday Police asking for her just to turn seven again. They do exist) about how my birthday was on mother's day this year and SD said "Well that's great! You get to honor your mother and she gets to honor you". Well that's an optimistic attitude.

And today at church, I marched all four girls to go to bathroom because when one has to go, they all have to go (and the peppermints in a basket on the counter are probably enticing as well). As they filed in, a girl (who look a little younger than myself) asked me "Are they all yours?" Guess 23 isn't treating me too well already. Super.

"Truth be told I miss you"

What happens when your year old niece, NP, gets ahold of the keyboard while her mom is talking to her sister on video gchat (much better than iChat in my opinion):

LA: .2222-*99*696999-9

++

3.000.665

4

041111123..............................3.20320+

625*998585-+74-+=74=-+/88/5=8=

++

2501

5100118

44

.0201

01

0..............

878

03

.3.........

101.544111.022222220

We will be talking and then you hear the gchat beep but then realize it is the very person you are video chatting with. I don't know why I find this hilarious but I do. Her dad does work for a prominent internet company, maybe computers are in little NP's future as well.

"Some say we're a couple of crazy kids"

A few quotes from the Birmingham nieces who are staying with us for a few days over their spring break.

Niece CJ is four. She recently had her birthday (seriously, like a week ago) and someone said she was four and she got upset and said "No, I'm four and half!" We confirmed that she is indeed four and she almost started to cry because she thought she was four point five. And sometime yesterday she whined that she was "almost five" and I laughed and said "Good try kid. You got about ten months for that to be true."

Anyway, I was watching CJ put together a puzzle one morning. She is pretty fast at it actually. Well she was wearing a cute skirt and heart shirt and I complimented her outfit and she said, and I quote, "Well look how much cuter I am when I stand up" and she hopped off her chair and did a twirl on tiptoes for me to get the full effect.

We stopped by Chickfila on the way back from Bham for lunch. My mom asked ME (age five, almost six) and CJ what they wanted to drink. ME said lemonade and CJ said chocolate milk. The resulting conversation ensued:

ME: And if they don't have lemonade, I can just have water.

*short pause*

CJ: And if they don't have chocolate milk, I'll have lemonade.

Don't know why I found that one so funny, but I did.

Oh and it's always reassuring to awake to a tiny voice yelling from the balcony near your bedroom door: "Gran! ME thinks she is going to throw up." *some conversation with Gran about where ME is, what she is doing* Gran says she will be there in just one minute and CJ's tiny little voice squeaks out, "Gran, please hurry!" with such urgency. Again, I don't know why it makes me crack up but the fact a little four year old was saying "please" and "hurry" it just so cute. She's such a little big kid. Oh and ME was fine. We think there was a little too much excitement from being at Gran's for a few days. But I kept my distance. AJ took me out earlier this year, I'm not falling for it again.

"Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air/ Can't live, can't breathe with no air"

My sister LA's daughter NP is turning one in a few days (crazy!) and she asked me and my mom for some ideas for kid games at the birthday party. It has a cupcake theme. The following exchange took place:

Me: How about something with balloons and they can be the cherries on top of the cupcake?!

My mom: No, nothing with balloons. Little kids can choke on them.

Me: Well, why don't you just take the air right out of my idea?

YES. This is the type of humor you have to look forward to in the book. Did your hopes just deflate (oops, I did it again!)?

I'm not going to lie. I am a dork (and I realize it is "wind out of my sails". I had to make it work, okay?) and laughed so hard at my own joke and my mom and LA's reactions that I actually made myself cry. Well I was also crying cause I knew it was so terrible but I just couldn't help it.

"And you can tell me that you're sorry but I don't believe you baby like I did before/ You're not sorry"

I swear, it's not favoritism but here is a niece MG story. In my defense, she is one I see the most since she is done with Kindergarten at 12 and stays at Gran's house for five hours every Wednesday. Well today was Grandparents' Day at their school so while Gran was off for SD's program, I was babysitting MG. She requested we play Sorry (The Disney version)! Now, the kid might only be six but she has been playing this game for at least two years. She knows what all of the special rules are on the cards and has known them since before she could read. She even understands that if she ever needs to move forward four to get in home, that a four doesn't exists so she has to hope for a combination of 1, 2, 3 cards or move backwards once so she can get a five. She also knows that there is no nine card. There is also a scorecard of how games many each person has won:

MG (age:6): 12

Gran (she's a Grandmother): 3

SD (older sister, age 7): 2

AE (my sister, in her 30s): 2

Myself (age 22): 2.

