THE LONG AND THE SHORT

Saturday morning after our volunteer work,  J&K asked us to join them for brunch at Whole Foods. Mmmm, we’re always down for that. As an added bonus there was a coffee & pastry special for just 99cents! Woot! While eating we decided we should pay J&MB a visit, who just gave birth to baby Finley last weekend. So while at Whole Foods we picked up fresh fruit for momma and beer, of course, for proud papa. (I try not to use the names of the paranoid people who prefer not to be mentioned in my blog) It was my first time to their home, which though couldn’t have been more than 1200 sq. ft, seemed decorated straight out of Anthropologie and West Elm. And her baby? Even cuter. Really the prettiest baby I have ever seen, and barely five pounds. Not many babies shoot straight out of the womb looking that cute. It usually takes a few months for a real face with sweet features to form, but this baby was the exception to the rule, bald head and all.  After looking at the baby, we ran home, threw our work-out clothes on and met J&K at the gym where we have a two week trial membership. Considering how out of shape I am I surprised myself when I woke up the next day not sore or debilitated. From the gym, we raced back home to change for dinner with J&K and the Arners’. (by this time I was getting tired of racing around everywhere and it was only 5pm) We met them for dinner at a place called the Bavarian Brathaus. It was a Mexican joint. No, seriously, it was an up-scale German restaurant that Justin had been raving about and K had a coupon, so we went. Though the food was good and authentic, there was no coupon available that could have taken the sting out of our bill when it arrived. Not a cheap place and one I doubt I’ll return to anytime soon. Still, the atmosphere was cool and the beer samplers made it all the more fun. Nighttime brought a nip to the air (as in freezing our butts off) so we went back to J&K’s for drinks, games and a roaring fire in the fire-place. Thus ended our looooong fun Saturday. Sunday was saved out for my family and we had dinner over at my sister’s. It was nice to see everyone, but I was one heck of a tired girl. I need to take it easy this week. (as in, “Pass me a glass of wine and replay 500 Days of Summer“) Today’s weather is again unusually warm (got my tank-top on) and I have all my windows open like it‘s spring-cleaning day. Tomorrow begins December- another month full of interesting events which will all become drops to the stream of my life. Who & what will be a part of it? Only time and this blog will tell.

ZOODAY

Yesterday was Thanksgiving day- the day of our first annual zoo trip. I woke up at 6am to the gurgle of my  auto-program coffee maker, the best alarm clock (and invention) in the world. Later on NPR, I heard that the price of coffee is about to sky-rocket. Figures. I better start stock-piling it now. We were to meet our group of friends, about 11 others, by 8:30 and all caravan together. But it wasn’t to be. By the time I helped dress & feed my family, the two Chihuahuas and packed lunches, I was already 15 minutes behind schedule so we just met them there at the zoo. The zoo is a two hour drive from our home and the holiday traffic was heavy around the big cities. As we turned onto the rolling, less traveled highways we relaxed more and the three of us chatted about what animals we might see. Being the horrible parents we are, we have never (I repeat: “NEVER“) taken our daughter to the zoo. The last time we went I was nine months pregnant with her and had to be zipped around in a wheel-chair due to my Shamoo-esque belly.  I was wearing a button-up denim shirt that I wouldn’t be caught dead in today. We reasoned that she has already seen some pretty cool animals up close in her lifetime: swimming with dolphins, having tropical birds land on her head, tigers in Dominican Republic, seal shows, holding snakes, helping corral 200 cows back to the stall, watching mangy dogs fight on farms, goats, weasels & rats...We also once had a run-away steer charge at us on the main street in Cotacachi, Ecuador and we didn‘t have to pay for that. So we never felt it necessary to take her to a zoo and she never once asked to go. But she had an awesome time, she got to hang out with some friends and she saw more real animals she can now add to her list of what she wants for pets. We stayed until closing time and upon arriving home it was as dark as it was when I woke up. (Dang you, day-light savings!) We three ate soup & sandwiches for dinner, played some old school Mario Kart, then turned in early completely sore and exhausted. (Where’s that wheel-chair??) It truly was a wonderful family day and I fell asleep thinking about how much I love being a mom.

