Postponing Dinner Out

Apparently no one else can go tonight. I know that I pulled the trigger on this way too late. Sorry, that was my fault.

So let's just postpone this plan until August. Maybe early August? I'll put up another poll and get the word out better and be a little more organized and plan a little better and... and... and...

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope everyone in the USA had/is having a great holiday!

If you are inclined to read an excellent and moving document proclaiming the Independence of the USA, I've provided a link here. It is a truly well-written document that evokes deep emotion and gratitude from me.

DC Area Meet Up - Going Out on 7/5!

Okay, here's the deal: I'm out of town those last two weekends in July. So even though some people asked for those, they will not work for me. You all can get together then if you want, but since I won't be able to make it, you really don't want to, do you?

So here's the plan I'm thinking of...

How about those of us who can meet up the evening of July 5th? Let's meet at the Cafe Delux at 6:00 (is that too early?). Reservations will be under the name "Cara."

Please reply to this post to let me know if you can come so I'll know how many for the reservation. Even if it's a small group, I think it'll be a lot of fun!

Then, we'll plan other meet up for mid-August for those who can't make it to this one.

Don't Even Know My Own Shoe Size

That was really weird.

I went to the mall to pick up my lunch and get a pair of shoes. I saw these shoes (in red) MONTHS ago, but didn't take the time to try them on or buy them. I've been longing for dreaming of thinking about them ever since. Finally, I decided to go ahead and get them, especially since they are on a mega-sale ($20!!!).

So I went to the mall, ordered some food, hurried to the shoe store and found the shoes still on the shelf. When the salesman asked me what size, I told him the wrong size. I have no idea why. In fact, I didn't even realize it until I was trying them on and thought that they were very tight! Well of course they are tight, it's a size too small, a size I haven't been in over 15 years!

I think this is all part of something I like to call Post Baby Stress Disorder(tm) (PBSD). We did have a rough night last night, which included 1.5 hours of baby-wakefulness--a well-known contributor to PBSD. Memory loss is one of the main symptoms of PBSD, so it's no surprise that I'm having trouble remembering things.

But my own shoe size? Just weird.

(Luckily, they did have it in a half size up, although not in my actual size. The half-size too small actually fits pretty good. I totally bought them!)

My Weekend Away

I said last week that I was going to write up about my weekend away. It was fantastic! As much as I love my husband and little girl, I really really REALLY enjoyed having a weekend away.

I went with my parents and sister-in-law (who left her kids home with my brother) up to my cousin's lake house. My cousin and his family were not there, so it was just the four of us. The house is beautiful, comfortable and relaxing, set on the hillside across the road from the lake, surrounded by trees through which you can see the blue lake. It's a great vacation location, and only a 3 hour drive from my house.

My parents picked me up after work on Friday. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to leave the baby and hubby. I had barely seen either of them all day, and weekends are when I spend the most quality time with both of them. But my parent's arrived, and I went. It was hard, but not impossible.

We got up to the house probably around 10:30 or 11:00. This is normally past my bedtime, but I got to nap in the car on the ride up. Plus? I was on vacation and could SLEEP IN the next morning. So I stayed up chatting and drinking vodka tonics. In fact, my dad and I stayed up until maybe 1:00 or so talking and drinking! I was feeling wild and crazy!

The next day, I slept in until maybe 9! I did wake up in the middle of the night, but it wasn't to get a baby or anything like that. I think I woke up mainly because I have been so used to having to wake up to check the monitor or get the baby or something. This time, I just went back to sleep, without a care in the world.

When I got up, I sat around and chatted with my SIL about kids and husbands and life. She's awesome and we get along really well, so it was fun to have a lazy morning with her. My mom and dad went out on the boat. I will admit that I did have to get some work done, which I finished up right after lunch. And then I went out on the boat.

My parents got the speed boat when I was pregnant with the Pumpkin, and I didn't go on it then. The last time I went up to the lake house with my parents, I brought the Pumpkin. So when I went on the boat, my mom watched her. But I was worried the whole time. I didn't want to spend long out, because my mom watched her every day at that time, and I wanted her to have fun and enjoy her weekend. I had Responsibilities hanging over my head the whole time.

This time, I could go out on the boat for however long I wanted. There was no one waiting for me to get back and take care of them or entertain them or even check in with them. Do you understand what that was like? It was incredible!

Saturday night, we all went out to to a nice dinner and a movie. At dinner, I was able to fully participate in conversations, and I only had to worry about feeding myself. There was no one to order food for, keep plates and utensils away from, make sure she ate, or bounce and walk around the restaurant to keep entertained. Nor was there any rush to get back to relieve a babysitter or family member. We had plenty of time before the movie, and I even ordered a delicious dessert. The movie, Get Smart, was fun and funny. And the whole night was such a pleasant night.

The next day, I slept in again (wooo hooo!), went out on the boat and helped clean up the place before we left. There was no worrying about timing of things, like leaving around nap time or making sure that I'd have time to feed the child before we went. We spent most of the day there at the house. I just wanted to be back home in time to nurse the baby to bed, and that wasn't a problem.

All in all, I highly recommend a weekend away to rejuvenate youself. When I got back, I had so much more patience for everyone and everything. Well, for everything but the house. Oh, and work. Hmmm, well at least I had a break from everything and felt better for a little while.

Six Years, and Counting

Before I get into today's post, I wrote on my other site my review for my TBR Challenge June book, The Blind Mirror by Christopher Pike. Hop on over to read why I love Christopher Pike and what I though of the book.

Sunday, June 29th, was a special day for Londo and me. It was our six-year wedding anniversary.

Londo and I have been together since our senior year of college, 11 years ago this fall. When we met, we were both dating other people who didn't go to our college. So we started out as friends. We got along great, quizzing each other on 80s trivia at the bar on dollar draft night, running the pool tables as a team, hanging out in writing lab talking about books and writing, playing the South Park drinking game, ditching class to go to McDonalds during the Monopoly game, and so much more. But the attraction was undeniable, and we didn't stay just friends.

By the summer, it was very obvious to both of us that we were the ones for each other. We both moved back to our parents' houses for the year after college, but we knew that we wanted to go to grad school together. We picked UGA in Athens, GA. We both got our Masters degrees from there and loved living there for the few years we were there. That was where we got our cat and dog, where we learned how to live together and where Londo asked me to marry him.

We moved up to the DC area right before our wedding. I am from this area, and this was where we were getting married. It's amazing to me to think that we've been up here for six years. We've been husband and wife for six years. All that wedding planning and stress culminated into a beautiful and fun wedding six years ago.

Each year has been even better than the last.

Thank you, Londo, for six wonderful years of marriage, and for over 10 years of your love and life. I am very lucky and very blessed, and I look forward to a lifetime more.

Question of the Week - Brag a Little

This weekend is July 4th! We all know what that means in the USA... Barbeques, fireworks, and apple pie. What, you're not making apple pie from scratch? I sure am. Want to know why? Cause I'm an awesome baker.

I'm a pretty good cook, but I'm an excellent baker. My favorite recipes are simple ones, but I'll even make really hard items. I'm hoping to start learning how to make pastries soon. All in my noble quest for more delicious desserts.

I learned to love baking with my mom (in fact my apple pie recipe is hers), and I plan to bake with my kids as much as possible. Even this last weekend, when I was baking bread, the Pumpkin was in the sling on my hip, watching (and grabbing) me add flour and stir. For years, my neice has come over to my house to be my baking buddy, and we do make excellent holiday gifts for our family every Christmas. This is a tradition I hope to keep with my neice and add my own children to it. But not just for holidays.

I bake when I'm happy, when I'm depressed, when I'm in the mood for something sweet and when I want to show off. Like yesterday at a big family gathering, I brought homemade bread and from-scratch pudding. They of course got rave reviews. In fact, I'm going to make the pudding again this weekend and put strawberries and blueberries on it (red, white and blue for the holiday, of course) and serve it right next to my apple pies.

You want to come over and have some, don't you?

But that's not the question of the week. Here's the question of the week:

What are you really good at that you like to show off?

I've obviously already answered, so now it's your turn to brag!