late installments, part 2: april 28

i had't had a real vacation since july when jon, chris, sarah and i went to jon's friends' cabin for a few days. and since i'd been REALLY missing my sanity, and jon had been really missing my sanity, too, so we jumped at the chance to go camping with our friends liz and john at the end of april. we went west to wyalusing where the mississippi and wisconsin rivers come together just for an overnight on friday, but it was so worth it. if you're reading this and need a vacation, go to wyalusing. now.

john had a gig saturday night, so we all grudgingly packed up our tents and settled in for the not quite 2 hour ride home that afternoon. since liz and john were driving, jon and i napped on and off in the backseat, leaving us with not nearly enough energy to make dinner, but with just enough to wisely make saturday night our date night.

as you may have guessed, jon's been doing all the planning lately. this is because i've been too stressed out lately to take on the planning, so my date nights become the ones where i cry because i'm too stressed out and planning has pushed me over the edge. my loving fiance has graciously taken it upon himself to brainstorm ideas and ease the burden for the time being. he's so great. but i digress ...

anyway, since it was up to him, he chose casa de lara.

i NEVER would have chosen casa de lara.

this is because i once went with an old boyfriend to the one on state street and vowed i would never return - not because of the memories of the boy (though i'm sure that doesn't help casa de lara's case), but because of the memories of the lighting. all i see when i think of that place is nasty florescent pink lighting, sleezy men dressed like miami vice's don johnson, and old, tired mexican food that appears to have been sitting under a heat lamp for over 24 hours.

to be fair, the only thing that rings absolutely true of the place is the florescent pink lighting, but florescent pink lighting equates with all those things i listed above, and, therefore, warmly invites those images into my memory. so why would i want to go back?

because i love jon.

"you just need to try it again," he'd been saying for the past few months. so i agreed finally.

"but only to the one on fish hatchery," i stubbornly insisted. "i am NOT going to the one on state street."

so we went to the one on fish hatch. because jon loves me.

i admit it. casa de lara is not all awful. in fact, it was pretty good. the night was just chilly enough where we chose not to sit outside on the patio (though they've got great outdoor seating). they've got about 3 different "rooms" plus the outside seating, so there's plenty of room for lots of people. the lighting and the decorations are pretty dang colorful, and much classier than the horrid, 80s themed state street branch. the chips & salsa keep coming, and that's always a plus. our meals were pleasantly large, but not memorable. i suppose it is what it is, but i wouldn't consider this any adobo grill.

i can't remember what i got to eat, but i did love my margarita. they do that well, i confess. so even if the food isn't memorable, that doesn't mean it wasn't tasty. i found myself enjoying my time there so much, i nominated it as a contender for our rehearsal dinner after we finished our meal. i suppose i'll have to go back casa de lara and consider it again.

wow, i never thought i'd hear myself say that.

april 23rd late installment

so monday, april 23rd was scheduled to be an uber-relaxing, take your time waking up, totally chill out kind of day. but when i got a call from jon early in the morning that my brother-in-law had left a voicemail on his phone, sharing that he was at the hospital with my sister, the day took a turn for what any thinking person would consider "crazy."

so my sister was okay, just a bad stomach virus that made her feel something akin to contractions. but while we were visiting her at st.mary's, i got a call from our realtor who informed us that the offer we'd put in for a house had been joined by two other offers ... so to her office we'd have to go to counter our own offer.

the whole day was go-go-go, so by the time we hit late afternoon, i was desperate to get my life in order, and jon was desperate for a run. and by the time he got back to my house, it was nearly 8 pm, and neither of us were ready for an official date night (read: what's nearby?).

thank god famous dave's is so close to my house. bbq it was. we love bbq, and you can't go wrong with the baked beans or the firecracker green beans or the hot applesauce or the cornbread on the side. i was particularly pleased with my beer, berghoff's hefe-weizen blend (i think ... jon's not around right now to tell me i'm wrong, but it was light and citrusy, so i'm going to say it was a hefe regardless of being right or wrong). i never drink berghoff, but the waiter was so enthused, i couldn't pass it up. turns out he was rightly enthused. it was so fresh, so crisp, so citrusy, i'd take it over a blue moon any day. check it out when you hit up famous dave's next.

we spent the good part of the evening there, talking through our day, discussing the possibility of losing this house we'd been so excited about, and just enjoying comfort food on a day that necessitated it. we left full and happy. thanks, famous dave's.

and that was it for date night. we might have considered a movie ... if we hadn't received a call at 10:30 pm from our realtor, congratulating us on becoming homeowners.

turns out the day ended even crazier than it began :)