New Toy

B has a new toy. He is the proud new owner of a 1976 Triumph motocycle. He first thought it would be a good bike for a friend of ours but that friend decided not to buy it. B was on the fence but ended up diving into his rainy day stash to buy the bike. He now has a new project (if we ever get the upstairs renovation done). Hopefully it will be in good running order before summer is over. It stalled twice on the way home from the dealer. The dealer is only 3 blocks from our house!

No matter how it runs, it's pretty. Burgundy with red flames painted on the tank (I'm a sucker for flames on a bike!). I might just have to learn how to ride a motorcycle so we can ride together. I personally like being a passenger better. The driver has to pay attention to the road. The passenger can enjoy the scenery. However, a driver usually has a few options for foot rests which somewhat alieves the soreness in the posterior. There are pros and cons.

Keeping an open mind

B and I went to our first Catholic wedding-related workshop last night. I have not really participated in organized religion since I was 11. These days I only go at Christmas, sometimes Easter and whenever B's parents are visiting us. I'm trying to keep an open mind about religion but there are too many stumbling blocks for me to overcome.

When I turned 11, the tribe moved to Canada. I think our lives changed and we had so much going on that religion took a back seat. I don't remember if my parents even tried to find a church. We always thought we would only be in Canada for 2 years but that stretched into 6 years. That probably would have been longer if my mom hadn't said that we were going back to the US no matter what.

I think I was put off religion a little while dating an ex-boyfriend who was Southern Baptist. The preacher always made me feel like I had a big, red, blinking sign above my head flashing SINNER with an arrow pointing to me. He also used to complain about how hypocritical the church members and church preachings were. I think that's when I first started listening to what the church was saying. I wasn't impressed. I've always lived by the saying, "To each, his own". Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I will not force mine on another person. This is especially true with religion.

Anyway, this workshop talked about the sacrement of marriage and the Catholic church's view on marriage and what it means. It was interesting. The priest asked many questions but luckily I was off the hook since I'm a heathen (non-Catholic). They also gave us some things to think about when choosing readings for our wedding ceremony. Things that make you go hmmmmm...

A Fish Fry to Remember

Since Auzzie is new to Tosa, B and I decided to introduce her to a Wisconsin tradition - Friday Fish Fry. You can't go to any restaurant in the Milwaukee area without encountering a fish fry. It's freaky. Doesn't matter what type of restaurant it is, they have a fish fry. Our local favorite is McBob's.

We picked up Auzzie and her boyfriend and made our way to McBob's. Didn't have a problem getting a table thanks to our friendly bartender who now knows us since we often show up on Fridays. The bartender soon became a fan of Auzzie after she didn't hesitate to bantered with him. Auzzie isn't much of a beer drinker so choosing a beverage turned into an event. After trying Blue Moon with some trepidation, that became her beer of choice. Especially since it came with a orange wedge. In ordering a full glass, Auzzie was somewhat disappointed that it didn't come with a bigger piece of orange. Bartender soon remedied that by showing up with a whole orange - completely peeled!

The next main attraction was Nina, the stripper. How did we find out she was a stripper? She told us. I think someone was poking fun at one of B's jukebox selections. B pointed out that she (Nina) was dancing to it so it couldn't be that bad. Nina's reply was, "Honey, I'm a stripper. I can dance to anything!" Nina soon became involved in the jukebox selections and took quite a shine to Auzzie. This did not really please her boyfriend. It greatly amused the rest of us.

It was a fun evening although it made B and I feel a bit old. There is not a huge age difference between the 2 couples but enough to feel a gap. I am definitely looking forward to sharing what we have learned about our little town with the newcomers.

Some things don't change... Some do

Wednesday was B's 30th birthday. No party, no big harrah. To him, it's just another day. WELL! I can't let that happen! Not that I do anything really bad. I just bought some brownies and and B's favorite cookies and sent out an email to many of his co-workers. Pretty tame. I feel the same way about my birthday but it's still nice for someone to do something special for you.

We are also going out to dinner with friends on Saturday. There is a local steakhouse that is difficult to get reservations at. B's always wanted to go but never has. It helps that another friend's bday is later in April and she is more than happy to go out and celebrate. Takes a little bit of the spotlight off B which makes him happy.

