when costco is a go

Freddie and I have been debating getting a Costco membership for awhile now. 

^^^sounds like it should be the first line of a great screenplay, right? Nothing like the average American couple and their #thestruggleisreal probs. 

But seriously, this struggle was real because have you ever done the math on if a Costco membership is worth it? No? Me either. But Ricky did, and it looked complicated to me. 

I was too busy taking pictures of Freddie doing to the math to do any math myself. 

We got so serious about getting a membership that two weekends we went in. Cue the angelic music. We slipped in by the Greeter by telling him that we wanted to talk memberships, but instead of that we walked all around. We talked about what we would buy, priced things, and...ate every single sample being served. Read it was a lot of samples. Then we decided that we still weren't ready to bite the bullet, so instead we needed to order and bite a $1.50 hot dog and drink. 

But even then we weren't ready to bite the bullet, so we left. 

And that was that.

Until this past weekend after 2.5 more hours of research and Reddit reading, we finally did it. We went in, we bought the membership, we bought enough gum to fill every junk drawer in the apartments on our floor, and we left. Can I just say that the past few days of this Costco member high have been wonderful?! Freds made turkey meatballs last night, and I didn't feel guilty eating them all because I knew we still have four pounds of ground turkey with which to cook. 

We've got enough Brussel sprouts to satisfy for roasted Brussels sprouts cravings for at least the entire week. 

Who needs some broccoli?! The entire city of Houston? Great, we've got all 2.1 mil of you covered. 

I'll be carrying a Perrier bottle with me any time you see me for the next six to eight months so be on the lookout for that green bottle attached to my hands and the third and fourth shelves in our refrigerator. 

And the thing is...you think I'm saying all these things in a tongue-in-cheek way. I'm not. Costco is literally the greatest thing ever, and I literally can't wait to make the biggest mess feeding turkey broccoli dinners to all of Houston because I've got all the paper towel rolls I need to clean up the 2.1mil person mess! Holla.

Other exciting adult things:

1) when my credit card is all paid off

2) the 11.3 minutes when all the laundry in the house is clean

3) when I remember to make a to-do list

4) four weeks later when I remember I made a to-do list and can go back and look at it

5) when I clean the toilet and Freddie hasn't used it yet

6) when I remember to schedule a doctor's appointment and I only have to wait three months to go in instead of six

7) Clorox wipes

8) dry cleaners

9) sleeping in...until 7:30am

10) a full tank of gas that someone else (read Freddie) filled up for me

Now who wants super healthy cheap Costco pizza for lunch? 

three

I am easily swayed. Feed me a line that sounds halfway decent and reasonable, and suddenly I 100% agree with you/back you up. Liberal arts college was a hard one for me because I started to believe Debater #1, but then really fell for whatever points Debater #2 brought to the table. By the end of class I was really confused about what we were even discussing, much less what my true feelings about said subject were. Can I just be on everyone's side? Some might call my easily persuaded-ness a character flaw, but I prefer to file it under character trait. Trait makes it sound more respectable in a cute way, and I want nothing in this world if not to be respectable in a cute way.

All of this just means that I'm not really sure what my true thoughts are on the ins and outs of marriage. They (when in life do we find out who the overruling they is/are?!) always say never speak badly about your spouse to others. They say never go to bed angry. They say put the other first. They say don't fight.

But then they also say do open up to others about the hardships of marriage so that you know you're not alone. They say sometimes going to bed angry and cooling off is a good thing. They say put God first, and the rest will fall into place. They say do fight, and be nice about it. 

Well what the bushel and a peck am I supposed to believe?! How can I be successful in our marriage if no one tells me what is the right way?!

Spoiler alert: there is no right way! !! !!! !!!!

I think if this past year of marriage taught me anything, it's that You Do You, Me Do Me. <---grammar for the win. I feel like every year of our three-year old marriage has tested us in different ways, and I know the obstacles and challenges and tests will just keep coming. This year felt like a big test to me. I had to choose to trust Freddie above all. I had to choose not to plan all the things. I had to choose to just chill the bleep out (Freddie, if you're reading this, I'm still practicing on all these things ;)) Because no matter where we live, how much money we do or don't have in our bank accounts, or how many trips we do or don't take, in the end we are together. We were together every past 365th day. We woke up, we did us, y'all did y'all, and somehow it's already August 24th again?! Magic. 

It's okay not to have answers. It's okay to read all the marital advice, but just roll your eyes. It's okay sometimes to confide in a friend about marriage, but also sometimes not to. It's okay. You're okay. We're okay.

And marriage? Marriage is better than okay. It's fantastic. 

As we get farther from our wedding day it makes me sad that when I close my eyes it takes me longer to try and capture the feelings from that day. The excitement. The nerves. The happiness. The love. It takes me a little longer to remember the tiny details that I swore I'd never forget. But any time I look and see Ricky's smirky smile or hear his infectious laugh, I remember all that I need to remember.

And what I remember is that I'm happy, healthy, and so in lurve with that Freddiefriend of mine. 

Happy Three Years, Rick! 

lupe the icebreaker

The weather in Houston this past weekend was...weird. Weird in that it wasn't 105 degrees with 90% humidity. It was 89 degrees with 45% humidity which is what I can only imagine Antarctica must feel like. 

But really, it was cold for a Houston summer day. Cold here means not unbearably hot, just so we're all clear. 

We did what any sane-we've-been-living-in-our-own-sweat-for-three-straight-months kind of people would do and went the freak outside. You see, summer in Texas means you are pale because you spend all your time inside places where the AC is blasting, and the sun is not shining. But Sunday, oh this past Sunday, it was dreamy! Cloudy. Breezy once every three or four hours. We might have even sung Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, won't you please not shine down on me! 

JK we didn't sing that, but now I want to rewind so that we can sing that. Rick does love to sing with me. Not. 

Anyways, us getting out and about went down how it goes every. single. time. we decide to do something outside. 

Rick: Wanna do something?

Em: Chyeah!

Rick: Wanna bike ride?

Em: Absolutely not.

Rick: You never bike ride with me.

Em: False. Read my blog for Example A, B, C, and D. 

Rick: Let's go for a walk!

Em: ...interesting. I can get down with a walk.

^^^I was eating my words up there when we were 3 miles and 1.5 hours into the walk and Freddie decided he wanted to go just a little bit farther. 

And then just a little bit farther. Suddenly the Antarctica type Houston weather felt more like real Houston weather.

And oh, we are so close to insert bar name here that we might as well just walk there! That's when any trace of the day feeling nice out vanished, and suddenly I felt like we were walking through water. Hot water. 

By the time we got to said bar and could sit down and get a drink I was over it. I was over the sweat. I was over the fact that I had showered that morning. What a waste! Why do I keep washing my hair in Houston's summer? Over it.

And that's when we made our new best friends. You see, having a dog is (I'm assuming) like having a child. Suddenly everyone thinks they can come over to you because your dog/baby happens to be the best ice breaker. Everybody wants to pet your dog/hold your baby. Everybody wants to hear your dog/baby stories. In this case, everybody happened to be two very happy (read very intoxicated) people. 

We heard about their dogs. We heard about their trips. We heard about their 25th wedding anniversary. We heard about his dad's fourth marriage, and her parent's divorce and then remarriage to each other. We heard about their trip to Cancun. We heard about how they save to go to Cancun. We heard about how years one and two were the hardest in their marriage.

And to think! We found out all this information about strangers because of our dog! So lucky!

We finished our drinks and started the hour plus walk back in the heat-but-not-heat, only for it to start raining within minutes of our return, which honestly kind of felt like we won the lottery. Lupe and I passed out and somehow Freddie took this cutest picture ever that I love. I don't even care how ridiculous...ly cute it is. 

And you know what? Up until I sat down to write this blog I was on the side of the fence where I wanted to complain about strangers approaching us because of our dog. Because people definitely did not come up to us to be our new best friends when we were dog less. 

But now, now that I'm typing it out and reliving it in my head you know what?! I jumped the fence and I'm now on the side where while I think it's pretty weird that strangers approached us and told us their life stories over beer, who cares. They were friendly, they loved the Lups, and most important of all, they were having FUN.

May you all go out with your dogs and have some real, good, genuine FUN on this hump day. 

The end.

when you're an olympic gold medalist

If you're like me the rest of the world, then you've been parked on your couch in front of the TV, watching the Olympics every night now for a week. 

And what a glorious week it has been! Simone Biles jumping higher than a Jack Russell terrier on speed, Lilly King being so Straight Edge/hardcore, Michael Phelps turning into a merman (by the way, his son has an Instagram, and yes, at age five months he has more followers than you do). 

In honor of the Olympics I thought this post could take you through my brain at any given moment when watching NBC/MSNBC/Bravo/NBC Sports/Gold Zone coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympics. 

DOESN'T THIS SOUND LIKE SO MUCH FUN?!?! YES! <---that's what is going through your brain at this moment. 

Side note: my dad worked at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics which, to six-year old me, was a BFD. 

I'm not saying he did invent the self-timer selfie, but I'm also not saying he didn't... wink wink. double negative. win win. 

Okay, back to you + my brain + all you've ever wanted + funsies = this blog.

What's that noise? Lupe...? No. Someone outside? No. Oh I see, Venus and Serena Williams are still making weird sexual groans and moans while playing tennis. NBD.  

Does calling ping-pong table tennis make it any more official? No. Ugh, Freddie, why are you still watching ping-pong table tennis? Didn't we just see this at the bar last weekend or...at least at Sally's house in sixth grade? Does that mean air hockey is the next sport to be at the Olympics?

Ew. Why did his muscles do that? Can we rewind? FREDDIE! DID YOU SEE HIS LATS? He needs Pilates. 

humming along with the song

Is that safe on her knee? Oh no, no, no. That is not safe. She needs Pilates. 

Haha, Aly Raisman's parents are hilariously ridiculo...omgomgomgomg girl, do not scare me like that you when you land. Stick that shiz. 

I'm definitely working out tomorrow. 

humming loudly along with the song

Why can't gymnasts learn how to slick back their hair and do a real bun? #balletforlife Chyeah, maybe I think in hashtags, mmkay?

But seriously, didn't people stop using those clips in their hair ten years ago? Maybe if I keep critiquing their hair then no one will notice I've accomplished nothing with my life.

Oh my gosh, I've accomplished nothing with my life. 

SIMONE!

Aliya Mustafina....or MUFASA?

Oh yes, yes yes. Synchronized diving is my new favorite sport. 

Oh yes, yes, yes. Gymnastics is my favorite sport.

Oh yes, yes, yes. Kayaking in my new favorite sport. 

singing loud, made up lyrics with the song

It's also the time of year where I like to think I'm being very original by claiming that everything is an Olympic sport, and every time we win the gold. Example A: Olympic gold medalist wine drinkers! Cheers! Example B: Olympic gold medalist trash chuters. He shoots, no CHUTES, he scores! Example C: No, but really. Olympic gold medalist wine drinkers! Cheers!

Happy Friday!
May you be the gold medal winner of everything you do this weekend. Cheers!

friday favorites: the internet wins again

It's Friday morning, there's a cool breeze humidity outside, and we've got zero plans ahead for the weekend. 

^^^All those things combined up there make a pretty freaking great Friday, if I do say so myself. Although that zero plans part is a lie because I fully plan on kicking off the three weeks of me watching TV non-stop Olympics by watching the Opening Ceremonies tonight. 

I thought I would interrupt your regularly scheduled wide range of topics Friday Favorites post to focus your attention on one topic: the internet. More specifically, how the internet keeps winning every. single. day. 

Winning what?! you might ask. And that's a good question...what do we mean when we use the term someone or something is winning? Let me Google that. 

...

Ah yes, Charlie Sheen graced us with such wonderful slang. Thanks, Charlie! You're winning for sure. 

In the midst of everyone arguing about politics (and government, race, and life), I've found social media to be pretty much 100% unbearable. Times infinity. I've always wondered the stats on people's minds being changed by someone's rude and passive aggressive Facebook post in which he/she tries to convince you he/she is right and you are wrong. I'm assuming the numbers are rather low, but if you have a success story of Party A shoving beliefs down Party B's throat, and Party B changing beliefs, then please share.  I digress. 

Here are some links for top notch ways the internet was won lately:

For the 30 Rock/no-Trump fan:

Donald Maroney

Excuse the language on this one (or go wash out your mouth with soap):

WTF should I eat?

This one could be filed under winning and goals.

#nowineleftbehind

Anything with Aziz is golden, add in Jimmy Fallon and you've got...double golden:

First Textual Experience

Nothing is more beautiful than male ballerinas. Nothing. 

Foundation.

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Karli and Amanda. 

