iPad pick-up in aisle "Cool"

So Brian told me a couple weeks ago that he'd get me an iPad (STILL hate the name!). I kinda blew it off as a "sure, I'll believe it when I see it," but over the last several days, I've been getting excited about it. It sounds ridiculous, but I really want this particular tablet computer to make my life a lot less papery. An official digital calendar; an editable address book that requires no pencil or specific blue pen; all the business card stuff and lifestyle information, as well as personal notes; and informational, weirdly anal-retentive spreadsheets. Another huge draw for a paperless existence: e-books. I'm a huge, HUGE fan of actual, real books, but there is something super fantastic about buying a story that I may or may not like, and not waste a tree over it. It'll be a better life for me if I can read anything and everything with no worry over the guilt of not liking it and yet, advocating the killing of a tree or two for it. So, the 3G connection isn't important to me. The Wi-Fi will do just fine. I'd like the 32 GB model, I think, giving me plenty of room for plenty of books. So my iPad will be available in stores this weekend. I doubt I'll actually get one this weekend, but the flight of fancy is thrilling.

What's your damage, DWTS?

I declare shenanigans. Tonight was ridiculous. I know that my ire over this week's elimination is due entirely to my liking of Shannen Doherty, but this result seems to be more than a little suspicious. Mark's knee is busted. His father is kinda instrumental in the production of the show. Mark is one of the show's darlings. And now, he's able to use this time to have his knee fixed. It all seems a little too convenient that Doherty is the first to be sent packing. This show and its voting and results compilations are so sketchy. There's no way that there are more people out there who would vote for Kate Gosselin and her attitude than Doherty. If I didn't know myself better, I would say that I'll be boycotting the show now. But there's still too much hot-mess craziness to see over the next several weeks.
My husband and my kid made me laugh so hard tonight. I can't tell you exactly why, because I was sworn to secrecy and the evidence was deleted, but I'll give you some bullet points as to the reason: Brian. Sydney. Video Camera. Bathroom.
HA HA!!

"Oooh. Shiny."

Okay, here's what we did today: We took too much time figuring out what we were going to do for our day's activity, and were incredibly excited to have someone present a solution to us (thanks, Stephanie!). The Target Greatland had some of the stuff we wanted, but not the flushable potty wipes that I'm almost out of. I'd rather have the melon-scented wipes, actually. Lunch and a play date at Stephanie and Addison's was fun, and how none of those girls ended up in the pool from their playing, I'll never know. And also, cheers to the sugar cookie bribery that got Sydney to take a decent nap. What I need is to find something that the both of us will enjoy doing in the late afternoon, once Sydney wakes up from her nap. But that's neither here nor there. The rest of the day was kind of blurry. Until tonight, when it got a bit more sparkly and bright.

My Dancing with the Stars voting (11 votes allowed):
Chad Ochocinco ~ 2 votes. I like a flirt, and this guy, with his smile, obvious good nature, and, of course, flirtatiousness, makes me want to see more of him.
Evan Lysacek ~ 2 votes. Because I like him. And he looked super cool in that leather jacket.
Shannen Doherty ~ 2 votes. Because I like her. And she's a fun diamond in the rough.
Erin Andrews ~ 1 vote. Another vote for Maks, because I am loving the way Andrews is dealing with him.
Niecy Nash ~ 1 vote.
Pamela Anderson ~ 1 vote.
Jake Pavelka ~ 1 vote.
Nicole Scherzinger ~ 1 vote.
Buzz Aldrin, Kate Gosselin and Aiden Turner ~ 0 votes. If one of these three does not go home tomorrow night, it's a weird, weird world. I'm beyond excited for an elimination show.

My new art is pretty ... ... wait, who's Art?

It's been a long time since I found something at the Tempe Festival of the Arts that I absolutely had to have. Today, I did. It's one of those cool painted windows, complete with the frame, containing an awesome little beach scene made of paint, broken glass, shells, rocks and some glitter. It's really quite fantastic. Of course, finding someplace to hang it was our (because Brian likes it, too) biggest issue. First, we thought, over the Cozy Chair, hanging in front of the window. That would have worked beautifully, if the one place I wanted to secure the hook had been an actual place to hang a hook.
Second spot I chose was in the hallway, over the plant stand. It is very visible from my bedroom, which is what I wanted, and I'm really happy with it right now. That place though, was taken by the Phoenix Art Museum's Monet piece. Monet had to be moved, and that is where the game really got intense.
Office? Hung it, tried it, hated it. Hallway? Hung it, maybe like it ... it's kinda big for that spot, and I think it'll do okay ... at least until Mom arrives in a couple weeks and "suggests" a new place. Mickey and Pluto had to be moved from the hallway into the office, which bothered Sydney just a little bit, but she got over it and decided that Mickey's new place was okay ... again, until Mom finds someplace better for it.
From my place here on the bed, I can see the new art, which I LOVE, and the Monet in the hall, which I am still getting used to in that space. Maybe tomorrow I'll have an epiphany about a difference place to put that one.

Book vs. movie, a timeless tug-of-war

I chose The Broker, by John Grisham. I picked it myself, relying on no one but me ... and my anal retentive tendencies towards making everything look better. Since the Grisham book was the only paperback on the shelf, it looked weird. Without it on the shelf, the books are more uniform in height, appealing to my ridiculous visual requirements. I take it as a good sign that I'm a couple dozen pages in, and I actually debated tonight between reading and watching a movie.
I chose the movie, which is not to say that I didn't want to read, but instead, that I was more interested in getting the movie out of my house and back to Netflix. You see, it was two resolutions warring -- being true to Netflix versus the one-book-a-month reading requirement. The movie, I knew, would get caught up in the non-mail on Sunday, so I figured that I might as well get it in the post tomorrow.
I watched The Time Traveler's Wife. It was good. Actually, better than I thought it would be. I enjoy though, putting a random flick in the DVD player while I'm dicking around online at night. Kind of a several birds with one stone thing. All the farming, e-mailing and reading done while still taking in the movie. I love multi-tasking!!

If you get it, you get it; if not, well, sorry

BAP! ~ Okay, the weirdest thing. I can not, for the life of me, decide which book I should read next. I have six or seven books resting on my bookshelf, and I'm deliberating over which I should grace with my eyes and brain. Only one is a book of romance, or "lady porn," and the rest are mysteries. One is the true story of an adventurer who traveled to South America, I think I'm remembering that right, and then disappeared. I'm intrigued by each of them, but can't make a decision. I tried to get Sydney to choose one for me, but she wouldn't have any of it.
SMASH! ~ I think I'm going to start wearing mascara every day. My InStyle magazine may have changed my life this month. I saw a thing about how, sometimes, just a bit of mascara is enough to carry through the day. Also, I saw a delicious pair of wedge heels that I must possess for the summer. Should I wear wedge heels this summer? I think so! Also, the Reebok workout shoes look like they'll be more comfortable than my Skechers (the truth of that is TBD).
THWACK! ~ Does anyone else think that a lot of this health care debate, and the fires its flaming, can be blamed a lot on misinformation? I feel like if the politicians and the media were a bit more informed themselves, they would say intelligent things, and the people wouldn't be so irate, violent, and irrational in their fears. I don't claim to know much involved in this newest legislation, but I do know that the behavior of the citizens and politicians alike have made me long for residence somewhere other than here. I can't imagine that any bit of legislation is strong enough to be the bringer of the country's destruction. People should stop acting like it is.
CRASH! ~ Anyone have a Hawaii quarter? That is the last quarter in the State Series, and it is the only one missing from my collection. I keep hoping that it'll turn up, as the others have all done, but it should have been floating around for a while, and we still don't have one. It's not a obsessive thought in my head daily, but it does float through the brain every time I see a pile of quarters. I need the Hawaii quarter. Without it, how will Sydney be able to sell it for concert money?
BAM! ~ I have abandoned my NCAA basketball bracket. I have Kentucky winning the tournament, which could still happen, but my everyday maintenance of the program has dwindled a ton. I really don't care. No ASU, no interest. No winning teams in my bracket, no interest!
POW! ~ While I don't care at all about Katherine Heigl leaving Grey's Anatomy (is anyone even watching that show anymore?), I am mildly intrigued, in a train wreck way, by the Jesse James/Sandra Bullock affair stuff going on. I hate to see an actress I like suffering personally, but I'm fascinated by how, once one woman is called out for having an affair with a celebrity, all the other women he may or may not have slept with are all, "Hey! I had sex with him, too! Interview me! I can tell you if he's got a freckle on his penis!" It's both fascinating and disgusting.

