Since you all asked (well, two of you asked), here are my new bloggy business cards. I ordered them from FedEx online (formerly known as Kinko’s), and even though the site said I’d receive them in seven business days, I got them early on Friday.

I don’t love them, to be honest. The paper is not that great, and the size seems off. The design is pretty straightforward – the same image from my blog header, my name, e-mail address, blog address and Twitter address.

The smallest amount I could order was 250. I told Mark that I sure didn’t need that many. He kindly said, “I don’t know. I’m sure all those big bloggers gave away a lot of cards when they were starting.”

So optimistic, that husband of mine.

Have a good weekend! I’m off to finish cleaning the house for my party!

Oldies music makes me smile . . . and throw jazz hands in the air. I think it has something to do with three years in show choir and a director who loved the oldies.

And the smokes. That man could hardly manage a 30-minute bus trip to competition without going into withdrawal. But I suppose that’s another story.

Today, Robin and Jo-Lynne are hosting a Blog Hop for all of us folks not going to BlogHer, that little blogger get-together happening this week.

Aside from wondering if I’ll ever find another occasion to wear a poodle skirt, thinking about a Blog Hop just brings to mind fun tunes from the 1950s.

And Grease. And . . . milkshakes.

Speaking of movies made in 1978 (that would be Grease, please keep up), I am really busy this week. See, it’s a big birthday year for me and for a lot of my friends. And because several of us have found it difficult to clear our calendars to celebrate each of these big days, Smitty and I decided to throw one big party for all of us.

I won’t go into details about all the many things I have to do between now and Friday evening. I won’t bore you with squeals of how excited I am to see all my old (but not that old!) friends. And I won’t whine about how I’m a little tiny bit nervous about mixing my high school friends with my college friends.

Nope. I’m just going to say to anyone and everyone who stops by today – Welcome! and Hello!

Robin had some advice for the Blog Hop, and she warned against being too wordy or linking to a dozen of our favorite posts. I mean, you all have a lot of blogs to check out today!

But I can’t help it. Just in case today’s visitors want to learn more about me and just in case my wonderful readers want to relive the good times, here are my links. My rule-breaking (sorry, Robin!) links about very important topics.

• A big announcement about my daughter starting to (kind of) walk.
• Rolling my eyes at my choir director (It’s a wonder I didn’t get in more trouble.)
• My favorite Mexican restaurant and the beauty of chili from a can.
• Celebrity lookalikes (I write about real serious stuff on here.)
• And a real mushy post about my husband. He’s great.

And, oh yeah, I like to share pics of my cute kiddo. Exhibit A:

Have a great day, friends. And don’t forget to hop on over to Robin’s place for the party! (And I just found another party – check out the Happy Blognerd Bash, too!)

Look how excited I was to get a desk for Christmas.
The better to play school with, of course!

I am such a nerd. And I’m okay with that. After all, if I wasn’t the proud owner of no less than four AP Stylebooks, who would my friend Kevin call when he has a grammar emergency?

Last night, for example, he called wondering how exactly to write about a range of numbers and if AP had finally changed their ruling on capital-w Web site.

[For the three of you who are wondering, numbers are still written as words when under 10 and written as numerals when 10 or higher. And AP stands firm on the hideous W.]

Lately I’ve been proofreading a lot more projects at work, so I’ve been spending even more time with my trusty AP guide. And I’ve noticed – sadly, for the first time – that my dictionary of choice should be Merriam-Webster’s.

Since my copy of Webster’s was given to me as a high school graduation gift, I’ve been using the online version for the most up-to-date pronunciations, spellings and definitions.

Little did I know just how updated the dictionary was. Until I found the list of new words, that is.

For example, “sock puppet” was added to the dictionary in 1959. But it’s on the list of New Words in 2009. Apparently this year enlarged our understanding of the puppet made of sock, though. Because a second definition has been added.

Did you know a sock puppet is also a false online identity used for deceptive purposes? I had no idea.

Not surprisingly, making the list are media favorites staycation, carbon footprint and reggaeton. Just kidding. I am not accusing the media of bringing us reggaeton, an apparently popular kind of music from Puerto Rico that “combines rap with Caribbean rhythms.”

And I’m sure you won’t be shocked to know that webisode, vlog and frenemy are now accepted parts of the English language.

But waterboarding? Did we need to resurrect that one? Weird.

So, there you have it, folks. Further proof of my nerdiness. For more, check out these oldies but goodies. Good stuff there.

Heard any new words lately?

Look at those tiny toes! And those skinny legs! I took this photo in the first month or so after Annalyn came home – probably before we even arrived at her due date (since she was born 7 weeks early).

This photo is actually part of a larger one of my sweet girl sleeping. But there’s just something cute about feet that made me crop this section out.

(Then again, there’s certainly something very cute about a quietly sleeping baby!)

For more feet pictures, check out I {Heart} Faces.