Lightning Strikes Twice

There once was a couple, Andrew and Heidy, who loved each other very much. They decided to have some fun one afternoon and so went miniature golfing.

Andrew thought he would beat Heidy, but Heidy thought she would win. You see, this wasn't the first time the couple had played each other in miniature golf. There had only been the one time before, but Andrew didn't like to talk about it much. Andrew had lost before to Heidy at this very sport. The couple decided to make a friendly wager. If Heidy won, Andrew owed her 3 half hour massages. If Andrew won, Heidy was obligated to serve him breakfast in bed for four mornings.
With the wager set, the game was on!

It was neck and neck for several holes, both staying right on par. But soon Heidy pulled ahead. She was two strokes in the lead! Her excitement didn't last long, though. It is a flightly temptress, this game we call miniature golf. And it can change as quickly as you can say "argyle vest." Andrew pulled into the lead after a particularly dastardly hole.

Heidy was starting to feel that all was lost, as Andrew was ahead by four strokes. Slowly and surely, stroke by stroke, she pulled even with him. It was a tied game yet again!
Then Heidy was in the lead once again! She giggled and tried her hardest to not look smug. Andrew tried his hardest to not growl.
And then the unthinkable happened. Maybe it was ego getting in the way, maybe it was fate-- Heidy missed a seemingly easy shot.

She cursed so vehemently under her breath, she made dead sailors the world over proud. It came down to the very last hole. Andrew being one stroke better than Heidy, took the put. If he made it, He could put to rest the sad memory of his very talented and important girlfriend beating him that long ago evening. He would have won! He stepped up and prepared to put, wiggling his hiney ever so slightly. He hit the ball...it rolled up into the hole... bounced out... rolled down and out of bounds. He took a one-stroke penalty and prepared to put once again. All was not lost, he told himself. If he made this, and Heidy didn't make it on her first try, he would still be the winner.
He once again hit the ball, it went in!!!!!
Now it was up to Heidy. Taking a deep breath, she placed her green ball on the put matt. Club connected with ball. Ball screamed up the green, sinking into the hole! Heidy won!






Even though Andrew lost, he recognized that there were just certain things Heidy was better at than he, and certain things he was better at than she. For instance, Andrew knew he had Heidy on being able to pee standing up. And he was okay with that.
The couple went home, watched The OC, made dinner, then watched the finale to LOST. All in all, they decided it was a good day.

Off to the Zoo!

Today was a Five Star Day
We went to South America, Africa, Asia, The North Pole, and back to North America. We went to the Reid Zoo.
First up, we got ourselves some drinks. Mine was fruit punch in a red rhinocerus, Andrew's was fruit punch in a green alligator. We know how to drink in style.

We saw a dancing elephant, a polar bear who just wouldn't stop doing water acrobatics-- mainly back-flips, the world's largest rodent-- a guy called the capybara (made me think of R.O.U.S.'s from "The Princess Bride"), two very deliberate yet indifferent black jaguars, a churlish lion, two very interested and gentle giraffes, countless birds, and we witnessed two anteaters being introduced to each other. There was a seemingly shy tiger also. There were so many different kinds of creatures. I think my favorite was the capybara, which is the size of a sheep, maybe. I didn't even know they existed. If I had been in South America and saw this guy, I would have thought I had discovered a new species. There was also a tapir. He looked like a snork to me. Except that his snouty thing was on the front of his face, not the top of his head. I wasn't able to get a photo of him, though. I think he was a little mischievous, and didn't want his picture taken.

Andrew and I were little kids, pointing and giggling, but it was just so much fun. Zoos usually make me kind of sad, but this was a pretty good one. I think all the animals would have liked biger habitats, but it wasn't too bad. The weather wasn't too hot, and the sky was a bright lapis color. We wandered all afternoon.

In Other News-
*Andrew beat "Freebird" on the HARD level in Guitar Hero.
*I have a job interview that sounds really promising. I would be the assistant to a perfumer/essential oil maker. More when I know.
*We found a pizza place almost, but not quite, as good as Flying Pie. It is called Magpie's.
*Andrew had an interview with Apple that went really well. Now he needs to pass the backgound check, so we are really hoping that time he was hard up for cash and decided to be a hooker-- er, dancer-- doesn't surface.
*I needed a new regimen, and was getting tired of my gym workouts. I found "The Ultimate Fitness Plan" at my favorite magazine's website, Women's Health. It is SUPER awesome, and I am a little sore.

Baby's First

***May 20th UPDATE!!!!******************
Our baby dove has hatched. Sadly, only one baby made it. The other egg we think rolled out of the nest and smashed. But we do have one little guy. We named him Alejandro, but we call him Olly for short.







Welp, we had our first storm!!! It was just like one of those cheesy inspirational posters you see hanging in dentists' offices. The ones where lightning is striking in two or three different places, you can almost hear it sizzle, and the sky is a deep indigo. Beneath the photo reads, "Believe in Yourself. Make Lightning Strike" Or some such crap. We got home from the gym and sat out on our patio with sandwiches to watch.
The coolest part was that behind us the sky was crisp, and the sun was setting. But in front of us the sky was pregnant with electricity and darkly stained. Incredible.



Welp, we made our first friend!!! The doorbell rang the other morning. A package had been brought from my mom. It was delivered by this guy.


And finally, Andrew got his very first sunburn. We are hoping it turns to a tan, but we really don't know. He's got this whole Russian thing, you see. Three words- Aloe Vera Galore.

Do Work!

This last weekend I got two jobs! They were both PA gigs, and so not steady work, but they paid fairly well and will tide me over for a while. I can't say much about either, especially the first one (damn those confidentiality clauses!), but I can say I made some good contacts and got to work on two reality shows. One was for a top non-cable network and will supposedly be HUGE. And the other, a little more lax on their secrets, was for a really bad "Bachelor"-type show for WE tv, which means about 8 people across America will see it. ;)
I worked on the first one all day Friday and Saturday. Then Andrew and I both worked on the second one all day Sunday. We were out in the heat most of the day on Sunday, and it was 103 degrees. Sheesh! I drank probably six bottles of water, maybe even seven or eight, and I peed once. ONCE! I'm sure I smelled pretty bad at the end of the day. Andrew was kind enough not to say anything, but I'm fairly certain he was thinking, "Man, my girlfriend smells like yogurt," or something equally as gross.

Today, we are thinking about going to the Desert Museum. And then tonight is Movie Night! I think we are seeing my FAVORITE actor, Sir Anthony Hopkins, in "Fracture." It's about time he did another flick. I recently netflixed "Remains of the Day." I haven't seen that one since it came out in the theaters, and I was around 14 or so. He does solemnity so well.

Andrew and I have been watching "The OC." We are huge super nerds. But that Seth Cohen is just so damn clever. Both of us kind of have a crush on him. I love that Andrew-pants delights in this stuff with me.

Don't read if you gross out easily---
On another note, I think I might have passed a small kidney stone, or it might be on the move. Last night Andrew and I went to dinner, and on the way home my kidney was hurting, but sometimes it does that. So I drank a lot of water. This morning, I didn't feel well, I keep feeling like I have to pee, and everytime I do there is blood in my urine. I know there was a small stone (a 2 or 3, and 6 is when they get worried and give you a lithotripsy) left in my kidney from the last time I passed a stone in November. So maybe this is it. It has only been minimal pain, and believe me, I am a huge baby. SO I guess we'll see. In the mean time, I am drinking so much water and cranberry juice.

In The Land of Women

Tuesday nights used to be Movie Night with my ladies. Jen, Tasha, and Lauren would come over to my little appartment on Washington St. We'd have a beer or two, and on more whimsical nights a bottle or two of champagne (we once made breakfast for dinner complete with mimosas).
The following is a converstation with Andrew about Girls' Movie Night-

ME- Guess what movie we're watching tonight? "Gia!" The one where Angelina Jolie gets it on with Juliette from "Lost."
ANDREW- You guys are a bunch of teen-aged boys.
ME- Hmm?
ANDREW- The other week you rented a movie solely because you thought Rupert Everett and Sharon Stone were actually having sex in it--
ME- We read an interview with him!
ANDREW- --and when you girls got to that scene and it wasn't what you thought, you turned it off.
ME- Well the plot was lacking.
ANDREW- Then you watched "Origional Sin" because it has racy sex scenes in it.
ME- "..."
ANDREW- And now you're watching a movie to see two chics get it on.
ME- I didn't netflix "Sliver" in time.
ANDREW- Isn't that a movie about voyeurism?
ME- My God. We are teen-aged boys.

Hmph!

Last night, Tuesday night. Since I don't have any girlfriends down here yet, Andrew had to suffice (it wasn't that big of a stretch). We broke tradition and went to a theater. We saw "In the Land of Women." And while I missed my girls terribly, it was pretty okay. There wasn't girl-talk, or giggling (man, I miss that female bonding), but it was still good to make a night out of seeing a flick.

Plus, we made out a little in the back row.
That helps.

Admission to OTS

This evening, after a day out and about, Andrew and I made a late lunch or early dinner (mine was a sandwich with both hummus and tzatziki, cucumbers, lettuce, cheddar, and left over grilled salmon from our Cinco de Mayo feast; Andrew's a corn tortilla filled with mexican rice, cheddar, left over Cinco carne asada, and a dab of chalula) and with our mouths grossly full we debated what our best purchase thus far has been in AZ. We tried for a top five, but this is how it came out. We couldn't decide on just five.



In no particular order-
*bed linens
*tzatziki
*1/2 gallon of tequila
*really fantastic smelling candle from Anthropology
*Mexican rice a roni
*dinner at Caruso's
*Admission to The Old Tucson Studios (OTS)
*I also had a vote in for the pickled egg Andrew bought at The Old Tucson Studios, just because I didn't think he'd actually eat it.

