Eeek!

I have a confession to make. I don't really like Halloween.

Now, let me explain. I really like kids in costume coming to my door. The kids from the preschool across the street from my office just came over and sang Halloween songs in their costumes, and it was adorable. I've got no problem with this sort of thing.

However.

The truth is, I'm scared of Halloween. Not witches, goblins, ghosts, etc.... but adults in costume. It totally freaks me out. I think I can pinpoint when this phobia actually began:

I was in college, and I went to a costume party one year. It was a small and creepy party, and I can't remember exactly whose apartment it was at or why I even went in the first place. What I do remember is that almost every guy there was dressed in full on drag. So much so that I couldn't recognize them. And I got scared. Like really nervous and freaked out scared, because I was at a party with a bunch of people I didn't recognize, and it was dark, and I was sitting on the couch, probably hugging myself and rocking back and forth, like I was Rain Man or something.

Ever since then, adults in costume-- particularly in masks-- have made me really nervous. If I can't see your face, but you can see me, then you could possibly attack me or eat me and I would never know who it was. I won't go to bars on Halloween, it's way too risky. Too many unknowns. In case you haven't noticed, I like to be in control and in charge, and I feel very vulnerable in a room full of people I can't recognize because they are wearing Bill Clinton masks or that awful thing from the Scream movies. (as you can see, my references are a little dated because I've been avoiding Halloween for so long).

I fear that I have shared a little too much with you and that now you know for sure that I have some major weirdness issues. But, that's who I am and it feels good to admit it.

For now, I'll just be hiding in my office until this day is done.

Finally, God has Smiled Upon Me

How long have I been waiting for this to come out on DVD? Too Long. But now....


Only one week left.

Home Again

Well, we've made it back, and as tired as I am, I had a GREAT time. It couldn't have happened at a better time, I'm not even really dreading going to work tomorrow. (much).

Anyway, I have lots to tell you, but the thing on my mind right this minute is that Saturday was quite possibly the perfect day. We woke up to gorgeous weather and walked to a place where I ordered about the heartiest breakfast you've ever seen. I am proud to say that I ate pretty much everything you could get, like the eating star that I am. I love a good breakfast.

After that, the boys went to a bar while the girls did a little walking around. I am pleased to announce that I purchased an excellent brown purse, which is nice and large (a bossy barwife requirement) and was quite reasonably priced. I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford not to get it.

I then made my way over to a little store called "la paperie", which of course was like walking into heaven, complete with the blue walls. I had a hard time leaving the store with just a few items to add to my stationery collection, but I did myself proud and only bought a couple of things.

One was this little tin of over 100 decorative stickers, from
Cavallini and Co. , which is just yum.

The other thing were some beautiful return address labels, the likes of which I had never seen before. I am looking forward to using these on my Christmas cards. So, if you happen to get a Christmas card from me, be sure to look at the address label, it was picked with the utmost care and encouragement from my companions.

After feeding my two most prominent addictions, it was time to tend to my third, drinking Bud Light and eating fried food while watching a great SEC matchup. I'm telling you, this was a near perfect day.

Time Off for Good Behavior

First off, did you watch Friday Night Lights like I told you to? I hope so, because I am still loving that Kyle Chandler. I think it's getting serious, and I'm pretty sure I saw this written on the wall behind his desk:

Coach Taylor + Bossy Barwife= Love


I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, my husband and I are leaving this morning for a little long-weekend vacation. We've had to re-adjust our plans a few times on this trip, but it looks like it's finally all worked out and if I could just get my act together (instead of sitting at the computer), we'd be out the door. It couldn't come at a better time, because I have been in the WORST MOOD lately, and sadly, I believe my blogging has suffered.

So, I'm off to eat, drink, and be merry. Hopefully I will come back in better spirits and with some excellent tales to tell you for the all important blog.

Until then, have a wonderful weekend and watch your SEC football!

Instant Message Therapy

Yesterday I spent a good hour (at least) Instant Messaging with two friends from high school. We all live in different parts of the country and have recently re-connected through the glorious internet.

