I'll take grumbling for $200, Alex

I shared a couple links on my Facebook tonight, and while one is awesome, the other made me go "ugh."
I will grace you with the headlines only: "Internationally acclaimed barrister Amal Alamuddin marries an actor." ... "Jeopardy had a 'What Women Want' category and it was unbelievably sexist."
Again, one makes me smile because it's perfect. The other makes me fear for the future of my gender, as well as the gender that seems to think it knows better. One values women as members of society. One reduces them to tropes. One embraces individuality. One lumps all women into a single-minded group.
I'm at once pleased and horrified by the news of the day. *sigh*

And then television went "meh"

I gotta say, a couple of my shows are disappointing me at the beginning of the season here.
Tonight's Castle, for instance, was all ripe with emotional issues and no logical thinking. Sure, Castle was kidnapped from his wedding, but also, the evidence showed that he may have been involved. It didn't make any sense at all, and Beckett was all into believing the worst, which was super unattractive on her. And now the show runners have created a way to separate the lead characters with a contrived situation, that forces them to rebuild the emotional stakes of the relationship. And that, after what, seven years, is super boring. I hate rolling my eyes when watching a show, but Castle made me do it five or six times within the hour.
Am I the only person in the world that is not a fan of the Frozen arc on Once Upon a Time? I love the Elsa and Anna characters, don't get me wrong. I could watch Frozen a thousand times. But I am bored of them on Time. They are bugging me like no one's business. Once again, I found myself rolling my eyes more than I should have. When I seriously stop my brain halfway through a show and ask myself why I'm recording it, then I have to reconsider my television choices. What made me stay around? The Frozen arc will only last half the season, from what I understand. And Captain Hook, of course.
Can we talk about Hawaii 5-0? I am constantly blown away by how self-important this show is, and how it turns a basic police procedural into a national security situation. I mean, the villain this week was a guy who kidnapped a drone, which shot a whole lot of people, but was doing it so he could help a national fugitive escape via plane that landed on a Honolulu street. See? It's ridiculous. Another show that made me wonder at my DVR loyalty.
I won't pretend to even debate amongst myself whether I'll keep watching them. I will watch them. In fact, I'll probably give them the whole season to disappoint me. But I'll be okay with maybe leaving them at the end of the year.

Fresh air exists, and it can be cool, too

I didn't watch any football today. Not a stitch. Which is really great when it comes to justifying the cost of DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket. Of course, my Patriots aren't playing until tomorrow night, Monday Night Football, so there was no pressing reason to watch football today. Instead, we hung out in our pajamas until noon; bought a bike for Brian to ride in Tour de Fat next weekend; and played a video game. After Sydney went to bed, B and I watched Last Week Tonight, and the season finale of Ray Donovan.
All in all, it was a pretty perfect Sunday, even if I'm going a bit stir crazy in the house, and Sydney went to bed early tonight because of a slight fever.
But you know what else? The windows in my house are open right now, and will be all night. This last storm yesterday, ushered in the cooler nights, beginning this very evening. The temperature low tonight will be in the low 60s, which is frickin' awesome, and makes the use of an air conditioner pretty moot. It seems as though the cooler nights are here to stay for the rest of the year, and hopefully, well in to May. I miss open windows so much during the summer here. And tonight, I'm a very happy camper.

This month's goal just blew up

I was doing so well this month!! I'd posted to the blog every single night so far in September, until last night. Of course, we went out for Mom's birthday, and that was super fun, but I suppose I should have posted in the afternoon or something. Conceivably, I could post twice on another day this month, to ensure that there are 30 posts for a 30-day month, but that seems silly. No, I'll take this one on the chin and just have a 29-post, 30-day month. Which is fine.
I would say that I've got October, November or December to accomplish the A Post for Every Day goal, but I already know that I've got too much planned for October to be on the blog every night. And November and December, as holiday months, are a wash when it comes to consistency on the blog.
But I wouldn't mind hitting 300 posts for the year, like last year. So I guess that will be my goal for the end of the year, in regards to the blog.
BUT ALSO, I'm getting kinda excited to decorate the house for Halloween next week. Breaking out the orange and black decoration bins soon!!

Ginger, the best spice in my life

One day when I was in college, I received a card in the mail from Mom to cheer me up, and give me a dose of love from home. She had sent one of those recordable cards, and the recording truly was something awesome. It was Ginger, barking for me. I think this was about 20 years ago.
I kept that card, though it hasn't worked in several years. But a few weeks ago, when I sorted through my desk drawers separating the gold from the garbage, I found it and was taken with the desire to see the card working again. On the back of it was a sentence that said that the recordings were permanent, even if the batteries died. Of course there were batteries. So I dismantled the card as best I could without destroying it, and finally discovered the battery compartment.
Mom and I replaced the batteries this week, and we've been enamored with the card since. It is so heartwarming, and heartbreaking, to be able to hear her voice, all sassy and barking, whenever we want. (All the boy dogs in my house are intrigued whenever it plays, too.)
Goodness gracious, it's a trip. She was such a love, and was such a huge part of our lives for so long. It's sweet and amazing to hear her again.

I think my parachute is ... red? Is that okay?

Mom bought me a copy of What Color is Your Parachute? today. It's a motivational book, to help me in my search for a job, but also to help me come to terms with myself and my psychological state, I think. If it does this, that'll be great. If it does half of this, that's good, too.
It'll be an intriguing hike down that particular trail when I get to it.

Team Gwen, Adam, Pharell and Blake

Alright, so my mother is getting me hooked on a new reality show right now, which is weird, because the woman doesn't watch, like, any television. But here we are, watching The Voice together, and I'm getting into it. Of course, I love Gwen Stefani and Adam Levine. Blake Shelton has been cracking me up on Jimmy Fallon's show whenever he's on. Pharell is super insightful. The banter is fantastic, and they're all making me laugh.
I think I'm going to be setting the series record on this one, for now. I reserve the right to change my mind, but for now, the blind auditions have me all kinds of sucked in. And you all know how I feel about reality television. I am not at all excited about admitting defeat here, because I'm super stubborn. But this is pulling me in like no one's business. And goodness gracious, there's more on tomorrow night. I'll set the DVR.

So very tired. So very, very tired

You know when you're so tired that everything you do feels like it's in a fog?
Yeah, that.
I was able to take an hour-long nap this afternoon, and it didn't even scratch the surface on my tiredness. My head's all swimmy right now, and I can feel my body gravitate to the bed, imploring my head to lay down "just for a couple minutes." It's like a super tired episode of Just the Tip.
I'm calling it: Time of sleeping, 10:30 p.m.

It's time for TV to be awesome again

All the new television starts next week. And I'm getting super excited to see what happens next, and to see what new shows may gain my loyalty ... for a while. And because I'm that person, I took my Entertainment Weekly and my day planner and marked out all the premieres I wanted to be sure to see. And then I took the calendar to the TV, and set up the DVR, to be sure I didn't miss anything.
So, starting Monday, my blogging and nighttime computer work will once again battle for priority with the TV and my awesome shows. Which, truth be told, is the way it always should be, and the way I prefer it.

Baby turtles! Baby turtles!

I took Ollie to the vet this morning, and he's all good and almost perfectly healed. Still some more anti-inflammatory for the next couple days, but we can start introducing some activity. In fact, I made him walk up the stairs by himself tonight.
Anyway, the vet has a couple desert tortoises in an outdoor, halfway enclosed space along some full-size windows in the waiting room. The space is super cool, and the tortoises looked like they were really happy.
I love this pic that I found online though, because it never occurred to me how tiny and cute a baby tortoise is. There are so many here, and I think they're awesome. I'm thinking about cropping the top out (sorry, mom tortoise) and making the babies into the cover photo for my Facebook page. They amuse me with their adorableness.

