Steak and Easter

Lu Day was quite nice this week. Upon arriving home from running errands in the morning, I planted my butt on the couch and remained there for a couple of hours. I also squeezed in a jog and did some reading outside in the shade. Then, we topped off the night with Michelob Ultra Amber and steaks on the grill. When I say we had steaks, I mean we all enjoyed some red meat. Even those of us that still pee in the house and wear diapers.

Does this make me a bad dog mom? I don't know, but he enjoyed himself and managed to survive, so it really doesn't matter.

Easter was a nice day as well, but something about not being a kid and not having kids makes it slightly less exciting than it really could be. Maybe next year I'll make myself an Easter basket...but probably not. Anyhow, the food was extraordinary (Aunt Lucy never disappoints), and my cousins' kids had a blast with the egg hunt. Catching up with my family who I see much too infrequently always makes attending holiday get-togethers worthwhile.

And now it's time to begin another busy work week, starting with picking up my new glasses that have been waiting for me at Costco for a week. I hate when life is so busy that you can't even find time to drive by Costco while it's actually open in a whole week. Except for on Saturday, when I put a mental block on remembering to do this errand because Costco on a Saturday gives me anxiety. I'm just not cut out for being a busy person. But, I have one more class this week, and then a final exam, so once that's over my schedule should clear up a bit. I have really enjoyed the class, but I'll be glad to have my Wednesday nights and the writing time in-between classes back. Until then, I have a lot of work to complete!

The Ever Talented Dylan

Dylan went to a meeting in Seattle this week and and then headed to Oregon afterward to see his family and our precious little nephew, Zealan, for one quick night. We all know that he is a man of many talents, but his father just sent me a video taken during Dylan's short visit that will leave you in awe.

Dog Park!

Since we had to venture into town to pick up my car this morning, we thought we'd bring the pups and stop over at the dog park on the way. We got out of the car and who should come riding through the parking lot towing her dogs on a bike trailer but Jessica. We were on our way to her house to pick up my car...I love coincidences!

I know me talking about my dogs on the blog is as boring to you as hearing about people's kids do things I don't care about on Facebook is to me. Too bad. Here they are in all their cuteness upon leaving the park.

Ronnie Ra Dog so tired.

Handsome prince all tuckered out.

As I was taking these pictures off my phone, I realized that I had a picture of that amazing drink with the orange peel I told you about the other day. In case you're curious, here it is.

The Many Faces of DBD

I know I complain about working all the time. I don't hate my job or the people I work with...in fact I love them. I just think I possibly chose the wrong career. No biggie.

Anyways, to celebrate our awesomeness, we decided to have a Friday happy hour at Kona Grill. Jess and I, along with Jess's sister Carly, took it one step further and rode antique bicycles to Fashion Square to meet up with the group. Yes, Fashion Square actually has bike racks. We rode right on through the valet parking area. It was the most fun I've had on a Friday since I was a child. I think I even exclaimed those very words on our bike ride home.

So here's how it went. We took the bikes to Kona, where Dylan met up with us directly from Sky Harbor. Then, he was a little nervous that the ride home might be a little unsafe, being that it was dark and we had all had a few. But, we protested and he finally allowed us to at least ride the bikes back to Jess's, where he picked us up and took us to the Coach House to meet up with the crowd. Dylan drove me home and Val spent the night at Jessica's, and everybody was happy!

Please notice the girls in the background.

Lukas and Kelly

Rowell hates hugs.

Pomegranate martini. Yes, please.

Michael!

Yours truly

Eating a red velvet cake with chopsticks because we're like that.

Now the party has really begun.

Jess put my hair in a puffy ponytail, a look I sported for the remainder of the night.

Here we are, just about to ride off into the sunset. Dylan was very nervous at this point.

See, we are just fine!

Reconvening at the Coach House.

Okay, time to call it a night.

Icing on the Cake

If you can see past my generally poor attitude about working and coming home to an empty house, you'll discover that this week was actually a little bit delightful! Before I begin, I will warn you that you'll see the words "delight" or "delightful" pop up very often in this post. It's just so fitting for so many things about this week.

