Domestic Diva Disasters

I can tell I'm really getting tired of the nonstop cooking. I'm getting sloppy.

I decided that I needed to feed the boys a hearty breakfast before they went to White Water on Wednesday (and I didn't want to have to spend $40 more for food once they got there) so I made a huge pan of scrambled eggs, some toast and freshly sliced canteloupe. I found a little bag of shredded cheese in the fridge and sprinkled it on top of the eggs and put the lid on to let it melt. I lifted the lid......peeeeeee-yuuuuuuuuu. The cheese was not so fresh. Down the disposal. Cook more eggs while they sit expectantly at the table, complaining that they just want cereal and they want to get something to eat at WW. Tough toodles, eat your eggs and be happy.

While they were at WW, I stopped by the grocery store for a few last minute items for dinner. I picked up a frozen deep dish peach pie and yummy vanilla ice cream. I got home and slid that puppy into my Longaberger Grandma Bonnie's Pie Plate (it's a homemade pie....because I made it at home). It baked and smelled oh-so-good. I took it out of the oven when it was beautifully browned and bubbling. I set it on the stovetop to cool, then went to the office.

While I was at the office, we got a torrential downpour. We talked to the boys periodically for over an hour, and then decided to pick them up since it didn't look like the rain was going to stop enough to reopen the rides.

When I got home, I looked at my beautiful pie. It was full of water.

The vent hood has a leak. A big leak. DOTR thought he found it and fixed it, but evidently not.

Down the disposal goes the peach pie.

DOTR is in charge of dinner that night (hamburgers and potatoes on the grill).

I quit.

One Week

The boys go back to school a week from today. J3 turns 16 on Monday.

The summer is gone and it's still July (for a few more minutes anyway).

I can't believe that I've finally said goodbye to middle school. I've had somebody in middle school since 1998.

Goodbye. And good riddance.

More Randomness

Random things that I'm loving right now....

Mad Men

I started watching this last summer and I was afraid to tell anybody (kiss of death). It's good. Love the clothes. Always wanted to look like Betty. Without the cigarette.




ebay

OK, it's official. I'm hooked. I got these two bags (VB Nantucket Navy Large and Small Duffle). Working on the garment bag. I'll let you know in six days.

My New Diet

Better known as the "duh diet". Don't eat it if it's not real food. Take your time. Don't eat so much. Enjoy your food. Duh.

Filthy Rich

I talked about this book awhile ago, but never got around to buying it. Nothing will ever match the OPH, but this is amusing.

White Water

The boys went there this morning. And they stayed all day.

BLTs

DOTR's homegrown tomatoes, thick cut pepper bacon from the butcher shop, toasted country french bread from the German bakery, and a piece of green leaf lettuce. Divine.

French Rose'

Friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel. This is not blush wine.....oh so crisp with grilled shrimp salad. It's from the Languedoc region where J1 studied two summers ago (Toulouse). Yum.


What are you loving this summer?

Randomly, of course.

Well, of course......

Your 80s Hunk Is

Michael J. Fox

Who's" Your 80s Hunk?

Was there any question?

Duh.

What's Cookin'?

I really do like to cook, but half the time nobody is home to eat when I go to all the trouble, or now with just the boys home it's unappreciated ("I hate quiche....salmon.....grilled mahi mahi....salad".....etc.) But now with the French Boy staying for two weeks, I've had to take my cooking skills off ice and get busy. I learned last time that if you don't make something for them and set it on the table, they won't eat. Telling them to "make a sandwich when you get hungry" doesn't compute, even when explained in French. It's a cultural thing, I guess.

So, for the past eight days, it seems like I've cooked more than I have in the past six months. We've eaten in the dining room 4 times (we downsized the kitchen table when J2 went to college) with the girls suddenly showing up for meals, too, so now there are 7 at the table. I've run the dishwasher at least twice and sometimes three times a day. I've baked cakes, made blueberry pancakes twice, French toast, meatloaf, lasagna, salad, salad and more salad. I've snapped fresh green beans and cooked fresh peas. I've fried more bacon (and cleaned it up) than the Waffle House.

Tonight they're going to the Braves game, so I'm going to send them off with a hearty lunch and hope DOTR will spring for something for dinner. They've been staying up late playing xbox (I brought it home, but it's leaving again as soon as French Boy is gone), so they're sleeping late, too. Which means they get up around 10:00 and eat, then eat again at about 1:30, a bowl of cheez its or ice cream at 4:00, dinner with salad, at least two veggies, potatoes, etc. and dessert for dinner at 6:30 or so, then another bowl of ice cream at about 10:00 pm.

Three growing boys = bottomless pits.

One Year

So it's been a year since I took the blog plunge. I spent quite a bit of time talking to myself, but it beats banging your head against the wall, I guess!

Just a little trip down memory lane....I started with this.

Then posted again. And again. And then I thought of something else.

And one more thing.

My goal has never been to get a huge readership (if it was, I guess I should've named this blog the Pink & Green Monogrammed Madras Seersucker Abnormally Normal Preppy), because then I couldn't say some of the things I say and I'd feel creepy about posting pictures of my kids. But I do see a lot of "regulars" who stop by and read. If any of you lurkers are feeling brave, leave a comment so I'll know who my bloggy friends are.

It's been a great outlet since basically I work alone (at home and at the office) and don't get a whole lot of interaction with anybody. When I started this, I was just a few weeks from taking my second daughter to college and being left with a house full of boys. That's been challenging, to say the least. I appreciate all the words of support and commiseration, so thanks for joining in and stopping by!

Y'all come back now, ya hear?!

It's Over

Le Tour is over.

Back to my regularly scheduled life.

Buy It Now

Okay, I decided that I only like the "Buy It Now" option on ebay. I found the Nantucket Navy large duffle and the garment bag, but I'll have to bide my time and wait to bid.

If I want something, dang it, I want it.

Now.

Clearance Shopping

Last night J1 and I had to do a little shopping for sorority rush (close your eyes if you have a daughter in a competing sorority!) Finding this dress was like looking for the Holy Grail. We found it in a size 16 (the only size left online) and we'll have to get it cut down to fit. A 2 or 4. Yeah, basically, we bought the fabric and the pattern.

There were several dresses they could get and really they were just looking for something in a solid fabric in this color in a choice of several styles. Way back in the early summer there was one at Ann Taylor Loft, but the only one they had was a 6P. Since hindsight is 20/20, it sure would've been a lot easier to deal with a 6P (which is about the same size as a 4 anyway, only shorter) than this mess.

Just in case, by some miracle, there was one of the red dresses left at ATLoft, we stopped in and hit the clearance rack. I found this dress for me.


I can't find the picture of the deal of the day--it's a lot like this dress, only red, white and blue paisley pattern. Perfect for the 4th of July on the Square. It was $29.99 and I almost decided not to get it.....but I thought, what the heck. I rarely buy stuff for myself, I guess I could slip in an extra dress for 30 bucks. When they rang it up, it was $14.99. Originally $89.

I was with the lucky girl, so I guess it rubbed off on me this time. J1, on the other hand, had to get the size 16.

Can't win every time.

Thrive

We've sold quite a few new groups with Kaiser lately and one of the perks is the monthly delivery of a huge box of fruit from The Fruitguys.

This is not your flavorless grocery store fruit. Nectarines to die for. Pears that leave juice running down your face (you have to eat it over the sink).

Yum.

I Love Your Key.....Your Fleur de Lis

Just a few things I've collected over the years....there's a key or fleur de lis in every room of the house (and the great thing about having an office--when you want something new at your house, you take the old stuff to the office!)

My front door (they designed it just for me!)

Our office foyer

I got this in Florence

My office

(most of the prints used to be in my room in college!)

Is there anything better...........?

.....than cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar blended together?

I thought not.

(Here's the Hummingbird cake I made for dessert last night--seven people in the house, three of which are growing boys--the cake is already just a memory).

Got Granite?

Did you read this?

Too Much Time on Their Hands

Two weeks. Three boys. Too much time on their hands.

Monday: Batman Movie (yes, they were deprived, they had to wait until Monday to see it...sniff)

Tuesday: Monster Golf

Wednesday: Senior High lunch out with youth group

Thursday: Aquarium/World of Coke

Friday: Parents go to work to make money to pay for the next week.

Mark this day

I just a bought something on ebay.

With paypal.

I'm in the club now.

Weekend Update

I say that like there was some excitement afoot. Not so much.

It was rather quiet around the Normal household.

J1 was off to Orlando for the national Dance Marathon Leadership Conference. She's on the steering committee as Director of Morale. I've been nagging her for weeks about getting a plane ticket, since she's known about it for months, but she never "got around to it". Then she came home last week and said she was just going to go down to the airport and try to get on a flight with AirTranU (fly standby for $80 each way with a college ID). Good luck with that, I said. Haven't you read about what a mess things are? They're cutting domestic flights and everything is packed--you'll never get a flight.

How could I forget that she, along with DOTR and Favorite SIL, is always sooooo lucky. (my luck when traveling? think the Griswolds). She got on the first flight and landed in Orlando before noon on Friday. On Sunday, she stayed for the awards ceremony (they won Best Website, duh that would be Georgia TECH), accepted the award at 9:38 am, caught the 10:00 shuttle to the airport and got on an 11:22 flight home. There were no more seats in coach, so they had to put her in business class. Always lucky.

J4 went to Lake Hartwell with a friend for the whole weekend. J2 & J3 were both out for the night on Friday. DOTR and I were going to go out for dinner, but we were too lazy (it doesn't look good for the empty nest years).

DOTR went on his weekly Saturday morning errands (Farmer's Market, butcher shop, German bakery), we did some yard work and cracked the whip on the two remaining children (clean the garage and basement...NOW!) On Saturday night, DOTR and J3 got to take the trip to the airport to pick up our French Boy. Whoa! He's grown a foot since he was here two years ago!

Yesterday I had acolyte duty, then we grilled burgers and hotdogs (from the butcher shop....DE-licious!) for lunch. Later, the girls had to go to Tech's orientation to sit at the info fair for Dance Marathon, the boys went to youth group, DOTR and I sat outside on the square at Marietta Pizza.

All in all, just another weekend.

Just the kind of weekend I've been waiting for all these years.

Ahhhh.

300th Post and Almost One Year

Who knew I had so much to say? (most of it totally inconsequential, I'll admit).