Just another manic Thursday

ITEM!: I rolled on my ankle yesterday on my hike, and it's a bit swollen. I'd take a picture of it and post it, but the swelling isn't that big, and there's no coloring at all, and I haven't shaved my legs in a while. I'd rather you all didn't see my stubble, if that's okay. Anyway, I won't be hiking tomorrow, since I need to take Ollie to the vet, but I figure that's a better thing, since it'll give it more time to heal. And I'll be all ready to drag Mom out with me next week.
ITEM!: Speaking of Oliver, he's feeling quite better, though still not as well as I'd like. Finally today, he jumped up on the sofa and rolled onto his back to nap. He hadn't rolled onto his back since before he hurt himself, so this was a super positive sign, I think. We're off to have his back checked again, to ensure that his twinge is no longer. We may have to take the anti-inflammatory for another week, but we'll see what the doctor says.
ITEM!: I have a mosquito bite on the juicy fat on the back of my upper right thigh. It is ... annoying. It's in the worst place ever, since my pants rub against it and make it itch more, and also because every time I touch it I'm reminded how much fat I have back there. I am more than irritated with the amount of mosquitoes hanging out in Arizona lately. I thought our super dry climate kept such bugs at bay, and usually it does, but the weather and humidity we've suffered through lately is a breeding ground. And Oliver allowed one in the house tonight while he took his damn time coming through the door.
ITEM!: Our local sushi restaurant offers spicy crab and shrimp rolls, and they are delicious. I had such a yearning for them today, and Brian indulged me, and I'm still hungry for them. I ate two plates of them, and I could have easily had a third plate, had there been one. I want some now, and again for lunch tomorrow. Happily, they're super inexpensive, too, so that's an option. But really, it's not. I don't want to go there alone. But the rolls are calling me. They would be an awesome Midnight Snack.

Isn't it a starry night out?

I just read that Van Gogh painted his "Starry Night" based on the view of the night sky from his window in a mental institution. That is super intriguing to me. I love that someone in such circumstances, and I confess to being unaware of why he was in an institution (the ear thing?), could create such awesomeness when cooped up in what probably was not an awesome space at all.
There was an art project at the Children's Museum a few months ago, where it was asked that we draw our own version of "Starry Night" on some dark construction paper with pastels. I think my concentration on that task made me appreciate the piece even more. And all of a sudden, I really like it. I always found it disingenuous how all the college kids loved the piece, so stayed away from it with pure stubbornness. But redrawing those swirls, and getting the coloring exactly right, was virtually impossible, and I wasn't able to do it.
Mine is pretty good, but his is still better.

Some cake would have been perfect

I had meant to make a pineapple upside down cake today.
I had meant to bake it, but then I noticed the expiration date on the box. (Yes, it was going to be a BOX cake.) Anyway, the date was August 2012. That means that I actually moved this cake from Houston to Scottsdale. The depths of my potential baking pantry is amazing.
In looking at the box date, one would think it's probably not a good idea to make the cake. But for me, it actually meant that I needed to ask my mom if it's really expired. You'll be relieved to know that she confirmed that, yes, I should just toss out the cake because of all things crazy stale.
So, no cake. And that was it. Baking that cake was going to be my one truly productive thing for today, and that possibility was ripped out of my hands by time. Time robbed me of productivity, and a sweet snack.

Real or not? But definitely scary

This is the full-body x-ray of a 900-pound man.
Look at the amount of weight that his little skeleton is holding up, and moving, and supporting, throughout the day. The strength and agility of the human body is simply amazing. The fact that all those relatively little bones can hold up all that excess weight is a special feat of our incredible make up.
But let's bring this into perspective. Could you imagine having your own full-body x-ray like this? Oh my god, I'm sure I'd be horrified. I did a Body Mass Index test the other day, and I am already horrified at that number, so to see it in this kind of form would probably send me over the top, either into rapid weight loss, or depressive weight gain.
I found this picture online, of course, so I can't guarantee it's accuracy, but the caption was enough to scare me into saving it to my Blog Photos folder. That and the fact that it actually looks like it could be completely true.
I really do wonder what my picture would look like. I'm imagining it right now, with this dude as my template. Ugh. I'm just super glad that I went hiking on the trail today, or I'd already be seven feet deep into a shame spiral.

Happy Sunday, dolphin lovers

Most times, the love and devotion that I hold for my daughter can not be quantified. And then sometimes, it can be measured by the fact that I go see Dolphin Tale 2 on a Sunday afternoon during football season.
And contrary to the implication from that statement, I actually enjoyed it a bit, too. Only because dolphins are awesome, and it's nice to see Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman standing next to each other in a movie and smiling at a nice thing. And happy endings are good. And we really needed to get out of the house today.
So, Sydney got her "something fun" for the day, and I got to cry three times during an animal movie.

Hard boiling eggs is up for debate

I've been having some issues with my hard-boiled eggs. (YES, this post is going to be about hard-boiled eggs.)
I used to be very confident in my abilities to hard boil eggs, but lately, that confidence has been called into question. I was always taught to punch a hole in the eggs, put them in the water, bring the water and eggs to a boil, let them boil for 10 to 15 minutes, and then pull them out and refrigerate. The 10 to 15 minutes has always been rather vague, but I erred on the side of over-cooked, and went with 15 minutes. But in asking Mom, she said 10.
Lately, the eggs have been really hard to peel, and more times than not, there is a thin layer of egg white that sticks to the shell, and is impossible to remove. The egg white itself, which is the only part that Sydney eats, is thereby lessened because of this. I'm struggling.
Coincidentally, Real Simple magazine published a guide to preparing soft- and hard-boiled eggs this month. In the article, the author suggested a couple changes to my routine. The first change was to lower the eggs into the water when it's already heated to a gentle simmering. The eggs start cooking immediately, and you can start your timing immediately. For hard-boiled eggs, the article says 11 minutes. The rest is eggs.
I tried these directions tonight, and we'll see how they do tomorrow morning for Sydney's breakfast.

p.s. I just did a web search for pics of hard-boiled eggs, and found no less than very many different recipes for hard boiling eggs. Tellingly, I haven't found any of them that advocate the hole punch in the egg shell. Also, they suggest adding some salt to the water to help with the peeling. Also, they say to turn off the burner once the water begins to boil, and let the eggs cook in the hot water for 15 minutes. Then, cool them and refrigerate. That's interesting. I'll definitely try it that way with the next batch. PERFECT EGGS ARE ELUSIVE.

Television is coming! Television is coming!

Two things:
1. I'm super proud of Brian and I for not buying the new iPhone at midnight last night. Don't get me wrong, we both really, really want the new phones, but a lack of discretionary funds for the phones stopped us. And more than anything, we let the lack of funds stop us. Isn't that a grown-up decision? In the past, we've been quick to throw down the cash from savings, or wherever we could scrape it together, to get the newest phone. With this one, we're relatively comfortable waiting a while until we can pick them up. The itch is there though, and it's a deep one.
2. My Entertainment Weekly Fall TV Preview arrived in the mail this afternoon, and I've already studiously read through it and made notes as to which shows to schedule for watching. It's fun because I treat this particular issue like a toy catalog, where I read about the show, and turn the corners on the ones I'm exited about, and/or intrigued by. This fall looks like it will be a good one for television, and I may even add a few new shows to my little obsession list there on the left.
BONUS: I've decided, I think, that rather than the zen garden setting I wanted in my powder room downstairs, I'm going to go with flowers. A more Hawaiian feeling, with bright tropical colors, but still a relaxed atmosphere. I moved my favorite brightly colored vase, with some bright magenta silk roses in it, onto the bathroom counter, and I like it a lot. But the not-yet-bought bamboo accessories will still work well with this new direction. PROJECT AMENDED.

