Couples day out

If you’re married then you know that there comes a time in every couple’s life when you have to take the boy shopping. M & I had both reached that point, so we decided to bite the bullet and take a trip to the outlet mall. (The same outlet mall long time readers might remember from last year’s shenanigans.) Initially, it was just going to be M, T and I because J hates shopping, but to everyone’s surprise he volunteered to come along. T was nice enough to make bagels for us for breakfast, as it’s very important to fuel up. We also made sure to hit the Starbucks as our first stop upon arrival so that no one would be under-caffeinated and cranky.

I didn’t take too many pictures in the flurry of shopping, but had to grab this one of the hilariously named Fudgery:

Sigh. If you could see the people at the outlet mall, you would know exactly how unnecessary this establishment truly is… Anyhoo, we did pretty well for T, scoring him some new pants and shirts to replace the unwearable things he has now. M didn’t do as well for J, but managed to pick up a few things for herself as did I. She also taught T the right way to say that things look like crap on the wife: “I just don’t care for it.” as opposed to “That makes you look really boyish and flat-chested.” Very valuable skillset.

After all of the shopping, we were hungry and faced with the excellent nutritional options of crappy food court or McDonalds. Sadly, McDonalds was the healthier option of the two. (I know, let that roll around your brain for a moment… ) While waiting for our food, I snapped this forlorn picture of M:

Followed by one when her food arrived:

I’d taken a wider shot than normal, with the intention of cropping it as you see above, but didn’t notice when I took it the hilarious expression on the woman behind M. So, mystery woman who is so irritated by my taking a picture in a McDonalds, smile – you are on my blog:

And just for the record, I think the “Ironic trucker hat” look is way out of fashion, just sayin’… We had a good laugh at the unfortunate line break in the Big Mac container “100% Beef mingles” which led to some very hilarious guesses as to what constitutes a “beef mingle” and that we were probably better off not knowing, etc. (Well done, McDonalds package designer, well done!) Afterward, we headed home, where M & I watched the live stream of the Hawaii Ironman on my laptop and J took a nap. Luckily, he had evil Georgie looking over his shoulder. (You are getting sleepy… )

T decided that the dogs deserved a little treat, so he broke out the Frosty Paws (a special brand of ice cream for dogs) He has to hold it for them so that they don’t swallow it whole, container and all:

They are pretty cute eating it, so it sort of assuages the yuppie guilt of buying ice cream for dogs:

We had a great evening filled with wine, yummy dinner, (roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans – cooked by yours truly) some Rock Band and lots and lots of laughing. It was a great day and more than made up for the stressful week that preceded it. Thanks, M & J – you guys rock!