Hunkalicious

Joe Biden gets the nod for VP and I couldn't be happier. To me, Senator Biden is hunkalicious. Forget Obama, forget Bill Clinton, give me Joe. Look at that boyish smile, so crooked and delicious. And at 65 he hasn't let himself go. Normally I would mock hair plugs and bleached teeth but with Joe, it makes me believe he is ready for anything. I long for his hanging chad.

Watch out Mrs. Biden, if Joe comes to AZ, I will make Rielle look like a girl scout.

Laugh at me, but I know as the campaign wears on, the rest of you will see what I see.

Barrack who? My vote goes to Joe.

Back on Track

Leah had her poster ready this morning. Whew. Take that Kara's mom. I also signed her calendar per the teacher's schedule and I even remembered a snack. Her clothes matched AND her library books were securely placed in her backpack.

It was Leah's first day being dropped off. They have a new procedure this year. Parents have to drop off kids. No grown ups on campus. I think it's a good idea but some children (mine) prefer being walked to their room. She hesitated for a moment but then she gave me a sad, little kiss and jumped out of the car.

Later she told me that tears were just ready to come out of her eyes but she kept them inside.

My big girl.

I Give This Day A D Minus

What a day.

First of all I checked my bank account at about 10 this morning and realized that I wrote a $900 check on the wrong account. I've been a bit distracted lately (more on that later) and I paid my VISA bill using the account that was down to $200. I was horrified when I realized my balance was -$700. Why didn't they contact me??? I ran out of our office and headed to the credit union to fix everything. They were so polite. They wondered why I was so upset and why I brought cash to deposit. I said "I didn't think you'd accept a check from me after I just wrote a bad one." Jonathan, the bank teller, calmly said, "Oh this happens all the time -- you wouldn't believe what people do. You have 30 days to get it worked out and we'll even let you make payments." Huh? No wonder the banking industry is in trouble.


As you may remember, we sold our house last week so the parade of paperwork has begun. The real estate supply chain is in high gear. This morning the appraiser was here and this afternoon the home inspector did his thing. But as usual, nothing at Chez Woods is typical. Oh no. As the inspector is checking the laundry room, he notices a drip, drip, drip coming from the ceiling. He immediately calls our realtor and then as he ventures into the attic, he discovers the drip is from the a/c condensation pipe (or something like that.) By the time Lynn gets home the drip has turned into a full-fledged leak and we have to put a bucket under it. The perspective buyers are here witnessing the demise of their new home. We have a repairman coming in the morning but we're afraid the buyers will want to cancel the deal. Would this happen to anyone else?

Onto Curriculum Night at Leah's school. It is the second week of 2nd grade and I was looking forward to hearing her teacher's plans for the year. She seems like a great teacher but all I did the entire time was slink lower and lower into the chair as I realized I have been a negligent mom. Her poster was due today ("What poster", I asked?) Her summer vacation paper was on the wall but it was blank and her "Who I Am" paper was blank as well. Where have I been? God, I felt like the worst mom. Kara's mom was asking question after question about forms and calendars and spelling tests. She took copious notes while I flipped through the handouts to figure out what the heck she was referring to. I hate Kara's mom.

Nickel and Dime Indeed

If you're going to charge me $50 to change my flight when it was your suggestion and the flight has room. And you're going to charge me $15 to check one 30 pound bag. And you're going to charge me $2.00 for a drink of water. Then do you think you can at least make sure the light above my seat works so I can read my book?

Monday Night in the OC

So what do you do on a Monday night in Anaheim? I'm surrounded by Disney with no desire to visit the Magic Kingdon. It wouldn't be right without my daughter. I'm here with my co-worker and he thought this restaurant sounded interesting.

I thought it sounded like a disaster but I'm nothing if not flexible. We walked down Harbor Blvd, turned left at Katella and found Bubba Gump's. Although there were people everywhere -- on benches out in front, standing inside and waiting in the bar, we were immediately seated at the first booth. As the name implies, the place is an homage to Forrest Gump. The table is covered with movie dialogue and Gump paraphenalia covers the walls. The wait staff was very friendly and efficient, even engaging us in Forrest Gump trivia questions.

The table also included license plates as pictured.

You flip over the license plate depending upon whether or not you need service. If it's on blue then it's dinner as usual, if you flip it to the red "Stop Forrest Stop" then a waiter or waitress will stop at your table to find out what you need. The first time, the response was instanteous (for more water) the second time it took just under a minute (for another beer.) I thought it would be hokey, but it was fun. I was heady with power from those metal signs.

Mostly shrimp dishes on the menu with a few other seafood delights and some chicken choices as well. We ordered hush puppies to start which were a big disappointment. No flavor and they were stuffed with corn.

I had Shrimpers Heaven which included 4 kinds of shrimp. Tempura, Fried, Coconut and peel 'n eat. This came with fries and cole slaw (both untouched by me.) The shrimp was actually quite good with the tempura being the best. Each of these cones contained a different type of shrimp.

After dinner it was back to the Fairfield. We walked back passing eager Disney fans both heading toward and leaving the park.

Back to my room to finish packing, make shuttle arrangements and get ready for my last day in the OC. As usual, at 9:30, the folks at Disneyland started their brilliant fireworks show. I'd like to think they were bidding me adieu until my next visit.

