What do you do with a B.A. in English?

So we had our date night on Friday night. We took Ari to my parents' house (to spend the night) and made it early for our 7 PM reservation at the restaurant. We debated whether we should be frugal and try to stretch our gift card to last for another dinner, or if we should splurge. We decided to go all out--after all, what's the fun in having a gift card if you're still worrying about how much your meal costs? So we got an appetizer, we both ordered drinks, and Tony got the biggest steak he possibly could. We had a great time at dinner--both of us were in playful moods.

Tony made a comment at one point about how I needed to eat my mushrooms, and I reminded him that I don't eat mushrooms because they are a fungus. He played the old, "Well, have you ever tried one?" and I retorted, "Have you?", and the next thing I knew, he was telling me he'd eat one if I did and I was saying, "You're on." He counted to 3 and we both ate them at the same time. Of course, it was disgusting, just as I knew it would be, and he rolled his eyes at me, saying I was just saying that because I didn't want to admit it wasn't that bad. I took a swig of my drink to wash out the taste, while he thoughtfully shared his review of the mushroom, trying to describe the texture and taste, ignoring my eye rolls. Yes, we're dorks, but at least we amuse each other.

The check came, and we gulped when we realized we'd spent our entire gift card in one shot. I figured we'd come close, but didn't know we'd use up the whole thing. But like I said, that's what gift cards are for.

We thought about going to a movie after dinner, since there was a theater just down the road. But we got there a little after 8, and there were no movies showing until 9:30. And besides that, there was nothing we really wanted to see, especially at theater prices. So we decided to head home and rent a movie instead.

We have completely different taste in movies, and nowhere is it more obvious than inside a Blockbuster, when we're trying to agree on one, just ONE, movie to rent. We spend the whole time trying to talk the other one into the ones we want to see, and mocking each other's choices, and so on--all in good fun, of course. And then, inevitably, we end up getting two movies--one to make each of us happy. But we had a gift card, and since Blockbuster has a new policy where you can rent a movie for one night only at a cheaper price, the gift card covered almost the whole price of both.

We slept in on Saturday, per our plan, and did a little housework before leaving for "Avenue Q" at 2. And wow... it was so hilarious, but cruder than I expected. But overall, it was a hysterical show--I laughed so much. The very first song was called "What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?" which made me chuckle right then and there, because *I* have a B.A. in English. Despite the crude humor, there were some heart-warming moments, and the music was incredibly catchy. I don't know that I'd recommend it for everyone (I definitely wouldn't take my teenage kid with me), but if you've got an offbeat sense of humor and aren't easily offended and can handle a lot of swearing, you would like it.

The rest of the weekend was fairly normal. Saturday night we ended up renting 2 more movies. When we were there on Friday night, the computer printed out a coupon for a free non-new-release rental, and I told Tony I knew exactly what I wanted to use it for: "Little Shop of Horrors," which I've never seen and have always wanted to. When Tony went to get it for me (isn't he sweet?) he also picked up "The Kite Runner," remembering that was one of the movies I'd tried to talk him into the night before (again, isn't he sweet?). We watched "The Kite Runner" together--it was good (Tony declared it one of the saddest movies he'd ever seen), but not nearly as gripping as the book (which, I'll warn you, is heart-wrenching). I watched "Little Shop" by myself, and I loved it--so quirky and weird, but also funny and charming, with incredibly fun music.

Monday was a lazy day, and we concluded the day by taking Ari to my parents' to spend the night again (since Mom is watching her today and it's easier to just take her down the night before).

If you made it through all that, you deserve a reward. How about some Ari pictures?

Mom put Ari's hair in a ponytail on Saturday, complete with bobbypins to hold it in. When we came to pick Ari up on Saturday, I scooped her up in my arms to give her a hug, and she said, "Mommy and Daddy so proud of you." My mom laughed, and explained that she had told Ari that Mommy and Daddy would be so proud of her if she left her hair in the ponytail for us to see. Mom got a picture, and I asked Ari to give me Eskimo kisses, thinking that would be a good way to get her to hold still, and to get a good profile shot. As you can see, she not only refused to give me Eskimo kisses, but she covered her nose with both hands and then smashed her face against mine to make her point. Goober.



I forget what she was watching on TV (probably Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), but she insisted on having a pillow, a blanket, and her cup.



The next several photos were her idea. She told me she wanted me to take a picture of her with her "Mooka Mooka" (that's what she calls her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse set--based on the magic words they use on the show, "Meeska, Mooska") and her "sand castle" (which is what she calls her princess castle). But once I got the camera out, she flat-out refused to be normal.

First, she turned her nose up at me...



Then she gave me a barely-there, totally-fake smile...



Then I got this (I guess you could call it a smile--an evil smile)...



I have no explanation for this one...



And then this...



So I gave up.