We Survived...

...the 2nd Annual Draft Weekend at the Miller Compound. The guys arrived early to get stuff lined up for the draft. I'm not sure exactly what it was they were preparing at 11 in the morning, but they took it very seriously. I finished cleaning the house and getting myself ready while they did their thing, and also our new table was delivered from Pruitt's mid-draft. It looks only a million times better than our old table did in the kitchen. And it was perfect because we moved the old table to the family room area and had plenty of seating for our party!

Here is what a bunch of boys doing a Fantasy Football Draft looks like

Well, the boys wrapped up after only a couple of hours, and I headed across the street to meet the girls for book club. Everybody really loved "The Help," and we had some interesting discussion. I was a few beers deep since the keg had been at my house for five hours by that point, so I was extra chatty. Next month's book is "The One." I am excited for this one, and it's not terribly long so I may also get to finish "The Hour I First Believed" this month. Also, Erika lent me her favorite Jodi Picoult novel, which I am very excited to read.

We all headed back to the party where least 30 people showed up including two babies. My friend from work, Rowell, even made the trip from Chandler to come hang out. She was here for last year's party with the male nudity, so she knew it would be worth the trip. Luckily, nobody got de-pantsed this year, but I do have a few other highlights to share. First, Chris Natale was kind enough to bring an arsenal of fireworks to the very dry, high-fire-danger desert. Big Cat lit a huge firecracker that took more of a "line drive" path rather than shooting up. It shot right into a bush on our property across the wash, which promptly burst into flames. We managed to get the fire under control before the entire Rio Verde area burned down, mostly because of Bill's quick response. He flew across the wash faster than I've ever seen anyone run through raw desert, and then proceeded to stomp out the fire. Then a few guys peed on it, just for good measure. I ran into the laundry room and filled up a bucket of water, but by the time I came out back, the fire was out. Whew!

Chad and Amanda made cookies that looked like hamburgers!

Thank goodness Blake was there to man the keg.

Keg Stand!

Some of the other party festivities included Brian shooting no less than 100 BBs into several different targets with my personalized BB gun, high stakes blackjack, the UFC fight, and general debauchery. Oh, and I almost forgot, about four or five guys headed out to the river on the two Rhinos at 2 am. I was almost positive they weren't all going to return home alive, but thank goodness everyone is accounted for this morning. And nobody crashed a Rhino into anybody else's luxury vehicle!

So, now the guys just headed out the door for a round of golf at Vista Verde, but I chose to stay here and write my blog and clean up. Four guys spent the night at our house the last two nights, and three guys were across the street at Max's. I'll be glad to have less guys around after this weekend. The party was great fun, but after feeding breakfast, lunch, dinner, another breakfast, and beer to a large group of people, a broken Tiffany lamp, carpets that require professional cleaning, and a ruined couch pillow, I'm pretty sure my entertaining budget is shot for a while. After a few months, I might be talked into another Lulu Pizza Christmas Party, though. And the good news is, Dylan won big at blackjack and betting on the UFC fight to offset some of the expense.

Maybe his Parliaments were under there?

It is Upon Us.

DRAFT Weekend is less than 24 hours away, and I am working hard to prepare myself for the ridiculousness. I don't know why I love this weekend so much...I'm obviously not in the High Stakes Fantasy Football League, nor do I even like football, but what I DO love is the celebratory spirit amongst good friends (that is perpetuated by the keg we always get for the weekend). And guess what? There's a chance I may join the boys for 18 holes (or more likely only 9) on Sunday at Vista Verde. It's only 30 bucks and the weather should be less than brutal, after all. So, at least three guys that I know of fly into tomorrow, and I'm sure several more will be spending the night on Saturday. The house is a  total pig sty, but who cares? I have all Saturday morning to prepare for the main event, so I am just gonna kick back, write my blog, and read a few pages before going to bed. I have a very early morning tomorrow. I might also catch an episode or two of The Middle from Vuze. I've seen the first six episodes so far. It's pretty funny.

