4th of July

I guess it's time to reflect on our eventful 4th of July weekend. You know...3 weeks later. Whatevs.

We decided to drive to Lubbock with our friends, Ryan and Marie after Taylor got off work on a Thursday night. Not even an hour into the drive, we hit a deer. It sounds a lot worse than it actually was though. Taylor's truck, "Betty" took it like a champ. For the rest of the night, we were on high deer alert and it's amazing how many of them we saw standing right beside the road.

I can't really remember the order in which the rest of the events happened over the weekend, I just remember them happening.

One day of the weekend, we went to the farm and shot guns (OH BOY!) and rode around on the four wheeler and ranger. It wouldn't be a trip to the farm with guns if there wasn't a Mary story (or a couple) involved.

You should just know that this is the summary of what I did on the farm.

At one point, Taylor said I would probably be decent at throwing a clay pigeon with the plastic thrower since I was good at tennis. I attempted it and the next thing I knew, the entire thrower and pigeon was behind me. I hit Taylor square in the chest with it. What a horrible girlfriend, I know. 

I only managed to hit one clay pigeon with the shotgun and just as everyone was congratulating me for finally "getting it", I had to break it to them that I actually shut my eyes and squeezed the trigger. Just luck, no skill. I hate being bad at things, but I really don't see myself ever having the desire to better my hunting skills. 

There was even a tractor lesson for the Martelly's included with their farm tour. 

Before we ventured out on the ATV's, I decided to reapply my sunscreen (I'm learning, folks) but really all that happened was some dirt smearing. I thought it was a tan, but after my shower I realized that I am still pasty white. 

On our last day in Lubbock, Marie and I went to Target. It was such a beautiful, welcomed sight that I almost cried. I'm exaggerating, but I really do miss being in civilization. 

Later, we all met up with some of our friends who just had a baby! The last time we saw Paige and Jacob, they had just gotten engaged and now three years later, they have a bambino. Baby Mason didn't join us for our Dairy Queen date, but I've seen pictures and he is adorable so I'll forgive him for flaking out on us. He probably had to do something important like sleep. I would have picked the nap too.

Also on our last night, we had a nice porch time with Kristofer. 

   

You probably shouldn't be surprised that pictures like these happened. We can't help it. 

Marie and Ryan love Verett Farms!

Luckily, our drive home was uneventful. I managed to sleep through most of it though so I guess I wouldn't really know. I know I left some things out, but that's what I get for being lazy and these are all the pictures I had so I know that we at least went to the farm and took some pictures on the back porch.

Who even knows

Today was definitely...one of "those" days. The kind of day that makes you either laugh or cry.

Luckily, I laughed.

I woke up this morning thinking it was Wednesday. The cable guy is coming to Taylor's house on Wednesday so I decided to head over to base around noon so I could eat some of Taylor's food for lunch. Halfway there, Hitler started dinging at me that I had low tire pressure. "No big deal, I'll just check on it once I get on base," I thought. Wrong. I didn't know car dings could get louder and more obnoxious, but oh boy did it ever. I decided that maybe it would be a good time to pull over and give it a checky-roo. At this point, I got a little upset because not only do Del Rioans not understand the whole "Right Lane, Slow Lane" concept, they also missed the "switch to the other lane when there's a stranded motorist on the side of the road" memo. Um, RUDE.

Anyways, I got out to check my tire and it was flatter than a pancake and still whooshing air. I called Taylor on the off chance that he was home for lunch and happened to catch him with just enough time to come to my rescue. I wanted to take a picture of him changing the tire so I could be funny with it later, but then I got some situational awareness and decided against it. Probably woulda been a not so funny choice.

After some German car-Volkswagen rants, he got my spare on and sent me on my way back into town so I could get the flat fixed. As I was leaving, I asked if Taylor was going to still need me at the house by 1 so I could let the cable guy in. He looked at me kind of funny and said, "uh, yeah...tomorrow."

So...I was on my way to base for no reason and got a flat tire.

