Super Bowl Bingo anyone?

For those of us looking for something to occupy our brain during the Super Bowl tomorrow, I've put together some BINGO cards. Just grab a few friends, print out the PDF files, grab some beans or that jar of pennies to use as markers and enjoy! Let me know how it goes. I'll be playing along.

Super Bowl Bingo1

Super Bowl Bingo2

Super Bowl Bingo3

Super Bowl Bingo4

Super Bowl Bingo5

Super Bowl Bingo 6

Super Bowl XLIII

Oh goodie. The Super Bowl is Sunday. I asked Mark where he was going to watch the big game. He said he was trying to decide whether to watch it at the east end of the couch or the west. We need more friends!

Time for my second annual installment of information on all things Super Bowl for the uninitiated. Or uninterested.

This year's Super Bowl is an epic battle between, um, two football teams. The game will be played in Tampa Bay. Oh yeah. It's between the Arizona Cardinals (yay) and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's odd to me that the official Super Bowl XLIII website doesn't really mention which teams are playing. Apparently we are supposed to already know that. Duh! So I had to look it up elsewhere on the internet.

After Janet Jackson's 2004 wardrobe malfunction, the Halftime Show planners are still too freaked out to be very innovative. So Bruce Springsteen it is. In fact, come to think of it, no one with breasts has been featured since that year. Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty. No breasts in the bunch. So no danger of wardrobe malfunctions. If you think about it, if any of these guys had wardrobe malfunctions, there would just be a collective "eewww" from the universe. They're gonna run out of old male farts pretty soon. There will, however, be someone with breasts singing the National Anthem. It will be one of Jennifer Hudson's first appearances since her mother and brother were murdered just a few months ago. God bless her!

The best part of the Super Bowl is the commercials. Am I right? You know it's true. This year there is the first ever 3D commercial. You can pick up your 3D glasses wherever SoBe drinks are sold. This is what the crowd in my living room will look like.

If you too want to run an ad during the Super Bowl, it will cost you 3 million for a 30 second spot. That's a lot of pressure on those advertising people. Hear that Tessa? What do you have to say in 30 seconds that is worth $3 mil? This is your future.

The Super Bowl can be a dangerous pastime. And I don't just mean broken limbs or cracked skulls. Or heightened cholesterol levels. Emergency rooms report patients choking on chicken bones, backs thrown out from sudden leaps from the couch, and, most serious - urinary retention problems. I know - it's tempting to stay put through the commercials, putting off the inevitable trip to the little boys room. But unless you enjoy the catheterization experience, don't put it off. And for pete's sake, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, open your beverage of choice with your teeth.

Oh, and one last thing that will bring sighs of relief from millions. The reported shortage of buffalo wings has been greatly exaggerated. There will be wings. Hallelujah. Amen.

boo hoo

I made it home from Idabel late yesterday. Today I'm tired and cranky and ready to quit my job. But since I don't have the luxury of living without a paycheck, and since it's just a passing feeling that will be gone once I've rested up some, I won't do anything drastic. Just feeling overworked and under appreciated, probably like 99.9 percent of the working world feels at some point in any given month. Even if you do something you feel passionate about, as I do, there are just days when it doesn't seem worth the effort. Wow, do I need a nap. And some chocolate.

For me the quickest path to depression/discouragement is feeling powerless. Or maybe feeling that something is unfair. Fairness is a big issue with me, along with loyalty and transparency. But back to the powerlessness conversation. When I start to get all woe is me, I am learning to stop and ask myself where that feeling is coming from. Then if I can do something about it, I do. And usually I can do something about a situation. At the very least, I can look at it from another perspective. But very often I can change something, or shore up a boundary that has gotten out of whack, or do something just for fun or creativity to lighten up the dreary winter dullness.

So I'm off to lighten the load somehow. Wii Fit maybe? Cook a yummy and healthy dinner? Music works. I need to update my music files with some new purchases from iTunes. Thinking happy thoughts...

attempt at art from boredom

Still in a hotel in Idabel. We worked Monday and Tuesday and now it's time to go home, but all paths home lead to very icy, hazardous conditions. Hopefully later today things will start melting before I start getting resentful. You know - feeling sorry for myself because all my coworkers back in "the city" as they say, are hanging out at home taking a couple of days off due to the nasty weather while I work in the only non-iced corner of Oklahoma. Anyway, got bored and thought I'd share a photo gallery. I present...Hotel Watercolors in Sepia ('cause that's the dominant color today). At least I entertained myself for awhile.

When Am I?

Yep, so here I am in Idabel, which is apparently the tiny little corner of Oklahoma that's not covered in ice at this moment. I'm snug in a hotel with a DingDong out of the vending machine and Bachelor on the TV. It doesn't get any better than that. Well, maybe if I was home snuggling with Mark and not worrying about how or when I'm going to get home. Or if I was on a cruise. Or a ski vacation. Or if - OK, it does get way better than this, but I'm warm and full and entertained, so no complaining.

For some reason the ABC channel here makes people sound like freaky robo guy with the machine altered voice calling with the ransom instructions. It's very distracting. And when will Nikki stop crying? And did Jason just snarf down a burger and fries and smores like it was his last meal and crawl into that tent with Perky Girl? Seriously I hope he took some Gas-X first. Perky Girl will be getting a little more of the "real" Jason than she bargained for.

Did you see that Oklahoma City is the 2nd fattest city in the USA? Marvelous. Just one more statistic to add to our dismal health stats. Surprisingly, Miami took the number one spot. So much for the South Beach diet. That's exactly why I didn't get into that diet. Well, not exactly why. It could have something to do with my love of baked goods. And my dislike of sweating.

OMG, I, like, can't stand the, like, drama on the Bachelor. He so, like, doesn't get her. She's such a, like, beyotch. I'm all, "Somebody got hit with a pugly stick". Gotta go find a tissue. l8r.

What goes around comes around

Recently I was going through some old letters. Mark and I were apart one summer during college and we wrote pretty much daily. I have all those letters stashed away. It's not like the reading is all that exciting. Mostly just sharing our daily lives in the days before the internet and cheap long distance phone service. One entry talked about how my Dad had yelled at me because the house was a mess with my stuff strewn all around. Hmmm. I guess there's really nothing new under the sun.

Well, anyway. Here is my usual weekend installment of things to check out if you have a lot of time on your hands.

Thought this was fun. For all I know Bush had a blog, but here is the link to Obama's blog. Some interesting history stuff and of course, an attempt at government transparency.

Check out these Oklahoma blogs. You can't vote unless you are an Oklahoma blogger, but you can find some interesting reading. If you ARE eligible to vote, then vote for Extreme Gardner in the "Unusual Blog" category. That's my sister's blog and it's a great blog, of course.

Angela is here and we're having this deep conversation about how Communism was finally defeated in Eastern Europe. She just read Michener's book "Bridge at Andau". So I gotta go. This is the sort of conversation I love!!!

I need coffee

Have to get moving and get to work before, say, 10:00 because I've been something of an Internet slacker this week. Mark keeps hitting the snooze button, which makes it his fault that we don't get out of bed on time. This pushes back my blog reading/writing time. And we all know that's more important than getting to work at a reasonable hour. The game is to get there before my boss, which I usually manage to do since he's a late arriver by habit. If you're reading this - my point is that's an excellent trait to have as a boss. And you are certainly an excellent boss.

I once worked for a woman who arrived at the office no later than 5:00 a.m. and it was darn irritating when she would send out a nasty-gram email if you walked in two minutes past your appointed time. At the time, my appointed time was 6:30, which is a ridiculous time to be expected to start work. Especially since my commute was about an hour. Uggh I don't miss those days. The things you do to be home when your kids get home from school, or at least shortly thereafter.

I have no idea where this blog post is going. Tessa is home again. I know. She just left for school two weeks ago and she's been back about three times. But it's not because she's lame like that. She's had important stuff to do. Like today and tomorrow she's volunteering at the Addy Awards judging session. Good for the planned fabulous career in advertising. After this weekend she plans to stay at school for a very long time so we don't start taking her presence for granted. She likes it when we whoop and holler and post signs and stuff when she comes home.

