Startin' to get EXCITED!

In just a couple days I'll be leavin on a jet plane... weather permitting! I am a little skittish about Hurricane Alex. We're gonna get his rain for the next 3-4 days. I just need to get outta here as I've some serious partying to do in MO w/the JW's and Brandone. Also I need some R&R and just general merriment. I've earned it!

I'm also skittish about rehearsal tonight. I so meant to do some musical work on my own these past 3 weeks that Leo was out of the country: work on some new bass lines (blues and funk) and finish writing the few songs I've started. I didn't do SHIT. I spent all my down time at home reading, catching up on my DVR'ing, and hanging out w/Stefano. SIGH. I'm doomed. My fingers are going to be KILLING me the next couple days. Last time my callouses fell off it hurt so bad to even get ready for work the next day. Oh well! That's why I play the blues!

The dentist adjusted my tooth yesterday a.m. It's almost perfect now. Jeez I love looking at my smile in the mirror. Stefano says I'm now a 10.5. Speaking of Mr. Amazing Wonderful he came over last night to spend the night and we had an extra special McCartney time together. I'm gonna miss him so bad this weekend. I left a hiccy on his neck and someone at work mentioned it to him today. Chuckle!

Where'd My Weekend Go?

Damn, this one zipped by. I don't even feel like I had time to sufficiently attend to Mr. Wonderful Stefano. I just had sooo much shit to do and as usual, didn't get a lot of it done. Usually Stefano takes up a good amount of my weekends but this past one I feel like I only got to see him at night. Saturday we had a lot of fun together but not much time alone, since I saw him at his in-store performance and then we went to dinner--but these events were shared w/Phillipo and my brother. I was pretty drunk most of the day and after dropping my bro off I went home and passed out on my couch and got to Stefano's late that night just in time to go to sleep!

Today was a little nutso too, and I'm only 1/2 done. I had an afternoon meeting w/the exec. director of this local nonprofit to discuss our grant we're writing that's due THIS WEEK. I told her to meet me at La Mad. though, and I had a tiny cheesecake parfait! Now I'm at Job #2, and tonight is the sheriff's meeting. After which I'm sure Mudflap and me and our regular group will go out to eat. After that I may run by the grocery store, or I may not since I'm leaving town this Fri. and probably don't want to leave any food in my house.

My 1st interview with an applicant to the Reserves went well yesterday I think. I was glad to be able to borrow one of the unmarked units that the Warrants team keeps downtown, b/c I had to drive all the way to fucking Spring and this way I didn't have to waste my car's gas. I met with this 21-yo kid and his mama. I wore my new "Detective" gear: jeans, cowboy boots, jacket, and belt w/holster, badge, and handcuffs. Unfortunately I have no torso to speak of (I've always been all legs) so the damn holster makes my gun grip sit up practically at my bra strap. This is why I NEVER wear belts and you will never see me with a tucked-in shirt. I look like Ed Grimley!

Mr. Wonderful brought me even more flowers last night when he came over and we got in bed and watched this awesome, beautiful documentary, Facing Ali. Leo is making me rehearse this Weds. night--he wanted 2 nights but I had to put my foot down as I'm only gonna have 2 free nights this week and I NEED them to get ready for my trip and wrap up loose ends and shit. So Stefano and I are gonna spend those 2 nights together at least b/c we're gonna miss each other so while I'm gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New and Improved Me

Such as the Holmes Brothers sing about! So yeah, I got my grille fixed yesterday. Whoo! It was wild. I had to get those dental shots in the gums, yikes! I didn't expect any of that. But it was ok, I'm sad to say I'm kinda used to it thanks to my periodontal disease. So he filled my 2 tiny cavities, then he CUT out those 2 annoying calcium spots I've had my whole life on my 2 front teethsesses and filled them in. They were GONE!!! Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ, I shoulda done this years ago. Then he filed down (or rather, up) the bottom of my 2 front teethsesses so they are smaller and more normal-looking. Here was my reaction: WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally they took an impression of my teeth so I can come pick up the teeth-whitening trays and solutions next week. They worked on me for like, an hour!

I couldn't stop smiling in all the mirrors the rest of the day; fortunately I keep lots of mirrors handy in all kinds of strategic locations so that I can get my quality mirror time in throughout the day. I snapped a pic and sent it to Stefano who called me to tell me how beautiful I am, but then again he's always saying that regardless! Anyway, I can't believe I finally have a normal-looking smile for the 1st time in my life at age 38. Not sure most people will notice however. My dad stopped by my work yesterday and said I looked different but he wasn't sure how. Actually, I do have to return next week to have the Dentist adjust one of the front toothsesses; I did notice yesterday after looking at my smile for around the 115th time that 1 tooth is a tiny bit longer than the other one. I hate to fuss about it, but the Dentist did a grade A job so I definitely want to get that to an A+ if it's possible--and it is.

DA didn't even notice last night when I met him for dinner and I had to literally point out the differences. Anyway, we had a fun time together. Dinner was awesome, though we ended up eating at Pappasitos near my house instead. I had the seafood enchiladas which were quite yummy. Also I'd scored free queso for us and I had a sangria and he had a large margarita which made him a little tipsy. They also brought us a free brownie sundae which we split, so I tipped a generous 30%. Then we went to rent Rob Zombie's Halloween and went to my place to watch it. He had a beer and I had a little coconut vodka/diet pineapple soda, but we were sooooo full we just nursed the same drink all night. The movie was amusing and after that we watched one of my fave shows ever, I Survived... Finally we started to watch Top Chef but I fell asleep during it so DA headed out. He was also good enough to buy some of S's shirts so I made a quick $40!

Tonight will be a fun night spent w/Mr. Wonderful Stefano and Philipo and my cousins out at the park. Mo' music, mo' merriment, and maybe a little drinking. But I don't want to get trashed like I did last week, plus I'm feeling bloaty and blah from The Process starting unexpectedly last night (5-8 days early, ay yi yi.....!!!!!!). I wonder if Philipo or the cousins will notice my new smile. Like I told DA last night, I used to be a 9, now I'm a 9.5!!!

Excited!!!

I am just excited today. About several things. There's a couple things bumming me out but for the most part I am mostly excited. The couple things bumming me out are it seems I have hurt my right knee somehow and I don't really know how I did it. I noticed it while dancing last Thurs. night at Big Sam so I rested it all weekend long--seriously, I didn't do shit this past weekend except clean my house a little--and yet yesterday morning when I woke up it hurt even more! Blimey! Which sucks b/c that means I can't run so I am having to figure out something else to do so that my ass doesn't get too fat on all these sweets I must constantly consume. Heh. Anyway, the other bummer thing is I hurt the bottom of my right foot today kicking my office door open (I think I'm such a tough guy sometimes). I hurt it b/c I'm wearing sandals today since my high-heeled pumps yesterday seemed to not be helping my knee. Anyway, hopefully the foot'll feel much better by tomorrow.

Ok, so onto fun stuff! At least I have faith it's fun stuff! 1st is that I saw a cosmetic dentist today. This is all in keeping with my divorcee makeover. I've madeover my house so now it's time for me. Thanks to the paint fumes/box wine/string cheese/Orbit gum/vanilla cigar diet of last fall I've lost 13 lbs. My dermatologist is working hard to get my skin conditions under control and soon I'll have a chemical peel done, some microdermabrasion, and ultimately some Botox treatments. Now it's time to work on the grille. Although I still haven't found a dentist willing to implant a ruby or a diamond into one of my front toothsesses, the dentist today said he will remove those annoying white calcium marks I've got on my 2 front teeth and he'll also reshape those teeth b/c they are ridiculously long/large (thanks to my pater familias, I think--at least, that's who I blame). He'll then send me home with a nighttime tooth-whitening system (free for me since I'm a new patient!) and finally, he'll (gulp!) repair the 2 tiny motherfucking cavities he found today!!! WTF!? I just saw a dentist for my spring cleaning last month and he said he didn't see anything! FUCK. I guess it's all those damn sweets. I blame all the chocolate I've been eating since last fall.

After the dentist I had an appt. with an investments counselor at my credit union so we could figure out something to do with some excess cash I have that is serving as "long term savings" money. Meaning I have to keep it kind of liquid in case a huge emergency arises, such as job loss, but is not to be mixed with my "short term savings" funds which are needed for little emergencies, such as car repairs. She presented me with 4 options and since I'm a quick decision maker, I opted for 3 of the 4 options. It was fun to learn a little about some new kinds of investments for me and I am excited to see how this money works for me after awhile. Some of it's locked up for 3 years, some of it for less time. Should be fun and educational to keep an eye on.

So this past weekend was heavenly, pretty much. On Friday night I headed to Mr. Wonderful's house and he had 2 lbs. of these humongous lobster claws for us to chow down on. Oh my God. It was sooooooo fucking deliciousssssssss! They were so sweet and yummy enough to just eat by themselves, no sauce needed. I still couldn't drink any booze but that was fine w/me. Saturday a.m. I had to be up early to meet Mudflap for our class. I drove us since he usually drives and he patrolled 'til like 4am so I knew he'd be pretty tired. It was a good easy class and we finished early. Then we went to a nearby barbeque fundraiser for a local cop who has a damn tumor that wrapped itself around his damn carotid artery. We each got a plate and they also had a bakesale, which everyone knows I CANNOT resist. And they had a rum cake!!! A bundt rum cake!!! You never saw money fly so fast out of my wallet. Mmmmmmmmmmm!!!!! But since it was so huge I had to cut it up and put some in my freezer for later. I'm not a total glutton, after all!

After that we ran by the police supply store for a couple items. Finally, after dropping off the Flap, the rest of the day was spent relaxing on my couch, which I never get to do. Reading, catching up on my DVR'ing, going through the past 4 days of my mail, coupon clipping, etc. I did some housework like sweeping downstairs, cleaning up the kitchen, and also spent some time collecting some of S's old clothes for donation to charity so I can get a nice tax writeoff. Then it was time to shower and change and get to Stefano's for dinner. He had gone to the Middle Eastern market and got us: hummus, baklava, stuffed baby eggplant. He'd also seared some tuna steak, gotten me some french bread for dipping, and picked up some blueberries for the both of us. Unfortunately the tuna steak--which he barely sears on both sides and keeps raw in the middle--made me sick. The good thing is that the last time he served this I got sick too, so we have learned that it seems raw tuna does not agree with my constitution. Good to know, since it's one of his favorite meals!

Sunday I slept waaaaaay in, then Stefano made us breakfast. I headed home and finished more housework: wet-dusting the bedroom ceiling fan, vacuuming the entire upstairs, laundry. More relaxing, reading, lounging on my couch. Heavenly. Much needed. A treat. I watched the movie Precious although my brother warned me not to b/c it's poverty porn. It was a'ight. The acting was awesome, though. Sunday night Stefano came over and spent the night. He ate 2 pieces of rum cake!

Tomorrow night after work I'm meeting young DA, who turns 25 tomorrow. We'll go to dinner at La Mexicana since he says he wants Mexican; then I told him we could go rent a movie and watch it at my place. He keeps asking if he's gonna get laid on his birthday but that is so not happening. That little shit is just lucky to see me on his b-day at all!

Had Fun Last Night. Too Much Fun.

"And you know what happens when you have too much fun." Ugh. In my case a slight hangover. I didn't get home 'til 2am. Couldn't wake up today 'til 10:45am. Struggled into work right after noon. Ouch. It hurts! But damn, I had fun last night!

I had planned to meet Mr. Wonderful Stefano at the concert, along w/my cousins. But I parked on the street behind Josephine's and when I mentioned it, he talked me into eating dinner there. Who am I to refuse such a treat? So we met there and had wine, their huge antipasto platter, and bruschetta. Nice and light! Then onto the concert armed w/my blanket, coco rum, and oversized frosted Rice Krispie treat.

It was packed but we spotted my cousins and headed toward them; unfortunately and awkwardly their mom--my most evil aunt--was also with them. But I just didn't let it bother me and I was polite and even introduced Stefano to her. I did it for the sake of my relationship with my cousins which is good again and I don't want to jeopardize that. I didn't talk to her although later I did help her shout out a song request that we all wanted to hear so we all had a good laugh over that. Whatever.

I finished off the small bottle of coco rum by the time the concert was over and then we bid everyone adieu. I talked Stefano into coming back next week for another concert; the cousins also confirmed they'd be there too. I am rearranging my work schedule at Job #2 in order to do these concerts b/c they are so fun and I love getting out there to the park. I am also trying to create new memories and experiences there since I was most often there w/my ex-stepdaughter. So it's also therapeutic to hang out there.

