Computer Problems

Sorry for my recent vanishing act... over the weekend, my HP Pavillion dv9000 notebook crashed on me for the second time in a year, and is on its way back to Texas for a new motherboard and display hardware and drivers. I'm using its twin, which I purchased back in August after the first crash, but I haven't been good about running everything in parallel so there's a lot of backing up and importing and setting up profiles to be done before things will be back to normal.

I had planned to post "Spring Is In the Air" (and I will soon, I promise) about the weather warming up a bit in the Roxiticus Valley, daffodils starting to peek up from the ground, daylight savings time all making it feel like the cold hard winter (and the depression, both economic and otherwise, that came along with it) is finally coming to an end. We're getting ready for Easter egg hunts, Mother's Day with Alvin Ailey at NJPAC, summer camp for London and Maddie, and opening our beach house in Bay Head. So there's a lot to look forward to over the coming months.

Instead, I'm trying to pull my computer life back together, with little help from the evil Hewlett Packard overlords who couldn't seem to find any documentation on my 4-year extended warranty that covers everything. Thankfully, I finally found an e-mail confirmation on my backup hard drive so they're back on the hook. It brings to mind the conversation I had with HP "customer service" last summer when it seemed a software problem might be to blame for my crash:

HP tech support: "Oh, I don't think your extended warranty plus accidental damage contract covers software issues."
Roxy: "Would it be covered if my notebook accidentally fell out an eleventh floor window in Manhattan?"
HP tech support: "Why, yes, that's what accidental damage coverage is all about!"
Roxy: "I'm opening my window. Would you prefer to solve the software crash damage or the eleven-story-drop crash damage under warranty?"

Satellite On My Head... Or At Least On My Roof

Those of you who have known me for years know that ever since college, I've been wishing for a satellite dish that would conveniently attach to my head and provide a constant stream of information and entertainment straight to my brain. That day will come, but in the meantime, I'm thinking of putting a satellite dish on my roof here in the Roxiticus Valley, and another one down at our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey. Every time I open my cable bill (or think about the damage the evil Comcast overlords have done to my credit rating since they tried to rip me off at our beach house two years ago), I threaten to call the Dish Network and make a change ("go ahead, make that change" echoes Michael Jackson from "The Man in the Mirror").



It's the constant nickel and diming that gets me. I'm sure there's a Seinfeld episode (although those of you who have known me for years also know that I have never watched a Seinfeld episode and in the show's heyday would ask, "Who is this Kramer? Is he the new guy in our Maryland headquarters office?") With cable, it's always another six-fifty here, six-fifty there. $6.50 to rent a DVR. $6.50 to use the DVR. $6.50 taxes and fees on the DVR. $6.50 late payment fee for not paying the disputed charges on my bill. Imagine how much I could save if I switched to satellite and my monthly TV bill was only $9.99? And right now, they're throwing in a free HD DVR upgrade... no six-fifty monthly charges attached!

And something tells me that when someone invents the satellite dish to attach to my head, it's going to be available through the Dish Network!

March Madness and a Visit from the Tooth Fairy

March Madness continues here in the Roxiticus Valley. We started the day with a little madness of our own, the last Mendham Patriots girls' basketball clinic for London and Maddie. Now Rex's son PostBoy's alma mater, the Villanova Wildcats, are giving UCLA a whupping.

At the half, it was time to pull London's ninth tooth, a sharp little canine tooth that she's been wiggling for a few weeks. It's been about a year since the Tooth Fairy paid a visit to our house, so we're all wondering what she'll hide under London's pillow tonight.

Betty Boop Bathrobes for London and Maddie

London and Maddie are snuggled up in my bedroom, watching the American Girl Kit Kittredge movie at the end of a relaxing Friday night at home. Earlier in the evening, London had an eight-year-old birthday party to go to with a "spa" theme (pajamas, flip flops, and bathrobe), and I realized that neither of my daughters own a bathrobe. I called a few stores over in the Streets of Chester, but it turns out that bathrobes are a seasonal item for winter. Never mind what the neighbors might say, I loaned London one of my silky Roxiticus Desperate Housewives bathrobes and sent her off to the spa party, thinking a robe of her own would have to wait until next winter.

Then I heard the good news that Sears is offering 75-80% off the original prices of Fall and Winter apparel from now until April 18th. Even better, from tonight (Friday, March 20th) through Sunday, March 22nd, Sears is offering an additional 15% off shopping savings pass on regular, sale and clearance priced apparel, shoes and accessories. So if I can find each of the girls a Betty Boop bathrobe at Sears, we're going to get a great deal.

Before I go to bed tonight, I'm going to head over to Sears apparel and print out the coupon to use this weekend. This coupon is valid in stores and at Sears.com, so I can shop in my own jammies and robe while I find one for London and Maddie.

March Madness Continues with No Million Bucks for Roxy

You know what they say, don't quit your day job. I'm up working late on a sale assignment, with some great March Madness basketball to keep me company. I had a perfect bracket (15 for 15) going into the last game of the night, Illinois (#5 seed) vs. Western Kentucky (#12 seed). At one point in the evening, while UCLA battled it out to overcome VCU, I had noticed in the background that Illinois was down by 17 points and I thought it was over. However, they came back strong at the end of the second half, but lost it (and my million bucks), 76-72.

I guess it's time to start looking for the Second Chance Bracket Busted contests...do any of you still have a perfect bracket after the first 16 games?

Happy Birthday, Maddie!

Today's the Big Day... Maddie is seven (7)!! I packed her off to school with brownies for the whole class, and tonight we'll celebrate at her favorite restaurant, the Limestone Cafe in Peapack.

Happy birthday to my sweet, sweet girl... mommy and daddy and London love you!

Naughty Limericks for St. Patrick's Day

There once was a man from Bel Air,
Who was doing his girl on the stair.
When the banister broke,
He doubled his stroke,
And finished her off in mid-air


There once was a pirate (the story relates)
who liked to go dancing on roller skates
He fell on his cutlass
which rendered him nutless
and virtually useless on dates

March Madness Perfect Bracket Contests 2009

Just like last year, the team here at Roxiticus Desperate Housewives has done all the research for you to make the most of your March Madness 2009 experience. Hint to our readers: the contests get better as you scroll down.

First, ESPN has posted their 2009 March Madness Tournament Challenge, and I'm afraid $10,000 is not nearly as interesting as a million bucks. You'd think with sponsors like State Farm and Sprint, ESPN could pony up the money to make it a little more interesting for us.

The CBS Sports Bracket Challenge is also offering a chance to win $10,000.

WRAL.com has stepped up the prizes this year with a new sponsor, Carolina Ale House, and a $1,000,000 Bracket Challenge. It looks like you can fill in your bracket as the tournament goes along instead of the full bracket up front.

All Roads to the Final Four Lead to BracketContest.com:

This year, BracketContest.com is again offering to pay one million dollars for the perfect bracket. All I had to give up to register was my e-mail address, snail mail address, and phone number. One important rule: only one entry per person/household, so make it a good one. While there are several other sites that show up with this contest on Google, all of them appear to link to BracketContest.com.

What would be better than a million bucks? Last year, Yahoo offered a shot at $5 million in the Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick 'Em 2008!! This year, Yahoo! has cut back to $1 million, but they still let each person/household/Yahoo ID fill out five (5) different brackets for five shots at the million bucks.

Having found our readers all of the March Madness Perfect Bracket Challenges you need, Roxiticus Desperate Housewives must read London and Maddie their bedtime stories. If you're the one with the perfect bracket, please thank us with an appropriate share of your winnings.

