I just love Fridays.  While they’re still part of the week and generally contain just as much drudgery as a Tuesday, they hold the promise of “relief”.  If you can just make it to five o’clock, you have two whole days ahead of you that provide a well-needed break from the everyday routine.  All day long I thrill at the thought that the WEEK IS OVER.  Can I get an Amen?

I want to thank everyone for their responses on my panicked Disney post. You guys have some REALLY good advice!  I think I learned some useful tips that I’m going to try.  I even think I’ve figured out the stroller dilemma. I think we’re going to buy one or two umbrella/lightweight/compact fold strollers that have at least a decent sun canopy and a good recline and then buy the connectors so we can turn two strollers into one double stroller if needed.  I think that’ll work best and then we’ll have the strollers to use here at home too.  While renting in Orlando was a good choice, I think having a stroller(s) in the airports and on the cruise will be INVALUABLE.  So that’s that.  We’re going to go down to Babies r’ Us this weekend and give a few a “test drive”.  What we find there will determine whether we buy one or two.  We have a lightweight stroller here that we could use, but it doesn’t recline so if we find the right stroller for the right price, we’ll get two.

We’re still working out the other issues, but I feel more informed now and less panicked.  So that is AWESOME.  THANK YOU.  I’ll send you all postcards. Heh.

Also, thanks for the commisseration on the mail man frustration.  I’m both happy to know I’m not the only one and horrified that I’m not the only one who has experienced such shoddy service.  I swear, if it was going to be an enormous pain in the arse, I’d totally switch to UPS for packages or something.  Damn the post office.

After not getting any mail at ALL on Wednesday (I think it was Wednesday?), the mail came much earlier on Thursday.  And while it wasn’t AS early yesterday, it did come before 5pm AND the mailman actually took a package up to my door!  SHOCKER!  Now if he’d just do that every time, life would be good.  I don’t ask for much, people.  I just want my mail in a timely manner and packages delivered.  Totally not an unreasonable request.

I don’t know exactly what our plans are for the weekend but I suspect there will be a goodly amount of grocery shopping (it’s that time of the month, after all).  I also imagine there might be a trip to the drive in, though the new X-men movie pales in comparison to Iron-man which is what we saw last year this very weekend.  My parents are coming up for a couple days on Sunday so that’s something too. Which means that there will be a goodly amount of cleaning done here this weekend as well.  JOY.  Luckily, the living room was recently cleaned (including the carpets which were Filthy), and the kitchen is rather bearable so the job shouldn’t be too enormous.

Gosh.  You know, when I type all that out, it sounds completely, 100%, DULL.  I sure hope your weekends are a lot more interesting than mine.

Once upon a time, we rented a house in the northwest section of our town.  Not an ideal situation, of course, but it served us well while we were preparing to purchase a home for the first time.  It was convenient to Kile’s job and lots of faboo shopping.  There were issues, of course (there always are), but for the most part, I loved living there.

Our mail was delivered by lunchtime every day and I would strap Harry into his high chair (damn, that was a while ago, huh?) before going out to check the mail in the box at the curb.  Life was good.

We moved out to the sticks into our very own home and no longer did we have a mailbox at the curb.  There was a bank of boxes down the street and around the corner in which we had a little box.  Inconvenient, to be sure.  But the mail was generally delivered by noonish or so.  Sometimes it was more like 3 or 3:30 and those days were odd because DAMN, the mail is LATE today!  But… whatever.

Fast forward to today.  Same house out in the sticks.  Same stupid bank of boxes.  Except instead of getting mail at noon, or heck, even 3pm, we’re lucky to get the mail by 5.  I went to check the mail at 5:05 and WOW.  NO MAIL.  SHOCKER.

…

(insert much fuming)

…

According to the USPS website, mail delivered after 5pm is considered LATE.  If that is the case, our mail is late every single day.  Well, except Saturday.  On Saturdays, our mail is delivered around noon.  Why?  I reallllly wish I knew.  I have my suspicions though.

See, several times in the past few months when I have received packages that are too large for the package locker (a larger box that they cram boxes that don’t fit into our teeny boxes and then lock with a key which they then put in our teeny boxes), instead of coming to the house and ringing the doorbell or even just leaving on the porch, we have recieved a pink notice that says “Sorry I missed you!” and that you can go to the post office to pick your package up tomorrow.

You know, cuz it’s SO EASY to just pack up two small children and cart them to the post office to pick up a package that the stupid mailman is supposed to deliver.  Because you know what?  I WAS HOME.  I AM ALWAYS HOME.  I NEVER LEAVE.  I HAVE NO LIFE.  Just get off your lazy ass and bring the damn package up to my door. GAH.

So my theory is: my mailman is an idiot who thinks that everyone (or at least everyone who “counts”) works 8-5.  Why bother taking all that time to go to a specific house to deliver a package when you KNOW that there’s no one home?  Cuz they’re all at work?  And why bother knocking yourself out getting the mail there before 5pm when everyone works until 5 and it’ll be nearly 6 before they’re home anyhow?  If the mail is delivered at 5:30, they won’t know any different, right?

Nevermind the people, like me, who work at home and sort of count on the mail getting to them by a reasonable time.  Because, you know, they may need to connect with someone on the east coast about it and if the mail isn’t delivered until 5:30, that person might not be at work/online anymore because DUDE, that’s like 8:30 for them and maybe they’re putting kids to bed or watching TV or enjoying their lives as they should.