I drove Stefano to his car, kissed him goodbye, and headed to my next stop. Dancing, drinking, and getting funked up w/Philipo and my music loving friend, BK. But frankly my head hurts too much to recount too much of our night right now. Suffice it to say we drank, danced, drank, got our funk on, and did more dancing and drinking to the funky ass killer sounds of Big Sam!!! We even got to meet the band and give them hugs (me and BK). After the show I wanted to talk to the bassist--who was amused when he noticed me copying his funky licks on air bass while I was dancing--and so we sat and chatted for a bit. He was so sweet, telling me I don't look over 25 (he's 26) and putting my # in his iPhone and texting me after I left! He sent me a message saying I was really beautiful and to text him when I'm in New Orleans in August so I can show him some blues bass licks. Yeah right!

Tonight Stefano will have King Crab legs for us. I don't think I'll be drinking though. So even though this week I only abstained from Tues-Weds. we can now add Friday to the final score. We gotta get to bed early b/c I have to be in freakin' Atascocita by 9am for this class at the academy. The rest of the weekend, I MUST CHILL. I've got so many things to accomplish: some light housework, leisure reading, and catching up on my DVR'ing and movie watching. I already warned Stefano I need to do some things around my house. He left lilies for me last night, so I'd like to hang out w/my lilies this weekend too!

New Roses...Awwww

Heck of a busy weekend. Began w/an incredibly yummy Italian dinner on Fri. night w/Stefano and his 'rents. The bread was sooo yummy dipped in their totally delicious seasoned olive oil, and we brought our own wine. I had the Pasta Pescatore and Stefano had the salmon since we're still on our (mostly) anti-meat kick. It was great to catch up w/his 'rents! They are going to NJ soon for their niece's graduation and then Stefano and I will travel to New Orleans in August for when she moves into her dorm at Tulane. I'll meet Stefano's sister at that time too. Whooo!

After sleeping for about 10 hours I woke up late Saturday a.m and headed for the special patrol initiative assignment. I caught a ride out there w/Mudflap although I ended up partnering w/this old Lt. dude who was kind of goofy. He was nice, but awkward. My patrol skills are just as good as if not even better than his in some regards. I had to show him where the friendly bathroom was and where we could get a free burger and drinks by the river. It was a long hot day but it felt good to be out there. We had an arrest at 9pm though (I spotted a car w/no license plate light so we pulled them over and the female driver had 5 open warrants! Not too shabby for our stat's!!! Even Mudflap was impressed!) so I didn't get home 'til midnight and didn't make it to Stefano's 'til almost 1am and he was waiting up for me, of course.

Sunday I was moving pretty slow so I was an hour late to pick up Ma and li'l bro so they could come spend the day w/me at my house. We watched a new DVD she had on New Orleans musicians post-Katrina. Then my stepdad showed up and we picked up Stefano and all went to eat together in our neighborhood. I was bad and got the chicken salad (the poor chickens!) but hells bells, I LOVE chicken salad! Stefano was even badder and had a burger, heh heh. Hey, we're trying and that's what counts! That evening after everyone left Stefano and I met Tito J.--who was in town for a job interview--at the dive bar behind my house for a quick drink.

So b/c I was busy all weekend I didn't get shit accomplished for myself. Things like reading the mail, doing laundry, vacuuming upstairs, organizing the dining room, lounging by the pool, watching my Netflix/Blockbuster movies, projects like cleaning out the coat closet, reading ANY of my damn library book, working on my songwriting, etc. etc. I hope to have time for that this weekend though, and so far my weekend is mostly free except for a Saturday morning class Mudflap and I have to take up at the Academy.

Last night I met Tito J. and a few of his girlfriends at Frenchy's Chicken so he could fuel up before driving back to San Antone. I had the catfish, salad, and dirty rice since I still have to lose about 2 lbs. When I got home Mr. Wonderful Stefano had snuck in like he does sometimes and left a dozen red roses on my coffee table. Have I mentioned how awesome and amazing and wonderful he is?!?

Tonight I'm going on my 1 run of the week since I'm busy the rest of the nights this week. This a.m. I went to the dermatologist to see about my Seborrheac Dermatitis and also to ask about getting a chemical peel and BOTOX. I'm gonna do it, man! I'm at that age! But I have to wait for the peel until they get my skin under control w/the cocktail of prescriptions, both oral and topical, that she gave me. I'll be going back for my follow-up in 2 months. All I know is I need to get my skin in tip top shape!!! I need to really pay attention to my stress levels, which admittedly aren't that bad lately, post-divorce. But I also especially need to make sure I have MORE TIME FOR MYSELF!!! That is my #1 wish and I just can't fucking seem to make it happen as much as it needs to. But I'm gonna goddamn well make sure it happens this weekend, after Saturday's class anyway.

Excitedness!

So this trip to MO in July w/J1-J3 and Brandone is shaping up! I procured our tickets to the Levon show so that is set! We have plans to go on a couple runs (or in my case, jogs), hungover or not. I am determined to pack everything I need in a carryon so those airline bastards don't stick me with luggage fees. I'm so excited!!!

Tonight Stefano and I are having dinner w/his 'rents. They let me choose the restaurant and I picked an Italian place since Italian's my favorite. We can bring our own wine so Stefano's bringing a white and a red. It's a 'rent weekend, seeing as how I will be spending Sunday w/my mom at my house so she can get away from her evil sisters since my stepdad will be out of town. Tomorrow I've volunteered for a special patrol initiative in my old district on the beaches. It should be a long, hot, fun day. Mudflap will also be out there although they didn't put us together in same patrol car.

Wednesday night turned out to be interesting but fun. I seem to have put on 3 lbs. and so I suspect that all my drinking may be hindering my abilities to keep the weight from creeping on (you can tell I'm happy again and in love--I'm eating again, lots, with Mr. Wonderful Stefano!) so I decided to go for a run, my 2nd of the week. Also I decided that my new rule is NO DRINKING, not even box wine, from Monday-Thursday. Or Sunday-Wednesday, as the case may be next week when I am going out next Thursday.

So I went for a good run along the bayou near my house which is my new fave place to run. When I got back to my car a little after 8pm my cell phone was beeping w/a text. It was Philipo (formerly known as "P" in this blog, but J2 has insisted I start using more memorable, creative names) who was asking if there were any good bands that night or bars to go to. I had actually wanted to go see Little Drummer Boy's band that night but had decided I needed a run instead due to those miserable 3 lbs. I gotta lose, plus I wasn't drinking so what fun is that? I told Philipo as much via text and then he called me so we could discuss it further. Philipo lives waaaaay north w/his wife but was driving through town on his way back from his mom's house waaaaay east and when he pointed out that I've lost a lot of weight since my divorce I said I had no business putting that weight on in the 1st place but as we all know, "You put on weight when you get married!" It was then that Philipo dropped the bombshell. He told me he's getting a divorce.

I was gonna ask him if he wanted to talk about it, but he said we could talk about it next time we hung out, that it was a long story. I immediately decided that I needed to be there for him--especially since he was there for me when I was sad right after my breakup w/S--and since he was an hour's drive away anyway, I figured I could hurry and shower and dress in an hour's time so we could go see the band play. And so we did that, meeting at the Continental Club around 10pm. I bought him a beer and me a Diet Coke and we sat at the back bar where it was quieter so he could talk and I could listen. I ran into my friend Franky there too, no surprise since he's a good friend of that band's. However, LDB was not there playing drums! I texted him and he responded that he's now signed w/Columbia Records and is a professional session drummer. Nice!

Philipo and I sat and talked for awhile. When the band stopped playing about an hour later Philipo asked if I wanted to go to the blues jam, and I said sure, so we headed over there. Again I saw several people I knew, several of Stefano's musician friends too and I hoped they didn't think I was out on a date or anything. I had dressed very nice in a new clingy dress and gold high heel sandals and put my hair up, b/c I was feeling down about my appearance and needed an ego-boost. It worked, several people told me I looked good! Franky had even told me I could put on 20 lbs. and he'd still want me.

I bought us another round of drinks, a rum and coke for Philipo and a Diet Coke for me (see! I was being so good!). We watched some of the jammers, and we went outside to smoke cigars. When we were outside LDB stopped by! I gave him a big hug and he told me how good I looked, then I introduced him to Philipo. Philipo had lots of questions for LDB about his new professional gig. LDB is even going to Iraq soon to play for the troops.

