While we were in Tampa last month, we had a bad experience at PF Changs. It seemed they had reduced portion size while keeping prices the same. Like I've said before, I'm fine with paying more at this point. I expect it. However I'm not happy when I order what I think is enough food to feed my family, only to come up short. So Steve e-mailed them, pretty much saying the same thing in a nice manner. Today, a gift card for $40 came in the mail from PF Changs. Woohoo!

In other news, after last week's horrendous accidental chicken jerky, I've decided to make my version of Alice Springs Chicken for "TV Thursday" dinner. I've yet to mess this one up. I'm also making olive oil, parmesan and roasted garlic potatoes and some mukimame. I can't wait.

I've started to read Wicked. It wasn't exactly what I expected. Definetely not for the kiddies, but good. I also picked up the new David Sedaris book. I'm reading a bit here and there when I need a good laugh, savoring it like a fine wine. Oh, and I bought Wuthering Heights out of curiousity thanks to Twilight. I finished The Host. Very, very good. I highly recommend it. Meanwhile, War and Peace is peacefully sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust. The "peace" parts were good, but I was having a hard time getting into the "war".

Last night, Steve and I went into Georgetown. I ended up with new shoes and got to eat at La Madeleine. We've also had Thai food and cheesesteaks this week. And I wonder why I've gained 3 pounds since coming back from Tampa.

I am bummed however that Children of Men came in the mail from Netflix instead of Redneck Zombies. Seriously. I was really looking forward to watching it this weekend. It was filmed in Delmar, MD on a video camera. All the reviews said it was wonderfully bad. Oh well.

Better hop off here. I've got about 2 hours before Rob, Kirsten (formerly known at "the new girl"), and Gary arrive.

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Ok, last post today, I promise, but this was important. It is rare I get to fish anything out of the pool that is still alive. Today, I rescued not one, but 2 chipmunks! The first one went scurrying off as soon as I put it on the ground, but this little guy was a little dazed and confused for a bit.

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Things I'm not liking

• Not being able to sleep. Seriously, I used to be able to guzzle coffee at midnight and sleep. Now, I drink green tea past 4pm and I'm up all night.
• The pile of laundry that needs to be sorted and folded in the laundry room. Just make it go away!!!
• The huge zit on my left cheek.

Things I'm loving

• Naptime is an option
• Finally transferrring all new music from the last six months from Steve's iPod to my iTunes library.
• Singstar for PS3, Steve and I played til we got busted by a friend of ours that dropped by.
• Mahi Mahi for dinner last night
• Weezer and Coldplay's new albums
• New clothes and shoes, I don't have the shoes yet, but Steve told me to go find some to match my new dress. Not gonna argue with that!
• This commercial from my childhood....
  Bob Turk, Best Weatherman Ever

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1. Sleep in. (11:40am counts as sleeping in,right?)
2. Drink a pot of coffee by myself. (This is completely normal, right?)
3. Clean up kitchen and realize maybe the kids aren't to blame for the house being messy all the time. (In my defense, I haven't really been home that much since Thursday.)
4. Wash some clothes. (As much as I would like to ignore the laundry during my "vacation", I'm pretty sure I heard Steve say something about using his last pair of clean underwear this morning. Although, it was before 7am, and I was still half asleep. Either way, the hamper was full, so I figured it was better not to take chances.)
5. Plan healthy dinner after 4 days of riduculously fattening food that has resulted in several pairs of pants being too tight. (There are plenty of places I need to gain weight but my backside isn't one of them.)
6. Spend several hours on the phone with friends I haven't talked to in awhile.
7. Lay in hammock and start reading "Wicked" (thanks to Kelly lending it to me!)
8. Make healthy dinner. (Sure I'm planning on making a healthy dinner, but carry out is just so easy)
9. Curl up on the couch with Steve and watch an episode or two of Scrubs.
10. Go to bed. (Have I mentioned how much I love my bed? It's awesome. Featherbed, down comforter, it's like sleeping on a cloud. Hmm, maybe I need to add a nap to my "to do" list...)

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So, I realized that when I have nothing planned and the kids are gone, I really really miss them. The house just isn't the same. Honestly, I really like my kids, as much as they might drive me crazy sometimes.

