you know you have been married a long time.....

when the places you went to frequently while you were just dating are all gone!

today is J and my 15th anniversary! insane, isn't it? we must have married when we were 13! lol!! but seriously.......we aren't big celebrators but wanted to go out to a kid-free evening at a nicer restaurant. so we started brainstorming.....

our first date was at a nice Italian/American restaurant in Old Town. we knew that night there was something special going on.......we both wanted the garlic bread! lol! it went under many years ago. in fact, we went to its replacement restaurant for our 9th anniversary. it just wasn't the same without the garlic bread.

the next place that would have been appropriate was what I would call a supper club. the place was run similar to the restaurant at a golf/tennis club. a regular meal, some scheduled specials, etc. but they also had a club meal. we joined and would get discounted meals, or meal credits, or something. I can't remember........J paid. anyway, it was special to us because we were regulars.......and because we set the place on fire......literally!! probably our 3rd or 4th time there we were eating bread and chatting and didn't notice that the bread napkin had flipped over the lit candle on the table. it wasn't until a couple across the room yelled at us did we notice! lol!! luckily, no bread was lost. that place, oddly enough and unrelated to us, burned down and a Starbucks currently resides on the spot.

but that still left a wonderful place, near and dear to our hearts. see.....when we were first dating, I worked retail and frequently got off work at 9:30. we had to find a place that served dinner later than most places. Brother Olivers was that place. I can't say the food was amazing or anything but there were always a few things that appealed to us. that and it was a nice relaxing environment to talk and enjoy being together. so Tuesday I reminded myself to call and make a reservation. at 9:45 we never needed one before, but this time around we would be going during a more normal hour. yep! you guessed it.........closed! closed about a month ago. closed and they are going to tear it down and build a Beverages & More. I really should go take a picture of the building to scrapbook before it is gone.

boy do I feel old.........old and married! lol!

12 of 12 - the Stanley edition!

Stanley (Flat Stanley that is) has arrived for a visit! so in honor of his visit this will be HIS 12of12! lol!! as a reminder, 12of12 is Chad Darnell's creation....... you can learn more about it (and perhaps join us next month) here.

woke up a little after 7am. did a little bit of snuggling with Tessa. she is such a good doggie!

for breakfast we had Strawberry Frosted Mini Wheats. Mommie B says these are her favorite. I liked them......tasted a little too much like cardboard to eat every day but they were okay.
check out Mommie B's odometer! now that she isn't working she isn't putting as many miles on her car. just over 1,000 this past month she said! at look at the temperature! it is only 9am. wonder how hot it is going to get out here?

We had to drive Big Bro B and his friend to a Scout camp this morning. because of all the bikes and stuff we borrowed a truck from the friend's mom. BRIGHT RED! HOW COOL!! I took some time to check it all out while the boys loaded the back.

dropped off Big Bro B and his friend. not really sure how they are going to get all their stuff where they need to. and it isn't like I can be of much help! lol! they told me I couldn't stay this time, but maybe next time. I sure hope so! this place looks FUN!
before heading home, we stopped by the District Pinewood Derby. these were the fastest cars in from each of the Packs from the District. my favorite is the black one with the StormTrooper driving! because I am not a Scout, they decided I should wear a Tiger Cub shirt so that everyone knew who I was! Thanks guys!
after our busy morning it was lunch time. Mommie B thought I might be a tad homesick so she made Lil Bro B and I an egg salad sandwich. YUMMY!!

you know when people talk about how hot it has gotten.....in the shade??? well here I am in the shade and it is 85 degrees! a few minutes later we went to go get gas and the car said it was 90! needless to say Mommie B got me some sunglasses so I can be cool.

the price of gas is crazy! here I thought it was expensive to send me USPS! Mommie B said that last month it was $3.44 a gallon.
when Daddy B and Big Bro B are at camp, Mommie B said one of the things she loves to do is get the seafood special from a local Chinese place. sweet & sour pineapple shrimp, crab cream cheese won tons, etc. YUM! normally she gets won ton soup with it, but she said it was too warm today. so instead she had to add on an appetizer sampler so they would deliver. look at all this food! Mommie B said that this will feed her for 2 dinners and a lunch.......even with sharing with me! lol! guess what my fortune said: "A cheerful letter or message is on its way to you." wonder if I am actually that cheerful letter or message and I got Mommie B's fortune by mistake?

