The good and the bad. I went out last night for the first time in ages and it made me see what I've been missing by staying home so much. I have got to change that. I went out with friends for dinner and then to a concert by Janis Ian, a folk singer whose song, At Seventeen, was a favorite of mine in the 70's. Janis sang like an angel and played acoustic guitar beautifully in a wonderful venue. A great time was had by all.

My big accomplishment today was cleaning out the cabinet that holds all my spices and baking supplies. It was not on my to do list. I never realized how many bags of chocolate chips I have. McCormick & Co. has a brilliant ad campaign going informing us consumers that any spices labeled 'bottled in Baltimore' are at least 15 years old and need to be tossed. I emptied so many containers of spices. My trash is very fragrant. I found a new organic market that sells bulk spices by the ounce. I'll be restocking in that fashion, as needed.

It was family time later in the day to celebrate my mother's 74th birthday. That's a lot of birthdays. We were 5 for dinner at Tony Roma's, then back to my parent's for cake and ice cream. I'll say it, cause I think we'd all agree. We're a dysfunctional family. I think most families are??

This is the bad. A client of mine, a warm and caring woman, died 10 days ago after a 7 year battle with cancer. I found out on Saturday when someone brought me her obituary. I will miss her a lot, and can't get her out of my thoughts. Another client, who's hair I did 2 weeks ago, just found out she has 12 tumors in her brain and stage 4 bone cancer throughout, and they still don't know the primary site. She's so wonderful and so optimistic. Another client is undergoing chemo and radiation. Two others are done with treatment but it will be quite some time before they have enough hair to see me. I am praying for all of them, and when I wish for anything, it's always for health.

Hate to end this on a bad note. Tomorrow's a new day. That is a great thing.

What to do on a Saturday night? Go to the mall with your teenage daughter? Hang out at the Apple store and take pictures with their photobooth software? It was a lot of fun, actually. The only money we spent was on our food court dinner. So, it was a cheap night out and some good mother/daughter time. We came home and went to our respective computers. I finished watching all the episodes of Jericho. I LOVE watching TV on my laptop. The picture is crystal clear and there's a minimum of commercials. I've become a real TV junkie. I remember when I watched nothing. My old hairdresser friend Louis told me I had to watch TV so I could be informed and have things to talk about with my clients. Well, I watch TV now. Do I talk to my clients about it? Not much, but I am entertained.

Ever wonder how many people have the same name as you? I got this link from my blogging friend Jonathon.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 279 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Ya know, I think it might be more relaxing to work than be off. It feels like I never stop on the weekends. At work, I only have my job to do. I don't have to cook, clean, mother, shop, etc. I'm surrounded by people that like me. I never get attitude. Can you tell I have a 13 year old daughter? That's a happy face you see in the picture. Must have something to do with getting her very first cellphone. Happy Birthday Emily.

Last night was my daughter's birthday sleep-over. I actually had a good time trailing behind the girls at the mall. I was totally entertained watching the hordes stroll. My daughter wasn't thrilled to have me there, but the others seemed to like me. I was a cool and accommodating mom (I have hopes my daughter will appreciate me one day). The girls stayed up late and slept in till 10. Changed my routine, but I didn't mind at all.

My frog's still around. I think that's cool. He moves off the handle when I need to use the grill, and reappears on the Char Broil lid when next I take off the cover. I like that. The nights are getting chillier and I wonder what will happen to him.

I went to two Starbucks this weekend. The first one was a free-standing store and the other was a Safeway. I got some kind of caramel drink both times and the first one was so much better. Safeway has a machine that dispenses a finished drink. I'll have to watch how they do it at a regular Starbucks store. Border's is my first choice but the cafe's are closed for remodeling.

La de da...

I'll start with a picture of my frog. Yes, my frog. It lives on my gas grill, under the canvas cover. I haven't grilled much this summer...It's so much easier to use my George Foreman. A couple of weeks ago I decided to grill some chicken and was surprised to find a frog staring at me when I pulled off the cover. I tried to nudge it away, albeit half-heartedly, but my daughter protested loudly. We took pictures, ooh'd and aww'd, and decided not to grill outdoors. The next time I wanted to grill, the frog was not to be seen. Yeah! Last Thursday, steak in hand, the frog was back, just la de da, sitting on the handle of the grill. I just didn't have the heart to chase him away, so the steak went into the refrigerator. Last night, I was determined to cook that steak. I took the cover off, and there he was. I decided to give him time to move. I checked from time to time, and the wind must have made him seek a warmer shelter. He attached himself to the line going from the propane tank to the grill, and there he stayed the entire time I cooked. When the grill was cool and ready to be covered, he was back at his regular spot. He has a name now...McJagger. I'll be sad when he does leave us.