OK, ok, I'm getting off the internet and going to work. Happy Friday. Have a good one.

Is anyone else confused?

Best quote from the new LOST episode...Locke's question "When am I?" That show just confuses the crap out of me and I've watched it religiously from the beginning. I like to watch it because the people are way prettier than they should be after being marooned on a not-really-deserted island for so long. The non-growing, well cut hair. The lovely complexions unaffected by exposure to sun and wind and rain and sleeping on the beach or cave or, oddly, suburban houses. Because yes, if you're not a fan, there is a bit of suburbia on the island. Look - here are the beautiful folks marooned on LOST:

Now compare to the folks on the recent Survivor:

See my point? The Survivor folks were not all told to wear khaki. They are DUR-TEE! Yes, I know. The island on LOST has healing qualities. Unless you're trying to carry a baby to term or give birth. Or unless you get chased by a black cloud or shot by flaming arrows. Where did THAT come from? Do people from the Dharma Initiative shoot flaming arrows? Don't they have guns? I'm so confused.

"When am I?" is going to be my new personal question, taking the place of "Why can't I eat cookies and lose weight?" or "What the fuzzy?".

Wednesday. Ugh. One fun thing though...

One of my posts is up at Midlife Bloggers. You may remember this post, but jump on over there anyway and show me some love.

Inauguration stuff

My office decided to "work from home" for the rest of the day so we could watch the inauguration festivities. I have to say I was moved to tears. The new President's speech, the benediction by Rev. Lowery, the departure of President and Mrs. Bush - all very moving. Good stuff.

Now for the stuff I'm not hearing from all the earnest news coverage:

• Does Jill Biden not realize she's 57 and wearing your hemline well above the knee is just not cool? Or attractive.
• Was it just me or did Hilary look a little peeved that it wasn't her day?
• Having tall daughters and being relatively tall myself, I wonder if Michelle Obama would prefer not to stand next to Jill Biden. If I were Mrs. Obama I'd request that Mrs. Biden always stand on the other side of the Vice President. She's the First Lady. She can do that!
• Although I admit I have Mark and our friend Berry to help renovate my house, I'd love to have the crew that has swooped down on the White House to do the fastest renovation ever!
• Did you know that the White House was essentially rebuilt during Harry Truman's tenure? Apparently when he moved in he determined the White House was still standing only by force of habit. You can read all about it here.
• Speaking of Truman, his Mother-in-law also lived at the White House, not unlike Mrs. Robinson, Michelle Obama's mother, who has plans to at least temporarily reside there to help with the Obama children. According to Myra Gutin, a first lady historian and professor at Ryder University in New Jersey, Truman's mother-in-law didn't like him much and felt Bess had married below her station. Really? I mean, the guy was the President of the United States. You'd think she'd get over it. I don't think Obama will have that problem.
• Dude, it's not a good day for old men. Cheney in a wheel chair. Ted Kennedy removed from today's luncheon with a seizure.
• I thought only grade schoolers called the song "America" by the name "My Country Tis of Thee".
• If you couldn't go to the actual inauguration, maybe you can go to LegoLand to experience the somewhat smaller and, well, squarer, celebration. I'm surprised my brother hasn't posted this on his blog.

A few things off the list. And you know I love lists.

Friends don't let friends do home repairs alone. Our home repair guru/savior, Berry, came over on Sunday and spent four hours going down my list of things that just haven't gotten done over the years of home renovation. That light fixture that has been sitting in the box since 2004 after the winter of bedroom wreckovation. Ah those are good memories. Attempting to sleep in our king sized bed while the arctic wind rattled the insulation in the exposed ceiling. Stuffing Angela up into the attic to do electrical work 'cause she was the only one small enough to fit. Don't worry, she was at least 18 years old. And she volunteered. Don't call DHS. That was the winter we ended up sleeping on a blow-up mattress in the living room for weeks because I had this thing about not liking to sleep under the stars while inside the house. I know. I'm high maintenance.

He also took care of a couple of thresholds, repaired an electrical outlet, fixed the off-center ceiling fan, glued in the new kitchen sink. Am I forgetting anything? You get used to having things undone for so long you almost forget they aren't done. I keep marveling at how much better that light fixture looks hanging from the ceiling than it did sitting in the box on the shelf.

He didn't do all this alone though. Mark helped. Although the one time I peeked into the bedroom to see how the fan project was going, Berry was on the ladder and Mark was laying on his back across the bed. But he was lending his moral support. Which would be different than his immoral support I guess. Odd phrase.

Tessa is home for a couple of days since it's a long weekend. Her comment? "This house is getting less embarrassing all the time". So there it is in a nutshell. Like we ever put things in a nutshell. Another odd phrase. To what nut are they referring? Peanut? Since it's Oklahoma, they must be referring to the pecan. But why would we put our thoughts in something even the squirrels throw out.

Anyway, I digress. I'm just tickled pink to have the list done. Now what does that mean? Is that a phrase only a person of Caucasian descent uses? I mean, not everyone can be tickled until they are pink. OK, I'm done now.

God bless America on this, our Presidential Inauguration Day. Few countries do it like we do. Thank you, Lord, for a nation that believes in a peaceful transition of power.

Books are the greatest inventon since sliced bread

I had a relatively technology free weekend. I'm currently devouring "The Sex-Lives of Cannibals" which I'm telling you is a very funny book. It's a travelogue of the sort you don't usually find. I wish I could turn my years of travel and living in strange places into an entertaining book that would keep readers up nights and make me the big bucks. I'm afraid though, that my travel epic would be filled with whining and self-pity and that the people discussed in the book would sue for character defamation or whatever people sue for. I've thought a lot about it, but can't settle on the genre. Is it drama? Could I write it as a comedy? Do I write it as fiction and change all the names? If I write it as a memoir and Oprah decides to feature it in her book club, will it stand up to her scrutiny? I'd hate to turn out like the poor soul she disemboweled on national television for daring to call a largely fictional account of his life a memoir, aka James Frey and his "A Million Little Pieces".

The brutal truth is that I doubt I have the discipline to write a book, and it's now 8:00 on a Monday and I haven't even showered, so I better get going. Although it's a National Holiday, some of us still have to work. See - dripping in self pity.

So Random

In honor of the upcoming inauguration I thought I would Obamicon myself. Frankly that campaign poster of Obama's kind of creeped me out. It reminded me of those political propaganda posters you used to see in communist countries where the leaders were both worshiped and feared. This is a democracy for pete's sake. But the posters did have the cool factor they were undoubtedly aiming for.


Speaking of cool factor, I picked up my cool new sunglasses. When I showed them off Tessa said I looked like a blind person. Thanks. And the truth is I can't see the gauges on the dashboard when I wear them because they are so dark. I have no idea what the speedometer says, which I'm sure will be a legitimate defense when I get stopped for speeding.

Speaking of driving blind, I drove in my new glasses to get my hair cut and highlighted this morning so I feel like a new person. Woohoo! Except I just hate having to stare at myself in the mirror for a couple of hours. Is it just me or does every woman get up and do her hair and makeup before going to the salon where they immediately wash your hair and redo it anyway? And I always add more makeup than usual because with my hair all wet and my body slumped in the chair under that capey thing it's just not attractive. I look like John Travolta in drag.

Speaking of John Travolta, did you see him in Hairspray? My current favorite musical turned movie is Mama Mia. Makes you wanna get up and dance.

Speaking of dancing, I wanted to jump up and start dancing yesterday when I heard that everyone survived that plane crash in New York. They are calling it the Miracle on the Hudson, but most of the commentators were praising the pilot and the ferry boats, etc. They had everything to do with the positive outcome, but seriously, don't you think God had a little something to do with it too? It was just too perfect to be completely man made.

