BIG NEWS

First Lady Michele Obama - she's awesome!

Future President Calla Suzanna McCleary Miller

Go to whitehouse.gov and read all about what our President is doing! What a GREAT website! Now the american people can actually be involved in what's going on in Washington D.C.

Oh, and if you own a home, take advantage of the 4.85% interest rates to refinance now.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

Katie and Nich are pregnant! SWEET! Calla will have a brother or sister in early November. No, she hasn't been to the doctor yet but took 3 home pregnancy tests that were positive. And she feels sick, a sure sign.

Maybe he/she will be born on Kristie's birthday, November 11. Or my birthday, November 21?

I can't wait to hold a sweet little baby again. Sigh.

Love at First Sight

Aaah Barry Manilow. His first hit was "Mandy" in 1975 and when I heard it, as a girl of 14, I was in love! He was my first serious "artist" crush.

Kristie and I went to his concert last night at the Comcast Arena in Everett. It was a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis and the place was packed! He sang all of his previous hits, and when it came to Mandy, he showed a video clip of him singing on the Dick Clark show (in white pants and a baby blue silk shirt and long blond hair!); after the first part of the song, they merged to him singing the song on stage at the piano...I was crying at that point. And I was thinking, this is crazy, I shouldn't be crying, get a grip!, but it seemed to just bring back all those memories of how you felt when you're 14!

Other highlights were "Somewhere Down the Road" and "I can't smile without you". We had a GREAT time!

Remember Bobbie Sherman? He was my second crush.

Rant: Why would Everett build an event center smack dab in the middle of downtown and NOT build a parking garage to go with it? Really annoying.

Sorry for the delay in updating my blog. I've been really sick with a darn cold that just won't quit. I caught it from my darling Calla so it was worth it but man oh man. I'm still blowing my nose and its been two weeks!

Oh, big news...I took off my artificial nails last week, after 18 years. My thoughts were that surely, now that I'm older, I would be able to grow my own nails. I was mistaken. I can't do it simply because of the shape of my nail beds. I know what you're thinking but its true! They're going back on this week. Sigh. At least I tried.

An update on my Women's Group...its the best. I'm really enjoying it. Thanks for asking.

Kristie is feeling REALLY GOOD! PRAISE GOD. Thank you for your prayers.

I just had my annual physical and am off birth control pills for 3 weeks; then I will take an FSH test which will tell me if I'm fertile or not. I'm hoping not. Will let you know.

Have you had your mammogram lately? Mine is scheduled for next Wednesday. Yippy Skippy.

Are you watching American Idol? We are and we're voting. Don't be a phone snob. Vote for your favorite! My prediction for the final - Danny and Adam. The guys are definitely better than the girls this year.

Catching Up

The e and 3 keys are working! I got a new keyboard which I installed myself. Nice.

Our Vegas trip was great. My conference was awesome...the new Spring/Summer line of jewelry is fantastic. Lots of pretty stuff! I actually won a 14 k gold, diamond, and topaz ring because our team did over $300,000 in sales last year. In fact, over 60 women won that special ring. It was great.

Nigel and I saw a couple of shows, Wayne Brady - sooo funny! And Penn & Teller - great magic show! I'd recommend both. You can take kids to the P&T show but not the Wayne Brady show.

We had lunch with Sue & Stephen at Emeril's restaurant, Delmonicos, at the Venetian...yummy! We had the best steaks ever!

We got home Tuesday and then I picked up Kristie on Wednesday.

She had a GREAT time with Katie and Nich. Thanks for taking care of her!

My last cooking class when we returned home from Vegas was really fun. Our chef asked us to choose a favorite dish that we wanted to learn how to cook or cook better. I chose Beef Stew. After making the dish with Chef Tom, I figured out what I was doing wrong at home...I was cooking it too long and it was getting tough. I also learned how to make a "slurry" with flour and water thicken it a bit.

We also had:

Steak Tartar - not my favorite but okay
Paella - not my favorite but okay - a beautiful looking dish though
Lavender Creme Brulee - I prefer vanilla - we got to burn our own tops though - very fun
Chicken Diavolo - not my favorite but okay
Beef Stew - really good

I needed some Grandma time with Calla...the last time I saw her was right before Christmas so almost 3 months! Tickets were $79 each way so last Friday I flew down to Sacramento and came home Sunday night. Just me. It was so nice to spend time with Calla. She's so adorable. I'll post photos when Katie gets them to me. (I need to buy a new camera; mine is just not working anymore.)

So, here's what she's into:

Talking - well almost. She's saying some words like "Wuv you" "Aunt K" "Ganma"

She LOVES BOOKS! I've never known an 18 month old to just want to sit and read for an hour. She'll go pick out the books - a stack of them - make you sit on the couch with her and read them to her. Its her favorite.

She loves being outside. She loves running errands. She does not like to just stay home.

She eats every 2 to 3 hours. We should all take a lesson on that one.

And the big news is, we went to Ikea and got her a "big girl bed". Nich and I put it together on Sunday (Katie was sick) and she's sleeping in it just fine. She likes it alot.

I just love watching her grow up. Its always sad when I have to leave; I so wish we lived closer.

I'm working hard on earning my trip to Cabo San Lucas - a 5 star all inclusive resort. Wanna help me? Go to my website at www.myparklane.com/jmoore and do some online shopping for yourself or gifts for others.

Sorry, I know, shameless advertising.