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Drugstore Cowgirl

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So, I’m kind of pissed about something, and I know it’s stupid, but I can’t let it go: I have to find a brand new private drugstore, after a twelve-year run at the Walgreens that’s just far enough away from my neighborhood. You know what I’m talking about – you have your regular drugstore where you buy regular stuff like cottonballs and vitamins and lotion and shampoo. The ill-advised beef jerky or off-brand fruit pies. Nail polish. Cheap slippers. They used to develop your photos back in the day. You know a few of the folks working there, you always bump into someone you know in the aisles. ~Regular Drugstore~ But, when you need to buy something private, like, I dunno, say lice shampoo, Imodium *, over the counter birth control, certain types of ladies-only medication, a pregnancy test, a giant container of cheesy poofs, you drive just a tiny bit out of your way to go to the store where your neighbors don’t shop and won’t be all up in your private business. ~Private Drugstore~

A little while back I was headed to the private drugstore, MY private drugstore, to buy some private things. Now, before you tell me to just order them online already, duh, I need you to agree that most of the private things you need to purchase are both private and urgent. I’m not gonna wait for Amazon to deliver that pregnancy test ** or that lice shampoo ***. No ma’am. On the way over I was talking to my mom on the phone and bitching and griping about the nature of the private things I needed to purchase. I parked my car and turned it off, and there right in front of me was a dad that I know from school, soccer, and a mutual friend from 25+ years ago. And I was like, OH NOES! I cannot go in and make my private purchase until he is done shopping. So I stayed on the phone with my mom and he went in and probably didn’t see me, but maybe he did? After like ten minutes I couldn’t wait anymore, so I decided to be brave and go in.

I saw him in one of the aisles, so I ducked around the corner and looked at some chips for a minute and made a grand master plan to wait for him to leave and then get my stuff. Great! Instead, I accidentally ran into him at the end of the next row and he was all Oh, hey, Jen. HI! I’m just here getting, uh, some, stuff, and uh, things! And I was all Oooooh, he is totally 100% using MY private drugstore like it’s his private drugstore! That bastard! But, to cover, I was all Well. *I* am getting stocking stuffers for my kids. See you around!

At first I thought that it would be okay. That it would be super against all odds for us to both show up there at the same time again. And then? Last Monday I needed more private things and so I went back and there I was BASKET FULL OF SUPER PRIVATE THINGS and there was another, different, person whom I know. And I didn’t even play nice, I just turned on my heel, went to the register, and kissed my $80 and my private drugstore goodbye. So now I’m on the lookout for a new private drugstore, one with a not-shitty parking lot that’s close enough to get to when I need something private immediately, but not close enough to run into people I know. I’d ask for some recommendations, but obviously that won’t work this time as it needs to remain my little secret.

* Who am I kidding? I buy the grocery store generic Imodium at my regular grocery store, but maybe you are more refined and delicate than I and want to keep that a private purchase.

** Yes, I’ve had a tubal. Yes, I still freak out that I’m maybe pregnant every once in awhile.

*** Shit DOES NOT WORK. Do this olive oil thing instead and get a Robi Comb at your very own private drugstore.

Glass Beach

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glassbeach

 

They call it Glass Beach for a reason, but I was still surprised to see how much glass was mixed in with the rocks.  When I was a kid, my mom’s parents drove my brother and me from California to Texas and we stopped at a few national parks along the way.  Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest.  My grandmother and I *both* were expecting an actual forest at the petrified forest.  Like, I dunno, tall, standing trees that were petrified, I guess?  We both took one look at the rocks on the ground and were all WHAT?  This is NOT A FOREST!

Going to Glass Beach was the opposite of that.  I was thinking there would be a piece of glass here and there, and instead there was more glass than anything else.  I took a few pieces home with me (rulebreaker!).  It’s still all stuffed in the pocket of my warmest coat.

It’s a really lovely beach, even without the glass.

brotherthelonious

halloween2013 107

 

 

Hallolater

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halloween2013

 

halloween2013 (2)

The girls wanted to have a Halloween party this year, and we thought it would be fun to have a sort of open house style thing where we had hot chocolate and snacks and a fire in the back yard.  The girls’ friends could come hang out and they could trick or treat in the neighborhood and do party stuff.  I didn’t plan any party games, but let’s pretend I did and they were called “Talk About Boys” and “Roll Your Eyes At Your Mother” and they thought those were the best games ever.

batman halloween2013 (2)

alice halloween2013 (2)

Sophie had a few friends coming over, Willow had two.  Alex invited five or six, and Nate was all Uh, Mom?  Really?  (But then brought one of his friends home with him around 8:30.)  So we all cleaned up, and put up some decorations.  I roasted a couple of sugar pumpkins and made pumpkin soup and roasted pumpkin seeds.  John got a ton of candy and milk for hot chocolate and about five hundred mini croissants to make little sandwiches with.  I washed and ironed the Halloween tablecloth, got some flowers, made a cake, put some mulled wine on the stove and the Pandora Halloween party station on the little kitchen i-player dealio.  Sophie made a bunch of paper pumpkins and ghosts and put some in her bedroom window and used others to make a garland for the kitchen.  It was fun, mostly, since we haven’t done a whole lot of entertaining since we moved in.

Sophie’s friends arrived and were gone with another mom in less than five minutes.  They returned three hours later, grabbed more candy, and then left to spend the night at Sophie’s friend’s house.  Willow’s friend’s parents hung out with us for awhile, and that was fun.  Then Willow and her friends left with her friend’s parents to go trick or treat and she came home even later.  And, honestly, I wasn’t mad or anything – not at all.  We were way too loosely organized on the execution of the logistics – people will just appear! and hang out!  But it was sort of funny to me that they’d been begging for this party for weeks and then they were all Nah, I’m good, actually.  Later!  I think just the idea of the party was the fun part for them.

We ended up with a house full of mostly teenagers.  They drank hot apple cider, sat by the fire for a while, listened to records on Lex’s turntable.  (The Shins, because they are a little bit hipstery, even though they’d give me major side-eye for saying so.)

We took turns answering the door for trick or treaters, and every time I did there were these teeny little kids and I didn’t cry, mostly, but I was super emotional because my kids don’t need me to take them trick or treating anymore and because I ate probably a full bag of candy corn and then drank a beer and a glass of mulled wine and I had some extra feelings. In my defense, tho —

pirate&ladybug

alex's pumpkin happiness

but Nate really loves his new hat