Powerposting

After a night of power-posting to the blog (see below), I will wrap things up with some boring details of life. I got home at the very reasonable hour of 6:00 tonight, affording me time to catch up on some chores and TV, and of course post some pictures to the blog. These are my favorite kinds of evenings! Having Dylan home would make it even better, but he'll be home tomorrow so at least I have that to look forward to!

Last night was book club at Compound Grill. We spent about 5% of the time talking about the book and 95% of the time talking about everything else, but it was really fun! The food was pretty good, but the happy hour specials get a negative review. I couldn't drink because I could barely keep my eyelids open all day, so I didn't really pay attention to the drink specials. The food specials consisted of half off a few appetizer choices that did not interest me. The tacos I had were tasty, however, and the menu was varied with interesting choices. I'd like to try another full meal there some time. Next month's book is The Help. Last month's choice was a very fun and easy read, so this is a definite change of pace, and I am looking forward to it!

Next month we are meeting at Kristin's while the guys are at our house doing the much anticipated Fantasy Football Draft. After the meeting/draft, we are throwing the party of the year! The Millers have taken on the duty of both opening and closing the football season with a party. I love a good party, but I can't stand football season. Sometimes the get-togethers are fun, but I hate losing my peaceful Sundays to the sound of football ALL DAY LONG. Oh well, marriage is compromise, right? We plan on getting a new HD-DVR for the bedroom for me if the situation gets really bad.

Well, Dylan gets home tomorrow, marking the end of a pretty horrible era. He will have a whopping five or six days off, and goes back to a Tuesday thru Friday schedule next month. Woohoo! In the meantime, we are heading to Tahoe on Thursday night. I am so excited to have Friday off work and to feel the cool weather. Weddings are always a great time with our rowdy group of friends, so I am sure it will be a memorable weekend. The fact that we are sharing a house with 18 people (and two bathrooms) will also account for the memorability of the weekend, I'm sure.

And lastly, I have one more birthday to recognize. My big brother turns 31 today! Tomorrow is a happy hour celebration in honor of him at Pinnacle Peak Patio (did somebody say $2 beers on draft?), and then I have to hurry home and get ready for our trip before my early bedtime. And, with that, I am sure you're all tired of hearing about me and my life, so I will wrap things up with a picture of the two cutest mutts in Unincorporated Maricopa County.

Leah's Big 3-0!

I just got back from a real quick Vegas trip on Sunday (but not a quick time getting home, as I've already reported). Leah's 30th birthday is this week, and she, her friend Diane, and I partied it up in Vegas last weekend to celebrate. I got into town pretty early on Saturday and met the girls for lunch. Then I took a quick cat nap after being exhausted all week, and afterward we all went shopping at the Forum shops in Caesar's Palace. Diane was the only who found any treasures...and a treasure it was! She fell in love with a very nice David Yurman necklace, and the cute salesguy didn't hurt seal the deal. The best part was champagne for all to enjoy!

Afterward, we got ready for dinner and headed back to Caesar's Palace to eat at Trevi. Then we moseyed on down to Fat Tuesday to get a jumpstart on the evening with a very strong slushie. Diane, being a borderline narcoleptic like myself, needed a quick cat nap before heading out for the night...so I got to enjoy another one, too! Leah named the trip "Leah and the Narcoleptics do Vegas," but it was a very necessary pit stop.

When nap time was over we hopped in a cab to the Wynn, where we were on the guest list at Tryst. It was fun to get dressed in a short dress and heels...I don't get the opportunity to do that a whole lot. I think the best part of the night was the people watching. Approximately 90% of the girls weighed less than 100lbs. Anyways, I had fun for the first part of the night, and of course hit a wall after a few hours and almost fell asleep standing up. So, we talked to a few interesting strangers, drank some extremely expensive drinks, tried to boogy a little bit (until it got so crowded you could hardly move), and called it a night. I didn't gamble a single penny, and I was barely awake when the party got started, so I have come to terms with the fact that I am just not Vegas material. But, I had so much fun with Leah, and I'm so happy we could send her into the next decade of her life in style. I am so lucky to have a friend like her!

