It's a good thing for Delmon she had to work today!

My friend was rather annoyed with having to work today. Independence Day Observed...just not at her workplace. Take a look at the "to-do" list she emailed me this morning. Do you think her employer could have spared her today?

Monday To-Do List:

1. Vote 10 times for Delmon as the Final All-Star...check
2. Order bras from onehanesplace.com...check
3. Vote 10 times for Delmon as the Final All-Star...check
4. Order new printer cartridges from amazon.com...check
5. Read the news on the Irish Central...check
6. Take the long way to the bathroom...check
7. Vote 10 times for Delmon as the Final All-Star...check
8. Look for interesting jobs on the MN Council of Non-profits job board...check
9. Vote 10 times for Delmon as the Final All-Star...check
10. Eat mid-morning snack of blueberry Kelloggs fruit crisps...check
11. Pretend to be interested in stories about Duane's weekend...check
12. Vote 10 times for Delmon as the Final All-Star...check
13. Talk to Roxie about gross bug in the bathroom...check
14. Re-fill water bottle...check
15. Take long way to bathroom - again (see #14)...check Ma
16. Talk with Louise about how much the heat sucks...check
17. Gaze longingly out the window...check
18. Vote 10 times for Delmon as the Final All-Star...check
19. Take vitamin D...check
20. Vote 10 times for Delmon as the Final All-Star...check

She was pretty busy; all this was accomplished by 10:00am!

Made me chuckle.

Annoyed

Over the weekend I found myself beginning far too many sentences with, "You know, I am really getting sick of..."

Fill in the blank with any of the following:

a) BP
b) Summer weather
c) Politics
d) Twins manager Ron Gardenhire
e) Foodies
f) Craft beers and people who talk about craft beers (mainly I am sick of this because it bothers Regan)

Someone I will never be sick of:

My awesome niece, relaxing in the glow of birthday magic...in her inflatable pool...in the living room. She is

checking out the photos she had snapped on her new camera (b-day present from me and Regan), sporting her pink tiered princess skirt (another present from us), and ignoring her little sister sitting next to her in the pool.

Maybe I need to get one of those inflatable pools?

III

My niece turned three-years-old yesterday. Difficult to get my head around that stat. She has always been awesome, and just when I think she could not possible get any cooler, cuter, funnier, smarter, sassier, or sillier, she surprises me. How lucky I am!

I am so excited for her party this afternoon. Regan and I picked out some killer presents. Shhhh...can't say what they are. What if Maryn reads this? She is really advanced...

That was then: three years ago

Lame

When I returned from Ireland last October I said I would write all about our adventures. I set out, with the best of intentions, to recount our three weeks in Ireland. And per usual, I didn't even make it past the second day. Pretty lame.

You can read about some of the fun we had with our McCormack relatives here. This is one of my favorite snap shots from the trip. The two Jimmys outside the old cottage where my great-grandfather was born. We laughed a lot with the McCormacks. I will try to share a few stories if I can manage to post to this blog. Like I said, pretty lame.

photo taken by Regan McCormack, 2009.

Menards: the source for hard-to-find DVDs?

Not only can you save big money, but you might just stumble upon the most inspirational and entertaining piece of television ever created. I am talking about The First Olympics: 1896, a mini-series (1984) tracing the establishment of the first modern Olympic games held in 1896. I loved this mini-series when it first aired (I believe it was at the time of the 1984 Summer Olympics in LA) and practically wore out the VHS tape I made over the next couple of years.

The fabulous cast is led by a very yound David Caruso (NYPD Blue, CSI:Miami) and Hunt Block (he has showed up on a couple soaps over the years). And Dr. Winchester from M*A*S*H, Angela Lansbury, Louis Jourdan, some cute Greeks.

Part Chariots of Fire, part Mighty Ducks, the story primarily follows the fledgling team of Ivy League college students as they train for these "new" games and then make their way to Athens. Threads of love, betrayal, and class/ethnic conflict spice up the plot.

Tiffany Devoy, are you out there? Remember our re-enactment of the train scene on our way to Chicago senior year?