Over at Dinosaurs Can’t Eat Pizza, Nance and I made Sugar-Free Monkey Bread this week. And last week we made crock pot pork chops. Go check it out! (Spoiler: one of those recipes was awesome, the other one not so much.)
Awww, my poor, neglected Bitchypoo blog. I still wuv you, but first I was preparing to go on vacation and then I was on vacation and then I was back from vacation, and apparently it takes twice as much time to get the house back in order as I was gone. So I’ve been doing laundry and cleaning and doing all the annoying little tasks that I didn’t do before I left because I like to do this thing starting about a week before I go on vacation where I say “Oh, I can take care of that when I get back…”
Stupid pre-vacation Robyn, you lazy whore.
I have approximately 1 million pictures from my trip to Maine. I still haven’t sifted through them, but I’ll include a few that are pretty much my favorite at the end of the entry so y’all can awwww, and then Thursday over at Love & Hisses I’ll post all the ones I want to share. Warning: there are a LOT. And yes, you bossy bitches, I will include some picture of the spud and I.
The trip was a quick one this time. Mostly, I wanted to see the baby (well, and everyone else, of course), and originally I’d planned to go back in August because Brian and Emily were talking about getting married then, and I was all about that. They ultimately decided to get married in a very very very small ceremony in June, and then at some point they’ll do a big wedding. Between the baby and Brian working 43 jobs and the house, planning a wedding would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
(Yes, I said THE HOUSE. They’re buying a house! This is a big big year for those kids!)
It was a really relaxing vacation. The spud came up from Rhode Island for a few days, and we hung around the house, had a family gathering one night so everyone could see the baby. There was shopping, of course, though I didn’t buy much this time around.
So yes, it was a good vacation. Made even better by the fact that when I flew home, I got bumped up to First Class for the first leg of my flight. That is the first time that’s ever happened to me, I’ve never flown First Class before. If it didn’t cost one million dollars for First Class tickets, I’d fly like that every time. I had a cup of Diet Coke in my hand before the door to the plane shut, and that flight attendant kept ’em coming. THEY EVEN GET SNACKS IN FIRST CLASS! Dude. Seriously, I could live like that. There was like three feet between me and the guy sitting next to me.
Don’t I have any readers who work for US Air and can make that happen for me on the regular? (I am mostly kidding because that’s probably against company policy and I’d have to claim on my taxes as income or some shit like that.)(Psst! Just between you and me, I’d TOTALLY accept any future bumpings up to First Class if you wanted to work some magic.)(I’m kidding!)(No I’m not.)
Unfortunately, the second leg of my flight was filled with people who made me want to clang them upside the head with my iPod. I mean, FOR GOD’S SAKE people, if I can hear you when I’m wearing noise-canceling headphones AND have my iPod almost at top volume, you are PONTIFICATING TOO GODDAMN LOUDLY and need to shut your fucking face. I need to see my trashy TV and try to figure out what the holy fuck Blair and Dan are doing in a relationship WITH EACH OTHER.
Reagan National is one shitty little airport, whether you’re going on vacation or going home, and I have LIT’rally written myself a note that says “For the love of christ, do not fly through Reagan National EVER EVER EVER AGAIN” and hung it near my desk (where it will undoubtedly be ignored and I will totally end up flying through that airport again next time). For the number of people I saw wandering around that terminal GETTING THE FUCK IN MY WAY both times I went through, it needs to be at the VERY least twice the size it is, if not three times. Fred said “Have they canceled your flight?” (because I was flying in the afternoon/ evening rather than first thing in the morning, and twice in recent memory that has bitten me in the ass and required me to spend the night at the airport, though it was Dulles both times). I told him that if they’d canceled my flight, I was going to leave and rent a car to drive home. I was NOT spending the night in that airport.
Reagan National and Newark: on my Do Not Fly list.
(On the up side, they had a Five Guys, although I don’t know who those five guys think they’re kidding with their so-called “little cheeseburger.” I couldn’t eat the whole thing, and I am not some frail and fragile flower. We have Five Guys(‘s?) around here, but I never eat there unless I’m traveling. It’s a thing.)
The Portland airport, on the other hand, is now about twice as big as it was the last time I flew to Maine. It’s absolutely AWESOME. And if they ever finish construction on the damn Huntsville airport, that’ll be awesome as well.
On one of my flights, as we were deplaning, I waited my turn to step out into the aisle. If you’ve never flown before, you might not know that when people leave the plane, it’s an orderly process wherein the plane empties from front to back. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS, but in this case, I was standing there in front of my seat (hunched over in front of my seat in a half-standing position, I should say) waiting for the aisle to clear enough that I could step out, when the row of douchebags sitting behind me hustled into the aisle and right by my seat. If they’d been able to read my mind, I tell you what – there would have been an Incident. Fuckers.
Alexander at 10 days old, with his wonderful parents.
Previously
2011: Fucking Robyn Andersons. They’re all pains in the ass, if you ask me.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: Getting ready for surgery.
2007: They’d surely have fabulous gay parties and invite their fabulous gay friends and give my inner Mrs. Kravitz something to spy on.
2006: I’m READY FOR SUMMER, THANK YOU.
2005: I like cats. They’re good to eat.
2004: No entry.
2003: We’re some calendar-loving motherfuckers, that’s right.
2002: Kitty meeting.
2001: So… I guess we could probably sell your shithole…
2000: It sounds like there’s a lot to do in Gatlinburg, so it should be fun.
That’s a beautiful baby (and I don’t even like babies, though I had three of my own;)).
LOL, I usually say I’m not interested in babies that aren’t related to me. But it’s kind of a lie, I like looking at other peoples’ babies, as long as I’m not required to change any diapers!
Such a little cutie!
That Brian IS quite handsome. He reminds me of my son before he died. I’m glad Brian is doing good and the baby is very cute. Spud looks good too although I could only see the side of her kinda. I’m sure you’ll post more of her.
Glad you had a great vaycay! Cute baby.
I wish I could fly first-class all the time, too. If they’d only invent child-free flights.
Thanks for the update. The baby really is a cute little thing. A very cute couple also. Glad you are back home. I worry about people I know when they make long trips.
What a little cutie! Smart, too, I’ll bet.
The other thing I’d like to discuss about those Five Guys- who the eff thinks that that’s a “regular” size order of fries? The burger I can handle, it’s the avalanche of fried potatoes I can never finish off..
Oh, I KNOW. I never order fries from there, if I can’t finish a “little” cheeseburger, god knows I could never finish the fries as well!
Do they have a child’s size burger? I’ll have to check!
Alexander is adorable; Brian is quite the handsome young man. Congratulations becoming a Dad, his pending nuptials and becoming a home-owner. Wish them well.
On a flight from HSV-Tampa back in the 90s, the plane was virtually empty (3 or 5 passengers) on first leg of flight to Nashville. All headed to our assigned seats in coach. Flight attendant announced we would be seated in first-class. No need to for them to schlep all the way through coach for our needs. Heh! Sitting in first-class section was fun and like we had our own private (Delta) jet. Back to reality (coach) for second leg of flight from Nashville to Tampa. ::Sigh::
Glad you enjoyed Maine vacation. Looking forward to trip…and Noms photos.
How sad. I just don’t think Brian likes Alexander at all. 😉 What a GORGEOUS baby!!! And could those ‘rents of his BE any more proud? No. No, they could not.
Now go post Maine pics so I can pretend I’m on vacation, too.
I’ve flown first class once because my husband’s brother and his wife worked for an airline. We flew stand by back then. The taxes come out of the employee’s next paycheck and we would pay my brother-in-law back immediately. One sibling was banned from the tickets for not paying it back. Since September 11th we haven’t flown that way because it is nearly impossible for the relatives with a lower status to get on today’s over booked flights. My sister-in-law was let go after September 11th so I’m sure they have less tickets too. First class rocks and I think anyone who experiences it agrees it would be the way to travel if only we could all afford it. We use Newark Airport always when flying because it is the closest one to us. I hated Chicago O’Hare because it seemed endlessly big. The Airport in Tulsa was so easy it felt like a trip to K-mart. That was almost two decades ago though. I’m sure it has changed a lot.
Adorable pictures of Brian and his new family! So much excitement for them this year!
Beautiful baby!!
Could a baby look any sweeter or more kissable? I think not.
And because I am lazy, I will say here rather than at L&H that you did your best with Emmy, she is one lucky, lucky kitty, & I hope she finds a place soon.
(Oh, & I LOVE Logie.)
Yay!!! Your back!
supercute baby! and can u please send a link to your nightcamera footage of the possom and raccoons…i have a 3 yearold on my lap who will love it….
Sometimes a change of scenery does you good! Glad you got to visit with the family including the Spud! Brian’s baby is a little doll. He and his wife make a cute couple. Best wishes to them.
(When I saw that 2005 teaser, I thought: “I like cats. Just not on a salad.”)
HEE!
When you recover fully from the trip, are you going to do a garden update? Is there a Crooked Acres garden this year? I am just planting mine, so I am sure yours is going great guns!
I will! I’ll try to take pics and get them posted this week. The garden is up and running and looking fantastic. I can’t wait to get my first tomato! 🙂
What a gorgeous baby!
I to HATE people who do not follow proper airplane deplaning etiquette. I always try to get an aisle seat so I can get in the aisle quickly to prevent those people form the back that push their way up before it is their rows turn. I’m a bitch like that. Wait your turn…
I always get the window seat because I like to stare out the window, but I may have to start getting the aisle seat so I can borrow that trick! 🙂
I prefer the aisle because I like to be able to stretch at least one leg out because when I’m locked in a metal cylinder flying 600 mph 7 miles in the sky, my legs get a little antsy and I have a hard time sitting still sometimes. That and I like to stop the back of the plane from sneaking out ahead of me.
Hmmm, cute beebee! Although, you know, not having any kids myself, I think kittehs are just as cute, ha!
I’ve only been on planes twice, and uh, never again UNLESS absolutely necessary! Hit turbulence on the second flight, and you.do.not.want.to.know the freak-out. Argh.
Kittehs grow up a whole lot faster, too. Just try to get a 6 week old human baby to eat on his own and use the toilet. 🙂
Belated comment, but:
When my son was little, there came a time when I realized that flying unattended was going to be the only way he got to visit his dad. I didn’t want him to be alone and scared (and so so young!) for his first plane ride, so I picked up a pair of cheap tickets to fly us to Houston, where his dad was going to drive to pick him up for the rest of the trip. My logic was that we’d have a nice, quiet, quick flight, he’d see that it was something simple and non-worrisome, I’d be there to soothe any anxieties, and/so his next flight (flying unattended) would be easier on him, knowing what to expect.
We had turbulence like CRAZY for almost the whole trip. Takeoff and landing were the only smooth parts of the flight. I was trying to be calm, cool, and collected so he didn’t pick up on my anxiety, but it wasn’t working – we were clutching hands and armrests and seatbacks and each other and anything else we could get a grip on.
As the turbulence reached its worst, three or four people screamed – which of course led to a sense of heightened panic among all of us (“Do they know something we don’t know? Did they spy part of the wing shearing off or an engine exploding?”). I was beginning to worry that I was scarring TJ for life with this bright little idea of mine, BUT THEN…
A guy sitting a few rows back, where most of the screaming people were, started hollering things like, “WOOOOHOOOOO! Roller coaster, baby! Put your hands in the air like you just don’t care!” and started acting, basically, like he was riding a loop-the-loop roller coaster. In the few calm moments, he’d yell, “This is the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! I LOVE it here at DisneeeeeoooooOOOHBOY HERE WE GO!” and similar stuff. He was hilarious. The turbulence was still awful, but he had almost the entire plane – including me and TJ – absolutely splitting our sides.
I’d say about 70% of the cabin (again, including us) joined him in waving our hands in the air and hollering exuberantly (which sounds entirely different from “screaming in terror” even if the volume is about the same), and that made it one of the best, while at the same time one of the worst, flights I’ve ever taken.
If I ran an airline, I think I’d hire someone to ride along on every flight and do that if there’s any turbulence – it really broke the tension and changed the whole mood of the flight from nightmare to near-comedy. I lost track of how many people stopped him to say thanks as we were deplaning.
hmmm [returning from L&H], it says you’re 43 in the sidebar over here. Maybe you are older at the other site. Another good reason to keep Bitchypoo going!
Nah, it said 43 on that site (on the “about me” page). I’ve fixed ’em both. 🙂 I feel positively elderly!
I may have lobbied for this before, but I think you should add the ACME Portable FURnace entry to “Best of,” I am re-reading all your Crooked Acres entries, and this one just makes me laugh and laugh and laugh. Especially the disclaimer. : )
I have upgraded to first class. AirTran a few times. I didn’t have to pay baggage fees and the seats fit my ass much better. Alas, AirTran is abandoning us back to the expensive same shitty airlines we have always been stuck with. I don’t know why people forget their manners and common sense when they fly. I forgive them if they are needing to run to another connecting flight, but if they are just being pricks, no mercy from me. I have been known to accidentally smack them with a bag or step on a toe or something painful to voice my displeasure at someone for being such a total ass. Okay and why do the people unloading baggage onto the baggage claim belt never load it so that the handle is where you can reach. They just grab and throw. And it still takes forever to get a bag.