Sometimes, peer pressure is a good thing

I fed a giraffe today. It was really pretty cool. There's a giraffe encounter place at Phoenix Zoo, and, honestly, I got peer pressured into participating. It costs $3 per person to feed the animals, and I only had $5 total, so had to borrow a buck from Nicole. Lack of cash is usually why I avoid the activity. All the same, today, so many moms got in line, Sydney got excited about it, so I was sucked in, too. We waited our turn, got our guide, Mike, to lead us onto the platform, and then were given our lettuce leaves, and what I could only guess is a bit of Giraffe Protein Pellet. When it came down to it, Sydney freaked and wouldn't go near the giraffe. There's a line that you are not permitted to cross, since the giraffes can reach the food from your hand when you're behind it. I stepped up, as I do, and fed the giraffe its protein pellet. Giraffes have really long, really dark black tongues that feel a lot like a dog's tongue when it brushes your finger. Super cool.

Animals that, in my life, I have hand fed:
Giraffe
Horse
Goat
Squirrel
Blue Jay
Rabbit
Hamster
Parakeet -- I know that feeding Humphrey totally shouldn't count, but my goodness, he was the frickin' coolest bird ever.
Turtle
Duck
Fish
Kangaroo

Definitely random

I'm pretty pleased that there wasn't any Dancing with the Stars results show tonight. I'm still dealing with the after-effects of last night, and I don't think I could have handled any more glitter, fringe and sequins this evening.
Random accomplishments for the day:
1.) I finally bought some reusable cloth grocery store bags. Thank goodness they come in stylish colors. I was able to choose a basic black bag, rather than the green (which I actually liked better, but didn't see until we were leaving the store), blue (which was too bright), and the pink (which, surprisingly, was kinda zebra striped).
2.) I have now finished my second straight day of no fried foods being consumed. No french fries, fried cheese, waffle fries, hamburgers or anything that is really, really yummy.
3.) I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill, in my workout Skechers. Honestly, I got sweatier on the treadmill today than I have on the elliptical lately. This also could be because I haven't worked out in more than a week, due to the cold and general ickiness.
4.) I didn't do any shopping, except the grocery store. A happy checking account begets a happy life.

The return of the ballroom

Brian has decided that I hate him on Monday nights from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Arizona time). This is the only time period in which I am utterly and completely in control of both televisions in the house. Bedroom television: DVR recording both Dancing with the Stars and Life Unexpected. Living room television: DVR recording Chuck, and watching DWTS. There is a logic here. I simply can't sit and watch four hours of necessary television that I don't start until 8:30 p.m. (I include Castle in that four hours. Chuck waits for tomorrow during school hours.) The kicker is that the first hour of DWTS, Chuck and Life Unexpected all fall during that 7 to 8 hour, requiring the use of both DVRs. I watch DWTS in the living room because that gives me an hour jump on the DVR backlog, but also because I want Sydney to develop an affection for this ridiculous show. In my dreams, we will, some day soon, watch and squeal and giggle through it together. Because of this monopoly over the televisions, my own TV-obsessed spouse has nowhere to settle down and watch his own combination of Discovery, History and sports programming. He said to me tonight, "Why do you hate me?" I said, "Whatever, but okay. Yes. Monday nights, from 7 to 8, you may think that I hate you."

My Dancing with the Stars voting (11 votes allowed):
Chad Ochocinco ~ 2 votes. I follow Ochocinco on Twitter, and appreciate his honesty, forthrightness, and love of McDonald's. I had heard that he would be a surprise. I'm agreeing. I like him a lot already.
Shannen Doherty ~ 2 votes. I always thought that Doherty got the short end of the stick when it came to her press coverage. I actually loved her on Beverly Hills, 90210 (Brenda and Dylan 4-Ever), and Charmed. I like her emotional connection to the show because of her dad. Votes!!!
Evan Lysacek ~ 2 votes. I know that this show is all about the gold-medal winners, but these votes go strictly to Lysacek's partner, Anna Trebunskaya. I swear, she's been on this show since the beginning, and has been shafted with bad partners. I want her to win. Her accent, and sassy attitude, are AWESOME.
Erin Andrews ~ 1 vote. She's cute, but this vote is all about Maksim, her partner. He's my DWTS boyfriend.
Jake Pavelka ~ 1 vote. Another vote for the professional partner. In this case, it's Chelsie. She's too cute.
Pamela Anderson ~ 1 vote. Damn, I have no idea how to process Miss Anderson. She is a whole mess of crazy, from the toss of her hair and the boobs to the crazy do-me eyes she tosses at the camera whenever it's on her. She's going to be my train wreck for this season. I must see what she does every week ... until I grow tired of her ... then I'll have to vote her off.
Niecy Nash ~ 1 vote. This girl is awesome for more than one reason, but the one I'll tell you about here is that she had a bite of cheeseburger on national television, and then delighted in it. Okay, also because she said "jiggly bits."
Nicole Scherzinger ~ 1 vote. I can't stand the Pussycat Dolls, but she's going to be good to watch for the next couple weeks.
Buzz Aldrin, Aiden Turner and Kate Gosselin ~ 0 votes. I'm sure Turner can be a better dancer, but really, the ABC tendency to give us an ABC soap star every season bugs me. I irrationally take this out on Turner tonight. Also, Gosselin and Aldrin were awful.

