At a drive-in, of course

Goodness gracious, where have I been? I don't know what to tell you, other than, well, I haven't been writing on my blog. Because of your long wait, I present to you my very first haiku ever (I hope it doesn't suck):

Sydney: a good girl
who will sleep through the movie
Ocean's in the car.

ITEM!: I finished a book last night! I've made a deal with myself, you see, that I will knock off two books in my to-be-read pile before I am allowed to crack the spine on the new Harry Potter on July 21. Last night, I finished The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer. The story itself was a good one, but I found myself frustrated by the main character, a whiny, esteem-challenged guy named Wes. Really, he made me say, more than once and out loud, "Dude, get over it!" I've pulled Dan Brown's Deception Point for my next read. The plan is to get started on that one tomorrow night.
ITEM!: On my balcony, there lives two bougainvillea, one plumeria plant, and two desert succulent plants. Also residing there is a very cool birdhouse that I bought at the Mill Ave. Arts Festival in March (or April?). Guess what arrived today (thanks to Mom!): another very cool birdhouse, but this one is in the design of a beach shack. It's so cool (looking, not temperature) out there! I can't wait to have a real patio so I can really go crazy with the flowering plants and kitchy birdhouse look.
ITEM!: No more parenting magazines. I don't remember subscribing to all these kid-friendly monthlies, but I guess I did at some point. I received Raising Arizona Kids today. I'm sure that I had some practical reason to pick this one up: ads for photographers, childcare help, activity ideas. But really, I just flipped through it, thought to myself, "That was a great purchase," and tossed it into the trash. Grr.
ITEM!: I'm on a babyproofing kick. I bought a couple of those cord shorteners today, as well as a power strip protector. The shortener I used for the phone's line and power cord in the living room; and the power strip protector went in the office. For the office, I, of course, had to completely redo all the plugs and cords. Crazy, I know. I need a couple more things for Sydney's room though: a shortener/outlet cover; and an outlet cover/nightlight. I know there's more, but I can't think of what right now.
ITEM!: I hate it when days go by and I haven't blogged. You may or may not have noticed that the web site view tracker is missing from the left. For whatever reason, it stopped calculating page views. For that reason, I deleted it. Really, I think this is a good thing. I was starting to develop a complex on the days when the increase was particularly low. (You know, when only Mom, Daddy and Aunt Bette checked in). This way, I'll no longer be a slave to my own ratings! Freedom!!