I am having a glass of chardonnay, which I don't normally drink since it tastes too "oaky" for me. But the bottle was left over from my BlogHer 2010 planning party last week and god knows we can't let alcohol go to waste around here.

I finished mowing the backyard at 8:30 this evening.  I have one of those eco-friendly push mowers that my friends and family think I am completely crazy for owning. You charge the mower by plugging it into a standard outlet for 12 hours. Then you get about 1 hour of mowing time out of it. It costs about 40 cents to charge it for 12 hours. And truthfully, I am such a wuss that I can't mow for more than an hour at a time anyway. I mean really. The Texas heat and humidity will kill you in an hour. I have no idea how the construction workers around here stay alive. So I wait until 7:30 at night to even begin mowing.

And yes, I have a lawn service sometimes. But I use the mowing as way to get my exercise. I hate hate hate to exercise. So I have a mower that is not self-propelled. Yes, I push the thing around in 100 degree heat. It is an amazing workout! And there is something very satisfying about mowing the grass. I can't explain it.

And it is very satisfying to NOT be contributing emissions from my yard equipment.

Danny did the weed-eating while I mowed this evening. Bless his heart, after a 12 hour day at work and a 2-hour round trip drive, he still had enough energy to weed-eat the back yard.

And I made tacos for dinner. Because I was tired. And I was working all day too. I got home at 4:30. And this keeping-the-house-spotless thing is driving me crazy. When you have your house on the market for sale, you have to keep everything perfect and I hate it. We never really have a messy house (mainly because I live with one of the greatest Neat Freaks in the world.) But this is something else altogether. We have to keep it show-room ready and it is grating on my nerves.

So that is why I have my glass of chardonnay. I know. You had to read this whole thing to find out why I am really drinking the chardonnay this evening. Well, there it is. Now I am going to bed early.

I have been strangely captivated by the Doctor Who series on BBCAmerica lately. I watched a couple of episodes of the old Doctor Who many, many years ago. And I was not impressed at all. But the new Doctor Who, that I like.

Last Thursday Danny and I watched an episode we had recorded on the dvr called "Blink." It was an episode from 2007 and came highly recommended by Danny's dad. In fact, he told us that it was the best Doctor Who episode he had ever seen.

So we watched it. And we liked it. But it was creepy. And sad beyond words. There are these stone angels that come alive when you aren't looking at them. Hence, the title of the show was Blink. Because you don't even want to blink when one of these things is coming after you. If you blink or look away, they kill you by sending you back in time with only the clothes on your back.

I couldn't stop thinking about this episode. I even woke up during the night Thursday and had what might have been night terrors. I didn't go back to sleep for about 2 hours. I'm telling you that whole episode with the stone angels was creepy. And I still can't figure out why this resonated so strongly with me. But I can sleep now. And I am not scared to get up in the night to go to the bathroom in my own house. Because that would just be silly, right? And yet, Blink still sits in my mind and pokes its stoney fingers into my consciousness every so often these past few days.

Well, here we go. The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season 2010.

Living here on the Texas gulf coast, I pretty much have weather.com opened up on my computer screens daily during hurricane season. Yes, I am a Weather channel junkie too.

I watch the storms closely. At some point we have to make the decision to ride it out or evacuate. Danny and I have a plan for both instances. If we evacuate, we know what is going with us and what to do to the house to prepare. If we stay, we have a stock of water and supplies as well as a generator and gas to run it. And we have good wind storm insurance and flood insurance!

Making the decision whether or not to evacuate depends on many factors like the category of the hurricane, whether we just don't feel like making the drive to the in-laws in Arkansas, etc. The category of the storm is a pretty big deciding factor but we've had mere tropical storms here that did much worse damage than a hurricane.

So for now, we sit and wait and watch.

Some interesting posts I have read this week:

10 Signs You Are Addicted to Social Media by Jeff Bullas

One of the best cakes ever, Texas Sheet Cake. Click here for the recipe.

Need a query letter to obtain for yourself a new literary agent? Shauna Glenn wrote the perfect letter.

Six Ways Blogs Are Changing the Web by Jim Lodico at SocialMedia Examiner

No one can say New Orleans doesn't have a wry sense of humor:

I saw this ad in the recent copy of Houston Press.

My dad died of cancer 3 and half years ago. So I can't tell him Happy Father's Day today. But I'd like to thank him for a few things. These are just a few. I have a whole lifetime of thank you's for him but they wouldn't fit in a blog post.

• Thanks for working so hard when we were kids. Many times you held two or more jobs. You taught me the value of good work ethics.
• Thanks for teaching me kindness and generosity. Many are the times I witnessed you paying for a poor elderly person's groceries at the check out line when you knew they didn't have much money.
• Thanks for keeping my crazy 1979 Fiat X19 running while I was in high school. That car was a maintenance disaster but you uncomplainingly spent many hours fixing it every single time it broke down.
• Thanks for helping me build a telegraph machine out of an old phone and some wire for my 6th grade science project.
• Thanks for teaching me how to install a light fixture, how to use just about every woodworking tool in existence, and for explaining what exactly a plumb bob is.
• Thanks for taking us to Disney World when I was 10, even though there were six of us crammed in a 1977 Chevy Nova and we were cranky as hell and suffering from Florida-beach-sunburns on the 12 hour drive home to Mississippi.
• Thanks for teaching us that the entire family should get in the kitchen and help prepare the meals. Those are some of the best memories I have.
• And speaking of food, thanks for making the best barbeque ribs on the planet.
• Thanks for loving my mother and being married to her for 39 years.

Today I was driving out of Houston on the freeway. I was cruising along at about 70 mph in the right hand lane. A truck eased up beside me in the left lane. I glanced over at it as it got level with my vehicle. It was an Old Guy with a cowboy hat on and he was smoking a pipe. But not just any pipe. This pipe was bigger than normal, everyday pipes. It was quite ornate and looked like something out of old-world Germany and it was about three times the size of a normal pipe.

In a moment a Texas State Trooper car with all lights on and every siren blaring came up behind the Old Guy. But the Old Guy didn't speed up, slow down, or in anyway show that he knew they were back there. After a minute of this, I slowed down and eased back so the trooper car could maybe get in my lane and go around. I didn't know if they were trying to stop the Old Guy or not.

The trooper car came up alongside me and I looked over at it. The car was filled with troopers. There were two officers in the front seat and two officers in the back. I think that is all that will fit into one of those cars since Texas troopers wear large cowboy-style hats. It looked unusual because the troopers around here usually only have one officer per car. I guess they decided to carpool today and save the taxpayers some gas money. The two troopers on the passenger side of the car both turned their heads and looked right at me. I smiled. One of them tipped his hat at me. You can't say the state troopers aren't polite in Texas!

The trooper car then passes me and starts to move into the lane right in front of me. All this time the sirens are going crazy and lights are flashing on their car. Just as they start to change lanes, the Old Guy finally sees them behind him. So he eases over into the lane in front of me. It takes him an inordinate amount of time to complete this maneuver considering he was going about 70 mph also.

The trooper car swerves back into the left lane and finally passes the Old Guy. As they pull alongside his truck, the Old Guy takes the pipe out of his mouth and uses it to wave at them. They actually waved back! And then they took off down the freeway at a really fast speed. A few miles down the road I come up on them. They have a car pulled to the side of the road and they are all four out of the car and speaking to the driver of that car. I wish I knew what all that was about. I am crazy curious about some things and I want to know just why so many state troopers were crammed into one car like clowns at a circus.

One of our crepe myrtle trees in the back yard is blooming beautifully this year. Some years it is only so-so. But this year it is covered with purple blooms:

And continuing on with the house theme, I present a picture of my dining room. The horns on the wall in the far background are watusi horns we picked up at an amazing little shop in Mena, Arkansas. The wave painting is by California surfer artist Ashton Howard.

