Things are looking better

Today is looking in a greater upwards direction than any other day this week.

After doing a little research and getting a high recommendation we opted to get our hot water heater from a local plumbing supply company.  The storefront has been around forever and the old guys there are very helpful.

I could walk in with a part in my hand, tell them I needed one of those and ask how to install it and they'd tell me.

Crump Plumbing Supply in Austin sold us a hot water heater equivalent to the ones we had looked at in the box stores for a full $200 less and assured us we could do a DIY installation.

While we were driving there, Will asked if they had bubble gum.  We replied in the negative.  We were wrong.  They had a big bowl of bubble gum that one of the guys offered to my son as soon as we walked in the door.

This was all good.

In addition to this good thing:

Yesterday,  I hung out with an excellent friend and got to have some intense, girl-discussion time that we haven't had in a while.  I felt much better after our visit and had the energy to make meatballs from scratch to go with our pasta for dinner.

Zoe brought home her report card showing she has a 90 average for the school year.

Disc 2 of Season 2 of The United States of Tara arrived in the mail from Netflix and I'm all caught up on Tara, Alice, T, Gimmee, Buck and Chicken.

I took the dogs for a brisk walk last night and they are not as restless today.

Will hung out at the neighbor's house for a while this morning, giving me a chance to do dishes and reboot the laundry. We have another playdate after school today. I made cookies to bring with us.

My parents called this morning during their golf game to tell me they were willing to help me out with culinary school tuition when the time comes for me to enroll.

All in all, things are looking better.  Now, I need to start cleaning as my folks are coming for a visit in 2 weeks.

Amanda's beauty tip of the day:  You can buff your nails with the inside of a piece of lemon peel.  Cut a wedge of lemon and peel the flesh off the peel, then rub the white pith briskly over your nails for a shine.