I Suck At Jack Link's Premium Cuts Chicken Nuggets

Okay. So it's been a little over a week since the last time I wrote a post. I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing posts. Writing this blog is like working out, just without the sweat. I always make excuses to put it off... but when I'm actually doing it, it's great. And if I do happen to sweat while writing this blog in front of my computer, then something is definitely not quite right with me.

Plus, I told my friend (Andrea) that I would post something today because she asked. Apparently, she has missed reading my blog posts. When I think about it, I guess that makes sense. With Facebook and social media all around us now, knowing what people are up to seems status quo. And since I don't regular check Facebook, I guess the only means for people to know what I am up to is through this blog. Perhaps some day I'll embrace Facebook and update my status based on my bowel movements like I had originally wanted. In the meantime, all of you can thank Andrea. So thanks Andrea!

Anyway, in case anyone is interested, here are the exciting events that have transpired since my last post:

1) Thanksgiving. Happy belated turkey day! I hope everyone took the time to give thanks, particularly to the Native Americans whose land we stole in return for booze and disease. Seems like a fair trade. Luckily, they are slowing getting us back by praying on our gambling vices. Good for them!

All in all, my Thanksgiving was quiet. Karen, our twenty month old daughter (Briana), and I spent the holiday with my parents and Karen's parents... at my in-law's. As usual, the food was delicious. At one point during the day, everyone was gathered around the dining room table looking at newspaper ads for Black Friday deals. I thought it was a comical sight.

Following Thanksgiving dinner, Karen, Briana, my in-laws, and I visited Karen's grandmother at the nursing home. We brought Nana a little turkey dinner. The interesting thing about the visit was that Nana actually mentioned Karen by name during the visit. In all of my previous visits with Nana, she had never called Karen by her name. So it was interesting, particularly for Karen. Luckily for me, Nana has no problem saying "Mike".

2) Black Friday. Every year, I look at the Black Friday ads and think about going out shopping in the wee hours of night. And every year, I stay snugly warm in my bed Friday morning. This year was no different.

I did not see any deals that jumped out at me this year. I'm still waiting for the day there are deals on Sony televisions. Maybe that will actually get me into the Black Friday shopping spirit of trampling people (or pepper spraying people as it may be this year) in the early hours of morning. Perhaps I'm too brand loyal.

Instead, Karen, Briana and I waited for the afternoon to go shopping. We actually had nothing to do, so we decided to just go shopping. And interestingly enough, we ran into Karen's parents while shopping. It was fun. For anyone curious, the highlight of my Black Friday shopping was purchasing a video game. It's not just any video game. It's Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition! Gotta go for the gold. There's a lot to like about zombies... like Lowell.

And as always, Black Friday night was spent at my friends' (Cass and Ellen) as they hosted the annual Black Friday potluck tradition. For anyone curious, the potluck involves everyone bringing their Thanksgiving leftovers. My like of potlucks aside, I have always thought the Black Friday tradition by Cass and Ellen was brilliant. What better way is there to get rid of leftovers?

Joining in on the potluck this year were my friends (Marc, Kelley, Garv, Leeann, Scott, Meredith, Andrea) and my BFF (Kerry). It was definitely a blast hanging out with everyone. Granted, having Briana around does make that difficult at times. If it's not me, it's Karen who will watch Briana run amok. So inevitably, one of us will most likely miss or hear only parts of a conversation. It's just how it is these days. This year, I spent some quality time with Ellen and Meredith (and Elyse and Xander).

As a side note, Garv gave Briana her first taste of a fruit roll-up. I mention this now because Garv will also be the first person to take Briana to a Taylor Swift concert. It will make his going to a Taylor Swift concert with his adult male friends less creepy.

3) Charming Petals Flower and Gift Shop. There's a lot to like about Lowell... like zombies. On Saturday, Karen, Briana and I headed up north to visit Karen's Lowell relatives (Denise, Paul, Matthew). Karen's Uncle Paul's mother recently passed away. As we could not attend the wake that was scheduled earlier in the week, we asked to stop by over the weekend. So off to the great white north we went.

It was actually an interesting visit, because we did not even stay in Lowell that long. All of us headed to the Charming Petals Flower and Gift Shop located in Dracut. On the agenda... Santa... and not just any Santa... Victorian Santa. Charming Petals was having a free picture with Santa day. Needless to say, Briana was not a fan of the man in the red suit. She cried... and cried... and cried.

Following the tear-filled outing, Karen's cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy) met up with us. We essentially just hung out before all of them left for an alumni hockey game. It was good to see everyone. I don't think we've seen the... Lowellians? or is it Lowellites? in quite some time. So it was good.

Saturday night was also a nice rare event. Karen and I had a movie/date night on the couch when Briana went to bed. We haven't had a night to just ourselves since her birthday back in October. The movie for the night: "When In Rome". Like all chick flicks, this one was predictable. It was an enjoyable movie. How can it not be? It stars Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars fame.

4) Cookie Swap. Sunday was the infamous Christmas Parade in Quincy. For anyone who knows me, they know that I dislike parades. Unless I'm in on a float or marching in the parade... or even inebriated, I find them very boring. Naturally, I begrudgingly attended the Christmas Parade in Quincy this year. My reason for going, of course, was for my daughter. It so happens that I don't think Briana cared much for the parade either. Who is Daddy's girl?

Anyway, attending the parade were my mother-in-law, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine), Janine's family (PJ, PJ and Kaleigh), Janine's BFF (Gretchen), my friends (Jen, Bill, Terry, and Hot Amy), Jen and Bill's mother, Terry's family (Dave, Gianna, and David), Hot Amy's husband (Mark), and Terry and Hot Amy's parents. It was definitely a motley crew of sorts.

For me, the highlight of the parade were the bagpipers and the clydesdale horses. They win hands down all the time. Not even former Bruin, Rick Middleton, who appeared in the parade this year could beat the sweet sound of bagpipes and trotting horses.

Following the parade, all of us headed to Jen and Bill's for a cookie swap. Much like Karen, Jen is into traditions. So this happened to be the second annual cookie swap. Needless to say, the cookies were amazing. Unfortunately, I did not partake in the swapping of cookies this year like I did last year. If I had to choose a winner for this year though, I would go with Bill's cookies. Design-wise, Jen had the cutest cookie with her snowmen, but I enjoyed the taste of Bill's the most which may be sad news for my BFF's ears.

Anyway, after the cookie swap, Karen and I actually had another date/movie night. Back to back nights is unheard of! Interestingly enough, we kept the Kristen Bell theme going by watching "You Again". I must say, it was another cute enjoyable movie. Ooh, shiny!

And finally, that takes me to today. Today I hung out with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). It was our weekly get together, which Karen missed out on because she was feeling a little run down. And as the loving husband and father that I am, I immediately bolted out the door leaving a trail of dust behind me when she told me that she'd stay home and watch Briana.

For me, getting out by myself is few and far between these days. So I relish the opportunity to go out. Most of the time, I am watching Briana. And as much as I enjoy my daughter's company, I do occasionally need the break even if it's just to hang out for a couple of hours.

Sadly, nothing particularly happened on my thrilling night out. All of us just hung out, watched some episodes of Scare Tactics, Attack of the Show, and Man V. Food Nation. I may have devoured the majority of Andrea's booze-filled cupcakes. Speaking of food, I tried my first Jack Link's Premium Cuts Chicken Nugget. Now, I suck at Jack Link's Premium Cuts Chicken Nuggets. It was not exactly what I was expecting. The nugget was a little dryer than I thought it would be, but I guess that should have been expected since it is jerky after all.

Needless to say, I had a fun time tonight.

I Suck At Brant Rock Hop

It's been quite some time since I blogged. Time seems to travel at lightning speed these days. Before I know it, a month has passed and I missed out on writing posts about the following:

1) Taza Chocolate. Karen and I took my nephew (PJ) on a tour of Taza Chocolate for his birthday. Not only was the tour informative, the free samples were absolutely delicious. And the best part, of course, was that PJ enjoyed it. He literally recounted everything that was told to him when he got home. I would definitely recommend the tour to anyone. (For anyone curious, Taza is located in the mean streets of Somerville.)

2) Tsang's Village Cafe. I had never eaten at Tsang's located in Hanover. I don't particularly eat out at Chinese restaurants, probably because I've eaten a lot of Chinese food growing up (being Chinese and all). It just so happens that Karen's father wanted to celebrate his birthday at Tsang's. Needless to say, Tsang's was very good. The waiter apparently seemed to enjoy playing with my twenty month old daughter (Briana). And I must say, the food was quite delicious. I'd definitely recommend Tsang's.

3) My friend (Aimee). I haven't seen Aimee in quite some time. She happened to be available one weekend so we decided to hang out and grab some lunch. We ended up ordering takeout from the Boston Pizza Company, which was very delicious. Needless to say, I had a great time just hanging out and chatting with Aim.

4) Karen's Grandfather's Memorial Mass. That same day, Karen and I attended a memorial mass for Karen's grandfather (on her father's side). Her grandfather on her father's side passed away last year around this time. I actually missed most of the mass because I spent the entire time chasing after Briana who thought it would be great to walk all around church. Yes, I got to see the entire church, including the Life Teen center located in the basement. Fun. Interestingly enough, a lot of the church-goers still thought Briana was adorable.

5) Butterfield's. Following the memorial mass, everyone in attendance went out to eat at Butterfield's located in Rockland. I have never been to Butterfield's. For anyone curious, Butterfield's is located near the Job Lot in Rockland. Prior to eating there, I have only seen the outside of the restaurant. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. The food was good. The portions were good. And they had milkshakes! Yum!

6) MMA. Apparently, that Saturday was a busy day. Following Aimee, the memorial mass, and Butterfield's, I got to hang out with my friends (Marc, Kelley and Andrea). On the agenda for the night, the MMA fight on Fox featuring the heavyweight championship title bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos. Sadly, the fight was terrible because it only lasted about a minute. Fight aside, I had a great time because it was actually the first time in awhile that I got to do something by myself (without Briana and without Karen). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my family. There are just times when I need a break.

7) Schoolhouse Pizza. Speaking of Marc, Kelley, and Andrea, all of us enjoyed dinner complements of Schoolhouse Pizza located in Quincy. It was part of our weekly get together. And of course, the food was delicious. Yum! Equally exciting was that we watched more episodes of Community. That is such a great show! Love it!

8) Virus. Due to genetics, I usually am the person Karen's family turns to when there is an issue with computers. It just so happens that one Sunday, after having dinner with Karen's parents, I was asked to take a look at her father's computer. It turns out, his computer was infected with a virus. Porn... gets you all the time. Just kidding. Needless to say, I had to take my father-in-law's computer home with me so that I could fix it. And fix it, I did. Fun.

Anyway, all of that finally leads me to today. Sure, I may still have forgotten a few things. It's tough to recall a month of activities. Today, Karen, Briana and I decided to go out for breakfast.

As sad as this sounds, this would be the first time that only the three of us went out for breakfast. We decided to have breakfast at the Brant Rock Hop located in Marshfield. Too bad I suck at Brant Rock Hop.

I had heard about the Brant Rock Hop after reading an article about the place in South Shore Living. The article mentioned how the owners of the restaurant had a food challenge because their children were avid viewers of Man V. Food. Hence, they created a challenge themselves involving a 13 egg omelet with stuff, a pound of home fries, and a milkshake. I thought the challenge sounded interesting, in part because I thought I could probably beat the challenge. The challenge lasts one hour and if you defeat the challenge, you would get a free t-shirt. (Things people will do for a free t-shirt...)

Today, I did not partake in the challenge (and interestingly enough, there is no mention of the challenge on their menu). I was actually more interested in the milkshake (as was Karen). So off we went to Marshfield. Needless to say, the food was delicious. I had the chunky chimp pancakes. Yum! Briana enjoyed them as well. And of course, Karen and I split a chocolate peanut butter milkshake. Oh, so good.

All in all, it was fun going out for breakfast as a family. I had a blast.