Show & Tell - What holds a kitten together!

Hi boys and girls - it's that time again!
Time for SHOW & TELL a la MEL!
Don't forget to click on over and check out what the rest
of the class is showing!

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So little is going on here lately which has caused my temporary lapse in blogging. Well that and the fact that this was my first week back to work after my surgery - I think I truly underestimated just how tired I would be.

In any case, for S & T this week I decided that since I have already subjected you all to pictures of my surgical scars, I would show off the next best thing........Zoey's post-spay surgical incision.

Aren't you excited? (hearing crickets out there!)

Her whole kitten belly is shaved

She has just enough hanging sutures that she is trying with all her might to chew them loose. I will be really surprised if she makes it past a few more days without pulling them out. If we get through another week without a trip to the vet, I will be so happy. Hubby suggested putting one of those chew collar/cone thingys around her neck to keep her from chewing. I can't even discuss that possibility without totally cracking up.

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I did want to send out some more prayers to my dear friend Linda - She just underwent gallbladder removal surgery. Lots of hugs and prayers for quick healing!!! Love ya hon!

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Not too much else to share - life is quiet - hoping to keep it that way!

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MOOD REPORT:

They grow up so quickly............

Today was surgery day for the Zoey cat.

The official news is that she is A- OKAY!!! She came through her surgery with flying colors and will be spending the night for observation. We get to pick her up tomorrow after 3pm. I cannot wait to have her back home and curled up with me!

Although I knew it was the right thing to do for her health and all, I still felt sooooooooo guilty, sad and anxious! I even made hubby be the one to drop her off at the vet so that I wouldn't have listen to her pitiful & tortured cries on her trip there.

So yea I admit it - I am a TOTAL fur mama WUS!

It sucked waking up this morning and not having her there to greet me. Even hubby seemed to be missing her too - he called a few times this afternoon to check if I had heard anything. He is a very good Fur Daddy!!

So now both Zoey and I have healing tummies - like mother like daughter.

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Thanks for all the prayers that went out for my friends!

KIM was discharged from the hospital this morning - she is doing much better and was able to avoid having to have surgery - WOOT!!!

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Hubby and I did a lot of running around this weekend catching up on stuff for the house.
We went down to visit Mom & Dad yesterday in Akron. My brother and my four nephews were there too. It is a total MADHOUSE with the boys - their ages are 9 mths, 4 yrs, 8 yrs, and 11 yrs old respectively.

Let me sum up the afternoon with them:

1. Loud continuous talk, shouting or crying depending on the moment
2. Non-stop grazing and eating except for the 8 yr old who eats next to nothing
3. Dripping water everywhere from usage of Grammy & Pappies hot tub
4. Numerous appearances by small white naked butts and mini man jewels
5. Hysterical laughter & shrieks of delight after above mentioned "naked time"
6. Show & Tell of Aunt Jenn's surgical scars - too COOL!
7. Excellent baby snuggle time with the 9 mth old
8. Several unprompted wet hugs and I love you's

All in all not a bad day!

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Life is pretty quiet right now - which is okay with me. I am really ready to get back to my day to day routine. It's amazing how you take for granted your routine until it is thrown off!

I am looking forward to re-starting our adoption process. I want to get that darned paperwork tackled and our adoption profile website up and running. It seems like that stuff has just been hanging out there in limbo-land. We have to pull in the reigns and get moving.

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I seem to be typing, erasing and re-typing like a fiend today - As a result, I am going to call it quits for the moment. Maybe my blogging Mojo will come back tomorrow - We shall see!

MOOD REPORT:

A kitten goes to jail

Today's post is a tale of kitten gone wrong.

A kitten that started out on the RIGHT side of the tracks and in a loving home.
With a loving mom & dad and the best of everything, she wanted for nothing!

Then one day she made a wrong turn and a bad choice only to find herself BUSTED with no where to turn.

Ladies and Gentlemen: I will let YOU decide!

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Okay folks: since you did such a great job of sending support and prayers before, I am going to reach out and ask again.

I have two friends in need of positive healing thoughts and prayers:

1. My friend Kim - she is dealing with advanced Crohn's disease and is in the hospital with a pretty bad flare up. She may have to undergo bowel resection surgery.

2. My friend Rob - He has been facing a tremendous amount of health issues over the last few years, and just recently "flunked" his second cardiac stress test. He will probably have to undergo another cardiac cath at the very least.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!!!

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As for me : I am doing much better each day - the belly is healing well although it is all shades of colors. Kind of interesting looking to be honest. The fatigue is the only thing that is really lingering still but I know that it will get better.