DECO MY CRIB

So I "accidentally" stole K's Real Simple magazine this weekend and it inspired me to actually decorate my house, or at least spruce up some corners. We bought a brand new home last fall and I just haven't taken time to make it mine, you know, make it say "Chelsea and fam and two cute dogs live here". Right now it just screams "FUNCTIONAL"! In the magazine I discovered a reference to this cool website where I can get ideas and save it to an online folder. Since this blog is big on passing on things I discover I thought I might share: www.houzz.com. Another website I have loved for a couple years now is younghouselove.com. This cute couple from Virginia totally redid an older home they bought and their style is very similar to mine. Plus, did I mention how cute they are?? Anyway, here's one last fave website of mine for decorating: apartmenttherapy.com.  Here are a couple pics of our house when we first bought it.

BOMBAY

Not much to report today. My daughter and I built a bonfire at lunchtime just because we had some extra wood from last weekend. Then we read stories to each other about the Wild West and she wrote a pretend diary entry about what it would have been like for a girl her age back then. We did some spelling and cursive, but with lots of snack breaks. Math practice will be tonight with dad. All the public school kids are out, so she deserves a break too and tomorrow we're taking her to the zoo with some other friends. Right now we are feeding Bombay, a grouchy fat white cat belonging to our neighbors who are visiting family in Georgia. They live in a cabin in the woods and the sun is setting through the leaves. I love their house and the huge stone fireplace in the center of it, but I also like living on the main road, where we are. A bit less creepy. Out here in the woods we are alone with the birds, the wind and Bombay.

BONFIRE BABIES

The farmers are right: It's gonna be another mild winter. Today was 75 and Thanksgiving is on Thursday. So with the sunshine on our backs and two chihuahua's on leash, we and our friends went hiking Saturday at Umstead State Park. The 2 mile hike was fun on the one hand, and on the other, a sad reminder of how out of shape I am again since moving back from Ecuador. Starting from the visitors center there are several loops you can take, one of which is actually paved and surrounds a nice lake. There are also horse trails for you equestrians. After the hike we went to a small brewery nearby and had some cold ones while playing cornhole. I never win! My aim stinks, but Kaitlyn gave me enough pointers that allowed me to sink one. With all of us being starved, we headed back to our house for an impromtu meal. I made chicken parm and K brought French Maid wine and garlic bread. We then called over Hayes and Nicole and built a bon-fire in the pit out back while listening to public radio's Back Porch Music. At about midnight, the boys got restless and started having a corn-stalk javelin distance throwin' contest. As I have stated many times in the past, I LOVE living in the country.

MARY BETH'S BABY

Remember the blog entry from last weekend? The baby shower I attended? Well the guest of honor had her little girl yesterday! The world welcomes Finley Eden, weighing in at a whopping 5lbs, 13oz. Ten fingers, ten toes. !Felicidades a la familia!

EATING LATE: Another restaurant review

So late last night we & our friends decided we all had the munchies. And the... drinkies too. I thought I was destined to wrap my lips on the butter lettuce wedge salad with home-made blue cheese dressing, but alas, Capital Club 16 was closed. The seven of us headed over to The Raleigh Times, a small low key restaurant in the heart of downtown with full bar. I have been here several times and must admit, the nachos are the best in the world, hands-down. But not feeling very nacho-y, I instead ordered the avocado, gorgonzola cheese and tomato  melt. It came with a..., well, not really "came with", but I ordered with it a sangria which tasted like Juicy-Juice. The food was good, the company always cozy but seeing that it was like night #4 that I didn't get to bed before 1am, I literally crashed afterward.

MARKET GOODIES

Today I again tackled the farmer's market which I knew was going to be crowded due to the upcoming holiday. And crowded it was. Men and women both carousing the stalls, buying everything from  muscadine wine to pickeled baby beets. I got my food for the week and then got the heck out. I wanted no parts of hefty women fighting over the last pumpkin to make a pie. Here are a few pics of the goodies I got today. I hope they speak to you sayin' "Please support our local farmers"!

