What's For Dinner?

Today was grocery shopping day and as usual, I planned to go after work.  Before I could bring myself to shop, I decided to "commute" to the house I have an offer in on just for kicks.  I snapchatted Jared as I drove by it from a couple of different angles and decided for the 20th time that I sure love the old place.  I'm convinced the neighbors wonder what the heck is going on with me since I'm almost positive there aren't any other red Honda Accords with Idaho tags that have driven by the old gal 200 times, but I just don't care.  Hopefully when I move in they will find out how awesome I am and forgive my shameless stalking.  Sorry folks, still no pics.  I'm feeling nervous and excited about it and don't want to jinx the universe against me.  Plus, I don't want some wise guy getting any ideas about buying it out from underneath me...  Anyhoo....  By the time I got to the grocery store, it was after six and I was starving.  Unfortunately, I make really random decisions about what food I want to purchase when I'm hungry because everything looks good.  I did manage to purchase some regular food for the upcoming two weeks, but my meal tonight consisted of three courses:

1.  Cheese and fruit.

After consuming nearly two pounds of strawberries, I decided to dig into a cheese I've heard tall tales about but have never tried...

And here's me whiffing:

Does Limburger smell?  You bet it does.  When I got home I wondered what stunk so bad in my apartment.  Then I realized I had brought the smell in with me and it was the Limburger.  I have also noted the same butt crack aroma when opening my fridge since getting home.  Again, it's the Limburger.  Is the smell worth it?

That's an affirmative.  The thing I find amazing about queso is that most of the time the really foul nuggets don't taste anything like their smell.  I enjoyed Limburger just as much as nearly every other nasty cheese I've had the pleasure to meet.  Two thumbs up!

2.  Main course

I forced myself to not buy a lobster today.  Not because I am tired of them, but because I wanted to leave room in my guts for my three course meal.  I get pretty full eating a 2 pound lobster and reminded myself I live in New England -  plenty of lobsters lady - give it a rest today...  After turning my back on the delicious lobsters wandering around in the lobster tank I spied these instead:

Obviously they didn't look like that when I bought them, but tasty no?  Little white wine, little garlic and onion....  Delicious.  Two thumbs up for the bivalves. 

3.  Dessert

One of the things I enjoy about living alone, is that it's liberating buying the things that I never let my kids eat.  Case in point?

Yep.  Lucky Charms.  They are just as trashy as when I was young, but also yummy in a disgusting sort of way.  The only thing that would make them better?  Getting rid of those stupid oat cereal bits.  Why can't I just have a bowl of the marshmallows?  Don't try to tell me the oat pieces add anything of real nutritional value to the party.  For exactly 2 seconds I considered picking out all the marshmallows and ditching the oat bits as I often longed to do as a child.  However, my extreme laziness took over and I just couldn't bring myself to invest a second longer preparing my meal, so I consumed them as God intended.

Verdict?  Random dinners rule, but I gotta enjoy them while I can because I cannot have this type of meal once my kids come out here.  I'm the mom.  I have to be the example; the pillar of my family...  What am I doing now?  Digesting my meal with a nice cup of coffee. 

And by coffee I mean a tall glass of Diet Cherry Coke Zero.  I know.  I'm truly a five star chef and the epitome of class...

Finally!

Just when I thought I couldn't possibly take one more second living alone in Rhode Island, this happened:

This is a screenshot of a Snapchat pic one of my daughter's friends took.  That's right folks.  My house in Idaho is finally under contract.  It's amazing how much peace and comfort can descend upon a person in such a short amount of time.  Last week I felt abandoned, lonely, and incredibly sad, and this week - peachy!  It took us about 3 days from the first offer to make the final deal and as many counter offers, but at last we are on our way.  The inspection period starts Tuesday so hopefully nothing arises that will bust the contract, but since I have taken good care of that old gal, I'm not terribly worried.

