Weekend Fun

I never posted about our weekend on the boat. First off, I have to mention that the combination of my husband, me, and my mom in traffic is not a lot of fun. Two people that sort of, kind of know where we are going and one other person has NO clue where we are going and he is driving. Makes a lot of sense, huh? Anyway, we got to where we were going so that's all that matters.

And as soon as we got to where we were going, Jeremy and I jumped right back in the car to go meet my friend, Jennifer, for dinner. It was time for us..well ME..it was time for ME to meet the new gentleman friend. He had to get the Jinny stamp of approval. lol. We ended up at the Blue Goose. That's right..I'm a glutton for punishment. Don't know what I'm talking about? You can read all about it here. The Goose did not defeat me this time, however. We had a very good time. A lot of fun, good company, great food.








The next day we made a four vehicle caravan up the interstate to Lake Texoma. You know, my aunt has suggested we come up for a weekend before to stay on the boat. She said we could go and spend the weekend even without them, although that would mean we couldn't take the boat out on the lake. I never quite understood why we would want to stay on a boat that we couldn't take out. But, I get it now. The docks are like floating towns. So we loaded up the boat and headed out. I have to say that it was one of the most relaxing days I've had in a really long time. Mostly because I didn't have to worry about anything. I didn't have to worry about where we were going, or what we were going to eat or drink. The boat sleeps eight people, so if you got tired you could even go and take a nap. It was great!





And then to wrap up the lovely weekend we got a speeding ticket on the way home. DOH!

Ever have one of those weeks..

that feel a little like this:


Yeah, me too.

Dog Parks

I know that dog parks are not really a new concept anymore. Lots of cities have them. I read blogs every day about people taking their dogs to them. But here in west Texas we are always just a little behind the times. We don't currently have an off-lease dog park.

My husband and I have both said how much we would enjoy having one. I think our dogs would love to have the opportunity to run around off their leash and play with other dogs. Of course, I'm too nervous to allow them off their leashes at the normal parks..especially Lola, because she's bad. lol. Duke does ok, but it would be better if we had a park that was fenced. Then maybe I could relax a little.

In the paper today there was a story about our local SPCA pushing for the funds to create a doggie park here. I was so excited to hear that someone was trying to get something started. Of course, I think the funds still need to be raised. And all the details need to be hammered out. So right not its just an idea, just on paper, and it could very well stall or hit a brick wall. As nice as this little part of west Texas is, the people are a bit set in their ways and are sometimes unresponsive to change. So, we shall see.

However, even the idea of a dog park got me thinking. I've never been to one so I'm not sure how they work exactly. Do you just trust that the other people that bring their dogs have dogs that well play nice with all dogs? I think that's what I worry about most. We had a bad experience with my brother-in-laws dog going after Duke and biting him on the neck. That dog had never really shown any indication that it had a problem with Duke in the past..he just attacked Duke one day. So...I'm a llliittttlle leery about my poor, timid Duke being out among the masses.

So, tell me about YOUR dog parks. What are they like? Do most of the dogs play well with other dogs?

Asshole Bartenders, Whataburger at 2 AM, and falling down stairs

That was my evening last night, wrapped up in a sentence. I know it doesn't SOUND like a lot of fun, but it really was. These types of evenings don't normally happen to me...well, not anymore. But, have my friend Julia come around and it's a whole different ball game.

I know the question of 'Why does this always happen to us?' came up once or twice last night. And, honestly, I can't say why except for the gigantic case of ADD that befalls people that come within 10 feet of Julia. Actually it's probably more Lauren and Brittany. Get the three of them together and it's like running out of your psych meds. Probably fun, but possibly scary.

Anyway, at about 12:00 we headed out for a little local bar. I know, I know. Don't ask me. Ask the schizo triplets. And we ended up on the back patio. It wasn't crowded at all, which was nice. We had a lot of fun. Good conversation, a lot of laughs, a lot of controlled chaos (see the last paragraph). But the bartender had a total attitude. I know that sometimes this certain crowd can drive someone to having a sour attitude. However, this was not the case last night. My group gave mister asshat bartender any reason to be rude to us. 2:00 came around pretty quickly, cause time flies when you're having fun. We closed out without giving grumpy mcgrumpierson a tip, I'm sure he just loved that.

Julia and I decided that we wanted to hit up the Whataburger. It's nearly the only thing open at 2:00 when the bars close and it was right up the street, so that's where we went. My jaw dropped when we pulled into the parking lot. It was...was...how to put this...ghetto central. Every parking spot was taken, there was a line around the building for the drive thru, there were crowds standing outside. Yikes. We grabbed a lucky parking spot and went inside. Our eyes were probably the size of saucers. The place was crazy packed. And we were the minority, in a serious 'dont make eye contact or we are getting our ass' kicked' kind of way. The hats were cocked crazy, nearly every mouth had a grill, girls were teetering around on stiletto heels and pulling their spandex dress/shirts down to keep their bubble butts covered. There was actually a police officer there..you know..to keep everyone in line. It took us probably a good 45 minutes to get our food and then we were freakin' out of there.

Back to Brittany and Laurens apartment to wrap up the evening. Julia was staying with them so the ending drama of the evening was to get all the other company to LEAVE so they could go to bed. Of course, they didn't mean me, I was eating my burger and then going home. But there were some hanger-ons..lol. Some that didn't want the party to end..they wanted to party like it was 1999..literally. When it was time for me to go, Julia walked me out. We were hurrying down the steps and we were almost at the bottom...my evening was almost over...and on the second to last step I lost my footing and down I went. I'm so lucky I didn't smack my face into the glass door..THAT would have been awful. We sat there at the bottom of the stairs laughing so hard we couldn't even talk. My knees were screamin', but otherwise I was ok. I'm just glad it was only me and her to witness that because I was wearing a short skirt and Lord only knows how much of my business I showed on the way down.

I was never so happy to crawl in bed next to my husband, at 3:15 AM. I can't say that was the craziest evening I've ever had with Julia, but it's certainly on the list as one of the most memorable.

Ranting Ruth

Gloomy Gus
Negative Nancy
Sour Susie
Frowning Fred

Whatever name YOU have for people like that, they are energy drainers. It's hard to be around someone that can't see the positive in anything. It's hard to talk to people that come back from a week long vacation and have NOTHING positive to say about it. Instead they talk about how long the drive took, and how the maid at the hotel seemed rude, or how long they had to wait to be seated for dinner.

*big eye roll*

Do you work with people like that? It's like you don't even want to ask them how their weekend went because it's always...'It was ok, I guess...BUT..' Oh that BUT makes me mad, it's like nails on a black board for me. I cringe.

But what? I want to ask them. But your cat died? But your house burnt down? But you caught your husband cheating on you? Found out you had cancer?

No? None of that? The what could have been SO awful about your weekend that you couldn't just tell me that it had been fine? HHmmm?

See what their energy does to me?! Gah. And, unfortunately, Jeremy and I both have to work with people like this. They whine. They grumble. They throw tantrums. And it gets real old, real quick.

Random Soup

Sorry it's been so quiet around here this week. Last weekend we had a garage sale and after that I had no energy or desire to be on this computer. The garage sale sucked big time. It was just too freakin' hot (it's been in the 100's for two weeks straight) and no one wanted to be out in it. We had a dorm size fridge/freezer/microwave for sale..$95..which seems like a great deal to me. I fully expected someone to wheel and deal with me on it, but no. Instead I get some dofus that offered me a quarter instead of $.50 for something. Not the haggling I had in mind. I don't think I will ever have another garage sale again. Its just not worth it.

We found the place we are going to rent in Hawaii. We could have just stayed at a hotel or in a condo, I'm sure it would have been just as fun. But Jeremy and I were looking for something a little more private and relaxed. We used Vacation Rentals By Owner and found a one bedroom studio to rent. See..that hammock has my name all over it. We've been in contact with the owners and have sent in our deposit to hold our reservation. There isn't any turning back now!

I've been fairly focused on two things this week:

1) Get through work ASAP! We are spending the weekend on my aunt's boat and I am ready for the weekend to be here already! Good food, good company, good drinks..and maybe a tan (hopefully NOT a burn). What's not to be excited about?

2) My book. That's right, I'm writing a book. I've thought about this for a long time now but I've never put any real effort into it. Story ideas would come into my head but then I couldn't "see" how it would all work out so I would just disregard it. But, a fire has been lit under my butt. I'm not worried about the entire story right now..or spelling..or proper grammar..lol. I'm just writing, writing, and writing some more. I have a vague idea of how the story might play out but I am fully prepared for it to change as I get further into it. It's like learning about a bunch of new people. I THINK I know them, but I might learn something new as I write.

Anyway, that is what's been up with me this week. Hopefully I'll have some great stories and pictures to share after the weekend is over.

RIP Sweet Duchess Girl

Read more about Duchess here.

My Memory Trunk

It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time. ~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

For as long as I can remember I've had a memory trunk. What's a memory trunk? You mean, you don't have one too? My memory trunk has been filled with all sorts of important (and maybe not so important) things from my childhood.

Baby clothes. Photos. Diaries. Sea shells. Blankets. Newspaper clippings. Trophies.

You name it, it's in there. Some things my Mom put in there for me and over time I added things of my own. My memory trunk was in my room when I lived at home and, of course, I brought it with me when I moved out. A few weeks ago my Mom let me have her old cedar chest. I decided that it was time for me to 'upgrade' my memory trunk and moved everything into the new cedar chest.


The dress my Grandma made me when I had to play the part of Martha Washington in the 1st grade.



My First Communion outfit. The top picture is my tiara and veil and the bottom is a detail of my dress. My Grandma made me my Communion dress.


Two of my dairies. I think I have three in total. Only one of them is full.


A teddy bear my Grandma made me (are you seeing a trend here? I love my Grandma). My sister has one too.


I wasn't always Just Jinny. lol. This book is filled to bursting with photos and birthday cards glued to colored construction paper.


My bronzed baby shoes.


My Grandma made me this blanket before I was even born. My Mom has a picture of her opening this gift at her baby shower. Some of the fabric pieces have fallen off and it is very worn, but I love it very much.


My little ballet shoes. I didn't participate in many dance classes, that I can remember, but I must have been very fond of ballet at one point.


I think this lovely ballerina was in a music box at one point.


The cake topper from my parents wedding.

I might not be able to tell you the story behind every little thing in my memory trunk. Some of the memories have faded away. But, I still love every piece that I have in there. This time around, I added my wedding book. I can't wait to add even more..or even better, start a memory trunk for my own child.

4th of July

What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom "to" and freedom "from." ~Marilyn vos Savant

I had a wonderful 4th of July. I hope you did too. I finally wore my new swimsuit out in public. lol. And I had so much fun in the pool with Jeremy and my nephew, Mack. Got a good workout swimming around.


Mack and Dolly were cracking us up with their mad dancing skills. I created a jib-jab clip a long time ago using the heads of Jeremy, Mack, and Shawn (my brother-in-law). Dolly loves this video..loves it! She wants to play it again and again AND again.


The firework show was also a lot of fun. We parked ourselves out in the drive way and went to town. Mack is finally getting to an age so that he can participate more with the fireworks. His dad and my husband and teaching him the ways of shooting off fireworks. lol. Rule number one..try not to burn yourself. I entertained myself with using different settings on my camera to get these great shots. I love how they turned out.