• A clean bill of health. No bird flu. This is the most important gift!
• Approximately 50 yards of gorgeous silk Sari fabric. I want to roll myself in it like a burrito. It's very yummy. I can't wait for our house to be built so I can decorate my office.
• Quite literally, pounds of chocolate (picked up during his layover in Amsterdam).

The chocolate is to die for. This is Chocolate good enough to bring me out of my "one little piece is all I can handle" weirdness. 70% Cocoa, Milk Chocolate with Hazenut pieces, Lusciously Rich Dark Chocolate, and a big box of Truffles (like coffee ganache and coffee cream and coffee, coffee, coffee... and praline!). And it's mine. MINE. You'll lose a finger if you touch it. I'm not joking.

I'm now a chocolate hoarder. I have been caught hiding my chocolate. Indeed, even from the man who brought it home to me. I feel guilty about this. Not guilty enough to divulge where I've hidden it, though. Heh.

The first day or so of Mr. Clean's return were a little... hmm.... Odd. See, before he left he did a good 90% of the household tasks around here. And then it was all up to little ol' me. Under normal circumstances, I'm happy to just go along with the flow of things - unless the flow pushes a button and then it's a different story. Being stuck with mounds and mounds of laundry and dishes pushed every button I own and then some I didn't even know existed. As you know, I went on strike a week into this little experience. By Week 2, I was Planning Strategies. Week 3 saw Operation Enough enacted. And Field Marshall Mom reported for duty. Thus, Mr. Clean came home and spent his first full day (which he took off to recover) learning the new intricacies of How Things Now Work.

When Shaggy and Doodlebug came home from school and completed homework without even being asked, he raised an eyebrow. When they both not only rinsed their dishes but put them in the dishwasher and made sure there were no little icky food bits in my sink after dinner, he raised both eyebrows and his mouth resembled a catfish out of water. Speechless. When Doodlebug then began folding his own clothes from the dryer, Mr. Clean's jaw hit the floor. He didn't pass out when he saw Shaggy bring his own laundry in and begin washing it... Himself. That happened when Shaggy said he needed a moment to straighten his room before Mr. Clean could come help him with a computer problem. My floor may never recover from the impact.

See. Things have changed around here. And they're not going back to the Way They Were. For one, it was unfair that Mr. Clean had so much to do. Truly. And I feel a measure of guilt for that (although, honestly, it was more Mr. Clean's doing at his own insistance than anything else). But really, these spawnlings are mature enough to do more around here than the odd feeding of dogs or cleaning of cat litter. Gone are the days of mountainous laundry piles delivered at 9pm on Sunday evening because Shaggy has "nothing to wear" on Monday morning. Gone are the days of dishes being tossed into the sink until someone Else does something with them. And dang it, there is One Glass Per Day or you're shit out of luck in the drinking fluids department.

I'm afraid Mr. Clean doesn't quite know what to do with all his new free time. He wanders around the house a lot. Aimlessly. Looking a little lost. But, you know what? It's all good because Now, he has No Excuse not to Cuddle with me! Heh. There's always an ulterior motive.

Moving on...

February's Blogging 4 Books results have come in and I'm proud to announce, I got 3rd place on my entry: Welcome to the Club. Congrats to the winner (who's blog was awesome) and 2nd place (also awesome).

I really love this little contest. It's great fun and good writing practice (as some of the topics are challenging for me to write about). I can't wait to see next month's topic. Joshilyn Jackson normally posts the topics at the beginning of each month. Check out her blog: Faster Than Kudzu. And while you're at it, read her book: gods in Alabama. It ROCKS!! She also has a new one about to come out soon called: Between, Georgia.