I still haven't checked. Whistles? Anyone?

I hate crickets (check the "Random Pet Peeves" list to your lower left).
Is a person who plays cricket considered a cricket? Or a cricketer? Or a cricketee? Hmmm. I wonder. But, instead of diving too deep into the research, I'll admit straight up to you that I chose this particular avatar this month because I liked the colors and the outfit. Such a girlie reason, I know, but right now, I'm clinging to my girlieness about it. I think she looks cool. And like she could really play that game, and kick someone's ass after the final whistle blows (are there whistles in cricket? Perhaps I should do some research after all). The leg guards look sassy, too.
The family has begun to arrive for this weekend's event, and it looks like it'll be a busy couple days for all of us. Mom; Jason and Jody and the kids; and Lizzie are here tonight. Daddy; the other Edgar sisters; and yet more family arrive tomorrow. The rest of them are coming in on Saturday morning. It'll be a nice turnout ... one that Auntie Donna would have loved.
[Editor's Note: Just so you know, that I know, that I have yet to even broach the actual subject of Auntie Donna on the blog here. Am I in denial? I'll deny that I'm in denial, but honestly, I really have no idea what to say about it still. Someday I will, and then I'll dazzle you with an appropriate remembrance.]

Awkward, and then boring

I'm not exactly sure why I did this, but I took the time to check the Arizona Department of Public Safety's web site to see if any sex offenders live in my neighborhood. I'm thankful that there are none residing in my zip code, according to the registrar. But the whole time the search page was loading, I could think of little else but the fear that there was some kind of pedophile living next door to me here. It was a huge relief to find that the search came up negative. Still, I wonder what I would do differently if there was ... besides not allow her in the front yard by herself EVER; and invest in the locked gate TOMORROW that I've been avoiding for the last month. Scary stuff, actually. I can totally see me going completely nuts and keeping her within eyesight every second of every day.
But, enough of that.
I think I'm ready for all my company this weekend. I did make it to Target and The Home Depot today, and my house is looking pretty awesome, if I can say. There are flowers, lights in my atrium, and the last picture frame has been hung. I'm ready, if it's possible, for this whole thing to happen. I think. Ugh.

Can I get a "bye-bye-bye"

So I finally got to work on my little atrium. I added the little fountain; got some even footing for the thousand-year-old elephant planter; and found a better spot for the planet, star, constellation plant thing that I've been moving all over hell and back for several years. It was when I went to install the lighting (yes, there will be lighting) that I came across the hitch in my get-along. Somewhere, between the apartment and the house, the lights got killed. Actually, it's only one bulb that died, but still, it was enough to make me stop working on my little atrium for the day. Pity. But, it did give me the opportunity to realize that I should have all the lighting before installing any of the lighting, so suddenly, multi-colored lights are added to my Target list tomorrow. (Yes, the list is now for tomorrow now. I only have so many hours in my day, you know.)
And tonight's cast-off from Dancing with the Stars is .... Chuck Wicks! The guy who thinks that we think that just because he's dating a dancer, he should know how to dance; who believes that moving the hips makes a man less manly; and who, along with Julianne, was obsessed with showing the viewers how HAPPY, COMPATIBLE, and FULL OF CHEMISTRY they are together. I mean, of course I'll miss Julianne. She's one of my favorite pros. But if I can get through the last several weeks without Maks, I feel like I can make it through the show without anyone. So, we'll catch you later, Chuck.

Is it "bombs" or "bombers"? I'm unsure

All my days until the family arrive this weekend are filled with ridiculous errands and projects to get finished. Tomorrow is all about Target and The Home Depot ... to a point where I wonder exactly how much I'll be able to fit into my car at the end of my morning. The plants go in the trunk, I guess. Luckily, it's a short drive home! Bit by bit though, the place is starting to come together. All my visitors this weekend will be pleased, I hope!
I got a ton of e-mails today, but I have one favorite by far. You know it's been a rough few weeks when your best friend pops off an e-mail on a Monday morning saying how great it is that you went out and got drunk over the weekend. ("I am glad you got drunk and had a good
time! You deserve it!" she said. I love you, Lisa!) While I'll agree that the getting drunk was fun, I still regret my decision of sakibombers as the drink of choice on Thursday night. Or even just the amount of sakibombers. I did though, have a fantastic time with the family!

My Dancing with the Stars voting (6 votes allowed):
Gilles Marini ~ 2 votes.
Melissa Rycroft ~ 1 vote. You know when I said last week that it was cutthroat time for voting? I meant it. And though I am so sorry that Melissa missed out on my double-vote love tonight, I'm fairly certain that she'll be okay tomorrow night. Even so, I wanted to stick with my other fave, Gilles, and be sure that he's in the running.
Shawn Johnson ~ 1 vote.
Lil' Kim ~ 1 vote.
Chuck Wicks ~ 1 vote.
Ty Murray ~ 0 votes. I agree with Len here, it's time for the cowboy to head home.

Chris and Kristen got married today!

