I’m not a kid anymore. Obviously.

I don’t hate January like I used to. I have a December baby and I, like most people, think that having a December baby is not the ideal. The thing is, we were just happy to have a baby. And my December baby, right now, loves having his birthday close to Christmas. Don’t spoil it for him, okay?

Back to January.

It’s a hard month for many. I think that God has a good sense of humor and kind of plans stuff. (That was me being eloquent.)

I love to plan and host parties. Love, love, LOVE. I may get a little bit (or a lot) crazy in the midst of pulling all of the pieces together but I thrive on it. I buzz and I zoom and I flap my arms and my entire body vibrates. Having a son with a December birthday so close to Christmas means that we have his “friend party” in January. We’ve spent many Saturdays skiing, so this past weekend saw his party and my birthday collide. If you know us at all, you know that we’d have it no other way. We can sleep when we’re dead. Or something.

Friday night saw us out for dinner with two of our closest friends, and another friend who was in town to speak at a conference at our church – he married us! – and it was so great. There’s just something about friends that you’ve known forever.

Saturday was … busy.

We hosted Graham’s “friend” birthday party on Saturday. We (they) waited for friends to arrive.

There was a bunch of sledding involved, in our backyard/forest.

I made a cake for Graham, and decorated it this way, because I cannot decorate with frosting.

I hosted a girls’ night in for my birthday, which had a wine/appetizer theme. I wore this.

I got to spend many hours with the prettiest ladies on the planet.

January isn’t so bad.

Awesome, of course, but not necessarily restful.

Friday night was my office Christmas party! Good chats, great food, and that gift exchange where you get to choose a new present or steal from someone else and (insert evil laugh, here) we were at the last table. I scored us a wine saver and Matthew scored a Starbucks mug with some Via and a gift card. Also, the partners bought me a Blackberry Playbook. I am an Apple girl, but I handed it over to Graham and he has us hooked up with a bunch of free games. By “us”, I mean “them” because Matthew and I have scrubbed Windows from our brains.

Saturday was not my favorite. It was like a Monday and I would love to tell you about it, but I don’t really want to relive it. It was busy and disjointed and the antithesis of our usual Saturdays. Onward!

Sunday was the usual craziness of Matthew gone early and the kids and I snuggling before we had to race out of the door for service. Emily had a birthday party right afterward, which meant that there was a lot of driving in the afternoon. But then. But then! It was time for our church’s production. In years past, the production consisted of many weeks of practice with the preschool/elementary school set. This year, Mr. Matt (as the kids call him) announced that everyone would come to the church for dinner and then we would practice and put on a production.

He came home that Sunday after the announcement and said that he was disappointed because only one family had signed up. I then explained that the kids and I did not want to attend because we had no idea what the night entailed. Did signing up mean that I had to sing a solo? Or that they had to do a dance number? Because no. NO, NO, NO.

He saw the error of his (non-communicating) ways, sent a detailed email to all of the families and, well. The turnout was great, the conversations were awesome, and everyone put their heart into it.

And, while I didn’t sing a solo, I did sing on stage for the first time since forever. (By “forever”, I mean singing “Friends are Friends Forever” when my friend Krystal moved away in tenth grade.) It was fun, it was hilarious, it was twenty shades of awesome. I was in charge of taking photos of the event, too, and handed a friend my camera when I was on stage, but I’d have to blur out fifteen faces and, yeah. Just trust me. It was awesome. (Private photo here, for Flickr friends.)

Monday hit me, hard, but going through the photos of the night has perked me up and made me smile. It was a good night and a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward to next year. Especially if I get to be in the same group as Amanda again.

It is no secret around these parts, or in my life offline, that I am pretty thankful for my husband and kids. I have a husband who loves me, nay, adores me. He also cooks and cleans (WAY more than I do) and is the best Dad that any kids could ever hope to have. He’s done everything from cleaning diaper blow-outs to doling out after-dinner wrestling to helping with homework. I don’t gush about him as much as I should, for fear that people would think that I’m making it up, but if you talk to anyone who knows us in real life they will confirm that he’s pretty awesome. And that his friends keep asking him to stop making them look so bad.