Speaking of Fantasy Football, Dylan is the commissioner of the Diamondback Drugs League. Our draft was Monday night, and I am happy to announce I have at least one cute guy on my team. Tony Romo. Or was it Matt Leinart? Anyhow, at least I won't have to try my hardest to drown out the sound of football talk all day long for six months while I attempt to concentrate on verifying prescriptions. I might even be able to throw in some smack talk, myself. Take that, Kennedy, Jeremy, and Giano!

Well today was a pleasantly calm day at work. I only left 12 minutes late, and I didn't feel totally beat down and exhausted afterwards. I even stopped at The Rack (the one store where I will put up with sorting through racks of random clothes) and pulled the trigger on two pairs of designer jeans for a low, low price. They're skinny jeans. I hope I rock them okay. Then, I met my mom for that Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman movie, The Switch (I think that's what it's called). I LOVED it! In the words of my sweet husband, "It got pretty bad reviews, so I'm sure you'll love it." So true! I am a horrible movie critic...I only enjoy shows that don't require me to use my brain AT ALL. I laughed out loud several times and even made a pretty audible snort at one point. It was that good. The kid was really cute, too. The last movie I saw that I thought was that good was that one with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock where they go to Alaska (The Engagement...or The Proposal??).

Okay, off to check the weather and CNN to see what else is happening in the world. I already hit up Facebook, but after reading how one girl was SOOOOOOOOO excited that she bought a new high chair and someone else was SOOOOOOOO excited about her new stroller, I decided to focus my energy on something more up my alley. I know everybody is probably even less interested in the fact that my dogs tore their bed into a million pieces while I was gone today than they are in those girls' new baby things, so I won't mention it. Except that I just did. Bye.

A New Appreciation for Comedy

Who loves listening to Dane Cook or perhaps Howard Stern while driving to work? Not me! I can't stand to hear people talk on the radio, and I always turn it to music when I hear talking voices. Dylan LOVES Howard Stern, and he blasts it while he does work around the house or while we drive somewhere together, and it really drives me nuts. Yes, Howard does do some interesting interviews, and Dylan will make me listen to them every now and then. Sometimes I'm glad I took a listen. His interview with Ryan Phillipe, for example, was very interesting. Well, last night at the Meabons we watched the David Hasselhoff Roast, and I stayed awake the whole time and thought it was hilarious! I even watched the stand up comedian, Whitney Cummings, who came on after the roast, and I was quite entertained. I would never have thought something like that would interest me. And, with this new revelation, the Millers (along with six of our closest friends) just purchased two tickets to the Tosh Tour 2010 for next month. I am so excited!

Well, we're wrapping up a great, low-key weekend out in the North Scottsdale/Rio Verde desert. A quick re-cap: Friday night we drank a beer and visited with neighbor Paul out on his driveway, Saturday night was great fun...we visited with friends, ate delicious food (thanks Chris and Kate!), and of course watched comedy. This morning we took our first trip in a long time on the Rhino to the river with Max, Shawn, and five dogs and then headed into town for some In 'N Out and errands. Though Five Guys burgers were recently rated better than those of In 'N Out, I had a very specific craving for the animal style cheeseburger.

The purpose of errand-running today was to prepare for the BIG party next weekend! The Draft Party is bittersweet for me...it's so much fun and marks the beginning of fall (kind of) and a season of lots of fun things, but it also means my Sundays are totally shot for a very long time. We are buying another DVR for the bedroom for me because after lining up my Fall TV schedule, I think I will have plenty to keep me busy while the boys watch football on Sundays. We will be pressed for time prepping for the party this year, as one certain person living in this house doesn't have all kinds of leisurely time all week to get the house ready before several of his male friends come to town and invade the place. I guess it'll teach us a good lesson in planning ahead!

