Hubby did a paint estimate for the neighbor tonight. He wants his windows and doors painted, with the front door to be painted red. I love red doors. It was tradition years ago that the front door would be painted red when the mortgage was paid off. Mind you, our front door is red -- not brilliant red like I'd love to have, but a brick red, which will do -- but fear not, our mortgage is not paid off for another ten years or so. I don't know if the neighbor's house is paid off either... Read Full Story

I watched Oprah the other day, for the first time in ages. Seems like every time I actually get time, and custody of the TV, while Oprah is on, then it's a show I've already seen. Not this time. This time it was about me. Oprah did a show about shlumpadinkas. No, it's not Polish. It's Oprah-ese for a frumpy dressed woman who, in her words, "has given up, and it shows." Yep, that's me. The Brat is always threatening to throw my name in the hat for What Not to Wear. Heck, I'm pretty... Read Full Story

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn this weekend, partially because of the free breakfast. Dan is all about saving money -- though I'm not really sure that it saves money when you compare rates -- but hey, with a pool and food, he's happy. He got up on Saturday morning and left without waking me up. I found a note that said "I'm at the pool," shortly before he wandered back to the room, griping about some old guy working at the breakfast buffet. Apparently, Dan reached in for his pastry with... Read Full Story

So, here I was in the living room today, trying to go about my day, when suddenly I heard a crash, and the entire house shook. At first, I stupidly thought that perhaps Thomas had fallen out of his chair upstairs, or passed out or something. The last time there was any crash even remotely close to this on the Reichter scale, I thought the same thing, because Thomas had been very, very sick for a couple of days, and was on room arrest, till he got feeling better. I went flying up the stairs... Read Full Story

So, in the past not quite four weeks, I have logged roughly 2,834 miles in my car, just in the long trips, not including day by day driving around. One trip to Tennessee, two to Cincinnati, one to Michigan, and one to West Virginia and back. One blown engine and two monsoons later, I'm ready to stay home for a while. So, we were in the pool at the Fairfield Inn, in Fairmont, West Virginia, the other night. Worked all day, then drove to West Virginia, getting in about 10 or so, and... Read Full Story

OK, so today is my birthday. 7/11, just like the mini mart. 7-11, like the lucky numbers in some games. 7/11, like my uncle, two of my friends, and John Quincy Adams. It's a popular day, I guess. The kids celebrated my birthday a day early, with an Asian themed dinner of stuffed mushrooms (YUM!), Caesar salad (I'm sure he owned some property somewhere in Asia, right?), shish kabobs, fried rice, and fried red tomatoes. Oh, and carrot cake, which is my favorite. They even made virgin... Read Full Story

Happy 4th of July! No plans for today, but hey, I have a day off from work, and after all of the driving I've done lately, that's enough for me. I don't know if there will even be fireworks here tonight, because it's rainy and yuck. Surprise. We've done all sorts of things, when it comes to fireworks. We've driven downtown with the kids and a blanket, and watched them on the lawn. We saw them once at an Indians game. We've skipped the whole thing more than once, and just set them off... Read Full Story

I love regional accents. I love accents, in general. As a matter of fact, we have one doctor at work who has such a fabulous French accent, that I sometimes page him when he's on call, just to listen to him talk. OK, so not exactly, but I do look forward to talking to him, and tell the other girls that I'll page him for them, if need be. Antonio Banderas has a pretty cool accent too, even when it's on a Nasonex commercial. Dutch accents are really, really hot. I think Canadian... Read Full Story

So, back to vacation (yeah, it's been a discombobulated report, but that's how the whole trip was). So, we've survived the blown engine, the six hour drive, the trip to Gatlinburg, and the hubby dressing like a woman. We even survived going into Kroger, and the DD getting eyed by some construction worker in the freezer section. Make note, young men, NEVER eye a teenaged girl when her father is nearby, walking, and you are on a ladder. It's not a good idea. So, we went back to the... Read Full Story

My dad preached his last sermon today. No, I don't mean the kind that he gave me when I'd wander in after curfew, I mean the church kind. He's finally retiring, at the ripe young age of 80. I'll believe it when I see it. After all, this is what? The second or the third attempt to retire? I can't remember. He keeps retiring, usually to become a travel agent, because minister or cruise director, heaven or the high seas, he wants to get you where you're gonna go. I guess the fact that... Read Full Story