lost in the wind without the correct color of paint and no room for a sink

I know you are all probably waiting on the edge of your seats to hear my thoughts about last night's Season Finale of LOST.

All I can really say at this point is: "How about that hole in the ground?"

First, you can throw a nuclear bomb down there and after plummeting about 1,000 miles to the center of the Earth it doesn't explode.

And then, poor, sweet Juliet falls in after it. And she must have landed on a pillow, rather than all of the metal debris that went in before and after her because she seems to be fine. And it sure is a good thing she fell down there because she now can blow up the entire island.

I can handle the new revelations about Jacob and how he mysteriously was present at the key moment of every character's life. And I was strangely excited to find out that Locke really was dead and that other nameless guy had taken over his body.

And I don't really mind the whole premise that the Losties are now going to completely alter the future by running through the woods with a nuclear bomb in a backpack and then throwing it in the hole.

But, come on?!? Let's get realistic with throwing Juliet down there and having her survive. That's a little far-fetched, don't you think?

Well, anyway. I'm kind of happy the show is over for the summer and I can relax. I would sure hate to be one of those script writers who has to figure out how to tie all of that together.

Moving on... I just wanted to mention that my husband has been out of town for a bit, but unlike in the past when I might have started to get a little stir crazy from the lack of adult conversation, I think I'm holding things together perfectly well. In all honesty, the days do get a little long when he isn't available for days on end to chat by Skype about all of the daily events around here. But, I think I'm doing OK.

Take last night, for example, when a tornado watch was in effect during LOST. I didn't freak out and carry all three of the sleeping children to the basement, and I actually stayed quite calm until a huge bolt of thunder and lightning that sounded like a freight train exploded right over the house and it sounded like someone was taking huge buckets of water and throwing them at the windows.

But when I woke up at 5 a.m., the first thought that ran through my mind was what the weatherman had said last night. "Believe it or not, when this storm passes through here, it's going to be a beautiful sunny day tomorrow."

And so I jumped out of bed bright and early and prepared myself to go for a walk as soon as I could get the boys off to school. I knew better than to make the same mistake I had made two days ago when I let my 4-year-old daughter ride her tiny bicycle along during the walk. It seems "the bike gets very tired" about halfway through and then I have to carry it the whole way.

So, I put her in the wagon, and immediately realized how out of shape I am. Pulling her 40 pound body, plus the 10 pound wagon, felt like I was pulling 50 pounds. I had misunderstood the weatherman's prediction of "beautiful sunny day" to mean pleasant and warm. He didn't mention the frigid wind that was going to wisk across my face for the next six (or maybe it's two) miles of my walk.

And so I pulled that wagon into the wind with my ears stinging.

And when we got home, I realized it was only 8:30 a.m. and I still had an hour and a half before ballet class. So, I turned on PBS Kids for my daughter and snuggled my frozen body back in bed. I woke up exactly 45 minutes later, because that is precisely the length of my REM cycle, not one minute more or one minute less, and I suddenly had a wonderful thought!

"It's observation day at ballet class!"

That means instead of sitting out in the hall, trying to make small talk with the other moms and trying to act like I'm busy doing some sort of paperwork, I would be able to sit in the ballet class. That alone was cause for a cute outfit! So, I jumped up and found a winter sweater, some jeans and wooly socks and tried to hide the indentation on the side of my face and my flat hair on one side and make myself look like a true ballet mom.

I had a job to do now! I had an actual purpose. I could video tape and photograph my darling daughter for 45 minutes! I picked out my absolute favorite of her ballet outfits and told her to get dressed. And since Clifford, The Big Red Dog, was still on TV, she didn't have enough sense to argue with me that she would rather wear the glittery, hand-me-down Strawberry Shortcake ballet outfit.

A few minutes later and we were ready. But I still had time to analyze the paint swatches I had picked up at Home Depot. Even though I really like all the colors I painted my house, I'm ready for a change. I'm just not sure if I will be able to find three complementary colors that flow as you walk through the house the way my current colors do.

While we were getting the paint samples, we also picked up some little paint booklets that were next to the Disney paint colors. The kids have decided they want to re-do their rooms, as well. But they don't seem to realize that part of the reason the rooms in those photos look so good is because they don't have any candy wrappers, Lego pieces or dirty underwear strewn across the rooms.

They also think that because the pictures show a bathroom in each bedroom that if we paint their rooms those colors, they also will get a bathroom in their rooms. I have tried explaining this to them about five times.

"People, we don't even have space in your room for your Lincoln Logs! How do you think we are going to fit a bathtub and toilet in there?!?"

They listen for about five seconds, and then they say, "What color do you think we should paint the sink?"

Yeah, LOST. I really did like the Season Finale. I just thought the end was kind of hokey. And I'm kind of OK with the fact that everyone blew up. It helps my mind rest until the fall.

And if by some strange chance anyone reads this rambling babble, let me say, "thanks for listening."