In honor of my 300th post, I don't have a giveaway or any discounts!

I've only posted one picture of myself the whole time I've been blogging and I was standing behind the kids on a terrible, terrible hair day, so I figured it was time I "came out" so to speak. The only other picture I have was taken over two years ago at Tech's homecoming when J1 was a freshman. I wish I could say I'm skinnier than I was then, but I'm not. My hair is straighter and longer (think Martha Stewartish), but otherwise, I don't look a whole lot different than two years ago.



I'll try to come up with something better for my "bloggiversary" next week!

100 Things

1. I was born in Nebraska and lived there until I was almost 23.

2. I have lived in Georgia for almost 23 years.

3. The town where I was born has 200 people.

4. I had 12 people in my graduating class.

5. I went to the University of Nebraska.

6. I was first an interior design major, then pre-law, and finally graduated from the Journalism school with a degree in advertising.

7. Because I was from a small town, it was just expected that you would go out for all sports. I played volleyball and ran track (100, 200, relays and long jump) and was also a cheerleader.

8. The only thing I liked was cheerleading.

9. I was a cheerleader in college.

10. I'm the oldest of three children. My sister is 4 years younger and my brother is 8 years younger.

11. I skipped 7th grade.

12. I was salutatorian of my class. The valedictorian is a farmer and didn't go to college.

13. I love history and hate math and science.

14. Two of my favorite tv shows are CSI and Numb3rs. Math and science. Go figure.

15. I am English and German.

16. I have always been obsessed with Scotland and France.

17. I have always liked to read and remember the first time I finished a book in one day.

18. I have probably read about 10,000 cheap romance novels in my life so far.

19. I like to cook and I'm fairly good at it.

20. I had never eaten at McDonald's until I was in high school.

21. I never had Mexican food until I was in college.

22. I never had Chinese food until I was married.

23. The first time I ever flew on an airplane, I was 21 years old.

24. Now I really hate flying. I can't stand going to the Atlanta airport.

25. I never liked to babysit.

26. Nobody can believe that I have 4 kids.

27. I really don't like other people's kids; at times I barely tolerate my own.

28. I wish I could speak French. I can read and understand, but I cannot speak.


29. I'm going on a French immersion week in September and I'm scared to death!

30. I grew up as a Lutheran, but I'm now a Methodist (DOTR's whole family used to be Methodist on both sides). In my hometown we only had two churches. Lutheran and Methodist.

31. I always wanted to be Anglican. I like bells and smells.

32. My favorite color is blue.

33. I pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma in college. Our colors are the blue of the sky and the blue of the sea.


34. Our school colors are navy blue and white.

35. I am a perfectionist, but I am impatient.

36. So basically, that means I suck at crafts.

37. I know how to sew.


38. I was in 4-H for ten years.

39. I was the Grand Champion of the Style Review for my county as well as the two county fair. My cousin was from the other county and she was grand champion for their county. But I was grand champion of the fair. Yeah. How cool was I?

40. I got to be on tv at the State Fair Style Review. I got a purple ribbon.

41. I've never bought anything on ebay.

42. I had a Paypal account once, but I lost my password.

43. I sing. Quite well actually.

44. I played the alto sax from 3rd grade until 10th grade. I hated it because I wanted to play the flute.

45. I still can't sight read so I play the piano by plinking out by ear and chording with the left hand.

46. I always wanted to play the piano and be a ballerina.

47. I'm a terrible dancer. DOTR is a great dancer, but I stink. I can't even shag.

48. One of the best things I ever learned to do was type. I could always get a decent job in college.

49. I used to be a bartender.

50. I've also been a waitress, an event planner and a copywriter.

51. I have naturally curly hair.

52. It has rained on every important day of my life and ruined my hairdo.

53. I like pie better than cake.

54. I have never watched Sex and the City.

55. I could never figure out what the big deal was about cupcakes. IMO, making them is a huge PITA. Someone finally told me it was related to Sex and the City. Oh.

56. I used to be addicted to soap operas.

57. I watched all the CBS soaps except Young and the Restless because I hated Sheila.

58. I watched the very first episode of The Bold and the Beautiful and never missed it for years.

59. I stopped cold turkey when we moved into our current house almost 11 years ago. No clue why.

60. I have never played a video game and would have no idea how to begin.

61. Basically, I am a technotard. I'm surprised I've figured out how to do so many things on blogger because I'm still trying to do mail merge on Word.

62. I haven't taken math since I was 15 years old. Don't ask me for help.

63. I love cars.

64. I always used to want a different car, but I've been very content with my last two (DOTR drives the Landcruiser now) and I don't have the itch for a new one. Yet.

65. When I was in high school, I was obsessed with Gone With the Wind.

66. My friends all think it's hilarious that I live in Atlanta (DOTR was sent here, I didn't choose it).

67. I could now care less about GWTW, and I haven't even been to the museum, Scarlett on the Square. I can walk there from my house.

68. If I could've chosen where I wanted to live after college, I would've moved to Washington DC or Boston.

69. I went to Hawaii (Kauai) when I was 25.

70. I thought I was fat. I wish I was that fat now.

71. I went to Hawaii (Maui) again when I was 40. For my birthday.

72. I went to Scotland (my first trip abroad) when I was 35.

73. I've been to England (twice), Scotland, Ireland, France (three times), Switzerland, Monaco and Italy (twice) since that first trip.

