Nine Years

Nine years ago today, I married my best friend.  Heading down the aisle with Pop singing the oh-ee-oh guard song from The Wizard of Oz under his breath, I swear my feet left the ground.  This boy, this wonderful, handsome, hilarious boy, was about to be my husband.

I'm still floating.

Nine years of dinners.  Nine years of dishes and laundry and budgeting and grocery shopping.  Nine years of ups and downs, nine years of transitioning from job to job, both professionally and at home.  Nine years of home repairs, financial malarkey, and the millions of little details that go into building a life together.

Nine years of memories.  Some of the biggies: driving home with Bubbles on her first day as a member of our family.  Meeting Piggy in that little hole-in-the-wall pet store by the movie theater.  That day the second line finally showed up on the pregnancy test.  The crazy debacle with the freak snow storm in April while I was in the hospital for The Princess's arrival.

Those are obvious.  Everyone looks back fondly on those days.  For me, though, what makes us special and keeps me floating a couple of inches above the ground is the little stuff.  Biking together.  Hiking together.  Claiming the neighborhood beach as our own for months at a time.  Mr. Amazing, absolutely nailing the whole stay-at-home dad/hubby role.  All of our inside jokes: swattas, ee-honk-honk, mule turkey banana brain snort, and so many more.  Helping each other move outside of our comfort zones, and discovering new ways to go about everyday life while forming traditions of our own...one tiny change at a time.

Nine years of little insignificant conversations that, when added up, helped to build the most significant bond in my life.

Nine years of hugs and tickles and kisses goodnight.

Yes, I'm still floating.  I never would have believed how much those little things add up over time, but now I can't imagine life without them.  I am in awe of how much my life has changed for the better since I met The Hubbs, and I can't wait to see how high I'll be floating as we add more years to the stack.

Just imagine how high I'll be able to float after 25 or 50 years, if 9 have gotten me this far.  I can only hope and pray that we're fortunate enough to turn old and gray together.

Hey, Swa?  I love you, man.  Like really, really big.  Thank you for going on this journey with me.  I can't imagine a better co-pilot.

Labor Day Weekend

Holy cow, y'all...it's tough being this popular!  This weekend was full of laughs, good music and great friends.

Saturday evening was reserved for a pal's birthday outing with the girls. We took a commuter train a few towns away to see a band play and had a blast. I didn't end up getting home until about 4:00 Sunday morning, which hasn't happened in a coon's age. 

Here I am with my boss lady, JJ on the way to the bar.

And with Birthday Girl, LB during the show:

The band was fun. They played everything from Styx to Muse. 

Bill Murray hand stamp!

3am IHOP run!  Left to right, that's me, R, JJ and LB. 

Sunday had another band slated...this time outside with The Grumps and all of Pop's work buds. 

Before the festivities, this lovely little lady stole my favorite hat. 

Here's me and Pop at the show:

And this is the clam-bake (boil is more like it). We had crab, clams, mussels, crayfish, shrimp and corn. 

Me, Grumma and D:

And here I am with my boys: Pop and Unky Harv!

Two crazy chicks:

Six crazy chicks:

The whole gang!

The Princess loved Monday's afternoon activity, which was unexpected and totally necessary. 

And the Momma fried some catfish for dinner. 

All in all, I can say one thing for sure about this holiday weekend: I love my life. Oh, and one more thing: I could use a nap. :)

School, Birthdays, Visits and a New Instrument (or three)

Hey, y'all!

What a week.  On Monday, as you already know, Pudge the banjolele joined our happy little family, and I'm proud to report he's fitting in well.

Tuesday was kinda big around here, too.  Someone started second grade.

7:45 am - way too early for certain little girls to get out of bed!

My slightly overwhelmed little girl, waiting for the bus

The Princess much prefers to wait in the back seat of
Da's car.

It was a whole family affair, waiting for the bus to arrive on the first day.
Here's Piggy, hangin' out at the salad bar.

My love and me.  D'aww.

See?  Waiting in the car is fun.  Oooooooooohhh.

She jumped up and flapped when she saw the bus.

I had to snap these pictures quickly while trying to keep Piggy
from jumping on the bus with The Princess.
That was friggin' adorable, lemme tell ya.

