Metal Meredith

Over the years, my style has evolved into something between Cosmetic Counter Chic and Mom Comfort. Since I no longer dress to impress....well, anyone, I am left with comfort being my top priority. Comfort and ease, which to me means having my clothing be a no brainer.

I can honestly say that I like to spend no more than 20 seconds finding my outfits. It has been this way for many years. I also don’t enjoy shopping for clothing all that much. Clothes shopping can be a blast if you 1. fit into clothing easily and sizes and styles are abundant in every store and 2. if you have a budget (and conscience) that allows you to spend. Since I don’t fit into either one of these categories, shopping for me is a necessity, not an activity.

Many people have noticed that I wear only black and have asked me if I am in mourning, if I am making a statement or if I am ‘goth’. “Is this a tribute to Johnny Cash?” “Will you dress your kids in all black?” Let me set the record straight right now. It all started when I realized that red hair looked best against black clothing. Soon, with my hair being the thing I liked most about me, I didn’t want to showcase anything else. All black it was. I discovered how easy it was to pick out and outfit when all I had to do was think “Do I want to wear a skirt or pants?” and “Long sleeves or short?”

I simply open my closet, pick out a top piece and a bottom piece and an outfit is born. See? Do you know how easy laundry is when you don’t have to separate darks and lights? Sure, cat hair might become a problem, but this is why they invented those lint rollers. “Did you have that on yesterday?” Um, no...but if I did, you would never know!

I had two neighborhood kids over raking my back yard this week. I figure they are 13 or 14 years old. They came around with flyers and volunteered their services to mow or rake or clean up yards. Phil and I have been looking to have the backyard cleaned out for some time. It had a buildup of many years of leaves and pine needles over about 2/3 of it. It looked like too big of a job for us, being as lazy as we are.

In come these nice boys. They came over, radio in hand, with wheelbarrows and rakes, toted in gloved hands. They worked a half day on Thursday and all day Friday. I rewarded them with $50 over our original quote (they wanted $35, I told them $100 and gave them $150 - it was a huge job) and one of them is coming back on Monday to do some more work.

I was fixing Vivienne some lunch in the kitchen while listening to their radio outside. I sang along to most of the songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool, etc. But when Nirvana came on, I got a little nostalgic. Then I wondered how Kurt Cobain’s death affected these boys outside.

Then, I realized by doing the math that they were not even a year old when that happened. In fact, the younger one wasn’t even born yet.

I quickly shut the window and turned by attention on eating lunch with Vivienne and watching Dora.

*Kym sent me this article which made me laugh several times at the timing!

My family as Southpark characters:

As many of you know, we moved in to a 1977 ugly house almost 2 years ago. Since then, we have been taking on some minor and major projects to get the house more contemporary and less, well, colonial.

One of the things I have complained about was the ancient over the stove microwave. It was black and bulky and too low. The vent was super noisy and didn’t do that great of a job. The light kept going out more than any light should. Finally, we stopped putting in new bulbs and just took our chances cooking under the dark hood.

When we went to Europe last March, my mom accidentally pulled the handle off. It was a previous wound, gone undetected, that had been fixed more than once. After that, I did it about 5 more times.

My mom gave us a gift certificate to Best Buy for Christmas in order to replace the relic. And replace it we did!

It has been a long time since I bought a microwave. In fact, I have never bought one for more than around $40. You can imagine what one can get for $200 these days. Phil helped me pick out a sleek stainless steel model with more room than our refrigerator. He liked it because the vent door slowly opens and closes when you turn it on.

The first night I used it, it yelled at me. I was defrosting some meat when it stopped, beeped a few times and displayed the words “TURN THE MEAT OVER”. Um, ok ok, calm down. Then, we wanted to have some broccoli the other night and it asked me if it was frozen or fresh. When I responded, it told me to put it in a dish, add some water and just press start. The microwave KNEW when the broccoli was done and just stopped. Same with frozen vegetables.

Want some Nachos? It can not only heat them up, but will tell you how to make them: “Layer tortilla chips on a plate. Add shredded cheese. Press start”.

I know it is a silly thing, but this appliance has now become my best friend in the house. If only it could make me some money, I think Phil might have a new rival.