Today is the day Karen's cousin (Karlene) from Lowell ruined New Year's Eve. And they claim there is a lot to love about Lowell. I'm just kidding. I like to give Karlene a hard time. Essentially for the past decade or so, a tradition has been created between Karen, Karlene, Karlene's husband (Tommy) and I as we celebrate New Year's Eve.
That tradition was interrupted this year when Karlene made the executive decision to cancel our plans today. In all fairness, Tommy was sick. So it only made sense to cancel plans. Hopefully, Tommy is okay and does not have the virus that Karen has. Karen has been sick for what seems like forever (over three weeks). Get better, Tommy!
With the cancellation in plans this year, Karen and I had nothing to do on New Year's Eve. I guess you can say that I suck at New Year's Eve. My first reaction of course, aside from the "I hope Tommy feels better" thought, was to contact my BFF (Kerry). After all, for what seems like a decade, Kerry and my friend (Jen) have always hinted at wanting to spend New Year's Eve with us. And with the cancellation, today was the chance.
Luckily for me, Kerry happened to be around today. Having spent last night at my friend's (Marc and Kelley), she ended up going to Stars in Hingham for breakfast and Red Robin in Plymouth for lunch with her family. After her family fun, she was able to stop by and hang out.
Needless to say, I had a great time hanging out with Kerry. One thing that I will remember from today is my twenty one month old daughter (Briana) playing with Kerry. Briana, while playing with Kerry, purposely tossed her Winnie the Pooh taggy blanket up, over, and behind our new couch. So when Kerry went reaching over the back of the couch to grab the taggy blanket, Briana immediately started tickling both of Kerry's feet. I found that rather comical.
I'll probably remember that for a while, much like how I will remember the time Briana went to give my friend (Joanna) a hug only to slyly reach in and grab Joanna's iPhone from within her pocket. That little sneaky pickpocket.
Incidentally, Kerry was not the only person to visit us on New Year's Eve. My favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her BFF (Gretchen) also stopped on over. Apparently, they had some time to kill as they waited for their Chinese food order for their New Year's Eve dinner. Sadly, I did not get to hang out with Janine and Gretchen that much. In terms of timing, I was in the process of making dinner for Briana when they came on by. It was probably just as well since I would have been the only guy in the room.
As it turns out, Gretchen will not partake in my dastardly plans to play a practical joke on Kerry the next time Kerry leaves her clothes outside of her mother's place. Gretchen told Kerry that she would not take her clothes. The good news, however, is that she did not mention anything about not letting me into the condo. So theoretically, I could still take the clothes myself. For anyone curious, Gretchen lives in the same condo complex as Kerry's mom, which is where the connection is.
Anyway, it was definitely a fun and interesting day today. It was great hanging out with Kerry. I feel like I don't do that as much as I'd like to. Although if I do see her more next year, it may involve seeing her eat beans. We'll see. And it was good to see Janine and Gretchen too. Janine is usually busy a lot with her own family stuff. So it's nice when I do get to see her.
All in all, it has been fun today. In case anyone is curious, I am DVRing the infamous ball dropping countdown for when we do eventually see Karlene and Tommy. It'll be like we were still having our "tradition"... just days and days later.
Regardless, have a happy new year everyone! May the new year bring good fortune to the new hopes, dreams, and aspirations of everyone.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
I Suck At Celebrating Birthdays
December is a busy month. In addition to the holidays (and holiday parties), December happens to be the month where a some of my friends, including myself, have birthdays. Too bad I suck at celebrating birthdays. In celebration of some of those December babies though, my friends (Marc and Kelley) graciously offered to host a party last night.
Attending the party were my friends (Cass, Ellen, Garv, Leeann, and Steve), Cass and Ellens baby daughter, and my BFF (Kerry). I was hoping that my friend (Andrea) could make the shindig because scheduled for the night (in addition to the fun of hanging out) was the UFC 141 pay per view. Since the pay per view runs late (meaning Karen and my twenty one month old daughter would not last), I was hoping to catch a ride home with Andrea after the fight, but sadly she could not make it.
Regardless, the party was fantastic. Marc and Kelley did an amazing job of hosting. As usual, I had a blast hanging out with my friends. Marc and Kelley prepared a taco dinner for everyone. The taco theme came compliments of fellow December birthday girl, Kerry. Plus, tacos made more sense since Kelley has gluten allergies.
Speaking of that cursed gluten, Kelley actually risked her intestinal health just for me, which was a very nice gesture. Knowing that I love her chocolate chip cookies, Kelley made a bunch of her famous cookies for the party. It was very nice. And might I add, the chocolate chip cookies were very delicious... just like how I remembered them being. Yum! I must have eaten half a dozen of them. Granted, a couple were used as the cookies surrounding the ice cream cake. (For anyone curious, we celebrated with a football-shaped ice cream cake because the cake was covered in chocolate sprinkles.) Everything was deliciously good!
Anyway, it was a fun time hanging out with everyone. One of the topics of discussion that I remember from the night was Kerry's resolution. Apparently, one of her many resolutions is to eat beans. Why beans? According to Kerry, they are healthy. Despite my efforts and Garv's efforts to tell her that there are many other foods that are also healthy to eat, beans it was. I'd be curious to see the bean-eating 2012 model of Kerry.
As for the UFC pay per view, I had a blast watching it. I sat next to Kelley and Garv during the pay per view and we were basically just goofing around the whole time. I was actually glad that I got to watch the Lesnar/Overeem bout. After all, shortly after his loss, Lesnar declared that he was retiring from MMA. I assume the reason for the retirement has to do with his own bout with diverticulitis. If it remains true, then it was good to see Lesnar's last MMA match.
All in all, it was a great night. Thanks Marc and Kelley! (And thank you, Marc for the ride home after the pay per view... even if you missed the exit.) And of course, I can't forget: Happy birthday Ellen! Happy birthday BFF!
Attending the party were my friends (Cass, Ellen, Garv, Leeann, and Steve), Cass and Ellens baby daughter, and my BFF (Kerry). I was hoping that my friend (Andrea) could make the shindig because scheduled for the night (in addition to the fun of hanging out) was the UFC 141 pay per view. Since the pay per view runs late (meaning Karen and my twenty one month old daughter would not last), I was hoping to catch a ride home with Andrea after the fight, but sadly she could not make it.
Regardless, the party was fantastic. Marc and Kelley did an amazing job of hosting. As usual, I had a blast hanging out with my friends. Marc and Kelley prepared a taco dinner for everyone. The taco theme came compliments of fellow December birthday girl, Kerry. Plus, tacos made more sense since Kelley has gluten allergies.
Speaking of that cursed gluten, Kelley actually risked her intestinal health just for me, which was a very nice gesture. Knowing that I love her chocolate chip cookies, Kelley made a bunch of her famous cookies for the party. It was very nice. And might I add, the chocolate chip cookies were very delicious... just like how I remembered them being. Yum! I must have eaten half a dozen of them. Granted, a couple were used as the cookies surrounding the ice cream cake. (For anyone curious, we celebrated with a football-shaped ice cream cake because the cake was covered in chocolate sprinkles.) Everything was deliciously good!
Anyway, it was a fun time hanging out with everyone. One of the topics of discussion that I remember from the night was Kerry's resolution. Apparently, one of her many resolutions is to eat beans. Why beans? According to Kerry, they are healthy. Despite my efforts and Garv's efforts to tell her that there are many other foods that are also healthy to eat, beans it was. I'd be curious to see the bean-eating 2012 model of Kerry.
As for the UFC pay per view, I had a blast watching it. I sat next to Kelley and Garv during the pay per view and we were basically just goofing around the whole time. I was actually glad that I got to watch the Lesnar/Overeem bout. After all, shortly after his loss, Lesnar declared that he was retiring from MMA. I assume the reason for the retirement has to do with his own bout with diverticulitis. If it remains true, then it was good to see Lesnar's last MMA match.
All in all, it was a great night. Thanks Marc and Kelley! (And thank you, Marc for the ride home after the pay per view... even if you missed the exit.) And of course, I can't forget: Happy birthday Ellen! Happy birthday BFF!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
I Suck At Starting A New Job
I started my new job today. Too bad I suck at starting a new job.
Starting a new job is never fun. In the past companies that I have worked for, that generally means you are the "new guy" until a new hapless victim takes your place by joining the company.
I didn't mind being the "new guy" though. I was happy to be anywhere but at my previous employer. And usually, when that feeling of dread creeps in at work, it's definitely a sign that a change is needed. So off I went to a new job.
Truth be told, my days at my previous employer were limited once my manager left. My manager recruited me to work at the previous company located in Danvers. From where I live (in Norwell), that is quite the commute. Luckily for me, my manager was quite understandable about the grind of the long commute and allowed me to work from home several days a week for the three plus years that I was there. All of that changed when he left.
