So ... last week was looking kinda bleak. But now things are looking up. Dig it:

(1) Both boys back to full strength - still coughing from the pneumonia, but school-bound on Monday.

(2) Finally ordered the new windows and patio door for the ENTIRE house I've been obsessing over since 2005. And Tim let me get shutters, too. Shutters, people! For every window. F-ing curb appeal. And he ponied up for grilles on the patio door, even though he hates them.

(3) Qualified for 0% interest on the above, which means we can actually afford to get them.

(4) Awesome day at work on Friday. I work with awesome people at a kick-ass company with great clients.

(5) Beat Tim twice at Scrabble today - the last game I got TWO 50-pt bonuses for using all my letters. In one game. Which is pretty much unheard of. One of them was this crazy one that left Tim's jaw on the table.

(6) Vikings and Twins won yesterday.

(7) Just got an email from Greg, who picked me to receive a free subscription to "Vanity Fair" when he was offered one today. Sweet!

Hope you're having a great weekend too ... I'm off to buy some lottery tickets.

UPDATE: And I got a haircut that doesnt suck ... AND Tim mowed the lawn without me ragging on him ... AND Tim started the dishwasher for me ... AND the weather was perfect ... AND we all took a family bike ride without major bitching from the kids ... AND the list goes on. Again, strange to have nothing to bitch about.

For obvious reasons I love this photo group dedicated to chicks with 4eyes.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I do NOT own these specs but wish I did.

Life Becomes Me by the Nadas ... for my husband.

Love you, babe.

SOMEWHAT RELATED:

"The world breaks everyone and afterwards many are strong at the broken places.: (Ernest Hemingway 1899)

Tomorrow is 50s Day at the kids' elementary school.

(this is not the important part)

Kristie Lou, aka "THE Best Friend EVER" - is making Abbey, aka "The Luckiest Kid Ever" - a custom poodle skirt tonight.

(holy crap!!!!!!!)

There will be pink felt swingy-skirtiness.

There will be a pink poodle with gold leash.

There will be 24 tiers of black ruffly-poofiness.

There will be awesomeness.

There will be absolutely nothing for me to do, after I measure Abbey's waist.

And it must be finished before 7:30am tomorrow morning.

The best part is Kristie always wanted a poodle skirt as a little girl ... so this is less of a sweatshop thing for me, and more of a living-out-a-childhood-dream thing for her. (Or at least that's what she tells me.)

MORE FOR YOUR MONEY: When asked, "What would Katie do without you" she replied ... "I don't know. Buy something tacky at Party America?"

Um yes. Yes I would.

IMAGE: The materials...

Fog and the snow painting Sioux Falls like a giant frosted donut the past few days... it's so pretty I almost got in a wreck this morning from looking at trees and not the road.

Word is an ice storm will make tomorrow's get-to-work-unscathed chances pretty much the same.

So if the design doesn't give it away, I have a secret to tell... (sssssshhhhh)

I have issues.

And the #1 person smack in the crosshairs 24/7 is my loving husband (he knew what he was getting into), the Significant Other, otherwise known as the guy who listens to Dave Ramsey too much and therefore won't let me get new windows until we can actually pay for them.

He also won't let me get a new deck, new porch, new garage door sans hole, new floors, new bedroom furniture and remodeled bathrooms. But who's counting?

Anyway...

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(that's Tim on the east side of the pile)

(we have neighbors! who knew?)

Got to be a hero today. And the day before. (With Kristie and Mike.) Work stuff. But it was cool.

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Watership Down (by Richard Adams) is my favorite book. Has been since 7th grade. So last night I about busted in half when Colton said he wanted to read it - and he's already 50 pages in. And he loves it!

Wow. This must be how Archie Manning must have felt when his boys said they wanted to play football.

I'm such a geek. And now I've grown another one! (He took the book to daycare with him today, and was talking about it the whole way.)