I will most likely post more later, but suffice it to say we’re home. It was an emotionally draining (I hesitate to say vacation…) time, but we did have some great times with family.
Category Archives: Friends & Family
Late night calls are never good.
I didn’t have my cell phone by the bed last night so we missed a call at 1am. We both assumed it was a wrong number, because who would be calling us at 1am? (We’ve had a few wrong numbers lately.) Unfortunately, someone WAS calling us…with bad news.
My grandmother passed away sometime last night, and my dad and stepmom were driving home from the U.P. (where they were on vacation) when they called. So, we actually found out about 7:30 this morning.
There was a mad rush to make travel arrangements, trying to find plane tickets that weren’t $800 a piece (damn small town airport). We are flying home tomorrow…not quite the way we wanted to get to see everyone.
Wow. Just, wow!
So awhile back, my dad asked me where he should send something to make sure I get it. I assumed it was something of value, as he apparently didn’t want it sitting on our porch, so I said my office. This morning, I received a cryptic email saying “expect the package, you must wait to open it with Tom, and check out the numbers.”
Huh?
What?
Let me tell you, I was going NUTS waiting for it—and hoping it would arrive today instead of having to wait until Monday! I had no idea at all what it could be. NONE! So I was thrilled when the UPS guy brought it in. It was probably 2′ x 3′ x 3″ — and I still had no idea (it wasn’t that heavy and it shook a little bit).
I called Tom to tell him it had arrived and he had better stop on his way home!! Both Jane and Dick (my bosses) offered to open it for me, since there appeared to be no restrictions on anyone else opening it. I politely declined.
So Tom walked in about 3:00 and we tore into it. Imagine our total and utter surprise/shock/amazement to find this….
A 12×16 signed and numbered canvas (32/1450—to commemorate my age when I received it!), Autumn on Mackinac Island, by Thomas Kinkade.
Turns out Linda was the driving force behind the purchase… she went into a local gallery and saw the sketch of the soon-to-be-completed piece and thought it would be perfect. Dad actually describes it much better:
Originally, we were in Petoskey for one of my appointments. When Linda picked me up after my appointment she said she wanted to show me something. Well we went to the T.K. gallery and she showed me a sketch of it. There were no prints even produced yet. She said what do you think of it and I said It would probably be very pretty when done but where were we going to hang it. She said, “It’s not for us silly, I want to give it to Jen for her birthday.” I immediately got up off the floor and said if it means that much to you, then it is a done deal. Needless to say, we still have the sketch (personally signed-maybe copied. I am not sure) and you “may” someday inherit it. T.K. was actually in Pestoskey but because of schedules we could not go meet him. But he had been to Mac. Island to make the sketch!
I am still floored. We are going to go get it framed this weekend and then find the perfect place to hang it (I have my ideas, but it means rearranging some things).
Our wedding weekend in DC
There was too much riding in the car (about 7 hours each way).
There was too much traffic (I will NEVER live in or near a large city—you couldn’t pay me enough to live in or near DC—it took us 1:30 to drive the last 20 miles).
There was not nearly enough visiting… Of course you never get to spend any time with the bride and groom, but….the other friends that were going to be there (that we haven’t seen in three years) never showed up!!!!! (To be honest, we were really ticked off, although of course we hope nothing serious happened.)
The wedding was nice, but nothing out of the ordinary—although we were a little surprised by the DANCERS during the wedding. It was announced there was going to be a “musical interlude” and out of nowhere, these six dancers came zooming down the aisle, dressed in white leotards and shimmery white tops with scarves attached to their fingers. Oh. My. We looked on in utter disbelief. We are still trying to figure out why anyone would do that….and we found out at the reception that it was a surprise by the bride to the groom. Hoo boy.
The reception was a reception. Since our friends didn’t show up, we knew exactly two people at the wedding—the groom and the best man (my old manager and my old regional manager). So you can imagine how little talking and visiting we did. Oh, and did I mention we were two of the five white people there? Not that it matters, of course, but it was just funny. So we were looking forward to drinking and dancing and whatnot, but the reception was over by 7:30 and we never even got to dance—pretty much every song they played was some line-dancing “hustle” type song. Blech. Even the groom said “This is NOT my kind of music.” The best part of the reception, however, was when the groom sang to the bride—he has a GREAT voice and it was a total surprise to her—and I love to hear him sing so that was cool.
