The Automobile Idiot Light

My stepdad used to call them idiot lights...those lights on the dashboard of the car which you are supposed to rely on to tell you when your car has a problem. The real problem is, you never know what the real problem is.

For example, I have light on in my dashboard of what is supposed to be a flat tire icon and its significance is to tell me that my tire pressure is low. Fantastic. That works, right? Sometimes my tire pressure *is* low. Wrong. You see...this light has been on since the beginning of last winter. And when I asked the dealership, they said, "this can happen when it's cold". I don't know if I've told you this or not, but I live in New England...where it's cold at least half the year. So I ignored it. And that light stayed on through the summer until I determined that my tire pressure was low. I know what you're thinking and I *did* check it originally when the dealership told me it was fine and it truly was a result of cold temperature then. But recently, it is a result of a slow tire leak. I don't know anything about cars...and in this case, the idiot light didn't work so well. But it did. But not really.

So last night (it was 1am and I was going to get Nathan some much needed cold relief), I get into Katharine's Jeep and low and behold, the CHECK ENGINE light is on. Here is a light without a point.

Sure I can open the hood and look at the engine to see if it's covered in seaweed or to make sure there isn't some severed head out of a slasher movie in there. In both cases, I've checked the engine. This light tells you nothing other than there's *something* wrong with your car, but it's not going to tell you what. It doesn't blink. There's no code next to it. But now you must CHECK YOUR ENGINE to clear it. And that light can only be extinguished at a dealer in most cases, so you're dropping at least $100. And it *could* be simply a computer malfunction in the car that randomly just turned that light on. But we won't know until we take it in. So that's what we'll do.

Do you have lights in your car that randomly turn on when you least expect it?

Hurricane? Flood? Zombie Attack?

I have never seen so many people in a supermarket as I saw in Market Basket this afternoon...at least not when there wasn't some national emergency announced on the local news. And I used to work in a supermarket (three different markets actually), when I was in high school...for a 4 year period of time...and once when there was a hurricane approaching (remember that Jim Jenkins when you wouldn't close the store and we all had to drive home during a deadly storm where my car was struck by a falling power line? But back to the real story).

Anyway. Apparently a rainy Sunday is the day to avoid shopping at Market Basket...everyone in the world was there and they were all in a hurry...and cranky. Whenever we go to this particular store, it's like roller derby with shopping carts. Everyone cuts you off, the isles are crowded, people zip past you and bump into you. And everyone blocks the isles going in the opposite direction when they stop to check out how cute Nathan is. I know every parent says that, but people keep stopping us in the market to tell us how handsome he is. So yeah, traffic jams all over the store and everybody shoving everybody else aside to get where they want to be. Sounds like good times, right?

So why go to Market Basket and battle this massive crowd when the other stores are empty? There's a reason the other stores are empty...Shaws and Stop & Shop have ridiculously higher prices. And to get any kind of discount at the expensive stores, you have to have a card. If you don't scan your card...you pay more...even though you're already paying more. So Market Basket is a huge moneysaver if you can get past the danger of the other customers. It's worth it for me...would it be worth it for you?

First Full Day Alone with Nathan

So here I am at the end of my first full day alone with Nathan and I find myself with a few minutes to write about it (don't worry, I won't do this every day for the two weeks that I'm home on vacation with him). What did we accomplish today?

We got up around 630am to see Katharine off to work and we ate. Nathan went back to sleep in his swing while I did some dishes. I haven't done dishes in a while, but my dishwasher was at work (KIDDING). Browsed the Internet, did some work (I know I'm on vacation, but I did some work), threw in some laundry just in time for Nathan to wake up...oh...and I won't make you guess...he was hungry again. We clipped his teeny tiny fingernails (I'll never get used to that)...I watched a little bit of Friday Night Smackdown while he slept, and he grumbled to go back to his swing to sleep more.

Right around Noon, we had a visitor for lunch and we had some grilled cheese sandwiches. Homemade grilled cheese with two kinds of cheese...no messing around with store bought (can you buy a grilled cheese at a store?). Thanks Katja, for coming by to see us! After our visit, and another short nap for Nathan, we read Curious George Gets a Job...the second story in his Complete Adventures of Curious George book. Nathan went to sleep again (sort of) and I did some more work, played a little Fallout 3 on the XBOX (all of those that said I wouldn't play videogames after I had a baby...oh so wrong you were), and then I started dinner (Stouffers Family Size chicken parm; nothing but the best on my wedding anniversary)...and already, Katharine was on her way home. So that was that. My first day home alone with Nathan...EVER.

Summer Blockbusters

I haven't seen a lot of movies this year, likely due to the fact that I have a 10 week old baby at home. To tell you the truth, there weren't a lot of good summer movies to go see anyway. I saw Star Trek, which was awesome with a capital AWESOME, and I saw District 9, which I wasn't sure I would like, but is likely the best movie of the year. But what happened to the movies that were supposed to be blockbusters? Why didn't I go see them? I could have...I just didn't. I thought I wanted to see Terminator: Salvation, but from what I hear, I got better Terminator for free with the Sarah Conner Chronicles on TV. Terminator Salvation - Rental. I thought I wanted to see Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen because I enjoyed the first Transformers movie. I heard it was a big piece of crap that even unnecessary shots of Megan Fox leaning over a motorcycle in every trailer couldn't save. Transformers 2 - Rental (maybe). I didn't really want to see G.I. Joe because I never played with the toys. Katharine did...I think her Cobra Commander dated her Barbie or something. I heard that G.I. Joe was only slightly better than Transformers 2...RENTAL. Harry Potter and the Something of the Something...never read the books, but I enjoy the movies. I usually see those movies when they come out, but this year I stayed home with Nathan and Katharine went with her dad. Harry Potter and Something of Something - RENTAL.

So there it is...all the big summer movies that I didn't see. Next theater movie for me has got to be "9" I think...it looks interesting and apparently it's out this week.