Once new management took over, I was asked (and by asked I mean ordered) to commute to the office more. Even though I agreed to come in more, I was labeled as "doing just enough to keep my job" by the new management. I can only assume that label is because I came in 3 of the 5 days, and not all 5 days like management originally wanted. As an interesting side note, I was actually more productive working at home than at the office, but what can you do? I couldn't change management's opinion regardless of how productive I was. Hearing that I was doing just enough to keep my job was quite insulting, especially considering how many hours I worked above and beyond for the company over the three plus years I was there.
Like I said, what can you do? When I first joined my previous employer, the company used to believe in balancing work life with personal life. It was a family friendly company which I didn't mind going above and beyond for. All of that changed when new management came in. And with it, my dread for working there started.
Luckily, I found a new company to work for; one that is much closer than Danvers. So far, the company seems like a good place to work at. But, it's still early. It's just my first day after all. And as luck would have it, my new boss was out today so I still don't exactly have too much information on what I will be doing.
Hopefully things will go well.
Starting a new job is never fun. In the past companies that I have worked for, that generally means you are the "new guy" until a new hapless victim takes your place by joining the company.
I didn't mind being the "new guy" though. I was happy to be anywhere but at my previous employer. And usually, when that feeling of dread creeps in at work, it's definitely a sign that a change is needed. So off I went to a new job.
Truth be told, my days at my previous employer were limited once my manager left. My manager recruited me to work at the previous company located in Danvers. From where I live (in Norwell), that is quite the commute. Luckily for me, my manager was quite understandable about the grind of the long commute and allowed me to work from home several days a week for the three plus years that I was there. All of that changed when he left.
Once new management took over, I was asked (and by asked I mean ordered) to commute to the office more. Even though I agreed to come in more, I was labeled as "doing just enough to keep my job" by the new management. I can only assume that label is because I came in 3 of the 5 days, and not all 5 days like management originally wanted. As an interesting side note, I was actually more productive working at home than at the office, but what can you do? I couldn't change management's opinion regardless of how productive I was. Hearing that I was doing just enough to keep my job was quite insulting, especially considering how many hours I worked above and beyond for the company over the three plus years I was there.
Like I said, what can you do? When I first joined my previous employer, the company used to believe in balancing work life with personal life. It was a family friendly company which I didn't mind going above and beyond for. All of that changed when new management came in. And with it, my dread for working there started.
Luckily, I found a new company to work for; one that is much closer than Danvers. So far, the company seems like a good place to work at. But, it's still early. It's just my first day after all. And as luck would have it, my new boss was out today so I still don't exactly have too much information on what I will be doing.
Hopefully things will go well.
I Suck At Uno's
Last night, Karen and I (and our twenty one month old daughter, Briana) were invited to dinner. My friend (Pam) and her family were up from Bon Jovi's home state of New Jersey for the holidays. As a result, she wanted to meet up for dinner at Uno's while she was in Massachusetts.
Too bad I suck at Uno's. It has been a while since I have been to the Uno's in Braintree. I had not even realized that Dave and Buster's took over the old Circuit City location. Or quite possibly, I did realize it but forgot about it. Damn you my selective memory. Just kidding.
As a side note, an interesting thing actually happened on the way to Uno's in Braintree. While we were leaving, I came upon a package left at my doorstep. As neither Karen nor I were expecting a package, we were curious as to the contents. It turns out, the package was from Circle Furniture.
Last week, our new furniture arrived from Circle Furniture. We were absolutely delighted by our experience with Circle Furniture. It turns out, Karen's aunt (Denise) also has had a great experience with Circle Furniture. Anyway, the package contained some gifts from the company accompanied with a tiny little note.
According to the note, Circle Furniture had read my post about my experience with them and decided to send me a little thank you present. The company was initially cautious about reading my post because the title of my post, like all of my posts, began with "I suck at..." Upon further reading, however, they knew it was not the case that they "suck". In fact, it was quite the contrary. Because of it, they wanted to thank me with a present.
Needless to say, Circle Furniture's thoughtful gift made my day. It was just a nice gesture from the company; one I'm sure to remember for years and years. Their service is definitely amazing. If only more companies were as great when in comes to service (and yes, I'm still referring to you Alba Restaurant in Quincy).
Anyway, the gift made my night. So thank you again, Circle Furniture! I was pretty happy as a clam when we arrived to meet Pam and her family. Also joining us for the dinner were my friends (Jen and Hot Amy).
