Hello. Remember this? I suddenly got very tired of the brushy swirly things. I don't know, I was bored. I'm working on a redesign but I didn't want to look at that stuff anymore. And since I was looking at all the entries from the first half of the year as I was painstakingly moving them over from Tripod, I decided to resurrect this little scheme for the time being.

Since I doubt there is anyone who is watching as much daytime television as I am nowadays, I thought I would share a few interesting things that I have seen over the past week.

First of all, Martha Stewart is quite mean to the little children she has on to help her make kiddie-crafty things. Yesterday they were making home-made play-doh and she kept harping on them. "No, Blainie, don't do it like that. If you want a nice even color, you'll have to do it this way." Like Blainie cares about a nice even color. "What is that you're making, Susie? A caterpillar? Well, where are its legs?" Excuse me while I kick you in the ass with my leg.

Secondly, Howie Long and Teri Hatcher have zero chemistry. Their little Radio Shack ads are actually quite painful to watch. They should bring back James Garner and that other woman from the Polaroid campaign in the 70's. I can barely remember them but I know they were better.

Thirdly, I saw the Goo Goo Dolls on Sesame Street. Elmo had learned to tie his shoes or something, so they sang a song called "Pride" (instead of "Slide," get it?) Now, it was very cute, and Johnny Resnick's (yes I know that's not how you spell his name) hair was kind of calm, but I think the Goo Goo Dolls might have scared me a little when I was five. Still, it was cute to see Elmo all rocking out with them.

Fourthly, I watched the first full Maury show I have ever watched in my entire life. It was about god-awful kids and they sent them off to boot camp, and I kind of liked watching the drill sergeants scream at them. Maury was awfully touchy with all the girls, though.

Fifthy, I about died today when I turned on Days of Our Lives, which is the only soap opera I ever watched, for six or seven years up through college (think the Jack and Jennifer era). But there was John Black kneeling in a church weeping about the awful music his son listens to and his dead wife Isabella showed up, and he called her Izzy B, and I laughed and laughed. I also can't believe Sammy is still on there. We thought she was the worst actress ever, and I can't say she's gotten any better. Victor Kiriakis is still causing trouble as well. Very little has changed in the last six years.

I actually do turn the television off occasionally, to curl up on my bed with Harry Potter 4. I'm savoring every word, even re-reading some sections, just because I want it to last a long time. Anyway, I was doing just that this morning when there was a knock at the door, and a smiling UPS man peering through the peephole.

I just figure it's for the people across the hall, and he wants to leave the package with someone, because I certainly wasn't expecting anything, but no, it was for me. I sit with the oblong, heavy box for a moment, scrutinizing the label, but the return address provides no leads. So I grab a key and tear through the tape, only to find yet another box inside the brown outer one, a nice glossy box with a logo on it that I don't quite recognize.

Curiouser and curiouser. It takes me an embarrassingly long time to figure out how to get the inner box open, but when I finally do, I see a card with wine.com on the front, and I finally figure out what's going on.

My girls. They sent me a bottle of champagne.

And it's real champagne, too, not some sassy American sparkling wine. But it has a special congratulatory label on it: "NO MORE BAR EXAM!! We're proud! Love, Corina, Kate, Mel, and Coll."

Love, love, love my girls. They just never cease to amaze me. Despite everything that's going on in their completely hectic lives, they remember me. I miss them like crazy, and I am saving the champagne for a truly special occasion... the next time we're together.