Am I really playing the game?

I don't like do this sort of thing, invite others into my home without a massive clean up. I have an image to uphold. :) I may not be able to control my husband, the dog or my children but I can control how clean my house is. This is really stepping out of my comfort zone. I wouldn't do this for just anyone, but you, my internet friends, I feel safe with and will play "the game".

My Kitchen Sink

It's clean and empty. Muray laughs when I say I only have a kitchen because it came with the house. For a short time I have been on a cooking sabbatical. Just tired of it. But I don't think it will last long. Murray is offering incentives to get me back in the kitchen.

My Refregerator
Not really interesting. Murray is out of town for 2 weeks (sorry Andrea, I shouldn't complain) so I don't do too much cooking when he isn't here. Emma and I can subsist on salads and sandwiches. If I were the only one to use the fridge, it would be clean and organized. I can't get my peeps to jump on the bandwagon. ABC order people, how hard can it be?


My Favorite Room
Our family room. It's right off the kitchen and eating area. This is where everything happens. The TV is over the fireplace and we have great surround sound. This is where we play games, read, watch way too much TV and visit with friends. Come on over!

The Throne

Nothing exciting but definitely one of my favorite modern conveniences. How did the pioneers make it without one of these?

The Laundry Room This is my second favorite modern convenience. I just love this room, it's right outside the Master Bedroom on the second floor. I love the laundry sink too, we wash the dog there. We have a 2nd laundry room downstairs in the basement. It's set up just like this one, only no dirty clothes there. That one is not used as often, just when guests do laundry or the basement sheets and towels need to be washed.

My Closet
Murray and I installed the shelves and rods in our closet. We snuck into the house before we closed on the sale and put everything in. The builder didn't seem to notice. He was generally absent from the job site anyway.

What my kids are doing right now

Emma and Rusty sleeping the day away. These two love to sleep together. I don't think many nights have passed that Rusty hasn't slept in Emma's bed. There are nights when Murray wants Rusty in bed with us (yuck, yuck, yuck).

My Favorite Shoes It's summer and I love these shoes. I don't wear them often because they are uncomfortable, but they look great. I wear them with jeans, khakis and even some skirts. Otherwise it's flat skecher tennis shoes for me.

Self Portrait

This is by far the most difficult pic to add to my blog entry. I looked so good this morning before I left for work. It definitely started out as a "great hair day". On my way to work I stopped to fill the gas tank. Eighty-eight dollars ($3.83/gallon) and five minutes later I got back in the car, took a gander in the mirror and what I feared became a reality, the humidity destroyed my hair. The 104 degree weather melted my makeup right off my face and I haven't had my botox treatment this month. I am vain, and my hair is only one of my issues.

Okay, did I miss anything? Don't hate me because I'm slow getting this out. I felt you all nipping at my heels for the last 3 days. Love you. AB

I Did Not Want a Dog

I finally caved after 25 years of marriage and many "discussions"; we now have a puppy. Murray and Emma promised they would do all the work, so we brought home a very cute miniature dachshund and named him Rusty. After 2 years he has begun to warm my heart. Until I vacuumed today. As I was down on my belly vacuuming under our king size bed, there was a pair of my shoes.

I recently purchased a new pair of very comfortable shoes. They were expensive but I told myself my feet are worth it. I only have to work 20 hours to earn enough to pay for these. No big deal. Seems Rusty likes them as much as I do. When we are gone from the house and he is here alone he gets into alot of mischief. Today he ventured into my closet looking around for something to interest him. One by one he carried each shoe to his "safe place" under our king size bed and proceeded to chew each shoe until the comfortable strap that goes across the top of my foot was destroyed.

The shoe reapirman, a small Korean man, told me "How much you pay for deese?, I no fix for you, buy anoder pair." I almost cried, now I have to work 20 more hours to be able to buy another pair. And just when I thought I might really love this dog I find his handiwork.

I did not want a dog. I don't like how they smell, I don't like the responsibility that comes with owning a dog AND now I have something else to add to my list of reasons why I don't want a dog. Anybody interested in a cute dachshund? Just lock up your shoes, and purses (that's another story for another day).

A Whole Day With My Husband

During Sunday dinner two days ago we discussed our family schedule for the coming week. I was happy to hear Murray say that his Monday is pretty free. When he isn't traveling for work, he works from his office in our home. So.. having a day that is pretty free means that he doesn't have too many conference calls or meetings to attend. He suggested that we go to the commissary. We began to formulate our schedule for Monday. We planned our day to look something like this, get up and hop on the treadmill, then take Rusty, our dachshund, for a walk around the neighborhood. Shower and head to the Commissary, a 45 minute drive from our home. Once we get to the base a visit to the PX before the commissary is a must. Rush through the PX and Commissary and hurry to the dentist for my cleaning at 1:50. Maybe there will be time for an afternoon movie before we head home for dinner and FHE.

In reality it turned out like this. Wake up, Murray is drawn to his office like a magnet. "Just to check my email, something important might have come in over the night" And then just 3 conference calls with co-workers and he's calling out to me are you ready to go? By this time I knew there was no way we were going to stay on "our schedule". So, I called the dentist's office and asked if they had an available opening later in the afternoon, lucky for me they did, a 4:00 PM appointment. "I'll take it".

Needless to say, we did not hop on the treadmill or walk Rusty or make it to the accountant's office. We did make it to the PX and I went inside while Murray stayed in the car and participated in another conference call from his cell phone. 30 minutes later I called his cell phone and told him there was a nice pair of pants, please come in and try them on. Well the pants did not fit well but he found a nice shirt that he liked. So after we paid for our stuff he went back to the car, for "just a short conference call" and I went to the commissary. When I finally made it to my assigned check-out lane, my cell phone rang. It was Murray, "where are you in here". "I'm at check-out lane 13". "Okay, I'll wait outside for you". I stepped up to the cashier and she asked for my ID card. I told her mine expired and my husband has his with him, I will call him and tell him to come inside. She would not begin to ring up my purchases until she saw the ID. AND, he had to be the one to pay. New rules for the commissary?

Heading back towards town and the dentist's office was a quiet drive, me reading a newly purchased magazine and Murray on two more business calls. One to a co-worker who is taking a leave of absence for 12 months and another to someone else important. We arrived at the dentist's office at 3:00 PM. Oh well, I'll go on inside, maybe they will be able to see me early. No problem, Murray had more calls to take and after my appointment, I found him in the lobby of the building just outside the elevator sitting on the floor with his laptop plugged into the wall. "Just going through my 428 emails" he said.

So we went home and made some awesome grilled club sandwiches and spent our FHE helping Emma plan her service project. She wants to visit the old folks home and provide entertainment for the residents. I'll keep you posted.

It really was fun to spend the day with Murray, he is fun and comes with some great fringe benefits.