Flea Market Fun and the box of mystery!

Saturday was a glorious day here in Heidelberg, and happily there was a flea market at the Messeplatz. Huzzah! There is usually a flea market twice a month and if there's good weather, the vendors are out in full force and bargains abound. Oh, yes, this is my idea of fun. I've shown you flea market photos before so I didn't bother to take my camera.  I was shopping!  There was so much stuff!  One of the things I love about this flea market is that some vendors are there every month rain or shine (which is handy if you've done business with them and like them) , but most vendors are new every time with a hodge podge of stuff.  Oh, the possibilities!   I was on the lookout for some tansferware (because I love it, and it's crazy expensive in the States, but over here, it's everywhere) and boy did I find it.
My favorite kinds of vendors are not those who are professional flea marketers.  You know the kind, they have big wagons or RV's and display their goods in an organized manner.  They also price their stuff pretty high and are less willing to really bargain.  Yes, they make it easy to find things and everything is all pretty and clean, but they're not a lot of fun if you're looking for bargains.  One vendor was loaded with transferware and had full sets.  Oh, how I drooled.  A lot.  He had an entire set of Villeroy and Bosch transferware that was gorgeous and included place settings for 6, about 8 serving pieces, a complete coffee and complete tea service set, all in the same pattern.  Believe me, I wanted it.  He, however wanted 250 Euro for the set.  I have to say this is actually a great deal (one 5 piece place setting retails on Replacements Ltd. for $119), but not what I was willing to spend at a flea market, especially since I've picked up pieces for as little as 2-3 Euro each.  Still, I walked past his booth about 10 times and stopped to admire his transferware so many times it was almost embarrassing. This was also a HUGE mistake if you are looking for a bargain.  If you show too much interest, they're not as willing to bargain.  I knew he wasn't willing to come down, so I didn't care. It was pretty and I wanted to look at it.  Looking is free.
Now the people who just have stuff randomly set up on tables and boxes and boxes of stuff haphazardly placed, these are my people.  They generally don't make a living off flea markets and are just out there selling boxes of  extra stuff they've picked up, inherited or  purchased at other flea markets.  They're out to make a few Euro and are really willing to haggle.  They'd rather sell their stuff than lug it back home and will take what they can get.  Oh, yes, these are my people!
I ran across one vendor who had many random boxes, so unopened that held goodness knows what.  He had a box of transferware that I thought had potential.  He wasn't very busy, which is good because that means they're usually more willing to bargain.  I wasn't really interested in all the pieces but did like the cups and saucers.  I picked up a piece or two to check their condition (near perfect!) and then walked away.   It was pretty, but if I don't absolutely love it, I like to keep looking.  If I don't find something I like even better, I'll go back and if the item is still available, I'll give it another thought.  I wandered around for about an hour and didn't find anything else in my price range (cheap) that I loved so I went back to box man.  Happily the box was still available and I asked how much for the whole box.  I didn't really want them all, but I figured, why not?  Box man gave me a price that was reasonable, but this wasn't my first picnic (or flea market as the case may be) and I know better than to agree to the first price.  I stood there with my best P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-poker face (thanks to Lady Gaga I can never hear or say that phrase without thinking of the song) looking like I was thinking about it, hoping he'd come down a few Euro.  Before I could say anything though he gave me another price that was less than HALF the original price.  I sputtered for a second and repeated the price.  The sun was beating down pretty hard and I could have been having a heat stroke and become delirious all of a sudden (plus there's the whole language thing-German numbers are weird).  Surely I had heard him wrong.  He repeated the price back to me (apparently I wasn't delirious) and THEN he offered me a second box that was closed for an additional few Euro.  He pulled a few pieces out to show me and said the rest was all similar.  I asked him if he was sure (maybe he was having a heat stroke) and he agreed.  I practically threw the money at him, scooped up the first box (I couldn't carry them both), assured him I'd be right back for the second and ran for my car.  I cam back as quickly as possible to scoop up the second box before he changed his mind.  He had a vintage apron in his hand that he offered to me as a Geschenk (free gift).  He packed it on top of the box of mystery and handed it to me.  I felt people staring at me as I ran for my car again, but that could have been because I might have been giggling like a crazy person.  I can't be sure of this though.  I won't tell you what I paid because it's almost embarrassingly low.
I hopped in my car and drove home wondering what was in my box of mystery.  I convinced James Bond to go downstairs and lug the heavy boxes up for me, so we could see what was inside.
Here is a photo of the box I wanted originally:

It contains 12 cups and saucers a sugar and creamer (all of the same pattern), plus 5 plates and 2 bowls (the blue) of varying patterns (including a matching plate to a few other pieces I've picked up along the way) and a few extra saucers of a different pink pattern.  Isn't that awesome???  But wait, there's more.

The box of mystery:

James Bond really liked the little...thing on the side.  I don't know why.  What he's saying roughly translates to "Your moving specialists" or something like that.

