Lazy: hoping, hoping, hoping that your child doesn’t lose yet another tooth today (that would be my six yr old’s NINTH TOOTH, including the freaking tooth she lost LAST WEEK) because the Husband is out of town and the tooth fairy is out of cash and most goodies and couldn’t manage a stop for money during the busy day.

Selfish: after the girlchild pulled her own tooth at the dinner table (can anyone say mmmmm, yummy!) and I was worrying about the tooth fairy haul, I remembered a cool great big coloring book hiding in the guest bedroom and an even cooler book, Blackstock’s Collections, by Gregory L. Blackstock, that I’ve been hiding away in the closet forever, because I originally planned to give it as a gift but I wanted to keep it for myself. It’s full of amazing pencil drawings.

She’ll love it.

I wish I could keep it for me. The tooth fairy gives good gifts at my house, though, and this book’s a winner.

Note for locals and Alabamians: I went to Tuscaloosa on Saturday for the first time in many years and spent a wonderful day tailgating. Every second of the football game was nerve-wracking, and when Georgia scored that winning touchdown in overtime, I was standing in the top row, right under the Jumbotron in the other end zone, so I missed it and waited for about eight seconds to see if it was good.

It was a long eight seconds and a disappointing end to a long, fun day.

On the way out of Bryant Denny stadium, I passed a father in Georgia garb holding his son’s hand and I tapped the kid on the shoulder and said “Some game, hunh?” He looked a little scared of me. Alabama fans outnumbered Georgia fans about ten to one in Tuscaloosa, so many Georgia fans were quiet on the way out. A minute later, I told the dad that he certainly picked the right game to bring his son to and he said, “Yeah, and it’s his first game, too.” His son was ten. It was sweet.

But, still. Georgia. Geezelouise.

The boychild has renamed himself. He’s Ladderhorn now. It’s a fireman thing.

Boogeys? Mama, you got any boogeys in yah tunnels? (Nostrils are now tunnels.)

In the past month, I have lost ten pounds. I haven’t had a single moment where I’ve checked the clock, waiting for the end of the day. One night last week, sitting in a stifling place for the hundredth hour in a row (it felt like), sweating my hiney off, I thought to myself, “I am really happy.” One night this past week, I ended up in bed for the night at 7 p.m., fully clothed and on top of the covers. I got under the covers at 1 a.m., finally.

Funny that I’d run out of things to say and the time in which to say them not long after this page gets a little better to look at, hunh?

The vanilla bean poundcake recipe is at the Smitten Kitchen website. She’s revamped her site to include a separate page for recipes. I’m a new Nigella Lawson fan and highly recommend her Ritzy Chicken Whatever they’re called–soaking chicken in buttermilk all day and then dredging it in ritz crumbs is yummy.

Screaming boy. More another day.