My brain is starting to get antsy again which means I have been in the house entirely too long.
I think I will try to pin hubby down to spend some time with me this weekend working on our adoption paperwork. I would like to get some of that finished up.

Really looking forward to heading back to work and to hopefully a "healthy rest of 2009"
That's the plan for now!

MOOD REPORT:

Show & Tell - Deal of the Century!

Hi boys and girls - it's that time again!
Time for SHOW & TELL a la MEL!
Don't forget to click on over and check out what the rest
of the class is showing!

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This week's S & T post is the unveiling of the surprise I spoke about in yesterday's post. I am sure you were all waiting on the edge of your chairs, holding your breath until you saw my post today. C'mon.....admit it .......you know you were!

Hubby and I have been discussing our current living room furniture situation for about 8 months. Now let me explain that the size of our very small house has dictated what we can or cannot use in terms of furniture. Add in hubby's requisite manly big screen TV, and we became limited even more. (and NO...I really did not have a choice in regards to the TV.....shakes her head and sighs to herself). Up to this point we basically had a love seat and two Lazyboy recliners. The set-up on these pieces was SO not conducive to having guests.

So.....here we are just sort of plodding along not really thinking much of making any large purchases and then it happened.........the furniture "opportunity of the century"
Well....maybe not the century but certainly a great deal!!!

After a day or two of figuring out possible lay-outs for furniture and much number crunching we decided to bite the bullet and hope for the best.

Here is what we ended up with:



Please try and imagine the love seat WITHOUT the pink princess blankie and the princess herself all sprawled out sleeping!

Sorry the pictures were not the greatest quality but due to the size of the room, that was the best I could do in getting a full shot.

I love the color and contemporary style of the set - and was really surprised to find out that hubby like it too. We are usually miles apart style-wise! I even love the coordinating pillows that came with the set as well.

I think we did phenomenally with price - It ended up costing us about the same price as we would have probably paid JUST for the couch without the sale. We ended up with the love seat, couch and 4 throw pillows. Not too shabby, eh?

It took a bit of work to find just the right way to situate everything but we did it and it really opened up the living room!

Now if we can JUST keep all the cat hair off the couches....but that's a whole other post!!

MOOD REPORT:

SUSHI BAND AIDS
Makes me want to buy a pack to put on my MANY Zoey scratches I have!

Here we are again folks.....SUSHI TUESDAY.....the day of the week that I have devoted entirely to all the little things that put a smile on every one's face~

You know..... like when the cashier doubles your grocery coupon just because OR the when the clerk at Dunkin Donuts makes your coffee with just the perfect amount of sugar and cream without having to ask. Just that perfect little extra special something!

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My extra special something for the week is :
The bag of Lindt Lindor white chocolate truffles that hubby bought me when he did our weekly grocery shopping at Wally world.
If you have never had these - it's sooooo worth trying them.
They will most definitely put a smile on your face!

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What's YOUR extra special something??????????????????????

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All has been pretty quiet around here lately. My follow-up appt. with Dr. G went well. I am healing up nicely and my incisions look good. I am still feeling some pain now and then but mostly it is the fatigue that is getting to me. I feel like I am working at about 50%.
I know that hopefully within another week I will be back to normal (whatever the heck THAT is)

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I am still working on processing Ralph's death. I had so many mixed emotions with it that I never anticipated and it is just taking a bit more time for me to work through.

I spoke with mom the other day and had an interesting yet somewhat unexpected conversation. She asked me if I had copy of their (my parents) advance directives and will. I told her I did not and needed to get a copy to keep in our house. This obviously on the heels of Ralph's death. That conversation lead us into a discussion about their wishes and long term plans. Despite my initial trepidation in discussing this stuff with mom, I quickly realized that a "sort of relief" passed over me when we were doing so. It's was as if talking about the whole subject allowed me a sense of comfort and peace.

It feels a bit weird that I was able to come to a place of serenity in discussing this with mom but I am grateful nonetheless for having had the conversation.

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In feline news:

Zoey is scheduled to be spayed this coming up Monday. In addition she is getting all her shots as well. I really think the worst part of the whole thing will be having to take up the food and water dish the night before. Both cats will be grumpy, whiney brats in the morning.
YEA!!!

Not much else to share today - but I can't WAIT for tomorrow's Show & Tell!!!!
I have something FABULOUS to show AND tell.
Betcha can't wait.......Come back tomorrow and check it out!

MOOD REPORT:

Dear God..........an extra special thank you!

