All Garth, All The Time

Have I ever told you that I love Garth Brooks? Because I do. I grew up on that guy. And I'm going to see him live in concert on Sunday night. For only the second time in my life. That last time I was in sixth grade and I wore a fringed western shirt. This year, I don't know what I'll wear. But I could not be more excited.

Oh, Hangover

Last night was our Secret Santa gift exchange with the girls from work. We had a great time. I got a butter dish and a super cute silver necklace. Both of which I had mentioned that I wanted. For my recipient I got a silver locket and rose cabochon earrings. She really loved them.

We ate a ton of food and shared drinks and dancing. Summed up the night with karaoke in Printer's Alley. They let me sing so much. It was awesome.

A little too awesome.

I just ate three pieces of pizza. Now all I want is for someone to bring me one of those Starbucks salted caramel hot chocolates.

I'm watching It's A Wonderful Life. I think the chemical comedown of the hangover is making me especially susceptible the heart string pulling.

Zuzu's petals!

Saturday

This morning I woke up at 8 and got to work cleaning the treehouse. Not quite as thorough as I'd hoped since I didn't have any dust-type cleaning product. But I dusted. I swept. I vacuumed. I moved my bed to make more room in the living area. I rearranged the rug about three different times. I'm 98% sure that it looks way more spacious now! I put away clutter. I hate clutter. I live in one room, clutter makes it seem even smaller.

Then I went to the Produce Place to pick up all of the produce on the list for the recipes I'm going to try. Stopped by Border's to pick up this month's book club selection, "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis. Then I went to Trader Joe's to get everything else on my list. I had to ask the guy at Trader Joe's what parsnips look like (I'd imagined small onions). They didn't have any. So I stopped by Harris Teeter to get the three things I was missing: parsnips, rutabaga, and ground mustard. At Harris Teeter someone helped me find rutabaga (was way off on what that one looked like as well). I spent a total of $134 on my groceries (which was $16 short of my budget! Yea!).

I stopped by a garage sale on my way home in search of a butter dish, but I didn't find one. I love putting away my groceries. It makes me feel like a successful grown up to have a full refrigerator and cupboards. Unfortunately I have a somewhat smaller than average fridge, so putting groceries up sometimes becomes a test of endurance.

But. After that. I made my first batch of banana muffins. They are currently cooling. They smell amazing. I was planning to go out to Smyrna this afternoon to see "Life As We Know It" (which I heard was pretty cute in a chick flick kind of way), but my date cancelled. Instead, I think I'm going to settle in with a banana muffin and disc 2 (season 1) of Nurse Jackie.

We might go to the dog park later. The evening is wide open! I love a lazy Saturday almost as much as I love a lazy Sunday.