The weekend in three points

1. We did buy and watch New Moon yesterday. What I liked about it was that both Brian and I were okay with fast-forwarding through the boring parts. What I didn't like was that I was suddenly bored with the way Edward and Bella stared at each other. Last night, I found myself, honestly, rolling my eyes. Teenagers and vampires are SO DRAMATIC.
2. Brian, Sydney and I looked at bikes today. We might actually buy some next weekend. Don't laugh. It has been decided though that with my bike, we'll get a trailer rather than a sit-behind seat. We don't really want me to be responsible for both of us on the bike, instead of just me, who can fall off a bike at any time due to faulty balance issues. I shall keep you updated on that.
3. I like it better when Sydney naps during the day, but when she doesn't, this going right to sleep at night without any drama thing is AWESOME.

"New Moon" on Saturday

I'm not going to hide this from you: I will be among those people at Target tomorrow buying my copy of New Moon. I read the books, as I vaguely remember mentioning on the blog here, and didn't dig them too much. Actually, I totally liked the first three. The fourth? Meh. But what should be noted is that I am enjoying the movies much more. (Fun fact to embarrass my husband: he likes them a lot, too. He'll be in line with me tomorrow, and we'll probably watch the movie tomorrow night.)
I think my preference for the films relies completely on the fact that, in the movies, you don't hear a whole lot from Bella's inner monologue. In the books, Bella (the main female character) whines quite a bit. She borders on the ridiculous, with the amount of whining she rolls with throughout the day/night. You can tell she is a teenager because of all the DRAMA in her life. Every little thing is worthy of uppercase letters, and in case you missed it, she'll throw in an italic for good measure. The movies though, don't dwell on any of that. That's the beauty of a movie, it's all about the eyes, and not so much the inner workings of the mind.
New Moon is the second of the Twilight films; the first being called, conveniently, Twilight. The third film, Eclipse, is scheduled for release June 30. I'm very intrigued to see how the fourth film (Breaking Dawn) comes out, since it was my least favorite of the four books.

A sore, icky throat? Really?

I'm finding it impossible to really believe this, but I think I'm getting sick again. I've had a runny nose ever since I arrived in California. That's not the bad. The bad is the ickiness in my throat. I've been having this random, weird cough all day today, and it's pissing me off. It's kinda phlegmy, actually, not that I really wanted to share that. If it lasts as long as Sydney's continuing cough, I may be dealing with this for some time. So that will, no doubt, be a recurring theme in blog posts for the next several days. Sorry.
Also, holy crap, I'm tired.

The hand of truth

I write important notes on my hand. If I had a super-big hand, it still wouldn't have enough space for all the stuff rolling through my head right now.
Written on the thumb: PARK -- Getting up early to meet Nicole and Ella at the park in the morning.
Index finger: TARGET -- Go to Target after the park for a list of stuff, including, but not limited to, tissues, king pillow for decor sham, and another swimsuit for Sydney.
Middle finger: PBK -- Visit my local Pottery Barn Kids, i.e., awesome baby store, for a gift for Megan's shower on Sunday.
Ring finger: PACK -- Bags must be packed for the trip to California this weekend.
Pinky finger: BATHS -- Everyone needs to be sure to get clean so we can make an early start on Saturday morning. Up and out of the house at 7 a.m.? Yikes!!
Palm of hand (upper): SNACKS -- Only a ridiculously foolish mom takes off with a toddler in the backseat for a lengthy road trip without plenty of snacks and munchies. Let's add toys for the backseat in this category, too.
Palm of hand (lower): GOOD HUMOR and REST -- It's always best to hit the road with a positive attitude, and with bright eyes. Here's to a decent night's sleep and a sense of humor come Saturday morning!
Forehead: STARBUCKS -- That is all.

