It's a miracle!

As I've mentioned a few about a hundred thousand times, my husband is not big on home repair tasks ("it'll just get that way again."). When we bought our house in 1998, we made note of the fact that the ceiling fan in our bedroom was ugly. It was dark grey and just didn't seem to match anything. My beloved assured me he'd replace it that summer. Because the fan contained a light fixture, it was the main source of light in our bedroom. It had four separate sockets for light bulbs. One socket died last year. Then recently the second one called it quits. This left us with two low-watt bulbs in our bedroom. I don't need it to be lit up like Kohl's in there, but I need to have a reasonable expectation that I have, in fact, selected two black - and not navy - socks to wear to work. Matching earrings are also a plus.

So, I went to Home Depot and selected a new one. Then I set the box in the bedroom, patted it a few times, and spoke loudly of how I couldn't wait to be able to enjoy the soft breezes generated by my new ceiling fan. I also may have implied, if ever so vaguely, that I might make it "worth his while" to install it sooner than later.

This morning the kid and I went to church and left the man of the house to work on the installation. When we got home, he had managed to remove the old one but had not yet installed the new one. Sensing that my other half might start uttering some colorful language as he got further into the project, I grabbed my daughter and loaded her into the car for a trip to a local orchard . . . which was closed. Apples everywhere and I could not buy them. So, we went with Plan B, which was to drive to a different orchard that was farther away. We were only able to get Cortland and Red Delicious, but we had no complaints. We munched some apples on the way home. I am hoping that this big pile of apples will result into a couple less teeth for the kid. Her top teeth are loose but she refuses to pull them. So, here's hoping one of them ends up in an apple.

When we got home, the new ceiling fan had been installed. And it works!

Now that I know my other half is capable of completing a handyman task that involves electricity, I have some hope of being able to say good-bye to the monstrosity in our dining room:

In other news, I hauled my arse to Weight Watchers on Saturday.  I hadn't been in a couple weeks three months. I had been loosely counting points over the summer, but wasn't taking it too seriously. However, in my ever-changing attempts to motivate myself, I am trying something new. I have issued myself a challenge, and I'm happy to report that I have accepted it. I have set up an incentive program. 10 pounds lost = pedicure (I know I've said in the past that I'm not so sure I want one, but I figure I may as well give it a try), 20 pounds lost = massage, and 30 pounds lost = a new tattoo. So, we'll see.  I'll keep you posted. Maybe.

The most stylish kid the orchard has ever seen