Holiday weekend

The Labor Day holiday weekend is upon us!

Very often we have company for the Labor Day weekend, so I scheduled myself off work.  But this year we do not have any weekend guests so I'm not sure what Spouse & I will end up doing.  Surely we will go to the beach at some point.

The traffic will no doubt be hellacious as it always is on Labor Day weekend, so maybe we'll stay close to home.

I hope everyone has a great, safe, and fun holiday weekend!

Beardy boy

Underwear shopping

As long as I can remember I have only worn white briefs.  I have dabbled once or twice into the colorful bikinis, boxers, and boxer-briefs, have always come back to plain white briefs (PWB).  While I know they aren't stylish like Andrew Christian, NastyPig, or the like, I enjoy the simplicity and stark white cleanliness of PWB.  I'm not dating or hooking up so I don't need to impress anyone with my stylish underwear.  Besides, are 50-year olds even allowed to wear Andrew Christian or Nasty Pig??

Recently I determined I was in need of some new underwear, and since I had a $20 rewards certificate for Marshalls/TJ Maxx/HomeGoods, I decided I would get my new underwear at Marshalls.  While I found a multitude of white undershirts, v-necks, and tanks, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me that there were no PWB.  Oh sure, there were the individual Calvin Klein white briefs, 1 per box for $12 each.  But I was looking for a 4-pack or 5-pack for no more than $20.

It just wasn't going to happen, at least not that day, and not in that Marshalls.  So I contemplated coming back another day in hopes the inventory would be different, or breaking out of my PWB routine.  I decided there was no real 'reason' I needed to stick with PWB since they were getting so hard to find, and ended up with a 5-pack of Reebok cotton briefs for $9.99.  Make that two 5-packs, since I had $20 to spend.

So now I have 10 new pairs of comfortable, cotton briefs in an array of colors.  Not that anyone sees them but me and occasionally Spouse.

Just because

A hot mesh

Over the weekend we stopped at the grocery store for a single item, so I dropped Spouse off at the front door and then turned around and waited for him to come back out.

While I waited, I happened to see this man coming toward the store entrance.  He looked to be in his 70s, had silver/white hair, glasses, and was wearing cut-off jeans shorts and a mesh t-shirt.

Yep, you read that right.  Mesh t-shirt.  I couldn't believe my eyes!

Now, if you're like 22 years old, work out like a fiend and have a rockin' body, then you are entitled to flaunt your fabulousness in a mesh t-shirt.

But if you're an old geezer wearing cut-offs and a mesh t-shirt, then you are simply a hot mesh!

Make my day

About a year and a 1/2 ago I wrote about how some stranger made my day by paying for my lunch when I'd forgotten my wallet.  The experience made me feel terrific all day long, and I told myself I would 'pay it forward' whenever I could and hopefully make someone else's day.

A few month's later I overheard the secretary from another office in my same building talking to a colleague about having a hard week.  A sick dog, unexpected and expensive vet bills, etc.  She was just not having a good week.

So I got a yellow post-it note and wrote "Smile!  Someone thinks you're terrific" on it, and stuck it to a $20 bill and slipped them into a plain white envelope.  When I saw the secretary leave the office, I slipped the envelope under her closed door.  I felt jazzed, as I imagined my little random act of kindness putting a smile on her face.

Just the other day I was treating myself to some delicious frozen yogurt at SnoYo when a young Latino couple came in with their 2 adorable kids.  The little boy was probably 3 years old and the little girl was younger.  They both squealed with excited as their parents topped their frozen yogurt with all kinds of things.  When the 3 year old was handed his cup by his mother, he said "Thank you".

The lighbulb went off in my head.  When I finished my cup of frozen deliciousness, I went to the register and asked to buy a gift card.  After paying for it, I asked the girl behind the register to do me a favor by waiting until I left and then giving the gift card to the young family.  Again, I think my little random act of kindness gave me as much joy as it gave the recipients, although I didn't see them receive it.

So, if you're feeling down or are having a bad day, perform a random act of kindness for someone else.  You'll make their day and yours at the same time.

Beardy boy

Thanks to BosGuy for this hairy hipster.

Cousins

I watch all kinds of real estate, home renovation/improvement, and decorating/design shows on TV.  I love them all!

I especially enjoyed "Kitchen Cousins" and "Cousin on Call", featuring real-life cousins Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri.  They manage to be energetic without looking crazy.  And speaking of looking, these handsome guys are certainly easy on the eyes!

John on the left; Anthony on the right

From watching the show you can tell they are both in nice shape.  A couple times I'd Googled their names with the word 'shirtless' afterward to no avail.  So you can imagine how excited I was to see a video on facebook with glimpses of both guys shirtless!  Apparently they are doing some summer barbequing videos where they grill food and make new cocktails.  

This one shows both guys, with Anthony shirtless. This one shows both guys, with John shirtless.  To see all the guys' grilling and cocktail mixing videos and the recipes they make, check out this site.

Just because

Thanks to MAC at Yummy of the Day for this gorgeous guy.

Fantastic

How will you spend your Monday?

Mild weather

This week has been uncharacteriscally mild here in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Typically at this time of year (mid-August) the daytime temperatures would be in the upper-80s to mid-90s and the humidity level would be very high, producing a 'sauna' effect.  We also refer to this time as the 'dog days of summer'.

But every day this week the temperatures have been in the upper-70s to low-80s and the humidity has been almost non-existent.  Spouse and Marvin and I have had dinner out on the screened porch several times and even slept with the bedroom windows partially opened.  

Not that I'm complaining - its been fantastic - but it does make you a little leery.  Does this mean we're going to be blasted by a heat wave at the end of the month??  Or does this mean we're going to have another colder-than-usual winter??

I'm going to try and not over-think it, but instead, just enjoy it.

Beardy boy

Fart Car

I've written many times on this blog about alternative energies like electricity, wind, and solar.  I'm a big proponent of 100% electric cars like the Nissan Leaf which use no fossil fuels and emit no pollution.

But I just became aware of a new car that is powered by a 'natural' gas that is renewable.  Check this out:

I can't wait to order my new Flatula Backfire!

Just because

Yep, its Monday

Sweet dreams are made of this

So here's my recent dream:

I'm showing a house to a client (I'm a realtor) and I notice this really fabulous a cappella vocal jazz playing.  I wonder over to this old-school console stereo/record player and see an album is playing.  The music is really good, I'm totally getting into it, and absolutely forget about my client.  Then I see on the other side of the console a folder with sheet music sticking out of it.  As I look at the sheet music I see that its for the same songs that are playing.  This totally excites me!

Next I hear someone enter the room and turn around to find a chunky, ethnic-looking man probably in his mid-60s.  (Note that this is not the client to whom I'm supposed to be showing the house.)  The man walks over to me and says "I'm ready to do your manicure now" and smiles at me.  I think for a second that this is weird, since I've never had a manicure before, and that this man who looks like a character from "The Sapranos" is the manicurist, and that I'm about to get a manicure in a house that I'm supposed to be showing to a client.  Not withstanding all this, I pause for a moment and reply to the man "OK".

The man points to a small stool in front of the old-school console stereo so I sit on it while he walks behind the console and gestures for me to put my hand up on the console.  I do that, and he begins touching and examining my hands.

"Your name is Mark" he begins.  

"That's right!" I reply, more than a little surprised, since neither of us had exchanged names and I certainly don't remember having made an appointment with him.  He looks at my other hand and feels the length of my index finger. 

"You have a long-term boyfriend, like 25 years, who is in the construction industry..." he continues.

"Um, no..." I reply.  I'm a little disappointed at this 'miss'.  Then I wonder silently "Is this a manicure or a psychic reading?"  The man looks up from my hands and smiles at me again.  My heart is racing because I anticipate that he is somehow reading my energy through my hands, or something similar.  I can hardly wait for what he'll say next.

And then I woke up. I tried to go back to sleep to continue the dream but it didn't work. 

I don't believe dreams 'mean' anything.  My dreams are often a mixture of real life people and events jumbled up with TV show characters and plots.  I really hoped I'd get to continue this one though.

Beardy boy

Thanks to MAC at Yummy of the Day for this hirsuit hunk.

Drip

I accidentally filled my water glass a little too much, so on the way from the water cooler to my desk a spilled a couple drops of water onto my canvas shoe.  No biggie; its just water.  It will dry.

Just a few minutes later I went to the restroom.  On my way out of the restroom my colleague is coming in.  He does the customary 'look at the floor' deal that guys often do in such situations.  I imagine he looks at my shoe, and then I realize it probably appears that I dribbled on my shoe in the bathroom instead of at the water cooler.

Good grief.

Just because

Drinking

Friday

Its Friday!  How will you start the weekend?