I couldn't find a "Kimberly"

I got a ticket today. A member of the city's finest pulled me over this afternoon, and not for a moving violation. Apparently, the registration on my car expired on January 31. Expired tags, and a California driver's license, earned me a ticket, rather than a warning. Honestly, I had no idea the tags had expired. I never got the renewal; either it didn't get mailed to me at all, or it got lost in the mail. The police officer figures that, between my moving last year and the Cali license, the Arizona DMV had no idea where to send the renewal. I distinctly remember changing the address on the DMV's web site after we moved, so was confused as to why I didn't get the renewal, but that's neither here nor there. The cop (I'll call him that here, since it's faster to type that than "police officer" every time I refer to him) took my license, current insurance (thank goodness I had that!!), and expired registration and headed off to his car. No doubt all kinds of identity and background searches ensued within the vehicle, because he was in there for 20 minutes or so. Sydney told me at this point, "Mommy, he's never coming back." I disagreed, but she kept arguing that. Finally, he came back ... with the ticket.
The general consensus is that, if I had an Arizona license, I probably would have gotten off with a warning. But, with the Cali license that I told him I did not want to give up, he, for whatever reason, decided I needed an actual ticket. These infractions are not moving violations, so they do nothing to my license or insurance. They do, however, piss me off. Not the registration, because obviously, that's my bad, and if the renewal showed up, I would have paid it. That's not the kind of thing that I just choose to not pay. No, I am pissy and agitated over giving up the California driver's license. I always said that I wouldn't change that license until all I had to change was its address. That we still live in a rental property is an argument that I am still in temporary housing. Mom's address is my only permanent place of residence (only for a long weekend every couple months notwithstanding), so that is where the license should be, right? Someone back up this logic!!
The registration is taken care of (as well as my new personal license plates! Yay!!), so that's a good thing. Also, it should be noted that the address was correct in their system. I have no idea why I didn't get the renewal for my tags. Damn it. Fine for the expired tags: $139, with proof of valid registration. Fine for "Failure to update address on license": $140, as best as I can tell, according to the pamphlet. Brian made me promise to get my new Arizona license tomorrow. Add in the registration itself, plus the new plates: $375. Brian currently argues that my stubbornness over the Cali license is now costing us about $600. I say no, that this whole thing is merely an irritation. I also wonder if it's possible to just pay the fine for the license, "forget" to make the change, and hope that they don't follow up with me.

Aren't there, you know, A LOT of Lindsays?

You know how that one thing happens that can turn you against a person forever? You know how everyone has their celebrity pet peeve? My list of "Celebrities Who Bug Me" is relatively short, though distinguished, including Beyonce, sometimes Jennifer Lopez, John Leguizamo, James Cameron, and one or two others.
Today, my list was lengthened by one: Lindsay Lohan. Today, word came out that Lindsay Lohan and her attorney have filed suit against E-Trade, the online financial company, for their Super Bowl ad, in which the babies who talk about trading referred to one of their own -- a baby -- as a "milkaholic" named "Lindsay." Lohan and her attorney contend that the ad takes a swipe at Lohan herself, and her well-documented issues, which have included drinking. The suit is for $100 million for using her name and issues for the benefit of the ad.
"Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit," Lohan's lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, said in a statement to the New York Post. "They're using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn't they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody's talking about it and saying it's Lindsay Lohan."
First of all, Lindsay Lohan is hardly a one-name celebrity. Honestly, is she drunk right now, comparing herself to Oprah, Madonna, Elvis or Whoopi? Second, I haven't heard anyone talking about the ad and how it is supposed to be a poke at Lohan. Who really cares about this that isn't Lohan or the attorney that is charging $750 an hour for this suit? Third, talking babies tend to freak me out. Fourth, well, let's hear from the ad people:
The spokesperson for Grey Group, which produced the "milkaholic" commercial, said that they "just used a popular baby name that happened to be the name of someone on the account team."
To Lohan's "legal team": This seems pretty easy to prove or disprove. Check to see if there's a Lindsay on the ad team, then drop it. You're bugging me. To Lohan: Get over yourself.