After LDB left and we chatted w/a few other folks outside we headed back in to continue watching the jammers. Philipo and I attempted to dance to one slow song but he likes to do all that fancy turning and shit that I don't know how to do so it was pretty much a disaster. We talked some more and shut the place down shortly after 2am. I was glad I decided to go out w/him b/c we did have fun and I can tell he wanted to talk. I was glad to be there for him and told him he can come crash at my place if he ever needs to, since his marital home was his wife's home originally and he's gonna have to move out now.

Sweaty Fun Weekend recap cont.

So Stefano picked me up and we put my bass in his trunk along w/his guitar and amp. We also took my rolling cooler and headed to get beer and ice. I of course had lots of coco rum w/me, both in 2 flasks and my big travel drinking cup. We got to the icehouse and Rozzy's band was done; I'd wanted to get there earlier to see him play (although Stefano hates Roz's band we both love Roz) but we just couldn't get there on time. I knew it was going to be a hella hot day so I was wearing a cute new strapless dress I just bought w/short bike shorts underneath so I could sit comfortably all day long.

My beloved Aunt P. and Uncle J. were there, just as they'd promised they'd be. A few other friends were also in attendance and by then I was starting to get kinda tipsy so I knew we'd be in for a fun time. One of our band friends made me do 2 jello shots w/him on top of that. All the proceeds were for a good cause: the medical expenses of this great guy everyone knows who was jumped and badly beaten by some major turds of a local bullshit gang for pretty much no reason, and that's the only reason I even agreed to play this benefit since the owner of the icehouse thinks our band is "too loud"! WHATEVER.

Stefano played along w/us and he was playing his Telecaster instead of his usual Epiphone and I was so proud of him b/c he played hot and looked even hotter!!! HE IS A GUITAR STUD!!!!!! AND A REGULAR STUD ON TOP OF THAT!!!!!!! Whooooo! Ok, uh, where was I? Oh yeah, and Leo's girlfriend and her girlfriend also sang backup on a few songs as well. Later on my Uncle J. jumped up and did "Red House", his karoake special. While we played people kept coming up to the stage and putting money in the tip jar for the cause. The tip jar was on a speaker right in front of me and I made sure to mouth "thank you" to each person. At one point the cops showed up but I didn't give a shit; I had turned my amp up louder than usual just to stick it to the asshole icehouse owner. But when the cop motioned for me to turn it down (in a friendly way, he was smiling at me while I was playing) I held out both arms like "Aw, c'mon!" and he laughed and raised his arms too, so I did. The beneficient came up onstage before our last song and said a few words and we all took a group picture together. When we were done I also asked Stefano for some $ that I could put in the jar too. It was awesome and although the beneficient later told me he had incurred $44,000 in hospital fees (I urgently advised him to negotiate those fees down, which few people realize hospitals will do for you) I was pretty sure we raised at least a few hundred bucks for the poor guy.

George and I had already agreed we'd for sure be done at 6pm so we could get to Accordion Kings in plenty of time to get a good spot on the hill. We helped Leo load up the PA and speakers (and btw, it was Leo's 41st birthday!) then we scooted out as fast as we could. George ended up driving w/Stefano so they could have some "quality time" together and I drove George and his wife's rental car since she didn't know how to get to the concert from where we were. My aunt and uncle also said they'd meet us there too so it was gonna be a serious party fo' sho'! Additionally my dad swore he'd be there too (although later on I never saw him on the dance floor or ran into him anywhere so who knows).

Once there we met up w/George's other pals and we all spread our blankets on the grass and set up lawn chairs and settled in for a long drunken evening. At one point Stefano agreed to go and dance w/me so we headed down to the dance floor in front of the stage. We ran into several people we both knew and we danced for a couple of songs to the Tejano band ("Just do a 2-step," I advised Stefano). Back up to the grass for more drinking and merriment and picture taking and I was pretty toasty on the coco rum by then. It was hard to pay attention to the bands though b/c I was so distracted by everyone in our big group; this is why I always sit in the seats down near the stage when I attend events here! After a couple hours my aunt and uncle said they were headed out so Stefano and I decided to do the same, also b/c my amp was in my uncle's car. Stefano and I ended the night by going to one of our fave late-night restaurants, ordering some appetizers to share, and then headed home to his house.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and I even finally got out to my pool for the 1st time this year! Stefano spent the night w/me on Sunday and we ordered Chinese from a new place near our house that was just so-so. I'm still eating leftovers today!

Sweaty Fun Weekend

Wow, what a weekend! I hope all my Monday posts aren't starting to sound the same. While massive amounts of fun always seem to be had, at least all the activities vary. This past weekend was the sweatiest of the year yet!

Thursday night was a hoot as Mr. Wonderful Stefano and I met up to go hang out at his friends' nearby house for the 1st game of the NBA finals. They had cooked up burgers and we brought coco rum and tomatoes of course. That was a lot of fun b/c all of Stefano's friends adore me and they make no bones about their jealousy of him for having a hot, young girlfriend! What cracks me up about Stefano and his friends--all of whom have been friends since their schooldays--is that they all LOOK like upstanding good Jewish citizens with great jobs, cars, houses, etc. but they're all really very crazy and funloving!

Friday was my monthly work from home day, but Stefano whisked me away to a wonderful lunch followed by a quick trip to the record store and then a quick liquor store stop. We also stopped into Costco and Stefano said he was going to get me a free membership card there on his account. Awww! I was drooling in the bakery dept. So later that afternoon I headed up to Navasota to the Corner Cafe. Navosota is a hair over an hour away from Houston but this drive took almost 2 fuckin' hours thanks to Friday traffic. But there was nothing I could do about that b/c although I was working from home on Fri., I still had to go do a quick shift at Job #2 b/c I cut it short on Thurs. eve so we could go do the NBA finals thing. Thank God yet again for the iPod entertainment, and I finished one audiobook and now have 2 others waiting in the wings.

When I got to the Corner Cafe I was shocked to see that it is a very small restaurant/coffee house type establishment. George, Leo, Mir, and George's wife and kids were already there. Leo and I looked at each other and when he saw the horror on my face he read my mind and said that we were going to have to turn the volume waaaaaay down. No shit!!! I said, "Damn, we are going to literally melt their faces off!!!" As we were setting up on the small stage Leo suggested I turn my amp towards the wall and I was about to get all indignant and up in his grille and order him to do the same damn thing!--when I saw he'd already done it w/his amp. Oops! Heh heh.

Anyway, the gig went well even if we were turned down to "2" on the volume scale. We got fed as part of the gig and I got the spinach lasagna--yes, still on my quasi-vegetarian kick. And we were amazingly told that the Corner Cafe has a drink limit for all persons: 4 drinks maximum! Whoa. George and Leo took off for a local convenience store to buy more beer. I just stuck to a couple glasses of White Zinfandel. The great thing about this gig, although I was worried we'd be way too much for this crowd, was the audience was very respectful and appreciative. At the break the owner got on the mic and said the band would be making our way around the room for a meet and greet. Leo'd warned me that that would be expected of us, so I just said What the Hell, turned on the charm, and started going from table to table. I flirted with the men, I joked around with the women. I sold 2 CD's and a Tshirt. I hustled and charmed 'em all!

After the gig we got drinks and desserts to go. (Diet Coke and a brownie for me.) Then we chatted up some more of the audience members and said our goodbyes to everyone before heading out. I'd come armed w/detailed directions to the grave of Mance Lipscomb and was determined to pay my respects. I told Leo and George they better goddamned well come with me; fortunately their women were game as well. They all asked me though, "Isn't the cemetery closed?" "What if there's a gate?" "Will we have to climb a fence?" blah blah BLAH! I retorted, "That's never stopped me before!" I said indignantly, "This is America!" and "I did not come all the way to Navasota Texas to NOT worship the grave of Mance Lipscomb!!!" So they got into their cars and followed me to the cemetery.

There weren't even any damn gates to the cemetery fences. See! We drove right on in! Brilliant Adela forgot her damn flashlight though, so when it came time to finally get to the general area of the gravesite we had to turn our cars and headlights over the graves so we could kinda see. Leo found it right away though and we commenced w/lots of picture taking. I got a nice one of me draped over the stone, hugging it. Then we all bid adieu and I drove like a bat outta hell back to Houston, making it home in just over an hour. After 2am Stefano also made it home from his gig and I met him at his place.