Speaking of -well, can't think of how my brain linked to this, but anyway - I was reading my new Real Simple magazine and there was an article about comfort food. I was trying to think what my comfort food would be. It was surprising the number of different answers they got. I'd say bread products of any kind, but especially toasted english muffins with honey. Or maybe pizza. Or roast and mashed potatoes. Wondering what your comfort food would be.

Speaking of wasting time, another fun time waster since you're wasting your time with me, is wordle. You can type in your words or link it to a site and it will create a word map for you. You can see mine at the top right of this blog. Click on it and it will take you to their site.

Speaking of word maps, decor8 is doing a creativity series on Thursdays. You might want to check it out if you want to get your creative juices going. I don't know about you, but this time of year is not a very creative-inducing time. Kind of makes your brain dull and fuzzy.

Speaking of fuzzy, I just love getting my brows and lip waxed. So satisfying. The instant gratification makes the pain worth it.

OK, this has been the most random post ever. I'm going to put a gag on the neighbor's dog since she has been barking for the last hour, then go take a nap.

Happy Birthday

I do not do birthdays well. Maybe my immediate family - husband and two daughters. But otherwise I suuucckkk at remembering or celebrating birthdays. I've tried keeping calendars, sending myself reminders, buying cards ahead of time. Nothing seems to work. The only birthday I never forget is my twin sister's for obvious reasons. Seriously. The reason is obvious. Think about it.

So...

Happy Birthday Dad. Sorry I missed it. I'm a dope. But that doesn't reflect my love and my desire for you to have your best year yet. Thanks for a lifetime of dad-ness. Love ya!

Happy Birthday Bonus Dad. I was out of town on your bday but that wouldn't have made a difference really. I at least remembered it :) Draw me something pretty with your new art supplies. Kisses!

Happy Birthday Cori. I know it's not your birthday yet, but it will be in less than a week and I'll probably forget to twitter you a happy bday, so consider yourself greeted. You're an amazing and gifted young woman. Hugs!

Anybody I missed in January?

Where's the heart?

The man is sick and that means moans and sighs from the vicinity of the couch and deep, crackling breaths followed by hack-hack-hack-up-a-lung coughs, always in sets of three ending in a crescendo. And of course, sleeping in separate rooms 'cause NyQuil makes him snore like an imitation of Hooty and the Blow Fish.

And I'm just not very good at babying him. I can baby my girls pretty darn well when they're sick or sad. But with the man I just want to roll my eyes and tell him to call me when it's over. I have no idea why that is. I guess I should try to fake it, but I've never been much of a faker. What you see is what you get with me.

I seriously think I'm missing the compassion gene. I've seen a lot of sad stuff in my life. Other people come back from a trip to Africa and they're shocked and saddened and don't eat for weeks in solidarity with those who have so little. I come back from a month of trodding through the worst slum in Kenya, throw my filthy shoes in the trash and go on with life. Today I interacted with a teenage girl who has been through unspeakably hard stuff as a leukemia patient. She came to us with a set of the worst orthodontic braces I have ever seen, evidently put on by an unlicensed dentist doing business in his home. It happens and she was certainly a victim this time. The teeth beneath were rotting in her mouth. Thanks to the compassion of a dentist who put her life on hold for a couple of hours, the girl walked away in much better condition. Today I saw grown men crying because of a tooth ache. But I don't cry or feel sad. What I do is make sure there's a well run program to help folks like these. But I'm not awash in emotion. OK, awash - I'm not even really damp with emotion. Why!!!

Part of it may be that I'm very self protective. I just am. It takes a lot to get past the wall. The other thing is that "acts of service" is my love language. So I guess doing stuff is my way of saying I care. Well, it sounded good. Maybe I'm just freakishly lacking in the compassion area.

OK, well if you're still with me after that self-absorbed discussion, then I'm sorry. See-there's a little compassion.

T.G.I.M.

I'm off today since I worked 14 hours on Saturday. I have a quiet Monday to myself to do whatever I want. For some reason on days like this I don't want to shower. It just seems like such a waste of time since no one is here to see or smell me. There are so many other fun things to take up the day. And who knows, I might exercise and get all sweaty, and then I'd just have to shower again. It's a slim chance, but a chance, and I certainly don't want to shower twice.

