As usual, until it's not as usual

How long would you wait at a Starbucks drive-thru window before knocking on the glass?
Katy and I always stop at Starbucks for an after-dinner coffee on our way back to my house after we've had our weekly dinner. We always stop at the same Starbucks. We usually have the same cute barista, too.
Tonight, we rolled into the drive-thru, as usual. We ordered our drinks, as usual. I tripped up Katy's drink order, as usual. We got the cute barista, as usual. I used Auntie Donna's black card for the discount, as usual. The cute barista took the money, and said he'd be right back, as usual.
Moments go by. More moments go by. Moments turn into minutes. NOT ... as usual.
Minutes go by.
Finally, after we've giggled about the fact that the cute barista has totally forgotten us, and another couple minutes go by, I decide that we must take some initiative.
I unbuckle the seatbelt, bump my head on the window frame, and stand up in the driver's seat. There's no one moving around inside the store, and our drinks are sitting on the counter by the cash register. Still, no one walking around. More giggles ensue as I relay this predicament to Katy. Then, I knock on the window.
A female barista comes over to the window, and weirdly, looks down at the drinks before she glances at the window. I point to the drinks and say, through the glass, "Those are ours." Really, the look on her face was classic. Complete and utter shock. "You mean he didn't give ... ?" No.
She quickly hands us the mochas, asked to know if they were still warm enough (otherwise, she'd be happy to make fresh ones), and then told us to just sit and wait for one more minute.
Shortly thereafter, the manager (I think) popped out the window with a couple of those any-drink-for-free certificates. He gave us strict instructions to be sure to get the most expensive drink we could on the menu when we use those certificates, because they cover every drink, with no exceptions. Then, he apologized again and told us to have a good night.
How long would you wait at a Starbucks drive-thru window before knocking on the glass?
Katy and I wait 10 minutes.

But then we get free drinks out of it.

Starbucks on my iPhone is a good thing!

I downloaded the kind of app that my Auntie Donna would have LOVED this afternoon. It's a Starbucks app that does several things: uses your phone's location to find Starbucks stores nearby; stores the recipe for yours, and your friends', favorite drinks; and stores your favorite food items and types of coffee. My favorite part of this is, of course, the "Find a store" segment. I really could have used that a couple weeks ago, before I had to find the Starbucks along my route home from Sydney's preschool. (INCONVENIENCE!) Be that as it may, I've now got the technology to find a Starbucks wherever I happen to be. And I'll know if it's open, if it's a drive-thru, or if it's got wi-fi. All are very important things to know!
I can't say for a second that I'm sad to see Kathy Ireland go from Dancing with the Stars. She was, truly, not very good at this ballroom dancing thing.

"You want to get that?"

Honestly, I'm going to just post this article in its entirety, because I love this kind of thing. First, the actor broke character to the cheers of the audience. Second, that person should be shamed in front of an audience because of this. Did they think that they were too important to turn off their cell phone? My already-high like for Hugh Jackman has increased tenfold, having read this.

Video captures Jackman chiding cell phone offender
(AP) NEW YORK -- Hugh Jackman knows how to stop the show. He did it recently when a cell phone call interrupted a preview performance of "A Steady Rain," the Broadway play that stars Jackman and Daniel Craig. The moment captured on an amateur video shown by the TMZ.com Web site appears to have been recorded by someone in the audience.
It shows Jackman breaking character to tell the owner of the ringing cell phone, "You want to get that?" as the audience erupts in cheers. As the ringing persists, Jackman pleads: "Come on, just turn it off." He then paces the stage of the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, waits about a minute for the ringing to stop and the play resumes.
Producers of "A Steady Rain" declined to comment.
The interruption occurred during an intense moment in the play, when Jackman's character, a Chicago policeman, reveals haunting memories.
A customary loudspeaker announcement reminds theatergoers to turn off their phones. Since the incident, ushers who seat patrons and pass out playbills at Schoenfeld are also instructing patrons to silence their phones.
"A Steady Rain," a taut drama about the relationship between two policemen, opens Tuesday for a limited engagement through Dec. 6. The play by Keith Huff already has proven to be a potent box-office winner, playing to capacity audiences since it began previews on Sept. 10.
Jackman won a Tony Award in 2004 for his performance as Peter Allen in the musical "The Boy from Oz." Craig, filmdom's latest James Bond, is making his Broadway debut.