The EPIC-ness Has Only Just Began

So. We managed to plan our DC trip for the same weekend as Glen Beck's Restoration rally. We didn't do that on purpose.
I arrived in DC on Thursday evening, and the girls were waiting for me at the terminal. We hopped on the Metro (so exciting and motion sick-y all at the same time), and three stops later we were at Rachel's place. Super-cute little brick townhouse painted yellow (a good yellow), with its own front yard. We trekked to Pat Troy's Irish Pub to enjoy some drinks on the patio.
Friday morning we ate blueberry muffins and then headed off to D.C. (Rachel lives in Alexandria) to visit the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum Of Natural History. The Portrait Gallery was super cool. There was an Americans NOW exhibit as well as a Norman Rockwell exhibit. The Rockwell exhibit was super cool, with photos from his life in addition to his famous cover art. We also checked out parts of the Museum Of Modern Art, which had a Presidents exhibit. There was a bad-ass gigantic mosaic of Bill Clinton's head. We also hit up the Butterfly Room, where, for $5, you could walk in the land of butterflies (which was totally awesome). We left the museums for lunch, and ate at the Austin Grill (lots of veggie options), and the food was delicious. From there we bought some souvenirs and then headed home. Rachel made us a delicious stuffed pasta dinner, and we drank wine and watched girly movies, with a break for The Dairy Godmother (where I ordered the homemade blueberry cobbler, topped with vanilla custard).
Saturday we woke up bright and early so that we could hop on the train to catch our 11 am "tour" of the Washington Monument. The tour consisted of shooting up in an elevator, viewing the city from tiny windows in all four sides of the monument, and then catching a couple of the featured blocks of rock on the way down. Rachel timed our tour with the rally, so walking in with the flow of American flag-bedecked tea-partiers (and then looking down upon them from The Monument) made for interesting people watching. We got pictures of lots of amusing shirts and variously decorated vehicles. (Because nothing restores one's honor like a shirt with the preamble to the Constitution written on it). After our tour, we went to the Old Ebbitt Grill. It was delicious. Hummus, crab artichoke dip, and house salads with gorgonzola. Our super-cute server (in suspenders!) sold us on Peach Cobbler for lunch. (Which beat the pants off the blueberry cobbler from the day before). Then we did a little shopping at H&M (my first time). I scored big time. I got a super cute polka-dot button-down dress, a western shirt (super good fit), a flowy gray tank, a ring, and a necklace. I also bought boots at Payless (because apparently I only shop at Payless when on vacation).
After wearing ourselves out with all of that shopping, we headed back to Rachel's to rest before our evening out. We then proceeded to get ready just the way we did in the old days. Music on, pre-drinks in hand, trying on various shoes and jewelry in the hallway of adjoining rooms, applying make-up and fixing hair. It was very nostalgic, and probably my favorite part of the trip. We were having so much fun that we missed our train and ended up staying in Rachel's part of town. Which worked out well because we were able to bar hop. We hit up a karaoke joint (not Rachel's favorite, but Michelle was ready for it) and ended up at Murphy's Irish Pub (with an Irish server, no less!). Michelle managed to find the one tea partier in there and have a political debate with him. We tried to carry our party on to the only dance party in the vicinity, but it had already closed by the time we'd finished all of our shots. Instead we walked home and had a dance party of our own, while we made various "don't be hungover tomorrow" snacks. The pictures are quite entertaining, but will not be presented here. Ha.
Sunday some of us woke up with hangovers (ahem, Michelle, you are a ridiculous freak of nature)...so the snacks maybe didn't work as well as we'd planned. We realized that our brunch/second pass of H&M plans were ridiculous, and we ended up eating McDonald's while we packed to go home. Amazingly, everything fit in my luggage. We Metro'd back to the airport, and hugged goodbye. I'll leave out the unpleasantness of my flight due to my slight hangover.
All in all, it was an amazing weekend spent with girls who make you remember who your friends are. Girls who help you remember who you are, when you find that you're a little lost, who you used to be, when you find that you've grown into someone different, and who you want to be, when you're with people who love you for all of those different people that're wrapped up inside of you.
Thank you, ladies, I love you.

EPIC

I'm going to DC this weekend (tomorrow through Sunday) to visit one of my college roommates. Michelle, my bff, also a college roommate, is coming too, so that we can have a good old nostalgic weekend full of girly shit.
Man, I'm so excited. I just can't wait to sit around with two old friends and just soak up their love & their company.
So far I'm aware of the following: a trip to the top of the Washington Monument, a Glenn Beck rally to crash, carb-loading before hitting the bars, and brunch on Sunday (and a museum or two).
Sounds like heaven, no?

