I opened up and let you know that I have the hots for my Congressman and I also revealed that my husband and I have a “Top 5″ list. Several readers e-mailed and asked if I would reveal our lists. So here they are:

MINE:
1. Brad Ellsworth
2. Matthew McConaughey
3. Dr. Drew (yes, the sex talk guy - sometimes gray can be sexy)
4. Ben Affleck
5. Doogie Howser (aka Neil Patrick Harris, who broke my heart when he said he was gay)

And if this was 1981 I’d add Robert Redford. You gotta admit, the man aged well though.

HIS:
1. Kristen Bell (aka Veronica Mars)
2. Keri Russell (I can’t get past Felicity cutting her hair off)
3. Evangeline Lilly
4. Julia Stiles
5. He says he reserves this space for whoever is in the room at the time….which is me at the moment. Who wouldn’t want to get with this?

Your turn. If you and your spouse have a Top 5 list who’s on it?

And if you haven’t checked out the new design at PROPS & PANS(courtesy of Izzy)…give it a click. They’re adding new features and have a lot of great products you need to know about!

We took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and got out of the house. Lot’s of walking and lot’s of parks. Sunday afternoon Nate decided to run a few errands. After he left Ethan and I walked to a large park which is very close to our house. There is a lot of room to play and run around, plus it has a lake with ducks. A park with duck poop is the best time ever! I left this note on the door figuring Nate would be back in about an hour and he could come pick us up.

About an hour and a half later Nate drove up with this panicked look on his face. Turns out he read the “come pick us up” part and then skipped down to the words “hospital” and “hurry.” In a state of panic he drove to the hospital we frequent down the road, looking for us. When he couldn’t find information on us in the ER he drove back home and re-read the note in its entirety. The park we went to is on the grounds of a State Hospital.

I can certainly understand his panic. (I guess the hurry part with three explanation points didn’t help.) A little over two years ago Nate was at work when he received a phone call that would change a person’s heart forever. My son and I were involved in a serious car accident in which an elderly driver crossed the center line and hit us head on. The only thing the sheriff told him was it was pretty bad and that he should meet the helicopter at the hospital. He sat in that same ER he went to today for over an hour waiting. When Ethan finally arrived by ambulance he was relieved to find him relatively unharmed. The heart wrenching moment came when they informed him I was at a hospital across town and they had already “lost” me twice. The outlook was grim. During these past few years he’s spent his fair share time in ER’s, operating waiting rooms, doctor offices and hospital rooms.

My intention was not to scare him today. Never did I dream he would jump to conclusions without reading it fully, but I guess since that is the world we’ve lived in lately he couldn’t help it. Thankfully his trip this time was short and we won’t get billed for it!

I’m not even sure where to begin a story like this. I guess it all started after Nate & I met in college. During the last semester of school we got a cocker spaniel puppy and named her Pacey. Let me point out that we named her after Pacey on Dawson’s Creek. We actually loved that show. Crazy I know. Only one problem, Nate wasn’t allowed to have pets at the house he rented. My parents graciously agreed to keep her for a few months until we graduated and moved. Pacey’s life was a little rocky from the start. At around 2 months of age she somehow chewed through a lamp cord and while the lights were flickering in their house, my parents were like, “Um…what’s that smell?” Oh, it’s just the dog getting fried! To hear the story now of my mom screaming and my step-father calling the vet’s office and them hanging up on him because he kept telling them his dog had been electrocuted but was still alive, is kind of funny.

Fast forward a few years. Pacey was a pretty good dog. That being said, after cooking her eggs over-easy, she definitely would have been riding the short bus if she was going to school. Once Ethan was born she didn’t get the attention she deserved or needed. The fact that she howled like an aggressive wolf every time someone rang our doorbell and I had a 6 month old trying to sleep, didn’t increase the love she got. As time went on she exhibited more and more bad behaviors and I will admit to keeping her in our basement (a lot).

When Ethan was almost 2 years old, he and I were involved in a serious car accident in which I spent 3 months in the hospital. Given the stressful time my husband was under, Pacey got neglected a lot. I don’t mean we didn’t feed her, but no one was at our house to give her much attention. Priorities you know. He came home several times to a house smeared with poop. As his frustration with her grew, he kept telling me to get rid of her. So 6 months later, without discussing this with him, while he was at work I gave her away to another family who could give her the attention she deserved. It was a post-Zoloft moment. Let’s just say Nate was shocked and sad.

