Cookies, wine, and a little golf

This weekend was the 2nd Annual Cookie Baking Shindig:

Last year's cookies were such a success

that you're invited back to make another mess
the girls talked and baked their little hearts away
while the guys scratched and drank to pass the day

Ladies bring old and new recipes to share
plus all the ingredients needed to prepare
I will stock up on the basic essentials
and provide all our baking utensils

Saturday night be ready to drink and party
as we celebrate the holiday with our favorite Marti(ni)
Wii games will be won and songs will be played
while we annoy the neighbors in the drunken state we made

Saturday was dedicated to an entire day of baking. Sherry, Mom, and I baked from 8am until 5pm. We made double batches of each:

Cut Out Cookies
Linzer Cookies
Snickerdoodles
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Chocolate Crackle Cookies
Peanut Butter Cups (which made 200 cups. Note for next year: do a single batch)
Seven Layer Bars
White and Milk Chocolate Gorp

I forgot how much thinking actually went into baking, especially when you are doubling a recipe. If I need 3/4 cup flour for one batch, for two I need, uh... hmm... uhh... Once the proper equations were figured out, remembering if we doubled everything in the recipe was the next obstacle. I doubled the oil, but did I double the eggs? All this stress called for some Red Truck. Sherry really enjoyed her Red Truck. In fact, I think it was her personal mission to finish off that entire barrel. I will say, baking and icing got easier and easier with every sip we took.

Dad brought his Wii console, so while we baked the guys played Tiger Woods golf. They had a riot and enjoy the "fresh air" on the course. We did send them out to pick up a few things, one of those things being, of course, a barrel of Red Truck to send home with Sherry.
After we finished baking it was time for me to start dinner. I really didn't think this through properly because, after being in the kitchen for 9+ hours, who wants to go back in and start up dinner? I put the guys to work on the majority of it while I supervised. I love getting to cook for people and trying new recipes. What makes cookie weekend even more special is that I get to break out the china and stemware. Ohhh... ahhhh... I know, fancy! This happens once a year, which is fine with me, all those dishes have to be hand washed, so once a year it is! We had rosemary roasted potatoes, stuffed pork chops, and a salad. For dessert, cookies! It was a fun day, but the girls were definitely exhausted by the end of it.

Sunday the guys made us waffles from scratch for breakfast. Listening to them trying to figure out how to double a recipe was hilarious. At one point Ben realized he was using a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon, so figuring out that additional calculation was almost more than an accountant could do.

We somehow managed to still fit in some shopping. Sherry, Mom and I ventured out to Macy's and spent half a day in just the one store. What can I say, good deals, coupons, and discounts makes shopping a lot more fun!

Monday I put together a tray of cookies and a bucket of white gorp to send to the office with Ben. Monday night Ben came home with an empty try and request for more gorp. Seriously?! He 'claims' that his fellow office mates are health conscious. Well, they certainly didn't hesitate when they wolfed down 4 dozen cookies! The white gorp was the all time favorite and has actually been coined a new name thanks to the office. White Trash. Appropriate I would say. Here's the recipe, enjoy!

White Chocolate Gorp
2 pounds white chocolate
6 cups crispy rice cereal squares, e.g., Rice Chex ™
3 cups toasted oat cereal
2 cups thin pretzel sticks
2 cups cashews
1 (12 ounce) package mini candy-coated chocolate pieces
1 bag mini marshmallows

Melt chocolate in a large saucepan over low heat or in microwave until just until soft. Stir until melted. Combine all the other ingredients in big roaster pan or bowl. Stir chocolate into mixture. Turn out on waxed paper. Of course anything you like can be added or substituted-but this recipe is a great combination!

Delivery!

Guess what I got from the UPS man this week? A real wreath for my front door from Brian and Heather. I have the best brother and sister-in-law ever! Now my front door looks like the cover of a Hallmark Christmas card.

So, from our house to yours, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Turkey Weekend

It seems that, when you live away from your old hometown, when you go back to visit for holidays you cram as many things as possible into those few days and end up leaving completely exhausted. Or sick, in my case.

