Excitement!

Lilly’s water just broke (I called it! I knew she was going to go early!). She just called from the car on the way to the hospital (I could hear Michael, uh, NOT panicing, in the background). We’re going to have another grandson soon! Woo!

Overheard

Excerpt from a cubicle neighbor’s telephone conversation:

“It’s 10 inches. No, dude, it is. What, do you want me to measure it again?”

Heh.

New Entry

There’s a new entry up on the journal. Thanks for reading!

YES!

More Girl’s Bike Club! Today is a good day.

Weirdo Kid

Laura: (clack clack clack across the tile floor)

Marie: “Laura! Stop walking!”

Laura: “Uh, okay, what do you want me to do, fly?”

Marie: “Oh, come on, like you don’t do that every other day.”

So sad!

Please hop on over to Heather’s journal if you get a chance, and leave her a warm-fuzzy in her comments. She lost her little kitty today!

Hugs from Arizona, Heather! I’m so sorry.

Friendly Neighborhood Reminder

Don’t forget to submit your guesses for the contest before November 15th! Only one week left!

Nummies

I made banana bread today. Recipe makes one bundt or two loaves.

1/2 cup shortening or margerine

1/4 cup milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup mashed banana (about two very ripe bananas)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream margerine, add sugar gradually and mix. Mix in eggs and banana. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to banana mixture, mixing a little at a time. Add milk, sour cream, and vanilla, one at a time and mixing completely between each. Fold in nuts.

Grease one bundt pan or two loaf pans, pour mixture evenly into pan(s). Bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (mine is usually done in 50-55 minutes for two loaves).

If you use whole milk, whole shortening or butter, and whole sour cream, one serving (1/12 of a loaf) is 140 calories, 5 grams of fat, 20g of cholesterol, 124 mg of sodium, 22 grams of carbs. I use 2% milk, light margerine, and light sour cream, so I’m not sure what the stats work out to be.

Let me know if you make it!

Ya-hoooooooooooo!

I’m now on Yahoo! Messenger. If any of you peeps want to rap, my username is gecko_45.

Yo.

Alone but protected by The Beagle With The ‘I Mean Business’ Bark

Well, I’m on my own again. Calvin is out of town until Friday or (hope not) Saturday. Marie is working tonight. I have a teleconference that starts in 10 minutes and goes until 6:30.

So I’m sitting on the couch watching a documentary about JFK and going through my work e-mail, when Gypsy does her Gruff Bark, and Gadget starts flipping out, nails skittering across the floor as he tries to dart (and more like skids) to the front door. I have it open to the security screen door to let in the 70-degree weather.

It was quiet just moments before, then an echoing Gruff Bark (that made me jump, like, three feet straight up in the air), followed by another, and some growling, even. Which means that Gypsy Means Business. There’s a reason why we ignore things if it’s just Gadget that’s barking. He barks at air. And flies. And the sound of his own breathing.

I get up off the couch and head to the front door, expecting to see someone standing there. But the only creature there is the across-the-street neighbor’s very dog-eared cat. Who likes to poop in our yard. And apparently hasn’t familiarized himself with the new screen door. And so bolted, mid-poop, when the dogs started up their ruckus.

Have you ever seen a cat try to run with poop hanging out of its butt? It’s a funny, funny thing.

Good dogs.