Goodbye, Old Friend

Today officially kicked off what I have deemed “The Great Purge.”  I have major plans to redecorate the house beginning this summer (painting, repurposing, just general decoration – no renovations!).  But before I can even get started, we will have to sell, give, or trash some of our “stuff.”  We have accumulated so many things in the few years we have been in this house!

First, say goodbye to an old friend:

This is the vehicle Brent bought while we were dating and attending TWC.  It still has the original dealer’s tag.

The “Exploder,” as Kourtney named it in a (characteristic) moment of pure brilliance, bit the dust last summer and has been sitting in our garage gathering dust and pollen since then. Brent wanted to give it to his parents, but honestly it would not have made it back up to Tennessee.   I think what really motivated Brent to get rid of it was not my incessant nagging (I’m sorry, honey!), but the the knowledge that this (abandoned) vehicle on the premises makes us ineligible to be foster parents in the state of Alabama.  Not that we are even planning on doing that at this time, but I just so happen to have come across that little tidbit of info and shared it with him rather pointedly a few weeks ago.  When nagging doesn’t work, try shame, right?! Ha!

The profane comment was written by a friend; the other comment by yours truly.  It was a little bit sad seeing the guy who bought it (for parts) back it down the driveway this afternoon.  This vehicle has seen us through some very happy and memorable years, including Brent’s debut into the world of triathlons.  $500 in the palm of Brent’s hand + the amusing thought of the guy driving the dust bomb through town hand softened the blow somewhat. 

 

Goodbye, Exploder!  We will miss you!

Typical Off Day

Off today!  Since I work every other weekend, I get one day off during the week.  Today was pretty typical!

After dropping Brent off at work (one more week until he can drive!), my day began at the riverwalk.

   

Water is so soothing to me. I would absolutely love to live on a lake/river/ocean, but it is probably a good thing that I do not.   I could waste days on end out by the water with a hammock and a book.  Today I saw the rowing team practicing and it looked fun, actually.  Me and Brent need to rent a boat + oars and try that out this summer.  I’m sure it is much, much harder than it looks, but would be a nice, easy-on-the-knee exercise that we could do together.

   

After that, I drove back home through campus.  Tuscaloosa really is a cute little town.  The University is beautiful, especially in the spring/summer.

This afternoon there were two major activities:

`1.  selling the Exploder

  2. playing +  napping with the pugs

 

I picked Brent up at work and we went to dinner at Los Calientes.  I tried the Pescato Diabla because it sounded healthy – tilapia grilled in something called diabla sauce + rice & beans.  Unfortunately, I do not know any Spanish and Brent neglected to tell me that diabla = “devil.”  Needless to say, the sauce was really, really hot.  I could barely eat only a tiny bit. “Bown me!!!”  <<----- Ha!!!!  This is what I said when I burned my fingers with a fire poker when I was about 5 years old.  (Bown, pronounced like “bone,” = burn in baby talk. Ha!)

After Calis’ we came home and I promptly began cleaning out the back bedroom in preparation for a yardsale I’ve been meaning to have for…..oh…..5 years now.  This is the summer of the Great Purge!!! Tonight I came face to face with the realization that I may just have a not-so-mild case of hoarding.  Seriously.  I still have summer clothes from when I was in college –  ten years ago – that naturally I have not worn in at least 6-8 years.  Let me tell you, living in Birmingham (thisclose to Ross + TJ Maxx) really made an impact on the size of my wardrobe. Hence the PURGE!  There are so many things I have been saving “just in case” but now, sadly, even if they did fit again, or I found something to match, or fixed the zipper/button, or managed to get that stain out, the item would likely not be age-appropriate (for example, my favorite piece of clothing I have ever owned -- the black and white dress with the red ribbon I wore on our honeymoon cruise – oh, I LOVE this dress!).  I am turning  the big 3-0 this summer and need to begin thinking of these things!  Wah wah……Oh well.  It is fine.  Honestly, I do not need many clothes when I wear scrubs 5 days/week. 

And then I blogged. So that was my entire day today.  I never get as much accomplished on my off day as I would like, but it is always nice slow down for a day.