And is it at all amusing to anyone that no one seems to have an issue with the person videotaping the performance? The cell phone ringing, well, that's just rude and inconsiderate. But the taping, I'm pretty sure that's illegal.
Whatever. I love it when actors in plays and musicals break character for stuff like that. I've seen it happen twice that I remember well: Robert Goulet, asking someone in the audience to get the coughing guy in the front rows a glass of water during a performance of Camelot; and Debbie Reynolds, mocking Harve Presnell for stumbling a little when picking her up in a performance of The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Drop a size? That's the plan

I started the "Special K: Lose a Jean Size in Two Weeks" diet this morning. I had my cereal for breakfast, the meal-as-I-normally-would for lunch, and the protein shake for dinner. Of course, I cheated, but since my cheating was with the water-based frozen yogurt in the freezer, I don't think I'll get kicked off the program for the indiscretion. All the same, I believe that it's always the first couple days that are the hardest, and the first day which is really the hardest, so I contend that I've won an incredible contest against myself this day. And tomorrow is another day!

I'm watching the news right now, and the current segment is telling me about how bar and restaurant patrons are permitted to bring firearms into those establishments, beginning on Wednesday, in Arizona. That makes me feel like I live in such a progressive state! No wonder the rest of the country thinks we're nothing but cowboys, idiot desert dwellers, and crazy red-state inhabitants. Who, in their right mind, thinks it's a good idea to have guns and alcohol in the same building? It's examples like this that prove that the "right to bear arms" is so subjectively random, and that these gun-toting zealots really do need to take a chill pill and just leave their killer guns at home. Just because, constitutionally, you can have a gun, doesn't mean that you should take it everywhere with you. Why on earth would someone be compelled to being a gun to Chili's? Leave them home.

My Dancing with the Stars voting (14 votes allowed):
Since I'm not up to commenting on each of the contestants tonight, I'm going to list them a bit differently. Besides, 14 votes allowed! So many votes, and so few choices that I like a lot!
Aaron Carter, Kelly Osbourne, Mark Dacascos, Mya, and Louie Vito ~ 2 votes.
Donny Osmond, Chuck Liddell, Michael Irvin, and Debi Mazar ~ 1 vote.
Joanna Krupa, Kathy Ireland, Melissa Joan Hart, Natalie Coughlin, and Tom DeLay ~ 0 votes.

I've got some work to do at the woodpile

I used to be really good about getting to bed on time. I love to sleep, and I'm really good at it. I can get by on less than eight hours per night, but prefer to get at least that. For whatever reason, I've had a really hard time getting to bed before midnight for the last two weeks. That kind of behavior does little for my energy level or attitude. Between just being tired, and the metaphorical Ambien that is sitting and watching cartoons with Sydney in the cozy chair, I've had a rough afternoon and evening today. I've yawned more than five times already while composing this blog post. I could really use a good amount of sleep. My typical bedtime is 11 p.m. I heard once that every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours of sleep after midnight. While the earliest I can get my butt into bed is usually around 10:30 p.m., I completely buy this argument. And I think it's right. I never feel better than in the mornings after I've turned the lights off before 11 p.m. So, tonight, I reinstate the 11 p.m. bedtime.
Check me out, it's 10:30 p.m., and I've already finished up with my farm, my television and DVR, my kitchen, and my kid (unless she wakes up with the need to pee). 'Night.

Update: Now, it's 10:55 p.m., and I've got only five minutes to get into bed for sleep. Damn. I'll hurry.

Then, I'll be on schedule

Okay. I'm watching Eastwick, that show based on the movie, The Witches of Eastwick, starring Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price and some other actress I don't remember seeing before. I can't tell if, in my head, I'm embarrassed that I seem to be really liking this show. The three female leads are intriguing me, and my goodness, the guy who is playing the devil role originally played by Jack Nicholson, is good looking. He's got an interesting, game show host kind of voice ... in a good way. I'm about halfway through it, and it's sucked me in. (Mom is interested in it, too. She's watching it with me. I think this may be the show that finally motivates her to get a DVR at home.)
I've got a lot of DVR to catch up on, too. I still need to watch Monday's episode of Gossip Girl, Thursday's Community and The Vampire Diaries, and Friday's Dollhouse. Lots to watch! And I'm going to try to take care of it all tomorrow!

I stole this cake image off the Internets

Happy Birthday to Mom,
Happy Birthday to Mom,
Happy Birthday dear Mom,
Happy Birthday to Mom.

