I don't recommend exit 60A on I-79, just outside of Pittsburgh. The kids and I left Grandma's house in western North Carolina Friday morning, and by the time we hit Pittsburgh I was beat. And hungry. At exit 60A there is a choice of two restaurants. The first was a bar, and Friday night happy hour was in full swing, with the associated noise ( Read more... )

You know it's March in Rochester when you have a flood watch and a snow advisory at the same time.

There are ten (10!) giggling squealing shouting 11/12-year-old girls sleeping over at my house tonight. What was I on when I agreed to that?

I have acquired a 6-quart slow-cooker (thanks wotw!). I need a cookbook! So far the only slow-cooker cookbooks (say that five times fast) I've found rely heavily on velveeta cheese-like product and cooked chicken. wtf? Doesn't having to pre-cook the chicken kinda defeat the purpose ( Read more... )

At about 8:00 this evening, a local TV station website started posting school closings for tomorrow (for windchill - doesn't seem extreme enough to me for closing schools, but anyway). The list was updated every five minutes. At first it was just the City schools and the Catholic schools - not much of an indicator - they close for everything. ( Read more... )

The assignment in biology class was "do a project about cells." (The directions may have been more specific; this is as filtered through teenagers.) My twin sons teamed with a another male classmate. They spent hours in the basement with a camcorder and some old action figures and things I probably don't want to know about ( Read more... )

Last night, the first night of xmas vacation, Laura, my 11 year-old daughter, and I decided to watch a movie. The DVDs on hand were "Spellbound" and "A Beautiful Mind." She asked what they were about and I gave her brief descriptions. She considered for a moment, then, with a teen sneer, said, "so my only choices are spelling and math ( Read more... )

The goddamn motherfucking migraines can stop any time now. Please.

First mouse spotted Friday night. Traps bought and set Saturday. Mice caught so far: 4. Ick.

Q: What conclusion can you draw when the soccer coach says, "I love this rainy, muddy weather. It's perfect for soccer."

A: The soccer coach does not do the laundry at his house.