Oct
19
October 19, 2006
To those of you who commented on my last post, thank you so much for sharing such thought-provoking, respectful points of view. I feel like that conversation actually changed my perspective on the whole difficult subject, in a good way. A broadened way. That’s some pretty awesome blog-post fallout, you know? So: thank you.
:::
We had friends stay with us last night, a couple we’ve known for years who recently spent 12 months traveling around the world. They started in New Zealand, moved on to Asia, and then went to Africa before coming back home. I thought it might be awkward to spend time together, I thought that compared to traveling the Kalahari in a Land Rover and camping in Thailand the life we’ve been living for the last year would seem excruciatingly boring.
I mean, they’ve been doing this. And seeing things like this. While we’ve been, uh, changing a lot of diapers.
But of course we are all living rich and interesting lives in our own way, and they seemed as excited by Riley’s development (and even the progress on our remodel, which was awfully damn nice of them to care about being as how I personally find the subject about as thrilling as, say, watching drywall dry) as we were in their travel experiences.
The last time they visited was over a year ago when Riley was a tiny little suctopus who brought all conversation to a startled halt when he turbo-horked a geyser of milk all over the sofa, floor, and JB’s lap. This time I thought he would be infinitely more charming, but whether it was end-of-day weariness, the stimulation of having new people around (and their massive, friendly Golden Retriever), the alignment of the planets, or some combination thereof, Riley basically morphed into a human spider monkey whose temperament veered dizzily from Cackling with Insane Glee to Howling in Great Sorrow while he clambered around falling into things because he was too hyper to keep his freaking balance.
If this couple decides against having children, I think we’ll all know who’s to blame, is what I’m saying.
Tonight JB’s parents are coming to stay for a couple days, which certainly brings up the monthly average of our bed-and-breakfast hosting activities. I’m hoping their presence will allow JB and I to escape for a while on Friday or Saturday night; maybe see a movie, or eat a meal that doesn’t involve being anywhere near those godforsaken Gerber “Pasta Pickups”.
I’m guessing our weekend will involve lots of sitting around and talking, marveling over the grandchild, and if the weather cooperates, some park-walks or geocache outings. I know it’s only Thursday, but indulge me again, won’t you? – (and give me something to read when I sneak away from all the festive family bonding to the computer) – what are you doing this weekend?
Beading like a crazy fool. I have a convention to attend next weekend which draws a big captive audience, and my colleague and I attempt to part many of the attendees from their hard-earned dollars with shiny baubles.
Ugh! The dreaded in-law visits. Good luck with all that. My family is like yours. My parents NEVER come to visit, but my mother-in-law tries to come every few months. She brings her dog who is a complete terror! I think my hair is falling out just thinking of her coming next. As for weekend plans, not sure. It is suppose to be friggin cold so I am thinking blanket, TV, and possibly a book. Have a great weekend!
Tomorrow night I’m goig out on a date with my husband for the first timme in three months, Saturday I’m going to play Bunko, and Sunday we may go wine tasting.
I loved yesterday’s post but I think maybe your comments are full. It wouldn’t let me post.
I am doing what you guys did last weekend. My husband is out of town so I am taking by little one to a pumpkin festival with some friends. He is 19 mos. so I am expecting him to love all of the animals and pony rides, etc.
I will be driving up to Holy Hill to view the fall foliage, carving pumpkins, taking my dogs to the dogpark, cleaning my house, seeing The Dark Horse Project (listen to their awesome music at http://www.myspace.com/thedarkhorseproject) raking leaves, and watching the two disks of “Dead Like Me” that I got from Netflix. Not necessarily in that order.
I am going bear hunting with a bunch of men (sadly, mostly all married) and dogs. It’s a toss-ups who’ll smell worse by Sunday; the men ro the dogs. It won’t be me because I bring my shower with me. So I’m frantically running around getting shit ready: fuel, ice, food, pie. Have to have pie.
I’m sure Riley was more interesting, anyway, even if he didn’t manage to turn on the charm full blast. The lack of turbo-horking (which I’m going to have to use as a description at some point because it is so perfect) has to have been an improvement.
This weekend we have a meeting, a couple of people are coming over for dinner, and we have two rehearsals on Sunday. Oh, and we’re starting the process of finding our exchange student a new home because he just doesn’t fit well with us. We’re too busy and he doesn’t want to do anything that we’re doing, which means he really doesn’t see us much. Hopefully he won’t be too ticked off.
In a couple of weeks we have a whole weekend off. I can’t wait. We’ve been much too busy this month.
Have a great weekend!
Plugging up my ear holes with my fingers because of the damn molars that are poking through James’ gums, and trying to decorate a pumpkin with some crystal bead thing that I picked up at the pumpkin patch on Monday. We’ll see how that goes.. I’m not so crafty.
I must go to a pumpkin patch before my son outgrows his jack-o-latern outfit and the opportunity to turn a photograph into incriminating evidence is lost.
Running my SECOND 5K since I started “training” for a half-marathon. It’s the Red Ribbon Run and it supports a local cancer organization.
I didn’t dare read the comments on your last post, because I was worried they’d be bad or upsetting. I’m glad to hear they weren’t! (I still don’t dare read them, though.)
Well in my head, the husband and I would charter a small plane up to Maine where we’d eat lobster and take long walks to see the Fall foliage in all its blazing glory. We’d end each day in the lobby of some quaint B & B, reading books by a crackling fire – Elizabeth Berg for me and something Non-fiction and word-heavy for him. This fantasy stems from the fact we live in Florida, and even though it’s supposed to be Fall, it’s 87 freaking degrees right now. Ugh!
In reality, we’re planning on hitting the flea market in search of a an old cheap table to re-finish and also try to find a pumpkin I can make last until the end of the month, without having it rot in the oppressive heat. I suffer from Autumn envy.
Saturday I’ll be madly cleaning the house because…
Sunday is Grant’s first birthday party. My relatives are coming to our house, some for the first time, to enjoy cake and a hopefully gleeful little boy who’s on the verge of walking. We’ve got Elmo decorations and an Elmo cake coming from grandma, and a yet to be determined menu that I need to get working on. I’m leaning toward sloppy joes and lasagna, both if which require little prep time or talent.
Oh, and this weekend I’m sitting home coughing, with three coughing children who need antibiotics forced down their little throats twice a day. Pity me, oh pity me!
for Saturday I’ve arranged for some fellow flickrites in the Glasgow (Scotland) area to gather for a photoshoot at the Cathcart Cemetery. That’s the morning shoot. We’ll break mid-day and then meet up again at dusk to shoot night shots of City Centre and, if I can get enough to agree, we’ll finish off the night up at the Necropolis.
Sunday I’m going for a wander, catching up with friends over coffe, and then maybe take a wee hike up Ben Lomond.
Cheers.
My nephew (4 years old) is having surgery on Friday morning, so Saturday morning we’ll go visit him with our 2 year old son. The children’s hospital is just so damn sad, so I’m not looking forward to that really. Saturday afternoon is a baby shower for some friends/neighbors of ours. They are having a boy so it’s been fun to hand down some of Ivan’s stuff to them. Saturday night we’re going to our favorite French restaurant, just the two of us for a change! Sunday is just hanging around, cleaning up and preparing for the next week. I didn’t comment last week, so I’ll say that last weekend was infinitely more fun: we went to San Antonio for the weekend (we live in Austin, so just a 1.5 hour drive) and stayed in a fancy hotel on the Riverwalk for our 6th anniversary–but we brought our 2 year old so it wasn’t exactly…romantic. Still had lots of fun–went to the International Accordion Festival (Zydeco! Conjunto! Klezmer!), walked along the Riverwalk, ate at our favorite Mexican restaurant and visited the zoo Sunday a.m. Yay!
i’m a little worried because i picked up a second job at a 24 hour convenience store. i start working 3rd shift this weekend and i’ve been told i should be scared. 3rd shift at a college campus convenience store. fun!!! :)
that’s ok, i’m looking forward to it sort of. tonight, however, i get to enjoy a night with my honey relaxing and hanging out together. :)
My son has a birhtday party to attend Saturday, so we will go shopping either Friday evening or Saturday morning. Besides a gift, we’ll also pick up items for my Halloween costume (a witch — I’m serving “Witch’s Brew” at my son’s school Halloween party), and possibly some new shoes. Sunday we have the last flag football game of the season. Other than that, it’ll be laundry, laundry, laundry.
I’m off to Skopje in Macedonia (again) with my husband, our 7 week old boy and the entire Danish UN contingent to do some shopping. Not that many good stores here in Pristina see :P Other than that I need to buy a gazillion big ass candles because the power keeps cutting out… and it gets coooooold in the Balkans. Brrrr…rrrr
I’m going to finish up my scuba certification, yay! Four Open Water Dives, here I come …
First time commenter & I just have to say how much I love your site & how cute Riley is.
We are taking our 8 month old on her first trip away for the weekend to the beach. The amount of stuff we are bringing with us is freaking me out, not to mention whether she’ll sleep at all this weekend.
Have a good one!
Well, we’re working on the house hardcore around here. We’re cleaning and my best friend has moved in so we’re getting everything rearranged. It’s actually been fun, strangely. Since I hatehatehate cleaning.
You have fun Sundry!!!
That monk in the waterfall pic is amazing! My husband and I are celebrating our anniversary a little early. My in-laws are coming in to watch our daughter and we are finally going to see The Departed! Then going out to dinner at this place, Del Posto. New Mario Batali restaurant here in New York. Really looking forward to some alone time with my husband. Hope you guys can do the same. :)
My husband and I are going to some event at the Houston Zoo – a wine and food 21-years-and-up only thing. Should be pretty fun. Also, my parents are watching the kiddo for the whole weekend – I’m definitely looking forward to time spent doing something other than dot-to-dot books!
watching house and americas next top model.
studying for the exams i have in less than two weeks (environmental phil, judaism christianity & islam, latin).
looking at more reception venues.
moving some of my furniture out. moving some of my fiances stuff in.
going to my brothers pre-emptive halloween party as a preist (its got a ‘p’ theme).
being hungover.
trying to teach the small child the meaning of ‘inside voice’.
My BF is going to Reno for an exam, and since he lives a stone’s-throw from the Port of Long Beach, and since he’s a bit of a conspiracy theorist/paranoid person/freakshow, and since it’s the week of ramadan and the terror alerts are elevated and apparently, there is all kinds of buzz about probable attacks, his 18-year-old son will be staying with me in his absence, just in case terrorists blow up Long Beach. WOE IS HIM, for I have no internet and crappy basic cable, he he doesn’t own a car and will be dependent on me to drive him around. I don’t know what he’ll do since he can’t play WoW.
Eating out with family on Friday night.
Taking a ride in beautiful mid-Michigan to see the fall colors which are at their gorgeous peak right now and then…rooting for our own Detroit Tigers in the World Series. GO TIGERS!!!!!
Saturday morning I am going to choir rehearsal, and Saturday evening I’m going to a birthday party for a close friend’s three-year-old son. Hopefully I’ll fit a quick bike ride in during the day. Sometime this weekend I also need to purchase more yarn for the scarf I am making my SIL. Sunday I’m planning on a 25-mile bike ride with my husband, and then Sunday evening I’m going to my sight-singing class. Also on the agenda: laundry and clearing all the fucking paperwork off my damn table.
It’s actually already Friday for me so this request for weekend plans is totally time-appropriate. Also! Labo(u)r Day Weekend! Tonight I am going to have a gigantic bowl of hot chocolate and see an arty movie at the Paramount in town. Tomorrow I am either going to the zoo or to a barbecue and then hosting a movie night at my house. Sunday I am spending at the library and the museum before going to a bellydance show in which my friend is performing, and Monday I am going to brunch and possibly to the bird sanctuary. I felt really lame for not getting it together to go away for the long weekend, but it turns out that spending it at home is going to be pretty fun anyway.
I’m contemplating going down to Richmond to a dinner party my friend’s friend is throwing. But I’m scared, because 1. My friend (who I love more than life itself) is really awesome, but her friends from colelge kind of suck. They all wear pointy-toed shoes to the grocery store and are always on diets and are all either married or engaged and like to ooh and ahh over each others rings. 2. Dinner parties scare me. I know I”m going to feel very unsophisticated, and then I’ll probably get really drunk just to drive that point home.
Hmm. I don’t think I”m going. Instead I’ll work on painting my living room and watch as much TV as possible.
I’m going to get some hot fish and chips and sit on the beach eating them. I’m also going to read on the couch (or beach if the weather permits) and walk in the park down the road with the huge willow trees taking in the fresh spring air, and pretending that i am Anne of Green Gables (a very heavily pregnant one though i might add)…..
