Earth to Auntie K

So, at 12:24 pm today, I was ambling about the house, reading the paper, checking e-mail, not doing much other than thinking exciting things like:

*what I'm going to name the gerbils I plan to adopt someday

*how nice it is to have friends who reply point-by-point to your e-mails, even when your e-mails are early morning tirades better left un-sent

*whether I ought to break a recent streak and make my bed today

*do I have time to do a load of laundry before I have to leave for work?

*oh wait--I'm supposed to leave for work at 12:30. That’s in six minutes.

Now, I wasn't in a total panic, because when we were young, Brother #1 and I held showering time trials (probably during the commercial breaks of Dukes of Hazzard) to see who could take the fastest shower. I don't remember my record time, but I know it was pretty fast.

Unfortunately, my beauty regimen at age ten didn't include such things as a blow dryer, Skin Balancing Super Antioxidant Mattifying Concentrate, eyeliner, or Redken Rough Paste. So, it took me a little longer than 3 minutes to shower and get ready to leave for work (more like 30 instead of 3).

Thankfully, however, the traffic gods were with me, and I arrived at work 7 minutes early, unscathed, and unticketed.

Of course, if I had gotten up early and mowed the back yard this morning like I said I would, I wouldn’t have had this whole problem in the first place.

Occupational Hazard

If you like books and you work in a library, the combination can be both a blessing and a curse. Just ask someone at my house how many library books I have at home right now. Sure, it probably doesn't approach the numbers that many people have lying around, but it's a lot (52 items, to be exact. From three different libraries, including one interlibrary loan).

When I turn in books, I have to carefully check that I'm returning the book to the library it came from (I made a mistake once in high school and turned in a school library book to the public library). My work friend Curren told me that happens often at UNT. Also, people often turn in their personal books to the library by mistake. Now, I've never done that!

As you see, space and organization issues can be part of the curse.

But of course, it's all worth it for the blessings. More on that later.

Auntie K Likes Magnets

If you like magnets and like to shop on the Web, you should check out Fridgedoor.com one of these days. I've spent a fair amount of money there.

My favorites are the quotablemagnets from quotablecards. I also own this road sign magnet from Amy Hill, and I see that Amy Hill's Web site has more magnets than are available at Fridgedoor.com, such as this cute one (others are quite crude, so I bear no responsibility for what you'll see if you browse beyond my suggested links).

Also, I am a huge fan of strictly utilitarian magnets. In that category, nothing beats the super strong All Mighty Magnet that can hold up to 36 sheets of paper. I dare you to try it for yourself!

Cool Word Tip

If you aren't interested in using MS Word, feel free to skip this post.

For anyone who is still left, did you know that Word has a Word Count toolbar (starting with at least the 2003 edition and maybe earlier)?

I didn't know that. Yes, I know how to count words in my document by going to the Tools menu, but I never realized I could add a toolbar that would allow me to count words at the click of the mouse. Pretty cool, eh? Of course, if I would let paperclip man do his job instead of cruelly banishing him to cyber-oblivion, maybe I would have already known about this.

This brings to mind the fact that I always run a Word grammar check on anything other than the most informal of writing. Often, I don't agree with the suggestions they give me, but I enjoy seeing my "readability statistics" at the end. Of course, I rarely achieve anything lower than a grade 12 reading level. And I don't think I'm supposed to take that as a compliment.

Gas Pump Bliss?

I just filled up the tank in my car and was thrilled to pay $2.64 per gallon. What is wrong with this picture? (I realize some of Auntie K's readers are paying much more at the pump; I'm not trying to rub it in).

The reason I'm thrilled is because 30 minutes after filling up, I passed the corner by my house where gas is $2.89 a gallon, so I feel quite pleased with myself for finding such a bargain.

Too bad I think $2.64 a gallon is a bargain!