My Favorite Invention

The "goings-on in the House" posts are temporarily on hold. I could write about what what's going on here...like the mold and tick post...but there are only so many of those that can be done without pictures. And I have no pictures. My camera was knocked off the kitchen counter TWICE. Yep, twice! First Carrie knocked it off and broke the flash cover. Super glue is a good invention, but it's not my favorite invention. It doesn't work as well as it claims it does on plastic. So, the following week when Haley knocked the camera off the kitchen counter, the already weakened flash cover was completely wrecked. The mechanics involved in lifting the flash into position were compromised before. Now they are collapsed. There are little wires in there that used to be connected to something. Now they're connected to nothing. Trying to use the flash completely locks up the camera. Not using the flash isn't the best choice for many of the pictures I take. I have been wanting a new camera for a while now. But I didn't need one. Sure, I can get my old one fixed. But I don't think I will. I have had it for 6 years and for the first 5 of those years it has had to be repaired at least once a year. I can say with a certain degree of certainty that the two drops have probably affected more than just the flash and that the camera is probably headed for more expensive repairs. So I'm considering replacing it. And I'm considering other things as well. Like inventions. If super glue isn't my favorite, what is? Computers are a great invention. They have spawned the inventions of countless other devices. And right now my favorite one is the DVR. I seriously don't know how I ever got along without one. Football season would be a complete bust for me because I would always have to watch Alabama games instead of South Carolina games. Because of the DVR, I can watch both! I can record my favorite reality shows to watch when my kids are in bed. I love to watch The Biggest Loser, Survivor, and Deadliest Catch. But you never know what real people are going to say on their reality shows. Or even what contrived characters are going to be scripted to say. Even the stuff that doesn't get bleeped by the censors isn't always suitable for little ears. So I just record those shows and watch them later. Shows that Roger and I like to watch together we save to watch when we are able to both be in the same place at the same time with enough free time to watch them. Like Heroes. I have a whole season saved for future entertainment. In the summer when reruns are on and reality TV season is over, I will have something to watch. When I want to watch something at 8:00, I can pause it until the little ones are all bathed, read to, and tucked in. I remember when Haley was little and I wanted to watch Friends at 8:00 on Thursdays. I would put her to bed half an hour early just for that "must-see TV." With one kid that's easy. With 5, you have sports practices, dance classes, scout meetings, etc. Those usually happen near dinner time. Dinner is a little later on those nights. Bedtime is usually later on those nights. But now my shows will wait! And they wait for me if there is an emergency in the middle of the show. Like a blown out night-light. Or a phone call. Or a cat throwing up on the carpet. Believe it or not, all 3 of those things happened during The Biggest Loser tonight. But I didn't miss a moment of the action...on TV or in the House. Yep, I think the DVR is my favorite invention. What's yours?

By the way, I do realize the kitchen counter is not the best place to keep an expensive camera. It doesn't live there. I had been using the camera and had put it down momentarily. I know someone would have something to say about that, so I thought I had better clear it up!