Me Too!

Hey, B.

Not so good at showing up at the page lately, am I? I was actually going to call you yesterday (instead!) but got caught up shopping and then ran out of time. Of course, I could have just been like the woman in front of me in Costco, who talked on her phone the entire time she was being checked out, so loud I couldn't even hear the cashier. I wanted to pound her. The absolute height of rudeness.

I'm definitely nesting, too, although my culinary pursuits aren't nearly as impressive! I did whip up some chicken and cheese quesadillas last night, at M's request, that were quite tasty. I boiled chicken tenders (so worth the extra $$ over breasts) in chicken broth and chili con carne seasoning. Don't ask where I came up with that, it smelled good in the jar. M was happy. And anything in the world that can be modified to only contain cheese and starch is a good thing for JJ.

I am getting ready for our three-day-visit from JB and family on Thursday night. Good timing, seeing as how my house was all torn apart and ready for reconstruction anyway, but it's hard for me to just put everything back in its original place; I have to change it up a bit. So yesterday I went out to Pier One and Michael's and bought a few little things to make me feel better. Candles, fake greenery, a new table runner, that sort of thing. Today I went out early to see if I could find some finishing touches, but completely struck out - in 3 hours of wandering!! Argh! I almost bought two things: a little table fountain that I have coveted forever and never can justify ($20 - seriously...what is wrong with me?), and a copper/bronze-ish plant stand that was extremely cool but it's still in the store. It was only $50 on sale, but I thought by the time I got all the silk ferns to put in it, I'd be up around $75 and I just can't do it....especially when M is asking for new jeans. So....I bought a cheap lamp to replace the one that's being held together by Scotch tape and super glue (I'm not even kidding) and that should keep me happy for awhile.

The thing is, it's now almost noon and I just got home. I haven't showered or done the breakfast dishes or, actually, anything at all. I am supposed to meet J for lunch today (that's a good thing - more on that later) and then I'm bringing home ten, ten-page essays from the applicants for the Battalion Chief's position at the FD. I have to evaluate them all by Friday, which really won't be that hard, but it cuts into my decorating time, for sure. :-) Since J has been working every night getting the application for his job completed, I've been doing an awful lot of dinking around and vegging in front of the boob tube. Isn't that horrible? Me and my freakin' CSI (and now 24, God help me)...when I got home just now I put my iPod in the dock and turned it on before I even went into the room where the tv is. I so know how housewives become the stereotype they've been given.

I wanted to drop you a quick line though and check in before I get going on all of this. Sunday afternoon was wonderful. With a capital W. We had such a good time; we drove over to the little city and did random chance dining - we ended up at some tavern that was very cute, had pretty good food, and was across the street from the theater. We ate lunch and jawjacked for an hour or so, then headed over to see the show (Shirley Valentine). I was a little nervous, being the one who recommended it (having only ever seen the movie and being totally unsure if the play would be any good at all). It was surprisingly awesome! I didn't know that the original play was a one-woman show (Have you seen the movie? It's a full cast.) and I couldn't figure out how they were going to pull it off, but they did. Like I said, this is a community volunteer theater, so I don't think any of us were expecting much. It was a real treat to be so thoroughly entertained and impressed for a measly $15! S was particularly taken with it; I'm so happy when my recommendations are well received! And if it happens to be in town anywhere near you in the future, grab any and all of your girlfriends and go see it.

When we got home, S and I finished up the stupid science fair project (I'm sorry to use the words stupid and science in the same sentence, it's not personal) then ate her tortilla soup for dinner. She had left it all out for T to assemble while we were gone; they kill me with their passive aggressive (but funny and loving) bantering ("Why didn't you put more cumin in?" "Why didn't you blow off the theater and make it yourself?") M came over and ate three bowls, which is more than I have seen him eat in an entire day for weeks. I think it's because of the running - did I tell you that he's taken up running with his BF, S? S is on Cross Country and M's going out for it in the spring. Meantime, S has him out running three or four times a week and he loves it. He actually got me out there with him last night for about 45 minutes. I'll bet I didn't run more than a quarter mile altogether, but I was wiped out when we were done! Plus, it was so fun doing something with him that he was so into. He was so pleased that I went with him. Then we went to the running store, as I call it, a place where they only sell stuff for running. I got roped into signing up with him for their Couch-to-5K program that starts in March. It's a 12-week training course that includes all this other stuff and I thought, what a great way to do something together. M was all over it, so I'm actually looking forward to it. Woah.

That's about it around here...it's now officially noon and I really need to get moving if I'm going to make it to lunch. I hope you're having a good week so far!
Love, A