To the Zoo!

So yesterday Jalal actually took a full day off. Seriously. No meetings, training, or popping in for a few hours. We took advantage of the day together and went to the zoo. Greenville has a very nice little zoo only 15 minutes or so away from us. It was a little frustrating for me because Quinn didn't seem to SEE some of the animals. I don't know if it was hard for him to focus through the cages or look beyond the trees or what, but he did seem to enjoy what he saw. There were a couple of elephants, some giraffes, lions, a beautiful red panda that Jalal and I thought was just incredible, monkeys, and a family of orangutans. The baby orangutan, Bob, was so funny. He reminded me a lot of Quinn. He would play around, fall over, chase his mama. His mama was so sweet, too. She played peekaboo with him by covering up with a sheet and would help him climb up after her by pulling him up by the hand. She even gave her man a kiss on the lips as she passed by him. At one point, she came over to the glass where Quinn was standing and knocked her fists right where his hands were. He didn't really know what to make of it. It was so much fun.
We had lunch downtown and then came home to rest for a while. Jalal tried to take a nap while I worked, and he discovered just how hard it is to nap with the little one around. Not so much. Later I suggested we go find a bakery and get something sweet. I was hoping for something like Kaminsky's. We found someplace not like that, but it had a bunch of small pastries that looked amazing. We got a nice assortment--tiramisu (my fave), strawberry shortcake, cannoli, and something called a cake ball. It was like a chocolate ganache covered in a thick chocolate shell and mint candy sprinkles. Oh my God, was it good! After Quinn went to bed, Jalal and I settled in for the finale of the Biggest Loser. He asked if we were really going to eat pastries while watching it, and I said, "Absolutely." Mmm . . . no regrets.
Today was pretty uneventful. I worked for a while and Jalal did a lot of stuff around the house, including making a baked ziti (or masticcioli, I guess). He hasn't made that in a long time, so I was happy. And I didn't have to cook dinner! He put our big paintings up in the living room and the framed posters in the stairwell. Not only does it feel more like home, but our footsteps don't echo quite so bad going down the stairs. We also unpacked all of our liquor and wine today. Since we don't have a pantry here, they are lining the tops of the cabinets in the kitchen. It really makes us look like alcoholics, even though we almost never drink at home. Maybe if we did it wouldn't look so bad! Well, I'm going to go clean up the living room a little bit before I hit the hay. Good night. Love, Us.