Monday, July 30, 2012

Rock Chalk...Team USA?

The Spouse is a tv yeller.  Usually, it's directed at the University of Kansas men's basketball team, but he's been known to yell at the Chiefs (I married down) and the World Series (doesn't matter who is playing).  I grew up with a father who is a tv yeller.  His father, my grandpa, was a YELLER.  The two of them together, with or without my uncle, was a stereophonic fest of "What the hell was that?!?  It was a FOUL!"  My mom never really understood this side of my dad or his family, but I've been around it all my life and am often known to talk back to the tv myself.

So last night, when I heard yelling coming from the basement, it wasn't a shock.  The dogs were at my feet, so I knew they weren't in trouble.  I sneaked downstairs to see what the fuss was about.  The Spouse was yelling at the U.S. women's gymnastics team to STAY IN BOUNDS on the floor exercise.  STAY. IN. BOUNDS!  One after the other.  Very adorable, in a loud, weird, sports obsessive kind of way.  For the record, he was also yelling at the men's swim relay.  But that's not as funny as him yelling at gymnasts.

Also, I would like to be on the record as saying that Jordyn Weiber should have been allowed to cry without a camera crew in her face.  And this year's Olympic all around qualifying rule is really really dumb.  The Spouse agrees, or at least he yelled as much at the tv.

Finally, if you haven't seen this, it's hysterical.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Sadly, I270 is NOT on my commute


Budweiser Truck Spills 77,000 Pounds of Beer Onto Highway


Budweiser BeerAn 18-wheeler truck overturned in Maryland yesterday and in the process committed what is possibly the world's largest-ever party foul.

According to The Huffington Post, a truck overturned on interstate 270 and spilled hundreds of cases of beer, 77,000 pounds of Budweiser to be exact. Maryland state police explained the cause of the accident, saying that the truck overturned while, "trying to avoid debris on the highway when it rolled over near the Frederick-Montgomery County line around 4 a.m. Thursday."
The scene was chaotic, with hundreds of bright red Budweiser beer cases strewn across the highway and the shoulder. Unfortunately for commuters, the highway was closed during the morning rush while the beer spill was being cleaned, which was explained as an "extensive" process.

There's no word yet on what happened to the hundreds of cases that poured out of the 18-wheeler. Perhaps the cleaning crew got to head home with some souvenirs.

Though, it's probably not a good idea to celebrate my promotion by coming to work sloshed.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Time to head to Costco


USDA predicts that food prices will rise 3 to 4 percent in 2013, up from 2.5 to 3.5 percent this year, in the department's first assessment (pdf) of the impact of the drought on food costs. Higher prices for meat, eggs and dairy products will lead the way. Those products are most sensitive to the increased costs of corn and soybeans for feed as well as the damage to pastures and rangeland.

The drought is expected to temporarily hold down prices for some products as producers reduce their herds. USDA economists now estimate that beef prices will increase 3.5 to 4.5 percent for this year rather than the 4 to 5 percent rise forecast in June.

Overall food prices rose 3.7 percent in 2011 and 0.8 percent in 2010.
Here's a breakdown of USDA's forecast for 2013:
  • Beef, up 4 to 5 percent
  • Pork, up 2.5 to 3.5 percent
  • Poultry, up 3 to 4 percent
  • Eggs, up 3 to 4 percent
  • Dairy, up 3.5 to 4.5 percent
  • Fruits and vegetables, up 2 to 3 percent
  • Cereals and bakery products, up 3 to 4 percent
by Philip Brasher, CQ Roll Call Staff


As an aside, there is nothing duller than a hearing on Dodd-Frank.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Odds and Ends

- I hired a new employee.  Well, I didn't do the hiring, but I did the interviewing.  Not sure if it was a vote of confidence or a penance for previous digressions, but it was a pretty neat experience to be on the other side of the table.  I've been in charge of interviewing/hiring the interns, but this is my first experience with a permanent paid staffer.  It took a full week, but I learned a lot.

- It was a sad sign of the times and our economy that we had people with 20+ years experience applying for a job requiring 2-3 years experience in the field, even with the salary we were offering.  We received over 120 resumes in one week.

- I attended a lia sophia hostess appreciation party and bought many beautiful baubles.

- The Batcave was painted and new blinds installed.  The landscapers never came to take care of the yards, so it looks like that's on my to do list for the week/weekend and carpet is all that will be left.  Then we list.  And pray we find a buyer and a seller.

- I am so geeked out about the Olympics.  Aside from my beloved Cowboys, the Olympics are the only sports I really care about.  And I watch EVERYTHING!  Gymnastics, sailing, the marathon, curling, table tennis.  Everything.

- We had a family photo shoot over the weekend.  I need to check about rights to the images and will post when/if I can.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Yes, we know. We all freakin' know!

Whenever I hear Katie Couric describing her Leave It to Beaver childhood, I find myself wanting to punch her in the throat.

Yes, we get it.  You're perfect, you're perky, you've privileged.  We all know that, you don't have to remind us!


The Flakes that Don't Melt

I try not to write too much personal stuff about my kids because I don't want them to grow up and be horrified that I shared personal stuff with the interwebs then be asked about it in a job interview some day.  But I'm posting this anyway.

Today is crazy hair day at summer camp and Batman asked my opinion/help on what to do to his hair.  His hair was just long enough to need a hair cut (unlike Robin's crows nest on his head), so I suggested we shave it Mohawk style, using a #1 clipper attachment.  The Spouse was asleep in the basement or he would have shot down this idea, so I got out the cape, sheet for the floor, and clippers.

As I combed through Batman's hair, I realized he had a lot of...stuff in his hair.  Of course, I jumped to the lice/nits conclusion, then I realized it was just dandruff.  Lots and lots of dandruff.  How did this happen?  How did we not notice our kid had sores and yellowish scabs on his head?  Ugh.  It was gross, people.

Apparently, he's not doing a good job of washing his hair and I've been too preoccupied with folding laundry, herding Robin, or reading a book to notice.  I shaved his sides down, then threw him in the shower and dug out a container of Head and Shoulders.  He protested as I lathered him up and hosed him down, but it needed to be done.  I used the lice comb to comb out flakes after he dried off.

He still has a lot of flakes today, but it's better.  And his crazy hair is waxed and gelled out of control, but the kid is no Maddox or Kingston. Those kids can rock the Mohawk.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Home Improvement

The plan was to paint the Batcave the same color it is now (some crap off white color.)  But, since it looks like we'll have to live there awhile longer, I'm debating painting it a color I like.  Note: We have already ordered the new blinds based on the current paint color.  They will be a warm(ish) off white.

Classic Gray 1548 - Ben. Moore

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/classicgray

Clay Beige OC-111

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/claybeige#ce_s=clay

And Valspar Savory Beige, which I cannot find on its site.

In other news, this motherfucking Batcave will never get finished, listed, or sold.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Summer Lovin'

Nothing says summer to me like a dipped ice cream cone at DQ.  Robin and I took our time enjoying them the other day.

Batman prefers Blizzards and milkshakes.  Eh, he's his dad's son.  Robin and I like to stick to the basics of summer.  

Monday, July 9, 2012

I Survived the Heat Wave of 2012

Y'all, the weather out here is just bizarre this year.  After a week of record setting heat, we had two storms roll through yesterday that cooled us down.  One launched a tornado yesterday afternoon.  Another hit in the middle of the night.  It woke me and the dogs up, but everyone else seemed to sleep through it.

Despite the heat, we had a pretty great 4th of July.  We took the Dynamic Duo to Mount Vernon and met up with a few of their friends from the Justice League.  They had a great time and we only lost one kid (Robin, and only for about two minutes.)  We listened to the band, ate snacks, checked out the Revolutionary War reenactors, rode a horse, watched the fireworks over the river, and sweated monkey balls.  It was HOT.  But fun.






Thursday, July 5, 2012

I survived the Derecho of 2012


A derecho (play /dəˈr/; Spanish pronunciation: [deˈɾetʃo]; duh-RAY-cho) is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms. Generally, derechos are convection-induced and take on a bow echo form of squall line, forming in an area of divergence in the upper levels of the troposphere, within a region of low-level warm air advection and rich low-level moisture. They travel quickly in the direction of movement of their associated storms, similar to an outflow boundary (gust front), except that the wind is sustained and increases in strength behind the front, generally exceeding hurricane-force. A warm-weather phenomenon, derechos occur mostly in summer, especially during June and July in the Northern Hemisphere, within areas of moderately strong instability and moderately strong vertical wind shear. They may occur at any time of the year and occur as frequently at night as during the daylight hours. (wikipedia)

Y'all, we didn't know it was coming.  I received a text from a friend about 45 minutes before it hit, confirming our plans for the next day.  He happened to mention the storm and I checked the tv.  Earlier in the day, we were told there was a chance of thunderstorm, not that this possible thunderstorm would be like a hurricane (both in force and damage).  We cleaned off the deck and went to bed before the full force of the storm hit.

We woke up Saturday morning unaware of the events transpiring around us.  Our little section of Fairfax County did not lose power.  We had tv, a/c, and water.  It wasn't until checking Facebook that I learned what my friends and neighbors were going through.  Land lines were down, 911 was down, and cell phone service was non-existent.  We opened our house to friends (and profiteered from their fridge items).  They left for a hotel that afternoon, and we all took naps.

The staycation that I had planned fell by the wayside.  I was able to get some things done around the house, but not as much as I had planned.  I was house-bound for a good portion, due to power outages at street lights and businesses, or lack of ability to process credit/debit cards.

We were unbelievably lucky, and when my water heater rusted out on Tuesday, I was only mildly miffed that it happened on the day before a national holiday.  But, again, we were lucky that we were able to shower at the pool.  While it was inconvenient, it wasn't the end of the world.

My heart goes out to all of those who are still without power, nearly a week later.