Today was interesting. It was Zinabu's last day of preschool and because he could not wrap his head around the fact that it wasn't Friday, he asked me 2.5 million times what day it was. My beloved mother offered to watch him this afternoon so I could hit Home Depot and look at paint colors, bathroom sinks, kitchen cabinet hardware, and a new microwave. Turns out I am a home improvement slut--I'm easy. Very easy. The appliance man looked startled when he told me about the microwave he said is a good choice and I said, "Sold!" No dilly-dallying here, no ma'am. I grabbed 300 paint swatches, 297 of them being greyish tanish neutralish. Lily wants her room to be turquoise, and I am considering some orange for the boys' rooms. How do you settle on the right shade of orange?

Then, since I had a few extra minutes I stopped off at the mall to buy some birthday gifts. I can't remember the last time I was at a mall, by myself, in the middle of the day, no less. It was just me and several high schoolers playing hooky. I winked at them conspiratorially, but they sneered back. I guess they don't like old ladies like me making eye contact with them when they're trying to be rebellious. Grabbing the bull by the horns--that's what living dangerously is when your kids aren't with you, right?--I had a chocolate milkshake for lunch. Yum. I even got to browse through the bookstore, where the Twilight books were assaulting me from every corner and Robert Pattinson's face glowered at me. It's hard for me to remember LBT (Life Before Twilight). I scanned some decorating books to look for orange rooms, but that must be so 1970 because I couldn't find any. However, I heard a Jackson Five song that made me smile. Gets me every time.

Anyone have suggestions about the many shades of orange?