What I am trying to say is the girl knows what's up. And trust me, we don't let her win. We are pretty merciless in Sorry! Can't raise em to be soft, I say.

So we were playing today and the kid kept getting move backwards 4. She had two of her guys home and the other one was about halfway around the board. She moved about 12 spots with this last piece but kept having to move it backwards four. Well then she started getting "Move forward ten or move backward one" Well little MG decided, hey I am going to try to make it backwards all the way to my safety zone. And boy did she commit. She was getting move forward 12, 11, and 8 but she didn't take advantage of the higher number cards. She just kept waiting for those move backwards 4 and 1 cards. And sure enough the little booger did it. She got her last piece into her safety zone only by moving backwards.

So then we were tied with one piece not in our home and we both needed a Move Forward One to get the win. We were kept taking turns in hopes of the much desired card when MG announced she had to go to the bathroom. I actually had to go as well so we agreed on a time out. So I started to walk out of the room when I noticed MG was still lingering near the cards. I jumped back into the room to see her looking very guilty. So I took the pile of cards and put them up on the bookshelf figuring it would take her longer to get a chair and climb up there than it would for me to go the bathroom (also figuring that she wasn't lying and had to go herself). So I leave and come back a minute later and MG is up on the top bunk that is directly next to the bookshelf that I forgot to factor in as a way for her to reach the top. Luckily, I wasn't born yesterday so I took the cards and hid them in the hallway on my way out of the room the second time so that way she couldn't find a one and place it on top since her turn was next (I'm not calling MG a cheater either. But I think that kid loves the taste of victory and wanted to see another mark next to her name). Busted!

Oh and I ended up winning. You don't mess with Aunt Annie. Now I just have to win nine more times to claim true victory over a six year old.

Oh and a little bonus SD story: Her gift to Gran on her special day was a book where SD filled out what she thought all of Gran's favorite things were. The girl knows her Gran. For favorite TV show, did SD put Survivor or American Idol, two shows she hears her aunts, uncles, parents, and Gran discuss at dinner? Nope. She put the news. And she was correct. The only way it could have gotten better would have been if she put Fox News but in her defense she probably doesn't understand network names. I got a good chuckle. She also knew Gran's age, her favorite sport (the olympics, go figure), and even almost got the state right where Gran was born. Granted she put the state Gran grew up in (Indiana) instead of the state where she was actually born (Illinois) so props to the seven year old (especially since I might even make the same mistake. And they do both start with the letter "I").

"And I'm invisible and everyone knows who you are/ ... Give me a photo to hang on my wall/ Superstar""

I have had a brush with fame.

Now I have already admitted I am a bit celeb-obsessed. In fact the topic somehow came up at my family's Christmas dinner (probably because I was gushing about some minor celeb) and this question came up: Which celebrity would you be genuinely starstruck around? Now I didn't lie and admitted sometimes I even get flustered when the associate pastor at my church is milling about the crowd. Brenda Woods, a local Atlanta news anchor, goes there too and I always point her out to my mom in a quiet whisper. One time I missed running into Matthew Stafford (UGA's former quarterback who is now QB for the Detroit Lions) by about an inch and I almost died (he was standing directly behind me in line at Jittery Joe's so when I turned around and he was RIGHT there. I think I gasped but it was more so because I almost slammed into him and would have gasped even if he hadn't been a star football player, who is rather attractive). So it's admitted, even minor popularity gets a big reaction from me. Some of my siblings tried to say that they would only freak out around a former president or some an A-list movie star. Whatever, they are liars.

