Duh, Monique!!

Oh wow, I just had a brain fart moment today. J.D. and I have been saving our cans and bottles to recycle and make some extra money while down here.

Except, the state of Arizona doesn't reimburse for bottles and cans!! In California, we paid a little extra per can in 12 packs, for example, in addition to the ticket price. The hope is that you'll pay the extra 3 cents per bottle (CRV), or whatever, then get it back when you take it to a recycling center. But I think California is the only state that actually makes you pay CRV!!! After today's lunch (see below) I was going to save my tea bottle and then noticed on the label it said CA CRV. DUH!!! So I went to go check the receipt from a grocery run this weekend and noticed that we did not, in fact, pay CRV. Just the $2.99 for a 12 pack of soda. So we can dump our bottles and cans in the regular ol' recycling bin and not have to worry about scrounging around and hoarding all our leftovers for a little extra cash. Which begs the question, are we not going to see homeless people carting around bags of cans here like we did in CA???

Lunch was leftovers from Friday night's dinner: pesto pizza with chicken, artichoke hearts and green olives. Quite a green dinner! J.D. took me on our first "dinner date" in Arizona and we went to Grimaldi's Pizza, a New York style thin-crust pizza eatery. It was really good, family style food. I also enjoyed a glass of red blend wine from my favorite winery, Coppola.

After my big realization, I went to the kitchen and tossed allll the bottles/cans we'd washed out and had ready to take to a recycling center. And again, just tossed them into the recycling garbage can. It felt liberating. Almost as spending all the money I have this weekend on restocking our pantry/fridge/freezer/cleaning supplies without having any source of income to replenish that spending. Oh well, our little house is starting to come together :) I feel like a housewife housegirlfriend, because while J.D.'s at work, I'm tending to the baby (Woodstock), painting walls, hanging pictures and watching trash TV. I've recently discovered Cake Boss, which I think I like the concept of more than Ace of Cakes, except it's just a little too Jersey Shore for me. I will NEVER, EVER in my life watch that show (Jersey Shore, in case I've lost you). Another interesting show I came across that kind of upset me a little is something called Whose Wedding is it, Anyway? The idea is that the boyfriend proposes to his girlfriend and -- after having planned their wedding over the past week -- marries her the very next day!!! How crazy is that?!?! The girl on it was super controlling and said she'd envisioned her wedding day down to the very last detail since she was a little girl. After he proposed, she said if anything wasn't perfect, she'd break up with him!!! I'm sure this is semi-staged. Seriously. Also, what if she says no??? Then you're stuck having paid for an entire wedding with no bride. Weird show.

Speaking of hanging up wall art, take a look at some of what I've done (with the approval of Mr. Fox) to the living room/dinging/kitchen area:

It's not much, but it's a start! Maybe when I start getting a steady flow of income I'll treat us to more wall art haha. :)

And now let's back up a few steps. Breakfast yesterday was an ordeal at best, but still pretty good. I took my first swing at our hand-me-down waffle maker, which actually is a panini press/grill that has an extra attachment for waffles. Oh man, the batter stuck to the attachments soooo bad despite buttering and spraying the crap out of the plates with oil.

See??

Although it didn't turn out so pretty, it still tasted wonderful!

Especially with a side of fresh cut mango :)

Someone sat at J.D.'s feet, eying his plate hoping for scraps the entire time (none were given, sorry boy)!

After breakfast and lunch (another slice of the massive "personal pizza" from Grimaldi's) we went out to see Dinner for Schmucks at the early bird price of $5/person! I really enjoyed the film. It was awkward and made me feel so uncomfortable the entire time. Well, not as uncomfortable as the family of four (with children under 10) who left during the dominatrix scene..... haha, awkward for all involved. Ever since hearing about this movie in the previews, I've been wanting to see the original, French version of the film! As a connoisseur of French cinema, I wondered if the American version would be as bizarre as most French humor tends to be. French films take huge leaps, with no apparent reason or indication. They're sooo strange! And the addition of Zach Galifianakis's character kind of helped add to that. Especially the weird, abrupt ending. Very français, if you ask me! Lucky for me, I'm used to that kind of film, so the moving ending up sitting well with me. J.D. loved it as well. Next up, I'm hoping to catch Eat, Pray, Love! I read the book and the travel bug bit me in a big way again. And who doesn't love Julia Roberts?!?!

Then we came home after a successful Costco trip (the first account not on my parents'.... I'm growing up!) and tried out another experiment. In the mood for some stir fry, I tested out our new sauce purchased back in California.

It ended up being a bit too spicy for my taste, but hey, maybe that was the pepper flakes I added in for a tiiiny bit of kick. Then I tossed the sauce in with stir fry veggies and shredded chicken.

And topped it all on a bed of white rice. An excellent meal and the first decent culinary experiment of the day!

I hope you all enjoy the final hours that remain in your weekends! I guess mine will go until Monday... because on Tuesday I have a SECOND job interview with the same company I interviewed with last week. Maybe it's getting serious?! We'll see :)

(P.S. DON'T FORGET: You have one more day to enter my Gracie's Gear running top giveaway!!)