When we opened the box, we were stunned.  STUNNED!  I could NOT believe what was in there.  Can you believe this????

And they're all the same pattern!!!! There are 6 dinner plates, 5 soup/salad bowls, 2 serving bowls, a gravy boat with attached plate, a covered serving bowl and a 12" oval platter!  James Bond and I stared at each other for a few minutes before he congratulated me on my super score.  I actually felt guilty.  I wanted to go back and give Box Man more money, but the flea market was over by then.  This is a closeup of the platter:

It is made by Wedgewood (!!!) and the pattern is called Woodland.  One dinner plate costs more than what I paid for both boxes.  I love flea markets!!! 

Oh, wait, and here's the Geschenk:

Isn't that cute?  It's black and cream and he just threw it in the box!  For FREE! 

Letter from the President (of the US)

Good Monday to you all! I hope you had a lovely weekend. We did. It was lazy, just the way we like them.
You may remember a while back when Indy was indignant about what he saw on Oprah's Earth Day show and decided to write the President a letter.  We sent the letter off around the beginning of May and didn't think much about it.  He felt good for having done something and that made me happy.  Around the middle of July, we went to the post office to pick up our mail and had a package slip.  We went to the counter and our package was a a large envelope with Indy's name on it.  I looked at the return address and it was from The White House!  Indy flipped out and insisted we open it right there.  The post office wasn't busy and the workers gathered around (Indy announced loudly that he had a package from the President) to see what was inside.  There were several things, but chief among them was a letter from the President himself.  Indy was overjoyed and insisted I read it aloud.  If you click the image below you can see his response.  I'm sure someone else wrote it, but it is signed in ink, not with a stamp.

Also included were a map of the White House with all kinds of information on it and on the back, a FAQ on what it's like to be President.  Indy found all that very interesting.  There was also a signed photo of Obama (again, ink, not a stamp).

But the most fascinating thing (according to Indy) was a photo of Bo Obama, the President's dog.  Oh, happy day!  Indy loves dogs and finds Bo (or Bobama as we like to call him) very interesting.  On the back of the photo is all sorts of information about Bo including his favorite food: tomatoes.  Who knew?

Needless to say, this was all a very big deal to Indy.  And to us too, what parent wouldn't be proud?  Indy thinks he's the luckiest kid in the world (this might be true)because not only is he friends with a 4 star General (who happens to know Obama), but he's also friends with the President.  I think my boy is going places. 

RTT: Building Legos in my dreams

I NEED YOU TUESDAY!  THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE HERE!!!!!!  Sorry for yelling, but really, I need a brain drain.

 *As a girl, I never had Legos.  Indy got a million for his birthday, but doesn't want to actually put them together.  I've spent countless hours since Sunday putting together Star Wars and Indiana Jones Lego sets.  It's an awful lot of work to have to put the toy together before actually getting to play with it.  I'm not seeing the appeal. Plus, if you put something in the wrong place, it's a beeyotch to get it back off.

*I dreamed about Legos the other night.  I think it was a nightmare. 

*Why are 2 of the judges on America's Got Talent from Britain? Shouldn't they all be American? Also, shouldn't the contestants be required to be American? They have people who flew in from all over the world to audition. It's not World's Got Talent, it's America's Got Talent. I'm just sayin.

*I don't think I have a talent.  How depressing.  Oh, wait, there is my stellar wit.  Piers would get that.

*In addition to the Lego dreams, I had a dream that a former high school boyfriend of mine decided women were too complicated so he was going to start dating men.  Weird.  Of course 2 of my former boyfriends are now gay, so, I guess it's not that weird that my brain would cook that up, huh?

*I wonder if I am just a gay magnet?  I don't think James Bond would appreciate that thought.

*Why is it that nothing in our community opens before 10am?  Seriously, it's very annoying.  If you want to get something done early, forget it, because nothing can be done (except shop at the commissary) before 10am.  WHY?  Half the things on post have hours that are 10am-4pm.  That's ridiculous.  I dropped Indy off at camp at 9 and had to wait an hour to do any of the things I needed to.  Even the library wasn't open until 10.  I ran to the commissary to pick up a few things but because I had to wait until 10 for my other errands, my whole schedule was thrown off and I am very annoyed.

*I had to get some VAT forms today (Value Added Tax that we don't have to pay if we have a form-tax is 19%) and the VAT office didn't open until 10am. Of course.  I went to the library to drop off and pick up books (after it opened) and then to the VAT office.  I swear half the Polish Army was in line ahead of me.  I guess they don't have to pay German tax either.  The only worker at the VAT office is incredibly slow (painfully slow).  The Polish Army was getting the maximum number of VAT forms you can get at 1 time (10 per person).  The VAT forms are in several pieces that print off and have to be torn apart (they are printed on those pages with the holes down the side that are all attached) and then both sets of the form have to be stapled together.  It's a lengthy process.  The fact that there were so many in front people in front of me and that the lady who worked there was not only painfully slow, but more interested in talking about the brauhaus (brewery) she'd been to this weekend with a coworker made me want to start throwing things and go into an Incredible Hulk type rage.  I refrained though because I didn't want to ruin my shoes and finally get my forms so I can go to IKEA and buy James Bond a new dresser.

*Oh, I finally got to watch Remember Me!  Indy walked in and asked if I was watching Twilight.  Um no, it's just that RPattz is in Remember Me (and no, that's NOT why I watched it *coughcough*).  It's good and I did NOT see where it was going.  I was so shocked I actually gasped.  Out loud.  This is a really good movie, but it's not a feel good kind of film.  Still, very good.  Rent it. 

*Finally, today we have a toofer (twofor?) because they both deal with weight. 

It reads: Need to lose a little weight before your wedding?  Nice, pick on the stressed out brides.  Way to go SlimFast.  Maybe if they went here, they wouldn't have a problem:

How could you not like this gym?  They have a sense of humor.


I hope you all have a lovely and random Tuesday and that if you must run errands, you don't find yourself behind half the Polish Army, contemplating violence.

Yarrrrr! It be a pirate party!!

Ahoy there, me hearties! I mean, hello my lovely readers. I'm afraid my brain is still stuck in pirate mode. Yesterday we had Indy's 8th birthday and it were a piratin' we be was an awesome pirate bash. Indy started planning this the day before last years party.  He knew he wanted pirates and after the huge success of the Indiana Jones party, I knew expectation were high and I'd better do it right.  No pressure.  It rained for almost a week leading up to the party and I was freaking out slightly worried, but the day before the big party, the rain stopped and the sun started shining.  Whew!  I had a lot of prep work to do, but the super-duper awesome Hoosier Mom (seriously, loving you HM) did me a big solid-yo) by baking the cake for me. She baked and stacked it and covered it with fondant and the night before the party, we went to her house and ate Chinese, played a game called Yuker (which I still don't understand, but had enough beginners luck that JAG and I didn't do too bad-we played HM and James Bond), drank a lot of wine and stayed way too late considering we had a party the next day.  Oh, and we worked on the cake.  Silly me!  That's why we went over there.  James Bond drew the map on the cakes and I painted them on with food coloring.  It didn't take that long, and I think the results are awesome.  I owe HM big time.

The day of the party dawned clear and sunny and James Bond and I got to work.  We had games to set up, a party room to decorate, food to cook and a shark to carve.  Oh, that's right, James Bond was at it again with the watermelon carving.  Remember the watermelon brains for the Indiana Jones party?  Yeah, well, this year I saw a watermelon shark online and HAD to have it.  Had. To. Have. It.  I knew James Bond could do it.  It took him about an hour.

The kids started arriving and excitement was in the air.  We broke the kids up into 2 crews, headed by first mate, Indy and second mate, Mona Lisa.  The teams competed against each other for a bag of chocolate dabloons to be divided among the crew.  The losing team also got a piece of pirate chocolate each, but man they wanted those dabloons.  They also earned pirate gear with each game.  The first was "boarding."  They learned that while some pirates swung from one ship to another when attacking, others used planks to get across.  They had to cross a plank blind folded from one platform to another and not fall in or be eaten by sharks.  I stood in the middle of the blue tarp, proving that I really can do anything, including walking on water.  In heels.  ;)  They all received pirate bandannas and waist scarves for this feat.

 Me helping one of our little pirates

The second game was called "Swab the Deck."  They had to push a ping pong ball with a broom from the start to finish line and then hand the broom off to the next teammate.  This was hard, but loads of fun.  For this they earned a pirate earring.
The third game was the noisiest and by far everyone's favorite.  Well, maybe not the neighbors, but whatevs.  We tied a balloon to everyone's ankles (2 balloons per pirate) and the object was to pop the others while not getting your balloons popped.  Once both balloons were popped, they were out and had to go sit on the sidelines and cheer on their teammates.  The last person standing with a balloon won for their team.  This game went on far longer than I expected, but everyone loved it (again, except for the neighbors-12 children + balloons tied to them does not = quiet).  After this they received tattoos, eye patches and the most coveted of all: swords!  Hurrah!
While the kids battled each other on the playground for a few minutes, James Bond, the Contessa and I went to get the food.  Our menu consisted of the following:

Octopus (hot dogs cut and boiled)
Seaweed (green pasta with butter, Parmesan cheese and parsley)
Star fish and Hardtack (cheese and crackers)
Shrimp
Jellied Sharks Blood and Guts (red Jell-O with Swedish fish mixed in)
Fruit (to avoid scurvy)
Seaweed Dip and Crispy Shark Fins (spinach dip and blue corn chips)
Dried fish (Goldfish crackers)
Grog (Apple Juice and Sprite mixed together with punch ice cubes for sharks blood)

The kids loved the names of the food and took great joy in eating the "Octopus" and toasting each other with their pirate goblets.

Indy cleaned up in the presents department (mostly from mom and dad and the grand parents) and got loads of pet food donation to take to the local tierheim in memory of Miss Pepper.  You can click the box below to see some great photos.  BTW, James Bond lived up to his secret agent status by somehow avoiding being in a single photo. 

If you click the box below you'll see a lot more photos.

Scrapbook made with Smilebox

I'd like to note that it didn't take me almost a year to post these.  I'm getting better!  I personally don't think it was quite as cool as the IJ party, but Indy still loved it and that's what counts.  He's already got next year's party theme: Star Wars!  May the Force be with me.

Linking to:

RTT: So Random it's Wednesday! And Mr. HH gets a new name! Madness!

I'm going Rogue today. I'm doing an RTT on a Wednesday! That's how I roll.

*I was really busy yesterday, and got almost nothing accomplished.  I hate those kinds of days.

*My house is a complete disaster.  Something should be done about it.  That means I'll probably have to do it.  Crap.

*Indy's party is this weekend and I just don't have the energy.  Of course that means I'll be running around like mad on Friday night trying to get it all together.  Actually, I put the Swag bags (aka goodie bags, but I prefer to call them something a little more high class) together last night, so that's done.  Now, I just have to plan the menu, think how I want to decorate and plan some activities.  No problem.

*The super awesome Hoosier Mom (who has once again been slacking on her blogging) is making the cake for me though, so that's one thing I don't have to worry about.  Yay!  I love you Hoosier Mom!!!!

*Indy and I start school in a week and a half.  Surprisingly, we're both ready.  Sure, it's fun to have time off, but really, we're both kind of bored.  School gives us stuff to do, and since it's fun, we don't dread it.  Yay for learning!  And fun!

*When we were in Stuttgart last week, we were behind this car:

It's the rare German redneck!  They have used packing tape to keep the trunk of their Audi A6 closed.  Wow. 

*Indy is really into Star Wars right now.  He says Indiana Jones is still better, but SW is pretty cool (plus, the same "guy" plays Han Solo, so it's like Indiana Jones is in it).  While we were in the car the other day, we were discussing our favorite SW movie (mine is Return of the Jedi, FYI).

Me:  I like Empire Strikes Back, but it doesn't have enough Han Solo.
Mr. HH:  Well, he is a sidekick, so it makes sense that he's not in it that much.
Me:  Han Solo isn't a sidekick!  He's a main character.
Mr. HH:  No, he's not.  He's a sidekick.
Me:  Chewbaca is a sidekick.
Mr. HH:  He's Han Solo's sidekick. 
Me:  See!  Han Solo isn't a a sidekick because he has one.
Mr. HH:  No, Chewbaca is the sidekick to the sidekick.
Me:  That's ridiculous.  You can't have a sidekick to a sidekick!  Han Solo is a main character.
Mr. HH:  No, he's not.
Me:  He gets the girl!  The side kick never gets the girl!  Ha!  WIN!
Mr. HH:  (sigh)  I guess.
Me:  I need a hobby.
Indy:  I'm your hobby! 
Me:  Oh, no, you're not!
Indy:  Can I be your sidekick?  I don't want a girl.  I can be a sidekick.

*After much, much deliberation, I have decided to give Mr. HH a new blog name.  He really hates being called Mr. HH (somehow it's unmanly).  Indy of course has suggested things like Grumpy and Sleepy (he's a big Disney fan), but while they may be appropriate for certain times (believe me, he CAN be grumpy and he does like to sleep), they just don't fit for every day use.  I finally stumbled upon the perfect name.  Yes, I'm drawing this out.  I've put a lot of thought into this, give me my due.  As you know, Mr. HH is in the Army.  He does....something.  I have a vague idea, but it's all top secret, so we don't talk about it.  I'm not even allowed in the building where he works without surrendering my ID card, my cell phone and/or any other electronic device I may have on me, and being escorted wherever I go.  Since he does all this cool secret military stuff that we're not allowed to talk about, and it has a certain aura of mystery about it, I have decided to christen Mr. HH, James Bond.  That's right, James Bond.  He now thinks he's super cool.  Whatever.  BTW, I'm talking the hot, slightly angry, just this side of right Daniel Craig, James Bond, not the iritable, less than attractive, Timothy Dalton, James Bond.  I'm just sayin.

*And finally, because I'm in that sort of mood (and I appreciate good wit and sarcasm):

I hope you all have a great Tuesday Wednesday.  Hit the button to go read all the other random.

Indy is 8! Legoland is awesome!

Hello my darlings! Have you missed me? I haven't been ignoring you, I've been away. We went down to Stuttgart for a few days for Indy to have dyslexia therapy. I'll discuss that on my homeschool blog in a day or so if you're interested. Since Sunday was Indy's eighth birthday, and we were close by, we surprised him by taking him to Legoland! He was so excited when he saw where we were.  I know he doesn't look excited in some of the photos, but we couldn't find his sunglasses and he said it was too bright to smile.  Huh.

In Miniland they had several German cities built along with some Swiss, Dutch and Italian cities.  It was fascinating.  Things moved and lit up!  Awesome.

In Italy, the little gondolas moved through the water and there were speakers with opera.  I loved it.

Being a soccer (football) mad country, they had one of Germany's largest stadiums in Lego.  Mr. HH shot a very short video of it.






Mr. HH, being a man, spotted this little number.  I wonder how many people do and what the builder was thinking.  Blow it up and take a good look.  Fancy, huh?

There was so much to see!  Of course it wasn't all stuff built our of Legos.  There were rides too!  They weren't built out of Legos though (thank goodness).  We had to talk Indy into getting on the Dragon Coaster.  This is him in with a knight made completely out of Legos.

And then we got on the ride.  Mr. HH filmed it.  You must watch it. It's kind of long, but it's really worth it. Trust me.



Hahahahahaha!

Here we are waiting in line for the Lego Atlantis exhibit.

Lego Atlantis was really cool.  It's a walk through aquarium with Lego divers discovering the city of Atlantis.  There are beautiful fish in the aquarium and we could have stayed for hours just watching them.  Unfortunately we couldn't get any clear photos.  Bummer.

Before we left we stopped to drop some Euros in the shop (of course).  Indy was practically a puddle on the floor.  If you've ever been over to the Captain's blog, you know he and his boys are really (really) into Star Wars and Legos (and bacon, but that's another story).  I saw something that I thought would make his head explode with excitement.

Lego Death Star!  It is HUGE.  I couldn't find how many pieces it has,but it has to be thousands.  I can't even imagine the time it takes to put this thing together.  In case you're wondering, it was 419 Euros.  WOW!  Indy has decided he wants it for Christmas.  Um, yeah.  I'm afraid Santa will have no room for it in his pack.

So, that was my baby's 8th birthday.  We have a big fat pirate party coming up this weekend. Stay tuned for photos from that!

Random Thoughts Tuesday: Swelled Ego and Louis Vuitton

Happy Tuesday!!!!!  Get your random on!


*Why doesn't Tuesday have a song?  Monday has a song.  Tuesday should have a song.  Other than Goodbye Ruby Tuesday, which I don't think counts.  Maybe that's how I'll become rich.  I'll write an awesome song about Tuesday espousing it's virtues and everyone will sing it and be happy that it's Tuesday.  'Cause hey, Tuesday isn't Monday.  Stupid Monday.

*On yesterday's post, blueviolet of A Nut in a Nutshell left a comment telling me that I had an effect on society. While this may be true (who am I kidding? I totally do), I may have gotten a slightly swelled ego about it. I'm not going to say what I did (allegedly) or what I said (allegedly), but when my big fat head couldn't fit through the door, I figured I may have taken things a bit too far (allegedly).

*When we were driving up to Ramstein on Sunday, Indy was bored, so I came up with a super awesome game (I'm thinking about patenting it) where he had to find numbers on signs of license plates starting with 1 and going to 10 in order.  He thought this was super fun (and why wouldn't he?) and it kept him occupied and mostly quiet, with the occasional shouting out of the next number when he found it.  At one point, he was looking for a 7 or 8 and I went around a car (rather quickly) and he complained that he couldn't read the license plate.  Mr. HH said "That's because mom's driving too fast."  Indy, ever quick in defense of his mom (and anxious to get to Johnny Rocket's so he could eat), said "I'm not judging you mom!  Drive!"  I love that boy.

*Does anyone know how many 39 Clues books there are going to be?  Please don't tell me 39.  I might go insane.  I really like the books and I love reading them to Indy, but with all the books we read for school, I don't know if I can read 36 more!  We start book 4 tomorrow.

*Wii Fit is still judging me and I've been working out almost every day.  What the heck?  It's like it's watching me eat chocolate chip cookies.  I'm kind of creeped out by it.

*Dutch walked underneath a tailpipe in the parking lot yesterday and got a big black spot on his back.  I bathed him, but can't get it to come off.

*We just finished watching John Q.  Man, that movie makes me cry.  Denzel Washington!  That man can act!

*I have a ton of laundry that needs to be done, but that means I have to walk down 4 floors.  Ugh.

*I'm watching the Today Show as I type (it comes on at 1pm here-7am EST) and they were once again talking about the oils spill.  The reporter started off with the comment "there's a hole in the bottom of the sea."  Immediately I started singing that song we probably all learned in K or 1st grade:

There's a hole in the bottom of the sea,
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea,
There's a hole, there's a hole,
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea.

There's a log in the hole
In the bottom of the sea,
There's a log in the hole
In the bottom of the sea,
There's a log, there's a log,
There's a log in the hole
In the bottom of the sea.

I don't mean to be flip (especially as almost ALL of my family lives on the Gulf Coast), but maybe BP should have just put a log in the hole (at the bottom of the sea).  My mom is going to kill me for that.  :)

*Did you know that the World Cup (soccer) trophy has a custom made Louis Vuitton carrying case?  That is crazy unfair.  When we were in Monaco we saw a croquet set with a Louis Vuitton case.  This isn't a great photo, but you get the idea:

Can you imagine buying a LV croquet set?  Really?  I'd be embarrassed to have people see it.  And in case you're wondering why I took a photo of a LV croquet set, well, I did it for you .  The moment I saw it, I said to Mr. HH "That has to go on my blog, because people will not believe it."  See, even on holiday I think of you guys. 

*That reminds me.  I need to post more of our cruise.

*Indy is getting his dyslexia therapy at the end of this week.  Cross your fingers that it helps!

*When I first wrote 'dyslexia', I wrote 'dyslixea.'  Maybe I need help too?

*I am soooooooo ready for fall!  It's been hot, which is miserable, but it's the allergies that are killing me.  OMG!  Allergies!

*It's good to know that people aren't the only ones with weird fetishes.  I wish I knew where this was so I could avoid it like the plague:

I hope you all have a lovely Tuesday (remember, it's not Monday!) and hit the crazy button way up at the top to read all the other random things people have going on. 

It's like they read my blog!!!!!

Well, hello! Happy Monday to you. Have a good weekend? We did. We went to a birthday party/cookout on Sat and Sunday we drove up to Ramstein Air Base to do some shopping, eat at Johnny Rocket's and watch Iron Man 2 in an air conditioned theater. The Contessa and I went to see Eclipse in our local theater last week and it has no a/c. It was 93 degrees outside and probably 113 inside. Holy moly!
Anyway, we had delicious, delicious (and oh, so bad for us) food, then went to see Iron Man 2 and it was AWESOME. I {heart} Robert Downey, Jr. Not like I {heart} Johnny Depp (I love you, Johnny! Call me!) and Edward (Yummy), but more in an "he's so funny and awesome and I totally approve of how he's put his life back together way." The movie was funny and very action-y. What? It's a word. Oh, and it had Mickey Rourke in it, who is a slice of fun (with a scoop of weird on the side).  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.  It was a lovely weekend.  

So, onto the title. Did you read my Dishing It: Summer Reading post?  Of course you did.  Why wouldn't you?  Every word I write is like drops of manna from the skies. Or something like that.  Since I know you read it, I'm sure you remember me talking about the Sebastian St. Cyr series and how awesome it was and how, even though the last installment just came out in Nov 09 and I couldn't wait for the next one, even though there was no news as to when it would be coming out.  Right?  Yeah, I know you do.  So this morning I was on Amazon.com (love!) and just happened to click on my recommendations.  I don't check them very often because they are usually filled with Indiana Jones, books or toys, as I buy stuff for Indy at Christmas birthdays from them.  Today though, I thought, hey, let's see what's new.  And guess what I saw????  Guess!  Go on.  That's right!!!!  The new Sebastian St. Cyr novel, Where Shadows Dance is now available for pre-order and will be published Mar 1, 2011!  YES!!!!  It's like CS Harris and Amazon read my blog.  And why wouldn't they?  My words=manna, remember?  Sure, sure, I know it's still 8 months away, but at least now I know when and won't just be sitting here wondering how long I'll have to wait.  Not that I do that or anything.  I'm very busy. 

Dishing It: Summer Reading

The super awesome Amanda (no, I'm not sucking up, it's true) over at Serenity Now is hosting another Dishing It party and this time, I thought I'd join in because I didn't forget.  This party is all about summer reads.  Aside from shoes and Edward and Johnny Depp, there's nothing I love more than reading (oh, except my family, but that's a given).  I read all kinds of things.  Mr. HH swears we'd be ridiculously wealthy if I stopped buying bottled water and books.  First of all, I don't even like to shower in the water we have, so I'm certainly NOT going to drink it.  Ick.  And secondly, I do use the library a lot (a lot, a lot), but it takes forever for them to get some new release books and sometimes, well, I just can't wait,especially if it's part of a series and I've been waiting on it to come out. And third, shut up.

I frequently have 2, 3 or even 4 books going at one time, which for some reason drives Mr. HH crazy (he has issues with my reading, I think) and often read at least 2 books a week.   If I don't read, I feel like I'm doing something wrong.  It feels weird.  I am currently reading the following:


    














Other books I would recommend for summer reading, are:

This book is hilarious and so easy to read as it's all in email/text message format.  It's all about love, insecurity and mistaken identities.













No one throws a hissy fit like this girl.  The lead character is an interior decorator and antiquer.  What could be better?  Light, funny read.














If I had to be on a deserted island with 5 books, this would be one of them.  It's about what happens when a fat girl decided to lose the weight and how she's treated differently.  I love this book.












Okay, I haven't actually read this one yet, but I've read the other 15, so I'm not sure how I could not recommend this one.  If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it.  The series is about a completely incompetent female bounty hunter, exploding cars (lots of them), and two very hunky men that she can't decide between.  Some books also involve a reformed 'ho,' a cross dressing rock star, a psychotic (but lovable dog), the mob,and her pistol packing grandmother.  This is a great series.  Don't miss it.







I loved all three of these books.  I  like series.  These are set in the Victorian era and are mystery/romance.  Don't be fooled by the covers, they are sophisticated books.  Each book has its own story with a secondary storyline that arcs through them all.










   













I love this series.  Love.It.  It's a mystery series set in the Regency era (my personal favorite era for lit, probably thanks to Jane Austen) and very well written.  What I really find interesting though is that the main character is a man, instead of a woman.  A sexy viscount who has a way of finding trouble.  To quote the authors site "Think Mr. Darcy with a James Bond edge." These are smart books.  The author knows her history and weaves it beautifully into the stories.  Each book is a stand alone story with a secondary storyline that arcs through all of them.  The most recent book came out in Nov of 09 and I cannot wait for the next one.  Write Ms. Harris, write!





So, those are my recommendations for summer reading.  I hope you all have time for a few great books this summer.  My TBR pile (several from the library, thakyouverymuch) is HUGE.  Hurrah for books!

RTT: How I keep Mr. HH on his toes.

Oh, happy day! It's Tuesday! Time for weird, random and whatever.



*I get great joy of watching Mr. HH's face when I say "that's going on my blog."

*I told him this was going on my blog. Yesterday, Mr. HH was singing a song to himself, and decided to ask me a question. He was still singing while trying to ask the question and bit his tongue. It was hilarious and weird.

*I can't believe the freaking octopus was right about Spain winning the World Cup. We were so pulling for the Netherlands. Do they capitalize "the" do you think?

*Oh, dear sweet baby Hercules is has been hot here. I mean crazy hot.

*Mr. HH has creepy Skeletor feet. Men feet are weird anyway, but his are, well, Skeletor. By the power of Greyskull!

*Indy's b-day party is in 3 weeks and so far, I've been too hot to even plan. Crikey.

*I never understand why people say they can't wait for summer. It's too hot to do anything or enjoy what you're doing. You will never, ever, ever, hear me say I can't wait for summer. Ever. Bring on fall! Soon, please.

*We're back to school in less than a month. Oy!

*My dogs are getting groomed today. They hate getting groomed. They look so cute afterward though. The house is eerily quiet though. It makes me sad and really miss my Pepper.

*When we driving to the groomers, my car I was insane. Seriously, the noise coming out of two small dogs (4 and 14 pounds) was astounding. I swear, if you couldn't see inside my car, just hear it, you'd think I was transporting 27 dolphins, 15 colicky babies, a dozen hyena and a bear. Indy and I couldn't help but laugh.  It was either that or scream, and I opted to laugh.

*I ran out of "Happy Pills" this weekend.  Mr. HH practically pushed me out the door yesterday morning so I could get to the pharmacy ASAP and refill my script.  Should I be upset about this?  Wait, I took my happy pills, so I really can't.  Darn, I feel like I missed an opportunity there.

*I saw Eclipse online the other day.  Shhhh...I watched a copy someone recorded with a camcorder.  Do I care?  Nope!  It was awesome.  I'm going to see it in the real theater tonight (FINALLY) and I'm ridiculously excited.  I'm just waiting for some pillow biting.  ;)

*One stop shopping:

Have a great Tuesday and head on over to Keely's for all the fun and randomness.

Wii Fit is a judgmental b@st@rd.

Do you own a Wii Fit? We do,and let me tell you, he's a judgmental bastard. I hopped on this morning and was welcomed by "Hello {MIHH}. It's been a while since I've seen you." Yes, I know that. I know I've been lazy. Don't talk down to me. It then weighed me and I step on to hear it go "Oh!" like I weigh a ton. How rude. The little green person rotates and my Mii pops up with my weight and suddenly my Mii gets fatter and turns to look at her behind. The Wii reads "Oh my, you've gained a little weight since last time." It's like having a brutally honest gay friend only he doesn't come with margaritas or offer to do my hair but makes me feel bad instead of telling me that while I may have gained weight I still look fabulous in my heels. Boo Wii Fit! Boo!
Yes, I know I NEED to know this, but I don't need it coming from a board. Why don't they just program it to say something like "Wow! You butt must look really big in your jeans." I'm sure the people at Nintendo think it's great to poke fun at us fat ass Americans but really, the comments from the balance board want to make me run for the fridge, not work out. Way to go, Nintendo. Way to go. Oh, and it doesn't just take pot shots at me. It let me know that it hadn't seem Mr.HH is a while either.

RTT: The World Cup Edition

I have really been off my random game, haven't I? What up MIHH? I don't know, readers. I. Don't. Know.



*I am thoroughly enjoying the World Cup. Really, it's fascinating. I thought Americans were rabid sports fans. We have nothing, nothing, on soccer fans.

*Whoever invented the vuvuzela  horn should be shot.  Or worse, they should have to sit in a room with a group of children who blow the vuvuzela without stopping.  Sweet baby Jesus it's annoying.

*We have a commercial on AFN that talks about how the world cup is not about religion, politics, war, race, age, etc, etc.  Indy said since people get along so well during the World Cup, we should have it all the time.  What a sweetie.

*I'm not sure why soccer isn't popular in the US other than in the under 18 crowd.

*I was on my way home the other day when the Germany v. Argentina game came on.  My radio was on a German station that was broadcasting the game.  I understood about 1 in 8 words (they were talking really, really fast), but I was cracking up listening to the commentators.  They were saying player names as the player had the ball and then got crazy excited when Germany got near the goal end.  It was all "players name, players name, players name, blah, blah,blah {German version of OMG}  OMG, OMG, OMG, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, AHHHHH....Nein (No)."  It was really funny.  Seriously, they were so excited.

*Okay, enough soccer.

*When buying a bed for our guest/school room, Mr. HH wouldn't let me get the bed I wanted.  I informed him the other day that since my mom and step-dad are coming in Dec for a month, he had to figure out where they were going to sleep.

Mr. HH: What? Why?

Me: Well, you wouldn't let me get the bed I wanted, so you have to figure out where they're going to sleep.

Mr. HH: But...

Me: No buts, you figure it out.

Mr. HH: Get the bed you want.

Me: (mentally high fiving myself)

Mr. HH is putting it together right now. I am diabolical.


*I still haven't seen Eclipse! It's not going to play at our theater until the end of this week. Stupid Army Europe theaters. They are keeping me and Edward apart. They are wrong or that. I can't even go the first 2 nights because it will be filled with all the screaming teenage girls who think Edward loves them. Stupid teenage girls.

*RPattz is currently filming the movie version of Like Water for Elephants. I love that book and RPattz as the lead (ironically named Jacob) is perfect. My book club is already planning a trip to the theater just to see RPattz. It's still being filmed! We need help.  If you haven't read the book, you should.
















*Rescue Me is one of my favorite shows.  I've never been a big fan of Dennis Leary before this show.  For some reason though, in this show I find him incredibly hot (no pun intended).

*Indy is in summer camp this week.  At 7:05 this morning he came into my room, fully dressed, teeth brushed and hair combed and woke me up "Mom, it's time to go!  Get up."  Crikey.

*I've rearranged my living room 4 times in the last 9 days.  No, I'm not nesting.  I'm just....unsettled.  When I'm unsettled, I move things around.  It drives Mr. HH crazy.  Okay, that's kind of a bonus.  ;)

*Even the pigeons are overweight:

It's late.  I have to go to bed.  Click the crazy button up there to read all the other randomness.

Red, white and....shoes?

Hello everyone! I hope you had a lovely 4th of July full of bbq, family fun and fireworks. We had all those, but we only heard the fireworks, we didn't actually see them. Oh, well, we've seen them plenty of times. We had a 4th/birthday get together in the basement of our building. TOM (The Other Man) has a b-day coming up in a few days, but has to have surgery before then and wanted to celebrate before he's on pain killers. We had a bunch of people over and loads of food. The kids splashed around in a blow up pool outside and all was well. You know, the usual stuff. We all know about that, let's talk about something else: 4th of July fashion. Sure, sure, you can buy an Old Navy T-shirt with a flag on it (and there were many yesterday) and that's great, or you could just wear something red, white or blue, but what about the shoes? What about the shoes?!?! I know, I know, shoes? Really? Yes, really! You've seen the name of my blog, right?
I was out the other day trying to find closed toed water shoes for Indy to wear at camp next week and happened to come across a pair of shoes that made my heart skip a beat and I knew I had found the perfect footwear for the 4th. Want to see?  Of course you do!

Seriously, how bloody adorable are those?  Could you die from the patrioticness?  Want to know what's funny?  I bought them in a German store!  They also had them in blue and white stripes with red trim, but these made my heart go pitter-patter.  Want to know what else?  They were on SALE!  12 Euros!  That's about $16!  Wheeeeeeeeee!  Of course I can wear them other than on the 4th, but they are just too perfect NOT to wear then.

You can't really see, but my toes got a patriotic makeover too with very cherry nail polish.  See how much I love the USA?  I even paint my nails and buy patriot shoes.  Yes, that's why I bought them.  Exactly.