Miley Cyrus- President of the World

Walk into any preschool girl's room, and I bet you see princesses, princess dress- up clothes or any verseion of dolls/barbies/babies. Most conversations revolve around fairy godmothers, wicked witches, and prince charmings. Their pajamas are princess gowns. And, don't try to settle for a cheap imposter. Oh, no. They can spot a fake a mile away.

Walk into any pre-teen girl's room, and I bet you see posters of Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana. Oh wait, are they the same person? I still have a preschooler, not a pre- teen, yet. Thank God. They talk about Miley. They wear clothes with her face plastered on the front. They listen to Hannah's music. She's basically a pre-teen Oprah. They watch her show, and the lucky ones get to go to a concert. And, for those who can't go to a concert, they've made a movie.

And the phone calls began, in earnest. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the link.) Almost 40 a day. Most of them wanting to know about the Hannah Montana movie.

Justin: Heaven's Best Carpet Cleaning

Lady: What time does the Hannah Montana movie start?

Justin: Oh, they canceled the show. I heard that she's pregnant. (She's not, he was just really tired of all of the phone calls.)

Lady: WHAT?! ANOTHER ONE? freaks out and hangs up the phone. Never calls back.

Another lady didn't take it so well. He told her that it wasn't showing. She went nuts and asked about refunds. He told her to talk to his manager. She hung up and called back. We let the voicemail get it. She called back.

Me: Hello?

Crazy Woman: Who. Is. This?

Me: This is Rosa.

Crazy Woman: WHAT?! Do I have the wrong number?

Me: Um, yeah. You do.

Crazy Woman: Well, who was the smart- a** who f*&^ing told me the f*&^ing Hannah Montana movie was f&^%ing cancelled.

Me: I hope you don't talk like that during the movie. I don't think Billy Ray would approve.

Okay, I didn't really say that last part, but it would have been so cool if I had. I thought of it right after I hung up on the crazy woman. You know, because she was cussing me out when she dialed the wrong number.

The paper said that because of the popularity, the movie was being extended beyond the original week-long showing. Possibly for a month. Great.

Miley Cyrus is going to take over the world, isn't she?

Here Comes Santa Claus

For the last 2 weeks, we've heard all about the breakfast with Santa at Maddie's school. There were fliers almost every day, with random email reminders. It was only $7 a person, and the proceeds went to the varsity cheerleaders, so we decided to take Maddie.

Last year's visit with Santa was a flop, but since it had been an entire year, we thought she would do better. We rehearsed what Santa would say, and what he would be wearing. We told her there would be someone taking pictures. And she was ready. She knew exactly what she was going to ask for.

So, we got in line and waited. And waited. 25 minutes. Then when we got to the front of the line, there was a table set up. "They must be taking up more donations, or maybe if you want additional pictures," I said to Justin. "Just get the smallest amount."

When we stepped up to the table, we told the lady that we just had one child, and asked how much it would be for a picture."

"It's $35 to visit Santa and have your picture taken."

And just sitting in his fully padded lap was not an option. You had to pay the money even if you didn 't even want a picture.

"I thought the $7 each took care of the visit and the breakfast. I guess it was just for the 2 pancakes, slice of sausage and carton of milk. Dangit, I wish she had on her Christmas dress. For 35 extra dollars, it better be a good picture..." I whispered to Justin.

And then, I heard it. First, a whimper. Next came the subtle shake of the head. Could it be? Ooh, I think we may have an out.

"I don't wanna sit in his lap." YES!

"Are you sure?" please be sure, please, please, pretty please.

"Yes." and the angels started singing.

Justin and I made eye contact with each other and nodded. Then we each tried to put on a good show of trying to make her to sit in his lap. We didn't even mind a few tears, for effect.

I got my $35 back.

When Will Enough Be Enough?

Last week, I made a confession to Justin, and as soon as I said it, I wished I could take it back. I mean, really- does he have to know every single thing that goes on in my mind? Is honesty really the best policy? Now, he's looking at me like I'm crazy, doesn't really believe me when I tell him I'm not hungry, and I kinda think he secretly moniters what I eat throughout the day. Let me start at the beginning. Please be warned- it's not really funny at all. And this is really hard for me to write this.

In high school and college, I was an average size 8/10. Nothing wrong with that, but I would look at thinner girls, and dream about being that small. It wasn't a big deal, but I was always aware of it.

After I had Maddie, the pregnancy weight came off pretty easily. But as soon as I stopped nursing, a year later, it came right back. Plus some. I was now a size 10/12. But I was okay with it. Until I went to visit my family one weekend. I made the remark on how I had put on some weight, and no one disagreed.

I joined a gym the next week. And became addicted to working out. I go exercise usually 4 or 5 times a week. I try to watch what I eat, but don't really go overboard (except for those 5 months I tried to be a vegetarian).

That was almost 2 years ago. Since then, I've lost almost 35 pounds. And I'm now in a size 4. By far, the smallest I can ever remember being. And for some odd reason, I don't feel like it's enough. I keep thinking, Just 10 more pounds and I can lay off a little bit. If I eat that, I will need to work out an extra 15 minutes to burn off the calories. Is it worth it? It usually is. Cause I love food.

And this is how I ended up at Waffle House telling Justin that I ate a Krispy Kreme donut last week and considered throwing it up. I didn't do it, but the thought was there. And I think that's what is the scariest thing. I went home, researched how many calories were in one delicious, maple-glazed donut, then went running the next day to take care of it.

These thoughts scare me. Yes, I've had them several times. No, I've never acted on them. And I never will. I promise. Justin won't let me.

Whew- that was tough.