The Top Five Things I Would Rather Be Doing Right Now

5. Sitting in a coffee shop with a chai latte and a good book.

4. Napping under a mound of heavy blankets.

3. Sitting at home with a cup of tea and a good book.

2. Sitting at home drinking this and reading a good book.

And the number one thing I wish I were doing right now:
1. Sitting on a beach, drinking a mojito, and reading a good book.

If you couldn't tell, it is freaking cold and gross outside, I do not want to be at work, and I have a couple of good books at home waiting for me, not that I could sit quietly and read them because I have a husband and a daughter who have needs that are apparently much more important than my need to sit and drink something warm (literally or acoholic-ly) and read one of my books. I have also had a headache for the past couple of days and am thinking that either copious amounts of caffiene or alcohol (or both) will be the surefire cure. Also quiet. Quiet would be nice.

Also, a house that doesn't smell like smoke would be nice too, but since Aaron nearly burned down the house this weekend our house has smelled a lot like smoke (it is getting better) and that might also be the cause of the headache. It's a kind of a long story, but just know that it's not a good idea to accidentally shut the flue when you have a roaring fire going. Just a tip.

Somewhat relatedly, the front corner of my living room smells strongly of vinegar. One of the remedies to a smoke smell we found online was to set out bowls of vinegar. So, after Gabbie went to bed the other night we set out a few bowls to see if it would work. She didn't bother them at all the next morning, but beelined straight toward one the second we got home in the evening and spilled it all over the floor. Our carpet has a somewhat thick pile and so it holds on to any and all liquid that gets down into the fibers like it's been through a recent drought and doesn't know when it will see liquid again.

When I saw what she was doing, I cried out,  "No! No! No!" and she freaked out mightily, dropped the bowl, splashing herself with vinegar in the process, and came crying to me. She doesn't like to be in trouble, not one little bit. I told her she wasn't in trouble, and gave her a few kisses on the head, but no way was I going to cuddle up to something that was covered in vinegar, so I took her to the bathroom, stripped off the vinegary clothes and then gave her a big hug. She had a rough weekend, what with all the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors going off for a while, and a newly stinky house, and stressed-out parents and what-not. So after the vinegar incident, we cuddled and made it all the way through Skippyjon Jones for the first time and then read an entire other book after that. Even though I scared her into the cuddling, it was really nice. I might (but probably won't) have to try that more often!