the second part of Mommie B's evening routine when Daddy B and Big Bro B are gone is to watch chick flicks. I was trying to be a good house guest so I watched "The Devil Wears Prada" with her. it wasn't that bad.......not as mushy-girlie as "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" that we watched on tv afterwards. Mommie B even cried a bit at the end. blech!
after that it was bed time. I was already half asleep from that last boring movie so it was good to get tucked in bed. couldn't believe it was after 11pm! YAWN!!!!
what a busy day I had! I am really having a good time with the B family. thanks for stopping by.

the end of the first fiscal quarter.....

used to be the end of a fiscal quarter would bring about reports, reviews, and more reports. but......not this time around. nothing special about it when you aren't working.

HOWEVER.......I still have my quarterly to-do list at home. see, I have found that I am not good at remembering the last time I changed my toothbrush, or when dh changed the air filter, etc. sure we could write that stuff on the calendar. but do I really want my in-laws to know that today I am going to replace my razors in the shower?!?!? NOPE! so since the quarter end was such an easy point in time to remember, I have used this as my reminder.

• toss and replace toothbrushes
• toss and replace razors (I use 2 different ones in the shower so think that changing them every 3 months instead of the recommended month is fine)
• check all medicine and toss out of date stuff
  
• check canned goods and toss out of date stuff (anything going bad in the next 3 months either make a plan to use or donate to charity)
• replace air filters
• pull out magazines over a year old and reread before cutting things out or recycling

ideally I think the toothbrush industry should really focus on the whole fiscal quarter brush replacement idea. instead of a steady stream of commercials telling us how great a brush is they should have a campaign to target changing them every 3 months. you know plenty of people don't and this way they could save on advertising dollars AND sell more toothbrushes at the same time! seriously........I don't jump up to buy a new toothbrush when I see a commercial. but I WOULD put it on my shopping list if I saw an ad that said "hey....this is your reminder that next week is time to change your toothbrush. buy ours!" lol!! heck, if they were uber smart they could sell toothbrushes in packs of 4 with seasonal themes! snowflakes for winter, flowers for spring, sun for summer, and leaves (or a nice teeth-cleaning apple) for fall!

maybe I should be looking for a job in advertising?!?!?

12 of 12 - the unemployed edition

can't say this is very exciting! in fact, I had to find a few things to do so I would have some photos to take. hopefully by April 12th I will have a job so I won't have to work so hard to take pictures! lol!!

the first is my traditional odometer shot. we are in those fine spring days where it is cold in the morning and beautiful in the afternoon. except it never quite got beautiful yesterday. I guess a storm is coming in. but look how dark this photo is. that is because it is PITCH BLACK OUTSIDE courtesy of ridiculous daylight savings.

I missed my normal gas price shot. actually I took one but because it was SO FREAKIN' DARK you couldn't see anything. but.....J filled up both cars Tuesday night and paid $3.41/gallon at 6am and $3.44/gallon at 6pm.....at the same station!

breakfast. remember those wonderful days of Strawberry Frosted Mini-Wheats? well those days are over.....kinda. I had a physical a couple weeks ago and it was determined that my cholesterol is a bit high. (not shocking considering what I eat, huh?!?!?) no heart attack yet.....but I need to work on it. thus....oatmeal! I have compromised with myself.....I alternate off and on between the oatmeal and the mini wheats! today was an oatmeal day.

blech! don't so much like the oatmeal days! one of the reasons is because I get hungry really quickly again. trying to be a little healthy I had cottage cheese and carrots. I really like this as a snack but don't frequently have cottage cheese around. this was leftover from the lasagnas I made last week.

while eating my snack I decided I needed to do something so you all wouldn't end up with a day of food shots. I called and made appointments for oil changes on the cars. mine was for 1pm this afternoon! on the way out to run a few errands beforehand I saw this lovely sight......nothing better than packages........especially when one of them is from LM!

