Hey, Ya'll!
I really tried to read everything. . . . speed read for the most part. So for you sickies, get better soon. . . for those of you irritated with your children, I'm feelin ya. . . . jealous of all the trips and travel plans going on around here. . . .
Lawrence - Junior moved up to 4th in points today!!!!!!!
Here's our anniversary report from yesterday if you are interested:
Shopping most of day with dh and kids. Got a new shirt, shorts and some ankle bracelets. Dh got a haircut that looks hot. Kids got charms for their shoes and we got groceries. . . how romantic!
Home late afternoon, into the shower then marathon blowdrying and straightening for evening out. I wore my new shirt, some jean capris that I haven't been able to wear for a long time and my new, wonderful Sherry Soft black sandals.
Finally left about 6:15, dropped dd11 off at friends to spend the night and threatened dd15 that she better be nice and babysit appropriately for dd8. Turns out they were best buds all evening. . .but waited up for us
Couldn't decide where to go to eat dinner. . . decided on Applebee's because of their weight watchers menu. Got there and it was PACKED. The whiners in front of us wanted to go sit at the bar with their baby, didn't want to wait for a table because their group was large, hovered all around the check in stand so no one else could list their name and hassled the young lady working there. . .she finally went to get the manager and while she was gone, they walked out

yessss, finally! So we are up next, give her the number in our party and WE GOT A TABLE!!! I guess all the others waiting were groups of 5 or larger because there were like 8-9 names ahead of us but we got seated immediately in a booth. We were

. Having said that, they were crazy busy and we tried to keep in mind that we CHOSE to go out to dinner on a Saturday night at 7:00pm.
So, our waitress shows up about 5 minutes after being seated and we already knew what we wanted. I kept seeing all these ginormous exotic looking drinks coming out and I was like. . . dude, where's the drink menu. It was so much harder to decide on a drink that it was dinner. . . probably more choices since we limited ourselves to the weight watcher choices. I finally settle on a Strawberry Banana Daquiri. Both of us order the Steak and Portobella dinner (only 10 grams of fat). It's obviously steak (we both ordered medium well) with mushrooms and also broccoli and potatoes. We wanted salad, so each of us ordered a side ceasar. I said no cheese and I need fat free ranch on the side (I like the lettuce in ceasar better). Waitress goes "I don't think we have any fat-free ranch. . at least we didn't last night but maybe we got some in today". I said, fine, then just give me a fat-free Italian on the side. Waitress: "We don't have any other fat free dressings except the Ranch". Me:

. Since dh was sitting there with the "oh crap, here she goes" look, I decided to be nice and said "then please just put the ceasar dressing on the side if you don't have any ff ranch". Waitress: " did you want your drink and salad before your entree?" Me: "uuuhhhh. . . . yeah. . . "
Off she goes and it's not long until she comes back with dh's iced tea and my drink. OMG!!!! It is beautiful and I don't think I can actually drink it. What a work of art

So I gaze at it in appreciation for approximately 4 seconds before I snatch it up and greedily suck on the straw. . . unfortunately I cannot describe this cocktail. . . ambrosia perhaps, maybe nectar of the Gods. . . . it was the absolutely best drink I have ever had. . . and I can assure you I have had a goodly few in my few years of being over 21

My face was melting with pure joy as I cannot remove the straw from my mouth to give dh a taste and he is getting seriously annoyed because I've apparently lost the ability to speak actual words. I must have been moaning like crazy cuz people started looking at me weird and dh finally wrestled the drink from my iron grasp. I think he thought it was just as good as I did, but he's entirely too

to appreciate it publicly. There was this HUGE, bright red, juicy strawberry on the side of the glass, so I started sticking my straw through the berry to get some inside the straw then sucking it through so it was mixed with the drink. . .I gave dh some like that and he liked it. Then he wanted the strawberry, perhaps he thought I was making a spectacle of myself, so I put it on a napkin and put some sugar on it for him.
Here comes waitress with our salad, and to my horror, I only have a small amount of the beautiful frozen nectar left in my ginormous glass, so I said "why don't you go ahead and order me another one of these so the next one is sitting here when this one is empty. . . and could you please make sure that my straw never makes it to the bottom and I hear that slurpy noise which means the drink is gone?" Waitress: "No problem!" I could hear her thinking, cool, she's gonna get wasted and those very expensive drinks are gonna run their tab up nicely! Unfortunately, dh was thinking the exact same thing and said, yeah, you need to make sure your straw doesn't make the empty, slurping noise again before we are ready to go