Steve doesn't have any leave time right now so that leaves me at home while he is working. Thursday wasn't bad. I got to see Marlen for the first time in what seems like forever. I would've like to have stayed longer, but Thursdays are "TV Thursday" at my house. I make dinner for Rob, "the new girl", and Gary, then we talk and watch lots of tv. I got homein just enough time to run around like a chicken with my head cut off attempting to clean and cook dinner. I made a lovely chicken jerky on the grill (unintentionally, of course). We attempted to finish watching the Battlestar Galactica miniseries, but just weren't feeling it. We ended up watching the Colbert Report and calling it a night.

I quickly checked my Vox before bed to see if Kelly wanted to meet up for lunch and she was still ignoring me. That's when a light went off in my head and I realized that it's her "weekend" and she doesn't have internet at home right now! I gave her a call and we made lunch plans. It had been almost a year since the last time we met up! Seriously, I'm not letting that much time go by this time and it's not just because she gave me some Cadbury Flake bars and lent me some awesome books. Kelly is just one of those people that I feel like I've known forever. We talked and talked and then talked some more. We were going to watch a movie from her impressive collection (she has awesome taste in movies), but we were enjoying talking too much. Side note, Sam is ridiculously cute. I completely understand why Kelly is wrapped around his paw.

I could've hung out and talked forever but Steve made plans with Rob and "the new girl" to go to dinner and see Get Smart. Gary and the non-blogging brother, Dan went too. So I had to head home. We enjoyed an awesome dinner that included lots of high fiving over things like meatloaf and Good Charlotte. Ok, Gary and I were the only ones that high fived over Good Charlotte, but we like them and we make no apologies for it.

Get Smart was just good and funny. I didn't go in expecting anything but to be entertained and I was. It may have helped that I have never watched an episode of the old Get Smart, so I had no expectations whatsoever.

Today, Steve and I slept in.  We have a cookout to go to later. It'll be weird to go without the kids, but I'm sure we'll have a good time anyway!

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One of my favorite things to do is grocery shop. I really do love it. Scanning the ads, writing the list, clipping the coupons, planning the meals. I love every part of it. Well, I could do without having to lug it all in the house, but everything else I love.

I've noticed something in the last couple of months that irritates me. I first noticed it when I was purchasing some lovely Hamburger Helper (yes, I love that stuff). I pulled one box off the shelf, then grabbed another. The second one was smaller and lighter. Hmmm. I looked at the weight. Less food, same price. Sneaky General Mills. You didn't get one over on me.

A week or so later, I was buying some Breyer's ice cream. I noticed some were 1.75 quarts, while others (same flavor) were 1.5 quarts. Same price. I was peeved enough when ice cream went from a half gallon to 1.75 quarts, but reducing the size again. Grrrrrr.

They've done the same thing with cereal. It just irks me. Look, I understand prices are going up. I expect to pay more. Just don't try and trick me into thinking I'm still getting low prices while giving me smaller portions. I would rather pay more and get the same amount.

You may be able to fool some people, but you aren't fooling me!

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I was just looking at my blog and realized I haven't actually posted anything in awhile. Moblogging is so easy, I just forget to post real stuff sometimes.

Tampa has been awesome. I must confess, I wasn't too impressed when Steve and I came down in May. Granted, we only had 1 day to really explore the area. Now that I've had the last couple of weeks to explore the area, I really like it. Honestly, there is more stuff I'd like to see, but we're leaving tomorrow.

I got my beach fix. Growing up going to Ocean City in Maryland makes me yearn for days on the beach, arcades, and miniature golf. I love the smell of the beach, sunscreen mixed with the ocean. I love the sound of the seagulls overhead, well, as long as they aren't stealing the food from our hands.

The food has been ridiculous. I love eating, I really do. We've had Hawaiian fusion, good old Southern cooking, Polish, and seafood. There are still places I haven't had a chance to try yet. There's a place that has Kobe Beef sliders that I've been wanting to go to, but we just don't have the time. Hopefully, Steve will get to come back in a week or two and I'll get to try it out. We'd love to go out and get some more pierogies too. It makes me sad to think this could possibly be my last time here.

Now Steve and I are enjoying watching Vh-1's top 100 songs of the 80s. Such sweet memories. I don't know that Steve is enjoying me bursting into song everytime they play a new song, but I'm enjoying it. And really, isn't that what matters?

Pink lizard

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I try to avoid them but they are everywhere.

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