Weekend of Firsts and Fun

It's unusual for Adam and I to get a FULL weekend off together. Either his schedule or mine always tends to get in the way and thwart our plans of fun and relaxation. Somehow the stars aligned this weekend. Well, in actuality, I randomly requested the weekend off from work and got pseudo-reprimanded for doing so. But my marriage is more important than ANY job I will ever have and so I took the time off, guilt free.

Adam rolled out of duty on Thursday and into his Friday work day so I went to the beach for my first time this season! It was nice, although the water is still freezing. I came home that afternoon to discover Adam planned a date night. (Technically this isn't a "first" but it was still a welcomed surprise.) We went out to one of our favorite Italian places and later went to see the premier of The Great Gatsby. (Tangent: I never enjoyed the book. It was so over analyzed and forced on my in middle school that it basically turned me off to the book forever. Until the movie. Now, I think it's important to mention that I absolutely NEVER enjoy movies over books. Usually. This was different.) The movie stuck to the actual plot of the novel while mixing in traces of modern flare which lit up the literary nerd inside of me. It was a wonderful night.

Saturday morning, Adam and I found ourselves searching for something to do. We drove out to Hickory and spent the day, in the off-and-on rain, picking our own strawberries at the Hickory JAMboree. There were chickens and pigs, horses and goats, live music and a dozen local vendors. A local honey producer brought out a hive of his bees (safely inclosed, of course) so I was able to see them up close. I've never seen a queen bee or a drone before and even though it sounds super lame, I thought it was interesting. I learned lots and got delicious fresh produce that Adam and I picked ourselves. We met up with friends for my first Pho experience (DELISH) and my first time getting gelato at Strawberry Fields (also delish). That night we stayed in and relaxed and watched another movie. Ever since the beginning, that has been one of our favorite things to do. So we watched Lincoln. Honestly, I don't understand how these movies win awards. The plot was good and I think that if Lincoln (the character) wasn't so long-winded, the movie would have been over sooner, making it much more palatable. (Another tangent...but not entirely random: While on the topic of bad movies, please spare yourself if you haven't already seen ZeroDarkThirty. Simply- a giant waste of time.)

Sunday continued our weekend of firsts and fun. We got up and made breakfast together, something that happens rarely now. We headed off to the driving range that afternoon. I had never hit a golf ball, short of putt putt, in my entire life and Adam has only done it a select few times. It was the blind leading the blind on the green while I tried to stifle my swears. I've decided I lack the patience, skill,  and quieted nature to take up golf as a hobby. I was able to whack the ball a good distance a few times, my record being 130 yards. Not bad for a first timer. Of course, what would life be without lessons? I now know why golfers wear that little glove. When we got home, we took our furry kids to the park. It was weird seeing them be two of the largest dogs in a group but they had a blast. Luca was in super-fetch mode which proved to be AWESOME that night (I've never seen him so exhausted!) and Piper was enjoying meeting the different humans. When we got back, Adam noticed a little baby bird on our back porch with a Mama Blackbird making trips with worms and bugs. I guess Baby tried to fly away without quite owning that particular skillset and ended up in our backyard. After a few attempts to shelter and save the Baby, we discovered his home; the tree to the left of our patio. Adam chased Baby around the backyard until he caught him and returned him to his tree with his little sister. I love that our backyard is buzzing with life. There are baby birds everywhere. Even as I type, I'm looking out of my breakfast nook watching a Mama Robin teach her baby to find worms while another one of her babies cautiously sits in the tree. Looks like this little guy made the same mistake as blackbird Baby. I realize birdwatching is probably the oldest thing I've ever done but this is adorable, dang it!

Sunday night I decided to cook dinner. Since Adam is often the first one home, he typically makes dinner...and thank GOD! I tried to treat him by making dinner with one of my newer Pampered Chef "toys". As it turns out, microwave jambalaya isn't as good as the original stove top version. I've decided some "firsts" aren't as good as others. I'm not giving up, though. One of these days, I will cook amazing and I will pass down all my delicious recipes to my sweet, future daughter.

I have today off as well; a punishment, I think, for requesting Saturday and Sunday off. I will make the best of it. Me and my bird watching. Happy Monday everyone!