This kid...

... cracks me up. She looks at me tonight and says "are we going to school tomorrow?" I reply "yes sweetie" and she ever so pensively says "but...when are we going to take a break from school?" Oh kiddo, how about when you're 22 and graduating from college?

Here's the clever little one with the cuteness that is Eamonn Lawlor a couple weekends ago. I've got her hooked up with the older (Henry Jones) and younger boys, so we cover all the bases whatever her taste may be ; )

And check this out... What would that be that she's wearing? Neither a diaper nor a pull-up methinks! We are SO close on the potty training (and check that sneer too! Girl's got her no paparazzo attitude on!)
And I can take NO credit for it. Thank you, thank you, thank you room 3 teachers and older room 3 classmates for putting the princess underwear peer pressure on! I'm still the lazy bum who thinks oh, lets just put a pull-up on and go take care of business/pleasure outside the house for four hours, but her new found interest in staying clean and dry is bringing me around.

Anyone who knows...

...our current rental house would know that we should NOT be going out to buy ginormous pieces of furniture until after we me move. So what did we do this weekend? Went to World Market and bought a ginormous TV armoire. But it was pretty and reasonable (relatively) and their stock changes so fast and though it takes up a fourth of the room, I'm thrilled at not having to look at all the cords and spilling over DVDs our old $20 stand from Target revealed! However, the challenge now is that Cesar is expressing desire for a larger screen to fill it. I think our 32 incher new at Xmas looks just fine with a little open space around it.

So I guess that Obama tee-shirt I wear every other day was a freebie...

If anyone is concerned that Obama is not 1000% committed to not taking any money from "special interests", here's a little tale. In my former job that I left January 19 I was registered to lobby for a couple of our clients. A couple weeks before Super Tuesday I went online to Obama's campaign store to order my Tee. I paid $31.40 justifying it as a contribution, but not really thinking of it as a contribution contribution. Today I get a check in the mail for $31.40 with a lovely letter from a compliance officer notifying me that they are so pleased that I am committed to stand for change, but that records show I am registered to lobby the federal government and Obama is committed to take no money from special interests. We're talking $31.40, for which I received merchandise in exchange! You go boy. Hillary had no problem taking a small amount of my money to attend a rally very early in the campaign. I do plan to call the compliance officer to let her know I am now a civil servant again and the lobbying reports filed January 31st should no longer show my name! So now I figure I can justify at least a $50 contribution before we start paying our mortgage....

Maximum Overdrive

Remember that bad 1986 Emilio Estevez movie adapted from Stephen King's Trucks? Yeah, probably not, but I feel like I'm on maximum overdrive these days. Between pulling the paperwork together for the new house, the new job - who knew what a juggling act it was to actually work someplace with deadlines and shifting priorities and the need for time management skills (Perez and Trent, I miss you boys, but I do enjoy feeling productive)?! - and the sick kid (two days out this week with Strep), and the usual household responsibilities, which, aside from getting food in our tummies, are the last thing to be attended too....

Anywhooo...I don't have much to say here. Just checking in. I sadly reported to Leila when I woke her up this morning that Obama lost to Hillary yesterday and she responded with a simple "oh." But we maintain hope. Will wash my lucky tee before the next primary Saturday. I know I got on here to write something of some import, but I can't for the life of me think of what it was now. Oh, whatever you do, please, I beg of you, do not decide that you need to pen a response to the Postmaster General's form letter on Identity Theft that you should have received with all Postal customers early last week. I've been swimming through thousands upon thousands of "Dear John, This is all well and good, but if you could teach my carrier to read and deliver my mail to the right box we may not have this problem... or Dear John, If we got rid of all the immigrants and reclaimed America..." letters all week. Right. Going to get on Metro now for my 20 minutes daily downtime to regrettably slowly read The Other Boleyn Girl. I guess the movie reviews sucked in general, but I'll be glad to see if Eric Bana betters Jonathan Rhys Myers as Henry on DVD.

Various

I'm tired of winter. We totally got cheated out of any good snow (glad we bought Leila those $70 Geoxx boots) and I can't take much more walking to the metro in blustery 23 degree mornings. I'm sick again/still as are my husband and daughter. About 2 weeks ago I commented that I'd been sick for 4 weeks and now I really have been.

On Lost. I've got nothing. But I am really enjoying the ride this season. I figured time travel would come back into play with Desmond, but the Faraday connection is interesting. And Penny's dad bidding on the log to the Black Rock at auction...hmm...

Trader Joes's tip of the day. Chicken Curry Tenders. Yum. They're in the fresh meat section packaged like the Pollo Asado. Same quantity/cut (all white tenders) as the Asado, but the curry flavor is super - a bite at first, then just a little bit sweet.

On the house. We locked into a 10 yr ARM Wednesday night because I needed to be able to sleep through the night. Of course Thursday morning rates on 30 yr were back down slightly. Typical. But I still think what we locked into is slightly favorable in terms of monthly payments.

Still a Bad Blogger

I'll use our home purchase as an excuse here as long as I can! Though there's really not all that much to report these days aside from that somewhat major event. Going to meet with our mortgage guy (who graduated from my highschool 5 years after I did!) tonight. Wish us luck! Maybe he can get through my thick skull what the heck points are. Will try to get some new pics of the kid up etc...this weekend.

And speaking of the house, I don't know that I've written up this funny little coincidence yet. The seller of the house we're buying's sister Joanna rented the house we're currently in previous to our 6 years occupying it. I knew her through Emily, and she's how we found our rental. Emily ran into her brother a couple weeks ago who told her he was selling his house. She looked it up online and called me to make sure I'd seen it, and low and behold it was the property we'd looked at least 3 times since December. So yeah, we're just following this pair of siblings around throughout their Alexandria residences. It's a small world after all.

Now back at the White House, I had this regular crazy correspondent and I'm kicking myself now because I'm blanking on his name and I thought it was one I'd never forget...It was Frank Porter Something Jr....He used to call all the time and say "Oh hi, can I speak to Lisa, Lisa Williams..." then write letters full of all sorts of conspiracies addressed to Lisa, Lisa Williams. I'm reminiscing about him now b/c I have a letter on my desk to respond to that reminds me of his tone. It reads "Dear Noble President: This is a letter of request that you use the compass of good faith above the square of reason and allow both to rest upon some facts which I am about to mention. The above address of a Post Office Box, I have had for the past 20 years is now up and to be renewed this January, which I would like to continue but I am having an update problem with our lady Postmaster who wishes to have all my Identification entered upon the Internet to the Postmaster General's Secretary. With all the Idenity Theft, the internet places me at risk being a former Security person. although nothing has changed except an address, therefore I hereby request that I be exempt from such, through your assistance."

That's all folks.

Bad Blogger

I fully recognize that I am not keeping up with my Bloggerly duties here. The new job keeps me consistently busy through the working hours, which is a great thing, we're trying to buy a house (STRESS!) and we're beyond lucky if our child is in bed/asleep at 9:00. So just a quick update here.

The Postal Service is great. Everyone is extremely helpful and collaborative (imagine that - such a low bar I'd set for workplaces after my last experience...) I'm constantly learning. Get to respond to such crazy cases as a woman who provided information to the inspection service leading to the arrest of a man who robbed a mail truck - was advanced $1,000 in reward money - then turned around and robbed a Post Office of $2,300 worth of stamps. Brilliant I tell you. Now she writes her Congressman for help securing the remaining $24,000 in reward money.

On the homefront, Valentine's day was Papajohn's pizza, breadsticks and cheap champagne... the usual. At least Lost was on. And as to Lost I'm simply befuddled as to the big picture here - WTF? But that's why I love it so. I couldn't help but thinking someone's been watching the Bourne movies during Sayid's flashforward. Loved his blown out hair - hee... and Ben. Ben, Ben, Ben...What are you up too? I guess I'm convinced now that the Oceanic Six are indeed Jack, Kate, Hurly, Sayid, Sun and Jin, but I think others made it off too like Desmond (yum!) who weren't on Oceanic to begin with.

And on that house purchase - stress! It's hard when you can already picture yourself in the property and people around you are (wisely) counseling you not to jump on a counter-offer.