On the Palette

Cobalt Teal: This has been an outstanding week for our family! My darling wife was greatly rewarded by her employer for all of the 70+ hours work-weeks (sometimes putting in 8 to 12 hours on both Saturday and Sunday) she has put in for the past 5 months. It has been a great strain on all of us for a variety of reasons. Me being the cynic and pessimist stewed a great deal "knowing" how much she was being "taken advantage of" since the love of my life is rather old-fashioned in the way she approaches her work.

She doesn't cut corners. She takes great pride in making sure her clients are happy. All the files are neatly labeled, sorted, and put exactly where they are supposed to be. She even keeps extra copies of all of her tasks to make sure she can show how she accomplished them. These were all qualities her employer needed to take over a previously poorly managed, under-funded, and under-staffed project late last summer. She was only about two weeks into it when she realized her company didn't even have sufficient software to take of her clients' needs.

Needless to say there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth at and between office and home. But my baby did it! Somehow that little Christian lady stood in the middle of the Coliseum, stared at the ferocious beasts and yelled, "Come get you some!" She kicked lion's butt so thoroughly that they all turned into weeping little Hello Kitty caricatures.

Well being the good Southerner that I am, I prefer my crow fried. Yesterday Joan's employer treated her to a Christmas morning mixed with a little birthday celebration. She received a promotion (jumping two corporate levels) and of course a nice little financial thank you. Let's just say I've immediately become an official full-time artist and house-husband.

I kinda like the idea of having a Suger Mama. And I'll be a good Candy Man too! So my dearest darling Joaney Rose, all I have to say is, "Come get you some!!!"

Acra Blue Violet: We had ourselves a little celebration last evening. Home-grilled Rib-eye steaks, fresh Brussels sprouts, loaded baked potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. Plus we rented a DVD Joan's been wanting to see. We highly recommend Failure to Launch.

Cadmium Red Light: Our no-where-close-to-being "The World's Greatest Dog, Balloo. Ever" is currently turning our backyard into a doggie junkyard. We now have 2-foot deep holes in about a dozen places around the lawn where he hides the treats we think will entertain him. Instead of those treats he sneaks out the kids' socks and underwear from the laundry baskets and then tosses them about like a ticker-tape parade. Jessie had no clean underwear one morning last week so I told her to go outside and grab the cleanest pair she could find. After all it had rained the night before.

Along with the chewed up beer and soda cans, several remnants of Ben's former football collection, two or three half-eaten flower pots, and one strand of Christmas lights we now have what is left of a 125 foot garden hose. Obviously the pound where we got him from pulled one over us big time. "These folks that just came in...I'm guessing they're so stupid they won't know they're getting a goat."

I think I'm changing our goat's name to Sanford.

Currently in the Boom Box: Buddy Miller