My boss was kind enough to let me leave early on Friday so we could get on the road at a decent time. We were all packed up and on our merry way at 3:45p with an ETA of 8:00p. We decided to forego mapquest due to the simplicity of the directions: Stay on Hwy 75. I'm not sure where things took a turn for a worse, but I believe it happened while the following conversation took place:
Me: Michael, these fries are GOOD!
Michael: Really? How so?
Me: They have so much salt on them!
It would be nice to think we missed the turn because we were discussing politics, religion, or heck, even sports would have been acceptable. But no, we were discussing sodium chloride on a fried potato. How embarrassing. Diet starts ASAP!
We continued driving with an occasional statement of, "this doesn't look familiar" from Michael and a "I don't remember all of this construction!" from me but did we stop? Noooo. It wasn't until we were about 30 minutes from Arkansas (I am not kidding) that Michael finally called his dad and learned we were in the middle of nowhere. Argh! We stopped at a gas station and I asked the guy in front of me where we were. His answer? "Uh.... I'm not really sure." Awesome. I bought a $6 map and got back in the car. Our 4 hour trip turned into a 6-hour nightmare and boy were we happy to see his parents' home at 10p!
We went to North Park Mall on Saturday and had a great time window shopping. I found a lovely dress that was a mere $1300. I literally pulled my hands back from the price tag and lifted them above my head so I wouldn't harm the fabric. What made it even worse was all dresses thereafter paled in comparison. Oh well.
Saturday evening was Amy and Anthony's wedding. It was BEAUTIFUL! She looked gorgeous, the flowers were so pretty and most importantly, there was a potatotini bar (you thought I was going to say "they were married and so happy" didn't you?)! If you have not experienced a potatotini bar, I truly feel sorry for you. It is GLOOOOORIOUS. Michael and I had a good time catching up with all of his high school friends--I am still amazed at how many of them are still very good friends and keep in touch regularly.
We "slept in" until 8:45a on Sunday, had lunch at Mi Cocina with his parents and spent the afternoon with Karen and Myers. Craig and Jessie's shower began at 7:30p and was a lot of fun. They had a ton of food and it was a very similar crowd to the one at Amy's wedding the evening before. I am so excited for Craig and Jessie's wedding--it is going to be a blast and they are such a fantastic couple! Craig also let me know that he occasionally reads the ol' blog to catch up on our lives so here is my first formal "shout-out": Hellooo Craig! You should be studying for the bar right now!! :)
We'd originally planned on waking up uber early on Monday and driving in for a half-day of work but after 3 nights of staying up past 1a we changed plans. After a quick stop at West Elm, we were on the road (the correct road) and on our way home. I was the driver and sped for the second time in my ENTIRE LIFE (ha). A cop pulled us over and clocked us doing 85. I pulled out my insurance card and noticed the expiration date was January 5, 2008. What?! So I started looking through my glove compartment, etc. Found 5 more insurance cards, all expired! The guy must have thought I was an idiot. Michael laughs when he's nervous so we were quite the team of him half-laughing and me with my deck of expired cards. I promised the officer I did indeed have insurance. He took the expired card (ugh) and my license and was gone for several minutes. Ended up just giving me a warning, I was so surprised! I called our insurance place this morning and asked that they send me a new card ASAP and am thinking about mailing a copy of it to the officer with a big "THANK YOU" card once I receive it in the mail. Very thankful for nice cops.
Last item I'll mention before I end War and Peace part II... I received a postcard from Save the Manatee Club (my parents adopted a manatee for me when I was much younger). It was addressed to my maiden name but had our correct address! I have no idea how they received my address but I went to the website and caught up on the latest information. Apparently there was a proposed budget cut of rescue and emergency treatment programs in Florida, which would be terrible for the manatees. The website had updated news that was fantastic: "On May 1st, the vessel fee adjustment bill was passed by both the Florida House and Senate. Upon being signed by Governor Charlie Crist, this bill will provide funding for the manatee rescue and rehabilitation program, University of Florida Marine Mammal Veterinary program, and retention of 66 law enforcement positions for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)." Hooray! I found the manatee my parents adopted for me on the website. Her name is Dana and she is still alive and kicking (born in 1988)! I think we're going to adopt again--not sure if it will be Dana or another manatee I found especially cute--his name is Floyd. Maybe we'll go crazy and adopt both. Anywho, a shameless plug for my favorite gentle giants--go adopt one yourself or donate to a great cause: www.savethemanatee.org/donation.htm. It's only $25, which is 1/2 tank of gas or one lunch at Panera. You'll be so glad you did! :)
1 comment:
That wasn't a nervous laugh, I was laughing at you. Love, love
Post a Comment