My girls are so cute!

I actually got them to let me take a picture of them together tonight! They got the giggles, then I got the giggles, and between the three of us laughing, I had a hard time getting a decent picture. Most of the best ones are blurred from me giggling while I was shooting. Luciana had her theater class tonight, and they walked a few blocks down to the Janesville Performing Arts Center. They toured the building, got to say some lines on stage, and then went down to the dressing rooms to put on stage makeup and get dressed up. It looked like they had a lot of fun. Luciana was wearing heavy stage makeup and for some strange reason, didn't want to let me take a picture of her. I talked Dej into taking the picture with her, and then Luciana was fine with the posing. She has some lines to work on this week from her script. She is Christopher Robin but isn't very happy about it. She wanted to be Kanga (the only girl in Winnie the Pooh) and is a bit miffed that she has to be a boy.

Dejanique was offered and accepted a job at JC Penney after her interview today. When she got home, she found that she also had a message from the card shop that she interviewed with last week. She has to call them back to tell them she isn't taking the job. She will start training next week and will be working in the junior/misses department. This will necessitate a new wardrobe, as all Dej has and wears (other than her interview outfit) is jeans, and those won't work for the job. It will be a great experience for her to be held responsible by someone other than us. I'm hoping she matures and does well on the job.

Lori, exec. director of the Alliance for Animals, asked me to be the profiled activist in the spring newsletter. I had to answer a bunch of questions on my background/experiences in animal rights--didn't mind that at all. The bad part, and the part I have put off for a few weeks now, is the picture that is required. I have very, very few pictures of myself over the last few years, and no good pictures. The couple that are decent are of me interacting with my kids or animals, rather than the portrait-type shot that I need for the article. I finally gave up on waiting for a "pretty" day and had Dej shoot a picture of me tonight and sent it out before my sanity kicks in. I keep hoping for a picture that portrays me the way I think of myself--10 years younger and 15 pounds lighter. None of our cameras seem to be able to pull that one off. I do need to make a conscious effort to allow more pictures of myself to be taken, so my children will have some record of what their mother looked like. I'm also guessing that 10 years from now, I will be kicking myself: "Why didn't I take more pictures 10 years ago when I was so much younger and thinner?" I must get over myself, I know, but DAMN! pictures are so traumatic for me!