Lucky Thirteen

Maribeth over at Dackel Princess does a little something she calls Thursday Thirteen and since I feel like a list today I'm doing the same. Everyone go say hi to Maribeth. After you read my list of course!

1. American Idol-I guess I'm in the minority but I am feeling pretty eh about this season's contestants. So far there isn't a single one I find myself looking forward to hearing from each week, no one whose singing makes me want to hop over to Itunes and download their song. There's a bright spot here and there but mostly, eh. I do look forward to seeing JLo's look every week-she is beautiful, and to hearing what kind of crazy Steven Tyler will bring, but otherwise-eh. And I think they need to be a little tougher on some of the contestants. Tough doesn't have to be mean but most weeks I miss having Simon there keeping it real.

2. Did I mention it snowed here yesterday? And last night? And it's the end of March? Just checking.

3. We are re-doing our master bathroom shower. The old shower and dry wall behind have been removed and since we're tiling the shower floor a special tub had to be ordered which will take 'a couple of weeks' to get here. Give or take. Ahem. Yesterday the tiler was here all day making the dog nervous with his hammering and sawing and whatever it is carpenters do. The original time frame on this job was three weeks. They removed the existing shower March 9th. Raise your hand if you think this project is going to take longer than three weeks?

4. Daughter1 has been in D.C. for a few days. She was due to fly out at 7:30 last night and she sat on the plane for a good long while before the flight was cancelled and they were taken back to the terminal at 9:30 PM. We finally got her re-booked on a flight for this morning and waited while she rode the metro back to her friend's house for the night. Nothing about travel is easy anymore, is it?

5. We have our neighborhood book club tonite. We read My Father's Paradise by Ariel Sabar which is described as 'a son's search for his Jewish past in Kurdish Iraq'. While its not a book I would have picked up on my own I've found it really interesting and an easy read, not something I was expecting given the description. One of the things I like most about being part of a book club is that it gets me outside my reading box. I've read some great books that I know I would have missed if they hadn't been a book club selection.

6. I love using the kindle app on my ipad. I didn't think I'd like an electronic reader but I do. One of the bonus features? Reading in bed without turning on the light...the ipad screen allows me to read and hubs to sleep undisturbed so everybody's happy.

7. We are meeting friends from the UK in the city on Saturday and I can. not. wait. We haven't seen these friends since they moved back to Texas in 2007. Their son1 and our daughter1 were big pals in high school and he's getting married this summer which I'm still trying to get my head around. Their son2 broke our daughter2's collar bone when his head collided with her shoulder in a friendly football match. Just so we're clear-my daughter wasn't in the match...she was on the sidelines. She is a magnet for stuff like this. She would not disagree.

8. We still have not booked a holiday.

9. I'm getting my hair cut and highlighted tomorrow. I can tell you right now its gonna be a good day.

10. I have struggled with my family room mantle since we moved in here. It has two story windows on either side and a mirror that reaches two stories above the fireplace too. I love it but it is tricky to decorate which is why I finally had a decorator come out and give me some advice. I've ordered something per her suggestion and I can't wait for it to arrive. Here is a before picture taken from the upstairs hallway...please disregard the dog asleep in the chair....her life is rough-

I'll post the after in a couple of weeks because nothing happens fast in the world of home improvement, does it?

11. Why is Easter so late? Why is the date so apparently random every year...sometimes it's early March and other years it's late April? We normally go to Tennessee for Easter but since we're headed south in early May to-what else?-help a child move-we've decided to have the girls come home for the holiday. I can't wait!! I still make Easter Baskets for my girls and I enjoy that. (So do they!!) And I especially look forward to sitting in church and looking down the pew and seeing my whole little family all together. Sigh.

12. I just googled my Easter question and am gonna share what I've learned because I think a blog post can be both random and educational-

The answer is-it's complicated. In short, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. The long answer is too long, even for my blog but if you're curious you can read more here.

13. Did I tell you we have snow?