Day 364/365 -I love nights like these!
AM and I were watching cartoons on mom’s couch, when I looked over and thought how lovely her red hair looked on mom’s old-fashioned floral pillowcase.
I am glad to be home.
Day 349/365 – I loved Good Friday!
Good Friday was a good day, fo sho.
This is one of those “Day in the Life” posts of mine…
It began with my sister, brother-in-law, niece [who was playing hooky from school!], Clark, and I having a wonderful lunch at Soul Fish here in Cooper-Young. Melissa and Jason had never been there before, and AM had been wanting to us all to go there together ever since she and I went last summer. We looooove that place!
Clark had to bid us adieu after lunch, so we were just “us four and no more” for the rest of the afternoon. The photo above was taken at our second stop: Yolo, Midtown. This is one of AM’s very favorite places to visit in Memphis, and she was keen to take her dad there for the first time. She knows how much he loves his sweets!
The third stop on our Good Friday Tour of Awesomeness was Burke’s Books. AM needed to spend a gift certificate I’d gotten her for Valentine’s Day. AM is such an avid reader [perhaps we’ll take about that in future edition of “Amanda Loves”…] and always gets so much bang for her buck at Burke’s. Going to Burke’s was another “first” for Jason, and I’m thinking he enjoyed it because he didn’t exactly leave there empty handed himself.
Bonus shot: AM outside Burke’s, with the bounty of books she purchased!
I parted ways with my family after we’d finished up at Burke’s. I mentioned that I was going to Lit, and asked Jason if he needed anything for an upcoming catering event. He said “Probably…” in his usual, VAGUE way. And that was that! I went on down to Lit, and my family went on back to Mississippi! And I was thrilled to bits with how well our day together had gone.
When I arrived at Lit, I was walking around the place, turned around, and I saw a very familiar little red-haired girl…What a wonderful surprise! Running into my family, after I thought our day together had drawn to a close! Of course, it was no surprise to Jason that we’d ran into each other, since he knew that we’d all be there at the same time. That didn’t mean the rest of it didn’t enjoy unexpectedly crossing paths though!
What a good good GOOD Friday it was!
Day 342/365 – I love my cupcake painting!
Handmade gifts are all the rage these days, thanks to online resources such as Etsy for obtaining such goods. I think kids are the real kings and queens of handmade gifts though – they’re the real pioneers in that field.
This cupcake painting was a Christmas ’10 gift from my niece Anna Marie. I am so stoked that she did this for me! A) I love having any of her artwork! B) I love that she made me a piece of art involving a CUPCAKE! She is so brilliant! I will one day need an entire wing in my home, dedicated to showcasing her art. I’m sure of it!
Day 324/365 – I love Anna Marie’s painted toenails!
It’s SO funny to me when Anna Marie wants to paint her finger or toe nails. She’s such a tomboy, that there’s not much girly stuff she goes for. But sometimes, she does something like paint her nails orange. AM was proud of them, too! She asked me if I wanted to see ’em, and then sat down on the floor and quickly took off her sock and shoe so I could take a gander. I loved it! Because it reminded me of a time many years ago when I painted her nails for her, and how her toes look just the same as then!
Day 318/365 – I love seeing Anna Marie’s “thank you” note!
I have something REAAAAALY mushy to tell you (and a not-so-high-quality photo, obviously!)
I think anyone who reads this blog on a “semi reg-LUH*” basis has to know one thing about me, above all else: I miss my niece 24/7 when I am not with her. It’s painful. But there is something I have been able to do while at work the past year or so: Go look at the note AM sent Kat after our company bowling party last year. Seeing AM’s little handwriting does that combo move of both breaking my heart me and reviving my heart (people who have had children in their lives, growing up before their very eyes, probably understand this.)
So on 318/365, I went into the office and took this poor quality camera phone picture, because I really needed it that night.
Day 310/365 – I loved having AM on her first day of Spring Break!
Like any school kid, AM had been looking forward to Spring Break – big time! But I also was looking forward to it, because I knew that my work schedule would allow me to take her for an “Anna Marie/Aunt Manda Day.” It was, sadly, a rainy first day of Spring Break, but we made the most of it.
AM and I had planned some things that were contingent upon good weather, but she very maturely suggested we go to a movie instead when it turned rainy out. So I took her to lunch, took her to see Rango, and ventured into Memphis for one of AM’s favorite things to do with me – Jerry’s Sno Cones.
She had only been to Jerry’s twice before, but AM remembered that she wanted half blue raspberry and half strawberry, which is what she got. She had to eat her sno cone in the car because it was still raining, but she didn’t seem to mind at all! I, however, suddenly realized that none of the day’s events really lent themselves to photographic documentation, so I pulled over and took photos of AM with her sno cone. And that was that! I had some official documentation of our day. It officially brought the Spring Break ’11 edition of “Anna Marie/Aunt Manda Day” to an end. I can safely say “it was a good one!”
Day 309/365 – I love taking AM to Yolo!
Though it breaks my heart just a little that AM is not a cupcake person, I do have great pleasure in taking her to visit Yolo. It’s one of the local frozen yogurt shops, and I like to take her there when she’s in my neck of the woods. She likes ice cream and frozen yogurt better than she likes baked goods, and has lots of fun dispensing any combo of frozen yogurt flavors she wants, piling the toppings on high [sometimes TOO high – that gets ‘spensive!] But it’s always a special time with our special girl when we go to Yolo.
Day 303/365 – I love my niece’s love for Star Wars!
This seemed as good a time as any to showcase my niece’s love for Star Wars. My awesome co-worker Nicci knew how much Anna Marie loves Star Wars and gave me this shirt for AM. AM loved it, and she immediately put it on. For once, AM didn’t mind when I said we needed to take pictures, probably because it was to show off one of her favorite things ever: Star Wars! I sweetened the deal by telling her she could use her light sabers (she has TWO!!)
I can’t really pinpoint when my niece began loving Star Wars. I just know that as early as two years ago (when she was in 1st grade) I asked to take her photos and she wanted them to be like characters in an online Star Wars she had been playing on Cartoon Network’s site. I’ve been amazed by her knowledge of all things Star Wars, and really happy to indulge her in this particular interest of hers. Easter, Christmas, Birthdays, what have you – I usually slip something related to her favorite thing into special occasions with AM.
Bonus: I’d bought Anna Marie a C-3PO and gave it to her the same day 🙂
(I was so happy to that AM was thrilled with the shirt Nicci’d given her. AM didn’t take it off that afternoon after she’d tried it on, and even had me leave the shirt out that night so her Mom would let her wear it to school the next day!)
Day 296/365 – I loved playing Connect Four with Anna Marie!
Anna Marie was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t play outside that day because it was “blah” outside. I made a deal with her that we could sit with our dinner at her Gramma’s new table in the front room and play Connect Four instead. This is always fun for us , and was a nice way to wrap up the afternoon. Except for the fact that Anna Marie is a little cheater (but don’t tell her I said so!)
Day 290/365 – I loved watching Anna Marie ride the High Cycle!
This was also on our field trip to Alabama, on our visit to McWane Science Center. I loved watching Anna Marie fearlessly ride the High Cycle, two stories above the ground. She loved it!
McWane Science Center is a GREAT museum, but we had only about half an hour to explore it after we watched an IMAX film. I’m definitely looking forward to perhaps taking a family trip to Birmingham some time, so we can get more time to see all the exhibits!
It was VERY high off the ground!
The "Amanda Loves" Project 