The nest is empty again with Tessa back at OSU. She's been kind of dragging around all week after having her wisdom teeth removed, but boy did she perk up when it came time to pack and head back to her sorority house. You've never seen laundry done so quickly and with such cheerfullness. As with everything in life, it's all about the motivation.

I spent some time over the weekend in rural Oklahoma and caught up on the local gossip discussed in the diner. One woman who used to weigh about 400 pounds got a lap band and now weighs 90 and is dying because it slipped, but doesn't want to have it taken out. A precious 7 year old boy is dying from a heart condition and he got his wish from the Make A Wish Foundation to go to a NASCAR race and see Dale Jr. Families who have been dirt poor all their lives are now getting rich from oil and gas wells drilled on their property and are busy buying up diamond rings, big houses and bigger trucks. You can make more money working a weekend at a cock fight than you make all week in your regular job.

Also, thought I'd share some Do's and Don'ts - a few things I've learned:

• Do take the time to enjoy the landscape and the space. A breathtaking sunset and a huge full moon are much easier to appreciate with nothing obstructing the view.
• Do wear camo to the local diner if it's hunting season and you don't want to stand out as that city woman.
• Do have lunch with the county sheriff. Too many reasons to list.
• Don't go to the local diner expecting to order their specialty fried catfish on Saturday because Friday night is all you can eat fried catfish night and there won't be any left.
• Don't order the calf fries unless you fully understand what you're getting and are in full agreement with eating cast offs from the castrating session at the local ranching operation.
• Don't discuss the local cock fights when you're eating lunch with the sheriff.

Rural Walmarts Rock

On the road again. The benefit today was that Atoka Walmart had a Wii Fit! Wiiiii!!! We've been popping into Walmart, Target and Game Stop to see if any Wiis are in stock waiting to be snatched up. While I was in Walmart this afternoon buying some supplies I remembered to stop by the electronics section and ask. And of course, no Wii.

Then about 10 minutes later, over in the pharmacy section looking for Tylenol Sinus medicine, I hear "Would the customer who wanted a Wii Fit please return to Electronics" over the loud speaker. Me! That was me!! Here I come, don't give it away, make way for me through the stampede of the 152 other customers who heard there was a Wii Fit available and were rampaging towards the unsuspecting Walmart Associate innocently holding one of the most sought after items since Tickle Me Elmo.

Except no one cared. It was just me who stampeded, heart racing, to electronics. Maybe they just aren't that into Wii Fit in rural Oklahoma. Maybe it's just us folks in "the City". All I know is I didn't have to use my nunchuck skills to get the Wii. The Walmart Associate just handed it over. She didn't unlock anything or make me buy it right there. She just put it in my basket and told me it might set the security buzzer off when I leave (presumably after paying for it) but just keep walking like I knew what I was doing. Apparently there's also a low crime rate in Atoka.

Now at the hotel I'm watching HGTV 'cause I don't have it at home and I only get to indulge when I'm traveling for work. So I better go. I'm learning the 25 Biggest Decorating Mistakes so I can come to your house and point them out. Just trying to be helpful.

Oh, and happy birthday to my Bonus Dad. Hope you have a good one.

In which we buy stock in Home Depot

Wisdom teeth are extracted, bruising and swelling is minimal, Tessa lived to tell the story. Except there wasn't much to tell since she was asleep during the 30 minute procedure. I TOLD her it wouldn't be traumatic, but I'm just the mom. What do I know?

The amazing plumber dude came yesterday and did about 5 jobs that would have taken us days and a whole lot-o-frustration to complete. Sink works, faucet is beautiful, water is turned back on. Ah, life is good again, not to mention hygienic.

Mark and I installed a new cabinet top and a new sink and they look pretty durn good. We got a new power tool out of the deal. A cute little saber saw to add to our collection. I love power tools. They're just so - powerful. I feel so empowered when I use them.