74. When I was 16, I went on a 4-H trip to Washington DC. It took 2 weeks and cost $400. And we got $40 back.

75. I went to Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Gettysburg, DC for a week, NYC, Niagra Falls, across Canada, and Detroit on that trip. That was the first time I'd been anywhere but Nebraska, Iowa or Kansas.

76. I've been PTSA President.

77. I've been UMW President.

78. I've been Ballet Guild President.

79. I've been IB Booster Club President.

80. I've been First Lady of the Ballpark (DOTR was President).

81. Three different people have given me things that say "Stop Me Before I Volunteer Again!"

82. I don't like to drive even though I like cars.

83. I don't like to talk on the phone.

84. I'm a visual learner. If I see it, I remember it.

85. I love the newspaper. I love to read different newspapers.

86. My hearing is terrible. I'm always saying "WHAT?"

87. I had LASIK in 2000 for my nearsightedness and astigmatism.

88. I got glasses two years ago because my astigmatism came back. I need to get "tweaked".

89. We've had season tickets to the Braves since 1991, but I haven't been to a game for seven years.

90. I'd rather stay home than go to a Braves game.

91. I don't like crowds or traffic.

92. I'm not wild about movies and I really have to want to see something to watch it.

93. When I like a movie, I'll watch it a million times.

94. I listen to NPR in my car. But it's mostly classical music. Very little talk on our affiliate.

95. I hate talk radio. Political, sports, whatever. Too many stupid people.

96. I used to date someone sort of famous.

97. I minored in art history and I love art galleries.

98. I have been on a private tour of the Sistene Chapel.

99. My favorite painters are the Dutch and Flemish painters of the Northern renaissance period.

100. I'm so boring!

Read Much?

I've seen this a few places, most recently from Kappa Prep. (btw, when DOTR came into my office when I was reading one day, he said "are you Kappa Prep?"...isn't is sweet that he still thinks of me like that rather than a MOM?!) Since I have quite a few years on a lot of the bloggers who've posted it, I have read a lot of these books. So between high school English teachers who believed in reading all the classics, college Lit classes, two college history classes that used novels instead of textbooks, a couple of classes in classics and mythology and reading everything my daughters had to read for their IB Lit classes for four years, I'm covered. Oh, and I can't forget trolling the bookstores as a stand in for late night entertainment.

"106 Books of Pretension"

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2. Anna Karenina
3. Crime and Punishment
4. Catch-22
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude
6. Wuthering Heights
7. The Silmarillion
8. Life of Pi
9. The Name of the Rose
10. Don Quixote
11. Moby Dick
12. Ulysses
13. Madame Bovary
14. The Odyssey
15. Pride and Prejudice
16. Jane Eyre
17. The Tale of Two Cities
18. The Brothers Karamazov
19. Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
20. War and Peace
21. Vanity Fair
22. The Time Traveler’s Wife
23. The Iliad
24. Emma (finally slogged through this after I got two different versions of the movie)
25. The Blind Assassin
26. The Kite Runner
27. Mrs. Dalloway
28. Great Expectations
29. American Gods
30. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
31. Atlas Shrugged
32. Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
33. Memoirs of a Geisha
34. Middlesex
35. Quicksilver
36. Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
37. The Canterbury Tales
38. The Historian : a novel
39. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
40. Love in the Time of Cholera
41. Brave New World
42. The Fountainhead
43. Foucault’s Pendulum
44. Middlemarch
45. Frankenstein
46. The Count of Monte Cristo
47. Dracula
48. A Clockwork Orange
49. Anansi Boys
50. The Once and Future King
51. The Grapes of Wrath
52. The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
53. 1984
54. Angels & Demons
55. The Inferno
56. The Satanic Verses
57. Sense and Sensibility (just read it this winter)
58. The Picture of Dorian Gray
59. Mansfield Park
60. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
61. To the Lighthouse
62. Tess of the D'Urbervilles
63. Oliver Twist
64. Gulliver’s Travels
65. Les Misérables
66. The Corrections
67. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
68. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
69. Dune
70. The Prince
71. The Sound and the Fury
72. Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
r73. The God of Small Things
74. A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
75. Cryptonomicon
76. Neverwhere
77. A Confederacy of Dunces
78. A Short History of Nearly Everything
79. Dubliners
80. The Unbearable Lightness of Being
81. Beloved
82. Slaughterhouse-Five
83. The Scarlet Letter
84. Eats, Shoots & Leaves
85. The Mists of Avalon
86. Oryx and Crake : a novel
87. Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
88. Cloud Atlas
89. The Confusion
90. Lolita
91. Persuasion
92. Northanger Abbey
93. The Catcher in the Rye
94. On the Road
95. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
96. Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
97. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
98. The Aeneid
99. Watership Down
100. Gravity's Rainbow
101. The Hobbit
102. In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
103. White Teeth
104. Treasure Island
105. David Copperfield
106. The Three Musketeers

I think that's 59, but I may have lost count. And I'm not saying how long ago I read some of these books either, but I think Jimmy Carter may have been President. Or maybe even Gerald Ford. Yeah.

Anyone else want to play?

