Back to the real world...

So, the vay-kay was a blast... And now we're back, to somewhat gloomy, although equally as hot and humid, weather. While we only saw a few drops of rain in Playa del Carmen, it poured for much of the day yesterday and is still looking like rain today.

And because I know that everyone really loves to look at other peoples' vacation pictures, here's a little photo essay of our trip

The waiting shots of tequila!

Parts of the beach outside our hotel weren't exactly the greatest for swimming... Ouch!

The view from one of the upstairs bars we stopped at in downtown Playa del Carmen.

Did you know that the second largest barrier reef in the world is located off the coast of Mexico? It is great for snorkeling...

Every night at the 24-hour beach bar, we were greeted by these Mexican racoons. They had no fear of humans.

The trip was a success... We actually made it through with no injuries while we were out of the country! That isn't to say that we didn't try... And so we return, tanner (or redder) to our normal lives.

I can't wait to do it again!

Please Leave a Message After the Tone...

Wednesday is the departure day for our trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

One full week of our toes in the sand and cocktails in our hands.
One full week of friends. (I'm sure I'll know more about them than I ever wanted to by the time we return home.)
One full week of no cell phone, no working, no laundry.

Life is beautiful.

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Last night, Dave, Dr. Mike, Paula and I figured that there probably wouldn't be any good Chinese down in Mexico, so we opted for take out for dinner. Dave performed his ritual of assigning the fortune cookies, using his mystical powers.

The cookie that he gave to me HAD DOUBLE FORTUNES!! Two little pieces of paper were stuck to each other inside the same fortune cookie - I'd never seen that before!

Here they are:

I don't think I've ever had a fortune that was as accurate as those!

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Sorry if I don't blog while I'm gone, but I'll fill you in on all the details once we get back. (Although Dave is insisting on bringing his laptop, so there may be a posting here or there to keep you updated on our progress.)

Here are the lyrics to Kenny Chesney's "Beer in Mexico" - - the anthem for our trip. This song has been going through my head consistently for the last three weeks.

Starin' out into the wild blue yonder
So many thoughts to sit and ponder
'Bout life and love and lack of
And this emptiness in my heart

Too old to be wild and free still
Too young to be over the hill
Should I try to grow up
But who knows where to start

So I just ...
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Do my best to waste another day
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Let the warm air melt these blues away

Sun comes up and sun sinks down
And I seen 'em both in this tourist town
Up for days in a rage
Just tryin' to search my soul

From the answers and the reasons why
I'm at these crossroads in my life
And I really don't know
Which way to go

So I just ...
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Do my best to waste another day
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Let the warm air melt these blues away

Maybe I'll settle down, get married
Or stay single and stay free
Which road I travel
Is still a mystery to me

So I'll just ...
Sit right here, have another beer in Mexico
Do my best to waste another day
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Let the warm air melt these blues away

Down in Mexico ...

How'd They Find Me??

I admit that I blog is more tame than others. I don't use a lot of foul language and most of my stories are PG-13 at their worst.

So, why am I getting searches on my blog for:

Eat Dung Stickers?

and Cause of Masochistic Infatuation?

These are the most recent of strange searches and (after a long night of margaritas and tequila shots in preparation for our trip to Mexico) I can't remember any of the other funny searches that have shown up on my Sitemeter.

Any odd ones for you recently?

My Newest Internet Obsession

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read. I will devour most any type of book and once I get started reading, it is hard for me to force myself to quit reading to do any of the other things that daily life requires.

I am also a book collector. I prefer to buy my books than go to the library to borrow them. I like having my bookshelves crammed full of Stephen King and Wally Lamb, J. D. Salenger and Madeleine L'Engle. Plus, going to the library often costs me more than just buying the book in the first place; I've actually been known to have library fines totally over $83 - no joke!

Enter BookMooch.com. Brought to my attention by fellow blogger Caroline Bender, I am totally hooked. This site allows me to post books that I am willing to give away to fellow bibliophiles, while "mooching" books that I am interested in reading from them. For each book that I post in my inventory and each book that somebody mooches from me, I am awarded points. I, in turn, use these points to get the books that I want to read.

The only cost is postage. The person who is giving away the book pays for postage, but I figure the couple of bucks spent there is recouped by the money that I don't have to spend on shipping and handling from buying the book off eBay or buying the book new at the store. Plus, if it is a book I love, I can add it to my collection instead of having to return it at the end of two weeks.

I've already sent off five of my own books and am awaiting the first two that I've requested. I'm excited to have some new summer reading... Anyone have any recommendations of great books that I should mooch??

Exciting News...

....and of course, by exciting, I mean the news isn't exciting at all. As a matter of fact, I don't even really have any news to share. I just put that posting title up there to try to convince you (and my ego) that my life isn't as boring as this post is going to make it seem.

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Summer ends up being the time for me to catch up on all the chores that have gone undone throughout the rest of the year. The first project that I tackled last week was to clean out and reorganize the laundry room:

Our laundry room ends up being the "catch-all" for stuff that we aren't quite sure where it should go. Or, if it is too cold to bring something out into the garage, it ends up in there.

Just so you know, although the cabinets are closed in the "after" picture, they are clean. Practically bare. But, the difference looks more dramatic between the two pictures with them closed.

I think I feel pretty successful about the whole thing.

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Today's project is that I have to go to my mom's house and go through all the stuff that I've collected there throughout the years and decide what is worth keeping and what I need to throw away. Mom is putting the house where I grew up on the market and she needs all extraneous materials out. I chose today to do this project since Mom is out of town and she won't be there to harass me about what I'm keeping and what I'm not.

Honestly, though, I'm a little bit resentful of the fact that I have to do this chore at all. I feel... strange... that the house that I've lived in since I was five years old is no longer going to be the house that we go to for family dinners and holidays.

Am I crazy to feel this way? I feel sad and somewhat angry and... I don't know. Just pissy in general about the whole thing. Do your parents still live in the house you grew up in? Did you feel the same way when they sold it?

I guess I'm just not really a fan of change.

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So, I guess that's all I got. The next post will be more exciting. And, I promise not to post pictures about cleaning out my mom's basement, all right? I was just pleased with the whole laundry room thing, so lay off, okay?

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Ahhh, baseball. Getting out of work on a Friday afternoon, heading down to the stadium, and tailgating (in the hot sun!) with some beer and burgers before heading in to watch the World Champion Cardinals play the Los Angeles Angels. Could life be any more perfect?

Look at this cool grill that friends Mike and Diana brought for the cooking of said tailgating food stuffs. Thanks, Dr. Mike, for this find. It did a damn good job of grilling up the burgers and dogs!

Speaking of hot dogs... (Photoshop, anyone?)


This is my dream job! Every time these guys run out onto the field, I'm like, "Man, I could totally do that job!" Hang out at the stadium, schmooze with the players, watch the games, and have the all-important job of smoothing out the infield dirt.

Do you think that these are the same people that get to drag out the tarp for rainouts? Does anyone have any connections at the stadium that might be able to get me this job?

Another one of the highlights of baseball for me is the search for the freakish triple peanut. Dave found the only one of the bag last night. Luckeeeee!


Although we lost the game, we scored runs in each of the first four innings and were up 4-0 going into the fifth. Duncan, Pujols, and Stinnett each hit homers; each time, we were jumping up and down cheering, and the bald guy in front of us (who reminded me of Bill, in more ways than just his haircut) gave high-fives all around. I love that!

Just so you know, I do actually pay attention to the game. Kip Wells had a respectable start, but when you rip through half of your bullpen in a single inning and still give up six runs, it is kind of hard to win a ballgame. Oh, well. As you can tell, we had a good time anyway!

Tag, I'm "IT"

Sista Smiff tagged me to complete this meme. I'm not sure how or why she picked me, but I'm willing to take the opportunity to have somebody provide a blog topic to me...

Rules of the game: Quickly write 8 random facts/habits about myself. Then, tag eight more people to play.

1. Sista Smiff was talking about her acrylic nails and that she had to get rid of them for nursing school. I also have acrylic nails and have consistently had them for about six or seven years. I started getting them while I was waiting tables; my nail polish would chip and my brittle nails would break and peel. The acrylics are way more durable. However, I always have them very short and people often ask me if they are my real nails or not. I'm not a fan of having daggers off the ends of my fingers. My favorite nail color: OPI's "I'm Not Really a Waitress."
2. I looooove Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Mmmmm.... Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
3. However, I'm trying to lose a few pounds right now and I can't even remember when the last time I indulged in some Mac & Cheese. As a matter of fact, right now I have an unopened box of Samoa Girl Scout Cookies in the pantry. They've been there for months; normally those won't last longer than 24 hours around me. Dumb diet.
4. I always said that I wasn't really interested in getting married and/or having kids. But, then I met Dave... I am amazed at how simply finding the right person can completely change your mind about such a big decision. I think we would be great parents together...
5. My mom is in the process of selling the house where I grew up. The whole thing is very strange to me. We built and moved into the house when I was five years old. Where will my mom live? How will we have family barbeques in a backyard that isn't the one where my sister and I played hide and seek? My little brother was born when we lived in that house... I'll be honest: I am not a fan of her selling that house. But, life must go on, I guess.
6. I like to take naps. As a matter of fact, I'm feeling a bit sleepy right now. I plan on taking a nap at least five of seven days a week throughout this summer. *YAWN*
7. I am addicted to my Webkinz pet, Daisy.
8. In exactly two weeks, I will be on the beach in Mexico, cocktail in hand, feet in the sand. Life is beautiful.

I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you need a blog topic, feel free to take this one. I always enjoy learning random things about my blogging friends!

Greatest Culinary Invention Since "Sliced Bread"

How many times have you had the fabulous idea of roasting marshmallows and making s'mores?

Simple enough, right? The problem comes when you are trying to manage two pieces of the graham cracker, the chunk of chocolate, and the gooey marshmallow. You have to smoosh them all together into one tidy little sammich. Doesn't always work that way. More than once, I've ended up with burnt fingers and a 'mallow on my foot.

Problem solved! In an ingenious solution to this age old problem, a friend figured out a way to combine the graham and the chocolate:

FUDGE STRIPED COOKIES!

Easy, breezy, beautiful! Just as tasty, with hardly any muss or fuss! I love it! I highly recommend that you try it the next time you're at a bonfire....

We're Having a Baby...

.... a baby tomato, that is!!! (Scared ya, didn't I?)

Isn't it cute? Kind of like the first ultrasound, here is the first photo of our baby tomato plant. We also have a couple of red and green pepper plants, but they weren't being very photogenic today. They take after their mother...

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Dave and I had fun this last weekend at a fabulous party for our good friend, Dr. Mike. It was a western theme, so everyone was dressed as cowboys and cowgirls.

Except me. Always having to be different, I went and found a Sacajawea/Pocahontas costume. I stuck a yellow feather in my hair and was ready to party. It was a great time.



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The past month has been crazy, and eliminating blogging was one of the easiest ways to cut down on my self-imposed stress. But, now it is summer, and I'm going to have more free time over the next two months than I've had since before I was in high school. The time will be spent blogging, cleaning, reading, and sitting around at the pool.

It is a beautiful thing. I'm already glad to be back!