Moving On

got caught up in conversation with the reverend two nights back. then last night as i was in the midst of writing this, my internet connection went out and i gave up and went to bed. someday i'll get back in the groove of posting every day. someday.

so back to the weekend. i woke up to birthday day with pete laying in bed, fists clenched and thrust skyward despite closed eyes, smirk on his face, croaking out "24!" the first thing he wanted to do? get the computer out and see how many facebook birthday wish wall posts he'd received. i then proposed a trip to the bagel company for eggels and coffee, which went over well.

after brunch, it was shopping time. we hit up walmart for supplies, filled a cart, and headed home to get preparations going for the afternoon cookout. feeling a little droopy from The Mono, i pulled a chair up to the kitchen table and got to cooking. a two-layer red velvet sheet cake with white frosting, fresh pico de gallo, fresh guacamole, seven layer dip, and 40 jalapeno poppers later, i was left with a whole mess of food and a hell of a capsaicin burn on my hands.

having to get ready for the party, i wrapped my hands in tanktops to apply eye makeup and avoid permanent damage to my eyes, all the while whimpering at the pain. i actually felt nauseous it hurt so badly. seeing the glimmer of approaching tears in my eyes pete took pity on me and began googling remedies. we tried smearing vegetable oil on my hands. twice. we tried a combination of bleach and water as a soak. we tried good old soap and water. nothing doing. finally, pete and his friend gray ran to the gas station and got me ice cold fatty vitamin D milk. as the party began and friends started trickling in, i sat down in the middle of the living room and dunked my hands into hypothermic-inducing milk in a bubba keg. way to make a first acquaintance. BUT. IT. WORKED. instantly. no more fire on my hands, and i was able to actually enjoy life again.

and so we barbecued. and bocce-d. and some (ok all but me) drank. and we sang happy birthday to the be-crowned birthday boy. and we ate and ate and ate. and then finally, ten o'clock arrived and so did our chauffeured van, waiting to whisk 14 of us off to tunica, ms, home of a jillion casinos. i'm going to go ahead and split the tale off here. i will regale you in the future of our time at the casino, and the rest of the weekend.