Truant

I haven't been absent on purpose. I have things to write about! I have things to share!
However, the guy who was so kindly sharing his internet service with me, "Hillbilly Hollywood," has up and disappeared, and my laptop doesn't want to let me log on to any of the other unsecured networks available to me. Therefore, I've had no internet at home for the past three weeks. And work has been busy as hell, so there just hasn't been time.
Update on the old guy: I didn't go to the symphony. I chickened out. The Blonde Mule's advice about how to handle the situation would've been very helpful if I'd seen it one day sooner. I might've gone if I'd seen it that day, but I didn't. So, I didn't go to the symphony with my old friend.
I drove to Michigan last weekend to pick up my brother. He's visiting for a few weeks. The visit with my family went well, although I didn't see much of my grandparents or my mom. On Friday night we played hide and go seek with flashlights in the dark (my brother and some cousins). It was fun. And beautiful. And calming. The hiding part, at least. You know those moments when you take a second to stop and look around and really soak it all in? That moment where you feel at peace? When your brain stops whirring and you can just appreciate that particular feeling? Someone told me once that that feeling is God, speaking to you, but that you might not recognize it for that. I don't know, but there was one really distinct one of those, which I think I'll probably remember forever. Or at least a long time.
I met my new cousin. He's adorable. I have lots of thoughts on that. I have lots of thoughts about everything recently. Or all the time. But, you know what I mean. This visit home and this time with my brother has me ruminating on things. How quickly time passes by. How babies grow up. How your cousins turn into adults and how blood ties you to people that you manage to know little about, or people whose lives you only get to see in small slivers of time.
My brother is growing up. And I see how far away from each other we are. I wonder if this month will help us grow closer? We're trying to get him a job while he's here, but fifteen is turning out to be a tricky number when it comes to employment.
We shall see, I suppose. More later.
PS: Listened to "The Prince Of Frogtown" by Rick Bragg on the drive. Probably why I'm contemplating family so much right now. I suggest you check him out if you've never read him. If you live in The South. If you like good writing. If you have parents. You will enjoy his work.

So This Is What Happened...

I drove to Atlanta Thursday, drove to Destin Friday, went to the beach in the morning, went to another beach in the evening (for a wedding, I should add), arrived just after the ceremony happened, went to dinner for the reception, walked along the Fisherman's Wharf, drove back to Atlanta Sunday, and drove back home today.

Turns out I drove 1,151.64 miles for a pizza dinner and a sunburn.

Cat Scratch Fever

So I've been a little ill lately. And I mean ill in the Southern sense, as in "moody" or "bitchy" and not as in "sick" or "feeling poorly." I've just been depressed. Some days are better than others. I am feeling better now that the sun has come back from its two week hiatus.
I had an eventful but unhealthy weekend. Lots more drinking and eating than I'd like to recall. No exercise to balance out all of the indulgence, unfortunately. And today I'm definitely feeling puffy and chubby and groggy as a result. But that's okay. Maybe I needed the stress relief?
Well. The sun is out. The weather is supposed to be good this week. I will walk my dog. I will eat well. I will not eat after 8 p.m., and I will put myself to bed by 10 p.m. I will try to stay positive and look on the bright side.
My apartment is growing on me, and this is a good thing. Let's keep that in mind.

I Am A Dancy Party Waiting To Happen

Did you know this about me? It's true.
I had a superb weekend. I nurtured a blossoming friendship. I helped throw a baby shower for my boyfriend's brother & his wife. I worked some overtime. I had a dance party with some super sultry ladies.
I listened to this all day. It seriously made my day better. I think K'Naan will be my summer jamfest. The whole album is radical. Sometimes I think I must look like some kinda' idiot white girl blasting such things from my tiny Honda. Then I realize that I don't really care. I danced in my seat the whole way home today.
PS: Shout out to my M for her birthday!

Weekends Are For Updates!

No? Yes!
I cleaned my oven! It wasn't fun. My knees are bruised from all of that kneeling. I had to bust out the scraper for the grill. It was dirty work. I had the day off on Friday, so I cleaned the apartment from top to bottom. It was therapeutic. I took the recyclables! I even vacuumed the coat closet!
I finished season 4 of "The Wire"! I haven't mentioned my deep and undying addiction to that show yet, have I? A late bloomer, but a bloomer nonetheless. That show is effing amazing. I've never seen anything like it. It really is a secret portal into an unknown world. I am absolutely captivated by it and have been moved to probably every single human emotion while watching this show. You think I'm exaggerating. I'm not. Try it for yourself. I have become a crazy convert and my religion is "The Wire." Do it!
I went to my book club! Month three of keeping my New Year's Resolution to attend all book club meetings this year. Sadly, I will miss next month's meeting, but since it's for a family affair, I will not beat myself up over it. This month's book was Annie Dillard's An American Childhood. I thought of it as a more thoughtful, less bitter, less funny David Sedaris. That doesn't make it sound as good as I actually thought it was though. It was really insightful. Just sort of random essay-like chapters - snapshots of a childhood. I really enjoyed it. It was relate-to-able - very unlike "The Wire." Ha.
I went to The Old Spaghetti Factory and the Wild Beaver! I sang karaoke!
I ate a delicious home cooked meal with my common-law-in-laws.
I browned butter and baked spaghetti squash, neither of which turned out all that spectacularly.
I might be going to Tampa for a summer vacation with my best friend, who I haven't seen in over a year. Words cannot express how much I hope this plan pans out.
I'm going to see DMB in April, and I'm not even embarrassed to admit my deep and undying love for their music.
I love this weather we've been having!

The Nutcracker

My dad came to visit me this past weekend. It's always good when he visits 'cause he gets a hotel room, and he pays for everything. Since he's my only parent who pays for everything when he visits, I have no problem indulging him. He's also my only parent who's not married to a crazy person and my only parent who visits...so how could I shun him anyway?
In the last few years he's really gotten into antiquing. He collects flashlights (the collection's up to 150 - I kid you not) and he's expanded to toy robots because the flashlights turned out to be so easy to find. My step mom collects eye cups. They're these little glass cups that look like a small goblet and the cup is ovular. People used to use them to rinse their eyes. So anyway, we probably spent 75% of our waking time antiquing. This involved driving from Hermitage to Bell Buckle to Manchester to Murfreesboro. And then the next day from Hermitage to Murfreesboro to Franklin and back again. We also dined at Cracker Barrel, Chili's AND Shoney's this weekend. I ate my weight in disgusting, greasy food this weekend, that's for sure.

I actually enjoy antiquing because I like looking at every single knick-knack in the place. My dad kept saying how I needed to find something to collect to make it more interesting. I would get alternately excited and depressed about vintage ladies' hats and jewelry and furniture that I can't afford. There were also a few characters running the shops as well. I found a piece that made me laugh so much that my dad decided to buy it for me..."cause you just liked it so much." Without further ado, here she is, you crack the nut between her thighs...my kind of woman:


I just hope my dad doesn't start sending me antique nutcrackers now.

Oy Vey

The Squishy Brain Time persists. What I really think about telling you is that I love fruit snacks, Great Value Smiles, to be specific (all fruit snacks were not created equally) and also mayo.
I'm going on a girls' trip this weekend to the Gatlinburg area. I'm excited. It's sort of a group that I don't really hang out with all that much, but I have had a good time with them in the past. This is my second time for this trip with them, and I'm excited. The last trip consisted of a hike, lots of wine, lots of food and a viewing of Deliverance while camped out in a log cabin in the woods.
I'm about halfway through packing and the idea that my luggage contains tennis shoes, flip flops, tank tops and comfy pants is incredibly appealing. I can't wait to get on the road now. I might even ditch my now constant mascara...but given all the pictures (and video!) taken last time, maybe I won't. So yeah, I'm looking forward to some girl time. Should be fun. I may post pictures, depending on how incriminating they are.
A good weekend to all.

Ponderous

Well, it's been kind of a boring weekend. We went to an 80's party on Friday night, which was fun. Tony and I definitely had the best costumes of all the attendees. It should be noted that only our table and about two others even knew about the theme. But the bartenders appreciated our efforts.

Other than that it's been let's lay around and talk about whether or not we should get a new dog. Tony wants one. I want one, just not in our apartment. But then I think, wouldn't it be better to have the puppy mostly trained and ready once we're in our own house, as opposed to starting it all when we're not in a rental property? We pretty much decided that we are both too indecisive about it, and that that is a sign that we aren't ready for dog #2. I did get excited about the prospect of a puppy galumphing about though.

It's time to kick in the overtime. The summer is always harder for me to focus at work. I find myself gazing out the window at the sun and dreaming of the sweet tan that I could be working on by my pool. I find myself craving half days and days off for no reason other than to not be at work.

But. My brother is coming to visit soon, and I'll need extra cash for while he's here, so I need to start padding those paychecks a little. Tony and I also want to move out of this apartment and hopefully into a house when our lease is up here, that means that I need to start paying down some debt and trying to make a little savings nest. That means I need to make more money. That means I need to work overtime. Or get a second job. I think at least until the summer is over, I'll focus on overtime.

Blegh. I'm not feeling it, but sometimes it's necessary. I've also been a little less than stellar at work lately, so I guess it's time to get back to my previous self in that respect as well.

What a Weekend

Wow. I spent a lot of money this weekend. You wouldn't expect pasta salad and hot chicken fests to cost so much, but they sort of add up. It was a good one though. We really packed a lot in. We drank a bit too. Some nights maybe a little too much. But it was really fun.
Being the awesome place that they are, my employers gave us a half day on Thursday. I hit up the Y with my lady friend, the Brit, and then we headed to my pool for a few hours of sun before going over the the Mullet's to help her with her pre-bbq chopping and mixing. I made a delicious pasta salad and had some wine, but made it home fairly early and in bed by 10. Boyfriend came home from Happy Hour a little later.
I kept wondering why he wasn't super psyched about the Hot Chicken Fest as we were getting ready to go on Friday. Finally I realized that he was hungover. We then proceeded to wait in line (2, actually - one to order, one to pick up) for Prince's Hot Chicken. The chicken was hot, the day was hot, but I think it was worth it. It took us about an hour, but we emerged victorious with two baskets of chicken. The mouse was totally awesome and grabbed me some fish from Bolton's, and it was delicious. Then we made our way to the Mullet's for a "mixed" bbq. It was her first time mixing different crowds, and I think it went off without a hitch. The food was effing amazing. All that chopping from the night before really paid off. There were barbecued riblets and chicken legs. There were spiced and herbed shish-kebabs of veggies (bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini) and tofu. There was a delicious pasta salad prepared by yours truly. A mint fruit salad and deviled eggs rounded out the table. I think there was more, but I've tried to block out how much I ate. In addition, there was plenty of beer and my new favorite, bellinis. Yum.
We were supposed to go watch the fireworks after this, but Tony and I lamed out and went home. We got Dairy Queen (yes, like I needed more food), and we watched the fireworks on TV, which I'd been bashing the entire week when I saw the commercials. The good thing was that you could hear the orchestra. That is all.
Saturday morning we got up fresh and ready for life. We went to the mouse's to help her move into her new place. It was surprisingly speedy, as she had lots of strapping men (I'm totally including my boyfriend in this one) to help. She paid us in pizza and beer. An 18 pack of Miller Lite is nothing to complain about for a few hours of manual labor.
We headed home and got ready for the Poets & Pirates tour (Gary Allan, Lee Ann Rimes, Sammy Hagar (I know, right), Keith Urban, and Kenny Chesney). We totally brought the almost case of beer with us and drank in the car, just the two of us. It was actually really fun. We hit up the concert at the end of Hagar's set, and boogied our booties off to the man, Keith Uuuur-ban. We left a little early to hit up a party, by which time I was starving. I made friends with the dog and cat of the house, raided the fridge, and made the host promise to take me to the movies on Monday. I forgot some of the night.
Sunday I nursed a little hangover at the pool with some poolside reading and intermittent dips. We rented movies and got junk food. And rounded out our full, full weekend with two cheesy movies, The Bucket List and Definitely, Maybe, both of which exceeded expectations.
How's that for packin' it all in?

Return

So Michigan was good. I think I'd have enjoyed myself a little more if there weren't other people visiting for the pig roast, and if we'd had more time to chill out with the family (as opposed to preparing for the party day and entertaining guests). My dog had an awesome time galloping through the fields. I got to see my brother, who is finally as tall as me. And my mom was actually around this time. Tony and I re-lived our golden love days for a few hours in East Lansing. My dad gave me some strawberries from his garden. They were amazing. They're going on my list for next year's garden. I hope that we'll be in a house by then so that we can have a real garden. And a compost heap.
I'm kind of on comedown. I don't really know how to describe it, so I won't try.
I gave blood today, so I ate a shit-ton of food and don't have to feel guilty about not working out. Yum, oatmeal creme pies.
My cucumbers have their first flowers. Now I need some bees to get to pollinatin' so that I can get some cukes. I was pretty excited to see that they had gotten huge while we were gone. I came home to tendrils for grasping the trellis and yellow flowers and leaves bigger than my hand. I guess Mother Nature doesn't need me to water my plants after all.

On Second Thought

My crazy family is already driving me crazy. I find that my grandmother is demanding our company, even though she's already got a full house and there are empty beds down the road. But she doesn't want us in the empty beds, she wants us on air mattresses in the den and the basement. Have I mentioned that my grandparents are very conservative, strict Catholics? Tony and I must sleep in separate beds (usually on separate floors) when we visit. My grandma talks about it with relish, like she's really stickin' it to us. And I'm like, "Grandma, we live together. We sleep together all the time. If your rule bothered us that much, we'd stay at my dad's." But I let her keep her victories.
My mom is doing the "you be the middle man with your stepdad and your brother even though I'm a grown woman and should be able to plan for your visits accordingly" thing. Good Lord. I feel for my brother. I hope he survives his adolescence unscathed. I'm not sure what the odds are, though. Who does survive adolescence unscathed anyway?
But alas. We decided to bring the pup. What's the point of a small-ish dog if you're not going to take him on road trips, anyway? He's freshly bathed, so hopefully he can keep his face out of his butthole for a few days. Hopefully he won't find anything dead to roll in this time.
Once we get through the drive, it should be smooth sailing, though. No plans other than to go visit my dad. We'll play some cards. We'll play some board games. We'll visit with family. We'll eat a lot of food that's really bad for us, and we'll soak up the love. So I think on third thought, I'll be a little easier on the ol' loved ones.

Summer Solstice

Had a good weekend. Friday we had 2for1's at the local Chili's. I got a quesadilla explosion that turned out to be a salad. I made up for it by getting a sauteed veggie quesadilla at the Rosepepper on Saturday. It was delicious. The margaritas weren't bad either.
We went to a party celebrating the start of the summer. Work friends, old friends, new friends even. A dance party. A little drama. Swimming in undies. A whirlpool. We got home and made eggs, which were somehow all over my kitchen the next morning. Went to bed with the chirping of the birds. Not a bad night. Sometimes good nights make for bad mornings, though.
My boss's words of wisdom: "A hangover lasts a day, but the memories and fun you make, they last a lifetime." Well said, my friend. Well said.
We're going to Michigan for a long weekend. Leaving on Thursday and coming home Sunday or Monday. My grandparents have a pig roast in their backyard every year. They invite tons of their friends. It should be fun. I haven't seen my family since Christmas. My mom has dropped her douchebag husband (again), so I'm looking forward to actually seeing her this time. I think she and my grandmother might be having a custody battle over Tony's and my affections, 'cause I got a call last week asking where we'd be staying...this just makes me laugh and feel loved. It's nice to be popular.

Weekends Are For Babies

Like myself. The end of every weekend is a big shock to me lately. It gets to be Tuesday before I can face the facts.
I had a pretty good weekend. I don't know why it seemed so stellar. In hindsight, I realize I didn't do anything incredibly phenomenal, but still, it was good.
T-bone and I started out the weekend with some strawberry margaritas (his pick) at La Hacienda by our crib. A pitcher got us both 'bout tipsy. Then we got drunk and forgot what we did. Just kidding, I just felt like quoting a little Akon, there. We went home, carried on with the fun, and then debated the merits of heading out or staying in. He promised me some chauffering, but didn't come through, and I ended up falling asleep to the sweet sounds of Will Ferrell & Andre 3000 in their feature film, Semi-Pro, the movies just don't keep me awake these days.
Saturday we went to the Y, where I sweated my A off to my newly updated Shuffle. It's amazing the difference that fresh music will make to your motivation. Then I hit up my pool, where I was supposed to read Crime and Punishment for my book club, but instead my friend the mouse came and we had a lovely afternoon of gossip and girltalk. Mucho!
Saturday night we headed to Tony's parents' campsite and roasted some marshmallows and made Boom swim out to me in a canoe. He did not love it, but he really did a nice job of convincing me of the lengths he would go to for his favorite human.
Sunday morning Tony's parents came over and we made them omelets. Tony and I were a well-oiled machine in our tiny kitchen. It made my heart sing. The omelets weren't bad either. Sauteed onions, red peppers, zucchini & asparagus were thrown in with the eggs and some pepperjack/velveeta combo. The effect was gorgeous. We made sausage and biscuits for the meateaters.
Later we had a little couple's pool time. The weekly summer film club was cancelled, so I did yoga (which I'm still not so sweet at), and we rounded out the evening with grocery shopping that tipped the scales at $100.32 for a half a cart of junk. Life is really quite pricey.
We-helllll...aren't you glad you know about all of that? I think I liked my boyfriend a lot this weekend. I think that's what made it great. You know? When you don't bicker, and you can take a step back and appreciate a moment while you're actually in it. Priceless.

