*Big DumpTruck*

Weedy

Hey, you know what? If you plant flowers you should probably weed them every once in a while. Sheesh, I sort of let that go for a little while and tonight I couldn't tell where the flowers were.

Stupid ratzen-fratzen crabgrass. I want it GONE from my yard. I'm so furious with the way it's just everywhere. And unlike my father, I don't look at crabgrass and clover as an acceptable substitute for regular healthy grass. I'm just ready to pull out my hair, I tell you.

Busy Bee

I haven't forgotten you, I swear. Give me a few and I'll give you more of my attention. I've just been beyond busy.

Loser of the Century

A special Big DumpTruck note to the wench in the silver Nissan minivan (I have your plate number but I think I should refrain from posting it here) who got on Route 2 at the Route 70 entrance: If you EVER pull out onto Route 2 like that again, I hope your will is in order and your children are prepared to be orphans. I have never seen such stupidity on the road, and I've seen a LOT of stupidity. The woman you popped out in front off should be given some kind of reward for
a) Not slamming into the side or back of your van, given that she was only about 20 feet away from you when you pulled out clear in the middle of her lane
b) Not jumping into MY lane, which would have inconvenienced me because I was actually driving almost parallel with her.

You stupid stupid piece of guano. (I'd use the really great derogatory term I learned over on blogdaddy.com, but this is a family site). IF you feel you must pull out, why not wait more than 5 seconds after you pull up to the stop sign to actually look to see if there is any kind of opening coming up. But here's the important thing, jerkface. If you insist on pulling out anyway, stay in the frigging breakdown lane until you come up to speed.

You are not the only person on the road, and you're lucky several of us didn't force you off it and beat you senseless for that stupid move. Yes, I'm still angry about it 5 hours later, because I know you could have KILLED one of us, not to mention shut down the highway screwing up everyone else's commute. Because you are too freaking important to actually have to wait to pull out onto the highway. Stupid [Expletive Deleted].

Oh, and one last thing. Yes, your long brown hair sure was beautiful. Do us all a favor and keep your eyes on the road instead of looking at yourself in the mirror, you narcissistic beee-yotch. You've only been on the highway 30 seconds. Didn't you check your hair before you left the house?

Stop That!

Someone on the other side of the cubicle wall (in the other row) is clicking his pen on his teeth. I'm going to have to go over there and pull his fingernails out, one by one, until he stops. Seriously people, just DON'T DO THAT.

Added 10 minutes later: Also, would the other person stop whistling "On the Road Again"? Thanks, you're swell.

Update on the Phone

Okay, so I can't program speed dial numbers (?!) but it does verbally announce who is calling. I mean, how freaking cool is that? Too bad nobody ever calls, or I'd be all over that functionality. I did make my dad call me, and of course he now thinks I spent a thousand dollars on the phone. Hey dad, this one was $20 less than the one I should have bought.

No! No! It Can't Be the End of July!

I'm feeling kind of bitter right now about how quickly the summer is passing. Why didn't February fly by this way? Or even March? No, I have to be stuck watching June and July leave contrails in the sky. *sigh*

I'll be the first to admit that part of my being upset has to do with junior's formal education looming like a hulking beast on the horizon. Oh I'm thrilled he'll be in school so they can fill him up with book learnin' and he'll have a ton of other kids to play with. But, but...they want all his time. Every day. Last year we took two beach days in September, just he and I, and we had the place to ourselves. It was magical, quite frankly. And now if I want to do that I have to actually pull him out of school! Nevermore will we have just "mama days" and even as I type that my eyes are tearing up so I think I'm just going to not type about it any more. I know it's not the end of the world. But in some ways, it's the end of a part of the world.

</sad violins>

New Phone

I needed to buy a new phone. The upstairs phone, a total piece of crap, wouldn't dial. Sometimes hitting a number would sometimes send a tone, sometimes not. If there were an emergency, I would have to dial 9999999999999999111111111111111111111111111. I figured that might not be in my best interest. I've also been having a static problem with the phone downstairs since putting in the wireless network. Time to upgrade to a 2.4 gigahertz, or whatever the kids are using these days. So if I took the phone from downstairs and moved it upstairs, I could get a new phone for downstairs. All problems solved.

