Sorry, ladies--he's taken

Paul and I had our final private dance lesson last night (we had 3 private lessons, 2 group classes, and 1 practice class as a result of our gift certificate). Paul went more formal for the lesson, breaking out the tuxedo t-shirt for the evening. We spent most of the class working on the Texas swing, even learning a spin-waist turn-spin combo that nearly made Paul's head explode. But we finally (almost) got it down. Of course, we may never be able to dance without both of us mouthing 1-2-3-4 (or 1-2-3 because I think even Paul can now identify a waltz ).

But we'll get to try because Paul agreed to sign up for more classes--even acquiesced that it might be fun to continue. It was done with the caveat that he doesn't want to dance with other people at the group or practice class because that wasn't fun in his world. Our instructor agreed that that was doable.

Now, we have 15 more classes (and we still have the practice class from our gift certificate) that we can spread out over as much time as we need, which will be necessary given Paul's crazy work travel schedule. Now, we just have to find an event to actually try out our newly-acquired skills.

Someone's missing this

When I got home from the grocery store this morning, this was in one of my bags.

Fillet of Herring in Real Sour Cream. Blech. It could be great stuff but blech. As I have never had an overwhelming desire (or any kind of desire) to sample herring in real sour cream, I'm fairly certain the person in front of me at the check-out is now missing a portion of his/her purchase. When Paul saw it, he declared it the "Most Disgusting Looking Stuff Ever." I'm tempted to try it just because but Paul has vetoed the idea of even opening the jar. (And I was trying to think of some clever/witty joke about red herring but couldn't do so. Please feel free to do so yourself.)

And just in case you've ever been sitting around wondering just what, exactly, is in the refrigerator of Paul and Carrie, behold:

I know your life is a little more complete because you've seen this. We have an Amana bottom freezer and way too many condiments. When we purchased our fridge seven years ago, these were fairly new on the market. I wanted one because I remember my grandparents having one when I was a little girl and Gran loved it. Plus it does make more sense to me to have the fridge part on top. Paul wanted this refrigerator because he liked the commercial. It was something about eating more grapes because the grapes were where you could actually see them. He still doesn't eat the grapes.

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I went shopping this afternoon to see if I could find any clothes for our upcoming trip to Hawaii. Have I mentioned we're going to Hawaii? Less than a month now. . . Anywho, we haven't been on a vacation in four years and so I haven't bought anything for summer in as many years. I have, like, three summer outfits. I'm honestly the worst dress person in the world during June and July. I think I only wore my workout clothes last summer. I don't even own many t-shirts that should be worn in public. As I'm not a shorts person, I usually were these terribly comfortable and terribly unflattering cotton drawstring pants from Target with the ugly, worn-out t-shirts. I'm a sight, really. My mother would be so proud.

All of that was to say that I went to Old Navy today to purchase some suitable-for-public t-shirts and capris or skirts. In the dressing room, one of the little helper people was showing me to my room and had to write my name on the white board on the outside of the door. Normally I spell my name but this time I didn't. So today at Old Navy I was "Keri" with the i dotted with a circle. I feel so much cuter now.

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Further proof our cat wouldn't survive on his own in the great outdoors--I bought food for His Royal Highness today. As I was pouring the food into the plastic container where we keep the cat food, a few pieces of food fell on the floor. Jubjub walked over to the food, sniffed it, and walked away. Apparently, he is too good to eat off the floor. (He does this with food from his dish as well--he's a messy eater but he won't eat any of the stuff he drops on the floor.) I'm sure I did something to make him this way but good grief, that cat is spoiled.

Loving the new A/C

He normally spends the better part of his days sulking under our bed--he's like a sullen teenager without a basement or room of his own to retreat to to play loud music and glare at us. Since the installation of the new A/C, he has been gracing us with his presence as it is cooler in the living room than under the bed. As much as he'd hate to admit it, Jubjub is a refrigerated air junkie.

BBQs, Bugs, and Things that go Bump

We had Paul's parents over for dinner on Saturday to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday which was Friday and Father's Day. It was a lovely evening--perfect temperature with just a light breeze--so we ate on the back patio. The neighborhood association hosted a community picnic in the park on Saturday and we were able to enjoy the sounds of the jazz quartet playing at the picnic.

I tried a new recipe Saturday--it's not really much of a recipe so much as a cooking technique. I took a dozen baby red potatoes, sliced not all the way through them, and brushed with lemon juice. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Put three potatoes in a foil packet (four potato packets total). Put on the grill and cook for about 20 minutes or so. I just dumped all the potatoes into a bowl to serve rather than the fancy-schmancy suggestion of serving each person individual packets of potatoes. The next time, I'll probably put all the potatoes in one foil packet. Paul mentioned several times during dinner and after that he really like those potatoes, that we should have those potatoes again, that we'll have to remember those potatoes. It's not really anything different from the roasted potatoes I make from time to time except I added lemon juice. Maybe that was the secret. . .

Afterwards, Paul and his dad played with the Wii while his mom and I wandered down to the park to enjoy the jazz quartet in person. We also visited with various neighbors who were also at the park. It was just a lovely way to spend an early summer evening.

I don't know if it's because of all the rain last year or because of the rain this spring but we've been positively overrun with crickets. The cat is loving it because his only hunting skills involve catching the crickets that we point out to him (he'd make a really, really, really poor mouser). But the rest of us aren't quite as thrilled. I'm even less thrilled when Paul "forgets" to pick up the dead crickets left behind by the cat. After 7 1/2 years of marriage, I've about figured out that he doesn't do this kind of stuff on purpose--he's just the Absent-Minded Husband and it really doesn't enter his mind to do it. Or he thinks to do it and then forgets between his initial thought and his second thought. I dunno--I guess I should just add "disposer of dead bugs" to my resume and be thankful that said bugs aren't still alive.

I also saw June bugs when I was outside last night. In nine years of living here, I've never seen them here before. Maybe they weren't true June bugs but rather pseudo-June bugs. They were definitely June bug-esque and, because June bugs are on my short list of Insects That Freak Me Out, I nearly hurt myself trying to get away from one that started bumbling its way toward the porch light. The other two I saw were apparently getting their June bug groove on so I just tried to give them a little privacy.

Last night, the kitty and I enjoyed a pleasant summer evening together and as we were getting ready to settle in for the night, something went bump. Actually, it went bump crash. A few nights ago, we had a similar sound and eventually discovered that the mirror on the back of my closet door had fallen. Paul and I discovered that after creeping up the stairs, he with pepper spray, me wielding a meat tenderizer, and looking in each door upstairs. Paul left for two days in Berkeley yesterday afternoon. Since Jub isn't very brave, I had to investigate this Bump in the Night by myself. (He did come up to offer moral support from under the chair in our bedroom.) I couldn't find the source of the sound but I also couldn't go to sleep for several hours after that. It's fortunate I'm really enjoying my current book and that it's summer break so I can sleep in. I took advantage of both.

One very big check later. . .

I am enjoying the wonders of modern air conditioning.

And about the time the workers finished up with everything, a little rain shower came through and cooled it down. The ceiling fans are more than adequate this afternoon. I don't think it's supposed to be hot in ABQ until the end of the week.

But I've got refrigerated air and I'm going to use it. I think I'll use the oven tonight just because I can.