Thursday, October 30, 2008

Hitting the road

That's right kids, Scott and I are finally going on a vacation for the two of us. We're heading up to Mystic, Connecticut today for a little R&R. At a B&B. Ha. None of you read my blog over the weekend anyway, but just thought I'd keep you in the loop. We're back Sunday, and I'm sure I'll be posting after our dinner at Iron Chef Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill on Monday night for Scott's birthday. Have a good weekend. We will :)

Friday, October 24, 2008

Singin' it from the hills

On this, the 24th day of October, two thousand eight, Scott and Stephanie became completely and 100 percent debt-free.

Well, ok, so there are still some dentist bills to be paid and a school loan, but who doesn't have those? At least the pesky high-interest credit cards have been neutralized and have NO BALANCE. Hooray!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Sticker shock

This past Sunday, Scott and I visited the church near our office again. Afterward, we decided to have lunch at TGI Fridays on Broadway just a few blocks from work. I didn't even know it was there until this past week. So we thought it'd be a good place to sit down and have a nice lunch before going to work. Well it was a nice place to sit down. And a decent lunch. But the bill...not so pretty. I think I can honestly say this is the first time I've had sticker shock in New York.

TGI Friday's people, here we go. I'd like to draw attention to the fact that a Pepsi is $4. My fish & chips was only $2 less than Scott's steak (with loaded mashed potatoes). And although we didn't order one, a CHEESEBURGER IS $17.


Add the tip and... For that much money, we could've actually eaten at a fancy restaurant! Lesson learned. Don't eat at a restaurant at Wall Street and Broadway and expect it to be reasonable.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

My honey (mustard)

We made the mistake of going to the food court at the mall for dinner on Saturday night. (I know, I know. We live in the best city in the world and we end up at the mall food court for dinner.) As much as I like Arby's, I've been disappointed by this particular one a few times, so my new go-to is Popeye's. And since the lines at Burger King and Taco Bell were snaking back through the tables, that sealed the deal. So I wait in line at Popeye's. Longer than usual. Then I finally get to the counter and give my (very simple) order. The incompetent girl is silent. She stares at me. Then says, "Huh, what?" So I repeat the order. She takes her sweet time putting together my box of chicken fingers and fries. Another girl is leaving, and my incompetent girl starts complaining about how she wishes she was leaving. I tell her with my eyes that I am NOT HAPPY. I pay her. She says, "I ain't got no pennies." Instead of asking me politely to wait while she tracks down pennies so she can give me my complete change. I wave it off and tell her to forget it. I finally get my food. I ask for honey mustard. "We don't got no honey mustard." Me, agitated: "You don't have any honey mustard?" Incompetent girl: "No." Me, in a huff: "Fine, forget it."

I sit down, more than annoyed that I have no honey mustard for my chicken fingers. I relay my story to my husband, who (quick eater that he is) is nearly done with his dinner. He gets up and goes away (the opposite direction of Popeye's). And comes back with a few chicken wings. And honey mustard. For my chicken fingers. Cause he is just that spicy sweet. And I love him for it.

And if you think this is sweet, you should also see Kari's pencil story.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Season's greeting cards

Obviously it's not Christmas yet, but Scott and I got in the spirit a bit this weekend: We bought Christmas cards. No we're not crazy. It's just that we happened to come across some we actually like (and our Christmas cards must meet stringent criteria), so we went ahead and got them, since 1) If we waited till later and tried to find them again the chances would be slim to none, and 2) If we waited till later to find something we liked better the chances would be slim to none. Now if I wasn't such a procrastinator, maybe I'd actually get them out on time this year. But, ha, I doubt that will happen.

And oh yeah, I'm only sending Christmas cards to the people who leave comments. So start writing. Unless you just want a Bah Humbug.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

I really am still alive

Those of you who have seen or heard from me in the last two weeks know I'm still alive. I know the rest of you have been anxiously waiting on the edge of your seats. But I'm here. Let's get this show on the road.

Last week, I went HOME. To Atlanta. To see my parents and my friends, take some time for me , relax, and SHOP. Mom and I got started early on the way home from the airport, stopping at Chick-fil-a (mmm) and a few stores on the way home. We did more shopping on Monday. Tuesday though, was one of the highlights of my trip. With my parents now packing heat and it being Ladies Day at the gun range, my mom and I took a little trip to do some shooting. Now, I've never shot a gun before, and I don't really want to do it again anytime soon. But I have some confidence to know that if I needed to shoot someone (and I, uh, had a gun to do so), I could probably hit them. Here's our target.


(And I don't think we missed the target, we just didn't shoot too many bullets.)

I think I did pretty well. It was a pretty incredible experience. It's very ... LOUD. It startled me more though when other people there pulled the trigger moreso than when I did. We didn't stay long, my stomach could only take so much. I can't explain why it got upset, but it did, and I knew it was time to go. So I'm glad I did it, but it kinds makes me sick to my stomach. First time for everything.

The rest of the week was more shopping and HGTVing, which was fine with me. Wednesday was dinner, hanging out, shopping, and intended-dessert-turned-appetizer with Meaghan. Thursday I had dinner with old friends. Not that they're old. We just go way back. But I spent most of my week hanging out with my mom, and that's just the way I wanted it. (Don't worry Dad, I love you too.)

So now I'm back with a replenished wardrobe and reveling at the size of my dog's head. It really is huge. Especially when I go home for a week and get used to my Shadow.

Oh, and I chopped my hair off! I'll leave you with a few photos my dad took.