And then, I stupidly bought a way cool new phone that I thought had an answering machine. It was priced as if it did, that's for sure. No, it's got all bells and whistles, awesome range, a belt clip and a speakerphone built into the handset (cool!) but it's a phone meant to be used with voice mail. As in the phone company's system. Oh well, I've been thinking about signing up for that for a while now. Sigh.

Brilliant

Mr. Crunchy wows me again with his brilliance.

Overheard

It's 11:21am

Me: I'm ready for lunch. I've been ready for an hour.
Coworker: I already ate my afternoon snack.

I think it's one of those days.

Dear Rocky,

Mister Racoon, if you could do me a favor and stay the heck out of my rubbish, I'd be forever in your debt. You see, I startle easily, and the noise right outside the back door scared the poop out of me last night. I didn't think to look over by the fence so I didn't notice all the trash until I went up to bed and looked out the window. You were still there, I was watching you. Don't think that having a cute face made me go all soft and think your breaking and entering were fine.

I picked up most of the mess this morning. All that for some old hot dog rolls? Maybe next time I'll just leave them in the driveway for you.

Here, Have a Seat

Cripes, I invited all of you to stop by and I didn't even dust off a seat for you. I'm just the worst hostess ever. It's 3:00 and Lord knows I've probably missed most of you, and you know you won't be back until I send another reminder. Now I'm sad.

But it's one of those days, you see. Too many things to do, not enough hours to do them. Throw in some system problems and voila, I think maybe I should just go to the mall for a while.

But wait, payday isn't until Friday. Scratch the mall. *sigh* The library books are 2 days late, too. See how it's all falling apart? But at least I have some tortilla chips in the snack cabinet. Except the snack cabinet is actually the top of the fridge. But you get my point.

Right?

Don't Retrieve Your Tires!

I have no idea if these two things are connected, but in my head, I'm saddened to think they might be.

Driving home on 495 north, right before the 117 exit, I saw a guy walking on the side of the road, putting on gloves. I see his dumptruck (woo hoo) parked up ahead on the side of the road. Now I had JUST passed a truck tire in the right lane...on the left side of the lane so it was pretty easy to swerve around it in the breakdown lane. So of course, it's obvious the guy in the dumptruck is going back to retrieve this blown tire. At 5pm. On 495. Three lanes of traffic doing 65mph.

Okay, doing the math in the car, with all three lanes filled as filled can be, I'm horrified that this doofus is going to try to get the tire. I cannot conceive of there being a big enough hole in the flow of traffic for him to step out and lug it out of the lane. But then I got off at 117 and wished him the best.

About ten minutes later on the traffic report they say that two lanes of 495 are closed down near 117. Okay, goosebumps. I have no idea if the guy was involved, or if the tire was, or if it was something totally unrelated, but the fact that I'd given the whole thing so much thought, only to hear about an accident (that wasn't there when *I* had just passed through) freaked me out. And right now I don't actually know what happened.

Either way, I think the moral of the story is, if people can safely drive around it, leave the debris in the road and call the cops to come and handle it with THEIR LIGHTS ON.

Pete Zah

Saw an article over the weekend (at least I think it was...maybe it was last week) that pizza is actually good for you. As in, prevents cancer good for you. Now they aren't talking about that crappola cheese-filled junk you can buy at Pizza Hut, so just forget it. Papa Ginos is closer, with the thin crust and the not-too-much cheese. I actually really like my pizza with a thin crust, just enough sauce to color it, and a little bit of cheese. You know what the perfect pizza is? The Sporkie at Bertuccis. You want me to follow you home? Buy me one of those.

Stupid Stupid Product "Upgrade"

Someone please, please tell me why on earth cereal companies feel the need to do something "new" with their perfectly fine products? Lucky Charms used to have yellow moons, pink hearts, orange stars and green clover. Then they added blue diamonds. "Oooh, mom, blue diamonds! We have to have blue diamonds!" And other assorted marshmallow bits were added. Rainbows. Pots of gold. One recent one had the middle disappear when milk hit it in the shape of a key. No, don't ask how I know this.

But I just saw a commercial for one that just takes this too far. Apple Jacks, which remained untouched since I was born (it was my favorite commercial as a baby. Swear to God, my mother tells how I would RUN toward the television in my walker when I heard the Apple Jacks commercial) just added...are you ready? Blue carrots. Wha? Huh? Blue Apple-Jack flavored carrots. Not only is there no point to this, it just makes me angry. That's right, I'm angry about this. Because they're messing with a classic, and what if people decide it's too gross to try and Apple Jacks just go away? Do you see my issue with this?

Stop with the marshmallow pieces, the odd shapes, etc. The ratio of cereal to bits should be at LEAST 3:1. Any more bits than that and you feel like you had candy for breakfast. I actually prefer at 5:1 or so ratio. But maybe I'm not the target audience for Pokemon cereal.

Drizzle

I was just trying to figure out how long it had been since I last watered the various flowers when I glanced outside and saw little drops on the deck. I hope it rains a little harder than that.

Okay, here's a photo from the weekend. This was on Saturday, Junior and his two cousins wait patiently for the ice cream man.



And finally, trying to decide what to get. For the record, Junior got the Mutant Ninja Turtle bar and I got a Choco Taco. That adult is my sister.


.

(Okay, before you ask, Junior is the one with the navy Spadafore Oil t-shirt. Consider that advertising, kids.)

Back atcha

No, I wasn't killed by the neighbors or their dog. Just on a little vacation from the computer that involved sleeping out in a tent (anyone want to donate an air mattress), lots of swimming in my sister's new pool, and drinking LOTS of margaritas with her neighbors. I mean, what a great weekend! Of course, there's a ton of laundry now, including everything we used to soften the ground for sleeping and I will probably have to wear something other than jeans to work this week.

Unless they declare it jean week.

Junior's day care provider took today off so I'm trying to get as much work from home done as possible so the day isn't a total loss, paycheck-wise.

Oh, and the dog was barking prior to 6 again today but I was so tired it hardly bothered me. Also, I think they took him back in as soon as he started. Still....

A heads up for my neighbors

I swear to God, if they let their dog out before 6 am AGAIN tomorrow and let it bark like the big brain-dead [expletive] it is, I'm going to have to go over there and take matters into my own hands. I mean, how rude is it? And just when the arsewipes on one side of me FINALLY stop putting their yappy little beasts out at FIVE in the morning, the neighbors who used to keep the dog in the house all the time have suddenly lost their minds. I'm just glad I'm not in the house directly behind theirs (like, 20 feet away).

And if anyone out there reading this is wondering "Hmmm. Is she talking about me?" then let me be the first to say, if the shoe fits, keep your damned dog in the house.

p.s. No, I'm not threatening anyone. But at 6 tomorrow morning, all bets are off.

Weather

Wow, that seems a little, well, low for this time of year.

Loaner Car

I'm borrowing my parents' really really awesome terrific expensive fantastic car while mine is in the shop. Oh boy, spoiled am I. I'm not going to want mine back, that's for sure.

Funny thing, though. When I threw my Annie Lennox cd in the player, it sounded really odd so I checked the settings. Basically all the sound was coming out of the front driver's side speaker, with the bass turned all the way off and the treble all the way up.

My parents were apparently simulating a really piss-poor mono AM radio.

Boy, are they going to be surprised the next time they use the radio. "Where in the heck did all that depth of sound come from? And is that music coming from behind my head? And in my right ear? Holy cow, it's a miracle!" If you pay that much for a car (it's a Toyota Avalon...you do the math) you should probably get the stereo set properly.

Lunch

See now today's lunch made up for the fact that I totally hated my lunch on Tuesday. Yesterday was fine - it was just egg salad on a bulkie. That's hard to screw up unless the eggs and/or the mayo are bad. But I'm here to tell you they weren't. But today...today I had a hummus and roasted veggie wrap.

I practically licked the plate clean, which was pointless because really, it was a sandwich. Not much to lick. My only suggestion to the lunch crew is to double up on the hummus. In fact, howzabout an all-hummus sandwich and you can just wave some veggie matter over the sandwich before you hand it to me. I do love me some hummus.

Tuesday's lunch was a ranch chicken wrap. I didn't even finish it. I thought it would have the same flavor as when I put chicken on my salad and use ranch dressing - that tastes like it would make a dandy sandwich. But I think they use some other brand of dressing, or something. I couldn't eat it, which made me sad.

I'm not going to think ahead to tomorrow, but I plan to sneak a peek to see if the deli area normally has hummus. I think the roasted veggies were the limited edition ingredient. Maybe I'll just have them throw some tomatoes on it. Sound good?

I Need A Hobby

Was doing some browsing, courtesy of Boston Common (see the link over on the right, I'm too lazy to type it) and I see part of a post from Simple Pleasures. Oh my God, I'd have paid money to have been there watching that. And to be part of the discussion after."

I love laughter. And I'm only 45 minutes from Walden Pond, so maybe I'll get the practice schedule...

Still Pink

My toenails are still hot pink. They don't match my red sweater, but I don't care. I haven't been spending a lot of time in places where people will have access to my feet. On the other hand, when I see my little pink tootsies, I get happy all over. I have no idea why this is. Could it just be the color? I've painted my toenails for a while now, usually darker colors that won't clash with things I typically wear. The hot pink color is brand new to me, though. It's very Legally Blond, quite frankly.

But why am I staring at my toes and smiling so much? It's just polish.

Just Wondering

I just bought a package of Peanut Butter crackers from the vending machine (instead of the Snickers bar that I really wanted) and I was struck by the thought "It's a good thing that the person who sits next to me doesn't have a deadly peanut allergy." And then I thought "I've never worked anywhere where we were warned in advance not to eat peanuts or peanut products because of allergies." So where do all those kids who can't even breath in the scent of a peanut working? Do people outgrow those allergies enough that they don't have to declare the office a peanut-free zone?

Mmmm. Peanut butter.

Banned From the Basement

When I heard the story on the radio this morning about the two sisters banned for life from shopping at Filene's basement for excessive returns and harassing the employees, I kind of had to laugh. The first thing I thought of was my mom, and how much stuff she returns to the LL Bean outlet in Nashua. Anything you buy via the catalog (or website) can be returned in person at their Nashua outlet. My mom practically lives there. To be fair, some things just don't fit, or aren't what you expected. Or if it falls apart the first time you wear it, you take it back.

So I was just wondering what the LL Bean people think when they see Mom coming, and if they'll hear the Filene's story and think of her. So I get an email from my sister this morning...saying "Did you hear about the two older women that were forbidden to ever shop at Filene's Basement? It reminded me of Mom and all of her returns. I bet the manager at the LLBean outlet heard the story and already has Mom's name on the list. "

So it isn't just me!

p.s. Two Filene's Basement stories in the news? The CEO died over the weekend.

p.p.s. Ernie Boch, auto sales multimillionaire also died. I heard a Boch automile commercial on the radio last week and was shocked to hear that it was "Ernie Boch Jr." and not Ernie giving the "Come on Down" pitch. Reminds me of how Frank Purdue handed over the commercials and died relatively soon after. I thought "Uh oh" when I realized it wasn't Ernie.

p.p.p.s. The Blogger spellchecker flags Filene's and suggests "vileness". I'm just sayin'.

Quote of the day

Crocker: Who are you!?
Timmy: I'm one of America's most beloved comedy entertainers?
Crocker: Silence, Shemp!

-From the Fairly Oddparents Movie Abracatastrophe

Toenails

I painted my toenails hot pink for the weekend. I think I'll leave them like that for work tomorrow.

In my garden

I took some pictures of flowers in my yard to show my son's daycare provider and I decided to just throw them up on the web.
My Garden

Hiya!

Hey, that last post was to show Erica, new fan of the dump who happened to be at the party in question, how I could post to my website from my phone. Problem is that where my aunt lives she doesn't get a phone signal so while I created the message in front of her, I couldn't send it until I was driving home. But it still came from the phone...

I am partied out. 12 to 4 was a birthday party for a 5 year old who lives a couple of houses away, and then 4 to 8:30 was like a little family reunion at my aunt's. Junior is definitely partied out. Well, I am partied out. He had nice friends to play with at both places, at the end of the 2nd partiy he was definitely hanging out with kids older than him. He loves kids and got REALLY upset when they were all leaving him. Once again I feel bad that he's an only child.

So I'm just going to finish this, find my new People magazine, and put my feet up. If you were expecting to hear from me (i.e. sent an email) I'm just not going to get to it until tomorrow.

At my aunt's for a party.

First Real Thunderstorm of 2003

I'm pretty sure this is the first one. Actually, what's odd is that I thought the rainy part of the day was over and done with, and that the weather was preparing for our sunny 80's day tomorrow. And then it started pouring. And thundering...luckily not that close to me. Did I ever mention here how much I hate lightning and thunder? If I have to drive in it, it takes everything in my being not to burst into tears. Hate it hate it hate it. Hate the loudness of it. Fear it striking me or something near me, causing damage to my house, or fire. Hate it.

