A Parental Incursion

My parents came to visit us this past weekend. They arrived Friday night at about 6:30 PM, having stopped to visit Brenda, their tireless real estate agent, on the way down. Shortly after they pulled in, we whisked them away to Macaroni Grill in celebration of Mother's Day (but not before taking them to feed the (latest count: 44) geese; there's nothing like a shore full of crap to whet one's appetite).

We paid a high price for the dinner, in the form of a lost debit card. Fortunately, I discovered its absence the next day and, being a savvy, Credit Union employee, knew by heart the number to the weekend phone center. After being informed by the Macaroni Grill that they did not have the astrayed card (despite my knowing that they did), I cancelled it and resigned myself back into the cash-based society for the next week while I wait for a replacement.

The above incident occurred at the Raleigh Farmers Market, while I was waiting in line for the ATM. If you think that this led us to spending less money, you've obviously forgotten the fact that Shelly possesses a card as well. Unfortunately, the loss of my card was no obstacle to the rapid depletion of our checking account, as we walked out of there Saturday with two trays of Begonias, two hanging baskets of a miscellaneous flower that neither Shelly nor I can recall the name of now (Mom? Help?), one loaf of jalapeno cheddar bread (which did not survive the 25 minute ride home), a jar of salsa (which tonight proved to consist primarily of salt), and an 'Egyptian star flower' (or so Shelly says). The load was made that much heavier by the knowledge that, eventually, I was going to have to plant all of it.

Since my parents missed out on the Saturday excursion (being out looking at houses), they wanted to go to the Farmer's Market again on Sunday. Since gazing upon row after row of corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash could never, ever get old, we went ahead and obliged them. Dad felt most of the pain this time as Mom loaded up every available cubic centimeter of the car with hostas- I actually thought I was going to have to give up my seat on the ride back, but we worked out a straddling/cradling type arrangement that allowed me to avoid an awfully long walk.

After the Farmer's Market redux, we travelled to Southpoint Mall. Mom and Dad treated us to a pizza lunch, and the ladies visited three shops: Bath & Body Works, Swarovski, and William Sonoma. Dad and I got to take in three separate and distinct benches during these visitations, eagerly awaiting our own chance to browse stores more to our liking. But fate intervened. Brenda called, asking us to come see a house, so we departed the mall with a three-zero deficit to the girls.

The house we went to see was really nice. It made me wish Shelly and I were on the hunt. It had lots of space, great interior colors, over an acre of land, and a large, detached garage. Shelly would like to point out that there were power lines running through the backyard and that the neighborhood itself was kind of shabby, but I felt I could have lived with those things. I'd just somehow have to accept that my kids wouldn't be able to fly kites in our backyard...sigh.

On to better news. Shelly got an A- in Appellate Advocacy! What's that, you ask? I haven't the faintest idea. But the important thing is, she got an A in it, thus boosting her GPA! On the heels of this good news, she was told by one of the attorneys today that she can stay with the firm as long as she wants! Originally, she was going to just be there for six weeks, but now she's been invited to stay all of July too! Be proud of her, folks- I know that I am!

Shelly celebrated her good fortunate today by losing her car key at the gas station :). I had to drive 10 miles up I-40 to rescue her, which I gladly did. It's nice to have a damsel in distress now and again!

In other news, we watched Hannibal Rising last night. I rather liked it! A light-hearted, wholesome film suited for the whole family, sure to being a tear to your eye! Watch it with the kids, in the dark!

Well, that's all for the night. Except, of course, for wishing my mother-in-law Mary Bibb a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!