1. My "Somethin' Else from Skechers" T-strap mary janes leave marks on the floor when I try to tap dance at the copier.

2. DSW (Discount Shoe Warehouse) is a good place to go for impractical (read: fun dress up) shoes, but for work shoes, it's all about Shoe Pavilion or the Macy's clearance rack.

3. If you throw your junior-high age child a pool party in your backyard, invite their entire class of similarly aged friends, rent a karaoke machine, and turn it up so loud it can be heard a block away, your neighbors will hate you. One of them will drive around the block while leaning on their horn. (this was originally intended for a post entitled "Scenes from an Idyllic Sunday Afternoon Rudely Interupted by 13-year-old boys 'Singing' Bratney Speers" but it never got written due to busyness and the overwhelming need to exit my neighborhood and thusly my wireless connection to escape the caterwauling)

4. The hideous pink curtains in my bedroom are actually good for something- keeping the cold morning from creeping in through the windows. They also *really* darken the room so that 7 am looks like 5 am and make you think that it could not possibly be time to get up yet.

5. Neosporin lip treatment works really well on cracked, dry lips, but has a weird orange flavor that almost makes it worse than having cracked, dry lips.

6. Retail Therapy is extra effective when I am buying teeny tiny clothes for a new teeny tiny person (or four, as the current baby boom count seems to be).

7. Bamboo skewers (this kind you use to make kabobs) have to be soaked for 20 minutes prior to use, not the 24 hours I for some reason thought they did.

What have you learned recently?

I recently learned that the best food in the world is Microwave Pork Rinds. What a fantastic invention.