60th Birthday Q&A
Me: How was your birthday today?
Mom: Delightful. I got awakened by Miss Daisy, followed by Miss Sydney. My phone rang all day with texts and messages. I got to eat yummy food. I got to crash on the sofa.
Me: How does 60 feel?
Mom: The same as 59.364.
Me: What was the best part of your day?
Mom: The combination of calories.
Me: What was the ickiest part of your day?
Mom: Realizing it was over and there still were things I wanted to eat.
Me: Weirdest thing to happen to you today?
Mom: Weird isn't good. Nothing weird.
Me: Which message/call made you laugh the most?
Mom: The e-card with the talking squirrel from Rosemary.
Me: What was the most entertaining aspect of your day?
Mom: Listening to Sydney sing "Yellow Submarine," while you played guitar on Rock Band.

Mom turns 60 tomorrow (the 25th)!

I'm at a loss for a topic tonight. I asked Mom what she thought I should blog about, and the stream of consciousness went like this:

My mother is going to be old tomorrow. She would like to have quite a bit of plastic surgery. She needs drinking and dancing lessons so she can be a cougar. She wonders what it would be like to have sex with younger men. She would like me to Photoshop Valerie Bertinelli or Courtney Cox and put her head on their bodies.
[Editor's note: The above was dictated to me, almost verbatim, by Mom, who is in mourning. She will be 60 in about an hour.]

In fact, that job is ongoing

I just spent way too much time on an art project for Sydney's school. I got a note in Sydney's school stuff that said that Syd was selected to be the Star Student in her class next week. Because of this super cool honor, I was given the task of creating a poster board collage that showed all of Sydney's interests. I picked up a black poster board and package of construction paper at Target this morning, and tackled this fantastic project tonight after Sydney went to bed. I spent quite a bit of time on the computer, finding and printing out images of Sydney's favorite things, such as, Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars; a Finding Nemo wallpaper; an apple, M&Ms, milk carton, popcorn, and macaroni and cheese; crayons, puzzles and books; the entrance to the Phoenix Zoo, Sydney in a swing, a carousel; and a picture of Sydney with Bear. I started this project at 8 p.m., and finished it about 10:20 p.m. I think it looks pretty good, and I got a huge compliment on it from Brian. So, I think my job as "Awesome Mom" is done for the day.
As for the first casualties of this season's Dancing with the Stars, let's all say goodbye to Macy Gray and Ashley Hamilton. I am incredibly ambivalent to their departure.
Oh yeah, and Mom arrives in town tomorrow! Yay!!

A new show that I like!

ITEM!: Tonight's entertainment viewing included The Good Wife, the new CBS legal drama starring Julianna Margulies as a scorned politician's wife who needs to go back to work to pay the bills. Of course, she was an attorney before she married her guy, and is therefore thrown back into the legal world now that she's among the workforce again. I like the idea behind this, and I love Margulies, as well as the actors Josh Charles, Christine Baranski, Chris Noth and Matt Czuchry. And color me pleasantly surprised, but I liked the actual show and episode, too.
ITEM!: My trash pick-up was this morning, so I finally was able to cut up the dead oleander bush carcass in my front yard and use it to fill up the trash can (again) tonight. This means, regretfully, that I will have to leave the trash can in the front yard all week, and that my household trash bags will be piling up in the garage where the can receptacle usually sits. Next Monday night though, the trash can itself will be emptied again, and I'll try to be sneaky and put my household garbage bags in someone else's can. * tiptoe, tiptoe through the neighborhood ...* But I was able to shove the can into the corner of my yard, so ideally, the homeowners' association won't see it and cite me, and it won't be too offensive to my own eye every time I drive into my garage.
ITEM!: I think, since it's supposed to be cool tomorrow morning, Sydney and I will visit the zoo.

My DWTS voting (8 votes allowed):
Kelly Osbourne, singer ~ 2 votes. I was incredibly pleased and surprised to see how well Osbourne did, and I am certainly glad that the audience seemed to like her, too.
Mya, singer, entertainer ~ 2 votes. I think she'll make it to the finals.
Debi Mazar, actress ~ 1 vote. Any friend of Maks' is a friend of mine. Anything that keeps him from getting voted off the show is a good thing.
Joanna Krupa, model ~ 1 vote. Frankly, I was surprised to find myself liking this girl. I'm not usually a huge fan of the blonde, perfect models (I suspect model envy), but her personality has done a good job of changing my mind ... for now.
Melissa Joan Hart, actress ~ 1 vote. Did you know Melissa Joan Hart was in Britney Spears' video to the song, "Crazy"?
Natalie Coughlin, Olympic swimmer ~ 1 vote. It looks like we may have our first gold medal-winner who doesn't win the mirrorball trophy.
Macy Gray, singer; and Kathy Ireland, model and CEO ~ 0 votes. Gray is just way too out of her element, and Ireland looks incredibly uncomfortable on the dance floor.

Time to get the voting started

Tonight is it! The first night of season nine of Dancing with the Stars began this very evening. Truthfully, I watched the entire show on fast forward, since Sydney didn't feel like falling asleep until 8:45 p.m. I would be lying if I told you that I didn't kind of enjoy passing by a majority of the comments, inane conversation, and assorted filler. Since there are 16 (no kidding, 16!) contestants this season, the premiere is a three-night affair. Tonight, the men competed. My votes and comments are below.
Tomorrow is the girls' night.

My DWTS voting (8 votes allowed):
Aaron Carter, singer, entertainer ~ 3 votes. I think I like this kid. He actually does have the potential. His brother, Nick, from Backstreet Boys, was in the audience this evening, as were the rest of the Boys.
Mark Dacascos, martial artist, actor ~ 3 votes. I'm making my front-runner preference common knowledge this moment. I am digging this guy on this show. He can take it all the way to the finals.
Donny Osmond, singer, entertainer, Marie's brother ~ 2 votes. Just because. Is it me, or ha he TOTALLY had a facelift or two?
Michael Irvin, retired football player; Ashley Hamilton, George's son, "actor;" Chuck Liddell, mixed martial artist and Ultimate Fighter; Louie Vito, snowboarder; and Tom DeLay, politician ~ 0 votes. I don't mean to be harsh on the first night, but it's early still, and I wanted to be sure that the only people I have any regard for so far, based entirely and solely on this night, get some love.

Pink pears in Massachusetts

Sunday afternoon, sitting on my sofa, is clearly the time of indecisiveness. I can't decide which of these two photos I would rather like to lead off today's blog post. If you're reading this online right now, which, of course, you are, you will have noticed which photo I decided to use up top. Shall I go with the beautiful picture of fall foliage in Massachusetts? Or the pretty and fantastic Buddha-shaped pears grown in China?
What I do know for sure is that this FarmVille thing on Facebook is so frickin' cool, and I love, love, love it. I've moved up to Level 19 today, which means that, once my soybeans and peppers are ready to be harvested, I can plant grapes. Yay grapes! I was so excited to show off my farm to Brian yesterday when he finally acquiesced to see it. And I bought more land last night, as well. All I need now is about 15,000 more "coins" so I can buy a cottage for the property. That way, I can live there, too. I think that is the last of my random wants for the land. Anyway, I'm eager to build up the rest of that capital so I can get my new house. A pink one, if you please.
We visited The Home Depot this morning. I found mushrooms, actual mushrooms, in one of my house plants this morning. How is that for a random botanical issue? We got some fungicide, as I have other plants that have some mold or something growing on their soil, and I'm eager to dig into that tomorrow. Also, we bought a better tree branch and twig cutter for the plants out front. Brian did an excellent job of cutting down the big oleander in front of my window. The other fence-lining oleander will have to wait until next weekend, I think. I've got a big pile of oleander bits in the middle of my front yard right now, and I can't wait to get rid of it all.
I'm missing the Emmys tonight, and I'm pretty bummed about that, but my lovely niece, Katy, and I have super fun plans tonight instead of my staying home to watch television. Oh yeah, tickets to see Pink! I'll have more about that tomorrow, too!

They are awful, awful plants

I am such a lightweight lately! I had, like, two margaritas at a birthday party this afternoon, and then, when I got home, had to lay down and sleep it off for 90 minutes. That ... is pathetic. It's embarrassing. And I'm disappointed in myself. Two drinks? Really? The headache is still floating around within though. At least I didn't get all crazy buzzed or nauseous from them, so that's something.
What did get taken care of this early evening was another one of my bizarre little household irritations. Explanation: As I've been driving through the neighborhood lately, or when Sydney and I take the dogs for their walk, I've noticed how nicely trimmed my neighbors' front yards are looking. Mine, on the other hand, has four big, overgrown white oleanders (which I HATE), and, what we just discovered yesterday, is a large lime tree. The whole thing looks a mess, and every time I drive up to the house over the last 10 days, I hate it. Those oleanders are just hanging out and taking up the entire front yard!! Ugly!
Anyway, I got Brian outside with the big pruning shears, and he trimmed down one of the oleanders. (The one right next to the front gate.) It's looking much cleaner out there already. The plant has been trimmed down to the same height as the front wall, which is about three feet tall. By the time he finished with that one, the trash can was full, so we'll have to wait until after Tuesday's trash pickup to take care of another one. But that other huge oleander in front of the big window in front of the house needs to be pulled out entirely. I think I'd like to put a big bougainvillea in that space instead. I can't see out my front windows because of these wretched plants, and it's driving me crazy. It's weird: Big, ugly, poisonous plants tend to bother me a lot.

Finding some new books to fall into

One of my treats to myself for finishing off the "Summer Reading List 2009" was an unfiltered, unconstrained, unchaperoned trip to Barnes & Noble for a new "to-be-read" pile. I had two gift cards for this most hallowed of hallowed halls, one ... sadly only for $1, but the second was for $60. Huzzah! I had about 75 minutes to spend in the store before picking Sydney up from school, so was excited to dig into the fiction/literature, mystery and romance stacks.
My first 45 minutes was a little slow in decisiveness, and I walked around with only one book in my arms. BOO! It must have been quite some time since I've been allowed to just wander through a bookstore on my own, and for myself, because I was, clearly, out of practice in finding and picking up some new tomes.
But then, all of a sudden, with only 30 minutes left in my bookstore time allotment, I was (metaphorically) hit with a tidal wave of covers that intrigued me. I couldn't stop picking up books. Everything interesting just started jumping off the shelves and into my arms. It was like a kind of divine experience! Books, books and another book! YAY!
Now, I'm flush with reading material. I've got so many stories to dive into, and so many characters to like and not like it's crazy! ... And the life of an avid book reader begins anew.
So you want to know what I selected? Check out my new "To-be-read pile" list over there on the left.

Best plumbers' shoes ever

I've been renting places to live in for a long time now. The benefit of renting, as any renter will tell you, is that when something in the place of residence breaks, leaks or just behaves improperly, all you have to do is call the property manager. From there, a magical maintenance person shows up in a timely manner (ideally) and fixes the problem.
In my house here, we all of a sudden have a toilet with running water, a tweaked out toilet seat, a slow-flowing tub drain, and a seemingly ever-increasing number of bugs invading the building. So, as a renter, I did what I'm supposed to do: I faxed a maintenance request with the problems to the property manager.
The response? An e-mail stating that the maintenance technician costs the owner more than $65 an hour, and he'd send him out for the slow drain, but could I please try to fix the toilet issues myself? (I paraphrase the text, but that was exactly what it told me.) It went on to helpfully suggest maybe unscrewing and re-screwing the toilet seat to fix it, and then to maybe shorten or mess with the chain in the tank to make the toilet water stop running. Mmm. Um ... okay. So, I'm on my own? Whatev. I can do anything, bitches!
The seat was an easy fix. In fact, it did just need unscrewing and then a careful, slow and precise re-screwing to ensure that the seat would sit straight on the tank. (With a toddler practicing on that seat daily, it simply had to sit properly. The last thing Syd needs is an unstable perching place.) Time: 10 minutes. Effort: Medium.
The running toilet water though, was more involved. I had to dig into the tank itself, get my hands all wet, and investigate the issue. The bulb rod needed to be tightened (easy peasy), but the main issue was the warped and unsealing flapper at the bottom of the tank. The fix: I wandered over to Home Depot, bought the new flapper, and this afternoon, replaced it, thereby making the toilet better and no longer running. All. By. Myself. Time (including drive and Home Depot): 45 minutes. Effort: High, but not major.
So I sent an e-mail back to the property manager tonight telling him that yes, I did fix the toilet issues myself, and that I told Brian they should pay ME for my new-found plumbing abilities. I asked that yes, he do send the maintenance man to take care of the drain. And I said that fine, the bugs would be our responsibility (an entirely different bitching point for another day).
So that's done. And right now, I care so little about their opinion on my having a gate installed along the side yard without their prior approval.

"Oh, Jay," she says with a heavy sigh

For those of you out there who think that maybe there isn't a single thing that my mom and I disagree on, I offer this post to you.
In two words: Jay Leno. She enjoys. I do not.
I'll admit that I've never been a huge fan of network late-night television. It's not must-see for me. I don't care for David Letterman or Conan O'Brien really either. I wish I could remember that Craig Ferguson existed nightly, but I can't. And Jimmy Fallon looks funny from what I've seen online, but I forget about him, too. (My love is, of course, Jon Stewart.)
My dislike of Jay Leno is kinda weird. I've been mostly ambivalent since he started on The Tonight Show, but over the last few years, he's just bugged me to new heights. Lame jokes. Uninspired monologues. That headlines thing makes me gag simply because so many times they're just not that funny (and yes, it picks on my profession). "Jay-walking" makes me afraid that there are people out there who act that stupid just to get on television, or really are just that stupid.
So several months ago, when faced with not having to deal with Jay anymore, I was pretty okay with it. I can handle an unintentional viewing of Conan a lot more than Jay on any day of the week. But then, there's this nonsense about Jay having a "variety" show on every weeknight at 9 p.m. (that's 10 p.m. for those of you with normal, non-Arizona time zone television). Um, huh? Why? Well, for Mom, of course. She was pretty pleased to hear about it, and she does not like Conan.
Because I forgot, I missed The Jay Leno Show last night, but I read up on it this morning. I have not read or heard good reviews about it (including, surprisingly, Mom, who said that the whole thing just looked uncomfortable). Despite that, I will be sure to tune in tonight. I have to at least see it. I'm one of those people that needs to, at the very least, know what she's not liking while she's not liking it.

It's a good day for birthdays

A couple things about September 11:
1.) It's Howie's birthday. He would have been 73 today. And last night, as I watched the clock tick towards midnight, I remembered the night of September 10, 1996. That evening, it was amusing to Mom and I that, at a few minutes to midnight, Howie was still awake and watching television. We asked him why he was still awake. His response: "I'm enjoying the last minutes of my 50s." Awesome. I wish I could have wished him a happy day today. I mean, I did wish it, but it would have been nice to say happy birthday in person.
1b.) He HATED it that his birthday had become a national day of mourning. Why must his birthday now be associated with something so sad?, he would ask. That bugged him so much.
2.) It's Andrea's birthday, too. She is 36 today. And FINALLY, the same age as the rest of us. And we'll all be the same age for about three months, until Kerry's birthday in December. Then the cycle of Turning 37 begins. UGH!
3.) MSNBC ran the footage of The Today Show from the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 this morning, and again tonight. Brian and I watched parts of it earlier, and watching that still makes my heart sink.
4.) I posted this picture of Howie and I at my wedding on my Facebook page this morning. It made me smile so much throughout the day that I decided to post it here, too.

"Every time I look at it, I'll think of you."

I burned my arm on the oven door yesterday as I removed my baked-to-perfection blueberry muffins. The temperature of the oven itself was 400 degrees. (HOT!) I reacted as any human would when accidentally touching something so toasty: I quickly pulled my arm away. (HOT!) But I'm pretty amazed at how fast the damage was done to my arm. I've never burned myself like this before, so it's become quite the little experiment-fascination for me.
Tonight's observations: It's not sore anymore. It doesn't feel like it's still burning anymore. It's taken on a darker purple hue, which is interesting. It also looks like it's thinking about blistering, but deciding that blistering is too much effort. So there's nothing raised, just kinda scorched.
Brian tells me that it's going to scar, but I'm fighting against that. I'm putting the ointments and stuff on it, so let's hope they're stronger than the burn. But, if it does scar, I guess there are worse things than being permanently marked while engaging in an activity that makes your little girl so happy, right?

And we bought more lemonade cupcakes

I think one of my favorite things is cuddling with Oliver while I watch television. In fact, tonight's post will topic on my favorite things about today.
* Waking up at 7 a.m. instead of at an hour with a "6" in the time.
* Hearing Brian and Sydney playing castle before going to school and work.
* Knowing that, even though Sydney cried when I left, she would enjoy her day.
* Looking out my window and seeing blue skies, green palm trees swaying in the breeze, and a blooming red bougainvillea.
* This is cheesy, but Facebooking and improving my farm!
* Eating a few of the dreaded and diabolical french fries.
* Sydney hugging me and kissing me when I picked her up from school.
* No accidents.
* Daisy resting her head on my shoulder while I checked my e-mail this afternoon.
* Getting all angry and indignant on my hubby's behalf. I wish I had someone to whom I could leave a message on voice mail.
* Katy being a rock star and agreeing to hang out with the kid tomorrow night.
* Sydney telling me how the stars on her ceiling are "anywhere." It always make me giggle, and she says it only to make me giggle.
* And again, cuddling with Oliver while watching television.

