Creosote is the Enemy

Never heard of creosote? Neither had I...until yesterday. Mike has a wood burning stove in the basement. It is his baby and he loves it. Mike's Mom said he has always had a love of the fire. So, we just started to burn it 24/7 on Sunday. It is supposed to help heat the house. Well, I was bringing some wood in from the stack in the backyard yesterday and I noticed a black substance on the chimney. Upon further inspection, there was a ton of this stuff weeping out of the mortar and running down the chimney. Come to find out, this is probably creosote. It is a by product of a wood burning fireplace or stove. However, this product should not be able to seep out of your chimney out onto your brick. It should be contained in the flue liner of the chimney.

Needless to say, we called the builder and of course he'd never heard of such a thing. He called the brick mason and of course there is no way under the sun that this could be happening. Mike's parents made an emergency visit to the house to check it out and they too had never seen such a thing before. Great! Well, this must be fixed. The builder is to come by and look at it today. In the meantime, there will be no more using of Mike's beloved wood stove until this issue is resolved.

This is what our chimney looks like:

Baby Shower #2

Today we had a baby shower for my sister Susan. She is due in January. She is expecting a baby girl, Samantha. Her best friend since forever, Lezlie, hosted the shower. She, Kathy, and I planned the shower. We played some shower games (one went well, the other, not so well) and had some good food. I thought her cake was adorable. It looked like her invitation. She got lots of good gifts that should be put to good use soon. Kathy brought Virginia, her two month old baby girl, and she was a perfect angel. It was fun and that should be the last baby shower for a long time!!

Three hot mamas!!! Or, two hot mamas and one hot aunt!! BTW, Kathy looks great so soon after having Virginia.

Diaper cake and real cake - both adorable!!!

Susan and her BFF, Lezlie.

The real star of the shower, Virginia!! She's tired after all that entertaining!!

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

I wish I had my camera now to show you what I am wearing to work today. First of all, I'm not really sure if I match. I'm wearing a sweater and skirt combo for the first time today. The sweater I usually wear with this skirt has now been switched to being worn with a pair of pants. So, I'm trying this one out with this skirt, but I'm not so sure that it actually matches. Secondly, I'm wearing some God-awful pantyhose. I thought my good pair had a run in them, and sure enough, they did. So, I had to break out a pair of hose that I don't even remember buying. And if I bought them on purpose, what was I thinking!! They have a design on them. Yes, that's right, a design. There is some raised stitching in a crisscross pattern, so I have lots of little squares on my hose. But heck, it was either that or no hose at all.

Then, Mike pulled the Tahoe out of the garage yesterday and didn't pull it back in (thanks bunches!). So, this morning there was frost on the windshield and I just couldn't wait for it to defrost. So, I'm driving through the neighborhood with my head sticking out of the window, like a dog, so I can see where I'm going. Luckily, just as my nose was about to freeze off, a nice spot started to defrost right above the steering wheel. So, I closed the window and hunkered down low to see. Don't judge...you've all done it!!!

This is an Outrage!!

No sooner did I blog about my love for the best new show on TV (My Own Worst Enemy) do I read on CNN today that the show is likely to get the ax mid season!!! This is completely insane!!! I have already emailed NBC and demanded that the show be saved. I would suggest that we all start an email campaign to voice our support for this obviously under appreciated show. Are you with me people?!?!?!? I know that given my vast reading audience, we can get our goal accomplished!!!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to pick up the pieces of my broken heart.

It's Not Just Because...

It's not just because I have had a life long crush on him. It really is an awesome show. My Own Worst Enemy is fan-flipping-tastic!! It stars the ever handsome and talented Christian Slater. Ah, Christian Slater. We go way back. It all started with Gleaming the Cube. A movie that is so well respected and such a masterful piece of work, that even Netflix doesn't offer it (I checked). He was such a debonair and heroic skateboarder back then!!

But I digress. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered that he would be on network TV (NBC, Mondays at 10pm). I can now visit with my favorite hottie weekly! This show is addictive. That says a lot coming from me because I am not one to get easily addicted to any TV show, just ask Mike!! (typed with much sarcasm). My dang DVR has not been cooperating lately and it has not taped the last two episodes. Thank goodness for the internet age. I've been able to catch the episodes I've missed on the internet. I just started watching the latest one on the web this morning at work (sshh!!). My excitement over the latest turn of events on the show led me to share my latest addiction with my reading audience.

Since I haven't been able to watch the two latest shows on the TV, I've lost my viewing partner. Mike refuses to watch TV shows on the internet...he's not as technologically savvy as me! So, please, someone help me out here. If you haven't been watching, please watch the episodes online. We're only up to #4. It is a continuing story, so you must watch all 4. Believe me, you will not be disappointed!!!

A Fate Worse Than Death

This morning was utter chaos!! First, I put my sweater on this morning and it had a huge hole on the shoulder. Weird! I was running late and had to get gas, of course. Then, 77 south was backed up at Exit 36 and it was already 6:50. I have to be at work by 7am. Oh well, no one's there by 7am anyway, no one will know if I'm late. Then, the hammer drops...Mike calls and I have both sets of car keys to the Lexus. Now, to the uninformed reader, one may think this is solely my fault. While yes, I do take partial blame, Mike needs to shoulder some of the blame too. The Lexus has one of those smart keys. You don't have to get it out of your purse, it senses the key and unlocks the door and you can start the motor without inserting the key. Well, the battery in Mike's remote is dead...sorry, has been dead for at least a month. Therefore, we have to switch keys out whenever we need to drive the Lexus. Well, I drove it yesterday and forgot to put his keys back. So, I say it's partly his fault.

So, at 6:50, I have to turn around and head back to Troutman. Here's where the 'Fate Worse Than Death' part comes in...I had to drive 77S with all the other mindless losers trying to get to work by 8am. It was bumper to bumper traffic from Exit 28 all the way to work (Exit 10). I seriously contemplated ramming my car into the truck in front of me and ending it all. I would be even less stable if I had to do that everyday. You can't pick a fast lane. You get in the left lane, the right lane is faster and visa versa. It must be the devil at work!!! Now, lucky me, since I got here late, I have to stay until 5pm and experience torture even Jack Bauer couldn't endure twice in one day!!!!

Election Day

Today's the big day. Today we find out who our next president will be. As Dan Ramirez (Charlotte City Council Member) told me at the Edifice Fall Festival, "Vote early and vote often!" If you're unsure of who to vote for, I have a few suggestions: