A Day At The Farm (Grill)

It's fun having a sister so close. When I'm home during the week, we'll usually find some store or restaurant that is begging for our patronage, just so we can have an excuse to get together. This past Friday, after I finished a coat of paint on the dresser, I showered (it was Friday, after all) and met T'liese and Evan at Joe's Farm Grill.

We've both been wanting to try this place, for many a reason.

1) It's owned and operated by the same people who run Joe's BBQ, which makes incredible food and never has a line out its door shorter than three-quarters of a mile.

2) Joe's Farm Grill was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Smiley Fieri.

3) The seating is just a ton of picnic benches outside, and we wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous weather before it disappears for five months.

4) We like food. But that should be obvious by now.

The decision was made to get two different dishes and split them to allow the opportunity to stuff our faces with maximum effect. T'liese got a cheeseburger and upped her side dish from french fries to onion rings. These rings were the main reason Guy came to the Farm Grill in the first place, and we had to be the ones to give our approval. They are incredible, by the way. I've never tasted such crispy, non-greasy onion rings. I highly recommend. I got a Texas Toast grilled cheese sandwich and upped my side dish to Baked Potato Fries. I really have nothing negative to say about french fries covered in melted cheese, bacon, sour cream, and chives. It was one for the diet records, that's for sure.

We found a table outside, which was nothing short of a miracle. The place was packed! We enjoyed watching Evan eat, watching other people eat, and trying to pinpoint when exactly mullets came back in style. We are hoping it was just a one-time fluke and not permanent. I don't think this nation can handle another bout with those business-up-front, party-in-the-back hair monstrosities ever again.

After we finished our delicious lunch, we headed to the San Tan Village. It's a giant outdoor mall with a great selection of stores. Of course, we stopped into one of our favorites...Ann Taylor LOFT. Someday, this is how I want to dress. I've been having so much fun getting our house up and running that I haven't bought many clothes lately. I wish I could justify spending $40 on a shirt, but that's always a tough one for me. T'liese found some great pieces on clearance and got some really cute things. It probably helps to be a size zero. I haven't been that small since kindergarten!

We then headed to the kids' playground to let Evan explore and play. I was dying of thirst and went to Dairy Queen to quench it. I had a fruit smoothie while T'liese and Evan enjoyed a brownie Blizzard. Soon it was time to get that little man down for a nap, so we made our way back to T'liese's house.

It was sure a nice afternoon, filled to the brim with good company, good food, and cute kids. I always love a day out with my sister.

Looky What I Found

It only took three weeks of endless searching on Craigslist and constant brain obsession before I found the perfect dresser.  It has curves. The drawers move easily and even have stops to prevent them from being pulled out completely! The legs are intricate. Did I mention it's the perfect size? And the best part...it was in my budget!

I'm tickled.

Ask me in a few days how tickled I still feel. I am headed out to sand and prime it today.

With any luck, I will get two coats of primer on by this afternoon. I am trying to take advantage of this PERFECT WEATHER before it starts baking again next week. Ain't nuthin' worse than waiting for paint to dry in 120-degree temperatures!

I don't think I realize just how big this project will be.

After picking it up near Val Vista and the 60, we brought the dresser into the house to let it all sink in. I definitely know it has to change color since it seems to overpower the entire room as a dark piece of wood. I'm still thinking yellow. Everyone cringes when I say that, but I've got to stick to my guns here.

It's the first "risk" I've felt like I've taken in our house. I've always known how everything would turn out as I've worked on projects. But this one? I really don't know if we will love it. I'm hoping so, since it will be an awful lot of work to re-do. I hope luck is in my favor, and that this dresser looks insane as a cheery, shiny yellow! I'm going out of my comfort zone here, and I must admit it feels a little odd.

Discomfort means growth, right? I know that's true at buffets.

Off to the sand! And not the beach-kind...

Things I Hate - Bird Poop Edition

Near our backyard lives a very large tree. It has become the meeting place for every bird in the vicinity of the southwestern United States. I love having my window open and being awakened by their happy, shrill, ear-piercing calls. Most of the noticeable residents of this tree are blackbirds. Such sweet, delicate, shy little creatures.

I hate them.

These birds were fine as long as they stayed up in that old tree. But the moment they started swooping down to enjoy my pool, my perception of these blackbirds changed drastically. When did it become proper to poop on the pool deck of your neighbor? I still can't get over their immense lack of manners. It's only been the past month or so that they've made themselves so obviously annoying, but it feels like ages.

Every morning I head out to water my beautiful garden, and every morning I have to tip-toe around mounds of poop. What are these things eating, anyway?! As I spray everything off with the hose, I swear they laugh at me. We all know they are going to attack my pool with their rear ends as soon as I'm once again inside the house. They know it, and thus...they laugh.

As a reaction, we've been very calm. It's kind of stupid to start swearing now at this late stage of my life, but I must admit it's been rather tempting. Hubby and I have done some research on Bird Sonar. That's right...I'm willing to invest money to keep these varmints away! But the reviews on Amazon said the machines that produce a high-pitch noise that birds hate (but humans can't hear) don't work well on birds. Squirrels, yes. Blackbirds, not so much.

Hubby eyes BB guns every time we're in a store. I'm to the point now where I'm on board with such an idea, but where would we hide the bodies?

Home Depot offered a local solution. We purchased Ralphie the Owl and filled him with sand. I perched him next to the pool. Supposedly, birds are deathly afraid of predator owls and will avoid any area in which they reside. For most of my morning, I thought it was working. The chit-chat from the tree seemed to be oddly silent. After Hubby got home from work, I announced the success! Then, as I looked out the window, I watched a blackbird descend for a drink in my pool...about three feet away from Mr. Owl! I was silently cheering Ralphie on to the attack before I remembered that he is made of foam and is inanimate.

With instructions to move him often, Ralphie is going to be given a few more days of test drive. If he fails, and I'm hoping he doesn't, we will simply return him to Home Depot for a refund. If we have to return Ralphie, I hope it's with a pile of poop on his head. Those defiant this blackbirds never cease to amaze me, and I can see them plotting such a bomb dive this very moment.

On the upside, I ate a cherry tomato from our garden. It was delicious! And there are more blossoms waiting to grow more little tomatoes! And there are blossoms on the Better Boy Hybrid tomato plant, too! We are just waiting for Roma to kick it in gear to help produce with the rest of his family. Hubby even found a few blossoms on his transplanted jalapeno plant...and subsequently shed a few tears. He really likes jalapenos and was worried he wouldn't get anything from our struggling garden this year. Looks like all that poop has fertilized the little garden enough to make it work!

Stupid birds.