Yes, today we went to The Old Tucson Studios. A famous little establishment that housed many films. Some of you might have heard of a little flick called "The Three Amigos." Or how about "The Gambler?" Maybe "Tombstone?" Also a ton of Clint Eastwood films that I've never seen (not really a Western girl) were also filmed here. Apart from the really bad skits and even worse can-can dancing, Old Tucson Studios was a pretty cool place.

Sumo-Pants

I am learning new things in Tucson every moment. Names of cacti, how to navigate to the downtown Congress area, Guitar Hero. Yes, I was familiar with Guitar Hero in Boise, but now! Now, I have my own band, Abigail, and am fast becoming a Rock Goddess. I get a chill every time the virtual crowd cheers and my Guitar Lady (me if I were inside the XBOX 360) straps on her Guitar, the same one Jimmy Page played. My virtual self struts around the stage in purple, flashing the rocker hand sign. And my God, the thrill and concentration!


I am also learning a lot about Andrew. It's not unusual to look over from my morning coffee and onegoodmove.com to see him come into the room, gym shorts pulled all the way up sumo style, to give me a kiss. (you should see the view when he turns to leave the room)
We have taken to serenading one another, and the prize usually goes to whoever can make the song the most outlandish. Usually it ends up with one of us saying, "Wow, I'm even annoying myself."
I've learned that Andrew has never made cookies before, in fact never even baked anything in his life. No matter. I hardly ever bake cookies anyway. There isn't usually a whole lot of dough left to do so.
Dinner tastes so good when we make it to music while sipping on homemade margaritas.
Many buildings gleefully have every wall painted a different color.
Dancing makes me.
Kissing makes me.

Brace yourselves- cliche coming- I've learned that some of the scary chances you take can turn out to be the happiest times of your life.

Tucson, AZ, I'm Home

The drive from Boise to Ely, NV is not a very exciting one. There were times when I would take my hands off the steering wheel for a full 30 seconds and my car would still be cruising along in the proper lane. I actually made a game of it. Can I make it through the first verse of "Smoke," by Tristan Prettyman, before I have to lightly direct the car from drifting?

"Well if I could I would be smoke. And I'd float myself out of here. I'd go where ever you are, and I'd never have to be too
far from here. Linger in your fingers, a transparent shade of grey. Watch as you watch me slowly fade away into the night.
Where are you when I need you by my side?"

The highway is straight, long. As it was I went a little batty, ipod plugged in, dancing and talking to myself. Thank God for NPR's "This American Life."

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What puzzled me most along the way were these tiny little "towns." How does one end up in a town with a population under 100? A small one-room school and a church. How do they even get power out to these towns that occupy less than ten acres? There is nothing there. No water to sustinate a city or town. Nothing but miles of void and one sweltering strip of asphault. I realized what a city girl I am. To live in a place like that would be death to me.



I made it to Vegas Friday afternoon, where I met up with Tasha, Lauren, Jen, Carson, and Andrew. The first night we got all dressed up. (I even had big hair!) We went to a club called Tao in the Venetian.

This club had several levels including a balcony where the women's restrooms were. A dozen plate-glass stalls lined up looking out over the club, and when you went inside and locked the door, the glass magically fogged over. There was a long ledge that ran through the middle of the club, and if you shmoozed the bouncer he'd let you get on the ledge and dance. We happen to be good shmoozers and good dancers. There were girls with flower petals for covering playing in bathtubs, it was gorgeous.

Saturday night we saw Zumanity, a Cirque du Soliel over 18 show. It was the most incredible and beautiful thing I've ever seen. I would watch it over and over. A giant glass water bowl rose out of the floor in the center of the stage, and two gracful acrobats swam and dove and suspended themselves about it. I would see the show solely for that sequence. It was thrilling and erotic and inspiring.


We finally made it to Tucson Sunday night. The house is more than I could have hoped for. It is gorgeous and perfect for two. They have the most interesting relics and things from their travels. The views from our patio and living room are unparalled. The whole of the city is stretched out before us. There are funny little cacti living in our garden beds, and there are two little eggs warming in a dove's nest right outside our bedroom's french doors. I have yet to see any real bugs, save a spider on Andrew's shirt yesterday morning. I have an irrational fear of spiders and so Andrew thinking I saw something much more scathing when I made a gutteral "hrm!" moved quicker than I have ever seen him. I laughed and laughed at the sight of him leaping and twisting up to get this bug off.
We've been eating breakfast out on the patio. This morning a baby lizard joined us. We saw a road runner outside our bedroom as well.
The other night we made dinner and then sat in the hottub. It's been getting windy in the evening and nighttime. I think monsoon season is on the cusp. Hopefully I'll get some great pictures of that.
So far, AZ has been better than I could have wanted.

Things I love so far-
*huge shower for two
*huge closet
*garage
*listening to Kings of Leon
*cool breezy nights
*pruning roses
*buying new bed linens
*living with Andrew