A Nephew, A Book Club, A Reunion, and a Picnic

Note: This post is weeks old but I had completed most of it so I want to finish it.

It was another one of those weekends that finally comes along where Matt and I “don’t do anything” which means we didn’t leave the state but still did tons. Matt’s parents were watching our nephew Ian for a week and Lisa asked if I would come down for a day and help out. I agreed to head down the day after we got back from the Dominican. Although, as near as I could tell when I got there they were doing just fine without me. Grandad has the best place for entertaining a four year old with an affinity for moving vehicles.  They have a cute little four wheeler for Ian and he was riding it when I pulled up. Pistol also came and greeted me after not seeing me for a week. He loves going to “the farm” though. I doubt he really even  noticed we were gone. 

We spent a lot of time in the pool. Ian is a good little swimmer.

I stayed the night and enjoyed the visit. I had to head out early in the morning to get back to work though. As much as we have been traveling you may not believe that I actually work but believe it or not, I do. It just takes a lot of strategizing.

I also was in charge of hosting book club this month. There was a book I had been wanting to read and the person who hosts gets to pick. So I picked “The Story of Stuff” by Annie Leonard.

 I had watched several versions of her YouTube series and thought the book would be really interesting and it was already on my book shelf.  The book was indeed really interesting and reinforced much of what I already knew because ya know, I study this stuff.  But in picking this book I also learned a valuable lesson about book club.  I picked a book that I was especially interested in but it wasn't really a novel. I thought it was going to be more novel like telling tales of how she came about all of her knowledge of the process of “stuff” but it was more of a “Layman’s Terms for Understanding Production and Consumption”. That’s not necessarily interesting for everyone. It’s okay if you pick a book that turns out to be a dud but you should at least think the majority of people will think it’s interesting from the start. Furthermore, I picked a book that was largely based on my expertise (ish). It would probably make my friends feel uncomfortable criticizing a book that I could likely defend based on my own experience. Part of the purpose of book club is to discuss a book and even point out it’s weaknesses.  My  friends know how passionate I am on the topic so that doesn’t really leave the door open for a light hearted book club, even though I had my own criticisms of the book. All’s well that ends well, but I’ll keep these things in mind the next time I pick the book. I also really recommend the book—just don’t force it on people.

But to develop an eco-theme I did a few things.

I wanted to create a dish that celebrated the fact that most things are in season due to the summer(ish) weather, were bought as locally as possible, and even used some things from my own garden. And it was healthy. And it was delicious. So from scratch I made guacamole, salsa, and hummus.

And to make a point I wanted to use as little "stuff" as possible. So here are my recyclable items from my food making. 

Here are the compostable items which will eventually turn into nutrient rich soil for future gardening projects. 

 And this tiny little amount was the trash generated.

 Shanna for the eco win.

I also made a ton of the salsa and put it in jars that I had saved like old salsa jars or spaghetti jars or jams or whatever. Just glass jars with lids that I had thoroughly cleaned and taken the labels off of. I gave them to each of the attendees of the book club as an eco-party favor. No, book clubs do not traditionally have party favors, I just thought it was cute.


 10 Year Reunion

The time had come for my 10 Year Reunion. Notice I didn't say "The time had finally come for my 10 year reunion" because it is completely nuts to me that 10 years has already gone by.

We went to El Guapo's in Tulsa which is nice because I've always really liked that restaurant. It's also down town so there's plenty of places to stay and also go out. We had probably about 25% of the class show up which I think for reunion standards that's pretty good. This picture is actually really funny to me because it actually reminds me of the personalities of a lot of these people as I remember them.

And then there's me on the far left. One thing the sorority taught me was the ability to hold a smile endlessly while pictures were being taken for a long time by lots of cameras.

The only thing that didn't go so well was that we were ridiculously late. Which probably wasn't that shocking to the people I attended high school with. I was late there all the time too. It was entirely silly though. I totally thought it started at 7:00 and we got there at 6:45 and I told Matt that I was nervous because I didn't want to be the first ones there and have to stand all awkwardly greeting people that I haven't seen in a decade. I would much rather be fashionably late. That's a motto I tend to live by. Well we get there and go upstairs and there's everyone sitting down already with food in front of them. My first thought was, "My goodness these are some punctual people I grew up with. Look, they're already sitting down and this isn't supposed to start for fifteen minutes!" I kind of had a sensory overload when I saw all these faces I recognized but I was also looking for somewhere to sit, and say hello, and figure out what was going on because they were all so darn early. It wasn't until after Matt and I found a chair at the end and sat down and ten minutes later someone tells me this thing started at 6:00 p.m. Good grief Shanna. Can't even double check an invitation.

