Labor (Free) Day Weekend

I mean, really.  It's called Labor Day, but the whole point is to take a break from said labor.  So why not Labor Free Day?  

Anywhoozles, it's been awhile, so here I am to tell you all about my lame-ass weekend.  Huzzah!!

I should start by telling you that Hubby has been on vacation since last Wednesday night.  Ugh.  I dropped him off at the airport around 4 and have been missing him since.  It's a good thing I have Miss Maxine, or I might've lost it.

So I made it through to Friday night somehow, and then headed to my parents' for the weekend.  I waited until 7 to leave so I could avoid the horrendous holiday weekend traffic, and was pretty successful.  There were still some assholes out, but that's pretty standard fare.  The puppers and I made it to our destination right around 8:20 and Mom and Dad were having dinner.  I got to sit down and have some bacon-wrapped filet (nom nom nom) and unwind from the drive.  (Yes, I know it's not a long trip, but when you're not used to driving, and you're alone except for a dog who'd rather stick her head out the window than sit next to you, it FEELS like a long trip.)

We watched the Brewers game together (well, Mom and I did anyway; Dad went to bed to watch) and then said goodnight.  The pups and I headed downstairs to our bedroom for the evening and watched some TV.  The next morning I was up too early for my liking, but got up and got started on homework.  Mom and I went grocery shopping around eleven, which was a nice break in my day.  I actually think I saw some people I knew from my CBH days, which was kind of random.  Mom asked if I wanted to say hi, but I declined.  

After that it was back to homework before Mom and Dad's friends D and M came over for cocktails and dinner.  Dad decided it was cool enough downstairs for a fire in the fireplace (according to the thermostat, it was only 63 degrees).  Despite the generation gap between myself and the four of them, we always seem to have a good time together, and Saturday was no exception.  I fixed myself a Captain & OJ and enjoyed the fire, talked some sports, and played with my pup.  Mom made a fantastic spaghetti dinner (enough to feed a mid-sized army) and the night wound down.

Sunday morning I finished up the last of the week's homework before we headed out to the Taste of Madison.  Apparently, it's entirely possible that I haven't missed a year of The Taste in my entire life (as Mom confirmed they took me with the year I was born, and I can't recall a year when I didn't go), which is pretty awesome.  Normally I stuff myself silly when I'm there, but without Hubby, I just wasn't feeling like myself.  I did, however, manage to enjoy a delicious churro from Caracas Empanadas, my favorite pumpkin spice cheesecake from Grace Cheesecakes and a really tasty steak fajita in a teeny tiny tortilla from Abuelo's. 

The afternoon called for a nap, and the puppers happily joined me.  Later, we spent the afternoon out on the front porch (or as K and I call it, Kentucky) talking and drinking and listening to music.  Dinner was leftover spaghetti, and I made a delicious spaghetti sandwich on a bun.  Mmmmm...

Monday was a lazy morning.  Not much to do but sit around and watch TV.  Eventually Mom and I headed to my aunt's house for some wine tasting.  It was a girls only event: my mom, mom's two sisters (my aunts), mom's sister-in-law (another aunt), and my cousin were all there.  We tried wines and played Apples to Apples (which is a family favorite, but I'll save that story for another time) and I had to get between my mom and one of her sisters when a political discussion got a little too heated for my liking.  (Let's just say it's not easy to piss my mother off, but God help you if you do.)

Of the wines, I liked the two whites the best (of course), and the dessert wine.  Evidently, I was the only one who liked the dessert wine (it was REALLY sweet - they said that like it was a bad thing!), so I got to take the rest of the bottle home.  When Mom and I got back to the house, Dad was out on the porch with some of our neighbors, so we sat down and joined them.  Dinner was, of course, more spaghetti leftovers (it's a good thing I love my mom's cooking so much).  And right after dinner, the pups and I made our trek back home.It wasn't an overly exciting weekend, but it was nice not to have to spend the whole weekend alone at the house.  

On a very happy note, Hubby will be home tonight!  YAY!!!!!  I can't wait to see him.  I hate when he's gone, and this was a LONG trip for him to be away. :-(  But, I survived.  That's gotta count for something.

