Slacker...

Okay, okay, so I haven’t exactly been keeping up with my blog. It’s pathetic when April posts more frequently than I do! I just lack the ambition to type out an entry.

So much had happened, but I will keep this as short and sweet as possible.

We picked Allie and Cole up from the airport on Saturday the 9th. Her plane was delayed a couple of hours, but she still got here early enough to eat dinner with us. We took her to Arriba. She loved it!

Arthur didn’t recognize me, but by day two or three, I did finally hear him say my name. :)

We took Allie and Cole to several different restaurants. I ate way too much that week and didn’t exercise nearly enough.

Cole was obsessed with Jeff’s Jeep. He'd scream at the garage door, “TRUUUUUCK!” He cried every time someone went to the garage or Jeff left, and he wasn’t allowed to go out there. When we did let him go, though, he’d attach to the Jeep like a magnet and spent a ton of time in the driver’s seat playing. It was so cute. I wish we could’ve given him more rides in it.

I worked Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday that week, so we didn’t do a whole lot. We took Cole to the park, but he didn’t like it. We also went to a few stores and went for a nice long drive around the area.

On Thursday, I drove them to Wickenburg – just to see it. We were supposed to go over to my friend Nicole’s house so that Cole could play with her three kids. However, her oldest son ended up coming home early from day care with a fever.

On Friday, I went to the DMV to switch over my title and registration. First, though, I had to get my vehicle tested for emissions. I found out that my gas cap failed the pressure test, so I had to get a new one and then retest. Thankfully, the retest was free. About $160 later, my stuff was finally switched over.

Jeff got done with work early on Friday since they didn’t have to fly. They had a picnic on base, but since Allie was in town, I didn’t go. Hopefully next time!

Jeff went out that night for a couple of hours with some guys from work. Allie and I ate ice cream and watched a couple of movies before I went to pick up Jeff. Then, we ate some super nachos and rolled tacos from Fredrico’s for a midnight snack.

On Saturday we went to the zoo. It was a ton of fun. It is pricey to get in, but it is huuuuge! I also went there last Friday for work. In both trips, I still haven’t seen everything. That is how big it is!

I got to touch all sorts of funky creatures. The highlights were touching the sting rays and petting a giraffe. Giraffes are my favorite animal, so it was like a dream come true for me. :D

On Sunday, we got everything together so that we could drop Allie and Cole off at the airport. I was so sad! We ate at Burger King on the way.

Allie cried when we dropped her off. I really had to fight the tears. It’s hard watching someone walk away knowing that it will be months before you see them again. :(

I had a really fun weekend. On Friday, I made homemade sweet and sour chicken with brown rice. A healthy version, though. It was really good.

On Saturday, Jeff had to go into work for a few hours because someone in his flight got a DUI and when that happens, everyone gets punished.

Prior to the DUI, Jeff brought up that they should buy a van so that everyone can carpool – to ensure that there are no DUI’s. Jeff’s friend from work owns a business selling cars on the side and purchased a 2006 15-seat van the next day for like $1,500 at an auction. All the guys are going to pitch in about $100 at most to pay for the van and maintenance. It can be used for any outings. I think that is cool.

We got a lot done in the yard. We had wraps for lunch. Then, we went to Lis Doon Varna for dinner with his friends. We went to see the new Terminator movie. That is the only one I’ve seen and don’t think that I need to see anymore. He liked it, though.

Afterward, we were invited to go to another bar called McDuffy’s, but we went back to LDV because they have live music. The Waters were there. They were so good. The lead singer sounded a lot like Natalie Merchant.

On Sunday, I dropped Jeff off near base so that they could go tubing. It was supposed to be an all guys trip, so I wasn’t going to go. However, on my way to the gym, Jeff called me and asked me to come along. A few of the guys brought their significant others, so Jeff wanted to have me there. There were seventeen of us packed in the 15-seat van.

We drove an hour to get to the Salt River, but the cops had the only two roads to the tubing placed blocked off because of “traffic.” So, we turned around.

Instead, Jeff and I went swimming at Eddie, Greg, and Andrew’s house with Kevin. Then, we went to another pool party. We had so much fun.

We got up early again on Monday. A few of the guys decided not to go this time, so we only had 14 people come with. It was more comfortable this way! This time we were actually able to go tubing. It was a five-hour float. It was so much fun – even though my skin is fried after two applications of sun block. My legs are super swollen from the burn. So bad, in fact, that my scars from my stitches are actually protruding. They feel like they could burst.

At one point on the river, there is a cliff that you can jump off of. It is not very high up at all. We stopped because a couple people from our group wanted to do it. However, there was a drunk guy scaling the side of the cliff above the jumping point. We have no clue how he even got up there because it is a pretty smooth cliff with few things to step on or hold onto. He was probably close to 300 feet up and was motioning for people to move out of the way, when he slipped. Rocks started falling. Then, he completely lost his balance, fell into a cactus, and landed flat on his back in the water.

People, including a guy from our group swam to help the guy. I guess that he was unconscious when they got to him. Thankfully, there were cops patrolling the area that saw this. It took a good five minutes or more to get the guy to the other side of the river. He was awake, but not coherent. An ambulance and I think even a med flight showed up for him. That is exactly why people shouldn’t drink on the river. Idiots.

We leave for Utah on the fifth to go hike the narrows in Zion National Park. Most of the hike will be through waist deep or lower water. I’m so pumped! We are going to camp there Friday and Saturday night and drive home Sunday morning. I really can’t wait!

Anyway, I think that about covers it for me. I’ll write soon. :D

Happy As A PIG In A Puddle...

Once again, it has been too long since my last blog. I really need to stop taking these hiatuses – so that I don’t have to write such long blogs when I do get the ambition. I’ll try to keep it short and sweet. I said TRY.

Last Friday, my friend Denise invited me to go out to dinner with her, Brian, her two kids, and her roommate. I was happy that she had invited me because I was pretty bored. Plus, it was just about my supper time anyway, and all I had planned was Ramen Noodles. Blech!

After about 6,000 text messages back-and-forth, we decided on a place to eat. They suggested The Elephant Bar. I didn’t really want to drive that far – it is about a 20-minute drive from my house – but figured that I could use a night out. So, I gladly agreed.

Brian lives just over one block, so we carpooled.

I’d never been there before, but had seen it when I was at Cheesecake Factory and Las Doon Varna (or whatever the Irish Pub is called that Jeff loves). It is actually a really nice place. It’s obviously covered in safari and animal print stuff, but it is beautiful inside!

I ended up getting a grilled barbeque chicken sandwich and a salad. It was pretty tasty. I’ll have to take Jeff there sometime. I had a lot of fun. I’d never met Denise’s roommate before, but she was really nice.

I went straight home after dinner. Thankfully, Jeff got done earlier than I was expecting. So, we got to spend some time together. We went to bed early because we had to be up and ready to leave by 8:00. We were going to pick up Brian and Denise and drive to Saguaro Lake (a little over an hour away) to fish.

Of course, we left a little later than expected. As always. We were running a bit behind because someone decided to sleep a little bit longer. It was no big deal, though, because Denise texted us around 8 to say that she was at Wal-Mart.

So, Jeff and I took advantage of the extra time and went to McDonald’s for breakfast. Jeff got a regular iced coffee. I’d been wanting to try one, but was too chicken to order an entire one (in case it was gross), so I tried a sip of his. I thought that it was pretty good.

We ended up fishing on some river off of Saguaro Lake. That spot sucked, though. We brought brats and grilled them. Yum! Then, after lunch we moved to a different location. That spot was a lot better and very relaxing. Still, we caught nothing. We didn’t leave until around 7, I believe. The sunset was beautiful with all the scenery there.

We were all starving by the time we got home, so we showered quickly and met up at Brian’s house. From there, we went to Rio Mirage for some Mexican food. It was so good! Denise ordered a gigantic drink called a green iguana. Needless to say, she was PRETTY tipsy by the time we left.

I’m pretty sure that we collapsed as soon as we walked in the door. We were worn out.
On Sunday, I went to the gym while Jeff had his nerd time. We cleaned the house and got all the yard work and laundry done. While I was cleaning, I started getting really bad cramps and felt nauseous. I ended up having diarrhea, but haven’t gone since. I'm seriously contemplating colon hyrdotherapy because this whole going once every one or two weeks has got to stop! I took laxatives three days in a row and nada! What the heck?

We didn’t feel like cooking, so we just steamed some rice and heated up some leftover chicken breasts that he had grilled and froze a few weeks ago. It was pretty good – even the second time around.

On Monday, I was still feeling like crap. In addition to feeling really sick, I had a terrible headache. We had a low-census at work anyway, so they let me go home at like 11:30. I came home, changed, and stayed in bed for the rest of the night with the laptop. That was it.

On Tuesday, I felt a ton better, but still had a headache. In fact, I STILL have the same damn headache. I’ve taken ibuprofen everyday, but nothing helps. This happens to me from time-to-time. In high school, my doctor prescribed me migraine medication for it, but I never took them because they knocked me out, which was a bigger problem for me than the headache was.

The rest of the week went okay. My job is torture, though. It is getting really stressful for me and the fact that I can’t stand my co-workers doesn’t help.

On Thursday, I was in the kitchen and when it came time for me to serve the meals, Bernice came and stood next to me. EVERY damn utensil that I’d put in the pans to serve food with, she took out and told me not to use them and the bitch replaced them with different utensils. I was annoyed because she just doubled the amount of serving utensils I’d have to wash. Plus, I AM THE ONE SERVING. I should be able to use whatever utensils suit my fancy. Bitch.

She pretty much pushed me out of the way and took over. I wanted to strangle her. Then, at dessert time, she switched my utensils again. I kind of wanted to stick them up her ---, but resisted the urge.

There is more going on, but I really can’t discuss it. Just know that it sucks, and I’m losing patience.

Jeff got home super early on Friday – around 5. So, we got ready and went to a pizza place that I saw on “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” called La Piazza al Forno. OMG! It was delicious. For an appetizer, we got crab-stuffed shrimp that was on top of garlic bread. Then, we got one of their specialty pizzas called Piazza Blanco. It was garlic butter sauce, feta cheese, and basil on top of a thin crust. They make the crust from scratch and bake the pizza in a brick oven. We are definitely going back! Next time, we are trying the Mediterranean Pizza. I’m so excited.

On Saturday, I went to the gym while Jeff went fishing at a nearby pond. We went to McDonald’s for lunch, and then went to see the new X-men movie. I thought it was good – minus Ryan Reynolds, who has no business trying to pull-off that kind of roll.

Saturday night, we were invited to Beau’s house. Nicole was in North Carolina for a wedding, so Beau’s mom flew to AZ to help him with the kids. She made us dinner. We had fruit salad, asparagus, and shepherd’s pie. Also, we enjoyed some chips and homemade guacamole while sitting on the patio.

I had a good time. Beau’s buddy Nick was there. He is from Wausau. He was a nice guy. He sounded a lot like Dain Cook.

We stayed there until after 11 last night.

Today, Jeff and I had breakfast together. Then, I went to the gym, while he “flew” with his dad.

I was annoyed by the fact that my status on Facebook said that I’d eaten pancakes and was going to the gym and some girl commented saying that, “Ouch! That had to hurt.” When I told her it didn’t, she was like, “Really? Cause it’s bad for your body to workout on a full stomach.” It was three pancakes, not an entire Thanksgiving feast. Dumb fuck. Anyway, I 100% disagree with these morons that say you shouldn’t eat before a workout. Do you know how dizzy I’d get if I didn’t? Sorry, just had to vent.

Moving along. We completely skipped lunch today because we were busy. So, by about 3 we were starving! We went to Wal-Mart and got stuff to make kabobs. We marinated chicken in Teriyaki sauce, cut up bell peppers, red onions, and put whole grape tomatoes and mushrooms on the skewers. Along with those, Jeff grilled some corn on the cob while I made us each a nice, big salad. It was a delicious meal!

We watched “The Count of Monte Cristo” tonight. I must say that it was an awesome movie! Long, but really good. I was surprised. I thought that it would bore me.

We found some yummy ice cream sandwiches at Wal-Mart. I think they are by Blue Bunny. They are called Sedona. They are chocolate frozen yogurt inside granola cookies. They are like 190 calories. I hope you guys have them there because they are super delicious!

Anyway, life is great in my neck of the woods. What more can I say? Well, besides the fact that I am super excited for Allie and Cole to get here next weekend! :)

PS- tired of hearing about the Swine Flu. Ready for it to go away.