Screws and Cigarettes
What a weekend.
Saturday started off dramatic and held strong throughout the day. I had an emotional morning, and Liz, being the excellent friend that she is, offered to drive me around since I was in no shape to do so myself. Her objective was to get some food in me and offer good counsel while we cruised around aimlessly in Mankato.
After a Number 9 from Taco Bell and a short spin on some back roads off of 22, I suggested we head to the barn so she could see some horses. We had a relaxing time at the barn: fed half a bag of carrots to Zippy, took a tour of the place... everything was going so well...until we went back to the van and Liz noticed a hissing noise coming from her front tire. Yeah, tires are supposed to be quiet. We decided to chance it and sped like maniacs towards the Hag all the while talking about decompression and other made-up car/mechanical things that could possibly explain such a noise. Unfortunately, once we parked on concrete outside the Hag, there was no denying what the problem was: a large screw was firmly punched through the tire tread.
Luckily for Greg and Liz, Discount Tires rocks, so after a somewhat nerve-racking drive going 50mph on hwy 14, with me following close behind to check for explosions and rim damage (heehee), we arrived safely at the tire store where they made magic happen in under 15 minutes.
Saturday night was fantastic. Greg and Liz braved the trip to St. Clair after I promised them some salmon and a bottle of Pinot Grigio to split. Greg made the white wine and saffron risotto I have been dreaming about for months, and I pan fried some southern Italian-style peas and baked a terriyaki-glazed salmon. After a delicious dinner, we enjoyed blackberries, hot fudge and vanilla ice cream, followed by the movie Wet, Hot, American Summer, which is both disturbing and amusing, an entertaining combination.
Sunday continued to prove to be interesting as my day was spent scrubbing my bathroom tub naked. Yes, that's right: naked. Sounds crazy, but Soft Scrub is some messy stuff, and since I knew I was going to be taking a shower right after I cleaned it, I decided to avoid getting my clothes wet by taking them off. Worked well.
After this rousing scrub-down, I went into town to put a handle on my pitcher. Liz joined me so I could use her key to break into campus. (For some reason I have a hard time keeping track of keys.) We decided to hit the Hub afterwards to do some "work". The work never actually happened, but I think both of us would blame Katy for that. She was just going to join us for a Mountain Dew and some malted espresso balls (seriously disgusting: DO NOT EAT), but while sipping on her drink, she suddenly gets this mischevious look on her face and suggests we should, "Smoke some cigarettes until we make ourselves sick." Since none of us had ever really smoked before, this was at first just one of Katy's crazy ideas, until she pushed it, Liz seconded it, and I finally gave in. I needed to get baby wipes, anyways.
We first stopped at Kwik Trip where the cigarettes are discount priced but the baby wipes are not. Marb Lights in hand and a honey cigar for Liz, we rolled down the windows, lit up, and drove to Cub Foods for the wipes. We paused for a photo shoot outside the Landcruiser/pimpmobile in the Cub parking lot. (Pictures to come.) Quite the night-- I have to thank both of them for being there for me. Not much cigarettes and heated seats can't do for a girl hurtin' for a distraction.
So here's the thing. It is 12:30 in the morning, and I have to get a baby ready, drive into town, work out, attend photography class, prep for my morning class, and teach for two hours--- All before noon. I also have an afternoon filled with grading and teaching another two hour class. I should be sleeping, BUT thanks to my new friends, nicotine and caffeine (had an espresso drink at 6pm-- not the best idea) I am WIDE AWAKE and just now coming down from the shakes leftover from the ONE cigarette I had (and I didn't even inhale...no, really, I didn't). I thought about calming my nerves with a shot of whiskey, but the idea of bringing the three kings together in under 3 hours didn't seem like the best idea.
Hopefully some toast and a banana will take the edge off enough for me to pass out.
Saturday started off dramatic and held strong throughout the day. I had an emotional morning, and Liz, being the excellent friend that she is, offered to drive me around since I was in no shape to do so myself. Her objective was to get some food in me and offer good counsel while we cruised around aimlessly in Mankato.
After a Number 9 from Taco Bell and a short spin on some back roads off of 22, I suggested we head to the barn so she could see some horses. We had a relaxing time at the barn: fed half a bag of carrots to Zippy, took a tour of the place... everything was going so well...until we went back to the van and Liz noticed a hissing noise coming from her front tire. Yeah, tires are supposed to be quiet. We decided to chance it and sped like maniacs towards the Hag all the while talking about decompression and other made-up car/mechanical things that could possibly explain such a noise. Unfortunately, once we parked on concrete outside the Hag, there was no denying what the problem was: a large screw was firmly punched through the tire tread.
Luckily for Greg and Liz, Discount Tires rocks, so after a somewhat nerve-racking drive going 50mph on hwy 14, with me following close behind to check for explosions and rim damage (heehee), we arrived safely at the tire store where they made magic happen in under 15 minutes.
Saturday night was fantastic. Greg and Liz braved the trip to St. Clair after I promised them some salmon and a bottle of Pinot Grigio to split. Greg made the white wine and saffron risotto I have been dreaming about for months, and I pan fried some southern Italian-style peas and baked a terriyaki-glazed salmon. After a delicious dinner, we enjoyed blackberries, hot fudge and vanilla ice cream, followed by the movie Wet, Hot, American Summer, which is both disturbing and amusing, an entertaining combination.
Sunday continued to prove to be interesting as my day was spent scrubbing my bathroom tub naked. Yes, that's right: naked. Sounds crazy, but Soft Scrub is some messy stuff, and since I knew I was going to be taking a shower right after I cleaned it, I decided to avoid getting my clothes wet by taking them off. Worked well.
After this rousing scrub-down, I went into town to put a handle on my pitcher. Liz joined me so I could use her key to break into campus. (For some reason I have a hard time keeping track of keys.) We decided to hit the Hub afterwards to do some "work". The work never actually happened, but I think both of us would blame Katy for that. She was just going to join us for a Mountain Dew and some malted espresso balls (seriously disgusting: DO NOT EAT), but while sipping on her drink, she suddenly gets this mischevious look on her face and suggests we should, "Smoke some cigarettes until we make ourselves sick." Since none of us had ever really smoked before, this was at first just one of Katy's crazy ideas, until she pushed it, Liz seconded it, and I finally gave in. I needed to get baby wipes, anyways.
We first stopped at Kwik Trip where the cigarettes are discount priced but the baby wipes are not. Marb Lights in hand and a honey cigar for Liz, we rolled down the windows, lit up, and drove to Cub Foods for the wipes. We paused for a photo shoot outside the Landcruiser/pimpmobile in the Cub parking lot. (Pictures to come.) Quite the night-- I have to thank both of them for being there for me. Not much cigarettes and heated seats can't do for a girl hurtin' for a distraction.
So here's the thing. It is 12:30 in the morning, and I have to get a baby ready, drive into town, work out, attend photography class, prep for my morning class, and teach for two hours--- All before noon. I also have an afternoon filled with grading and teaching another two hour class. I should be sleeping, BUT thanks to my new friends, nicotine and caffeine (had an espresso drink at 6pm-- not the best idea) I am WIDE AWAKE and just now coming down from the shakes leftover from the ONE cigarette I had (and I didn't even inhale...no, really, I didn't). I thought about calming my nerves with a shot of whiskey, but the idea of bringing the three kings together in under 3 hours didn't seem like the best idea.
Hopefully some toast and a banana will take the edge off enough for me to pass out.
posted by Jen | 10:02 PM
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