Red, Hot, and Blue

 

America's colors – at least in the Midwest – are red hot this weekend! When we teed off for couples golf league at 5:40 p.m. it was 93 degrees. When we got done after 8 p.m., it was still in the 80s. Crazy. Thankfully there was a bit of a breeze.

I guess I didn't bother checking the forecast. But it was quite warm at 11 a.m. when Mr. Deck Chair and I were enjoying a bowl of lightly salted watermelon! We didn't last long!

The blue part of the forecast was Saturdays activities. We had a "Something Blue Before I Do" bridal shower for one of the sweet girls who grew up calling Jim and I Mr. And Mrs. Awesome.

Ellie requested everyone wear blue to the shower. There are definitely and endless amount of shades of blue! I brought this dress out of retirement. I had to stop wearing it when I realized every wedding, grad party, or celebration I scrapped for two years straight I was wearing this same dress! Now it seems new again.

The other blue yesterday was the waters of Lake Arrowhead where the Shermalot Water Ski Show Team was performing. I can't believe I haven't made it down there before now. And state competition it this week! If you've never seen a ski show, it's worth checking out – just down the road at Red Sands Beach on Lake Wazeecha. Oh and it's FREE! I'll be out of town next weekend but do hope to catch some of the jump competition, etc, they do on Thursday and Friday.

Oh and one funny thing... the show host was wearing this shirt so I immediately had to text it to Carter. He said he's see a few around town. Might have to get one when we go up there in a few weeks. 

Unless it's cool and I need a new "I'm cold" hoodie. Can't have too many of them!

Fried-Day

Do not for a minute think that is me with a great idea for a friend or family self-absorbient object.

I was just trying to tell everyone the joy I had in Taco John's Mexi Rolls – a favorite i've loved since the 1990s. Not kidding.

And sadly, that is the excitement of my day! I had a normal work day with meetings, etc. Nothing earth-shattering. But I was able to sit outside with Mr. Deck Chair a few minutes to soak up some sun!

But later the clouds were super sporadic, which meant nothing consistent with our deck time or my chair time!

Here's to a mostly sunny weekend!

New Thursday Habits

While working from home, I've realized the Downtown Farmers Market on Thursdays can add something to my "happy." Mainly, these gorgeous flower bouquets for a mere $12. I bought a bouquet 2 weeks ago and I bought a new variety today!

And while I should, I don't feel a pressure to keep these flowers alive and flourishing.

I think if I keep cutting once a day and adding fresh water we're good. But that's the extent of my "gardening skills."

Please don't judge me because I can't wait to see what those green bulbs bloom into!

Hump Day Excite-Mint

I had a nice little surprise this morning. Oh not on the level of getting a hole-in-one to start to day, but it did provide me some enjoy-MINT.

Hubby had a chiro appointment first thing and apparently stopped at a store on the way home. He told me to check the freezer.

Well happy birthday MONTH to me! And they were on sale! So there is another box in the lower freezer drawer!

If you want to know if this counted as "lunch" with Mr. Deck Chair today, it most certainly did. It's a sandwich, after all!

When I got done, I said to hubby, "Well that was dumb. I shouldn't have had dessert first. Now I don't want to eat anything else. I want this flavor to stay in my mouth all day!" Yum.

Now to pace myself with just ONE per day. That would get me through the month of birthday excite-MINT! 😀

Ace in the Hole

I'm pretty sure the phrase "Ace in the Hole" has more than one meaning. A lot of us think of cards or having a secret business plan. But today when my hubby texted me at 7:45 a.m. and said he "Aced #2!" I knew exactly what he meant.

Yup, Mr. Austin got his first hole-in-one. And, as he pointed out later, it was totally appropriate that it happened at Homestead, where he golfed often with the current owner's grandfather and great uncle back in the day. 

So happy for him!

I shared it with my work team with a "My hubby just got his first hole-in-one, what have you accomplished before 8 a.m.?"

And I'm stuck in two-day all-day meetings so I could not give him the appropriate accolades. But I did make sure he saved the ball so we can do something special with it.

Side note: He'd never want me to blog about this so if you run into him, just casually ask how his golf game is going this summer. LOL. 

He deserves to brag about this for quite some time. In my humble opinion.

Feeling Salty

I like blueberries and honeydew melon, etc, but without a doubt, my favorite summertime fruit is watermelon. Please tell me it's still considered a FRUIT!!

Hubby, however, is not a huge fan. So I have to buy a small melon – which still chops up into a big bowl worth of fruit – and try to eat it within a week so it doesn't ferment into watermelon wine or something.

Today I decided to have a small bowl full for lunch. Then I had a memory... For some reason my mom always added salt to watermelon. I think she claimed it brought out the flavor. So I had one small bowl unsalted and then another small bowl lightly salted. I gotta say, it did bring out the flavor. But I am such a "don't add salt to anything unless your popcorn or fries need it" person that I felt guilty.

I was wondering if this was a weird "growing up north of Highway 8" phenomenon like adding sugar to raw tomato slices. I presented a poll of my marketing department at work and so far, I am the only one who ever adds salt to watermelon.

But, to expand my flavor palate, someone did suggest sprinkling on some Tajín. Apparently, Tajín on watermelon is a classic combination that balances the fruit’s natural sweetness with a vibrant kick of chili, sea salt, and lime. Could make it interesting. Let me know if you've tried it.

I'd ask what your favorite summer fruit is, but I do have to make my way through this whole bowl of watermelon cubes this week. Remind me next week to take a poll!

Last Day of Stay-Cation

After such a low-key week I am totally not prepared to wake up to an alarm in the morning and get back to work!

One of my friends at church commented, "You know what your vacation sounded like? Retirement!" Oh, god. Now I want that. NOW.

I didn't get a ton accomplished but I am OK with that. The important thing is that I did not think about work. At all. That's a true victory for me.

Of course tomorrow morning might be a startling reality. But I'll deal. 

Today was pretty laid back. Church and some Mr. Deck Chair time and then baseball.

It happened that both my Twins and hubby's Reds were featured "squares" on the MLB Network. Yay, Twins, for beating the Yankees!

After that I was just lazing about, doing some crocheting and listening to an audio book. I really got used to that. Help me acclimate to real life tomorrow, please!

Hope all of you found time to relax over the holiday weekend. I'll never take if for granted again, I swear!