Brazil Grill

For my birthday my brother and I planned on going out for dinner at the Brazil Grill.  Made the reservations.  And then it snowed.  The restaurant was closed but they did everything to make sure we knew it before we drove over there.  Email and voicemail.
So it is my brother's birthday tomorrow so we went out for dinner at the Brazil Grill tonight.  It was wonderful.  There is a small salad bar.  Then they bring many different kinds of meats to your table.  Definitely not for the vegetarian.  Everything was so flavorful.
For broadening my horizons I had quinoa, lamb, sausage, different prepared steaks and cinnamon pineapple. Everything was so good.  From the ambiance, to the food, to our server.  It was a great experience even if it was a bit spendy.

No Answers

My friend Mona told me it is time to move on and start dating and Eddie said I need to get laid.  I asked her where could I find these men I'm suppose to date and she didn't know either.  I said I was waiting for George and she told me to stop.  The thing is....I'm not looking to date.  I'm not looking for a boyfriend.  I'm NOT looking for a husband.  What I want is George.  And I don't want George as those.  I just want George.
Then I have to ask myself why I want George.  Is it this thing I have with addicts and alcoholics.  If I instantly like someone they usually turn out to be one or the other.  So I think back thirty some years ago and I don't recall having that reaction with George.  I just loved him.  And I still do on some level.  Seriously when the neighbor said I glowed he wasn't kidding.  I can feel myself glow when I think about him.  So I have no answer.  But I guess while I have no answer and while I'm not looking for a date I will keep waiting for George.
*SIGH*

Last Dizzy Night

It is Audrie and my last night alone.  Tomorrow she spends the night with Papa and Saturday Connor comes home.  So we went to Dizzy Castle to play.  Got there at 4.  Right around 6:30 felt like time to go home and who walks in the door but Lily Anne and her family.  Audrie has so been missing Lily Anne since she realized Lily Anne had moved.  So for the next hour and a half Audrie ran and ran and ran with Lily Anne and Ethan.  Shortly after Lily Anne arrived the place cleared out so for the last hour they had it all to themselves.  It was good seeing Lyndy and Jon and the kids.  We are going to try and get together at Kiwanis Park one of these days so the girls can play.
And now Audrie is in the tub because she was one sweaty sweaty girl after playing hard for four hours.  Wow, four hours.  Nana does have the patience of a saint.

Ikea

After a lazy morning Audrie and I made our way to Ikea.  I have been there once when Mike and Cassie were selling something on Craigslist and met the buyer in the parking lot.  We got there a few minutes early and so ventured in just a little ways.
So today Audrie and I go upstairs and start the gauntlet.  The upstairs does not really thrill me.  Although Audrie loved sitting on the couches and jumping on the beds.  I was even thinking how much I really don't like this store.  And then we hit the children's section.  Oh my gosh.  I loved that.  And we picked up a few things to buy. Worth going back just for that section.
Then we headed downstairs and I wanted a shower curtain rod.  Found shower curtains and curtain rods, but no shower curtain rods.  Went to the only employee I saw in that section (upstairs, employees were everywhere) but she was too busy having a conversation with another person.  Sounded more like a friend conversation than a work conversation.  After a couple minutes we moved on and didn't get a rod.
Audrie loved the warehouse part and climbed on the boxes of shelving that were all stacked up in nice designs that kids love to play on.
Two hours and $40 later we left the store with a few goodies.  It would be worth going back.  I would skip most of the upstairs though except the kids' section and just concentrate on the bottom.  And maybe I wouldn't take a kid.

Macleay Park

The plan was maybe IKEA today and then a hike tomorrow at Macleay Park because the weather is suppose to be superb tomorrow. I got a wild hair and decided to take advantage of the weather today.  Once there I knew we had made the right decisions all the way around.  The park will be closed tomorrow for filming.
My first impression was I was glad I only did this with Audrie.  Most of the trail we followed, followed a good running creek.  I could just imagine my little man somehow getting into that cold cold water.  We hiked from the trailhead to the old abandoned rest stop.  It was a cool building in a way.  Covered with moss and ferns. That whole half was uphill.
As we started back down Audrie decided to listen to Nana and change her boots into tennis shoes.  She had a much more comfortable walk back down.  Funny how Nana does know something.  Altogether I think we hiked a little over a mile.  Somewhere I had read it was half a mile from trailhead to building.  It felt further than that but it is hard to judge going uphill.
We met lots of dogs and Audrie did really well considering the terrain.  It was a great afternoon.  
Got home to find out that the little man is homesick and may need to be picked up tomorrow.  Playing it by ear, but it is another thing that says today was the right choice.

Playing in the Dough

Since Audrie had so much fun playing with clay at the children's museum we made play doh.  It is really really easy and she enjoyed being part of the process.  She then proceeded to play with the dough for an hour.  Didn't really create anything, just played with it.  It was a nice little Audrie Nana activity since Connor is spending the week with the other Nana.

My Job

My very important job is taking good care of the littles.  It is a job that has been entrusted to me by their parents and the state of Washington.  And I try really hard.  And it is a very big job.  I love them so much.  Part of that job is ensuring their safety as best I can.  Accidents always happen and you can't plan for every contingency.  And so......
Dave and Cassie had a spat on facebook.  Rude things were said.  I don't care why...as it is all pretty childish and petty.  They are supposedly both adults and yet both acted like something else.  While this happened Audrie was spending the night with Papa.  I decided that she needed to come home.  I went and picked her up and Dave's reaction is I believe Cassie.  Well I'm not getting into a pissing contest and I'm not taking either of their sides.  I am looking out for Audrie.  I'm taking her side.
Dave also wanted to know if I thought he was drunk.  Well no I didn't.  However......Mike has these tells when he is ready to go out and get high.  So does Dave.  And he had been exhibiting some of those tells the past couple of weeks.  I was hoping he would just get it back together.  Instead he gets into a rant on facebook and then claims it has nothing to do with nothing because he still has rants even when he is sober.  Well no...no he doesn't.
Hopefully it was a small wake up call and he realizes what others saw.  I have a hard job and need all the help I can get, but I can go it alone.  Because first and foremost is the littles and they are my priority.
Facebook is never the place to wash your laundry and Mike and Cassie will always be the littles mommy and daddy even if they never parent them.