SaveSaveSaveSave

currently: the just last week one

Sometimes when I'm thinking about stuff that happened last week I think back to how much fun our New Year's Eve party was.

...and then I remember that New Year's Eve was thirty one weeks ago instead of last week, and then my mind is blown. 

So hey, August! Nice of you to come storming in. To come in like a wrecking ball! There, that's the analogy I want. August, you came in like a wrecking ball. 

Currently I am...

hearting //
Everyone and their grandma is doing the whole Love Your Spouse challenge on Facebook. Which is great! Seriously. I heart the crap out of my spouse, and I would much rather read your seven days worth of Loving Your Spouse stuff than read any political Facebook argument. I am currently hearting him.

watching //
We've started re-watching The Office. And even though it's our eleventeenth time watching it, I still laugh/cringe just as hard at every word out of Michael Scott's mouth.

exploring //
Cooler fall like weather comes with the appearance of August, right? Hahahahaha, kidding. Not in Houston, anyways. However, mentally August is a cooler month than July, so we have big plans to get out and explore more of Houston. Nothing says Fall is coming! quite like 108 degrees with 60% humidity.

creating //
Have you ever heard of Bullet Journal? If not I'm going to need you to stop reading this sentence after the period and go stalk the hashtag #bulletjournal or #bulletjournaling on Insta.

...

Isn't it amazing?! My friend Ruth, who is my organizing/cleaning/emotional/etiquette soul mate, shared it with me over the weekend, and I have looked at way, way, way too many not enough Instagrams of the creative process of bullet journaling. I've started doodling around with it, and can't wait to get fancy pens so I can play around with it even more.

Ugh! Did you read that?! Fancy pens?! Get on my adult level of fun.

eating //
I have finally given into the Brussels Sprouts phenomenon and at any given moment during the day I think I could eat a bowl full of roasty toasty b sprouts.

What are you currently doing?

Linking up with Anne!

thundermatzoballsoup

Exactly 219 days ago Freddie received the 007 collection on Blu-ray. Exactly 213 days ago we decided to do weekly 007 date nights and cook a themed dinner while going through all the Bond movies. Exactly 176 days ago I posted this from the last movie we watched, Goldfinger--movie #3 in the series.

And here we are today, August 1, these 176 days later, and I can finally give you that 007 date night update for which you've been itching. 

We did it! We finally got to #4, Thunderball! It only took five or six months, but we did it. The early bird may get the worm, but the late bird gets the...

gets the...

Matzo ball soup. <<which is exactly what we (Freddie) cooked for Thunderball.

I had never had matzo ball soup before, and sadly my only run-in with anything matzo was the  matzo crackers "bread" during communion at church. I was assuming that matzo ball soup was not just soup was matzo crackers thrown in it, and I was right.

It really is so hard to be as smart I as am. Wink.

As per usual, Ricky was 100x more eager than I was (or ever am or will be) about cooking. This meant I sat and took pictures and ate candy while we (he) made soup and matzo balls from scratch.

 FYI: if you're ever in Houston and needing matzo meal, just know that the Kroger on Montrose does NOT have any. Also, if you ask me to pick up some from Whole Foods after work, I'll probably forget to do that too. So. You know. Be prepared.

 This recipe called for rutabaga. I literally did not even realize rutabaga was a real thing. But it is, and it's right there in your local grocery store. Right by the beets. The beets! Rutabaga! It's even at the Kroger on Montrose. Crazy. 

Lupe was ever-so optimistic that'd he get a little drop of chicken. I almost think he deserved a little piece for how long he sat like that with his neck craned up. I mean, he at least deserved a little neck massage after those fifteen minutes, right? 

Ta-da! 

Phew. That was hard work. The waiting, I mean. Freddie cooked as gracefully as ever, and I was as impatient and hangry as ever. But it was worth the wait and SHOOT! Are matzo balls delicious or what?! Why didn't you ever tell me that before?

Up next is You Only Live Twice so...we've got nothing. That'll probably take another five or six months to figure out that doozy of a themed dinner. See y'all in February. 

Good news is that cats have nine lives which is more that two which means we won't be eating cats.

^^that's weird and gross. My b. 

Dinner recaps:

Dr. Gnocchi (Dr. No)

From Russia With Loaf (From Russia With Love)

Gold chicken fingers with golden slaw (Goldfinger)

Thunder matzo ball soup (Thunderball)