Given that I still want my sexy lover and my goblin children to move in with me, I had to start looking for digs in my new home state.  It felt weird to go by myself.  No hubby or kids to provide opinions.  No mommy to help me decide how costly something would be to fix...  Weird.  As per my usual, I was on the scout for something old and classy with renovations that needed to be done to keep me busy on my days off.  I found a cool bathroom in a place that needed TONS of work:

Unfortunately, the awesome tub and nasty green paint was the only character the house had going for it.  Plus, it didn't have enough parking for my extensive caravan that will be departing for the East soon.  I felt a little discouraged and had set up a time with the realtor to look at more homes when Jared found a property that I LOVED about 2 months ago that had gone under contract.  Turns out the deal fell through and it's back on the market.  I have to admit that I am beyond excited about putting in an offer on the place and feel a little sheepish because it's starting to feel divinely prepared - despite my rantings against God for the last several months.  Apparently he does care about me and my family and may be waiting to bless us with the house of my dreams...  the dream house that I thought I had in Idaho but turns out was really waiting for me the whole time in Rhode Island.  Sorry, no pics or address because I don't want to jinx it... but can you cross your fingers for me anyway?

Swine...

I'm pulling a 24 hour call shift today and since I didn't have anyone in labor, I got to escape to the muggy outdoors and wander to my heart's content.  It just so happens I'm in an unofficial weight loss competition with my older daughters right now and because I don't want to pay them 100 bucks, I decided to wander my fat butt around more vigorously than normal for the exercise.  

I have found that I have developed a great appreciation for the ocean since arriving in Rhode Island.  I wanted to wiggle my toes in the Atlantic yesterday but we had a wicked loud thunderstorm in the evening so I scrapped my plans to avoid electrocution.  Clear skies today meant a safe wander to Goddard Memorial Park - one of my favorite places.  Check out the view:

You see that little rock to the far right?  Let me help:

Yeah that one.  Whenever I pass this rock I always see birds hanging out.  I love to stand and watch them because they aren't stupid seagulls.  I probably should learn what type of ocean bird they are, but until then, I'll continue yelling, "hey birds," at them whenever I pass.

Know what else I finally started doing on my beach walks?  Bringing a trash bag so I can collect more garbage from the pigs who defile Mother Nature.  Today was no exception:

Today I collected two Pepsi cans, a container of biscuit dough, a bunch of glass, and a piece of someone's toilet lid.  I also found a rusty radiator and wondered where in the world it came from.  If Jared had been with me, I would have made him carry it out so I could collect some cash at a recycling center.  Since I didn't want anyone thinking I was a loon, but mostly because I'm lazy, I decided instead to just sit next to it for a while and stare condescendingly at everyone else around me without a garbage bag.

After my sweaty walk and answering three pages from three separate ladies about skin rashes, I thought I deserved a reward for my litter collection initiative.  I decided to go to the one place Mother Nature would take me to if she could:

That's right.  I have a problem.  Come over and taste some Del's frozen lemonade and you'll stop judging me.  Might I also point out I'm not using a straw or a spoon but am sucking my Del's straight outta the cup like a true Rhody.  Thank goodness my friend Alyssa has taught me how to be legit here in the Ocean State.  

I'm back chilling in the free AC at the hospital and counting down the hours til 8 am.  I've done so much good today I almost thought I heard Mother Nature tell me I deserved a nap...

Don't mind if I do...

Sarah and Kareena Made Me Post This...

Fresh off my trip to North Carolina, I got to fly home and visit my lover and babies.  It was only a weekend trip, but it's becoming more difficult to come home and even more agonizing to leave.  Everything is packed, all of my paint choices have been covered in neutrals, and this year without my garden or my bees, it's just not my home anymore.  It's a weird feeling living in limbo and I'm convinced the separation is going to last forever.

I Snapchatted my travels both to see Maren in NC and to my family in Idaho to pass the time.  Some memories were fun, like this vid of my hike to Chimney Rock:

Or how about this cool natural waterslide called Sliding Rock?

Other memories were pitiful.  Like this Snap of my family as they watched me go through security on my flight back to Rhode Island:

I snapped this through tears after trying to figure out a way to hold on to Jared and the girls forever.  It didn't work because I'm back in Providence alone.  I wish I could say I'm handling this well but I'm not.  I feel abandoned by God, I feel utterly alone, and even the lobster I ate last payday barely brought me any joy.  The only bright spot on the horizon is a conference I'm attending in Atlanta that Jared managed to get time off for.  Remember my post about retirement and my countdown to the big event?  Yup.  I set one up for the Atlanta trip and named it "Booty Call," since that's what my relationship with my spouse has been reduced to.  Here's the screenshot as proof:

Gosh he's sexy...  You know what?  I'm suddenly feeling better.  I only have about six weeks before I get to touch that hunk in person.  You're right.  I live a blessed life after all...