havocandmayhem.com

It's summer. The kids are outside in the pool, playing with the hose & running around the yard. I have to be with them & my laptop has a high gloss screen, making it impossible to use outside due to glare. Also, it's thunderstorm season, usually in the early evening, which means no computer use during them. So I will be catching up on my reading during this enforced lack of computer time. I am planning on rereading all 10 SPQR books, all 18 Didius Falco books I own and several dozen library books as well. I'm also experimenting with bread recipes that don't involve a bread machine. Mine broke & I'd rather put the $100 for a new one toward a Kitchen Aid 6 quart Professional stand mixer to replace the 4.5 quart Heavy Duty model we currently own. And maybe I'll get a bit of scrapping in when I can use the computer. See you in July!

Scary Movies - hate them. They don't give me nightmares but they keep me from sleeping. Amusement Parks - love them. I love riding rides, though most give me motion sickness now. I even love the rides at fairs Valentines Day - I'm neutral. I love an excuse to eat chocolate but no one needs to get me anything working out - I've learned to love it. After 2 years of regular workouts I really miss it when I gon't go tattoos - love most of them. Not to fond of the death & destruction themed ones, but I love the art in general. I have 4 and I am seriously freaked out about needles. The difference about tattoos is, they are not an injection, and you don't have this big syringe coming at you. The needles are encased in a machine, you don't see them. They scratch you, not stick into you like a shot does. It burns more than hurts. guacamole - love it. Homemade is best, that way I can control the onions (I don't like onions much) Hillary Clinton

There is a new coffee shop in town! Called Raven something or other on Davis. Odd. For a long time there was no place to get coffee. I've lived here 12 years and for about 7 of them there were no coffee places. Then there was a short lived one. Then there was the drive up Gusta Vita & the Cameron Street one for awhile. Then Cameron closed. Then, not 1 but 2! Starbucks opened. One in Target and one across the street from it, with a drive thru. And there is one opening in the little plaza at the 3 & 15 intersection and I believe there is one somewhere on Main as well. And now this one Davis. Plus a tea shoppe. Proof positive of the spectacular growth of this county, assuming the vast new housing tracts were not enough to convince anyone. I'm almost afraid to write about this because I always jinx it, but .... today and yesterday Mayhem not only pooped in the potty, he told me himself that he needed to go and did not ask for a diaper but just that I come sit with him in th

Q1: If you could vacation anywhere in the world where would you go and why? I'd go back to England. There were so many things we wanted to do & see while we were there on our honeymoon and we lacked the time & money to do them all. Q2: What cartoons do you absolutely detest & refuse to allow anyone to watch {be it child, spouse- haha, nieces/nephews.. etc just plain don’t want it viewed on your television)? Sponge Bob. i think he is obnoxious & the boys don't need his example Q3: You just woke up, you’re a mess, haven’t showered, there are dishes in the sink.. There’s a knock at the door, what do you do? Depends on what room I am in & where the boy are. we have French doors. Anyone outside can see in them to the kitchen. If I am alone & in the living room or bedroom I'll just peek out the curtains & see who it is, answering or not depending on that. If the boys are home or I am in the kitchen, then the person is basically looking right at me.

My longtime readers (all 2 of you) will know that I am a major Douglas Adams fan, can pretty much recite the books (thanks to listening to them on audio so many times) and never pass up a chance to work a reference to them into everything I write. I know because I am an American, there are bits & pieces of things I still don't catch in them; references to things that I am simply not going to catch because of my nationality & my age. So I am always pleased when i find one. In his book "The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul", Kate visits a mental hospital called The Woodshead, while looking for Thor. There is a line in there, that when I read it, means nothing, but I've always thought it was given some emphasis on the audio version. Given that Douglas Adams himself is the narrator, I've long suspected I was missing something. The line is "I don't want to see anything along the 'Something Nasty in the Woodshead' business, being repeated"

What books and/or magazines did I read this month? I read Victorian London by Liza Picard, Courtesans (can't recall the author) and the Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain. I reread Cooking for Mister Latte, Marriage with My Kingdom and several Agatha Christie mysteries. I also listened to seveal audiobooks including The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette, Heat and The Well of Lost Plots. What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month? Various things. I don't watch much network stuff. I'm sick of crime drama and prefer my reality TV to focus on home improvement. I like "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel (but it is in reruns until July), and I've been hooked on "Robin Hood" on BBC America. I watch Mythbusters & Dirty Jobs as well. What special days did I celebrate and how? The 15th was my mom's birthday. We called her & the boys wished her a happy birthday. What gifts did I give and/or receive? None given or received What illnesse