Giveaway Winner!

Happy Wednesday!

I feel Wednesdays are good days to get good news because it helps your week go by faster.

Thank you to everyone who entered. I loved reading all of your stories, and as soon as I am done with my mountain of homework, I will try to respond to everyone. You guys are great and I love it!

But, the random number generator was in charge this time, so….drum roll please…

The winner of these fun goodies:

Is Ashley from The Accidental Olympian Alaskan!! Congratulations!! E-mail me your address and I will get that into the mail this week!

 

And I DO want to blog about everything going on, but it has been crazy busy, or by the time I have free time, my brain is fried and all I would do is ramble, and no one wants that. So maybe later tonight after I finish grading sample essays, but definitely by the end of the week. There are some hilarious stories.

 

Congratulations to Ashley, again, and I hope to have another giveaway in the near future!!

Making “New” Friends

While I’m writing this before my trip, by the time you read this, I will be in Other State and trying to find my way around one of the 5 largest metro areas. (Let’s see how many times I get lost or drive the wrong way on a one way street.)

Not only will I finally be seeing my husband after 3 and a half long weeks apart and getting to experience new restaurants and a new city and a new state and enjoy a little vacation away, but I will also be meeting some blog and twitter friends. 3 internet friends, to be precise.

EEEEEKKKK.

I am so very excited to meet these lovely ladies. I have been reading their blogs since I started this blog of my own. It feels like I have known them for a long time, but at the same time, I don’t know them.

Like me, they keep some things off the blogs and off of twitter. We all do. We all like to keep some things private. And even if I attempted to tell you all everything, it would be impossible.

So here I am, willingly going to meet 3 different women who I have never met before.

Sounds like the start of a horror film, doesn’t it?

Luckily, I have e-mailed and talked to them and I have decided that they are not serial killers or crazy people.

At least I don’t think so…

(Hi ladies. You know who you are. So excited!)

On Monday, I will be meeting up with one and her husband and some of their friends at a baseball game. Hubs and I both love baseball, so I figure it will be some common ground and will be fun. I think I’m less nervous than Mr. A. Poor guy is afraid he will embarrass me or something since these are people I have a connection to, and not him. He will be just fine. He’s good at talking to people. I’m not worried about him.

The other two ladies, we don’t have official plans, but one gets back from out of town on Monday and the other will be busy for the first few days, so once they get back and done with work stuff, we will figure it out.

I feel like I’m in grade school and trying to make new friends on the first day of class. What to wear. What to do. What to say. How to not look like an idiot. That might be the hard one.

Have any of you met up with internet friends? Any tips? Was it as awkward as I’m afraid it’s going to be?

(Girls, I swear I’m normal, I just get nervous meeting new people. Sorry!)

Something Fun

And we’re off on our crazy adventure of a summer.

Mr. A has worked very hard this semester. On top of backstabbings and general first year stress, Mr. A also had some pretty rough health problems flare up. I think he had something like 5 or 6 small surgeries/procedures where he had to be put under general anesthesia. And that’s not even counting the 8 hour night in the emergency room and the doctor’s visits and the general not feeling well for much of the first part of the semester.

I felt he deserved a small little token of my appreciation.

I bought him a couple of his favorite cigars and some crafts beers and took him out to dinner. I wanted him to have a couple days to relax before he headed to his first summer job.

Nothing too fancy. Nothing that was a big deal. Just something small.

But that’s not the only thing we have to celebrate.

On Memorial Day, May 30th, we will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary.

I have a whole post planned for it, but it has been one heck of a year. And, I think, we both deserve a little fun and celebration.

I had originally been planning maybe going to one of the local wineries and enjoying the sun. Maybe going to a nice dinner.

But this weekend, Mr. A surprised me. He said that we would be going to STL, getting a hotel room at one of the nicer ones downtown, going to a special dinner, and then going to a baseball game on that Monday, exactly as we did one year earlier. The fun of getting married around a holiday is getting extra days off to spend time together.

Since I had an e-mail with a discount to book a hotel through one of the booking websites, Mr. A asked me to book the room. He mentioned a couple hotels- one we’ve been to and loved, and another very nice one. I started looking at prices and upgrades and what was available. And then it hit me. Why not go back to the hotel we stayed at on our wedding night?

Through the travel site, the hotel was a little more than we were planning on spending. We may want to have a nice weekend, but we can’t just splurge and spend all our money on extravagant hotel suites.

I still wanted to see if it was possible, and lucky me, the hotel’s website had a special going on and I got the room for a deal.

So so so excited. The room and hotel was amazing. And now I have a surprise for Mr. A since he doesn’t know where we’re staying.

And one other little present.

Mr. A wears suits, or at least dress shirts and ties, every day for work and will do the same for his second externship. He dresses up nicely and actually prefers dress shirts to anything else. So I ordered him some brass shirt stays and had them engraved. Nothing big, but something so he knows how much I love him.

That’s our fun for now. I have no idea where we’re going for dinner since Mr. A wants to surprise me with that detail. I think he’s just thrown that I won’t tell him where we’re staying.

P.S. We’re also getting breakfast in bed on Monday.

P.P.S. Also can’t wait to eat our wedding cake! (Hope it’s still good. It sure was delicious last year!)

P.P.S.S. Wishing we were going back to Mexico, but maybe next year…

Birthday Present to You

March is my favorite month. Weather starts to get warmer. It’s the anniversary of Mr. A and I dating. Even more so, it’s my birthday!

I love birthdays. Love them. I always joke that I will be 90 years old, in a nursing home, and still excited about my birthday. I love the fun and the cake and the presents. Yes, presents. I KNOW it’s not about that, but it’s fun to get gifts that my loved ones thought about and put effort into.

But, this year, I’m not as excited. I don’t really know why.

It’s not a big deal number. We get to go home, and while I’m excited for that, there isn’t the level of anticipation that usually hits me on March 1st. Also, my actual birthday is a Sunday, so no real fun on the actual day.

So I thought I would do something different.

I’m giving one of YOU a birthday gift.

Yes, you wonderful readers have a chance to enter in for a giveaway from me.

So, what is in this fun little birthday basket?

First, you will get to choose between 3 different cookbooks. All focus on healthy eating, but I know people look for different things, so no point in me forcing one on you!

A. Bethenney Frankel’s The Skinnygirl Dish

(source)

or

B) Hungry Girl 300 under 300

(Source)

or

C) Cooking Light Complete Cookbook

(source)

All of these look great and I’m trying to share my new ways of trying to eat healthier. (Just ignore my tweet about the DQ tonight. I AM a girl after all…)

But a birthday package of just a healthy cookbook is lame. And I don’t want to be lame.

So, to add, I will throw in a $20 gift card to:

WHOLE FOODS!!!

You can use it for food for your new recipes in your new cookbook. Or if you use it on their awesome wine and dessert selection, I won’t blame you. Just tell me what you bought so I can make sure to get it next time.

If you win and aren’t close to one, we will chat and work something else out.

And because not everything should be about food, I shall throw in a…

(source)

$15 iTunes gift card!! Who doesn’t love new music? Or a movie? Or some apps for your fancy schmancy phone?

And knowing me, I might just throw in some other small treats just because…

I think it looks like a pretty awesome birthday basket. I hope you do too!

By now you are wondering how to enter this little deal. And I will make it simple for you.

All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me about your favorite birthday present/event/occasion/tradition.

You can get a bonus entry if you write a second comment with a link to your blog or Twitter account, even if I already follow you and read your blog. And if you’re new, it’s a good way for me to meet you! If you don’t have either, tell me one fun fact about yourself and we will call it even.

So you have TWO chances, but please put them as separate comments and please include an e-mail address in each so I can easily reach you!

I will use the random number generator to pick.

You have until 11:59pm Thursday March 24th to enter. No late entries will be allowed. And then, if all goes to plan, I will mail the package on Friday so the lucky winner will have their “birthday” present early next week!

 

Good luck!!

4 Days Off

This past Wednesday, when I got off work at 6, Mr. A and I headed south to Mville. I hadn’t seen his family in a long time and we were both excited to get out of town for a little while.

It started perfectly since MIL had dinner waiting for us when we arrived. Nothing fancy, but for some reason I lovelovelove her stroganoff, so it was perfect. And since it was 8:30pm, I was starving. We talked and caught up on a few things.

Even better? She knows we don’t have cable and my love of all shows on Bravo, so she recorded Bethenney, Real Housewives Orange County and Miami, Millionaire Matchmaker, and Million Dollar Listing. She spoils me that woman. So yes, I watched a lot of tv while at the house and it was glorious. And making me miss cable even more now that I’m home. One day…

We spent Thursday running around and just relaxing. We had fun seeing the town and I enjoyed laughing how excited the people in that crazy town were so damn excited about a new gas station. You would have thought they were told the South really had won the Civil War or something. Amusing.

Thursday night we went to our favorite Thai/sushi restaurant. For a small town, their sushi is some of the best we have found anywhere. And since we have NO sushi here, I was so very excited. MIL came with us and we had a fantastic dinner. Mmmm…sushi. Might have to get some in STL this weekend for my birthday.

Friday we went to this tiny BBQ place and took our food out to the lake and had a little picnic. The BBQ was amazing and I gave Mr. A a hard time for never taking me there during the 5 years I lived in that town. He claims it never crossed his mind since it is a little out of the way. The lake was beautiful that day and it was nice to get to sit outside in the sun.

That night we headed out to our favorite bar with a bunch of Mr. A’s friends. These are guys he’s known his whole life, including his best man and groomsman. They are a riot and I have missed having true, good friends around. They treat me like a sister, except with more dirty jokes and harmless flirting. G, Mr. A’s best friend had become one of my friends and while I never ever ever want to move back there, I miss him and his girlfriend and all the fun we have. Lots and lots of drinks were had. MIL had given me some “pre-birthday” money to use for the night. She spoils me people. I think she just likes having a daughter. One guy puked in the back of another guy’s car. It was funny just because of who it was. And made me miss undergrad and how carefree we all were. I wish I could go and tell myself that undergrad wasn’t that hard and I just needed to enjoy myself.

However, with all the fun that I had, I’m pretty sure I got food poisoning. Yes, I drank quite a bit, but when I went to bed Saturday morning, I no longer felt drunk and I wasn’t my usual dizzy from laying down or any of that. I was fine. But when I woke up in the middle of the night, sicker than anything, I knew something was wrong. We had some leftover pizza when we got home and since Mr. A was also not feeling so hot, we think it was the pizza. I was sicker than anything ALL day Saturday. We went for a walk around campus, just so I could get some fresh air and hoping getting out of the house would help, and while it helped some, I was still pretty miserable. We grilled at home with the parents that night and I ate as much as I could hold down. (Between my stomach issue and the BIL’s gf’s inability to chew with her mouth closed and not smacking, it was hard to keep anything down.)

This morning we got up and went to church. We have yet to find one here we like, so it was nice to go. They have gotten a new pastor in the last few months, so I was worried, but he was really great. And something just clicked with me today. Whether it was the message or the guy delivering it, not sure, but I loved it and am determined to find one here that doesn’t lead me to analyzing the stained glass and reading the bulletin a hundred times.

After church, MIL took us out to lunch and then we packed up and headed home.

It was a really great 4 days. Mr. A and I got along great. That sounds strange but sometimes going home brings out weird things in us and causes us to get short with one another. Spent a lot of great quality time with my MIL. Step FIL was being jerky, but he does that sometimes. Pretty sure he didn’t like having lots of people in his house and messing with his schedule. BIL never said a word to Mr. A or I and his girlfriend was just over the top obnoxious. Actually, he did say something, but only a smart ass remark when Mr. A was telling his mom about a big thing that happened at school. Whatever. We have both washed our hands clean of him and really have nothing to do with him, at least until he learns how to act like an adult and figures out that he can’t mooch off his parents forever.

It was such a great time and makes me even more excited to go to my hometown this upcoming weekend for my birthday. Family birthday for my brother and I on Saturday and finally getting myself some real running shoes as a gift from my dad. Then, it’s just a few more weeks of the semester, and maybe getting some answers as to where and what we will be doing for the fall!

Lots going on and hopefully a blog giveaway this week. Keep an eye out…

Brain Dump

I’m at a bit of a stalled point with this here blog. Not sure where to take it or what to do with it.

I don’t want to keep writing sad and depressing posts about my craptastic job and how I’m hoping and praying I got into the graduate program AND they give me a TA position and how if not, I must start school job searching which is almost as depressing. I don’t want to do that.

I also don’t want to write about weight loss and dieting and working out. I’ve hit a bit of a speed bump, and I’m working on getting back, but I don’t want to shove it down your throats and I don’t love talking about my weight problems all the time, so yeah.

And at the same time, I feel like all I’m writing are frivolous silly posts about meals and a shitty haircut and my irrational fear of dogs. I have considered writing a series of irrational fear posts bc I have a lot of them, but that’s strange too and still, not what I want the whole blog to be about.

So thoughts? What do YOU want. Yes, I write for me, but also for you. I love the connections I’ve made, so what do you want?

While we ponder, tonight is a brain dump. I just like lists.

* Tomorrow is my wonderful mother’s birthday. She does so much for me and I know I don’t show the amount of appreciation that she deserves, especially after the amazing wedding she put together for us. So, I am driving home tomorrow morning, and my brother and I are taking her to lunch. She’s big on us not spending money on her because she doesn’t want to be a burden, but when I called her about it, she got kind of choked up, so I know she appreciates it and is looking forward to it. Also, looking forward to time with both of them. Now that I’ve grown up, I truly cherish the relationships with both of them.

* Mr. A kicked butt on a project at school, and while I try not to put too much of his law school stuff on here, after all the backstabbing and drama at the start of this semester, I want to brag on him a little. He works hard and I know his confidence was a little shaken. Add on being really sick and then missing nearly a week of school because of surgeries (yes, 2 in one week) and hospital visits at 1 am, he needed it. So, yay him!

* Really bad haircut is ruining everything. Not really, but I’m already tired of headbands and bangs pinned back everyday. THIS NEEDS TO GROW OUT SOON!!

* I have baby fever. Sort of. I see them when they’re tiny and I see the cute clothes and things and I want one. But really? I just want to babysit one because I want to send it back. I would panic if we were pregnant right now because of money and jobs and, um, hello, LAW SCHOOL. No kids for us. But they sure are cute.

* I also REALLLLLLLY want a puppy. Despite my weird fear of dogs I don’t know, I love puppies and if it’s my dog, I won’t be afraid of it. Tempted to talk Mr. A into getting out of our lease we signed and finding a place that allows dogs in case I get a job that pays enough that we can afford one. They are just so stinking cute and I’ve wanted one for forever.

* Also, Netflix instant is ruining my life. I have watched more episodes of GREEK and Grey’s Anatomy than I think is reasonable for someone of my age. But I am obsessed. And when GREEK is over, don’t worry, I have another crappy show lined up. Make It or Break It. Yepp. I love me some television. Also, I missed GLEE’s alcohol episode tonight, so I will be hulu’ing it tomorrow. I need a life.

* So I may not love my job, but my manager is probably my most favorite boss that I have ever had. She’s rather fantastic. We have the same sarcastic sense of humor and she can see through some of the b.s. our store manager drones on about. She was also incredibly understanding about Mr. A’s health stuff that came up and me having to miss several shifts at work. Makes it more bearable.  Also, the ridiculous things customers do are pretty funny. Working on a crazy customer post.

Hope you are all having a good week. Tell those you love that you love them. Take some time for yourself and do what makes you happy.

My Personal Trip Advisors

Ever think you want to be more involved? Here’s your chance!!

I need your trip advice. All of it. After you spill to me your juicy insights, I want you to need to research to learn any new tips because you gave them all to me. Intense.

But what is this all for you ask?

Well, this May is a big month for Mr. A and I. It’s not only the end of 1L year for my hardworking husband, but it’s also our first wedding anniversary. And I think both of these deserve some sort of celebration or such.

Also, it’s 5 months away, so a good amount of time for me to lose a good chunk of weight by then if I can stick to my better eating and workout plan. So lot of incentive for me.

Here’s where you come in.

I NEED HELP!! I don’t know where to go!

I have all sorts of ideas on my head.

Chicago. NOLA. San Diego. Back to Mexico. Gulf Shores. Somewhere in South Carolina. Galveston. Las Vegas. Seattle.

See? Too many choices.

I want to go somewhere fun. Lots of things to do, but I’m leaning towards somewhere with a beach or some pretty fantastic pools, like Vegas.

We have been to Chicago before and we loved it. We love the museums and walking around Michigan Ave and just how much was offered. Also, some fantastic restaurants. And while there is a beach, it doesn’t seem super easily accessible since we would have to get back on the El after being wet and sweaty and such, since we would probably take the train up (done it before-wasn’t too bad) and wouldn’t have a car. It would also be a good chunk of money since you have to pay for basically everything there.

I thought of Vegas since I found some absolutely fantastic deals on rooms in nice casinos and the casinos should have some nice pool areas to lounge in. I went with my dad when I was 16 and had a blast, but I would like to go now that I’m 21 and can go to the clubs and actually walk around the casino floors. We aren’t big gamblers, so that’s not the draw for us. We would rather do the other fun things. However, I think other than the rooms, everything is really pricey there, including restaurants and shows and such.

I thought Gulf Shores or somewhere in South Carolina since there are nice beaches, and if we could get a condo on the beach, we could get some groceries and eat in most of the time and only go out some nights to save money. And while I want a beach, I’m not sure these places offer a whole lot else to do which might be a problem. We love the beach, but we like to do other things as well. I’m not on expert on either place, so please, any extra details you know would be wonderful.

Neither of us has been to NOLA. And I think it would be amazing. I think we would both love the cemetery tours and seeing old places. We both love good food and I’ve heard that there are just fantastic restaurants there. I’m no geography buff, and I’m being lazy and not looking it up, but not sure if NOLA has beaches/close to the area?

Galveston came up in my mind since a good friend of ours is moving to Houston, today actually, and I think Galveston is about an hour South, so maybe he and his fiancé could come down for a couple days as well. I know NOTHING about Texas or the area and I’m not sure if Galveston has nice beaches or is a fun place to visit?

San Diego would be amazing. My dad took me there for my high school graduation trip and it was just amazing and I think Mr. A would love it too. I learned how to surf while I was there, so I could show off my sweet skills (yeah right!) and we could enjoy the beach. The only thing I’m coming across is that it seems pricey to stay there. Also, it would be a little too far to drive, but doesn’t seem like a place with trains/subway to get around like Chicago, so a rental car might be a necessity, but we aren’t 25, so not even sure if that’s allowed.

Now, I mentioned Mexico. Seems like if I’m trying to save money Mexico would be way off my list? Not so much. We found while researching for our honeymoon last year, that if you are willing to wait to book it until really close to your vacation date, you can get a steal on an all-inclusive resort INCLUDING airfare. Also, we fell in love with Mexico while we were there. We were in the Mayan Riviera and it was paradise. Also, ALL food AND drinks were included. And while we took an excursion one day, there was enough to do that it wouldn’t have been a necessity.

I have also considered a cruise since I’ve seen some really good prices and it might be possible to drive to the port city so we weren’t also paying for airfare. Priceline offers free hotel nights depending on the length of the cruise, so that would help as well. However, while food is included, drinks aren’t and doing things when at port can be expensive, so not sure if that’s the best option.

So, I need some advice. Also take into consideration that we are in the Midwest, so costs would include wither flight or if it would be feasible to drive there and all that jazz. We would be willing to drive to Galveston or NOLA, but San Diego or Seattle would be a little much. What is there to do and will it cost an arm and a leg to have fun? Where have you been and loved? Any places I should consider that I haven’t?

And if you’re new to the blog and haven’t commented, here is the perfect time when I’m not wallowing in self-pity. haha 🙂

Annnnnd…GO!

Music Fun

Since it’s the weekend, I figured I would do a post of some of my favorite songs and music videos. So here’s some music and maybe it will make you smile remembering an older song or a funny video or it might even show you something new.

Warning: This will be an eclectic collection of songs. I pretty much like a little of everything. Broadway, hip-hop, pop, country, rap, punk, etc.

Green Day- “Basket Case”

 

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys- “Empire State of Mind”

 

Taylor Swift- “Love Story”

 

Spring Awakening Hodgepodge- Performance at the 2007 Tony Awards (And yes, that IS Lea Michele and

 

Spring Awakening– Bitch of Living (Profanity)

 

Spring Awakening– Totally F***ed (Profanity. Also, not the best quality, but shows the performance)

(Showed the real versions of the songs as well. Probably my favorite musical and I love that they make no apologies for the honest nature of the play. It’s amazing!)

Michael Jackson- “Thriller”

 

Katy Perry- “Firework” (Love the video. Love Katy Perry and think she looks amazing in this video. Also looks pretty good in “Teenage Dream”)

 

Ludacris- “How Low” (I’m strangely in love with just about anything Ludacris does.)

Eminem and Rhianna- “Love the Way You Lie”

 

Michael Buble- “Everything” (LOVE this song. Wanted it to be first dance, but because we had a singer, she didn’t know it, so went with an awesome Aretha song that she blew away.)

 

Far East Movement- “Like a G6”

 

Lil Wayne- “Knockout”

 

The Band Perry- “If I Die Young”

 

 

Okay, I’ll end here. I hope you all have an amazing weekend filled with the people you love. Any new music video or amazing video I need to see? Let me know!

Weekend Recap

Well, I made it back alive.

And I actually had a pretty good time, minus the bitchy step-sister, but I pretty much just avoided her and hung out with my super cool brother.

These weekends have been legendary. My dad and his friends have been going to this place for nearly 10 years now and they look forward to it every single year. They usually book it in January for October. Yes. They are THAT dedicated.

They rent cabins or a huge house for all of them, usually 8-12 people. The main lodge has a fall and a spring concert series. Dad and everyone pick a person or band they all agree on seeing and book that weekend.

Also, for the workaholic that is my father, her didn’t touch his laptop once. Not once. Ummm….until I was 20, we took a family vacation EVERY summer and he ALWAYS would work at some point during that vacation. Usually he would wake up early and work while the rest of us slept in. He would check e-mails, make phone calls, and work on various business projects as time and internet access permitted. This weekend? The only time he got on the computer was to load everyone’s pictures from the weekend so he could make the annual picture album of the trip. It may not mean a lot to you, but for me it just shows how much this trip means to him and how much he needs the break.

Each cabin had a name. This was ours.

Living room and kitchen area.

My stepsister and I shared a bedroom. Not ideal, but whatever. Only spent a few hours there each night.

Our GIANT jacuzzi tub and bathroom. I tried the Pioneer Woman’s “hip out” trick. Not sure it did much for me.

Some of the libations.

That’s not even a fourth of the wine consumed this weekend. Not including the peach Bellini’s my stepmom made. Talk about buzzed all weekend.

It was a lot of fun.

Friday we got there and kind of got settled. Once everyone got there and settled in their cabins, they came over to ours for grilling steaks and lots of wine and a bonfire. Music was played, drinks were had, jokes were laughed at. Definitely a good start.

And we have fire.

Saturday morning, friend M and his girlfriend made omelets. HOLY COW.

  Best. Omelets. EVER.

Seriously? You don’t understand the mouth-watering delicious-ness that was this thing. M and gf made each of them to order so every person got what they wanted. Mine has some browned bratwurst from the night before, spinach, onions, red pepper, mozarella and cheddar cheese. Yummmmmmm. And I don’t even usually like egg dishes, but these were so delicious.

Saturday during the day was just kind do your own thing. Some people went to come art fair in town which turned out to be more of a craft fair. And by that I mean every other booth was crocheted things. Yes, we were in the middle of nowhere. (And I didn’t have cell phone service all weekend except when we went to the lodge for the weekend. Talk about roughing it…haha)

Dining area at the lodge.

Dad took me and my stepsister to see the lodge and such. I developed the new hobby of photography over the weekend, so I was able to walk around and take pictures and practice some things my dad showed me. (I’ll do another post just on the new hobby of mine.)

The lodge was built in like 1800s and is super old and cool. There is a wraparound porch that goes around 3 sides of the place and is filled with rocking chairs.

The place is surround by hills covered in changing leaves. It was gorgeous.

We weren’t actually staying at the lodge and I’m good with that. The hallways where the rooms are looked like they came straight out of The Shining. I kept expecting kids on tricycles to show up. Creeeeepy. And the bathrooms were communal. So, down the hall and shared with everyone else in your hall. No thank you. Did that in college and I have no desire to do it on vacation.

Looking down on the concert area. It was much more packed with chairs that night.

Saturday night was dinner at the lodge before the concert. Ummm…wow. It was buffet, but probably the best buffet food I’ve ever had. Best mashed potatoes ever since I didn’t have to add butter or salt to them, and that’s huge for me. A creamed spinach dish that was to die for, Caesar salad that has just the right amount of dressing, grilled trout with lemon and rosemary, and  prime-rib that you could get as rare or as done as your preferred with a horseradish sauce. And for dessert, you could pick from bread pudding with a bourbon sauce, pecan pie, or chocolate mouse. I had the pecan pie and stole a couple bites of the bread pudding and both were delicious.

The concert itself was so-so. Everyone agreed that of all the shows they’ve seen, this was probably their least favorite. I knew the music wasn’t going to be my kind of thing, but I went along and tried to look as into it as I possibly could.

That night we went to S’s cabin and had another bonfire. The only thing missing was the marshmallows, but maybe as an adult you no longer like marshmallows? I don’t see how that’s possible, but who knows.

Sunday morning S and his wife took care of breakfast. Man, my dad’s friends know how to cook. She made a breakfast casserole that blows my mom’s version out of the water and super delicious French toast. I know it seems like all we did was eat, but I promise that’s not the case. I just like food so when it’s good, I talk about it. My dad put together a quick slideshow of everyone’s pictures to close out the weekend.

My brother jamming on his guitar.

It was neat to finally be on one of these weekends since I’ve heard about them for so long. I got to hear my dad and brother playing guitar together. I sat on the front porch with a book and a beer and just relaxed in the sunlight and breeze. I played with different settings and techniques with my camera and learned that I really want to learn more and maybe even take a class. I was able to avoid killing my stepsister, which is a feat of it’s own, and I learned that my stepmom isn’t so bad. I missed my husband and was so glad to return home to open arms and a warm hug.

Hope you all had a great weekend as well!