Katastrophies & Other Important News

While I am not opposed to a rainy day I am opposed to three consecutive weekend days full of a steady uneventful drizzle.  It’s downright depressing.

Friday night we decided to brave the drizzle and celebrate our anniversary at Coast, in The Shops at Legacy.  It was yummy, moderately priced, and I enjoyed the elegant yet casual atmosphere.  I had the salmon with mango salsa while Chad has the red snapper.  Their wine servings were, ahem, a little chincy.  What am I 18?  Come on people give me a REAL glass of wine, not some “taster” serving.  Honestly, if this is a result of the down economy I just have one thing to say: in times of financial turmoil it is important to keep the general public pumped full of boos.  Nobody wants a sober angry mob forming.

Saturday I ran tons of errands, one of which was to Walgreens to print some photos.  I have this thing about printing pictures, I don’t do it.  I don’t know why exactly but I think it’s similar to the reason why I don’t like to download songs to iTunes – I am just too dang impatient and there are tons of other things I would rather be doing.  But I suffered through the process because I really wanted some of my Washington pics.

Next I found myself at the mall.  I had a specific purpose and really tried to stay on task but alas, I remembered that Restoration Hardware was closing (and moving) so I had to stop in.  They carry a cucumber mint soap and lotion that I am in love with!  Much to my delight they had a giant refill of hand soap, a lamp shade I have been searching for, and some soap dispensers.  I bought soap dispenses when we got married for our guest bathrooms.  They seemed nice enough, but just a few months later the lids started to rust so that when you pumped out some soap little flakes of rust would also appear.  Gross.  Anyway, the newer models from RH were originally $46 each.  UM EXCUSE ME, they had better be the best dang soap dispenses made and last me for the rest of my life.  Luckily they were 60% off, otherwise I would never have purchased them.  Chad said he might have purchased them anyway because he has no idea how much stuff like that should cost.  Note to self: Do not send Chad to purchase anything other than clothing….for himself.

Back to my specific purpose for the mall trip; I had to exchange a few items that my dear sweet husband bought me for our anniversary.  The two year mark is apparently the cotton anniversary.  So that narrowed it down to sheets or clothing and since we just bought new sheets both Chad and I opted for clothing.  He surprised me with a new robe, matching slippers and some lounge pants from Victoria’s Secret.  I am sure it’s quite daunting for a man to buy his wife clothing.  There is the whole size decision on top of just general taste and style.  Like a wise man he opted to get the smaller size, just to be safe.  While it’s nice to imagine wearing a size small shoe of any kind it’s simply not realistic, hello – I am 5’8 ½ I would fall forward with a size 7 foot.  And the pants, while not completely out of the question, were just a little snug and short.  That’s another issue with being over 5’7, you have to go up a size to avoid looking like you are prepping for the flood with ankle length pants.  Anyway, enough about me……oh wait, no it’s not. 

Saturday night I made a special dessert to celebrate our anniversary:

And for me, a gluten free version – basically just pudding and bananas:

 If anyone needs a banana pudding fix just head on over because there is no way Chad will eat all of that by himself.

P.S. I have decided that the way to stay thin is to simple “nibble” and “sip” on things.  I know this because whenever they go behind the scenes of a magazine shoot with a celebrity they say:

Arrived in: Prada jeans, Gucci top and Jimmy Choo heels

Hometown: St. Louis

Lunch: NIBBLED on fried onion rings, cheese, veggie burger and SIPPED a diet Coke while dancing to Nelly Furtado and M&M.

(See you can eat whatever you want if you just nibble and sip.)

You know how when you go on a trip you decide it’s time to clean out your purse?  Assuming you are a woman, or not, we don’t judge here so you could very well carry a man bag.  I am always afraid I am going to forget I have a pocket knife, lighter or small hand gun in my side pocket and then subsequently be detained, searched and otherwise traumatized for life.  Besides a good purse clean out is in order at least once a quarter.  But I realized that I carry around a lot of junk I don’t use:

1. A discount card for every retailer in North Texas

2. A full package of on-the-go floss

3. 2 sets of earrings, one of which is broken

4. Change I never use

5. Empty lotion

6. An expired car wash coupon

7. Extra lip gloss and lipstick I never wear

8. Nail file

9. Vitamins

Yeah, that’s a bit excessive don’t you think.  No wonder I can never find anything.

Before I left on my trip my hubby surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers:

Unfortunately I was only able to enjoy them for a day before I left, now they are gonners and looking quite sad all dead and dying on the table.

So our two year anniversary is coming up!  It seems like just yesterday I was completely freaking out about custom postage stamps and cup cakes.  But I have learned a lot about men and marriage in my mere two years, things like:

1. It doesn’t matter that the dishwasher is RIGHT THERE, laying a spoon in the sink is still easier (apparently).

2. Getting flowers for no reason is especially lovely.

3. Leaving ones clothing scattered about in the bedroom:  OK.  Not deleting Tivo shows and therefore cluttering up the recording list: NOT OK.

4. “I can’t wait to do yard work!” Can also mean, “I can’t wait to hire someone to mow the lawn….and by the way picking weeds in the flower bed doesn’t count as yard work.”

5. A great night out means getting middle/middle seats at the movies and coming home early to fawn over the dog.

Picking the right person to spend your life with is pretty danged important.  It’s so much better to share your life with someone….unless that someone is awful then you are totally screwed!  So I am glad I lucked out and got me a good one!

P.S. Among the items pictured above I also found some old Jelly Bellies in the front pocket of my purse, they had a bunch of lint and were pretty gross (don’t judge they were for an emergency situation):

This morning was rough.  As I drove to work at 7:15 (5:15 Washington time) I stared blankly at the vanity license plates securely fastened to their Lexus’, BMWs or giant Escalades wondering who on earth has the time or desire to get cutesy plates that nobody understands.  Vanity plates, expensive cars with shiny wheels and a fresh wax job, a high of 95, miles and miles of concrete with a Starbucks on every corner…ugg.  Sigh.  I left this:

 For all of that.  Booo.  The only thing Washington needed to make me stay forever was Chad and Chewy….and a monthly visit from all my friends and family.  Crap.  So yeah, it’s probably not going to happen that Chad and I move to Washington, but it sure was a wonderful place to visit.  I probably took entirely too many pictures of trees and rocks, but I had to if I was going to remember what they looked like after I got home.

We did everything I wanted to do; Wine tasting on day one, with a little souvenir purchase of 6 bottles to be shipped home (What.  Quit judging me, it’s not like I am going to drink them all at once.).  River rafting on day two, you might notice there are no pictures of me in my wet suit.  For good reason.  Turns out neoprene is NOT HOT, nor were the matching booties, helmet and life vest (although all very necessary).  Halfway through at Housom Falls we all were given the choice to either ride the falls or safely walk around.  Can you guess which I chose?  If not then you haven’t been paying attention.  “Yeah, I will just walk around thank you very much.”  Don’t think I am a chicken, I am so not, but after 30 minutes of, “Yeah, we have had 25 ‘swimmers’ this year, lots of broken noses, torn ligaments, and you could be caught in the falls for up to 10 minutes.” I eagerly declined the opportunity. 

Day three presented a 7 mile hike in the drizzle and cold.  But it was so awesome.  Like nothing I have ever seen before.  While we didn’t see any wild animals (unless you count these slugs:

) Blake gave me the run through of what to do when you encounter a bear vs. a mountain lion.  And there is a difference ya’ll.  Day four we went on another hike, although not nearly as long, to BZ Falls:

Afterwards we headed to the BZ Mart to pick up some scrumptious snacks…although we could have picked up much more than that:

1.  Bullets

2. A white tiger sculpture

3. The VHS of Jungle Fever (on sale no less)

4. Canning materials for food preservation

5. An array of fried foods spinning on heated rollers

6. A Blue Ribbon 40 OZ

7. And sausage sticks

The BZ Mart had it all!

Every evening we Julie made a delicious gluten free dish with ingredients from her garden like homemade tomato sauce, pesto, squash and eggplant.  Plus we picked up an actual FRESH salmon from some Native Americans on the side of the ride.  Did you know that fresh fish has bones in it?  Yeah, for real.  So that left me to wonder who does all the bone picking of the fish I buy at Tom Thumb or order at The Olive Garden?  Gosh, real food is a lot of work.  But man can you taste the difference.

After our gourmet meals we drank wine, well I drank wine and they drank beer, but someone else HAD to have been drinking the wine because when I left there were like 4 bottles on the porch waiting to be recycled.  Hmm, it’s a mystery, but there are a lot of wild animals in the area I am sure one of them is responsible.  Plus I saw their dog Hank eyeing my chardonnay.  Anyway, we enjoyed some beverages and sat outside watching the moon rise over the trees, looking at the stars and just taking in their beautiful meadow:

This might be TMI but I even peed outside, once, it was so outdoorsy of me.  And to continue to fit in I went makeup-less most of the time, it was very freeing.  Women don’t wear much makeup there, it’s such a change from Dallas.  HELLO, this is your average Dallas woman:

So I had a magnificent time, truly.  I am already missing my temporary home with Julie and Blake and their animals Hank, Boo, Moment and Wally (Chewy had lots of smells to investigate when I got home).

(It’s Schmulie and Schmatherine.)

(This is me at Maltanoma Falls on my last day…I kept calling it Melanoma Falls.)

(Julie and Blake on our hike.)

Today will be my last post before I head to Washington, but you can bet that I will have lots to write about when I return.  Last night I finished up my arts and crafts project that I began on Monday.  I seem to have a problem with boy art, I am pretty good at girly stuff but I always draw a blank when it comes to boys (just in general).  Anyhow, here is my best attempt:

And if you happen to be someone who might know who this is a gift for then “Shhhh.”  I couldn’t decide which to send so at the advisement of a very important family member (rhymes with schmindy) I will send both and let the receiver choose which one she likes the best.

I have mucho work to do today in preparation for my departure so adios for now!

P.S. I watched Jon Minus Kate Plus 8 last night, the recent episode where they went to the Dude Ranch in Wyoming and Jon stayed home and did activities with the girls that I AM SURE he made up himself (what a crock, there is no way that while sitting at some skuzzy he bar he thought, “Hey, I know, I will make can and string telephones with the girls next week and do a scavenger hunt.”). 

Last night I cleaned house, we were LONG overdue.  While it might have appeared clean to the naked male…eye, of course, the naked male eye…..it was not.  After hours of scrubbing toilets, bathtubs, and dusting every solid surface I was ready to vacuum.  But I had to wait because Chad was still working.  At 7:30 I was kind of ready to be done and have some R&R so Chad shouted from behind his closed door that he would vacuum later.  Cool. 

When he finally emerged and came downstairs to begin he looked at me and ask, “So what’s all this for?”  I replied, “Oh you mean cleaning, um, well it’s time, it hasn’t been cleaned (like with product) since July 4th.”  To which he replied, “Oh.  Well, it looks clean.”  Right.  Forget the fact that Chewy attracts dust balls full of dirt and hair everywhere he goes, like his own little fan club.  Never mind that the gray dresser in the guest room is actually black, or it was before an inch of dust settled on it.  And showers stay wet all the time so they must be clean, naturally.  Sigh.  Oh the freedom that men must experience, just being men.

Speaking of cleaning, we have been using a mostly broken vacuum cleaner for the last few months.  It doesn’t pick anything up and it barely even makes the coveted carpet marks.  Mostly it just serves as a formality to the whole cleaning process, a symbolic final step if you will.  So when my grandparents were moving I took the opportunity to confiscate a rather old looking Panasonic vacuum, mostly because during a test run it picked up the visible carpet lint which automatically put it steps above our existing.  Last night was our first try.  Um, while it worked and made our carpet look brand new we couldn’t help but notice the foul, and I do mean fowl smell.  It was sort of like a feet/dog smell, a hybrid of the two.  I think it’s mostly just old or something.  So if we were to purchase a new vacuum cleaner does anyone have any suggestions?  Assuming we don’t want to refinance our home just to get a Dyson.

As you can tell our night was chalked full of excitement…after all, I am almost 30 and Chad is darned near 32.  What do you expect.

P.S. Only 2 ½ more days before I head to Washington!!!  And before Chad embarks on his weekend of golf and fantasy football indulgence.