Since we decided to sell our house, I am going the non-traditional real estate route. I am not using a real estate agent to sell my house. I am using a combination of social media and other avenues. Here is what I am doing:

• Facebook - I posted on my wall that my house is for sale and a picture of my house.
• Twitter - I announced on Twitter today that my house is now for sale. I don't have very many followers but perhaps one of them may know someone who knows someone who wants to buy an interesting house.
• Blogging - I am using this blog to advertise my house and write about it.
• BlogHer - I am a member of BlogHer and I put links to my blog/website on there.
• Email - I have emailed all of my friends and family to let them know we are moving and the house is for sale.
• LinkedIn - I am going to look into whether I should announce to my LinkedIn network my plans to sell the house and move.
• Craigslist - I will list the house for sale on Craigslist.
• ebay - I am listing the house for sale on ebay.
• ByOwner.com - I plan to use this service.
• Word of Mouth - I am using this extensively to market my house. I have told my neighbors, friends, and family in this area. And I asked them to spread the word.
  
  My house description:
  
  
  5 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms
  3,267 square foot living space. 630 square foot 2-car garage with an additional garage space for motorcycle. House sits on .77 acre lot in one of the best subdivisions in the area. The neighbors are fabulous except for this one elderly lady who is, well, grouchy. But she has only spoken to us three times in three years so she is not a major problem. This is a non-smoking household. And the house is not haunted either.
  
  This house has been a joy to live in. It is roomy and spacious with soaring ceilings and plenty of room for when the in-laws come to visit. The house is filled with light from the many windows and skylights. You just won't believe the amazing laundry room. I am not joking. The laundry room will convince you to buy this house!
  
  In-ground heated swimming pool. This pool is a salt-water pool and the entire pool/patio area is enclosed by a steel beam and screen enclosure to protect you from the ubiquitous Texas mosquitos. The screen enclosure was replaced with new screening during spring 2009. All new exterior siding and painting completed in April 2010. Interior painting updated in June 2010.
  
  Formal dining room with custom lighting. Large kitchen with breakfast table area. Ample storage in kitchen and adjoining mudroom with built-ins. Fifth bedroom currently being used as a home office which includes 1 wall of built in cabinets/shelves. Always wanted your own library? This house has a wonderful library room with shelving and cabinets ready for your book collection. Gargantuan living room with brick fireplace, recessed lighting, and custom window shades. A master bathroom and closet that will delight and inspire you. Have a large shoe collection? This closet will accommodate easily. Built in drawers and shelves throughout the supersized closet.
  
  This house was custom designed by the architectural firm Munson Associates of Houston and built in 1977. Local real estate agents call this one of the most famous houses in the area. Mature landscaping surrounds this property which includes large oak and pecan trees. A wonderful bamboo forest perfect for panda bears and such sits at the back of this property.
  
  Please fill out the contact form on this site to make arrangements with me for a viewing

   

My father-in-law and I spent the better part of the day yesterday working on the landscaping on the front of our house. It needed a freshening up before we put our house on the market to sell. And tomorrow is the day it goes up for sale. We already have two different people scheduled to view the house tomorrow evening. We may have a fast sell on our hands here which is fine with me. Of course, after selling, we'll need to move.

I hate, hate, hate moving. I got plenty of that while I was in high school and my dad worked for the Army Corps of Engineers. We moved every year that I was in high school. I was not happy with that.

And in addition to the moving, we have to find another house to buy. And in the midst of all that, I have to keep working my job full-time and Danny works his job which is more than full-time. He typically works 70-80 hours per week when his company has him on a busy site. It is not going to be easy. But then, most things aren't.

So yesterday was hot and muggy. Our heat index was 104. I took three showers. Cold showers. I drank copious amounts of water. I kept getting too hot working in the yard and I would come inside and take a cold shower, cool off, change clothes, and go back out. It was one of those typical south Texas days were you can walk outside, grab the air, and give it a hug. I am talking serious humidity. I grew up in northern Mississippi where you get to experience the Southern summers. But I had never encountered such intense humidity until we moved to Louisiana. Oh My God...the air there is so thick that it defies explanation. South central Texas is just the same!

Here is one of our newly landscaped front areas. Photo was taken standing on the front porch area: