Exceedingly Mundane

Well, I’m still sort of behind on things. I feel like I’m running around, like the proverbial “chicken with its head cut off”, spinning my wheels and not really getting anything done.

Monday (yesterday) is normally my busiest day of the week. Yesterday was no exception. I tried to catch up with my blogging from the weekend, tried to catch up on laundry, tried to catch up on housework and went to Walmart to do the weekly grocery shopping. I really only succeeded with the blogging and shopping. I’m still working on laundry and housework. I’ve tried to catch up today, and as a result, my blogging and computer time have been put to the side. 😥

Tim and I walked twice yesterday, once in the morning and once when he got in, 2 miles each time, so we logged 4 miles for the day. We did our stretching and exercises (situps for both, pushups for Tim and leg lifts for me), and our walking, and I was completely wiped out by about 9 PM last night. I didn’t finish cleaning up the kitchen till 24 was almost over, at 9 PM. I wanted to read some on my book, but after trying to read for about 5 minutes, I realized I was going to fall asleep with my book open, sitting up in bed, so I gave up on that rather quickly and promptly fell asleep.

We got up this morning and got ready to go (yesterday it was 45º when we left, today it was 51º, still chilly), then did our stretching and exercises. We got outside and got about half way down the street and realized it was starting to sprinkle. We went back in, waited a few minutes and checked again, and it was still sprinkling really lightly. I didn’t want to walk 2 miles in a drizzle, since my throat is still a little sore, so we decided to go back to sleep. 😀

I’ve been doing more of the spinning in place all day today, trying to catch up, but I seem to end up with more on my to-do list, than I have scratched off. Argh. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow! 😀

Being home and seeing these blooming out on my deck makes me smile today:

Well, as I quickly blogged yesterday, we went to our first M-Braves game yesterday. The weather was picture perfect, warm in the sun, and just a little chilly in the shade once the sun moved over our part of the stadium. Who would have thought I should have taken a jacket to a baseball game in May, in mid-Mississippi!

We got there about a half hour before the game and paid $4 to park and got this in return. 😆 We didn’t have tickets, so we went to the ticket office and Tim asked for “best available”. Boy, we were surprised to get such great seats! Click here to see the tickets for yourself! We were on the first row, between home plate and third base. Right behind the net, at the edge of it, so we were pretty protected from fly balls. There were a couple that went up over the net and headed our way, but not close enough to land near us! Be sure to click on the -More- Link to see photos from the game, and you can see just how close we were!

We had great seats, ate some really good footlong hot dogs, and enjoyed the game and being together. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to go back. Of course, we dropped a lot of money, but it was worth it. The food was good (ice cream and peanuts too!!), the game was fun, even though they lost, and we were excited to find that one of the players – Michael Rosamond – is from Madison, MS. They have a great scoreboard and lots going on before the game and between innings. And, in case you hadn’t figured it out so far – we had a blast!!!!

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Since Suzie decided a month or so ago to fly home for Dad’s birthday, we felt it was only right and proper to plan a birthday cookout for him. The weather cooperated, except that it was unseasonably cool on Saturday, and no one ended up eating outside on the deck. The wind was just too chilly! Tim, however, really enjoyed the cool breeze as he stood over the grill for an hour or more grilling sausage, chicken, and ribs. Which, I might add, were all good, but especially the ribs. Man, can he cook ribs!

(UPDATED to add that I just got the pictures I took at the party Saturday uploaded to the website. If you’re a registered user, be sure to check out the Photo Gallery on Hambones.org. If Gail will send me her pictures, I will have more, I didn’t get any of the cake or very many pictures at all!!)

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Well, we’re headed out in a few minutes to go see the M-Braves play at the new Trustmark Park. Maybe tonight or tomorrow I will have a chance to blog about the party yesterday, and the game today. Maybe. 😀

Wow, today was soooo busy! Had the birthday party for my dad, lots of family here to visit, lots of food here to eat, lots of good times (hopefully) had by all. Will try to blog tomorrow about it, and catch up!

Well, today was as busy as I thought it would be. Suzie slept late this morning, so I had some quiet time on the computer to blog here and also do some blog-surfing. 🙂 We thought Dad would be here in time for lunch, but he didn’t make it so we ate without him (Suzie likes my Friday lunch splurge – veggie corn dogs) 😀 Dad got here a little before 2:00 and we visited, then headed out on errands. Suzie needed to stop and pick up something she forgot to pack at McRae’s, then we all headed to Sam’s. We had originally planned on having steaks for the birthday bbq tomorrow, but those plans changed. We checked on getting a whole ribeye in Sam’s, but they were $125.00 for the whole thing and I just couldn’t see paying that. So we opted for ribs and chicken instead. We also got some salad mix, a vegetable tray, 2 big tubs of potato salad, some french bread, a big container of M&M cookies and a huge Happy Birthday cake. I hope it’s all good and everyone enjoys it!

After the shopping spree, we hung out till Tim got home. Dad decided to run get some crawfish and got back a few minutes before Tim got in. We had crawfish as an appetizer before going out to eat supper. Suzie wanted to eat some Chinese, so we all went to King Buffet and promptly pigged out way too much. Now, we’re all sitting in the den feeling stuffed and full of MSG. 🙂 I think we’re going to watch Numbers on tv then probably head off and get some sleep. Have quite a few things to do in the morning before the rest of the troops arrive for the bbq. We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone, especially Liz, Chris and David. 😛

Just a quick update… Suzie’s flight was right on time and we picked her up last night at the airport. We all watched Survivor when we got back and settled. Sorry to see Stephanie go. We have two other shows we taped (CSI and Without a Trace) that we’ll have to watch Sunday or next week. Too much else going on!

Today is going to be busy. Dad should be here soon, and we need to go get all of the food for the cookout tomorrow. We won’t be taking my car though. 🙁 Please note – never buy a Pontiac. Another window “went out” on us last night. The driver’s window was rolled down over a year ago and the whole mechanism broke and had to be replaced. The part alone is like $350 bucks (something about a regulator, Tim says). Luckily, Tim is a great mechanic and can do the work himself, so that saves us another 3-400 on labor. He took the door panel off last night and we just have to get the part and find time for him to install it. In the mean time, I don’t want to drive around with the window down, and especially if it looks like rain. So, when Fred gets here, I’m going to ask if we can use his car for all of our errands today.

Not sure if I’ll have time to blog any more today, but I might do a meme or two really quick. 😀 We’ll be gone most of the afternoon, then probably all go out to eat supper tonight. I have been hungry for crawfish and I think Suzie would like some shrimp, so I’m thinking we may head to Sal and Phil’s for dinner tonight. Yum-ola!!!

I’ll be spending a bit more time today getting things ready – ready for Suzie who flies in tonight, ready for Dad who will drive up tomorrow – and whose birthday is actually today – Happy Birthday Daddy! 🙂 I will be trying to finish getting the house marginally clean for everyone to be here, and for the cookout on Saturday. I struggle every single time that we have anyone over – the dichotomy of wanting my house to be sparkling clean, but the realization that it will probably be dirtier and more “tracked up” (as my mom would have said) after everyone leaves, and then it will require even more cleaning than it did beforehand. It’s just so hard for someone like me (Mrs Monk as Tim likes to call me) to not have everything “just so” before people come over. Even family and close friends. I’m just that way. Anal. OCD. Whatever you want to call it. 🙂 I’ve been working on it through the years, since we got married and started having more “family get-togethers” and although I think I’ve made some decent strides, I imagine most people would not agree with me. 🙂

I will also be finishing my list of things to pick up tomorrow. After quite a bit of debate and thought, we’ve decided to just go with the “pick it up and grill it” route of party planning. I’m going to go tomorrow and just buy a bunch of food, most of it already made and ready, and a whole ribeye and a cake (I know, GASP, it should be homemade, but we ain’t going there this time) for the party on Saturday. Tim will grill the steaks, and I can easily fix baked potatoes, salad, rolls and maybe a veggie or veggie tray for everyone. We’re shooting for tastes good, but really casual. I hope we hit our mark 🙂