And the book pile is toppled

Well, I certainly did something to lighten my mental load today.
I purged my To-Be-Read Pile. And by purged, I mean I destroyed it. I cleared it out. I killed it.
I removed the last two books, which I wasn't too impressed with anyway, and put them in the library donations stack.
The Lions of Lucerne is the opening chapter into the incredibly prolific Scot Harvath series written by Brad Thor. While the back cover read interesting several months ago, I haven't been at all interested in reading it since I brought it home.
And while I liked the movie Divergent a whole lot, I was underwhelmed by the text in the book. I read through several pages today, and was bothered by the tone, cadence and style of the written words. The movies will be my only glimpse into that particular world. And I'm okay with that.
So, having finished Dan Brown's Inferno this evening, which I did not particularly enjoy, I have only one more book left that still needs to be read: The Book of Life, by Deborah Harkness, on my Nook. This is the third book in the series, and I'm looking forward to starting it tomorrow.
But you know what? My To-Be-Read Pile is empty. The top shelf of the bookcase is bare. There is space now where there seldom is some. Like I said, it's liberating. I wonder how long I can let it be like that.

The pen is mightier than the memory

I went to Target this morning with a sizable list. I remembered the dish soap, hand soap, face wipes, waffles, pita chips, toothpaste, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier on Blu-Ray. I was super pleased with myself for making my way through the store without buying anything that wasn't on the list. But did I remember everything? No. The awesomely eclectic secondary list on my kitchen counter right now is perhaps one of my most favorite lists ever.
COFFEE
TAMPONS
That's it. I remembered everything but those two things, when, if you think about them, are pretty important. But they somehow were relegated to the Mental List, instead of the Written List. The Mental List is notoriously shady. I don't know why I depend on it so often. Especially with my advancing age. Hence, today's Mental List has morphed into tomorrow's Written List.
The coffee is for Brian.

A productive Tuesday, to be sure

ITEM!: The new iPhone, the iPhone 6, was introduced to the world today, and I am damn glad to meet it. I look forward to adopting one, and making it an intimate member of the Apple family in my home. Brian would like to adopt the iPhone 6 Plus, with the larger screen. (Brian also would like an Apple Watch, so his Apple Wish List has gotten super long over the last few hours.) I can't wait to hold the new phone in my hands. Now accepting donations.
ITEM!: We finished painting the powder room! I say "we" because I had real help, not seven-year-old help. Brian is better with the roller, and I would rather have help than do it all by myself. It gets super hot in that bathroom, and it's better to have a second crew come in and finish up. But the color is fantastic, and the room itself is so much brighter now. Who picks a super dark red for a small bathroom? A dumb person, that's who. Now my lighter taupe makes that room so much better. I can't wait to hang art and put all the stuff back in there.
ITEM!: I finally get my house to myself for a few hours tomorrow. Brian was told to stay home on Monday due to the weather, and then they switched his day off from Wednesday to Tuesday. I've had my husband home with me for four days. After four days last weekend, too. I need this day to myself, but of course, it's also a short day for Sydney. Thursday and Friday can't come fast enough, my friends.

This red is ridiculous

And so the current project begins: I have started to repaint the downstairs powder room. Brian did his part by researching the primer issue (it was necessary), and picking up a couple new trays and a new roller brush. I have to tell you, the painting was a bigger pain than I thought it would be, but I'm getting super excited.
We finished the primer coat this afternoon, and I'll dig into the taupe-y color tomorrow morning. One coat tomorrow, the second coat on Wednesday morning. And then, it's all done with color, and on to the new stuff and redecorating it better! I'm super pleased to be accomplishing something this week.
Can you believe this red? Out of control color for a small powder room. Already, with just the white primer color on the walls, the bathroom looks larger and happier. Also, I ripped down the PURPLE window blinds, so the room is brighter, too.
I can't wait to dig into this thing and get it done and perfected. Well, as perfect as it can be until my on-staff interior designer arrives in a few weeks.