Let's see...Dylan left Monday but then came right back home on Tuesday! He was able to share in the  "The Valley's Best Mojito" with my family and me before heading over to Aunt Angie's for pizza and wine night. How delightful. Then, he came home, ironed his suit, slept for a couple of hours, and took off for Seattle. Not delightful, but normal.

Then on Wednesday I had my penultimate class of the semester. Remember how I was a delinquent student last week and didn't write my rough draft for proof-reading night? Well, I finally finished it on Monday and submitted it to the teacher via email. Turns out my slackerness did me good because she actually read my story (not aloud, but to herself), and then sang my praises to the whole class. Really, she mentioned my story several times throughout the night. I was embarrassed but also flattered. Delightful, overall.

And now, onto tonight. After work, I headed toward Jess and Kevin's house to unwind for an hour before meeting the girls at Sauce. Kev fixed an afternoon cocktail for us hard-working girls. The drink didn't have a name, but it involved lighting an orange peel on fire. Kevin is a firefighter, so I do expect such stunts from him, and it turned out to be one of the most delightful drinks I've had all month! Thanks, K!

Then it was off to Sauce to see two of my favorites, Jess (of Jess and Nick, not Jess and Kevin) and Kris. Kris is looking pregnant and cute as a button. We all had plenty to vent about (and some nice things to share, too). Overall it was very therapeutic...and you guessed it, delightful. Seeing friends at night always does a lot to heal the wounds created from being verbally abused over the phone all day. (That is an exaggeration. I am only verbally abused a few times a day, but I still leave work feeling pretty wounded most days anyways). I love our dinners. We always say we need to do it more, and some day I hope we actually make that happen.

So, are you ready for the grand finale? As I was doing my civic duty by performing a phone survey about raising my taxes for the Cave Creek School District, I stopped for the mail. Side note: I did warn the survey question-asker that I have no kids and am not a perfect citizen, so I know little to nothing about the Cave Creek School District. Except that public education throughout the state is pretty much in shambles. For some reason, he still wanted to talk to me. ANYWAYS...I opened my mail and almost screamed into my phone in delight because this is what I saw.

Please turn your computer sideways to see that the lowlife who shot my car has finally paid off my restitution. At least, he's come close. The whole ordeal cost me over a thousand dollars, so when I would get random $27 checks in the mail, I spent too much time laughing at how stupid the whole thing was and didn't have any time left to actually keep track of how much money he had paid me. I think it may be time to close this chapter in my life. Maybe it's a sign of good things come? Or maybe not. Sometimes I am superstitious, so I thought 2011 would be a good year since 11 is generally a lucky number. That has proven to be the opposite of true so far. So I am not banking the rest of my future on this bit of good fortune...if you can even call it good fortune since it was my money in the first place. But, it made me smile. And there's only one day left in the work week, so I just smiled again.

Cowboy Up!

We went to Greasewood Flats last night, and it was fun, as always. I like having my picture taken in my cowboy boots, so just for fun I'll let you take a look at the picture.

I also like taking pictures of Dylan, and because he's a good sport, he allows it. Here he is, mocking my pose.

 

Here is my handsome nephew snacking on grapes at Greasewood. A natural lady killer.

 

And here is the moon. It was so big and red last night.

 

One down, four to go!

Alone Time

Several good things have come out of my 24-hour alone time this weekend. First, I started my story, and I was really inspired when I wrote it. It's about a good friend, and he answered some questions for me via e-mail. His responses made for some very good material. Also, I have fit in two good work-outs and also watched an interesting documentary called "The Business of Being Born" about midwifery. You may be surprised to hear that I voluntarily watched something about birth/babies since I normally take off at full speed in the opposite direction when I hear baby talk. Not that I have anything against it, it's just that I'm surrounded by it and I've learned more about babies and motherhood than I've ever cared to know before becoming a mother. But, I was very interested in the scientific aspect of the documentary, and though I probably still would never consider going the midwife route, I have an entirely new appreciation for it.

