Top Ten Favs For August

My Top Ten Favorite Things For The Month Of August are, in no particular order, as follows:

Forrest Family Visit
Anthony's family came to Charlottesville for the weekend to visit and it was great to see everyone. My brother-in-law and his wife came up on Friday night and we had a lot of fun beating them in Taboo hanging out with them. His parents and our nephew arrived on Saturday - we went to Carter's Mountain Orchard to pick peaches, and had dinner at Peter Chang's where they served us Copious Amounts Of Chinese Food. After dinner we all took my nephew over to the playground in our complex to do Playgroundy Things, which my FIL thought included jumping off of a swing and ending up face down in the grass (no, Father-In-Law, you aren't actually supposed to play with the ground - silly rabbit). As much as Anthony and I enjoyed having them, I think Gabriel & Bella were relieved when everyone cleared out. Bella doesn't like People That Aren't Anthony And I, and Gabriel doesn't like People Taking Over His Space With All Of Their Dumb Stuff. Too bad they don't actually get a vote when we are deciding whether or not to invite someone to stay at our house.

$100 iTunes Gift Card
Anthony had to buy a new laptop in August because his finally crapped out and the one he ended up purchasing came with a $100 iTunes gift card which was pretty sweet. It's taking us a long time to decided which albums to purchase, as Anthony and I do not share a similar taste in music (aka: Gangsta Rap makes me want to stab Something Sharp in my ear and Many Other Kinds Of Music make him want to stab Something Sharp in his ear). We have managed to agree on the following, so far: Mumford and Sons' new album (that one was a given, although we had to pre-order it because it doesn't come out until the end of September), Queen (Greatest Hits album), and Jason Castro (the one with the Hallejuah cover on it). Most Random Trio Ever Award? Perhaps.

Girls Night
So, in August, I started getting together with my friends, Jenn & Dara, every Monday night to watch the Bachelor Pad. I had never seen it prior to these gatherings, but those two are very loyal fans of anything Bachelor/Bachelorette related and thought it would be sweet to make it a Thing. It'll be over in a couple of weeks, but we decided we should pick another show to watch after that because it's fun to get together and eat tasty snacks and watch Things That We Should Probably Be Embarrassed For Liking. It's like a car wreck or a Very Gross Woman who is completely falling out of her shirt - it's so bad, but you just can't tear your eyes away. If Nick wins, I will laugh for days.

ANTM
(Speaking of guility pleasures) America's Next Top Model's 19th cycle premired in August and things are little different this time around. Fans actually have a voice in the judging process now, which has never happened before - I thought the change might annoy me but, so far, it hasn't. I have always been an ANTM fan; I don't know why I like it so much, I just do. The Most Interesting Contestant so far this season (it's only two episodes in, so I reserve the right to change my mind), is the girl from Liberty University, Victoria, who is Mind-Bogglingly Obsessed With Her Mother. On second thought, I probably won't change my mind. (No offense, Mom).

Ibuprofen, or Dear Flu Season: I Will PWN You.
Anthony got the flu last month (I know, in August, who does that?) and he was Utterly And Completely Miserable. He tried taking random meds that were specifically marketed for treating flu symptoms but they were barely touching them. I felt so bad for him, so I finally asked my boss (who's a doctor) what the best OTC med for the flu was. She asked me what his Most Bothersome Symptom was (it was a toss up between the headache and the sore throat) and then told me to have him take 800 mgs of Ibuprofen three times a day until he wasn't sick anymore. He tried it and, after just one or two doses, said it was the Most Effective Thing He Had Ever Done For Flu Symptoms In His Life. Even though it, obviously, didn't cure him, it did enable him to to function comfortably until the sickness went away - which was great, because I feel really bad for him when he doesn't feel well (plus, he's kind of a Very Irritable Sick Person which can get annoying pretty quickly). So we now know an easy OTC method for successfully treating flu symptoms and, thanks to this handy-dandy list, so do you. You're welcome.