The best part of the whole thing, though, was how tickled the groom was that we had come. We were never FRIENDS, per se, as he was MY MANAGER, but he is one of my favorite people ever and he is just such a great guy that I would go to the ends of the earth for him. And that’s saying a lot.
So, we left the reception and went to Chevy’s where I had THE BEST DAMN MARGARITAS OF MY LIFE (we had dined there the previous night and I fell in love with the margaritas, so we had to go back), plus hubby and I each did a $9 double-shot of Don Julio tequila just to see what good tequila tastes like. (I say it was a double shot because the bartender’s shots were GENEROUS.) Well, going down it wasn’t so bad, it was actually quite smooth, but the aftertaste was still pretty much tequila.
We got to stop at Ikea on the way home and spent money on stuff we certainly could have lived without, but you know how that goes. I had to drive part way while Tom napped, and I am reminded just how much I hate driving—there are so many stupid drivers I had a headache within minutes. I was doing 10 over in the slow lane getting passed by people doing at least 20 over, then those same people slow down and I pass them, then they’re on my ass and trying to pass me on the right and cutting people off because they refuse to slow down, and then people cutting me off from passing because god forbid I get in front of them. I get sooo frustrated. I have to live somewhere without that nonsense.
And now we’re back at home and we got Maggie back from friends and all is right with the world.
Another late night!
I’m getting too old for this… Last weekend it was the party at our house, when we had people at our house until 2:30 and we were up until probably 3. This weekend (Friday) we went to the bar with some friends and stayed until just before closing (2am) and were again in bed by 3.
Of course, the next morning, we’re woken up by Maggie around 6am, because it’s the normal time she gets up and she’s wondering what’s wrong with us. Tom either takes her out or takes off her collar so we don’t hear her moving around so we can try to get more than three hours of sleep. Yesterday I managed to get another three hours, but was tired all damn day.
We’re getting too old for this. Or at least I am—Tom is trying his hardest not to feel old.
Our buddy Tom is home!
Our buddy Tom was coming home from six months in Africa so Tom took the morning off to go to New River Air Station (the opposite side of town as Camp Lejeune) to the welcome home celebration. (Aside from wanting to see his best friend, he also wanted to be there to take pictures when Tom saw his son for the first time.)
He said it was very cool—all the helicopters flew over in formation (our buddy was the lead bird) and then landed and all the guys walked inbetween the birds and out to the waiting people. I really would have liked to see it as well (and I could have easily taken the morning off) but we just didn’t really think about it.
Easter A/C
Happy Easter! Happy A/C!
We finally turned the A/C on for the first time this year… we were cooking and having people over for Easter dinner and didn’t want it to be too ungodly hot in the house. We should have turned it on yesterday, as it was about 87 degrees, but it was pretty breezy and by the time we wanted it on, it was like 7:00 and already cooling down. Tonight, however, it’s nice and cool, so we’ve already turned it off! I’m always scared to turn it on for the first time because it seems like it never goes off after that….and I hate the bills!
Easter dinner was delicious and we had a good time. It wasn’t the Len Easter, but we did share the meal with two of our best friends, Roger and Ursula. Oh, and of course Virginia and Caroline. Remember Caroline? The 1.2# preemie? Here she is now:
Black Friday 2004
Look what I found while cleaning off my desk?
I actually just got this a few months ago. We were at Staples and talking to Jobe (a manager—front row with glasses, pronounced Joe-bee) and I said I never got a copy of the picture, so he made me a color copy on the spot. I took a bunch of pictures of us all dressed up the following year (since it was my last day) but somewhere along the line the CDs were lost.
Don’t we all look like big dorks? :>>
Hot Cranky People
http://www.hotcrankypeople.com/
So since I’m currently banned from my favorite online community for another 10 days or so, I’ve been asking people on another board to give me their sites and/or blogs so I have something to read during the day. (Before you ask about work, let me just say it’s REALLY dead right now. Besides the fact that this time of year is notoriously slow, we also only have four actual active listings and probably 20 closings—which is a far cry less than we’d normally have.) So there have been quite a few submissions, but my most favorite has to be Hot Cranky People by sallypnut. I love her writing style, her sense of humor, the quantity and hilarity of pictures—and to top it all off? She’s a cat person! Whoohoo! Her blog is what I wish mine could be. (If you go visit her site, please don’t tell me how much her site rocks as compared to how much mine sucks. Thanks.)
It’s a small world.
A client came in today that I had to help with something—and at one point, she wrote her cell number down and I saw it was 989 so I said “Are you from Michigan?” Yes, she said, so I proceeded to tell her I was from Grayling, parents are in Grayling, Traverse City, and Kalkaska, etc., and she’s nodding her head yes, she knows these places. So then I ask where she’s from and she says Bay City. Can you believe that? So we go through the “who do you know” routine and we didn’t hit on anything until I said “Do you know Besons Market?” Of course she did. I said my cousins owned that—and asked if she knew Timmy. She said she knows OF him—her best friend worked there for quite some time. She also recognized Frost Drive when I said it was across the street from Handy. (She went to Western, so she didn’t know Uncle John—although she might actually be too young to have been there during his time anyway.)
It’s such a small world and it’s always neat when something like this happens.
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to all! We wish we could have spent the time with our families, but since we couldn’t, we were with the next best thing—our friends here!
We had quite the feast—if possible, I think we had more food than our “mini-Thanksgiving” when dad and Lin were here!!! Unfortunately, most of the stuff I was making was last minute, so I had pretty much all day to do nothing! I did, however, make two things ahead of time.
So, 3:30 rolls around and I start preparing. Everything was going smoothly and on schedule, but it felt like I was forgetting something. I had put all the ingredients on the table so I knew I wasn’t forgetting anything (or so I thought). So 5:00 comes and everything is pretty much done except the stuffing, gravy, and corn. We all sat down to eat and everything was soooo good and there was soooo much…and we were all just making pigs of ourselves…and just about the time we were all finished, I said “OH MY GOD! I forgot two things!” I had forgotten the stuff I made ahead of time (and were in the refrigerator)—the pistachio jello salad and the deviled eggs (both things, ironically, that I have never before made—EVER!!). So, everyone then had to have more food… (I had to force them, you see… Yeah, right!)
We had TONS of leftovers (which is what I wanted)…I did about 8-10# of potatoes and one of those industrial-sized cans of green beans from Sams. (I also wanted to be able to send home leftovers!) It was all heavenly…
Our final menu:
- deep-fried turkey injected with creole butter and rubbed with creole seasoned salt
- mashed potatoes with loads of butter and sour cream
- green bean casserole
- candied yams with walnuts and marshmallows
- corn bread muffins
- stuffing (boxed, but altered with onions and celery)
- corn
- pistachio jello salad
- deviled eggs
- homemade macaroni and cheese (from Ursula)
- homemade white chocolate chip/macademia nut cookies AND chocolate chocolate chip/walnut cookies (from Cindy)
- two different ice creams (from Cindy, which we never even opened because we were so stuffed)
- pumpkin pie (from Ursula, which we never even cut into because we were so stuffed)
All this for six people and one child. 🙂 Like I said, leftovers.
Catching up…
So, apparently sometimes I’m in the mood to blog and sometimes I’m not. I just realized today that I hadn’t updated the blog since waiting for dad and Lin to arrive…10 days ago!
Turns out they didn’t expect us to be home (although I said we would be!) and they forgot I said to call from the airport! Anyway, they arrived about 4:30 and we gave them the grand tour and had dinner and visited. Most of their visit was spent relaxing, but we did have a great (what I called) mini-Thanksgiving Dinner… Linda had wanted to try deep-fried turkey so we turned it into a full-course meal and invited friends! We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, peas and corn, candied yams with marshmallows, pistachio fluff, orange jello, with carrot cake and ice cream for dessert! Everything was DELICIOUS! (It was also a trial run for our actual Thanksgiving dinner next week, which we’re hosting.)
After celebrating Thanksgiving Saturday night, we celebrated Christmas on Sunday by putting up the tree! Here, you can see Dad helping… :)) :>
and Lin helping… :p
It was nice being able to celebrate two holidays in one weekend! We had a good time overall and enjoyed the visit!
Waiting for Dad and Lin…
Dad and Lin should be on their way here from Raleigh right now. I hope everything is okay, as I was sort of expecting a call from them once they got to the airport or started on their way here. For now, I’m chalking it up to either A) forgetting, B) the rental car taking longer than anticipated, or C) getting lost!
On another note, the weather is GORGEOUS! Aside from a cold and rainy stretch around the time mom and David were here, it’s been in the 70s and sunny with no humidity! We haven’t turned the heat on once…and mostly always have the windows open! The breeze is amazing. This is the best time of year here. If it was like this year-round, you would never get me back home to Michigan!
Kid Trip
I’ve been remiss in my blogging duties… but when we got back from the cruise, we had to prepare for our first overnight visitors—mom and David! They were making a Kid Trip—a loop to visit all the kids—and were were second in line after Jim and Beth in Richmond!
Even though Tom and I weren’t able to take any time off, we had a good time. It was sort of nice to come home to people in the house—and we got used to it very easily (the house was SO quiet after they left)! Mom and David took a day trip to see the wild horses out toward the Outer Banks. Mom and I exchanged one of our Christmas presents early because neither of us could wait and we wanted to see the other’s face! We also cooked a lot together and made a Cook’s Illustrated apple pie (I mention CI because it was a very labor-intensive experience).
They ended up staying an additional day because Hurricane Wilma was bearing down on Florida—their next destination! Wilma did hit Kathryn and Marcus but they didn’t fare too badly—they lost their pool surround structure and were without power—but mom and David went on to Baton Rouge to see Doug and Marie (and Gabrielle!) with hopes of being able to backtrack to Florida if everything was back to normal by the time they were ready. (We haven’t heard an update yet.)
Overall it was great having them here—especially as our very first overnight guests!! (They actually barely ended up beating my dad and Linda—they’re scheduled to come down in about a week or so.) We’re already looking forward to their next visit…whenever that may be!
Last night sucked!
(Kathryn, don’t read this as I don’t want you to feel bad!)
As the evening wore on (after we came home from shopping) I started getting really tired so I took Nyquil and was in bed with lights out by 8:30. However, I didn’t really officially get to sleep (i.e. or get any good sleep) until probably after midnight—my throat was really bothering me. From experience, I knew it wasn’t strep—it felt like sinus-y issues (you know, it feels like phlegm but nothing is there and you clear your throat and it hurts and you keep swallowing trying to get rid of it and nothing works). Tossing and turning, nothing is comfortable (no flu-like aches and pains, though, thankfully). Then Tom came to bed about midnight and I think I finally fell asleep asleep. Until about 2am when a loud crashing woke us up! We searched and searched and…the cats were locked up so we knew it wasn’t them prowling around. Finally Tom discovered that the downstairs bathroom mirror had fallen off the wall and crashed onto the pedestal sink and then hit the floor (the grommets/screws holding the hooks to the mirror frame came undone). So, we’re gone two weeks and it decides to do this the night we get back and sleep is critical for me. ARGH! (Now, we have to try to take the mirror back—it’s cracked—and see if they have another or try to find something else that matches the bathroom.) This morning really sucked because I’d finally gotten to sleep and was sleeping well—and 7am came too early. Unfortunately, Tom said he was feeling sick now, too. I really wanted to call in sick but figured that wouldn’t go over too well. So, I took DayQuil and Immodium and off I went. My head feels really foggy and the room spins slowly every so often…but of course, all my boss said was “Are you throwing up sick?” When I said not yet, she basically said “Sorry you don’t feel well, but glad you’re back!” So you can see why I didn’t call in sick… It’s only 10:30 and it feels like I’ve been here three days. It’s going to be a loooooooong day and an early night!
Birthday Dinner
For my birthday dinner, we went to The Cheesecake Factory. The girls were very good, but Izzy was really excited about it being my birthday and kept asking the waitress if my cake was ready!! We enjoyed a great dinner and then Izzy helped me blow out my candle on my Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake! We came home and after a bath (after the whipped cream from my “cake” both girls really needed it) played like crazy! I wasn’t sure if we were tiring them out or if they were tiring us out!?! A great day…
Here’s me with the girls before dinner:
Great birthday so far!
I got up early this morning so I could see Anna and Izzy before they went to school (I slept in yesterday and missed them!). So what was the first thing I heard this morning? I got a loud “Happy birthday Aunt Jen I love you!” plus a giant hug from Izzy!! Add that to the totally precious singing of “Happy Birthday” from Gabby (via email) and all is well with the world!!
We’re in Boca!
Our trip down was fairly uneventful…we ended up with a minor delay of about an hour once we were on the plane in Charlotte (we had to wait for a replacement part of some sort) but we had exit-row seating so it wasn’t bad at all! Once we landed in Fort Lauderdale, we only had to wait about 10 minutes until Kathryn arrived, so the timing was perfect!
Anna and Izzy are so totally adorable it’s unbelievable! Kathryn said Izzy knew we were coming and couldn’t wait! As soon as she walked in the door, it was “Aunt Jen!!” and I got a big hug! Then I said “Uncle Tom wants a hug, too!” so she ran over and gave him a hug. If you can believe it, she is more talkative than ever!! She had to sit by me at dinner and cuddle with me on the couch. I keep telling Kathryn that if they ever want to give her up, we would take her in a second!! I hope our kids are as great as these two!
Triple Birthday Party
We just got home from the Mitchell’s house (Roger, Ursula, Virginia, and Caroline). They threw us a triple birthday surf & turf bash – to celebrate Tom’s birthday, my upcoming birthday (since we won’t be here), and our other buddy Tom’s birthday. We had lobster and shrimp and crab legs and steak and homemade macaroni and cheese (I had one small scoop—I couldn’t resist!) and cole slaw and I made my broccoli salad and sugar free jello with cool whip and then we had an ice cream cake for dessert! So much food but all soooooo good! We had a great time! Of course, the boys drank too much and ended up making fools of themselves (as usual).
We also got the news that Karen (Tom’s wife) is pregnant! YEA! They’ve been trying for quite some time now and are just THRILLED!! Unfortunately, Tom is getting ready to deploy and will be gone when she’s ready to deliver!!! I just cannot imagine that! So, we’re her backup!! Ursula will probably go to lamaze with her and both households have been tapped for rides to the hospital! Congrats, Trimbles!
Caroline is such a cutie!
We had a neighborly get-together for dinner and as soon as I saw Caroline, I just wanted to eat her up! She was soooo cute in her little denim dress and matching hat!! And as you can see, she is growing like a weed! Just look at us having a grand ol’ time… Well, she is certainly a cutie, but in this picture I look like the devil, what with my red eyes and crazy laugh!
Friends…and neighbors.
Every once in awhile we like to get a photo of our whole group…
Back row: Tom, Roger (holding Virginia), Tom
Front row: Jen, Ursula (holding Caroline), Karen (with Venus)
Weekend in Baltimore
See story and pics on original website page.
Our old neighbors, Tom and Karen, invited us to Baltimore for Memorial Day weekend. Tom has family there and we have friends there, so we decided to road trip together. (We’d met his family before, so they weren’t total strangers!)
The drive up was long (seven hours and four traffic jams) but we had a great time. We stayed with one of Tom’s brothers, Scott, in his gorgeous townhouse and got to meet his girlfriend, Jessie, for the first time (LOVE HER!). The first night we were there, we went to their friends’ graduation parties (two friends were graduating from the Naval Academy and one was graduating from high school). It was a big combination party at a local hall so we enjoyed a nice dinner, drinks, dancing, and visiting with Tom’s family! We also got to meet Frank’s wife, Amy, for the first time (LOVE HER!). Tom and I also decided we’d like to adopt Tom’s parents as our fourth set of parents—-they’re a riot!
Saturday, we met up with John Paul and Kelly, two of Tom’s friends (JP from grade school and college and Kelly from college). We hadn’t seen them since before we were married…so it was really nice to be able to spend the day and visit with them. They live two blocks from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, so we walked to McCormick & Schmicks for lunch and then got caught in a downpour on the way home. We had planned on making a game at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers!)—-again, walking distance—-but we were leery of it raining again so we went to a movie instead. Then for dinner around 10pm, we walked down the street and got take-out Thai and sushi. Seeing how they live made me realize how much of a suburbs girl I am!! Don’t get me wrong—-their Federal Hill row house is gorgeous, but I cannot live with parking on the street, possibly two blocks away from where I live! And the tiny stairs for the three floors? Wow, they certainly weren’t made for people with big feet or large frames, LOL!
Sunday we spent the day with Tom’s family again. One of his brothers had a BBQ at his new house and we had a nice time visiting with them and their relatives and friends. In an “it’s a small world” moment, we discovered that friends of theirs were married on the same date as we were—-August 18, 2001—-a half hour apart (we were 10:30, they were 11). We left around 8pm (to hopefully avoid the holiday traffic) and made it home just before 2am.
A visit….and alone again!
Dad and Linda left this morning after an 8-day stay with us. It was really nice FINALLY being able to show them our house! They brought Sassea, so that was interesting with the cats…we had originally thought she would just stay on the porch for the most part, but after a few hours, we let her in and eventually, the cats got used to her. It was hilarious watching, though. The cats LOVED Sassea’s bed and slept in it more than the dog! They also loved her water bucket and often drank from it instead of their own bowl. Of course, Sass retaliated by eating their food when we weren’t watching (or when we forgot to block it off). There was some growling, hissing, and snapping, but overall it went well.
Dad and Tom also worked on a wood project. Originally, way back when, it was supposed to be a shed. Then it was dressers. Then it turned into…a cabinet to showcase my grandma’s eggs (plus, eventually, some of my mom’s and some of my own)! I am so excited about it—-it’s gorgeous…complete with a glass door, hanging rack (for those on pipe cleaners), and mirror back (which makes it hard to take pics)! There’s even enough room at the bottom, depending on how many shelves we use, for an ostrich egg and maybe a kistka and some wax as a display! This will be SO much better than the tupperware box they were in before! I will take more pics when it’s fully done and cleaned up!
Dad also helped with some small projects around the house, including installing blinds on our kitchen door and staking up our willow that was getting quite sad.
As usual with family tourists, LOL, we took them on a tour of the base and surrounding areas, including a stop at the beach. The weather was a little cool, but it was nice for Dad who whines at anything above 70! 🙂 Dad and Lin took a few day trips by themselves to Wilmington and New Bern—-with a few stops to beaches along the way so Lin could collect shells. Dad had his new digital camera shipped to us, so we got to play with that all week, as well.
Meals were a bit harder to plan as compared to other guests…let’s just say Dad is a little picky. Let’s just say he’s a Vanilla guy, while most of our family is Rocky Road. (hehe) I’m not sure he could have survived the week without his PB&J! Tom and I still can’t get over the fact that neither Dad nor Lin really like steak. I mean, who doesn’t like steak? LOL But we all managed not to starve while they were here. One special treat was dad’s favorite carrot cake with extra cream cheese frosting. That certainly didn’t last long! We did drag Dad to a hibachi place, saying “You like chicken and shrimp, you like mushrooms, and you like rice—-how can you not like this?” Well, he ate it, but he wasn’t thrilled—-too many fancy ingredients like soy sauce and sesame seeds. Hoo boy. You gotta love him! The funniest thing is he kept saying “But I’m not picky! I’m easy!” HA! Poor Linda!
Dad and Lin enjoyed the cats and we enjoyed having a dog temporarily. We watched a few movies during which Linda entertained us with her, um, shreiking (we still can’t figure out how someone can be so nervous, LOL!). The weather was great—-not too hot and not too cool (although Dad pretty much wore shorts the whole time). Overall, it was a nice time!
Our $1800 weekend!
We were tired of seeing all the pallets and crap gathering in our backyard, so we decided to have a bonfire, come hell or high winds (the past week had been totally calm, except—of course—for the night we wanted to have the fire). We had the hose at the ready and only had to use it once when a small bit of ash started a little piece of our lawn on fire (and by little, I mean about a foot section). Oh, and Tom had to chase down some escaping ash as it floated serenely away towards our neighbor’s house…but overall, it was fairly uneventful (thankfully). We visited, had a few drinks, and enjoyed s’mores. It was also the first time the guys all had their new shirts at the same time (Tom and Tom bought themselves one, plus one for Roger, when we were in Myrtle Beach):
We also found out that our old neighbors were having a garage sale at their new house. What a perfect time to put Tom’s car down there, I said! (We had planned on taking it down there to sit, since it’s on the main road, but just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.) So we printed the Kelly Blue Book info and went to drive it over (after the bonfire) and…the car was dead. Crap. I had started it a few times while Tom was gone, but it must have sat too long. Tom’s theory was that somehow the “alarm” button had been hit and the alarm went off (silently, since the horn doesn’t actually work) for who knows how long. Since we couldn’t do anything about it right then, we continued on to our neighbors for a dip in the hot tub (the first time, since they’ve moved). Tom assured me that sometime in our life, we would own a hot tub. YIPPEE!
In the morning, Tom jumped the car (and amazingly, the horn started working again!), drove it over, stuck a price on the windshield, and waited. We sat over there visiting for about an hour, and while we were there, there were a few people VERY interested in it. But, as luck would have it, the battery was really dead. The jump didn’t hold so we knew we’d have to buy a battery. We left to run some errands (get a battery!), go grocery shopping for our visitors this week, and do some house things. When we got home, we got a call from our neighbor with the phone number of a guy who was EXTREMELY interested in it. So Tom went back to put the battery in and meet with the guy. Excellent news—after only about one minute into the test drive, he said he absolutely wanted it and would give us the money Monday! WOO HOO!! That night, it was back to Roger and Ursula’s for dinner and games…which was fun, as usual! I had a little too much to drink (damn Tom for surprising me with tequila and margarita mix!) and I was home and in bed by 11:30.
Today was our monthly Walmart run. We’d heard (from online sources) that they’re slowly phasing out a lot of the low-carb products, so we wanted to stock up on some soup that we really like. They already don’t have the Russell Stover (?) Low-Carb Chocolate Fudge Sauce that we love…and they stopped carrying the low-carb Doritos last year. We also wanted to hit the mall (I had to return something) and we were surprised to see that the mall didn’t open until…are you ready?? 1PM! Are you kidding me? We knew it probably opened late, but we figured it was noon, so we weren’t too concerned when we got there at 11:50. We wandered through Sears then at 12:10 asked what the deal was… 1pm. What a crock. Needless to say we didn’t wait. That’s just asinine. Why bother even opening? Ugh. The rest of the day was spent napping and cleaning the house. And Tom just walked in to tell me we were invited over to use the hot tub tonight since we didn’t make it in last night… Cool.
Weekend at Myrtle Beach
Our old neighbors and good friends, Tom and Karen, invited us for a weekend at Myrtle Beach. As it would be my first time there (I’d only driven through on my way home from Hilton Head last summer) I had no idea what to expect. Conversely, Tom was really looking forward to going to an old bar he went to 12 years ago during Spring Break.
We had a great time! On the way down, we stopped in Wilmington to eat at Carrabas, one of my favorite Italian places. Once we got there, we decided to hit Tom’s old bar, Mother Fletcher’s. It was WAAAY on the other side of town, so it was quite a hike—but that’s what he really wanted to do. All the way there, he kept saying “Wow, this is new. Wow, look at that. This wasn’t here before. This area has really grown.” And we just kept reminding him it was TWELVE years ago he was here! So we finally get to the bar, and…IT WAS CLOSED DOWN! Oh, did we have a good laugh over that. Well, poor Tom didn’t, but we certainly did! (I googled it when I got home, and I could find no reason for the closure.) So it was off to Broadway at the Beach to hit a bar. We ended up at Crocodile Rocks, a dueling piano bar…where we had to pay a $7 cover because we weren’t locals (argh!)…and it was soooooo crowded we could never even see the pianos! Of course, the boys decided they wanted to drink, so we spent way more money that night than we anticipated! After that, it was time for sleep so we headed back to the hotel!
The next morning, it was a bit chilly and overcast (probably 60-65) so that was somewhat disappointing—it had been 75-80 the past week at home! We decided to check out the outlet mall nearby…which led to almost an entire day of outlet-mall-shopping! We hit two separate malls, Tom got some new clothes (all on sale, of course!), and I got a few things. I really wanted to hit the QVC Outlet just to see what they had, but by the time we were driving by, we were on a mission for lunch.
Lunch was at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville at Broadway at the Beach. The food was good, although I always have a hard time paying $10 for a burger. But the margaritas were yummilicious…so yummilicious, in fact, that I had two (and just like that, I blew all my low-carb plans). And the Volcano Nachos were really quite good. And so was the Crab and Corn Chowder… After lunch, we walked around the entire Broadway at the Beach—a bunch of shops and restaurants and bars around a lake (click here to see the property map if you didn’t check it out above). We all made some small purchases and just had a fun time gallivanting. But, soon we were exhausted so we headed back to the hotel so we could all take a nap. We thought, how pathetic we are…exhausted at 6pm and wanting to sleep! All we did all day was shop and eat! So we agreed to lay down for 20 minutes. Three hours later, we finally all got up. None of us were really that hungry (we finished lunch around 2), so we thought we’d go out for appetizers and dessert. No one could decide where to go, so I made the decision: Rossi’s. My boss had suggested it so I figured it had to be good. Well, it was good. And fancy. And expensive. Which wouldn’t have been a big deal, had we not already spent a TON of money on food. So we ate cheaply and discovered we were hungrier than we thought we’d been… and all enjoyed really great desserts (we all wanted something different: Karen—Key Lime Pie, Tom T—Cannoli, Tom H—Tiramisu, me—Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake). By this time, it was after 11, so we decided to just go back to the hotel!
But first, we had to take some group shots—we had brought our camera, but hadn’t carried it around all day (so we missed some great shots, of course).
Party Central
Well, after having nothing much to do the past few weekends and being bored enough to ACTUALLY twiddle my thumbs (although for just a moment), this weekend is a veritable party central! To start, I got an email mid-week from our old neighbor, Roger, saying he was having serious neighbor withdrawals—a dangerous condition, requiring immediate attention. To rectify the situation, he was inviting all the old gang over for burgers and dogs…BYOB and BAD (bring a dish)…Saturday! I emailed him back immediately saying COUNT ME IN! The next night, I got a phone call from another old neighbor, Karen, inviting me to Tom’s wetdown Friday night! (Come to find out, it was almost a spur-of-the-moment thing, as he was promoted about a month ago, but they haven’t been around to have the party—and all the coming weekends are full—so if they didn’t want to have his promotion party three months late, it was this weekend!)
The wetdown was nice…not quite the same as my Tom’s wetdown last year (not as many people and not as much alcohol, if I do say so myself, LOL) but it was nice. I got to see their new (HUMONGOID) house decorated (I had only seen it empty before). There’s just space upon space upon more space—you don’t realize how big 2400sf is until someone moves in that doesn’t have that much stuff. (Yes, I’m saying Tom and I could fill it well!) The food was delish and the filets were cooked perfectly! I also got to hold Caroline—she’s finally off her monitor!! I held her forever and then got to feed her! (I tell you, the practice I had in Florida did wonders. I’m MUCH more comfortable with babies now. But don’t go getting any ideas.) I gave her back for the diaper change, though. LOL
Tonight was dinner at Mitchell’s. It was supposed to be everyone from the ‘hood, but it ended up being just the diehards—Tom and Karen and me (and Tom in spirit, as always). We had a nice time, although I wouldn’t really consider it a PARTY, per se. (I swear, ever since Tom has been gone (well, first Tom T. and now Tom H.), the get-togethers/parties just aren’t the same.) I got to hold Caroline more and feed her again. Ursula kept asking “Do you want me to take her? Do you want me to take her?” and I had to finally say “Take advantage when someone else wants to do the work!” The only thing that worries me (about having kids) is that my back hurts after some holding. I guess before we have kids, I’ll have to find some exercises to do to strengthen my back or something—because I don’t see any way on earth I’ll be able to hold a baby for hours on end as is sometimes necessary. (Is this normal or am I just a wuss?) We called it a night pretty early…totally not like we all used to be. Are we just getting older and more tired or has something else changed??
Iraq Buddies
General Updates
Luckily, he’s been able to call pretty much every day—or at least every other day—even when he’s supposedly going to be incommunicado. This is a huge relief to me, as I am becoming more and more paranoid as time goes on. (You’d think I’d be more used to it after three months, but it just gets worse!) So, I treasure each second of a phone call—which, sometimes that’s all it is…mere seconds—as we frequently lose satellite connection!
Also, I just wanted to let you all know that Tom has been inundated with care packages!! He loves it, as do ALL his fellow marines that he inevitably ends up sharing the goodies with! The holiday season slowed down the mail tremendously…Tom still hasn’t received his Christmas package I sent the first week of December! Granted, it takes a while longer now that he’s “away from home” but be assured he will eventually receive all the packages! (Our neighbor, who has been home for two months, just received a package which his wife sent back in August! It never made it to him in Africa, but was returned to sender!) Also, please know that even if Tom has received your package, he may not have the time to email you to let you know—he tries to keep me in the loop, but it’s all he can do to email me updates on him! If you want me to ask him about something specific, email me and let me know and I’ll try to remember to ask him!
Jim and Beth visit!
A Friend’s Wedding
I’m actually posting this in February 2013 because I was looking for the pictures on my blog and couldn’t find them but could have sworn I posted them…but obviously didn’t (they were just in an album on the old site). So I’m posting them now. 🙂
Congrats Angi and Forest! It will be nine years this July! 🙂
