I am cursed. Horribly and indelibly cursed. For those who don’t know, the Derby came to Portland this year. My very good friend from law school, Erica (aka Southern Spice), kindly agreed to leave Kentucky during the height to Derby madness and fly to Portland to show us Oregonians how things are done. She brought southern ham, derby pies, grits, and a mint julep recipe. Our only responsibility was to choose a horse.

And that is where the curse comes in. You see, I had my heart set on Repent. I thought there was some sort of cosmic humor on gambling on a horse whose name told you not to. I had my pick and was sticking with him. Until last week when his trainer announced he was injured in a race and had to pull out of the Derby due to a bone spur.

Undaunted, I returned to the listing. This time, I went with Buddha. I felt there was a similar spiritual connection here as well. So yesterday at dinner, Erica informed me that Buddha was favoring his right side in the morning and they had pulled him from the race as well. Yes, two days before the big start and my new favorite was out.

Now, I’m afraid to pick another. With my luck, they’ll stumble getting out of their stall and break a leg on the way to their postings. And everyone else won’t pick a horse until they hear who I’ve got for fear of having my curse effect them as well. I’m thinking I’ll just go with the longest shot horse and that way I won’t jinxes anyone else.

I guess my life as an off-track better has pretty much gone down the drain. Ah well, at least I’ll get to drink a mint julep.

I so don’t understand Ebay. It is inconceivable to me what people will pay for my junk. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I just don’t understand it.

In the last week or so, Kevin has sold over $150 bucks of junk online. Take, for example, our current auction item. A can opener. Yup, you heard me. It’s an automatic can opener. We have never used it but figured we’d give it a shot on Ebay. How much do you think it’s going for? $5? $10? $15? Nope. Right now, it’s sitting at $24.50. Don’t believe me, see for yourself. I admit that Kevin does a nice layout and our secret weapon is the Free Shipping but still. It’s a can opener for pete’s sake..

If that doesn’t outrage you, what about this. Kevin and Josh went to Best Buy two years ago and picked up a fighter pilot computer game from the close-out bin. They each paid $10 for the game. Kevin gets tired of it, sticks it on Ebay, and it sells for $37. Yes, you heard me, two years later a $10 game is selling for $37 bucks. At this rate, we’ll be able to pay off the house in….. hmmm, maybe not.

But if you haven’t jumped on the ebay wagon, I urge you to do so. People are auction crazy and will buy anything. I don’t know how long this craze will last so you better get out there are start selling. You won’t regret it.

I have decided to give my house a make over. Starting from the top and moving to the basement. Each week, I’ll tackle another room with no short cuts. I’m notorious for stuffing loose ends into closets and drawers believing that if it is out of sight, I won’t have to worry about it. Of course, this makes it very difficult to find anything in our house and opening closet doors is quite a hazard.
So this week is upstairs bedroom week. Yesterday, I pulled out all my winter/fall clothing and replaced it with my spring/summer stuff. Then, as if by magic, I got a call from a local charity saying their truck would be in the area to pick up any clothing donations. How weird it that??? So now I’m going to weed through my clothes looking for donations.

Of course, I hate the weeding process. My technique is to pile all of the out of season clothes on my bed. The obvious keepers go straight into a storage box but there are always questionables. Things you bought but never wear, items that are now worn out or out of style and, my least favorite, items that have mysteriously shrunk. (No snide comments please!) And so I’ll probably spend a good afternoon trying on jeans and skirts, tops and slacks, keeping those that still fit and look ok and passing on the items that I no longer need.

And my shoes! I had no idea how many pairs of shoes I owned. I’m embarrassed to admit to the actual number but it’s well over 20. And even though I know I won’t wear them all, I just can’t seem to get rid of any of them. I think I could have some kind of shoe disorder. Judging from the numbers in my closet, it appears to be rather advanced.

So I figure my house has seven rooms (not counting the bathrooms or laundry area). By my calculations, I should have this place in tip-top shape around, oh, mid June. Of course, that assumes that I can clean a room a week. As it is already Tuesday and I’m not even done with my first closet yet, that may be an unrealistic expectation!

I am going through Baby D withdrawal and it’s bad. Poor Artie is cowering behind the sofa and both cats shot through the pet door and out to freedom hours ago. They all seem terrified of the idea of me snuggling them any more but I can’t help myself.

I have just a few pics from my parents camera for your enjoyment. First, feast your eyes on Baby D and Auntie Chrissie. I know he looks a little scared in this picture but there was a noise outside or something. He loved being held by me. Honestly! He especially loved being smooshed. Again, there’s that wierd look on his face. Don’t ask me why.

Finally, here he is on his new baby quilt. Yes, there is in infamous baby quilt that nearly caused me to go blind. It was, however, fun to do and I can’t wait for another baby so I can try my hand on another design. There’s a better picture of the quilt somewhere but I can’t quite seem to find it.

The trip seemed far too short really. I already miss that smooth baby cheek and the smell of baby power on fine hair. Definately going to be visiting SD again soon. Don’t worry, there are about 50 more pictures on the way so come back soon!

The little baby is crying. We wore him out with all the kisses and pinching today and now he’s tired and just can’t fall asleep. It must take a lot of energy to be that cute so I don’t blame him for needing his cutie rest. They tell me he woke up last night but I didn’t hear a thing. Personally, I think he is an angle boy. So sweet and mild tempered, he’ll just lie by you and watch you talk or work with the utmost interest. He’s quite an observer this one. Even something boring like a spot on the ceiling will capture his attention for minutes on end.

The best part of the day was went Baby D giggled. His first giggle and I was there to witness it. Now, you must understand that this boy loves his father. When Big D comes into the room, Little D just can’t stop smiling. Big D was explaining to his son that tomorrow the Padres are going to have a double header which meant 6 hours of back to back baseball action. This news made Little D so happy, he added a little giggle to his giant smile. Dan looked at me, I looked at Dan, and we were astounded. He giggled! Of course, he then promptly developed the hiccups from all the double header excitement which pretty much ruled out any possibility of a giggle repeat. But I did get to witness baby history. Yes!

Called home and Kevin is not there. I figure he’s probably driving around looking for a pet store that sells red beta fish. You see, I dreamed about Toaster Struedels which, as everyone knows, means a fish death in the family so I’m not holding out much hope for every seeing the real Charlie again.

Maybe tomorrow, Baby D will take his first step or say my name. How cool would that be?!?!

Oh dear. I appear to have left my copy of Bridget Jones’ Diary in the bathroom and it seems Kevin has gotten to it. At least, I think he’s being british. Or it’s australian. With Kevin, it’s hard to tell.

After one day with Baby D, I can confirm that he is as cute (if not cuter) than in the pictures. Actually, it isn’t his cuteness so much as his size that hits you. This kid is
B-I-G. We’re talking one giant mound of sweet, soft, smoshy, baby fat. When Suzy changes his diaper, she has to hold his leg chub out of the way, fasten the tabs, and then artfully drape the baby fat around the diaper line. I am not even kidding about this. Even his feet are fat. Don’t know how that’s possible but it is.

He is a remarkable calm and sweet baby and even the invasion of his house by strangers didn’t seem to phase him. He just watched us and smiled and smiled and smiled. So sweet it’s almost unbearable. I just want to smoosh him. Am working very hard to control that impusle. I’m taking lots of pictures and will post them soon so you can see the baby and his auntie. We look alike with our pug noses and chubby cheeks.

Have I mentioned that this kid is cute?