First day of work

Well, sort of. He came back home after an hour or so. Turns out that since no one told him what time to come in, he came in after they started briefing, so they let him sign in and head home. Good news for Sammy and me! Another day with Daddy! Although we took First Day Of Work Pictures and sang the Transportation Song and the Army Song to get him pumped up and then we stood in the driveway and waved goodbye.

 

It's a good thing Steve got to come home and hang out with us today. We had quite the eventful day. After Steve came home and Sammy woke up from his nap, we took a little family walk around the neighborhood and what did we see? A very old pug running around lost ("running" is a loosely used term around here; sometimes I claim to run, but most people would probably classify it as a slow jog, maybe even a trot, if you will). Anywho, the pug didn't have a collar on and since he was very old, we figured someone might have abandoned him due to age or physical issues, so Steve did the dirty work of chasing him down (only because I had the very important job of Pushing The Stroller, and if you can't remember from the last sentence about the little fact that I DON'T RUN). Watching this was some classic entertainment. I've seen Steve chase Odie down when she's being disobedient and it's funny. But watching him chase down this ancient, white-faced pug was just hilarious. Then the pug would lay down on the sidewalk (no doubt exhausted from exerting so much energy) and he and Steve looked like they were having a conversation. Then Steve would stick out his hand and off they went again. Steve finally got a hold of him and took him into our mudhole backyard. When I got back there with a bowl of water, the pug was just lying down and letting Steve pet him. We decided that we would post flyers around the neighborhood before everyone started coming home from work. But first we needed to do a photo shoot. I will admit, he's not the prettiest pug I've ever laid eyes on, but he was so sweet and old and pitiful that you can't help but love him (but Lord, does Odie photograph better than him!).

We got a call from his owner before we even posted all of our flyers. His name is Ronald (ha!) and he belongs to someone who is familiar with the area code 3-3-4 (just got finished with flight school!). So Ronnie is back home, safe and sound, and I'm sure Marci is breathing huge sighs of relief that she will only have to deal with one smushy face at a time.

After the glorious reunion of dog and owner, Steve and I (and Sam, duh, the kid is always with us) set out to find some wine. We were getting "our wine" at Ft Lee for a mere $7 a bottle! The good stuff! So cheap! I suggested buying (at least) a case of it to take out here with us, but Steve was certain that the Class Six here at Campbell would carry it for about the same price so there was no need to take up extra space in the car with a bunch of wine. Boy, do I wish I'd given up a little leg room for the wine. The Class Six here at Campbell sells it for $12 a bottle!! $12!?! My drinking habits are going to send us straight to the poor house. We didn't buy any there because I figured, hey, at Walmart it's usually $8 a bottle, we'll just get it there instead. So we go to Walmart. (I'm not even going to get into that experience, but holy cow.) We hunt around for it and finally ask an employee and she says that they don't carry wine. No wine?? Whaaa?? So after trying a different Walmart (you wouldn't believe how many are in a 20-mile radius of our home) and being directed to a liquor store down the street, we saw that my wine was being sold for $11 a bottle. Still a little too pricey for me to drink in the quantities that I see fit. This afternoon we went to a Sam's Club (that is actually less than a mile from the last Walmart). That's where my mom gets the exact wine that I'm looking for, so I know they've gotta have it. But they don't. We aren't even members at Sam's Club. We just walked in and said that we wanted to look around. They got all suspicious of us but once they saw that we had a baby, I guess they thought we were good to buy some diapers or something. So we wandered around Sam's Club for awhile staring at giant packages of everything under the sun. "Look! A 600-pack of diapers!" "Look! 120 Boogie Wipes!" "Look! A 3-gallon tub of hemorrhoid cream!" Wow what a place to shop. (Side note: Who the H needs all of that crap in such massive quantities???? The prices aren't even discounted!! Scam.)
Back on track here: Wine. We looked all over the place and finally asked a lady up front about it. Turns out that Tennessee has a law about regular ol' places (like grocery stores and gas stations) not being allowed to sell wine, but instead you have to go to a special liquor store to purchase it. You want beer? Oh, they've got it. Tons of it. But wine? Nectar of the devil? Go to the liquor store, you heathens. Craziness. And the liquor stores jack up the prices of the wine because they know it's some sort of freak novelty up here. So I'm whining instead of wine-ing. It is not near as much fun. When we find it cheap (because I WILL find it cheap), I plan on stocking up. BIG TIME. As in, I-Know-What-That-Extra-Bedroom-Is-For-Now Stocking Up.

So here's to hoping that Steve has another good first day at work tomorrow with the Screamin' Eagles, Ronnie keeps himself put, and Sammy has a good night of sleep tonight. I'd raise my glass, but it's just water.