House cleaners....

Man decided that due to my excessive work schedule, we needed to hire a maid. Reason being, with me traveling so much, he's had to pitch in and help. When I was home more and doing ALL of the cleaning, laundry, errand running and what not-there was no discussion about hired help. The minute he finds himself cleaning a toilet, we're hiring a maid....

So....

Most women would probably be screaming and jumping around with glee. However, yours truly wasn't all that thrilled with the idea. I like to clean my own house, so it's done the way I want it. So, I've been putting him off, hem-hawing, and generally ignoring his continued comments about getting someone to come in and clean. I have to admit, I've let things slide lately, but in the last two months, I've been to Europe more than I have the grocery store if that puts things into perspective. I mean, we're not living in filth, but the little dust bunnies will be mating by the end of the week if I don't get on the stick.

While I was gone this week, Man had a major altercation with my vacuum cleaner. Apparently, he got tangled up in one of the attachments while on the staircase, it clogged, the belt snapped, then somehow it disconnected from the outlet, tripped him-and then it got ugly. In his distress, he threw the thing into a corner of the garage and got two "home visit estimates". One from a large franchise, another from a smaller company.

Man makes lists, gets estimates, gets prices. Both have glossy brochures and all of that. One is going to charge us 204.00 a month to come and clean biweekly, the other said they could do it for 150.00.

The cheaper company does less, but with two adults, I'm thinking we don't need our baseboards cleaned every week, nor do we need our ceiling fan blades scrubbed. And, I can change my own sheets, thank you. Frankly, I think it is absolutely insane to pay this kind of money to a cleaning company, but I didn't have a fight with the vacuum and let it win. So, I decide that I'll give over and give the cheaper company a try. If anything, I can always cancel it if they piss me off. Plus, if they steal anything, ruin/break something-etc...It will be on Man's head. :)

One word answers

Nicked from Dennie...


1. Yourself: quiet
2. Your signif other: easygoing
3. Your hair: auburn
4. Your Father: difficult
5. Your Mother: worse
6. Your Favorite Item: Today? Satsuma lotion from the body shop. :)
7. Your dream last night: didn't. Too much wine
8. Your Favorite Drink: peach ice tea
9. Your Favorite Food: bananas
10. Your Dream Home: cabin in woods
11. The Room You Are In: office
12. Your fear: falling down in public
13. Where you Want to be in Ten Years? Home in Texas
14. Who you hung out with last night: Man
15. What You’re Not: judgmental
16. Your Best Friends: keep me grounded
17. One of Your Wish List Items: new laptop
18. Your Gender: Female
19. The Last Thing You Did: eat yogurt
20. What You Are Wearing: nightshirt
21. Your favorite weather: sunshine
22. Your Favorite Book? too many to list
23. Last thing you ate? yogurt
24. Your Life: mundane
25. Your mood: still half asleep
26. The last person you talked to on the phone: critique partner
27. What are you thinking about right now? Why is dog barking at closet door.

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Okay, so I'm not into blogging this week. But Brenda said my donut was getting stale, so I had to come up with something. Have fun with the Sesame Street gang. :)

Blog funk

I know, you're thinking-she tried to get off easy with a donut post. Truly, I wasn't trying to get off easy, I was just craving donuts at 11pm and settled for a handful of crackers and wistful online thinking.

You Are a Caramel Crunch Donut

You're a complex creature, and you're guilty of complicating things for fun. You've been known to sit around pondering the meaning of life... Or at times, pondering the meaning of your doughnut. To frost or not to frost? To fill or not to fill? These are your eternal questions.

What Donut Are You?

When in Rome......

I travel for my job. Occasionally, I get to go to cool and exotic places well-like Rome. Being that this was the week after Easter, the crowds were out in force at the Vatican. Mob scene. I mean, it was like Elvis was there, instead of the Pope.

I spent my free time checking out the male scenery-and of course eating gelato which is to die for over there. Forget the pasta...really. Even Ben and Jerry can't compete over there and I'm a pretty big fan of Cherry Garcia.

So..while shopping, I poked into a little shop to buy my nephew a First Communion gift. I thought it was a Catholic shop, but it was really a place for priests to buy their vestments and robes and stuff. I guess I thought the church provided it, but apparently not. They also had habits and what not for the nuns, too.

But what REALLY got me was they had a huge selection of underwear for NUNS! I mean, I guess after all my years of parochial school, you just didn't picture nuns in their skivvys. It just wasn't done. Maybe because we kids were all convinced they weren't exactly human and could read minds.

Anyway, I found myself fascinated by this display of bras, corsets, underwear, etc. For nuns! And some of it had more lace than mine. (Well, we were in Italy, after all) So for the rest of the day, every time I passed a nun on the street I started to laugh trying to imagine if she was wearing lace or the cotton. I know they thought I was crazy and probably prayed for me, and I need all I can get. But still....I mean, underwear for nuns. Only I would get a kick out of that.

Scary.

Your True Love Is a Pisces

Why you'll love a Pisces: Selfless and intuitive, you are perfect for a Pisces that lives to love you. You're sensitive enough to appreciate and explore the deep emotions of a Pisces. Why a Pisces will love you: You're generous and totally giving in relationships, something Pisces demands. You are also dreamy enough to get lost in fantasy with Pisces, but realistic enough to stay grounded.

What Sign Is Your True Love?



Man is a Pisces, so I must be doing something right. :>)

You Are Peeps

You're the type that's more likely to play with your food than actually eat it.

What Easter Candy Are You?

And they say we gossip??????

My Man has become fascinated with neighborhood gossip lately. In short, one of our neighbor's husband disappeared and hasn't been seen for the last month or so. Could have been longer, but no one noticed as this isn't exactly Wisteria Lane. I mean, unless there is crime scene tape, people just tend to go about their business. At least, I do.

So Man keeps saying for the last two weeks. "He's gone, I'm telling you. His car hasn't been seen-and he hasn't mowed. He's moved out. I just can't believe it. Look at his flower beds. Weed central." (Now, who the hell keeps track of when the neighbors mow? And weeds? Come on. The neighbor could be dead, in a coma, or abducted by aliens. Glad we have our priorities straight.) He wanders from window to window, trying to get a glimpse of what's going on.

"Maybe they are having some marital problems." My opinion.

"No, I think she just kicked him out. I'm going to ask so-and-so next door if he knows."

Okay, so that doesn't qualify as a marital problem? "Well, it's none of our business."

And you know how far our advice goes, right? In one ear and into the breeze.

So as Man is setting up our fountain in the front yard-yes, we have one of those. So-and-So from next door makes an appearance in his front yard with his dog under the guise of walking it. What he is really doing, however, is passing on information. The dog is merely a prop. My office widows are open and they are right outside-so I can hear it all.

"She'd done kicked his sorry ass out!" So-and-So.

"I knew it." Man.

"And he left! Just packed up and left his own house. I've been keepin' an eye out for a week, but I got me confirmation from a reliable source."

"No kidding?"

"Yep. Heard it from the guy down at BLNK's. (BLNKs is a bait and tackle shop that sells only bait, cigarettes and beer. I think the last time a woman went in there was to ask directions some time in the 80's.)

"She just threw him out? For what?"

"Don't know for sure. Personally, I think she was damn tired of putting up with his shit."

"Well, I wouldn't put up with his ass, either." Man is disgusted. "Look at his yard. Disgrace." (Picture me pounding head on desk at this point)

So and So-"I told him to call Nature's Way last August. They'd come in and take care of his dandelion problem. Fool didn't listen and now look what happened."

"Damn shame."

"It is."

(The dandelions? Or the marriage? I'll never know for sure.)

Spiders, shoe-shopping and more people who stare.

I hate spiders. Have a fear of them that borders on terror. I mean, I don't like MOST bugs, but somehow-spiders make my skin crawl. Don't most women despise them? I mean, I have very few friends that don't share my feelings about the king of all creepies.

I will admit, however, to never before pulverizing one in public as I did at the DSW shoe warehouse.

My company recently decided it is time to outfit my division with new uniforms. They paid a high-end designer an outrageous fortune to design a couture line of fashion for their beloved employees. (tongue firmly in cheek) Anyway, the new stuff is nice-far better than what we were wearing before. So...new uniforms...new shoes...means a trip to the DSW.

I like that place. Rows and rows and rows of shoes. Even I can find something. I'm not a shoe nut, really. I mean, I like them, but I'm not the type that will buy shoes and THEN the outfit. I'm all about the way they feel as I'm on my feet all day long. As long as they don't tie, buckle or look like something the nuns wore when I was a kid, I'm happy.

After trying on several pairs, I finally find ones that look and feel good. The price tag is a bit steep, but hey, two for two is a good thing.

Then the massive, eight-legged, hairy beast crawls out of the box and across my toe.

I go ballistic. Screaming, shrieking, you get the drift. But instead of just stomping on it as MOST other people would do-or running for my life.....

I grab a shoe from the display and try and kill it. Well, of course, I miss the first time and it runs up the little stool that they have sitting in the middle of the aisle. But I persevere-and pound it into oblivion on top of the wooden seat. I don't realize it at the time, but I'm yelling-DIE, DIE, DIE!!!!!

I also don't realize that I've attracted an audience. Three women-one with a wide-eyed child, one that has to be ninety, and one trying not to laugh.

The insanity finally abates when the elderly woman points out... "Honey, I think you've killed it. For God's Sake! Get a hold of yourself!"

Okay, so there is yet another public venue I can never visit again. Thank God for online shopping...

You Are a Seeker Soul

You are on a quest for knowledge and life challenges. You love to be curious and ask a ton of questions. Since you know so much, you make for an interesting conversationalist. Mentally alert, you can outwit almost anyone (and have fun doing it!). Very introspective, you can be silently critical of others. And your quiet nature makes it difficult for people to get to know you. You see yourself as a philosopher, and you take everything philosophically. Your main talent is expressing and communicating ideas. Souls you are most compatible with: Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?