He and I have these three kids that we are constantly blown away by. There are moments, of course, like when our almost-nine-year-old thinks that he is the parent of his younger siblings or when our middle child WON’T EAT A VEGETABLE, ALREADY (But he’s started eating apples! YAAAAAAAYYYYYY), or when our baby girl acts, well, like a baby girl.

Normal parenting glitches aside, we have it pretty great. Not only do we love our kids, we like them. We spend a lot of time going for walks or out for ice cream or playing UNO or Monopoly and we laugh together. A LOT. My kids are more than I ever dreamed could be possible and I am so grateful that I get to be their Mom. We have a good life, the five of us. A cozy home and parents with good jobs and very minimal debt (just a teeny-tiny mortgage). We have it good – I know this – and I am thankful for it every day. I also know that so many others do not have what we have.

I have always had a soft spot for kids, long before I even had kids of my own. I have four younger siblings that I invested in when they were wee and I was a teenager (and beyond my teenage years). I spent one summer working at a daycare and have spent a lot of time volunteering at camps and at youth groups and in Sunday school classes. Having kids of my own as made that soft spot more of an open wound because there are so many kids who do not have good homes. There are kids who do not have food, who are abused, who do not have parents to call their own. We have talked about adopting, one day, or maybe being foster parents. There are are a plethora of kids who need love and we have love to give.

While we aren’t sure if we are ready to make that big step, yet, we do what we can to help others. We have a World Vision “daughter” that we’ve been communicating with for six years now (She’s growing SO FAST). We’ve also been donating in our local community. There is much poverty in other countries, yes, but there is a huge need in my home town, and probably yours. My sister-in-law works at the food bank here in Summerland and she doesn’t give me names, but she does tell me stories. There are kids who go to school on an empty stomach, and who do not have lunch and, oh. It breaks my heart. I want to show up at the school with sandwiches. SANDWICHES FOR EVERYONE!

We talked about this over dinner a few weeks ago and I asked if I could write about it and of course, she said yes. This past week has placed it even more heavily on my heart. There is an annual event (The 18th annual in Penticton, the 2nd annual in Summerland) called Toys and Toonies for Tots and Teens. The premise: Bring a toy (or five) or a Toonie ($2 coin, for the Americans)(or more) to bless needy families. You get a great breakfast as a thank you for your donation, and it was amazing, but the best part was that needy families get to eat the same breakfast and also, get new presents.

I know that budgets are tight, due to the economy, and probably more so during the Christmas season, but the thing I love about the Toys and Toonies event is that it enforces a pretty great concept: even two dollars helps. TWO DOLLARS. Something that can easily be spent on a coffee or a pop/soda or a pack of gum. That $2 can give a family some things they cannot afford. When I asked my sister-in-law what the food bank needed (besides money), she had a few ideas for me. The food bank relies on donations, but some items are too expensive to buy. A few of those items:

• Toilet paper
• Bar soap
• Peanut butter
• School snacks (granola bars, healthy cookies, etc.)
• Toothpaste
• Tooth brushes
• Canned meat and fish
• Whole wheat pasta and rice
• Canned fruit and vegetables

There are more, of course, but if you want to buy specific items, might I suggest that you call your local food bank. Communities are different, and yours may have different needs. Or, if shopping and delivering goods just won’t work for your schedule (I HEAR YOU), fire up PayPal. If you’re in BC, here’s the link. For the rest of you, Google is your enabler.

I hope I’m not coming across as preachy or demanding. It’s just something that pulls at my heart and makes me want to SAVE ALL THE KIDS. I can’t, sadly, nor can you. But if you have a dollar or more to spare, it really does make a difference. I’ve seen it in action.

Not only did she make me ONE banner, she made me six. If I could find the others in my vast folders of data, I would share them with you. (It was five years ago. Don’t judge me.) Just look up, look way up (Friendly Giant reference) and you will see the banner I’ve been sporting courtesy of Brenda for the past five years. She also designed my business cards for blogging, which includes this family illustration:

(Pretty true to form, but woah. Emily really WAS bald.)

Brenda has also let me crash at her abode when I‘ve been in California to escape Winter and I can confirm that she is pretty much one of the neatest people ON THE PLANET.

She sent a set of her flash cards to Emily, way back in the day.

History aside, you have arrived at the N stop on Secret Agent Josephine’s Stealthy Book Tour! Did you know that she has three books out? THREE BOOKS.

She wrote her post about the tour and I read it on my phone and had planned to email her, but she emailed me first. She told me the letters that were remaining and I knew the one to pick. N! N is for Nathan!

I’m doing the best I can to balance the tables for my middle child. When he saw this illustration, his entire face lit up.

Brenda spoiled me yet again and let me have all three books in ebook form so that I could share them with the kids. We love them and they are a part of most bedtime readings. She asked if I wanted to do a craft or interview her and while I can be crafty in the non-crafts vein, I opted for an interview. Because the dolphins are in the jacuzzi.

I’m pretty sure that everyone reading me knows you, but in case they don’t, maybe tell them how long you’ve been blogging and how you chose the name Secret Agent Josephine. (I still remember when I learned that your name was Brenda and I was all, “WHAT?”)

I’ve been blogging since 2002 I believe. I really need to find my old archives and double check. I chose the name Secret Agent Josephine because at the time I wanted to write anonymously and I had just watched the movie “The Truth About Charlie” the night before. I think there’s a line in there about Secret Agent Josephine or it might be in La Femme Nikita anyway I had spies on the brain when I was searching for an anonymous name and that was what I happened to settle upon. It’s kind of silly now that I’m not anonymous but people remember it so it works for me.

You’re pretty talented in every ‘artsy’ area (photography, sketches, design, crafts). Do you have a favorite, or do you love them equally?

I think I like everything equally. I love working on my computer obviously but sometimes it’s fun to be more hands on. I like to make big messes with glue and paint and paper and string…I love getting lost in projects where I have no idea what time it is because I’m so fired up about what I’m doing… but I also love a clean desk with nothing on it but a cup of coffee and a laptop. I think I go through phases. I like to make a big mess and then clean it all up with a sense of satisfaction that I’ve completed something.

You used to live a few blocks from the beach (and graciously hosted this sun-deprived friend), but now you live in the sticks. You seem to be having a lot of fun out there, but do you miss being close to the beach?

Yes. I do miss the beach. Thankfully, I see it every weekend when I take my daughter in to visit her dad but I miss living there. I miss the ease of being in a small beach town where you can walk to everything. I miss waking up and walking to the coffee shop at the end of my street and then strolling down to the beach with my hot latte. I don’t miss the beach days so much. I get enough sun and sand but I miss the foggy mornings and feeling like I belong there. I have that here in the sticks but it’s different. There are so many things that I love about both places.

One of the things that I love about your online presence is that you don’t seem to be worried about metrics or “doing it right” (whatever THAT is) and you just blog like you did in the olden days. Do you ever struggle with any of the “new” stuff and issues that some seem to be dealing with?

I feel like I struggle everyday with everything! Ha ha. I constantly beat myself up for not blogging more or not blogging thoughtfully enough. I should do more printables, more crafts, more recipes etc etc… but at the same time I don’t want to feel like my blog is a job. I think when you try too hard it ceases to be fun and then the magic of it is gone. It shouldn’t be work. I think readers just want sneak a peak inside your life. They don’t necessarily want to know all the meta stuff like how bad you feel about not blogging or not being creative enough or whatever. Everybody always writes about that. There’s nothing new to be said. So I try to just keep my insecurities to myself. I’m not sure that was what you were referring to. I guess I struggle with new technology. I try to be an early adopter because you never know what’s going to take off and become mainstream but I have to admit I really don’t get google circles and sometimes that makes me feel like I’m getting old.

