Put on a Happy Face

You ever have those days where you're just kinda sad all day.

You don't feel good about yourself.

You don't like what you see in the mirror.

You feel like the inside of you is disgusting and your heart is filthy.

You don't know why. But it's there.

Could it be the fact that you stepped on the scale this morning and hadn't lost a single pound after another week of running and starving?

Could it be the fact that your fat-roll over your jeans could not even be hidden by a big sweater?

Could it be the fact that your concealer just doesn't work like it used to anymore?

Could it be the fact that you were reminded of hurtful things from your past?

Could it be that you felt like you didn't even have one friend who truly understands you or could even accept you if they really knew you?

Could it be that fact that you felt alone?

Could it be the fact that you checked your blog and realized you lost a follower? Did you offend someone with your wit? How do you LOSE a follower? Perfect ending to a cruddy day.

Or could it just be that you're hormonal this week?

You just want someone to fix you and make you feel the way you're supposed to feel.

You plaster on a smile and go about the rest of your day and hope that tomorrow will be better.

Because in the words of Scarlett O'Hara ... "after all tomorrow is another day."

The Next First Lady

That's who I felt like yesterday.

My friend, Natalie, gave me a Gap pale blue sweater, which I paired with a pearl necklace and pearl stud earrings.

Not usually my style. You all know I'm a little more daring.

However, I did feel like quite a proper first lady ... 

combined with the perfect '50s housewife ...

with a dash of sassy Harvard preppie.

What a perfect woman ... Barbara Bush, Donna Reed, and Selma Blair's character from "Legally Blonde." Or not.

Always Breakin' the Rules

So, I saw this fun meme over at Rachel's blog, where you are assigned a letter and you post about 10 of your favorite things that start with that letter. I was so pumped about doing this. Rachel honored my request of not giving me "X," and gave me "L." I thought ... Sweet! I can totally think of 10 things that start with "L." 

There were, of course, the obvious ones ... the "Lord," "Love," and "Life." Then, I thought and thought. Hmmmm ... lemons, light, lions, letters, llamas, and leeks. None of those would do. I'm blank, people. So, I'm creating my own meme, with no letter limitations. 

What I want to know is 10 NEW (not the same old thing) things you've discovered that you can't live without and why.

I'm talking practical, here.

Not Jesus or your family ... that's a given.

I'm talking PRODUCTS ... anything from groceries to toiletries to make-up to shoes. This will help us all discover new things we may want to try.

So, here's my list:

#1 - Seriously, once you eat this hummus, you are addicted. The roasted red peppers hummus is the best.

#2 - Soliloquy got me turned onto Anne Taintor. Now, I warn you, some of her stuff is way sassy and may offend, as Auntie Em would say "a good Christian woman," but it makes me giggle and sometimes, gasp. 

Anyway, I now have her checks. Beau agreed to let me get chick checks since he doesn't write any of the checks.

#3 - Dab a little of this under your eyes before you apply your concealer. It adds a little moisture to those dry, little fine lines.

#4 - I've been using this whole grain, high-fiber cereal in place of granola in my fruit and yogurt ... I'm officially addicted.#5 - Really hard to only eat one or two and not treat them like a bag of Skittles ... they're mints dangit, mints .... chill out.

#6 - Speaking of mints ... these are low-fat. I bought the bite-size bag, so that I just eat a few and I feel like I've had a treat.

#7 - When I think of jeans, I definitely DO NOT think of JCPenney, unless I'm thinking elastic-waisted mom jeans. However, I bought a pair of ana jeans, which were super-stylish, fit me, and only cost me $15. I love them and will continue to check on these when I'm in the mall.

#8 - LUSH Lemonslip Buttercream ... It's like a soap, but not. You can use it in the shower or bath. When you keep it at room temperature, it's creamy or you can freeze it, and use it more like a soap. There's lots of other scents to choose from too. I love LUSH, which I can only get when I go to New Orleans. I try to get some when I'm there.

#9 - Flat wallet. I think everyone has one now. I love mine.

#10 - OK, I cheated on my own meme. This is not a thing, but it's one of my favorite worship songs right now.

So, what are some of your new favorite things? I hear a Julie Andrews song breaking out. Leave me a comment if you do this.

"Don't Get All Chick On Me."

Those are Beau's famous words every time I have to help him move some sort of large piece of furniture (up the stairs with me being on the bottom end) or appliance or do some other manly thing that I don't want to do. If I even utter a sound or sigh, he gives me the look and I know the phrase is soon to follow.

Here he is about to make that statement (after I was informed I had to help him move the refrigerator from the kitchen to the garage).

Not just any refrigerator ... a FULL refrigerator. Beau tapes it shut so all our food doesn't come flying out.

Beau then measures (after the refrigerator is unplugged and waiting to be moved) the doorway from the kitchen to the rest of the house and realizes it is not going to fit that way. Plan B is to move it through the French doors which lead to our small patio. 

Problem emerged. The dang thing wouldn't fit through the gate. We stood there a while trying to figure out how we were going to get this sucker out. Beau ended up taking the gate off and we shimmied it through. This was a major tight squeeze. I think we scratched it up a bit.

So, now, we had to push and pull the refrigerator through our yard to the front gate ...

and then the most embarrassing part ... down the street to get to our garage (we have a weird house layout ... don't ask). K Belle snapped this as we were pushing it on the street. The shame.

The Good News ... New refrigerator here tomorrow between 11 and 1 p.m. There will be rejoicing!

(Random thought here ... refrigerator has no "d," but fridge does. That's stupid.)

The Night I Traumatized My Child

Last night, as I'm laying with La Petite Belle a while in her bed, just cuddling and talking, she begins to kiss a little blanket she sleeps with every night. The blanket is from her Mama Lou's (Beau's mom) house. Mama Lou left this world for heaven about two years ago.

La Petite Belle says she kisses that blanket every night for Mama Lou.

I said, "Baby, Mama Lou is in heaven. She served God from the time she was a teenager until she died at 79 years old. I hope and pray that you will serve God like she did."

La Petite Belle: "I will, Mama. Did you always serve God from the time you were young?"

(Sirens start to go off in my head) ALERT! ALERT! DEEP DISCUSSION ABOUT TO HAPPEN! DON'T BLOW IT, MAMA! (I take a deep breath.) Here goes nothin'.

Me: "Well, baby, Mama didn't really start to serve God until she was 21."

(This is the start to a great heart-warming, wonderful moment where Mother and child will open up their hearts to one another. Mama will share about how Jesus radically changed her life and child will be touched and moved by such a testimony.)

La Petite Belle: "Did you drink?"

Huh? Did my 8-year-old just ask me if I ever drank alcohol before?

Me: "Yes, baby. I have had a drink before."

La Petite Belle: (very dramatically) "WHAT? You drank? My own mother drank." (sighs erupt)

Me: "Baby, listen ... drinking a glass of wine or some other type of drink is not sin. It's when you drink too much. The Bible says to not be drunk with wine. It's not healthy to drink a lot of alcohol and it's also very dangerous for people to drink too much for their own safety and the safety of others. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

(She really didn't. I could really tell I sank a little bit on her list of respected people.)

Beau walks in and I proceed to tell him about our discussion. She then asks Beau the same question and is then equally appalled at his answer that he had drunk beer before ... and, by the way, it's always beer that she talks about. We don't drink beer or buy beer. (Children's Church has made quite an impression on her in this area. Remember this post about the same subject.)

Beau reiterates the same things I had just told her.

Along with that same explanation, he tells her that we have some alcohol in the house that we use to cook with and that we put a can of beer in the bratwurst she loves to eat.

She begins to freak out.

La Petite Belle: (starts to cry) "You mean, I drank beer?"

Beau: "No, baby, the alcohol cooks out of it. It's just the flavoring that stays in the food. The spaghetti sauce you like so much has wine in it.

La Petite Belle: (louder crying) "I drank beer?"

Beau and Me: "No, you didn't drink beer. It was just used in cooking. The alcohol cooks out. Lots of people use alcohol in cooking. It's OK. You didn't drink beer. And don't go tell anyone, you drank beer because it would be illegal for you to drink beer and Mommy and Daddy could go to jail if we would have ever given you beer."

La Petite Belle: (even louder crying) "I don't want you to go to jail." (louder crying)

Beau and Me: "We're not going to jail. We're trying to make you see that you didn't drink beer and it would be wrong for any parent to give their children alcohol."

La Petite Belle: (cried for a while, Mama hugged, and the cries kinda turned into giggles)

Me: "Now, there will be times when you're a teenager, when people will try to get you  to do things that are wrong, like drink beer and other things."

La Petite Belle: "Mama, when I throw a party with your permission, of course, and somebody shows up with beer, I'm gonna say, 'Lose the beer.'"

I guess some good did come out of this moment.

I've married quite a character + NEW URL NAME!

Thought you might enjoy Beau's latest character he's created for this normally boring church announcement. Maybe I need this guy's marketing expertise for my blog.

On another note ... 

To all of you who have linked me on your blogroll or will link me at your site in the future, please note that I have changed my URL name. The new URL is www.bayoubelles.com. Can you do me a favor and change it on your site? I'd like to get away from the other name. This one matches my site a lot better. Don't ya' think?

Thanks and Happy Weekend!

I'm an apple.

When I think of an apple, I think of a perfectly round fruit ... no real shape or form ... just round.

Well, according to shabbyapple.com, and their three-question-questionnaire, I am shaped like an apple.

A perfectly round apple. Just when I was thinkin' I wasn't lookin' that bad, and maybe I could eat those danishes I won from The Wixom Zoo, I gotta hear I'm shaped like a dumb apple.

Here were the three scientific questions asked to calculate my shape:

1. I splurge and eat a whole chocolate cake. It goes:

a. everywhere

b. abdomen (my choice)

c. hips and thighs

d. nowhere

e. on my curves

f. to building my muscles (huh?)

2. I love my:

a. tiny waist

b. sexy arms and legs (I had to pick one ... not sure about the arms though)

c. muscles everywhere

d. chest

e. overall-thinness (which the site misspelled as thiness ... what scientist created this? Obviously one who failed Spelling.)

3. Words that describe my body:

a. voluptuous

b. willowy

c. muscular

d. rubenesque (No clue what that means)

e. hourglass (picked this one out of process of elimination ... not sure that's what it is. A little chunky was not an option.)

THE RESULT:

APPLE
Lovely limbs. You have thinner legs and arms, accompanied by fullness through the ribs and stomach.

Style icon: Catherine Zeta-Jones (If she's an apple, I'm happy to be one.)

Style tips: Look for clothing that accentuates your legs and arms. Loose-fitting waists, empire waists, short sleeves and knee-length skirts are best for you.

But, I have a relatively small waist, just a little tummy issue. I NEED to accentuate the waist and not the tummy.

Here's the six dresses I'm to wear:

One thing I don't understand is how none of these models look like an apple to me.

Too long for my (ahem) 5'3" (not 5'2 1/2" or 5'2 1/4") frame. Gotta have it at or above the knee. Bet you didn't consider that, did you, shabby apple?

So, if you're shaped like an apple, you should show no definition and your dress should jiggle all around your round figure?
This one I like ... definition to waist and length great for shorties.
This is for those of us that are Granny Smith apples.
I actually have a dress similar to this. Love it.
This one's very cute too.
If you'd like to also undergo this proven test of body shape you can head over there and take the test. The clothes are pretty cute. Some are kinda pricey, but they do have a sale going on.

I knew there was something I forgot or Aren't you sick of hearing about my awesomeness?

That was joke ... come on ... puh-lease ... do you really think I think I'm that great? If you do, then you are definitely new to my blog.

I knew that I had received an award somewhere in the blogosphere, but I didn't remember where .... and then it hit me ... Rachel, yes, Rachel ... she's the one that gave it to me.

It's called the "Great Attitude and/or Gratitude" Award.

Huh? For real?

It must be the "gratitude" and not the "great attitude." I think she's just thankful that she can read about what a mess I am.

Anyway, thanks Rachel! Love you, girl. Can't wait to see you in April.

So, now back to my award. I'm assuming the lemonade stand and the title means "when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade."

If I had some lemons right now, I would make this (something warm for all you Northerners freezing your little touchies off) ... Happy Baking!

The Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Cake

1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE GLAZE
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pans.
2. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
4. Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves and makes a syrup. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes, then invert them onto a rack set over a tray, and spoon the lemon syrup over the cakes. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
5. For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

I would definitely eat this hot out of the oven with a glass of milk or coffee. Mmmmm!

But, no I wouldn't right now because you know ... I'm on a diet. But, if I wasn't on a diet, I'd eat this hot out of the oven with a glass of milk or coffee. Delicious!

The Reason Home Depot and I are Friends

For the last three years, I've been living with this old thing.

This baby is old. The man who lived in this house before us built this house in his younger days and this was his refrigerator. He was 85 when we bought the house from him three years ago. This refrigerator was fashionable in the '70s. I mean, do they even sell almond-colored appliances anymore? I think not.

A new refrigerator was one of those things that we said we would purchase when we remodeled our home, but ran out of money before we could do it. You know what I'm talking about. And the refrigerator still worked, so we waited.

I've had major refrigerator envy.

And I've waited.

Then, I listed the reasons why we needed a refrigerator:

#1 It's almond-colored, while all our other appliances are stainless steel and black.

#2 The water filter hose to the ice-maker had a leak a few months ago ... a pin-size hole that leaked for days, which we didn't realize until it had ruined our floor. Now, we need a new floor.

#3 The freezer side fits about six bags of frozen vegetables, one box of popsicles, and one box of waffles. Everything else goes in our deep-freezer in the garage.

#4 It has stains on it that I just can't get off.

#5 Last week, the second produce drawer broke.

#6 It has a very temperamental ice-maker that will leave you hangin', waiting for ice or send about 20 pieces with one push.

#7 Last night, the ice-maker quit working. To which Beau said that he thought it was finally time. Then, this morning, he said that if the ice-maker didn't work, that would be confirmation that we needed a new refrigerator. Do you know that darn ice-maker worked?

#8 It's embarrassing, hence the reason for all the pictures and magnets on it.

#9 Home Depot is offering 10% off all appliances ... 12 months, no interest,  no payment. Let's face it ... it ain't gonna get any better than that. That is confirmation to me!

So, without further ado ... I present my new refrigerator that will be delivered Tuesday.

What do you think about the door where you can just grab the milk or juice? I think I like it. I'm just nervous about it breaking when La Petite Belle tries to use it as a step-ladder to look in the candy basket at the top of the refrigerator. I'll have to move that. The Home Depot guy says he's never heard of one breaking and it can hold 50 lbs., which I hope it would never have to.

**  I AM GETTING THE BIGGEST KICK OUT OF YOUR COMMENTS! YOU ARE MORE AMAZED THAT I AM WEARING SHORTS THAN YOU ARE OF MY BEAUTIFUL FRIDGE. FUNNY. THE HIGH TODAY WAS IN THE UPPER '60s, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO BE IN SNOW. JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ... OH, WAIT ... DUE TO THE SNOW, I GUESS IT'S NOT. THANKS FOR MAKING ME CHUCKLE TODAY, FRIENDS. **

New Hair + Crawfish

Here's my second attempt at this ...

I got a haircut. Beau was overwhelmed by the beauty of it.

I look perturbed because I can't have the corn and potatoes.

La Petite Belle showing off her new earrings.

Sugar-Free Candy = Sickness

We had a little family night last night. 

We took the girls for boiled crawfish. The season's just starting up again. No corn or potatoes for Beau and me. They were decent.

The unanimous movie of choice was "Mall Cop."

We are a Kevin-James-lovin'-family.

The movie was OK. There were definitely some funny parts, but it was probably one we could have waited to see on DVD. Although, La Petite Belle cracked up the entire time and when we got back into the truck, she said it was the best movie she had ever seen. To which I replied, the motherly, "No it isn't." So for her "Mall Cop" is trumping "Prince Caspian" right now. Whatever.

Anyway, back to my point ... Do you know how difficult it is to go to the movies and not have popcorn and candy? It's part of what you do when you go to the movie, right? It's the whole experience.

Beau and I knew we couldn't have either, due to the stupid South Beach Phase 1 (which is over tomorrow ... Yay! Bring on the limited amount of fruit, yogurt, and whole grains) ... unless we stop by CVS and pick up some of that Russell Stover sugar-free candy (still kind of cheating, but not as bad). You know what I'm talking about. I had never tried them before.

They had sugar-free chocolate caramels, chocolate peanuts, turtles, and even gummy bears. I thought "JACKPOT"!

We settled into our movie seats and we each ate our two "treats." Halfway through, they really weren't tasting that great, but I continued to eat them. Why? I don't know.

By the end of movie, my tummy was in knots. By the time we got home, Beau's tummy was in knots. I'm talking full-on pain here, people.

I will spare you the gory details, but let's just say, we spent the rest of the night in separate bathrooms. Hurtin', hurtin', hurtin'.

I feel somewhat better this morning and got back to my South Beach breakfast food. Tomorrow is the end of the strictest phase of the diet. So far, Beau's lost 15 lbs. ... maybe more by the time we may Monday. I've lost 3 lbs. ... and I hope it's more by Monday. Beau sweet-talks me about why I haven't lost more ... like you don't really need to lose any weight ... you're already a laser beam of hotness ... Blah, Blah, Blah. TEN pounds, people. I'd be happy losing 10 pounds. I've wanted to lose 10 pounds for the past two years. Forget 15 ... just give me 10.

In summary, skip "Mall Cop," unless you just have time to kill and buy full-sugar chocolate.

I do have some pics that I will post tomorrow of our evening.

** On another note ... in reference to my previous post about the mandrakes ... I did a little research on the plant. And guess what? The mandrake plant was believed to have had special "powers". You would eat this plant and it made you more fertile. Hence, Rachel's obsession with it. Kinda puts a whole new spin on things ... or not really. Just thought I'd pass that tidbit on to you all. But, I do agree with Chel ... grow your own mandrakes. **

I'm no Rachel.

OK ... so I'm reading my Bible today, listening for God's voice ... wanting a fresh Word from Him ... new knowledge into His Word ... more intimacy ... something like that.

Here's a brief summary of what I got.

Rachel couldn't have children and she wanted them very badly. She tells Jacob, "Give me children or I will die!" Jacob basically says something like, "Well, it's not my fault you can't have children. Take it up with God."

Rachel begs Jacob to allow her maidservant to sleep (only not "sleep") with Jacob so that she can bear a child for Jacob, and Rachel could then have a family. The maidservant had a child.

But, wait ... it gets better.

Then the maidservant had another child (meaning Jacob "slept" with her a few other times).

Now, Leah did the same thing after she could have no more children.

Then ... here's the kicker.

Rachel really wanted Leah's son's mandrakes (see plant below) he collected from the fields. And Leah said basically this, "No. You're not going to have my son's mandrakes and share my husband." 

Feast your eyes on the mandrake. What's it worth to you?

It was worth a lot to Rachel.

Rachel wants these mandrakes so bad that she tells Leah she can go ahead and sleep with Jacob in exchange for the dang mandrakes. Leah, of course, becomes pregnant again.

Finally, at the end of the story, Rachel becomes pregnant and bears Jacob a son ... Joseph.

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to give my husband other women to sleep with, so that they might have children. I'm just gonna keep tryin' and prayin'. Jacob wouldn't have time to be with any maidservants because I would be trying consistently ... at 4 a.m. and 12 noon ... during a full moon ... whatever it took. And prayin' my head off like Hannah did. But, my husband is not sleeping with my maid, much less my sister. And speaking of that ... what kind of wonderful plant is worth you allowing your sister to sleep with your husband. You're going to exchange sex for a crepe myrtle? I don't think so.

In thinking about all this, I can't help but think that there's something between the relationships women have nowadays with the relationships they had throughout history.

I'm not a theologian, just in case you wondered, but women at that time had to be very competitive ... always worried about how they looked and whether or not they would get chosen to be with the husband that night. Imagine the jealousy and envy. Imagine knowing that the man you love and call your husband is sleeping with one of the other girls. I hate that just thinking about it, much less living it.

Women have been living with this competition and low self-esteem obviously since the beginning of time, always questioning whether they measure up to the girls they sit next to. 

There's one major difference between the women of history and now: it's Jesus. When women truly find their identity in Him, they can be confident and secure in how they were created and who they were created to be. Thank you, Jesus.

"American Idol" Meets "The Biggest Loser"

Tuesday night just got even better.

Which one will I choose?

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.

American Idol has contestants. Biggest Loser has contestants.

American Idol contestants are singers. Biggest Loser contestants are overweight.

American Idol has crabby and rude (which I love) judges. Biggest Loser has crabby and rude (which I love) trainers.

American Idol contestants could kick Biggest Loser contestants' butts. Bob and Jillian could take on all four judges at the same time.

American Idol contestants cry. Biggest Loser contestants cry.

American Idol does a shameless push for Coke. Biggest Loser makes pushes for Extra gum, Sugar-Free Jell-O, Ziploc Steam Bags, and water.

American Idol is about 45 minutes long when you fast forward through all the commercials and dramatic looks. Biggest Loser is about 30 minutes long when you fast forward through all the commercials and dramatic looks.

