What day is it?

So I'm convinced... if you don't work (or go to school) on a consistent 5 day a week schedule, you'll lose track of what day it is. Not just the date, but the actual day.

Yesterday, the plumber came in the morning to replace our stack, and my intention was go go in after he was done, around lunch time. Well, it took a little longer than anticipated, so I ended up not going in at all. Which threw me off for the rest of the day and I forgot to do about half the things I planned on doing (errands and such). It was so bad that I, in fact, thought it was Friday! Cruel joke.

So then Friday actually does come along, and since I already had the day off, I was even more confused as to what day it was. I spent all day today thinking it was Saturday, which was really odd since I wasn't working on the house. I felt antsy all day, like I was forgetting to do something. I didn't forget to do anything, at least... but it was still a very odd feeling all day.

Now my 'fear' is that with the already anticipated long Labor Day weekend, I'm going to be so out of whack come Tuesday that it'll take me the whole day to get back into the swing of things. I gotta say, if it wasn't for work, I really would have no idea what day it was... not sure if that's really a bad thing, though.

Hurricane Hype

So now that Isaac has made his way inland, I can say this... what the hell was with all the media hype??

I'm all for being prepared and not having another Katrina (or Camille, of Hugo, or Andrew...), but did MY local media sources really need to send reporters down to cover it?? The hotels in New Orleans probably had about as much occupancy as they do during Mardi Gras, thanks to all the media converging on the area. You'd think it was a Cat 5 as is began to loom over the bayous... but no... it barely made it to a Cat 1 before making landfall.

Yes, I know it's still a hurricane and it can still cause damage in the way of wind and water... but did I really need to have 15 minute updates in Indiana? I'm assuming we weren't the only State to have the idiocracy of local media covering things...

So now Isaac in inland and actually heading up towards Indiana, likely to still be a drenching depression when it gets here. So what do we do? Hype it up some more! Our local government is filling up and giving away sandbags. Really??

Maybe I'm just numb to weather 'disasters' since I grew up in FL... where I never saw as much hype about a hurricane as I did this most recent one. But it just seems to me that we're going a little overboard with this one. Just a little.

Is it November Yet?

It's not even September yet, and I am SO ready for this election to be over! Politics, in general, are becoming worse and worse with each election. If there's any doubt about why this country is torn about the answer is simple... POLITICS!

So for this post (vent), I am going to take a minute to reiterate my stance on the fact that we REALLY need to do away with the party system. I won't go into the details of how it works like I have in the past, but I will say this... a democracy will survive just fine with out parties.

I took a survey recently that really pointed out how much politician DON'T listen to their constituents and just play by the party rules. Some of today's 'hot topics',like the healthcare overhaul and gun control (in light of recent events) are part of the questionnaire you take, which can be as short or as long as yo want it to be. Politician's really lead you to believe that what their party thinks is what the entire US population thinks - they're manipulative that way. For example, I was really starting to think lot of people really did disagree with the Affordable Healthcare Act. But looking at the survey results, an overwhelming majority think it was the right thing to do and should stay in place!

Now before you get on your high horse and assume I took a poll sent to me via email by one of the parties, making it a one sided pole, that's not how it happened. I stumbled across this site that was put together by some media outlets to help the everyday voter actually side with the candidates that had the same beliefs they did. Novel concept, I know... but check it out for yourself. It's called ElectNext.com and it helps you learn your own stance on things better, if nothing else.

But back to the fact that the election is still over two months away... why must we throw mud?? I think, honestly, the each elected official should be REQUIRED to poll their constituents on big issues, and maybe a smaller make-up of their districts for other issues and actually vote base off those responses. I know - another crazy idea! My City Councilman does that, and it is so awesome that he does! He sends out an email, gets opinions, then chooses to vote based off of the responses and what he thinks is right, even if it's against party lines! I love this guy! He's actually in politics for the right reason and treating his position as it should be - a representative of his district and, essentially, his neighborhood. If only other politicians would get the hint.

Oh well... maybe one day we can get back to where our forefathers meant for us to be...

Change of Seasons

This is probably one of my favorite times of year... when we move from baseball season, to football season!  Yes, I know baseball isn't over. But the important thing is that football is starting! No so much pro-football, but college football... less than one week away!

I caught a few baseball games this year... one Cubs game in Chicago, and a couple of Indianapolis Indians game (most recently, this afternoon for the Indians). It is, after all, as American as it gets. Just give me some apple pie and a Chevy on a levee.

But while baseball is America's past time, it really doesn't get much more American than football... American football. We are, after all, the only country that really recognizes this sport. "Football" in ever other country is what we call soccer in the US... because football has been taken. Which is kind of funny since the foot/feet aren't used to often in football, but they are all that's used in soccer. But I digress.

I absolutely love my college football. More specifically, my Auburn football! And I cannot wait until next Saturday, when we have our first game. Yay! I so wish I could make a game this year, but my fall is already jammed pack and it doesn't look too promising. So I'll have to settle for TV and watch parties with the local Auburn Club.

Yes, I like the pro games, too. But there's something about the heart that is in college football that seems to have been lost in the NFL. Whether it's because the NFL has become so commercialized, or because the player themselves have turned it into a greed fest, it's just not the same.

Though at any given time if given the choice over any other sport, football of any sort would win... without a doubt.

Bathroom Update!

So, I know some of you have been wondering how the bathroom is going... and no, it's not done yet. Hence the word 'update' in the title. But it IS getting closer!

If you know the history of the bathroom, you know we've had to do a lot of re-work from some bad work done by the old contractor (which is why he's no longer our contractor). It's been a very tedious process, but we're kind of glad he left when he did because a lot of bad work would have been covered up with none the wiser... until something broke. Eric and I have become novice carpenters/framers, plumbers, and electricians over the past 6 months. Nothing we ever thought we'd do, but yet we did it. And we feel a lot better about our work than the work we replaced!

But we're finally getting past all that. We're finally getting to point where we're on track and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We can actually count the weekend until we'll be putting tile down on the floor! How exciting is that?? I'd take a picture and post it, but you really can't tell the progress or what really is going on. Beside, it's still kind of chaotic in there. But you'll have to take my word for it.

We do have one item, which we will hire a professional to do, that's outstanding before we can really start flying through our final tasks. And it's something we decided to do since it may be our only opportunity to do so... replace the sewer stack. Sounds glamorous, right? It runs down our back wall, which is opened up right now, and knowing that's it's decades old cast iron, it's probably just a good idea, at this point. Once that's done int he next week or so, we can close all the walls an floors up... and it's 'easy stuff' from there.

So I'll say it for record's sake... my goal is to be done by the end of September. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Indiana State Fair

It happens once a year, every year... The Indiana State Fair. I've never been one for State Fairs... I'm not even sure if Florida had one (though I'm sure they did). But living in the State Capital and literally driving by the State Fairgrounds every day to/from work, you can't NOT go! Besides, it's worth a stroll at least once around the grounds and grabbing some good ol' fair food (fried or not).

Thankfully, the weather cooled down by the time Eric and I decided to go (it goes for two weeks - one week has already passed). And since we have no reason to really go, other than to say we went, it's a stress free even for us. I take my camera and try to snap some pictures of 'fair life', and Eric likes to just take it all in (since it's so different from our normal day-to-day).

This year, we actually spent a little more time with the animals. Normally, we don't go in all the barns, and when we did, we didn't really go past the front door. But this time around, we went in them all and weaved through most of the animals. This was a trade-off, though, as we DIDN'T make it into the exhibit halls like we usually do. But I think it was a good trade-off for a change. I couldn't get over how big some of these animals really are... the cows, for example... HUGE! Good thing they aren't aggressive because if they just fell on you, you'd be crushed! But it's really cool to see all these animals up close. I'm not a farm girl, so I get a kick out it - it's new to me.

Maybe next year we'll hit both the exhibits and the animals... and maybe even the midway, for once. I know Eric isn't much for rides, but maybe we'll go we some friends who are. Any volunteers??

Now That's Funny!

Have you ever had one of those moments where you wanted to say something, but were afraid it might be too politically INcorrect, so you bite your tongue? We all have. Don't try to deny it. It seems only if you're a stand-up comic, then you might get away with it. But even then...

Well, one comedian, with the support of Chris Rock, took it to the next level with a late night show, call Totally Biased on FX.The show, starring W. Kamau Bell, premiered last night. Aside from a few teasers and previous acts on You Tube, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But I gotta tell you... he wasn't afraid of any topic! From the Olympics, the the presidential race, to the random pat downs that happen in NYC. He wasn't afraid to bring it up, and then flat out tell you what he thought... of the situation or the people involved!

Some of it even shocked me, a little bit... but I laughed (hard), because sometimes it was like he was reading my mind! It got me thinking... could I be that frank about anything, even something I was passionate about?? Maybe when I was younger... but then if I get worked up about something enough, I'm definitely not afraid to put it out there.

Regardless, if you aren't one who offends easily and gets a laugh out of today's society's stupidity, then you need to check it out. Just cause you need a laugh.

Jimmy Buffett

The annual outing to the Jimmy Buffett concert! Only, it was a little different this year. Actually, quite different!

Typically, I go with Wendy and a group of girls, making it a really fun girls night! But this year, I played 'hostess' with some tickets from my company. So Eric and I went with one one of the architects he and I both work week. We still had an absolute blast, though!

We started the evening with dinner at a small plate restaurant and did some catching up. This was probably the biggest difference - no tailgating before Buffett! And also not getting there super early, since everyone had to work. But it was a really nice dinner, for a change.

We got to the concert, grabbed a drink, and went right into the pavilion and found our seats. we were actually a little late getting in the gate, but we didn't miss anything, really. In fact, our entire row was still almost entirely empty. This year, there seemed to be way more beach balls bouncing around! But maybe that was just the visual from in the pavilion verses being in the lawn. None the less, the four of us had a few beach balls bounce off of us. It was kind of funny, actually.

It was definitely different being in the pavilion, too... I could actually see everyone on stage, not just what was shown on the big screen. Which was a bonus since we had a special guest for this show... Katie Couric! Apparently, in preparation for her new talk show, she checking things off her bucket list for her 'YOLO' segment (or something like that), and one of her bucket list items was to sing as a Reeferette with Jimmy Buffett on stage. So there she was, right there on stage for three of the songs. Including 'Margaritaville', which is the video below.

All in all, it was still a great evening and a great show to go to. But now it really feels like summer should be over - what's left to check off the summer 'to do' list??