Eyeball screws

I like efficiency.  It is the need to be efficient that makes it really hard for me to just sit and watch TV. There are so many things that can be accomplished in the 20 minutes that it takes to watch a sit-com (I say 20 minutes, rather than 30, because I never watch TV show live...it's much more efficient to DVR then fast forward through all the commercials). For example, folding laundry, painting toenails, and sorting through mail can all be done in conjunction with TV watching.

As I near CFA test day (it's 68 days away, in case you were wondering), I try to find ways to incorporate studying into most of my day-to-day activities.  My books and notes accompany me to the doctor's office, car rides longer than 15 minutes, and the gym.  In fact, I think I get the most out of my studying when I'm on the treadmill or elliptical, because I'm not constantly sidetracked by wanting to look at something on the internet or a dog nudging my arm.  So while the weather is getting warmer and more Spring-like, I force myself to run on the treadmill in the basement rather than run outside.  Because unfortunately, I have not yet figured out how to run outside and study at the same time without getting hit by a car or running into a light pole.  I am open to suggestions, though.

Recently, as my treadmill has gotten more and more use, I have noticed that screws have been falling out of it.  I haven't been terribly concerned that the whole machine would just fall apart, so I neglected to tell Aaron about the screws until yesterday when we were cleaning the house.  I grabbed the 3 screws, and told him I wasn't sure where they had come out, but could he please screw them back in?

He looked around as I continued to dust.  "These are eyeballs."

"Oh."  I had never heard of an eyeball screw before, but then again, I'm not exactly a handyman.  Aaron wasn't making a move to put the screws back in, so I asked, "What exactly does that mean?"

"They are eyeballs."  He picked up a nearby stuffed ape.  Correction: a nearby one-eyed stuffed ape.

"Ohhhhhh."  I picked up a second ape, also one-eyed, thanks to Brinkley and her previously described tough love for her toys.  (We just happen to have a collection of apes lying around.) 

I'm glad he didn't figure out a place to screw in the eyeballs on the treadmill.  It would have been creepy to have it watching me as I run.

How did I not notice the one-eyed ape?

Probably because all of the apes in our house only have one eye. 

The ape on the left is just lucky he still has a nose.

She's very sorry!

Yes, these apes bear a resemblance to the ape whose limbs were torn off one by one.  They seem to be multiplying!