So you say there's nothing to do in Kennewick? Well, I'll have you know I went to Rite Aid--yes, the old Rite Aid behind Columbia Center Mall--not once, but twice this weekend. I hadn't been in ages, and then suddenly, it was upon me. And oh, was it good.

Friday night found me at a girls night out (yay!) with some friends of mine who work with Derrick and were kind enough to include me in their fun. We started the evening w/dinner (remind me to post later on the female fascination with Applebees appetizers) and then hit "Baby Mama," which was actually pretty funny (I'll give it 3 1/2 stars).

**As I'm typing this, Derrick just shoved his new, fancy shmancy running socks in my face, forcing me to smell them after he took a long run. He exclaimed, "These socks are amazing! Even after I run in them, they smell like they just came out of the dryer!" Smelly or not, I do not appreciated just-ran-in-socks shoved in my face. And please see my last post on the word "amazing."**

Okay. So after Applebee's and before Baby Mama, we wanted treats for the movie, and why should we pay theater prices when we each had a purse large enough to haul in a package of Oreos and a gallon of milk? So we proceeded, and would you believe me if I told you I spent more on candy than I did on dinner? For real.

Saturday came and D. and I headed out for a blessed night alone. Yummy Thai food and some clothes shopping for Derrick left me with a sweet tooth. We wandered through Fuzziwigs in search of something, but I was too cheap to pay the $4.95 for a handful of Runts. We wanted to spend our last hour out browsing Barnes and Noble and I toyed with the option of a gourmet cookie or cake, but again my humble roots kept me from paying four dollars for a Rice Krispie treat. Well, guess what just happens to sit right across the parking lot of B&N?

Oh, the ecstasy! My second trek to the great RA in less than 24 hours, and just as much money spent on junk. We returned to Barnes and Noble with our booty in tow, and I flipped through a book entitled (I'm not kidding here), The Taste of Sweet: Exploring our Relationship with our Favorite Treats. I plopped down in a comfy chair and inhaled a package of Neccos in approximately one minute while I read about our nations obsession with sugar. D. was off browsing his own books, and we reunited just in time to split a Kit Kat before heading home. It was a great night, a great weekend, and good eats at a very good price.

What's with the word "amazing" these days? I am so sick of it! Any question I ask about how something looks, tastes, feels, was or, in the case of a person, is, I get the same canned answer: amazing! "It was amazing!" "The food was amazing!" "She is amazing!" The weather for this time of year, your sister's vacation to Hungary, your daughter's first-grade teacher, your new hairstylist's foiling techniqe, the sale at The Children's Place--and, of course, whoever happens to be singing for Paula--all of them, amazing.

I think our love affair with "amazing" must have something to do with our shoddy collective vocabulary (and I certainly include myself in this generalization.) "Amazing" covers it all: nice, good, fun, interesting, exciting, different, competent, even above-average. A mediocre event can even slip into the amazing category on a good day, because the person describing the event may only know one word with which to describe it (that word being the only adjective heard on t.v., especially reality t.v.; the fact that I know this may explain the shoddiness of my own vocabulary). In fact, I set this whole mess squarely on Paula Abdul's shoulders, whom I think should file a patent for the word.

Maybe we should all just 'fess up and substitute "amazing" with "awesome," the Reagan-era equivalent of "amazing." After hearing awesome! in every other sentence, we'd realize how ridiculous we sound doing the same thing with amazing! And we'd realize that when we term everything "amazing," nothing really is.

I've griped now. I feel better.

That's what I said about starting a blog: never. I thought that starting my own blog would be narcissistic, embarrassing, and all-around boring for anyone else to read. However, I would read others' blogs, and savor every juicy morsel; I just loved hearing about a day in the life of my friends, family, and yes, complete strangers. I finally realized what a parasite I've been - devouring your delish dish while serving up none of my own. So I'm taking my first step into the Great Blogosphere.

I am excited to put my random thoughts and relatively unattractive photos into the great void, and even more eager to hear and see your own. (My six-year old just walked by and told me this last sentence was rude. Of course, I explained, I meant I was excited to hear from you, not that you, or anything about you, was random or unattractive. She's way too smart.)

I'm just figuring out this blogging thing, so forgive the primitive layout and lack of exciting pictures for now (as opposed to the many exciting pictures that will surely be posted in the future??) I'm working on it!

So if you are one of the three people who may be reading this blog, feel free to leave a comment so it looks like I have friends. If you do not know me at all and somehow stumbled upon this blog, feel free leave a comment so it looks like I have friends. Thanks, and happy time wasting--er, I mean, blogging!