SPRING BREAK WOO HOO!

When he makes this face, how can I not take him for a walk?

Question: Is it okay to drink a glass of wine while taking the dog for a walk?


Answer: Yes and no.


Okay, so it's SPRING BREAK WOO HOO!*

And it's been a tough week at school, so about 3 minutes after getting home I poured myself a glass of wine. But, you know, nobody wants to be the loser who is too drunk and then passes out at 8:00, so I was all determined to pace myself.

And then I took the dog for a walk, and decided that because it was such a beautiful day, and because spring break has finally come, a glass of wine would be a fine accompaniment to the walk.

Mmmmm hmmmmm.

A glass of wine would be nice, but three glasses of wine would be awesome.  So I milked the rest of my box of wine** into a lime green plastic tumbler and set off for a walk with the dog to the park.  Man oh man it was fun!  We met new people and ran and smelled things and barked at the Halloween balloons that are still hanging in the power lines.  (Well, one of us did.  The other just stumbled about.)

During this walk I fell in love with Savannah all over again.  I admired our cute little neighborhood and talked to the old guys walking toward the Sand Gnats stadium with Solo cups full of what I can only imagine was another tasty beverage.  There were little green lizards scampering about, and the Spanish moss*** hung in the most romantic way.  I couldn't help but to think to myself, "How could I ever live anywhere but here?"****

It might've been the booze.  You know, just enough wine to give me the idea of knocking on the door of my favorite neighborhood house to compliment the owners on their decision to paint the shutters purple, but not quite enough wine to drive me to actually knock.

Anyway, I forget where I was going with this whole post.  Now I'm just sitting around listening to Adele (because Entertainment Weekly keeps telling me to) and smelling the ribs that are in the oven.  And drinking a glass of water because Matt insists that I do so.

Happy weekend to you!  I hope you're also on SPRING BREAK WOO HOO!



*Bee-tee-dub, remember when you were a kid and you were excited about breaks from school?  Now, multiply that excitement by about one bazillion and you have the excitement that a teacher feels about those same breaks from school.


**Roughly twelve ounces.  Eek!


***Which I one time heard someone less affectionately refer to as Savannah snot.


****This is kind of unfair, because Savannah is basically ovulating right now.  It's all pretty and temperate and smells nice.  Before long, it'll rear its ugly humid head and get all bitchy and crime-ridden.  Fear not.

Whaaaaaat Uuuuuup?

Hola.  Yowzers, I've been hella boring lately, huh?

Well, sorry about that.  I've been living in a Diet Dr. Pepper/anger over world 7 of Mario 3 fog.  But a little bit has happened in the interim.  Don't get too excited, though.  It's not exciting.

Here's what going on in our neck o' the woods.

1.  I am thinking of going to my Weight Watchers meeting tonight but not weighing in.  I realize that this is a cheap and cowardly thing to do, but I'm kind of a cheap coward so I don't care.  Also, I just ate about eight pounds of food.  Okay, two.  Maybe what I'll do is drink like a gallon of water and then go weigh in and when they're all, "Mandy, you lard ass, you gained 14 pounds!" I'll be all, "Whatev!  I totally just drank a few gallons of water because I'm healthy."  And then they'll be shamed.

2.  I was so frustrated with world 7 of Mario 3 that I whistled my way outta there.  And then once I got to world 8, I was instantly nostalgic for the days where all I had to worry about was those little plants spitting fire at me.  Plus, I'm like totally out of goodies (raccoon suits, p-wings, etc.) and even though I stocked up on lives at the coin castle, I'm really considering just quitting.  Child Mandy was far superior to adult Mandy, what with her frustration threshold and commitment to a cause.  Adult Mandy's all "F this!  I'm gonna watch Brothers & Sisters!  I'm sick of dyin'!"

3.  Oh, why are Hershey's nuggets so irresistible?  Also, my students had irresistible as a spelling word a few weeks back and all I could think of was the Robert Palmer "Simply Irresistible" video, so I thought that if I showed it to them that it'd help them to remember how to spell the word.  That was a dumb idea, and the kids totally didn't appreciate the video.  Ugh.  Kids these days!

4.  I have sworn off soda after 3 p.m. in an attempt to sleep better and be more motivated.  Two days in, and it's working like a charm.  The house is tidy, the closets are re-organized, and the laundry is done. Do you think this newfound motivation will help me to beat Mario 3?

5.  ONE MORE SCHOOL DAY UNTIL SPRING BREAK!  Whaaaaaaaaaaaa?  Shoot yeah.  And I've got big plans.  Friday night Matty and I are cookin' up some ribs and chillin' like villains, Saturday I'm jetting off to the ABQ to hang out with Grandma Carol and Grandpa B., and then Wednesday I'm headed back east for a few days of lake house fun with the in-laws and Matt.  And then it'll be just six looooooooooooooong weeks until summer.

6.  Had this for dinner last night.  All members of the M3 household approved, especially the furry one.

7.  Have been spending much time fondling my new birthday presents.  Well, not that last one, lest I draw back a bloody nub!

So there you have it--the exciting happenings around our place.  What's going on with you?

29!

First, apologies for being MIA.  We've been super busy, hosting and boozin' and eating and turning years older.  And when I wasn't doing those things, I was dealing with my body's adverse reaction to pollen.  Booo. 

So, up first, birthdays.  Our good friends have birthdays on either side of mine, kind of a birthday sandwich, if you will.  So Cassie, because she is an incredible friend, decided to make those birthdays feel special.  She and Hugh drove down to our house on Friday afternoon, and brought with them food (an entire, delicious meal), decorations, and the most spectacular cake I've seen that wasn't on a tv show.

 Balloons and ribbons and sparkly things!

And wine, of course.

And party poppers.  I love party poppers.  Mitch does not.  He also hates balloons.  Mitch is pretty much anti-birthday.  Maybe he's a Jehovah's Witness and didn't tell anyone?  He does escape on occasion and go door to door.  It's all making sense now.

Then the Ships brought the two cutest girls on the planet, and then it was a party!

Mitch spent some time in his dirt spot.

And Iris melted hearts.

And then, while I held the pig-shaped cutting board while Cassie was cutting pancetta for our salad (yum!), she tried to cut my finger off.  The good news is that it was just a minor cut.  The great news is that it is on my middle finger, so it give me a really good excuse to flash that thing around.

And see these tulips in JMU colors?  My wonderful (and colorblind) husband bought those for me.  I knew I liked him for a reason (other than his dance moves).

And then came the big reveal: the cake.  Cassie had forbidden me from looking at the cake until it was TIME, and I was obedient.  I mean, she had made me Tyler Florence's most delicious lasagna in the universe, so who was I to be angry?  Cut or no cut.

And then I ate the whole thing.  Well, almost.

When I was younger I would make the biggest deal out of birthdays--both mine and other people's.  But as I grow older I find that I care less and less about birthdays--both mine and other people's.  I never expected anyone to make such a big deal out of my turning twenty-nine.  But the fact that Cassie went all out, slaved over a hot stove, transported all of the food, decorated, and was so enthusiastic meant the world to me.  It's a humbling experience to have other people doing so much, and taking the time to make a day so meaningful.

I'm starting year 29 off right, with spring break.  Caitie and her daughter Phebe are here, and we're working on finding the perfect balance between doing fun stuff and sleeping.  More on that later.  I just hope that the next 51.5 weeks of my twenties will be as fun as the last few days have been, minus the pollen, of course.