Well, Scott and Jude are headed here shortly for dinner. I'm only half way through The Help, and Book Club is on Saturday before the party. Yikes! It'll be a week of catching up on reading and hopefully tackling some CE for me! Here are some photos from this morning, and oh yes, I FINALLY finished that puzzle last week. If you can see past the 3 1/2 pieces that are missing, thanks to Ramona and Joe, I think it looks pretty cool! Hope your week is good and passes quickly!

Joe checking out Ava.

A Real Life Shopaholic

Now, I'll never claim to be a fahionista by any stretch of the imagination, but I am addicted to buying stuff. It's not something I consider to be a "problem," as the expense I incur from this favorite past time of mine is comparable to that of any serious hobby. However, my husband said to me last week, "You know, Lu, you'd be a lot better off if you could just stay away from websites that sold things." Well, that's never gonna happen. And because I'm NOT a fashionista I am totally fine with buying things from places that serious fashion people abhor, like Forever 21, which saves me major expense. I'm sure most of their stuff is made in a China, and some people consider it a serious no-no to buy that stuff, but really how can you avoid it if you live in America? I do, however, make an equal amount of purchases from H&M (even though online shopping is not even available to customers in the US yet), and they don't have any factories, just production offices and independent suppliers.

So as I'm sure you can tell from the opening of this blog, affordability is my top priority when shopping. Even "normal prices" are outrageous to me. I rarely spend over $20 on a shirt. Sometimes I'll splurge on jeans because a good fit is so important. And even then, I look for my brand names at Nordstrom Rack or on Ebay. Surprisingly, I do very little shopping at Ross, Marshall's, TJMaxx, and the like. I don't have the patience or attention span to go through racks of random clothes. I make an exception when I shop for the house- Marhsall's Home Goods in Desert Ridge is excellent for that. My favorite indulgence is Urban Outfitters, and if you shop from the "sale" section online, it can hardly be considered a splurge. Not too long ago, I decided that it was too hot outside to wear long sleeves, but too cold inside work to wear short sleeves, so I bought six cardigans from UO's website and solved my problem, just like that.

Another gem of a site is Amazon.com. Not just because I can buy books for 1 cent plus $3.49 shipping, but for SHOES! Amazon's site for Aldo shoes is addictive. I have my fifth and sixth pairs of Aldos arriving this week, as well as some Nine West flats thanks to Amazon. I'm always looking for flats due to the close-toed shoe requirement at work and the fact that my work is way too casual for anything with a heel or anything remotely dressy. When I discover a pair of shoes that I can't live without, I just search for them in Amazon, and they usually turn up for quite a bit less (unless of course, they're coming directly from the website I originally found them on and they're just being sold by Amazon). For example, the Nine West flats that I just bought were close to $70 on Zappos, but I got them for $40-something plus a few bucks for shipping on Amazon. I'm not trying to badmouth Zappos, though. That place is awesome. And the guy who started it is a billionaire. The DSW Shoe Warehouse is also quite addictive, especially when you build points and they send you coupons.

I want to quickly discuss two more of my favorites: Fossil and Overstock. I've always loved the look of Fossil products since I first saw their clothing store at The Mall of America in Minneapolis as a young teenager. Their purses, watches, shoes, clothes, and jewelry are all pretty great. On a side note, though, I bought an $80 watch on Fossil.com then promptly returned it when I found the same one for $50-something on Amazon a month or two ago. Most of their items are considered a splurge to me, but its always worth it. I did just get a handbag off their website this week that was only $58- a steal considering the price of most of their purses. The reason for the price was that it's fabric, not leather, but every bit as cute! Overstock has been a personal favorite of mine for furnishing and decorating my house. I know they have great deals on clothes and purses, too. Whenever they send me $10 or $20 off coupons to my email, I always take advantage of it. Another major plus: $2.95 shipping. Yes, last summer I ordered six or seven HUGE items, and the shipping on the whole order was just $2.95! And lastly a quick shout-out to Etsy.com. It's all about uniqueness when you buy handcrafted goods. Just ask for a look at the purses, basket, and necklace I bought there next time you come to my house!