Walkin' On Broken Glass

I heard this song on the way to work this morning. And I don't guess I've ever paid attention, but, why is the song so uptempo and happy feeling when she's singing about walking on glass? Broken glass? I don't know. Maybe that's the point. I haven't listened to all of the words, maybe she explains some kind of conondrum in between the choruses (chori?)?
Well, I'm feeling happy like the tempo of the song. Even though I was really tired this morning...from what, I'm not sure. Last night I arrived home from the YMCA to my boyfriend making dinner (oh so healthy - fish sticks and mac & cheese, but whatever, we eat fairly well, the guy should get some fish sticks and mac & cheese every once in a while, don't you think?). Also waiting for me were several stalks in my little pre-container garden!!! I wasn't feeling especially positive about it, considering that they weren't getting much sun, and I was afraid they were too cold. So how excited was I when I saw those? Four healthy looking stalks and some more peeking through the compost (someone read her gardening book. score!). One of cucumber and several of tomatoes. Now I'm really, super excited, but a little unsure of what to do now? Do I leave the plastic wrap on there for the full six weeks? Won't it stunt their growth? Hmmm...sounds like I need to do some Googling, no?
I also kicked Mariokart's a* last night and opened up a new board. How pumped am I? I know Tony is so jealous because he's been beating me at games all weekend, and I'm sure he wanted to be the first one to open a mystery board. I must say I have a slightly victorious glow from this achievement. I think a Wii night with my work ladies will be in order sometime soon.

*I'm trying to cuss less, in honor of my revered grandpa.

And The Beat Goes On

Hmmm...after a glorious weekend, I find myself back at work. Yes, it's Tuesday, and yet I'm still finding it slightly stunning to the senses that my weekend is already over.
It was a pretty good one. They let us off at three on Friday, so after an extended lunch I arrived back at work to discover that I only had to work one more hour (nice!). Then I went home and vegged out with the boyfriend and ate some Mexican food. Cinco de Mayo has a great vegetarian plate. It's funny, 'cause the word "vegetarian" conjures up all these images of health and fitness, and then you get this plate of bubbling cheese, refried beans, flour tortillas and mexican rice. It's not so healthy after all, but hot damn, is it tasty. Then we re-watched The Departed, which we bought a long time ago, but was m.i.a. for a while. If you haven't seen it, you really should. Especially if you're a lady who may or may not have had a crush on Leonardo DiCaprio at some point in your life. He's got this raging vulnerability and sexiness throughout the film that I really hadn't experienced in some time. Oh yeah, and a lot of people die. So be prepared for that too.
Saturday we got up early and headed over to the Herb Society Plant Sale at the fairgrounds. We scored some lime basil (good for salads and fish, they tell me), oregano, thyme and a sweet potato plant. Still undecided as to whether the sweet potato plant actually grows potatos. But that was kind of the point. Then I took Tony for his first Chicago-style dog at Hot Diggity Dogs. I think he enjoyed it. We went out downtown for a friend's birthday that night, but managed to drink minimally enough to avoid a hangover in the morning. Nice.
Sunday was really domestic. We were kind of bickery on Saturday, which I always find upsetting even when I can't help myself for getting annoyed with the way his nose whistles sometimes when he breathes ("Could you stop breathing.?."), but we totally made up for it on Sunday, which makes me happy. Love was all around. So we went grocery shopping and I got some tomato and cucumber seeds to try to grow my own container garden. I'm a little worried that I have started too late, but we'll see how it goes. I currently have 90 seeds sitting in a little greenhouse container in front of my sliding glass door. I've never done it before. I'm hoping for good things.
Oh yeah, and I worked out both days of the weekend. High fives for me. Woo.
Sunday night we watched The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. If you haven't seen it, or heard of it, you should really check it out. It's got the awkwardness of The Office combined with an underdog story of Rocky proportions, except that it's all real! Enjoy.