After dinner we migrated over to McNellie's across the street and had some drinks and caught up. Overall I thought it was a really good reunion and I had forgotten how good of a community I grew up in. I have always loved my tiny little town in Northeast Oklahoma but the reunion was a good reminder. The only downside was that there were several people that didn't make it that I would have really liked to have seen. Maybe at the 20 year?

Hillary and I at McNellies

The HOA Picnic

For the first time in my life I live in a neighborhood with an HOA (Home Owner's Association). I'm still not entirely sure what the HOA does and not to discredit the hard work of those who step up to leadership positions but my limited interaction with the organization is that we pay an annual fee (ick) and they make sure the common grounds are regularly tended to and land scaped and pay for the fountain to run and put up Christmas lights at our entrance. They also address when people are getting a little out of control with their lawn or have unsightly things in their yard.

So far the best things about the HOA was that we had a picnic this year and I thought that was adorable. We got to meet neighbors and have a sense of community. And then we went to elect new officers of the HOA. Some how Matt and I became the hospitality committee which is fine by me because I'm happy to throw together a batch of cookies and welcome someone to the neighborhood. This also comes with the assumption that someone is going to email me or something if someone moves into the neighborhood. I should look into that. Well, no one wanted to take over the president position. Matt feels pressure to do it but I however do not. I simply am not interested in the goings ons of other people especially if they do not volunteer that information to me. What people do at their own home is just not something I am interested in. I don't really care if someone is a week past being reasonable on mowing their lawn. I do not care if someone has their trash can in their driveway. It makes sense that there be someone to look out for these things for the greater good of the community, I just don't want to do it. Know what I want to do? Write my dissertation. And blog from time to time. And between those two activities and our overly scheduled lives I just do not have an opening for being a busy body. Which is how I will feel. I think the people who complain about all that stuff should stand up and take a leadership position but no one asks me what I think. Wouldn't the world be a better place if they did? I kid. I kid.

Anyway, it was a really  nice "calm" and "slow" weekend. Being home is great.

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Book/Movie Review: The Fault in our Stars

Matt and I have both had especially busy work weeks. I am teaching an online course for TTU for the first summer session (basically all of June) which means we take a whole semester of work and condense it down into one month. This also means that instead of about 2 weeks to grade assignments I have more like 2-3 days. I like to give students feedback so they can correct their mistakes for future submissions because I'm a not-yet-jaded professor for now. I will tell you that it really ticks me off when people put about 6 seconds worth of effort or plagiarize their submission and have the audacity to email me demanding to know why they got a bad grade. Comes with the territory I suppose.

Matt's schedule has been really crazy this week though. I feel bad or the guy. He has been leaving well before I even wake up and getting home after seven. Last night he had a minor catastrophe so he called and said he was going to be even later than he had intended. Since my dinner plans were out the window I decided I would go see The Fault in our Stars because I was pretty sure that he wouldn't be interested in it and I don't mind seeing movies by myself.

 We read the book for Book Club a couple months back. Its a quick and easy read. I just couldn't help but think it read like a 40 year old trying to narrate like a teenager. I did not cry during the book even though it was really sad. It just didn't really grab me like many other books do. It was also just such a sad topic (teenagers having a pretty strong grasp on mortality--and they have cancer). I wouldn't say it was a "bad" book--I just personally did not walk away saying "Wow, now I get why everyone in America is reading this book." Know what I mean?

I do get why teenagers would like this book. I don't really know how to expand on his more but my teenager idealistic self would have eaten this up. "I just put cigarettes in my mouth and don't light them... it's a metaphor." Good grief. My 27 year old says nope. "Okay." "Okay." Hand to forehead.
My 16 year old self... "Oh tell me more! You're so intuitive. Wordly. Someone I want to backpack Europe with. So dreamy." Cut to 10 year reunion: "So.... you sell vacuums, huh?"

 

But if you read the book you gotta go see the movie... right? 

The movie was...okay. Maybe even better than the book. They did a good job of leaving out the parts that I thought didn't really contribute much to the story in the book (like his former girlfriend). It seemed cast pretty well. Except Augustus. (And gah.. whats with the name? Augustus? Like Augustus Gloop?) I'm not crazy about that guy as an actor. Maybe I just couldn't get over them playing siblings in a movie I saw a month ago (Divergent). I thought she did a great job though. I also liked how they dressed her. Like... a normal person.
I didn't really cry in the movie though. I shed a tear. I didn't get super emotional though which movies often do to me. I think I was a little distracted by the lady like 15 rows up totally ugly crying though. I said a prayer for her during the movie because I can only imagine that she lost someone to cancer to have that powerful (and loud) of a reaction in a public theater.

I think I would have liked the movie more if I hadn't read the book. I think the parts that were emotionally gripping would have gripped me a little more if I didn't know what was coming. On that note--they did a pretty good job overall sticking to the book. I think movies are starting to get better about that as a whole.

I paid $7.50 to see the  movie (heck ya student ID!) and I felt at peace with my investment. That being said I think it's worth going to see. I just think you should see the movie first and then read the book because I think it will help maximize your entertainment overall.

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Vacation-Dominican Republic

Matt and I planned our wedding date really well. You see, our wedding anniversary lands right around Memorial Day Weekend every year so we can go on an "anniversary trip". We had originally thought about taking Highway 101 from San Francisco to Vancouver  but it turned out that Matt didn't have enough vacation time left this year due to other trips for us to be able to do that trip with any reasonable amount of time at the stops we wanted to make.

There was a couple in Midland that we really liked. There were several couples we liked, but we really liked these people. We started to hang out with them sort of frequently and Matt and I decided they were going to be "our couple" (assuming they liked us as much as we liked them). Well of course shortly there after Matt got a job offer to move back to OKC. We were going to miss our new friends! These friends are named Nicole and Steven.

Not long after they actually ended up moving to Houston so I guess it worked out that we came here. From time to time Matt and Steven will email each other and check in. About 5 weeks ago Steven emailed Matt and said we should all plan a trip to Costa Rica because we had all been there (separately) before and all loved it. We had already booked a trip to the Dominican Republic (which was sort of a random choice) but we told them that if they wanted to they should totally come with us. There's a lot of people in this world that will hypothetically totally agree to go on a trip with you. There are few that will actually go. Even fewer that will leave the country. And nearly no one who would four weeks prior to departure. We have those friends.

Despite taking different airlines and flying out of different airports, we arrived within five minutes of each other. It turned out that they had a better room than us and so with some negotiating and $120 we were able to upgrade our room to be near theirs and get the better amenities (better beach, private alcohol pickup, nicer room, closer to the pool and beach). We always laughed at this sign. First they called it "privileged" which had to make the people who didn't pony up the extra cash feel like total crud (even though it wasn't really widely advertised) and "Because you deserve it". Deserve it? How 'bout paid for it. Geez.

Oh- and in case you're planning a trip and want to know about resorts, we stayed at the Hotel Catolonia Barcelo

The first day we just hung out at the resort and caught up. We also ate a good dinner at their Italian restaurant. Of all the country themed restaurants at the resort (there were four) the Italian tasted the most like the country to me. Or at least the most Americanized version of the country.

Lunch. They had everything at a buffet. Everything.

On day two we golfed. Well, the boys golfed and Nicole and I rode in another cart and had fun and watched. 

 And we also stole all the beer from the VIP room. They kept getting mad at us but that leads me to ask two questions. 1) Why isn't there a beer cart for golfing? Hello! Propinas!  2) Why did they only refill the beer in the VIP room 8 beers at a time????

 Nicole and Steven. They're so fun. And nice. Rare combination...at least at the level they are at both.

And when we got back they left some champagne and chocolate in our room for our anniversary. 

 They had cool cabana type beds all over the place.

 The sushi and Japanese food left something to be desired. Not bad just not... great.

 But at least I got a huge plate of sea food. Mmm!

Day 3 We went off shore fishing. It turns out I knew nearly nothing about what off shore fishing was going to be like.

And Matt no likey how much the boat rocked. poor guy. 