Dead Week

Not much happening around here this week. J3 has driver's ed everyday from 8:00-2:30. I was lucky enough to be the Parent Who Has to Stay for the first hour (for the third time). Which means I had to watch the locally produced video about teen driving, which is so sad. And of course, which made no impression whatsoever on J3. The last accident they talked about was the worst, as DOTR came up on it shortly after it happened. He did not stay, there were already several people there waiting for the ambulances and he could tell that it was bad and people were dead. Four kids on the way to high school (not ours, out in the more "country" part of the county). So, that was a fun way to start a Monday morning.

Carpet and upholstery cleaning is on the agenda for today. They are doing the basement, a sofa, two loveseats and three chairs, the master bedroom and the boys' room. Everything else in the house is hardwood or tile. We're still smelling the after effects of our fabulous plumbing job (stinkeriffic) because they removed all the sewer pipes under half the house. Maybe carpet shampoo will override that smell.

J4 needs to finish his summer homework this week because our French boy arrives on Saturday. For the next two weeks, we'll be doing all the tourist junk we never do unless somebody comes to visit. Nobody's been to see us for years (since DOTR's whole family moved here and my family has better things to do, I guess.) The last time the French boys came we were at the beach for 10 of the 14 days, so we just basically recovered and sent them home (they were here for the 4th of July, so that was about all the excitement we could handle). This time it's just the 14 year old. DOTR has Braves tickets, we're going to try out the new climbing thing and see the Laser show at Stone Mountain (haven't been there for YEARS), hit the Aquarium and new World of Coke. Maybe White Water or Six Flags. DOTR likes to do all that stuff, so I'll let him!

When those two weeks are up, J3 turns 16 and school starts. Two in high school. Two in college.

When did I get so old??

Rain?

We almost forgot what that's like around here. We had 2 inches and they said on tv that the last time they recorded 2 inches at the airport was November 2006. Found a leak we didn't know we had from the new range hood, so I had three bowls on top of the stove to catch all the drips.

Growing up in Nebraska, rain was always the main topic of the day. The weather makes or breaks your year in my neck of the woods. Until not that long ago, the weather was always the lead on the news (like apartment fires and shootings here). I didn't know that wasn't normal until I was in J school and we talked about it in Mass Media and Society. Who knew?

I remember when I was in high school and working at the cafe out on the highway (it had a name, but was only known as "The Station") by 9:00 in the morning, I could tell you who had how much rain within a ten mile radius. Nobody but the "rich farmers" could irrigate, and the part of Nebraska where I grew up actually has a lot of hills, so it wasn't feasible for a lot of people even if they could afford it.

A couple of years after we moved into this house, we had the landscaping redesigned and paid a fortune to have it installed. Since then, we've had about eight years of drought. Every year I lose more stuff and I just think.....cha-ching! Last year we had a total water ban and now we can hand water for 25 minutes on odd numbered Thursdays when there's a full moon only between 5:57 and 7:46. Or some such nonsense.

I like gardening, but have lost my enthusiasm in the past few years. But I am lazy. If the rain doesn't fall on it, don't count on me to water it. We have terrible water pressure, so we don't have an underground system, even if we could use it.

So, please. Rain. More.

FYI

"The next time you're driving down the road at about 50 miles an hour, strip down to your underwear and jump out. That's what it feels like to crash in a professional bike race."

Jonathan Vaughters, team boss of Garmin-Chipotle in a commercial during the Tour de France.

Saturday Night

......and everybody is gone. For the night.

Not sure how we managed that. Out of the blue, the girls decided to spend the night at Tech. J3 had a friend over, they walked to another friend's house in the neighborhood and now they're both spending the night there. Why not? J4 was supposed to be toted to a movie (by us) but he got a better offer to go to go get wings with his best bud's family and of course he then has to spend the night.

The stars are in perfect alignment.

Stop the Madness!

Now there's one circuit in the basement that no amount of "flipping on/flipping off" will reboot.

Unfortunately, it's the half of the basement that controls the tv. We knew that last night and frustration was felt by the testosterone wing when they were forced to watch sports on a small regular tv, rather than a big screen HD tv.

Now it's serious. It's also the circuit where the freezer and refrigerator are plugged in.

Who wants milkshakes?

Don't Walk.......RUN!

If you have a sweet, adorable about to turn 16 year old daughter and you're looking for a car, heed my advice.

Buy a Honda, Toyota, or Nissan but DO NOT buy a VW Jetta. That is, unless you have some serious bucks you feel like flushing down the toilet at least once a year.

Yeah, the Jetta is in the shop. Again.

Let me bring you up to speed on the Jetta.

2003: We are so excited! J1 is going to be able to drive soon! Hurray! We wake up every morning two parents short and we need another car and another driver around here. We start to look for a car, preferably a used Altima (we've had great luck with Nissans and Infinitis) or a Camry. J1 does NOT want a Honda Civic because "everybody has one". She finds the old Official Preppy Handbook and fixates on VW after we nix a Landrover as an option. At the same time, three of my nerdiest, research-things-to-the-nth-degree acquaintances all buy VWs for their soon to be 16 year olds. I like the reinforced side doors and figure that any car that's built to be driven on the autobaun must be safer than some of the other options. And if all those other really smart, well educated people are buying VWs, they must be a good thing, right? DOTR finds a 2001 silver Jetta, just what J1 ordered, for $10,000 and buys it.