Oh, and I have three more good things to share with you. First, I caught up with a good friend via telephone that I haven't spoken to in a little while. I forget how great and refreshing girl time is. Thanks for calling, K! Since our conversation I've made a personal goal to call my friends more often. Last month our Verizon bill said I only used 42 minutes. That's excessively low. Another good thing was that I went to a neighborhood party with my brother where I met some neighbors that have lived here since 1994 and had to dig their own trenches for phone lines and electricity. An interesting bunch to say the least. I also had more brother/nephew time just now when I sat out back with Max and Hudson while the little guy played with all his water toys and I snapped pictures of him to send to his Mommy. Darn, he's cute. And lastly...drum roll please...I have effectively increased my shoe count by a number I will not disclose on this blog due to the inevitable harassment I will receive from my husband and others. But like I always say, "you can't stop a girl from shopping." The combination of Kohl's, DSW, and Target all in a row in Desert Ridge is dangerous.

My husband is currently somewhere over Oklahoma or Texas, which gives me a couple hours to finish up a few more things I wanted to do. Goodness, I am productive and resourceful when left to my own devices!

Time Capsule

I thought I'd take this moment to share with you a few pictures from a time before I blogged. Can you believe there ever was a time? I found myself perusing the "Fall 2007" album in iPhoto, and here's what I found. Maybe I'll do this again sometime with a different album

Here is our mini U of A Reunion at The Big Bang in Tempe. I lasted till maybe 11pm that night, and then Dylan drove me home in Cedrics the Civic. I think everyone who was there knows what happened when I got out of the car.

Possibly the coldest day in golf history. You couldn't even get your tee in the ground because it was so frozen.

At Lake Pleasant after Max thought it would be funny to rip our clothes to shreds. He still owes me a wife beater.

College night at Jess's before she and I were old married people and before Kendall was born (right?). My how things have changed.

Okay, enough of that for now. I just can't help reminisce about a time when I was poor and things were simple. It is no better or worse now, just very different. Actually, if I'm telling the truth, it was a little better back then to have no job and very few responsibilities, but my grown-up life is about as good as they come.

Onto last night. It was pretty normal for us. We delayed the usual "Lu Gets Slammed on the Patio" and hit Sushi Brokers first because we both missed it so very much. We still had some daylight left when we got home to enjoy a bottle of wine and read some magazines outside. We were there till after dark. Then we watched a documentary on The Phoenix Lights. I fell asleep, of course, but the part that I did see was interesting. My belly was not happy with the mix of sushi, Kirin Light, and Riesling I had chosen that night, but I'm back to 100% now!

Just as Max will be returning from flying Jeremy Piven from Van Nuys to Las Vegas, Dylan will be taking off to charter somebody who is very rich but not famous to Louisville. Looks like the Palmers are stuck with ol' Lu for the block party today while Big D is away. Anyways, I am working on three books, my Netflix Instant queue is a mile long, and I must write that dang paper and clean off my desk. So after the block party, that's what I'll be doing. I really am a professional hermit.

I was excited to get away this weekend because we have spent so many weekends at home. It reminds me of last summer when I took off to Charleston for a weekend, then spent the next weekend in Vegas, and then the weekend after that in Tahoe, and all I wanted in life was a weekend at home. After the New Year when we had very few travel plans, I was so excited for a quieter 2011. Now that it's been quiet for so long, I am itching to go away again. Our cabin plans got canceled, then the LA trip got canceled, but I still have a couple more getaways on the agenda for April and May, and those are definite, concrete plans! Even Hermit Lu likes to get out every once in a while...just not as much as we did in 2010.

That is all.

The Simple Things

Rarely does a week go by that I don't have a book or two arrive in the mail from Amazon. Here are the two from this week.

If you can't read mirror image, the book titles are "Freakonomics" and "The Pioneer Woman."

Books bring me such simple pleasure. They are all over my house. I bought Freakonomics on a suggestion from a friend and also because I need to expand my non-fiction reading. I purchased The Pioneer Woman because she is my hero. I think I mentioned her before...remember the lady with 200,000 some odd fans on Facebook? She just announced today that she's gonna be on the Food Network. Pure awesome. I want to be her.

So, the weekend. Plans for an impromptu trip to Los Angeles were foiled when Dylan found out yesterday he has to fly on Saturday and Sunday. A humongous bummer indeed, seeing as he just got home tonight (bearing Chipotle...thanks, dear) and leaves again Monday. I'm not gonna pretend like I didn't shed a tear or two over this news. You know how I look forward to the weekend, and I don't take it well when something ruins that for me. Especially when the plans involved a fun, little getaway! But it is with good reason that he is going, and it is important that he does. I'll have plenty to keep me busy, too. I might actually write that last paper for class. Our rough drafts were due last night, and the teacher organized a peer proof-reading session at the end of class. I had written zero words at that point, so I made a swift and quiet departure. It is very liberating to not give a you-know-what about your grades.

Here's to hoping that Friday afternoon arrives quickly and no more unexpected bummers arise!

I forgot to tell you...

The cashier at Trader Joe's asked me if I was taking my AIMS test this week. Haha. I spared her the embarrassment of mentioning that I'll be turning 30 this year. But, I'll take it as a compliment, thank you very much. I hope I look like I'm 16 forever.

In other news, I gave myself a bangs cut, as I always do, but did a particularly horrendous job this time. They're short, uneven, and they get greasy very quickly, so it looks like five or six sprigs jutting out of my forehead after a couple hours. Since you haven't had a good laugh at me since I was missing teeth, I'll go ahead and try to take a picture on PhotoBooth. But after that, I must sign off. I really can't decide if this busy person lifestyle is my cup of tea, but it's what I must deal with for a little while. Happy Hump Day Eve (not like I'm counting down to the weekend or anything).

  

I promise, they even looked ten times worse than that when I got in my car to leave work and checked the rear-view. I guess putting them back in a bobby pin for a while actually adds some control to the chaotic mess.

Loquacious Lu

How did the remainder of the weekend pan out? Pretty great, in my book. And I will attempt to re-live it now to distract myself from the impending doom that is the inevitable work week. Saturday we went to the mall (or the 'mo' if you ask Dylan) bright and early, picked up Vic, did some grocery shopping, and then came home to bake a splendid birthday dessert. Next, we headed down the street to birthday party #1 for the day. Our neighbor, Ren, was celebrating his first birthday, so we had a hot dog and Fat Tire to celebrate. Then, it was off to the Palmers' for Big Jude's birthday celebration. Lots of great people were in attendance, including my Aunt and Uncle from Minnesota, Dave and Marilyn. The rib dinner was incredible, and it was fun seeing everyone. Happy birthday, Mom!

Sunday brought many more great adventures, including a meeting of the minds, a rhino ride for the guys, and a trip to Costco where D and I went Costco-crazy with our yearly rebate. I even bought another pair of the miraculous butt-shrinking Seven jeans...and the purchase was totally guilt-free because they were, well, free. Costco rebate time is like my second Christmas. Dylan made out with some golf shirts and a tool he's been wanting, and after picking up some groceries, our rebate was g-o-n-e. We finished the night with dinner and a movie...that one with Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway where he's a Pfizer rep and she has Parkinson's. Oh it just came to me! "Love and Other Drugs" was the name. I thought it was good, but I am the worst movie critic who ever lived.

And now I am wasting the morning away instead of writing yet another paper that's due this week. I don't think there's a chance in heaven that I will have a 1,500 word paper done by Wednesday, so I might just have to skip that proof-reading session. What a slacker I've become. But, I sure did enjoy the two-hour Brothers and Sisters special, as well as last night's all new Army Wives. I plan to walk the dogs and go on a jog before I do anything chore-like.

Before I go, I'd like to update you on the progress of the Creepy Agave. As much as you probably don't care, here are the latest pictures. Snapping these shots involved me laying down on the dirty driveway, so you'd better enjoy them. Pretty soon this thing will probably topple over on itself, and then it will all die within a year, so I thought I'd try to capture the moment while there was still something to capture. If it creeps you out, well it should. The thing is towering several feet above our roof now and growing more every day.

I also captured some shots of D and I before heading out just because the camera was there and I felt like it.

Second Best

It is the second best time of the week...Saturday morning snuggling in bed with my sleepy dogs and husband while shopping and writing on the Internet. I say that it's second-best because there's really nothing quite like that feeling of exiting work on a Friday afternoon (when you're not scheduled to work Saturday, that is).

