My thoughts exactly

Today, the US Treasury released a new $1 bill.

Here's what it looks like:

Thanks to a co-worker for the laugh.

And I thought our water bill was bad...

From the don't-worry-your-life-could-be-worse department, read this article about the poor guy who got stuck with a $9700 water bill.

AND they made him pay it!

Top dog

Our friends Linda and Brian have the "top dog" in Kansas City, at least according to people who read the Kansas City Star.

Hundreds of dogs were nominated, but Truman won!

I think his name alone got him some votes. I mean, how can you not vote for a dog named after the only President ever to come from your state? It's practically treason!

Home on the range

As a part of the decision to stay in our house another 3-5 years, we're buying new kitchen appliances. Chad wanted to go stainless steel. I was just excited about the idea of having a fridge whose doors actually shut, a dishwasher with all of its pieces and a range where all four burners worked evenly.

It's not as easy as I thought to just "pick out" appliances, especially for those of us with Type-A personalities. On top of trying to find the best prices, factoring in things like delivery charges, and wanting to make sure we got a product with good reviews--both from the experts and from people who have purchased them--we have spent a ridiculous amount of time at Sears, Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Best Buy. I might even be missing a few places.

Chad finally threatened that if we hadn't made a decision by Columbus Day weekend that he was going to go out and buy them without me. (My first reaction to this was total relief.)

The process was incredibly overwhelming, made more disheartening by the fact that we were working within a really small space for the fridge. (It took me hours to settle on a french door model, which I loved, that ended up being too deep. So it was back to square one.) My disappointment over having to settle with a top-level freezer was offset a little bit when we found one with a built-in water dispenser and filter.

If you ever wondered who on earth those people are who spend tons of money online on items they haven't even seen, look no further. We ended up ordering a fridge and a dishwasher over the internet tonight for about half the price we were planning to spend in the store. (As a bonus, shipping was free and there was no tax!) If this works out, it could be the deal of the century.

We do still need to make a decision on a range, but that's a decision for another day. Tonight, I'm just happy we've settled on two out of three.

Sudsy Saturday

They say you're not supposed to bathe a Lab more than twice a year (something about the natural oils in their coat), but after an hour at the dog park with Chad, Lucy was covered in sand and smelled like river water. It had been a few months, and it was time.

For as much as she loves water, Lucy hates being sprayed with it. So here's a glimpse of Lucy's afternoon bath:

Sudsing

SprayingShaking Drying (whew!)

After Lucy gets a bath, she doesn't look much like a Lab. (She gets super puffy for awhile.) But now she's back to her regular self. Just better smelling.

My new favorite words

I've gotten tired of using the same old words when I say things, so I decided it was time to branch out.

Here is a list of the top five words I have been using most often, just because they're more fun to say than their standard, more common synonyms. Try them on for size in conversation:

• provocative: This is the #1 word I have been using, usually in a good way. "I really liked the ending of that book because it was so provocative."
  
• spry: How better to describe Cloris Leachman on Dancing With the Stars?
  
• irritated: Because it's much more meaningful than saying you're angry or upset
  
• perplexed: "Confused" means I'm not sure, but "perplexed" means I just can't decide...
  
• orchestrate: The verb, ie: "That was quite a surprise party you orchestrated last week."

'Tis the season to be...jolly?

We announced our forecast today, so it's officially the holiday season for me. I'm not going to lie, it looks pretty rough from a spending standpoint.

My life has been so consumed by this for the last 48 hours that I literally cannot think of anything else to talk about. All I keep thinking about, as I sit here eating my favorite meal, is that in three months, this chaos will be behind us and we'll be home for Christmas. Feliz Navidad, folks.