But before we get to my awesome, albeit small, brush with fame, some background information: One of my favorite blogs to read is B-Side Blog. He created the other site I pimp on here but this is his own personal blog. He is high-larious. It takes a lot for me to laugh out loud at a website but he almost always accomplishes that. He blogs about Survivor, The Hills, living in LA, he does cooking adventures, and his flogs (live blogging when he is flying on a plane with wi-fi) are comedic gold. In a word he is AWESOME. So he blogged about the most recent season of Survivor and he said how NiceRussell looked like he could be in Dave Matthews Band and he would always have NiceRussell saying DMB lyrics along with "Shambo on sax!" in his recaps. It doesn't sound funny when I say it but it was hilarious. You should check it out if you're a Survivor fan.

So DMB's song was in a promo for the BSC Championship game last night (Poor Colt McCoy) and the second he came on all I thought was "Shambo on sax!" And this made me giggle. I happened to be on Twitter at the time and thought I should say something to B-Side. Now, while I like to know what the celebs are saying on Twitter, I rarely if ever say anything @ or directly to them. They get hundreds a day, why would they care about me? But this was funny, it was quoting him so that's flattering so I figured why not, so I said:

Simple, not too fan girl. Okay, okay. So then I saw that not too many people say something @ B-side. In fact, the last person that did, he responded to. You mean I could register on my favorite blogger's radar?! I was giddy. But alas, several hours passed, Texas couldn't accomplish a come from behind victory and there was no reply from B-side. I retired to my room to read before hitting the hay.

Long story, short(er): I read something in a book that I wanted to Google so I looked it up on my trusty iPhone. Then without really thinking I checked Twitter and I saw "the blue box" on my home page. Meaning someone said something directly to me. Now I had been tweeting back and forth with my friend HW so I expected it to be her but no, it was this:

That's right. I screen captured it. I'm a dork!

B-Side said something to me! ME! O.M.G. I told you it was small but it was exciting. He's one of my favorite (online) writers. It'd be like if Charles Dickens or Jane Austen said something to you on Twitter. Try to understand where I am coming from.

Well, I freaked out and got very excited cause I am a dork. But then I realized something: He only said it a few minutes ago, it might be the big tweet on his Twitter page! So I tripped over myself trying to get out of my bed that is piled with blankets thanks to this 20 degree weather we've been having and scrambled to my laptop on my desk. I get on Twitter and what do I see:

I'm slightly famous by slightly famous association!

He has 1,000+ followers and my name was there for all to see! And maybe he clicked on my name and read my tweets, and thought I was funny and then clicked on my website and saw this here blog and read it and loved it and is now reading this post and thinks I am a stalker and is somewhat worried. But he is admittedly sort of the same when it comes to celebs so I think he will like the gushing if he ever comes across this.

Oh and it gets better. He has a twitter feed on his blog. And I realized, OMG my name is probably on there and behold:

Ta da!

Very, very exciting. To me at least. I know you probably thought this post was lame and he's not even a real celebrity. But I recommend you check out his blog and read his hilarious stories and recaps and you too will fall a little bit in love with him and you'll understand where I am coming from. Might I recommend:

1. This Flog. And the exciting conclusion

2. Top Ten Baggage Claim Annoyances

3. About Sugar from Survivor: Gabon

I just reread the Flog and conclusion and I am cracking up. You really need to check it out.

"Someday you'll sing it out loud/ One day this will make you proud"

Sometimes I am a little immature. But at least I can admit it. And plus I think my friends really ruined me senior year. Thanks guys. :) But anyway, that being said, I always love a "that's what she said" joke and here are the top two I have been a part of:

2. I was helping my mom put together some bunkbeds from IKEA for my nieces to sleep in when they spend the night at Gran's. IKEA is the devil by the way and this supposedly "easy" task took well over three hours. The tools they provide are not the best nor does everything line up the way the directions claim. Anyway, you basically set up the frame with the bolts loosely in place and then once everything lined up, you used the little bracket thingy to screw everything in tightly. (You already see where I am going with this don't you...) So I got to work on the first bolt and my mom said "If you can't feel it screwing in then you know it's not going in the hole.*" I then said TWSS and I wasn't looking at my mom but I could tell she was silent. I thought I was in big trouble because my mom is a well-mannered, polite woman who doesn't appreciate my sense of humor a good majority of the time. Well the reason why she was silent was because she was laughing so hard she literally could not make a sound. It was awesome. And I'm a dork because my first thought was "That's going on the blog!"

