Ten on Tuesday!

Yes, I did jazz up the title with an exclamation point. Because it looked so naked and vulnerable without it.

I failed to comply with the "Fill in the Blank Friday" thingie that my blog friend Lin does, partially because I checked her blog way too late on Friday night and mostly because I've been lazy. So I have checked in with her nice and early today, which leads me to today's thrilling Jenny installment of TEN ON TUESDAY.

And I'm feeling needy today..so buckle up, hombres.

1. Yes, it's true, you may have heard through various media outlets: I had a cold. But I AM GOING TO BE OK. One bad thing about having an Iron Man immune system? When something does get through it really knocks you for a loop. Again, I'm grateful that all I had to deal with was a cold, but damn. It was a doozy. All I have left now are the random coughing fits and that "head is still half stuffed with cotton balls" feeling. Please tell me I'm not the only woman who feels like her entire reproductive system is about to plop out during a coughing fit? Please? Because it's kind of freaky.

2. I had a wonderful bonding girl's weekend with some of my favorite hens, in particular the lovely Uncle Lorie. Did I ever share the story of how Lorie and Jenny became Uncles? Here's the condensed version: Lorie is a divorced mom like me. She has three kids and a really spooky ex-husband who makes mine look like a big, soft fluffy Care Bear. Lorie and I met through a mutual friend of ours, Whitney. Our first "date" was seeing the movie Borat, and as we slunked (slank?) down in our seats to avoid seeing most of the movie, we bonded. The bond has continued. Last winter we spent so much time together our kids started referring to us as "Uncle Lorie" or "Uncle Jenny". Like, one time Henry and I were talking about World of Warcraft. He said he wondered if anyone we know plays it. I said, "Well, Lorie does." Henry said, "Uncle Lorie?" (because I have so many friends named Lorie)(really, she's the only one). It was a HA HA moment that I still laugh over now.

Anyhoo, it was a great weekend. Lots of good food, another viewing of Bridesmaids, a few glasses of vino and some other drinkies. And as always, lots of laughs.

3. It's 85 degrees here today, supposed to be 90 tomorrow. In Minnesota. In October. There is something inherently wrong about sweating your ass off while walking through crunchy piles of leaves. I want autumn back!

4. Walter's breath is horrible. Like, "there's something above and beyond the normal dog stink" breath. If you have a dog, you know what I mean when I say I'm dreading taking him to the vet. Because if you have a dog you know it's never ever a quick, $25 visit. "Oh ok Dr. So you say the stink is from a piece of garbage he ate that got stuck in his teeth and now that you've flossed it out everything is ok? Thank you!". No, it will almost always be more like, "What do you mean, he has two dead teeth and they have to be pulled but only while he's under general anesthesia and it will require an overnight stay?". Sigh. But I can handle just about anything and his mouth stink is almost making me barf, so he has to go in.

5. The effing mice are back. We saw one down in the mancave last night, and I found the evidence of them in the freaking dishwasher, of all places. I wrote about them for Smartly last year (you can read it here if you're interested) and for whatever reason (I'd like to believe it's my eternal optimism rather than my incessant obliviousness) I refused to believe that they'd be back this year. But they're back. And now I have to go buy more killing stuff.

6. An old friend recently connected with me on facebook. I won't divulge any specifics, but I will say this person was a very important part of my life at one time. We've exchanged a few messages, spent a while reminiscing about our old lives and the memories we have. And I find myself with very mixed emotions. Happy that this wonderful person has turned out to be the kind of man I always thought he would be: hardworking, successful, a good dad. It's also made me incredibly sad. Silly, huh? But sad sums it up. Sad because talking to him is like the past waking up from a decades-long nap, stretching, yawning and then looking at me and saying, "Way to go, Jenny. Bravo. Great choices you made, dumbass!". Don't get me wrong...it's absolutely priceless, being able to go down memory lane with someone who knew me before I was the person I am today. It's nice to know that someone out there remembers me as I was: young and happy, with the whole world out there just waiting. But to paraphrase Big Head Todd, it's bittersweet. Oh, and somehow Encyclopedia Brown found this little blog o' mine. Which adds a whole 'nother dimension of awkwardness to things. But that's how I roll.

7. Paul Giamatti. The movie "Win Win". Watch it. Heads up: it's SLLOOOWWW going at first but trust me. Those of you who know me well know that I have a bad, wrong crush on Paul Giamatti and I do believe he has never looked so averagely Paul Giamatti-ish as he does in this movie. But I still love him...and I loved this movie. Especially touching if you have teenagers who have been through some shit.

8. Remember my tuna salad kick? Watch out. Now I'm on to roasted vegetables. Tonight it's brussel sprouts, tossed lightly in olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and a fabulous spice from Penzey's (thanks Jen!!). Yes, my house does smell like funky ass but seriously...close your eyes and they almost taste like french fries.

9. Changed my mind. Two and a Half Men is awful now. And, to my surprise, Ted Danson is very watchable on CSI.

10. Back to school shopping absolutely KILLED me this past month. We are going to be doing some creative dining here at my house for the next couple of weeks. And by creative I mean "clearing out the freezer, fridge and cupboards". If you know of any good recipes that call for kidney beans, chicken breasts, hamburger buns, onions and Progresso soup, let me know.

And that's Ten on Tuesday. Now I'm going to take my swamp-mouthed dog out for a walk on this hot fall evening...enjoy your night!