Song Lyric of the Day:
When I’m all alone the dreaming stops / And I just can’t stand
Shivaree / “Goodnight Moon”
10:45PM.
Just when I was convinced there weren’t enough hours in the day, I suddenly find myself with some free time. So here I go.
A summary of my blog AWOL period:
Rich and I drove down to Georgia at the end of June for the grand opening of IKEA in Atlanta. We spent 4 whole hours in the store. That’s right—4 whole hours in the store. Add in an approximately 7½ hour round trip drive, and you’ve got one really, really long day. However, we were happy because we accomplished what we set out to do, which was to buy the Malm bedroom suite. Not only did we buy our king-sized bed, matching frame support, mattress pad, nightstands, two tall bureaus, and one long bureau, but we ended up getting furniture for our guest room, as well. So now our French-themed guest bedroom has the antique-looking Hemnes chest and matching nightstand. The great thing is the furniture is really, really sturdy, so it should last a very long time. We also picked up a new wok (IKEA sells everything. Really.), a Chinese-style paper lantern for our Zen guest bathroom, and a few other nifty home décor items.
For those of you who haven’t been to an IKEA store, it’s an experience. I can only say, I have looked into the depths of hell, and seen hordes and hordes of people. People shopping for bargain-priced, assemble-it-yourself, Swedish-designed furniture. It’s complete insanity. The Atlanta store is 15 acres, 366,000 square feet—yet another reason we spent such a long time in there. Just when you think you’re almost to the area where you can pick up the furniture you want to buy, you pass through the housewares and home décor departments, where you end up wandering through row after row of frames, baskets, pillows, dishes, rugs—you get the drift. But if you’re looking for nice, affordable furniture and home accessories, I highly recommend going to the IKEA nearest you.
The last weekend in July, Rich and I rented a car to drive to Virginia for our dear friend, Sharon’s, wedding to Russ. Matt and Kristen were gracious enough (as always) to let us stay at their house. We got in late that Friday night and enjoyed dinner at P.F. Chang’s with Matt and Kristen. Saturday morning we went by Dave and Dawn’s house, which is right near Matt and Kristen’s house. After some quality time with Dave, Dawn, and their extended brood, Rich and I went out for lunch and some shopping, including DSW Shoe Warehouse, where we got some great deals. After our foray to the mall, we headed back to Matt and Kristen’s to get ready for Sharon and Russ’s wedding. On the drive to their house, it started pouring rain—the outdoor, luau-themed, backyard wedding simply turned into an indoor, luau-themed wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, and I teared up as Sharon and Russ exchanged their vows. I can’t stress enough how wonderful a friend Sharon has been to us since the day we met her, and it meant the world to me to be able to be there and see her so happy on her wedding day. Rich and I wish her and Russ all the happiness in the world. An added bonus was finding out that come this fall, Sharon will officially be a schoolteacher in Isle of Wight. After the wedding, we headed back to Matt and Kristen’s, talked for a little, then hit the hay. Sunday morning we had a hearty breakfast, prepared with aplomb by Kristen, and played Puerto Rico. After Rich beat the rest of us, we said our goodbyes and hit the road. All told, I think we were in Virginia for less than 36 hours. We’re hoping to visit for a few days in late summer/early fall and visit friends we did not have time to see during this very brief trip.
Upon returning our rental car to the Avis station at the airport, we were thrilled when, after letting the agent know how the AC leaked on our feet the whole drive, he offered us a $45 discount. So our Friday to Sunday rental ended up costing us a total of $3.48. I told the agent he now had loyal customers. Go, Avis!
Back home in Knoxville, I indulged in more trips to McKay’s, where I found:
- Harvest by Tess Gerritsen ($2.00)
- Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen ($3.00)
- The Bone Vault by Linda Fairstein ($1.00)
- Missing Pieces by Joy Fielding ($2.00)
- The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson ($5.00)
- The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith ($4.00 pb)
- Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner ($3.00 pb)
McKay’s: It’s a hard habit to break.
August 4, I flew with my mom to Las Vegas for Dan’s wedding. Our flight was very early—we left Knoxville at 6AM. I’d booked the early flight so we could have the whole day in Vegas. This trip quickly turned out to be a bit lackluster when compared to last year’s trip. To start with, I quickly discovered that neither my personal or my joint account check card PIN numbers worked. When I called my credit union (in KNOXVILLE), they graciously offered to mail the PIN codes to my home address, which would do me no good while I was in Vegas (duh). They couldn’t explain why the PIN that Rich and I went and keyed in at the credit union in person only a month or so ago did not work for my card. So instead of hitting the ATM, I had to hit the MOM. Thank God I was traveling with my mommy. Then, for some unexplained (to us) reason, we did not get checked into our room at the MGM Grand until almost 5:30PM. This came after we had been exploring the Strip hotel casinos since 11AM and after the official 3PM check-in time; we were both exhausted. By the time we got to our room, I was also beginning to deal with severe gastrointestinal problems that did not end until after I was back in Knoxville. Our complaints about not being checked in on time got us a couple of passes to the hotel’s grand buffet and a $35.00 dining credit.
Thursday night Brent met us at our hotel. He stayed with me and Mom in our hotel room; since we’d planned on him staying with us, we had made sure we got a room with two queen beds. Friday morning we met Jonathan and Curry at their hotel, Bally’s, for breakfast. We spent the day exploring and dealing with Mom’s quickly developing addiction to the Star Wars penny slot machines. Jonathan would amuse us by singing his own lyrics to the Star Wars theme music, “Take all my moNEY.” The rest of the day passed in a blur as we casino hopped and discussed plans for the rest of the weekend. Late Friday afternoon, we all went back to our respective hotels to prepare for Jonathan and Curry’s 10th anniversary wedding vow renewal at 9PM that night. After getting ready, Mom, Brent, and I took the monorail to Bally’s, where we met up with the happy couple and got picked up by the limo the wedding chapel sent. We were a little surprised by how far off the Strip the wedding chapel turned out to be, but the chapel itself was really nice. Jonathan and Curry also made sure to include us in the ceremony–Mom gave Curry away, while Brent and I served as the best man and the matron of honor. The officiator, Reverend Sherry, was a tiny little woman with a shock of white hair, styled in a pageboy. She was so petite she made Jonathan look like a giant. The ceremony itself was very moving, with Reverend Sherry blessing them with beautiful words and vows. I was fortunate enough to be there on Jonathan and Curry’s first wedding day 10 years ago, and I was fortunate enough to be there for their 10th anniversary wedding vow renewal. I think I speak for Mom and Brent as well when I say how much they mean to me, and how wonderful it was to be included in their big day. I know they will continue to have a wonderful, happy life together, and I’m happy to be home again to be a part of it.
Saturday we, you guessed it, casino hopped. Mom was by then in the full throes of a full-blown Star Wars slot machine addiction; I would turn out to not be too far behind myself. We ended up in New York–New York, where Jonathan, Curry, Brent, and I rode the Manhattan Express roller coaster. I literally doubled over when I saw our on-ride photo; Jonathan and Brent’s expressions cracked me up, particularly Jonathan’s. I think it was a full five minutes later when I was able to pull myself together and stop pointing at and laughing at Jonathan. We split up for the day so Jonathan and Curry could go off by themselves on their second honeymoon. Early that evening, Mom, Brent, and I went out to our friend, Dan’s, parents’ house for his rehearsal dinner. We had fun meeting his lovely bride-to-be, Yadira, and some of her family. Late Saturday evening we met up with Jonathan and Curry again to catch George Wallace’s 10PM stand-up comedy show at the Tropicana. I’d been a fan since I saw him on TV years ago, Jonathan worships him, Brent and Curry knew who he was, and Mom had never heard of him. This was my first ever stand-up comedy show, and George Wallace more than delivered. He had us in hysterics for the whole hour and a half he was on stage. So now I have to find a DVD of his act because Mom wants Dad to see it; I’m sure he’ll enjoy it, too.
Sunday we ran around some more, with Mom, Brent, and I having lunch at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay after checking out the Shark Reef. I ended up buying Rich’s souvenir at the HOB’s gift shop–a really cool dress-type shirt with the logo and Las Vegas stitched on the sleeve and playing cards on the front pocket. We went back to our hotels late that afternoon to get ready for Dan’s wedding. We took a cab out to the wedding site, the Emerald Gardens. It turned out to be a beautiful resort. The ceremony was beautiful, with Dan and Yadira even including her young daughter, Leniece, in the ceremony, complete with her own vows and a ring. It was too sweet hearing Leniece call Dan “Dad.” The ceremony was not without its unique moments—Yadira literally cuffed a ball and chain around Dan’s ankle, and they walked down the aisle together to the Star Wars end theme music. The reception was fun, but we missed out on having any cake since Mom and I had to get back to our hotel to pack up for our 6AM flight, and Brent was moving to Jonathan and Curry’s hotel room so they could go to the Grand Canyon early Monday morning. Once Mom and I were on our own in our hotel room, we decided to go down to the casino for one last hurrah. Long story short, at about 3AM, Mom leans between the machines on the other side of the Star Wars slots and says to me, “I think we should go pack.” We went up to our room to pack for our 4AM shuttle pickup. By the time we got on our plane at 6AM, we were just completely exhausted and ready to be home. It was great seeing Rich waiting for us at the airport. We drove Mom home and then Rich and I grabbed a quick dinner; Mom and I hadn’t had anything to eat all day. Airlines are so stingy with snacks and meals nowadays.
Things had been pretty uneventful since I got home from Vegas until Vanessa called with the wonderful news that she and Ken got engaged. A week later, on Vanessa’s 23rd birthday (August 27), Samantha and her boyfriend, Shawn, also got engaged. That night, we celebrated Vanessa’s birthday (and Samantha’s engagement) at Johnny Carino’s Italian Restaurant. Rich and I had a great time eating, talking, and laughing with my parents, Vanessa, Ken, Tamara, Samantha, and Shawn.
Tomorrow is Samantha’s 25th birthday. She wants to celebrate at, you guessed it, Johnny Carino’s. I’m fine with that, since I can eat the Italian Nachos anytime.
Ah, it’s good to be blogging again.
