Labor Day with Patricia

Yay! Ewbliette had today off ! We had a chance to hang out and it was really sweet!

We started off around eleven (she slept in till ten!), with some Tyoma time. We're prepping for my Cali trip, she's going to give Mom a little break during the weekend we'll be gone. I know Grandma and Grandpa love the little one, but he can really wear a person out!

I made us coffees and we gabbed until Mom arrived. We decided on lunch at Chiles, and celebrated with a fried cheese (Good Lord!) and identical main courses (Chicken Loose Bowel Wraps). I usually love the ribs, but after my Outback Upchuck*, I decided to pass.

After lunch, we dashed over to Barnes and Nobel, where I resolved not to buy anything. We had a blast clothes shopping for Ewbliett, who picked up a gaggle of cute outfits for work. I can tell you one reason we are such good buds--we both shop the same way. When it comes to clothes, we are very pragmatic and sensible. When it comes to books, the weirder, the better!

At the last minute, I wound up recruiting Ewbliette as an emergency babysitter for tomorrow evening. Tennisfiend's old professor from Moscow State University will be in town tomorrow, and since he is a friend of the family, all of us will be dining at La Posta tomorrow. Bless her for stepping up!



  * Both Mom and I felt sick after our meal at the Outback Steakhouse. I tossed my cookies a few hours after dinner. Ewbliette said that a girlfiend can't eat their ribs due to the amount of MSG in them. Huhn!

Suit Shopping

E took off a half a day so we could go suit shopping. We started off by having lunch at one of our favorite restaurants--and running into Kurt, his dad and sister! Cool Beans! Tennisfiend chose a yummy sandwich as I agonized over which salad would be more South Beach. I sure hope it works better than Atkins.

After hugs and handshakes with Brotherkurt, we took off to the mall. At Dillard's, we found only one suit that fit well. We raced over to the Men's Wearhouse where we were greeted by a short , young fellow with Zoolander hair. When did this come into style?! I am such an out of touch old fart. Anyway, they had 10,000 suits all crammed together and not a one was a proper fit. Back to Dillard's and our happy-to-see-you-again salesperson.

Tennisfiend received a shock when he was measured for alterations--one of his arms is slightly longer than the other! Turns out that this is a common occurrence. Who knew? I received a shock when I realized that two hours without seeing my baby made me miss him terribly. All the way home we talked about him. How will I ever cope in California?!

Shopping Spree!

No, I didn't run out and buy myself a sexy guy! I went shopping with Fontessa at Target to fill Tyoma's closet with size 2T clothes (for 2 year olds!). Her help with baby clothes was much appreciated. Especailly since our financial situation is so dire. We picked out some light colored tops and shorts to scare away the mosquitoes, plus family goodies.

Later, I took photos in the back yard:

It was weird, this is the most fun that I've had with Tanya since she's come. Also this is the first time I took any pictures with her. A day doing something together helped break the tension between us. This is good. I wish our visit could have been more like it was today.

Old Mesilla

Went to old Mesilla today with Fontessa to pick up goodies for her friends in Moscow. I found some cool stuff for Cthulumas presents plus more non-denominational holiday cards that I will never send out to add to my collection. Oddly enough, at one of those tacky touristy places that host rows of personalized license plates and coffee mugs, I discovered some little doggie footprint sticker with the name "Misty" on them. I reckon that they will find a comfortable spot right next to my unused holiday cards.

People Watching

Sunday I was gripped by malaise. At noon I realized I needed to force some activity upon myself or I was going to spend the entire day staring at the dog. A trip to Barnes and Noble at the mall was just what I needed.

I was surprised to find big glossy paperbacks on Katrina already on bookshelves. After everything I have read online, these slick publications seemed especially mercenary. It took ten minutes in the puzzle section to restore my good humor. I found a delightful book to add to my library, The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Time , by John Shanaham. I love quote books!

After the bookstore, I decided to stroll the mall and people-watch. Since it was Sunday, the inevitable church  population was on parade. I am not a religious person who values evidence of one’s piety, but the clusters of well-dressed hand-holding senior citizens charmed me completely. I also noticed that parents had brought four entire soccer teams to the mall to frolic. Shrieking ten-year-olds overran the Halloween Bootique. Although the pandemonium cut short my visit to the Bootique, I realized that if I were there with one other person, I too would be dashing about, shrieking, "Look at this, look at this!"

An hour of walking and watching cheered me immensely. I eavesdropped on two goth girls at Hot Topic--I do not lament tinyness of Topic tee-shirts alone. An elderly gentleman surreptitiously tickled his serious white haired companion at J.C. Penney’s. I joined the spectators at the Aquasagge, and shared a laugh over a soccer mom’s squeals of delight and surprise. I left the mall feeling happier, and in the perfect mood to peruse my new book of quotes.

Attack of the Tiny Shirts

After work today, picked me up for a five hour shopping expedition. We started off at Chile’s, where she treated me to appetizers and drinks (I forgot that we had an agreement not to eat out to save money, but the anticipation of margaritas gave me amnesia). Our server was an impeccably groomed but overly-attentive fellow that made me feel monstrously tall and muscular. He returned to our table repeatedly, anxiously asking if we needed anything. I might have thought he was captivated by my amazon figure, however, he probably hoped we would order more margaritas and food.

We spent the next several hours at the local mall, checking out the newest clothes. A preponderance of bo-ho fluff and tiny tee shirts confronted us. I’ll skip the obligatory commentary on the apparent shrinking of women’s clothing and say that Lycra makes me very "boobalicious." Not wanting to look like an extra on a Russ Meyer movie (Tura Rules!), I regretfully left a very sweet Corpse Bride tee at Hot Topic. Maybe I could sacrifice my modesty for the sake of art, since I adore Tim Burton.

After swearing we would watch The Corpse Bride together on opening weekend, we searched for the funky acre-wide Halloween store. No luck. A disappointment, since Ewbliette is helping to plan "Nukefest" with sweetheart Mucor (ask about Nukefest). This year’s theme is "Year of the Cephalopod," a combination of the thalassic with innuendoes of Cthulu mythos. I suppose I could celebrate the marine theme with a tiny tee shirt featuring fish, but E would be the only one who was horrified.

Anyway, we drooled over many, many pairs of shoes and tried on a hundred outfits. On an odd note, I found treasures in dressing rooms twice. In one I found a gift card, the other a gold ring with authentic looking gemstones. I turned them both in and gave Ewbliette two dollars for lottery tickets because I felt lucky. If we win, Ewbliette will take a limo to work to tell them to screw off and I’ll go back to school to study horticulture.

The only thing we forgot to do was to spend our obligatory hour (and paycheck portion) at Barnes and Noble. I suppose trying on all those tight tee-shirts must have cut the circulation to my brain.