I just remembered a show that I left off my list by accident: Northern Exposure. I heart that show very, very much.

Carry on.

(First off: Lookie, lookie; my Timewasters have been update. Click and enjoy - left-hand column, midway down)

For my own personal amusement I will now list my all-time favorite t.v. shows, past and present. These are in no particular order (except the first one, which is in the number one spot for a reason). I don't even necessarily watch these shows these days. My viewing of them comes and goes. I'll watch the reruns religiously for months or years and then quit and not see the show again for eons. Some of these aren't even being shown on any channels currently. But, given the opportunity, I always come back to them.

To make the list the show has to be an enduring favorite. There are plenty of shows that I currently watch and look forward to that aren't on this list. The clincher, for me, has to be whether I would watch episodes of this show more than a couple times. Would I seek it out, either in reruns or on DVD? And does it give me a warm, cozy feeling to settle down to watch? Here's what does:

1) Robert took my van today. Bastard.

2) He was up in the city for a court thingy. He brought me Chick-Fil-A sandwiches so I guess it's okay that he tookthe van, after all. That's sad. I whore my van out in exchange for chicken sandwiches. I pimp for chicken products.

3) It's not like I was going anywhere, anyway. JZ is banned from the one fun place in town until he poops in the potty so it's highly likely we may never go there again.

4) The dates for my best friend's stay in Tulsa are July 10th through 26th. It's likely I will have to leave for CA before she leaves Tulsa to go home -- but only a day or so before. I will probably stay up there with her the first couple nights of both weeks, then come home and go back up and pick her up on Friday afternoon to come spend the weekends with us.

5) I'm tired. Tired tired tiredy tired tired. I need to stop going to bed at 1 a.m. and waking up at 7:30. I'm old and it's not working for me. I have been napping on the couch every afternoon for a couple months.

6) Called and made an appointment to have the cats shot.....oh, wait. That's what Robert wanted me to do. What I actually did was make an appointment for them to have their shots. No biggie, as they are both easy to capture and cram into the cat carrier. Now, lifting the carrier with both their fat asses in it is not quite so easy. That's twenty-four pounds of dead weight in a plastic box. This is why I take them to the vet when R is home to watch the kids. Two kids, I can handle. Two cats, I can handle. My two kids + two brain-addled cats who become convinced the apocalypse is nigh anytime they are placed in a car? Not so much. While I'm there I'm going to make an appointment for them to both have their teeth cleaned. This will be general anesthetic, the whole nine yards. I also need to see if they do grooming because I may have them give Grace a lion cut while she's out -- just to give us something to laugh at for the rest of the summer.

7) Made myself a dermatologist appointment. I may be old but my skin is still partying like it's 1989. The nasty acne is rearing its ugly head. The treatment they had me on previously worked; I just quit because it was expensive and I was hoping maybe I'd finally gotten to a point where I didn't need it. Ha. Ha ha ha ha di ha. So I'll go back and have them re-prescribe the stuff and get the spots I currently have shot with Magic Juice (they have something in a syringe that dries up pimples and they inject it directly into your face. Good thing I'm not afraid of needles.)

8) We are also to a point where we can afford for me to go ahead with a full course of microdermabrasion. They recommend once a month for eight months. The texture of the skin on my chin, where I have the acne problem, is horrific. This should smooth it out and also maybe do a little good for the fine lines on the old mug. I will get this set up while there, as well.

9) Also added to the list of things I'm doing to attempt to make myself slightly less repulsive, I've begun using the Crest Whitestrips I've had in my cupboard for about a year now. I hate having them on but I also hate looking like a three-pack-a-day smoker because my teeth are freaking yellow. Hopefully this works. If not I'm going to look into the light treatments they have at the dentists' offices.

10) Madalyn was asleep on the couch earlier this evening. She didn't mean to fall asleep. I was worried because I didn't know how long it had been since she'd hit the potty and if she wee'd on my couch I was going to cry. Not that I have any great affection for the ugly thing but I do sleep on it sometimes. Sure enough, when I woke her up she'd defiled the sofa. The slipcovers are in the washing machine now and I've Lysol'ed the heck out of the cushions. And when she grows up I'm sure she'll be thrilled to know I posted this tidbit on the internet.

11) R claims we will be able to get our dining room table this week. Of course, he said that last week, too, so I'm not holding my breath. I would love to have it before Jennifer comes, though. I mean, how classy would that be? "Hi, welcome to our new home. Grab a seat on the floor for dinner." It's not like they stand on ceremony at Jen's house or anything, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind, but give me a break. This is not a dorm room. We are old people with children. We need furniture.

12) He also claims we will be able to book the CA tickets this week. Again, echoes of something I seem to recall hearing last week. It's not his fault that it didn't pan out, mind you, I'm just saying.....don't believe anything's going to happen around here until you have the receipt in one hand and the item in the other. I will feel a lot better once it's done, as usual. I hate having things up in the air.

13) R is driving out there in the van for a visit while we're there. The original plan was for him to come during a period of time about halfway through the trip. Well, our departure date keeps getting pushed back but the time he has blocked off for himself to be gone has to stay the same. We are now to a point where he may go ahead and leave the same day or the day after the kids and I leave. This actually wouldn't be bad for a few reasons. Usually when we go out for this long I ship a box of our clothes out because it's just too much stuff to take on the plane. If he is going to get there two days after we do I will just pack a couple outfits for each of us in a duffel bag and send the rest of our clothes in the van with him. Also I was going to rent a car until he got there, turn it in, then rent another one after he left, thereby saving some money since we'll have our very own van there for a while. If we do it this way, though, I will just not get a car until after he leaves. The kids and I can wing it for 2-3 days without one. Then we wouldn't even need to book a car until he's about to head for home. This helps us in the money department, too -- gives us more time to get together the money to pay for the rental.

14) I think that's it. Vaya con dios.

1. Skivved off church. Am lazy and ungrateful.

2. Cleaned bunny's and guinea pig's cages.

3. Did hourlong exercise video.

4. Did at least three loads of laundry (folded by my lovely husband, so I can't complain too much).

5. Unloaded dishwasher.

6. Reloaded dishwasher.

7. Listened to weather broadcasts running on all three Oklahoma City stations, in which weather men were convinced the apocalypse was nigh.

8. Swept dining room.

9. Tried to marshal ambition to mop dining room. (Status: failed)

10. Checked outside to see if apocalypse had arrived. (Negative.)

11. Went to Walmart. (Third time in two days that I or another family member have spent gobs of money there. Cannot escape its gravitational pull. Is evil.)

12. Went to 10:15 showing of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. (My assesment: meh.)

13. Ordered (online) two pairs official John Lennon sunglasses. (Have had same pair of shades for six years running. Deserve treat.)

14. Stayed up till ungodly hours composing this entry and playing pointless-yet-addicting computer game.

All in all, not a bad way to spend a Sunday. Well, except for the no church part. That's just asking for a smiting.

1. Roll out of bed long enough to see that children are not being sent to preschool in pajama tops (has happened before) and to pull Madalyn's hair up to keep it out of her face (otherwise will arrive at school bearing strong resemblance to Cousin Itt, as Robert has still not mastered the fine art of the rubber band).

2. Feed rabbit, guinea pig.

3. Fall back into bed, possibly with Toaster Strudel in hand, to watch Regis & Kelly, followed immediately by the Price is Right -- all part of daily attempt at challenging intellect and increasing intelligence. (Note to self: not seeing improvement yet. Might consider adding All My Children to schedule and see if that helps.)

4. Doze.

5. Doze some more. 2:1 odds self will be jolted out of light slumber by ringing telephone and cursory check of caller i.d. will reveal it's someone I don't want to talk to. Will curse caller but be unable to nod off again.

6. Drag sorry butt out of bed. Do exercise tape. Sprain arm patting self on the back for accomplishing something. Take shower.

7. Go online. Catch up on email; message boards.

8. More lying around, this time on couch for change of scenery. Catch up on backed-up TiVo'ed shows.

9. Wait, semi-patiently, for doctor to call with thyroid test results. Hope that thyroid really is out of whack again. Otherwise, fatigue and cold-sensitivity mean either a) dying of dread disease or b) getting old and frail.

10. Check blog for comments and re-read this entry. Kick self for posting while exhausted and numb-brained. Vow to do better next time.

"My life has a superb cast; I just can't quite figure out the plot."