But it's nice when it's far away and just kind of rumbley, which is how it sounds right now. And before you tell me I shouldn't be online, it's laptop on the wireless connection up in my bedroom. So the computer is in no way connected by wires to any part of the house. Cool, huh?

I Have Nothing For You

I was going to come up with something brilliant, some insight that would make you realize that this is the place to come for your answers to all the world's most deep and puzzling questions, but then I realized that I have nothing brilliant to say. If my brain was a washcloth it would be that brittle one hanging on the handrail in the shower, dried up and rough and just a little musty-smelling, instead of the Bounce-fresh just-from-the-dryer brain I wish I could present to you.

My humble apologies.

At least my brain is not the soap puddle that accumulates in the soap dish because water got in it again. That would be gross.

Added Later: Still nothin'.

Tea Break

Let me just say this: Thank God the package of Milanos only contains 4 cookies or they'd need a crane to hoist me out of my cubicle in a week or two.

p.s. I just attempted to post this and it says it published but the post just vanished. What the?

Sad and Wise Advice

The busy mom has some very wise advice for everyone today. It's actually stunning in it's simplicity and beauty, given the situation her mom is in. No go over there and heed her words.

Cookies!

Okay, the combos are GONE. So about 2pm today, I'll have a cup of tea and some Milanos (if I'm in the mood for them, of course. I won't eat them just to eat them. I may buy them either way just so someone else doesn't snag them. I'm selfish that way.)

I also painted my fingernails last night and if I do say so myself, they look fabulous. That should last until this evening, I'm sure. It's on the mauve end of red. Like a dark salmon (is that a color?) I don't usually use colors this "dark" because my nails are usually too short and I don't think it looks good to have a lot of color on short nails. But they've grown out some and the peeling nail syndrome (thanks thyroid!) has eased off enough that most of the nails are looking pretty healthy. More than you wanted to know, I'm sure. But if you have brittle peeling nails, have your thyroid levels checked. Advice from one who knows.

The Vending Machine

If someone would just come along and buy that package of Combos, the Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies would all be mine.

Looks Like Rain

Wow, only 79 for a high today. That's quite a difference. I like 79. What a great temperature. It should be in the weather hall of fame, quite frankly.

But the sky is very dark here this morning so maybe Mother Nature will tend to my lawn without any help from me for a few days. You never know.

The Lawn

Last night I mowed the lawn and tonight I watered it. Does that make me a grass ho?

My Ride Home

Just to give you a little view into my head, here are the things that I was actually thinking about on the drive home.

• People talk about sausages in natural casings. Are there unnatural casings? What could you make a casing out of that would be edible and yet not be the intestines of a small animal? But do I really want to know? Maybe I don't. Maybe it's just better to not think about this.
  
• I wish I could remember the exact wording of the sports report the new guy (Steve) did on WXLO this morning so I could post it on the blog. Made me laugh out loud; I just love stuff like that. I know I'm going to say it wrong, but it was something like "The Red Sox lost to the Yankees 2 to 1 last night. They'll never do that again and then they'll have a parade." No, see, I didn't say it right and it's not funny. [10 minutes pass while I try to remember the wording.] Crap.
  
• What should I wear to work tomorrow? I could go with a skirt, but I'm in training most of the day. I should try to be comfy. Ugh, training. Shoot me.
  
• Why do people driving older American cars drive like crap? 20 year old Chevy = insane blind person behind the wheel, leave lots of extra room.
  
• I don't know what that DJ is talking about. What 80's singer died 3 years ago after performing down at Foxwoods? [I never did hear the answer to this one]
  

So there you have it. Fun, huh?

Gravity

I'm teaching Junior to say "I'm a big fan of Newton's Theories" in reply to the question "Junior, how do you know so much about gravity?"

However, it comes out "I'm a fan of fantons fairies"

I know, we probably shouldn't get into a whole science lesson before he learns how to tell time. I have a "Time and Money" workbook that we could play with but then he'd know how to tell time and I could no longer fake him out. Is it bad that I like him not exactly knowing if I'm pushing it or not when I say it's bedtime?