Emojis are taking over the world

ITEM!: Oliver seems to be feeling much better, which means that I am feeling much better. He's slept in bed with me the last couple nights, and is snoring alongside me right now. His back legs are stable again, and he's moving around a lot more. Of course, we'll continue his anti-inflammatory and pain pill regiment for the next several days, but I'd like to get him into the vet later this week to have his back checked again. I can't begin to tell you how scared I was, and how relieved I am now. That little man is among my everythings, and I am just not prepared to worry about his mortality.
ITEM!: Breaking news: We, as a family, had a social entertainment today! June texted me yesterday to ask if we all would like to come over to their house today and watch the Patriots game together. Her husband is originally from Boston, and is therefore a huge Pats fan. She knows we are too, so thought a good idea would be us hanging out and watching the game together. It was! We had a lovely day! Sydney and Miyuki played all morning, and all us adults enjoyed the game. Brian suggested that we get together next weekend for the next game. Oh my goodness, you guys, we may have made social friends today!
ITEM!: I did some work on the downstairs powder room, in preparing it for the repainting. The room is all painter taped up; and I took down the inexplicably full-size towel bar and repaired the holes in the wall. Sydney and I investigated the paint situation in the garage, and were delighted to discover one full gallon, as well as another mostly full gallon can of the paint we want for the room. All I need now is a tray, and maybe a roller (but I actually think I may have one in a bin in the garage). Also, I need to visit Lowe's tomorrow to check the paint I have, and to discern if I need a primer before I get started. In I-should-have-seen-this-coming news, Sydney would like to help with the painting.
ITEM!: I started on Dan Brown's Inferno yesterday, and I have to say, I'm not too impressed. I'm about 200 pages in, and will soldier through it because I feel like it definitely will get better, but I'm suffering right now. Random aside: I don't understand why the male protagonist and the brilliant female character that is working with him to unravel the mystery, must have some kind of romantic and physical attraction. They don't have anything in common except for their circumstance, and Brown just threw in this random "oh, she thought he was hot and had an unexplained sexual attraction to him" in the middle of a storyline that, frankly, doesn't need it. It smacked of Woody Allen movies, where Allen always casts beautiful young women to fall in love with him or a character similar to him, in that I figured Brown considers the Langdon character to be like him, and he wants every female in his books to think he's all that. It's distracted me from the severity of their situation, and that's irritating. This may be the reason why I'm not loving the book.
ITEM!: The smartest thing I've done lately is set my DVR to record NBC Nightly News every night. I enjoy the Brian Williams, for sure, but there's something super cool about being able to watch the national news whenever I want. In fact, here it is, 11:15 p.m., and I've just finished watching today's news. I feel better about knowing what's going on in the world, no matter the time. Yay DVR!

Bright, hot, flowing, and awesome

The one time we visited the big island of Hawaii was awesome. One of our most memorable adventures was a helicopter tour we took of the island's volcano, Mauna Kea. Mom and Howie and I flew out over the lava flow, checking out the damage the volcano had done, as well as seeing where the current flow was heading. We saw where the lava met the ocean, and witnessed the huge plumes of steam that rose from the hottest material on the planet meeting the water.
But most memorably, we hovered over the opening of a lava hole (I know that's not the exact term, but that's what I'm calling it) and saw the orange glow of the center of the earth in person. I had a seat by the window, and could feel the heat through the glass. I put my hand to the window, and felt it cook a bit from the ambient heat of being so close to the hole. One of my life's biggest regrets is that I didn't grab Mom's hand and make her feel the heat through the window, too, since she had the middle seat.
But more than anything, it was incredibly cool, and remarkably humbling, to see the core of the planet, realizing how small and insignificant people are in the planet's own history. I'll never forget that adventure, and I'm forever fascinated by that volcano and it's constant flow. So seeing the new images of the increased flow all over the Internets lately has been a curious delight for me. This pic, though from the recent activity, is exactly what we all saw that day all those years ago, and it continues to amaze me.

