Dear Husbands,

Wives do not enjoy doing dishes. If your wife is doing dishes and you say "Oh, honey, I can take care of those" she is thinking "then why didn't you do them already?"

Wives also do not enjoy having husbands that are total jackasses. (Don't worry, this does not apply to my husband, I'm just worked up over a friend's husband's idiocy)

If you are too much of a coward to admit in the first place that you CANNOT or WILL NOT choose to be faithful to your future wife, DO NOT get married.

It is true, women love weddings. We want to tie a guy down. We want commitment. When we say we don't, it's because it's what you want to hear and we think that by saying we want "an open relationship" you will think we are the COOLEST THING EVER and stay with us and ultimately WANT to be exclusive with us.

If you have doubts that you are going to be able to follow the bonds of holy matrimony, PLEASE chicken out. Do it. Go right on and bawk bawk bawk right out of the church.

Chickening out of your marriage after three years and two MORE kids is NOT ok. Deciding that the "easy" way out is too announce you have "issues" and "addictions" and think that those things will excuse your actions is NOT ok.

Your actions are inexcusable. When you are legally married and telling your wife that there is a chance for reconciliation, it is not ok to be spending meaningful time with another woman in any way - texting, emailing, phone calls, and above all, sleeping with them.

You have acted out of cowardice. You have acted like your existing family does not matter. You have betrayed your five children by behaving as if their mothers do not matter in your world.

Your children are very intelligent and are going to grow up with the knowledge that their father cannot be expected to follow the rules. They will believe it is ok to bend them for themselves as well. Your daughter that is now a teenager is going to decide very soon that it is ok to behave in a way that is not respectful to her mother by your example. She is also going to decide very soon that it is ok for her to have sex in a meaningless environment, and with someone that does not care about her well being.

I am sad. I am heartbroken. You were a brother to me for many years and I am so disappointed that I am physically sick.

I will continue to pray for you. Not because I have been perfect, I have absolutely NOT been perfect. But I do expect those I love to keep me accountable and I expect those who love you to do the same.

And on the 23rd Day, It Rained.

This Burger King must serve all eleventy-billion at this location alone. That's a lot of french-fries.

Maybe there is a conference room in the middle with a giant shake and twelve-thousand straws coming out.

I don't know. I just thought it was amusing.

ANYWAY...

Monday morning Mom woke me up and I drove her to the Miami airport in my pajamas. Her flight was scheduled to leave at 10:05am so she decided to be there by about 8:50am. I deposited her at the terminal with plenty of time to spare and went back to the motel and crawled back into bed.

At 10:15am she called to tell me that she was (obviously) not on the plane. Her flight was delayed three hours and would not be departing until 1pm. We all wished we had thought to check her flight when the alarm clock first went off, as she could have gotten more sleep and not been bored in the airport.

Jenny and I finally got up around 11am and checked out around noon. We went in search of the "Dolphin Mall" but found the Miami International Mall instead. I succeeded in purchasing three much-needed pairs of shorts and then we made our way to the food court.

After perusing the options we decided on a Mediterranean counter. For "Fast" Mediterranean, it was pretty good!

Jenny had a combo plate with Greek salad, falafel and hummus.

I had cucumber salad, roasted potatoes, hummus, two stuffed grape leaves, and we each finished with a piece of baklava.

Jenny had to be at work at 6pm, so around 2pm we hit the road.

Back in Key West I took a nap and then got up for a couple of hours to eat dinner and put away my purchases before going back to bed.

About an hour before I retired again for the night, it started raining VERY hard and there was strong wind.

Day Twenty-Two, Hurricane Season 2008

Sunday morning we all slept in for awhile, the animals convinced Mom to get up and feed them, and then she packed up her stuff while we were trying to rouse ourselves out of bed.

Once up, we met Travis and Jenny at Pepe's restaurant for lunch and then walked up Greene to the antique shop and Peppers of Key West. Then over to Front street and we took a tour of the Pirate Soul Museum. The museum is very educational and entertaining, the least of which is the stocks out front. It was a sweltering day or we would have pulled the pins out and made it look a little more realistic. As it was I told all the subjects to "look mournful" which they did.

