It's kindda funny...

Wow, what a difference a kid and dog make...take this afternoon, for instance: I spent a half-hour hunting down Milo who wasn't where he said he'd be and another haof-hour watering my lawn to dilute dog diarrhea. There was once a time when I had no strings to tie me down...oh, wait, I think that was Pinnochio's beautiful life. Both kid and dog are okay, just in case you were wondering.

So, we took Milo to a waterpark on Memorial Day b/c it was buggy outside. We did start the day off with a walk at the Herbert Hoover Memorial Museum, but damn the gnats! Milo said, "Ummm, I've got an idea for an INDOOR activity." And so it was. Here's the funny part: I've lost some weight and was quite surprised when I put on my age-old swimsuit and it was comfortable. I still dawned the fashionable black cover-up out of habit and low self-esteem, but I secretly felt better about myself than I had in ages. So, we had been playing water basketball for about an hour when I decided I was overheated and most of the women in the pool area had their own beauty problems to worry about so I thought, "Screw it, I'm taking the cover-up off and I'm going to win this game!" So I got out of the pool and slowly removed the black hoody...and then Joe got this terrified look on his face and shouted, "Put it back on! Put it back on!" To which I responded with a half-hidden middle finger, yet he just kept yelling, "Put it back on! Put it back on!" People started staring and I realized he wasn't messing with me...I threw it on and jumped back in the pool, only to learn that the front of my swim suit had all but deteriorated due to age. No wonder it felt so comfortable--I was more nude than not!

It still wasn't as embarrassing as that time The Pidges and I went on a drinking binge during college and wound up at the C'ville truck stop. I was too off my rocker to realize that I wound up in the men's room at the exact same time every male trucker east of the Mississippi had to stop and take a bathroom break. It still makes me shudder. I don't think I've ever run so fast in my entire life!!

Oops..gotta take the dog out!

Happy Memorial Day!

Hi Friends. I hope you're all enjoying your extended weekend. We've been trying to wind down from a busy couple of months by taking a local vacation. We decided to view Iowa City from a visitor's perspective and visited a bunch of places we had yet to see. We dined at Takanami which had surprisingly delicious sushi and even better sakitinis. We also visited the graduate school art building which is a massive structure inspired by Picasso's guitar sculpture. It was fun sneaking about the empty building and taking in the mixed elements of steel, wood, & water. It invoked a feeling I hadn't had since visiting the Kunst museum in Austria oh so many years ago. Something like a mixture of vertigo and interdimensional de ja vu...makes my knees go numb.

We alos visited the local vinyl store and made a few purchases: Dungeon, an early Frances Jobeam, and the latest Bonnie Prince Billy. Good times.

The three of us even painted coffee mugs at the local Fired-Up store. Even better than the coffee mugs was the fact that the owner had Milo rockin out on his ducimer and ukilele-- which was quite impressive too.

We took time to see Indiana Jones and Prince Caspian as well. Loved Indiana Jones...it was my dad's favorite series so how could I not love it? I even enjoyed the cheesy parts. Don't want to give anything away, though, so I'll stop there. Had a difficult time staying awake during Prince Caspian...but the popcorn was good.

Been quite busy keeping the dog occupied. He's just the sort of sweetness that I needed in my life. I need to get the camera out and start recording things...but I've been saying that for years about Milo!!

I even got through "Water for Elephants" last week. I think that's the first book I've read from front to back in about three years. It wasn't bad...but I couldn't help wishing for more circus and less pretentiousness.

I've also been honing my cooking skills...latest endeavor was a tempeh jumbalaya. Wow...it changed my life! Perfect meal to make on Sunday and take to work all week. Full of protein and veggies. Throw in a side of Planter's NutTricous Energy Mix with chocolate covered soybeans and sesame sticks and afternoon sleepy times are a thing of the past.

So, that's probably more than you wanted to know...but it's been awhile since I've had a chance to sit down and write. I've got to get back to the political haikus. Those are such fun!

Stay dry and enjoy your weekend.

J