Dinner went by pretty quickly. After all, with Briana and Pam's three children, time definitely passes at a quicker rate. For anyone curious, I had the Cabot aged cheddar and sauteed mushroom burger, while Briana practically devoured my fries. The burger was good. I also enjoyed the mango lemonade. Yum!
One of the topics of discussion that I remember from the dinner involved Jen. It turns out that 2012 may be the year she finally gets her driver's license. She seems dedicated and excited, more so than in previous years. So that was nice. Yay Jen. For anyone curious, she is planning to have a party when it happens. As an interesting side note, Pam failed her first driving test.
Anyway, it was a good day all around with the Circle Furniture gift and hanging out with friends.
Too bad I suck at Uno's. It has been a while since I have been to the Uno's in Braintree. I had not even realized that Dave and Buster's took over the old Circuit City location. Or quite possibly, I did realize it but forgot about it. Damn you my selective memory. Just kidding.
As a side note, an interesting thing actually happened on the way to Uno's in Braintree. While we were leaving, I came upon a package left at my doorstep. As neither Karen nor I were expecting a package, we were curious as to the contents. It turns out, the package was from Circle Furniture.
Last week, our new furniture arrived from Circle Furniture. We were absolutely delighted by our experience with Circle Furniture. It turns out, Karen's aunt (Denise) also has had a great experience with Circle Furniture. Anyway, the package contained some gifts from the company accompanied with a tiny little note.
According to the note, Circle Furniture had read my post about my experience with them and decided to send me a little thank you present. The company was initially cautious about reading my post because the title of my post, like all of my posts, began with "I suck at..." Upon further reading, however, they knew it was not the case that they "suck". In fact, it was quite the contrary. Because of it, they wanted to thank me with a present.
Needless to say, Circle Furniture's thoughtful gift made my day. It was just a nice gesture from the company; one I'm sure to remember for years and years. Their service is definitely amazing. If only more companies were as great when in comes to service (and yes, I'm still referring to you Alba Restaurant in Quincy).
Anyway, the gift made my night. So thank you again, Circle Furniture! I was pretty happy as a clam when we arrived to meet Pam and her family. Also joining us for the dinner were my friends (Jen and Hot Amy).
Dinner went by pretty quickly. After all, with Briana and Pam's three children, time definitely passes at a quicker rate. For anyone curious, I had the Cabot aged cheddar and sauteed mushroom burger, while Briana practically devoured my fries. The burger was good. I also enjoyed the mango lemonade. Yum!
One of the topics of discussion that I remember from the dinner involved Jen. It turns out that 2012 may be the year she finally gets her driver's license. She seems dedicated and excited, more so than in previous years. So that was nice. Yay Jen. For anyone curious, she is planning to have a party when it happens. As an interesting side note, Pam failed her first driving test.
Anyway, it was a good day all around with the Circle Furniture gift and hanging out with friends.
Monday, December 26, 2011
I Suck At Not Your Average Joe's
With nothing planned for today, I treated myself to a little lunch courtesy of Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell. Now, I suck at Not Your Average Joe's. It has been a long time since Karen and I dined there. We used to eat there quite a lot in our hey days prior to the birth of our twenty one month old daughter (Briana). Oh how times have changed.
Anyway, Not Your Average Joe's was offering a promotion that I could not pass up: free entree and dessert! The only caveat was that the offer ended today. The free entree and dessert promotion was a result of this month being my birthday month. And since I am on the mailing list for Not Your Average Joe's, I received the coupon for the promotion this month. Hence, I made sure I treated myself to lunch today.
Needless to say, it was a delicious meal as usual. I have missed the food there a lot. Interestingly enough, this lunch was a butternut squash lunch. We ordered butternut squash ravioli for an appetizer (thinking Briana would enjoy it); Karen ordered a butternut squash pizza; and I ordered Caribbean mahi which just happened to come with butternut squash and spinach. For anyone curious, of all the butternut squash options, I think Briana enjoyed the side that came with my mahi. Our waitperson must have thought we were crazy ordering so much butternut squash.
Like I said, the food was absolutely delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And as a plus, we got to take home an entire butternut squash pizza because one of the slices from the original pizza slipped off the plate when it was being served by the waitperson. So, Not Your Average Joe's made us an entirely new pizza because of it. (I must say, that is fantastic customer service especially since the manager came over to apologize for the mishap. If only more places had great customer service... Yes, I'm referring to you, Alba Restaurant in Quincy!)
