OK, let's see how the weekend has gone...
Saturday's Weight Watchers meeting was good... both Jessi and I had lost some weight (although not as much as we'd gained, but a loss is a loss). Afterwards, we did our usual walk with the dogs, then stopped at PetSmart for dog food and treats, and then back home for breakfast.
After breakfast, we got a call from our doctor, and Jessi was told that this weekend, prior to the consult with the surgeon that she shouldn't eat any meat this weekend. However... she did point out that this was her birthday weekend, and that she wanted spaghetti and birthday cake. The doc told her she could go ahead and have that, so long as she was careful the rest of the weekend.
I went grocery shopping, with a stop before that at Papa Murphy's for some Thin Crust Delite pizza for dinner (Jessi's half was plain cheese, although I offered to get some veggie pepperoni for her half -- apparently she'd tried it before, and didn't care for it). Once I got home, we had veggie burgers for lunch, and prepared to catch up on some TV shows on the DVR.
However... we got a call from my brother Jeff (apparently it was his turn to check on how we were doing... my family seems to be rotating shifts there). He asked if we wanted company tonight, and we were open to that, so he and his wife, Kristi, planned to come down.
Of course, this meant having to do some quick housecleaning, which didn't take long. Before they got here, Jessi's friend Tifney came by with her daughter to bring Jessi a birthday present... which was a gift card to a local bike shop (a perfect present, since she'd just bought her new bike earlier this week). The dogs, naturally, got all kinds of attention from them.... and they got even more after Jeff and Kristi showed up!
But I'm getting ahead of myself... actually, before Tifney showed up, and we were done cleaning, Jessi was catching up on email, and I decided to see what was new on On Demand -- and found two Animal Planet shows, episodes of Animal Icons that focused on Star Wars Creatures and King Kong, both of which I enjoyed.
After Tifney left, we started watching the Monk episode from Friday, but were interrupted when Jeff and Kristi arrived (they had some difficulty... they were picking up their own Papa Murphy's pizza, and got confused with directions, thanks to the Interstate running through Olympia at such a weird angle that an exit marked to a southbound road seems like it should be for a northbound road, and vice versa, among other things).
So, while the pizzas baked, we visited with them, and after eating pizza, Jessi opened her birthday present from Jeff and Kristi -- an electric tea kettle, which she'd been wanting for some time (we almost bought her one at Linens & Things Friday night). However, the handle was loose on it, so she and Kristi went to Wal-Mart to exchange it while Jeff and I stayed at the house and we watched the King Kong Animal Planet special on On Demand.
The day turned out rather well, all things considered!
Sunday morning, we got up a bit early, because we were meeting our dog walk buddies at 8:30 instead of at 9, since we had an appointment at 10. We only went on two mile-long laps instead of our usual 3, as Jessi's back started aching. So, after that we ran the dogs home, and went off to our appointment.
The appointment was at Oddfellows Park, a privately-owned park on the water that we'd been told might be a good location for our wedding and reception. What can I say? I could keep you in suspense, but the fact of the matter is, the location is perfect... except that the date we wanted to have our wedding on (July 22) was one of only two days in July that were already booked! But after some discussion, we decided that we could do it on July 23 instead. The price was certanly right... $300, as opposed to the $1000 that the Lacey Recreation Center would charge if we had it there!
The wedding will take place outside, on this grassy knoll overlooking the Sound, with Mount Rainier prominently in the background. There's a building just up the hill from there the reception will be held at, which has refrigerators, ovens, a stove, and a microwave we can use, and plenty of space.
So, we decided that'll be the location!
Of course, after that, Jessi had to call all kinds of people to make sure the date would work for them to attend (which it did).
Later, Jessi's friend (well, my friend, too) Amanda came by to bring her own present for Jessi (waterproof "booties" for Jessi to wear over her shoes when riding her bike in wet situations). I'd started baking the "No Pudge" fat-free brownies that were subbing for Jessi's birthday cake when Amanda arrived, but she didn't have any when it was done... because she's sworn off chocolate (her husband, Dan -- they're friends we met through Weight Watchers -- is quitting smoking in return). Besides, before the brownies were done, Jessi and Amanda went to the bike store to do some shopping.
While they were gone, I watched a Black Adder episode I'd DVR'ed, and caught up with Coupling on BBC America On Demand.
When they got back, and Amanda left to go home, I warmed up a couple of brownies for us, and added a scoop of this slow-churned light ice cream (which is fantastic... doesn't taste "light" at all). Then we settled down to finally watch the rest of that Monk episode, as well as a few Law & Order episodes and Teen Titans that we hadn't seen yet.
At 5:00, I started on dinner, making some homemade garlic bread to go with the spaghetti, with the spaghetti sauce starting at 5:30. Now, I think I've mentioned before that Jessi's preference for spaghetti is lean hamburger browned, and added to Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce. No veggies, no additional seasoning. Now, that's not bad, but I like a bit more. So, after the burger was browned, I divided it up, and then put half the sauce in two separate saucepans, and added more seasonings to mine, as well as onions and mushrooms.
Dinner was very filling, and afterwards, our next-door neighbors, Ned and Jane, came by for a visit, and to help us finish off the brownies.
You may recall that a while back, I told you about Jane's crazy mother, who'd been squatting on their property in her mobile home, and got Ned sent to jail for a few days on a bogus abuse claim. Well, she's back... been back since New Year's Day, claiming she was homeless. Ned and Jane are trying to find a place for her to live -- I suggested Western State (the mental hospital north of here) or maybe somewhere in Florida, but apparently, they're trying to get her set up in Portland (which I think is still too close).
After they left, we watched a Law & Order that was recorded this evening, and then Jessi went off to bed, while I caught up with blogs, email, and did some reading.
Current reading: Showcase Presents Justice League of America and Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 1 (yeah, both of them... I keep going back and forth between 'em).
Hopefully... tomorrow, I'll have even more good news to report!
Jon
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