Being Grown Ups

Since my son was with his dad on a camping trip, and Steve's daughters went with their mom on a camping trip of their own, we decided to be grown ups after Thanksgiving. Didn't go to any Black Friday sales, mostly because we just haven't gotten into that "go into debt" spirit of overspending on Christmas.
We took the Cobra helicopter to Phoenix for an airshow. That's the one in the picture above, it's the helicopter Steve flew in the Austin Powers movie.
It only seats two people, one in the front and one in the back--Steve flew from the back seat. Riding in the front is so wierd, mostly because when the Cobra flies it tilts forward quite a bit and gives you the feeling that you're going to fall forward out of the cockpit.

And since our friends in Phoenix all have adult children, that meant we were hanging out with adults all weekend. What a strange feeling. We went to a nice gentlemen's club and had a lap dance (after we finished our dinner--they have great steak and pasta) and we spent a couple of hours on Saturday doing whatever we wanted to do. We stopped by a Smart Car dealer and went for a test drive. OMG I want that car!
We browsed an antique book store. We ate great BBQ. Went to a hoity-toity night club with Steve's rich friends and watched with great amusement as they did the stereotypical inspection of wine labels with their reader glasses before they reluctantly ordered the $165 wine. (Man, wouldn't you feel stupid throwing up THAT booze???)

Flew home on Sunday afternoon, and buzzed Shay. He had been spending the afternoon at Grandma's so we called ahead and told him to come outside. His grandma was much more excited about it than he was! As we made our way thru the neighborhoods to the airport, my cell phone began buzzing with all the voicemails and test messages from friends who saw us fly over. Too funny.
We were super-happy to get home and sleep in our own bed. It felt like we'd been gone for a week!

Bad News

Our uncommonly warm November just turned to friggin cold today. I had to very sadly turn off the cooler to the house, because our "high" temp was 71.
Yes, I know, all you midwesterners are saying "Boo Frikkity Hoo!!"

T day

While everyone else seems to be getting ready for their T day, my T day is turning out to be "Truck Day" because I'm hustling to get some very important things done for an upcoming truck show I'm producing.
I'm trying to get grant money from the city to help pay for advertising, and they've got me jumping thru hoops.
Have no fear, we'll still have a Thanksgiving dinner--it'll just be accompanied by lots of truck discussions.

I am The Birthday Queen

Even though it's not my Birthday, I must proclaim my throne. I've apparently figured out how to make a Birthday party exactly what it needs to be.
Steve's daughter's 16th b-day went off with very few snags, and she seemed to be really happy about it.
The chef at the restaurant put together a GORGEOUS cake that could have rivaled something from that Ace of Cakes show. Holy cow, I was expecting a plain old chocolate cake. He really went overboard. I wish I had a picture of it, but my camera was out of film by the time the cake came around. And since the cake was a little late (it was an hour after we'd finished dinner, and we were STILL waiting for them to bring it out) they kept giving me free Martinis. Never had a Martini before then. Kinda interesting. I had one called the "Whodunit" it had red rum and O.J. in it. GET IT??? Ahahahahaha!!!

Hard Work

This is the work we're doing this weekend; a photo shoot for a new boating magazine. I can't believe the weather--it's over 80 degrees and we're one week away from Thanksgiving! Weird. I guess I'm still used to that Iowa B.S....below freezing and cold as hell.
The guy in the boat is my boss, Todd. His hair is as long as mine!

The bridge

If you look really hard, you can find my office waaaaay in the background!

Giving In to the Man

I'm normally a do-it-yourselfer but I'm actually TOO BUSY to host another birthday extravaganza. Steve's younger daughter turns 16 on Sunday, and she just told us the other day that she's not planning on going out with her friends or boyfriend. Huh?

That means she's expecting us to put something together. (could it be she expects the same bonanza that her dad got for his 50th??hmmmm??) But, since I'm working several days straight, right up to her birthday, I went ahead and made arrangements with a local night club to do something for me. It's a very nice, upscale place called Martini Bay, and it is on the water next to the London Bridge. The view at night with all the lights is amazing. In fact, I'll see if I have a picture...

Anyway, they have a very posh meeting room that has a huge banquet table, aweseome chairs, and classy decor--it's called the Decadence Room. They're reserving the room for our party, and the chef is baking some sort of triple chocolate birthday cake. The party guests will get to order off the menu, which is typically expensive but if you add up everything I would've spent to have a nice party, it's a bargain.