2004: The honeymoon is over when after an oil change, the Jetta starts smoking and stopping. We take it to the VW dealership and they diagnose the problem and the only cure is some kind of procedure to desludge the engine (?) for a mere $1200. And replace the oil pan because the screw is stripped (we find out when we get another VW that this is one of the things they pull on every car--they won't do the repair if you don't agree to get it done and they already have the car). Also, the two girls have a little mishap on the way to school, and the pickup that took off the driver's side electric rear view mirror does a "hit and run", so we are also stuck with several hundred dollars to get that fixed.

2005: After another oil change, the car smokes and stops again and now the engine must be replaced. It sits at the dealership for two months while DOTR negotiates with them to pay for it. Finally, they go for half. So $4,000 later, we have a new engine. (In lieu of a warranty, DOTR negotiates oil changes with synthetic oil at regular oil prices for the life of the car. Big whoop.)

2006: J1 goes to college and we cover the Jetta. She does a study abroad, so it sits for most of the summer, too. Thankfully, I think it doesn't cost a bunch that year. Good thing, because we have a Bug, and it has its share of problems.

2007: J1 takes the car to college. While driving near the VW dealership (ironically) the car overheats, so she takes it there and has a friend pick her up. I can't remember what that cost, but I know it was at least $500. After it was fixed, there was always a problem that sounded like the transmission, but we hoped it was minor. In hindsight, at this point we should've dumped that thing while it was in relatively good condition.

Fall 2007: J2 is off to Athens to see her friends in J1's car (freshmen can't take cars to Tech). She hits a cement retaining wall driving out of Peter's Parking deck and damages the back axel so badly that she can't drive the car. At this point, if we didn't own the car outright, I'm sure any insurance company would've totalled it. But we get it fixed. I can't remember now, but I know it was thousands. ETA: I just checked back on an old post--it was $3,500.

Summer 2008: Still "shifting hard", finally J1 says that the sounds are getting worse. We are NOT taking it to the dealership again because the guy we always worked with is gone (umm, I'm thinking he bought a small island in the tropics with the proceeds from our repairs) and we are tired of getting, for lack of a better word, raped by them. So DOTR calls a mechanically minded OM friend who knows everybody and everything and he refers us to a transmission shop. Nothing wrong with the transmission, but it's something else and the transmission is connected to it but he won't know until he gets in there......$3,000 to $5,000, he thinks.

So if you're adding this up (I'm not, it's too depressing), you can see we should've just bought her a brand new anything but a VW and called it a day.

Needless to say, DOTR is not in a good mood.

I think I need to bake a German chocolate cake to take the edge off. Or maybe not.

Might not want to bring up anything German today.

Mmmmm, good!

When we were in London, we didn't do much shopping--due to lack of free time as well as the crappy exchange rate. In fact, I don't think I brought much home for myself except some tea. The day we went on our walk, we passed Truefitt & Hill and DOTR was instantly seduced.

Despite being generally unable to dress himself without my help, he has always been interested in shaving and grooming stuff. Go figure. He uses a shaving brush and soap instead of shave cream and is very particular about his razors. And yet, he does go to Harold the Barber at Elizabeth Feed and Seed for haircuts, so I don't quite know where this whole luxurious shaving and scents thing comes from....but whatever. Everybody has their little quirks.


We spent a little bit of time there on our way back to the hotel, but we had to check in and try to get aisle seats for our return flight, so we left without anything. After checking in online, DOTR went back and brought home not one but TWO different scents and a boatload of samples (he smelled oh so good in Jackson Hole and different everyday!)


It's located in quite the posh part of London, and I stood outside for awhile while he was sampling and watched a bunch of very well dressed elderly people emerge from black cabs without any advertising on them. They were all carrying some kind of program, so I'm not sure what was going on, but it was people watching at its finest.

When he runs out, we're going back for more.

In person, of course.

Alone Again, Naturally

Good day, sunshine. Girls are at work, then off to very important "day chair" meeting for sorority rush afterwards, and DOTR has to take two classes for his important new position as assistant poll manager for the upcoming primary election next Tuesday. And the boys (amen!) are still at youth camp.

Now I could use all this free time to sweep dust bunnies from under the sofa and kill all the spiders, etc. that have left their webs in the corners, or even start on the laundry we've generated since we got home from Jackson Hole (DOTR was kind enough to inform me that he was wearing his last pair of clean underwear....usually he saves that information for 6:00 am TOMORROW morning).

But no. Instead, I decided to go to Costco to get gas (we've used up our three tanks with 10 cents off from Kroger already this month). When I got there at least 20 cars were in line, and I quickly calculated (using my higher order cipherin' skills) that I would only be saving about 70 cents total by sitting in that line instead of going down the hill to BP. I figured my time is worth at least $1.40/hr., so buh-bye Cost-e-co. Whew, so glad I did that, because it gave me plenty of time to drop in at Borders where I left $70 poorer (same amount as it took to fill my car) but now the proud owner of the latest Nora Roberts hardback at 40% off, another Steve Berry paperback, even more magazine sluttery (National Geo Travel, Outside, Better Homes & Gardens, and Natural Health) AND a gorgeous new green and blue striped tote bag. And a Javakula. Yeah. Glad I saved all that time not waiting at Costco.