No joke, my kid was a frickin' rock star at Chris and Kristen's wedding tonight! I will fully admit to the fact that she did so much better than I thought she would. She still needed Brian to walk her down the aisle, but she grabbed her flowers and dropped them all by herself! She didn't sit through the ceremony too well, and my goodness, she was a handful before the food was served, but at the end of the evening, she was so amazing. And she danced ... a lot ... entertaining most everyone. Her dress was awesome; Brian got a TON of compliments on his tie (I had it made from a dress matching Sydney's); I love Spanx; and now, we're all tired.

Saki bombers are BAD

I'm not ignoring you again ... I'm not. What I am is in Tucson for Brian's nephew, Chris's, wedding. I've got access to the Internets, but didn't post last night because I was, well, too drunk to do too much of anything except rue my decision to drink at all. Ugh.
Today though, Brian, Sydney and I visited the Harry Reid Zoo, and had a lovely, lovely time. This zoo was much nicer than the one in Phoenix, and I'll tell you why: it was smaller. We saw practically every animal there in an hour. And all the animals were active. Monkeys were swinging, otters were splashing around, polar bears (yes! POLAR BEARS!!!) swam around, the tiger wandered, and the elephants played with their toys. We bought a couple cups of Dippin' Dots, and ate those in the shade of a big tree. We enjoyed a cool breeze while walking through a tree canopy between the giraffe and elephant exhibits. And it was the perfect fun thing for us to do today.
Now, as for tomorrow. The wedding isn't until 5:15 p.m., and we're not expected to be there until 5 p.m. The family photos are being taken after the ceremony. So what do we do tomorrow? I'll ask the concierge in the morning.

Tomorrow I tackle the Tucson trip

Hey there, everyone, did you know that Lawrence Taylor is going home? I liked him on the show, I really did, but his consistent whining about moves, swishes and the like was getting really irritating. Almost as irritating as Chuck and Julianne constantly making a show of how manly Chuck is in real life. But alas and alack, it is LT making the departure from the dance floor this evening.
Mom and I had a busy day today: We supervised the volunteers from Hospice of the Valley clean out and pack up Auntie Donna's apartment, and prepare it all for donation. These seven women went through the whole place and had it ready for going onto the truck in two hours. Two hours?! They all tackled each room in pairs, had one guy in the living room making boxes, and just flew through all of it. Mom and I decided that they could be so wicked efficient because, rather than see everything as a memory or WTF moment, to them, it all was just stuff. And they were super happy to take it all. Donna had a lot of good stuff. And it was our pleasure to give it to them. The Hospice took such excellent care of Grandma in October, and continued to be awesome to Donna just a couple weeks ago. I'm intrigued enough by their operation to check out the thrift store in a week or so, to see for how much they're selling Donna's apartment stuff. I'm curious. Wouldn't you be? At any rate, the apartment is finished now, and I no longer have a key to it. So sad.
But ... since it's still Mom and I with time to kill this afternoon before the babysitter expected us back home, we had lunch at Cheesecake, wandered through Crate & Barrel, shopped at Target, got some Starbucks, and stopped at Home Depot. All before 3:30 p.m.! A busy day indeed!

Getting my vote on again

My Dancing with the Stars voting (7 votes allowed):
Gilles Marini ~ 2 votes. It's crunch time, people, and the favorites get the votes while the not-favorites get nothing. I just love Marini and his partner, Cheryl, on the dance floor. This is the first time I've watched and actually wanted Cheryl to win the disco ball.
Melissa Rycroft ~ 2 votes. She's fantastic, in both dance and personality. Love her.
Shawn Johnson ~ 1 vote. Mom and I both wonder, how can someone with such tree-trunk legs have such grace? Mom thinks I should have given her two votes, too, but ... well, it's my voting, not hers.
Chuck Wicks ~ 1 vote. This vote is purely due to Julianne, and that I think she's cute.
Lil' Kim ~ 1 vote. Mom chose who got the last vote, and she decided on Lil' Kim.
Lawrence Taylor and Ty Murray ~ 0 votes. Sorry, LT and Ty.

p.s. Since I have completely bailed on DWTS over the last two weeks, I'll add these photos of Steve-O and his partner, Lacey, and David Alan Grier, and his partner, Kym. Steve-O was dismissed last week, and Grier was invited to leave the week before.

I'm a lightning strike of basketball pickability

I picked up our new house keys, and the garage opener (yay!), this morning! I'm giddy to head over there tomorrow, and to pull out all the shelf paper and prepare the place for 1.) Molly Maids to scrub the hell out of it on Friday, and 2.) myself and my family to move in on Saturday. I finally started to take down Sydney's room this morning. I also had to stop and pick up some more boxes.
Oh, and did I tell you that my basketball bracket has been totally busted for a while? Yeah, I had Pitt taking the whole tournament. Honestly, since my team lost, I haven't even looked at the paper. Brian's team has lost too, but with the pool he's in, he still has more points then anyone else (actually, he's tied for first). Is it possible to win a tourney pool without picking the right national champion? We shall see!
Moving day is 3 days away.