That Takes Me Back

Last night I stayed up until 2:00 AM reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" (Thank you, T$) because I was so engrossed I DIDN'T NOTICE what time it was. That hasn't happened to me in a long, long time. It's a nice feeling... knowing I still have more of this book to read and I haven't read it before and I don't know how it's going to end. Ah. I have lots of amazing books on my bookshelves but you can only read a book for the first time once.

A Warm House

Thank you to everyone who came to our House Warming! JB and I had a great time cooking up a storm (as per usual, Grill Master JB made some excellent and tasty treats). I cooked my "I make this for special occasions only because it takes all freakin' day" Chicken Tortilla Soup, and a Green Chili and Cheese puff pastry. Ah, New Mexico, how I miss you...

Enter Acid Reflux Disease. There are three simple rules I am aware of to avoid angering the Monster Who Lives In My Stomach:

1) Don't eat spicy food.
2) Don't eat a lot of food at any one time.
3) Don't lay down for at least 3 hours after eating.

Last night I broke all of them. JB grilled us up some Pollo Asado (sp?) and I made us two side dishes liberally laced with Sadie's New Mexican Salsa* that was so tasty I had 2 helpings of everything except the chicken - and I would have had more of that if we hadn't run out of chicken to grill.

I woke up at 5:17 (after going to bed around 1:00 AM - did I mention that "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince" arrived about 15 minutes after our first House Warming Guest?). I am a fairly sound sleeper, so by the time I was awake there was already a 4-alarm fire going on in my stomach. I'm amazed I have an esophagus left, actually. I was in pain for 2 hours, exhausted pain, trying to sleep sitting up, resisting the temptation to OD on Pepcid AC, railing on myself for not having started another 14 day treatment of Prilosec before the House Warming (and the Sadie's New Mexican Salsa* I knew we'd be eating!), and generally hating life. Finally I gave up being "good", went into the kitchen and poured a packet of Splenda into a teaspoon and then filled up the spoon with Peppermint Extract. The Monster was instantly knocked out (along with most of my ability to taste/smell for a moment) and I went back to bed.

* Sadie's New Mexican Salsa... such a wonderful flavor. When I go back to New Mexico, even knowing my sleep will be interrupted by Acid Reflux, I can't resist consuming a stuffed sopapilla and papas fritas smothered in Sadie's Green Chili Sauce. Also, trivia, the first dinner date JB took me on (we're not counting Home Coming) was to Sadie's. Love.

Firecrackers Vs. Fireworks

JB and I were starting to believe that all firecrackers were illegal in California. We were looking to buy some sparklers (and by "we" I mean "me" - JB was very patient and allowed me to drag him all over the greater southern California area on Saturday) and finally we found some in Pasadena in a little booth on the side of the road. I remember, as a kid, buying sparklers in the grocery store. They were everywhere. You could be a hermit and have no access to media of any kind and go into the grocery store and know it was the Forth of July because of the sparklers on display.

Anyhoo, we got our sparklers, along with some firecrackers. As soon as we bought the firecrackers I started to worry. Where are we going to light them? What if they start a fire? Can we light them in our patio? HELL NO - not with the propane tank sitting right there ready to blow a crater in the concrete. And the parking lot - which was JB's calm suggestion - seemed to me like a terrifying alternative. What if we disturbed the condo-folks? Or marked the pavement? Or set the building on fire?! What if the police came and arrested us!? I mean, if it's THIS HARD to buy fireworks, they must be illegal, right?

The big day arrived. We got the firecrackers and a long-handled lighter. I contemplated bringing the fire extinguisher which we bought when we brought the grill into our lives. Decided against it. We tamely lit our little 2-foot fountains in the parking lot armed with water bottles prepared to drench any out of control sparks while our neighbors launched aerial fireworks hundreds of feet into the air over our heads. Yeah, I'm thinking we were probably low on the police priority list.

In other news, I am impressed by the large quantities of what must be truly expensive fireworks that our neighbors can afford to blow up in the sky over our condo.