WHATEVER!!! So second drink arrives and it is just as beautiful. This time, I am able to stare at it for longer. . maybe 10 or 12 seconds. I went right for the strawberry this time. I put it on a napkin and sweetened it for dh, pushed it across the table and said "happy anniversay, honey". Shameless advance ploy to get another of these beauties.
I should say that the salads were good, but they had put cheese on mine, however the dressing was on the side as I asked. I picked off as much of that yummy freshsly shredded parmesan as possible, then I dipped my fork into the dressing, let all the excess drip off then mixed up my salad with the fork. That's all the dressing I used and it was still very good, though I was appropriately buzzed after drinking the first monster drink on an empty stomach.
A couple minutes after the salads were finished, our entrees came. There was a small piece of steak, a few pieces of red potatoes and a large portion of broccoli. For those who don't know, I have not eaten red meat in 3 months. So, I'm buzzed, red meat deprived and . . . not very hungry anymore. I've gotten through 1.5 drinks and a small salad and my tummy's no longer rumbling. So dh is watching me and I try to look excited as I eat my broccoli and start cutting a strip of steak into small pieces. I notice it is very "pink" and I don't like steak that way. It was more medium rare than medium well. . .dh sees it and says, I think you got mine. Well, we both ordered med well, I reminded him, but recognized steak envy. I said "would you like to trade", and he's like "ok, sure". So I move all my steak, which I had not actually tasted onto his plate and he moves his to mine. . .only, wait, there's only like 1/2 or less left of his. So I frown for about 1 second then realize, cool, I'm only going to have to eat 1/2 of what I ordered and dh won't scowl at me. So I start fiddling with my steak, cut a strip, cut it into bites, eat a potato chunk, take a couple bites of steak and realize I don't care for red meat anymore. Hhhhmmmm, how to tell dh I don't like the steak dinner we are enjoying on our anniversary. So I look at him, and he goes "you don't like it, do you". I just sort of look at him for a second and slowly shake my head

. Not really, I say, would you like to have it? He's like, sure, ok. . . so I quickly took advantage and said "want the potatoes too?" So onto his plate goes most of his 1/2 steak that became mine and about 1/2 of my potatoes. I did eat all the broccoli and a few pieces of the potato. I needed to finish my drink and if I had eaten that food I would have been miserable. So I'm looking at my drink and wondering if I can fit it in and knowing I will regardless of how full I am and thinking if dh will only be patient for another 15 minutes, I can get this down fine.

I remember seeing a dessert on the weight watchers menu, so I mention it to him. I can tell he would like it, so when the waitress comes to inquire if we saved room for dessert, I tell her that I have drank my dessert (and most of my dinner too), but could you tell my hottie husband what the weight watchers dessert is? It was chocolate raspberry cake. . .aaannnnd dh goes for it! Yeah!! So now we have to wait for the dessert and I have lots of time for my drink. We sit quietly people watching and dh observes that the 4 top of girls that had been sitting next to us left a TON of food on their table. They asked for to go cups, then left them sitting and didn't appear to pay or leave tips. They were in softball uniforms and the entire team was seated throughout the restaurant at different tables. He decided that their coach must have been paying for them after they were all finished, but he was appalled at all their wastefulness. I asked him if he was envious because they ate all the foods we used to order. . .and he kind of grinned and said probably.
Here comes his dessert. It is a small piece of rich, moist looking cake with raspberry sauce all over it and on the giant plate (which only make the cake look smaller). DH finished it off in like 3 bites and says "I probably could've eaten it in one but I was minding my manners". I guess our waitress heard and walked over laughing. She goes "I was thinking I could have eaten it in two bites myself!" She drops the bill off and dh looks it over then pays. As it was, I finished my drink and didn't have to worry about dh telling me no on the 3rd because I couldn't have drank it anyway.
I told dh I needed to get up . . . those jeans that fit so beautifully when I was getting ready, were not feeling so good anymore. So, off we went. Dh asked where I wanted to go and I was secretly thinking I wanted to go home and go to bed cuz I was full, but I gamely said wherever. Dh goes to the atm for some ready cash and off to a bar. He knew my brother was there and some other friends, so I was glad to go in. Got a spot at the bar and ordered my first ice cold bud light of the evening. Wondering, as I did, if I was going to be able to drink it. Got to visiting with friends and put down another 3 beers, so 4 in all. . . or maybe 5. Dh is designated driver, so he has one southern and coke. When he was finished with his drink, he sets in on the bar, but the bartender made him another because he had money still sitting out. He wasn't happy, but I was so I told him to give it to my brother instead of making a big deal out of it. Dh calls my bro over and asks him if he wants it and bro turns him down. . doesn't drink hard liquor. . but bro's best friend is standing there and takes the drink while holding his mexican beer in the other hand. Sooo, your wife is driving, right friend?? His wife, who I like but has been talking about her health issues for 30 minutes, is still sitting next to me jabbering away when dh's phone rings. Dd8 is on the line and very upset because our dog has chewed up one of her shoes. Not our foster dog, who doesn't live with us anymore, our 11 year old, 85 pound golden retriever. So I use the excuse to say "Oh, we better go home". Jackets on, goodbyes yelled out and in the car we go. I was like, dang, I was very tired of hearing about her bowel issues and that girl is only 43 years old. . .she's going to be a very annoying 70 year old!! (Insert reminder that part of my job is managing a senior housing complex)
Dh asks if I really want to go home and I said well, I don't want to drink anymore or I'll puke so what else. He wants to go to
Walmart since we haven't been there is 6 hours

