Two buttons and a penny...

Today I was walking around the house after the cleaners left, inspecting every surface, nook and cranny for "faults" with which to barrage them with on their next visit in order to ensure top notch service and keep them from resting on their oars, when I stumbled upon a little bag, tucked neatly away in a corner of the living room, completely out of place. "Ah-ha!", I exclaimed as I pounced on the unsuspecting object of my scrutiny...exhibit "A". As I held up the little bag, I peered closer at it unable to make out it's contents:

Curious, I opened the bag and poured the items onto the floor. Wow. Amazing. Enclosed in the bag were the following: a pencil sharpener, 1 checker, two buttons and a penny. I immediately knew these belonged to RR #1. Now as mundane as all this seems, I could not help but marvel at the simplicity of this child. Here I buy him all manner of complicated toys, books, games etc. and at the end of the day, he is content to play with two buttons and a penny? So I wonder, had I wrapped said baggy up for Christmas and placed under the tree, would it have elicited the same shriek of joy as the Spider man watch or Leapfrog Gaming system he actually got? And where were these items now? Strewn carelessly upon the basement floor while his bag of buttons was tucked safely and lovingly in the far corner of my living room.

I say all this to say...are we trying too hard? Perhaps as humans, our baser instincts are simple, and uncomplicated, joy wrought by objects of little or no material value but of an import born of sentiment and creativity. Perhaps items are not what they are, but rather what we make them. I don't know, this is all a bit much for me too. I might try this theory out a little but I'm not exactly ready to give up the vast majority of my creature comforts just yet...we'll see, we shall see.

Improvements are good, improvements are good, improve...

Improvements are good right? I mean the whole concept of making something better is viewed as a positive right? Ergo, home improvements are good. So why do i feel as frazzled as all hell right now?

The job is simple, lay new tiles in the foyer, bathroom and kitchen, replace the bathroom toilet and sink, peel off the wallpaper in the kitchen and slap on a few coats of paint. Not a major overhaul, just a few quaint touches aimed at making the homestead a little more comfy and cozy. The contractors are great, they're on time and they're diligent. None of this is the problem...it's all good. The problem is that I had not anticipated my home becoming the dust laden, tool strewn, debris ridden, chaotic, refrigerator in the living room, gas stove in the dining, can't fry a freaking egg in the kitchen or even get a glass of water, hovel that it had become.

I mean, in my head, I guess I assumed that since the world revolves around me (i know, i know, not really but a diva can fantasize can't she?)...the contractors would too. Not so much the case...lol. So now I'm sitting here trying to plug the fridge into the dining room socket so we can at least have water. I've got the Rugrats running circles around all the confusion and loving it. Dear hubby has escaped to CT and here, lie I, amidst it all. At what point will I finally lose it, I wonder? Will it be when I have to bundle the RRs into the car for a dinner trip to McD's? Or will it be when I realize I am forced to go off plan because I can't warm up my NS entree? Or maybe it will be that blessed moment when I make a mad dash to the downstairs bathroom on a commercial break during my "must see" TV show and cop a squat and keep on going till I hit the floor cos...bam...the frickin' toilet is sitting on my front lawn! *sigh*...tomorrow this will all be worth it. right?

Still Got it (and loads of fun)

Wow ok, that was, like, one of the busiest weekends I’ve had in a long time. It started out kind of sad. I had to go to my former boss’ funeral Saturday morning. He died of pancreatic cancer which is like the suckiest cancer to have cos basically you don’t find out you have it until it’s almost killed you (it’s totally asymptomatic). And to make matters worse, some friends of ours were attending a separate funeral for a friend of theirs who died of the same thing…wtf? I mean, I was really freaked out for a while there and apparently there’s not even like a routine screening you can do or anything. Anyway, it was really sad cos he was a good guy…and cool too, he played in a band with Bon Jovi before he was famous.

So when I got back, we had to go to a birthday party for Rugrat #1’s friend. Ok, secretly, I really wanted to go cos it was at the roller skating rink and I had not skated in donkey years and was wondering if I still “got it like that?” We actually had a really good time, RR#1 had never skated in his life so this was a 1st but he didn’t do too badly. By the end of the party, he was off on his own skating cautiously along the edge of the rink, bravely letting go a hand here, lifting a foot there. All the while, RR#2 watched him circle the rink dreaming of the days when he would be old enough to skate with careless abandon, breeze blowing gently in his face, not a care in the world. At least that’s what I told myself…cos the truth is that most likely RR#2 was staring at RR#1, just willing him to come close enough so he could “set” foot, trip him and wipe the look of pure unadulterated joy off his face (how dare he revel!). And I…well, let’s just say sister-girl still got it, yup. I was a bit shaky at first but then it just came back and off I went rolling into the sunset (well, more like neon lights but you know what I mean). It was so much fun to be out there. Dear hubby totally wants us to start going so he can learn too (which worries me cos…ehem… hubby is not the most coordinated or flexible person on earth). We’ll see though…

Finished up at the roller skating rink around 4:00 and headed out to a picnic being hosted by some of our friends. Ok, can you say "food"? The Plan was out the window without further ado. I chowed on everything from moi-moi, dodo and puff-puff (sorry, you either get it or you don't) to ribs, fried catfish and and bbq chicken. Throw in some macaroni salad, watermelon and corn on the cob and well...you see where this was heading right? By the end of the picnic, I was sated and unremorseful (well at least I stuck to Diet Cokes!). We somehow stumbled into the house around 8ish, gave the RRs a bath and called it a day. Whew!

Sunday, we went to a friends 40th bday party. Just a nice cozy “come-chop” (“come and eat” for my non Naija aficiando’s). The food was dee-lish and of course I ate way too much. The kids frolicked in the pool and it was all round just a really pleasant day to spend a Sunday afternoon (and RR#2 dove face first into the cake, it was hilarious). Towards evening, I broke out my oldies but goodies CD with everything from “Casanova” to “La Isla Bonita” to “Candy” and it was on! We didn’t leave until past 9:00 pm which was not the plan but what can I say..a good time’s a good time. There was one guest who was trying to make me lose my place in the "Good Book", you know the kind who's slightly louder and more obnoxious than the rest (and that's saying something coming from me...lol) but I dusted my shoulder off and let her have her moment (poor thing). Besides my friends are way, super cool and I was not about to bring it all up in their house.

So anyway...all round it was a fun-filled (for the most part), albeit exhausting weekend. Should tide me over for a while...ta.

Plan Update

For those of you that are obsessed with body image as much as I am (and I know there's tons of you out there), thought I'd give you a little update on how The Plan is going.

So I mentioned a while back that I was gonna try out The Plan and I gotta say, it's not that bad. I'm about halfway to my goal and more importantly, I'm not bored or fed up. I swear, you watch all those ads on TV and read all those articles and it just all seems so unreal but...i think there may be something there. And I've cheated too (I always do, I'm such a foodie) but I'm still seeing results. I have this favorite pair of jeans that I loooove and now I have to wear a belt to keep them up (yeah...i think). And it's amazing how much (and badly) I was eating before. I guess the trick will be keeping up the good habits I've learned once I stop The Plan (cos it is breaking a sisters bank!).

Anyway, I plan to debut The Body, October 1. I can't wait to take the after pictures. I'll be in a teeny weeny bikini so I don't know if I'll post them (maybe, if they're really, really hot!).

A hummana-hawmana-ing

Ok, it's been waaayy too long since I posted here but that's because nothing of particular importance has really happened in the last couple of weeks. I mean yeah, there's been a little bit of this and a little bit of that but nothing that really "pops", know what I mean? So instead of boring you with embellished anecdotes, or "a-hummana-hawmana-ing" (to borrow a phrase from my best friend Wendy Williams) about droll everyday occurrences, I have decided to hold my peace. But don't worry when I give it up (I've never been able to hold out for too long, guess I'm just easy like that, lol)...it'll be oh-so-delish, I promise!

Yours in Divahood...(I'm trying out some signature sign outs, let me know which ones you like).