We trudged back to the car in the heat and cranked up the AC as soon as the car was open. Back at home we napped a little and then Jenny came over and we got ready to make the trek back to Miami.

Scott was letting Buster out into the back yard and exclaimed "Holy Crap! You've got to see this thing!"



We all rushed out and admired a large iguana perched on part of our wall.

Jenny and I managed to get close enough to take several flattering portraits of him before we were too hot, and then Scott took turns watering him, the lawn, and the dog.

Day XXI - More of the Same...

Saturday I had to work, and didn't get up until I had to. My work went by pretty quickly, and I got to give Mom a quick tour of the store when Scott brought her by in the afternoon.

Once I was off work I rushed home and changed, and the three of us went downtown for our reservation at The Rooftop Cafe (what we consider to be the BEST restaurant in Key West).

Back in February, Scott's family came to town and we took them to Rooftop for Gary's birthday dinner. They gave us a gift certificate to Rooftop as a thank-you, and we were intending to use it for Valentine's day, but there was a kitchen fire the weekend just previous to the holiday.

The proprietors come in to the pet store on a regular basis and have been updating us as to the progress of the rebuild. The Rooftop Cafe finally re-opened on June 2nd, so this is our first opportunity to go back since the fire.

Mom and I are both vegetarians, so while I selected a side from a steak entree as my entree and a salad, my mom threw herself on the mercy of the chef and said "surprise me!"

Her entree was a combination of sauteed portobello and zucchini, some roasted garlic potato gratin, some mashed potato, and some steamed spinach and onions underneath.

I chose a goat cheese and black bean quesadilla with fresh avocado on top, and Scott got the "Surf, Surf, Surf and Turf" pasta.

After dinner we retired back to the house and watched the wedding video.

Day XX (That's Twenty, Right?)

Friday morning we roused ourselves out of bed at about 9am, checked out of the motel and went back to The Falls mall.

Mom and I are rabid shoppers, and we cruised our way through several shops in the hour we had before we needed to hit the road back to Key West.

It was a beautiful day for the drive, and we had started our day with a very small breakfast at the motel (Mom had an orange, Jenny had a banana and I had a danish). By the time we reached Tavernier, we were hungry and needed to use a restroom.

We took a chance and pulled into the parking lot at Chad's Deli & Bakery. We were in a bit of a rush as Jenny had to be at work by 3pm, so we ordered sandwiches for Mom and I and a quesadilla for Jenny, used the restroom and hit the road.

Chad is the owner and proprieter and was working the register during our visit. He is a very jolly and friendly man, and assured us that once we tasted the food we would be back for SURE. As we opened our food once we were back in the car and began to eat it, we were quite impressed. All the bread is baked fresh at Chad's and is very tasty.

We arrived back in Key West with about 8 minutes to get Jenny to work, and she made it just a few minutes late.

Mom and I took naps until Scott got home from work and then Mom, Scott, Travis and I headed downtown to a little sightseeing and ultimately have dinner.

We started out parking near one end of the marina and walked along the waterfront to Greene Street, where we stopped at Kermit's Key West Key Lime Pie Shoppe.

When people come to visit we like to encourage them to compare the two main Key Lime Pie peddlers - Kermit's and the Blond Giraffe.

Kermit's has a beautiful Koi pond behind the building, with several small table and chair sets all around the pond and garden area. We purchased a piece of pie and a piece of chocolate dipped pie-on-a-stick. The four of us shared both pieces and determined (as usual) that the chocolate dipped is the preferred method of Key Lime Pie Goodness.


After finishing up our pie, we continued along the waterfront to Front Street and walked all the way up to Mallory Square to catch a little bit of the Sunset Celebration (held nightly).

As we walked into the area where all the performers are, we were greeted by the beautiful tones of a wood flute player playing hymns as the sun was setting. I enjoyed this very much, especially because the song he was playing as we arrived was "How Great Thou Art", probably my favorite hymn.

Clouds were covering most of the sunset, so we decided to progress on to our dinner destination, The Cafe. Once inside we sat in a new dining room addition that was just opened in March. The food was fantastic (as always) and it felt good to walk back to the car and work off a few of the calories we so enjoyed consuming.

