The plumber came this morning to fix a toilet and some decades-old mysterious leaks from a shower and a tub.

All three bathrooms were going to be off-limits so I escaped to the library to once again rent the Pilates Yoga dvd.  One of these days I will actually open the case and put it into the dvd player, I just know it.

Children were arriving for a special President’s Day event (it’s vacation week here in RI): make an edible log cabin.

Wow.  An edible log cabin?  (I’ve been on a diet for two years–I’m hungry enough to eat a log cabin, barn, schoolhouse and a church).  I tiptoed into the activity room to see tables all set up with thick pretzel sticks and bowls of shredded wheat.  Each child was to bring his/her own can of frosting.

Here’s what the sample looked like (sort of):

That was the Martha Stewart version.  The library’s log cabin was much cuter and used graham crackers for the walls and roof.  Then the pretzel logs were stuck on with frosting “caulk”.  The roof was made of shredded wheat squares, the chimney of mini-marshmallows.

Now this might be old hat to you preschool and kindergarten teachers reading this, but I was fascinated.  So fascinated that the woman in charge invited me to stay and make my own (if I hurried down the street to buy my own can of frosting at the mini-mart first).

I regretfully declined.  I wish I hadn’t.  But time was running out—I had a busy morning planned and an afternoon filled with work.  I had to keep moving.

Here’s where the “abs” come in.

This was at one of the consignment stores I hit Saturday.  (FYI:  in case you think I do nothing but shop for old stuff, it had been six weeks since I’d prowled the stores–just sayin’).  I researched it via google, found out it was a good product and was strongly urged by Banjo Man to go back to the store and get it (we are both working on our “abs”, which we haven’t seen since 1983).

I also went to the health food store and picked up some of the stuff Dr. Oz has been recommending on his latest shows.  Turns out there are all sorts of strange supplements one can take to miraculously get rid of belly fat (and therefore reveal your abs).

Liposuction might be cheaper.  The Abworks machine certainly was.