On a slightly negative note, Old Navy's appeal has dropped dramatically to me. After I went five for five for waiting in line over 15 minutes to check out is when their popularity started to wane in my opinion. Then I realized there are just so many stores I like so much better. They're still great for some staple items, though. Target still gets pretty high marks from me, both for online and in-store. It's a great place to find a casual dress and fun tops. My bathing suits from the last two seasons have all come from Target as well.

So now that I've told you a bunch of stuff you probably already knew, I will start to wrap this up. The inspiration from my shopping blog stemmed from a questionairre I was given this week that asked about my favorite hobbies and past times. I always leave shopping off my list of hobbies because I feel like its not a valid past time and makes me sound ditzy, even though I enjoy it so much more than the other activities I always put on the list. Just because I don't know a lot about high fashion in New York City and my clothes don't usually stand out from the next person's (except on occasion when I wear a brightly colored item, like my yellow Aldo or coral Fossil flats), doesn't mean that I don't find great enjoyment from shopping. I spend a lot of time looking for deals, and I spend a lot of money when I actually find deals. So, I think shopping is a hobby worth mentioning, just as much as "reading, exercising, and traveling." And now that I think about it, "happy hour-ing" should also be added to this list.

Hump Day

The good news is, we've made it over the hump working people! After a particularly brutal Tuesday, I actually left work today three minutes early (which has happened like once or twice before) and with a fairly low stress level. I took a nice jog this morning too, and now I am feeling good and excited to do whatever I want till I go to bed! I really don't know how people come home from a long day at work to care for children, clean a house, or cook dinner. Luckily I have a husband who contributes to the chores and doesn't really care if nothing gets done (best attitude ever). Maybe I'm just lazy or self-absorbed, but I think my job is very demanding and high-paced with zero breaks in a 8 or 9 hour shift, and that's what leads to my after work laziness. I'd like to point out, however, that I did come home on Monday night and begin cooking dinner before I even kicked off my shoes. And sometimes I manage to get on the elliptical before I go to bed...so I'm not a total lump.

So, last night was Max's family birthday dinner at my parents' house followed by a lovely monsoon. Now that the Season of Max & Sumer's Birthdays has come to a close, I'm not quite sure what to do with all the free time on my social calendar. Between the two of them, I've been to six different birthday celebrations, and a couple more on the side for my dad and Jaylen in the last month. Luckily we are going to the Meabons' on Saturday to celebrate Chris's birthday and eat some meatloaf, so I won't have total birthday party withdrawal. Tomorrow my plan is to hit the gym and then pick up some stuff at Safeway on my way home. I don't know how I'll handle all that after work activity. Dylan gets home on Friday, so maybe we'll hit up dinner or happy hour. Who knows? Definitely a low-key week around here, which makes for quite the boring blog.

Changing the subject, I read in the paper how all the animal shelters and rescues are completely overflowing and so many dogs and cats that were considered "treatable and manageable" have had to be put to sleep. I think I want to volunteer for an animal rescue. Dylan says I can do whatever I want, and he'll even volunteer with me, so long as I don't bring any more animals into this house. I don't know if volunteering will make me feel good or just break my heart. Also, why am I so interested in animals when there are so many other important causes? I just feel so bad for the helpless little things. Humans are responsible for breeding dogs after all, so I think it is our responsibility to take care of this overpopulation problem. Maybe I can fix the economy, reverse global warming, end the war, find homes for the homeless, stop the drug cartels, and clean up the pollution while I'm in to doing good. Actually, I do work on a committee to end climate change, so I'll just pat myself on the back for that right now. Okay, lots of shows to watch, food to eat, and pages to be read!

What a weekend!

