Dancing recap

I know you've been waiting for my take on this season of Dancing with the Stars. I didn't watch the first two episodes until this weekend, so I figured I'd wait and form a more educated opinion this week.

My top picks this season (and keep in mind I've correctly picked the finalists every season so far) are Brooke Burke and Misty May-Treanor. None of the guys have really impressed me so far. I know my husband is rooting for Cody just so Julianne will be on there longer, but unless he steps up his game, he won't make it.

Anyway, Brooke is amazing. I can't believe that woman has four children and looks the way she looks, and on top of that, she can dance. I am highly impressed.

Meanwhile, Misty does an incredible job of transferring her athleticism to the dance floor. The paso doble was perfect for her and I thought she did a great job.

As far as the not-so-great competitors, we have a track star who can't move his hips, a chef who can't move his hips, a socialite who can't move her hips, and a comedienne who can' t move much of anything. It's kind of frightening.

The one guy I think who stands a chance is Lance Bass, and that's strictly because of Lacey. Some of you might remember Lacey from the 2007 season of So You Think You Can Dance. If anyone can whip Lance into shape, it'll be Lacey. Plus, their names are so nicely alliterative.

"Bees are much calmer than all this."

I bet you've been wondering what happened to me, right? Okay, maybe not. But I'm going to tell you anyway.

Tuesday evening we drove over to Pittsburgh for a meeting Hubby wanted to attend. On Wednesday morning I drove him to the meeting and then the boys and I went to the Carnegie Science Center. Unfortunately, I was getting a pretty bad migraine. When Hubby called, wanting to be picked up, we went and got him and returned to the science center. Then I had to send him out for some migraine meds.

After a couple of hours, I felt a lot better. By then it was time to head home.

We stopped at an Eat 'N Park for dinner (btw, how can you eat before you park? why don't they call it Park 'N Eat?). The restaurant was then invaded by the largest group of Amish I've ever seen. Even when I've been to Amish country. Apparently they were on a bus on their way to help out with some disaster (I know this because it said "Disaster Relief" on the side of the bus).

A whole group of teenagers sat right behind us, jabbering away in Pennsylvania Dutch. They got a big kick out of our three year old, who was singing "The B-I-B-L-E" at the top of his lungs for the first half of the meal.

And don't ask me why Amish were in a bus, or eating in a restaurant. I just report the news, I don't explain it.

Since Wednesday, well, let's just say the new television season's started and leave it at that. Did you catch the quote from last night's Amazing Race in my title? Hehe.

Colonial Williamsburg

Here are some pics from our trip last week to Williamsburg. Enjoy!The boys meet Thomas Jefferson.

Nothing says, "Welcome to my home" like a wall full of swords and pistols.

Going into the ever-popular maze.

He's waiting for a carriage to come pick him up.

Don't think they didn't deserve this!

Sharing the love

We had a wonderful trip to Williamsburg and I actually managed to forget about my problems for a couple of days and just enjoy life. It's SOOOO nice to have my dear Hubby back home. I wish he didn't have to leave again in a few weeks. :(

I had a nice surprise in my inbox this morning - an award from the always gracious eMom at Chrysalis.

This award is created by Crystal at Memoirs of a Mommy in honor of Noah and the donor of this sweet little heart who ENCOURAGES us to SHARE THE LOVE. The rules for this award are to pass it along to some people whose blogs you love. They make you laugh, smile, leave encouraging comments on your blog. You would like to share some love with them because they have uplifted, inspired, encouraged or prayed for you. Please include this paragraph with the link to Memoirs of a Mommy so that everyone know where this award originated.

Thanks so much, eMom - you totally made my Monday morning!

And now to pass it on:

• Cheeky
• Karmyn
• TKW
• Jen
• and Jody

I always do a little happy dance in my chair when I see a comment from any of these lovely ladies. Thanks for being such great blog buddies!

He returns!

Hubby gets home from China tonight! Hooray! I can't even begin to describe how much I've missed him. We're going to take a couple of days and go down to Colonial Williamsburg. They have homeschool days there. Admission is really cheap - just right for us right now.

And now, off to do school for today!

Outta time

It's Monday afternoon. Tomorrow morning I have to teach my writing and lit class. I am not prepared. See you tomorrow afternoon!

Awesome new online magazine

On Monday September 15, a new online magazine is launching. Inspired Bliss promises to be a place of great inspiration and fellowship. And guess who's a contributing writer? Yes, yours truly.

I was able to group chat with a bunch of the ladies who will be contributing and I am so very excited about what each and every one of them has to offer. Make sure you check it out - you're not going to want to miss a single post!

Stupid people

So I spent a couple of hours researching PA law just to make sure, but no, they are not allowed to withhold rent just because they have roaches. There is a long drawn-out process which, if they followed it, could eventually lead to them being able to legally withhold rent, but they would have to prove the roaches weren't their fault, and I know they can't do that.

I am giving them just ONE chance to get the situation straightened out. Their lease is up in November and if they are still living in filth, they'll have to leave. Technically I could evict them now, but I hate going through the hassle.

I wonder if the tenants in the other side would like to buy the whole house and take us out of our misery?

What do you think? Opinions, please!

If a tenant's disgusting living habits cause there to be roaches in a house that for the previous eight years never had any, does the tenant have the right to withhold rent until the landlord calls an exterminator, even though they have never informed the landlord of the problem until sending a letter saying they are withholding rent?

And if the tenant signed a lease agreeing to keep the house clean but is such a disgusting pig that they attract roaches, would the landlord be justified in not renewing that lease?

Hypothetically.

Marriage Monday - Why Romance Matters

Want this button?
This month's topic had me scratching my head. What do I consider romantic? What do we do in our marriage to keep the romance alive? Honestly, I wasn't sure. Neither one of us are really into elaborate romantic gestures as a general rule.

I finally concluded that the most romantic things my husband does for me involve surprises and acts of service. When he speaks my love language, I go weak in the knees.

For example, right now he's on a business trip to China. He's been gone since last Wednesday morning and he'll be gone two weeks. Before he left, he ran around like a crazy person doing things to make my life easier while he's gone. He fixed the water heater, filled the water softener with salt, and even installed a brand new garbage disposal in the sink!

And then, from halfway around the world, he sent me flowers, via his brother, who also stopped by to help me with the kids for a couple of days. He also arranged to have his sister come help me whenever she can. So while I still miss him like crazy, he made sure that I would be taken care of while he's gone.

That's my favorite form of romance - taking care of my needs before I even know I have them. I can't even imagine how depressed I would be if, on top of everything else I have to do, we had no hot water. Or if he hadn't hooked up all our video equipment so I could at least escape into a movie now and then.

No, my husband doesn't write me songs or poetry. And not that I would turn away his efforts, but a song never helped anyone with a pile of dirty dishes. I love it when romance and practicality meet.

So very, very unfair

Hubby left yesterday morning at 6 a.m. for China. He just checked into his hotel at 1 p.m. That's 32 hours of travel. It's now 3 a.m. there and hopefully he's asleep.

I don't envy the length of his trip, but boy am I jealous of him traveling. He's doing three of my very favorite things: traveling by plane, staying in a hotel, and eating out every meal of the day. Meanwhile, what am I doing? Going to orthodontist appointments and soccer practices, picking fleas off a kitten, and endlessly cleaning up after four rowdy boys.

Sigh.

Introducing Rusty

We added a new family member over the weekend. Allow me to introduce you!
Um, okay, well, you can't really see him there. Let me see if I can get a better angle.
There's his leg! Uh, let me get the boys to hold him so you can see him better.
I'm guessing he's in the box, but that doesn't really help, does it? Let's open the box and snap a picture real quick.
Oh. Well, there's his tail! (Ignore the dust. And that white blob is one of the kids' toys.)

Time for me to take over. Here he is! Meet Rusty!