J changed the antennea topper on the car a couple weekends ago so I took a shot of it. with Easter so early it really won't be there for long. sad, huh?!?!?

before getting to the car dealership I ran a few errands.....one being going to Bath & Body works. I am getting near the end of my shower gel (currently cucumber melon) and the boys were out of their all-in-one stinky shower stuff! I got myself sweet pea this time and them frozen daquiri and banana split. there was one other flavor, frosting, but it smelled gross! I don't think I could handle the boys smelling like that for the 15 minutes before their stinky boy smell took over! lol!!

after dropping off the car I walked over to Frys. I had seen a cafe inside the last time I was there and thought it HAD to be a better lunch than Sonic. on the way I passed a guy getting on his motorcycle with this cool denim jacket. I knew I could always use a few more photos and since it was really nifty (the mouse......not so much the machine gun) I asked if I could take a picture. he said his girlfriend free-hand drew the picture and did the jacket for me. how cool!!

I got a pastrami sandwich (YUM!!!!) and some loaded potato soup (not as lovingly loaded as Black Angus but decent potato soup) for lunch and sat reading my newest mystery series. I found this one because I needed a name for my new black cat Webkinz. I am naming them all after fictional mystery characters and wanted someone Halloween or witchcraft related. so great what search engines at bookstore sites can find for you!! I am almost halfway through the book now and it is holding my interest. kinda slow starting but I think she is trying to build the foundation for the characters. I ordered the rest of the series from the library. (you can see my lunch a little in the background.)

picked up my car. you can see that I drove about 25 miles from the start of the day until the time the oil change was done......courtesy of the morning school carpool.

Wednesday is bowling day/night for R. since I am not working I take him over early so he can get a little practice in before league. tonight their team shirts came in. the shirts are a little thin (good because R sweats like his dad) and oversized. the boys want them to last the next 2 years. I think they will! R might be able to wear this through high school! lol!!

dinner was leftover/fendforyourself night courtesy of all the cooking I have been doing so there is no cute shot of my dinner: a couple mouthfulls of lasagna, some green beans, and pasta alfredo. wow! how nutritious!! I had a dessert of leftover Baskin Robbins from Tuesday $1 scoop night for dessert. probably totally counteracted that healthy oatmeal, huh?!?!?

with R we watched the most recent episode of New Amsterdam. not a bad show! I am trying to figure out how long they can keep the whole "love of a lifetime" thing going. after R went to bed dh and I enjoyed the sanitized version of Dexter. we don't get HBO so hadn't seen it yet. I can't say they did a decent job of cleaning up the language. it is rather obvious and most of the time you can tell what the guy originally said. but if the FCC doesn't mind then neither do I!

finally........like almost always......I am at the end of the day and have no photo of myself. so here I am with my newest Webkinz, Ophelia. isn't that a great name for a black cat?? I really need to remember to take my self-portraits earlier in the day so I don't look like crap!

what? no photos of me submitting resumes or surfing Monster.com to find a great new job?!?! yeah.....well.....I have applied for the TWO jobs in my field that were out there already. one I was already turned down for. I am trying to think about what nifty new field to enter. I need to think quickly!!

no one has filed a missing person's report....

but I have really been MIA around here. fact is, I am not big about posting negative things and I am struggling to find the positive right now.

I was laid off and I am worried. the economy bites and my industry has really been hit hard. yes, I am smart, well-educated, and have lots of experience. but all that doesn't matter when there aren't jobs.

so.....instead of posting totally fake posts or whining about how I am depressed I just haven't posted.

Eileen and some caching up to do.....

(and yes....I know that "caching" isn't pronounced the way it needs to be to really make that title work. but I don't care..... and don't bug me about it! lol!)

so here is the story........ when I got to CHA, Lindsay and his beautiful wife picked me up at the airport. about halfway back to the Convention Center Lindsay told me that his GPS unit is called Eileen. so he can sing "Come On Eileen" when he is waiting for it to tell him something. at this point, he started to sing the song.

then.......3 days later when I arrive back home and turn on the radio in my car guess what song comes on?!?!? of course......."Come On Eileen"!!

so when the psych-out moment on Psych last week was them singing "Come On Eileen" dh got a little worried with my hysterical laughing.

other than starting to feel a tad paranoid about Eileen......we did our first geocaching this weekend. we found 5 out of the 6 caches we set out to find. the 6th one I am thinking has been moved or stolen........ we found where it should be based on coordinates and clues and it wasn't there. oh well!! otherwise we had a great time. I think it will be a fun activity we can do as a family once in awhile. and thankfully the weather was GORGEOUS!!! (it is icky rainy today)

they lie!!!!

tear and SHARE?!?!?!? SHARE??????

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!