*It should be noted this is not a direct quote. It was one of those times that was so awesome and amazing you want to remember it perfectly but then you completely forget mere moments after it happens. It's pretty close though and you get the main idea. :)

1. This happened a few years ago and again involved my mom. She bakes these awesome oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies. People really freak out when she brings them to family gatherings and whatnot. Some people like myself prefer them fresh out of the oven, gooey and warm while others prefer for them to "set" before taking a bite. My sister AE said, and this is a direct quote, "I refuse to put that into my mouth until it's hard." Again, it was an easy lay up, I had to take it, I said TWSS and all three of us were cracking up. Giggles, snorts, hyena laughs. It was awesome.

Oh and in other news, I cannot even tell you how many sentences I have had to reword because my first thought is "That's what she said!" after initially writing it. Darn you The Office and BJ Novak for ruining my thought processes and seemingly innocent sentences.

"And that's totally awesome"

This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my entire life.

"And I'll be perfect in my own way/ When you cry I will be there/ I'll sing to you and comb your hair/ All your troubles I will share"

Because of Thanksgiving break and since she is only in school until 12, I've been spending a lot of time with my niece MG. And I gotta say she is a cute, funny kid. And here are some reasons why:

MG scared the crap out of me the other day. I was in my room with the door open and my back was to the door. I had my music playing on my laptop so I was blissfully unaware of little MG creeping up behind me. As I am dancing along to the Glee soundtrack in my chair, she got just out of my peripheral vision and yelled "Boo!" I turned and I processed "Oh it's just MG. She's six. She's not an axe murderer" but I still screamed like a little girl. MG found this to be hilarious.

So hilarious that she was bragging to Gran a little bit later. I told MG I was going to get even but she said she was just going to "keep [her] eyes on the door" of the playroom. So, she was in the bathroom that connects the playroom and my sister's room so I snuck into my sister's room, listening to MG brag to Gran how she scared me. I started to yell but it came out in a laugh but she still got upset. Well, she claims she wasn't crying, but rather "[her] eyes were just wet".

My mom got MG and her sister SD each an advent calendar for Christmas. You know, the little calendars where you open a little slot/opening/box each day and get a piece of chocolate in a fun christmas shape. I love em! And so MG explained that she accidentally opened the 21st slot on the 2nd because "I didn't see the one". So then my mom asked if she was going to open the 2nd on the 21st and MG gave a very "You're a silly Gran" look as she said "No, I'm going to open the three". I think she thought Gran was asking what she was going to open next as opposed to how she was going to correct her mistake.

MG and I watched The Wizard of Oz together. I told her little facts like how the horse of a different colors is really painted with Jell-O powder and how in the book the shoes are silver but since it was (one of) the first movie in technicolor they changed the shoes to red so everyone would think they looked really cool. She didn't care for these facts but she did explain to me how the soldiers didn't like the witch and when she melted, they jumped up and down like this (complete with a jumping demonstration since apparently I don't know what it is).

MG is only 6 but she has a real appreciation for word play and I LOVE this. However, sometimes I am unaware of what she picks up on. We were on the way to the Mexican restaurant near our house and niece SD brought a flashlight with her in the car. SD was shinning it in baby sister AJ's eyes and I told her to stop because it was probably hurting AJ's eyes. And then SD said it didn't hurt and starting shining it in her own eyes. I then said "SD, that's not a good idea either" and MG started cracking up next to me in her car seat. "That's funny cause you said EYE-ther and you were talking about eyes. You're funny Aunt Annie". Good to know I am funny even when I am not trying to be.

The other day, I had to go check on Baby AJ to see if her leg was stuck in her crib because she's started rolling over in her crib and she was crying. MG wanted to go with me and I said AJ could not hear us because then she would want to get up and play but she needed to finish her nap. I guess I didn't clarify that AJ couldn't see us either, because MG marched right into AJ's room but she didn't make a peep. I had to grab MG and pull her back but it was all for nothing because AJ saw her and lost it. She eventually fell asleep but not after being really mad that Aunt Annie and sister MG tricked her into thinking she was going to be rescued from her nap.