I'm not sure how much he liked his gifts. I had to beg him to open some in the morning before we left for work. Litterally jumping up and down, begging him to open at least one gift. Hey, it got him laughing... There were some minor gifts that I knew he wanted and I got him a really nice pair of cuff links. Also something he wanted. Lukewarm reaction from him but that is typical. I think only a new Harley would get a dramatic reaction out of him.

I am determined to firm up my flabby body! I've gone so far as hiring a trainer/drill sergeant to keep me in line. Little England and I get along really well. We sometimes spend more time laughing during our sessions than working out. After my first session, it took me 4 days to recover. I am really out of shape. Last time we did lunges. Later we started doing these crunches that required my body to bend in a way that it doesn't naturally. I am NOT limber. Never have been. After Lil' England saw demonstrations of how NOT limber I am, she said, "We shouldn't have done the lunges." Great! I'll be lucky if I'm not crippled for the next week (*whine*).

I discovered a new neighbor. I met a new co-worker, Auzzie. Very nice and fun to talk to. Turns out that she live in the village. I didn't ask where exactly she lived since some people could possibly find that stalker-ish. I happened to mention this newcomer to Joo (another fellow Tosa dweller at work) and she had already discovered that Auzzie lived on my street. So, next time I talked to Auzzie, I asked where she lived in Tosa. She is just a block away! I will have to get to know her better. It's fun to have a friend so close by.

Decisions, decisions...

Why can't any decision be easy? This wedding stuff is made a little more difficult with everyone spread out through the midwest. Just when you decide to have an event, like a bridal shower, it's then a big deal WHERE the shower is held.

Do I even need a bridal shower? What is their purpose anyway. Women get together, play some silly games, and give the bride gifts. Many people just pick things that are on the wedding registry anyway so why make people give you 2 gifts? Maybe I am against it because I'd much rather be behind the scenes than front and center. *sigh*

B and I have made up after our battle of wills on Easter weekend. A little explosion I had on Saturday broke the tention and things are better. I need to stop bottling things up and just let them out. I sometimes tip-toe around an issue because I never know how B will react. Or, I know he will react in a bad way and I hate confrontations. I avoid them at all costs. B is the same way. This does not make our relationship easy sometimes. But - is any relationship easy?

Mountain Out of a Mole Hill

Yes, It's been a week and I have not populated my blog. I feel guilty doing it during work hours and forget about it once I get home. I will try to be more diligent in the future.

So the confrontation I was dreading on Easter weekend didn't happen. Turns out my relatives already know about the limited number invited to the wedding. My mom just neglected to tell me. AND it's not such a big deal anyway! My aunt is having problems with her knees and some blood clots and probably wouldn't go anyway. Ugh!

The rest of the weekend was good and bad. B & I had a battle of wills on the way to Peoria that put a black cloud over the whole weekend. Both of us are too stubborn to give in and it usually leads to one or both of us being mad or upset. My nieces made up for the bad parts. It was fun to be involved with hiding/finding the Easter eggs. My sister and I started out hiding the eggs and then ended up chucking most of them around the yard. Since Mini-A is just under 3 years old, it would take forever for her to find the eggs if we really hid them. It's exciting enough for her just to discover one in the middle of the yard.

The wedding was ok. Nice ceremony and the reception was ok. I get the feeling that my new step-sister-in-law does not like me very much. I met her for the first time as they escorted us from our seats after the ceremony. I stood up, said congratulations, hugged my step-brother (which was a little uncomfortable since I have only met him a handful of times), turned to shake his new wife's hand and said, "Hi, I'm S...". I could swear I got a dirty look. I later wondered if she didn't know who I was and was not happy about a strange woman hugging her new husband. The other possibility is that she remembered that my RSVP was late. Maybe it was just my imagination.

We didn't stay very long after the food was served. My sister and family left to get the kids home and B was still being pissy. We did sit by a friend of my step-mom's who was very nice and fun to talk to. They didn't stay long either because they were eager to get home and watch the rest of the Illini game.

Enough of the Easter recap. This week some friends and I kicked off a new monthly event. We each love Sx in the City and some of us have not seen all the episodes or have not seen the unedited shows. Last night we got together, each of us brought something to eat, and watch the first 6 episodes. It was fun! I enjoy these girls night out events. I was so busy last fall with work and didn't really get to see or talk to my girlfriends as much as I would have liked. I now feel a bit left out of the group sometimes because I was not available for so long and missed out on stuff. My own fault so I can't really get upset about it.

Well, a little reminder has popped up letting me know I need to get back to work. Until next time...