Out and About Saturday

Mj jumped right out of bed this morning and into the pile of laundry that was beginning to take on a life of it's own in our overflowing laundry basket. Bless his heart because I just didn't have the strength to tackle it. My mind is already on the luxury of an upstairs laundry room that we are going to have in our new house and after years and years of lugging laundry back and forth to laundry rooms I just didn't have the heart to do it again. I am all for teamwork so I was right there to help with the folding.

We stopped by our ever changing new house then it was off to the rec center. As Mj played basketball and I set out for my walk the conditions couldn't be more perfect. The air was crisp and cool with a nice breeze, the sky was a clear blue, and I was full of energy. All of the little lizards that dart back and forth across the pavement really started to freak me out. I saw some really big ones which startled me and got me running. Once I got started it felt good so I just kept on going. The moment I got tired those little lizards were right there to get me running again too! I got in some good stretching after that.

Luckily I am a a fairly low maintenance kind of gal because by the time we got home I only had about 40 minutes to shower, get dressed and be out the door for our little outing that Mj planned for us. We went to the Science Center Museum in this beautiful park close to downtown to watch "The Greatest Places" in IMAX. It's kind of a tourist thing to do but those are the things you sometimes forget about just because you live nearby and miss out on. It's this amazing theatre with a huge screen that surrounds you so that it made me actually feel like I was right there in Greenland and paddling down the Amazon River myself. It's basically a total immersion with sound and sight all around you and was pretty cool to see.

This park was bustling with people and activity every where you looked. There were probably about 4 quinceaneras, and at least two weddings going on. I saw brides in white and teenagers in elaborate bright princess dresses with their well dressed entourages and waiting limos. There was a puppet show going on somewhere, kids running around with newly won medals around their necks from who knows what, random people in various medieval costumes, and girls in dance wear. It made you feel alive just to be in the middle of it all.

I thought I had already earned my dinner with all my running from lizards earlier but apparently not. We aren't afraid to get out there and walk so with me in my Uggs and Mj in his flip flops we left our car where it was and walked about 40 minutes on foot to get downtown. Not sure how many miles that was but after my run earlier I was really feeling it in my thighs by the time we reached our destination. We just sort of wandered around until I found a restaurant that looked good and we went in. They get bonus points for having a Saturday happy hour. My Filet Mignon Quesadilla and Signature Cocktail were only $5 each. I am such a cheap date!! It's the Earn then Burn diet program. Earn your calories then burn them off!!

Mj was literally dragging me along by my hand by the time we made it back to the car. We walked in the door at home and were both in our jammies faster then you can say pajamas. We had such a fun day just going to that hour long IMAX movie and hoofing it to dinner. Mj has ants in his pants and doesn't like to spend too much time sitting in the house. This is good because I am liable to let life pass me by while sitting in the house and it gets my homebody self out too. We had a great time but it feels so good to be home and warm and ever so cozy in my plaid flannel Joe Boxers.

Next we plan to cuddle up and watch whatever cheesy horror movie we find in On Demand. It will be the perfect end to an already quite perfect Saturday.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Date night this month was a Baseball game last night. Mj is an Atlanta Braves fan and has been looking forward to this for a while. It took me about 20 minutes to devour my hot dog and finish sucking down my bud light with lime. That first sip of beer was cold, refreshing, and perfect. I'd been thinking about it all day at work and it was even better then I imagined. Then, it took me about 25 minutes to get out my gloves and beanie. It was a night game so it got pretty chilly.

I have a really bad habit of burning my mouth because I can't wait so Mj was in charge of holding onto the hot chocolate and letting me know when I could have a sip. We had some mini donuts with it. It was actually more fun watching the crowd act crazy on the jumbo tron and scramble for the foul balls as it was watching the game but I made an effort to follow along with what was going on and enjoyed it. We had great seats. Neither one of us had been so close to the action before. I don't know what it is about baseball players but most of them looked old and portly. Is it their baggy uniforms or all of the standing around? I don't know but they just don't seem as athletic and fit as the NBA NFL set. We had a good time, his team won and we left around the 8Th inning.

We took the trolley back to where we parked our cars and got home around 11:30 pm which way late for a work night. I can barely keep my eyes open and Mj has already fallen asleep. Guess we're going to bed early tonight.

Night Out On The Town VIP Style

Wine Tasting In The City

It's Sunday night and we have just spent a nice evening together watching football and making pizza which rivaled any that I've ever had in a restaurant. I turn around and see him sleeping peacefully on the bed behind me and I can hardly believe that he is here. When he wraps his strong warm arms around me I close my eyes and sigh thinking that it just doesn't get much better then this. This is what I've been missing all of these months. This is what I needed to help put myself back together again. He's been home for exactly one week and I have truly enjoyed each and every day.

Last night the limo came to pick us up at 5 pm on the dot. I knew that it was coming because I have been planning this for quite a while but he didn't realize it until the limo driver called to tell me he had arrived. We climbed into our black chariot for the night and immediately popped open the bottle of wine chilling in the fully stocked limousine bar. Off we went. Where to, only I and the limo driver knew!

First stop was wine tasting in the city at a very quaint and homey Wine and Culinary Arts Center downtown. We each had 3 tastes of wine lined up in front of us along with a meat and cheese platter. We took our time sampling the the various cheeses and wines. My favorite was the white but Mj liked one of the reds. When we were ready to go we called our driver. I like the way that sounds!! And we were off to dinner at another location carefully selected by me. I considered numerous restaurants for our dinner. I checked out menus online. I read reviews-which hardly ever helps because there are always conflicting ones. I had chosen a place downtown but he had just went out there the night before so I wanted us to go somewhere different. A co worker had given me a pack of cards with restaurant coupons and I looked through the stack one more time just hours before we left and decided that one of those looked perfect.


I was immediately pleased when we walked into the cozy restaurant which was a cross between a swanky downtown lounge and a sports bar. We were seated right away at a white leather booth by the window facing about 3 flat screen TV's. Mj immediately found a crab cake appetizer and a seafood pasta dish he liked and it didn't take me long to settle on a cheeseburger and fries-calories be damned. The combination of feeling like a VIP seeing as how I have a driver and all, being deliriously happy to be out with my man, and being more then half way to buzzed apparently went straight to my head. Despite the fact that I can't remember the last time I ordered a burger or fries in a restaurant I knew right away that it's exactly what I needed to really live it up. We both enjoyed our meal but there were doggy bags for both of us on the way out. Oh, and did I mention dessert? Only my favorite chocolate molten lava cake with vanilla ice cream. I'd gone off to the ladies room and came back to find out that Mj knew just what to order. We each grabbed a spoon and dug in. It couldn't have been a more perfect meal. Go me for picking what turned out to be the perfect restaurant.


To cap off the night I had the driver take us to the beach which was about 15 minutes from the restaurant. We held hands as we walked along the sidewalk over looking the water and watched the white waves stand out against the black night as they crashed against the dark shadowy rocks that we could barely make out. The otters on the beach looked more like clumps of seaweed against the sand until Mj pointed out to me one that was moving. Inching it's way slowly across the sand as all of the others slept. I wondered if that one had insomnia! We have been there twice for daytime picnics but it was something different to be there at night.


We made our way back to the limo and enjoyed a mixed drink on the ride back home. Mj is such an amazing guy and he is so good to me. He told me what a great time he had and that I did a great job of planning our night out and that is exactly what I was hoping for. I really wanted to wine and dine him as he has so often done for me. I've been agonizing over money lately, but once we were on our way out that night none of that mattered to me. I was so glad to be there with him and I just wanted us to have a good time. It made me happy that I could do something special for him and for us. We have waited a long time to be together and it's been one year since we decided that we wanted to be together forever. This was a great way to celebrate. Cheers to us....and to more fun times ahead of us.