A hastily taken shot of our girl on the bus, next to her classmate, Z.

The week flew by, and it was Saturday before we knew it.  This meant a
trip to the Hubbo Family Estate for cousin K's birthday party.  I hate to
say it, but I didn't have a chance to take more than a couple of quick
pics here, as I was chasing The Princess and being her playmate of
choice.  No, I am not complaining.

The theme was My Little Pony, and - true to form - my sis-in-law, Jello,
went all out.  It was beautiful, and the birthday girl was super-excited to
play with her cousins.  Goddaughter E even snuggled with me for a good
long time, which doesn't happen often.  We're so blessed to have such
a wonderful family.

Saturday was also Grumpa's birthday.  It had poured rain all day, and it was
hot and muggy outside, but we were pleasantly surprised by this gorgeous
sunset over our little lake.

Uncle D met us at K's birthday party and made the trek back up to our
little yellow house for a good, old fashioned visit.  Piggy was ecstatic.
He's her boyfriend, and she didn't leave his side the whole time he was here.
There was lots of great music (made by the three of us crazy grown-ups, of
course), and we actually got to sit down and watch a movie, which pretty
much never happens.  All in all, I'd say it was a perfect visit.

Last night, Uncle D took us all out for Mexican, and we had a great time.
Then, this morning (as if we haven't been spoiled enough), we all went
down the street for brunch.  As you can see, it was a very serious affair.

After brunch, Uncle D took off and we headed for our beloved beach.
Hi, Hubbs!

Here's The Princess, doin' her Baywatch babe thing.  :)

Some doofus attached this death trap to one of our swimming piers, and I
am not impressed.  It's obviously someone's idea of a boat bumper system,
but it's in the middle of the swim area and has jagged rusty pieces hanging
off at odd angles.

So friggin' unsafe.  I'm really not happy about this, and I'll be reporting it
to the neighborhood association.  Someone's gonna get hurt, and when
they do, the subdivision will be liable.  Idiots.

After swimming, we headed over to The Grumps' house with all the fixings
for fried chicken.  We spent a wonderful few hours visiting and eating,
and The Princess was all about the birthday boy.  As you can see,
they don't get along at all.

See that beautiful Epiphone acoustic guitar?  That belonged to Grumpa -
he bought it shortly after graduating high school and has just passed
it down to The Hubbs.  Our little family of musical instruments keeps
growing, and we couldn't be happier.  We also found out this weekend
that we will be housing two more instruments here: Auntie G's 12-string
Mexican guitar and The Hubbs' great grandfather's bass banjo uke.

At The Grumps' house this evening, Grumpa looked at The Princess and asked, "Do you have to go to school tomorrow?"  Without missing a beat, she looked right back at him and blew a raspberry.  Best.  Answer.  Ever.  I believe The Hubbs' reaction was something to the effect of, "A truer statement has never been uttered."

It's always super-awesome to spend time with family, and we really made the rounds this weekend.  Hard to believe, though, that Labor Day is coming up a week from tomorrow.  The summers really do fly, don't they?

Pudge

Lilo's impassioned "Pudge" monologue from Disney's Lilo and Stitch

Hula teacher: Lilo, why are you all wet?
Lilo: It's sandwich day.  (big sigh)  Every Thursday I take Pudge the fish a peanut butter sandwich.
Hula teacher: Pudge is a fish?
Lilo: And today we were out of peanut butter! So I asked my sister what to give him, and she said a tuna sandwich. I can’t give Pudge tuna! Do you know what tuna is?
Hula teacher: Fish?
Lilo: (hysterical) It’s fish! If I gave Pudge tuna, I’d be an abomination! I’m late because I had to go to the store and get peanut butter, because all we have is… is stinking tuna!
Hula teacher: Lilo, Lilo, why is this so important?
Lilo: (calm and serious) Pudge controls the weather.

from Disney's Lilo and Stitch

***

Aloha!

Those of you who know me in real life will not be surprised by this post at all.  My obsession with Lilo and Stitch is in no way a secret.  When you walk into my house, no matter which entry you choose, you have about eight feet or less before evidence of my love for this movie smacks you in the face.