The weekend started with Dylan bringing me ice cream to work on my last half hour there on Friday while on his way back from the airport. What a guy! Then we went to Sumer's surprise 31st birthday party at Aunt Angie's together. Happy birthday Sumer! I went to work on Saturday for five hours, and it ended up being SO worth my while. It was easy, I got paid overtime, I didn't miss out on anything, and I didn't come home feeling totally beat like I do on the weekdays. I might have to do that again some time...

When I got home after work, I put a few more pieces of my puzzle together (which is almost complete), and then Dylan and I brought our famous "Lulu Dip" across the street for Max's birthday celebration. Getting together with our friends is always a good time and the lasagna was delicious, too. Happy birthday Max! We had to cut out a bit early to head to Patti's White Trash party. Apparently we missed some Rhino vs. Lexus action (the Rhino won unfortunately for the Probstfeld's Lexus) at the Palmer party.

So the WT Party. Wow. Things got just as out of hand as at the United Nations party a few months ago, but on an entirely different level. I don't know what it is about Patti's house, but I always have the time of my life. I'll stop with that and you can just view the pictures below.

Darn Jessica keeps breast feeding her baby in public with no Hooter Hider!

I drank that King Cobra all night, and I'll tell you what, I honestly feel like a million bucks today. Surprised? So am I.

It wasn't supposed to be a pool party, but that's what it became. That's rolled up computer paper, not really a cigarette in case you were concerned.

Jess was kind enough to share her water balloon boobs with everyone!

They look particularly good on Lukas.

The best husband in the world!

Too bad you can't really see the methamphetamine scabs on Rowell's cheeks or feel her leg hair that was about 6 inches long. Too bad you also can't smell the bacon grease on her clothes and hat. It's no wonder she won first place in the women's category.

I would have never posted all these pictures if I didn't work with all these people every day anyway.

And now the Millers will be enjoying an extremely lazy Sunday. Something I've been looking forward to for literally a few months. Anne and I were just discussing yesterday how much we love being at home and just doing the things we do. It really is my most favorite place to be. Hopefully I can knock out a few more pages of my book club book and finish that puzzle once and for all!

Excuses, excuses

I had my bag all packed for the gym today, but guess where I headed after work? Straight home. I always give myself major breaks when I have to work a lot, but I am feeling sort of guilty about this one. I will work out at home on my elliptical, but I get a better workout when I go to the gym. The treadmill and stairstepper just do more for me. But, I must say I have been working out more in the last couple of weeks than I have all summer. I made a resolution to eat better and be more active starting in August, and I didn't set my expectations too high, so I am right on par!

So, after 9 1/2 hours of working with no break (except to pee a couple times and shove some cold pizza in my mouth while verifying prescriptions), I am home to hang with the dogs and prep for the weekend. Do you have any good ideas for props/attire for a White Trash party? I have VERY limited time to make Dylan and me look awesome by Saturday night, but I am devoted to the cause. I have tracked down one mullet for us to borrow, and I am thinking of breaking out the gold leggings from 2008, but I'm stuck after that. I have exactly one hour between the end of work and the start of a birthday party tomorrow to collect the party goods. Saturday involves more working and more birthday celebrating, so I really put myself in a crunch by being so tired and coming home instead of party shopping.

So enough about the future, let's talk about the past. Last night was so fun! Jess, Kris, and I revisited the superb happy hour at Grand Lux Cafe. The fish tacos were muy exclente, and the cosmos that Kris and I had were also quite enjoyable and reasonably priced. We spent two hours there...we can never stop talking. Then, Kris and I went to the new H&M where I came up with a good excuse to buy a new dress. I made it home just in time to get a full 7 hours of sleep before my very long day today. I love seeing my best girlfriends. It had been much too long since our last gathering. I also had my new TOMS wedges waiting for me from the UPS man when I got home. They're awesome.

Okay, I just heard the ding of my toaster oven. Time to put some food in this belly!

Much ado about some stuff

Well, I just got home from dinner with Dylan at Sushi Brokers. Tonight I proclaimed that their sushi happy hour is the best meal I have on a regular basis. I even had a horrible stomachache from a sandwich I ate for lunch, and I still enjoyed my sushi that much!

Well, the weekend was fun and eventful but it still left me craving laziness. I guess there will be time for that in a couple weeks. Next weekend I work on Saturday. This will be my first time working on a weekend in over a year and a half. But I wouldn't do it if I wasn't getting paid overtime!

So, after Dylan arrived home on Friday, we decided to hang out and mix some cocktails, and our new neighbor Paul came to the door with his dog, Jubei. We were excited to see them and invited Paul in for a beer. Joe, however, was not pleased with the canine guest in his home and went for the kill. Jubei is a 100 pound Ridgeback, and Joe is probably the size of his head, but he managed to scare the living daylights out of poor Jubei. It was actually pretty funny. We had a great time hanging with Paul, and I guess I enjoyed the cherry Skyy just a little too much because I fell asleep on the couch and wouldn't respond to Dylan's attempts to try to get me to bed. He had to carry me to bed, and I never even knew it till I woke up in the middle of the night. This is true testament to my exhaustion from the last few weeks (see previous post).

Saturday morning began lazy. I watched "Remember Me" in bed. It was good, but kind of heavy for my taste. Jaylen's birthday was fun. He looked so cute in his Chicago Cubs outfit! And I couldn't resist having three slices of pizza. I love Peter Piper! Afterward, Dylan and I went to Pruitt's where I bought a new kitchen table. It won't be in stock until the end of the month though. Boo! I am also in the market for a bright blue couch, so if you see one, let me know. After that, we also went to IKEA and another furniture store in that area. We had plans to watch the UFC fight at the Probstfelds, but we bailed on those plans. Actually, I told Dylan I really, really wanted to go home, and he said okay. I asked him if he felt bad about bailing on our friends and he said that whenever a dude cancels on doing something fun, everybody knows its his wife's fault. I think he makes a valid point.

So, we made some progress on our puzzle (which MUST be completed before the draft party because we don't want to worry about moving it again), and then we went over to Paul's house to meet his wife, Zona, and their fat, cute baby, Ren. Zona is a vet, so we talked shop a little bit. It felt good to talk about things that Dylan knew nothing about since I always have real estate and aviation shoved in my face. I am so excited to have neighbors I really like! We have other new neighbors on Max and Kristin's street, too. M & K said they were really nice, so I am excited to meet them. I did meet their parents already...the older couple came to our door looking for their daughter's house last night. Haha.

Then Sunday was a big lake day! Dylan did great on the wakeboard, and I did great at drinking pina coladas and being a lazy bum. Afterward, Shawn & Elaine, Max & Kristin, and Chad came over for some barbecue chicken, and then I wrapped up the night with a backrub from Dylan and read a few pages from my book!

We hung out with Shawn and Elaine on their boat, but Max and Kristin brought theirs out, too, and the Probstfelds also had a boatful.

Okay, I am all ready to float and drink!

My most favorite machine...the blender powered by a motorcycle engine.

Well, I know that this turned into a really long post, but I don't like leaving anything out. I figure I'm not forcing anybody to read this, after all. So with that being said, I just want to write about one more thing. Do you ever have a series of weird coincidences happen to you? Like, you hear a song you haven't heard in FOREVER and then you hear it again three more times that week. Or, you learn the meaning of a new word, and then you hear that word used the next four days in a row. Well, this is my most recent Weird Coincidence. I've seen the Mobile Dog Grooming van while driving to work probably five or six times in the last month. I've seen it on Happy Valley, Pima, and the 101. I don't think I've ever seen one before, except on Dumb and Dumber, and now it's almost a daily occurrence. And I don't even go to work at the same time every day. Weird!

And with that, I will leave you with a picture of my mutts enjoying a television program on National Geographic about the evolution of dogs and wolves.