DEAR GOD,

Thank you for this special day.
Thank you for your patience with me.
Thank you for your unending support, love and acceptance.
6 yrs or 2190 sober days 24 hrs at a time.
That is a long time.
It is truly a miracle and a blessing.
I am humbled and grateful.

Love, Jenn

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MOOD REPORT:

I'm back ........Wooweeeeeeeeeee!!!

Hey there everyone....I am back and definitely doing better!

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Post surgery details - abbreviated version:
1. Dr. G was able to go in by laparoscope - so no big incision - WOOHOO!
2. I only have three small incisions with steri-strips on them.
3. The metal clip object was actually supposed to be there.
4. Above mentioned clip had been put in to stop a bleeder in 2008.
5. The mesh that was placed in my hernia surgery was the culprit.
6. Above mentioned mesh had curled under on itself causing a huge adhesion line.
7. Above mentioned adhesion line was released - ahhhh sweet relief
8. I got to go home the same day of surgery
9. Pain management has been a real bitch!!! (I am soooo not good with pain)
10. I should be up and running within just a few weeks!

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Just hanging around the house in my PJ's trying like the devil to work out all this carbon dioxide gas that is in my belly from surgery. It has caused my abdomen to be majorly distended and for me to get these sneak attack gas pains that suck pickles!!

I know all you IF'ers out there who have had an exploratory lap feel my pain!
(Shakes a IF sisterly fist in the air!)

SUPER HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE PRAYERS AND LOVE!!! YOU ALL ARE WONDERFUL!
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The rest of our family is on their yearly scheduled summer vacation in Nags Head, N.C.
Jim and I knew that we would not be going this year based on our finances, my medical status as well as our available time off from work.

When Mom/Dad found out that I was having surgery while they were on vacation, they were not thrilled but after much reassurance on my part that I would be just fine, they decided to go. I was really glad they did!!

The crew that goes to the beach usually consists of my parents, my brother and his family, my aunt & uncle, and my cousins with their respective families.

In an ironic twist of events:
I got a call yesterday from mom that my cousin Allison who is there, ended up in the local E.R. in Nags Head after keeling over with belly pain. Turns out she ended up with a bad case of appendicitis and had to go to surgery. Luckily they were equipped to do her surgery via laparoscope as well so she is now back at the beach house as we speak recuperating.

I guess my mom got to take care of someone AFTER all!!!
(Don't forget - she IS a Jewish mother!)

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In Zoey news:

Getting herself up on my top Ebay clothing rack then jumping down from there!
Keep in mind it's about 8 feet up.
(Oy Vey - she's gonna give me a heart attack!)

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MOOD REPORT:

It's all I can do........

It was a long and emotional weekend.

I just had no desire to write anything - I was sort of at a loss for words.
It still feel that way today.

Losing Ralph is painful - there is no way around that fact.
I believe for me this hit even closer to home in that Ralph's age is the same as my parent's.

I really had not thought about my parent's mortality until this happened.
And it did happen - and I was knocked to the ground with a flood of emotions.

Sadness
grief
fear
hurt
helplessness
anger

I am just trying to sort through this emotional junk pile.
I am giving myself some time.
I am praying for direction.
I am praying for Ralph's family.
It's all I can do.
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Tomorrow is surgery day.
I think with everything on my mind, I have not had the chance to worry or feel anxiety about it. That is probably a really good thing.

I am confident that things will be taken care of and that I will be on the mend quickly.
That's what I keep telling myself.
Working hard to believe it.
I am praying that is the case.
It's all I can do.

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I will be back blogging as soon as I feel up to it!
Hang in there in the meantime.

MOOD REPORT:

Quick but sad post.....

This is a very hard post to write:

I just wanted to thank everyone of you out there who said a prayer for
RALPH over the last month or so.
It meant the world to me and most importantly to the family.

Ralph's battle with end stage liver disease had been a long and tumultuous journey.
As quickly as the gift of being placed on the transplant list was given, it was taken away.

Ralph unfortunately developed a blood-borne infection that rendered him ineligible to be on the transplant list. Though the medical team put him on strong antibiotics, it was understood that his body would not hold out long enough for him to rally.

Blessedly, Ralph was lucid enough to be able to express his wishes to be made comfortable via a DNR order (or do not resuscitate order) to his family and caregivers.

This afternoon, while surrounded by all of his family and loved ones -
Ralph passed away peacefully.

Please continue to keep Ralph and their entire family in your thoughts and prayers!
They will most certainly need it.

Show & Tell - Protection and the purse

Hi boys and girls - it's that time again!
Time for SHOW & TELL a la MEL!
Don't forget to click on over and check out what the rest
of the class is showing!

.........................................

For Show & Tell this week, I have two things to share - yep - there is nothing in the rules that says I can't share two things and gosh darn it I am going to this week!
There - I have spoken!

The first thing on my sharing table is my new, fabulous purse!
You may be saying to yourself - "........didn't she just unveil her new Coach purse awhile ago?"
"What on earth can she be doing with yet ANOTHER purse?"
Well here is the story.

After using my Coach purse for over a month - I discovered it was NOT user friendly!
The way the purse was designed - it had a very small zippered opening to the main pocket which
was really a pain to get into.
There was a buckle that went over the top of the zipper and it always got in the way when I was trying to get something out of my purse. I also could not see into the purse as well.
In any case - a few weeks ago on my shopping foray with mom - I noticed this absolutely lovely
(albeit large) purse at Cato's that I fell in love with.

I did not get the purse that day with my mom however happened to conveniently
"mention" this loveliness to my dear husband.

Surprise, surprise, surprise - a few days later he comes home with it for me!
(I love that man - oh yes I do!)

It may have only been $19.99 as opposed to the $$$$ that was spent on the Coach purse
however it is PURPLE ya'll! PURPLE I say!
And the best part (besides that I own it now) is that it is huge and easy to get into!

P.S. - selling the Coach purse on Ebay

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The second part of Show & Tell is a set of pictures which I took while on our
short gambling run this week.

Keep in mind that I am NOT what you might call "worldly" and that the smallest &
weirdest things tend to amuse the heck out of me!

About half way through our gambling foray - I had to pee and headed off to the restroom.
When I entered the stall - I about fell over - that is how impressed I was.
Let me share the bathroom stall pics (nothing gross here I promise!)



How totally cool is that? An automatic refreshing set cover that you activate by waving your hand in front of the green sensor!
I obviously had NEVER seen anything quite like that and was way impressed!
My friend Linda was in the stall next to me when I was ogling the toilet -

She said " I bet you are going to take a pic of that - aren't you?" I said " you bet your ass I am as it's Show & Tell material my dear"

Nothing like taking picture of a toilet stall to prove your insanity to the world!
There you have it - PROTECTION and the PURSE!

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MOOD REPORT:

Super Sushi Tuesday....more prayers please!

Don't ya just LOVE a sushi stapler???

Here we are again folks.....SUSHI TUESDAY.....the day of the week that I have devoted entirely to all the little things that put a smile on every one's face~

You know..... like when the cashier doubles your grocery coupon just because OR the when the clerk at Dunkin Donuts makes your coffee with just the perfect amount of sugar and cream without having to ask. Just that perfect little extra special something!

What's YOUR extra special something??????????????????????

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My extra special something this week was the news that
my friend RALPH got this week-
He is now OFFICIALLY on the transplant list!
It's a true irony to get excited about something like this because it means he
is really really sick - he is after all at the very top of the list with a
MELD SCORE of 40.
This does however give him the chance to survive and live many more happy years.
I am saying some extra prayers today - I hope his liver comes soon!!!
If you want to read more about RALPH - check out this website:

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Fourth of July weekend was fun and productive!
Hubby and I spent the 4th with two of our friends and my parents.
We all sort of chilled out in the early evening at my parents house and then went
to downtown Akron for the fireworks display.


Hubby and I also managed to tackle a few more things around the house as well as
to work a bit more on the Adoption paperwork.

All in all it was a great weekend!

Today, my dear friend Linda & my mom are coming up to visit me and then
we are all headed over to Erie, PA for an afternoon of casino gambling.
We are going to Presque Isle Downs & Casino.
Here's hoping to hit a HUGE jackpot!!! (or at least come home even)

Tomorrow morning before work is Pre-admission testing for my surgery.
Nothing like blood work, an EKG and your history to start the day off right.
I feel like I am back in a monitored fertility cycle with all the doctor visits
and testing that I have been having.

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Okay - gotta post at least a FEW gratuitous ZOEY pics!

Not much else on the agenda folks!!!

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MOOD REPORT:

Happy Birthday America!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA - YOU ROCK!!!

Happy July 4th to all my USA bloggy friends!!! I hope your weekend is filled with cook-outs, good friends/family and plenty of cool fireworks to ooh and ahhh over!!!

