Grocery Store Fun

During our military years, the commissary (grocery store) was an adventure. Each twice-monthly trip was expertly planned and executed with, well, military precision. What else? Imagine maneuvering an obstacle course with a pre-schooler and an infant all the while juggling a shopping list, coupon envelope, and calculator.

In an Army commissary, the aisles are one way and you must move with the traffic flow and not vary. That means going up and down every single aisle. Don’t need pet food? Too bad. You’re going down that aisle because you can’t skip. That’s right, you don’t want to mess with the commissary chi. If you do, the energy coming back at you will definitely be negative.

Check out was always highly efficient. But those coupons had to be neatly trimmed and ordered lowest to highest by face value. I’ve never figured out the reasoning for that. I think it falls under the category, “What else can we make the Army wives do.”

When we left the military behind and moved to Florida, I discovered Publix. I still remember the first time I went to Publix on a federal holiday. Not because I needed anything but because I could, GOSH DARN IT!

The grocery store has become my haven. I go there just to get away from it all. Granted, I still go up and down every aisle because I fear I’ll offend some grocery store deity.

My Sweetie and I often do the major grocery shopping together on the weekends. We take our time. We read labels. We sing along to the 80’s music coming through the speakers. We talk. Boy, do we talk. We talk about trying new recipes, our plans for the upcoming week, how impressed we are with our children, how we have no idea what we’re doing and we’re afraid we might mess it up. You know, the usual stuff.

The past few weekends Mr. A has accompanied me to Publix because my Sweetie has been bogged down with work. Or maybe because the kid doesn’t trust me to buy enough food. Whatever the reason, I enjoy my trips to the grocery store with Mr. A. He drives the car, pushes the cart, loads the cart, unloads the cart, and loads the car. Yes, my Sweetie does all those things as well. But I think I enjoy it a little bit more when my 15-year-old son does them because I used to do all of that while carrying him on my hip!

Shopping with Mr. A can be entertaining. He looks at things a little bit differently than I do and can always make me laugh. I’m not sure if it’s the teenage perspective or his unique view on things. Last week he whipped out his camera and snapped some photos of some marketing angles that he questioned.

Does Lay's really want us to taste each and every package right then and there?

Gorilla Munch... Made by gorillas? Made for gorillas? Made with real gorillas?

Both claim to be America's Favorite but which flavor truly is the favorite? Strawberry or Grape?

One last thing, you know you have two hungry teenagers at home when your grocery store receipt is half a yard long.

The Silent Generation and Facebook

This also applies to In-Laws who dabble in social media...

Sugar Rush

Birthdays equal cake. Lots of cake. My Sweeite had a fabulous cake for his birthday. It was made by our favorite and most talented pastry goddess. So not only did it look great it also tasted superb! I knew S wouldn't want something overly sweet so I selected a white cake with a Florida Key Lime filling. It was perfect.

After dinner and dessert I made these chocolate-orange-espresso cookies for book club...

We're not required to bake anything for book club but everyone else has brought in baked goods and I was feeling the pressure. I really don't know what's gotten into me lately. I haven't made cookies in almost two years and then all of the sudden, I make two batches in one week. It probably has something to do with my public declaration that I intend to eat more salads this week after all the junk food at the baseball game.

This month's selection for book club is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Ususally, we draw our selection out of pot. But this time so many people wanted to read the book before they saw the movie that we all agreed to read the book. I've heard the movie is good but quite the sobfest. Nope, I don't think I'll see that one. I don't want that kind of stress.

I read the book about five years ago so I didn't feel the need to read it again. Plus I was a little caught up in reading the first couple of Sookie Stackhouse novels. I loaned my book to a club newcomer instead. But now that the meeting day is here I'm wondering if I'll be able to discuss the book coherently. Maybe I'll be able to distract everyone with my cookies.

Milestone Birthdays

Which are the milestone birthdays? There’s one year, then 5 years old, lucky number 7, double digits at 10, teenage years start at 13, acquiring a driver’s license at 16 (or 17), the right to vote at 18, and the big one… completely and totally legal at 21. After that, all the milestones seem to be at the decade or quarter-century mark.

The day of my 22nd birthday I was a little down in the dumps because I thought all of the FUN birthdays had passed. Of course, now I’d give my eye teeth to be 22 again. But then I’d be a 22 year old with dentures. I’ll stick with what I’ve got.

Anyway, as I turned 22, I was bummed. Then suddenly I heard my mother’s voice in my head. The phrase I heard over and over and over again growing up. The phrase repeated to me when I thought life was unfair because I was the little sister…

“Your sister will ALWAYS be older than you!”

It was an epiphany. I saw the sun beams break through the clouds and heard the angels sing. To this day, I count it as one of the best birthday presents ever. It ranks right up there with the green and yellow tricycle complete with streamers on the handle bars that I got on my 3rd birthday while I was running a 103 fever.

After my realization, I subconsciously knew that I wanted to marry someone older than me. Not so old that my income would supplement his pension. But just old enough that on every birthday I can say, “Nah, nah, you’re still older than me.”

OK, maybe I wouldn’t include the “nah, nah” part but you get the idea.

Today is my Sweetie’s birthday. He is exactly one year, three weeks, and one day older than me. But who’s counting?

The world became a better place the day S was born. There is more love and more laughter in the world. The boys and I were missing something crucial in our lives before we met S. He made us the complete family that we are.

G-Man thinks Dad is awesome because they go golfing together and he’s kind of funny. Mr. A thinks Dad has a great sense of humor. Especially when they say the same thing at the same time from different rooms. Yes, it does happen.

I know S is the love of my life. I plan on spending the rest of my life making up for the first 33 years that we didn’t know each other and enjoying every minute of it!

This year isn’t a milestone birthday for my Sweetie. It’s more of a road sign birthday…

Happy Birthday, Sweetie. I’ll love you until Route 287… and then some.

XLIF One Year Post-Op

Yesterday I had my one-year post-op appointment for my XLIF spinal fusion surgery. The result: I feel great! No pain, tingling, or numbness. I feel strangely normal.

I’m doing so well that Dr. S didn’t feel the need to schedule a 2-year post-op appointment. I have been officially declared recovered and I’ve been given permission to go sky diving. Yea right, like that will never happen.

Posted below is an x-ray from yesterday’s appointment. I still feel very proud every time I see all the hardware in my back. But I can’t see how it looks any different from the set taken six months ago. Dr. S says that there definitely is bone growing through the implant and will continue to do so.

I can’t emphasis enough how pleased I am with the outcome of my surgery. I wouldn’t be walking today if I had opted against it. Every time I think of that little fact I am extremely grateful.

Back to School Edition

Today is the first day of school and I couldn't be happier! We've been doing this for 10 years now and I still can't get used to school starting before Labor Day. It doesn't matter because I'm glad it's here. Our entire household functions much better on a schedule and the summer seemed to be fraying at the ends the past couple of weeks. Or were my nerves fraying at the ends?

Mr. A is starting 11th grade and G-Man is starting 8th grade. A is excited about going back to school because it's the center of his social life. G looks less than thrilled. But who can really blame him? He's still stuck in that torturous sub-culture known as middle school. Also, just before I snapped the above picture I told him to go change his shirt because it didn't match his shorts. He told me that he didn't care. C'mon kid, the fist day of school is a little early to not care. At least wait to the second week!

I reveiwed the boys' class schedules after we picked them up last week. A few thoughts came to mind: 1. I'm so glad I'm not in school anymore. 2. Are the schools pushing the kids too hard? 3. Will there be any classes left for Mr. A to take his senior year?

Another thing I enjoy about this time in the boys' school careers is that they're pretty much self-sufficient. They are responsible for getting themselves ready and on time. If they forget something, it doesn't require panic-mode on my part like it did in elementary school. Now it's a life lesson for them. Yes, I'm a horrible mother. We've already covered that.

I did feel a little sentimental over the weekend and decided to do the "mom" activity of baking cookies for the kids' lunches on the first day. G-Man requested Snickerdoodles and he jumped in to help. It turns out that he's a very good baker. Apparently, he paid attention in Home Ec... er... excuse me... Consumer Sciences. (Notice the dark circle under his eyes left over from the Rays game the night before.)

Just in case you're wondering, the difficult to find school supply item this year was a composition book. Every year since kindergarten, pocket folders with prongs has had that claim to fame. Last year when I found a 10-pack of them, I bought it. Wouldn't you know that a pocket folder with prongs wasn't on any of the lists! This year we had to go to four stores to find a comp book. Walgreens finally had them for buy two get one free. Yep, we bought three just in case.

The Home Team Won Again

Last night Gropius and I went to the Rays baseball game. But this time we let the hubbys and boys come along. I've learned that I really shouldn't eat so much junk food two weekends in a row. Salads for me for the rest of the week.

The Rays beat the Rangers in extra innings. Hopefully, bringing them a little bit closer to a wild card slot. The game last night was interesting because there were some unusual calls that I never even heard of before...

Evan Longoria walked to 1st base when the Rangers' pitcher made an illegal move called a balk. That was new to me.

Did you know that if a fair ball hits the lighting rig in an enclosed stadium that it's still good? But if a foul ball hits the lighting rig it becomes a dead ball. No? Well, neither did the Rays. After an amazing catch, both teams and all the fans found out that the ball was dead. That call required the players to stop, turn around, and retrun to the field. It also solicited many unsportsman-like boos from the fans.

After the game, we stayed for the Big & Rich concert because the hubbys tend to like country music. I won't go into too many details. Let's just say I doubt I'll ever forget the horrified look on Gropey's face when Rich walked onto the stage wearing a full length fur coat.

Wild Abandon

Do you do anything with wild abandon? I’m not really sure what that even means. My best guess is that you completely and totally throw yourself into something without thinking.

Going with that definition I can honestly say that I love my family with wild abandon. No thought required. I simply love.

One night as I flounced into bed, I caught my Sweetie smiling at me. He looked as pleased as Punch. I asked what he was grinning at. He said he loved watching me get into bed each night because I did it with such glee. He said he loved watching me sleep because I did it with such wild abandon.

Wild abandon. Hmmm… That’s not a phrase I would have associated with sleeping. But if you refer to the above definition, then I guess it fits.

Yes, I love to sleep. I always have. No, I don’t want to sleep my days away. But I love the sensation of settling down after a long day. Some people view sleep as a waste of time. I take it for what it is. A time to truly relax, let go, and recharge for the next day. So at the end of each day, I throw myself into bed with joy.

Now I know of two things that I do with wild abandon. Love and sleep. I’m such a wild mama, aren’t I?

What do you do with wild abandon?

Attack of the Fairy Rings

Nature is trying to kill me. Allergy season is really bad this year. I know, you must be thinking that since something is always in bloom in Florida, wouldn’t it always be allergy season? Yes, allergy season is pretty much year-round down here. But it goes in cycles… Trees have their time, then grasses, weeds, etc…

Summer usually isn’t too bad for me since the only things in bloom at this time of year are the palm trees. Luckily for me, I’m not allergic to most tropical plants. But unfortunately, it’s bad news for my fellow redhead, LHB. She is the only person I know who is allergic to palm trees and she lives in Florida. Poor thing.

But just when I thought my allergies and asthma would have a brief respite for a couple of months I got slammed with a full frontal assault last week. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Then I noticed all the fairy rings in my neighbors’ yards.

Fairy rings are rings of mushrooms that grow from Basidiospores (mold spores). We don’t have any rings in our yard because we have a southern exposure and the yard bakes this time of year. But all these little spores are floating through the air along with Cladosporium and Ascospores. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology’s website, the mold count for our area is high.

LHB and I are experiencing extreme allergy symptoms and are miserable. (Cue the tiny violins) I won’t go into the gory details but we both have sinus issues. Which leads me to wonder… If mold spores are floating through the air and my sinuses are inflamed, could I possibly have fairy rings growing in my head?

Photo: Univeristy of Tennessee-Knoxville

My New Pets

Meet my new pets. These five koi fish are fun to play with and very relaxing. If you hover your mouse over the pond, the koi will follow it. Click your mouse and food will drop for the koi to eat. The more you click the more energetic they become.




Why koi fish? Because I’ve always had a sweet spot for koi. I have fond childhood memories of watching koi in the pond pictured below. This pond is located in what is now a community park called Laurelwood Arboretum. When I was a child, the park was a commercial nursery adjacent to my house and the pond didn’t have a fountain. I’ve written about my love for this special place before.

Photo by Bob Shine ©

According to the Japanese, koi fish symbolize love and friendship. I don’t know if the koi still live in the pond. They can live for decades but I don’t know if they can endure that many frozen winters.

My virtual koi will take up residence on the sidebar of my blog (just scroll down a little ways). When you need a quick stress reliever, come back and feed the fishies.

Ikea, the big blue magnet

During the past few weeks I’ve been to Ikea twice. My Sweetie, Mr. A and I went when our A/C was out. Then this past weekend with my parents and the boys. S now understands my fascination with the store and Mr. A wanted to go back just so he could eat. The verdict is still out on whether or not G-Man likes Ikea because he was such a grump the day we went.

As usual, we came home with many stylish and ingenious items for the house and grand plans for reorganizing multiple rooms. The intent of the trip a few weeks ago was to get tables to create a sewing nook in the sitting area of our master bedroom. Several years ago, I gave up my sewing room so the boys could each have their own rooms. All of my things got packed away and when I wanted to make a quilt I went over to my Mom’s house. The arrangement worked fine for those years. But now that my back is better I want to really get back into quilting. That means when the urge strikes I want to act.

In order for my little nook to be efficient, I wanted a table at a comfortable height to sew (dining table height) and a table at counter height for cutting and pressing. I also needed storage and it all had to look great. After researching everything online we headed to my fun place. We got a stainless steel kitchen table for sewing and a free-standing kitchen island with shelves. The island is a stainless steel frame with a wood top. Everything fits perfectly.



I went back up to Ikea last weekend so I could get the items I forgot on the previous trip. Which included baskets for the island shelves and task lighting that I didn’t put in place until after I took the above photo. I know, brilliant.

In addition to assembling the tables for my sewing nook, my Sweetie installed window shades on a rail system in our master bath. Even though the window is frosted glass, we decided to add the shades to cut down on the heat load during the day. The three woven panels slide back and forth on separate tracks to allow as much or as little light as desired.

Of course, I need to make another trip back to the big blue box because I forgot the pulls for the shades. I have yet to figure out if my forgetfulness is a result of a very clever marketing ploy by Ikea or my own subconscious at work.

As if installing window shades and assembling tables weren’t enough to make my heart beat fast, my Sweetie also cooked dinner.

Is there anything more romantic than a man in the kitchen?

Ikea to the B-52's

Saturday was a busy day. My Sweetie had to work so the boys and I went to Ikea with my folks. It was a productive trip and I’ll tell you about our accomplishments in another post to come. While riding back from the mega blue box I was trapped in the middle row of my Mom’s Highlander with Mr. A. My parents were in the front having a lively discussion on which route to take home and G-Man was in the 3rd row plugged into his iPod. Mr. A pulled out his iPod and I looked at him pleadingly and mouthed, “I don’t have mine.” Since he’s such a good kid, he handed me one of his earbuds. About the 4th song into the playlist the Beastie Boys’ Girls came on. I looked at my 15-year-old with mild surprise and admiration. Then mother and son proceeded to lip sync to a group of white Jewish rappers.

That evening was girls’night out with Gropius. We went to the Rays baseball game. I watched a lot of baseball during the summers growing up. Now I’m getting back into the enjoyment of watching the game, people watching, eating junk food, and great conversation. Of course it’s always extra fun when the home team wins. Yeah Rays! Plus, Gropey was such a trooper for sitting next to me while I chowed down on my hotdog.

Speaking of troopers… Did I mention that Saturday night was “Sci-Fi Night” at the Rays game? We saw Stormtroopers as soon as we walked in the stadium. I started laughing because I knew that if G-Man was there he’d be so excited. We even came across some Stormtroopers on the concourse popping and locking (as best as they could in their costumes) to the Beastie Boys. What’s the chance of hearing them twice in one day?

During the game, a very energetic section started the wave. It wrapped around the stadium multiple times… definitely the longest running wave I’ve participated in. Later, Mr. A commented that it probably lasted so long due to the high geek factor there that night. While in progress, I thought of the movie When Harry Met Sally… when Harry is at the Giants game with his friend telling him that he’s getting a divorce. Through the entire conversation they don’t miss a single beat in the wave.

After the game we waited while the stage was set up for the B-52’s concert. A slideshow of sci-fi trivia questions ran on the big screen. I think I made Gropius a little nervous when I was able to answer as many of the questions as I did. Previously, I thought that kind of knowledge was part of pop culture. But now I’m wondering if I’m a closet geek. I also recognized Eddie McClintock from Warehouse 13 on SyFy when he sang Take Me Out to the Ballgame at the 7th inning stretch. Yes, this coming from the person who barely watches TV. I didn’t tell Gropey that I saw Boba Fet in the crowd or that I could identify the different Star Wars episodes that the various Stormtrooper costumes belong to simply because I wanted to have a ride home.

The highlight of the evening (with the exception of the Rays’ win) was the B-52’s concert. This is a band that my brother listened to in college. A band that I listened to in college. Saturday night they sang songs that were 20-30 years old and still had life and vitality. The songs and the group! They looked like they were having so much fun. I’d enjoy seeing the B-52’s again in a smaller venue with better acoustics than a domed baseball stadium.

By the time I got home at 1am, I was bushed. As I rattled around the house shutting things down, Molly gave me a couple of woofs from the bedroom. She didn’t even bother getting up from her bed. I believe the woofs roughly translated into:

You left and didn’t take me with you. You left me at home with the menfolk while you went out and had fun. I’m not getting up to greet you. But if you come here and pet me then I won’t be mad at you. By the way, you’re late.

Overall it was a great day.

To Blog or Not To Blog

It’s been a quiet week for PLRH’s blog. I’ve gone back and forth all week trying to decide whether or not I want to continue blogging. And by back and forth I mean form one end of the spectrum to the other.

On Monday I had my knickers in such a twist over Google’s big-brother-like actions. I was bound and determined to set-up a new blog on a different platform and export all my postings. I wanted ultimate control over EVERYTHING on my blog. Well, what do you expect? I am a redhead, after all.

Ultimate control translates into an outlay of cash. As I mentioned earlier, the popular free blogging platforms reserve the right to cancel an account due to objectionable content or abuse. It makes sense because they are allowing bloggers to use their software and servers for FREE. So if a blogger wants that ultimate control they have to pay for the right.

That brought me to my first big question. Is it worth it to pay $9 a month to blog? It’s not a whole lot of money but is it really essential? Let’s face it, my blog isn’t changing the world. I won’t ever financially support my family with my blog much less cover the $9/mo.

My second question… Do I want to continue blogging? Sure it’s a creative outlet but I have other creative outlets in my life and writing has never been a strong suit of mine. I think I have about 11 regular readers. The rest of the visitors to my site bounce right off and don’t return. My writings are just that stimulating.

By Wednesday I was 90% sure that I would discontinue blogging. I had even drafted a final post complete with video. I won’t tell you what it is because I still may use it.

Throughout the week I read a lot of other people’s blogs. I have come to the conclusion that some people have way too much time on their hands. I won’t elaborate here because I don’t want to say anything negative. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of blogs out there that I enjoy reading. But some of them just make me say, “Huh?”

As for my future in blogging, I’m on the fence. For you math-minded people that’s a 50/50 split.

Blacklisted by Google

Google has disabled my AdSense account for invalid clicking. In other words, they have removed the ads from my blog and will never, ever put them back. Yep, PLRH is on their fecal roster.

After reviewing my ads, Google feels that I have received too many clicks from one source and that those clicks are not genuine. I can honestly say that I only clicked on one ad on my blog by accident and I felt tremendously guilty afterwards. Beyond that, I don’t have any control over who clicks and how many times.

From an advertiser’s point of view, I completely understand why Google monitors this activity. Mr. A told me that it would be very easy for someone to run a script to click on ads 24/7. It would artificially drive up revenue and provide false data to the advertiser.

Now all of this has me feeling uncomfortable. Not because Google removed the ads from my blog. I could care less about that. In fact, I debated long and hard about ever putting them on in the first place. Somehow I felt like I was selling out.

I feel uncomfortable because this smacks a little too big brother-ish for me. That is a reference to George Orwell’s novel 1984. Not the TV show that I have never seen.

For the first time ever I feel vulnerable out on the internet. Yes, I write a blog and invite people to read it. But I don’t put hyper-personal stuff out there that I normally wouldn’t share. Yes, I also use Google’s software and server to write my blog and they reserve the right to cancel my account if my content is objectionable. But I never really thought about how closely my blog would be monitored until now. That is what makes me feel unsettled.

This is weighing so heavily on me that I had a dream last night that I was kidnapped by a terrorist web development company. They held me hostage and forced me to test video games. If you've ever seen my play a video game, you would know that it's a form of torture. Through the whole experience I kept asking my captors if they picked me at random or if I was profiled.

In addition to feeling uncomfortable, I’m also considering if I should stop blogging. Or maybe change how I go about doing it. I will have to think about it for awhile. Does anyone have any thoughts or comments? Besides the fact that I have screwy dreams.

Julie & Juila

Last night I dreamt about food.

Cheese souffle, cheese danish, cheesecake, baked mac & cheese... Maybe I'm craving cheese? I really blame my gastronomic dreams on the new movie "Julie & Julia."

My Sweetie took me out for date night yesterday evening. We went to a grown-up restaurant all by ourselves. It was so exciting! We had wine, starters, salad, dinner, dessert, tea & coffee. I'm thrilled to say that not a single Buffalo wing was present.

After dinner we made our way to the movie theater to see "Julie & Julia." I was pleasantly surprised by my Sweetie's invitation. He has a strong dislike of "cinemuck" and rude people. Therefore, I usually only see movies with the kids and never a chick-flick.

The movie was a lot of fun. Meryl Streep was fabulous. I enjoyed the Julia Child half of the movie more so than the Julie Powell. Julia came across as a real person and she and her husband seemed so in love. My eyes even teared up a few times during the film. Julie, on the other hand, came across as very unrealistic. The character was VERY sweet. So sweet that when she and her husband had a fight and he called her selfish, I found it ill-fitting. Then towards the end of the story she wondered if Julia Child didn't like her blog because she used the f-word. I just spent two hours with these characters and I could not imagine Amy Adams using the f-word because she was SO sweet.

In the end, I walked away from the movie hungry even though we enjoyed a great dinner earlier.

Now I'm inspired to try some new recipes. I've never been a big fan of French cooking... too many sauces... and all that butter! The only French recipes I know are the rustic ones that have come through Louisiana. But there are several French foods I like... croissants, beniets, pain perdu, white bordeaux, champagne, brie... ahh, there's cheese again.

At Last

We have A/C! The new unit got up and running last night and we're all very comfortable. I believe the family member that's the happiest is Molly. After all, she is wearing a black fur coat. It will still be another day before all the humidity is out of the house. Just over night the new system pulled 4 gallons of moisture from the air in our house.

The new equipment may be the most beautiful piece of machinery I have ever seen in my life. OK, I may be exaggerating but who knew that 78 degrees could bring so much happiness.



The old equipment served us well but it's time for it to be dismantled and recycled.


I'm so excited about the climate control in the house that I want to turn the temp down cold enough to start a penguin rookery. But since that won't happen, maybe I can get it cool enough so that I can try on the new fall clothes I bought last weekend. :)

Friday Fun

see more Funny Graphs

The creator of this graph must have been at my house for a few family movie nights because this is exactly what happens. That's the whole point of having wireless internet, right? So we can access IMDB from the comfort of the family room sofa.

Tip: Click on the graph to see a bigger version that's easier to read.

TV Dysfunctional

Long, long ago in the time before time…

That is, two weeks ago when we still had A/C…

My Sweetie had the TV on while he was working on his laptop. I walked in the room, glanced at the TV and noticed the icon in the lower right-hand corner. I asked my Sweetie,

“When did we get HBO?”

“We’ve always had it.”

“Since when?”

“Since we got Verizon.”

“Two years ago? You mean I could have been watching True Blood all this time?”

“Umm… yea, I guess so.”

“What other movie channels do we get?”

“All of them.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

“Why? We never watch them.”

“Well, they come bundled with the Golf Channel.”

“We get all of these premium movie channels so you can watch golf re-runs?”

Silence.

In case you’re wondering, True Blood is a series of vampire novels by Charlaine Harris. Unlike the Twilight series, these novels are more grown-up and lacking the teenage angst. Several people have recommended the books to me but I just haven’t gotten to them yet since I have a shelf full of books to read.

HBO has created the True Blood TV series based on the novels and I’ve heard good things about that too. Anna Paquin plays the lead non-vampire character in the series. She’s a talented actress who won an Oscar for her supporting role in The Piano at the age of 12 (or something like that). She also happened to play my favorite female X-Men character, Rogue, in all the movies.

So when I learned that Anna Paquin was in the True Blood series I really wanted to watch it. I even considered buying the first season on DVD. But then I discovered we had HBO. Awesome!

Sunday night rolls around and I’m all prepared to watch my first ever episode of True Blood. I sit down, turn on the TV, and select the correct HBO channel. A message pops up on the screen that I have to enter a code to unlock the parental controls. I ask my Sweetie,

“What’s the code to unlock the parental controls?”

“How should I know?”

The kids didn't know either. I tried every code that I could think of and nothing worked. Finally, in frustration I turned off the TV. While shaking my head I thought of two things:

1. I don’t watch enough TV to know what channels we get.

2. My family’s TV viewing habits are PG-13 because no one in the house realized that the parental controls have been locked for two years.

Honestly, I consider both items to be very good.

Keeping Our Cool

Still no word on the new A/C unit. We're all trying our best to be patient and optimistic. But c'mon! It's Wednesday already! I thought this adventure would all be over with by now.

We are maintaining the comfort level in the house fairly well. Now that we have the overall temp down in the house the two portable units are doing a good job keeping it cool. We use the ceiling fans and a couple of free-standing fans to help move the air through the house. Molly is totally digging the ceiling fan action and sprawls out on any rug that's directly under a fan.

The boys' bedrooms are on the west side of the house and the den is on the south side. By keeping those rooms closed up we really keep the heat down. The boys have been camping out in the family room since Saturday night. Of course, they have to convince Molly to relinquish her spot underneath the fan. She then sulks off to our room. She can't place herself directly under the fan but at least we have an A/C portable.

The only complaint I have is the noise level. Those portable units are effective but LOUD. Add the noise from all the fans and you'd think you were in a wind tunnel testing facility. I have to go in the sauna-like bathroom to use the phone.

Last night was the first night I slept soundly. Sure I've been cool enough but the sound from all the machines must have kept me from falling into a deep sleep. I must have been tired enough last night that I finally got into a deep sleep. So deep that I didn't hear Mr. A get sick.