Homeowner's Insurance Update

The house insurance is supposedly all set. Apparently they didn't put my account number on the check (?) and it was credited to my car insurance. That would explain the refund check they sent me, eh?

Anyway, it's taken care of. I did want to smack the agency woman who said "And if your mortgage company is going to pay your bill can you make sure they put your account # on the check?" Um, how am I supposed to do that, drive down to Florida? Why didn't you tell them that when you had them on the phone last week, schmuck? It's hardly MY responsibility. If the insurance company gets a check from Joe Blow Home Loans for the exact amount due on my homeowner's insurance, why would they assume it was a car insurance payment? Once again, I say, "Schmuck."

*Sigh*

Three Day Weekend, we hardly knew ye.

And to end it with a bang, I have to have a discussion about death with Junior when he watches a Disney movie where the grandfather not only dies of lukemia, he dies right there in front of the granddaughter.

I need to figure out how to talk about these things in language he can understand without scaring him. "Disease" just isn't a concept he's familiar with. "Is that like when you break your arm? Or if your eyes are too big?" (Huh?) "No, it's more like if your eyes stopped working and you couldn't see anything anymore. But that wouldn't kill you" (unless it was brain cancer or something but really, do we need to go there at 9:30 on a Sunday night when he should already be in bed? No, I don't think so.)

I just don't want him to start obsessing about cancer and disease and people dying. Although he just handles the people dying part so well. I'd give anything to have that attitude. It's very matter-of-fact at this age. Just another thing that happens that he doesn't really understand but just takes it as something that happens. Like how I know when it's time to put the recycling out by the curb. Actually, it causes about that much emotion in him at this point. He seems to get the "never see the person again" concept but it doesn't bother him. I suppose that will change when it's someone he actually knows and cares about.

But I don't really want to think about this stuff right now, thanks so much Disney Channel.

pho toes

Just a cute picture from the 4th of our sadly hole-filled pool. I didn't get a picture of the replacement because I was in it most of the day. In this photo we have turned on the sprinkler and they are using umbrellas because it seemed like something really fun to do. The second pic is of a car that was parked across the street from my house that morning. I assume it was headed for (or had been in) a parade or a car show, but it was across the street. I'd never seen it before.






And lastly, this is where I am currently sitting, typing this entry:

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Someone shoot me the next time I say I'm thinking of going to BJs. Oh my goodness, is it ever easy to stock up on stuff you think you need but you really really don't. Except for the water bottles. I love my Poland Spring sports bottles. Junior grabs one and puts it on the table and then any time he needs a drink he just uses that one. It makes him self-sufficient and it means I don't have to worry about him knocking it over if the cap is shut, which he does very well.

But did I really need the bucket-free car washing cloths?

Death and Stuff

Happy Deathday!
Your name:	BigDumpTruck
You will die on:	Saturday, February 25, 2034
You will die of:	Caffeine Overdose
Username:
Created by Quill

Ya, so I did monkey with it a bit. I wanted to die well and of the three combos I put in, this one was the best way to die. Well, drive-by-shooting might be more exciting but I'd rather not. And suicide just isn't my style, even it it wouldn't happen for aother 23 years.

Rambling

Okay, I'm writing to you from the secret lair. Well, you know, the part of the lair that has air conditioning. Junior and I took a run to a nearby ice cream place and I got a frappe and he got some funky banana flavored Icee-type drink. Gah. He doesn't like ice cream so I go to this place because at least I can order something for him. Last time we went he got blueberry. I think the banana is better, but not by much. It's just really not a flavor I would pick, but neither are half the flavors they have there. Kiwi? Chocolate? (Oh, ya, sign me up for a chocolate-flavored shaved-ice drink. Ya. Make it two.) I'm sure some flavors go faster than others (grape and cherry come to mind) but yeesh. 32 flavors? No thanks.

Spent all day yesterday out in the sun, and all day today in the sun, and I've have about enough of sweating right now. Today was worse, heat and humidity-wise. Of course yesterday I had no shame and I put on my bathing suit and got into the blow-up pool (103"x 69" or something like that) with my son, nephew and niece. So maybe I just felt cooler. When I finally decided to dry off for good, my niece, who has me wrapped around several fingers, kept saying "Auntie! Auntie come in dee pool!" and when I told her I was all done being in the pool she just said "Okay, three minutes." I love that kid.