It has been very nice not having an animal to take care of, but Ethan has been begging us for a puppy for a long time. We kept saying maybe for your 5th birthday….but Ethan has been pretty dramatic lately with a little help from his drama coach father. He has a stuffed animal dog that looks just like Pacey that he named Black Nose. This dog goes everywhere and he talks to it and plays with it as if it’s a real dog. Then he’ll throw a ball and say, “Go get it Black Nose. Oh, that’s right you’re not a real dog.” Pretty sad isn’t it?

I came home from a meeting the other night and Nate had helped Ethan write me a letter asking if he could have a puppy, because it would make him happy and because he doesn’t have any brothers or sisters to play with. That kind of got to me and this weekend I gave in under a few rules.
#1 - I’m not taking care of this dog alone.
#2 - I’m not picking up any dog poop in the backyard.
#3 - I’m not getting up with the dog at night.
#4 - I’m not the one taking this dog to obedience classes.
You get the picture…I’m not doing much.

That all changed when I first held Parker and she snuggled up on my chest. So soft and cute. I’m easy. I’m weak. I’m a pushover. I know. But at least she’s a girl! It kind of evens out the testosterone around here. She can’t pee anymore in this house than my husband and son already do. At the pet store I picked out a cute pink collar and light green & pink leash. It’s SOOO foo-foo and trust me I’m not a foo-foo person.

The best part of this story is where we got her. Yeah, we picked her up in the parking lot of Denny’s. Seriously. That is what we should have named her. As long as we don’t short her circuit hopefully she’ll live a happier and calmer life than her predecessor.

I find it humorous that the word “control” is used to describe the remote. We have this long-standing feud in our house and maybe you do too. I’d love to hear your thoughts or suggestions, although I know I am right (because I’m always right!).

A couple years ago my husband decided we were getting DVR, because we have no life and need to record as much TV as possible so that on Friday nights we’ll have something other than 20/20 to watch. I wish I was kidding.

What happened last night in our living room has occurred on numerous occasions. Nate decided he wanted to go to bed when our son did. Which is fine by me. It means full control of the TV and quiet time. Problem? The DVR was set to record mostly his shows for 3 straight hours - 2 shows each hour. You can only record 2 shows at a time and you must be watching one them (or something already previously recorded). So I was screwed unless I wanted to watch Heroes, Prison Break, 24, etc…and I didn’t. My shows were on too damn it! You know - WifeSwap, Supernanny, Sweet Sixteen, The Hills… I like reality shows and he prefers unrealistic shows where if you save the cheerleader, you save the world. We’re a good match.

My argument was this. If he’s going to bed then he has to cancel at least one of his recordings each hour so that I can watch something I like. Seems fair right? We each get a show? Split down the middle? Apparently not. We compromised and he canceled one show. Normally I would go to the bedroom on Monday night’s because I don’t like ANY of those shows. Which I don’t complain about. He gets the living room, recliner and 50 inch TV in HD. Me? The old queen size mattress and a 19 inch TV with a remote that you have to hold in your left hand, push the numbers twice with your right index finger and jump up and down on one foot just to change the channel.

Woo Hoo! Seem fair to you?

I promise I did go grocery shopping last Friday after we only had ice water for breakfast. Milk in our house goes quick. I usually buy several gallons at a time, but Friday I only bought one for some reason (lack of sleep, 4.5 year old arguing with me that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, I shop in the ‘hood’ and try to get in and out without getting robbed, I’d gotten another one of those squeaky carts with three wheels - take your pick).

Let me remind you that I do 99% of the grocery shopping. My husband knows to put whatever he wants on the list and I’ll pick it up. It’s worked this way for over 6 years…a perfect system. He’d probably cite that as to the reason why he didn’t bother to travel to the grocery last week when we were out of milk, juice and Diet Coke. That and he’s lazy.

After work today I stopped to get a few things. I went ahead and picked up two gallons of milk to save a trip later in the week and two bags of salad. Two hours later my husband walks in the door with groceries - Surprise! He bought a gallon of milk and salad. His reaction - “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to the grocery?” For 6 years he has understood the list thing. He proved that by not going to the grocery while I was busy with work last week. So why today?

We now we have 3 1/2 bags of lettuce and 4 gallons of milk in case a blizzard or something happens. My Grandma would be proud.