I am still in search of sleep. Since we slept in luxurious beds at the Shelbourne, the Mayfair and the Four Seasons, for some reason my Original Mattress Factory pillowtop with the fab-u-lous Field Crest sheets from Target are not doing it for me. Imagine. Even popping a couple Exedrin PMs hasn't helped. Crankiness reigns.

Last night J2 went to the Dave Matthews Band concert and wandered in about 2:30 am. And left the Jeep sitting outside in the rain with the top off (first at her friend's house while they went to the concert, then all night because she didn't want to open the garage door?) Luckily, while it was raining the most, her friend's dad put a tarp over it. I knew we could count on Mr. B to take care of it. I wasn't worried, but DOTR was ticked, and somehow it all became my fault? Still trying to figure that one out. But since we had no clue where she was and suddenly her phone is broken (nice, 3 out of the 4 kids' phones are "broken"), I was not resting easily. Stay out the whole damn night when you're at school, but puh-lease come home by 11:00 on weeknights, people. We're old and we need our sleep. She's been at PITA about that all summer. J1, on the other hand, has locked herself in her room for the duration and rarely goes anywhere except work. Which means if I want to get on the computer at night or on the weekend, I have to go to the office.

When does school start again?

With the boys gone, we are really thinking how enjoyable boarding school might be (for us).

Ahhhh, a girl can dream.

Speaking of Supplements

I am actually at the office today with a boatload of crap to do. Ugh. My shoulders and legs are killing me and I'd much rather be lounging out back by the pool, even if I really am a mushroom.

If you are young and reading this, let me just give you a word of warning. Do not ever let yourself get to the point that taking a simple 2 mile walk four days in a row requires at least three Advil to help you out of bed. I am soooo out of shape. So just listen and learn. Don't do it. Eat your veggies and exercise everyday or you'll wake up one day and you'll be 45, wondering what the hell happened. Seriously.

When DOTR used to visit his parents at the lake, he would always come home with tales of the vitamin tub. They had a huge plastic tub that they'd plop down on the table before every meal, and they'd load up on the vitamins. We'd laugh and laugh about the vitamin tub, and it became the joke of the day. His dad still swears he's in such good health because of all his vitamins (although I have to say I hadn't seen him for awhile and I don't think he's looking too good--but it could be the bad toupee that resembles a coonskin cap sans tail--that would do it to anybody, I guess).

Well, after I downed a few Advil, I also popped enough supplements to fill my own vitamin tub.

I guess it's only a matter of time before I go to Walmart to find some cute vitamin tub that matches the kitchen. Or maybe I should use one of my gazillion Longaberger baskets for a vitamin centerpiece.

In any event, the sad reality is that we're there.

Sucks to be a regular at Vitaminworld.

And Away They Go!!!

The boys are gone to Youth Camp until Thursday!

Can I hear an "Hallelujah"?

How about an "Amen"?

Le Tour

Le Tour de France starts today. In Brest, Bretagne (Brittany) just down the road from where our exchange student from a few years back lives. And a stop in Nantes, where my French boys live.

Will I be watching? Last year, back when I was here talking to myself, I mused about le tour and my general obsession about cycling for no apparent reason. After three solid weeks of watching it most days at least twice, I usually spend another week in the chair in the sunroom holding the remote, looking for something to watch.

But Le Tour is a mess this year. The Discovery Channel team is defunct, the 2008 winner and third place rider who were on Discovery are now on a team (Astana) that's been banned because of what long gone team members did, and part of the brains behind all of Lance Armstrong's wins, team manager Johan Bruyneel says it's because the French only like losers. Most of the famous riders from the past few years all have been banned, suspended or retired and there's an air of suspicion.

Here's Tucker's take on the situation. I can't say I disagree.

But I will say, it's addicting.

A strong cup of french roast coffee, the newspaper, sitting in the sunroom watching le tour.

That's summer to me.

Independence Day

Enjoy the day!

Cherry Cherry Good

OK, found that recipe. The cake is history here, but the memory lives on. I might even buy some more cherries. And that cherry pitter doohickie.

Cherry Ripple Sour Cream Coffee Cake
(Cooking Light July 2008)

Ingredients

Streusel:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
1/2 cup regular oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tablespoon canola oil

Cake:
Cooking spray
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cups pitted fresh cherries, coarsely chopped (about 10 ounces)

Preparation

1. To prepare streusel, lightly spoon whole wheat flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine whole wheat flour and next 4 ingredients. Add concentrate and 1 tablespoon oil; stir until crumbly.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. To prepare cake, coat a 9-inch tube pan with cooking spray. Combine 1/4 cup oil and melted butter in a medium bowl. Add granulated sugar, vanilla, egg, and egg white; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.

4. Lightly spoon all-purpose flour in dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine all-purpose flour and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately to egg mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in cherries.

5. Spoon half of batter into prepared pan; sprinkle with half of streusel. Spoon in remaining batter; top with remaining streusel. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; run a knife around outside edge. Cool completely in pan.

