Holiday Weekend

Yesterday was Memorial Day, fka Decoration Day. Thank you to corporate America, the general public follows the traditions of barbecuing and searching for big sales at Sam's Club, instead of taking time to decorate the tombstones of fallen soldiers, remembering the sacrifice they all made for our country. Ashamedly, I am one of those citizens that shopped and failed to recognize the reason for the holiday. So, for that I am sorry.

So, with that confession said, I'll give a re cap of my 3-day weekend. Friday night Brad and I met up with some friends at Mars Hill Cafe for dinner. Thank you, Corky, for the amazing dinner and the mango tea. Saturday I don't remember the details. I really hate when that happens. I do remember that I slept in some, worked out at the gym and went to see the new Indiana Jones movie with Brad, Will met us there. Thanks Will, for saving us seats.
I really liked the film. It got rave reviews from tough Hollywood critics, but the general public is kinda "meh" about the whole thing. I thought it was great.

Sunday we went to the morning service at church, People of Mars Hill and then I did some grocery shopping. I also bought a jalapeno plant. That day Brad worked in the yard and I cleaned the house. We had our "small group" friends over for a grill-out that evening. We wanted to do one big get together to visit before Brad left for his long trip. Man, the food kept coming! I made baked beans (for the first time, my own recipe), roasted potatoes, queso dip, and a strawberry shortcake. It was a bring-your-own-meat deal, and I filled up the grill three times, I think. It was a great night. Brad was awesome, he did most of the clean up while I was still visiting with friends.

Monday we really took the day off. I meant to go for a run, but it didn't happen. We slept in, watched some Monster Quest on the History Channel, then decided to do some shopping. He needed electric guitar strings and I wanted some more herbs. So we went to Musical Walmart, I mean, Guitar Center, then to Lowe's. We bought a few hanging planters, a thyme plant, and a cucumber plant. So now, in the yard we are growing:
tomato
cucumber
jalapeno
thyme
sweet basil
rosemary

Over the weekend, we discovered we have 6 gladiolas plants! For the past 3 years we thought they were only tall decorative grass. This year they are budding in bold red flowers. I am ecstatic! We plan on laying a pallet of sod in July. Our backyard is shaping up beautifully.

I took a few pics of some things we are growing and I also got a few of the babies.
Here's Lucille looking like she wants to kill me.

Here's a pic of my sweet basil plant, and you can see Arwen in the back ground going to town on a rawhide.

Here's Batman with HIS rawhide, in his favorite "chew spot".

And last but not least, is our fearless feline, Robin.


I finished the 6th Harry Potter book last night. I wanted to re read it before the movie came out. It'll be released in November, so I'm kinda ahead of myself.
Now I will finish reading Echoes of His Presence. I should have that done by next week if I don't allow myself to get too busy and distracted. After that I'm going to dive into more C.S. Lewis. I'm not sure where to start. I began to read Mere Christianity this past fall, I may just start that one over and go from there.

Today is a weight lifting day. I'll do that after work, hopefully I'll have time to put in some good cardiovascular exercise afterward. I have already cleaned the house for small group tonight so I have no excuse.

I'm looking forward to our discussion tonight. Jack's teaching this past Sunday was really good. I need to listen to it again though.

Hummph... I'm having a hard time getting into the swing of things today.

It's not so easy when he's gone, actually.

I get asked quite about "how I make it" with my husband gone so much. "I just don't know you do it", they'll say. I respond in a hows-the-weather sorta way, "Oh, it's not a big deal, I like having the place to myself. I keep myself busy by hanging out with friends and family. Plus, I have my dogs to keep me company". There's the kicker. The dogs. These two furry sweet hearted canine companions of mine make me feel safe when he's gone. Well, actually, only Batman does. Arwen just chills now. She handed over the security guard badge when Batman became of age. She figured, "well, the boy has this protective thing down pat, so I'm going to leave the responsibilities up to him so I can nap more." That's exactly what she does, too. Well, that and steal my shoe and sock. Yes, just one. She's a foot fetish or something. Batman is definitely the rent-a-cop of the Hill household. He checks the doors at night with me, and listens out for even the faintest of sounds. It's pretty scary when, in the middle of the night, I'm jarred from my sleep by his manic barking. It's usually just a cat fight (Robin and the stupid white cat I presume).
Now, when Brad is home, it's not so. The dogs sleep soundly in their beds which are situated in our bedroom. Some people may think this is strange, but it's natural for us. We love having them in the same room. But Batman does snore and fart in his sleep, it's funny at first then it's annoying. Okay, I am going somewhere I promise. Batman couldn't care less what's going on outside. He knows Daddy is home, so he is the one to take care of Momma. When Daddy is gone, it's all up to my knot-headed but handsome black labrador.
He's a handsome fellow. Weighing in around 85 pounds, standing tall enough to see his reflection in the bathroom mirror over the counter, and a beautiful glossy black coat. He has a distinct build to him, what my vet called the English Labrador. He has great bone structure and will likely never suffer from hip problems commonly associated with his breed. He's something else, let me tell ya.
One of Batman's common rituals happens at bedtime. I get in the bed, situate the covers like I want them and I say, "okay". He jumps on the bed and lies next to me with his front legs laying right on top of me as if to say, "she's mine, not yours." I scratch his head and give him kisses, telling him what a good handsome boy he is, then I tell him to "get on your bed" and he obeys. He'll stay there all night...only if Daddy is home, that is.
When Brad is gone, I give both pups their due attention and love, send them to their beds and I get situation in this bed of mine because I have it all to myself. WRONG! I have woken on many amornings with Arwen directly on my legs and Batman either curled up right beside me or sharing a pillow with his face directly in mine, sound asleep and snoring.
Lovely.
Right now there's a really gross amount of dog hair on my comforter (mostly black) and not much on their beds. When Brad is gone, I do more cleaning after them, if that makes any sense. I don't know how to break them of this because they do this after I'm fast asleep, but I don't think I'd want to. I do feel well protected AND loved. I do miss Brad when he's gone. It's really not all that easy when he travels, but it is worth it. He's doing a great work and I'm taken care of.
I think life is too short to try to keep your house spotless all the time. Let the dogs (or kitties) sleep with you and enjoy a little hair underneath your feet from time to time. I think it's good for you.