Little Drummer Girl

Further evidence that uses for tubes of butt-paste extend beyond the everyday.

Lily's Found Her Lost Shaker of Salt

Public Service Announcement

I recently received a letter from a local finance company (check cashing place). I always open mail and review it before shredding it, and this particular piece of junk mail contained a $5,000 check. We all receive crazy offers in the mail from credit card and finance companies, so at first this seemed rather ordinary. However, upon closer inspection I realized that this was a REAL check! If it were to be cashed somewhere, it would form a LEGALLY BINDING contract with me to repay this loan....ARE YOU KIDDING!?!?

Can you imagine the nightmare scenarios...suppose that letter never made it to our house and some nefarious individual figured out a way to cash it. All of the sudden I'm legally bound to repay a loan that I don't even know exists!

I did a little research, and as you probably already realize, here is the situation:

The credit reporting agencies are allowed to sell information from your credit file to credit card and finance companies. When these companies receive the information, they evaluate you for a loan as if you were actually there requesting one. They then decide loan terms, and send you an "offer"....in my case an actual, live check. Cashing the check would form a legally binding contract to repay the loan. This is also a way that credit card companies use to send you their "pre-approved" offers for credit cards.

I found this to be an appalling invasion of privacy, and if you feel the same way, there is a way to change it. You can go to the website listed below and print off a form that will permanently remove your name from the lists that the credit reporting agencies sell to credit card and finance companies. This does not in any way impact your actual credit file at the reporting firms, or affect your ability to apply for and receive credit...it merely removes your name from lists that are sold to, and used by, companies to create unsolicited offers of credit.

www.optoutprescreen.com

I'm just glad that I found a way to remove our names before something bad actually did happen.

Help Wanted

Beautiful, sweet, adorable baby girl is seeking a loving family member or friend to baby sit her from Friday, August 29th through Friday, September 5th (includes Labor Day weekend). My regular sitter will be out of town, and believe it or not, both of my parents will actually have to be at work during this time. Interested applicants should have a good sense of humor, including finding face and foot licks from my brothers hysterical. Also, this person should have a questionable sense of style...since my Daddy has been dressing me so often I have acquired what would mercifully be called an avant-garde style. Compensation will be many hugs, kisses and sweet smiles from me, not to mention my ever-lasting love and adoration. Please send all applications to one of my administrative assistants (either Mommy or Daddy) and they will handle the interview process and arrange any details.

Incidentally, this is a picture of me in a race against my brothers for the proceeds of a spilled bag of Cheeri-Os...alls fair in love and snacks.

This past weekend we were off to NoVA so I could join Ashley, Mary and Ashley's family and friends for Ashely's bridal shower. I had a wonderful time and Ashley's family is so fun and inviting. Wedding season is officially on in the Campbell family and it's very exciting!




























The Lily pics are a smattering of the weekend plus some from the past few weeks. As seen below, Lily loved harassing the cats through the door, and chasing them throughout the house, for that matter....they on the other hand were not so sure.

Week 52: A Pirate Looks at 1

It is hard to believe that one year ago today Lily was born. While the summer heat certainly brings flashbacks of hiding out in the air conditioning of the maternity ward, so much has happened during the past 52 weeks that it has merited some reflection. Fortunately, thanks to the advice given by many of our family and friends, a detailed narrative of Lily's first year exists right here on our web page. So to be sure this milestone was celebrated appropriately, we had family and friends visiting from all over the eastern seaboard.

In an attempt to accommodate as many people as possible, we transformed Lily's nursery into a 3rd bedroom by moving her crib, changing table and rocking chair into our room. In doing so, both my parents and Chip, Ashley and Jersey were able to stay with us. With such a full house, a celebration of the 4th was in order. We were able to watch the fireworks from the backyard again this year, though we had to walk to the corner of the yard to get a good angle. My hopes that an errant roman candle would ignite the eyesore that was built on the lot behind our house remain unfulfilled. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the fireworks after cooking up some huge ribeyes, chicken breasts and corn on the cob on the grill out back.

On Saturday, we celebrated Lily's birthday with all the fanfare such an occasion deserved. We had chicken nuggets and chicken salad sandwiches from Chick-Fil-A; as well as homemade baked beans, home fries, and cole slaw. Lily's cake was special ordered from a confectioner in Knoxville and was delicious...even now I am munching on one of the few remaining leftovers from it.

But most importantly, Lily had friends and family there to share her day. Sam, Anna and Mary Hudson drove over from Ashville, while Erin and Chase were able to come up from Knoxville for the day. Uncle Jonathan also came up for the day from Knoxville, and Chris and Dena made the drive from Atlanta. Of course, Lynn, Donna, Carrie and Kevin were all here for the party, and so was cousin Beth.



















And finally, for all our friends with children approaching their first birthday...a heads up: watch out for the diaper after your child's first encounter with cake and icing....wow.