Day 19, Slacker Season 2008

Hello! I'm back! Okay, I'm in Miami, but I'm back to taking care of my poor blog.

I learned today that one of my favorite people IN THE WORLD (Hi Lou!) reads my blog every day! That is so exciting. If I have any lurkers, show yourself sometime so I feel a little less like I'm typing just to hear myself think.

Jenny joined me on Thursday for our regular Girls Day Off and we enjoyed a manicure (me) and pedicure (Jenny) at Nadine's Salon and Day Spa and then went conveniently downstairs to the Square Grouper restaurant and had a lovely lunch. I had the black bean veggie burger again and Jenny had the Mediterranean Plate.

We shared a slice (or rather, a few bites of a slice) of Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie and then hit the road north.





I have driven the road from Miami to Key West several times, and had no idea there was an alternate to the "eighteen mile stretch". As I was about to take the left side of the road in Key Largo, Jenny informed me that there is a much more interesting route along Card Sound Road.

I agreed to try it out and stayed straight at the pertinent junction instead of veering to the left. The first portion follows along North Key Largo before there is a turn and the traveler is actually ON Card Sound Road. Both portions of the trip are quite lovely and the view on the bridge over Little Card Sound and Barnes Sound is fabulous as well.




We hit the Turnpike around 6pm and found our way to our hotel - a lovely Quality Inn in the Kendall area. After checking in and depositing our bags in the room, we checked out the pool and then drove a few blocks to a fabulous mall we had noticed en route to the motel.

The Falls is an outside mall that has waterfalls and pools throughout the center of the complex. It is quite beautiful and peaceful. We shopped until about 7:50pm and then took off heading for the airport, following signs that are supposed to lead us ultimately to the airport.

Mom's flight was supposed to land at 8pm, and by my estimation, I thought we were about 15 minutes away from the airport. The signs put us onto one parkway and then pointed to another exit, which we took. Then there were no more signs.


I really didn't want Mom to have to wait in the belly of the parking garage alone, so I was anxious to make it to the airport quickly. Every time we thought that we were maybe heading the wrong direction, we would see an airplane overhead heading in the same direction as we were, and getting closer to the ground!

Finally we saw the all-important sign again and within minutes we were at the airport and picked Mom up. We took her back to the motel to unload her stuff and then to a Benigans a few blocks away for a late dinner before going back to the motel and heading to bed for the night.

***(Yes, that gas price is $4.05 for regular. In Key West we pay $4.29)***

Eighteen Days...

Today is Minx' 7th Birthday.

I bought her (and the other cats) two toys and a "kitty garden". Jenny brought her a piece of filet mignon for dinner. Chou, Maui and Buster were ALL OVER the filet mignon, but Minx was not so interested.

She also didn't give the time of day to either of the toys. Maui, however, is totally fascinated with the "fishing" pole, and quite enamored of the tick-tock.

Fourteen Days of Hurricane Season

Today it rained.

I have four more days of working and then my mom is coming to visit us for 4-ish days. Jenny and I are going to drive to Miami to fetch her and maybe go see the Sex and the City movie while we are there.

Tonight we are having Tacos. I don't have to make them.

This makes me happy.

13th Day of Hurricane Season 2008

No hurricanes, but I'm on day five of ten days I'm scheduled to work straight through.

I'm already burned out.

Scott got back from New Mexico last night and we went to a quiet dinner together at Outback Steakhouse to bond a bit before going back home to our animals and house-guest.

Right now I'm exhausted and sore.

Day 11: Now I Get To Use Numerals.

Have I mentioned yet that starting Monday (two days ago) I am scheduled to work every day for 10 days straight? This is due to one employee being on vacation and two others leaving in the next 10 days. I'm not working overtime or anything, it's 40 hours spread out conveniently (HA!) over the week.

Monday and Tuesday I went in at 2pm and today and Friday I go in at noon. Tomorrow (which is usually my day off) I don't have to go in until 4pm, and I'm hoping to get some relaxation in by a pool somewhere.

Once I was done with my eight-hour shift today I came home and transferred laundry from washer to dryer, started another load in the washer, and did a sink full of dishes.