Here's how our Thanksgiving weekend went, :::deep breath::: went to church, had celebratory LaGondola for John & Sherry's anniversary, ate Turkey at my house, ate twice my weight in deserts at Ben's house, did some black Friday shopping where I successfully bought nothing, put up Mom and Dad's Christmas lights, had dinner with Brian, Heather and the kids, went to bed early one night, ran, did half a Crossfit workout with Paul, gave Kelly her birthday present, hosted Debbie's baby shower, attended Ben's high school 10 year reunion, got sick, and drove home sick (which may or may not have been caused by the reunion) :::GASP::::

It's when we have weekends like this, and the many others that are approaching, that I begin to wonder why everyone feels the need to cram all these events into four weeks. Why not spread it out? We are all so joyous during the holidays, why not a random Friday in February, or a Tuesday in August? Either way, I LOVE this time of year and I'm looking forward to all of the holiday festivities yet to come.

My favorite truck...

...is a Red Truck! Since visiting Sonoma there are several wines that are mass produced that we can buy at our local wine stores. We, regretfully, didn't join any wine clubs, so I have to settle for the stuff that any Joe Blow can buy. B.R. Cohn was one of my favorite wineries. We visited it on my birthday and we bought a couple of bottles from there. They have a series of wines that are all named after Bruce's (the vineyard owner) vintage car collection. Red Truck is their mass produced Cabernet Sauvignon. Well look what I discovered now that we are a Sam's club member!


When I was checking out I told Ben, "it's like a box wine." The cashier looks at me and says, "it is a box wine." Well I don't care. Because they put it in this cute little barrel, and not in a box, I bought it. Plus, it contains four bottles of Red Truck, how much more awesome can you get? So yes, this seemingly novice wine snob is going to be drinking out of a tap for the next few weekends. And yes, I'll be using my Vinturi as well.

"Members Only"

Last weekend Ben and I joined another members only club. I would say that, at this club, we blend in a little better, but when we signed up we were asked if we were any of the following: small business owners, non-profit agency, teacher, or have any military affiliation. No, no, no, and no. Was this going to be a problem? I mean, we really only wanted to take advantage of sample Saturday's and buy the much needed twenty gallons of detergent or the occasional 60 pound rack of ribs.

No problem, we got signed up and were well on our way to embarrassing ourselves. Our behavior definitely would have been shunned by our elitist club friends. We couldn't help walking down the aisle laughing at the pure absurdity of the sizes of some of the items and seeing how many times we could sample the egg rolls without the sample lady catching on to us. (The answer is four). Like clockwork, we can almost guarantee that every Saturday afternoon we will receive a call from Ben's dad who has found an excellent deal on some yard ornament, shower shaver, or car accessory. Now, that will be us! Welcome to the world of owning a Sam's club membership!

Who doesn't need a 12 pound bag of Baking Soda?

And behind door #2, a lovely 800 horse power snow blower, fully equipped with all terrain wheels.

Update: After I wrote this blog I headed to the gym for a run and walked straight into a table set up with a royal blue tablecloth and the Sam's Club logo. Behind sat an eager Sam's Club representative recruiting new members! We may be running into more of our elitist friends than I thought. Probably need to proceed with a bit more caution when accosting the sample lady.

Hotlanta

I spent part of last week in Atlanta training with a few others and learning the Men's shoe business. If I haven't updated you, I went from three months ago, being concerned about the status of my job, to being given five more departments of responsibility. Now my total includes 11 departments in 70+ locations. I seriously must have idiot written on my forehead because I'm still getting paid the same amount when I had 17 locations and 5 departments. I guess that's a promotion for you! I will say this addition of departments has definitely added a sense of job security, but I won't be completely at ease until they tell us, in May, our contracts have been renewed.

In any event, I was back in Hotlanta traveling around, which was weird in itself. It seemed trees had gotten taller, new condos had been built, roads were widened, I guess a lot happens in a few years. I arranged to meet up with a couple of my girlfriends Wednesday night for dinner. Rachel was the only one able to make it so my boss joined us and we headed to one of my all time favorite spots, Eclipse Di Luna. Lots of memories at this place. Office birthday parties, going away parties and the dinner spot of our first ever Estrofest weekend with Debbie. When we walked in the door, I heard my name and there was my old boss, Laura! It was an entire table of old co-workers! It was great to see her and the others. For only being in town one night I got to catch up with a lot of people. They say that part of being successful and enjoying what you do are the people you are surrounded by. That was the truth for me in Atlanta, I loved my boss and all my coworkers. They are definitely part of my extended family.

I never travel without my camera so I got a picture of us all together again!

Rachel, Laura, Me

Rachel & Me
(for those wondering, no ring yet!)

