In the summer before eighth grade, my maa, sister, and brother went off to NY for six weeks. Because I had cheerleading camp and my dad had to work, we were left to fend for ourselves. Whereas this would be okay for us nowadays, it was quite a feat at that time. I have got to admit, though, this was one of my most fun summers.

The weather was as hot as ever, and the song �The Sweater� (not to be confused with Weezer�s �The Sweater Song�) was on high rotation on Houston�s alterna-pop radio station.

This was the summer of Dad and Joanna.

This was the summer where we ordered three pizzas on Monday night so we had enough to eat for the rest of the week.

This was the summer that I read Teen Magazine articles aloud while he drove to work.

This was the summer that he taught me how to spot weld and let me practice on someone else�s house.

And most relevant to my current story, this was the summer that I learned to buy new clothes instead of washing the ones I already own.

Yesterday I knew I didn�t want to wash and iron clothes, so I stopped at Old Navy on my way home and picked up a different color pair of Fantastic Pants (this now brings my F-Pants count to three pairs: bone-colored khaki, black, and black with pin stripes) and two shirts that were on sale.

And wouldn�t ya know that the shopping gods were smiling down on me -- They were on sale for $25.

Today I�m sporting my new cream-colored t-shirt and black pin-striped pants with the last pair of leather shoes I�ll ever buy.

(I can think of only one time between then and yesterday that I did such a thing: My dad came for a visit, I was out of socks, and Wal-Mart was right there with their Hanes for little boys priced at only $4.)

In addition to wearing fresh clothes, my hair looks like I jumped out of a Pantene ad, and I only smudged some eye liner under my lashes and smeared a little lip gloss on before making my way to work.

Today I�m a bludgeon of sunshine, singing zip-a-dee-doo-dah! in the face of sourpusses city-wide.

Awoke at 6:45. Called a friend. Did some Pilates. Wet my head. Got dressed. Smudged and smeared my face. Made breakfast. Fed the fish. Pet Hambone. Skipped out the door.

All this before 8 a.m.! Wowee!

All this, despite the lack of sleep I got!

Man-oh-man. That�s a story for another entry.

Time to work-work-work and see if it clears the smile from my face... Wheee!

Did you fill out my survey yet?

Dana-elayne did, and she even offered to send me a vegan cookbook! Woo-hoo!