70's Kids Fashion, A healing & Randoms from my Week.

I think this is why.....I now have an aversion to loud prints and prefer "comfy knits" and neutral colors in general. I am on the right in this picture. Yes, friends..even back then I couldn't seem to keep my eyes fully open for photos. Nothing much has changed in that area! That's my little sister Dawn on the left. I do recall thinking that her dress was magical.  I think it may have been a hand-me-down from our cousin Kim (who is also my best friend & leaves fun, odd & inappropriate comments on this blog sometimes.) and I'm sure I wanted to wear it, but obviously, it was too small.  Clearly my mother had different plans for me.

This is Kim's b-day party, circa 1979. I am 7 here. Little Dawnie must be 5.

What makes me laugh about this photo: I do not recall my outfit AT ALL.  I would have never known I had A) The misfortune of wearing this or B) That I even owned it.  It's all been erased from my memory.  I remember Dawn's dress.  I have no recollection of this red machine.  My mom was kind of obsessed with moccasins.  I wonder if I'm wearing a pair with this outfit?  I'll never know.




Today. Me. Neutrals.

I truly hadn't realized that there was a possible healing going on UNTIL I went through a bunch of old photos & then looked at recent photos of me while hearing my best friend say things in my head like "WHAT are you doing wearing that? (laughs) You do not wear stuff like that!" - I think that comment was in reponse to a bright, shiny & somewhat fancy red blouse.

Unrelated sidebar:  Above photo was taken by my B/f/f  at our fave Barnes & Noble Cafe.  We live an hour away from one another, so this is a middle place.  It's always interesting.  There's a woman who walks in circles around the cafe for hours.  We try not to be loud, but we laugh & have fun & receive annoyed stares usually from older men & then I say "this is not a library, sir! I'm all jacked up on caffeine!"  Okay, so maybe I say it in my head.  Don't want to be rude.

Had the pleasure of spending Wednesday & Thursday with this little man.  My nephew Emerson.  He is always so much fun!  We watched a movie about the journey from birth to death about the Loggerhead turtle.  He's the new owner of a pet turtle named Barry, so he's very interested currently in all-things-turtle. His review:  "It was good, but sad at times."  He was upset about their beginnings, where they are literally clawing their way out of the sand, trying to get to the water while avoiding certain death by sand crabs & various birds.  It WAS stressful watching that part, I'm not gonna lie.  He was also upset about the garbage in the oceans that the turtles sometimes accidentally eat.  I've been taking him out on Earth Day to pick up garbage since he was about 3.  I never expected him to be so passionate about it, but he is & reminds me at times  "You could be recycling more here. See that?"  It's extremely cute & he makes me proud.

We spent Thursday (he was on Spring Break) at Walmart getting Pokemon cards for him.  He has them in a photo album & tried explaining it all to me "This is energy. This one activates with this one!  No! You just see that there? That's 50, but this one is 20..so you have 30."   Me: "Who is keeping track of all of these numbers? Do we write this down?"   Emerson: (exasperated sigh) "No....you just remember!"

Later we hit Space Aliens.  I have no photos of our SA date, but he did have a kiddie cocktail "extra cherries on the side, please!" and a kids grilled cheese.  I had a diet coke & a Rachel Sammy.  I must say it was delightful.  My husband ordered ribs & said something to the effect of "Because I want something light."  I am NOT kidding. Huh?

Emerson also gave a little boy a token so he could play this jumping game (he was watching Emerson play, Em did well & earned a bunch of tickets.  The boy asked "Is this your first time here?" It was..darling.)- I told him it was very kind & I was proud of him & he looked embarrassed but proud.  At the end of Aliens, Emerson was able to get a bat and some plastic turtles with his many tickets.  That place is a scam! Spend $30 on games, win many tickets, "earn" a prize worth 50 cents!  He had fun & it was Spring Break.  I am also the Auntie, so I get to do these things.

Rounded out my week with my babies...

and some TERRIFYING 24 hour bug that had me more nauseous & awful feeling than I'd been in a long, long time!!  No photos of said sickness. ;-)

My living room is finished! My photo uploading feature on my computer is giving me headaches!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xxoo

Fabulous Before & Afters via Country Living.

I just found these today and am IN LOVE with so many rooms! I'm also a sucker for Before & Afters which is why I think I love HGTV's "Rate My Space" so very much.

Also...I'm still at the fab "midway point" in my own living room. Dealing with the "black lung" I've got or..okay...truth be told..some cough and cold. I'm not a miner. The feeling the cough provides makes me think I've spent a past life in the mines or something...but that's a different subject altogether.

GOTCHA!

****All images via Countryliving.com****

Today's first before:

Is this the worst room? No. But it's dated and the wood is heavy and it doesn't look like it really inspires anyone to dine in here.




After:

Ahhh...Ahhh...Ahhhh...amazing! I LOVE everything about this room. The contrast of black and white. That wallpaper!! The crispness of the white drapes and rug. I don't think my husband would dig this at all. He has great taste, but he has mentioned that my style tends to be more "eclectic" than his. For whatever reason, that comment reminds me of that scene in "Along Came Polly" where Polly (Jennifer Aniston) says to Reuben (Ben Stiller) "I eat ETHNIC food?! What?" Lol. If you haven't seen it, you should.





Before # 2:

A nice room. Boring. Needs some personality and could use a headboard.

After:

Holla!! What is most amazing about this? The "headboard" is actually...get ready..just a covering!! Genius! Seriously? Why didn't they make this stuff when I was a poor design student? you get tired of the look, you change it out! I have a headboard, so I'm not sure WHY I'm so excited, just know that I am, people!!

Headboard removable wallcovering, $128 for queen; casartcoverings.com

Finally...soon enough/eventually my own living room mini makeover shall be finished and posted here. Right now a lemon poppyseed muffin is calling and a small puppy.

Have a beautiful day!

xxoo

Monday Cuteness

Image via AL Photography on Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ALPhotography?ref=seller_info 

Is this not the best? It makes me smile. It makes me giggle. It's cuteness quotient is high!

Found this today accidentally while perusing Etsy. Go and visit Amy's shop! Beautiful photographs!

It could also be said that I am postponing my painting duties in my living room. I keep telling myself "One more cup of coffee and we'll get a move on." 

I am feeling like that statement is a LIE.

We shall see.

Until next time, friends..

Holla & Happy Monday!

xoxo

Midway There..Living Room Update

I am a good week (??) behind with my living room painting plan. It was nice in Minnesota. CRAZY warm and weird, so I had to take advantage of it.

 I took a bikeride with my hubby. I developed some sort of weird smoker's cough (I don't smoke. YOU figure it out!) or black lung with a great cough. The best "hack" was one night where I was eating asparagus, part of a lovely dinner my hubby made (He's an excellent cook!) and the cough turned into a full-on gag where I ran to the kitchen to spit out the asparagus while saying weakly "Please leave me be" as my husband and two dogs followed. I digress. So..warm weather + a weird cold/cough = far behind on projects!!

Here again is the before of the living room:

And here we are at the midway point. Where everything is a mess. Sometimes you wonder "What am I doing?" and also "I don't feel like painting anymore. Is that a squirrel outside? I need to get OUT there!" and so on...excuse the low quality of the photo.  This was taken with my phone camera:

Bad photo! But you get the idea. Trying to lighten up the whole living room. I LOVED the red for two years, but being a Minnesotan means that a lot of times you just need light and airy and color. The winters are long.

Hoping to have this done in a few days! I said that last week though..HA!! 

What I will say: All of the beautiful detail and craftsmanship is now coming out as I'm painting. A lot of it was hidden by the wood and the oak stain. I THINK I'm going to love it!

Have a beautiful Sunday!!

Great Mother's Day Gift Idea

..Or for any occasion really. So clever and sweet! Get those tiny feet inked and freeze the moment in time!

Idea and Image via Brown Paper Packages Blog

http://www.brownpaper--packages.com/2010/03/wooden-stool-makeovergreat-mothers-day.html 

Great idea FOUND and GREAT blog discovered!

Holla!!

All Comfy, All The Time. Me + Comfy Knits= ?

Is it bad that I really only wear comfy cottons? I have so many nice dresses and cute tops, but I have noticed one thing...and it is something my best friend has noticed too. I will REALLY only continually wear the comfy knits. The other items get brought out here and there for an appearance, but only the "comfies" prevail.  It is such an issue with  me that when I've WORN other things, I get a giggle from my Bff and a "WHAT are you wearing? YOU like comfy knits!" to which I replied "Huh?"  I then paid attention over the next month or so and she was right: I really only wear the comfy knits. So I need them to ROCK and to be soo special that you don't notice that I'm basically always in a jumper or tracksuit or yoga pant.