These ladies were discovering the addictive nature of MySpace, and we had to discuss the profiles of people we went to high school with at length. As you might imagine, there was a lot of "What was his name again?" and "he got married?" and my personal favorite, "why does he have this annoying music on his profile?" Of course, there was also MUCH "LOL" during this time. If you've spent any time on myspace, you know how you can get sucked in and not realize just how much time you've wasted looking at these people you haven't spoken to in years. Now, I am not a huge fan of myspace, although I have spent plenty of time with it. Snake Nation wrote a great post about it, and I agree with her completely.

However, I had some serious fun with it yesterday. I was in a bitchy, sleepy, pants too tight mood, and didn't get a thing accomplished yesterday except eating. However, by the end of my "IM session" with these two old friends, I was laughing out loud (for real) in my office, reminiscing and feeling great. Nothing like a little blast from the past to knock you out of your present funk.

It's also always good for me to remember that even when my day is crappy,I can still laugh and gossip like I did in high school, without having to endure ever again that unique experience known as adolescence. So, many thanks to my girls out there. I hope I can return the favor sometime!

Addiction

Good news. I bought some more stationery. Just in case you were worried that I didn't have quite enough paper floating around out there with either my name or my monogram on it, I now have some more.

I don't know quite what it is about this stuff, but I can't get enough. I do write my fair share of notes, so it's not like I never use it. However, if I lined it all up, you might say that I have enough to last me the next several years... which would be fine if I didn't buy anymore for at least that long, but I think we know each other well enough to know that's not how it's going to go.

I've gone through other addiction phases in my life-- lip products and karaoke come most readily to mind. I managed to get those habits under control, but am still under the influence of Diet Coke, cheese dip, and Coach purses. Oh yeah, and television. I guess some things are just too good to give up.

Maybe one day I'll organize all my stationery and give myself a pep talk about how I don't really need to spend any more money on paper products, that I have plenty, blah blah blah. Until then, I'll continue to rationalize my purchases until I can't fit anymore paper into the house. Hey, at least I recycle.

Friday On My Mind

I've got a few things on my mind today. First, I want to say that I have a couple of friends doing the Breast Cancer 3 Day this weekend, and I think that's awesome. They've been training for a long time, and I know they are glad that it's finally here. Last year the route went really near my house, and it was so great to see all these people walking. So, thank you to those of you who participate in and support this great event.

Also on my mind, and on a totally different subject-- I am very concerned about this news from the Grey's Anatomy set! I sincerely hope that the National Enquirer has gotten this story wrong. I really don't like what Isaiah Washington/Dr. Burke allegedly said, but Oh. My. Gosh. I like Dr. Burke and I don't want him to get fired. I hope this is all wrong. I don't usually get my news from the Enquirer, as I've mentioned I am more of an US Weekly gal, so I'll wait and see what they tell me.

I talked to my four-year-old nephew yesterday, and the main topic on his mind was my husband's thumb. I thought you'd also like to know that now he is writing the word "ouch" on the band-aid, I guess to remind us that it hurts.

For now, the final (and most important) thing on my mind is eating lunch and leaving this office early. Have a great Friday!

Egg on My Face

Last night, when my husband got into bed, he said "Remember when Clark brought that proscuitto and melon thing over here? I've seen it everywhere since then!" Apparently, he's heard about it on TV, seen it a few places, and heard people talking about it.


I told him that I had gotten a comment on my blog from Monogram Momma informing me that it was indeed a real combination of food people eat, and that it was apparently quite delicious. He mercifully refrained from asking me why I had blogged about prosciutto and melon in the first place.



Anyway, I stand corrected. I do stay far away from melons, in my defense, but I had no idea this was a tasty treat. Please accept my apologies.

Also, I thought you would like to know that at approximately 3:48 am today our fan light came on. We were thrilled.

Hip to Be Square

As I have mentioned previously, I have a genuine love for tableware. I am not exaggerating when I say that I selected my casual china when I was in high school, and have had a deep and meaningful love for it ever since.

Recently, I have become quite enamored of the square plates that seem to be popping up in places like Pottery Barn or Pier 1. Many's the hour I have wasted standing in the store holding a square plate, asking myself if this is something I actually need or not. I haven't been able to convince myself just yet that I needed a whole new set of plates.

Until.

Portmeirion is now making square plates! Yes! Square plates! I know, I know, you're as happy as I am. I don't blame you. This is a red-letter day for me.

I was at my parents' house the other day and was like, "MOM. Guess what!? Portmeirion has square plates!" She was properly enthused, but my dad, who'll you remember from the riveting "fan post", said "Square plates? Why?" We ignored that.

My mom then said something like "You'll have to put that on your Christmas list". I'm thinking, more like my "must have immediately" list.

I'll be sure to let you know when I get them, but for now you'll just have to settle for my new favorite picture.

Friday Night Awesome

I just finished watching Friday Night Lights, the new show on NBC, and I need to say how much I love it. I love it so much. Football, teen angst, hot coaches, Texas accents... bring it on.

Kyle Chandler is my new boyfriend. (Remember when he got blown up on Grey's Anatomy by the bomb? I didn't even REALIZE then that we were about to be in a serious relationship.) Someone is finally giving Luke Perry a run for his money in my heart.

That's all I have to say for now, but if you aren't watching it, I highly recommend it. I will be happy to fill you in on these first three episodes if you like. Go Panthers!

A Very Strange Saturday

Before I get to today's post, I would like to report to you that my husband's thumb still hurts, and whenever I get within 5 feet of him, he says "Respect the thumb". I'm trying.

This past Saturday I had to go to a funeral. I have been to many funerals/memorial services, and this one was very nice. It was notable for a few reasons:

1. It was freezing. Freezing. I was wearing a long skirt, hose, and a long sleeved light-weight sweater, and I thought I was going to keel over. This wouldn't have been the end of the world, except...

2. It lasted about an hour and a half. Now, you may be thinking, "that's nothing, every service I've been to lasts 3 hours" or something like that. Like I said, it was a lovely service, and I think I would have enjoyed hearing what everyone had to say if the microphones had been on and my teeth weren't chattering.

3. There was a celebrity sighting! Amy Ray, of the Indigo Girls, was there. If you don't know who the Indigo Girls are, I am very sorry for you, and must encourage you to find out immediately. I managed to restrain myself from hopping up to get her autograph, but I could barely take my eyes off her.


Ok, so this service was at noon. While I was there, I left my cellphone in my car, of course, and I missed two calls from my husband. He had been at work all morning, and I felt sure he was calling to say that he'd bring home lunch, as he often does on Saturdays. I called him back, listening to my stomach growl (and trying to regain feeling in my frozen extremeties) and we have the following conversation:

Bossy: What's up? I'm on my way home.
Bar-Husband: Ok, Clark is here and he brought food. [Clark is a good friend we often watch football with]
Bossy: Great! I'm starving. What did he bring?
Bar-Husband: Prosciutto and melons.
Bossy: Pardon?
Bar-husband: Oh yeah, and eclairs.


So, moments later I get home to find three guys in their thirties with the following on the coffee table:

Beers
A box of Frozen Eclairs
One of my china serving pieces filled with canteloupe and prosciutto
Ritz crackers


I can't explain this, nor did I sample this little feast. I made myself some macaroni and cheese and read my US Weekly. Next time that Clark shows up he better have a Chick Fil A party platter with him or I'm not letting him in the door. That's all I'm saying.

Two Thumbs Up

This afternoon, as I was enjoying my Sunday afternoon nap, the phone rang and it was my husband, calling from the bar. I was pretty sleepy when I answered the phone, but soon I was wide awake.



Apparently, he was chopping lettuce this morning and managed to cut his thumb. Now, I never saw the wound, but according to him it was an extremely bloody mess, but I will spare you the excruciating detail that he shared with me.

As luck would have it, there was a nurse in the bar, who happened to have a first aid kit in her car. I know nothing about this stuff, but as best I understood it, she had some sort of adhesive liquid that would stop the bleeding and close the wound. So, she put that on him as held his thumb.

He was very happy because this seemed to work, until he realized that he had glued two fingers from his right hand to his thumb on his left hand. That's right. He glued his hands together.

They finally managed to dissolve the adhesive, which sounded like an unbearably painful process, and he started bleeding again. During this time, a party of forty came in the restaurant, while another party of 15 was enjoying their brunch, so there was NO WAY he was going to leave.

