Pickled or Stewed?

I've returned from the long weekend in the mountains with the entourage of friends known as the bracelet girls. It was a good time, especially once Mrs. Y got over the "wait, wait, wait, a minute. We really are staying in a cabin in the mountains? Huh?"

I'm not sure if I'm pickled from the copious amounts of wine consumed or stewed from the countless hours spent in the hot tub into the wee hours of the night.

We dined on pasta and had wine with chocolates, grapes, and strawberries. Ok fine, by Sunday morning Mrs. S and I were drinking white zinfandel out of a box, and eating oreos and canned squeeze cheese on crackers. Yes, we are a class act. Of course, you already knew that about her.

When we weren't wine tasting (yes, that's what it was, wine tasting) we were entertained chit chatting and playing catch-up on our lives. We also hiked a couple of trails, spent time at the lake, and shopped a little one evening (where I got a navy and cream sailor striped shirt at the Gap for a whopping $1.97. Thank you, thank you very much!).

Oh, and Mrs. S had a fabulous quote one day. But I've forgotten it. If you've read above, then I'm sure you understand.

Quote de Jour, a la Mrs. S

Not so long ago, Mrs. S and I were discussing our "trophy wife" status. I was recently out with my husband and had several drink offers (which I graciously accepted). I was clearly with a man who, given the shiny rock on my left hand, was my husband. We were with friends who asked if J cared....hardly. His response: "I'm not paying, load her up! She's still going home with me tonight."

So given this recent event, I get a voice mail from Mrs. S last night:

"I may be old, I may be married, but by gosh I can still get a free drink!"--Mrs. S

I love it! Cheers to you Mrs. S, use your attributes wisely. Can't wait until the next time we can hit the town together.

Oh, Saturday

Saturday, what a day! I'm breaking it down for you:

MORNING

J likes to frequent a local thrift store that benefits a rescue ministry. A guy he works with often finds pretty great stuff there (skis, bikes, etc.) so going to the thrift store is like our winter garage saling.* (We're huge garage salers, in case you didn't know.) I usually gracefully bow out of the trip, but my darling husband convinced me to go with him.

So many good anecdotes here. First, it's hilarious when you see something left over that you donated to the store. For example I was poking around on Saturday and see this lovely candle in a champagne flute that says "(Podunk) High School Prom Class of 2000" and I laugh uncontrollably. It was mine! I even made J take a picture of me with it. They were practically giving it away for only 89 cents. However, I was distraught that they'd separated it from the matching picture frame with album inside. I mean really...it's a set.

Next, J and I have never spent more than $5 in a thrift store except for one time I think he spent $12, although I'm not really sure what he bought. So without further adieu, this quote from my darling husband sums it up:

"We're so tight we squeak when we walk

and we just spent seventy six ($76) dollqrs in a thrift store!"

Seriously, we spent $76 in a thrift store. Quit laughing now...keep reading.

First, J found this lawnmower that looked pretty good. Then he went back for a double take. It did look brand new. There was a hand written note (obviously in an elderly persons handwriting) saying how great it worked and just needed a yearly tune up. J inspected checked out the brand new blade on it, etc. and we decided to purchase. We'd contemplated a new mower anyway and if it didn't work he was going to resell it. Total price: $69.99.

Furthermore, when we got home and looked at all the other stuff inside of the plastic bag with the handwritten note, we found the original receipt where the item had been purchased at Lowe's for (are you ready?) $450. FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS! And, there were receipts where the oil had been changed every year. This thing is practically brand new! I know, your mouth is on the floor. I can't believe it either.

Next, I found this darling antique coffee table. I didn't need it really, but could totally replace the table in the living room. This one seemed much better suited for my decor anyway. Isn't is cute in my living room?

I decided I had to have it too. Total Price:$24.99

Go ahead, do the math. That brings our subtotal to about $95. But oh, no no! See, we had a coupon! Yes, the thrift store puts a coupon in the school coupon book so we got 10% off of the table. AND, it was bingo day. Since the mower was considered a miscellaneous item (you can't play bingo on furniture items) you could roll the bingo thingy and whatever the percentage off was on the ball the came out, you got it. What did we get? That would be 24%, the highest possible. So once all the discounts were taken, the cashier accidentally took an extra 10% off the entire purchase and decided it was too much trouble to fix, thus bringing our total to $76 and some cents.

Go ahead, fall out of your chair and laugh your bums off. I told you how thrifty I was, and this takes the cake!

As if the day couldn't get any more splendid, I give you....

SATURDAY NIGHT

Dinner and drinks with the S's and Y's. Somehow, fun always finds us. After the guys (and Mrs. Y) had had a few six packs and Mrs. S and I split a large bottle of Beringer (put down the phone, don't call AA just yet, we also split lasagna and cake!) the following comment** perhaps was made:

"(Mr Y's) penis is like Pavlov's Dog, it's ready to go when it hears the security alarm!"

And we all nearly fell out of our chairs. Isn't it great to have friends you can be totally obnoxious and inappropriate with? I'm certain that with this group we always find our way to inappropriateness. Ok, so maybe Mrs. S and I lead the way.

*Saling? Selling? Anyone?

**Comment made during a story where Mrs. Y said that construction had caused their power to blink for several nights and sent their alarm signal off when the power kicked back on. She said it was wake her up in the middle of the night and she'd jump on Mr. Y. Given our slightly inebriated states we had a high schoolers sense of humor and the above comment emerged. Either you're rolling on the floor or you're not really that fun.

Quote de Jour, a la Mrs. S

The group commonly known as the bracelet girls are planning a weekend getaway in April. We've not all been together since the last of us got married last June, so it's definitely time. It took us until April to coordinate plane tickets and schedules. Mrs. S and I have spent several weeks looking for remote cabins that sleep 5, and simply must have a hot tub*. Our motivation is to visit, drink wine, relax, have a little therapy, drink wine, unwind, catch up, and drink wine. I finally found a cabin with breathtaking views, a huge new porch, and a hot tub. Furthermore, it was half price of every place in the area that we'd looked at! (Remember, I'm cheap, I knew if there was a deal, I'd find it!)

AND, you're not going to believe this. Under activities, it listed drinking. How profound! Besides that, it boasts to have zebra skins, not that's something we're all interested in.

So back to the quote. Mrs. S and I were discussing the arrangements and decided that that this is obviously the best option and I should book it. Actually what she said was (drum roll please....)

"I just need food, wine, a hot tub, and a place to pass out, I'm an equal opportunity alcoholic."

*Then you can think you're getting warm and flushed from the water, not the wine!