I tried a new recipe for some cookies tonight. Tim ate one hot out of the oven and when I prompted him to rate them on a scale of 1-10, he gave them an 8.5. I give them about a 7. I’ll post them on the Hambones site tomorrow. I was able to share them with a couple of neighbors, which was nice. I’ll send the rest to work with Tim tomorrow, so that I won’t have any (well, many, I might have to keep a couple for me!) around the house for me to pig out on. If there’s anything chocolate here, I WILL eat it! 😀

We’ve had a good day. Tim is still out doing woodworking. He’s gotten a lot done today, and thankfully, even though he’s still on call, hasn’t really had to do a lot of work. He’s checked his email a couple of times and did a little IM’ing, but that’s about it. It’s been pretty today, although the wind is still a bit chilly. Odd for so late in the spring, but we’re really enjoying it.

I put out the old bird feeder, around the corner of the house in a side flower bed. I’m hoping the cardinals and red birds find it and have something to eat. The new feeder is nice, but those kinds of birds are too big to fit on it. I have had lots of finches, chickadees, sparrows and other small birds though! 🙂 Thanks to Gail, I have a nice little chart of common birds on bird feeders, and I am starting to learn which ones are which. I saw a mockingbird on the old, small feeder late today, so maybe they’ll spread the word around and the “bigger birds” can come feed on it some soon.

Better run, it will be time to watch 24 soon! 🙂

Normally, my Mondays are very busy. We tend to “slack” all weekend, and I usually try to get things back in order and humming on Mondays. I do lots of laundry, lots of “chores” and a fair amount of cleaning. I also settle back into the rhythm of my weekdays, which I enjoy, although not nearly as much as the weekends, when Tim and I get to spend all of our time together.

This weekend was no exception. We stayed really busy both days, although Saturday was more of a work day and Sunday was more of a play day. We watched two new movies, and caught up on some TV stuff we had taped earlier in the week. Tim went with me to Walmart again, to do the weekly shopping run (although I had gone to Kroger on Friday afternoon and gotten most of it already). All in all, a really good weekend. I like it best when we stay home, and do things around here, and have fun and play and get to spend all of our time together. I’m selfish that way 😀

Tim is getting a lot done today… so far, he’s finished the gate, worked on the lattice underneath the deck and is doing some of his woodworking. Today looks pretty promising overall! Some of my new flowers are blooming, and right now the sun is shining, although it may rain later (if you can ever count on Weather.com to be right). More later 🙂

UPDATE – Tim cooked out some burgers for lunch and we ate out on the deck. It’s a gorgeous day, still sunny, slight wind, warm, just right, really. We had a great time! 😀

Yesterday turned out to be a booger of a work day, thanks to the Type-A workaholic himself (Tim) 🙂 I had “planned” to get some flowers and plant in the yard, and then maybe do a little reading and housework, while Tim worked on his woodworking. As per usual, things do NOT go as I planned!

We went to Gardenworks (and it was mighty chilly in my shorts, I might add) first thing yesterday morning to pick out some flowers (see what we bought in a picture on the extended page, by clicking the -More- link). Tim helped me with a few odds and ends around the house and yard, and also helped out a bunch by helping me get one of the beds ready for planting. We had lunch, then he set out to start doing his woodworking. He had been in search of a special bit for his router and had finally found what he wanted (one single bit – 35.96 at Lowe’s :cry:). He got everything all prepped while I started on the first few sets of flowers. Then, I heard him say “OH Crap”, which is a terrible utterance to come out of Tim’s mouth. I’m like, what’s wrong? He said, “I took the bit out of the package and it’s broken”. 🙁 So, we change clothes and head off to Lowe’s across town, and end up spending more time and money there on things. He gets a new bit, then he decides we should get lumber to rebuild one of the gates on the fence, and I find a Lady Banks climbing rose and we decide to branch out and try one of those for the first time. Anyway, that killed a couple of hours of otherwise productive work time.