We Didn't Have To Spend A Ton Of Money At The Vet For No Reason
Anthony and I have a bad taste in our mouth when it comes to going to the doctor because we are notorious for going to the doctor Just In Case and finding out that nothing serious was wrong with us, or for holding out on going to see if we will just get better on our own, only to finally to decide to go and then get better the very next day. We really don't go to the doctor very often, but most of the times we have gone have proved to be unnecessary - and, we have spent Countless Amounts Of Money on these Unnecessary Visits/Tests/Whatevs which is, understandably, very fustrating. We have also done this with our cats, once or twice. And, we almost did it again this month - luckily, though, the symptoms we were taking Bella to the vet for went away the day before her appointment (and haven't been back), so I was able to cancel it (rather than taking her in and then having her symptoms clear up later that night after I had just spent a bunch of money having her looked at, which is what happened the last time I took Gabriel). This may not seem like a Big Deal, but it is. It is.

Bella Boo

Chris & Kim
Chris & Kim spent the night a few weekends ago, and it's always fun to hang out with them. Anthony & Chris got up very early and went on a Five Or Six Hour Hike With Scary Rocks, Etc. Kim and I had fun Not Going On A Five Or Six Hour Hike With Scary Rocks, Etc. (aka: slept until after the sun came up, went out for bagels, and watched Supernatural). Apparently, this particular hike has some of the best views in central VA, but Chris was kind enough to take about bajillion pictures with his Sweet Camera and then he and Anthony showed us a slideshow of them on our big screen when they got back. Best of both worlds, right there.

Kimberly & Christopher

Potty Training Win
The three year-old I take care of finally decided she was ready to start using the potty and now she's completely potty-trained. Which means the amount of diapers in my life has been reduced by about fifty percent which I am Very Very Much Okay With. She had decided that she didn't want to start going on the potty (despite the stickers, candy, toys, and 137 kittens that had been promised to her) because going in her diaper was, simply, less trouble. We humored her for most of the summer, but fall was quickly approaching and she had to be potty-trained before she would be allowed to start her three year-old pre-school class at the end of the month. So, naturally, her parents and I told her that there was a Diaper Shortage in Charlottesville (just for her size, of course, not her younger brother's) and that, once she ran out of the diapers she currently had, she wouldn't be able to get anymore. Being the Genius-Child that she is, this made logical sense to her (much more so than the idea of taking the trouble to go on the potty when you have a perfectly good diaper taped around your butt), and, once she ran out of diapers, she started going on the potty. All the time. I am a big fan of Kids I Take Care Of Being Potty-Trained, and also of lying if they are too smart to be coersed into using the potty via any any respectable method.

Hunger Games Party
As some of you know, The Hunger Games came out on DVD in August and, since my friends and I embrace any excuse to have a party, a viewing party for the new DVD was held that very weekend. We had all kinds of themed snacks ("fire" cupcakes, "nightlock" berry short cake, "Peeta" bread with hummus, etc. - I know, we're hilarious, right?) and even made silly HG shirts to wear, (that we had seen on pinterest and thought were cute) except we sucked at them and they looked horrible and smelled like butt, but we had fun making them and laughing like crazy at how bad we screwed them up. I give you exhibit A:


                                         


Hotel Hell, or So That's What Blurred Out British Man Parts Look Like
Anthony and I were sad that our Master Chef and Hell's Kitchen shows were getting ready to end for the season but made a timely discovery on Hulu that will alleviate our pain for the time being by continuing to provide us with the Gordon Ramsey Fix that we have come to rely on so heavily. You can probably guess the premise - Gordon visits these horrible hotels and then tells the owners how much they suck in his Very British Accent and then gives the hotel a complete over-haul. You never know what kind of crazy establishments he'll encounter from week to week, but one thing is certain: he will always find some excuse to test out the bathtub in his room, on camera.

These were my Top Ten Favorite Things From The Month Of August. Tune in next month for ten more examples of awesomeness - I can already tell it's gonna be a great September.

Happy Wednesday.