Bad sleep to encourage good sleep

It's never a good thing when I sleep downstairs on the Futon cushion. It is, predominantly, a dog issue that compels me to do it. Tonight is no different, as Oliver's current issues dictate my sleeping space.
My dearest dog decided to go ahead and tweak his back doing something, and is now on limited activity for the next several days. He's on an anti-inflammatory and pain pills, and is not at all allowed to go up and down the stairs. I know that he'd be perfectly fine sleeping down here, with Brian on the sofa, but I also know that he always sleeps better when he's with me. So tonight I move my bed downstairs, and prepare for a not-too-comfortable evening on the floor. Ideally, with him being all doped up, he'll sleep fine.
I won't lie, the fact that he's hurt his back, which is pretty much what happened to Daisy, is freaking me out. I am an absolute mess. But Oliver seems to be feeling better, as he's getting around better than yesterday, last night and this morning. Here's hoping he motors through this one with minimal recuperation time, and that he's perfect again at the end of it.
As for Brian and I, we sleep downstairs to be sure the old man sleeps well.

"The Boy Who Lived"

One of my dearest wishes as a mother was fulfilled tonight, and honestly, she probably doesn't even know how deeply affected I am. Get ready for it: We have started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone together. I've been waiting years and years and years to read these books with my kid, and tonight, it finally started.
I think she's ready for them, certainly for the first book, since it's the tamest of them all. But to be able to relive the Harry Potter experience, and through a pair of fresh eyes and ears, is a special treat. All I can hope is that she loves the books as much as Brian and I do.
If this doesn't kick start a real love of reading, I don't know what will.

What's black and white and delicious?

I have a new food obsession, and it is Kettle Brand's salt and fresh ground pepper potato chips. I tried them for the first time a couple months ago when Lisa brought them to the lake, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I mentioned them to Mom, who had already tried them, and also enjoyed them.
Of course, while doing her grocery shopping before we arrived at her house last weekend, Mom picked up a bag. And of course, we had too many other things to eat, so the bag was unopened. And of course, she sent the bag home with me, so now I've been eating these delicious bits of heaven all by myself.
Granted, I have been exhibiting some self control, because the bag still has chips in it. But they are so good, you guys, that I have to tell you all about them: They're kettle-baked potato chips with salt and fresh ground pepper, which is a fantastic idea I wish I had come up with. So, do yourself a favor, go get some. They're the best ever.

Lots of blouses and sweaters, don't you know

I avoid the dry cleaners. There is no rational reason for this, it's just the way of it. I've got stuff in my Dry Cleaning bag that's been in there for more than a year, and in some cases, two years. It's such a rare occurrence for me to go to the dry cleaners that I actually considered my going and picking up clothing as a Christmas present for Brian last year. Back when the dry cleaners would pick up and drop off the clothes at my work in Massachusetts is the last time I was prompt and efficient with the dry cleaning responsibilities.
But I've decided to be a bit more proactive with the dry cleaning from now on. I have this weekend's clothes in a pile on the floor right now, and intend on taking them tomorrow. Other pieces (in the bag in the closet) will wait until next week, or the pickup day. And I will take better care.
I can honestly say that dry cleaning is one of the most random things for which I consistently drop the ball. Is it the high level of annoyance Brian gets out of my refusal to take care of such a thing? I'm going to say no to that, though his annoyance is very hilarious to me. Once again, I fall back on my She's Lazy reasoning. But no more. Dry cleaning be my bitch now.

There's a snake in my boot

And, we're home.
The California wedding weekend is over, and I need a couple days to sleep it off. I love that we're all getting to the point where we know it will take us more time than ever before to recuperate from a weekend of fun togetherness.
I'm super exhausted, but I really wanted to be sure I got the September avatar up and online. And because I'm living a pretty sedentary lifestyle this month, I thought I would go with the plains farming lady. My life will be more interesting than planting and tilling, but it'll all take place here in Arizona.
And you know what that means: random projects around the house all month! So maybe I'm more like a plains farming lady than I think I am.