Keep This Kitchen Clean Eat Out!

A few months ago when unpacking boxes from the move that ended up in my room, I found this cross stitch that had been stored in the garage probably since we moved to Arizona from California in 1994. It was made by my grandma for my parents' first anniversary.

Right away I thought it should not go in the kitchen.  It is not because I do not like it, but I know Mom and she does not need any more encouragement to eat out (i.e. spend money).  Of course, once Mom saw it, though, she insisted we hang it in the kitchen.

The pinkish frame color did not really go with our Coca Cola theme, so today I repainted it the Coca Cola red from the leftover paint we had from painting the big wall in the kitchen/breakfast room.  Now it not only goes with the kitchen theme/color, but the whole thing looks better since it brings out the red in the cross stich.

Trains really do use the tracks

Living near the train tracks in Tucson we got used to have trains regularly go through and hearing them.  Here in Huntsville, though, until the night we left for the cruise we wondered how much/if ever trains used the track with the rough crossing signs that Dad learned to really slow down and heed after making the Smart car literally leave the ground going over it.  Not only did we discover the trains use it, but they also go really slow over it, although it turned out to be slow because it was actually stopping without clearing the crossing we were at.

I guess it is good we decided to leave the night before to drive down to Birmingham for our flight.  However, leaving at 11:30 p.m. and then ending up with a half hour train stop/detour made it seem kind of crazy to go up early to only save an hour of driving in the morning.  At least the hotel had free breakfast and we just used Hyatt points rather than paying.  Of course, it meant way less sleep overall and mom doing her final packing at hotel (we firmly had to tell her no packing in car in drive, as that sure leads to chaos!).

Where’s the Disney Magic?

On the first at sea day of our cruise we went to the DVC members welcome meeting in the morning.  Mom walked in to rejoin Dad and I while they were showing a preview of the Disney Magic’s dry dock.  First, she asked me what they were showing.  I told her what they are going to do to the Magic during dry dock in September and her next question was where is the Magic?  The answer….WE ARE ON IT!!!

Family Project Day

This weekend Mom asked us to pick one day for projects and one for fun as well as what we would do.  Before the weekend we decided on Saturday as the project day and the project being unpacking and finishing setting up Mik's room.  We also planned Mik getting a haircut and Mom going into work in the morning.  We had not (and still have) made fun day plans.

Here is how the project day went, though:

• ~7:15 a.m. I discover there are open houses in one of the developments we may be interested in several years when we save up for our dream house on the lake/river.  Dad and I decide to go to them and we piss Mik off who now says no haircut and no working on his room this afternoon, so the new family project becomes switching the bookcase from living room with the piano in Dad's office.
• 7:45 a.m. Mom, Dad, and I go to Farmer's Market as planned
• 9 a.m. Dad and I leave to go to open houses and Mom goes to work
• 10 a.m. We discover no signs and no cars for there to actually even be open houses at any of the four houses advertised, although one not advertised was oddly open unmanned and unfurnished, but it was not on the water.
• ~1 p.m. Dad and Mik are trying to decided what to make for lunch and decide to go to Panera Bread and use up a gift card we had.  I go with since it is also a good time to go by Target and pick up the rest of the Disney gift cards for our cruise next week.  As we leave Target Mik suddenly decides that while we are out he might as well get a haircut.
• ~3:30 p.m. We get home and instead of starting a family project Dad and I decide to figure out where our lawn mower basket is we ordered from Lowe's online and had not heard about it being in like it was expected.  We find it is at the store and leave to go get it.  On the way we end up finally stopping at Mad County Winery and tasting their fruit wines.  Mom and Mik were napping when we left and when we got home.
• 6:30 p.m. Dad, Mom, and I decide to play Rock Band

I guess we did get some to dos done, but it sure ended up seeming like more of a Fun Day than a Project Day and we certainly never did anything towards accomplishing any of the proposed projects for the day.  Maybe, tomorrow or our next weekend we are all home (i.e. a month or two!).  One thing is for sure I am determined this week's project of installing my cabinets will happen!!!

Choosing only 5 hats to display

For over a week I have had a hat rack mounted over the door in my office just waiting for me to hang hats on.  Initially I had to find my ball cap collection.  I found that box on Friday, but couldn't at all decide what hats to put up there as pairing down my collection to fit in that box last summer seemed hard enough.  After three days of thinking about it, I finally decided what hats to hang up there and two of the hats came out of other random boxes I unpacked this weekend.

The finalists are a Stanley Equipment Stanley, N.D. hat; a Turkish Naval hat given to me on my first trip to Turkey; a USS Crommelin FFG-37 (ship Daf served on) hat; a well worn Nats Park Opening Day hat; and my Students on Ice hat.

Computers have almost outgrown my desk

Since even before we moved to our new house, we had no idea where we would put the desktop computer.  While Mom and Dad were gone for most of April, I ended up putting it on a desk Mom had "temporarily" put in the living room.  I kind of liked it there to play on and watch television, but no one else did.  For awhile I had thought of putting it on my roll top desk because that's what it was designed for.  Today with my laptop going in for repair I was finally motivated to move the desktop to the roll top desk only to find it just barely fits in the opening for computer screens.  I kept thinking computers were getting to be too big screen size wise when I got my last laptop and if it was just a half an inch wider or taller the desktop wouldn't fit on my desk.

I Need a Magic Clock like the Weasleys

In the Harry Potter books/movies the Weasleys have special clocks that show roughly were each member is at.  Such as home, work, school, etc.  I so need one that says things like out walking/running, out of town, at work, etc. because it seems like just when I expect someone to be at home (Dad!) I cannot find them.