Happy Honda has a Home

Our Honda Minivan is once again parked under the protection of the garage!

Yes, I drive a mom van. For my 50th birthday in, blah blah, number of years I plan to treat myself to a luxury 2 seater, perhaps a Mercedes or Fararri, as a midlife crisis present to myself. Hey, I dream big! For now Gwenn is my transportation.

It was not an easy feat to get her into the garage. My efforts to secure her spot were thwarted a few times but I persevered.

Right after I posted my blog entry on Friday, I knocked over a full, very large, cup of coffee next to my favorite blue chair where I sit to catch the sunrise and write. I have no idea why I'd placed it on the floor instead of the end table next to me?

Coffee, sans sugar but more cream than a cow has, spread all over my area rug. I was late to school/work mopping it up and flooding it with water and blotting. When I got home in the late afternoon, the situation didn't look good but there were things to do that didn't involve rugs and garages.

When I woke up on Saturday morning I made more coffee (I am a true addict) and got into my swimsuit. I have a neighbor who is an absolute creepoid stalker (but that's another story) so no way am I going out there naked even if my trees were larger and thicker. I lifted the lid on my hot tub which I discovered right away wasn't working. No steam. I hate having my brilliant plans go a muck.

I fixed some eggs and sausage, did some perusing and writing on the computer in my favorite spot and decided that I didn't like the way the spot on the rug was looking and I was not happy about the hot tub situation either.

I rediscovered my Tweet on twitter which I'm not so sure I enjoy due to the limiting number of characters per post available. But I didn't linger too long, I had a lot to do!

I fiddled with the controls on the hot tub. Since it'd been awhile, I started the draining process on the tub which involves locating the bug spray and squirting around the panel area, even inside, to make sure there are no more black widows lurking. Some memories don't go away.

I took out the filters and sent them through 3 quick cycles of the dishwasher without cleanser, removed them and then I ran another cycle with cleansers to clean out the dishwasher.

While the hot tub drained, I enlisted Red to help me drag the rug outside to the back patio where I proceeded to scrub it down by hand with some carpet cleaners. Because of the doggy smells, I decided to leave it with the cleaners on it for awhile.

I managed to get a few things put away in the garage but not very much. I raised the rug up off the cement and then rinsed it off. It was shocking to see how much of my backyard came rolling off with the soap and coffee, but its been 4 years since I had it washed so maybe not that shocking after all. Wow! Where does the time go?

I wiped out the hot tub and started to refill it. Red's friend arrived and I visited with his mom for a bit and then it was back outside where it looked like more soap was gathering in pools around the rug so I re-rinsed it.

I cooked stir fry for dinner, shut off the water for the hot tub trying to not think about how many gallons of precious water I'd used. I went to flip the breaker back on the hot tub and nothing. Nothing. No motor sounds just the the anticlimactic click as the breaker fell back inert.

I hit the test button. What is a test button in an electrical panel? Nothing! No clicks just a mush. I was expecting something like the reset buttons on the electrical outlets in my kitchen. An audible click with a solid feel. Nothing.

Something isn't working here and I could surly bet that I wasn't going to get a morning hot tub on Sunday either!

Bummer! I was completely done for the day. My muscles were cramping and protesting. I took a hot shower and managed to watch a DVD before dragging my sorry backside to bed.

I choose a Richard Gere fix with Shall We Dance. Nothing like a chick flick with a hottie in tuxedo to restore hope and soul. He is breath taking when he rises up the escalator holding a single red rose.

I'd almost forgotten my favorite explanation of marriage. Susan Seranden's character explains the reason people get married is to bare witness to one another's lives.

It's such a beautiful concept and so far away from my own life experiences that I always tear up just a bit. I also shore up a little faith that as long as I have breath there is hope that it could happen to me too. And isn't that the very purpose of chick flicks?

Well this morning arrived and I fixed another pot of coffee (I did mention that I'm an addict didn't I?) and sat in my favorite chair writing and perusing email and the Internet. then I fixed the boys waffles and bacon (I use the instant micro bacon, its fast and mostly clean), took a shower for my muscles and started in on the garage determined to park my car in there.

Well, I didn't get the other rooms cleaned up but I did manage to get the ceiling fan that will one day be in my son's room off of my bedroom floor where its been for 3 weeks. As the hot tub did not miraculously start up on its own, I may have the handyman or electrician put in the fan along with a few other things on my handyman list.

So the weekend wasn't a total success. It wasn't a bust either. I also got the mirror off the hall floor and hung up, the dust bunnies scampered and I sucked them up in the vacuum when I did the living room where the rug had been.

See, I did accomplish quite a bit, plus, I finished listening to my CD story, Natural Born Charmer, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, which is typical chick-lit in an entertaining, laugh-out-loud romantic tale between a football player and a headless beaver. Too funny!

Mamma Mia - Romance just may be possible

Irene and I just saw a really cute movie with some friends, Mamma Mia, based on the London and Broadway musical. A total chick flick billed as a musical comedy (featuring 22 ABBA tunes!), Mamma Mia, delivers! Most of the ABBA hits I knew well (Hey, I was there when they became hits!) but the twists were in the application of them.

The story is about a young lady who invites 3 men to her wedding. She's not sure which, but based on her mom's diary, one is the father she's never known but has always wanted to know. Her mother (played by Meryl Streep) is totally thrown off balance when she discovers the 3 men back in her life and staying in her Greek Hotel but her 2 best friends are there to see her through - girlfriends always do.

The beauty of the Greek Island as a backdrop was incredible and has me itching to pull out the paint and cover some walls with the same wash of blues used on the set and bring some flowers in from my garden. OK. What I really want is to visit the islands! Take me back!

True of other successful chick flicks, there are naked chests on the hotties and a peek of cheek. The seemingly random singing and dancing that is typical of musicals was hysterical and fun and made me think of past romantic possibilities with my eye to the future. Who knows? Romance can pop out and take your hand.

There is an all-star cast for Mamma Mia including Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julia Walters, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, and Dominic Cooper. Everyone gives stellar performances and obviously had a kick of a time making the movie.

The film is directed by Phyllida Lloyd who directed the original in London and the Broadway production.

We give this movie the, Wanna Own the DVD when it comes out award and 2 happy faces. If you haven't done so, find your best girlfriends and check this movie out. You'll for certain want to own the soundtrack!