Kiss me and smile for me.

Hello! Have you missed me? I’ve missed you.

The Commander was in town this past weekend. We skipped school on Wednesday and played tourists in The City. (Oklahoma City, not New York City. Yeah, it confused me too when I first moved here.)

We ate lunch at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar And Grill. They give service members a free All American Cheeseburger and Fries (One per lifetime. Some service members were taking advantage. Tisk.) Good thing it was free. Mr. Toby Keith, I know you make a crapload of money so why must you charge $8.99 for a cheeseburger and fries? I can get pretty much the same thing at the bowling alley for $3.50. Plus, the fries there are better.

We visited Bass Pro Shop. Which I totally lurve. I rarely buy anything, but I love to meander the aisles. (I did buy two packs of these to keep the edges of the tarp down around the pool.)

Then we hopped on the Water Taxi and cruised the canal for a while. We got off at one point and had shaved ice. The girl working the t-shirt/flags of the world/shaved ice kiosk was a graduate of Oklahoma State University (Go Pokes!). It made me proud to see her putting her degree to work. (Probably a Bachelor of Fine Arts, but that’s neither her nor there.)

Then we dropped the Commander off at the airport and headed home. Right. During. Rush. Hour. I closed my eyes and drove. We made it home in one piece. Yippee!

The Commander bought a pool for us while he was here. One of those blue, easy-set pools. (We had one for three years before the inflatable ring exploded in the cold weather. We got a different one last year and the “wind sweeping down the plains” made short work of it. Now we are back to the original style. I like it better.) We got it set up (Easily!) and now I just have to hook the pump and filter up. Crossing my fingers on the pump. We don’t use the one that comes with the pool. The first year we did that, the pump wasn’t powerful enough to circulate the water so we bought a ginormous sand filter and pump. This is year 4 (5?) for them and last year, the pump was acting like an old woman. Cranky. When she worked, she worked. When she didn’t work, damn skippy she wasn’t working.

The neighbors are having a going away party tonight. They are moving out next Wednesday and taking The Boy’s playmates with them. Their daughter is two months older than him and the son is two years older. They play like gang busters. I bought him a Fortamajig for him to play with after they move. He doesn’t know I bought it yet. I’ll get it out for him next week.

Or rather my Mom will. I will be in the beautiful, scenic Ft. Bliss, Texas. Yee-haw. (Notice no exclamation point?) The Commander is having neck surgery next week. There goes his modeling career. No one wants a model with a scar on his neck. Or do they? Hmmmm…might make him look more rugged. HA! HA! HA! A model. I crack me up.

Anywho…I’m flying (First Class!) down there Sunday and will be driving his doped-up body home later in the week. Me + Driving ≠ Happy Camper.

I’m taking my laptop with me to watch some videos on the plane and in the hospital’s waiting room. I’ve borrowed the Japanese version of Shall We Dance. I’m also taking Waiting for Guffman and The Big White. (If you haven’t seen “The Big White”, go get it now. Seriously. But only if you liked the movie “Fargo”.) I am also supposed to be getting a season of Trailer Park Boys from someone else, but he forgot it this morning and I’m betting dollars to donuts he didn’t get it at lunch like he said he would.*

I don’t know how the internet situation will be while I’m down there, so if you don’t hear from me for a week or so, it’s not you, it’s me.



*UPDATE! He not only brought one season, he brought THREE seasons! Dang, I was hoping for a bear claw.