Reason #1 why Capt. Sparrow rocks

I have got to tell you, I love it when this kind of stuff happens:

Johnny Depp Surprises British Classroom With Visit From Captain Jack Sparrow
While Disney has created a very successful brand in its Princess line, at least one of the company's young female fans is passionate about another of its iconic characters.
Beatrice, a 9-year-old student at a school in London's Greenwich neighborhood, wrote a letter to Captain Jack Sparrow, the character made famous by Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series. The letter made its way to Depp -- who's in England at the moment, shooting the fourth film in the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides -- and he made a surprise visit to Beatrice's school, according to BBC News.
A 2-minute clip of his in-character visit has made it to the Internet, but reportedly he spent 15 minutes in all with Beatrice and her classmates. And though the reason for Beatrice's letter was to seek Captain Jack's advice on staging a mutiny against her teachers, Captain Jack went against his renegade principles, diplomatically recommending to Beatrice that a mutiny would probably get her into trouble.

The video was embedded with the article, but for some portions here and there, it wasn't easy to understand what Depp was saying. It's incredibly awesome that he did this for that little girl. Sometimes, there really is nothing better than a celebrity coming to visit a little kid -- IN CHARACTER -- and make their dream come true. Bonus to Depp for bringing along some additional pirates, too. This story is just too fantastic. Watch the video and read the article here.

Five statements for this Wednesday

1. I still haven't finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo. It's an incredibly long book. But even though, I'm still more than halfway through it. Let's hope to get through that before the end of the month. ... And the koala says, "What??!! You haven't finished it yet?"
2. I finally watched my free DVD of Robin Hood tonight. I liked it, as I do most every Russell Crowe movie, but it left a bit of a "to be continued" vibe at the end credits (as with Master and Commander). I am peripherally annoyed by this because the movie didn't do that wonderful in the theaters, which means there probably won't be a sequel.
3. NO MORE HALLOWEEN CANDY.
4. Brian's car got all kinds of pockmarked in yesterday's hail storm. State Farm had so many reports and claims in the area that the company is sending a Catastrophe Team to do all the claim estimates. So now, the waiting game. And the inconvenience game. And the irritation game. And the get-the-car-fixed game.
5. I'm looking forward to our weekend. It should be a fun couple days full of family and good times.

Hail, hail, go away

Very rarely do I ever get nervous in the face of nature. The last time I was scared of the weather was on the drive to California from Phoenix, and Daddy and my kids and I got stuck in a rain storm that made the road invisible. Before that, it was a raging snowstorm in Massachusetts, where I had to travel the highway at 20 miles per hour because the road was gone and the world outside the window was nothing but white.
Today's series of storms didn't scare me, but they certainly did make me nervous of damage to the home. When the hail stones started falling on the skylight, I swore that the skylight itself might break. The stones hitting the windows were a real danger to the integrity of the glass. Some hail actually broke the glass globe over the light fixture in the backyard. The stones were, no kidding, about the size of golf balls. And hard. (I collected seven of the biggest bits of ice in the backyard and saved them in the freezer for Brian to see.)
The hail woke Sydney from her nap, which is crazy unfortunate because she just fell asleep, and after waking up, never went back to bed. Oliver, who has never been a fan of noisy weather, circled my feet and stuck to me like glue until I finally sat on the floor in the living room, and he quickly set up camp curled in my lap. Daisy, who has experienced very little weather in her life, didn't know what to make of the rain and hail, so she stayed close to both Oliver and me.

PHOTOS: All the hail in our backyard after the worst of the storm had passed (top). A tennis ball is only a bit bigger than the hail surrounding it (bottom).

How lovely it is being a tenant!

Here's some good news (sarcastically said): Our property management company has filed bankruptcy. We got our notification of its Chapter 7 filing in the mail today. This means, immediately, that our lease contract is now void. The homeowners though were quick about the rumors last week and sent us a rental lease addendum that continues our contract from the management company with the homeowners themselves. This also means that our deposit is tied up in the bankruptcy, which was listed on the notice we got today. Luckily, the homeowners acknowledge this travesty, and will honor our deposit when we move out. Still, weirdly random, yes?
I make it sound all nice and easy, but it wasn't all cute and kittenish. It's been taken care of, and all is civil now, but I'll just say that I am very ready to not be a "tenant" here anymore. I'm sure that they'll keep up their part of the deal, but they've fractured my trust in them as people who are looking out for our interest as well as their own, as was initially implied. So, when just a couple months ago, I was ready to sign a new lease for another full year here, I now am totally ready to vacate in March. Where we go from here is anyone's guess!

Yay October!!

I just realized that the earlier post constitutes the first of the posts for October. I do not like for the first posts of the month to be whining about being tired! That is off-putting!! We celebrate October around here! It's a good month!
So, what going on this month?
First, Brian's brother and sister in-law are stopping in Phoenix on Saturday for a 24-hour layover on their way home from a trip. That means that the family will be having a good visit this weekend, and it'll be a good few days. I need to get our lunch ordered up though. I'm thinking deli sandwiches.
Second, Oliver's birthday is Sunday the 10th. I can not believe that my baby puppy is going to be 10. My goodness a decade goes by in a blink, doesn't it?
Third, it wouldn't be the beginning of Sydney's birthday month without the necessary trip out to California for festivities. Woo hoo!
Fourth, lunch with Julia! I also can't believe that it's been almost two years since Julia and I had lunch. She's got so much going on right now, and I can't wait to sit with her and catch up on everything.
Fifth, good times for the kid's birthday!! And she'll be FOUR! I am blown away by how much has happened in the last four years. She's not a baby, and now, no longer a toddler. She's a little girl, with all the awesome and frustrating that comes with it!
Sixth, of course, Halloween. Love, love, love Halloween! Got all the decorations up, and even the candy is out and tempting. Actually, not much tempting, as I have no will power when it comes to fun-size Twix and 3 Musketeers. It's more of a succumbing on my part.
October is a good thing, but at the end of it, I'll need a day at the spa!!

Pretty pictures of rocks

Okay, I'm exhausted. It's not been the days at all, it's the three-foot terror that comes cruising into my bedroom anytime between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. for the last four mornings. Add to that her penchant for getting up a couple times a night when she's excited about having her grandma visit, and you can see why my sleep cycle has been off a bit lately. I knew that Sydney was as tired as I, or more so, but I didn't think that she would actually fall asleep on my bed while watching cartoons tonight. I was able to get her into my arms, but she wanted no part of changing into pajamas. So, she sleeps now in her bed, still dressed from the day, and I am getting ready to hit the sheets, too.
How beautiful is this photo of El Capitan at Yosemite? I love it!

Northern Lights not in Arizona

I enjoy it when I get to stay put, but my scenery changes. Tomorrow morning, Brian is going to Boston for the weekend, and hours after his departure, Mom arrives for the weekend. This makes me happy because it gets Brian out of the house and someplace he enjoys vacationing, and it gets Mom vacationing and out of her house, too. I get to stay home, and still spend a lovely weekend with my mommy. Brian's bag is packed -- mostly -- for a cool and breezy couple days in Massachusetts. Mom's bag is packed for a hot-as-hell and "dry" couple days in Arizona. I don't have to pack at all. See how well this works to my advantage? Yay weekend!!

No more drama makes me happy

So, I've figured it out: I have no patience for dramatic television this season. I have tried, over these last two weeks, to be involved in all the same shows I loved last season.
But when it comes to dramas, I'm just not feeling it. Give me Glee, Hawaii 5-0, Castle, Nikita, Chuck and The Vampire Diaries, and I'm there. But when it comes to the dramas, Gossip Girl, Life Unexpected, Parenthood, I can't bring myself to be excited to sit and watch them.
Like right now, I've watched all of tonight's television that I will before going to bed: Glee and No Ordinary Family. I'm incredibly fine with that. And Parenthood and Life Unexpected sit on the DVR List.
But I will say that tonight's Britney Spears episode of Glee was frickin' awesome. I can't wait to watch it again tomorrow morning. And maybe sing along.