At last count, I believe I owned something like thirty stuffed Stitch plushies.  One of these is about to turn thirteen, and he sleeps with me every night.  I have a Stitch flag, cookie jar, backpack, shirts, even a large Santa Stitch sculpture (complete with Scrump) for Christmas time.  Oh, and my Santa Stitch hat.  And my Stitch paws.  And, and, and...

So it should be no surprise, really.  No surprise at all.

I also have a penchant for naming inanimate objects.  A few examples: Wilson the rawhide bone, Cabernet the car, Phoebe the car, Tattoo the concert uke, Tweety the soprano uke.

Obviously, I needed to find a suitable name for my new banjolele.  Oh!  My new banjolele!  Wanna see?

I'll admit, this little guy lived with us for a few days before he was properly named.  The design etched into the back comes from traditional Hawaiian quilts, and I wanted to name the instrument something Hawaiian.  I agonized over Hawaiian words and their meanings, never really finding anything that fit.

Until I started thinking about Lilo and Stitch.  The main characters' names would be too obvious, and neither of them really fit.  Nani, Lilo's big sister, was in the running for a bit.  Scrump's name, though I love her, didn't seem to fit either.

And then I remembered Lilo's impassioned speech about Pudge the fish.  Here I am, hangin' in the front yard with Pudge the banjolele:

Pudge and I have had lots of fun getting to know each other this week, and I'm super-excited to spend lots more quality time with him.

I was very apprehensive about this purchase, as no music stores within 700 miles had one of these I could play before buying.  After months of adoring the Luna Ulu 8" banjolele online, I decided to bite the bullet and go for it.  If it didn't work out, Amazon has return policies, and these babies have a good resale value on sites like eBay.

This was not a hasty decision, by any means.  Once I realized I'd have the dough for a banjolele (not a cheapie instrument), I started researching in earnest.  I hit the review boards, narrowed my search to a couple of models - two, really: this and the Magic Fluke company's Firefly banjolele - and proceeded to watch demos on YouTube.  At the end of the search, the two were neck and neck.

But the Luna is the one I've had my eye on.  I've been dreaming about it constantly, and, well, it's just so pretty.  So I decided on the Luna, and I couldn't be happier.

So, family and friends, stop on by when you want to chat, and I'll introduce you to our new pal, Pudge.  He's anxiously awaiting your visit.  Oh, and if you want to get on his good side, don't forget to bring a peanut butter sandwich.

Pudge the fish from Disney's Lilo and Stitch

School Starting, Playground Tour, Beachin' and BED...plus a super awesome thing you'll just have to read about :)

Well, hey there, y'all!  Summer vacation is drawing to a close far too quickly in my humble opinion, so we're trying to cram as much outside time in as possible around here.  The Hubbs, as you can imagine, is chomping at the bit for some peace and quiet at this point, though we're both a bit sad that school starts this coming Tuesday.  It seems to get earlier every year, though we are glad The Princess will be remaining with The Fabulous Mrs. G. again this year.  It also doesn't hurt that her new school is about five minutes from home, so the mornings don't have to be super-early (and so my directionally challenged hubby won't have trouble finding his way if/when she needs to be picked up on a moment's notice, which has been known to happen).

Work is still busy, busy, busy.  Since a bud left our company earlier this month, I've taken on some of her responsibilities, which has made me extremely popular all of a sudden.  They've still left the blanket approval on overtime, and I worked something like an extra 13 hours this week, including four yesterday morning.  This makes for some very impressive paychecks, and I figure I'll sock away as much as I can.  That's one of the cool things about being on the closing shift...no matter how much OT I work, I'm still home at the same time for dinner.  I do have to get up awfully early, though.

Piggy is enjoying being spoiled rotten, and I'm happy to report that she seems to be coping well with being an only dog.  I was very worried about her when we lost Bubbles in June, and though she still seems to search for her momster (mom/sister hybrid) from time to time, I think she's adjusted surprisingly well.

Wilson tends to help with that a little, I think.  This girl
loves her rawhide bones.

Yesterday after I got home from work, we decided to grab The Princess a
Happy Meal and head out for a playground tour.  This was our first stop,
where we ate lunch and play-play-played until another group showed up.

