No, seriously. And I'm not talking about the fact that I came perilously close to actually buying a shirt with pumpkins on it today at Kohl's. Although that is worrisome, too. No, my problem is that my adult ADD is getting worse by the minute. Example? As I was checking my e-mail just moments ago, I thought of something that I needed to look up on the Internet. In the time it took for Internet Explorer to open (which, frankly, was not that long) I got sidetracked and totally forgot what I needed to look up. The worst part is that I think it was actually something important, not just my regular surfing to entertain myself. One could argue that it must not have been that important if I couldn't remember what it was, which may be true. In fact, that sounds good. I'll go with that for now.

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I LOATHE Happy Meal toys. Not just the ones from McDonald's (which I'm sure has trademarked the term "Happy Meal" and would collect a nickel every time someone said it if they could) but almost all the fast food joints. Chick Fil-A actually gives away educational stuff, so they're okay. The problem there is that Grover and Ollie are far more interested in the cartoon characters than learning about Thomas Edison's invention of the light bulb. All the other crap, however, is just that - crap - some stupid plastic piece of junk that makes some sort of annoying noise or worse, incites my children to make noise. I have this plan to create an online petition to ban Happy Meal toys and replace them with something useful, like windshield washer fluid. I'll do that in my "spare" time. HA!

We visited McDonald's the other night after getting our hair cut and the girls got (what else?) Happy Meals that contained quite possibly the most annoying toy yet. It's cleverly disguised as a tie-in to the DVD release of The Little Mermaid (I guess McDonald's and Disney didn't get enough money the first time around so they're milking the cash cow again) but it's really from the devil. It's this little plastic necklace - actually it's more like a choker - with a seashell and a picture of Ariel (the title character) that you press to hear sound. The instructions, which contain no actual words but pictures to show how to work the toy (like a monkey couldn't figure this one out), indicate that when you press the button, it plays music. At least, that's what I assumed from the little music notes printed on the graphics. Well, we all know what happens when we assume so I'll save that speech. What actually happens when you press the button is that a female voice says "Isn't it fantastic?" in a very breathy voice (think Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to JFK). It's more than just irritating (after all, Grover and Ollie can't just push it once - I think there's a little kid rule about pushing buttons a minimum of 100 times); it's actually disturbing. I mean, that voice is something else. If it had a different picture with it, I'd swear it was soft-core porn. I intend to complain to McDonald's about this one... right after I set up that online petition.

A local church is having a Diet Coke/Mentos rocket contest on Sunday. What an ingenious way to get people (especially young ones) to come to church. Of course, the heathens like me will go for the fun and leave before it gets serious...

Landlord Finds Tenant Dead, Mummified

POSTED: 2:57 pm EDT October 4, 2006

VIENNA, Austria -- A landlord in Austria wasn't getting any answers to his letters to a tenant announcing a rent increase.

So, he unlocked the apartment and went inside -- and found that the tenant had been dead for quite a while.

Police said they believe the man may have died three or four years ago. But his rent continued to be paid automatically from his bank account, which was automatically replenished by payments from his pension fund.

They found the mummified body in a bed. Elsewhere in the apartment, police found old Austrian schilling bank notes. Austria switched to the Euro on Jan. 1, 2002.

The 93-year-old man was a former university professor who's described as something of a recluse.

Neighbors apparently didn't think it was unusual to see junk mail piling up outside his door.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

I was late picking up Grover from school yesterday. Not so late that I had to get out of the car and go find her, but late enough. In fact, Grover felt the need to ask "Mom, did you know you were the last person in the carpool line?" Hmmm, is that why no cars were behind me. I'm so glad I have a 6YO to help me navigate through this labyrinth we call life. Anyway, a friend (blog name TBD) called to ask if I could pick up her daughter who had missed the bus. Well, it just so happened that there I was in front of the school at that very moment so of course, I told her to have the school secretary send her daughter out the front door and I'd shuttle her home. See, if I hadn't been late, I wouldn't have been able to help her out.

And speaking of being late for carpool, I must leave now to avoid that same fate today.