Travel

I’ve been traveling a bit lately. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t. When I travel for work, I end up flying by myself which I actually enjoy except for ground travel arrangements. I’m a lazy traveler and I prefer taxis over the more difficult to maneuver public transportation. I’d give trains and subways a chance if I didn’t always have so much luggage.

You may have guessed, I’m a bad packer. I NEVER have the right stuff. I either have too much or not enough. When I was in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago, I was there for 3-1/2 days. I only packed one pair of pants. I was sure I had packed at least 3 but no -- only my black pin-striped pants. I was careful not to spill anything and I changed into my pajamas right away each evening. I had one pair of flimsy sandals and 2 pairs of flip flops. Not good when you’re walking and on your feet a lot.

This week in Anaheim, I have 4 pairs of pants but I have all the wrong shoes again. The Convention Center is nearly a mile away and I limped back with a big blister on my heel. Tomorrow it’s back to taxis.

Hotel rooms. Here’s what I like. Solitude and simplicity. Room Service. Big beds all to myself. Using the sleep timer on the TV. Relaxing wake up calls rather than screaming alarm clocks.

Here’s what I hate. The constant threat of germs left in the wake of other travelers. I can’t stand it when the shower curtain touches my skin. It gave me chills just to type that! I never use the glasses they leave in the room. I buy bottled water. I hate using the phone – I’m sure they never think to sterilize the phone – or the radio or the remote!

Here’s a hint for travel rookies: Don’t leave your toothbrush on the counter. I’m sure they move it around to clean the counter and I bet they touch it right after they’ve cleaned the toilet!!!! (See photo of how I put all toiletries esp. toothbrush in my hanging travel bag when I leave for the day.) I also hate bedspreads although now they are putting sheets on top of the beds which alleviates some of my germaphobia.

And how they tease me with HBO. Look at tonight’s lineup:
8:45 In Focus: Shedding Light On Vampires In America, A Prime-Time Network Exclusive
9:00 Generation Kill Part 5: A Burning Dog
10:15 Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam 95
10:45 Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam 96

I would never watch these shows. Ever. Okay, I would watch if George Clooney came over and said he wanted to spend the evening with me watching HBO. Then maybe... but he better bring champagne.

WTF

There's something wrong with my blog.

I posted the most amusing info yesterday and it's gone.

Don't despair, I think I can recreate it. There's even a great picture of my posse.

To amuse yourselves in the meantime, just think about me chasing my pink-eyed monster daughter around the house for the past 2-1/2 hours trying to wrangle her so I can administer the eye drops to combat her conjunctivitis.

Or you can think about how I actually just engaged in a drop-down-drag-out girl fight with, Lori, my flex account benefit provider (all via email of course). I'm embarrassed to say that I couldn't quit sarcastically responding to her insane requests for more information (most of which she already had.) Then she mentioned how she had just "met with the girls" in her department to discuss my account. Honestly, she wrote "the girls". That was the last straw. I replied that I was confident "the girls" would discover a solution to the challenge. Then she wrote back a snotty reply and then I did and then she did and then I wrote back something that could be construed as sincere because I thought "hey, I'm the customer, she should be kissing my a** and maybe I should send this to her supervisor who I bet isn't a girl and if I do send it to her Manager, I want my part to at least sound more mature than hers." So take that LORI.

Anyway, please stay tuned for yesterday's tidbit.

Fight Back: The Dog Days of Summer

Here are my picks for things to do/watch/read to overcome the dog days of Summer.

Go see Momma Mia. It's a fun, joyful movie.

Watch Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood on the Oxygen channel or Flipping Out on Bravo. Both reality shows, both guilty pleasures.

Read Not Quite What I Was Planning. Great, quick read. An entire book of six-word memoirs. Written by the famous and not so famous. Very compelling. Try writing your own.

Read I Was Told There'd Be Cake. Book of essays that reads like a memoir. Funny, funny, funny.

Eat. Now that the tomato scare has passed eat this salad. Tomato, mozzarella, basil, drizzle on olive oil and balsalmic vinegar. Yummy. I could eat this everyday. (I'm sure this salad has a name but it escapes me.)

If all else fails, grab your BFF's, drink champagne and dance on the coffee table.

But It's a Green Heat

Don't ask me why but I went to Whole Foods tonight in search of fried rice. I thought one of their casual dining areas might include this side dish. I also wanted to try the double chocolate cookies that Leah has raved about since her field trip a few weeks ago.

We made a beeline for the bakery (such that it is)and after several misfires, she found the yummy morsels. Then onto the rice. I checked the Asian food center but only sushi. We ended up with frozen rice.

We also got 2 slices of cheese pizza for $6.99/pound. Who sells pizza by the pound? Leah insisted that it's the best. I told the pizza clerk that after a school field trip, my daughter insists on everything from Whole Foods. Then I added "I'll have to get a 2nd job." The Whole Foods employee nodded and said "I was just going to say that", paused and with a much too sincere expression, added "but they do so much for the community." I'm thinking they don't have fried rice because selling rice by the pound would not impact the bottom line as profitably as selling cheese laden pizza crust by weight.

It's 113 degrees today and the store must have been 95 degrees. When I mentioned the balmy interior, the check out guy said "Whole Foods is being environmentally responsible by turning up the thermostat". Right. Call me cynical but I wonder if being green has more to do with saving them several thousand dollars per month on their utility bill than slowing global warming. I only had to swipe my debit card twice as the sweat poured down my face and dripped onto the credit card machine.