Flutter by little butterfly

Stuff around my bedroom right now:
1. Bath towel hanging on the bedroom door. This is NOT normal. And it's bugging me. Not enough to get up and hang it in the bathroom, but enough to constantly catch my eye and make me cringe. [Update: I just got up and rehung the towel in the bathroom. Whew!]
2. Three different and distinct piles of clothing on my bed. One is clean and folded, waiting to be hung. One is clean, waiting to be folded and hung. The last is dirty, which needs to be in the hamper.
3. Magnet toy that goes with a DoodlePad. Sydney left it in here two days ago, and I've yet to get it back out into the toy bins.
4. Oliver. He's sleeping on the clean, unfolded clothing on the bed. He likes that. I'm not a fan of it though.
5. Daisy. She's sleeping on her side on the floor between the bed and my cozy chair.
6. Red Sox sweatshirt. It's Brian's, and it's laying on the chair back. It's sad.
7. Castle on my television. This is one of my very favorite television shows. Right now though, I think the female protagonist's hairstyle looks very much like Carol Brady's with the flippy.

My Dancing with the Stars voting (11 votes allowed):
Kelly Osbourne ~ 2 votes. I'm really loving her and her insecurities, which include an adoration of musical theater. The wigs are fantastic.
Mya ~ 2 votes. I don't know what little thing during their video montage tipped the scales entirely in her favor in my head, but it was something. Totally dug her, and the dance rocked. I think Kelly and Mya are my front runners.
Donny Osmond ~ 2 votes. These votes are purely tied to the crazy this guy brings to the dance floor. That, and the fact that he's the only male contestant worth anything on the show.
Joanna Krupa ~ 2 votes. I don't know why I'm liking her, but I am.
Michael Irvin ~ 1 vote. Bruno is mean to him, and that's not cool. I vote so I can give him confidence.
Mark Dacascos ~ 1 vote. I just like him. I like him to do well. And that jumping thing was pretty cool.
Louie Vito ~ 1 vote. I wish the judges were nicer to him, too.
Melissa Joan Hart, Natalie Coughlin, Chuck Liddell, Aaron Carter ~ 0 votes. No love for them.

Now, I don't feel guilty for not watching

I'm breaking up with Gossip Girl. There are two episodes sitting on my DVR, last week and this past Monday, and I have no desire or inclination to watch them. I've got so much television that I am drawn to watching either later that evening, or the very next day, that when I find myself almost avoiding a program, I think it must be time to let it go. It's not that I no longer love the characters. On the contrary, I am still totally into Blair and Chuck as a couple. It's the situations, and the plot lines, and the ridiculous issues in which they are all being randomly ensnared that are driving me batty. And the scoop on the future scenarios are making me nervous. It's never a good thing when I hear something about a show, and I actually, physically, roll my eyes. So sadly, I feel like I should break up with Gossip Girl. I'll keep recording the show, in case I change my mind and am just that bored this winter, but as of now, it's just going to hang out on my DVR.
Other shows I'm breaking up with: Heroes (I have no interest in this show at all anymore, but Brian makes me watch it with him), and Community (I started watching for Chevy Chase. He was not enough to keep me interested though).

Honey Nut Cheerios are better!

I've made a small change to my Special K diet ... I am no longer eating the Special K cereal. I bought the larger, family-size box of the Special K: Red Berries cereal. I noticed that, once the cereal level reaches about half, all the berries are gone. The way the cereal settles in the box, all the berries seem to rise to the top and the flakes dominate the bottom portion of the container. This is bothersome. I've never liked flakes-only cereal. They're so ... vanilla that way. Without the berries, the cereal is, well, icky. So here's my change: I'm going to start eating my own yummy Honey Nut Cheerios as my one cereal meal. My thought process is that it's not the cereal itself that is the diet's catalyst, but the removal of all the other garbage in my normal eating practices that are the biggest problem. Having made that mental realization, I'm going to roll with eating the cereal that I like better. It makes the "cereal meal" much more appetizing.
Dancing with the Stars news: Our favorite Republican contender, Tom DeLay, is bowing out of the competition, due to the two stress fractures in his feet (one in each). I feel bad for Cheryl Burke, his partner, but I'm sure that she probably figured she'd be out of the running for the mirrorball trophy by now anyway. In an effort to be "fair," the show "honored" the fans' voting and judges' scoring by continuing with business as usual, and eliminating the lowest vote-getter, Debi Mazar. Sadly, this also means the end of another one of my favorite professionals, Maksim Chmerkovsky.

Voting tonight

There's nothing wrong tonight. I just have little to nothing to be creative writing about. Ugh!

My Dancing with the Stars voting (13 votes allowed):
Kelly Osbourne ~ 2 votes. I don't like that she feels so insecure. She's so much better than this doubtfulness. I'm loving her!
Mark Dacascos ~ 2 votes. I wish he'd done better tonight. I like him!
Mya ~ 2 votes. Her dance tonight ... awesome.
Aaron Carter ~ 2 votes. I feel like her should get at least one pity vote for having to react off the Muppets last week. But really, I like him for the finals.
Debi Mazar ~ 1 vote. We got to see Mel B. and Maks in the same room again!!
Donny Osmond ~ 1 vote. What was all that kissing with Bruno thing? Oh, you mean that? That was shameless attention whoring.
Joanna Krupa ~ 1 vote. I actually didn't mean to vote for her.
Louie Vito ~ 1 vote. Loved, loved, loved him and Chelsie this week!
Natalie Coughlin ~ 1 vote.

Men behaving ... like crazy men

Okay, not to put too bad a spin on the men in this post, but really, dudes in the news are making themselves look crazy lately.
Case #1: Jon Gosselin. I am trying so hard to stay away from this, since I don't watch the show, and can only comment on the hysteria that is the family's tabloid life. The entire thing is a train wreck, and yes, those poor kids are caught in the middle of it. ... I will say though, that for all the screaming about the kids being so caught in the middle, I've yet to ever see them on the cover of a magazine. As far as I can tell, they're just kids going through their parents' divorce (granted, cameras; but that's something they're very, very used to). And a divorce is something that a whole lot of other kids have dealt with. ... Anyway, back to Gosselin. Since he and Kate are divorcing, he's been fired from the show, which now will be called Kate Plus Eight. And since he's no longer on the show, and therefore not getting a paycheck, Gosselin has suddenly had an "epiphany" and decided that the show is not good for his kids, and that it should be shut down. Suspect, yes? What the hell? Dude. You're not even living in the same state as your kids, have no real income of your own to provide for them, and now want to deny your soon-to-be ex-wife her only means to a paycheck to feed, clothe and take care of your children? Dick move.
Case #2: David Letterman. I like Letterman. I don't watch the show, but I've found him to be somewhat amusing, fascinatingly bitchy to difficult guests (hello, Joaquin Phoenix!), and intelligent. And when I heard about his little extortion/sex scandal that broke yesterday, I was not at all surprised. Not that I expected that he would be the cheating and philandering type, but I certainly appreciate how he is a god in that studio, and several, several women would love to sleep with him. He's like a politician, but funnier. That he took advantage of that god-ness is icky and kinda creepy (judgment!), but I like how he stood up for his behavior and put the extortionist in handcuffs. It's a good thing that he is taking responsibility for his actions.
Case #3: Barack Obama. Am I awful in that I'm glad that the 2016 Summer Olympics are going to Rio de Janeiro instead of Chicago? Dude. You've got p-l-e-n-t-y of stuff to worry about right here, between our little shores. The last thing we need you doing is jaunting off to Denmark to give metaphorical blowjobs to the International Olympics Committee is hopes of bringing people to Chicago in seven years. Learn to share the spotlight, and for the time being, let the world figure stuff out without the United States' input and/or strong-arming.

October rocks

Ah, October. Lovely!
OCTOBER!: This month, the cooler weather begins. We had our windows open last night, and the most delightfully cool breeze blew threw the house all evening. This morning, Brian's toes got cold as he watered the grass. I was able to keep my windows open all morning, and the air conditioner didn't flip on until 11:30 a.m. Finally! An end to our summer has arrived!
OCTOBER!: As is my custom on the first day of October, I put up all the Halloween decorations. Throughout my house, you will find witches, ghosts, pumpkins and Jack O'Lanterns, and this year, candy corn, placed in fun locales and looking jaunty. Yes, jaunty. I had to psyche Sydney up for all the stuff on our way back home from school, because goodness knows, if she didn't already think it was so wonderful as we walked through the door, she would decide it was scary. And because everything needed to find a new home throughout the place, it took me longer to display it all. Actually, it took the entire four hours Syd was in school.
OCTOBER!: Notice how farmer-y my October avatar is looking! This is, of course, an homage to my continued obsession with FarmVille on Facebook. I'm on level 23 right now, and am able to plant and grow corn. I've got my first crop growing right now. Honestly, I am eager to advance mainly because I want to build a greenhouse on my property. That, I can not do until Level 30. Damn! I want my greenhouse!
OCTOBER!: At the end of this month, my baby girl turns three. Ack! I can't believe how big she's gotten, and how grown up she is now!
OCTOBER!: Another birthday! On the 10th, Oliver will be nine years old! Ack! Another one of my children getting older so fast!

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!!