Long Overdue Update

I'm back in Louisiana. It's raining as I type. Surprised? I'm not. It was a typical cloudy day around here today...a perfect day to stay in, watch movies, play video games, and clean the kitchen. B and I have been in our PJs all day. Utter perfection!



We officially have new neighbors. Since I moved here, I had a super quiet girl with a little baby and then nobody after she moved out. Today a UHaul backed up in the carport and I hoped for the best. So far, in 12 short hours, they are driving me insane. They are loud for one. They have 2 dogs that LOVE to bark and they LOVE to leave them outside for extended periods of time. They also like to hangout on the back patio and talk loudly to each other and/or on the phone. We actually share a back patio. Yes, there is a solid plastic fence separating our yards, but that's about it. The concrete patio slab is continuous from my backdoor to theirs. It was rainy and humid all day and I couldn't figure out why they were hanging out in the backyard. They also have a little girl who loves to cry out there. Today I think we're at 3 crying bursts that are clear as day in our living room. And finally, and this is the best one, they smoke....in the backyard. I can smell it in my living room through my closed door and closed window. LOVELY. I can't express how disgusted, frustrated, and pissed I am. B is officially sick of listening to me complain so I gotta vent somewhere. If I have to smell their stupid smoke through my backdoor for the next 2 years, Lord help me, I'll have to live upstairs. The last girl who lived there smoked, but she'd smoke in the carport out front so it was harder to smell. I don't think that I should be forced to smell your stupid crap INSIDE my house!! I just got another whiff and I'm not even sure if they're out there. I can't hear them anyway. Oh and their kid? Was outside with them at 9:30. I was never awake at 9:30 when I was under 3 years of age. What is wrong with parents these days?! Ugh!!!!!



In other news...we bought a couch and loveseat for the living room! It was really an impulse buy yesterday. We had a ton of errands to run and I figured we could swing through the furniture store on post on our way home. I was determined to find a couch this weekend, but wanted to check there first. AAFES usually has good deals...I got my washer/dryer there at an amazing price. We'd looked before we went home on leave and they had a crappy selection so I wasn't getting my hopes up. To my surprise they were totally restocked and had some good stuff! We decided on a faux leather couch and loveseat. Originally we just wanted a couch, but the couch and loveseat together were still $200 less than what I had budgeted for a couch. LOVE IT! They are chocolate brown, super comfy and won't collect Tiny's hair. They're getting delivered on Thursday. We have alot of furniture moving to do before then to make room for them, but I cannot wait! I'm sorta worried that they aren't really good quality, but for the price we paid we can replace them in 2 years if we need to. Who knows...maybe they'll last forever.

^^We just got the couch and loveseat. The chair and ottoman weren't even an option. Pretty snazzy, no?

We also splurged on a blu-ray player so we can actually get our money's worth out of our giant TV. We watched Kingdom of Heaven on it today and it was pretty amazing. We changed our Blockbuster rental thing so it will send us blu-ray discs if available instead of regular DVDs. Gotta love the HD experience without the $30 per movie pricetag!

We finally found a WiiFit while home and we've both been getting alot of use out of it. The games are really fun and I actually feel like I get a decent workout on it. It's nothing compared to really going to the gym and sweating it out on a machine or something, but it's better than doing absolutely nothing. I picked up a couple workout DVDs to do when B is at work, but I'm not about to bust them out so he can laugh at me. I'll play on the WiiFit in front of him, though, so it's a nice compromise.

Tomorrow is V-Day. We aren't doing a dang thing to mark the day except I am making a more involved dinner than I normally do. On the menu:

Main course: Chicken Fried Chicken

Side 1: Old Fashioned Green Beans

Side 2: Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Bread: Sweet Dinner Rolls

Dessert: VDay Funfetti Cake with Funfetti Frosting

I did the mashed potatoes today and they are delicious. Currently they are chilling on a shelf in the fridge waiting for their date with the oven tomorrow. It made a TON. Next time I'll def. half the recipe, but for now I'm just hoping we aren't totally sick of potatoes by the end of next week! I'm sorta worried about getting all of that banged out tomorrow, but that's part of the fun. I love experimenting in the kitchen. Usually it turns out better than I expected.

S.