I can promise you it's bogus:  Update Your Account to Avoid Suspension.

Yahoo! Customer Care

Case number: 8941624
Property: Account Security
Contact date: 31-03-2010

You'd think these phishers would take the trouble to learn basic English grammar, not to mention how we write dates (mm/dd/yyyy format).

If you responded to the phishing email, you need to hurry and change your password (plus let Yahoo! know).

She turned five yesterday, can you believe it?  Incredible, how fast time flies by.  Before attending the festivities, though, Brianna, Bridgette, Dmitry, Zhenya and I met the Kloesels at the Dallas Arboretum, where Kirstin had arranged for a session with Natalee Raymond, a wonderful photographer (and friend of Beth's):

Daffodils!  Tulips!  Hyacinths!  Simply stunning, and also stunning was trying to convince Bridgette she wasn't permitted to pick the pretty flowers.  ;^)

Brianna took some photos, including this one of me, and then me with Dmitry and Zhenya.  She's got talent, ISTM:

Naturally, I got my turn with the camera, too:

Here's one of Dmitry and Zhenya, drinking in the beauty of God's creation:

Boys.  Sheesh.

Then it was on to Hannah's house; here's the birthday girl, bless her heart:

I don't recall what caused this less-than-happy expression on our birthday girl's face:

She was miffed about something, though!  It was a charming party with lots of games, such as Musical Flowers:

I believe Bryson won that particular game; here he is being high-fived by Matt:

There was also a frisbee being tossed around:

Plus a (plastic) horseshoe toss:

Bridgette was outside some, but mostly entertained herself with Hannah's and Faith's toys:

Naturally she and Faith partook of birthday cake!

The children tried to pin a wand on Tinkerbell:

Then it was back outside for the traditional pinata.  I think everyone had rather hoped to have a replay of the Decapitated Dora pinata of three years ago, but Alex and Beth were careful to have one with the weight more evenly distributed.  That was so funny when that happened, but no one caught the moment on film.  Pity! 

Oh well.  Can't have decapitations all the time, I suppose.  Here are Bethany and Cole having a whack at it:

Pinatas are the dickens to crack open, and the children were on the second round when Bethany managed to do the deed.  Trouble with being the one who actually opens the pinata is it usually means you're the last to get started grabbing candy.  Nothing's perfect, is it?

This is one of my favorite photos of Kirstin and Brielle (though you know that'll change once I see the pictures Natalee took):

And it was delightful, the pleasure Brielle took in her Uncle Charles.  She simply beamed upon him!

It was a wonderful day! 

Isn't that tacky?  The next opportunity to try again is five days later, on the 29th.  He thinks he may have squeaked past but isn't anything close to certain, so graduation plans have been put on hold for now.

It's also a smidge up in the air as to whether Dmitry and Zhenya will be able to go to Russia after all, as the latter's father somehow got hold of the Russian embassy, and was told if the boys plan on entering on American passports, they must renounce Russian citizenship first (which I'd figured), and after that apply for visas, which may not be given, seeing as how they renounced Russian citizenship.

We didn't see THAT coming! 

Doesn't mean they won't get the necessary visas, of course, but there's a definite chance they won't.  Which will leave us with a pair of nonrefundable tickets to Moscow via Air Singapore (or Singapore Air, or whatever it is). 

No point getting all undone about it.  If the LORD wants 'em to go to Russia, they'll go.  If He doesn't, they won't.  Just keep a-goin' and wait to see what His plans are. 

There's been another addition to the house!  Well, that might be overstating the case a trifle, but instead of the cheap some-assembly-required, laminate-over-pressed-wood bookcases that have been in the short hall, I wanted some nice cabinets.  Kenny and I went to Lowe's and I bought some more unfinished cabinets, but as the most they could stick out from the wall is 12", the lower cabinets also had to be wall cabinets.  The top caused some concern until Kenny's eye was caught by an $11 piece of butcher block.  I wanted the beautiful rope twist that takes the poor man hours to finish, but look at what he created:

 

Isn't it gorgeous?  I love the top, especially:

So does Kenny:

He's justifiably proud of this, and so signed it for me on the back:

He does such lovely, painstaking work, I've thought he should start a business:  Cabinets by Kenny.  It's got a ring, don't you think? 

Tomorrow morning Dmitry takes the TAKS Science test.  It's all that's left for him to get his high school diploma, and he's been working hard, preparing for it.

He can have another shot at it later in the month, but he's ready for this to be o-v-e-r!  So please storm heaven with prayers for him to stay calm, collected, and be able to retrieve the necessary info from his memory banks.  ;^)

On another topic, does it happen to anyone but me that when I start cleaning, something winds up messier than it was before I began?  Started in on the bookshelves in the dining room, plus some boxes that had been in there, and now the dining room table that had been nice and clean is a cluttered mess.  I swear it seems as if I spend most of time merely relocating things from one out-of-place location to another out-of-place location. 

I've decided to officially announce what everyone else seems to know:  I'm a Crazy Cat Lady.  The cats drive me insane, but I love them.  Pretty soon I'm going to have a crack at taking pictures of each of them.  Don't know how successful this venture will be, as cats are about as cooperative as babies when it comes to having portraits made.

In the last couple of days spring has finally sprung in Fort Worth!  First, there are - finally - tiny green leaves on some of the trees, and second, I saw a Mayfly today.

That's a sign of spring I could do without, but there it is.  Along with a bumper crop of bluebonnets, which is expected due to the rainy winter, we'll indubitably get bombarded with a bumper crop of insects.  Boo.

Tomorrow Mom and I are going to get culturated, as we will go to the Kimbell art museum in the morning (plus have lunch), then in the evening go to CCBC to hear the annual orchestral concert (plus have supper).  Mustn't overlook the culinary arts, after all! 

The number of phone calls, mostly automated though a couple were actual human beings on the line, urging me to vote for this, that or the other candidate has been mind-boggling. I'll come home and find four messages on my voice mail, all candidate calls.

Not to mention the stuffed-to-overflowing mail box!

My normal behavior is to hang up immediately (or hit 3 and delete the message as soon as it starts, just about), but next primary I'm considering taking a count of who bothers me the least and vote for that person.

Politics. Blech.

I'm Anne Ivy, and I approved this message.