INNER REFLECTIONS

I'm in a wierd mood today- tired, groggy, a bit melancholy. Yesterday, as I was getting out of my car, the car door swung back on my face (yeah, go ahead and laugh it up) and smashed my glasses against my optical bone so hard my glasses are horribly bent and I awoke today with my eye puffy and pathetic looking. I'm upset about  not only my carelessness but also the $200 I will be set back to get new glasses. (they seem beyond repair) Out of dire necessity, I had to go grocery shopping at Trader Joe's this morning. Sometimes I hate going in there because as a former employee, I am forced to greet every single ex-co-worker there. It's awkward enough when I look good because sometimes I'm just not in the mood to talk, but when I look like a crack addict with crooked glasses it's almost unbearable. But I needed groceries and Tj's is the healthiest option for the least money. Before going I actually pondered whether or not to wear the mangled glasses or suffer wearing contacts despite my puffy eye. Contacts won. Already feeling like a deformed stroke victim and my self-esteem waning, I then found myself very angered by all the traffic as I headed from my home in the country to TJ's in the "city". The holidays are fast approaching and people are losing their ever-luvin' minds. I hate the holidays and all the greed & evil it stands for. It took me twice as long to find a parking space, I had to wait in line just to get a shopping cart, I had to fight my way down the ailes past rude people who park their cart RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE, I had to smile and make small-talk with all my former co-workers:
"Hey, Chelsea! What's been going on, girl? Um...what happened to your eye?"
I had to stand in a long line behind old ladies dressed in Santa sweaters with jingle bells, I had to chat with Mike, who checked me out and talked the whole time about getting some stupid "city-scape" tattoo down his leg and bugged me about why I quit. 

"Because it's hard to work late nights and every weekend when you have a family", stupid single Mike. After fighting the rediculous pre-holiday traffic home and unloading my groceries, I then was in a thankful and reflective mood. Here I was putting away my six bags of food: a whole chicken, spaghetti items for tonight's dinner, bread, milk, all the basics plus snacks that a family would need, and I thought of the Hatians who are dying by the hundreds daily of the Cholera outbreak. There is no TJ's for them. No cabinets full of goods, no stainless-steel fridge packed with meats, juice-boxes, or even fresh water. I reflected on the millions over the world, not just Haiti, with the same plight and said a prayer of thanks, like I often do as I put away my groceries. I am not so ignorant as to not realize that I am of a small group, even within the USA, that eats 3 meals a day. I also realize that, as the economy & national debt worsen, I may very well soon not be in that group anymore. Who am I to be ungrateful now? Then, as I drove to work ( I now do in-home care for a down-syndrome child) I passed a cemetery. It's the same small family plot that I have passed for months now but today I acually saw it, despite my puffy eye! There were the white head-stones of  long-dead neighbors, laid to rest surrounded in a square of Bradford Pear trees, leaves still bright red from the fall. I thought of their lives, their loved ones, and in my own small way, mourned them as I drove by. And this thus ended my inner reflections.

MAISY

Sitting cross-legged!?!

We welcome a new addition to our family, Maisy the Chihuahua! Now we have a little sister for Jones, our other Chi. She's very sweet and likes to do somersaults in her pink crate. Maisy and Jones are learning how to share my lap and enjoy cuddling together. She gives lots of wet puppy kisses and knows how to work her cuteness! She proves the age old theory: girls are smarter than boys.

WILD WEST

THE SPARTANS

My husband and his best friends-They call themsleves "The Spartans" and they're all very much a part of my little girl's life.( I'd hate to be her when she starts to date!) These guys do everything together including their annual "man-cation". And as much as a group of men on the brink of 30 can get on my nerves, (If I hear another "that's what she said" or Chuck Norris reference...) I love them all like the brothers I never had. Long live the Spartans!