Second Best. Maybe.

I knew it. I knew I would jinx it this year, me and my big mouth. Or fat fingers, or however this little blog of mine gets expressed. No, this year’s 4th of July was not better than last year’s, but it was still good and now it seems like I have this weird tradition to tell you everything I did, ate and drank. Prepare to be wowed by my exciting life. Or not. Whateva!

Friday –
What I did -
Worked. See how the weekend is already starting out lame? And it was cold, because summer is a very fickle lover this year. I’m not sure what’s up his butt. Anyway, after work J and I went to Art Walk which began an evening of the most delightful, unexpected surprises. We fell in love with some paintings and, after meeting the artist and learning she does commissions, I MUST. HAVE. ONE. Seriously. They are creepy and haunting and whimsical and touching and overall just unforgettable. My underlying, obsessive thought all weekend was how I must commission this talent to paint a picture of me and my dogs. I might need to sell my liver to be able to pay for one. Or a dog’s liver since they haven’t yet ruined theirs with daily alcohol consumption.

So, on to the next surprise. We were hungry, I was hung over from the previous night’s bourbon extravaganza. We wandered around for a while and found ourselves in front of the menu for Lola’s. I’d never been there before, but there was mac and cheese on the menu. Plus the owner has a bulldog (which the restaurant is named after.) How can you go wrong with mac and cheese and a bulldog named Lola? You can’t. The icing on the cake was the Bloody Marys. Oh, and the oh-so-adorable pictures of Lola and her babies on the wall. We met Amy, the owner, and oohed and aahed over all of the sweet puppy faces. Oh yeah – we had to make fun of the guy singing. It wasn’t his voice that was so entertaining, but the fact that he sang the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air all emo-style. If I hadn’t been so dehydrated, I probably would have peed my pants.

What I ate –
Lola’s house mac and cheese, crusty goat salad, crème brulee. (I know there was some kind of lunch at some earlier point in the day, but it must have been really uninteresting since I don’t remember it.)

What I drank –
Water, water and more water. Diet Coke, a Cabo Bloody Mary and a whiskey robber.

Saturday –
What I did –
Another day of not-so-great weather. J and I made the best of it by staying in our pajamas, watching movies and eating all day. And snuggling with dogs who could not believe their luck at being snuggled all day and being fed morsels of cheese. Ruby showed her gratitude by eating poop and being banished to her crate overnight.

What I ate –
Easy cheese and Pringles, cheese and bread, peanut butter M&Ms and pizza.

What I drank –
Two glasses of wine, two Cosmos.

Sunday–
What I did –
Woke up early and not hung over! Woo hoo! Met J, M, and M’s friend for coffee and an ocean roll at Lone Pine. Mmmm…. ocean roll……. What? Oh yeah, sorry about that, got a little distracted. After our heavenly breakfast, we went to the pet parade where my hand cramped from taking so many pictures of so many cute dogs. Bostons, Frenchies, Bulldogs, Boxers (all of my smushy-faced favorites!), pit bulls, Dalmatians, German Shepards, Chihuahua, Corgis, Labs, Poodles, oh my!! Dogs in costumes, dogs in “makeup”, flying dogs and barking dogs and even dogs that looked like chickens and horses. Such clever disguises those were! Next came wandering around Drake Park, molesting every Boston Terrier and Frenchie I could find and even a sweet little SharPei whose owner I loved because he rescued her just before she was about to be put down. J found a home for her foster dog, Daphne, who went to live in her new home in Washington. I think her new daddy was already in love with her. I bought pepper plants – jalapenos, pepperoncinis, banana peppers, hotties, some chocolate things, and a couple more I’d never heard of. Relaxed at Les Schwab listening to the free concert where the band sang about G-spots, sugar walls and included Jesus and teddy bears in a “gospel” song. Awesome. Went to J and J’s house to eat, drink and be terrified climbing onto the roof to watch the fireworks. That is one little activity that will not be repeated next year.

What I ate –
Ocean roll, cheese pizza, chicken, ribs, steak, pineapple, watermelon, cucumber salad, cherry pie and vanilla ice cream.

What I drank –
Double-shot mocha, water, whiskey and coke with lime.

Monday –
Still not warm enough to float. Fed chipmunks, bought soil for my peppers, planted my peppers, pulled the weeds that my kid missed while doing her chore. BBQ’d, sat by the fire pit, took pictures of the flames, watched bats dance in the sky. Ruined my exceptionally, surprisingly sober weekend by inventing the world’s Best Manhattan Ever. Suffice it to say that maraschino cherries are for the birds and fresh cherries are where it’s at, baby!

What I ate –
Breakfast potatoes, fried eggs, leftover pizza, steak, salad, cherries.

What I drank -
Orange juice, water, whiskey and coke, Best Manhattan(s) Ever.