(Sidenote: If I had been the one who was injured, I damn sure would have left that restaurant, probably would have closed it while shrieking that my hands had been compromised. But that's just me. Sometimes I over-react.)

Anyway, eventually he went to the hospital where they wrapped it and told him what to get from the drugstore to take care of it. After all this, he got around to letting me know what happened.

After I stopped laughing about his gluing his hands together, I became a little concerned (I am a very caring wife, after all) and kept asking questions. I was soon interrupted by the beep of call waiting, where I found his mother on the other line. She never calls us, so I was a little surprised to hear from her.

Apparently my father-in-law had gone to the restaurant for brunch and couldn't get a table. He did, however, see his only son walking around with a washcloth over his hand.

He instructed my husband to take his ass to the hospital, and then came home and told his wife all about it. She called me, because she didn't believe that her son had actually taken himself to the hospital. She said, "He won't listen to me, so I'm calling in the big guns".

I called back to confirm that he was telling the truth, and questioned/threatened him within an inch of his life. He convinced me that he really had gone to the hospital, so I instructed him to call his mother, and hung up.

All this to say, he's fine and watching tv right now. I expect that he will make a full recovery, although he has warned me about 12 times already to be careful of the thumb. I'll do my best.

To Vera or Not to Vera?

One of the questions that I have wrestled with for many years is this:

Do I want to buy a Vera Bradley bag?

You may not see this as one of the deep, important questions of our time, and that's fine. However, this is one issue that I have struggled with for a while now. I have a few questions regarding Vera, and maybe you can help me with them:

1. Can these bags be monogrammed?
2. If so, can they be monogrammed by my own monogramm-er, or do I have to do it through VB?
3. How regularly do they discontinue the patterns?
4. Is it better (price-wise) to buy them through Vera Bradley or at a local retailer?
5. Are these bags really me?

I know, you probably don't know the answer to question #5, but that's one I struggle with the most. I can tell you that I love the duffel bags and hanging bags, and I really like the Java Blue pattern (as do a LOT of people where I live), so I'd probably start with that and see how I feel from there.


I have a deep love for all kinds of bags, in all shapes and sizes. I think what I love most about bags is that no matter your shape or size, no matter if you are having a skinny jeans day or a fat pants day, your purse always fits. Just a little bit of wisdom from yours truly.

Three Sheets to the Wind

I love bedding. I look at bedding all the time, and always want to get new stuff for my bed and the guest bed. I have torn so many pages out of the Pottery Barn catalog with pictures of different bedrooms, to keep in my little notebook in case I ever have a gigantic home and an unlimited budget for decorating.

Anyway, I have decided it's time for me to invest in a new set of sheets. I like the sheets that I have fine, but I don't like my second set, and I'm tired of washing these and putting them right back on all the time. I need a rotation. I doubt that this is important to anyone else who lives in my house, but I feel the time is right.

However, as you probably know, sheets ain't cheap. And, the bigger the bed, the higher the price. We have a king-size bed, which is nice, as we are not tiny people (as I may have mentioned), and it gives us plenty of room. However, this means that good quality sheets are pretty pricey.

But, a wonderful thing happened to me yesterday. I was thinking about my new sheets, and wondering where I could get them for less, and I remembered that last year I bought this Lenox Christmas china for an amazingly low price at Smart Bargains. I mean, seriously, I bought 6 dinner plates and 6 salad plates for very little. (BTW, I really love china, which I may need to devote an entire post to sometime soon. That'll show my husband who's boring and who's not).

Anyway, I went on over to Smart Bargains, and found tons of high thread count sheets for really great prices. These bargains are so smart that I am thinking I need two sets of sheets! How economical and practical that would be! What I really want is some monogrammed sheets, so I'll probably be selecting a set that can be easily monogrammed by my monogramming friend.

For now, I think it's high time I made a decision on these sheets. I can hear my current sheets tumbling around in the dryer, which means soon I have to put them back on the bed. I am eagerly awaiting the days when they can sit and wait in the basket like the rest of the laundry. Now if I only had a linen closet that looked like Martha Stewart's, I'd be in business.

Bored Yet?