Olympic gloves in Arizona: PRICELESS

Let me just start off by saying this: My mom is awesome.
I got a good-sized yellow envelope in the mail today. I was stumped, of course, but especially by the Canadian return address. I had no idea who these people were, and what intrigued me even more was the mailing label, upon which the word "gloves" was listed under its content space. Right there, in the middle of my driveway, I opened this envelope. Springing forth from the open envelope was a red, knit bundle of happiness. I looked again at the return address. Again, no idea who these people were, but they became, all of a sudden, the best people on the planet. I thought that maybe they read about my need for these mittens on the blog here, or somehow from my Facebook page -- creepy instances that freaked me out a bit. But first, I thought to call Brian and Mom. Brian wasn't able to chat, but I knew that Mom would be the key to this mystery, since stuff like this just doesn't happen without her fingerprints on it somewhere. So when she called me back, I was all questions. Minutes into the call, she admitted to making the purchase on eBay (which was why she didn't immediately recognize the name on the return address label), and knew that they would be arriving soon.
Um, this is just a fantastic story, isn't it??!!
The mittens are warm, wonderfully red, and make me smile every time I look at them. I've worn them quite a bit this evening. Ridiculous, yes, but still, a warm, happy, fuzzy feeling.
Brian got home, and having noticed the frustrated "kid needs to go to bed" look on my face, and the relaying of the latest Daisy-stealing-food-from-the-table story, he said to me, "Wow, if it hadn't been for those Olympic mittens, someone may have been dead here tonight."

Earthquake destruction: bad

We watched the movie 2012 tonight. I don't like these kinds of movies, even though I do. It's always good to see stories about the strength of the human spirit. Also, it's always good to see John Cusack, Oliver Platt and Danny Glover. But this also, is another argument for the positives of living in the middle of the country. Washington, D.C. destroyed; Los Angeles destroyed. The middle of the country was spared from the huge tsunamis bowling over the coasts.
Actually, the complete destruction of L.A. and its surrounding areas was disturbing enough for me to be clutching Brian's hand throughout that sequence. Ridiculous, yes, but still, a powerful enough earthquake could bring untold destruction. I like it better when stuff is destroyed by aliens, or volcanoes or something. Earthquakes really happen there.

Watching the "Parenthood"

I'm watching that Parenthood show right now. I recorded it from earlier in the week, and am just now sitting down to enjoy it. You know who drew me to it, is the actress Lauren Graham. I love her from Gilmore Girls, and was so excited to see that she was attached to another television show. But there are a ton of recognizable faces on this show.
Currently though, it's being presented to me with limited commercial interruptions by Nissan, which also ferries families around. Not at all lost on me are the commercial breaks bursting with, yes, Nissan ads, but also with ads for the show ... Parenthood. Weird? Seems like a lost opportunity to promote other shows, like Chuck, who need the extra attention.
I'm about done with it now, and think I'll be keeping it on my viewing rotation. The last thing in the world I need is another show to watch, as I am being drawn into the world of Dancing with the Stars against my will, but I'll work on this one. I'm still bummed that I let The Good Wife get away from me over the last several months. I need more hours in the day to watch television, you know ... more hours.

Actually, I'm pretty gleeful

I'm in a nervous snit right now. One of my favorite shows, the awesome Glee, is hitting the road for a national, (though) four-city, tour in May of this year. The cities are Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and ... wait for it ... Phoenix. This could be, quite possibly, one of the coolest things to ever happen to this town. I love that this is happening here! The show in Phoenix is on May 18. Tickets, I've heard and read, go on sale March 12. But for those of us with American Express cards, pre-sale tickets should be available tomorrow morning. This sounds great, but I've got to tell you, I can't find the Phoenix show even listed on the Ticketmaster web site. Does this mean that they were lying about the Phoenix show? No, all indications and press releases still list Phoenix. The only pre-sale tickets on the site are for New York and L.A. Does this mean that us people in Phoenix and Chicago are out of luck so far as getting pre-sale tickets? Perhaps. But I'm getting super nervous about this not happening for me, and Katy, and Lisa, and Brian -- though he doesn't think he's really going to go with us.
Actually, now that I've spent some time thinking about it, and again realizing that the pre-sale also didn't include Chicago, I'm feeling a little less insecure about the lack of listing on Ticketmaster. I've signed up for the alert for both Glee and the Dodge Theater, where the show will be performed. I am so excited about this concert!!

