White Trash Bunko and Valentine's Day

*Preface: I am a lumper. A post-lumper that is. I see lots of bloggers who will post 2 or 3 posts in one day, because the subject matter is different. It's very neat and organized. I, on the other hand, am all about one post every 2 or 3 weeks with various subject matters lumped into one. I like to keep you on your toes, wondering where I'm going next. It is not so organized. Also, our "junk drawer" consists of everything from scotch tape to measuring tape back to jewelry and lotion and onto a large chocolate bar. (I actually just went and looked in the drawer and noticed the candy bar.) I also have pots, pans, cookie sheets and tupperware dispersed evenly throughout the kitchen cupboards. I would blame a lot of this disorganization on Lucy; whole-heartedly the cupboards, but I am not a blamer. Jason does blame me though.*

Let's get down to business. Part 1: I play bunko with a hilarious group of girls. I had never heard of the game before, so I didn't really know what I was getting into and how crazy people are about it. I didn't know it was this big thing among mormon women. But I guess it is and I'm a lucky participant! Last week's bunko night was white trash themed, complete with slim jims, tator tots, mini swan shot glasses, Shasta and O'douls. There was lots of white trashness going on throughout the night, including a wrestling match between Jodee (Dee) and Angie (Ja'vev) over who's baby's daddy is who's and lots of profanity!

PS I didn't even know there was a theme. I just wear my shirt like that because I think seein mah belleh is a privilege and should be out for all to behold the miracle, just like mah cousin LouAnn sez:

Dee and Ja'vev

Dee's first taste of O'douls. She warmed right up to it. I won't say who the other girl is, because she is on house arrest and will get in trouble if she's caught out.

Taking shots of O'douls. (Happy to say I was somehow able to dodge the nasty O'douls all night and snuck Soda instead.)

Kudos to Stacy for getting this group rolling! I love these girls! My life will never be the same!

Part 2: Onto Valentine's Day...

I started our celebration on Friday by whipping up some deliciousness. It was my first time making these treats and Jason loved loved loved me for it.

Who can control themselves around chocolate covered strawberries? Not me. And we dipped pretzels, oreos and marshmellows in caramel and then milk chocolate, followed of course by the white chocolate drizzle. They weren't as pretty as Martha's but I bet they tasted better, because I made them with extra TLC (tender loving care).

Saturday we dropped our Lucy off with Grandma and flew to Arizona for some romance and sunshine! Glorious! We went to dinner at the Capital Grille in Scottsdale. (Don't know why there's an e on the word grill but they think it looks fancier. I think I'll go by Meradithe from now on.) It was perfect company and a perfect date. Especially when they seated us 30 minutes late when we had reservations and I started screaming at the manager and throwing chairs, so they comped our dessert.

(JK about the tantrum, we were perfectly kind. But the other part was true, about the dessert. So that was great. I hate when people get all witchy about that stuff.)

Look at my happy gluttonous boy and the size of that ribeye:

And here I am happy as a clam with my crab legs and drawn butter. Not happy as the clams that were being digested at the table next to us, but more like the free clams in the wild, in an unpolluted area of the ocean.

What is it with that drawn butter? Oh man. I actually started out the night ordering a bowl of drawn butter soup. Waiter: Drawn butter soup? Me: Yeah that's right. Waiter: We have lobster bisque and broccoli cheddar. Me: Drawn. Butter. Soup. Waiter: So you want the drawn melted butter, as in, what you dip crab and lobster in, served in a large soup bowl... Me: Yeah that's right. Sipped that baby right down.

And look at those desserts. That's ricotta cheesecake, coconut cream pie with a macaroon crust, and flourless chocolate cake. My head almost exploded.

And my stomach. By the time dessert came we were so unbelievably stuffed. I fell right out of my chair into a food coma right after this pic was taken.

So we took the rest home. We are all about leftovers.

The next day we took these cruisers out and enjoyed the AZ breeze and sunshine. This little bike trail was so excellent! It even had a little yellow dashed line running down the middle to prevent confusion. I especially loved scaring joggers and other bikers by coming up fast behind them and saying "On your left..." to pass, and then at the last minute, yelling in a panic, "I mean on your right, on your right!!" and watching them swerve back and forth trying to prevent a collision. We caused a few doozey crashes, but no one was injured. You should try that next time you're on a trail, it's always a good one!

There were lots of ducks, dog walkers and kids out and about as well. It made us miss our Lucy. But then we realized we wouldn't be enjoying a leisurely bike ride if she was with us, so it didn't make us miss her that bad.

We got home and Grandma and Grampa said the poor little duck sat and cried for us in the window just like this the entire time. Like a lost little puppy. She just doesn't have ANY fun without us.

That couldn't be further from the truth. She didn't even want to come home with us when we picked her up! Thank you again Linda, J, Becky and Brandon for tending our sweet girl!! We love you!