Let’s face it.  The mail is supposed to be delivered by 5pm for a reason.  A reason my mailman either a) doesn’t know about or b) doesn’t care about.  Which makes me want to go down there and kick his ass.  You know, if I could.  But I’m stuck here watching two little kids all day.  And when I take the time to load them both into the stroller and walk down to the stupid bank of boxes after 5pm only to find that the mail hasn’t been delivered yet?  AGAIN? For like the umpteenth time in the last month?  It makes me feel a little stabby.

Listen, I know budget dollars are stretched and sacrifices have to be made.  But sending something USPS still costs some money (more and more all the time, it seems), and as such, customers should be able to expect reasonable service.  Getting my packages delivered to my home when I am actually AT HOME and getting the mail regularly delivered before 5pm is what I would consider reasonable service.

USPS?  YOU ARE ON MY LIST.

Remember when I won a Pioneer Woman giveaway?  And how the heavens opened up and the angels rejoiced and there was peace across the land as a result?

Those were good times.

Anyhow, I thought you’d like to know that the measuring cups have landed.  And if possible, they are more adorable in person.  I don’t know how I’ll actually USE them (who am I kidding? how KILE will actually use them), I may just line them up on my counter and gaze at them.

So anyone who doubts that these giveaways are legit need only look here.  Yes, the measuring cups themselves weren’t a $1500 camera, but when you consider that TEN people won them, well, that sorta adds up.  Many kisses to Pioneer Woman and her prize wrangler.  Yep, she has a prize wrangler!  Wouldn’t you if you were Ree??

She was super nice to work with and I would have had the measuring cups earlier but wouldn’t you know it, they were sold out!  So they were backordered.  Still, I wasn’t expecting them for a few weeks yet and was pleasantly surprised when they showed up on my doorstep on Monday afternoon.  Yay!

So there.  A little sunshine in your otherwise drab day.  You’re welcome.

Here’s some more thoughts.  They’re trying to make a break for it, so I better write them down first.  I guess I didn’t empty my head well enough yesterday.  You think after almost four years of blogging I would know better by now.

• I updated to WordPress 2.7 this morning.  It was surprisingly painless.  I only had to deactivate one plugin and I did that before I upgraded.  I like the interface MUCH better and I feel like I can customize everything a lot more to my wishes (and demands *cackle*).
• Of course, now I feel like my blog needs something new and shiny as a result.  After all, now that the “backend” is looking so spiffy, that change needs to be reflected on the front end as well.  However, I still love my design so I’m not sure what this would entail.  A new plugin?  Hmm.  Must think about this one some more.
• I’ve got about nine inches of red scarf finished so far.  I’m making this one for Harry, on some soft, acrylic yarn that he picked out at the craft store.  I’m doing a rib knit on it (K2P2, for those in the know) and it’s looking great and all but DANG, it’s getting a little boring.  Whenever I get too tired of it, I switch to working on Kile’s cap (in a heathered dark grey acrylic yarn), but his hat is in the ribbed stage as well.  SIGH.
• This could be why I’m knitting in my sleep these days.
• I’m also spending a lot of time on the goodmama thread over at Diaper Swappers.  This could also be why I was buying diapers in my sleep last night as well (when I wasn’t knitting, that is).
• I think I need a life.
• Mah birfday is tomorrow!  However, I don’t think I’m in any way going to get the kind of attention and adoration Rhi got for her birthday with all the posts that sang her praises.  Whatever.  Attention hog. *wink*
• I need a shower and with both of the wee ones taking naps right now, I could take one.  But I’ve sorta grown to enjoy taking one at night after I get Evie to bed.  It’s a very relaxing way to finish the day and my hair has enough time to dry before I go to bed myself.
• Kile did not mail off all our packages yesterday.  He stopped after three because the cost started to scare him.  SIGH.  This is officially going to be His Deal, not mine.  And on that note, why does it cost so much in this day and age (and yes, even with the gas prices which really aren’t so bad right now anyhow) to ship something across country?  It’s goofy!  Overnight, Two-Day, Priority… those I can almost understand.  But First Class and Parcel Post should be a LOT cheaper than they generally end up being.  Makes one wonder why they don’t have a “Strap to the back of a passing burro” option.  I’m thinking that could be a lot more affordable.
• And while I’m ranting about the Post Office… It happened AGAIN yesterday.  Kile brought home the mail from our box (we have one of those “community” box thingies down around the corner from our house) and in it was a “Sorry we missed you” package delivery slip.  Normally, they give you those when a package is too big to fit in the little locker thingie and you aren’t home when they bring it to your door and it needs a signature.  But no one EVER came to the door.  Our mail man has been getting VERY lazy.  He doesn’t even TRY to come up to the door to see if someone is home (and yes, I’m pretty much ALWAYS home because I’m a total hermit).  He just puts that slip in the mailbox and we have to go down to the post office (a good ways away from here too, down the interstate) to pick it up. I tried last night to go on the website and arrange for a redelivery but they wouldn’t even give me the OPTION to have it redelivered.  I even tried to send them a pointed note saying “STOP IT!  BRING PACKAGES TO MY DOOR!” and that “failed” out.  Grr.  The Post Office is OFFICiALLY On Notice.

Ahem.  There.  I feel much better now.  Hopefully this brain-emptying will stick this time.  I really don’t have a lot of room to spare in there, you know?