Headed out over the bridge Friday night and luckily we weren’t stopped by the troll.

It’s true that its rare that we ever cross the bridge but when all of our friends live on this side why would we cross? Oh yea, because all my family lives on the other side. Elise in particular loves to razz me about never going over there to hang out with her and how she always has to come IN to town to visit me. Well, its not my fault all the cool things are in town! None the less, it was Ryans birthday so Chad and I bit the bullet and headed out to Dublins Crossingto help Mr. Tyrrell celebrate his 23rd birthday.

We had never been before but the place was pretty cool. I would much rather go there then go to the Blarney Stone any day of the week. The place is brand new, super nice, and the seating is awesome. I can definitely see us spending more time out there this summer. I’m very much looking forward to our next pub adventure out there.

The only down side to the night was that our waitress had a harsh attitude about her. She served us potato skins that were burnt to a crisp and had been sitting in the kitchen for an hour. They were so gross no one at our table would touch them. Needless to say, Chad told her to chuck them in the garbage and take them off our bill, they were beyond gross. For some reason after that her attitude changed and she was actually nice to us.

Francesca, who’s knows the cooks and much of the staff at Dublins Crossing, said it was a rare occurrence that their food looked so bad, so I’m not going to totally blast the place until I actually eat something there. Elise and Ryan ordered dinner when we first got there and their meals looked good so we will have to go back and try ordering something again.

Chad was as red as a lobster because he spent the day out in White Rock burning his skin to a crisp. Even though he is always in the sun and I am never in the sun I bet you any money I get skin cancer before him. Life seems to work that way *shakes fists*.

We had a great night and I wasn’t horribly tired which was a good sign. However, it was pointed out to me that when I’ve had booze and begin to get tired I make the infamous Rossi Face and everyone at the table thinks I’m totally pissed off. I didn’t realize this until Friday and then put the two together. I wonder how many people over the years have thought I hated them all because of my drunk Rossi Face. Hummm.

I dunno, I think its pretty hot.

For my birthday Chads mom took me out plant shopping. I had mentioned to her a while ago that I wanted to get into gardening but really had no idea where to start. The women on her side of the family are amazing gardeners and I figured I could pick up some skills from them.

Now, living in an apartment doesn’t leave much room for a garden so she said she would take me out and we could get some plants and planters for the deck.

We headed out on Mothers Day to her favorite nurseries in White Rock. They were having a large sale at one of them so she bought me two large green pots which I absolutely LOVE and some flowers to fill them up. We then headed over to another nursery to get a couple more things and I also picked up a hanging basket for myself.

Back at Casa Ciavarro she filled the pots up with soil and showed me how to arrange the flowers and how to care for them. I was loving every minute of it. All I could think about for the rest of the day was where we were going to put the pots and how I could organize the deck and what I could add to it. I was becoming obsessed.

I was really excited to explore deck gardening options but with the surgery 3 days after that I didn’t have much time. Chad and I did a little re organizing and placement of the planters but not much. I started to research some patio furniture that we could get that would be both inexpensive and relatively small. It’s not like we really needed anything but I thought a cute table and chair set might look nice near that plants so I could sit and enjoy them.

The Sunday after my surgery I felt pretty good so I begged Chad to take me to Ikea to get a few things for the deck because I was so in love with this idea that I in my head and I needed to go get the items now instead of actually heal from my surgery. I am a nut bar I know. Anyways, we found the perfect deck chair and table combo that fit perfectly on the deck in the corner by the planters. I dubbed it my reading corner.

I also bought a couple pots and plants from Ikea, which I then found out today are indoor plants, that I placed out on the table. I take them in if it rains and in the evening and they are away from direct sunlight so hopefully I won’t kill them. They just look so pretty out on the deck that I want to keep them there. I wish Ikea would actually label their plants so I knew what they were and that they were INDOOR not outdoor.

The boys are coming over to wash the deck this weekend, so once thats done the deck will begin to take shape. Chads getting a new BBQ for his birthday so we can chuck the ratty old one and our deck will be perfect! It’s going to be more beautiful then I could have imagined!

Having these plants on the deck has really got me into the whole gardening thing. Chad too for that matter. He bought a basil plant that actually looks like its about to die, but maybe he can save it. Each morning we both go onto the deck to make sure all the plants are ok and give them water if they need it. It really is like these plants are now are kids. We are always out there checking on them; taking them in if its raining too hard.

Now that I kind of have my hands in it, I am getting more ideas of what I can do for next season. Different plants and flowers I can buy and maybe some more pots. I am going to become the crazy flower lady. But not really.

Every time I look at them they make me smile, and when time are tough and life feels like it sucks they are the perfect medicine!

I got all dressed up today. It’s a Friday and everyone else is in Capris and Hoodies. This makes me question my choice. At least I look better then everyone else.

No one entertaining is here today. Alicia is working in the stores. Claudia is working from home. I feel very lonely all of a sudden.

There is lots of work to do to take up my time but I’m not interested in that. I wanted to socialize. I wanted to tell stories of the cyclist I almost ran over this morning because he was pissing me off. I wanted to try on clothes in the warehouse.

It’s going to be a long day.

My first day back at work and you know I am already hating it. So much can happen if you miss a day and I have no idea what the status of any of my projects are right now. I don’t know if people have answered the questions that were sent to me or if they are still hanging, waiting to be answered. My desk is a disaster, as usual, no respect. I don’t know why people can’t stop for a minute and put things back the way they were. As much as they are for others to use, they are technically mine, and they have been organized in a specific way. Thank you for ruining that. I’m in a bad Thursday morning mood. I don’t want to be here. If I feel like this after a week, who knows what I will feel like after a month in Italy.

It’s funny that my neck has felt pretty ok all week long and the one time it decides to be a huge pain in the ass is this morning. Thank you neck wound. I think its healing pretty well but the slice itself is itchy and sore. All the skin surrounding it is very sensitive to everything as well.

I spent the majority of my time off watching the food network. I am now obsessed with becoming an amazing cook. I found a bunch of really good recipies and watching the shows and watching how people actually do things really helps when you are clueless like me. I realized I use the wrong size of knife when I cut certain things whic is probably why I keep cutting myself. Maybe cutting chives with a giant butchers knife isn’t the best idea.

Not only did I spend way to much time watching cooking show but I was surprisingly productive. I mean, I had to take it easy and I rested lots, but sitting there doing nothing was driving me nuts so an hour here and an hour there I orgaized a few things. De-cluttered the bookshelves and Chads desk. I actually started working on one of my scrap books and finished it last night. Organized the deck garden a bit and now it just needs to be clean with soap and water and man strength before it is perfect. I did the laundry and washed the floor. It was good to get up and move around a bit, though I did have to take lots of breaks – naturally – but it worked out well.

Now I have a back log of work to do and organize and a back log of photos I need to upload onto my computer.

I painted my finger nails but forgot my toes. Who does that!?

Mason

Diesel

Patton

I think we might have to get two.

Cute little buggers.

Le sigh.

<3