Mini-Vacay Recap

Saturday: Our first plane took off from MKE around 11 AM and we landed in Memphis between 12:30 and 1 PM.  After lunch at the Blue Note Cafe (the only area in the airport that allows smoking), we made it to our gate and took off for Mobile.  Got in around 3:30 and found my Grandpa waiting for us.  Grabbed our luggage and away we went, all 5 of us (Mom, Dad, Hubby, Grandpa and myself), to Grandpa's house in Moss Point, MS (about a 40 minute drive).  Spent the evening hanging out on his front porch, just talking and enjoying the weather.  Had deli meat and cheese sandwiches for dinner (Grandpa bought enough ingredients to feed an army).  Passed out shortly after 10 (soooooo tired).

Sunday: First full day down south!  We porched it in the morning, then headed off to Biloxi to have brunch at the Grand Casino.  Hadn't been there since Katrina.  It used to be a casino boat, but the storm put it up ON the highway.  When they rebuilt, they did so on the land-side of the highway as a regular building.  Of course, I was the ONLY one in the group to get carded (Hubby's less than a year older than me and NEVER gets carded).  Buffet was good, but not as spectacular as I remembered.  Played some penny slots after eating.  Put in $20 and eventually cashed out at $15 (got up to $26 at one point and down to about $3 at another, so I figure I did alright).  Headed out along the coast and hit up Souvenir City, a favorite store of mine from childhood visits (though, it has also been relocated/rebuilt).  Got a cute ornament of a starfish wearing an eyepatch and a pegleg.  Mom bought me a mini souvenir license plate with my name spelled right (a rare find!).  Headed back to Moss Point and spent the rest of the day napping and porching.  Deli sammies for dinner again.


Monday:  Headed toward Mobile, AL to spend the day at Bellingrath Gardens & Home, which I haven't done since I was about 12.  Though it's still early in the season, the flowers were beautiful!!  We took the river cruise and spotted an osprey up in its nest.  We were followed/flocked by seagulls (partly because kids aboard were feeding them popcorn), which was actually fairly amusing (if not a little noisy).  Grabbed some lunch at the on-site cafe after the boat and continued wandering around the gardens.  Found a snake along the way, which wouldn't have been so bad if Mom wasn't terrified of them.  Made our way out and headed back to Grandpa's for the rest of the day.  More napping and porching.  Deli sammies for dinner.

Tuesday: Had breakfast at the local Waffle House (a true novelty for us Yanks) and then headed back toward Mobile to see the USS Alabama Battleship.  Dad and Hubby disappeared down some stairs, so Mom and I wandered the ship for awhile.  There were some interesting things to look at, but this trip was more for the guys (as Monday's trip was more for the girls).  Dad and Hubby also went down into the USS Drum submarine, but Mom and I have some issues with claustrophobia, so we stayed on deck (so to speak).  When they were done, we headed to Pascagoula to see what their beaches looked like.  They've cleaned things up quite a bit, but there's nowhere to park (and, as such, no one there).  We also grabbed lunch at Lucky Seafood, where we had some good po-boys (not quite the same as in New Orleans, but still good).  We headed back to Moss Point for a bit and checked out the swamp in Grandpa's back yard.  Saw some movement, but couldn't tell what was in there.  Went to dinner at Steve Barnhills, where they have a $5 all-you-can-eat buffet.  Food's actually pretty decent, too!  But they were out of hush puppies, which really saddened me.  I didn't get to have a damn hush puppy the whole trip!  Boo.

Wednesday: Same path back (Mobile to Memphis to MKE), and about the same times.  By a little after 5 we were already on our way to pick up Miss Maxine from the doggie dorms.  Boy was she happy to see us!!  We had a great time, and it was sad to leave Grandpa and the warm weather, but we definitely missed our puppers and our own bed.  Also, I'm still covered in bug bites that itch randomly like crazy.  Ugh.  Stupid noseeums (little black gnats that you can't necessarily see too well; thus "no see 'ums").