Was it? Or wasn't it?

LLB was asked by a good friend to go to the movies.
The friend happens to be a boy.
They made plans for yesterday after school for various reasons.

He got a chauffeur.
I hired a surveillance crew.

When the young man was asked if the chauffeur was going to chaperone them in the theater, he said, "No, Mom! It's a G rated movie!"

They were picked up at school and driven to the theater in style (in a new vehicle, not a stretch limo -- although the vehicle is big enough that it could actually be considered a stretch limo).

They did their homework before the movie started. I understand from the surveillance information I received, that LLB was very sweet and kept paying the young man complements.

LLB paid for her own ticket. (Because, according to her, she didn't know she wasn't supposed to buy her own ticket.)

They watched the movie. They laughed. They talked. They had a wonderful time - as they always do when they are together.

The chauffeur picked them up after the movie and they stopped for dinner. Again, they laughed and chatted.

The chauffeur drove them to our house. The young man walked LLB to the door. She invited him in for a few minutes. He said his goodbyes and left.

So. You tell me. Was it a date?

Picture This

I toss the clothes from the washer into the empty dryer.
I set the time and push the button.
Every other time I push the button the dryer starts up and runs.
This time it makes an grinding noise and doesn't run.
I, of course, run to find the Mr. Fixit of the family, the Guru of all things mechanical - Grandpa.
He comes to look at my lint trap. It's the kind that bends down the back of the dryer - the most unaccessible item around.
We push the screen back it and it catches on something.
We push the screen back again and it goes right in.
We pull the dryer out and it detaches itself from the vent tube in the back.
I feel around in there and there is nothing.
I shove the cleaning brush Grandpa has whipped out of nowhere in the vent.
Nothing.
We decide to turn it on and see if it just might run.
Amazingly it runs.
Then it coughs up a pencil.
The pencil comes shooting out the now unconnected vent like a missile.
I'm guessing the dryer didn't like that flavor pencil. It was a yellow #2.
I now have to reconnect the dryer to the vent.
This sounds like a relatively simple task.
It should be.

Before I go any further, I should describe my laundry room.
My washer and dryer are in an alcove in my 1/2 bathroom. There is about 2 inches of clearance between the side of the machines and the walls.
I have a shelf above the washer and dryer to hold the laundry detergent, bleach, dryer sheets and stuff.

I pull the dryer back towards the back wall and the vent tube.
I stretch the tube. It does not reach.
I pull the dryer back some more.
I'm relatively thin, but I have pulled the dryer back so far that I can't turn my body so I bend over or squat to connect the tube.
I begin to sweat... there is very little room, no circulation, and now I'm totally stuck.
I force myself between the wall and the dryer and after what feels like 25 million tries, I connect the tube.
I fumble for the screwdriver to tighten the clamp.
The tube falls off.
I come up for air.
Grandpa tells me my face is red.
Really? Thanks!!
I try again.
This time it only takes about 10 times to get the tube on and 5 tries to tighten the clamp. Did you know the screwdriver works best when the tip is connected with the divets in the screw head?
I come up for the last time.
I am a total dribble of sweat. I am also covered with lint.
Yes, I am simply gorgeous!
Now I attempt to extricate myself from behind the machine.
I try to squeeze myself out the side.
I DO NOT fit!
I push the washer all the way to the wall and gain about 1/4 of an inch.
I still do not fit.
The only way out is over the top.
Are you kidding me??
Climb out?
I start to giggle...
Grandpa chuckles.
I laugh harder.
I hike my leg up there and realize you can't laugh and climb.
I concentrate.
I push with all my might while trying desperately not to knock myself unconscious or give myself a concussion on the shelf that is now fractions of an inch above my tucked head. If I were a turtle, I would have pulled my head in, but since I am not, all I could do was hunch and keep it down.
I get the other leg up and realize that if I sit on the top of the dryer it will be have the imprint of my oh so gorgeous rear end on it for an eternity.
I hover.
I don't do yoga. I don't fold. I don't do contortions.
I fold myself in two and lurch off the top.
Somehow, I didn't kill myself, break the sink, imprint the dryer, or end up on my butt. I landed squarely on my feet. That's a first!!

Note to self...
1. get the pencil dusted for prints and make them pay!
2. get a longer dryer tube.

It's The Most Wonderful...

Time of the year!

School starts today!!!

Let me tell you, 5:45 came mighty early for #1.
He came down ready to hit the books.
He was confident. He was nervous, but he was confident.
He studied his map and his schedule as he ate his breakfast of dry cereal. (He takes after his Auntie.) He didn't eat very much, but he ate some.
Now, don't get your knickers in a twist! I offered to make him whatever he wanted and he chose the cereal.
I made him a HUGE lunch - just in case he got hungry. (He has to stay after for band, and I wanted to make sure he could last until dinner.)

We headed off to the bus at 6:30.
#1 looked like the ultimate high schooler as he boarded the bus with his cool new messenger bag slung over his shoulder -- confident and ready to find his way through the maze they call the high school.

I arrived home at 6:38 - I had 10 minutes to swap the wash before LLB's alarm clock went off. I'm thinking I might like this new schedule.

LLB came down and requested 2 eggs - fried with the yolks broken. She ate it all.
She was definitely ready to get to school and start her year.

I took the requisite pictures, but this is the first year that I don't have the children together. That made me a little sad, but only because the scrapbook will be harder to do. I'll get over it.

We headed off for her bus at 7:30. I was home at 7:47.

What am I going to do to occupy my self?
I am finished with the laundry. I've had breakfast. I've walked the dog.
I'm having lunch with friends to celebrate the first day of school.
Yup - I'm a happy mommy!

Saturday Sight Seeing

I am under the impression that you want to see what we've done so far.

The Dining Room:
This is the new china hutch. I have a "thing" for china. I love china. My china has been sitting in a closet for 3 years. I'm so glad to be able to display it.The top shelves are filled my Villeroy and Boch Design Naif china. (I have the regular Design Naif and the Christmas pattern. I'm not obsessed -- really!!) The bottom shelf has the Wedgwood china - Amherst - that we chose when we got married. It is formal and beautiful and I just love it.

Check out the curtains - I made those! This is the view from the living room. The portrait in the background is of a distant relative. Isn't she pretty? I just love her. Do you like my rug? It sure beats pink!!

I think you've seen enough to bore your here, so we'll head upstairs.

LLB's Room:
Here are LLB's new shelves that display her vast snowman collection. The 5th and final shelf is currently drying in the garage. Her door? No - she hasn't been punished! Her door is sitting in the garage (all painted) waiting for me to paint the door trim so I can rehang it. She might get it back this week.

This is her pink focal wall. It came out great. Do me a favor? Ignore the dust, k?

The window trim has not been painted white yet - I'll work on that next week. Don't you just love those curtains and rods? Just enough pink in the rods to carry the color throughout the room. Oh - and do you see how I carried her circles - from the bedding, to the curtains, to the rods. I'm sooo hip!! Remember how she used to have those hideous cabinets and shelves above her dresser? Well, those are gone! Doesn't this look much nicer? I think it makes her room look so much bigger.

Friday Feast and more

Appetizer
Say there’s a book written about your life. Who would you want to narrate the audio version?
Jim Dale -- The guy who narrates the Harry Potter books. I'd love to hear the voices he chooses for my family members.

Soup
Take the letters from your favorite kind of nut and write a sentence. (Example: Perhaps every avenue needs understanding today.) Always leave my old notes downstairs.

Salad
If you could go back in time and spend one week in another decade, which decade would you choose? I can't choose a decade but I can choose a year. 1978. I want to see all my friends from Jeddah that I never saw again. We left for summer vacation without realizing we wouldn't be going back. How do you find people whose maiden names you know, but have no idea where they ended up? Can you say I'm looking for B. Tuxbury whose dad worked for Saudia? Or I'm looking for B. Abel who had a bunch of siblings whose dad worked for Lockheed? I don't think the internet is that good, do you?

Main Course
Name a song that brings back memories for you.
There are too many to list!!

Dessert
Do you prefer to wash your hands in cold water or warm water?
Warm!

The china hutch arrived yesterday! I love it! I'll post pix of the whole room tomorrow.

LLB's room is coming along. I have to paint one more shelf, 3 windows, the trim around 2 doors and some chair rail. We got 4 shelves painted and up, but we really needed another one. Her snowman collection is larger than we thought, so since another shelf will fit, I'll put it up. I may be persuaded to post pix of the things that are done in there so you can see some progress. What do you think? Do you wanna see what we've done so far?

Thursday 13 - A Review

Thirteen Things About Greeting Flix 1. I was asked to write a review of a new site called Greeting Flix. Go check it out. I'll wait. 2. I love Greeting Flix! 3. Basically you create a short movie you can share with friends or on your blog by dropping your photos into their Flix or templates. 4. It's easy! It's free!! Well, the Basic subscription is free. The Pro is $9.95 for the year! You can't buy greeting cards for $9.95 for the year! This is a bargain!! 5. The Pro subscription has more templates. 6. When I first logged in, it told me that Greeting Flix was not yet compatible with my Mac. When I asked them about it, I was told that Mac users can use Greeting Flix, but our titles need to be one word only - no spaces. I can do that!! 7. Their customer service was phenomenal. I asked my question over the weekend and I got a fast, courteous, and genuinely nice response almost immediately. 8. Choosing a template was simple. The template comes complete with music - and it's not cheesy music!! 9. The best part is you only need a few photos - between 3 and 7 - depending on the Flix you choose. 10. I let LLB give it a try and she found it just as easy and fun as I did! 11. You can send your Flix to everyone in your email address book as soon as you deem it complete. How convenient!! 12. Why use GreetingFlix? OMG! This beats mailing 200 Christmas cards via snail mail. Make a Flix and click send! 13. Here's one I made. I would have prefered to put my family in the flix, but you know how I am about photos of faces... I just don't do them.

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High School is...

SCARY!!

#1 and I went to the HS orientation last night. We met in the auditorium.
About half way through, they told the kids to go to the gym to get their schedules. That seemed reasonable until you realize that you will probably never ever find your kid among the throngs.

They dismissed the parents about a half an hour after the kids left. They expect you to simply run into your kid in the hallway. I happened to find mine still in the gym.

His schedule looks pretty good except for his English class. They put him in Gifted and Talented English. He is smart, but he's certainly not gifted. We met the teacher and she's frightening... I have to get that changed today.

#1 and I fought our way to his classes - all but one. We found his locker. We planned a route for him to get from class to class. We were making our way around the school and he said, "Mom, I'm never going to find my way."
"Give it a week, #1. You'll know this place like you know the back of your hand."
"I dunno, this is really scary."

He's right. It is scary.
He will do fine. Just fine.
Right now he's totally wigged out.
We are going to the school today to get his books, find our way around, and get that schedule changed. Hopefully, that will make him feel a little more comfortable.

Until then - It's just scary -- big and scary.