Okay, so anyway, today the pool was smaller and at my moms, and I didn't really want to climb in while my mother's neighbors were all around, so I left it for Junior and the neighbor's two grandsons. We came home around 4 and I forced us to go for a quick lie-down. And here we are, staring into the gaping maw of another Saturday night. If it wasn't rated PG-13 I'd take Junior over to the Tri-Town drive-in for the 8:30 showing of the Italian Job. (T3 is on at 10:30 but neither of us would stay up for that.)

Anyway, off to turn off the sprinkler. Gotta start thinking the cool thoughts for tomorrow.

Great Day

Just a great day. Can I say that and have it actually mean it sincerely? It was great. I can't think of a thing I would have changed, other than the inflatable pool not deflating. But that was quickly replaced by a $25 special from CVS of all places, which was welcomed with open arms and a running hose.

Now I'm tired and as soon as I put this load of laundry in the dryer, I'm headed up. (I wouldn't have done this but our suits and towels were just wrecked, and I don't know if I'm going to be needing them when I head out pretty early tomorrow.)

Great site for you: Girls are Pretty. Wow, I'm SO loving it. I will blogroll it when I get home, but I fear she doesn't ping weblogs, so it will always be listed at the bottom, which is stinky.

Thanks to the loverly Natalie for pointing out this one.

Best CD of 2003

I know I say this kind of stuff often, and you're thinking "Didn't you already have a best CD of 2003?" Well no, I don't think I did, and if I did I was wrong because this is the best CD of 2003. You're going to have to trust me on this. Annie Lennox's Bare.

Mr. Dump says he doesn't like her voice but I'm thinking the songs, the arrangements (oh my God, the arrangements), etc., can make a fan out of anyone. It's got that whole hot summer night jazzy eel to it. I think it would make a lovely background CD for a romantic dinner too. I'm just not enough of a music reviewer to give you brilliant insights as to exactly why this is such an amazing CD, I can only say that I bought it because someone on a mailing list I'm on said it was incredible, and I saw it on sale and decided to buy it. Holy Cow. I wish I could write songs like this.

And yes, there are songs I'm not as crazy about. The last one could have been cut, but the first 7 are so fantastic you can forgive her. I just wanted to be honest about it.

Out of Context Quote of the Day

"He's like the George Hamilton of admin assistants."

Ninety Eight Cents

Dad, you can just scroll right past this entry. I wouldn't want to be the cause of your blood pressure increase.

Just checked my account balance....hooooboy, a whole 98 cents! What the hell? Boy, all those checks came in on the same day, didn't they? Actually, according to my calculations there should have been more than 98 cents in there, so I guess it's time to pull up a chair and a pencil and balance my checkbook.

Good think I looked before heading over to the grocery store. Now THAT would have been embarrassing.

I am also glad I paid for my gas with cash today. Do they make you siphon it out if you can't pay for it, or just arrest you? (See, this is why I never pump first if I'm paying by debit/credit card).

I get paid tomorrow, supposedly by direct deposit, so it's not a crisis, just a little surprising.

What I'm Reading

Okay, I finished the book I was re-reading, and tonight when I took Junior to Barnes and Noble I picked up Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything for almost half off the cover price. WOOO! Of course, I had to buy Junior like five books, cause that's what you do, of course. Not five for me, noooooo.

Hey, and here's my complaint. They have a summer reading program - if your child reads 8 books, writes down what they liked best and you sign off that they read the book, they get a free book (from a list of 25). My issue? It's for grades 1-6. So Junior, who is actually in the early stages of learning to read and probably has the skills of a first-grader, can't participate. I think that stinks. Will fill out the form anyway, and if they say he doesn't qualify, *I* will buy him a book. Sheesh.

Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is

What an odd thing. I looked at my [new] watch and noticed that it thought
today was the 31st (it doesn't track the month) so I went to change it. This
particular watch doesn't roll over from 31 to 1, though. It rolls through
32, 33, 34, 35...39 and then 00 (!) before it gets to one. Now I'm sure this
was the chosen design because it's harder (or more expensive) to set up the
date gears to roll over to one after 31, but I've never experienced a watch
that included anything higher than 31. And the 00 thing is just odd. Is it
just me? Is it just because it's a low-end Timex?

All you Movado and Rolex owners feel free to jump in and tell me how
fabulous your watches are.