One small perk of my job is that occasionally we get new toys, which, in the workplace, are usually of the Office Max variety. This week I was able to get a new laptop carrying case. And my mind was opened to the whole world of women’s notebook collections. Frankly, I had no idea you could get such cool accessories to jazz up your laptop.

Here’s the new case I got:

It’s smaller and lighter than the more manly varieties of laptop cases. It only weighs about 2.5 pounds, and it looks a bit like a nice women’s bag. Plus, the interior is lined with pink suede. Yes, girly, but maybe that’s why I like it better than the man-cases. Not only is it lightweight, it’s fashionable and pink.

Today I decided to take a walk through a cemetery during my lunch break. My aunt is buried there, and it had been a while since I’ve visited. As I’m driving, I realize I’m stuck in bad traffic. I look at the clock. It’s one o’clock. Since when is there such thick, slow traffic at this time?

I’m stuck in this long stream of cars snaking along, and as we near the cemetery traffic slows even more.

And then I realize it’s because they’re all turning into the cemetery.

Because I’m stuck in a funeral procession.

I think that’s the only time I’ve ever been in a funeral procession without meaning to, while meaning to go to the same place they’re going.

Lately these are some of my favorite things:

Skecher’s new Mary Jane style peddler shoes. So adorable.

Commander Keen video game (think old-school 90’s DOS game…but oh, so much better than Nintendo!)

Any book by Sophie Kinsella, in particular the Confessions of a Shopaholic series. New fav = Shopaholic and Baby.

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. Don’t let the title dissuade you!

Jumproping. Ropesport is a fun way to do it.

Warm, spring-like weather.

Mashed potatoes. (I’m serious.)

I Love Lucy DVDs.

Old-time radio shows streamed online. My favorite sites are Old Time Radio Fan and RadioSpirits.com for a variety of shows (Jack Benny, Fibber Magee and Molly, Lux Radio Theater, etc.). My favorite Web site for hearing My Favorite Husband (the predecessor of I Love Lucy) is Cheezylu Productions.

The other night I was getting ready for bed, going through my normal routine which, when I don’t shower at night, includes wiping my face clean with Olay Daily Facials Express Wet Cloths. They’re refreshing, and a really easy way to remove makeup. When I finished I got into bed and snuggled close to John, whereupon he said, “What’s the smell? It’s like turpentine.”

“Turpentine?” I quickly moved away from him. “Do you mean my face wash stuff?”

He leaned closer and sniffed. “Yeah, that’s it. It’s kind of piney-smelling.”

“Wait, you just said a second ago it smelled like turpentine. Like paint thinner. An industrial, icky smelling product.”

“Turpentine has a natural pine scent. I think it’s derived from pine sap, or something.”

I mulled this over.

Then I scoot back over. I guess you can’t argue with being told you smell like an evergreen forest. It smells good, like Christmas, right?

Notable recent happenings in our household:

1. John joined an ice hockey league at Peaks Ice Arena. He played on the Ice Cats before his mission (back in the dinosaur age). Since it’s been a few years since he’s actively skated and played his body is gradually resurrecting muscles it had forgotten it has. I go watch when I can, decked out in thermal pants, sweatshirt, and fleece blanket (ice arenas are cold!). John’s pretty good, and his team’s not bad. But, it turns out, the other teams are better. Even the high school team they played last week. Last night the final score was 12-2. (John’s team wasn’t the 12.) But it’s all fun, and fun to watch.

2. We’re working on revitalizing our living room. For starters, we bought a leather sofa set from a wholesale dealer in Salt Lake. It’s being shipped to us at the end of April, from China. One minor point of nervousness is that we ordered the set based on a 2 x 2 inch picture on the Internet, and we’ve never actually sat on any of the pieces from the collection. Crossing fingers that it won’t be hard as rock or ugly as all get out. But hey, the price was good!

3. I finally got my car fixed. For the last eight months or so it’s made this rumbly noise and the steering wheel has been shaky. I took it into Johnson Tire on Wednesday, and they said the front left wheel hub needed replacement. They said it was metal grinding on metal. Today I took it in and now my car is like a dream! I guess I had forgotten what it’s like to drive a normal, functioning vehicle, one that doesn’t rumble or shake. If I listen really carefully I can tell the car is running, but most of the time I don’t hear a thing. It. Is. Wonderful.

4. I got my hair cut and re-highlighted. From my previous highlighting experiences I’ve learned that when you tell a beautician that you don’t want blonde highlights, in her head that translates to “I don’t want super platinum blonde highlights, but any other shade of the blonde variety will do quite nicely.” So I’ve ended up with caramel-colored hair that, frankly, was just too light for my taste. I let it grow out, and was going to let it grow out all the way, except that it turns out two-tone hair isn’t the greatest look since it’s not the 80’s anymore. So today, whilst my car was being revived at Johnson Tire, I went to Jim’s Hair Emporium and got it taken care of. I went with a neutral brown color, somewhat close to my real color, and brown-n-copper accents. So now my hair is dark again. The copper didn’t stick especially well, but I think it’s there if the sun is shining and you squint hard enough.

So. A time of renewal: John’s renewing his hockey skills, we’re updating our living room, the car works, and my hair is dark again. Hurrah for these good things. And, we’re expecting a baby.

Last night my husband ran into McDonald’s while I filled up the car with gas. When he came back out with his double cheeseburgers and my chocolate shake (which turned into our chocolate shake, because he drank over half of it), he told me about his experience ordering.

He was looking and looking at the menu, but couldn’t find where shakes were mentioned. Finally, he asked the young girl behind the counter where the shakes were on the menu. She gazed at him and said, “You know, you have beautiful green eyes.” After a beat she came to and added, “Oh, and the shakes are listed over there.”

I’ve always told him he has gorgeous eyes. Not only are they sage green, but his eyelashes are–there’s no other word for it–luscious. I guess now that my claim has been backed up by a young McDonald’s cashier, there’s no doubt about it.