end of summer - GO GO GO!!

School starts one week from Monday.

Yesterday, we braved the crowds and went school clothes shopping on the first day of Tax Free Weekend. (Here in Texas, school clothes, shoes and backpacks are tax free for three days prior to the first day of school.) I'm just not so sure that saving 8.25% is enough incentive to do that again next year. I swear, the picked over racks and the crowds were worse than Christmas shopping!

Last night I spent 6 hours with 3 of my best friends at Recollections, our favorite scrapbook store. It's so much fun to scrap there, because you can just walk out into the store with your photos, find the perfect paper, and go back to your table to use it. It's dangerous, though. I went with a budget of $25 in mind, and totally blew that when my total came to $45. Fifteen of that was on a book that I didn't think they had in stock, though, so I hadn't planned on spending that. It's a book I've been looking for and waiting on! It was $15 well spent, I can already tell.

Darren was busy around the house today. After his morning run, he came home all energized to get some projects done. He cut the shelves I've been wanting for my scraproom, replaced the garbage disposal that broke on Thursday, figured out how to hook up the ice maker (had to cut some pipe and add a piece or two to make it work), and changed the air conditioner filters. I was so hot and bothered by all of his hard work that I insisted he take me out on a date tonight. Bwahahaha! We went and saw The Bourne Ultimatum and ate at a new restaurant downtown that has become my new favorite.... "Cantina Laredo". I had the Enchiladas Veracruz and Darren had the Shrimp Poblano Chimichanga. Yum yum and more yum!

We didn't have reservations, and had to wait almost an hour for a table, but managed to have a lot of fun people-watching. It's definitely the hip, happening place to be these days, and I'll admit that I felt old and frumpy in the midst of it all. There were many, many wobbly stick legs in too-high heels, WAY too much back-combed and shellacked hair, and a bit too much cleavage, even for me, who's generally not bothered by cleavage at all. I even had the displeasure of seeing one girls' black panties when a breeze caught the hem of her shirt-dress and lifted it a hair. Yah. It was that short. In fact, I'm sure it was a baby doll SHIRT, and not meant to be a dress at all. It was like living inside http://www.gofugourself.com/, but without the hilarious commentary.

It cracked me UP being able to tell which girls were there to be seen. They'd fluff and preen and constantly look around to see if they were being seen. HILARIOUS. The two couples at the table next to us at dinner provided more entertainment. The two women were completely TOASTED, and got louder and louder as the meal went on, to the point that everything they said came out as a shout. When they went to the restroom ('cause you know, girls can NEVER go alone to the restroom , their dates ordered them more drinks. Methinks a couple of guys are gettin' lucky tonight.

Which reminds me. My newly-working ice machine just dumped a load of ice.
Homina homina.