Randomly, MG told me she had a present for me. She handed me a balled up piece of computer paper that she had decorated with my name and Georgia G's (I told you, I really tell her how much I love UGA). And I unwrapped it to find this little Bernese Mountain dog figurine I had when I was little (I don't remember the company, but my sister and I collected them all so clearly they have been passed down to the nieces by this point). I told her thanks and put the dog down on the table. I guess my mom put in their playroom because several days later, I looked on my nightstand and found the little dog once again. I asked my mom if she put it there and she said no. So then I asked MG and she said yes. Well, she didn't say yes but MG lacks a poker face. You family members know what I am talking about: The shrugged shoulders, the closed mouth smile, the eye roll to the ceiling all as if to say "Gosh darnit, I'm so cute, you can't possibly be mad at adorable me!" Not that I would be mad for any reason, but it's always easy to tell when MG is guilty.

Oh and MG also admitted whenever you have her trapped and are tickling her, she lies and says she "just pooted" so you will let her go. She's a clever girl that one.

So just some little MG stories from the past few days. Don't worry parents of other nieces, your other girls will get a post about them sometime soon. Especially since all 16 of us will be together for Christmas!!! Hooray!

"I feel stupid/ But it's something that comes and goes"

These are two very dumb thoughts that I have every once in a while and I've also made them into little brain teasers for you! Enjoy (my stupidity)!

1. In middle and high school, I wrote in a journal pretty regularly. My logic was that if I died in high school then one day, my daughter would be able to read the stuff that I hadn't told her since I was, you know, no longer living. But don't worry, this isn't confession time: I don't have a daughter. So see if you can figure out my seriously flawed logic in the reasoning for my journal writing.

(Answer: If I died in high school, how could I have a daughter? Not possible! I actually only had this thought once but I cracked up once I realized that it was in fact impossible. At least I can laugh at myself... sometimes.)

2. I'd say at least twice a month I'll be driving in my car and I'll run through a checklist in my head. Do I have my wallet? Check. Cell phone? Check. And then I completely panic, Oh my gosh! I don't know where my keys are! I left them somewhere. Again, see if you can figure out my extremely poor reasoning.

(Answer: I am driving my car. Meaning the keys are in the ignition and therefore not lost. Doh!)

"Say what you need to say/ Say what you need to say"

I've been volunteering at an elementary school in downtown Atlanta once a week and reading to the kindergartners or first graders. I was signing up for dates yesterday and I hate going on Mondays so I opted for December 4th. Then I signed up for the 8th, and finally the 15th. 4, 8, 15. If you're a LOST fan like myself, you probably know what I'm trying to say. 16, 23, 42. I hope this doesn't mean I'm going to have bad luck like Hurley.

Also, if you're an Obama fan, you might want to stop reading right now:

I was playing "Loaded Questions" with my family last night and my sister AE asked the question "If you could control someone else's mind, who would it be?" And my mom, sister MR, brother-in-law BR, and myself ALL put Obama. So AE got a freebie since she didn't have to match who said what. But it was pretty hilarious. And what are the chances? Especially since my mom said she almost put me and my sister MR jokingly said she almost put her husband.

P.S. No Survivor Recap this week since it was a recap show. Sure they showed some new stuff but nothing groundbreaking. And 2) I'm not gonna do the Amazing Race anymore. I tried, it's just too long of a show for me to do a short recap. But I am cheering for the Globetrotters!

"1, 2, 3, 4/ Tell me that you love me more"

A quick family story:

I went out to dinner with my mom, sister AE, sister MR and her three daughters SD, MG, and AJ. My sister AE was saying how much she tips her hairdresser and long story short, she was saying she tips 10% and I thought that basically meant she paid $200 to get her hair done. My sister then quickly informed me how I was off by a good amount. I said, "I've never been good at math."

And then my seven year old niece SD turned to me and said "Doesn't Georgia college provide math?" clearly implying that if I have a degree from UGA I should understand basic math.

Now I really translate my love for UGA to my nieces and try to convince them that their dad's alma mater GA Tech is stinky and UGA is superior. Well, since SD enjoys math and science and I apparently can't do that, I may have given UGA big strike in her book for her future college choice. Whoops! Hey, I'm an english person and I'll always admit it!