Joys of technology

There is nothing sexier than a man with good taste. And my hubby has good taste. During our remodeling of the livingroom, you will recall that the TV was causing issues due to its rather large size and our desire to have not so deep shelves. Problem solved! After doing some research - asking brilliant people named Chris and Mike what to buy and checking the web - it was discovered that now (pre-Super Bowl Sunday)is the time to buy a great TV for a great price. So after picking my hubby up from his red-eye flight from California and feeding him breakfast, I suggested ("Since we're out here."{we live in the boonies}) that we pop into Circuit City and check out the deals. We dilligently compared TV, I asked more questions, boys whined they wanted to be elsewhere and with great speed (likely due to a tired hubby) we made a choice ! (see photo) A very technologically savvy shiny black SKINNY TV that does great things. And even with only a measly attenae (no cable!!!no thanks!) we are able to get a few extra stations and the others have never looked so good! All of this is madebetter by the on-sale-at-Target purchase that is old technology but works great!Life is good my friends! Even better when you have a talented, smart, good lookin' spouse who happens to have great taste!

More Games

Another kids game. One that predicts the future. First, that lovely little folded paper thingy that you count and swish and unfold to get the answer. How do you fold those anyway? Second, M.A.S.H. No not the TV show. This one stands for Mansion, Apartment, Shack or House. You choose 4 potential spouses, 4 numbers and 4 types of motor vechiles. Then your 81/2 year old son predicts your future. I will be marring Daniel Craig, having 8 children, living in a Mansion and driving a VW Bus! Thankfully, the 2 boys I have count and I'm allowed to adopt the other 6.("Although, it would be fun to have 6 babies around the mansion!" - Andrew). I did ask what I would do with my husband, the relpy was : "Throw him out in the snow!" Well, okay then.

Political Correctness

Alright, so who remembers that oh-so-funny-when-you're-7 game where one person tells a story, leaving dramatic pauses for the other person to fill in the phrase "So did the big fat lady."?
This is a current fave of my 2 boys to keep themselves amused during any car ride. They take turns telling the story and changing the phrase to things like "So did the big fat balloon." or "So did the big fat dog." Each time it ends with the storytellers balloon popping and therefore "So does the big fat whatever." This brings gales of laughter and shouts of "My turn, my turn!" All the while in the front seat I'm wondering why the lady has to be big and fat. Is it really necessary to use those words? Couldn't she be the silly happy lady or the goofy gabby lady or anything that was more P.C. lady? Ugh! I get where being politically correct really has helped a society lacking in basic manners behave better, but I am beginning to see where it is taking over every little thing. This is a silly harmless kids game that is only being heard by my husband and myself (and, well, now all of you), so what's the problem? I have yet to say anything to my children about using others words - they are just having fun - but should I really feel the need?

What does it mean?

Okay, so reoccurring dreams are normal, usually caused by something. Can anyone explain mine? I do not have the exact dream every time, more like the same theme. I have to use the bathroom and the only one available is an unpleasant public one. The reasons for the unpleasantness change. Most often it is just very dirty, sometimes the stall doors are made of glass, sometimes there are no doors at all, and other times everyone I have ever known is in the bathroom with me. I have discovered no pattern to these dreams, not a particular time of month or food that I ate that day. I always awake with the same sense of "YUCK!" and bewilderment as to the reason behind the dream. I cannot recall the first time I had one, but it has been happening once every couple of weeks for years. I would love to know why, and love for them to stop happening. Any ideas?

conversation with lucas

"Mommy, someone killed Martin Luther King Jr. They shouldn't have done that. Why did they do it?" - Lucas

"No, they shouldn't have done that. Some people think that black people shouldn't be allowed to do what white people do. And Dr King was trying to change that. That's why they shot him. It wasn't very smart, was it?"

"No! Are black people still not allowed to do things?"

"No, Dr King changed that. ALL people are allowed to all things. Black people, women, all people, just the way it should be."

"But, they still shouldn't have killed him. It's all so confusing."

"Yes, it really is confusing."

"Can I have 2 cookies?"

"Yes, you may have 2 cookies."

Let's keep them confused, so they always question the reasoning behind bigotry, terrorism and any other acts of violence and evil.

Weekly progress report

I have been reading "You on a Diet" (by Dr Oz, who is often on Oprah) and he recommends having a friend to tell about your progress. I figured this worked. So I have been doing pretty well keeping to my first resolution to loose weight. I have even managed to keep to the exercising despite having a treadmill that doesn't really work right. (Buffalo weather was accommodating until yesterday!) I have noticed that you can flucuate a pound or two throughout the day, so I am trying not to use this as a way to measure my progress, although I will continue to track with my scale daily. I am finding that my second resolution is causing more difficulties. I'm like a little kid(or many adults) that has been told "No!" and therefore has to do it all the more. Not that I'm dropping F-bombs every 40 seconds, but it's become complusive to say something unseamly. I need to find replacements words that will come easily to mind when an inapporpriate word would normally. Like my sister-in-law Shelley instead of saying "Good Heavens!" or "G--da--it!" she says "Oh, Good Night!" I can't carry that one off, but I'm open to suggestions. Got a favorite?

Suggestions

Dec 28, 2006 (before) Jan 3, 2007 (during)

Like every new year, my husband has time off and a driving need to demo some part of the house! Last year I got a new gorgeous bathroom, this year I am getting a new living room, complete with a removal of a non-working wood burning fireplace and the addition of a new pellet stove. We are in need of some suggestions of how to handle the surrounding walls. There will be tile on the floor and up the wall behind the stove with a mantle.( the mantle will be a few inches above the window sills) There needs to be book shelves on either side of the stove area, the left side holding the tv, dvd,vcr, etc and the other side for books, photos, nicknacks, etc. My husband does not want the shelves to be too deep. We are considering having the shelves turn and extend on to the other walls (no too far as the front wall has BIG windows) and tucking the tv into the corner - in hopes of having it be deep enough, but not, ya know.. We are both having trouble getting the right visual in our heads. It's there, like on the tip of the tongue thing, but just not quite. Any thoughts?