So, last night as we were getting into bed, I said to my husband "I blogged about our fan today". He said "What? You wrote something on the internet about our ceiling fan?" and I said "Um, well, yeah". With all the disdain he could muster, he says "That must be the most boring blog in the entire world".

I went on to try and remind him how funny it is that our fan light turns itself on, and all that stuff about him suggesting we have a ghost. His only response "Man, I wish we DID have a ghost".

What does he know? He doesn't even really know what a blog is. So there.

I hope I haven't been boring you too much. I'm always trying to think of interesting things to share with you, but I guess we all define interesting differently. I'll put on my thinking cap and come up with something completely fascinating tomorrow. Until then, thanks for reading!

Fan-tastic

If you share a room with someone, you know that finding a temperature that makes you both happy can be a real challenge. My husband is always too hot. He hates covers and always thinks it's too warm in our room, no matter what. I like to be under the covers and don't need the A/C on full blast all the time. I like it cool, but I also like to snuggle under the comforter sometimes too.

Anyway, we decided that what our room really needed was a ceiling fan. We had one in our previous house, and have been talking about getting one in our bedroom ever since we moved into this house last year. Well, we finally bought one at Home Depot over Labor Day.

Now, neither of us is particularly gifted with tools and things like that. Fortunately for us, my dad is very handy and lives nearby. So, he volunteered to come over one afternoon and install the fan for us. We already had an overhead light in the room, so there was already a place for the fan and all that stuff. Plus, he's installed several ceiling fans in his day, so we were fairly confident that this wouldn't take too long.

Cut to four hours later, the fan is haging by the wires from the ceiling, my dad is sweating profusely, it's getting darker and darker (since the fan is attached to the overhead light), and the fan won't come on. It's all hooked up, it just won't come on.

Dad: The hell with this.
Me: I'm sorry.
Dad:I'll come back tomorrow and try again. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong, but if we can't figure it out tomorrow, take this back.

Well, the next day we figured a few things out. Somehow, I managed to purchase a fan with a remote control without even realizing it. When we unpacked the box, I was surprised to find it in there, and we had some problems with it. My dad spent another two and a half hours working with it, and when he left at the end of that second day, I was the proud owner of a new fan with lights and a working remote control.

A couple of days later, my husband I are asleep in bed, and the fan lights come on. They are on a dimmer, so they sort of gradually rose, as if we were beginning a play and the lights were coming up.

We were so sleepy and out of it that it took a minute to realize what had happened. "Why are the lights on?" he said. "Uh... I don't know", I replied. "Maybe we have a ghost," was his solution. I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Since then, this has happened a few times. Occasionally, I'll wake up and the fan has decided to turn itself off, or I'll come home and the light will be on, when I know I didn't leave it on. Sometimes it's just an early wake up call. I mentioned this to my dad, who expressed no interest in returning to investigate, so it's just going to be one of those things that we live with.

All this to say, that while I love my new fan, I don't like the little Hampton Bay fan pull that hangs down. So, I am exploring some other options. I've recently discovered Betty Baumann, and I am loving her hand-painted fan pulls and switchplates. I think some of these would fit quite nicely in my blue and white bedroom. In fact, I may have to get two--we do have a fan downstairs too, I wouldn't want to leave him out.

I'll be sure to let you know what I decide. For now, I'll just cross my fingers that the light stays off tonight.

Reading is Fun-damental

I had a lot of free time on Saturday while I was away. Since I was slightly removed from civilization and could not enjoy my SEC matchups the way I wanted to, I had plenty of time to read. I love reading, but I am often lured away from books by the sound of the television, so this was a good time for me to catch up.

So, the book I read this weekend was Running With Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs. I am very curious to know if any of you have read this book, and if so, what did you think? I have to say, it was riveting. I couldn't stop reading it, and I couldn't get it out of my head.

However, it wasn't exactly a feel-good book, not that everything I read should be. I think what was so disturbing about it to me was that it's basically true. I can't really imagine a life like the one he decribes, especially for a teenager. It's pretty horrifying, and yet there are funny moments.