[Ed. note: ME TOO.]

How much coffee DO you drink in a day? *wink*

Heh. I used to drink two cups a day. But I’ve had to cut down to only one. It’s terrible. I miss that second cup like nobody’s business. But for some reason when I drink too much coffee and I have too many things to worry about ,I start tensing up my shoulders and I turn into the hunchback of Notre Dame. I’ve found the only cure is yoga, more water and less coffee. It’s sad but true.

How did you come up with the idea to do the original flash cards? Did you have any idea that they would be as popular as they are?

I was drawing little cards for my daughter on 3×5 recipe cards with a picture on one side and the letter on the other, trying to teach her the basics. Then I thought, These could be so much cooler if I illustrated them on the computer. I thought I’d just share my fun project with the internet but then everyone really liked them so I put them in my shop and they sold like hot cakes. I was really surprised actually. It cost me quite a bit to print them professionally so I had to charge $20 a set and I thought that would be way too much for people to pay but they bought them anyway. It was a happy thing.

You have three books now! How has the book process been for you? Harder than you thought? Easier? Crazier? Or?

It was harder than I thought because I can see the books so clearly in my head. I thought I would just whip them out with no sweat. Carving out the time to make them happen is the real challenge. I always underestimate how long it takes me to do something so I was making promises left and right to my friend Calee, (who is my publisher) and then when it came down to actually getting the illustrations done, I had to push back the deadline over and over. I was disappointed in myself because I feel like I should be twice as productive as I have been. It’s just life with me. I never get as much done as I think I should.

Do you have any more book ideas on the horizon?

Yes! I’m working on one about Secret Agent Josephine going to Paris for a mission. Of course this is near and dear to my heart because my own trip to Paris in 2006 was such a dream come true and I can’t wait to illustrate all my favorite places but I also want to touch on the fact that Bug lives in a family where her parents live in separate households. It’s not that I want to write a book about divorce but I want to put it out there because I’ve been looking for books on the subject and there aren’t very many. I probably won’t go any deeper than showing her being dropped off to stay with Dad while SAJ jets off to Paris but it could be a conversation starter for the families that read it. It just something I’m grappling with.

I also want to write a book about Bug and Secret Agent Josephine at home. How they have spy gadgets like a super duper robotic espresso machine and matching ninja pajamas or something like that. I think it will be fun to illustrate it from Bug’s point of view.

***

All three books are available on Amazon in formats compatible with the iPad/iPhone, Kindle, and Nook (for only $2.99 each). They are also available on paperback, which some family members of mine may discover under the Christmas tree this year.

• iPad/iPhone: ABCs, Colors, Numbers
• Kindle: ABCs, Colors, Numbers
• Nook: ABCs, Colors, Numbers
• Paperback: ABCs, Colors, Numbers

Now for the giveaway!

As part of the book tour, SAJ is giving away a print (26 tour stops in all, one for each letter of the alphabet). Today she is giving away a letter N print. To enter, just leave a comment telling me your favorite food or animal or thing that starts with the letter N. The comments will close at midnight on December 8th and I’ll choose a winner on December 9th.

To review!
1. Comment to win a letter N print (it won’t have Nathan’s photo on it, bee-tee-dub).
2. Follow one of the above links to buy your very own Secret Agent Josephine book! Or, you know, one for (each of) your kids.

You can follow along with the book tour on Secret Agent Josephine’s blog or on Facebook.

Why that weekend? Because it is the Festival of Lights, or Light Up, as us locals call it. Main Street is shut down on Friday afternoon/evening so that the stores can open their doors and food vendors can set up their kiosks and the community can descend on downtown. You bundle up against the cold and you eat mini donuts and you get stopped by 782 people who want to say “HI!!!!” and your husband keeps walking because he ran out of words after the second person and you buy cotton candy and you converge in the heart of Main Street at a few minutes before 7:00 so that you can be there for the countdown. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Some magical elf (?) flips a switch and then all of the building exteriors, and the trees, and the signs, and everything is lit up with Christmas lights. You start moving again and get stopped again by someone else and you take your daughter to jump in the bouncy castle and you take your sons to get cotton candy and then you realize that for the first time in the eleven years (!) you’ve been coming to Light Up, they’re firing off the fireworks at a decent time.

This year was a little bit better than the usual, because they added a Saturday night event: a wine tour complete with a $10 shuttle that drove you from winery to winery for the evening. Most of the wineries close in October, but they all reopened their doors to welcome the buses (and buses and buses) of Summerlanders who were out for a fun evening to kick off the Christmas season by (having a lot of fun, and) stocking up on wine for the holiday season. We went with Matthew’s brother and his wife (We love them and try to get out every few weeks, just the four of us, without the kids in order to (eat nachos, and) catch up.) We were joined by their long-time friends who moved here this summer and whom we now consider friends as well.

We laughed so much, all night. SO MUCH. And while the wine tasting was fine and good (seriously – the wineries here are amazing), we ended the night at the Silk Scarf Winery and ordered some of their tapas and THEN MY TASTE BUDS DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN. They only open their kitchen on weekends from June through August, so we made a reservation. For June. SEVEN MONTHS FROM NOW. The last time I made a reservation for a restaurant longer than a few days ahead was never. It’s that good, locals.

The hilarious ending to the evening was that we decided to stay and eat instead of catching the last shuttle, and figured that we’d get cabs to take us home. Then, Matthew and his brother decided to call their Dad for a ride instead. Ah, flashbacks from younger days. “Um, Dad? We’ve had a few drinks. Can you come and rescue us?”

Sunday saw me packing a lunch for after church so that we could eat (while Honey cleaned up the Sunday School stuff), and then head to see the Muppet Movie. As we were eating lunch, Emily said something that I quoted both online and offline.

“Dad is like Kermit, you and me are like Miss Piggy, Graham is like Fozzie Bear and Nathan is like Gonzo.” #nailedit

(It’s funny because it’s true.)

Have you seen the Muppet Movie yet? If you haven’t, STOP READING AND GO. RIGHT NOW. Oh, you guys. I snickered/giggled throughout the whole movie and may or may not have had something in in my eye once. Or thrice. The kids didn’t all of the jokes but they really enjoyed it. We’ll be buying it when it’s on DVD, for sure.

November is almost over (!) and Christmas is 26 days away (!!!) and the holiday event fairy has vomited all over our calendar, but the greatness of this weekend will carry me through, at least until tomorrow. Maybe even through to this weekend.

Did you folks have a good weekend? Was it your favorite?

We live in the Okanagan Valley, which is one hour north of (and part of the same desert as) Washington State’s Okanagon Valley. (Why the different spelling all of the time, America/Canada?) We often have a brown Christmas (BOO) but we also have fantastic summer weather (YAY). Our climate is dry and hot and perfect for orchards and wineries and many trips to the lake to cool off. I spent the first twenty-five years of my life living in coastal cities and as much as I love the ocean, I love that I live in a place where it barely rains and where I can soak up as much sun as possible before the winter lake cloud takes over.

My friend Amanda had a birthday last week (She’s 29)(For real) and for her birthday celebration, we went on a walking wine tour.

Ten girls, four wineries, two baguettes, one chunk of smoked Applewood cheddar and 500 miles (or so) of walking in the sunshine. It was the kind of afternoon you would think it might be. Chats with this person, then that person and just that feeling of Happy. I love every one of those girls.

(Complete wine tour Flickr set, here.)

Between yet another ear infection in the family (Emily) and somebody going on a fishing/camping trip (Matthew), I’ve had a bunch of days off of work. Time off work = beach time.

And also, trampoline time.

Winter is coming (Dun, dun, DUN) but summer is still here and I am squeezing out every last drop of it. How are you guys?

I was bound and determined to attend BlogHer the next year, and I did (2008). I also attended the 2009 conference in Chicago and the 2010 conference in New York, none of which Amanda could attend because she was popping out babies and her extended family conspired to plan weddings for the same time and whatnot. I have had nothing but good times hanging out with friends but I was kind of sad that she wasn’t there to hug the people she had first introduced me to. You see, Amanda was the one who first told me what a blog WAS, while out on a girls’ night in the summer of 2005. She had stumbled upon Leah’s blog and fell in love with both her and the concept of blogging. I woke up the next morning created a free blogspot account and then Amanda started her own blog a few months later.

This year was the year that Amanda FINALLY MADE IT TO BLOGHER. And, from what she’s told me and what she’s written about it, it was a pretty great experience for her. Face time (and hugging time) is kind of awesome. Throw in the fact that she was accosted (nicely) AT LEAST twenty times A DAY by people telling her how pretty she was. It had a little bit to do with her hat but more to do with how pretty she is, inside and out.

My hair was so jealous of the attention that Amanda’s hat was getting that it tried to EAT IT WHOLE.

As for me, I have to say that San Diego redeemed BlogHer 2010 for me. The New York conference was…different. Not bad, but not the usual AMAZING. I felt like I never ran into people and when I did I attacked them with a hug because THEY WERE IN MY LINE OF SIGHT. I mean, I had my crew, but I have a lot of friends that I love to hug and talk to and it didn’t happen as much as I would have liked.

San Diego was pretty much perfect. Many, many hours with my closest friends and many, many hugs and chats and dances with my extended circle of friends. There were also many, many hours spent shopping and buying pretty dresses because Ross Dress For Less, people. Back to the friend part. I hugged so many and IT WAS GOOD.

BlogHer is in New York again next year and if I hadn’t gone to San Diego this year I would probably just laugh and not even think about it. San Diego renewed my faith in connections and in poolside chats and in lobby hugs and in making the effort to get together once a year with people whom you love so that you can tell ridiculous stories and make make kissy (ducky, in America) faces.

(Linda, Leah, Simon, Sarah, Amanda, My bad self)

I love my friends. (But I’m really happy to be home.)

More photos on The Flickr

* A HUGE Thank you to Mom Central and Life Made Delicious for sponsoring this year’s trip.

Reality check #1

Last Thursday night the kids and Matthew were all outside while I prepared dinner. He was trekking between his shop and the new and improved chicken coop he’s building and the kids were riding bikes/playing hockey/”helping Daddy. I called them if for supper, we had our usual time of talking/eating/asking the kids to EAT THEIR SUPPER ALREADY and then we were done. Matthew and I started to clean up and the kids went out onto the deck and Nathan pointed toward the shop and asked, “What IS that?”

I had no idea what he could have been talking about and went out to see what he was pointing at and, well. We saw this:

Why, yes, that IS Emily’s bike you see.

This “tent” belongs to our neighbor. We had some strong, gusting winds and it was not cemented down. Based on the trail of debris we found, it soared up from his yard, scraped down the roof (THE ROOF) of the shop pictured above and then slammed into our truck. There are scrapes and dents all over the left side and roof of the truck – $2,00 worth of damage. Which, who cares, as insurance covers it, but that much force could have TAKEN OUT MY KIDS if it had happened twenty minutes earlier.

So thankful.

Reality check #2

On Friday night, we learned that friends of ours, who attend our church, and whose kids are friends with ours, had discovered that their (the husband’s) parents were missing. They had embarked on a road trip from here to Las Vegas to attend a trade show related to their business and they’ve disappeared.

Google search here.

They are sweet people, who could easily have been taken advantage of. Or, they had an accident. Nothing is known beyond the gas station surveillance of them in Oregon.

(I have talked about it quite a bit on Twitter and Facebook but if you want to help get the word out, that would be so awesome.)

I helped out with Sunday School, where we prayed with the kids who are scared for their grandparents. We then hugged our friends after service and choked up, and then I talked about it on the drive home with my own kids and then we watched the news because they wanted to see it for themselves, and I don’t even know what to say about it all. I am scared for our friends. I am hopeful that someone, somewhere, will have seen them after they left that gas station. I am sorry that my kids are at the age where they are “sad for their friends” but love that they were able to love on them and play tag after church like kids do and that makes me smile a bit.

It makes me that much more thankful that we are all happy and healthy and together.

Amen.

Heck, I have an entire blog category for friends. THEY MEAN A LOT TO ME. (Sorry. I’m not yelling at you. I JUST LOVE MY FRIENDS.)

I mentioned a few months ago that I felt a little bit disconnected from my friends. I’m working full-time (YAY!) and it’s hard to find the time to meet up with friends. I’ve/we’ve made great strides in rectifying this. We have rejoined our small group; two of the couples we’ve known since before we were even married (one of the girls was my roommate before we both got married, and our husbands are good friends too), and the other couples we have a long history with as well and and, well. As much as it makes Mondays a loooooong day, it is a good day, indeed.

Two weekends ago, Matthew and I went on a Date! Night! Part of our shopping/dinner/movie night found me at MAC, stocking up on some essentials I had run out of (Mythology shadow and Spirit lipstick). The woman helping me told me that they were having an event the next weekend (this past one) and maybe I would want to come? She gave me a card with the details and Matthew told me I should go and bring a friend (he truly is awesome) and so I called Amanda and we booked it.

Those of you who have been around her for a (very) long time may remember that Amanda and I first learned how to branch out beyond mascara and eyeliner when we trekked to MAC over three years ago. What you may not know is that this past weekend was the first SOLO night out we have gone on since that last trip. THREE YEARS AGO.

Yes, we get together for the occasional Wednesday lunch with our friend Tamara (LOVE HER, TOO) and we sit together for 1/2 hour every Saturday while Emily and Avelyn channel their inner ballerinas and we often sit next to each other in church but it’s always scattered and interrupted and good but sometimes not enough, you know?

This past Saturday night was more that good and more than enough. It was fantastic. We had an hour drive each way to talk and we had a lot of fun during the MAC event and we had dinner in the Big City and then a nightcap at the lakeside pub in our hometown and we got CAUGHT UP. It was so, so great.

Getting our makeup done by professionals and feeling pretty was definitely a bonus.

I love my friends.

These two lovely ladies joined forces a little while back and created a site called, “Let’s Panic About Babies!” If you have kids or want kids or just have a sense of humor, you’ll love their site (if you don’t already). Why am I telling you about Eden and Alice and Let’s Panic?

Because they wrote a book! Titled…wait for it…LET’S PANIC ABOUT BABIES. True Story.

They had me at the laser beams, but then Alice’s hubby Scott went ahead and created this amazing book trailer. Go ahead and watch it. I’ll wait.

Why am I sharing all of this with you today? Because the book launches today! And you can buy it! True story.

I’m telling you to buy it because I am one of the lucky ones who got a copy so that I could review it. I KNOW. I am here to tell you that it’s as funny as you might hope. I’m also here to tell you that they’ve given me a book to give away to one of you. (How sweet are they?)(SO sweet.)

So! Here are the details: The giveaway is open to anyone residing in Canada or the U.S. I’ll leave comments open until sometime on Friday, March 4th, 2011.

All you need to do is leave me a comment and tell me why you want to win the book. Ready, set, go!

***

I pulled up Random.org, entered the number 1 to 34 and…

YAY HILLARY! I’ll be making sure you get your book before your baby arrives.