A real smorgasbord

I've been requested to hop to bloggin' by one of my faithful readers, so I'm dusting off this keyboard to update the world on Chezmoni status. I don't have anything eloquent to say, so this might be a potpourri of random thoughts. A smorgasbord, a mixed bag. Call it what you will.

Top Five Things I'm Excited About:

1. The Bashan Lake Amateur Triathlon (formerly known as the "Fake Tri"), my mom has organized a ladies' triathlon for friends, with a 1/8 mile swim, 5k run, and 10 mile bike ride in September. I've got the running part down, I've done a few (very non-Olympic calibur) laps of freestyle, and my bike is in ship-shape and ready to ride 10 miles. Interestingly, this is my first triathlon, and upon completion I will feel qualified to put a bumper sticker on my car that says 'I Tri'.

2. Edie's new daycare. I'm loving the activities they do, the walks they take to Bushnell park, the daily reports, and the diversity of kids and staff. Her daycare is in the heart of Hartford, and so far it's been great. True to form, she's just warming up this week. They say her silliness is shining through, and I know she'll feel at home there.

3. Ashley's 30th birthday. My baby sis, all grown up this week. She always had the worst birthday time of year as a kid: end of summer, not yet in school to share cupcakes with the class, and it unfailingly rained on every pool party. However, we're grown-ups now and we throw a mean party no matter what the occasion.

4. Lots of ideas are percolating right now. My sister and I have a business idea, I have a t-shirt design idea, and it feels like we're in some kind of renaissance. It's hard to embrace the renaissance with a job, a kid, a house, and a requisite 8 hours of sleep per night, but I'm jazzed about some promising prospects.

5. Baby Boy Edmands, due in late September!

Top Three Things I'm Over:

1. Humidity of summer. Next season, please!

2. My car. Ok, we've had a great run. Over the past 11 year (6 with me) we've clocked a healthy 143,000 miles on the odometer. It's a fantastically reliable car, a real workhorse, but I am frankly over it and ready for a Toyota Highlander or Nissan Murano. Therefore, I bought a Mega Millions ticket today for the first time ever.

3. My clothes. Again, we've really had some good times together. True fact: I wore a shirt the other day from 2003. It's of the Anthropologie vintage so it's held up well, but c'mon. I bought it with prize money in an art show upon graduation. Furthermore, the temp that works with me lives at home in Fairfield County and wears a different Marc Jacobs watch every day of the week, cute flats to match a library of dresses, and generally has a killer sense of style. I might as well wear a muu-muu and Crocs next to her, I feel that lame. Definitely time for a wardrobe refresher.

Top Three All-Time Favorite Vegetables

1. Zucchini

2. Kale

3. Sweet Potatoes

Top Four Favorite Recent Out-Of-Town Visitors:

1. Jake

2. Becky/Vince (they should probably count as one because they're lovebirds)

3. Adrian

Favorite Summertime Pic of Dave: