I’m Beautiful Like Me.

Husband had himself a busy Sunday. He started out helping our friend Mike out with moving some furniture out of storage for his son. Then he headed over to do a little work before our afternoon at P’s place.

P and her husband B have been so good to us and B has been overwhelmed with a lot of yard debris from the wind storms last fall and ice storms last winter. So I volunteered Husband to help him out and we made a day of it. I brought baby back ribs and P got the girls to help her make P’s famous taco dip as well as some desserts. Buddha was happy to romp around in the fenced in backyard at their house, pushing the tricycle down the hill. After several hours of yard work for the fellas and kitchen work for the gals, we finally sat down for a feast. Needless to say, we were all pretty tuckered out by then and it was pushing 8pm. I helped P clean up and we headed home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daddy gave Buddha a bath, took a quick shower and Buddha quickly conked out. Then Husband had to get on his homework, which was due at 2am our time and he hadn’t even started yet. Tsk, tsk. I offered a hand to help things along. He finished in the nick of time.

This morning, I needed to ride out to mom’s shop to help her sort mail and pay bills. It’s her least favorite chore and waits until she’s absolutely overwhelmed to call for help. I hadn’t realized that Husband had booked a client for tutoring at 1pm, so he had to reschedule that. One of the ladies that works for mom asked Husband to detail her Jeep and we really need the money (especially after having to cancel that job!), so he accepted. In the meantime, I had finished up with mom, so I called and was able to get squeezed in at my gynecologist’s office for my annual (two months overdue!). She had bought everyone some ice cream - a big hit with Buddha - but I declined because my mouth is still sensitive from all the dental work (post coming soon, I promise).

My mom, God bless her, loaned us the cash to make our rent since the company Husband sub-contracts for doesn’t pay until 10 days into the next month. We made it back home just in time to hand the cash over to the complex manager and catch Joy off the school bus. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the phone calls I needed to in time, so I’ll have a busy morning trying to coordinate appointments for myself, kid’s check-ups and dental visits for us all. Yay.

Since returning to Louisville, it’s been harder than I expected to reconnect with my old friends. I’ve made a slew of new friends through knitting and recently made a new pal at the gym. But particularly special to me is Jenni, the new wife to an old friend, Phil, who plays for the band Common Ground. I finally got the opportunity to meet her when Common Ground reunited for a show back in October last year and we’ve recently gotten better acquainted on Facebook since she and Phil live in Tennessee. I simply adore her.

So, about a month ago, Common Ground announced another show for May 28th at Headliners Music Hall here in Louisville. P, being my absolute best friend in the whole wide world, and the only friend I’ve really been able to reconnect with since moving home, agreed to watch the kids so Husband and I could go out for the show. I later learned that Nappy Roots was headlining the show, which made it all the more exciting. (Last week, I was helping Big Rob out at the show and he had this poster of Nappy Roots. I inquired about it, wondering if he was a fan. He says that he grooms the dog of Ron Clutch. Yeah, that impressed me. Pretty fuckin’ cool.)

As the date neared, Jenni and Phil decided they were going to stay in town for the night. I offered them digs here, which Jenni accepted, but they ended up elsewhere. I was bummed about it, ’cause I’d really hoped to hang with Jenni as much as possible, but I was gracious. By the time Thursday rolled around, I was prolly more excited about seeing her than the show! She and Phil got us on the guest list (a tremendous help, considering our recent financial issues) and we had an outstanding time.

I, being under the influence of some serious drugs (I’ll rant about that in another post dedicated specifically to the dentist and my many apprehensions thereof), as well as being pretty broke, decided to have a couple shots of Woodford Reserve before heading out. We dropped the kids at P’s place and my understanding was that it went pretty well for Buddha (who is usually very unhappy about Mama and Daddy leaving him anywhere. P, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong!).

J, the singer, was feeling a bit under the weather, but not a soul in the house could tell by the amazing performance he gave. He even busted out the didgeridoo. He has such phenomenal stage presence.

During CG’s set, I saw Ron Clutch walking by and approached him. I told him that my brother Big Rob grooms his dog and that I’m a long-time fan. He asked if my brother was there, but he wasn’t. He shook my hand, thanked me for being a fan and showing my support.

I also FINALLY got to meet Deowick! We have been online friends since 2000 or 2001 and it was so absolutely wonderful to meet and squeeze him. I hope it’s not another 9 or 10 years until we can kick it again. He totally rocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m pleased that the videos turned out so well in spite of being pretty wasted! Most of the pictures turned out great, too. I can’t pick a favorite. I really love them all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way home, Husband stopped to get me a bite to eat, drop me off then go get the kids from P’s place. I kept falling asleep trying to eat and finally gave up and went to bed. I do think I brushed my teeth beforehand, though. Ultimately, I am a bit relieved that Jenni and Phil opted to stay elsewhere, as I woke up quite early to vomit twice. I won’t swear that I didn’t embarrass myself at the show last night, but it would have been much worse for us all if they had to hear that.

I had a superbly wonderful time. I am so glad that Common Ground is doing shows again (even if they are few and far between). I’m grateful that I have such an awesome friend who will sacrifice her own fun so that Husband and I can have a break from our kids. And I’m really quite smitten with Jenni, who I plan to hang onto for the rest of my life as my newest step soul-sister!

Thank you all for an amazing night.

Yesterday, Husband spent the morning and part of the afternoon at the gun range with a friend. He was so happy to get to do some target practice, as it’s been so long. Unfortunately, my toothache was absolutely horrid. When he called to tell me he was on his way home, he asked what I was doing, to which I replied "Contemplating suicide." The pain was that bad. I tried to distract myself with knitting, television and playing on Facebook, but it just didn’t work. When I tried lying down with Buddha at naptime was the absolute worst. I seriously considered not keeping my commitment for today. I couldn’t imagine traveling 2 hours each way in the car with kids in that condition.

Luckily, I woke up this morning feeling much better. I woke up 30 minutes before the alarm (which, incidentally, Husband forgot to set). I took a quick shower, woke up the rest of the house and we packed up the car to head for Cincinnati to meet up with my mom-in-law, one of my four sis-in-laws and MIL’s friend and daughter. We planned to meet at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens for the day. Our carload arrived at about 10:30am.

However, just before reaching us, their carload was in a minor traffic incident and were delayed. The four of us headed on in to appease the restless baby. We watched the elephants get lunch and got to pet a penguin. 

 

 

Joy ended up taking most of the pictures of the animals at the zoo. She was better at it than I expected. She took gobs of pictures of the creatures in the insect exhibit that didn’t turn out (due to the glass), the big cats and several of the zebras (her long-time favorite).

 

I took many of the gorillas. They were great: the mama and baby, the grumpy old man, the majestic alpha and a few other females. I counted 6 in all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A kind passer-by took a group shot for us. I love it, ‘cept rotten Buddha looked the other way.

After a while, it seemed like we were going in circles. We were tired, thirsty, hungry and Joy was eager to spend more time at the indoor exhibits, which is highly difficult with a party of our size, as well as a stroller weighed down with purses and a diaper bag. Plus, Buddha was having a hard time getting warmed up to his long-distance family members, which I know must be frustrating for Gramma. We decided to head over to McDonald’s, first because it’s cheap and more importantly, we all knew where it was located!

 

Gramma got Buddha to warm up to her by getting him some ice cream.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We haven’t seen ‘em since other sis-in-law’s wedding in December of 2007, so it was really great to see them all again. Hopefully it won’t be as long until we can do it again. We love you all!

With the busy and eventful week and weekend we’ve had, I am very hopeful to just lie around tomorrow doing much of nothing. Maybe I’ll do some knitting and watch some movies, especially since my toothache is right back to kickin’ my ass this evening.