thank-you notes, mandolins, and giggles

THEY'RE DONE!! thank-you notes have been hanging over our heads for so long, we don't really know what to do now that we're finished with them. but truth be told, there's still a little cloud left b/c we have a handful of unknown addresses left - people won't get back in touch with us!!!!! GRR! well fine then. you just won't get a thank you note...not that it would change your life anyway....

and i wanted to give a fat THANK YOU to allison for her awesome comment on the post below that totally made me feel better. *sigh* we're not the only crazy-late ones.

well i, of course, wasn't going to post about this, but seeing that EVERYONE knows the secret, i might as well tell the world. i was going to get chris a mandolin for our anniversary. (the specific one pictured, actually, which may have wound up going for too much on ebay anyway....but ain't it perty??)
so a few months before, i asked him if we were going to exchange presents. now, whether or not i misunderstood (highly likely) or he mis-spoke, i thought he said we were not going to do it. (just returning from a ski trip, saving for a house down-payment, saving for an october disney trip, etc) so i put the idea on hold. well, a week before our anniversary, he came to the car with a pretty big box and i was like "WHAT'S THAT???" after a lot of prodding, i finally got a "maybe..." out of him when i asked if it was for me for our anniversary. *sigh* so i had a little over a week to research and find a good deal on a good instrument. after lots of ebay searching, review hunting, running around town during lunch breaks and confiding in knowledgeable friends who will remain un-named, i gave it up. the main reason is that selecting an instrument is such a personal thing (some people have to play different ones multiple times to decide...) that he should probably pick one out himself, plus chris had been urging me that his gift to me was simple, easy and inexpensive (he noticed me running around and secretively checking the internet a little bit too much...) and then jency also told me that it would be too much (she knew what he had gotten me). but even after i gave it up, i found myself in a music store holding one, considering doing it anyway...but i didn't. even after the guy ran around trying to find a tuner. i thanked him and walked away. until christmas!! patience is so hard for me, especially with "good" presents. but i was going to let it go and wait 6 months.

BUT. the other day one of our dear friends, who will remain nameless, BLEW IT!!! chris talked to him and told him what i wound up getting him (Haunted Mansion CLUE - awesome game! and don't laugh - it's actually something he wanted back at christmas, and it was a good "match" for what he got me, which is this gorgeous bird-filled-tree metal wall hanging from World Next Door (formerly Canvas Canoe) - the COOLEST store in town!) and our dear friend said "oh, so that's what she got you after that whole mandolin fiasco...." chris told me this while we were walking around the mall looking for him some clothes. before he even finished the sentence, i was crying. i wasn't quite bawling, but it was close. and i could NOT stop. we were in public!! people were staring! i know they thought we were fighting. *sigh* every time chris tried to bring it up again throughout the evening, i would just shake my head and change the subject. why don't memory erasers exist? *sigh* oh well. no worries really. in fact, i'm pretty sure that we'll all still be friends - maybe...hah! just kidding. it's just a gift. nothing to lose sleep over. and i guess the mandolin will either be something we save up for and buy together, or something we don't ever get. i felt like it was one of those things that he wouldn't really want if he was asked, but would be glad to have if he was given one, you know? *sigh* shoot. maybe i'll just get him one anyway...when he's least expecting it...like for flag day!! (it's today, people - DUH!)

in more comical news is the following story. tuesday night at riverbend was the grammy award winners jars of clay. jeremiah (friend from college who become one of chris' co-workers) went, and said when "the opener" came on, he sighed and said to himself "who are these terrible openers?!" he left and went to get a smoothie a few blocks away. when he came back 45 minutes later, "the openers" were still playing, and he realized to his horror that they weren't the openers...it goes without saying that he didn't like them very much!

to add to the story, i talked to my mom wednesday morning who was also there that night - we didn't know they were going! i asked her what she thought, and she said "oh, i gave up. i don't usually give up, but i just couldn't stay any longer..." thinking she meant that they left before they started. she said "i got tired of listening to the marine-american idol guy sing..." i said "mom, all he did was sing the national anthem..." to which she replied, "well, yeah. but then he sang for a good hour after that too..." i said, "uh, mom? that was jars of clay..." there was a long pause which she broke by saying in disbelief, "nooooo....." and we proceeded to laugh and laugh and laugh. i'm still laughing about it!!! i mean, i can't blame her. they were dressed just a little bit...um, strangely? they were all wearing 70s looking work-out clothes - very short shorts, colorful and too-small polo shirts with headbands and stiped knee socks....silly, silly boys!!! but i actually LIKED that part! i need to post a picture or two...

i honestly didn't think they were that bad. i mean, we only stayed for 4 songs, but that was mainly because we're old and had to work the next day and we had to walk forever to get back to our car. but to have two people in my immediate life think they were so bad that they thought they were the opener....that's just sad. or hilarious...depending on how you look at it.

speaking of riverbend, we are SO over it. we both used to go EVERY night just to be there. we were there for hardly over an hour and were like "ready to go?" it's weird. maybe it's just a teenage and adults-who-drink-alcohol thing. we probably wouldn't be going back at all this week except that we have a friend coming to sleep on our futon tonight who's not showing up until around midnight - about 2.5 hours past our bedtime! but it's way worth it - he's a good friend. so we're gonna go dance and enjoy the steve miller band tonight. they sing awesome songs!! Take the Money and Run, Fly Like an Eagle, The Joker, Swingtown (you know - "come on and dance, come on and dance - let's make some romance...whoa OOOOOH oh oh ohoo oooh ooooh .....") i'm actually pretty excited. we've got some tokens left over and will probably get a funnel cake or something. mmm. so good for me.

even more comical news is that chris called me the other day from work and said that he went to the restroom (sorry - this isn't too graphic) and there was a man in the stall SNORING. actually snoring. that's all i have to say about that!

one more. man. i'm just full of funny stories. the other morning while i was taking chris in (he's working 730-415 since i'm working 830-4 so we can have the early afternoon together) we saw a lady in front of us with a flaaaaaaat tire. i mean, it was so flat that the rims were almost touching the ground. we were laughing and, not really making fun of her, but almost. and the thought briefly ran through my mind that i wasn't entirely (no pun intended) sure of the state of our tires, and made a mental note to check them when we got home. well, before i even got to our road, chris called and said "according to a guy i work with, our back passenger tire is dead flat!!" HAHA!!!and it was perfect timing for me to be able to turn into the gas station and fill her up with air. dude - it was completely flat. the pressure guage didn't even MOVE when i put it on there. amazing! it seems to be doing okay so far...but we might need 4 new tires....sheesh. they look pretty cracked...

enough rambling!!