Travis just helped me bring our dining table in from the back patio. It has had a shaky leg for awhile, and as we started to set it down, the final weld gave up. Scott is arriving back in town tomorrow and he LOVES the table and it's chairs. Somehow I don't think I'm going to track down a welder in one day.

Day Ten, Not Much Hurricane

The party has been over for two days, and I am finally starting to get things cleaned up.

Conveniently for him, Scott is in New Mexico on a business trip.

What really disappoints me is that I didn't take ANY pictures of the food or the decorations or anything.

Mostly, it's sad that I didn't video Stinkerbell learning to swim in the wading pool. THAT was the highlight of the day.

Day Eight: Exhaustion

It is 10:30pm and I am in bed. There are still a few guests in the living room and back yard, but I am done for the day.

Jenny and I both finally went to bed around 3am and we all slept until about 10am this morning. Right away the four of us (Scott, Me, Travis & Jenny) got to work. Scott mowed the back yard, edged it, swept all of the patio, picked up dog poo and mopped inside.

Travis bustled about putting all the random stuff that had yet to be put away in our bedroom.

I started putting things away and then began to set up the table in the back yard and fill the wading pools.

Jenny got started on the gnocchi and then we decided we needed another trip to the store because she ran out of flour.

We hopped in the Honda and drove to GFS for flour, tealights, pans and additional white grape juice.

Once we returned Jenny finished the gnocchi and then took a break to help me draw on the sidewalk and carport floor with liquid chalk before she got started on the crostini. We decided we needed another break and took the Honda downtown to fill two coolers full of ice thanks to the restaurant Jenny works at.

Scott took about a 45 minute nap after taking care of all the yardwork, and once he was up I took a nap until about five minutes before the official start of the party.

As guests arrived we plated the food and set it on the table under the awning on the back patio. Apparently all the neighborhood flies decided to attend regardless of the fact they were not issued invitations, so after about ten minutes we moved the table into the house.

Overall the party was a raging success. There were three dogs, several kids, and the wedding video on a loop being projected on the dining room wall. A wedding picture slideshow ran on the big screen TV at the same time in the living room. There was much eating, drinking, and guests being astounded that Jenny and I made all the food and from scratch!

Everything turned out wonderfully, there's an entire pan of ribs, a quarter of one cheesecake and half of the other, a gallon ziploc bag of uncooked gnocchi, lots of couscous salad, a bit of the bean dip and a bit of the feta dip, some chips and all of the corn left. We forgot about the corn completely.

Scott leaves on a four day business trip tomorrow and I am working the next ten days straight.

Goodnight!

Day Seven, Hurrykane Seezon 2008

I worked an eight hour shift, came home, and proceeded to hang pictures, clean the hamster and skunk cages, make and bake two pans of fruit cobbler, take a trip to Walgreens for butter, and do a load of laundry.

Jenny came over this morning and cooked for three hours, then went to work and worked an eight and a half hour shift and then came back to the house to cook. She took the ribs (14 lbs of ribs) out of their three day marinade and dried them individually before giving them a dry rub.

Meanwhile I assembled the spinach & feta triangles which will be baked tomorrow. We'll also find time to draw on the streets with sidewalk chalk, make gnocchi from scratch, finish cleaning or picking things up and throwing them into the master bedroom AND finding time to make ourselves look pretty.

I'm exhausted. Jenny is too.

Day Six, HS 2008

Yesterday was a very long day.

I worked from noon to 8pm and when I got home Jenny had already completed the Beer and Cheese dip. We were hungry and needed a little girl time, so the two of us went to Chico's for dinner and then brought takeout home to the boys.

Once we returned we got started on our list of things that needed to be completed last night:

• Beginning the Arnold Palmer
• Tomato sauce for the Ricotta/Chickpea Gnocchi
• Decorating a Cheesecake
• White Bean & Artichoke Dip
• Key Lime Couscous Salad
  
• Beer & Cheese Dip

When Jenny started chopping ingredients for the tomato sauce (onion, garlic and jalapeno), the entire house filled with eye-watering fumes. We decided to keep ourselves able to stay in the kitchen by wearing a pair of scooter goggles and sunglasses.

My main task was sous chef, keep the dishes clean and to decorate the cheesecake.






I began by making hearts of chocolate and carmel by drizzling the sauces inside a heart-shaped cookie cutter and freezing teh cheesecake for a few minutes, then ground up some bite-size Butterfingers and made more hearts with crumbs, then spread more crumbs around the edges. It didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked, but I didn't want to sacrifice taste for beauty by using Magik Shell instead of regular chocolate syrup.





I also started the vat of Arnold Palmer by dumping an entire box of Lipton "Black Pearl" tea into the empty bucket and pouring two boiling kettles over it. I put the lid on and let it steep overnight.




Each time we complete an item on the menu, we have to play tetris with the contents of the fridge to get everything inside.

We'll Return to Your Regularly Scheduled Program After These Important Messages:

I started a second blog.

Happiness is a Warm Skunk

Skunk Central

Grand Stinky Station

Skunk-a-lot-o-pus

Stinkerville

Day Five, Hurricane Season 2008 - a day late...

And several hundred dollars shorter.

Thursdays are generally my day off. There are a few exceptions, like the week after I go on vacation or when my boss needs to rearrange the schedule for some reason.

Yesterday I was off, and Jenny and I managed to get a LOT done. We purchased all the food items and ingredients necessary, and also obtained two large and one small wading pool, an umbrella for our back yard picnic table, a folding six foot table, some serving platters and plates, two buckets for serving our signature cocktail and the Arnold Palmer, and various and sundry other items. (Isn't "various and sundry" redundant?)

Anywho...

We started at K-Mart, went to Albertsons, then to the Sugar Apple, then to Fausto's, then to Publix, and then decided to borrow my bosses' truck to get the wading pools from K-Mart to the house (Wading pools do not fit well into the back of a Honda EX).

My boss is a generous guy, and agreed to let me borrow is F?50 (BIG DIESEL TRUCK) for the mission. As I was leaving his office he said "Reese, do you know HOW to drive a big truck like that?"

I assured him that I have experience driving BIG DIESEL TRUCKS and off we went.

We purchased the pools and nestled them safely in the back of the truck, well inside the canopy. I reached up to shut the canopy and as the canopy door frame hit the tailgate, the glass exploded all over me.

Calling your boss to tell him that you busted the glass out of the back of his truck is not fun. I do not recommend it for kicks OR giggles.

When we returned the truck to the store both my bosses came out and took a look, and then the he-boss left for an appointment and the she-boss said "What did you hit?!"

I didn't hit anything. I didn't even slam it. It just shattered.

Oh yes, all over me. I had shards of glass in my hair, and all over my arms and legs, and down my dress. Little tiny cuts bleeding. And little bits of glass itching my skin. AWESOME. Or Not So Much.

When we returned to the house I went into the back yard and hosed off the arms and legs and then cringed and tried to ignore the other pieces I could feel for the rest of the day.

Day Four Addendum

After posting my blog, Jenny and I created a battle plan and schedule to get done all the shopping and cooking necessary for Sunday's party. As per usual, Jenny brought over her laundry, since we are happy to enable her laundering for free at our house instead of wasting money at a laundromat. Also, laundromats do not have friends' kitchens attached to them.

Since Jenny's boyfriend Travis arrived at our house two weeks ago, she has spent more nights here than at her house, and her cat Charlie is NOT impressed. He peed all over her bed.

Jenny loaded the washer with some of her cat-pee-items and stuffed a pillow in on top. Travis soon yelped "Water! Water Everywhere!" and we discovered that the living room was flooding.

We quickly pulled the couch and coffee table into the middle of the room and unplugged laptops and phone chargers. The dog bed and the bulk of Jenny's dirty laundry were used to mop up the water, and we learned that the pillow had been placed directly under the water faucet and had spurted the water out onto the floor.

All this was at about 1am. We were still planning to make the cheesecakes and didn't make it to bed until about 3am.

Day Four, Hurricane Season blah blah blah

Today was a much better day overall.

There was a bit of chaos at the store, but from customers not from employee relations.