Then I am going to finish doing my Christmas cards and do a spot of Christmas shopping because I won’t have time to do that later. And, I start Life Drawing class next week so i am going to purchase some lovely new charcoals and paper from the local artshop. Also the Indian Diwali Festival is going to be celebrated in a big way this weekend in Auckland City so will rock along to that and buy jingly wrist bangles and also soak in some Bollywood dancing…..cool.
Saturday my mom is coming down to wrangle the small one while G and I paint the dining room (and, hopefully if we’re extra special productive, the office). These are the last 2 rooms tha require painting, and we’ve been in this house for 6 (SIX!!) years. We’re hosting Thanksgiving this year and I wanted to be able to have a little pride in my dining room. The girl is at the smearing food all over the table stage, so we’ve put off getting a new dining room table (and there’s also the SIL’s destination wedding next spring – Florida in March, can you dig how spendy that will be? – and also the roof and domer we’re hoping to do next summer/early fall) until we’re done with that little bit of exploration and learning. My mom’s going to spend the night and we’ll either play some card games, dominoes or maybe watch a movie. Do we know how to party or what?
Sunday, I’m expecting we’ll do some more painting because there is also the awesome task of painting all the ceilings that needs to be undertaken before Thanksgiving.
Whenever all the leaves fall off the trees is when we’ll be doing the 2006 chop ’em and rake ’em and pile ’em ritual. The leaves are taking their damn time this year though, and I hope we can get this done BEFORE the snow flies.
Kim–I’m with you on the fall envy! It was like 80 degrees today in Louisiana. This weekend? Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins AND Ani Difranco are playing…I think I will be a big girl and go on my lonesome because lo, the boy is working all weekend long, and meh, I like them so much I don’t know if I want to be distracted by a casual friend I have to feel out conversation with (still new-ish in this city and lots of acquaintances but no tight-tight buds). Oh yes deep dark truthful mirror, I am socially awkward and a little bit bitchy!
I didn’t get a chance to respond to your post last weekend because I was already out of town! Last weekend we drove to Florida to visit with my friends and family. I got to see my friend Sara’s new house, which is st00pid huge (15 ft ceilings, marble floors, six bedrooms, three full bathrooms & two half bathrooms, and an AVIARY. Who needs such a house??), Jay and I bummed around my brother’s house, and had a barbeque with my mom & stepdad. Then, we drove to Orlando to spend three sinful days in a condo at a spa resort in Disney World, which included a day of drinking our way through the wine festival and a night of “trick or treating” at the park’s halloween party. Then we drove back to Atlanta just in time for work on Wednesday.
This weekend we’re totally spending ASLEEP. I might insist on driving to the farmer’s market in the morning for things called VEGETABLES and REAL FOOD, since we’ve been living off of spaghetti and halloween candy for two days. I think we also have a trip to the Apple Store of Doom planned, and maybe a hiking trip to Red Mountain if the weather clears up.
I’m dragging the hubs to the Everglades for an airboat tour in the brackish swamps, along with a drive through less-than-idyllic Indian reservations (where they have signs posted that say “WE HATE AMERICA. GO HOME, TOURISTS.”) to a local park where we will watch alligators eat giant birds while we eat our lunches. Later, we’ll do more various and sundry touristy things, because dude, we need to get out of the house and live a little. We’ve been home or at Target every weekend for about six weeks and I am slowly losing my bloody mind.
I’m running the Chicago Marathon this weekend! It’s my first marathon, it’s in a city I have never been to, the weather is supposed to be hellacious, and I’m battling a cold. I’m nervous, excited, anxious, and completely thrilled. It’s going to be really difficult, but I feel confident that after training for four months, I’m ready. It’s a scary thought…26.2 miles? Damn.
Don’t those Pasta Pickups smell like Hot Ass? My daughter would only eat the spinach ones. I finally said screw it and bought Chef Boyardee.
We are having a belated baby shower for my sister tomorrow night. Yeah, her son is 4 weeks old. She refused a shower so we are just getting together with out other sisters and some friends (and a LOT of kids).
Sunday is MY BIRTHDAY. I am going to be 28 and my mommy is coming over for dinner. My husband is on the road this weekend but he should be back early Sunday afternoon. I hope so, because if not I have to clean the house myself on Saturday.
My mother is coming for a visit from across the county to attend a family friend’s funeral. Sunday my husband and I are going to a work-related dinner function (so, not much fun—but free drinks and dinner and no kids!)
We are in the midst of a kitchen remodel – electrician coming tonight (he’s the only one we’re paying to do anything), hopefully placing some cabinets tomorrow night and saturday morning. Then have to go to a wedding on saturday (blah, one of those I feel like I SHOULD go to but don’t really want to, two hours away) and some of our good friends are moving back into town that day as well. And of course, this is the weekend when there is a flight special to the hometown I desperately miss…
Got a new bike (Trek Pilot 5.2) so I will be doing a long ride Sat and working on the house Sun. My brother won the IPO lotto twice so he had every cool geek toy you could imagine. Without a family he had the freedom to take a year off to bike around Europe and work as a ski patrol at Mammoth. Funny thing, he was jealous of my mundane life raising two kids and working on a house. Grass is always greener.
Good luck with the inlaws. By the way, loved the pic yesterday of Riley staring suspiciously at the pumpkin. He’s such a cutie. =)
This weekend, my boyfriend and I will be doing laundry, packing and making the final arrangements for our trip next week to Georgia to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert. I’m going out of my mind with excitement about it.
Moving! And getting rid of the world’s largest cat.
Friday night we’re getting together with family who are coming in from out of town. Saturday we’re hitting the pumpkin patch to look for a nice huge pumpkin for the porch and then we’ll probably go out for a bite to eat after. They’re calling for rain on Sunday, so I think we’ll spend it at home and I’ll catch up on a few things.
As a grad student, I have a never-ending supply of homework to do. I hope I’ll do some, because I really REALLY need to, and it’s so easy to fill time with other “wasteful” things, like sleeping and laundry and eating.
I have a party to attend for my grad program; a party at which I am both hoping and dreading that I might see a friend with whom I recently had a very serious falling-out. And I don’t even know why, exactly. I think we are no longer even on speaking terms, which saddens me very much, but if we see each other at the party it will either be very painfully clear that the friendship is, in fact, dead OR that things will be ok between us. I made the last conciliatory gesture; we shall see if it will be returned or ignored. Still.
I might also run a 10k on Sunday — a knee problem and laziness about waking up at 5:30 on Sunday morning in order to race are leaving me feeling a little indecisive.
This Saturday my dog “Anna Bella” and I will be taking the Pet Partners pet assisted therapy/activites evaluation/test to see if we will make a good team to visit homes and hospitals for petting and cute little dog therapy, who doesnt feel better just petting a fluffy white dog? :)
Our family will cut the pumpkins, i will make the seeds and we will eat them all, also selling coffee for my sons fundraiser and Sunday is church and quiet time for all. Next back to the same old grind on Monday!
Have a great weekend!
Trying like mad to stop procrastinating and start studying for my RN boards–which I take in, uh, 6 days and haven’t begun to prepare for.
But, you know.. I promised the dog a walk and the carpet needs cleaning and I want to take a ride through the mountains and look at the leaves changing, so…… Here’s hoping for a little common sense and a LOT of luck.
Have a great weekend!
I plan on painting my dining room, cleaning the house like a mad woman (family is coming next week), spending time with my two boys & husband probaby geocaching, and possibly even hitting a fall festival to get some pumpkins, and just enjoy the fall weather! I love your blog by the way!
This weekend will be spent watching many glorious hours of I Claudius and various incarnations of Robin Hood (ie. the horrible Kevin Costner and Men in Tights). I will also be avoiding researching a presentation and not doing my translation homework. Yuss.
My weekends are pretty monotonous, but I didn’t tell you what I was doing last weekend, so I guess it can’t hurt!
Friday– going to sleep in, hopefully watch some damn history videos (I have a video history class, and it SUCKS), then head over to my friends house where we will very likely play video games until early in the morning. I may or may not have done something extremely regrettable with one of those friends on Monday night when we were both extremely drunk, so I’m actually a bit nervous about it. And I am not going into any details, because I already feel like a douche.
Saturday– WORK til 11 pm. There is a halloween party (I know, on Oct 21st?!) that I may attend after work, but costume is required and I don’t have anything ready. Maybe a demon.
Sunday– do some schoolwork (probably around 2am monday, actually). Slum around the house, doing nothing of benefit. Clean.
My life is boring. I wish I were going to the pumpkin patch or biking 25 miles or running a 5k! You have some interesting people reading your blog!
Editing, tending to the needs of a 3 month old’s last remnants of his first cold and maybe – just maybe – some window shopping with the hubby and the boy. Maybe.