Yield

16 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 246(28% from fat); FAT 7.6g (sat 1.5g,mono 3.8g,poly 1.9g); IRON 1.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 18mg; CALCIUM 53mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.5g; SODIUM 227mg; PROTEIN 4g; FIBER 1.8g

Victoria Abbott Riccardi , Cooking Light, JULY 2008

Enjoy!

Randomness

It's one of those weird summer days where I really have nothing pressing here (other than a pile of laundry I can't wash because of our plumbing issues--and the water is turned off) and nothing going on at the office since it's 4th of July week. What a perfect time for plumbing work!

Today they are working on the outside of the house and tomorrow they'll do the mess under the kitchen, laundry room, J1's bathroom, etc. They gave us a "break" and said that since we probably will be remodeling the bathrooms on the other side of the house, they could wait to be replumbed then. The mess we have now is thanks to a lot of DIY projects over the years, like relocating the laundry room as well as those fabulous cast iron pipes. So it will only be a mere $5,100 for the whole thing. Yeah. Ouch.

The boys leave for youth camp on Sunday morning--hallelujah! They've been foul and cranky since we got back. J3 evidently feels he's done enough penance for his many transgressions and is trying to get out of the house at every opportunity. I'm ready to see the backside of him and let somebody else deal with his excess energy.

Actually, I did have something pressing. Oopies. Forgot about my root day appt. Luckily, my hair guy knows if I'm not there on the dot of 10 am, he should give me a ring. I'm there in no time, but 15 minutes late so I get no blowdry today. Oh well. Stupid me did not turn the calendar to July and I've been in "reentry". Luckily he is understanding and has promised not to fire me.

DOTR and I decided that we were in terrible shape (well, it's not like we just noticed, we've been aware of it for some time now) but it was very apparent high in the mountains. Can you say huffin' and puffin'? Yeah, that was us. Don't judge. So anyway, we decided it was ridiculous that we find a million excuses to ignore our very own mountain in our backyard, so we went for a long walk/hike after lunch. And promised to do it every day until we go to Hawaii. And every day after that, too. Because we're old and out of shape. And that sucks.

Yesterday in a refrigerator clean out frenzy, I decided to make a cherry coffeecake recipe from this month's Cooking Light magazine. It turned out great, and there's only a tiny little bit left after the boys found it. It's called Cherry Ripple Sour Cream Coffee Cake. I'll try to find the recipe online, too long to retype. But delicious and worth the nasty cherry juice stains on my fingers (no, I don't have one of those doohickies from Williams-Sonoma to do it for me).


Speaking of magazines, I've been a magazine slut of late. I only subscribe to two magazines, Cooking Light (a gift) and Garden& Gun (because it's hard to find in the store). DOTR also got Food + Wine for me, but it comes to the office. I'm pretty sure it was one of those use your points from American Express or something. Since I've been to the grocery store everyday I've been home all summer and on two longish plane trips, my magazine cup runneth over. Sometimes you buy a mag and think "well, there's $5 down the crapper." Not so much lately. I've read Victoria, Travel & Leisure, Body + Soul, Natural Health, Health, Cooking Light, Traditional Home, Southern Accents, The Economist, The New Yorker, and Hello (the one with the pictures of the Royal Wedding). Oh, and I can't forget People, which I read once a month while I'm getting my roots done. No wonder the boys complain about taking out the recycling. It weighs at least a hundred pounds.



Before we went on the latest trip, I did a bunch of shopping. Luckily, most of it was for the girls. It's much more fun to buy them stuff because they actually look cute in it. We scored major sales at White House Black Market and Ann Taylor Loft. They each got 3 dresses, shoes, jewelry, etc. Most of the stuff they got is no longer online, but I found a few pictures. I'm just happy they still let me dress them up.



Well, this is really going nowhere.

Totally random.

My Travelin' Man

Well, I'm still tired from our trip and my suitcase is still laying on the floor of the bedroom full of clothes (thanks to the w/d in our hotel room, at least they're clean). Last night I went to bed at 10 pm and I woke up this morning when DOTR called at 10 am.

He wanted to know if I thought we should go to Hawaii for Thanksgiving.

WTF? I'm in a deep sleep and he wants me to make travel decisions. He really needs to stay off Clark Howard's website. He was thinking we could leave Wednesday before turkey day and come back Sunday. I was like....no freaking way. That's brutal travel for that little time. AB-solutely NOT. Are you out of your mind?

After I had a cup of coffee and thought about it for a minute, I called him back and reminded him that we do live in the loverly school district that gives us the entire week of Thanksgiving off, and the girls could just deal (people leave Tech early to go home, so why not?)

So before you could say "aloha", DOTR bought tickets for all six of us to Maui (ATL-Chicago-Maui), found a condo right on the beach near the Four Seasons (where we stayed for my 40th birthday). He sent them a check today. We're going for a whole week, Sunday-Sunday.

Yesterday, he spent most of the day looking for a condo for Labor Day weekend. We decided on Hilton Head so we don't have to deal with flying. I guess he decided that wasn't exciting enough, so he jumped on Hawaii today.

So evidently, my reaction to "reentry" is sleeping. DOTR's is planning more trips.

In case you're new around here, this is my travel background. You'd think after 20+ years I'd get used to it, but I never stop being surprised.

If it was up to me, we'd be remodeling the bathrooms.

Good thing it's not up to me.