A woman entered the store and asked an employee for help finding a carrier for her cat. She was very rushed and demanding, and berated the employee for pointing out things that are "Way TOO Big, what's wrong with you?!" Sadly, I was in the office at the time, or I would have stopped this behavior before it escalated. As I was not there, she continued to bully said employee and then demanded that the cashier take her before the rest of the line that was already formed.

The cashier is a lovely young lady named Jewel. Jewel is 16 and has been working at the pet store for two years. She is very sweet, agreeable, hardworking, and pretty. No one yells at Jewel (other than her parents, of course) and certainly no one bullies her.

When Rushing Woman demanded that Jewel take her next, Jewel was startled and stopped in the middle of the transaction she was already halfway through to cash out the psycho. I was still in the office, or I would have headed this disaster off at the pass. Rushing Woman turned to Other Lady and said "Sorry I'm being rude, but I have a cab waiting and it's $20 a minute." (I am certain that there are NO taxis in Key West that charge anywhere near that much.)

Other Lady said "Well, you ARE being rude!" to which Rushing Woman replied "Well why don't you just be quiet?!".

Right about this time, the employee that had been dragged into service by Rushing Woman found me in the office and told me what was going on. I asked if everything was ok now and she assured me it was. Five minutes later she came running back in and said "the other lady made Jewel cry!".

I came out and by the time I reached the register both women were gone and Jewel had composed herself. Before I could get a full report, the phone rang and the caller asked for the Manager. That's Me.

I picked up and listened to Other Lady, who is a long-time customer (of course) who spends a lot of money in our store (I'm sure) on a regular basis. She felt that the entire situation was handled horribly and couldn't believe that "that girl at the register" allowed such behavior from Rushing Woman, and maybe I need to give her more training.

I took a deep breath and apologized on behalf of Jewel, explaining that she is not accustomed to being bullied and I agreed that she shouldn't have given in, and furthermore I was sorry I had not been available to handle the situation. In all I said "I'm Sorry" and "I Understand" about three or four times, each. Apparently this was not everything Other Lady was hoping for and said "Well..." and just waited for me to offer more. I sputtered a few more apologies and then she hung up.

The three of us (Jewel, Myself and the other employee) regained our composure and I went to work in the dog food department.

About twenty minutes later I went to the front of the store and there was a woman holding a small pet carrier and demanding to exchange it (we don't return pet carriers at all) and "I'm in a big hurry, I have a cab waiting and this is just too small and I don't like the print on it..."

I deduced correctly that Rushing Woman was back with a vengeance. I spoke calmly to her and explained that all the pet carriers like the one she had were in the same place and we only had the one size.

"I need something bigger! My cat won't fit in this and it has to be airline approved!"

I didn't take the time or effort to question why she had bought it in the first place when it clearly would not hold any cat more than 6 months old. Instead I pointed out the carriers that are airline approved guaranteed, and opened one to show her that a cat will fit happily inside.

"That's much better! I want it! Can you exchange it for me please?" She thrust the original carrier and receipt into my hands and barged towards the counter.

"M'am, you will have to wait in line. You already upset several customers earlier and I can't let you push them around again."

The five people waiting in line at the counter were witnessing all of this and I had no sooner finished my sentence than she turned to the customers and said "Do you mind if I cut in front of you? I have a cab waiting?"

The two women who were next and 'on deck' half smiled and said they supposed they didn't mind while the other three increasingly incredulous customers watched in horror. I assured the two women who had agreed that they didn't need to do that, but they both just said again that it was fine, one of which adding under her breath "whatever it takes to get her out of here!"

Jewel stepped aside and I rang up the return/exchange as quickly as possible. As I was handing Rushing Woman her receipt, she said "I need a comb! Do you have a comb for a cat?" Jewel began to describe where to find the comb, and then stopped and wisely said "I'll show you."

I rang up the next customer as Rushing Woman waited for Jewel to GET her a comb, meanwhile saying "can you charge me for the comb please?" while I tried to explain that I had to scan it first to find out how much it was going to be and still ring out the current customer.

Finally the comb arrived and the customer that was actually next acquiesced to Rushing Woman's demands to be rung out next.

As the troublemaker left the building with her entourage (did I forget to mention she was dragging three other people with her and ordering them around as well?) the remaining customers and employees breathed a sigh of relief.