This past weekend, Taylor gave me a free oil change gift certificate at the Chevy dealership in town. He changes his own oil (la-dee-dah) so he didn't need it and Hitler was in need of some new oil. I have no idea who in this town is reputable and who isn't so I figured I might as well get a free oil change and have them fix my tire all at the same time. Boom. Two birds with one stone.

I was at the dealership for FOUR hours waiting on an oil change and a fixed flat. At one point, the mechanic came to the waiting area to ask me where a part was. Seriously. I mean, I know it was free and all but I feel like they could have made a little more effort.

After going stir-crazy at the dealership and explaining to someone why his rationale for buying a car was ridiculous, I was finally able to go to my original destination.

I decided to attempt to make baked buffalo chicken pasta for dinner tonight. It was almost my first cooking fail. (All my other fails have been baking related.) I think that when cooking and baking, you should not use fat free milk. It never thickens right. I used my milk disaster anyways and even 30 minutes past the recommended 25 minutes in the oven, the chicken was STILL not fully cooked. So I had to dig out the 30 or so pieces and put them in a skillet and then add them back to the pasta and stir it all up again.  Everyone said they liked it, but once again...I think they were being nice. I'll get my real answer once I tell Taylor that I'm making it for dinner again. If he says, "um, maybe you shouldn't" then I'll know the truth!

I think my Keep Calm and Carry On homescreen on my iphone is really starting to rub off on me. I did not let ANY of today's frustrations ruin the rest of my day. It's either the phone or that I'm maturing. Who really knows?

Embarrassing randoms

I know a lot of times I try to tell simple stories in a funny way, but lately...I don't even have to try. I just do things that end up being really embarrassing or really funny. Here are a couple of examples that will probably cause you to not be my friend anymore. Seriously, I am not making this stuff up. Sadly, there were usually witnesses to my "events".

***A couple of weeks ago, I was grocery shopping for both my house and Taylor's house. The only thing Taylor really needed was some sour cream so that he could make his famous Blue Cheese Dressing. I even wrote down "Sour Cream" on my grocery list. And then I came home with cream cheese. When Taylor looked in the refrigerator for said sour cream, I proudly pulled out my purchase and it took me a few minutes to understand the blank look on Taylor's face.

***This morning, my dad sent me a text way too early for my brain to process. I had just been dreaming about Taylor trying to get a hold of the cable company and so for some reason, I thought Dad's text was referring to the cable company.

What Dad really said: Hey I never heard back from you yesterday.

What I thought "Taylor" said: Hey I never heard back from Time Warner yesterday.

My response: That's really lame!

***This past weekend, we were in Lubbock visiting Taylor's parents. One morning I went to wake Taylor up and he told me, "I can't...I'm in wing tip". I thought he might still be asleep since this has happened before so I kind of laughed at him and continued talking. He then used his hands to demonstrate what wing tip formation is. I told him to get up a couple more times and then I left him alone. Later that night he was talking to someone else about wing tip formation when he suddenly remembered what he told me that morning. I love replaying Taylor sleep talking stories so of course I jumped at the chance to tell everyone what he said!

***My legs look like I got in a fight with a baseball bat. I don't really know why, but I'm pretty sure that I banged my knees together in my sleep and may or may not have kicked myself in the shins. Otherwise, I can't explain these bruises.

***I love popsicles. Especially the kind that you cut one end off and then eat. I don't know what they are actually called so that's the best description I can offer. Anyways, I love 'em. Yesterday, I was merrily enjoying one when I had to set it down for a couple of seconds. When I picked it back up, I did not pay attention to which end was open and so the entire popsicle spilled out all over me and the kitchen floor. Definitely one of my prouder moments as an adult.

***The other night, Taylor thought it was really funny to squeeze his feet into my flip flops so that I couldn't put them on and drive home. Best joke ever, I tell you. He wouldn't give them up so I decided to play the same game. I put on his tennis shoes and came back in the living room. I have to admit that walking out of the house in shoes twice my size while trying to act annoyed wasn't my most convincing act.

And to sum it all up, here is a picture that pretty much epitomizes mine and Taylor's relationship.

We ended up with some cute pictures, but that's for another post. Which will also include more LBMM stories. Of course.