Your virtual business trip

Debbie's blog full of pictures documenting her day of adventures inspired me. So, here's your virtual business trip with yours truly.

Last week I was in St. Louis visiting stores. While uneventful, there's a remote possibility you'll find it interesting to see the things I'm doing while away from home.

St. Clair Square Macy's - Where architecture resembles a UFO

My sweet ride for the week, I couldn't park this thing for the life of me.
Make note that I'm parked in the 25th row away from the door AND did a pull through.

Lunch, save calories on the sandwich so I can order the AWESOME cookies!
Thanks, Jared.

Men's night at West County. NFL Ram's player & cheerleaders signing autographs.
I was jealous of their shiny (and big) pom pons.

Where important people who drive Grand Marquis stay

The bathroom of an Elite Member

Dropping off the sweet ride before heading home

Nothing too exciting, but now you know what you thought you were missing. This week I head to Atlanta for some training. I'm excited to see a couple of my girlfriends. This is a trip that will surely have some highlights!

Trick-or-Treat

In the suburbs is probably the best place to live if you're a kid on Halloween. When we first moved here, our neighbors warned us that the usual head count on trick-or-treaters is around 200. With this kind of gobblin & fairy population you can't simply turn the front lights on and wait for the door bell to ring, you'll never close your door. Around here, everyone sets up camp in the driveway, with their fire pit blazing, wrapped up in blankets, and nursing a beer/glass of wine. I was only able to capture a few (very blurry) pictures of the hustle and bustle in the neighborhood in between swarms of kids.

Blown away by this number, we still stuck with our treat of choice (soda pop). Yes, we wanted to bribe the kids the first Halloween we arrived to simply say, "We're the cool neighbors, don't egg/toilet paper our house." Each year it's worked and each year we hear things like, "Dude, seriously, you guys are AWESOME!" Or, "See... I told you this was the pop house!" We also get the occasional, "MOM THEY HAVE POP! CAN I HAVE ONE?!?" It still cracks me up, the kids that ask their parents permission to have a can of pop, because I'm not sure which is worse, our one can of soda or their entire pillow case full of candy.

This is our third Halloween and the numbers keep rising. I think this bad economy is forcing people to stay home, reproduce, and thus, more trick-or-treaters. Which, in turn, fuels the economy more by the amount of candy that is needed to sustain the whole two hours of trick-or-treat time. I think we might be treading on thin ice this year though. We bought eight 24 cases of soda (all a variety of extreme sugars: cherry, grape, orange, root beer, mt. dew, etc...) and loaded with 192 cans we still ran out within the first hour. We, sadly, had to close up shop and send them next door to the "pixie stick" house.

Next year I'm thinking we should buy for 250, that should at least last us an hour and a half. Man, to be a kid again. I struggled with whether or not it was appropriate to demand a piece of their candy in exchange for our soda. Ben thought that would be a little tacky, so I restrained myself.

This weekend also brought about the always dreaded daylight savings "fall" back of the clock. While I enjoy the first few days of extra sleep in the morning, I curse it at 5:00pm when the sun has gone down for the night. It makes for some really long evenings.

Turns out I'm not the only one that the time change is rough on. We have Hobbes on an eating schedule and, while many of you think he's fat, (he's just big boned) we try to monitor his diet. Anyway, every morning at 6:00am, Ben feeds him and, at 5:00pm, I feed him. Well, not only did kitty wake Ben up at 5am demanding to be fed, he put on quite a show by his food bowl from about 3:30pm until 5pm. He was cursing us and the world for making him lay there on the cold, wood floor, famished all because the stupid time change.

We are on day three of day light savings and Hobbes is still struggling, but he's getting better. Today I was thinking to myself, he's just a cat and he's not adapting well to the change in his feeding times... imagine if he were a kid. Eeshhh.

Home Improvements 2007-2009

After we got our new countertops installed we started looking for before and after pictures. We're amazed at the difference from when we first bought the place. Here are just a few, including our newest addition. If seeing these pictures makes you want to visit, come on down... if it makes you want us to help with any projects, sorry we're busy. Enjoy!

Before: Black door, Green shutters... what were they thinking?!

After: Now we match... ahh, no more twitching...

Before: The sage green nightmare

After: new floors and some decorating sense

Before: A washed out mess

After: new floors, countertops, and paint...much more inviting

Tropic Brown granite

New faucet and sink

Dad's Birthday Weekend

This past weekend Ben & I had my parents down for Dad's birthday. We pretty much packed as many fun activities as you can in a short weekend visit. It's always fun having them in town and this time they brought their Wii! Needless to say, we had a blast!

Friday night was dinner and a movie, Dad's choice. We ate at Max & Erma's and then saw Amelia. Saturday were our big birthday plans. Dad has always wanted to take the Ohio River boat cruise. It was great, little chilly and overcast, but the food was delicious. They had great entertainment, beautiful scenery, and did I mention the good food? After the cruise we headed back to the house. Brian, Heather, Ben and I had gotten dad the Wii Fit...so our afternoon was set. While the guys got it set up, Mom and I decided that was the perfect opportunity to slip out and do some shopping. We were gone three hours and came back to two drunk guys playing golf. Surprised to see us home so soon, they looked like two boys caught in the middle of mischief. I made soup for dinner and then we rolled up our sleeves and let the bowling tournament begin. Everyone was pretty good, except me. Turns out that, in real life and Wii life, I can't break 100. Sunday Mom and I headed out to finish up some shopping and concluded the weekend with a stop at Home Goods, like all good visits to our house.

Dad had his knee surgery on Tuesday and is doing very well. He's still in the hospital but the nurses aren't letting him use his time off as a vacation. He's working his knee six hours a day as well as going to rehab. Attitude and appetite are still intact and pain is manageable, so all is good! He gets to come home tomorrow.

Our countertops come tomorrow! I'm almost to the point of sleepless nights I'm so excited. We'll post pictures as soon as we get those puppies installed. Saturday is Halloween and we're gearing up for the 200+ trick-or-treaters. Not sure what else is in store for the weekend, but I'm sure it will be another great one!

We bit the bullet...

... and bought granite countertops for the kitchen. This is something we've been discussing for a while now and with the prospect of moving next year, it really put this upgrade into perspective. Will we get the return on our investment?

After shopping around and doing a lot of research we decided, while it would be nice to see that money back in our pockets after the sale, we would like to make this change for the house and for ourselves. After all, most of our time is spent in the kitchen with friends and family, why not install an upgrade for yourself rather than purely for the next home owners?

We placed our order on Monday for the granite. Tropical Brown. Basically, a black background with lots of brown flecks throughout. During my research I came across a great deal on a 16 gauge stainless steel sink and an oil rubbed bronze faucet.

The sink arrived today and I was so excited for it's arrival that it started making me wonder why the arrival of a stainless steel sink makes me excited. Anyway, I wasn't the only one excited to see the new sink. Check out Kitty in his new "fort". He's been playing all day in this box, just like a kid.

They come and take final measurements on Friday and then we'll set an install date. Once complete I'll post before and after pictures. I'm so excited I can hardly wait.

"So we meet again, Mr. Tail."

Closet mayhem

So I feel a theme developing, and it all was caused by my post last Wednesday, there's a chill in the air. We made a pot roast in the crock pot on Monday, tromped around a pumpkin patch over the weekend, and now we've cleaned and switched out our closets.

I want to note that, while living in the south, this is one step that I didn't have to do. Not that a sweater wasn't needed for the cooler months, it was. It's just that, down south I didn't have to share a closet. Some people say the key to a happy marriage is his/her sinks. I say it's his/her sinks AND his/hers closets.

When making the switch we ended up getting rid of:

Of course, my response to all of this is, it's time to go shopping! I mean really, no girl should ever get rid of 14 pairs of shoes without plans to replenish.

That's a mighty big pumpkin you have there...

I searched relentlessly until I found a pumpkin patch within 90 miles that sounded like it was worth the trek. This puppy had a seven acre corn maze. With that kind of acreage I would for sure be able to lose Benjamin.

Saturday we made plans to run errands during the morning and drive up to the patch in the afternoon. All of these plans were made with one goal in mind: to use our Chili's gift card that we had been given more than six months ago. We don't have a Chili's near us, (I know, what kinda of place is this?) but there was one up by the pumpkin patch. So, dinner plans were made.

Not taking into consideration how much rain we had gotten the past two days, we arrived to the pumpkin patch to find ourselves tromping through mud. The entire farm was a big muddy mess. It wasn't just wet mud. It was sloppy, smelly, step into the mud hole and sink into oblivion, mud.

We opted not to do the corn maze, to my disappointment. This was a decision easily made after seeing patrons exit with mud caked up to their knees. We did check out a few of attractions, picked out our 31lb pumpkin, a mum, and, of course, a homemade Carmel apple.

The parking lot had gotten so bad that when we left they had guys standing in sections to help push people out who were getting stuck. I'm not sure what came over Ben, but in his mind we were no longer driving a Camry, but an ATV. In between his jackass grins I'm pretty sure I heard a couple of whoo hoo's!!!

Here are a few pictures from our Pumpkin patch adventure, enjoy!

Mighty big pumpkin

Stinky mud

Hmm?

Bad Halloween humor

itty bitties

Always appropriate attire for any occasion.

Ben, proud of the caked on mud.

Bike trail north of the city.

There's a chill in the air...

Fall is officially here.

This is the time of year I get out the crock pot and start making chicken tortilla soup and chili. I say goodbye to my all-time summer favorite, sherbert, and say hello to Bailey's hot chocolate. I go from begging Ben to turn on the air, to begging him to start up the fireplace. Running outside becomes out of the question and forcing myself to befriend the treadmill for the next five months becomes nearly impossible.

I have already started full hibernation mode. While the scale doesn't reflect it, I'm positive I've gained my winter "coat" and my sweats have become the wardrobe of choice.

Some may be rolling their eyes right now, Ben being one of them, but gosh darn, when that thermometer drops below 55, you can pretty much count on me being wrapped up in my Snuggie, on the couch, watching tv and having some sort of fatty food in my hands/mouth.

I haven't taken the initiative to change out my closets yet. Apparently I'm still hoping that there's a chance that I'll need to wear that linen sun dress one more time. This might be the weekend that reality strikes and the closets get changed. While I love a good cable knit sweater or fluffy fleece, I like my sun dresses and flip flops more.

Martha Stewart has; however, visited and adorned our house with fall decorations. That is one part I can honestly say is my favorite about Fall; the colors. I'm searching for a pumpkin patch to visit and a corn maze to lose Ben in, but so far no luck (on losing Ben or finding a corn maze).

Every year on February 2nd I hope that Punxsutawaney Phil doesn't see his shadow and we get blessed with an early spring. I don't believe that has ever happened in my lifetime, but it's sure nice to hope. So here's to the next 5 1/2 months of eating whatever you want, sleeping as much as you want and wearing sweatpants 24/7!

70 Long Years...

It's not every day that you get to attend a 70th wedding anniversary, but when you do, you find yourself surrounded by seventy years of love and wonderful memories.

How did they get to where they are today? That is, of course, other than love, patience, and understanding?

It all started out with, well, popcorn. Yes, freshly popped corn, served by one of the town's prettiest girl's, Ernetta. Ernetta worked the popcorn stand in town for locals attending the show or just craving a snack. One local who had a salty tooth was Leonard. When asked how much he spent on popcorn that summer, he declined to comment.

In September of 1939, a year after Leonard worked up the courage to ask Ernetta out, the happy couple, along with Len's brother and wife headed to St. Louis. Not realizing that this weekend would be the weekend they embarked into a 70 year long journey, they found themselves in front of the justice of the peace saying, "I Do."

After getting married, Leonard was shipped off to fight in WWII. The war would keep him away from his bride for four years. While her husband was away, Ernetta took over Len's job at the Progress. Seven other women welded alongside Ernetta while their husbands were at war. Not only did these woman fill their husbands shoes, they helped the men in battle by welding gas cans for the army and navy.

Leonard returned home on the Queen Elizabeth in 1945. The couple lived next door to where they do today. In August of 1951 they welcomed a baby girl into their lives, Joyce Lynett. Ernetta had dreamed of having a little girl named Joyce Lynett. After twelve years of trying, her dream came true. This moment was described as the happiest for the couple in all seventy years. It was in 1953 that they began to build their current home together. After nine months, and weekly payments to the crew, Leonard was able to carry Ernetta across their new threshold.

The couple are definitely not strangers around town, some know Lenoard from his milk route in the 50's, some remember the drinks he poured as a bartender, some welded right along the side of him at the Progress where he would later retire after twenty-five years. Many have called upon Leonard's Carriage services for rides into town or the family doctor, but most know him from his friendly wave while coasting down Vine St. in his gray El Camino. The town knows Ernetta from her work at Ben Franklin, or The Villa for those 12 years of ward-robing customers. Others know her from her time volunteering at the Christian church or calling bingo at the nursing home.

Throughout the years, they have stayed true to their roots, to their town, and to their street, for that matter! It is today that Leonard, Ernetta, and the entire family would like to thank all of you for sharing in the seventy years of wonderful memories. Whether you have known them since they were married or just met them this year, you can tell that this is a couple where love, family, and friendships (with a side of stubbornness) comes first.

Happy Anniversary Grandma & Grandpa!

Group Fitness

This week I decided to change up my running routine a bit. The elitist athletic club has a kickboxing class at the same time as Ben's spin class on Mondays and on Wednesday there's a Zumba class. I decided those looked like a perfect match for what I was looking for.

Monday night I attended the kickboxing class, which was lead by the overweight annoying trainer that I try to avoid in the gym. Attending this class were about 8 others and myself. Because we are, after all, at the elitist athletic club, you can be assured that all the stereotypical participants were present; the super aerobicsizer, the new mom, on her first night back after four months and the sixty year old with a mound of makeup and enough plastic surgery to put MJ to shame. Two social bunnies were chatting it up in the corner and then there are the college girls that are a good 40 years younger than our prima donna.

Going into this I felt like if I can run 13 miles, I can do a silly kickboxing class. The one thing that I didn't expect from this was the amount of lunges and push ups that we would be doing. I thought you were supposed to kick and box in this class, not lunge around the room and drop for ten every two minutes! I'm pretty sure I did more push ups during this class than Ben does in his Crossfit workouts! I started out doing my push ups with some dignity (like a man) and then I noticed everyone else on their knees and some not even doing the full amount! Of course, our areobicsizer was right there on top of it, but if everyone else was waffling, so was I. What really got my goat was that the instructor (Ms. Fatty McFat) would drop to the ground with us and then lay there, didn't even ATTEMPT to do them. I have a strong feeling that's why she's not losing that flab. She can talk the talk, but can't walk the walk.

About half way through, the instructor put up action stations for us to go through (ie. duck-n- under section, squat area, push ups, box jumps, jump rope, etc). I was breathing slightly heavily and sweating at this point, but it's really only from the zillion push ups and the squats we had done, not from the kickboxing. This actually looked promising. Wrong. I somehow managed to get stuck behind the two social bunnies who would actually stop in the middle of their phase to talk and gossip. I was getting very annoyed and wasn't sure if it would be in poor taste to blatantly pass them on the floor or just breath heavily down their necks. We finished up the class with some push ups, sitting squats, and stretching. I did notice the instructor sweating, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't from the kicking, boxing, or push ups.

All in all, I don't think I will be attending that class again. Besides being annoyed with the aerobicsizer showing off, the social bunnies talking the entire time, and the instructor being completely worthless, I was bored. I keep myself more entertained running on a treadmill.

Wednesday night was Zumba. I've heard a lot about Zumba and in college we had a hip hop aerobics class. It was always crowded with sorority chicks working on their weekend dance moves with frat boy's faces planted on the glass 'observing' the class. I opted out of that one. My mother-in-law bought a Zumba DVD to practice up before trying out her first class and my husband's grandma has been encouraging us to dance more, so I thought this class would be a good first step back into choreographed routines.

There were more participants in this class (which was a good sign) including one male. He was wearing a bike jersey so I'm pretty sure he was a Landis that got lost heading up to the spin class. The instructor was a young girl, wearing a super tight tank bedazzled with, "Join the PARTY" and some cute over sized cargo pants. Reminded me a bit of "So You Think You Can Dance?" She cranked the music up. Enough so that I'm sure the yoga class on the other side of the building was disturbed. She asked if it was any one's first time in class. I raised my hand along with, well, no one else. Not even the Landis! She tells me (personally, in front of the class) it usually takes 5-6 classes to get the hang of it so not to get discouraged. I shake my head approvingly and am immediately worried. I was confident before, not so much now.

We danced about twelve routines, all about five minutes each. Some harder than others. We danced to rap, salsa, the Samba, a little Elvis, and some folk music. It was a lot of fun, and I really didn't embarrass myself too much. I held my own and I think surprised the instructor a bit. I will say that dancing in tennis shoes, a running shirt and shorts doesn't look as sexy as dancing in a tank and cargo pants. I felt a lot like Julia Styles in Save the Last Dance, teaching a ballerina to dance hip hop. If you haven't tried Zumba, it's basically shaking your hips until you can't shake them anymore. That's how I felt today when I woke up.

Zumba is definitely on the schedule as a keeper. My attempt at group fitness classes was a 50/50 win/lose. I was really looking for another activity to break up my running routine and give my knees a break, so maybe it's back to swimming. Maybe Zumba will help with my lack of coordination in the pool. Or maybe not.

Neighborhood Block Party

This weekend was the annual neighborhood block party. While our neighborhood doesn't exactly have an HOA, they do collect money from everyone for the block party, neighborhood rummage sale, and holiday luminaries. I have reason to believe that the majority of this money is spent on the block party, between the beer tent and the industrial grill.

Every year the event starts with a parade. Our parade consists of the Grand Marshal (some random punk kid) and our local 5-0. Following them are about 30 kids on bikes with balloons and streamers. Trailing behind is the four year old who thought he could ride the three and a half blocks on his own and is now walking his bike with the local fire department's 2000 gallon tanker nipping at his training wheels.

Ben and I have learned from the past few years not to show up right when it starts. You gotta show up about thirty minutes after the food line opens. If you wait long enough, your neighbors are already drunk and gossiping while the food line has diminished.

This year's entertainment, besides the DJ and the organized games that the HOA president/SUPER mom has coordinated, was our neighbor from across the street. She was piss drunk, and it was 6:00pm. Like the friendly neighbors we are, we approached the clique of women to say our hellos and the next thing we know she's telling us she's already drank an entire bottle of wine and her husband is home sick. Her husband, that she swears loves her more than she loves him, and after 24 years of marriage he still takes such good care of her, and her oldest son is heading off to college next year, and so on and yadda yadda yadda. We were also enlightened by her story of another neighbor who's on his fourth wife, the current one he's actually married twice. So I guess that would be four marriages and three wives. Wow, I think our community could have it's own version of Desperate Housewives of Orange County.

This, to us, looked like the perfect place for Ben and I to plant ourselves for the evening. We knew we would be assured an eventful night with her in our sights. After the pie eating contest, the clique decided to break out pudding shots. Yes, it's the suburban version of the frat house jello shot. It was actually very good, chocolate pudding, Kahlua and chocolate vodka. I'm hoping Ben's cousin takes note for next year's Easter celebration.

Once the games had finished the DJ cranked up the music, turned the disco lights on and got the party staaarrrrtttteed! This is when Miss Wino (and I'm not talking about myself) decided to heat up the dance floor. Her poor daughter sat with her teenage friends on a nearby lawn totally embarrassed. A few even came up and danced next to her while friends took pictures with their iPhones. In the darkness there was a solid glow of light coming from the lawn with frantic texts going out about Sally's mom. Poor lady, the whole community will know about her state in about .5 seconds. The highlight of the night was when Miss Wino was headed back to the party after getting her bottle of Bourbon. She wiped out in the middle of the cul-de-sac... now you see her, now you don't. Priceless! The best part? She caught her ice cubes that fell out of her glass and was so proud of herself for saving what was important. How would she have ever managed to drink her bourbon without those ice cubes?!?

We wrapped up the night by asking if we could walk her the 1/2 block home (note: it was 10pm) but she insisted she was fine. Meanwhile another neighbor was feeding her food and a diet coke. Her husband is not going to let her attend the block party on her own ever again. We, on the other hand, have next year's marked on the calendar already!

The fall line up

And no, I'm not referring to the Bears starting line up, I'm talking about something much more important, my fall TV line up. It's a good thing we own a DVR because it will getting a workout for sure on Thursday nights. Everyone, please make note of the TV schedule and plan any and all calls around that (unless its an emergency, we can always pause the show) let's not be too ridiculous.

Monday
House - FOX - 8PM 9/21

Tuesday
Biggest Loser - NBC - 8PM 9/15

Wednesday
Glee - FOX - 9PM 9/9

Thursday
Survivor - CBS - 8PM 9/17
Flash Forward - ABC - 8PM 9/24
Office - NBC - 9PM 9/17
Community - NBC - 9:30PM 9/17
Mentalist - CBS - 10PM 9/24
Sunny P - FX - 10PM 9/17

Friday
Dollhouse - FOX - 9PM 9/18

Sunday
Amazing Race - CBS - 8PM 9/27

Still pending is American Idol and The Bachelor, I believe those start up in January. I'm starting to get slightly stressed, but nothing I can't handle. Can't wait until next week when all chores and productivity come to a stand still!

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend Ben and I made the trip to Nashville to visit Paul and Elaine. It had been two years since I'd last been down, so I was well over due. We had an awesome time! Paul was a great host, he even made Ben a birthday cake! Here are some of the highlights:

Attended a Lord T & Eloise rap concert, like a white girl

Loved the rap concert, gonna go gangsta

Played pool like a shark, drank like a fish

Burned the candle at both ends, wished the candle was longer

Drank my weight in beer, consequently lost a few pounds

Lost those few pounds back home, in the first ten minutes

Played an elitist golf course for free, spent what I saved on beer

Drove a golf cart with GPS, still lost eleven balls

Drank enough beers on the back nine to straighten out my slice, which turned into a hook

Beat Ben at golf, by two huge strokes

Competed in our own longest drive contest, grunted like a man

Ate corn on the cob without butter, and a sandwich without mayo

Attended a Catholic mass which was led by a Southern Baptist priest, can I get an Amen?

Consumed a trillion calories at the Krispy Kreme breakfast buffet, and by buffet I mean conveyor belt

Jealous customers walked by Paul's 50" plasma purchase, and smirked at the extreme efforts it took to get it in the car

Spent 2K of Paul's money, could have spent more

Dominated at Dance Dance Revolution, watch out Cheryl Burke

Dominated Guitar hero, and by dominate I mean was booed off stage

Happy Anniversary to us!

Friday Ben and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. It really is hard to imagine that it was five years ago that we said "I Do" and pulled away in that sea green mini van with "Dude take it easy on my sister" on painted our windshield.

I was in St. Louis and Kansas City all week prior, so Ben had plenty of time to work on a surprise for me. He picked me up from the airport and I arrived home to a dozen roses and a new piece of artwork over the fireplace. The flowers are really pretty, a red/ white /pink hybrid kind (that IS the technical name by the way). The art, on the other hand is an original, and you thought we were cheap! He took out the old poster that I'd bought from Hobby Lobby the summer before we got married and replaced it with a panoramic picture of Sonoma Valley from one of our favorite spots, Artesa. It looks amazing, and I'm pretty sure the print cost as much as the flowers, even better! I may need to get it re-matted (Dad) but for now it will do.

Friday night Ben made dinner reservations at a place called Nada downtown. It's a high end Mexican restaurant with loud music, a great outdoor patio, and even trendier indoor seating. I had the chicken and corn enchiladas with a strawberry margarita. Ben had the chicken iron pot, which was like a tortilla soup with rice on the side. Everything was extremely good, and the service was amazing. My water glass was never less than 3/4 full (which is how I judge a restaurant).

Saturday we decided we wanted to spend the money we had so graciously received from our family members on a fire pit. We had reservations about buying one since we really wanted it for the deck, but after discovering that the traditional 5th wedding anniversary gift is wood (in our case a burning deck), the decision was made for us. After shopping around at several places we decided to sleep on it before we jumped right into the purchase. We got home changed and headed to the golf course to play nine holes. I haven't played all summer and Ben has been out a few times, so we were well passed due. I couldn't sink a putt to save my life or keep my drives from going into the neighboring fairways, and Mister I'm a Tiger Woods, decided to chip in on the 9th and kill me with his short game. Needless to say, there was no competition to be had...THIS time. We're going to try and hit the driving range up later in the week in preparation for our weekend in Nashville when we play/beat Ben's brother and his girlfriend. We finished up the round with a cold beer, a little shop talk and headed home to grill out.

Sunday we got up, headed to church, and then decided the day was so beautiful it would be silly not to take advantage of it. Ben headed out for a 36 mile bike ride and I ran 7.25 miles. We both cooled off outside before making the big decision to go ahead and purchase the fire pit we both knew would work best for our outdoor area. So last night we had left overs and spent the rest of the evening around our new addition and indulged ourselves with s'mores.

Life can't get any better. I've enjoyed these five years with Ben. Each day/week seems like a date night and we enjoy being together and each others company. Wednesday is his birthday so I may splurge and take him to Cracker Barrel for the old timers breakfast and hit up the driving range afterward! It such a lively life around here, I'm not sure how the years could possibly fly by!