The Thrill of Victory (at a small cost)

Over the weekend, DH and I got together with some friends for treats and games.
I was in charge of the game-

I brought "encore" which is actually an older game but can still be purchased at amazon.com for $12.95. Of course, you'll have to buy another book worth at least $13 to get the free shipping...but that makes it all the more fun! Because another book is always a good thing.

The gist behind Encore is to break into teams, pick a card, then come up with as many songs as possible with lyrics using the word on the card. An example would be the word "red"...Possible songs would be "Little Red Corvette" or "Lady in Red." Sometimes many songs come to mind, sometimes nothing! The team who can't come up with songs repeatedly, loses.

DH is very good at this game. I learned that I am very good at remembering every single inappropriate song I've ever heard with the chosen word in it. When the 20 second egg timer is turned over, it's amazing how the mind turns blank. Except for the songs you don't want to sing in mixed company. Unless you really want to win. Which I always do.

For the word "like"
I shouted out "I like big butts and I cannot lie!"
the crowd was quiet.
They don't know that song.
They were slightly shocked that I sang the song slightly off-tune and without missing a word.
DH knows that song!
But he sat there (on the other team) looking blankly at me as if to say-
who is this woman and why is she here?
Of course his eyes are totally laughing behind his blank look.
But I'm the only one that knows that.

I stubbornly insisted that not only was "I like big butts" a real song, but one of my favorites..
(it's not really.)
Scarily enough they believed me.

They didn't seem to believe me as easily when later in the game the word was "til" and I stated that one of my favorite songs in the whole wide world is "God be with you til we meet again." (it is, really.)

Ah, the costs associated with the thrill of victory.
Because of course,
my team won.

The Day I Confused the Appraiser for an Awkward Blind Date

So...
the cleaning happened.
It was painful, and every bit as awful as I expected it to be.
But all was ready for the almighty appraiser man this morning.

Almost ready.
Appraiser man came early (which is where the whole confusion started to set in , because I hadn't swiffered the stairs -again- of black dog hair which reproduces during the night.) Dog hair on stairs is not a value booster and does nothing for the whole instrinsic flow I was hoping for.

Appraiser man asks me if we had alot of traffic when our house was on the market a year ago. I had forgotten that he would obviously see this fact in the records and could very well ask about it. Well, we had alot of cleaning to do while it was on the market, and that felt like traffic to me, so I answered "Oh yes, we had ALOT of traffic. Of course, no offers..." This is when I realized my fatal error. I should have answered that we had little traffic, which in truth we did, because that would make it seem as if too few people saw it to appreciate what a great deal it was at 5% over purchase price.

Feeling awkward, as I did on blind dates in my single years, I asked a question.

"Do you like your job"

Appraiser man does indeed like his job.

Appraiser man asks what upgrades we've made to the house since we moved in.
I point out the beautiful arched doorways and niches that I'm not sure he has had the opportunity to fully appreciate.
(they came with the house.)

I notice at this point that appraiser man is wearing his socks. Before I can shut my mouth, I tell him he can put his shoes back on as there is "dog hair everywhere." Open mouth insert wide foot.

Do you see the value of my home slipping? I do.

The final nail in my appraiser man coffin came as he was preparing to leave.
"You have a very nice home" he said.
"I bet you say that to all the homeowners" was my blurted response.

I think that appraiser man enjoys his job a little less after his visit at my home.

And I'm glad I'm married. It's clear that I wasn't ever good at blind dates and the years haven't improved me!
although I did marry a blind date. another story for another day

Cleaning Day

With the excitement of recent travel....
With the stress of year-end financials at work....
With the bother of our own tax returns to complete....
With lacrosse season starting up (kk) and ninjitsu season never-ending (spencer)...

hmmm... I'm running out of excuses to show you how I am MUCH too busy to clean or even pick up the ratty shoes on the staircase that have sat there for weeks. (Well maybe just days, but they're so icky it feels like weeks.)

Probably because there aren't any more reasons?

Oh! There were the really great books that I just had to read straight through, and the messenger bag that I just had to learn to sew, and the invitations that just had to be made for a friend.

At this point, it is probably needless to mention that the cleaning/clutter pick-up duties of our home have been neglected. Seriously neglected.

If they had a CPS for neglected homes, they would be knocking at my door right now.

So today has been designated as cleaning day.

Actually an appraiser is coming to our home on Thursday for our loan refinancing. I've heard that appraisers are looking at just the nuts and bolts of the home, but if said appraiser falls over the nuts and bolts strewn about my scrap room floor (in the form of ink pads, paper, eyelets, cameras) or the nuts and bolts upstairs in the form of half-unpacked luggage, I can see the home value starting to slide! (In addition to the slip-and-sliding it's already been doing with the economy.) I just want to make sure that the appraiser feels the intrinsic value of the home so strongly he/she applies it to the extrinsic (if that's not a word, I mean the final number that he actually values the house at) value. Perhaps warm chocolate chip cookies are in order?

I started out cleaning day by accidentally sleeping in.
I then did a check of e-mail and all the blog sites that I follow. Can't miss anything important!
I then went to gym to exercise. I haven't been to the gym in over two years, and today seemed like a good day to go back.
And now I am blogging.
It's only 12:48 pm. The day is still young! The cleaning will happen!
I hope!

Unintended Travels

Back from our trip to the Dominican Republic (and several other unintended cities!)

The plan was to leave home at 4am, board a flight to Charlotte, NC, then connect to Punta Cana.
Easy enough.
Weather was beautiful as we took off right on schedule, our spirits were high! (along with our bodies in the airplane.)
until...
the plane was diverted to Bristol, Tennessee because of fog in Charlotte. Huh? I thought fog was reserved for the airports near...uh....oceans? San Francisco? Los Angeles? Sydney?
Who knew they had fog in Charlotte?
They do.

so after a delightful (cough,cough) stay in Bristol, we landed in Charlotte too late to catch the last flight of the day to the DR.

instead, we caught a flight in the other direction to:
Our luggage didn't catch the same flight...
Our spirits drooped a bit... our clothes were even droopier- especially the white t-shirt that I wore and accidentally dropped chocolate sauce on in the Charlotte airport.
After 16 hours of travel we ended up farther away from the DR than when we began! After checking into a Fairfield Inn in Jamaica, NY we enjoyed an amazing dinner at the in-hotel restaurant (situated in a large conference room area), we were able to laugh about the whole situation.

Thursday found us arriving in the DR only a day late and several dollars short. (I just couldn't abide the really gross by now white t-shirt, and had to buy an over-priced one at the airport. I have learned my lesson and will never travel in white again! I should probably not wear white ever again...but it matches everything which is a plus for the matching challenged like myself.) The resort was one of the nicest I have ever stayed at, and the service was beyond gracious.







Our room had an ocean-front view and it was beautiful. Right in front was a private beach with little tiki huts and bed-like lounge chairs (what are they called, anyone know?) Cares of the real world just slipped away and life took on a dream-like quality. And that is pretty much how we spent the next four days! Sitting on our bed-like lounge chairs, people-watching, reading, and napping. I do this well. Dave has a bit harder time with the relaxing thing, but he tried hard! I was proud of him for his effort.

























And now we are back to real-life. The concerns that seemed trivial now seem important again, but nowhere near as important as they seemed before the trip. Outside the resort grounds, we saw the hardships that many of the Dominicans face on a daily basis. We felt gratitude for the blessings in our lives, and have added the lovely Dominican people to our nightly prayers.

Fue de Pesca

Viajo a la República Dominicana (Punta Cana) para una vacaciones breves. ¡Regrese pronto!

Jai-Ho means...

Victory....Victorious.....
And if you haven't heard of jai-ho before, you need to watch this video...as Jai-ho is one of the songs on the soundtrack for the movie Slumdog Millionaire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC3QNyEuBgY

I've read several books (A Suitable Boy, The Space Between Us, Bombay Nights) based in India, and I would love to go there someday....

This morning as I headed off to another day at the office doing final (and detested) year-end work, I played Jai-Ho loud and sang even louder. It was enough to scare the (ironically Indian-looking) man in the silver SUV next to me into speeding up and disappearing rapidly into the distance. That caused me to laugh which may have scared other drivers! I may see myself in a news report tonight- police are seeking middle-aged woman last seen laughing wildly while singing and "dancing" to rousing indian music. Suspected of scaring all other drivers off the road.

All in all...it was a Jai-Ho day!

Two Run-on Sentence Book Reviews

I've spent alot of time lately reading, less time doing necessary chores around the house. But it's been so much more interesting than doing chores... That reminds me of a poem I've used often to avoid my not-cleaning-the-house-guilt....

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow
for they will be back, I've learned to my sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm reading my book and it's really deep!

(with my apologies to the original poetess Ruth Hulbert Hamilton)

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

An absorbing read that started out strong but reminded me of a term paper I once wrote that reached the required number of pages before I really dealt properly with the subject; I promptly ended the paper (and didn't get a great grade.) The story line deals with several intense issues including mental illness, incest, and fanatacism, and I guarantee you that the movie (which I am sure will be made someday) will be way too scary for me to see!




The Poyson Garden by Karen Harper

A light and fairly amusing mystery featuring Elizabeth I as the amateur detective resolving mysteries that especially pertain to her future kingdom and her desire to remain alive to reign over that kingdom. This book strains the imagination on several points, especially Elizabeth's never-failing ability to sneak out of the manor house she was "imprisoned" at during the reign of her sister Queen Mary, but still manages to be a fun read.




A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick

The depth of this book surprised me after a bland beginning telling the story of Evelyn who decides open a quilt store and start new life in Connecticut after her husband (who she dutifully served for many years) leaves her. The book turns out to be an enjoyable read as the author develops the characters delightfully and skillfully deals with the topic of forgiveness.