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I know I have already asked this of all my bloggy friends but I am going to ask again because it is desperately needed........Please say a few extra prayers if you can spare them for my friend RALPH - If you missed my post about him, he is in end stage liver disease and is waiting on a liver transplant at the Cleveland Clinic - you can read about him HERE. This is a truly sweet, loving and beautiful man with a tremendous wife and extended family. I am selfish and DON'T want to lose him from my life.

If it is in the cards for him, PLEASE pray that liver becomes available to him soon as his condition is very shaky right now.

In some ways, It is difficult and awkward to be praying for a liver to become available to him because obviously it means someone has to die for that to happen.
I just pray that if someone does lose their life and is an organ donor, that Ralph will be on the receiving end of that precious gift!

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR THE PRAYERS!

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In other news, my once very tiny, adorable baby Zoey kitten has now morphed into a HUGE, A.D.D, obnoxious, misbehaving toddler of a cat. I am thinking it would be akin to having a child in the 2-3 yr old range in the house. She is IN to everything that she should not be into - does NOT choose to understand or listen to the word - NO, and is basically driving BABY CAT absolutely freakin NUTS! It is so unbelievably difficult to discipline this monster however because of her little kitten face. She just gives me these eyes and a quiet little purr - I turn to mush every time.

Here are a few new pics:

Zoey in the dishwasher

Trying to grab a cool drink in the kitchen sink
"Look how adorable I am mom"

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On the IF/ADOPTION front - we are still in the completing paperwork phase of our adoption stuff. Hopefully this final surgery will alleviate the medical problems I have been having and we can move forward.

As I was sitting here writing this I realized something surprising - that I had NO idea where I was in my cycle and had to look at my calendar to figure it out. HOLY SHIT!!!
That I don't know when or if I had ovulated this month - DOUBLE HOLY SHIT!!!
And most importantly, that hubby and I actually HAD SEX when we wanted, for no other reason than because we wanted to - TRIPLE HOLY BAT SHIT!!!
Kind of nice for a change though!

Since we are now on the SEX subject and I just finished giving you the lo down on Zoey....let me share a story which I find hilarious........weird & freaky but hilarious for sure!

If you are faint of heart or easily embarrassed - DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! You will need to put on your very best visualization glasses for this one...........

The other day - hubby and I were in bed and getting all sorts of frisky just doing our thing........we both had forgotten that the Zoey monster was running loose in the house and that our bedroom door was open.

Well I was ......ahem.......trying to warm hubby up and had my head south of the border if you know what I mean.

All of a sudden, hubby starts laughing - and I mean really laughing- As I am a very determined lady when it comes to this area of my life, I did not stop what I was doing but rather used my peripheral vision to try and see what hubby was laughing about.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Zoey just sitting there - cute as a button - following every single movement of head. I watched her, watching me- her head bobbing up and down - up and down. Of course, I completely lost it and fell over in a fit of giggles.

I think it took a good five minutes for both hubby and I to recover enough from our laughter to move on so to speak.

NOTE TO SELF: Close bedroom door during adult activities!!!

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MOOD REPORT:

Show & Tell - blouses, slacks and earrings oh my!

Hi boys and girls - it's that time again!
Time for SHOW & TELL a la MEL!
Don't forget to click on over and check out what the rest
of the class is showing!

..................................................

For today's Show & Tell I decided to share some pics from the
great shopping escapade that mom and I had the other day.

I was really quite surprised that I made out as well as I did since I
normally don't do very well when I shop with mom.

It's been the weirdest thing ever since I was a kid - I have always managed
to do my BEST clothing shopping with my father.

It's not that mom and I spend time shopping together - quite the opposite - we
shared plenty an afternoon hitting the stores.
For whatever reason however, I just never seemed to do nearly as well with
mom as I did with dad.

This last trip however was one of those rare exceptions to our pattern.
Maybe it was God's way balancing out my day - since our shopping was followed by
my incredibly crappy doctors appt.
Kind of like giving me something good and bad - keeping the scale even!

Who knows? But I choose to believe that!

ANYHOO......(that's for you JENNY)

Here is a list of my loot followed by pics:

1. one pair of black slacks
2. one pair of beige slacks
3. one short sleeve peach tunic w/ matching scarf
4. one pink/white summer sweater
5. one blue off the shoulder blouson top
6. one pair of silver hoop earrings

The total cost ..........drum roll PLEASE...................

ONLY $60.00 -tax included
(keep in mind that I have an INCREDIBLY wonderful mom who paid but still)
Not too bad eh?

Pics as promised
(minus the earrings as they are upstairs and I am too lazy to get them)

That's all for now folks!

MOOD REPORT: