Giant Eagle speak with forked tongue.
Well, there comes a time in everyone's life when they must evaluate who they are and where they are going. Now is not that time. Now is the time to chase rainbows. To sing songs on the top of your lungs while driving with the windows down. To eat chocolate graham cracker sandwiches with frozen cool whip in the center. To paint your face with outrageous eyeshadow colors while sharing family secrets.
This weekend was spent with the Sisters Shier and the Brother-in-Law Lemley doing all of the above (except maybe the rainbow part). We headed out post-work Friday, stocked with good company and better music. Julie decided to lead us an excessive distance west before she realized she took a different expressway than we had planned, which added a bit of time to the travel, but all was well, as it gave us more singing time. We got to the olde Lemley villa in time to eat cake and sleep a bit in preparation for a big Saturday of Fun.
The Saturday was indeed fun to the nth degree. Upon awaking, I received a lovely voicemail from my good friends Jeff, Laura, Tony, and Joe, who wished me a very merry unbirthday, much like that in Alice in Wonderland, and expressed their sorrow for possibly interrupting me in the middle of a funeral, which is naturally what I'm doing at 2 AM in the morning. We headed out ear-ly in the morning and drove to what is commonly known as "Bumfuck, OH". Since we were there, we had no other choice but to explore the local retail establishments. After a pleasant interlude, I decided to postpone purchasing the ceramic condom mold I really wanted in favor of the less practical mahogany sewing box. Sadly, I could not talk any of the sibs into getting it for me as a gift.
Deciding the day of shopping pleasure was not yet over, we headed even further into the great unknown void of Northeastern Ohio to a homey little corner of the world where the corn was as high as an elephant's eye and the streets were paved with Amish. Being the city twit I am, I could not help but giggle at each passing wagon, especially the Amish student driver and the two teenagers street racing. We decided we had laughed enough at them that we needed to perform penance by way of buying some homemade Amish furniture. The workmanship was beautiful, and needless to say, I think we all learned a lesson that sunny afternoon: there is more to the Amish than just those sexy pants.
Let's flash-forward a bit, shall we? The night descended (after a lovely meal of Lasagna made by Chez Ryan) and the intrigue began, for, folks, the real reason for our visit finally arrived: Mamma Mia! As everyone knows, it is physically impossible to not love Abba, even if you don't admit it. Well, children, I too am not immune to the magic of spandex, disco, and men in scuba gear. The musical was magnificent, even if I had to suffer for the appreciation of the art: the man sitting in front of Lynne and I had clearly not bathed in a while, so every move he made...well, you know. Anyway, long story short: Mamma Mia!+Smelly Man=Fun Ride Home.
Next day...pointless shopping in the morning, merely to keep our excitement and anticipation under control for what was to come next. Let me tell you, I could barely contain my intense feeling of anxiousness for the impending visit from the Amazing Cari Baker, Independent Mary Kay Sales Woman Extraordinaire. And let me tell you, extraordinary she was. I mean, this woman actually got Sarah "I'm Secretly a Man" Shier into makeup. I was SHOCKED. In fact, I think she should get the pink cadillac just for that. But I digress...
Some craftiness ensued post prettifying, as did viewing of VH1 Classics, and consumption of caffeine. With coffee-flavoured courage, I mentally prepared myself for the evening ahead, because, friends, that night was the Night of 1000 Surprises. SARAH HAS FRIENDS! And they eat! Food! We went to dinner with Sarah's friends, did some book shopping, and returned to the Lemley Nest of Newly-Wedded Niceness. We tortured ourselves some cats, ate ourselves some cracker-cool whip craziness, and watched Freaky Friday.
The next day, Monday, brought our return north. Once again, we jammed to some rocking good tunes and got caught in a few rainstorms. All in all, it was a lovely trip and the current high point of my summer vacation. In fact, if I had to write a story about my favorite thing that happened on my summer vacation, I'd probably not write it about this weekend, because no one would ever believe it possible to have fun in Ohio. So I'd probably write about that one time with the dragon and the international intrigue.
So, in conclusion, don't forget to vote.
This weekend was spent with the Sisters Shier and the Brother-in-Law Lemley doing all of the above (except maybe the rainbow part). We headed out post-work Friday, stocked with good company and better music. Julie decided to lead us an excessive distance west before she realized she took a different expressway than we had planned, which added a bit of time to the travel, but all was well, as it gave us more singing time. We got to the olde Lemley villa in time to eat cake and sleep a bit in preparation for a big Saturday of Fun.
The Saturday was indeed fun to the nth degree. Upon awaking, I received a lovely voicemail from my good friends Jeff, Laura, Tony, and Joe, who wished me a very merry unbirthday, much like that in Alice in Wonderland, and expressed their sorrow for possibly interrupting me in the middle of a funeral, which is naturally what I'm doing at 2 AM in the morning. We headed out ear-ly in the morning and drove to what is commonly known as "Bumfuck, OH". Since we were there, we had no other choice but to explore the local retail establishments. After a pleasant interlude, I decided to postpone purchasing the ceramic condom mold I really wanted in favor of the less practical mahogany sewing box. Sadly, I could not talk any of the sibs into getting it for me as a gift.
Deciding the day of shopping pleasure was not yet over, we headed even further into the great unknown void of Northeastern Ohio to a homey little corner of the world where the corn was as high as an elephant's eye and the streets were paved with Amish. Being the city twit I am, I could not help but giggle at each passing wagon, especially the Amish student driver and the two teenagers street racing. We decided we had laughed enough at them that we needed to perform penance by way of buying some homemade Amish furniture. The workmanship was beautiful, and needless to say, I think we all learned a lesson that sunny afternoon: there is more to the Amish than just those sexy pants.
Let's flash-forward a bit, shall we? The night descended (after a lovely meal of Lasagna made by Chez Ryan) and the intrigue began, for, folks, the real reason for our visit finally arrived: Mamma Mia! As everyone knows, it is physically impossible to not love Abba, even if you don't admit it. Well, children, I too am not immune to the magic of spandex, disco, and men in scuba gear. The musical was magnificent, even if I had to suffer for the appreciation of the art: the man sitting in front of Lynne and I had clearly not bathed in a while, so every move he made...well, you know. Anyway, long story short: Mamma Mia!+Smelly Man=Fun Ride Home.
Next day...pointless shopping in the morning, merely to keep our excitement and anticipation under control for what was to come next. Let me tell you, I could barely contain my intense feeling of anxiousness for the impending visit from the Amazing Cari Baker, Independent Mary Kay Sales Woman Extraordinaire. And let me tell you, extraordinary she was. I mean, this woman actually got Sarah "I'm Secretly a Man" Shier into makeup. I was SHOCKED. In fact, I think she should get the pink cadillac just for that. But I digress...
Some craftiness ensued post prettifying, as did viewing of VH1 Classics, and consumption of caffeine. With coffee-flavoured courage, I mentally prepared myself for the evening ahead, because, friends, that night was the Night of 1000 Surprises. SARAH HAS FRIENDS! And they eat! Food! We went to dinner with Sarah's friends, did some book shopping, and returned to the Lemley Nest of Newly-Wedded Niceness. We tortured ourselves some cats, ate ourselves some cracker-cool whip craziness, and watched Freaky Friday.
The next day, Monday, brought our return north. Once again, we jammed to some rocking good tunes and got caught in a few rainstorms. All in all, it was a lovely trip and the current high point of my summer vacation. In fact, if I had to write a story about my favorite thing that happened on my summer vacation, I'd probably not write it about this weekend, because no one would ever believe it possible to have fun in Ohio. So I'd probably write about that one time with the dragon and the international intrigue.
So, in conclusion, don't forget to vote.