April 12 - 14

Today is Tax Day. It is also Pay Day. So I am not terribly upset. I am, however, thinking dependents are in my 2013 future. They seem a lot more fun than withholding money. But who wants to talk about taxes when we can talk about spring weather? And the life it brings to my weekends.

I crafted an ideal weekend. Then I lived it. And it was all-around excellent. My success is documented as follows.

I had the luxury of working from home on Friday. This spared me a few extra minutes in bed, relishing in the sight, sound, and smell of the first April shower. Further irrelevant from my weekend agenda, I had an appointment with the podiatrist to really jumpstart this rainy day. I have nasty feet. And, to some, that is putting it nicely. The podiatrist used bush trimming clippers to hack away at all my infected toe nails. I.Kid.You.Not. He seemed vaguely frustrated when I told him the infection on my big toe, right side dates back to summer 2005. I personally feel infection is irrelevant until physical pain is experienced. And that started oh about seven months ago. Plus, I, unlike most, love feet… so I have never been particularly scared by my own. Anyway, for those who are, I am happy to report nearly four days later my toe nails are already showing signs of improvement. Thanks be to the $36 miracle liquid I paint on twice daily in addition to the Biotin supplements I am downing. I am not thrilled about either. But at this point, I am paying a doctor to heal me. I feel inclined to heed his advice.

After I finished bonding with Dr. Feet, I finished working. Then I showered. Boyfriend showed up shortly after and joined me on the couch for a bag of Pretzel M&Ms and an episode of Lifetime’s newest masterpiece: Preacher’s Daughters. This is really the way I would like to inaugurate each 63-hour segment of freedom. The entire bag of M&Ms disappeared before it was supposed to accompany Boyfriend and me to the movie theater to see Silver Lining Playbook. Though I have been hearing about this movie for quite some time, it has not been playing at my designated theater until very recently. I might have fallen asleep. But I definitely liked the parts I saw. From the theater we proceeded to Whole Foods, like a totally normal couple, in route home. And then, well-rested, we found time for another episode of Preacher’s Daughters.

Saturday, I made Boyfriend and A.L.S. get up extra early for a hike in Prince William Forest Park. By finding our way back to our starting point, we averted crisis in the end. We might have consumed two pounds of trail mix in the process. Boyfriend and I caught a quick nap with some Atlanta Braves/Washington Nationals background noise before heading over to H Street for happy hour. We had great plans to dine at Toki Undergound… but apparently so did everyone else in D.C. And we did not have four hours to wait in line. So we had a drink at Smith Commons, followed by a drink at H Street Country Club and quick dinner at Shawafel. The later two – H Street Country Club and Shawafel – being reminiscent of my summer 2012 stomping grounds. Then we met little H and his amigos – our underage friends – at Rock N Roll Hotel to see FIDLAR and Wavves. Though only recently introduced to FIDLAR, I have enjoyed Wavves for quite some time. I could not wait to see them live; C.A.H. and I had been preparing for this night for quite awhile.

He neglected to warn me though, until far too late of course, just how old and unhip I should plan to feel. Very. I should have planned to feel very old and unhip. The second my brother and crew came out of the venue doors, bruised and dripping in sweat, it was no longer just a feeling. It was apparent. I am old. And I am very unhip. They were literally BRUISED and DRIPPING IN SWEAT, describing this as the craziest show ever. (The concert was fabulous. And wild.) To redeem a piece of my former young and hip self, Boyfriend and I joined America’s youth for an episode of cool: late-night dining/milkshakes at Checkers.

Sunday morning, I made smoothies with my new favorite berry – acai – juice. Then Boyfriend and I went to Giant to purchase peanuts. And came home with a lot more than peanuts. I made dough for calzones that would be consumed for meal three. Then we took off on bikes rented from Capital Bikeshare. We rode along the Custis Trail to Mount Vernon Trail to Anacostica Trail to Nationals Park. (That honestly was the highlight of my weekend.) There we saw the Atlanta Braves take on the Washington Nationals. I could not convince Boyfriend to bike home. (Lame!)

In route home, we stopped at the local library to pick up the 14 audio books I had on hold. I have been on a waiting list for some of these books as far back as February. They conveniently all came in at once. Now I have two weeks to listen to them. Really though, that should not be a problem as I spend more time than ever commuting lately.

From the second we walked in the door, we were at work in the kitchen. I finalized the dough and prepared the veggie insides while boyfriend cursedly made sauce. (He would have been so much happier with store bought dough and canned sauce… but who wants that when I have a new Kitchen Aid Mixer and food processor? Yippee – kitchen toys!) Even though we were both starving, having been deprived of food all day… our calzones were not ready until 7:00 pm, when we needed to be on the other side of town for a friend’s birthday party. Timing is everything. You can imagine how delighted Boyfriend was to have to eat in the car. For a girl with a no eating in the car policy, he could have been a little more thankful.

The birthday party was grand. There was fire. And I brought the ingredients for s’mores. So I might have been more popular than the birthday boy. There was also cornhole and friendship and Jenga and cool temperatures. And did I mention fire? And s’mores!

So you see, in weekend form: success.