I know, I suck

Yes, I have been MIA lately. Yes, I have not had much interest in blogging. Yes, I failed to provide pictures. Yes, it has taken me 4 days to come up with a winner. I suck.
Moving on...the house is coming along nicely. There are less than 5 boxes sitting around and most of the stuff has been put away. Still don't have pictures on the walls and I STILL haven't found suitable bathroom mirrors, but I'm happy with the progress. Good thing, because I go back to work in about 3 weeks. Blah!
Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway. Yep, all 4 of you! I knew the designer tampon case would scare some of you away...Anyhoo...the big winner is Rebecca Jo! Yay! Just send me your contact/address and I'll send you your prizes! (if you want to be anonymous, just leave it in a comment on any older post).

Paris Wrap-up and a Give-away

OK- I know most of you don't care at this point or don't even remember that I went to Paris a few weeks ago but I hate to quit just short of the end so here is the abbreviated ending...
An American in Paris: Parts V and VI
Part V: Boobs and Balls
After two days of gorgeous weather, it was rainy and cool on Monday. That was fine b/c we had planned to spend all day at the Louvre. Once a grand palace, it now houses priceless works of art and ancient artifacts.
We started with the sculptures on the lower levels, worked our way through the Mesopotamian pieces and then the Egyptian exhibits. That was probably my favorite. It was amazing to see the mummies and coffins up close. Some of the colors were still so vibrant. There were necklaces and other finite jewelry still intact.
Paintings of all size, subject and medium lined the walls. I couldn't believe there wasn't anymore security than there was. You could just reach out and touch most things if you wanted to. The only piece that was "protected" was the Mona Lisa. There was always a large crowd in front and she was behind special glass and was roped off. All the others were seemingly just hanging on the wall.
As exquisite as some of the works were, I was also surprised at the sheer number of boobs and balls. Yeah, I said it. We all know that classic art celebrates the human form, whatever, but some were downright weird.

(even in ancient times, men were facinated by thier penis)

(yes, that's a snake she's holding to her boob)

(At the right angle, it looks like the girl is pinching the other nipple. I told ya. Weird.)

Other significant works include the Venus de Milo, the Code of Hammurabi, furnishings of Napoleon, and paintings by Manet.
"Veni, vedi, vichi"-we came, we saw, we were outta there by 3:3o. Great way to spend a rainy day in Paris.
Part VI: Sortie
On that first day in Paris by myself, I learned one word very quickly: Sortie. It means "exit." It was all over the subway, airport and various places. Tuesday had come and it was our day to "sortie". We loaded up our luggage, grabbed one last sweet roll for the train and got to the airport. Luckily, the wait for this flight did not include long lines and misinformation. It included coffee, TV, swanky bathrooms and all you can eat snacks in the frequent flyer lounge. Our flight home was uneventful,but nonetheless, it was good to be home!!
I mentioned something a while back about a giveaway. It's not very exciting- I didn't get to do as much shopping as I would have liked- but I have a Paris key chain and 2 "moving" gifts up for grabs. Since packing/unpacking, I have discovered a few items to pass along: a Lolita Music-tini martini glass and a Lolly Lu "designer" tampon case. Weird, I know. Just leave me a comment by midnight on Thursday night (7/23) and a winner will be chosen at random.

Randomness

-I totally understand while some species eat their young. Savannah is killing me these past few days. Helen Keller listened better than she does.
-We were in IL on the 4th of July. It was 65 degrees and raining. Sucked!!
-We have well-water, not city water, and it smells like rotten eggs lately.
-I am sick of unpacking. Advice noted, Slacker Mama. I'm gonna need some Red Bull or something to finish up and get motivated.
-I think I lost weight from all the moving/sweating/no time to snack. But I don't recommend it.
-Does anybody know where I can get a pair of traditional, white mirrors, about 29"x33" for less than $120?? Apparently they don't exist.
-One of my favorite things about the new house is my central vacuum system. Love it. It sucks.,too...in a good way.
-I am now a staff member for one of our local children's consignment sales (seasonal job on the side).
-Out of the blue my 2-year-old niece says, "Dexter (our dog) stinks. He smells like doo-doo."
-Oreo cakesters are pretty damn good.
-I freakin' cried during "Horton Hears a Who" this morning at the free summer movie.
-We already have our first overnight house guest arriving tomorrow...not MY idea...
-I told myself I was not going to visit bloggieland tonight, but then Savannah wouldn't go to bed so I figured the night was shot anyway.

I'm back!

Just thought I would take a second to come up for air and say "hello" to my bloggie friends. I'm good. The new house is good. Our 4th of July was so-so. The new pool is not so good. Moving is going slow, but good. Or rather, the unpacking is slow but good. My stuff has the potential of being there for the next 40+ years so I want to make sure I put it in the right spot!
I'll finish up the Paris trip too, but for now I just wanted to say, "Hey!"