So much for hoping for a totally smooth afternoon…
Luckily, it wasn’t all bumps in the road. This afternoon, I got a surprise call from the hubby…
Jay: “Hey! Have you eaten lunch yet?”
Me: “Nooooo…why do you ask?”
Jay: “Awesome. Want to meet for a lunch date?”
Me: (shrieking into phone) “SUUUURE!!” (then realizing I still have yet to shower and still sporting my bed head…) “But, umm, I haven’t showered yet…do you love me enough to still have a lunch date with me looking like a hot mess?”
Jay: (hesitates) “Ummm…well as long as you don’t smell I guess it’s cool.”
I’m such a lucky girl.
Our timing worked out perfectly since I was already out, and the two of us met up at one of our favorite lunch time spots, the Iron Gate Café.
Iron Gate, which is located in downtown Albany, is family-owned and operated, serving up a variety of homemade soups, salads, wraps and sandwiches prepared with quality ingredients.
They also have the most adorable little courtyard area that you can sit outside and eat in, and I was so excited when I saw there were plenty of tables to choose from.
I don’t think I’ve ever had anything here that I didn’t like, and while scanning their menu and specials for the day, I noticed that they had gazpacho. Umm, I love gazpacho.
So I ordered the “Choose Two” which included a cup of the gazpacho and half of their “Roast Turkey Special.”
The sandwich, which I got on wheat bread, consisted of thinly shaved deli turkey, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, provolone (which I subbed for cheddar) and the most amazing cranberry mayo you’ll ever taste in your life. It was awesome.
The gazpacho was also worthy of rave reviews. It had a great, fresh tomato flavor, combined with good-sized chunks of a variety of vegetables.
This lunch definitely beats anything I was going to scrounge up from the kitchen this afternoon. Plus, I’m always game for a lunch date with this hottie…
He makes me a happy cheeseball. 
Seeing as though it is Friday, it’s almost vacation, and it was a lunch date, I was able to convince hubby to share a big ‘ol cookie for dessert.
I don’t think I need any words here…the pictures are doing it plenty of justice.
So, as you can imagine, I left lunch full of smiles and ready to take on the rest of my to-do’s. But as I approached my car…BAM.
A freakin’ parking ticket. Talk about putting a damper on my afternoon…
But even still, I tried to push the thought of having to pay $40 for being 5 minutes late to my parking meter, and continued on with the rest of the day…
So one of the top things on my to-do list today was to go to the jeweler where Jay and I got our wedding rings so I could get get them looked at. Yesterday, I noticed that the main stone in my engagement ring was actually loose, so I immediately took it off, and headed there today to get it fixed.
If I ever lost that…I’d lose my mind…and probably my husband.
Just kidding. 
Well, it turns out that the jeweler at the store was actually on vacation today and wouldn’t be returning until Wednesday.
Of course he’d be on vacation!
Luckily, they told me that I could go to the other store location and have the jeweler check it out there. So, I got in the car and drove an extra half hour out of my way to visit the jeweler who wasn’t on vacation.
Much to my dismay, the very sweet girl working the counter at this location informed me that their jeweler doesn’t work on Fridays…
Of COURSE he doesn’t. Why would he?!?
So now, I’m stuck. There was no way I was leaving my ring there for a week, but I also definitely don’t want to wear it and risk losing the stone. So I got them cleaned and headed out, totally frustrated. I’m thinking that I can always just wear my wedding band alone, but I feel like it looks sort of weird…
What do you guys think?
I’m thinking it may be worth it because, you know, I don’t want any buff beach boys trying to pick me up on the beach this week…I’m a happily married woman you know.
*****
So anywho…by this point, I was about ready to explode with frustration. So I did the only thing I saw feasible…
I went and eased by tension with a $20 pedicure. I felt guilty for spending the money for about .5 seconds, until hubby told me I should go. Besides, when it comes to the automatic massaging chairs, I really don’t need much to twist my arm.
It was incredible and worth every penny of that $20.00.
Now I’m feeling much more at ease, and in a couple short hours, we’ll be packin’ it up and heading down to the BEACH. I’ll be sure to give ya’ll an update when we get down there…sun and sand, here I come! 
Question for the Evening:
What are your “go-to’s” for when you need to relax after a rough day?
Do you believe in the saying “negative energy brings bad luck?”
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