Saturday we slept in way late, even later b/c Stefano had taken a sleeping pill; I of course am a champion sleeper so needed no such encouragement. We got up, picked tomatoes, and Stefano made breakfast. Then I went home and got ready for the long day of activities: afternoon benefit gig at the icehouse followed by a night of Accordion Kings! What's fun is that Leo had invited Stefano to sit in w/us, so it was Stefano's gig too.

Ugh, I'm feeling crampy and bloaty so I'll hafta finish this blog post later. However I am looking forward to a nice long run along the bayou tonight. I bought some adorable little running skorts that even have a tiny pocket for my car key and as usual am backed up on podcasts and audiobooks and didn't get a chance to run at all last week so I actually can't wait to get out there tonight.

Lovely Weekend! Historic, Even!

So me and Mr. Wonderful Stefano had yet another charming, romantic, fun-filled weekend out of town. Well, overnight anyway. After I managed to get about 6 hrs. of sleep on Sat. morning he came and swept me away, down south towards the coast. On the way we stopped at Buc-ees, the huge truck stop w/delicious food, and got snacks: him salty, me sweet! He also got a beer in a brown paper bag and I was sipping Sweet Tea Vodka from home the whole way. Found our hotel, the legendary Luther hotel, built in 1902 and located 2 blocks from the gig place, Outrigger's. While we were expecting a real old-school hotel w/no AC or TV's in the room due to what we'd read online, Luther's has now upgraded and installed window AC units in all the rooms as well as little 13-in. TV's. The ice was in a hallway downstairs in an ice chest w/a scoop inside. It was a groovy experience and a real adventure! I loved it!

After some romantic time together in our groovy room, I went down for a quick nap while Stefano went exploring and to buy a bottle of Crown. When he came back it was time to get ready to get to the gig. We got there and got a table for us and the rest of the band for when they eventually showed up, and the owner sat down to chat w/us. I asked him about the price of shrimp going up and availability of shrimp going down due to the oil spill, which is an issue that's been heavy w/me thanks to my fanatical love of shrimp. He said no worries so far but in a few months it could be another story. Soon the other band members showed up, including the bassist along with his wife who I'd met at their CD release. We grubbed and I had the grilled shrimp--yummy!

The band set up on an outdoor wooden stage and we had to liberally apply lots and lots of mosquito dope. The bay was in view and it wasn't even that hot anymore by the evening due to the steady sea breeze wafting in off the water. Gorgeous! Later on a few of Stefano's friends showed up and we visited w/them in between drinks. The bassist's wife had brought tons of liquor and Diet Coke setups but I was drinking my coco rum on the rocks as usual. She and I had fun getting to know each other better too, though she wouldn't dance w/me! (She just joined Weight Watchers and wants to lose like 100 lbs.) The band played 3 solid sets and I took some pic's. They were supposed to play 'til 11pm but they shut it down by 10:30pm, more time for us to party!

Stefano and I decided to host the band on the huge front porch of the Luther which was outfitted w/rocking chairs and plenty of tables so they all came over and we drank and socialized for awhile. By 2am it was just Stefano, me, the bassist and his wife and our drunk asses finally had to call it a night. Fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!!! The next morning we checked out by 11am and headed down to the beach. The Matagorda Bay in Palacios TX is really a fishing bay, and I saw no beaches for swimmers anywhere. Then we headed back to Houston, picking up kolaches before heading home.

Sunday was spent relaxing, picking tomatoes from Stefano's garden--everyday there are new ones to pick!--and more relaxing. Monday Stefano had to go into work for a few hours (he was pissed about it) so I did some more lounging around my house although I did have to go drop off some tomatoes w/my mom so they could be eaten quickly. In the evening Stefano came over and spend the night and we watched Up In The Air, which I'd rented for him.

BTW, last Friday night's patrol shift w/Mudflap was so uneventful I wanted to cry. But it was great meeting Mudflap at his house and we were able to use one of the warrant team's vehicles downtown. I drove for the first 3 hours or so and I was amazed to see how well I knew the district, since the regular deputies I always ride with never offer to let me drive. That area has been sinking in with me though, for real! Anyway, we were out from almost 9pm-2:30am and we did a grand total of 6 measly calls, and 3 of those were backup!!! Lame, man! A Friday night of a holiday weekend??? Still, it was fun to hang out w/the Flap again after such a long time. Now that he's made Lt. he's just so busy and I'm of course, busy as hell w/my band and social life.