There was a moment of silence.

The hurricane had passed.

Day Three, Hurricane Season 2008

I was asked if I intend to blog the entire Hurricane Season day by day.

Intend? Sure. Will it happen? Maybe.

Today (ok, it's after midnight so technically yesterday)...

I received my new laptop and cried at work. Not necessarily related occurrences, but looking back probably not totally unrelated, either.

I had an emotional day. Work has been stressful lately and today was no exception. I felt as if I was in trouble for something but had not been notified of what, and even when the information that I have been working a lot of overtime (for free - since I am on salary) by choice was provided to my boss, I didn't even receive a "Thank You" or an acknowledgment of any kind. The addition of my looking online and seeing that apparently DHL delivered my new laptop to a "residence front door" somewhere on Gulfview Drive (as opposed to my work address) YESTERDAY, culminated in my not being able to handle it when my boss told me that they decided not to change our logo after all.

About six months ago the three of us (my two bosses, who are husband and wife, and myself) decided that we were going to change the logo because the current one is outdated, too busy, and not cohesive. I worked on some options for awhile but couldn't devote the necessary time to it amongst all my other duties, and requested that we hire out to a real graphic artist.

Fortunately I know one (ok, several) and my boss agreed to pay him to work on a new logo for us. To date he has given us six or seven new ideas and I really liked them. When I found out today that his work has been in vain (although he WILL be getting paid, I made sure of that), I just couldn't take it.

To throw a little added pressure onto my day, Scott told me that the rumor in his office is that his company will likely not be getting a renewal on their contract that ends in September. This means that we may be moving earlier than we expected to.

In the meantime, party plans are rolling along - my desk also arrived today and I set it up and started getting the front room put away before getting out my new laptop and immediately downloading firefox and setting up my blogosphere bookmarks.

Day Four is already upon me and I must now check my Woot and be off to bed.

Day Two, Hurricane Season 2008

The Menu for Sunday:

• Marinated Feta Dip
• White Bean and Artichoke Dip
• Beer and Cheese Dip
• Spinach Feta Triangles
• Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini
• Israeli Couscous Salad on Belgian Endive
• Cuban Corn
• Kansas City Ribs
• Grapevine
  
• Arnold Palmer
• Two Cheesecakes with various toppings
• Miscellaneous Fruit Cobbler

Jenny started shopping today for ingredients, and also picked up some random decorations - a cute little banner that says Just Married, and some wedding bells... I think we'll put up the white Christmas lights on the back patio, too.

I worked an extra hour today, trying to tie up some loose ends in my big labeling and pricing project. Most of which has still gone unnoticed.

I heard today that there are burglers going around Key West breaking into peoples houses while they are at home, sleeping. A woman came into the pet store today and said they got away with her big flatscreen TV and her purse and she and her dogs slept through the entire thing.

I do not envy someone that attempts to break into our house, as they will likely trip over an animal and/or incur the wrath of my husband AND our houseguest, both former Marines.

Day One, Hurricane Season 2008

We kicked off Hurricane Season 2008 with a very hot, sunny day.

I worked about 11 hours today. I usually have Sundays off, but holidays always throw off our schedule. Oddly enough, as the Manager I get to come in on the day we are closed and feed all the animals. But it still "counts" as a day off. So before yesterday, I had been at work every day for 8 days straight. Is it any wonder that I went straight to bed when I got home today and slept hard for about two hours?

Next Sunday is our East Coast Reception, a party in our back yard. The wedding DVD is supposed to arrive any time now (it was mailed over a week ago) and we are hoping to show it on the side of the house thanks to the projector that Travis brought with him from Seattle.

Jenny is catering the party, and has planned a menu to equal that of our actual wedding reception in Portland. Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini, a cheese dip made from feta and cream cheese with a lot of garlic, Bleu Cheese Potato Puffs, and a host of other things that I can't remember right now.

This week is definitely going to be a whirlwind of activity at our house. My new desk is supposed to arrive, along with the new laptop. Hopefully I'll be able to get the front room/office organized so when people walk through our front door on Sunday, they won't have to stumble over the six boxes that have still to be unpacked.