Music Monday: Chihuahua Wishes Maddie a Happy, Happy 7th Birthday

We started Maddie's 7th birthday celebration week last night with seven of her friends here in their pajamas for a late over, and the dog party continues today with the Beverly Hills Chihuahua here to wish Maddie the happiest birthday ever... and you don't have to be seven to sing and dance along... enjoy!



Chihuahua!
Chihuahua!
Chihuahua!
Chihuahua!

Oh, Chihuahua!

I'm walking in the street
And the moon shine's bright
A little melody keeps feeling on my mind tonight
I gotcha!
It's the song about Chihuahua
Yeah, that's cool alright

It was fun
And a life without sorrow
Feels young
And when you think about tomorrow
Say YO!
When you're about to freak out
Just go and then shout it out loud

Chihuahua here
Chihuahua there
Everybody wants it everywhere
Sing it loud
And life can be so easy

What can make you move, Chihuahua
Can you feel the groove Chihuahua
What can make you dance
Oh Chihuahua!
What can make you sing Chihuahua
Take it and you win Chihuahua
What can bring you joy
Oh Chihuahua!

I'm driving in my car
Looking for a parking space
There it is my place someone else wins the race
NO, I give up
Today is not my day
But then I take a deep breathe and say:

Calm down
When you're about to go crazy
Turn around
And feel as fresh as a daisy
Just run
Because it's time to go
Have fun and let the whole world know

Chihuahua here
Chihuahua there
Everybody wants it everywhere
Sing it loud
And life can be so easy Chihuahua

What can make you move Chihuahua
Can you feel the groove Chihuahua
What can make you dance
Oh Chihuahua!
What can make you sing Chihuahua
Take it and you win Chihuahua
What can bring you joy
Oh Chihuahua!

Chihuahua (4x)
Oh Chihuahua!

What can make you move Chihuahua
Can you feel the groove Chihuahua
What can make you dance
Oh Chihuahua!
What can make you shout Chihuahua
What it's all about Chihuahua
What can make you love
Oh Chihuahua!



Maddie thanks Mariuca for being our First Commenter today:




...and LadyJava for being a close second with birthday wishes.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

Fun with Dolphins

Rex and I are working from home today in the Roxiticus Valley, and I just took a brief lunch break to surf the web and found something really cool. I can't wait until London and Maddie get home from school this afternoon so I can share this video with them... check it out! When we're at our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, everyone on the beach pays attention when the dolphins come out to play. It's so much fun to see them playing in the waves, just like humans like to do. Down at SeaWorld Orlando's Dolphin Cove in Florida, the dolphins have come up with a new game that involves blowing and playing with Dolphin Bubbles. Even if you can't make a special trip to Florida to see the dolphins at play, if you're impatient like we are for their summer visits to New Jersey, you can visit the dolphinbubbles.com web site and enjoy.



Everyone knows dolphins are really smart, but I'm still amazed at some of the things they come up with on their own, and this video really takes the cake. With Maddie's birthday party coming up this weekend, the dolphins have me thinking... I guess we'd need a pretty big tank in our back yard if Maddie wanted a few dolphins to come and live with us as pets, but I bet London wouldn't be allergic to them!

Reptiles

Maddie's 7th birthday party is coming up this weekend -- a "late-over!" We've been busily decorating the house with stickers featuring her dog theme, and trying to decide between Space Buds and Beverly Hills Chihuahua as the dog-themed movie choice. Due to her sister's dog allergies, however, Maddie has been focused on getting a hypoallergenic pet for her birthday. A couple of weeks ago she announced that she wanted a hermit crab, so last weekend we went to Petco in Bridgewater and acquired Lindsay Lenny for Maddie and a player to be named later for London. So far they have not been all that active or interesting... I'll post some pictures if/when they come out to play. London's hermit crab pinched her (unprovoked!) the day we brought him/her home, so she's been a bit wary about picking up her hermit crab. We found these hermit crabs in the pet store's reptile section, but we've been wondering... are hermit crabs reptiles?


Last night, Maddie and London's 4-H Prep club took part in the 4-H reptile club's meeting, and we were introduced to all kinds of reptiles... corn snakes, boa constrictors, frogs, and lots more... including leopard geckoes like the one in the photo above and a couple of bearded dragons (photo below). No one brought their pet hermit crab, and we forgot to ask the reptile authorities whether Maddie's hermit crab would qualify her for membership.

I was really impressed with all of the 4-Hers' knowledge about their pets, including detail on their native habitat, how they live in captivity, and what they like to eat... which ruled out the snakes, as I'm not going to store frozen rats next to the Ben & Jerry's in our freezer for "poaching" in boiling water in one of Rex's best pots every two weeks! Bearded dragons, on the other hand, like crickets and collard greens...

Return from Jury Duty

Thanks to all my loyal readers for your encouragement during my brief stint on jury duty in Morris County, NJ. Conditions have certainly improved in the Jury Assembly Room since Mary's last visit... while they haven't built the health club requested via the suggestion box, there's wireless Internet access for everyone until you're sent away to a criminal or civil courtroom to be considered for a jury.

I know you were all hoping to hear from Roxy the Juror all the juicy details of a shocking murder trial, but I'm back at work after one day and no trial, having narrowly escaped a two week civil trial related to a real estate contract. I have a great deal of respect for the many participants in our country's legal system, but as I sat there among 350 peers, many of whom were excused from the same case, I couldn't help but wonder who has that kind of time to give to their country? I was truly terrified at the thought of not being able to work for two weeks in the current economy, and I could see the same look in many eyes as I scanned the room.


For those of you who had hoped to hear about an interesting legal case, here's a case from the local news that will be coming up for civil trial in the Morris County court system:

Man Says "Psychic" Girlfriend Cheated Him

A New Jersey man has sued a woman he claims cheated him of money that was supposed to be used for a gold statue to cure the "negativity around him."

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Morristown, Charles Silveira of Mendham said that he also bought Ava Miller a house in the town after she said she loved him, The Daily Record reports. He seeks a court order forcing her to vacate the home and barring her from selling it or giving it away.

Silveira in his lawsuit said that he first met Miller on a Web site, www.keen.com. He said that he consulted with her online and then on the telephone.

Miller then allegedly began requesting money, including $15,850 for a trip to a "spiritually significant" place in Florida and a total of around $250,000 for the statue and other expenses, the newspaper reported.

Reached by the newspaper, Miller said she was Silveira's girlfriend.

Michael Mark, Silveira's lawyer, gave a different description of the relationship in court papers.

"His case is a major one," Mark described as Miller's diagnosis in September 2007. "He has negativity around him and she needs money to purchase gold to work on his case."

Music Monday: Young Girl by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap

I've been enjoying the recent Music Monday theme posts by other bloggers like Mariuca and Lady Java, and decided this was the week to run a theme on three of my blogs: Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. While most Music Mondays have found me stuck in the '80s, Gary Puckett dates back even further to the 1960s when my older sisters were growing up. When I was little, maybe even London and Maddie's age, I found the old 45 of "Young Girl" in my sisters' record collection and made it my own. It wasn't long before more than one of the disc jockeys on the local radio stations were dedicating that song to me. If you listen to the lyrics you'll understand that Rex was by no means the first older man in my life.



Young girl, get out of my mind
My love for you is way out of line
Better run, girl,
You're much too young, girl
With all the charms of a woman
You've kept the secret of your youth
You led me to believe
You're old enough
To give me love
And now it hurts to know the truth, Oh,
Young girl, get out of my mind
My love for you is way out of line
Better run, girl,
You're much too young, girl
Beneath your perfume and make-up
You're just a baby in disguise
And though you know
That it's wrong to be
Alone with me
That come on look is in your eyes, Oh,
Young girl, get out of my mind
My love for you is way out of line
Better run, girl,
You're much too young, girl
So hurry home to your mama
I'm sure she wonders where you are
Get out of here
Before I have the time
To change my mind
'Cause I'm afraid we'll go too far, Oh,
Young girl

And in this corner, celebrating her 40th birthday today, is our First Commenter, none other than our Music Monday hostess with the mostest, LadyJava!

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

Jury Duty

A little bit of a different Monday for Roxy tomorrow... I've been called to Jury Duty in Morris County, NJ. The rules are "one day, one trial," so I'm hoping to be back to work on Tuesday. Rex had jury duty a couple of years ago, but thankfully he wasn't called for a trial and was back to work the next day.

I seem to remember a hot little novel I read last year about an on again, off again couple who met on jury duty in Brooklyn, but other than fiction, I have no hands-on experience.

Do any of you have experience with jury duty?

If You Think I'm Busy...

I don't know about you, but these days I can't seem to find enough time in the day to get everything done. Since Rex and I joined our new mergers and acquisitions firm at the beginnning of February, it has been a bit of a struggle for our family to get up an hour earlier every morning, get the girls to before care at the school, dash to the Bernardsville train station and hop the train to New York City... then a normal work day, home again, early to bed, and do it all over again. The weekends are filled with activities: kids' birthday parties, the 4-H Prep Rally this past weekend, a make-up tennis lesson for London at Fox Chase Tennis in Chester, NJ, and Sunday dinner (Rex called his recipe, "In Like A Lamb") with Grammy.

When I start to compare my day with others, however, I'm surprised to find how much everyone else has going on in their busy lives. In Branson, Missouri, you can join thousands from around the United States for a weekend of energizing music, thrilling rides, inspirational speakers, praise and worship at the Young Christian’s Weekend running from Friday, March 27th through Sunday, March 29th, 2009 at Silver Dollar City. DownHere!, Kutlass, and Leeland will all will be performing live in concert... participants in the Young Christian's Weekend will enjoy powerful vocals and intelligent lyrics, along with additional mini-concerts and spirit-filled worship services throughout the park. In addition, the Midwest’s premier Christian youth event features messages that feed the soul from Joe White of Kanakuk Kamps and others.

While you're in Branson, of course there's no better place to stay than your choice of the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing or the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. Both of these Hilton/Branson locations offer convenient access to stores, unique boutiques, tasty restaurants, the Branson river walk and other favorite local attractions.

I've already told you about the other events going on in Branson, Missouri in March, including March Madness basketball and the Great American Pie Show. If you still have time on your busy Branson schedule, both hotels are within easy driving distance of Branson’s championship golf courses, lakes, museums, and Silver Dollar City. Ongoing local events include the international folk music and cuisines of World-Fest in Silver Dollar City, not to mention the first ever Branson Air Show at the new Branson Airport.

So, whaddya think... who is busier, Roxy or Branson?

Further Research on the Weather History of "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb"

While a few of my loyal Roxiticus Desperate Housewives readers were thoughtful enough to check in with comments on my earlier post about "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb" and the weather to be expected, no one seemed to have a serious database of weather history (and Lucky Lady, aren't you in California, where the weather is always grand??), so I'm headed to the Farmer's Almanac for further research.

Here's what the Farmer's Almanac had to say about Northeastern United States weather for the month of March 2009:

1st-3rd Clouds increase, winds freshen. 4th-7th Major storm brings strong, gusty winds and moderate-to-heavy precipitation (hmm... the storm actually came on March 1st and 2nd, and I don't think we're expecting any more snow this weekend). 8th-11th Mixed clouds and sun. 12th-15th Frigid, as arctic air spreads in from the west. 16th-19th Early spring storm brings wind and heavy rain. 20th-23rd Significant storm develops along the Southeast coast, moves north with rain and snow. (So much for out like a lamb, huh??!!) 24th-27th Increasing warmth. 28th-31st Colder, with a Midwest storm moving toward New England.

Bye, Bye Miss American Pie

While the last thing I need is another item on my "To Do" list, I'm starting to think I need to start a Roxy's Best Of... Branson, Missouri web site as part of the Roxy WordPress blogging empire. I first heard about Branson over twenty (20) years ago when I worked with a woman who had grown up there in the Mid-West and was always heading back home for the holidays. These days, Diane and I don't keep in touch on a regular basis, but there always seems to be something exciting going on in Branson. Earlier in the week, I posted about March Madness coming to Branson with the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament taking place next week at the College of the Ozarks in nearby Point Lookout, Missouri.

Today I'm taking all of my blogosphere buddies back to Branson to report on the First Annual Great American Pie Contest. The city of Branson, Missouri and Taste of Home magazine are sponsoring an all new national pie recipe contest, featuring Al Roker from the Today Show. Bring your favorite pie recipe to Branson for a chance to win one of several prizes, including the first prize of $2,500 cash, plus a trip for two for a 4-day/3-night fun-filled vacation in Branson. The Great American Pie Contest takes place on Friday, April 24th and Saturday, April 25th in the Branson Convention Center, conveniently located across the street from the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and adjacent to the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. The Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel has reserved a block of rooms for Great American Pie contestants from April 20th through the 29th and they're offering a special room rate, available until March 22nd or until the entire block is sold out. Don't delay... there's a good chance my friend Diane's extended family will be gathering with their best pie recipes, so get a deal on your room at the Hilton before it's too late.

March: In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb??

Does anyone know whether the expression: "In like a lamb, out like a lion; in like a lion, out like a lamb" has any historical weather archives to support it? On Sunday and Monday, March 1st and 2nd, the Roxiticus Valley was buried under a foot of snow. That wouldn't be so bad if we could count on Spring-like weather right around the corner... any thoughts?

Congratulations Gagay...First Commenter again today!

March Madness Comes to Branson, Missouri

Here in the Roxiticus Valley, March just roared in like a lion, leaving us snowed in under about a foot of snow. Instead of checking the historical weather archives to determine whether we can truly expect March to go out like a lamb, Rex, London, Maddie, and I have been waiting for the March Madness basketball to start and take our minds off the weather. I’ve learned that the 18th Annual NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament is actually taking place from Wednesday, March 11th through Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri. Similar to the big NCAA national championship coming up later in March, the NAIA tournament is an exhilarating single elimination competition that features the champions of all the Division II conferences and regional tournaments in a 32-team basketball tournament. I know I’ve posted here before about the winter scenery and events in Branson, MO, but who knew Branson was also home to March Madness this Spring?

If your significant other hasn’t caught the madness, you can send him or her off to check out Branson from a different angle... catch the fishing action at the Walmart FLW Bass Tournament scheduled from Thursday, March 12th through Sunday, March 15th, 2009 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri. Whatever your reason for visiting the entertainment capital of the Midwest, there’s no better place to stay in Branson, Missouri than the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and the HIlton Branson Convention Center Hotel. Both hotels offer guests convenient access to shops, boutiques, restaurants, a river walk and other local attractions... the two Hiltons are within an easy drive to Branson’s championship golf courses, lakes, museums, theme parks and 49 live entertainment theaters.

Don't let the wintry weather get you down... let the madness take you to Branson this March!

Music Monday: March Madness Begins with One Shining Moment by Luther Vandross, Featuring the 2003 NCAA Champion Syracuse Orangemen

Back in the 1980s, when I attended Syracuse University, I was too focused on my studies to care much about the basketball team, even though I lived next door to the shiny new Carrier Dome. Since then, I have mellowed a lot, married Rex, and given birth to two basketball-loving little girls (that's six-week-old London on the left in her Syracuse Orange bib), and our family has come to celebrate the time of year known as March Madness.... the NCAA college basketball championships and tournament.

As I posted here on Saturday, if you love college basketball or you'd love to have a million bucks, stay tuned to Roxiticus Desperate Housewives, where we'll be providing the links to all the free NCAA Million Dollar Bracket contests.

It has been six long years since the Orangemen won the NCAA tournament in 2003, but as March Madness gets underway with Championship Week starting this Thursday, I thought I'd share One Shining Moment with all of you.



The ball is tipped
and there you are
you're running for your life
you're a shooting star
And all the years
no one knows
just how hard you worked
but now it shows...
(in) ONE SHINING MOMENT, IT'S ALL ON THE LINE
ONE SHINING MOMENT, THERE FROZEN IN TIME

But time is short
and the road is long
in the blinking of an eye
ah that moment's gone
And when it's done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew...
(that) ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED DEEP INSIDE
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW YOU WERE ALIVE

Feel the beat of your heart
feel the wind in your face
it's more than a contest
it's more than a race...

And when it's done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew...
(that) ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED FOR THE SKY
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU WERE WILLING TO TRY
ONE SHINING MOMENT....


Today's First Commenter is...

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

Coffee Coffee Coffee

So far, Rex and I have been nothing but energized by the people in our new office, but I have one shocking complaint. On our very first day, at our very first all hands staff meeting, we were greeted multiple times in the following manner: "Welcome aboard! Don't drink the coffee!" Apparently the coffee maker had broken that day, Groundhog's Day 2009, and was producing nothing but a scary dark sludge. Well, that was a month ago, and while Rex and I consider our daily coffee to be the force of life, we've had to make do with what we drink at home in the morning and pour into go cups for the train ride in to NYC. I sent the guy who seems to be in charge of the office coffee situation a link to buy a Keurig Coffee Maker on Amazon, and a link to stock the pantry with Gloria Jean's Flavored Coffee Variety (Amazon's prices are better than any of our local supermakets, especially if you order through a "subscription"), but so far... nothing. Tomorrow is our second monthly staff meeting, and it may turn out that Rex and I will be lucky to be snowed in at home... with our daily dose of coffee.

Music Monday II and Welcome to the First Commenters' Club: The First Cut (FC) Is The Deepest -- Rod Steward

While I don't get a huge quantity of comments here at Roxiticus Desperate Housewives, I do enjoy hearing from my loyal readers and wanted to let you know I've joined a new club over at Mariuca's place that rewards commenters, specifically those who are quick to comment. As you may have guessed from the badge on the left, it's called the First Commenters Club and the rules are simple:

1. Your blog gives away FREE linky love to your FIRST COMMENTERS. It doesn't matter how many times in a month you have FC linky love posts at your blog but do take note that the tendency of other bloggers visiting you (to win the linky love you are giving away) increases with the number of FC linky love posts you write.
2. Display the FC button and blogroll in your sidebar.

In honor of my new club membership, I'd like to share Music Monday II: Rod Stewart singing The First Cut (or First Comment) Is The Deepest.


I would have given you all of my heart
But there's someone who's torn it apart
And she's taken just all that I had
But if you want I'll try to love again
Baby I'll try to love again but I know

The first cut is the deepest
Baby I know the first cut is the deepest
But when it come to being lucky she's cursed
When it come to loving me she's the worst
I still want you by my side
Just to help me dry the tears that I've cried
And I'm sure going to give you a try
And if you want I'll try to love again
Baby I'll try to love again but I know

The first cut is the deepest
Baby I know the first cut is the deepest
But when it come to being lucky she's cursed
When it come to loving me she's the worst

I still want you by my side
Just to help me dry the tears that I've cried
But I'm sure gonna give you a try
'cause if you want I'll try to love again
Baby I'll try to love again but I know

The first cut is the deepest
Baby I know the first cut is the deepest
When it come to being lucky she's cursed
When it come to loving me she's the worst

Oh, and by the way, of course this post is the kickoff for giving linky love to my First Commenter, so what are you waiting for?

Today's First Commenter is....

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.