When I went to look for a sink I couldn't find anything the right size at a reasonable price. It also couldn't have holes for the faucet because our faucet comes out of the wall and not the cabinet top. No such sink to be found. Oh, I could special order one for $700. Um, that wasn't gonna happen. As I was walking out of our home-away-from-home big box home repair store, I was deep in thought about where to look for a sink when I almost tripped over a rack with a few sale items on it. You're ahead of me already on this story aren't you? There was a sink the perfect size and shape with no faucet holes for a VERY discounted price. I snapped that sucker up and shouted glory hallelujah. Well, in my head I was shouting. I didn't want anyone to startle suddenly while reaching high on a shelf for another box of 3x6 inch tile and bring the whole thing crashing down on their head. I was grateful, but I couldn't live with that kind of responsibility.

So I asked Mark when I got home if one could call it a "God Thing" when a sink just jumps out and bites you on the butt as you're walking out of the store. I'm never one to say God gave me a parking spot, or helped my football team win. But surely he must care and be interested in all aspects of my life.

Interesting as I write this to realize I can actually say I feel like God might be interested in my life. There was a long period of time there where I really felt like He had just shrugged his shoulders and said "good luck with that" before turning His back.

I feel like I'm coming down with something, so I'm going to drink some more orange juice and go to bed. I have a very long rest of the week ahead. Stay tuned for the continuing saga in which Mr. and Mrs. DIY attempt to tile a backsplash, find cabinet doors to fit their non-standard cabinets, and return to our empty nest as the new college semester begins. Fascinating stuff.

File Under What Was I Thinking

After our heart-to-heart with the precious in-laws last week, we rushed home and started working on the house with renewed vigor so we can sell it. Mark removed 38 bags of leaves from our yard. His method is to mow over them so that they get sucked up into the mower bag. It beats all that back breaking raking. We had a used leaf blower/sucker thing for a short period of time, but it sucked. Or didn't, to be more precise, and so it went into the garbage. Anyway, it was a beautiful day on Saturday, as random days in Oklahoma's winter can be. I'm pretty sure it was in the 70's. Angela came over and helped him cut down a small tree and Riley brought over a load of dirt he had dug up somewhere and filled in some of the many holes their dog, Sadie, has dug in our yard. So now it looks less like someone was practicing their pyrotechnic skills by throwing homemade bombs of various sizes randomly into our yard.


Speaking of dogs, while we were out of town Angela called to say there was an extra dog in our backyard. I told her to count again and she kept coming up with three, which is odd because our yard is fully enclosed by fencing, some of it 6 feet tall. Usually dogs escape from yards. It's unusual to have a dog break into ones yard. So while I looked up the number for animal control, she went next door to see if by chance Mr. T had added another dog. Sure enough, he claimed the dog and came over and for some reason attempted to heft the dog back over the 6 foot fence, and in the process got a large cut under his eye. I don't think that dog got any doggie treats that day. Saturday when I went to feed the dogs, there were TWO extra dogs in our yard. I'm thinking, I know we love our dogs and treat them reasonably well, but really, who gave them the OK to go out and invite all the neighborhood dogs over to the party? And how are they getting in? But as I watched, the visitors scrambled back under the fence into Mr. T's yard by way of the Stalag 13-esque tunnel they had built while we slept. Apparently we are West Berlin to Mr. T's East Berlin.




Anyway, while they were out putting the yard in shape, I was busy in the kitchen because it's the last hold out in the list of rooms that needed to be remodeled. We had decided on a minimalist plan for this remodel. No knocking down or building walls or tearing out cabinets to be replaced with shiny new ones. Our plan was just to sand and paint the cabinets, replace the cabinet doors, replace the sink, faucet and counter top and tile the back splash. At least for a start. Here's the before pic:



But of course, nothing is EASY in this old house. Did I mention that there are no water shut off valves in the house and if you want to work on any plumbing you have to go lie on your belly in the front yard and turn off the water at the meter, which is in a hole in the ground? Did I mention it is now about 20 degrees with a windchill of -30? Did I mention that our mad skills do not include plumbing apparently, because this is now what our faucet looks like? The paper plates are redirecting the water dripping from the not-so-well-installed fixtures.




It's really no big deal to dash out in the nose-hair-freezing day to turn the water on so we can flush the toilets. Hopefully the plumber can come tomorrow and get us all set up. I'm just trying to remember why it sounded like a good idea to start this at the END of a week of vacation.


Oh, and Tessa is scheduled to have her wisdom teeth extracted today. And let me tell you, she is taking it well. She has written out her will and made her final requests and bequests and is prepared to meet her maker. Fortunately she will be asleep during the procedure, and even more fortunately, I'll be in the waiting room. But it was a good excuse for taking the day off of work. I need to prepare the ice cream and mashed potatoes, and prepare to nurse her back to life as she knew it.

As I was saying...

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I love National Public Radio. It's pretty much all I listen to on my car radio. Don't judge me. Try it before you decide it's just for old women and East Coast Liberals, whoever they are. The East Coast Liberals, that is. We know who the old women are. Don't point any fingers. You know what they say about pointing fingers.

My FAVORITE is Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me, a weekly, hour long quiz program where you can test your knowledge of the week's news against the best and sometimes brightest guests, along with the show's very funny panelists and the glib host, Peter Sagal. And who wouldn't want Carl Kasell's voice on their answering machine. (Do people still have answering machines? Maybe he records your cell phone greeting). Carl and Peter are shown in the photo below.


Doug Berman, who has been on a 15 year crusade to get NPR to "lighten up", produces both "Wait Wait" and my second favorite NPR show, "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers" with brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi. The brothers diagnose your cars problems by taking your phone call and listening to your description of the problem. Sound lame? No WAY! It's laugh out loud funny. One of the brothers snorts when he laughs, which makes it even more entertaining.

The brothers started out in the 70s with a shop, Hackers Haven, in Cambridge, Massachusetts where people could rent tools and space to fix their own cars. Cars became more complicated, the garage morphed into the more traditional repair shop, and Tom apparently got a doctorate in marketing. I could spend hours wasting time on their website. Be sure to check out the Shameless Commerce tab where you can buy the usual tshirts, hats and mugs, along with recordings with titles like...

• Maternal Combustion-Calls about moms and cars
• Men are from GM, Women are from Ford
• Compendium of Disrespectful Car Songs

One other NPR note - If you happen to catch the Diane Rehm Show, you might wonder what the deal is with her voice. I thought maybe she'd had a stroke since she didn't sound that way in years past. Here's an interesting article for inquiring minds.

You can look up show times on the links above, listen to podcasts of the shows, or just waste a lot of time today. But you can feel really smart doing it because after all, it IS National Public Radio.

And you didn't think I was going to give you any fun links this weekend.

If these are antiques, then so am I

I was helping my mother-in-law put away Christmas stuff and had to take a picture of these little retro angels. They're so sweet I had to share.

Long line of luv

Greetings from Newton, KS where the coffee is always on, the food flows abundantly and there are delicious baked goods in the freezer. Oh, and card games run until the wee hours. Mark's parental units are 80 and 83 and a sheer pleasure. I have no idea what people are talking about when they spit out the word "in-laws" like an obscenity.

Jeez, Mark just pulled a 72 oz. bag of chocolate chips out of the freezer. Oh great. Mark just spilled the 72 oz. bag of chocolate chips.

So anyway, I forgot what I was saying. Oh, the "in-laws". Couldn't ask for a better pair. There's a country song that says something about coming from a long line of love. Actually, it's more like luuuv. But it describes Mark's family perfectly. Until death do us part has been lived out before our eyes for several generations. And those are just the generations we've witnessed. The line goes waaay back.

We've prayed and talked and prayed some more and all are now in agreement that we need to be sharing a house. Retirement centers and assisted living facilities are expensive. Two households is one too many for Mark to maintain. Last night we had a heart-to-heart around the dining room table and consecrated the decision with bowed heads, joined hands, prayer and tears. May it be as God has spoken. Amen.