After I finished it, I picked up another book, called The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, which is also kind of tough. This one is just letters from a teenager to some "friend" and basically he's describing the events of his freshman year of high school. I'm enjoying it, but I think I needed a "Chick Lit" break between these two books. So, as soon as I finish this one, I'm going to give my brain a little humor and fun.

I'm really in the mood for something light-hearted, like Bitter is the New Black, which is one of my all time favorites. If you haven't read it, I must insist that you stop what you are doing and read it now. Then, you should read the author's blog, Jennsylvania, because it will keep you laughing for the rest of your life. Anyway, I'm keeping my ears open for suggestions of something along these lines to take my mind off people with difficult childhoods.

I'd love some recommendations of your favorites. Try to steer me in a way that doesn't have me questioning the meaning of life, at least for now. Otherwise, it's back to watching 90210 reruns for me.

Super Sized

I went to the mountains this weekend, which in some ways was quite lovely. The weather was gorgeous and the views were spectacular. This event was somewhat work related, and there were about 40 other people there with me. I had a good time, but I didn't have much of a weekend.

I am a pretty tall person and basically I was too tall for this weekend. I was too tall for my tiny twin bed where I nearly froze to death Friday night.
I was too tall for the (fabulously hot) shower. In fact, I almost had to do a complete backbend just to get my hair wet. Believe me, this was not a pretty picture.
I was too tall for the tiny car I borrowed to drive my luggage up the steep hill. (By the way, I could barely even get in this car, and as I was trying to get out, I accidentally leaned on the horn and nearly woke the dead).

Basically, I was a giant in a mini village.

All of this reminded me of a time about a year ago, when I went to NYC for a few days with a singing group. My roommate on the trip and I were both normal size humans, but our room was built for gnomes. We referred to each other as "giants in the dollhouse" for the entire week, and couldn't walk in the door without banging into something, knocking something over, or having to crawl completely over each other.

All this really means nothing, except that I got very little sleep, and am dying to return to my extremely comfortable king-sized bed and my shower that was not built for 8 year olds. I hope that tomorrow will find me back to normal in all my gigantic glory.

The Total Dining Experience

Before I get to today's post, I feel obligated to tell you that I did NOT win $10,000 yesterday. I know you've all been holding your breath. Ok, now on to the topic on my mind today:

Probably the thing that my husband and I like to do most is to go out to eat. We don't see the restaurant/dinner out as a precursor to a fun event, we see the restaurant as the fun event. I think he's always been this way, but I have only learned this behavior since we've been together.

We are all about the total dining experience, which includes a cocktail (vodka tonic for me- mandarin vodka if they have it, jack daniels manhattan for him), appetizers, white wine, entrees, red wine, sometimes dessert, and always some Bailey's on the rocks for a nice after dinner treat. You can probably see why this has to be our entire activity for the night, as we are usually drunk and broke by the time it's over.

As I mentioned before, we are in a bit of a spending freeze at the moment, so there are no long dinners on the horizon for Bossy and husband. This has me remembering fondly our recent trip to Napa Valley, where we ate the best meal I've ever had.

If you are ever in that part of the world, I must recommend that you eat at Auberge du Soleil. Some friends recommended it to us, so before we left for our trip we called and made a reservation. They asked if we wanted to sit inside or out, and since it was August and incredibly HOT where we live, we instinctively said "Inside. Definitely". Mistake.

When we got to the restaurant, up in the mountains overlooking Napa Valley, we realized that eating outside would make this experience all the more fabulous. We didn't want to be difficult, so we kept our mouths shut. But our server could see us looking longingly out the window, and came over and whispered to us "I think I can get you outside!" We wasted no time in grabbing our drinks and racing for the door.

We got outside in time for the sunset, which was gorgeous, and proceeded to eat the most delicious meal ever. Everything was so good! So good I can't even do it justice. It was a four course meal with beautiful presentation and incredible food-- seared tuna, perfect steak, soup, bread, the all important cheese plate (a personal favorite), and of course dessert. I loved my dessert so much I took a picture of it. There's chocolate in those little dumpling things. Delicious!








All in all, it was a fabulous meal, and I think about it often!

Now that I've potentially overshared about this place, it's your turn. Like I said, we are always on the lookout for new places to eat, and I love to take recommendations. I know you don't know where I live, but I keep a little list (no surprise) of places I'd like to go if I'm ever visiting a certain city. So, just tell me your city and your restaurant of choice, and I'll add it to my list!

Can't wait to hear from you all!

Things to Buy

Who doesn't love a little shopping? While I am currently in a spending freeze, I am still enjoying the "online window" shopping. I'm sure you can all agree that it's a good way to pass the time.

So, here's what I've been admiring lately:

I mentioned in a previous post that I really like Pamela Barsky's stuff. Another fun little journal site I've found is write it down" series. My husband and I went to Napa (one of the best places ever) for our anniversary and I got him one of these journals for keeping track of the wines he tried. Plus, you can personalize these journals, so if there's something you really love that they don't have, they'll make it for you. How nice.

My lovely friend Monogram Momma just told me about these beijo bags and I've fallen deeply in love. I don't know anyone who sells them, but if you are a rep, please email me!

Also, Crate and Barrel, one of my all time favorites, has up to 50% off in the online outlet this weekend. I think you know how I feel about that. I'm certain that there's a least three things I can't live without! Already I can't tear myself away from the holiday section long enough to finish this post.

I've also been spending some time looking for new cars, because someday (in about 5 years) I might get to have one. I need to be prepared now, just in case. I am desperately trying to win a new Chevy Suburban from Martha Stewart, but she's given away two of them already, neither of which was to me. I'm pretty sure the contest is almost over, so I may need to think of other options for this fantasy new car.

As I sit here and type, I am preparing to call my radio station to try and win $10,000. That would certainly allow me to purchase a few of these items. I've been trying to win for at least three weeks now, but maybe today's my lucky day. I will certainly let you know.

Thanks as always for reading. I hope the next time I post, I'll be $10,000 richer. I suspect that if anything, I'll be a little bit poorer, but will at least have some new holiday decorations to show for it.

An Episode with Ice

I work with teenagers in my job, and I facilitate a girls' group once a week in the evenings. At our first meeting, we were gathering around the table and I was getting ready to begin. The door to the room swung open, and I was startled to find about 35 people pouring into the room.

I should tell you that the building where this meeting takes place has a lot of other stuff going on at the same time, we just use one room of the building. The people who were coming into my room were a group of adults who had come to watch an "invited dress rehearsal" of a play that was being put on basically in the next room.

As the group walked right in to my meeting, their spokesperson said "Hi, we need to use this room for a few minutes."

I said "Um... why?"

She said, "Well, they are working on the curtain call out there and they asked us to leave the room so we wouldn't see it ahead of time. Why? What time does your group start?"

As I looked pointedly at the clock, which read 7:05, I replied "7 pm". "Oh, OK," she said, making no move to get these strangers out of my classroom.

Meanwhile, the people are milling around the room, commenting on the things I have placed around the room, sitting at our tables, etc. I wasn't exactly sure what to do next.

Moments later, I look over at the table of snacks and drinks I have laid out for the girls. A woman I've never seen is helping herself to the snacks and the (unopened) drinks. As she opens the 2-Liter, it starts to leak. Instead of opening it all the way, she just holds the leaking bottle over the ice bucket. The clean ice for the drinks! THE DRINKS FOR THE TEENS!

I had no idea what to say next. I just stood there, opening and closing my mouth, and occasionally saying "Um... um", much to the amusement of 12 giggling teenage girls. Finally the woman looked up and said "Oh, I guess I shouldn't have done that, huh? Hey, are these snacks for us?"

As we say in the south: Bless her heart.

An Addendum to the All-Important Mailbox Tale

I realize this probably isn't keeping you up at night, but I thought you all needed to know how the mailbox story turned out. When I got home today, I was delighted to see my new mailbox standing proudly. I went inside and my husband said "Did you see the new mailbox?"

I said that I did, and he said "It's a good thing too, because when I went to get our mail yesterday the door to the old one was just sitting in the box with all our mail."

We really owe that HOA a debt of gratitude. I better get on that.

October Interests

I've always been a list maker. I don't think I've ever been on a trip without a legal pad and a pen. Lately, I've been making lists of things I am currently interested in, so I thought I would share those with you, for what it's worth. Feel free to add your own recommendations/things you can't live without!

1. Decorating for Fall: As I have mentioned previously, I really like to shop for my home and decorate for the seasons. I have gotten some great ideas from Monogram Momma, especially on the subject of pumpkins. I'm in the process of putting away all the summer stuff and making my house a little more harvest-y. There's a church near me that always has a huge pumpkin sale, and I can't wait to get over there.

2. Fat Free Coffeemate: Seriously the best stuff ever. I really hate to have my morning (and afternoon) coffee without it. I especially love the seasonal flavors that are popping up now.

3. My Pamela Barsky restaurant journal: Like I said, I love to write stuff down, and this journal is really fun. We love to go out to eat, and it's so fun to write down what you had, what you liked and didn't like, who you were with, etc. I am always hoping to go to a new restaurant so I can fill out these pages. If restaurants aren't your thing, she has tons of other stuff that might appeal to you too!

4. New Fall Season in TV: I mentioned in my first post that I love television, and it's true. I really do. I am especially enjoying Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as far as the new shows go, and am very very glad that Grey's Anatomy is back in my life. I love the Grey's writers' blog too, where they tell you all this interesting stuff about the show and the characters. If you like Grey's Anatomy, you should definitely read it!

5. You may not know this about me, but I am trying to become more crafty (as in good at crafts, not shrewd). I am taking it slow, but have managed to make a few things that aren't terribly hideous. I am working on a little something I am calling the "home" craft, and if it works, I'll show it to you. If not, it will remain my little secret.

Another craft I've got in mind is this wine cork tray. We manage to consume a good bit of wine in our house, and I've been saving corks for about two years. I know I could buy a tray like this, but I also think I could make one for much less!



I realize this wasn't too long a list, but some of the other things I am focused on are too boring to mention! Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing about your "must haves". If I think of anything else, I'll let you know!

Deterioration

Our Homeowner's Association has decided that we need new mailboxes. When we first heard about this idea, the HOA said they'd "let us know" how much we owed for the new boxes. Well, this really bothered my husband, who didn't think we needed a new mailbox, that our HOA fees should have covered this cost, why are we wasting money replacing mailboxes which are perfectly fine, blah blah blah...

A few days later, when I went to get the mail, one side of our mailbox door swung down. Apparently the screw holding it in place had fallen out. I wasted no time announcing that our mailbox was broken. "It's fine," he said, "it still opens and closes, right? We don't need a new one."

A week or so later, when I went out to get the mail, I saw the little red flag from the side of our mailbox lying in the street.

Friday afternoon I went to get the mail, and when I opened the box, the door fell completely off and landed at my feet with a resounding clang. My neighbor, innocently working in his yard, looked up and said "Good thing we're getting new ones, huh?"

I couldn't agree with him more. We just got word that the new ones will be in at the end of the month, and guess what? The cost is completely covered by the HOA. Everybody wins.

Trapped Outside

I'm a little irritable because it is much hotter today than I expected it to be. When I got dressed early this morning, I was dressing for the weather I wanted it to be, rather than the actual weather. After a few hours of sweating and misery, I had just enough time to run home and change before I had to leave to be somewhere else. I pulled into my driveway and clicked the garage door opener.

Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.

Again and again, to no avail. So, I decided to just go in the front door. Now, for some reason which I CANNOT explain to you now, our alarm system is set in such a way that if you enter our house from the front door, the alarm goes off. I braced myself for the inevitable screaming noise, and even warned the neighbor working in his yard. However, twenty minutes later, I still couldn't get our dead bolt opened. I was sweating and cussing profusely, and shaking the door within an inch of its life. I then remembered the backdoor, so I dragged my sweaty and furious self around back. Same situation. So, now I have unlocked two doorknobs and no deadbolts and am becoming more and more enraged.

Defeatedly, I clicked the garage door opener one more time, and heard the familiar "brrrrrr" of the door opening, easy as you please. I swear the damn thing was mocking me. I finally was able to take off the sweat-soaked shirt and put on something a little more weather appropriate, only to find that I am fresh out of deodorant. So, if you happen to see me today, you might want to steer clear.

For now, I am off to the drugstore for more Secret, and then off to show that garage door opener who's boss.