Two and a half hours of boredom. . . Moving in to new house. Last night I left my "accessories" on in my car as I was programming my built-in garage door opener. It took a long time, and my car's battery died. I called a tow truck for a jump. I was in an empty house for 2 1/2 hours, waiting for a jump. My iPad was dead, my phone's battery was super low, no furniture, and really nothing to do. I felt like I was on vacation in North Korea. Oh! There was a Charlie Brown book to read, but I wasn't really getting into that.

My house/ My new house My wife and I bought a house in 2003. That was the peak of the housing bubble in the USA. We paid WAY too much for an old, broken house. It was very, very hard to live there, and there were constant expensive repairs. It was a nightmare! Six years later, we sold the house and moved out. We lost THOUSANDS of dollars selling that house. :( Since then we have been renting. Townhouse, and an apartment. Last weekend, we found a BEAUTIFUL four-bedroom townhouse. Big enough for my family and dog! Nice yard, big garage, everything I want! I can hardly wait to move! I still need to wait two weeks before we can leave our apartment! Incidentally, my current apartment is very nice. Inexpensive, swimming pool, clean, big, and pretty. But really, my children are getting too big for apartment life. They need room to run!

My pants look ridiculous on me! In December of 2011, I stood on a scale. I weighed 224 pounds! (101 kg) OH MY GOD! In the past year, I have lost more than 35 pounds (16 kilograms.) I have lost weight before, so I am used it it eventually returning. Now I have a problem with my pants. My pants are WAY too big. They look ridiculous on me! And. . . if I buy new ones, I am sure that they will soon be too small for me. Not the worst problem to have, but I really don't want to spend a lot of money on a new set of pants.

The Second Sin of a Poor Chatter. One may often hear, "What's new?"; "What's on your mind?"; "What did you do today?"; or "What's up?" when you're chatting with someone. "Nothing" may be the worst possible answer to this question, yet I get it ALL THE TIME. By saying "nothing," does that mean you don't care enough to tell me? Even life's most boring, insignificant detail is better than "nothing." A: Hey there! What's up? B: Oh. . . I was just in the bathroom, and I noticed I was out of toothpaste. Seems that I need to buy some tomorrow. A: I see. Well, I hope that you had enough for tonight! B: Yes I did. . . But it was close! A: Ha Ha! A: That reminds me, I need to brush MY teeth soon too! . . . and the conversation continues. COMPARED TO: A: Hey there! What's up? B: Nothing. A: Oh. The answer, "nothing," basically says "I hold no stake in this conversation. The flow of our discussion is entirely up to you. Why don't you find someone more interesting than me?"

Age as a topic. It happened today, and it has happened several times in here. Having a chat. I asked (invariably a woman) how old the person is. The reply is that it is "not polite" to ask someone their age. Huh. . . .? I think that rule only applies when you're meeting someone in person. On an online chat, knowing someone's age simply helps to establish common ground. As in: I prefer to chat with people whose age is close to mine. So, the idea: "That's impolite," is really out-of-place in this format.

Sickness/ Colds and Elementary School I am an elementary school teacher. I am in a room with three first graders at this very moment. They are doing a writing assignment. Out of the three students, two of them have cold symptoms. Recently, so many kids are at home, or are being sent home daily. Cold and flu are "going around." Last week, I stayed home with my son. He wasn't terribly sick, but it was good to have a rest. I wish people would keep their kids at home when they're sick! I don't want to get sick too. Actually, I can feel a cold developing. I should be home too!

Wild Dreams I am at my desk now. Just started work for the day. :) Over night, I had a few WILD dreams! Those are always enjoyable. I wish I could go back to sleep, and continue my adventures, but sadly, I have responsibilities in life! If I am lucky, this will happen a few more times this week!

A wordfind is driving me CRAZY! I cannot find the word "Oscar" in this wordfind! It is making me crazy! http://www.coloring-crafts.com/word-search/sesame-street-word-search.asp