Tangent sandwich

My first week of fantasy football went pretty well. I lost, but mainly because the guy I was matched up against had a ridiculously good week. Also, neither Portis nor Holt came through for me. Not to mention the Colts defense -- pathetic.

At least I don't have Brady, but Matt does, or should I say did ... wahahaha. Matt didn't even want Brady, but when he was still available at the ninth pick of the first round, Matt felt like he had to take him. Sucks.

So far I can't say playing fantasy is enough to keep me glued to the TV all afternoon, but I did get excited about the Panthers' last-minute touchdown, and I dropped my backup tight end to pick up Rosario as soon as the game was over.

Plans to clean the downtown house today didn't work out so well ... apparently the person responsible for switching over water and electricity (me) forgot to do that. I did sweep most of the house and work what magic I could with Windex. I LOVE old houses but cleaning them is a little frustrating because they never feel as clean as a newer home. Oh well. I don't have to live there, I just get to think it's adorable.

This seller left quite a bit of stuff in the shed, most of which probably qualifies as junk. I'm claiming some of it, though -- a wheelbarrow and a lot of paint and wood stain. A house we bought last year came with a garage full of working stuff that we were happy to keep, including our lawn mower, an old-school manual-powered deal.

[Tangent] Whether we should keep it or replace it with a gas mower is a constant source of disagreement between Matt and me. Our current agreement is that we can keep this one if I cut the grass, which is fine with me because I like cutting grass. It has the same neat immediate gratification as vacuuming, plus that great smell. I like that our lawn mower is environmentally friendly, very quiet and best of all was free.

Unfortunately, I have learned through maddening experience that it works well only when the grass isn't too high. Otherwise I have to do a running start for every strip of grass, which is embarassing because neighbors are always out and it isn't even very effective, and it takes me four times as long as it should and I think terrible thoughts in my head. I'm not sure whether in this case I'm being admirably thrifty or stupidly stubborn. Maybe stupidly thrifty? [End tangent]

That other house also came with a pressure washer and an elliptical machine, which now resides with Amanda and Stephen, and several rakes and shovels, etc. All in all, a good haul.

We're heading over to Mom and Dad's tonight for my birthday dinner. Are you impressed how well I'm stretching out the celebration? Actually, it's just because Mom and Dad were visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Atlanta this week. I'm looking forward to the food and the company!