7 and Counting

The mounting death toll of mice in our house has truly reached ridiculous proportions. 7 in under two weeks. 7!!! And I can't even yet count the 7th down because that one has retreated somewhere in the house with a glue trap still attached to its body - or it devoured the entire glue trap and managed to walk away free. This one really grosses me out. When I went down this morning to prepare Leila's breakfast and my lunch I noted that a trap was missing, so I called Cesar to see if he'd found/disposed of another snared mouse this morning and he said no, he'd looked around to try and find where the mouse dragged itself and the trap this morning and he couldn't see anything without dragging all the appliances out and waking us at 5:00a.m. I made him stay on the phone with me the whole time I was in the kitchen because I was so freaked my the image of a mouse on the loose with a glue trap still attached. I just called my property manager on vacation to insist they get the 1980's era stove out of the kitchen so pest control could really get back there to see where this tribe of mice is holed up. When he was out last week he said he couldn't pull the stove out since it was all one unit with the microwave on top and that short of doing that to find their access point all he could do was continue to put out new poison and traps under the stove. I don't think my property manager picked up on the hint that it would be nice to pull the 1980's stove out and dispose of it to replace it with something new and sleek b/c she was pondering whether the appliance company could pull it out so pest control could get back there and do their thing then leave it unbolted in case it had to be pulled out for future mouse outbreaks. Heaven forbid we are still living in dear Amityville for future outbreaks!! My skin is just crawling this morning....

Happy Birthday to Me!

This is a pretty hideous picture of me, but regardless, I am sporting my birthday gift with pride. What more could a 33 year old ask for than an official Beckham jersey?! And though I have no problems watching him sidelined in a hot suit, as he was during last night's Toronto match, it would be nice to see those magic legs in action one of these days. Are you ready to take on DC Thursday night Becks? We'd be happy to babysit Cruz so he and Leila can start on their predetermined (by moi) love affair ; )

I'm about to take myself out for a late morning pedicure as a birthday treat since the boss isn't here, then Leila and I will hit Buzz for cupcakes tonight while Cesar's at class. I'm happy to keep it low-key as it's Monday and I've gotten pretty good at dragging celebrations out through the preceding weekend. Cesar and Leila and I did our own dinner out Saturday, we did dinner with the whole Williams family last night and I did the minimal amount of housework to get by (i.e.: groceries and laundry), so I'm living in filth, but did take a bit of a break.

I got out at 1:00 Friday (after we reminded the Principals that Fridays in DC in August = D.E.A.D.), so Cesar and I were able to sneak off to a movie. We caught an early show of The Bourne Ultimatum and it was pretty darn awesome. I've been somewhat more open to the whole action film genre since I've known Cesar, but I think I'd have found the Bourne flicks to be fun and smart even without his influence. Oh how I would have loved to see Matt Damon flying past in the Tangier Medina! Yes, I had my Orlando Bloom moment in the Rabat Medina, but I didn't even know who he was at the time, just knew that a pretty boy with a pretty accent was asking me to model a necklace for him in our favorite silver merchant's... those were the days...

And the funny Vicky Williams comment from dinner last night was that she always thought my brother looked like Matt Damon, but that Carter was much purdier. Ha! In reality, they do have similar features, but I give the purdy points to Damon.


And for those keeping track - two more dead mice in the house this weekend. These caught by the old skool guillotine traps the pest control man set out with the poison last week. They were well into rigamortis by the time Cesar dragged them out and I only knew to look for the first from the growing stink. It's truly sick at this point. If you hear of a plague outbreak in Alexandria, VA, it started in our home - Amityville...

Shark Week Eye Candy - YUMMERS!!

Proof positive that Shark Week is not just for science/nature geeks. Meet my new boyfriends.

Ryan Johnson, South African Shark Scientist:

And Animal Behaviorist Dave Salmoni:
Them scientists are hot y'all!!! I didn't have time to search for better pics - like one of Dave shirtless from the shark callers of Papua New Guinea episode last night (even Cesar had no qualms saying "man! he's cut!") - because I'm taking off to catch a movie this afternoon, but those give you a little flavor. Mmmmmm....

Se Habla Chill??

I had high hopes. I did want to love this stuff and enjoy drinking in its refreshingness on these lovely 96 degree days we're experiencing, but eh, it's no Corona Light with a fresh wedge of lime. It just bears no more resemblance to beer than a lime-ade does and it's a little too reminiscent of that good ol' Zima. I'll be shifting back to the best summer beer on the market - Abita's Strawberry Harvest Lager - as soon as I finish the 6 pack of Chill in my fridge, and if I want lime and salt with my booze, I think I'll stick with a margarita. I'd be curious to know if any real Latin American Chelada connoisseurs think this is passable. The Micheladas I had in Monterrey Mexico were closer to a Bloody Mary and somewhat of an acquired taste perhaps. They involved tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, hot sauce with a nice cold pour of Tecate or any Mexican beer of preference. Just drink for thought....

Shark GEEK

I can never get enough Shark Week! Was anybody else as fascinated as I was during the "Perfect Predator" hour last night when they were testing out sharks' sensitivity to the electricity all living things emit (their "6th sense") with a baby hammerhead?

Cesar came down to find me all agog, glass of wine in hand, with a Parents magazine dropped at my feet and asked if I was addicted to this programming. Um, no (meekly said)...though knowing it was on this week did soften the blow of having no more Harry Potter to read! He can't be too critical though, he joins me on the couch at the first shot of a surfer he catches. Even Leila's in on the action. After her bath last night she said "I want to watch the shark movie Momma." But as soon as she saw a bull shark in Cuban waters it was "no, I don't like that movie. Turn it off." She's already wise to how fuh-reaky bull sharks are with the whole ability to exist in fresh water thing.

I love it when my friends make the A Section of the Washington Post!

Nope, not Condoleeza, though there have been several occasions when my hair appointments have overlapped with her nail appointments at the Watergate Salon, but my boy Mike Evanoff!

Mikey was one of my best buds in Morocco. I spent many an evening and weekend afternoon partying with this guy at the American Club, the Marine House and the Hash and Cesar and I have loved playing the "Find Evanoff" game as we watch news programs ever since he became head of Condoleeza's protective services. I fully expect to see more of him on TV as a security expert talking head in the future, but for now, Brussels sounds great. We may be dropping in for a visit one day Mikey.

Rice's Protector Plans a Move to NATO
By Robin Wright
Mike Evanoff is the Bodyguard. His formal title is special agent in charge of protective operations at the State Department. But the former Washington area high school football star is better known among those who travel with the secretary of state as Condoleezza Rice's shadow.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/31/AR2007073102001.html?referrer=emailarticle

No mouse this morning!

I suppose the ants in the dishwasher last night sufficed for our home critter factor for the past 24 hours.