Staycation Over, Dust in the Wind, Early Voting, & Weigh Loss Simulator

Staycation is over and it’s time to get back to the grind of everyday life.  I believe I’m more equip to handle things with a smile on my face now. Whenever my smile wants to turn upside down then all I have to do is think about all the fun DH & I had.  Now to fill you in on our going-ons while I was away from Blogosphere.

The height of our staycation was visiting our good friends at their cabin in the mountains of western North Carolina. They spend half of the year there and the other half at their Florida home. What a blessing to have this luxury!  We count ourselves equally blessed that our friends are generous with their time and hospitality to invite us to share in their blessings.  It was so lovely to enjoy the warm conversation and meal in the company of such dear friends. J gave us some pottery. She has had problems with tennis elbow and hasn’t been able to enjoy her favorite pastime.  So, she decided to take a pottery class as a fill in for her missing activity.  She’s rather crafty like that and is always finding some way to unleash her hidden talents. I think she did a wonderful job!

All last week was pretty much work-free for me – no cleaning or cooking! DH & I ate out at a few of our favorite standbys: Carrabba’s (Italian), Abuelo’s (Mexican), & Copper Cellar (American). We enjoyed our meals immensely and will continue to dine at these fine establishments.

We did try two new restaurants: Brixx Pizza (to-go) and Chuy’s (Mexican). Brixx isn’t new in town, but it’s new to us. We put off getting pizza at Brixx over the years because of the price. I had a school coupon which persuaded us to try them out this time. We got two 10″ pizzas. The Bronx Bomber for $10.95 – spicy italian sausage, prosciutto, gorgonzola cheese, tomato sauce and fresh oregano & the Americo for $8.95 – sliced pepperoni with mushrooms onions and fresh tomato sauce. The coupon allowed us to get a free appetizer. We tried the Wood Fired Pita Chips and Three Dips priced at $5.95 which consisted of:  traditional humus, roasted red pepper humus and black bean humus served with pita chips dusted with cumin.  Unfortunately, we discovered the skimpy topped, small over priced pizzas weren’t anything special and the cost simply not justified. The only thing we liked was the appetizer, but it won’t sway us enough to go again anytime soon.

Chuy’s however was a stand-up experience. The chips & salsa were good, except the salsa they brought to the table was just so-so. Our waiter brought a creamy jalapeño dip for us to try which was great with the chips! I had their #4 dinner Relleno & Enchilada (chicken) with green chili rice and charro beans. DH had two tamales with chili con carne sauce and same sides. Both of our entrees were fantastic! We even topped the meal off by sharing a piece of Tres leches cake. Yum! I’m sure, we’ll make a repeat visit to Chuy’s sometime in the not-so-distant future or at least I hope so! Take a look at their menu, here.

Aside from eating out, we did a lot of knocking around town.  DH bought me a new dress for $18 (big spender) from Ross Dresses for Less. I tease about the him being a big spender because this man can find great deals and even he will joke about it by saying something like, “I spent almost $20 this time!” Sometimes, you just never know what you’ll find in places like this, but… you may get lucky and find something really nice. See…

Our staycations are always like being on our honeymoon again and why should it not be? Just because one has grown children, doesn’t mean life stops in the bedroom so-to-speak. Things really should be getting fired up again to tell the truth. Anyhow, he also got me some sexy Victoria’s Secret lingerie. Which I just love!

Friday was a hazy day or was there a fire somewhere?  We didn’t know what was up until Monday.  Come to find out Knoxville was getting a bit of a blow in from Oklahoma’s sand storm. How weird is that? Totally, right?  There were reports of people calling their allergists across town with complaints. Dust is a big problem for me. My allergy flare up symptoms are different all the time, masking itself often times as intestinal upsets and that’s precisely what I was experiencing. I didn’t know the culprit was the dust in the air. I thought it was from seasonal changes. This explains my out-of-sorts mood anyhow.

DS spent time with his sisters while we enjoyed our together time. Between class and work he totally over-extended himself. By the time he got home he was like a zombie!  Now things are back to normal pretty much. A rested DS and our time not only exhilarating but totally refreshing. I can’t wait for our next staycation!

This week we did early voting. The election facility was really swamped. It felt like cattle being coerced through the building, too. Oh me! My claustrophobic, OCD side wanted to erupt. I knew I would explode if someone ran into me or dare I say touched me. Believe it or not, I escaped the whole incident without any such encounters. Yay! DH on-the-other-hand had to avoid this one gentleman who kept wanting to move him by taking his arm. I told him, I bet that man was a schoolteacher – a longtime herding of small people from hallways to playground and most certainly has kept the mentality.

The (Not so) Fascinating Life of Tabitha introduced me to fun cool site where you can see what you look like weight-wise currently and at your goal weight. Here are my images…

I got some of my images out-of-order. Hopefully, you can read the text enough to figure it out. If you wanna play around with your image of before and after, then you can try it here!

I realize I’m a day late linking up with my blog buds but nonetheless, I’m making my way across Blogosphere with a cheerful spirit to visit my friends. Why not join me in a cup of coffee as I begin my hop? Have a terrific Tuesday!

 

 

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