Preparing for tomorrow's launch

The weekend plans have come together, but I still haven't finished packing for them. Sydney's the only family member who is ready, as her stuff is always the most fun to prepare, and I've still got Brian, myself, Oliver and Daisy for whom I need to get stuff in bags. Quick, easy weekends away are always a good time! And hopefully, my hubby and I will get a couple movies out of it, too!

I'm a farmer now

The last thing in the world that I needed was a new obsession online. There's an application on Facebook called FarmVille, in which the user is a farmer tasked with plowing and planting field plots, growing crops, caring for animals, and, of course, trying to make money on it. The money is all cute, little clinking coins, and not worth much of anything. For me, it's the growing, planting and harvesting. I'm totally digging it. I've grown soybeans, pumpkins and strawberries. Each crop has its own money amount to be made, amount of time for growth, and experience gained by farming it. Honestly, I'm loving it. I've planted pumpkins for the night, because they take eight hours to mature, so they'll be ready when I get up tomorrow morning. I learned that strawberries are not an effective nighttime crop because they mature inf our hours. Make them sit too long and the wither and die. Then it costs twice as much to remove the dead plants, till the earth, and then plant new crops. See? This is awesome!! I've got cows, chickens, a duck, and a black sheep named Josh.

Write her name next to Beyonce's

It's weird how, when something is bugging you, you really kinda don't notice how much this something is bugging you, until you see this something one day, and think, "My god, that is BUGGING me."
The other day, or a couple weeks ago (you choose), I noticed how very much Katherine Heigl, the actress, bugs me. I used to really like her. So many people probably don't remember, but she played the character "Isabel," on one of my favorite shows ever, Roswell. Ever since then, I've been a casual fan, enjoying bits and pieces of her work here and there. When I learned she was to be on Grey's Anatomy, I mentally congratulated her, as it had been some time since I had seen her in anything commercially viable. And then, there was the fantastic 27 Dresses.
Tonight though, I sit here with her photo on my desktop, and an article about her in another window in my browser, and she is the topic of a post in which I state that now, she's bugging me. How did this happen?
Well, I mean, doesn't anyone else think that she's been a bit ... whiny ... lately? Not enough money, not good enough story lines, not fabulous enough characters, not smart enough projects. Sure, a mention here and there in regards to her issues with her job is fine and understandable, but really, her complaints have gotten a lot more tired, frequent, and irritating. The latest article talks about a hiatus she's taking from Grey's, which is, well, whatever, I don't care.
The point, is that even before I read the article, which was about nothing (as so much tabloid entertainment journalism is), I was bugged by what I knee-jerk suspected would be a complaint-filled, whiny interview from the star. That it wasn't is refreshing. And that is what bugs me about her lately. For her to NOT complain is refreshing!! How is that right?

p.s. I can not though, stay away from her movies. I'm forever watching parts of 27 Dresses. I can do without Knocked Up though. But I MUST see that one with her and Gerard Butler as soon as it's on DVD.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Bette!!

And a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout-out to one of my most devoted readers here on the blog: Aunt Bette! She is one of the most wonderful, enthusiastic, lovely, and engaging people any of you could ever meet, and I count myself among the lucky that she loves me, my mom and my kid!
I hope you have a great day today, dearest Aunt Bette!
Enjoy your rice pudding! Love you!!

Yay September!

It's no secret that Brian is a huge fan of the video games. He loves them! And there are several out there that I thoroughly enjoy watching him play. Yes, I actually sit on the sofa with him and comment on things that I think I see, and actions that I approve/disapprove of; and make random suggestions or laughable observations. One of my favorites is the "Splinter Cell" series of games. (Except when you have to shoot a dog to make it quiet. That BUGS me!) They're the first-person, spy and black-ops character action/adventure games created under Tom Clancy's brand. They're really super cool. Anyway, I was flipping through the avatars last night and came across this beauty of an ensemble, which is almost exactly what the guy in the game wears. Even down to the night-vision goggles. Awesome! I think it makes me look pretty bad-ass, even if I do have a flower in my hair.