When we got back, I got all of the flowers planted and he decided to work on rebuilding the front gate. It’s going to swing the other way now and hang off a different post (because of the weight or something or other), so it’s going to take a while to get used to. Suffice it to say that rebuilding a gate is not a quick project and we finally stopped right after dark, and didn’t get back inside till around 8 PM or so. We then got things ready to cook, and Tim cooked out for us (Asian BBQ flank steak, grilled asparagus and I fixed some sweet potatoes inside), and supper was delicious, albeit a lot later than when we prefer to eat. By the time I got cleaned up, it was nearly 10 PM and I was too tired to blog about things, watch TV, start the movie we had rented, or much of anything else. Sleep was really the only thing that was important to me! 🙂

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Well, we were way too busy today for me to stop and take time to blog… and tonight I’m too tired! So, I’ll be back tomorrow and blog about today! Which, by then, will be yesterday. hehehe!

Just got back from running a bunch of errands. I went to the bank, two video stores, the library and grocery store. I got one free movie at Blockbuster (Spanglish) and another one with a one-free-rental coupon (we used part of our Discover cashback to get $40 worth of rental coupons for $20 cashback bonus) at Hollywood Video (Ocean’s Twelve).

I also went to the library. I had finished the 2 Stephanie Plum books I checked out a couple of weeks ago. It’s nice that they give me 3 weeks to keep books, just the right amount of time for two for me. I took my list I’ve been accumulating and found a couple more new ones to read. I had started my Nicholas Sparks book last night (True Believer), but had only read a few pages before I got sleepy. Since I own that one, it can wait a bit 🙂 I got “Blue Shoe” by Anne Lamott and “Shopaholic & Sister” by Sophie Kinsella. I have already read one of the Shopaholic books, and really enjoyed it. Very light and entertaining, and very funny! I think I’ll try the new one first. I have never read any Anne Lamott books.

I love the library. It’s like a bookstore – but FREE! I love that I can browse around and look at all of those wonderful books and magazines, and movies. Our little bitty library in Madison has a bunch of VCR tapes and even some DVD’s that you can rent for a week, completely free. I need to take advantage of that more. I do love to get books and browse around, and flip them open and read a bit before I decide whether or not to check them out. And the frugal side of me loves the fact that if I get a book, and I don’t like it, then I’m not out any money. Just return it and get another one! Going to a library or bookstore is usually an instant mood-lifter for me. Today was no exception.

I’m procrastinating severely on going to get flowers to plant in the yard. More on that later, maybe tomorrow. I was about to go this afternoon, but Tim and I have been IM’ing and he’s agreed to go to Gardenworks with me in the morning. It’s wonderful to have a really nice nursery less than a half mile from our house. Now, if they would just jump out of the containers and plant themselves, all would be dandy. 😀

Well, Gail made it back here safe and sound. I picked her up at the airport, then we went and ran some errands and went shopping. Tim beat us home, and had the tree already planted by the time I got here! Boo-hoo, I had wanted to help! Oh well, it’s nice to see a tree out there, even though it’s just a little stick of a thing! I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow, in the sunshine. I love to take pictures of things when they are first planted, and then look back on them years later after they have grown and spread, and see how little it used to be! 🙂

Anyway, I cooked supper, and we all gave a thumbs up to the new recipe I tried. I’ll enter it tomorrow in my Mastercook software, then post it in the Recipes section of Hambones. I get to take it easy with cooking for the next couple of days while Tim is out of town. I’ll fix me some quick Chinese food! 🙂

We just finished watching 24 and are enjoying our visit with Gail. She’s spending the night so she can go tomorrow morning to Elizabeth’s Honors program at MC. Elizabeth is receiving an award for most outstanding senior in history. 😀 Way to go Liz!!!!

I think we’ll turn in soon. I, for one, am coughing and pretty tired. Gail is tired too, after the traveling and the shopping spree I drug her around on! And Tim, poor Tim, has to get up when the alarm goes off at 4:00 AM or thereabouts, so he can leave for the airport by about 4:30 AM. Me, I plan to go back to sleep after he leaves, and hopefully sleep late!