My gals and me, waving to The Hubbs.

Just down the street, there's another big park with loads
of fun stuff to do.  This is the first playground there.  The
Princess loved the sand (surprise, surprise).

She really enjoyed checking out all of the neat equipment here.  These
suspended stepping stones were a big hit.

While she played, Piggy explored and The Hubbs kept a watchful eye.  I,
of course, played "mamarazzi."

Happy Piggy, patrolling the playground area.

This is the second playground area in this park.  The Princess was a big
fan of the mulch and a couple of slides here.

And we just had to visit The Big Red Slides!

On the way back to the car from The Big Red Slides, we stopped by that
last playground one more time for good measure.

Once we got home, The Princess was delighted to find that we were
changing into our swimsuits and heading down to the lake for some
choice beachin'.  We must have been in the water for an hour and a
half or so.  I'm going to be sad when the weather gets too cool for this.

About a week or so ago, The Hubbs was playing with The Princess in her room and found that a spring had poked through the side of her mattress.  For some time now, it's also had a Princess-sized divot in the middle where the support is completely blown out.  In all fairness, the mattress is probably closing in on its thirtieth birthday, since it was mine at my parents' house.  Seemed it was time for us to grow up and buy a bed.  Ugh.

Okay, so this is an old picture, but I love it.  This was her
bed, which had seen many, MANY better days.

So...buying a bed.  That's like some grown-up stuff right there.   I started looking around earlier in the week, and I just about spit when I realized the most economical new mattress/box spring sets would set me back well over $100 (and they were probably junk at those prices, too).  Ever the bargain hunter, I hit the classifieds.  There were a few ads for twin sets, so I started emailing sellers.

One of the ads intrigued me: it was for a twin platform bed with three drawers underneath, and it included the mattress and box spring.  There was no way to email the seller, so I called him on my way home from work yesterday morning.  I wasn't very confident that he'd still even have the bed, since the ad was dated 8/5, but I figured it was worth a shot.  Dude was very nice and said the bed was still there, so we talked details for a while.  I have a compact car, so I'd have to arrange transportation.  Dude offered to text me a picture and dimensions, and we ended up texting back and forth quite a bit during the big playground tour.  During this time, he received a lowball offer from a man who would pick the bed up that day (we had discussed going down there - about an hour away - today, because Grumma's truck wasn't available right away...silly grumparents, having a life and junk!).  Dude very nicely told me about it and asked how serious I was.  After a couple more texts back and forth, he declined the other guy's offer, telling him it was already sold.  I could have kissed him.  He certainly didn't have to do that, and I really appreciate him taking the time to talk to me about it...someone else would just as easily have told me it had been sold and I'd have to start all over.

Today was all about the bed, for the most part.  I went over to Grumma and Grumpa's house late in the morning, cleaned out the back of the truck (they're notorious packrats!), and we headed to Dude's house.  In person, it was nicer than in the picture, and I was thrilled.  Thinking it couldn't get any better, he then called his teenage son out and they loaded the whole thing in the back of the truck for us.  It's a sweet little platform with nice drawers, topped with a Serta box spring and mattress with a memory foam pad and one of those pillowtop mattress covers, and it's way more comfy than I every could have imagined.

And this (drumroll, please) is her new, fancy big girl bed!
She loves it, and she's just been tucked in for the very first time.
Gotta say: goodnight kisses are much easier with it being so much higher
than her old one!

With any luck, this piece of furniture will last for a very long time.  Any way you slice it, this was $75 very, very well spent.  Oh, and the icing on the cake?  The Grumps reminded me today that we never took that day trip to the water park they wanted to do for The Princess's seventh birthday, so they picked up the bill.

I also think this will be the kickstarter to a full room overhaul.  It's time to get rid of the baby room colors, the Pooh Bear curtains and the mangled remains of the wallpaper border and make this into a room fit for the big girl she is.

Last, but not least, I have some exciting news.  Friday was pay day, and this was a check with about a squillion hours of OT on it.  Before heading out for work on Friday, I placed my order for the banjolele, and it should be arriving here some time tomorrow.  To say I'm excited would be the understatement of the century.  But more on that later...