Dad's Surprise 60th Birthday Party

Dylan and I did a major overhaul to our house in preparation for my dad's birthday since we would be having many guests who had never yet been to our house. Starting with the hallway wall decorations and ending with powerwashing the patio, we cleaned inside and out. The house still looks pretty good, and I must say it's nice to come home to this place looking this way! It probably won't last long, and it will probably take us having people over to clean again (the draft party on August 28th- mark your calendars!)

Anyhow, poor Dylan had to jet off the morning of the party, and I worked all day and had to prep for a quick trip to Las Vegas the next day, but Mom and Max got into the house and got everything ready. My mom does such a great job with parties. We had Red Devil cater, and the drink choices were abundant. Plenty of wine and beer, as well as Dad's favorite...Malibu rum, cranberry, and OJ. That drink went fast!

Anyhow, Mom texted Max and I when they were close, and all the guests came outside holding a balloon for when they drove up. When Dad got out of the car, we let all the balloons go. He was so surprised...he really had no idea he was coming to a party, as he arrived wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals. As my mom said, "I wasn't about to ruin the surprise by making him change his clothes!" Good choice, Mom!

I am so glad we got to do something special for Dad's milestone birthday. He and Mom recently returned from a cruise to Canada and the Northeast US as another birthday celebration, so I think he knows he's loved!

Back to the Dirty South

Here are some pictures from my 25 hours in Charleston for Brittainy and Nate's wedding! It was so very nice to see old friends...I hadn't seen them since my wedding over a year ago. I stayed at Brooke and Howard's new house (which is huge and beautiful) with Whitney and Ryan. Baby Addie was so precious and tiny. Brooke and Howie have done a great job of creating a family!

The wedding was at St. Luke's Chapel, on the MUSC Campus. We didn't spend much time there before or after the ceremony, but it was fun to be in a familiar part of town. The reception was on Shem Creek at Cottage on the Creek, so Ryan, Whitney, Leah, Ashley, Matt, and I drank the afternoon away at Vickery's, on the other side of the creek until the party was ready to start.

The nasty humidity and the disastrous effect it had on my hair made me so grateful for the Arizona weather, even if it has made me completely miserable lately. The four mosquito bites I acquired during my 15 minutes outside also made me appreciate the desert. Oh, I do love the South. It was so fun to go back, and I really wish I had more time there. But I am truly a Western girl at heart. I must say my cowboy boots get a great deal more wear than my boat shoes.

A shot of Shem Creek through the window at Vickery's.

The Cooper River Bridge! I didn't get a chance to run it this time, but it brought back fun memories of when it was first built and the fun we had at the Cooper River Bridge Run.

This is what happens when you bring your camera outside in the million% humidity. Nobody could see anything.

Ash and Matt

Leah and Me.

Ash and Leah

Oh, sorry Howie. Is this your truck?

High heels and infants? Why, yes they do go together.

Addie and me.

Addie and my Spaniard friend.

Great grandma hands and tiny baby feet.

More of the desert...

Major Milestone Birthday Weekend

Happy 60th birthday to my dad, and happy 30th birthday to my dear friend, Leah! I came home from work on Friday to find my house transformed into a very elegant birthday party setting. I quickly tied up some loose ends and threw on some party clothes before the guests started to arrive for my dad's surprise 60th birthday party! It was a total hit...Dad had no clue. He showed up in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals, and the fact that my mom was in a dress and heels did not tip him off at all, apparently. Mom, of course, had put together the finest drinks and food (Red Devil...yum), and we also enjoyed karaoke, Left Right Center, and Skittles. I, having worked early all week, had never quite recovered from my big red-eye/wedding adventure from last weekend, and I took a quick time-out for a catnap during the middle of the party. I also went to sleep for the night before all the guests had left. But really, this can't surprise you. Dylan had to leave for work that morning (though not before contributing a LOT to the total home cleaning effort before the party), so luckily my great family did the party clean-up while I caught up on some ZZZZs. I think the cleaning on Thursday night also contributed to the overwhelming fatigue. That's hard work!

And THEN...I woke up at 6am to attempt to non-rev to Vegas to meet up with Leah and her friend Diane to celebrate her big 3-0! Of course I caught the first flight I was listed on, no problems. And of course I spent 9 hours in the airport trying to get home today. That's how it always works out. Anyhow, I had a fun Saturday eating at nice restaurants and shopping in Caesar's Palace. Diane made a major purchase at the Yurman store, which was worthy of popping the cork on a bottle of champagne, which we all enjoyed with the very hunky salesboy. Then, I had to take a nap during the day to even attempt to make it out for a big Saturday night. Leah's brother-in-law got us on the guest list at Tryst in the Wynn. Holy cow! That was an experience. I am not much of a clubber, but I'm glad I got to see the place. It was so fun to hang out with Leah and be able to celebrate her birthday, but I learned that I'm not much of a Vegas person. Actually, I already knew that about myself. I just plain can't stay up late enough.

And now, I am finally home after sitting in the ugly McCarran Airport trying to non-rev home ALL DAY LONG. I tried to get on 9 flights...you wouldn't believe how many people are ready to get the HE*L out of Vegas by Sunday. Needless to say, I was NOT able to refund my aforementioned fully-refundable ticket, but at least I am home. After the first four or five missed flights, I began to have[[ flashbacks of my last unlucky non-rev attempt during the summer of '07, when I ended up renting a car and driving for 10 hours up the Florida/Georgia/South Carolina coast, but I'll tell you about that later. I am now running on 4 hours of sleep (after never fully getting caught up from the week before) and a full day of travel, so I am reneging on an earlier promise and will not be posting any pictures. I do owe you a lot of pictures though, given the events of last couple weeks, but I can only promise a best effort to get some up here. After all, I leave again on Thursday for Tahoe. I am so sick of airports, airplanes, airport shuttles, airport food, and airport bathrooms, but at least Dylan will be with me this time! And it's a 4-day work week, too.

Being an adult

...is pretty awesome most of the time, but the weird, random expenses that pop up are so annoying. After our past year, I couldn't think of anything else that could come up with the house, but sure enough...rodent infestation! Basically every house where we live has this problem, but Max and Kristin were tipped off to a creature living in their attic when they heard tiny scratches last night. Max called out his "Rat Guy" and we had him take a look at our house, too, while he was here. So tomorrow begins the 4-week process of trapping rodents to be followed by sealing off everything around the house, including the BBQ! Hasta pasta you dirty little things!

When things like this happen, I sometimes think life was simpler (and less expensive) when I was just a kid in school. But then I think about all the homework and studying I was always doing and the lack of financial freedom, and I figure I can handle a "Rat Guy" visit or a dog surgery, or perhaps a car shooting, here and there. Being a grown-up is cool most of the time.

Cool/Uncool

This is probably not a theme that I will continue on a regular basis, but here are two things to share:

Cool- A flight home out of DFW was delayed, so Dylan was able to get on it and he'll be back tonight! It will be late, but it will still be tonight...which is better than any time tomorrow.

Uncool- I attacked the camouflaged dog pee on our carpet with the assistance of a black light tonight, and I went through TWO gallons of Nature's Miracle...and I didn't even finish the office or get to the bedroom! What kind of beasts am I raising in this house?!?

Something else that is cool is the home goods store, Kirkland's (in Desert Ridge).

21 hours of travel...

...to spend 25 hours in Charleston, and it was definitely worth it. I arrived safely and soundly home tonight after my first of three whirlwind weekends. I took the red-eye to Atlanta on Friday night (and of course sat next to a fat, stinky guy) and connected to Charleston. Upon arrival, I showered and went right to Brittainy and Nate's wedding, which was so beautiful! I was a little nervous to head back to the humidity, but after being in this awful heat for so long, it really wasn't too bad. I got to see great friends, enjoy wonderful cocktails, and meet baby Addie for the first time. She is so tiny and adorable! Thanks to Howie and Brooke for being such wonderful hosts! I will post pictures later this week, so at least you have something to look forward to :-)

Next weekend, I head to Vegas for a one-nighter to celebrate Leah's big 3-0! One night is about all I can stand in Vegas, so it will be perfect. Cross your fingers that this ZED fare travel works in my favor so that I am able to refund my fully-refundable ticket on Southwest. And then, the last weekend in July is the much anticipated Jordan/Stephanie wedding in Tahoe! This trip has literally been planned for 8 months, thanks to some very organized friends. I have never been to Tahoe, so I am very excited. The cooler weather will be nice, as well. I'll tell you what though, working full-time sure does cramp my style when I have a lot of places to travel to. This schedule is exhausting! I am looking forward to three weekends in a row at home after Tahoe. I am also looking forward to working part-time or not at all in about 30 years.

Also exciting about that weekend is that it marks the end of the month and the end of the most miserable period of time for an airline pilot and said airline pilot's wife. Though Dylan finished up almost 6 weeks of training in the horrendous city of Dallas, a major milestone, he still has to deal with a horrible schedule on reserve for the remainder of July (since he wasn't able to bid on his schedule while in training). We will find out what schedule he is awarded for August in a few days, but whatever it is, it will be much better than the last couple of months. I can literally count on one hand the number of days I've seen Dylan this month, and I'm ready to have him home three nights a week on a regular basis! Our life hasn't been normal since the day before Memorial Day...that's a long time!

I know some of you may be very upset by the paint mishap mentioned in my last post, but I am here to relieve you of your worries. Dylan found a paint match while he was home for about 18 hours on Saturday and patched things up quite well! In less fortunate news, we also learned a very important lesson in energy efficiency on Friday. We had a fridge that's probably as old as I am in our garage for all of our sodas and some frozen foods. Well, when you slam the fridge door too hard, the freezer door pops open sometimes. When I went to grab my morning Coke Zero on Friday, the freezer door was open and the whole thing was all shut down. I tried to resetting the electrical circuit, but the fridge motor must have been totally busted from being overworked. The drinks will be fine, but unfortunately we had to throw away a lot of frozen halibut and some tilapia filets, as well chicken breasts, pizza, skillet stuff, and Eggos. I bet you're not jealous of the stink in the garage I came home to tonight! So, when Dylan gets back home, we will be on a mad Craigslist hunt for a newer, more efficient refrigerator that will reside in our laundry room where it won't be so overworked. Because after all, what kind of two-person family can possibly survive with just one fridge? Certainly not ours!

Don't Read this if You Hate Being Bored

And you can't say I didn't warn you. I have actually come home right after work today and yesterday. Dylan has been home since Sunday but leaves again tomorrow till probably Tuesday or Wednesday, so we've been spending some quality time at home. Our activities of the week have included, but are not limited to, building a 1000 piece puzzle, making pizza on the grill (look for a cryptic code in the picture of our pizza), re-arranging our wall art (a freakin' task and a half), catching up on TV, playing iPod Scrabble, and starting the book club book, 20 Times a Lady (which I love so far). We also went to Sushi Brokers' happy hour on Monday...the best dinner treat for both of us.

And here are some pictures of outside. Lately I have taken to running outside with the camera when I see a storm or sunset, and I have nothing more exciting to show you but these pictures.

So the puzzle. I can't wait to post a picture of it when it's done. Actually it will never be fully complete since my dogs ate one to two pieces. Little turds. But it's a lot of fun till my attention span goes kaput. And the wall art...boy you should see the walls now. They looked great with the newly arranged wall decorations, until it was time to patch the old holes. Dylan accidentally used the paint intended for the ceiling which does NOT match the walls at all. Yikes! We don't have any of the wall paint either, so hopefully Home Depot can come up with a good enough match before we have people in this house. What a disaster! And speaking of wall art, has anyone seen any good coupons from Overstock.com lately? I have a cart full of items just waiting for the one amazing coupon, but all they've seemed to email me in the last couple weeks is crap.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the person who invented Netflix. In the last month or so, I have watched It's Complicated and Dear John, and Remember Me just arrived in the mail. Furthermore, Dylan and I have both streamed Netflix on Demand through our computers or the XBox to watch TV shows. And now, we just got a disc to be able to stream it through our Wii, so we can also watch in the bedroom TV. Now, if you could watch Netflix via the iPod, that might just be perfection. 

Well tomorrow is all about preparations for a whirlwind weekend. I am leaving on the red-eye to ATL on Friday night to get to Brittainy and Nate's wedding in Charleston on Saturday night. Good thing I am such an excellent sleeper! I am so, so, so, so excited to get back to Chucktown and see some of my favorite people and places, even if it is only for one day. Dylan has a contract trip to Napa, where he will basically get paid a lot of money to check out Sonoma County's finest golf courses. Not a bad gig. And here's the best news of all...three pay periods in the month of July!

1st Anniversary of the Car Shooting

It's been a rough year, Val, but you've recovered beautifully. Except for the shattered glass that still rests beneath the backseats, the ridiculous sounding horn, and the not-quite-air-tight passenger side, you are like brand new. And, the crazy lunatic who shot you has already paid me back around $70 of the $1000 he owes me. So cool!

In other exciting news, Dylan is home AGAIN, hopefully for more than a day or two this time. He even picked up a quick contract trip this morning on his way home from the airport and made it in time to my Uncle Sam's 75th birthday party! It was fun to see our family from Chicago this weekend. Angel had all of us over on Friday night for Ria's birthday, too, so it was a double whammy family weekend. Too bad my parents missed out...but they're on a cruise around Canada and the Northeast US, so I don't feel too sorry for them.

Well, yesterday was a really fun lake day. I was very impressed with Shawn and Elaine's gas-powered blender, and the margaritas they made were delicious. I was way too lazy to wakeboard, tube, or do anything besides drink beer and float in a life jacket. And now tonight is dinner at Rare Earth before starting the work week. Booooooooooooooooo.

Hello, it's almost Friday!

It's been an interesting and good week thus far. Dylan arrived home Tuesday after 12 whole days away from home! However, I had scheduled my car for maintenance that afternoon and then attended a sushi-making class with Amy at Sweet Basil that evening until 10pm, so my planning was poor in terms of scheduling quality time...and now he is already gone again. Booo. The sushi class was way cool, however.

Last night, I came home from work to a house full of people and Dylan doing his thing on the BBQ. He had prepared marinated chicken, vegetables on the grill, rice and bread for his sisters, my brother, and his friend Roy and his wife Stephanie (and their two little kids). I have heard so much about Roy, as he writes the blindvector blog with Dylan, but I had never met him, so it was a fun surprise.

And now I have the night to myself, which is always a good thing to me. Dylan took off to Dallas for his IOE, but should be back Saturday night or Sunday morning, and the girls went to see Get Him to The Greek. I have plenty of TV and chores to catch up on. Speaking of chores, don't you hate it when you need to take care of some business at a place that's only open during regular business hours so you never get there? Well, I bought a cool Fossil watch a couple of weeks ago but haven't worn it because I couldn't get around to getting the extra links taken out. I complained of this at work today, and a co-worker of mine magically produced a hammer and some tools out of nowhere and took care of my problem. Woohoo! But, I did spill teriyaki sauce on my silk skirt (right after the soap dispenser shot out all over it), which means a trip to the dry cleaners. Lose an errand, gain an errand. Such is life.

And lastly, for your viewing pleasure, here are some better shots of me getting what I deserve for falling asleep on the patio furniture, compliments of one Nicole K.

What's in store for you for the weekend? Lots of family birthdays for me. They seem to come in spurts. A trip to the lake is also on the agenda. Have a terrific weekend!

Woohoo!

So it all worked out. We went to work, and business was dead (obviously) so we closed up shop at 2pm. That's never happened before! And we worked out a deal with the bosses...time and a half for the time we were at work and regular holiday pay for the rest of the time to total 8 hours. So basically I got paid way more than I normally do to work 5 hours. I am much less bitter now. And now I can begin my recovery from yesterday.

Ohhhh yesterday. My sisters-in-law got to see me in rare form. You know how it is when you're hanging out by the pool and the beer just tastes so good. You have one after another after another after another, thinking "Oh, I feel fine, this is great!" Then you wake up in a chair as two men lift you, and then dump you, into the pool, and it all comes back. Maybe I should have skipped some of those jello shots or perhaps the Jager Bomb. Maybe one or two less beers would have been a good idea. I am lucky I had so many sisters there to take care of me! Kristin brought us home, and all was well, but I could have really used the morning off. Well, I'm about to see what Netflix has on demand today, and then the girls are going to make me dinner. Aren't they sweet!

Take a look at the set-up for Shawn and Elaine's pool party, and you'll know why everyone took the celebration to the next level. Thanks for an awesome party, S and E!!!

What holiday weekend?

Happy 4th of July...and happy 5th of July tomorrow for MOST people whose bosses choose to acknowledge the national holiday as they should. I am more than a little peeved that we got shorted a day off because a 3-day weekend at home goes a very long way for me in terms of relaxing and regrouping, and I feel so slighted right now. Everyone at work shares this sentiment, except for the two guys who own the place (and one of them will be gone all week, so what should he care, right?). Now, they are generally very good bosses who buy everyone lunch three days a week, take us to baseball games, throw great Christmas parties, etc., and I feel very lucky to work at Diamondback...I just really want a free day off! In all honesty, most veterinary clinics we surveyed will also be open tomorrow, so it makes good business sense for us to be open as well, but the lazy person inside of me is so disgruntled. I am trying not to lose sight of the fact that I work normal business hours and have every weekend off, and it makes me less angry.

So enough of the cynical blog posts. We have a great party to look forward to this afternoon, and we had a wonderful time at the Kennedys yesterday. Tess and Mikaila got to town on Friday night and will be here for over a week, so we've had some good sister time while Dylan's been away. They accompanied me to Clint and Nicole's yesterday where we drank bloody Marys (well I did...not the girls) and cooled off in the pool. I was so excited because my berry bliss cake was a hit! It was basically pound cake with pudding, Cool Whip, and assorted berries. Tess just helped me finish my homemade potato salad for the party at Shawn and Elaine's house this afternoon, and I can't wait to see how it tastes when it's done chilling. They are getting a keg, and I have a feeling things will get pretty rowdy because as I mentioned earlier MOST people have the day off tomorrow. We are planning to pile into Max's car and wave a huge, very obnoxious American flag out the window on the way there.

For now, I am laying back on the couch, hanging with the girls. Dylan will be home in two days after an almost six week training program! We are all so excited, but so sad he is missing out on the weekend festivities. Don't forget to watch The Bachelorette tomorrow night, as they will be airing a special Jake and Vienna interview. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we watched "It's Complicated" on Friday night (well I fell asleep and finished it on Saturday morning), and all three of us agreed that it was really good. "Remember Me" is queued up next on my Netflix. I heard it was really good and sad.

Loving life

I love life, I really do, but does it irritate anyone else when people post on facebook every other day that they have the best life ever and then list the reasons why? I am truly pleased to know such happy people, but I just wonder what they're trying to prove by posting it all over facebook. I don't hear you screaming it from your rooftop, after all, and I don't find it amusing, funny, or interesting. In fact, so many people fail to post anything that benefits me or piques my interest in any way, and therefore I have hidden the majority of my friends on facebook from the news feed.

Another thing that will land a person on my "blocked from the news feed" list is constantly telling the facebook world things about your child. "Oh, he/she got a new toy today and he/she LOVES it!!!!!" Immediate block. It's one thing if your child does something funny, like poops his diaper on the airplane, and then when you're changing him in the tiny bathroom he barfs on your shirt. Funny AND amusing! Or, if your child has a legitimate illness, I would like to know so that I can offer my condolences. Major birthdays and milestones are also fun to hear about. I really do understand that your child is the most important thing in your whole life, but nobody else cares to know that much about the kid's daily life, and the people that do are the ones you probably see or talk to on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I've had to block about 75-80% of my facebook friends who have procreated. There are only so many minutes in a day, after all, and I choose how to spend them as wisely as possible.

I'm not really in a Negative Nancy sort of mood. In fact I am feeling really good. It's the first time this week I've been able to sit at my computer and get some chores done. First thing is going live with the reunion website, and then submitting some forms from the trip last week, finding some recipes for the parties this weekend, and booking my trip to Vegas for Leah's 30th. I might go for a run later since I skipped the gym today. We shall see...