Which brings me to Friday afternoon. Jess and I found ourselves enjoying some cocktails at an impromptu get-together for the second week in a row, this time including our husbands. We always have LOTS of unwinding to do by this time in the week. The afternoon began at Citizen Public House's happy hour where we enjoyed fancy drinks I'd never heard of before and ate bread, nuts, and olives. Our second stop was The Mission. I've never eaten there or really knew about it, till we pulled up to it and it was like, "Oh yeah, that building has always been there." The tableside preparation of guacamole was maybe the highlight of my night. The tacos were so tiny and over-priced, but delicious all the same. Jess and I were acting pretty ridiculous through the streets of Old Town but managed to gain our composure for dinner. Here is the photographic evidence.

Taking our pictures in front of our favorite outfits.

Is that Christmas tree tinsel on that dress?

There's The Mission. You've all seen it from atop the Civic Center parking garage.

OH YUM.

I was still going strong during our drive home, so Dylan and I practiced our surprise karaoke duet that we'll be performing for my 30th birthday in October. That reminds me, save the date for some time mid-late October...we'll be reserving a karaoke room at Geisha a Go Go to celebrate 30 big ones. I literally sang at the top of my lungs for 30 straight miles, but luckily I still have a voice today. Upon arriving home, we changed into our robes and swimsuits to take a dip in the hot tub, but after visiting with M&K and S&E for a while, I had to head home and tuck myself in. I never made it into the hot tub, but my skin thanks me.

Today involves fetching our white vehicle which resides on J&K's driveway 30 miles away. I played it safe and let Dylan drive me home in Val, and we left Vic where I parked him after work. Also, it is my mom's birthday today! Happy Birthday Jude!!!! Big dinner plans tonight!

Joe in the Spotlight

Joe was jealous of his sister's fame on azcentral.com, so he found his way onto the Animal Specialty Group's Facebook page. I never knew he made the Facebook page, and it's been almost a year since his surgery, but here he is. Thanks for keeping me in the know, E!

Famous Joe

In case you missed Ramona's moment of fame, you can find it here.

Famous Ramona

I hope that the way I fawn over my dogs is no foreshadow to what kind of parent I'll be. If I dress my children in ridiculous outfits for pictures or post on Facebook every time he/she/they do something boring, like eat sweet potatoes for the first time, please let me know. Because I'm sure that's exactly what I'll be like.

I do have many more exciting things to tell you about the adventures of tonight, but I am so beat. Tomorrow, then.

In Good Company

Guess who handed me a Kahlua Kicker from Dutch Bros. early this morning while I was on the phone at work? That's right...Dylan Miller. He flew one leg this morning to DFW, got on a flight to PHX, landed and stopped for coffee all before my second hour at work. He walked in to DBD in his fancy uniform and received hearty congratulations from my co-workers on his promotion, all while delivering a special treat to me. He's real good about stopping by my place of misery work to drop off treats when he's on his way home from the airport. But the best treat is that he's home a day and a half earlier than usual.

I have LOTS of work to do for class again this week, and even though we're not spending QT together, it's so nice knowing Dylan's just in the next room. I also very much enjoyed the delicious tuna melt that he made me for dinner, and I am expected to sleep MUCH better tonight with him home than I have the last two nights. Between my paranoia of home invaders and my paranoia of dogs peeing the bed, I don't usually rest as well as normal. I've also been maintaining a very un-Lu-like, yet busy, schedule. Today I got to work and a co-worker said I looked "tired." When I went to the bathroom and saw myself in the mirror, I saw that "haggard" was a much more appropriate description. But I should get lots of beauty rest over the next few nights, which will help to keep the comments about my appearance at bay.

Hmmmm, what else? Happy hour for Jude's birthday was a hit. I ate lots and had a good conversation with Kristin and Sumer. I've been working long hours and seeing the dentist (neither are out of the ordinary and therefore not interesting, but for whatever reason I still wanted to make mention), and I have an online exam to do for school. Some of the questions have already been posted so I could do research in advance. This test makes me wonder two things: Why is an exam for a community college class more difficult and time consuming than some of my real university and master's level classes? and also, Why on Earth am I in a real college class instead of some easy adult writing class? When I say I miss being a student, this is NOT the part that I miss. Other than that, we're just trying to plan for the weekend ahead. Unfortunately, our trip to the cabin for mom's birthday got canceled due to inclement weather, but we have lots of other stuff on the agenda. No matter what happens, I'm just looking forward to two full days off of work.

Much Improved

Today was a much better day than yesterday! And in fact, last night ended up quite nicely. After getting caught up on Grey's Anatomy, I moseyed across the street where the majority of our group of friends had gathered. Max, again, cooked a delicious pork shoulder in his fancy smoker for all to enjoy, and I was just digging into some appetizers but who should walk in other than my very own Dylan Miller. He had arrived home sooner than expected. Terrific! After having some fun conversation with the ladies in the dining room, we closed out the night with a dip in the hot tub.

This morning I got the house ready for some delightful visitors...the Book Club! This was the first meeting for our newest member, Katie. One of the best parts about Book Club is the delicious brunch spread that everyone works together to create. Here's a peek at the one from today.

The chosen book this time was Water for Elephants, which I had actually read a few months back. I didn't remember all the specific details but knew enough to actively participate. Our conversation always tends to stray away from the topic of the book, but we always find our way back. The movie is coming out soon, and the Book Club has a Saturday afternoon date to go to the movies in a few weeks to see it. I will be missing next month's meeting because Dylan and I will be heading up north to Flagstaff and the South Rim to celebrate our second anniversary. But, I am very much excited to read the book, Falling Home, an easy read.

After BC, Dylan and I did some reading on the patio, and now it's time to walk the doggies and make some dinner plans. I am less gloomy than normal on a Sunday afternoon which I think is because it's my only day off this week, so subconsciously I know I have to make it count. Plus, I have my mom's birthday happy hour to look forward to on Tuesday, and also, Dylan will be getting home very early this week! Everything in life is like 100 times better when he's at home. He got displaced from his trip because the captain he's flying with has to train a new F.O. Thus, my Cranky Meter will only be at around 42.4% all week, much to the relief of everyone who knows me.

Be sure to check back soon for more inane details on the adventures in my life!

Lu Day, Poo Day

In a whirlwind day, I watched half a movie (Life As We Know It...pretty cute), ran three miles, worked a particularly brutal five hours, and grocery shopped. Then I zipped around the house trying to clean things up. It's still not clean, but it's not horrendous anymore, meaning the smelly, overflowing trash has been taken out, the dishwasher is emptied, and my sink and countertops do not have piles of dirty dishes on them. Also, my toenails are freshly painted. I have just whipped up some of my famous Lu Dip for the get-together tonight, and my ingredients for the Sunday Brunch Book Club treat are carefully tucked in the fridge. I have just sat down to find out what story topic my teacher has chosen between the two I presented to her so I can complete the assignment that's due online tonight.

Well...I just signed in to the SCC email and it turns out that teacher had better things to do because she forgot to download our story ideas and critique them, making today's assignment impossible to do. Hooray! I will be now be pushing that off till the last minute Wednesday night, the new due date.

I am overcome with relief because simply, I am exhausted. I picked up 8,753,005 phone calls today, made 7,452,973 outgoing calls, and of all those people, 87% were idiots. If I used foul language or politically incorrect adjectives, I would have much more colorful words to describe the people that I dealt with today. I don't even like talking on the phone to people I do care about, let alone this bunch. I am out of breath from talking without a break, and the thought of having to do tedious homework was killing me.

So now, I am trying to ward off the desire to start happy hour early during this new block of time that happened upon me. However, it's just not healthy to drink alone, in my opinion. But, I think Dylan is on a flight home from Orlando because his phone keeps going right to voicemail, so maybe I'll have company soon? Anyways, I have plenty else to do to keep me distracted because as my mom always says, "A woman's work is never done." I was just happy to catch a break today after driving home in a fouler than usual mood and so glad I could use this time for blog writing (fun!) and not tedious homework (boring!). I would give this Lu Day a solid 2 on a scale from 1 to 10, but there's still time to improve that score. Hurry home Dylan, this grouch needs cheering up!