Friday, July 27, 2007

Tick, tick, tick

I swear, the countdown to vacation is so much worse than the countdown to Harry Potter. The clock has all but stopped. It's two o'clock, I have nothing for the kids to do, we're almost out of food, and they won't stop fighting. Maybe we could go to a movie this afternoon? At least we'd be out of the house.

I'm almost done packing, and the last laundry and dishwasher loads are going. Now I have to remember random stuff, like HP books for my mom and other books to return to my mother-in-law. My bag is already full, and I haven't packed my shoes yet! Time to buy a bigger suitcase, I guess.

This coming week, I'm going to try to enjoy being computer-free for a whole week. I may even start this afternoon. Wish me luck.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Random thoughts

Sometimes coming up with a title is tricky--like it's Thursday again, but I've already noted that at least twice before. I don't really have a topic for today, I just feel like I need to post since I won't be able to next week. And if I do post from vacation, I think I'll need serious help!

Caroline is treating us to another rendition of "It's a Hard Knock Life" in the family room. After the kids saw Annie Jr. on stage, the girls would sing for like an hour after lights out! It was crazy. Caroline goes to dance camp the week after vacation, so that should help her channel her energy.

Well, the cleaning and laundry is going pretty well--thank you for asking! Something went weird with the washer yesterday and a load of towels and bathing suits took about two hours to complete--it jammed up in the spin cycle, so I had to run a "sprint wash" to clear it. Like you needed to know all this! I figure maybe only a couple more loads of laundry before packing--and thank God there's a washing machine at the condo!

Have you ever Googled yourself? It's pretty interesting. For instance, there is a Meg Evans, M.D., out there. There is also a Meg Evans living in the Atlanta area who is a big Ann Coulter supporter--my flesh is crawling! There are also many references to the Meg Evans character from the old soap Sunset Beach. Googling by my maiden name only seems to pull up references to Meg Ryan. Not sure why. Google yourself for fun and see what happens!

Time to find the camera and ipod chargers. There's always so much to do before going away! Also, time to set the DVR to record the JKR interview on Sunday night!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Not much to report


The title pretty much says it all. Caitlin and Bobby have been in a camp this week, and between the camp and Caroline's swimming lessons, I've not been able to go to the gym. I'm frustrated by this turn of events...


Caitlin had to go to the dentist again today for another filling. She didn't want to go at first, but she came through like a champ. Now if we could just stop the cavities!


I seem to be saving my Deathly Hallows re-read for vacation next week. I don't even want to read any other books right now. It's like I just read the best book ever and any other book is a waste of time. Maybe I'll snap out of it after the re-read.


Since we're leaving Saturday for vacation, I should probably get started on laundry and cleaning the house. Yes, I'm one of those people who likes to leave a clean house--that way there's nothing to do when we come home. Today I need to clean out the fridge and pantry because tomorrow is garbage day. Should be fun! Actually, there is something really stinky in the fridge, this could be gross! Wish me luck.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Still savoring...

I finished Deathly Hallows yesterday, and WOW! That's all I'm going to say. I'm going to take a couple of days to mull it over (mostly because my eyes are kinda sore after all that reading), and then I'll reread it . WOW!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Spoiler-free...not so easy!

As you may know, the final installment in the Harry Potter saga comes out at 12:01 on Saturday morning. I am trying to remain spoiler-free, but even the New York Times is conspiring against me! This morning, they already had a review posted. I got about four or five paragraphs in before I sensed too much information coming my way. I'm glad I stopped when I did, because my next stop was Mugglenet, where they said that review contained major spoilers. Good grief, can't anyone enjoy the anticipation any more? This is never going to happen again, so why not let everyone enjoy the story on their own time? Why ruin it for others?

I'll probably start reading as soon as I get my copy, and I promise I won't reveal details. Odds are, a week from now, everyone on the planet will know how it ends--but you won't hear it from me!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Feelin' good...

that I finally spent some time catching up on my scrapbook last night! My family album stopped at Christmas, so I was seven months behind. Thanks to the new stuff I bought from my sister-in-law, I blazed through four months' worth of memories in about an hour and a half. (Check out her stuff at www.mycmsite.com/sites/corinnedesevo ) Now I just have to finish each kid's school album and then I'll be able to get completely caught up in the family album.

Caroline has a well visit at nine, which means I had better start drinking this coffee a little faster if we hope to be on time.
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Whew! We barely made it to the doctor's office, and Caitlin screamed/cried the whole way about how she doesn't like her swim teacher. Then, at the swim lesson with the teacher she claims to hate, she proceeded to go under water for the first time in her life--multiple times! Go figure.

Today we also took Fletch to the vet for his shots. I have to say, he wasn't as bad this time. I swear the last time I took him somewhere he shook and whimpered the whole way. He did well today. (Btw, Caroline's well visit was fine--she even got a shot without any fuss!)

And finally, I called Verizon and talked our tv/phone/internet bill down about $30 a month. Now I won't have to cancel HBO! It's all good!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Survived the weekend!

It's Sunday night, and I probably wouldn't have posted, but my brother wanted to hear how our bowling excursion went. We bowled today, but let's backtrack to Friday, shall we?

Ditch Wonderland was fun. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch beforehand instead of Bob Evans. The real Bob Evans (Rob's father) was fond of the Barrel, plus Rob hadn't eaten at one in many years and he wanted to. I, for one, remember exactly why we hadn't eaten at the Barrel in many years...anyway, I had the Chicken Fried Steak smothered in gravy--a favorite dish of my dad's. It was okay. The kids were loving the fact that they could have pancakes for lunch. I think Rob was disappointed in his meal. What? Sub-par food at the Cracker Barrel? Hard to imagine!

Ditch Wonderland was pretty good. They added a tilt-a-whirl this year, so I was all over that! Caitlin went on very few rides--she has a low tolerance for thrills. The weather was not too hot, we got home around ten.

Saturday...don't remember much about it. Oh, yoga, grocery store, then the pool in the afternoon. That brings us to today. We kicked off with our bowling outing. I'm a very inconsistent bowler, and I continued that pattern today. I started off with a strike. By the seventh frame, I crapped out and rolled some gutterballs. I started overthinking--is that even possible in bowling? And I pulled several things (muscles, ligaments, who knows), as usual. I finished with a 97. At least I beat the kids this time!

Later in the afternoon we saw Ratatouille. It was cute, once you get past the idea of rats in the kitchen. Then we finished off with pizza, and it was off to bed for the little people!


Rob wanted to know what I was typing, and I had to tell him I had a blog. He even had to get off the couch to check it out. I'm a little embarrassed, as I imagine he is as well. Oh well, he knew I was a dork. Speaking of dorks, in just one week I will have in my hot little hands the final episode of the Harry Potter saga! Input please: do I read it as fast as I can, do I permit myself like 50 pages a day, or do I wait a whole week and read it while on vacation? Is anyone else excited about this, or is it just me and all the fourteen year old boys?

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Thursday again?


Jeez, where does the time go--another week has gone by already? Here's a tip for all you would-be commenters: the comment won't show up right away. I have to "moderate" it, meaning I get to read and then choose to click the "publish" button to make it visible on the blog. So keep trying, they'll show up eventually.


In the TMI category, it's approaching that lovely time of the month again, so mood swings and chocolate cravings abound! I was wondering out loud to Rob yesterday--are the kids really being holy terrors or is it my PMS that is making me unable to tolerate them? I swear Caitlin was screaming much more today than in recent memory, and it's like fingernails down a blackboard to me. Time to pop a vitamin B and hope for the best.


Rob is taking tomorrow off, and we are planning a trip to Dutch Wonderland (or Ditch Wonderland, as Caitlin calls it) if the weather holds. One of the bonuses of this trip is that we drive right by the outlet mall--the one that has a Pottery Barn/Williams-Sonoma outlet! We went to Ditch Wonderland last year, and before we went in the park, we ate at a Bob Evans restaurant. I'd never eaten at one. You think they'd give some sort of special treat to people with the same name as the restaurant, but the waitress barely blinked--and we had a Rob Evans and a Bobby Evans at the table! What gives!


This upcoming week, I have the fun chore of taking our dog to the vet. He needs his shots updated before we board him at the end of the month. Fletch is old and stinky, and any time I take him in the car, his whole body shakes. Should be fun with three kids in tow!

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Just Another Thursday

I haven't posted in a few days, and I hate not having a picture to show you, but we didn't do anything picture-worthy in the last few days. Caroline, my 7 year old, got a new webkin, but I'm trying to keep this a webkinz-free zone, so no pictures of that. Our Fourth was un-picture-worthy as well. We went to the free movies (Nanny McPhee), ate lunch, went bowling, and went to BJ's for propane and paper towels. Thrilling stuff! Our planned trip to a park for an outdoor concert and fireworks was rained out, so the kids got to go to bed an hour earlier than planned. And Rob and I started watching the first season of Rescue Me on dvd. The first two episodes were pretty good. Between Rescue Me and Planet Earth, I hope we have enough dvds to get us through summer reruns and "Age of Love."

On an unrelated note, I found some interesting reading over at www.preserveeducationalchoice.org. A former professor wrote an open letter detailing how the Board of misTrustees hijacked my alma mater. It was a twenty-page indictment, and it got my blood boiling all over again! I hope to spend some time this afternoon firing off angry letters to trustees again!

I can't believe it's Thursday already--with the day off yesterday, today had a very Monday feel about it. We're off to swimming lessons--the girls got moved to the 9:30 lessons, and it hasn't exactly been warm. Wish us luck!