Ok, I'm game, I can walk a while and hopefully digest some of this food (and alcohol). So we spend 45 minutes walking around Wally World, spend $30 and head for home. Note to self: Wally world is full of weirdos at midnight on a Saturday, however I appeared to be the only intoxicated one

I was not stumbling or drooling or behaving badly in any way, but I knew I was buzzed and prolly other people did too. I couldn't seem to figure out how much smoked turkey to order from the deli lady, who did not appear to be surprised to see someone standing at the meat case gazing stupidly at the turkey. . . finally, I managed to ask, very nicely and very slowly, for 2 lbs of shaved, smoked turkey. . . but please make sure it is not mesquite smoke because I don't like mesquite smoked as it tastes like burning leaves. . .and when you shave it as thin as you can get it, it's ok if it falls apart and does't shave off in whole slices cuz I like it better than way anyhow. . . when dh says "uuummm, didn't you say you were out of apples?" Yes, thanks for reminding me and I will go get some juicy, red delicious apples as soon as she finishes shaving my turkey breast that I hope is not mesquite cuz I don't like that kind. . .yes, honey, I know you don't and I'm sure she's shaving the kind you asked her for 3 times so why don't you go pick out the apples while I wait for the turkey. Oh, good idea, that will save some time so I will go to the apples which are right over there, so I'll be right over there when you are done here and I'll be picking out apples but I hope they have good ones cuz you know I don't like it if they have marks or bruises. . . wait, I'm not finished talking to you

so why is dh shoving me toward the apple section???

I'm still wondering that when I spotted the red delicious bins. . .oh boy, there don't seem to be a very large selection. . . hope I can find enough that are suitable. . . so I ask the nice lady who smells really, really bad like b.o. if she prefers red delicious or green. . .and she says "well, since I've got a whole bag of green, I'd have to answer green then". . .as she's walking away. Lucky for that stinky apple lady my dh came up right then and told me to pick out the damn apples and please stop yapping at complete strangers. . . but I was only making polite conversation with her and besides, she stunk and I still talked to her anyway so she didn't have to be rude. . . ok, dh has apparently had enough at this point because he said to push the cart and he went in front and grabbed it and pulled me to the checkout line. I turned around and waved at the nice deli ladies, who were nice and waved back. . .as they were laughing. Dh steers us to the 20 items or less check out and starts throwing our suff on the belt and I am going to swipe my card, but he says "I got it. . .why don't you just stand there and hold the cart" . . .what the. . . . fine, I'll just stand here like I'm stupid. . . but I quickly become fascinated with the people in the aisle next to us and want to talk to them, but dh is in my face again. . . lets go, lets go, lets go. . .gotta go. Out the door, cart in the corral, into the car and on our way home. Dh turns on the radio real loud so he couldn't hear me if I talked to him so I just sat there, until I saw the Speedway station. . .nope, not stopping, we don't need anything. . . and here we are at home. Kids waiting up for us is prolly not good, so I go right to my bedroom, recognizing that my kids will know something isn't right. . .like dh is being a big, giant bully!!!! I decided that I needed to eat some melba rounds in bed and dared dh to say something about that. . .he didn't. . .guess he knew what was good for him.
I'll say that I woke this morning, starving to death cuz I stretched out my stomach last night and a headache. . . probably cuz I'm hungry. . . but dh gets up to take the dog out and fixed me scrambled eggwhites and toast.
So, there's my long anniversary report that completely focus on alcohol!