Monday, June 30, 2008

A day in the life of John McCain

Whoops! Looks like someone forgot to pay the taxes on Tara... I mean, really, if you're going to run for president, it might be a good idea to make sure you haven't skipped out on any of your property tax over the past few years. I guess if you own several homes, it might be difficult to keep track, but don't you have "people" to keep up with that stuff for you??
To make matters worse, John McCain got caught talking again. I swear, the man has a real problem with the whole "think before you speak" thing (no, really, let's stay in Iraq for one hundred years!). His latest involves making a "joke" about wife-beating. Apparently, he was asked by a reporter why he didn't choose Nevada's governor to head up his Nevada campaign. The man is in the middle of a messy divorce and has, in the past, faced sexual assault charges. McCain was accused by the reporter of "running away" from this guy, to which McCain responded (instead of utilizing "Straight Talk"), "And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago..." I bet Cindy really loved that (well, he has been known to call her a "c--t" in front of people). Not that we'd be able to tell any emotion in her face due to the excessive amount of plastic surgery and Botox the woman has had.
Oh, and he called Jimmy Carter a "lousy president." Now, I'll be the first to say that Ol' Jimmy wasn't the best we've ever had, but I don't know if I'd classify him as "lousy." I'd like to know which adjective McCain uses for the current Commander-in-Chief??

Sunday, June 29, 2008

A sense of unity

I went to an Obama house meeting yesterday afternoon at my neighbor Judy's house. There were over 20 people there. It was amazing to see such a diverse group of people get together and discuss the real problems of our country and try to think of solutions. The two main concerns of the group were 1) what to do about Iraq; and 2) how to deal with a weak economy, namely the problem of energy prices.
Whoever becomes the next president is going to have some serious cleaning up to do after this administration. It is not a job that I would want. Our country has lost a lot of credibility and respect over the past few years and it's not going to be easy to rebuild that. I think Obama has the best chance at doing that, however. I believe that he will surround himself with good, intelligent people who will do their best to get our country back on track.
We've been taking W to the pool for short swims. He was hesitant at first, but gets more comfortable each time we go. I try to stay for only about 30 minutes so that he doesn't get tired and cranky. He likes sitting on the steps and splashing his feet. He's been trying to drink the water (yuck!) and thinks it's really hilarious when I tell him to stop. Go figure.

Monday, June 23, 2008

How do YOU rate??

I went to this quiz via another blogger's site. Here is my result from the quiz, "What kind of 1930's housewife would you be?"

39

As a 1930s wife, I am
Poor

Take the test!


Don't worry, fellas. There's one for the menfolk as well.

Flashback

When I was a preteen and young teen (13, 14), I would try to rustle up summer work for myself from the neighbors. I mainly babysat, but I did a lot of petsitting as well. I had to chuckle when a neighbor's daughter left a flier at our door this morning, advertising similar services. I've copied it word-for-word, including her spelling and punctuation/emphasis, as well as tried to show her color scheme:

Need a worker, who is responceible?

Need a baby-sitter, organizer, car washer, someone to take out the garbage, dog walker, or someone to get rid of your weeds? My name's X and I am looking for work over the summer. I am 13 years old and I have 4 brothers. 3 of which are younger than me. I have taken a baby-sitters course and have much experience in baby-sitting. In addition to this, my brothers are very messy and I often have to clean up after them. In this I have learned how to organize. I have 2 cats and used to have 4. (2 of them died recently). My mom uses me a lot to do chores, watch kids, and do other things. I am willing to work out prices and days to do these things. If you are interested call the number below.

Hey, good for her!! She used glittery gold ink for emphasis (where I did the yellow above). I've used her for babysitting before and she's fantastic. W really likes her. She'll definitely be getting a call from me!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

A beautiful day

We went to the wedding of one of our neighbors yesterday. Her second marriage, the groom's first, it was a splendid affair. It took place at the nearby Grounds for Sculpture. Neither Mike nor I had ever been to this place and weren't really sure what to expect. We knew it was a beautiful setting, but we weren't prepared for just HOW beautiful it is. The event took place at the Grounds' restaurant, Rat's. Rat's? That's right. Rat's. The restaurant was built and decorated to look like a late-19th century European chalet. After the ceremony, we had hors d'oeuvres, appetizers, lunch (I had the filet!!) and desert. There was delicious wine and champagne for our enjoyment as well. It was a truly wonderful time. Spanning the lily pad-scattered pond was an arched Japanese-style bridge, like the one on Monet's Garden at Giverny painting. That's where they said their vows. The guests sat across the pond on a shaded patio. Both of the bride's sons from her first marriage, ages 5 and 11, were in the ceremony. They were super cute. The older one read the passage from 1 Corinthians about the characteristics of love.
Silly me, I forgot my camera--I had no idea how beautiful it would be. I found these pictures from the About.com site for the Philly/South Jersey area.
There was a little bit of a scare before the ceremony--the groom couldn't find the bride's ring! He rushed back home and found it, in the box from the jeweler's, wedged between the couch cushions. Whew! Sounds like something that very well could have happened at our wedding....
W did NOT go. He went over to the home of our neighbors that have five kids. Their two older kids (ages 16 and 13) were in charge. He did pretty well, considering we left him there around 9:15 or so and didn't get home until after 3! He was definitely happy to see us upon our return.
We didn't do much last night--we were tired from our full morning/afternoon. By bedtime my right ear had started hurting. This morning, when I woke up, it was worse. I think I've acquired an ear infection. I tend to get them every summer. I suppose I'll call the doctor in the morning and see if she can prescribe something to knock it out. It's a miserable feeling, as anyone who's ever had an ear infection, knows.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Awesomeness

I want one of these.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The truth

Ever wonder about the magic behind (or should I say "within") Big Bird? Enjoy this article from this week's Newsweek magazine.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Fathers

Happy Father's Day! I am so lucky to have a great father of my own. I know that not everyone is so fortunate, so I count my blessings. I am also thankful for my husband's father, my father-in-law, for raising his son well and for setting a good example. It definitely shows in his own fathering to W. Again, not everyone has such an experience. Kudos to Barack Obama. Before thousands in a largely-black Chicago church, he challenged absent fathers to be more than just sperm donors. He challenged all parents to be more active. While he was, in this case, speaking specifically about the African American community, I think his words should be taken to heart by all of us, regardless of race, economic status and gender. To read more about his amazing speech, check out today's article from the NYT website.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Sad news

This makes me sad. I really liked Tim Russert.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

For your viewing pleasure...

Here are some pictures that we downloaded from our digital camera last night. Of course some are from as far back as early May...

This is what greeted me on Mother's Day morning. Sweet.


W at the play set (early May, I think)
W on a Tractor at Terhune (late May)

W enjoying a complimentary apple at Terhune (late May)


Baa!!
W likes to put things on his head. Colanders are a favorite. Notice the shirt--it's one that I embroidered!
Very proud of himself...
Sitting in the driver's set of a REAL FIRE ENGINE at Pennington Day (Late May)
First time at the pool for this summer (last Saturday, June 7) His swim getup is a hoot. It's all SPF 50 fabric. He's so fair-skinned, so we can't be too careful.

So stylish! The motif is sharks and surfboards. Very cool.
And, as promised, a picture of my kitchen IN PROGRESS. We pulled out the backsplash and the wall was all rotted and gross behind the sink. We're ripping it out and replacing the wallboard with some stuff that's supposed to be water/mildew resistant. Our neighbors just did their kitchen and had the same problem behind their sink. Crappy construction!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Hotter than hot

It's hot. Not just warm. Hot. Today's forecast high is 96. Tomorrow's is 98. It was hot yesterday too, and we turned on the air conditioning for the first time this year. We even left it on all night last night because it only got down to the mid-70s. I know this is "regular" summer weather for Mississippi, but it's unusual for NJ. Just like it's weird to have super-cold weather in MS during the winter, it's weird to have consistently hot temperatures in NJ. I am thankful for the A/C.
Our kitchen is coming along... slowly. We took some cabinet doors down the other night and did the final coats of paint. When the doors were dry, we put on new hinges and handles. It is really nice looking.
I went to the grocery store early this morning to avoid having to go when it was even hotter with W. I think we're going to do the pool sometime today. We went yesterday and he had fun splashing about in the kiddie pool. There were some older kids romping around in it, which was annoying, since they really were TOO old for the kiddie pool. But I couldn't fault them too much for being in it since the regular pool was, in my opinion, far too cold for swimming. Of course there were lots of people in it, but all I can say to that is, "Yankees."

Thursday, June 5, 2008

My kitchen

My kitchen is in shambles. Well, that's not entirely true. It's in mid-renovation. While my parents were here last week, my mother started redoing it for us. Since Mike isn't able to do any heavy stuff for another month or so, every little bit from my parents helped. Here's what's been done so far:
  • cleaned all cabinets with TSP
  • primed all cabinets with two coats Kilz
  • started painting cabinets
  • painted wall above cabinets same color as dining room
  • installed board/piece of wall to close in fridge and cover fridge cords
  • ripped out backsplash
  • removed "decorative woodwork" above sink
Yet to do:
  • install new countertops
  • finish painting cabinets/put on new handles and hinges
  • install new faucet
  • install new oven hood
  • install new flooring
  • buy/install new ceiling fan
  • install new pendant light above sink
If you saw my kitchen before the renovations, you will be impressed with the finished product. Heck, you'd probably be impressed with the stuff we've done thus far, to be honest.
I'll try to remember to post pics.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Last night

Last night I went with my friend/neighbor Peggy to my FIRST EVER Dave Matthews Band concert. I had a great time. The concert wasn't one of their better ones, according to Peggy, who's seen them over 80 times. I had to agree. The band just didn't seem that into it. It's understandable, in a way, since their long-time keyboardist quit just a few days ago, right before their tour kicked off. But still, it was a little disappointing to me that they didn't play more of their older stuff. I'm just not a huge fan of the newer stuff. The band did an amazing cover of Pink Floyd's Money, which was really worth the price of admission. Our seats were fantastic. The people we went with (folks Peggy knows through her DMB fan-dom) were super nice.
Here's the setlist from last night:
The Dreaming Tree
Gravedigger
Grey Street
The Maker
So Damn Lucky
One Sweet World
Jimi Thing
Crash Into Me
Money
#41
Sister
Everyday
Cornbread
Louisiana Bayou
You Might Die Trying

So they played okay songs, but not enough early stuff for my liking. I liked the first half of the concert much more than the last half. Money was sort of the turning point. That's also when it started raining (we were under the roof of the amphitheater, but there were lots of people out on the lawn.
I will definitely go see them play again when I get the chance.