The poor kid has a fever and is sick to his stomach. What a crummy way to spend part of your summer vacation. G-Man is at the grandparents' house, Mr. A and I are staying home, and Molly is back under the fan.

Now we all know that I don't over react to the kids' illnesses or injuries. Take the broken leg incident for example. But this morning I questioned Mr. A about who he was with at the Y yesterday. Of those friends, who's been on vacation. Etc... Why? Because last month one of Mr. A's friends came back from camp in the Carolinas with the swine flu.

I don't think there's anything to worry about though because he only has a low fever and the swine flu is known to have a high fever. Also, no one he was with yesterday has been on vacation. But I wouldn't be a mom if I didn't worry just a tiny bit.

Now that my worrying is finished, the rest of the day should be relatively low impact. The Jell-o is already made and setting up in the frig. I'm an expert at making toast. That leaves my free time to dream up a way to appease the shipping gods to deliver our new A/C unit!

Flipper Foot

The boys and I went back-to-school shopping last Saturday. This totally caught the kids off guard. They thought they still had another three weeks to go before they had to endure the torture of buying new clothes. But when I explained to them that they had the option of staying at home with Dad as he did A/C troubleshooting or shopping with Mom, they chose wisely.

I got a great khaki blazer and gradient-dyed scarf at the Gap and a new pair of hiking shoes at Adidas on mega-clearance. Nothing says back-to-school shopping in August as fall clothes that you can’t wear for another three months. Especially when it’s 95 degrees.

Oh yea, the boys got some stuff too.

The purchase that caused the most excitement on our shopping excursion was a pair of new running shoes for Mr. A. We discovered on Saturday that Mr. A now wears a size 14. We also learned that once men’s shoe sizes exceed 13 the box needs to be bigger and the price goes up. Take a look as to how his new shoes match up to my women’s size 9…

Mr. A also got a new pair of Reef flip-flops the other day. But I think they would be more accurately described as longboards.

I have called him “flipper foot” since day one but I never really believed that he would truly live up to that nickname. Good thing he’s a swimmer. Michael Phelps watch out.

Sans A/C

Our air conditioning is broken.

Let me repeat that.

Our air conditioning is broken.

That's right, it's August. We live in Florida. The temp outside has been averaging 96 degrees. Our air conditioning is broken.

Why is it broken? Because there is a universal law that states if it's August, your A/C unit will break at 9 pm on a Friday night.

I can't tell you what's broken because that's my Sweetie's department. He's been walking around muttering things like: differential pressure, heat load, and heat transfer. All I know is that it's pretty darn warm in the house.

The big unit that's outside is completely fried and needs to be replaced. Also, there's some coil for the unit inside the garage that needs to be replaced. The parts have been ordered and will be delivered one day this week. So we wait.

In the meantime, my Sweetie bought two portable A/C units to help keep us cool (and sane). The portables look a like smaller cousins of the the robot from Lost in Space.

They do a good job keeping a closed room comfortable. So we are able to sleep okay at night Of course, the wind tunnel sound takes a little getting used to. Unfortunately, the little portables can't do much for the rest of the house. It's a situation like this that makes a person regret the open floor plan and 10 ft. ceilings.

If things really do get bad with my allergies and asthma, I can always camp out at my parents' house or runaway to the Vinoy. ;) But I'm trying to be a good sport about it and hang with the guys. Mr. A has the best attitude... at least we still have electricity and lots of cold drinks.

Not having A/C has made us realize that our house really isn't that energy efficient. The western side of the house really takes a beating and bakes in the afternoon sun. We've taken some energy saving measures already and have plans to cool the attic and add more insulation after the A/C is back up and running.

I would also like to know how the Crackers (FL pioneers) ever survived the summer down here. Sure the high collars and long skirts would have been great protection against sunburn and bug bites. But how in the world did they tend the land, manage the house, and raise the children without passing out from heat stroke? All while wearing a corset?

Halfway through my first summer I would have been on the first wagon train back up north. Or I would have moved to the coast and become a nudist.

Hmm... Nope. Not that desperate yet.