JT turned 30 last night. Well. He actually turned 30 last weekend but we surprised him with a party at his favorite karaoke bar last night and rocked it out! Old friends. New friends. There was love in every chair. Singing gloriously off key…it was fantastic.

It was a rough rough week folks. There’s some shit bubbling around that I can’t talk about here…yet. However as with any kind of cleansing….all better after its over. Stay tuned, there’ll be more details to come.

Let’s just say, I have a peaceful easy feeling…

My roof is complete! I talked to my GC this week, and need to go pick out the color of paint I want then that will happen soon. HUZZUAHHH!!!! I’m getting excited!

This time next weekend? I’ll be floating on the Illinois River. With my tribe. Glorious relaxation…dreaming of Sedona and the future and all the change that is around the corner.

peaceful.
easy.

I’ve been thinking about what to do with my upcoming birthday. How to celebrate. Who will come, who to invite, where when how cost bla bla bla OVERLOAD!!!!!

Then I was watching The Women, this past rainy weekend and while I know it’s not a good movie, I still watch it everytime it’s on tv. There’s a scene where Meg Ryan is at some sort of retreat. There’s water and trees and nature and stretching and Bette Midler. It got me to thinking…then it got me to googling…where I found This Place.

I’ve always wanted to go to Sedona. Gert and Chi and their mom have been, and loved it. It’s just “goonie goo goo” enough to be right up my ally.

I could have a four or five or six day retreat here. I could have that just fine…I would love it. I know I would. It just sounds perfect.

We’ll see.

Sitting around with Chris and Cindy this past Monday evening, waiting for our burgers and sweet potatos to finish on the grill, we were venting our individual gripes. They weren’t bad, but seems like we all had the same thing going on.

same ole same ole. just get through the week. just get the bills paid. just get home and get a load of laundry done. just get some sleep. just get up and get through the day. work work work. work at home. work at work.

dreams of travel. of escape. of new. of different. of relief.

sigh.

And I thought it was just me. This year has NOT been fun. Since my last birthday, it’s pretty much been one thing after another. Down the hill and up again. I don’t have a lot of nice things to say about 2010 thus far. So…

let’s escape.

so where would you escape to?

There is rain in the forecast…a little bit today and tomorrow. A lot more at the end of the week. This is disturbing. My roof was scheduled to be replaced at the end of the week. This whole process is wearing me out. I still dont have an estimate on the inside leaking to send to the insurance. Everyone is swamped with work in this area. Swamped. I haven’t seen any progress on it and frankly…wearing me out.

However, as Chris and Cindy and I noticed last night…the backyard is just a few weeks out from looking just like it did last year. Sans gazebo. And we were going to build a pergola. My dad built my sister one a few weeks ago. But the likelyhood of that happening, i.e. me paying for it, are slim. I have other things that require payments. So whatever. I’ve wrapped my head around that and am moving on. what. ever.

As par for the course, I just need one more day…I still have work to do in the yard, planting bits that were gifted to me via Lynn. I have some cannas. Some more begonias, shade bits. But that too is depending on the guttering bla bla bla…I’ll work on putting them in the dirt this week. There is worse homework to have!

My weekend was gloriously full of friends. Hawk and RIngo, Gert and Josie, Chris and Cindy. I saw briefly SP and Amanda on Friday. The PseudoSisters and Co. on Saturday.

Bliss. Simply bliss.

This morning we have an early morning meeting. I need to gulp this coffee down and get into the shower. For once, the Normals are on the same schedule as I and it’s MONDAY…enjoy your short week. Get into the groove today by grabbing a cuppa joe, or beverage of your choice and enjoying a little bit of this: (even those of you that never click on videos!)

many laughs. many fireworks. more than five beers. not the food binge that it usually is but that is ok…

chris and cindy are coming over to put a bow on the weekend with me. Burgers and sweet potato fries and deviled eggs and getting them caught up on True Blood…

How was your Independence Day?

I love the Fourth of July.

If I ever get married again, this will be the date for it.

It’s my favorite holiday. I have more collective happy family memories from this day than any holiday before…I can only remember one Fourth when there was fighting…so that’s saying something!

My parents would pack us up, be social with their friends, haul out to the lake, cook out and pop firecrackers. There would be hot dogs and homemade ice cream. We would run around screaming because someone would chase us with fire, or those tanks would come after us, or the screaming something or others would follow us…it was glorious. At the end of the night, our tummies full of sugar and nitrates, we would sit in laps and oooh and ahhh over the big display that the city shot off over the water…

at the end of the day, smelling of smoke and fire and OFF, we would haul it all back home and just be happy.

The day, of course, is more meaningful and powerful than that. Freedom. Independence. Blood and Sacrifice. All of it.

I hope today that you are surrounded by friends and love. I hope that you are letting yourself go a little, relaxing and just taking a moment to be. I am.

I leave you with two of my favorites.

Happy Friday Ya’ll!!! God Bless America!

I haven’t said much of substance over her in sometime…it’s been a little less thrilling than a 12yr old’s diary.

Dear Diary, Today I went to work.

Dear Diary, Last night I went to bartend.

Dear Diary, I am like totally sooooo tired.

Dear Diary, I’m feeling funky about life.

Dear Diary, I’m sticking my head in the proverbial sand by devouring tons of books and focusing on working on my house.

Dear Diary, I’m annoyed with my living arrangements and annoyed with my social calendar and it’s lack of…socializing. I’m annoyed, Diary, and I’m trying to move forward but…

you get the picture.

right?

right.

I’m excited for some time off this weekend. I’m surrounding myself with my friends. No working any jobs. Just putzing around the house and doing more plantings…(my garden is annoyed too because I’ve YET to get any produce) Lay out by the pool given we have sunshine. I’ve got friends and family and food lined up to Sunday. I’m going to sleep. And eat. And play. The house is in semi decent shape so the house guilt should be small in doses.

I’ll have my jalapeno creme cheese deviled eggs. My black eye pea salsa. Cold beers. and bag chairs at the ready…Fireworks are in my future.

There are a few other chunks of funk that are still hovering in my brain…and maybe I’ll share it here. Soon. But until I do, I’d like to tell you that I just finished a book that was gifted to me by Abbylicious, of The Vegan and Abbylicous Household via Hoboken New Jersey.

This book is by the native Oklahoma author who also writes Orangette. For anyone who is even remotely interested in food, this is a fabulous site. I’ve been perusing and reading for awhile now. The book is full of fabulous stories of family and growing up in Oklahoma. Of travel and experiences and memories and laughter and loss. At the end of each section, is at least one recipe. I’ve devoured the book this week and as I sit her munching on french bread with herbed goat cheese schmeer… my mind is FIXATED on the recipe for Pickled Grapes with Cinnamon and Black Pepper. It may happen for me this weekend.

Pickled Grapes with Cinnamon and Black Pepper
from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
Adapted from Susan Kaplan
Makes 2 pint-sized jars

1 lb red or black grapes, preferably seedless
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick, cut in half
1/4 tsp salt

1. Rinse and dry the grapes and pull them carefully from their stems. Using a small, sharp knife, trim away the “belly button” at the stem end of the grape, exposing a bit of the flesh inside. Put the grapes into a medium bowl and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then pour the mixture over the grapes. Stir to combine. Set aside to cool to room temp.

3. While the grapes cool, wash 2 pint-sized canning jars and their lids in warm, soapy water. When the grapes are cool, ladle them into the jars. Chill for at least 8 hrs or overnight. Serve cold, and use within 2 weeks.

THANK YOU SO MUCH ABBY for the beautiful book. It was a great read and I treasure it. For anyone looking for a great book to gift someone…this is a winner.

Thats it from me for a bit. Have a good one…

Let me just tell you, this past weekend kicked my ass. Up and down the street and over and again. Lots of working. Lots of phone calls. Lots of running errands. The money made was worth it, both nights…paid another 200 on my computer debt…but my mind and body were at the breaking point.

I came home last night, ordered a pizza, then put myself into the bed by 8:30. I dont remember falling asleep but I woke up at 9. Sometimes the what the body wants, the body gets! Feel great now and am enjoying my late morning with some fresh hot coffee and a fiber one bar…prepping for the weekend!

well. now it seems as if I have nothing to say. I’ll be back when I do.

lots going on. big named comedian coming into town for a show tonight put on by my friends, and I’m bartending and helping out with it…we’re right this minute waiting on the ABLE Commission to approve our temporary license but who the hell knows what we’re going to do. There’s been lots of snafu’s, none of which are on our part, that may keep us from getting the license to serve beer tonight…

Tried borrowing the one from the events center, but as usual, things in my mind are far simpler than they are in reality and it was just too much. Not as easy as me just taking the number and operating under it…so with that, and the fact that it was the next day….well I’ll say it again. Just too much. whatever. I’ll figure it out elsewhere…

I didn’t do much of nuthin yesterday. A little laundry. A little cleaning/picking up. Nothing more than superficial though. It was cloudy and muggy and rained last night a lot so no yardwork. Was super tired from the week.

I DID have brunch with Roger and Ma. They were up for a shindig down at our former college and swung up to the city to see me and borrow a blow up mattress…well. they loaned it to me to begin with so it was just a return actually. Anyways, so good to sit across from to faces that I love so much. Who knew…all those years ago when I walked onto campus…that I would find love and family? nice.

so today I’m sippin coffee about to watch my True Blood. We are at the mercy of ABLE. If they come through and assign us our temp license to serve, then we run around and get stuff together. If they deny it, we go to plan be and I start more laundry and grocery shopping and whatnot.

That’s it from me this rainy Monday. Hope yours is painless…we’ve got another short week ahead! HUZZUAH!!!!