Happy Wedding Anniversary to me and Stan!

Today is our eight year wedding anniversary. That means a gift of Bronze/Pottery (traditional list) or Linens/Lace (from the modern list). Really people, two lists? Are people really buying this? If so, which list should be used? What if we choose the wrong one? The horror!!!


Anyhow, we skipped the presents all together and ran away for 24 hours instead to the beautifully appointed Wildwood Lodge in Lake Elmo. We booked the King whirlpool suite. It was heavenly.

We ate dinner at the Dock Cafe in Stillwater. We didn't eat outside, but sat windowside so we could appreciate both the view and the air conditioning. We started out with drinks and ceviche, which was so yummy I could have eaten the whole plate myself. I had excellent herb seared scallops and Stan loved his honey soy glazed salmon. I would go back there for dinner in a heartbeat.

Jesse and Sarah took our parental place with Noah and lived in our shoes while we were gone. Noah had a great time and Sarah is threatening Jesse's position as the perennial favorite. Sunday we took them out for brunch before they were free to live their life, once again kid free.

It was a good weekend.

Harry Potter - Deathly Hallows - Book 7 - MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

On Friday night I went to see the spectacle of Harry Potter Fans at the Roseville Barnes & Noble. The "party" they threw was lame, but the people watching, whew, boy, that was priceless. There were a lot of good costumes. Unfortunately, I didn't get good pictures of them, but I did get pictures of the ladies I went with.

The ladies. only one of them bought a book after spending 3 1/2 hours of waiting.

It was definitely a night for teenagers. The geeks were flaunting their Harry Potter love in all it's glory and the "cool kids" wore perfect Harry Potter costumes while their girlfriends wore slutty outfits with black Hogwart's robes open to show off their young, nubile flesh. My favorite couple was the gay one that practically mounted each other while waiting in line. I guess if Harry Potter was gay and cloned, he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of himself.

My favorite Harry Potter of all time though? Stan.

Stan models glow in the dark Harry Potter glasses.

I finished the book before putting Noah to bed on Sunday night. Unlike the last movie, it wasn't a disappointment. It had the good old happy ending that I expected, with a little real life (death) mixed in. Harry is killed but can choose to come back, and does. Who says this book is anti-religion!?! It's a total C.S. Lewis resurrection moment! Then he kills Voldemort after a cocky dialog, where he calls him "Riddle" and which I enjoyed. Give me 2 - 3 years and I will look forward to re-reading the entire series again.

The sweet, sweet smell of success (I hope!)

I finished my second interview yesterday morning. Monday I had a group interview and received an e-mail reply that they "loved me!" complete with exclamation point.

Friday morning I gave a technical interview where I gave a full body 60 minute massage (in 75 minutes). The woman echoed loving sentiments, complimented me on my muscle work and interpersonal skills and unofficially told me I should be getting an official offer.

Next step: the final interview. I am waiting to hear from either the spa director or the head of human resources to set this up.

I am excited to work somewhere that provides education opportunities as well as a lovely smelling place to work in. I'm not sure how this will effect my current clientèle yet, but someday hope to only be working out of the spa. My massage career seems to be picking up steam and I am happy.

Oh no, she didn't!

I had a group interview at XXXX last night. We had to stand in front of 2 employees and 16 other interviewees and answer some questions. One was "what 3 words describe you?" One girl got up and said that she was very loving. Then she lost it. You could see her little brain clicking into overtime, but she simply could not think of a way to elaborate on the spot, without, as you will read, totally humiliating herself. She said, "I love very. . . . . hard. I'm a VERY HARD LOVER."

Oh. My. God. In. Heaven. I'm surprised she didn't bold right then and there. I thought it was hilarious, but it seemed that no one else in the room was having the internal struggle I was to keep it together. I guess the rest of them were just cool like that.

Jesse took some pictures of us.

Stan was a goof ball.

"If only it was plugged in."

"Toyota!"

I was sneery.

"Damn kid and his damn toys."

All for the sake of thirty dollars.

I used to think that pet grooming was expensive.

Dodi 3/4 of the way through grooming.

Now I am astounded, astounded I say, that a mere $30 would get someone else to wash my dog, cut her hair and nails and brush her teeth.

Note the perfectly even shave job on her torso! If only you could see it in person, when the thin spots really pop!

The directions looked easy, the DVD demonstration was a breeze, but the (halfway) finished product shows my lack of experience with both a scissors and a razor.

What did you do to me?

I still need to finish her feet and legs, but will need an assistant for that part. I'm not happy with the cut, but am thrilled that I didn't cut her or leave a bald spot. I'm going to try and refine, I mean, learn some skills for this job. If I can't cut it (bad pun, couldn't resist) I'll take her back to the grooming salon with my figurative tail between my legs. I'm not ready to give up quite yet, but am more than happy to accept help and or tips.