Up yours!

I do not like 7-Up anymore. I don't know why, either. I drank a lot of it in high school, and again after the boys were born (so that I could have some soda every once in a while but they wouldn't be suffering from the caffeine).

But I have really, really NOT enjoyed it much the last few times I've had it. I had a glass this afternoon, and all day I've wished I'd just drank something else entirely - blech.

I'm debating whether to vacuum the living room or snuggle into bed and finish Angels and Demons. Hrmmm... decisions, decisions.

Velvet cleaning.

Out of curiosity, how do you clean your velvet photo frames? You know, the kind with a black velvet back, usually extending around the side edges as well (though not to be confused with the front or the 'show' part of the frame)?

We received a pair of really nice photo frames as a wedding gift, and they are velvet-backed. They're almost 7 years old now, but only since we've lived in this house have I had a problem with them getty dusty (or better yet, tiny little Baby cat hairs seem to be magnetically pulled to them). I always used dust rags (wet washcloths) before, and I tried a dry Swiffer pad once, but that was a complete waste. Just now, however, I had the brilliant idea to use my lint roller on them - PERFECT!

I will probably continue with this method from now on, but I'm still curious as to how others may be doing it. If you know what I'm talking about and you have got a method, please share. :-)

Let's buy a police car!

(By the way, this whole first paragraph is mostly filler for the ending conversation... just so you know. *wink*)

Jack and I went to the commissary to do our grocery-shopping this afternoon while A.J. was still in school. At Jack's request, I bought the things needed and made spaghetti and breadsticks for dinner. Afterwards, the boys and I played Frisbee outside together for almost 45 minutes. We then decided to have ice cream for our dessert, and we had two choices: ice cream from home or ice cream from Runza® (we had 9 of the free kids' cone coupons stacked up from kids' meals over the past 3 months or so). The boys chose Runza ice cream, of course, so we loaded up in the van and went inside the restaurant to get our treats. And on the way home, the following conversation occurred:

(police car goes whizzes, lights flashing)
A.J.: Mom, can police go as fast as they want to?
Me: As long as they are driving a police car.
A.J.: (in an awe-filled voice) You mean they can go in FIFTH gear?
Me: (laughing) Yes, they can go in fifth gear.
A.J.: So as long as they drive a police car, they can go fast?
Me: Yep.
A.J.: (pauses for just a smidge) Mom, can we sell this car and get a police one?
Me: (laughing) No, bud, we can't sell this car and buy a police one.
A.J.: (in a very knowing tone) Yeah. I bet we don't have enough on our credit card to buy a police car. Not even if you put yours *and* Dad's credit cards together.
Me: (giggling) No, probably not.
A.J.: Yeah, we probably would need EIGHT HUNDRED credit cards, and *then* we could buy a police car.
A.J.: (turns to Jack) Hey Jack, let's stop picking up pennies on the ground and start watching for credit cards, okay?
Jack: Okay, A.J. (then, in an excited voice) Yeah, and we'll pick up lots and LOTS of them!

Heehee. One day, A.J.'s going to learn a hard lesson about buying a car. ;-)