Just read it

You know how sometimes you're all, "Hey. I'm going to read one of those classic novels I'm always hearing about." Then, you think, "But, my goodness, they're all so long and full of run-on sentences, and crazy flowery text. How will I ever get into it enough to enjoy it?" Then, I said, "Goodness, Kimberly. You need another book to read. Grab one of your unread classics and be done with it."
I showed Sydney the books I have yet to read, and she made the selection based entirely on the color of the cover: blue. And so, I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm about 300 pages into the 600-plus book, and am pleased to say that I'm pretty into it. It took me a while to catch on to something that I should have recognized and remembered earlier (I hadn't realized that Albert in Rome was the same Albert that was Mercedes' son until they met in Paris. Duh), but other than that, I'll say that I'm enjoying the book more than I thought I would.
Of the literary classics in my house, I started Treasure Island a few years ago, only to put it back on the bookshelf after 75 pages because the text was hurting my head. I've gotten only pages into Catheter in the Rye (SEE MOM! I FIXED IT!!) before finding it too annoying for words. Only Pride and Prejudice sits untouched in my classics to-be-read pile (perhaps next week?). There are so many others I'd like to read, but these first must be taken to task and finished.
There's something to be said for digging into the classics though. They're all free through iBooks on the iPad and iPhone.

Friday's ITEM! list

ITEM!: I just sent off a couple more resumes to a couple random places. One, a video game manufacturer looking for a content writer. Two, a couple art publications looking for an assistant editor. Let's see if we get any bites from those.
ITEM!: Someone at Sydney's school must have referred to her friend, Cameron, as her "boyfriend" on Monday. Because now, it's become a common phrase when she's talking about Cameron. Brian thinks it's funny, and asks her all kinds of questions about her "boyfriend." Me, I am not amused. I had hoped that we would at least get to kindergarten before we had to dive into the social complications of boyfriends and girlfriends. I understand that, as far as Sydney is concerned, Cameron is just a boy who's a friend, but the cuteness factor of the phrasing is lost on me. I sound like an overprotective, crazy mom, but it's my intention to keep Sydney's life as uncomplicated as possible, and other kids hearing Cameron is her "boyfriend" open her up to more social situations than I'm comfortable with her having to handle. I presume it was a teacher who said the word in passing, because I haven't ever said it to or about her and Cameron's friendship, and I doubt the other kids are that sophisticated. I'm disappointed actually, that already she's thrown into a world where a boy who's a friend must be a boyfriend. I know I'm overreacting to this, but it's bugging me.
ITEM!: OMG, get Lindsay Lohan in jail and throw away the key! Who does this girl think she is that she can just go about her business with no respect for the law or the trouble she's in? I'm over her, and I'm bored with coverage of her on TV and the Internets.
ITEM!: I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for the Britney Spears episode of Glee next Tuesday night! I'm obsessing over the previews and teases on Facebook, and I can't stop thinking about it! I know I'll love it, and I can't wait to watch it over and over and over.

That looks kinda autumnal, right?

One of my favorite personal neuroses is my need to have an appropriate seasonal bag. As today is the first day of autumn, the white canvas and pink leather bag just doesn't cut it. We need something a bit more ... autumnal. So, into the handbag abyss I dove. I came out with my very perfect, if ruffled and somewhat dirty, red Kate Spade bag. The bottom is dirty because, of course, this one was purchased before the company was more helpful and put little brass feet on the bag. The side though, that's my concern. It's got a good-sized dark smudge riding about six inches diagonal and three inches wide going across the front side. This smudge is in danger of bugging me in a very big way. So ... dry cleaners? Dryel? Random fabric cleanser? (No way, by the way, with the fabric cleanser.) I'm actually sitting here, looking at this ridiculous smudge. It's a little darker on the bottom left and straight up on the right. It may be oily. It might smell weird. It might spread.
I think it's laughing at me.

Really? Fireworks on a Wednesday?

What a weird Wednesday. Nothing bad happened. On the contrary: Brian stayed home today so we were able to have a kid-free breakfast; he surprised Sydney by being there to pick her up from school; we had ice cream for lunch; we chilled all afternoon; and finally, we sat outside and had dinner together. It's weird because I sit here tonight with an internal clock that is screaming to me that it is instead Sunday night.
I know that's not the case, since all the Wednesday stuff happened today and none of the Sunday stuff. I know that it is indeed Wednesday because I watched all the Wednesday television. (Undercovers, which may be to cute for its own good, and Modern Family and Cougar Town, neither of which I have ever just sat and watched. Both were funny!) Also, Oliver and Daisy went to the groomers. I know that it's Wednesday because there are still two days of the week left. Also, The Vampire Diaries is on tomorrow night. (By the way, did you all see Glee last night? It was phenomenal! And I am incredibly, crazy excited for next week's Britney episode! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT!!)
That internal clock though, keeps trying to convince my head that it's Sunday. I resist. But the clock is cunning. Still, I know the deal. Perhaps it's time to go to bed. And sleep until THURSDAY.

A drowning on DWTS -- no lifeguard

I'm officially not watching Dancing with the Stars. I missed last night because the sound was off on my recording of the show, and all the voices and music sounded echo-ish and like they were all at the other end of a very long tunnel. I couldn't handle the issues, even for a couple minutes, so thought that I would just hop on tonight's first results show. Then, well, Glee happened, and then Parenthood. And then I saw a headline on an entertainment site that said that David Hasselhoff was the first star to be cut from the show. This, I believe, is inexcusable. I realize that the Hoff is pretty much a punchline lately, but really, he should not have been the first cut this evening. And this I say with full knowledge that I missed both episodes. But really.
So, I think I'm going to not watch DWTS this season. And that's not entirely just because of the untimely exit of Hasselhoff. I seem to have no interest in what's happening on the show at all. That's weird.

Monday night delight

How is that I'm still so tired tonight after taking a two-hour nap this afternoon? Honestly, I just yawned, and my eyelids are so heavy. What the hell? Usually, when I've been so inconvenienced by a nap during the day, I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed into the night hours. But not tonight. Obviously, I need the sleep. So, let's bullet point the day, shall we?
* Still no word on the job, either good or bad. I'm actually still hopeful, but being realistic, I'll be getting back to the want ads tomorrow.
* I'm close, super close, to removing Gossip Girl from my Monday night viewing schedule. It's telling, don't you think, when I can watch the entire hour-long show in 20 minutes because so many of the plots are irritating to me that I skip them.
* We removed Sydney's swing from the backyard patio cover this morning. She's too big for it, and today, it had to go. "Sadly, this is one of the bad things about becoming a big girl. Sometimes, we get too big to play with some of our toys."
* I made the appointment for a new starburst in my new windshield to be repaired. No kidding. I've had the new windshield for less than a week, in fact, it had only been two days, when I took a rock in the window on our way to the lake on Saturday. I'm pissy beyond words about it, but more than that, it needs to be fixed.
* I let Sydney pick my next book to read, and she made her selection based entirely on the cover's color: blue, which is her favorite color. And so, The Count of Monte Cristo it shall be. Time to dig into the unread classics on my shelf.
* I've decided that I quite like drinking a glass of chocolate milk for dessert.

Weekdays are for television

Okay, this week begins the big return of TV, and I think I've got my viewing and DVR (#1: bedroom; #2: living room) calendar all figured out. I know you all want to know, so I'll tell you how I've got it set up.
MONDAY: 7 p.m. -- 9 p.m.: Dancing with the Stars (DVR #1); 7 p.m. -- 8 p.m.: Chuck (DVR #1); 8 p.m. -- 9 p.m.: Gossip Girl (DVR #1); 9 p.m. -- 10 p.m.: Castle (DVR #1); 9 p.m. -- 10 p.m.: Hawaii Five-0 (DVR #2)
TUESDAY: 7 p.m. -- 8 p.m.: Glee (DVR #2); 8 p.m. -- 9 p.m.: Dancing with the Stars (DVR #1); 8 p.m. -- 9 p.m.: Life Unexpected (DVR #1); 9 p.m. -- 10 p.m.: Parenthood (DVR #1)
WEDNESDAY: 7 p.m. -- 8 p.m.: Undercovers (DVR #1)
THURSDAY: 7 p.m. -- 8 p.m.: The Vampire Diaries (DVR #1); 7 p.m. -- 7:30 p.m.: Community (DVR #2); 7:30 p.m. -- 8 p.m.: 30 Rock (DVR #2); 8 p.m. -- 9 p.m.: Nikita (DVR #1); 9 p.m. -- 10 p.m.: The Mentalist (DVR #1)
FRIDAY: 7 p.m. -- 8 p.m. Human Target (DVR #1); 9 p.m. -- 10 p.m.: Blue Bloods (DVR #2)

Wow. That seems like a lot of television, doesn't it? Add to that the already programmed recordings of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and one might say that my nights are pretty well booked throughout the week. I honestly can't wait to get started though. Some of these shows I'm super excited to see. I've got a couple questions marks, and a couple shows I'm not sure I'll love beyond the third episode, so the schedule may loosen up a bit here and there. I love TV. Let's get this party started!