You were wondering, weren't you?

I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks because I have been absolutely buried at work. Going in at 7:30 - 7:45 every morning and coming home about 7:00 every evening, I have had little time for myself, let along blogging. I have wanted to blog, but just haven't been able to bring myself to do it. One of my big projects, an 8-page magazine-style layout that I wound up having to conceptualize, write, and design myself, I got completed on Friday, so I was happy to have that finished, but the next two weeks are going to be hell as I have to finish my marketing plan and budget for 2008, and once that is over, we then have a large event that runs at the end of the month that I am involved in.

When this month is over, I will need a vacation. Thank god I will have one - albeit short - when we visit Portland, OR at the beginning of next month. I am so ready for it. We have friends who live there whom we will visit, and it will just be some take-it-easy time for us. Then we can look forward to November, when we fly to San Diego and visit the area for a week. Now that I am really looking forward to. I love La Jolla and I am also really excited about getting to visit Catalina Island.

But anyway, speaking of take-it-easy time...we were invited to a Saturday afternoon get-together with some friends who were in Southampton for the weekend, and I really needed the break. I was thrilled just to be able to go. Our friend Jeff came out Friday night from the city, and went with us on Saturday. Thanks to Jess, I got to totally relax all the way out there and back because he did all the driving (thanks, hon!). He usually does the driving, but sometimes I help...sometimes. I was glad I didn't have to this time. I needed the down time. I still need it!

At any rate, my contribution was to take a side dish (it was a barbeque, so I made my famous cole slaw) and I opted to make a dessert of Key Lime Pie. So Friday night I made the cole slaw and Jeff and I got into the freezer and took out a 3/4 gallon bag of margaritas that I had frozen several weeks ago when it was leftover from a 2-gallon batch I made for a party at our house. Since it was alcohol, it didn't really freeze in the freezer, it stayed slushy...that was, until we opened it, and when the air hit the liquid, it became very thick and hard to get out of the bag neatly!

We prevailed, and we drank the frozen concoction, but let me tell you, it was strong, because we were drinking the lime juice and tequila mixture that you would normally serve over ice, or blended with ice, but just straight up because it was ice. Let me just say that it makes for an ass-kicking when you do that. I doubt that I will try that again soon! I definitely had a hangover Saturday morning.

I made the pie Saturday morning, and then we were off to the Hamptons. The house we went to was beautiful, set on a very nice large lot, with an in-ground pool and immaculate landscaping. And how relaxing! Five bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, a beautiful living room with a fireplace, and a great TV room upstairs in a loft. It was just a terrific place, and beautifully decorated. I really get into beautiful homes.

So did, I take any pictures? No, sorry, I had good intentions and then left my camera on the table. And my pie looked so nice! Jess brought his camera, though, so I thought we might have some pictures...but neither of us was really in the photographic mood...so we only have four pictures. Oh, well.


So here is an horrible picture of me eating grilled chicken wings at the table by the pool. I shouldn't even post this. I hate this picture.


Me again, making some margaritas in the blender.


And here is Jeff, enjoying a Corona by the pool. The landscaping was so nice around the pool, and I loved the large Japanese maple in the background.


And here is a picture of the pool itself. It was beautiful, but we didn't get in because it was too cold (65 degrees) and our friends hadn't started the heater soon enough for it to be warm enough to play in...but that was okay, because during my inspection of the pool (I have this thing about looking over the pool thoroughly before I play in it), I spotted what appeared to be a rodent in the bottom of the deep end...and sure enough, it was a drowned rat. That's okay, I didn't need to swim anyway. I wouldn't have stepped foot in the pool before it was shocked, and even then, I would have to think about it...