Memorial Day

Doug came back from his trip to Alabama on Sunday so we could spend Memorial Day together. He was exhausted from driving all day so I did not plan a big day. We slept in and then hung around the house. I did have a minor freak out moment when I found a tick crawling in the bed. Thankfully it was in the bed and not on us or Auburn. I made Doug get up and did a thorough check of the bed and the three of us. Luckily there was only one. 

We eventually got in the shower and decided we wanted to go get a table and some chairs so we could grill out and eat outside. I wanted to get a table and chairs that folded so they could be easily stored in the garage when we were done. Unfortunately, that was asking too much. We literally spent all day trying to find folding chairs that were decently priced. We found a nice, basic folding table at Lowe's and I got a cute table cloth to put over it at Wal-Mart. Everywhere we looked had nice folding chairs but they were $30 or more a pop. I was not looking to spend over $100 on 4 folding chairs but I wanted something nicer than the metal ones you can find at any school or church. After searching all day I went home to prep for the cook out and Doug went to Target to see if I may have overlooked something the day before. He came home with 4 basic folding chairs that cost about $25 each. I have not decided if we are keeping them but they got us through the night. 

The weather was perfect for the grill out, the food was yummy, and we had great friends and family to spend the night with. I let Auburn off her leash and she ran around the table getting bites of food from everyone. I think she ate more than all of us. Ha! We are looking forward to many more nights hanging out by the garage. 

Best Sales Pitch Ever!

Sunday I went to Arundel Mills Mall to eat lunch with Doug and get my semi-annual ring cleaning/inspection. Doug dropped me off at the jewelry store and headed back to work so he missed the best sales pitch ever. Too bad, he could have learned a thing or two from the sales lady.

So, since we got the rings I have thought about getting a third band to go on top of the engagement ring. Since my rings were sold as a set, it has been very hard to find a close match to my wedding band. I always look at rings when I get my rings cleaned so I had the sales lady pull a couple out for me. We were discussing how I wanted to find the third band and then have them soldered together. She thought that was a bad idea. She said there may be times when I want to take one or more of them off. She gave examples like when I was bathing my kid, because I might poke them in the eye (because the only time I could accidentally poke my child in the eye with my ring is when they are in the bath...) or when I was having an affair and wanted to hide I was married but still keep one of the bands on so my husband wouldn't get suspicious. REALLY!!! This is how you talk me into buying that third band? We must have missed that customer service class.

Picnic

Wednesday Doug's work had a picnic up in Owings Mills. We had a great time! The weather said cloudy, highs in the 70's. So I wore shorts and a t'shirt because that is perfect summer picnic attire. Well, they got the cloudy part right. It maybe made it into the 60's... maybe... It was foggy, misty, and COLD! I brought a jacket and stood by the grills in an attempt to keep my poor legs warm. I seriously considered sending Doug to the store to get me a blanket.

For lunch we grilled hamburgers, brats, and sausage. His coworkers are some serious cooks. There were marinades, seasonings, sauteed onions and peppers, sauces, and BACON! These men new their way around a grill! There was a little communication breakdown on who was bringing the pasta salad and buns... We ended up with multiple pasta salads. Thank goodness they were all different types and all equally yummy! As for the buns, lets just say we will be eating a lot of toast, sandwiches, and hot dogs in the next few weeks. In typical picnic fashion we had way too much food and I stuffed myself having a bite (or two :) ) of everything.

Once we filled our bellies we hit the field! We had the tools to play just about any sport you could think of. I mean, we even had a croquet set! We ended up playing cornhole, volleyball, and, going a little old school, kickball. We had a blast! It reminded Doug and I how out of shape and non-athletic we are. Ha! I enjoyed playing volleyball. I always enjoyed playing it in PE class or on the beach. Wish I would have stuck with it more.

It was great getting to meet Doug's boss and coworkers. Despite the weather, we had a blast. I hope we get to do it again!

Nice weather = no power?

We have finally been getting some nice weather up here. Cool in the mornings but it warms up quick in the afternoons. Unfortunately, the storms us Southerner's are accustom to are also making their way up here. Not as severe but we have been getting a ton of rain. Thursday evening it was nice and sunny so we grilled some hot dogs. I was pulling the fries out of the oven when I heard a low, grumbling "whomp, whomp, whomp". Each whomp came with a block of houses going dark. Have no idea what caused the outage but luckily it only lasted for a couple of hours and we had plenty of candles. Nothing like eating hot dogs by candlelight. Romantic right?

Friday night I was not going to chance jinxing us by cooking and having the power go out again (good enough excuse, right?) so we went out for dinner. It was a little cool but it was a nice night to sit outside and enjoy a good meal. Especially a free one! The last time we went to this restaurant they were not sitting anyone because the kitchen was so far behind. We left, went somewhere else, and I sent a little email to the owner. He apologized and gave us a gift card to make up for the bad experience. Well, last night's service was much better. I mean, we actually got a table. That is already a 100% improvement. Ha!

Cinco de Mayo

Who more than me loves an excuse to eat Mexican and drink margaritas? We had about a half hour wait since everybody else thought Mexican food and margaritas were a good idea on Cinco de Mayo too. The place we went to is small so we got drinks and waited for our table outside. The Mariachi band kept us entertained but between them and all the people in the restaurant it was a stimulation overload (especially for the ears).

Boxerfest

Last weekend Doug and I went to Boxerfest at FedEx Field (where the Washington Redskins play). It's a car show for Subaru. They had a mini track to run your car on, show cars, and lots of vendors. I was there for the food trucks! :) It was a beautiful day to spend outside. We got a little red from all the sun but we had a great time. Trying to find our car in a sea of Sabaru's when we left was not an easy thing to do.