Ryan Seacrest takes forever to tell the contestants whether or not they're going home. Ally What's-Her-Name takes forever to tell the viewers what the contestants' weights are.

American Idol contestants show lots of skin. Biggest Loser contestants show even more skin.

American Idol has lots of bleeps. The Biggest Loser has lots of bleeps.

Good thing I have a DVR.

I'm hungry.

I can't really think about much of anything else, except for food (specifically the goldfish and corn chips sitting in the pantry), right now.

Any interesting, witty blogging material is nowhere to be found in this brain because this brain has visions of carbs dancing around in its head.

All the Carbs I've Loved Before -- powered by flowgo.com

Carbs that I am missing right now are not necessarily bad carbs; they just fall in that category.

I'm missing (in order of longing for):

#1 - Cereal (Frosted Mini Wheats, I love you.)

#2 - Quaker Instant Cinnamon and Spice Oatmeal

#3 - Fiber One Chocolate and Oats Granola Bars

#5 - Crackers ... any sort of cracker. I'll take even just the basic saltine right now.

#6 - Pretzels & Tortilla Chips (with salsa)

#7 - Potatoes (in the form of McDonald's french fries ... the best)

#8 - Fruit

#9 - Yogurt

#10 - Bread

If you didn't know, Beau and I are doing South Beach right now. We're in Phase One, which means no carbs, except that which you would get from veggies. Boo.

We're on Week Two of this two week phase. Next week we can add a little cereal, fruit, and yogurt.

We weighed this morning. Beau lost 12.25 lbs. I'm so proud of him and hating him at the same time. I lost 2 lbs.

I worked out four times last week. And when I say "worked out," I mean almost died. He worked out one time. And when I say "worked out," I mean he walked half-a-mile before it started raining. Guess where I was when it started raining? At the furthest point in my neighborhood ... running. I ran half-a-mile in the rain back to my house.

No, we're about to put in a movie. How do you watch a movie without popcorn or snack? Boo.

I'm going to make some tea. That should fill me up and satisfy my cravings. (sarcasm here)

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Found this "To Do" list in La Petite Belle's backpack. Just wishing my list was this great! She spells phonetically, so try to work it out.

And I would have gotten away with it, if it wouldn't have been for you meddling kids.

If you are a child of the '70s, as I am, that phrase means something to you.

It was said at the end of every episode of Scooby Doo, along with some sort of cheesy laughter from Fred and the gang, as they got plain ol' tickled by something Scooby did in pursuit of a Scooby snack. Rooby - Dooby -Doo!

Let me tell you another reason I relate and loved this cartoon so much. (and I do hesitate to tell you because my true identity will be blown at least for the next week or so while this stays on my main page)

The beautiful red-head and I share a name: Daphne. This was good for my self-esteem when I was a young girl.

But, let me say that the name was and is the only thing we shared.

Do you remember the other girl? You know ... Velma?(what a name)

She and I were one in the same.

Velma was short. I was short.

Velma had short brown hair. I had short brown hair.

Velma wore glasses. I wore glasses.

Velma was the smart one. I was smart, usually.

Velma always lost her glasses. I always lost my glasses.

Velma was very blind without her glasses and walked around with her hands in front of her, feeling her way around, when she didn't have her glasses. Ditto for me. (and she did lose her glasses in every episode I saw)

And according to this picture I found, Velma was quite blessed in the booty area. As was I (and continue to be.)

Think I'm lying? Check this little treasure out. Second grade never looked so good. I mean ... how blind was I that I needed these ginormous glasses? And, I am totally rockin' that plaid jumper.

With all this said, 

I so wanted to be Daphne because ...

she had beautiful, perfectly-styled red hair

she had a perfect figure

she got Fred

she knew how to wear a headband and tie a scarf in a stylish way

she had a way cuter dress.

Other random observations about the show ... 

What was up with Shaggy anyway?

Did anyone else not understand why Shaggy ate Scooby snacks?

After solving about 50 of these mysteries, why had they not learned that the ghost or creature was just some disgruntled person in a mask? Instead of running from him, just pull off the darn mask.

In honor of Velma, I wore my glasses today. You go Velma, you sexy librarian, you; kick Daphne's skinny, fashionable butt (try not to lose your glasses while doing it).

And, how do you make glasses sexy and stylish? I'm not sure, but here are my attempts. I warn you ... my model-like poses may scar you.

I'm done.