TWTW - the one with the godmothering

Friday morning found me running on less than five hours of sleep. After a quick unpack/repack and painting my janky ass vacation nails, I was on the road to the airport by 11:30. The 25 minute trip took an hour including a very near accident. I followed this joy with a pat down and luggage search. I was tired and hangry, which is my danger zone. Then a snarky lady wanted to huff and puff at me because my book was on a seat I did not know she was occupying. No problem, I moved my book immediately. Her and her boyfriend (who did not tell me she was sitting there) then made we'll talk about a lot of things later statements and gestured to me. I guess they were hoping I wasn't looking or wouldn't respond if I was? Wrong on both counts. I will hand you your ass in public, loudly, and not care. Toodleoo, majafackahs. All was well once I arrived in Boston though and met my darling Libby, hung out with Kim and her mom, and had a fabulous steak kebab meal courtesy of Steve. I slept like the dead and regret nothing.

Saturday was a slow and easy day. We were ladies who lunched at Zuzu's Cafe in Wakefield followed by a short walk around Lake Quannapowitt. The company was wonderful, as was the food, and Zuzu's was definitely owned by someone in my tribe. 

The rest of the day was filled with playing on the floor and finishing The Hate U Give (read it, I did, in less than 24 hours). I also placed my Amazon Fresh grocery order and tried to get my poop in a pile for the week ahead. Libby is sassy and smart. She makes me laugh and I love her. She growls and it is hilarious. 

Sunday I ate myself silly at a lovely pre-Baptism brunch at Kim & Steve's before heading off to the church to assume the official godmother role. The Priest had a great personality and a penchant for being short and sweet, always appreciated in the heat. 

It was time to say goodbye too soon, and my ass was deposited at the airport by 2:45. And this is one of the reasons I dislike Starbucks. It's not that hard, Starbucks. It's not hard at all. I was also sad that Boston, the home of DD, did not have one near my gate. 

Reunion number two with los perros by 7:15, food ordered and delivered by 8:15, and groceries arrived by 8:30. Weekly food prep: breakfasts are scrambled eggs with green onions and cheese with a tiny broccoli topper; three days of lunches are turkey kielbasa with cheese inside over colorful cauliflower and/or broccoli; snacks are strawberries, peaches, and cucumbers; dinners will be some type of chicken thighs meal. That was supposed to be lunch but they arrived frozen and I don't have time to pussyfoot around with frozen poultry at 8:30 on a Sunday night.

First day back in the office in two weeks. This should be fun. And awaaaay we go.

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

TWTW - the one traversing New Jersey

Friday night taking care of hausfrau biz like purging and reorganizing kitchen drawers, making hard boiled eggs, changing and washing sheets, and putting laundry away. The dogs were all enough, sit down with us.

Saturday I spent way more time on the Garden State Parkway than is advisable. Firs I headed to North Jersey for MBD's first birthday party. He is so cute and pleasant. Laura and Chris for the combined win with the combo of the rainbow balloon arch (Laura) and the Prince welcome (Chris). It was great to spend an afternoon with my family of choice, and especially nice to see the littlest members MBD and Natalia because I don't get to see them in person often and they don't text or email.

I left around 6:40 and headed south on the Parkway to reach the shore by 9. I just wanted to peek upstairs at the new carpet but ended up putting most of the two bedrooms back together, which meant 49 trips up and down the stairs. The carpet is dark enough to hide hide stains and the 98374982734 pounds of sand it will swallow every year. I also realized I needed a new quilt and ordered it from the couch at 11:45 pm. I love technology.

MFD and the dogs arrived late, and I was up until after 1:30 thinking about all the shit that needed to be done Sunday, so no sunrise. We got right to work at 8 and kept going until 6. There were no large projects or picture-worthy shit but it was an ass breaking day all around. Basically we spent 10 hours going up and down three flights of steps 52974 times carrying shit up. We finished putting the third floor back together, touched up paint up there, took a magic eraser to the walls in all bedrooms and hallways, dealt with a sudden dresser top problem with contact paper, cleaned out under the beds on the second floor, patched a ceiling hole, cleaned off the steps, wiped down the railings, applied brackets to secure a side table, got rid of all the outdoor mats, weeded the insane shit growing in the driveway sand, cleaned out the bike alley behind the house/outdoor shower/driveway area, and hung bunting for Memorial Day. We also removed everything that will not stay in the house for the summer season, which is a lot when you've been using it personally. And shit I originally thought we needed but made it through a rental season without using went too. We ran over to Somers Point to buy a new air conditioner for MFD to install on the top floor and Jen & Tara stopped by to see us on their way out of town but otherwise, no breaks. MFD does not like no breaks but I only had to threaten him with death and divorce like five times. The Sunday before Memorial Day is always stressful but we killed it and not each other. Success.

We rewarded ourselves with dinner at Luigi's and a bike ride on the boards. Biking on the boards at night is coming to an end next weekend. This is MFD's I survived the Sunday before Memorial Day with my insane drill sergeant wife face.

I made the executive decision to paint the trim on the top two floors on Thursday night. Lord help me.

Weekly food prep: I only need breakfast for three days and lunch for two since I'm off on Wednesday, which is good timing since I had neither the time or inclination to do this this weekend. Breakfast is power breakfast muffins and hard boiled eggs; lunch is peanut butter, honey, and banana roll ups on multi-grain tortillas with a side of bell peppers; and dinners are spinach and artichoke pasta and avocado toast.

We stayed at the shore Sunday night so this morning means an early rise and ride for me. But it's a short week - I'm off Wednesday and I'm working from the shore Friday and we'll probably close early. 

Happy birthday to Sarah today! 

Memorial Day week already, man. 

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

TWTW - the one with the serenity now

Last week was rough. I left at 4 Friday, spent a few hours with the fabulous Lola Jean, then picked some turkeys, stuffing, and gravy up at Target to donate to our local food pantry. Dinner was fresh black sea bass caught by MFD last week, couching, putting laundry away, and packing a bag. 

Saturday morning and early afternoon were spent at funeral services. MFD went home to go to a peace rally and, wrung out, I headed to the shore for a night of solitude. As soon as I got there, I went and sat on the beach for two hours. No book, nothing but phone as camera. I just sat there with some coffee and let it all hang out. Salt really is the cure for it all. 

Saturday night I ate Wawa in lounge attire, then drove over the bridge to hit the Dollar Store and Pier 1 for a few Christmas items. I was held hostage by a millennial cashier in Pier 1 who wanted me to buy Unicef cards and cut the design out and paste them over the personalized cards already in my possession. Girrrrl. I also watched Overboard and Walk the Line and totally vegged and really enjoyed alone time in a quiet off-season shore town. 

Sunday morning I took a cold bike ride to the beach. The wind was insane and you can definitely see the erosion that's been present since the failed Labor Day weekend hurricane. 

A lot of people like a clear horizon for sunrises. I prefer a cloudy horizon. And as I sat there watching the light peek through I was reminded of the Leonard Cohen quote, "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." I've been thinking a lot about how polarized we are after this election. Some of my compadres are in a bad spot and feel hopeless. I was reminded that sometimes you just need to find the crack to see that there is light. And sometimes you need to be the crack for others to find. And still again sometimes you need to stand next to people and bang on the crack until it busts a big hole for the light to rush through.

I did some shore Christmas decorating since I won't be back until after Thanksgiving, drank a pot of coffee, did some online shopping, and addressed Christmas cards. See this tree for why I have not decorated a tree in 14 years. 

I hit a few of my favorite small businesses before I left to do some Christmas shopping. It was windy as hell. 

Sunday afternoon we celebrated miss Amelia's first birthday. Such a sweet, smart, pretty little lady. Insert heart emojis. 

I was just done when we got home. I finally finished the book I started last week - it's been an eternity since it took me a week to read a book - and started another. 

Ix-nay on the ood-fay ep-pray this week. I'm only working two days so I'll have breakfast burritos and spinach muffins out of the freezer. 

How was yours?

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending