Winter Blues...good-bye!

Well, Maddie & I have been depressed all winter long, because we sit inside alllll day and do nothing but watch TV. Well, this week Maddie & I decided to do something different! We started off the day like we normally start off Tuesdays. We woke up, had some breakfast & watched the previous night's recording of The Bachelor. We were both very surprised by the outcome as Jake chose Vienna...Vienna of ALL the girls he could have chosen on that show & he chose her?? Well, now we all know why Jake hasn't found true love at this point in his life. It's because he chooses people like Vienna. OK, well enough of me being picky about a reality TV show & on to my own life! :)

After being surprised (& disappointed) by The Bachelor, Maddie & I thought we'd take a little trip to the "D" "O" "G" "P" "A" "R" "K". I spell that out, because Maddie knows what "Dog Park" means & goes ecstatic every time we say it! We hopped in the car & made 1 pit stop (lunch at Potbelly's Sandwiches for me - YUM!). Side note about Potbelly's. OK, so I absolutely LOVE Potbelly's & I probably eat there at least once/week because I can't get enough. (I might have to reduce my indulgences as I start trying to get back into shape for my wedding, however).

So I'm on the phone with my fiance sit down to begin eating and this kid comes up to me (one of the Potbelly's employees who I've never seen by the way) and says "I'm sorry to bother you while you're on the phone, but..." (at this point I'm thinking he's going to tell me my car lights are on or my dog escaped the car or something that is pertinent enough to interrupt me while I am obviously on a phone call). But....no....he interrupts me to say "...you are just beautiful and I wanted to tell you that. If you ever want to hang out, just let me know". Ok...first of all, buddy, I'm flattered that a kid (who looks like he's in high school) thinks I'm beautiful enough to ask out, but...I have a very large diamond sitting on my left ring finger. Don't you see that? Also, I am on a phone call (with my fiance by the way!) and you think that the best way to ask me out is to interrupt me? I DON'T think so! So I politely smiled, said thanks & he walked away. (At this point, I'm thinking "should I tell his manager or just let it go?" - he is an employee at my FAVORITE place to eat by the way - and I don't want to deal with him every time I come in. Then I thought..."do I give him advice on how to pick up a woman, because it is obviously NOT how he did it?") Well, just when I thought it was over, he walked back by and with the hand he was not carrying a full trash bag in, set a crumpled up napkin on my table and said in an oh-so-thinking-he-was-suave tone, "have a nice lunch, see you later". I just about jumped out of my skin in laughter. Of course I didn't touch the napkin because I coudn't quite tell if it was used (why else would it be crumpled up), but I could see by looking underneath the fold from the side that he had written his phone number on the napkin. WOW!

Sorry to disappoint anyone who was rooting for Mr. Suave over there at Potbelly's, but I left (without his phone number) & Maddie & I were on our way to the dog park. It was wonderful - a bit chilly - but nowhere near as cold as it's been all winter. And the sun was out, so we made it around the dog park twice with a small break in between laps to play with some other dogs. We met a black lab/golden retriever mix (who looked just like a little, stocky yellow lab) named Marley. He was only 23 weeks old, but was almost as big as Maddie already...Marley is going to be a BIG dog when he grows up! And we met a couple of other fun dogs as well. Maddie had a blast, but I discovered that she is kindof a snob around other dogs. She's never mean or bitey or barky at them, but she'd rather play with me if she can. When I ignored her, she played great with the other pups, but when I was willing to throw her the stick and pet her, she didn't like being bothered. I guess she's just a mama's girl! :)

And one thing we did take from today is that we are excited for spring to come. As you can see in the photos, the snow is melting at our house & we saw our first glimpses of grass since December. It's a good sign! :)