 And the bathroom situation. Whoa. Whole new world. This is my brave "I am going to see the bathroom now" face.

And if you look close in the water you can see the Mahi Mahi we "caught"

And Steven reeled it in!

 And later at the end of the trip Nicole helped reel in the bait like a boss.

 And the group with our catch.

Day 4: Macao Beach

If you go to Punta Cana and do not go to Macao Beach I won't be able to respect your trip. It is the most beautiful beach I have every seen and I am starting to wrack up some beach views. It was incredible. It's a public beach but the rumor from a local was that it had been bought by Westin and development will start soon. So go see it while it's perfect while you can.

This isn't even a good picture of it.

 William my surf instructor. Really good guy.

 Post surfing pic. LOOK AT THAT BEACH! The waves are tiny and the temperature is perfect on top of everything.

 And some man came by with a lizard. Matt's about the last person that would want some stranger to put an iguana on him. Yes, I realize it's an iguana.

 What a trooper.

 And some local fisherman came in and caught way more fish in their tiny boat than we did on our huge one.

 And I talked to the jefe and we negotiated a lunch from a fish that just came in. This was the fish preparing station. I am happy to report that none of us got sick.

 Guy in the grey shirt was the jefe. I remembered and used way more of my Spanish knowledge that I thought I could. Way to go Spanish minor!

 Check out these cooking stations for the fried food!

 Our spread. 3 lbs Mahi Mahi. 1 whole lobster. 1 lb Capitan fish. Salad. Plantain. Rice. French Fries. $57. Served 7 people. Mmmmmm hmmmm. Afternoon of beers for 7 people $56.

 Holy cow it was delicious.

After we got back from Macao Beach Nicole and Steven went to another hotel because they were staying several more days and we had to leave the next afternoon. I would have liked more time because a 5 day trip really isn't enough in another country. However, I am stoked that we went and it was a lot of fun. It was so great to catch up with our friends...and in paradise! Punta Cana is really nice and I recommend going. Our travel agent said it was a hot destination right now. Don't forget to check out Macao Beach!

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No Cost Anniversary Celebration

Matt and I had originally planned to go to Bricktown for dinner and probably a movie or something for our anniversary. That seemed like an anniversary thing to do. Well we have some cool stuff coming up and we had talked about costs and decided maybe we should just hang at home to save some dinero. I still wanted to feel like we were actually celebrating and not just another night at home. 

So I got creative with what I had. I challenged myself to not spend any money at all. For entertainment? We went back to the beginning. We met over a game of Monopoly so why not?

 

I won the centerpiece at the Salvation Army Luncheon that Matt's grandma took me to on Tuesday. Decorations? Check. I got out the wine glasses from our winery tours in Frederickburg for spring break 2012. I also got out the champagne glasses with our name and wedding date etched onto them from our wedding. I used them for sparkling water which we drank all the time during our Mediterranean cruise. I even used cloth napkins (fancy) that Savannah and Jaben got us as a wedding gift. 

 I put together an appetizer plate. I included the olives we bought in Greece and I had some Boursin cheese which we discovered on our honey moon in St. Lucia. Don't worry, this isn't three year old cheese. I used it in a recipe recently.

 We also  have been to New Orleans a couple of times together and I had bought this Beignet mix a long time ago meaning to use it several times by now.

 And we had bought this pasta in Italy. Funny story. At the same pasta shop they had pasta shaped like penises-- for what reason I'll never know. Well we thought it was hilarious so we bought some for Matt's parents. They never noticed but Lisa did put it in a casserole for her bridge group.

And I made a salad from our garden including authentic Greek feta cheese that Anna bought for us. I also used the bowl we bought on the beach in Costa Rica.

 And for dessert I warmed up chocolate chip cookies I made earlier in the week and topped it with the home made ice cream from Easter (it was still good--actually delicious).

And we opened a bottle of wine that we bought in Malta. If you know how to convert Euros to dollars you can tell that we're big spenders.

 And another bottle from a winery we visited in Lubbock.

 And like every year on our anniversary we watched our wedding video while tears stream down my face when Matt tells me his vows. Oh man. That's what life is made of.

I say it was a great anniversary. Everything turned out delicious. I made good use of things I already had and I HATE to waste food. We sat still and paid attention to each other without distractions. It was a wonderful night indeed. 

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