Not that I'm really eager for the heat

Our summer is coming together lately, and we may just have an awesome one, despite the fact that we live here in the frickin' heat of the desert. First, the grassy knoll in the backyard is looking good, though it'll still be several days before it's lush and beautiful. Still, it's on the mend, and I'm really pleased with how we have refurbished our yard. Second, Sydney had her first swim lesson this afternoon, and she totally loved it. In fact, as we left the building, she asked if we could go back to swim school, "right now." She really enjoyed it, and didn't seem to mind at all that I was behind the window, just watching. I like that she felt comfortable without me, and with the new teacher. Let's see how next week goes, but this was a fantastic start. Third, a lot of Sydney's summer clothes from last year are fitting her this year. We put a pair of shorts on her this afternoon and they fit just fine around the waist still. I'd like to have a couple pairs of her capris from last summer hemmed up to shorts though. Also, this won't stop me from getting her a new pair (or three) of shorts this summer. Fourth, my new assertion that we will do more, as a family, this year is foremost in my plans. Going outside is always a sketchy proposition during the summer, as it's hot as hell outside, but I really want us to do some good family-style things.
Like I said, our summer is off to a good start.

Not at all a masterpiece

I'm tired. I had every intention of writing a spectacularly witty blog post tonight, but then got sidetracked by a movie that Brian and I have been wanting to sit and watch. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't started until 10 p.m., and rolled straight through to 11:45 p.m. Leaving me exactly 45 minutes less, to do anything that I wanted to get done this evening. (That was a random sentence. Read it a couple times and it'll make better sense.) Anyway, here I sit on the bed jamming out an incomprehensible post that, tomorrow morning, I'll stare at and shake my head in shame.
Good night!

Catch you on the flip side, DWTS

Dancing with the Stars announced its cast for the tenth season tonight. It is unimpressive. Like I just said on Amy's Facebook page, there is maybe a single "star," or two, who I am at all interested in seeing on the program.
I think I may need to bow out of the viewing of the show again.
Here are the stars that will be premiering on the show March 22:
* Evan Lysacek, Olympic gold medalist in men's figure skating. We just saw him struggling through a skating routine with snakes wrapped around his torso. Now, he'll be dancing.
* Pamela Anderson, actress. Wow. What, on earth, are those costume designers going to put on her?
* Chad Ochocinco, football player. I follow Ochocinco on Twitter, and find him to be funny, honest and sometimes funny. He and Lysacek are the stars I'd maybe like to see.
* Aiden Turner, required ABC soap star.
* Erin Andrews, ESPN broadcaster. Another bit of Disney nepotism.
* Shannen Doherty, actress. I prefer her on Charmed.
* Buzz Aldrin, really old former astronaut. He's, like, 80. I'm afraid he'd have a heart attack, honestly.
* Niecy Nash, actress.
* Nicole Scherzinger, a Pussycat Doll. I'm going to sound old right now, but the idea of a Pussycat Doll a bit offensive.
* Kate Gosselin, mom of eight.
* Jake Pavelka, former Bachelor.
This cast is bad, I think, for my head. There are too many people I don't care about, and too many I do know of, but am not interested in seeing on my television once a week. There's too much oddity here for me to get obsessive about it. Too much ... potentially upsetting crazy in one space. Yeah, I think I'll pass on this season.

Who's that on the grassy knoll?

I don't think I told you that Brian and I did a good amount of yard work this past weekend. We spent the before-the-rain hours of Saturday morning laying soil, re-seeding and fertilizing our lawn in the backyard. You'd be proud of us. While Brian aerated the soil, I was able to take the time to trim up the bougainvillea along the interior wall of the yard. Once he finished, he poured out the soil while I (on my hands and knees!!) spread the soil evenly over the space. NOTE: We did have to go to Home Depot at this point to get more soil. The guy who helped us originally had no idea how much soil this would take. On his advice, we bought one bag initially; it ended up taking four bags to cover our ACREAGE. Having spread the soil, Brian did the seeding, and then we spread out the fertilizer. To keep a lot of the birds out, we then spread more soil atop the layers.
From then and for the next two weeks, it's all about water, water, water. The soil and seeds must stay moist, so we're to water the space three times a day. Our lives this month are about watering the grass. Hence, the gardener-with-watering-can avatar. I'm really pretty excited about having a green lawn again.
The general consensus though, is that I over-watered the grass last spring, summer and fall, which accounts for the unhealthy look of it towards the end of the summer and into the fall. I'll certainly be mindful of that going forward into the grassy months of this year.