It also seems to be what I'm drawn to on Pinterest. While others pin fantasy dresses and great shoes and pants, I pin comfy knits.

May I present to you my recent top favorites? Please enjoy!

All images via Pinterest.


Via Pinterest and Polyvore:

Apparently this next little ditty can be your own t-shirt, upcycled! I'm IN!

Sadly (or fabulously! You decide!) this could be used as a mildly fancy outfit:

Notice a theme yet? Again, I really didn't until I was laughed at. By one Kim P.! You know who you are! but you were right. :-)

I could be seen rocking something similar to this on any day "out" between October and May. I'm not ashamed of this because for me it's "fancy" AND it's mostly cotton and knits:

I guess that ultimately..at the end of the day, it's just better to know what you like, what you will wear and what will not just sit in your closet for years. Right?

I'd wear something like this when I go "Beyond Comfy Knits" and it's soo pretty. I can guarantee I'd probably only wear it a few times per year though.

Anyway..as Bethenny Frankel says "Know Thyself." Couldn't agree more. I've made peace.

This is me.  

Holla!!  Have a great weekend!

xxoo

Things I like Again and Again!

Cakes, treats and candies of any kind. ***All images on this post have been taken by me.***

Old frames that tell a story and can be used to tell the world what I LOVE.

This guy. My hubby. Brad. Bradders. The Bradster. Kindest, most helpful guy I know.

At Physical Therapy after hip surgery. They literally force a person to get "up and on the bike" again, a day after surgery! This was MONTHS later, which is why he is looking fairly happy. I always told him I was taking this photo "For your blog one day, to give other younguns hope after their hip surgeries." He does not have a blog. Yet. So here I am, keepin it real, helpin to heal!!

Curtis! A little gift from God. I had mentioned possibly wanting a puppy last year. This little gem came from a Freecycle posting needing a good home. I said "Yes!" immediately, not knowing what kind of puppy, temperament, etc...and saw a photo of him the day before we picked him up. He's half black lab (his momma) and half weiner dog (yep, it's hilarious I know! His dad is the weinerschnitzel!) and he has the BEST qualities of both dogs. He's wonderful and soo loving and fun!

"I weigh 32 pounds, love birds, kids, my family and essentially anything that moves outdoors."

Miss Daisy. She's 11 1/2 now, but Brad still says "I think she's about six." He had her before we met, so I was never sure of her age, just sure that she wasn't still six after knowing him for a few years. I finally said "If you just let me know a general age she really IS, I think we could take better care of her. Maybe she needs glucosamine and chondroitin? You know? Senior food? Who knows?"

She is sweet, has the softest fur, loves playing ball, hates children (Yikes! I know!) and disapproves of noises and doorbells, but is so sweet!!

This little nine year old! Emerson. My nephew. He's one of the sweetest souls I know. He's kind and funny and creative and hilarious. His recent faves are the movie "Waterboy" and pet turtles! He's an awesome soccer player and a great artist. He has his own Etsy shop! I'm continually impressed by him.

Our whole family attended one of these games and I couldn't tell if he was horrified to have a cheering section or pleased. He wouldn't look at any of us, but did score many goals and ignored my niece (his cousin, 3 years older than him) screaming "RUN!" A month later he did tell me "No, I was proud that day." Cutest. Evah!

Also on the list...twinkies, red velvet cake, shamrock shakes, red wine and mimosas!

Have a delightful evening!

xxoo

Before & After- Living Room- Sneak Peek!

Get ready to BOUNCE, kids!

I am painting in the living room! Yep, I am so impressed, happy and inspired by the kitchen makeover that I am now painting the living room fireplace wall. The WHOLE oak built-in will be painted the same white as the kitchen cabinets.

Here are two befores:

No guarantee as to when this will be finished, but I "feel" I can confidently say "A few days time."

Must share: I will be eating a Twinkie and perhaps some other cakes or cake-like foods while preparing for this project! The name of this blog is no lie..I LOVE cake!

Have a beautiful Monday! It's like summer here in Minnesota!

Garden Inspiration, My Garden & Growth.

Outdoor Inspiration!

This image makes my heart beat a little faster. I love its simplicity & the fact that the chandelier is the only decoration, with mother nature doing the rest. I like to believe I'd have my husband hang a huge chandy like this for us outside. Then I remember that we don't have mature trees in our newish subdivision.

(Image via http://iheartshabbychic.blogspot.com/)



This is my largest tree. It has grown at least another 6 inches or so since this photo was taken. Obviously, it can't take a chandelier. I'm thinking pretty, crystalline humming bird feeder?

(Image via my front yard in Minnesota. Last spring. Pre Landscaping Overhaul)




We do have this pretty view, coming soon via God! Who says dandies aren't flowers? I say they ARE!

(Image via my front yard/side yard, May 2011- I am pretty proud of our little flowering tree!)

Get ready to BOUNCE folks! Upcoming & BEYOND exciting yard photos 2012 coming within the next few months! Holla! Showing new growth, change & mad skillZ!

For Now- Before Shots. May 2011

(Image via me & my backyard. Cute wheelbarrow boy= Hubby Brad)

(Image via me. Our Firepit. May get used this weekend for first time EVA!)

(Image via me. Our deck. My husband built this deck back in summer of 2008. ALL. BY. HIMSELF. The "help" from me was occasionally helping to hold a large piece of wood while he placed it.)

This is our house and the front landscaping (or complete lack thereof) when we moved in. This is May 2008. Notice my attempt at flowers and "something" with my black Ikea planters on the steps?

(Image via me. Our house. July 2011. We've done some different landscaping since then. I'm excited to see the changes and growth this year. Yes, I'll probably also prune the hydrangeas a bit on the right as they are getting HUGE.)

(Image via me, my garden. I'm a huge fan of random flower pics.)

(Image via me, my garden. Random knockout rose pic!)

(image via me, my yard. The best possible combo! Random landscape, flower AND rear end of Daisy dog!)

I'm ready to prune! 

For whatever reason, rather than using an acronym or garden-speak, I find that what I want to close with is "Bump.Set. Spike!" and I don't even like volleyball much these days!  I played with my 9 year old nephew in the pool, at our rec center about a month ago. I have gotten VERY bad. 

I like to think that the water was just too high. It was too high to serve properly! I was flailing about and looked ridiculous. When I said 'Emerson, aren't you shocked that I'm SO bad at this?"  His reply.

"No. Not really."

Thank You!

Happy Friday!!

xxoo

When Life Hands You 'Mones

..as in "hormones" my friends! Crazy, FUN, fabulous wacky hormones!

I had PLANS for this day. It's sunny. That's a big deal, kids.

It's "fairly" warm here in Minnesota. A nice 40+ degrees to be exact.

I saw myself laughing and running, walking my puppy...in said scene in my noggin my hair is flying loose and free and let me tell you, it looks amazing! Does anyone remember Dimension shampoo and the ads from the 80's? It looks like THAT.

Dimension Commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flKDU7_d86E

This never occurs in real life. I have flat, lifeless hair. When it does look great and I am asked about it. I answer honestly and it goes something like this: "I honestly don't know. This was a stroke of luck today AND I can guarantee you it won't look like this for perhaps another year. Just luck. Never to be repeated."

Instead..I feel hormonal and annoyed by things that usually do not ruffle these feathers at all.

Me. Today. Image via Pinterest

Yes, folks! Sure to be a FUN day for those closest to me!  Ahh..that made me LOL.

How I intend to "rectify" this situation or just make it better:

I have learned. I don't. I just go with it.

I may just put my bathrobe back on and call it a day.

But first. I have an excitement about the kind of food day this will be.

I'll be heading out soon for necessities and they will most likely be these items.


Twinkies are Your Friend. They are not "real" food. Relax and enjoy what "science" has gifted you! Image via Pinterest.

The perfect slice of Red Velvet Cake can be found at my local Coborn's! Thank GOD for local and overpriced goodies. Do I want the WHOLE cake? Of course. But we all know that's a bad road to head down.

Image via Pinterest

If I had a baby or babies right now, I always envision that I would dress them in outfits that would make me laugh or chortle on these kind of days and allow me to yell "Weinerschnitzel!" (our puppy is half weiner dog, half lab, so I do yell it in a fun way. He's not a mutt people, he's a labraweinie!)  Perhaps something similar to these onesies below?

Image of cuteness via Pinterest

And finally..where would I be without something to make me cry? Oprah..I'm headed to OWN! Or maybe even Lifetime. Those extremely odd movies always make me feel better. Soo weird! I end up thinking things like "At least my husband isn't trying to kill me!" or something equally disturbing.

Off to toxify and soothe, friends!  I do wonder..what works for you on these kinds of days? Please share what works but not things such as: "I like to exercise myself into a sweaty stupor and then eat veggies when I get home." No Haters.



xxoo

Before & After- Our Kitchen

We moved into our house in May of 2008. It's lovely and has nice finishes and some interesting architectural detail. The kitchen? Never my favorite. Not so much. The cabinets are beautifully made. It was hard to see any of the good about them with the oak stain that the builder chose. The combination of the orangey stain with the orangey countertops (formica) and hardware made the kitchen a place I didn't really want to be.


Kitchen in 2008

I tried to talk my husband into painting them white. At the time, he was NOT on board. I think he was worried that it wouldn't look good. Oddly enough, I was doing interior design at that point in my life. Yet he did not trust me. What does that mean??? ;-)

I painted the walls a medium brown color from Sherwin Williams and it made the cabinets and countertops less offensive. We kept it like that for a good 3 years. We had a fan in over the stove that never really did much, so every time we cooked, our whole house would smell. Good times.

We bought a hood and vent in Spring of 2011. We decided to overhaul the kitchen finally, but our plan was to remove the cabinets above the stove, add some open shelving and stain the cabinets dark.

The prepping of the cabinets was NOT fun. Lots of sanding. Lots of dust. Noisy hand sanders. Dogs unhappy. More sanding. More dust. I felt defeated some days. And my arms felt weak.

Mid project: My husband starts having weird hip pain and after a few months of physical therapy that doesn't work, he needs surgery. What was awesome: Our kitchen was in the in-between stage. We had all of these plans and so the doors were all sanded and in the garage. We had lovely "Open" everything, so you could see ALL of our junk for months and months.

I finally realized I couldn't stand looking at it anymore, but didn't have the SkillZ to stain everything myself. Maybe I'm great at it, but I've never stained more than a table (it did turn out great!) but I didn't feel comfortable. So..as my husband was recovering I told him I wanted to paint them white. Cue mystical music and bright white lights.."ahhh.ahhh..ahhhh.."- He said YES! And so it is.

During. How "awesome" is it that you can see everything we own?

I would be lying if I said the painting was fun. It wasn't. Many days I had our puppy angrily crying while I was painting for a few hours. He stuck his head in the paint a few different times and sported a cute yet strange white beard-like thing for a few days. I did about three coats. Could it use four? Probably. But after a certain point you just have to ball it and move on.


During

The greatest part? I no longer hate the countertops! They don't bother me at all! I also realized I even LIKE the original copperish hardware. The whole kitchen is so much brighter and pleasing. It also lost the country look that I don't enjoy. I love country style, just not oak cabinets and oak stains. Not my thing.

We bought the hood online for about $300 which I thought was a steal! The magnetic steel backsplash was found on eBay. The shelving is just inexpensive but fabulous Lack shelves from Ikea. I also "splurged" and bought a gray rug from Ikea for $20!! I sound terribly cheap, don't I? I honestly love the rug. I saw another that was "eh" and was $200, so I chose the $20 pretty rug. Said rug is not shown in these photos yet. Paint was from Home Depot. Just the regular Behr paint. No built in primer, it wasn't needed. It was low VOC which was great as it never smelled and I never felt goofy after painting for a few hours.

Now: I LOVE it. I feel like a bit of a weirdo sometimes as I just sit and stare at it from different angles. I also probably take too many photos of it. I showed pics of it AGAIN to my best friend yesterday. I'm sure it's getting sickening, but it makes me soo happy! I also have a great sense of accomplishment. I would be lying if I said I had any interest in painting anything for a while. I do not.


After!

Curtis seems to like it a lot better too!

So happy it's done! I think the total cost for everything (paint, sanding paper, Ikea items, miscellaneous items, hood, backsplash, etc.) was less than $850. Holla!!

Waiting For Spring

Less snow, more of this!! I'm "patiently" waiting....



Image Via Pinterest

Mexican Vacation and Things That Make You Go Hmmmm

My hubby and I traveled to Cozumel in February for NINE glorious days! We went to an all inclusive hotel. It was beautiful. Steps from the ocean. Breakfast was ON the ocean. Fireshows at night. All the drinks you can handle. I kept having to remember "Beer before liquor, never been sicker" because in the early afternoons, Dos Equis sounded and tasted good. But if I started, I'd have to STICK with it. No change ups!

It was blissful and relaxing and we had major quality time together. I made it a point to just be comfortable and to EAT constantly. It's how I roll on vacations. Large breakfasts, big lunches, a decent dinner and many, many treats. I love cake. I ate cake EVERY DAY in Mexico! Lemon cakes, butter cakes, birthday cake (seemed similar!) chocolate cake..you get the idea. I won't go all Forrest Gump here "sometimes the cake even seemed like it was raining sideways!"

Brad (hubby) and I have been planning on getting Rosetta Stone and learning spanish for two years now. Needless to say, we were not speaking spanish by the time we went on this trip. (Note: I have a constant and rotating list of To Do's- if it's not on the list, it doesn't get done. I am not proud of this. This explains where the "learn spanish" fell through the cracks.)



My Dear Reuben

One fine morning, we were being served breakfast by our favorite waiter Reuben. After he filled up my coffee, he thought I said something and said "Que?" which I believe means "What?" Or "Excuse me?" and I misunderstood and said "Queso?" and here's how it went for a good three minutes:

Tina: "Queso?"

Reuben: "ahhhh..Queso? huh?"

Tina: "No Queso."

Reuben: "Queso no?"

Tina: "Queso."

Reuben (looking at me strangely): "Queso!"

Tina: "Queso!"

It started out as a question. Then we turned it into a statement. Later..a declaration! "Cheese!" "Huh? No cheese!" "Cheese?!" "Never the cheese!"

I laughed ALL day. Near the end of our trip I decided to have fun and say to Reuben "Queso?" and he honestly looked like "Nope. You're not roping me into that again." and I didn't know or recall how to say "Oh, Reuben! I'm KIDDING! Isn't this fun? Tell me this isn't fun!"



Breakfast Fruit Art

What we also enjoyed:

Public Yoga.

One Man.

Every day.

Alone.

I would be remiss if I didn't tell you the area in which said man did the yoga. On a platform that was used- many nights, as a stage. Two large HONKING speakers to his left and right. A ping pong table to his right. Fleetwood Mac's "You can go your own way" LOUDLY playing. A dartboard behind him.

Yes. The dartboard area turned into a yoga studio for one.

I feel bad but I did laugh. I never want to hurt anyone's feelings. I told Brad "this just seems to be everything opposite of yoga. It's loud. He's not looking peaceful. Fleetwood Mac is playing instead of Yanni. At any moment a sharp dart could be thrown near him.."

Dude kept on.

By day three Brad seemed annoyed yet I was inspired. I took a photo of him that I cannot find. I wondered if I could post it and my hubby did say "He's in a public place so I think you can." Rest assured, if I find it. It will be here someday.

Also on Day Three: Yogi had an audience. The 70+ set had set up camp, turned their beach chairs AWAY from the beautiful pool and ocean and were watching the Yogi. It was hilarious.

He must have felt famous, no?

I am sorry to report that he wasn't very good, but A+ for chutzpah!




"Yoga" Area

We got into trouble when we visited the ocean bar in the evenings. They had swings AT the bar, people! It was hard to resist. After continually meeting couples who seemed bored with one another from Minnesota who shared WAY too much, we began avoiding the fabulous swings.


Bar and Swinging. Just. Don't.

I'm a sucker for a pretty couch and colorful art.

Day Nine: We are at the farthest corner of the beach. It's the farthest point away from anyone or anything. Clearly we either really want to enjoy one another's company only, or we are terribly anti-social. A couple that has been there for most of our stay start walking toward us. The husband had referred to me (to my husband getting us drinks at the time) as "Pigtails" (yes, I wore them. I think they were kinda cute. The photographs tell me otherwise.) "Hey! Where's pigtails today?"

They arrive at our beach chairs.

We have nowhere to go. Clearly, they are here to see us.

Why?

"You guys really like being by yourself, eh?"

Us: "We've had some weird experiences here meeting people, so kind of, yes."

Then they go on to tell us that while they weren't TRYING to listen, they had overheard some of our conversations days earlier on the beach and we seemed "funny". Apparently I had told Brad "You're a GOOD husband!"

How to respond? "I'm glad we entertained you"?

"Thank you for finding us interesting"?

"Damn, you are going to be disappointed. And soon."

Soooo...it was the least weird and I won't go into any more detail other than politically and human wise, after talking to them for 10 minutes, we were clearly at odds.

As someone once said to me "Alas, the friendship was not meant to be."

xxoo