And naturally, to finish off the lunch I had the peanut butter thing. Yum! Lunch was definitely great. And it was nice to treat myself to something. Yay, happy belated birthday to me.
Anyway, Not Your Average Joe's was offering a promotion that I could not pass up: free entree and dessert! The only caveat was that the offer ended today. The free entree and dessert promotion was a result of this month being my birthday month. And since I am on the mailing list for Not Your Average Joe's, I received the coupon for the promotion this month. Hence, I made sure I treated myself to lunch today.
Needless to say, it was a delicious meal as usual. I have missed the food there a lot. Interestingly enough, this lunch was a butternut squash lunch. We ordered butternut squash ravioli for an appetizer (thinking Briana would enjoy it); Karen ordered a butternut squash pizza; and I ordered Caribbean mahi which just happened to come with butternut squash and spinach. For anyone curious, of all the butternut squash options, I think Briana enjoyed the side that came with my mahi. Our waitperson must have thought we were crazy ordering so much butternut squash.
Like I said, the food was absolutely delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And as a plus, we got to take home an entire butternut squash pizza because one of the slices from the original pizza slipped off the plate when it was being served by the waitperson. So, Not Your Average Joe's made us an entirely new pizza because of it. (I must say, that is fantastic customer service especially since the manager came over to apologize for the mishap. If only more places had great customer service... Yes, I'm referring to you, Alba Restaurant in Quincy!)
And naturally, to finish off the lunch I had the peanut butter thing. Yum! Lunch was definitely great. And it was nice to treat myself to something. Yay, happy belated birthday to me.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
I Suck At Christmas
Happy birthday our lord and savior, Anna! For anyone curious, today happens to be my friend's (Anna) birthday. So happy birthday! I hope you have a great day! Coincidentally, today also happens to be Christmas. Too bad I suck at Christmas.
Karen and I started the day watching my twenty one month old daughter (Briana) open her presents from Santa. I don't think Briana has quite gotten the whole Santa concept just yet. She has, however, seemed to figure out that she gets presents and very much likes to open presents. And truthfully, who doesn't like getting presents? It was definitely fun being able to see Briana open her gifts.
Shortly afterwards, my parents came over for breakfast. Because I have a small family and Christmas day is usually spent at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine), my parents come over in the morning for breakfast. And on the menu for breakfast: waffles! Someday, I'll have to experiment and make different types of waffles. The waffles I make are just too plain in my opinion. Maybe chocolate chip waffles next year? That sounds good. Although anything with chocolate sounds good.
Anyway, my parents enjoyed watching Briana open her presents from them. We even did the family thing by contacting my brother who lives in Texas to wish him a Merry Christmas (or Happy Annamas). My brother, who recently met Briana back in October, seemed to enjoy the fact that she said "Hi" and "Bye" to him. All in all, it was a good time with my family.
From there, I made some roasted potatoes to bring to Janine's. I don't know whether I should be offended or not because Janine was hesitant to ask me to make roasted potatoes. She did not want Karen to exert herself by making the potatoes. At the same time, she was afraid to ask me to make them because she was not sure if I knew how to.
Funny thing about being married to a dietitian: people seem to think that the dietitian does all the cooking. Oh how wrong that is. I can't remember the last time Karen made a meal. Part of that is because I have been home before Karen returns from her own job. And with Briana, I don't really have much of a choice but to figure out how to make something when it's time for her to eat.
Now granted, by no means am I chef. I can do some things. Roasting potatoes happen to be one the things I (and probably a lot of other people) can do. And really, if I did not know how to do it, I'd consult my trusty friend, Google. So I thought it was a little bizarre that Janine was hesitant to ask. Little does my favorite sister-in-law with the gluten allergy know, I put gluten in the roasted potatoes. I'm just kidding. The potatoes were gluten free.
Potatoes aside, Christmas at Janine's was great. My niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ) had a great time. This year, I had the dubious distinction of saving Christmas for PJ. Apparently, we accidentally forgot to bring PJ's present. Stressed, Karen wanted to go home to get the present. Naturally, I volunteered. So Karen told me to get the present wrapped in silver. And by silver, she apparently meant blue. Luckily for me, I knew what we had gotten PJ because I probably would not have found the present based on Karen's description.
For me, one of the other more memorable parts of the night involved my dance off with Kaleigh. My favorite niece challenged me to a duel in Dance Party 3, which is a dancing video game if you could not tell by the name. Always up for a challenge, I accepted. After all, I bested the best. My friend (Hot Amy) who used to play tennis... beaten in a tennis match by yours truly who never played tennis. Hot Amy in anything... beaten. Okay, so maybe Hot Amy and her propensity for losing was not the "best".
So how hard could it be to take on a second grader in a video game? Well, I should have stopped after one dance off. After all, the first dance off challenge between Kaleigh and I went to me. And like any good uncle, I did some trash talking. From there, I just went downhill losing the next three. Despite the mounting losses, it was a riot playing against Kaleigh. She was just so serious and determined to win. It was fun... and quite the workout.
All in all, it was a great Christmas. I enjoyed the time with my family. I enjoyed the time with Karen's family. Since the passing of my son (Braden) over three years ago, I have come to cherish the time spent with family and friends because that time is so limited. So for me, today was quite rewarding.
Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone!
Karen and I started the day watching my twenty one month old daughter (Briana) open her presents from Santa. I don't think Briana has quite gotten the whole Santa concept just yet. She has, however, seemed to figure out that she gets presents and very much likes to open presents. And truthfully, who doesn't like getting presents? It was definitely fun being able to see Briana open her gifts.
Shortly afterwards, my parents came over for breakfast. Because I have a small family and Christmas day is usually spent at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine), my parents come over in the morning for breakfast. And on the menu for breakfast: waffles! Someday, I'll have to experiment and make different types of waffles. The waffles I make are just too plain in my opinion. Maybe chocolate chip waffles next year? That sounds good. Although anything with chocolate sounds good.
Anyway, my parents enjoyed watching Briana open her presents from them. We even did the family thing by contacting my brother who lives in Texas to wish him a Merry Christmas (or Happy Annamas). My brother, who recently met Briana back in October, seemed to enjoy the fact that she said "Hi" and "Bye" to him. All in all, it was a good time with my family.
From there, I made some roasted potatoes to bring to Janine's. I don't know whether I should be offended or not because Janine was hesitant to ask me to make roasted potatoes. She did not want Karen to exert herself by making the potatoes. At the same time, she was afraid to ask me to make them because she was not sure if I knew how to.
Funny thing about being married to a dietitian: people seem to think that the dietitian does all the cooking. Oh how wrong that is. I can't remember the last time Karen made a meal. Part of that is because I have been home before Karen returns from her own job. And with Briana, I don't really have much of a choice but to figure out how to make something when it's time for her to eat.
Now granted, by no means am I chef. I can do some things. Roasting potatoes happen to be one the things I (and probably a lot of other people) can do. And really, if I did not know how to do it, I'd consult my trusty friend, Google. So I thought it was a little bizarre that Janine was hesitant to ask. Little does my favorite sister-in-law with the gluten allergy know, I put gluten in the roasted potatoes. I'm just kidding. The potatoes were gluten free.
Potatoes aside, Christmas at Janine's was great. My niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ) had a great time. This year, I had the dubious distinction of saving Christmas for PJ. Apparently, we accidentally forgot to bring PJ's present. Stressed, Karen wanted to go home to get the present. Naturally, I volunteered. So Karen told me to get the present wrapped in silver. And by silver, she apparently meant blue. Luckily for me, I knew what we had gotten PJ because I probably would not have found the present based on Karen's description.
For me, one of the other more memorable parts of the night involved my dance off with Kaleigh. My favorite niece challenged me to a duel in Dance Party 3, which is a dancing video game if you could not tell by the name. Always up for a challenge, I accepted. After all, I bested the best. My friend (Hot Amy) who used to play tennis... beaten in a tennis match by yours truly who never played tennis. Hot Amy in anything... beaten. Okay, so maybe Hot Amy and her propensity for losing was not the "best".
So how hard could it be to take on a second grader in a video game? Well, I should have stopped after one dance off. After all, the first dance off challenge between Kaleigh and I went to me. And like any good uncle, I did some trash talking. From there, I just went downhill losing the next three. Despite the mounting losses, it was a riot playing against Kaleigh. She was just so serious and determined to win. It was fun... and quite the workout.
All in all, it was a great Christmas. I enjoyed the time with my family. I enjoyed the time with Karen's family. Since the passing of my son (Braden) over three years ago, I have come to cherish the time spent with family and friends because that time is so limited. So for me, today was quite rewarding.
Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone!
I Suck At Christmas Eve
I suck at Christmas Eve. For a while, Karen and I have been hosting Christmas Eve dinner. Our family is pretty small. So the guests that usually attend are my parents and Karen's parents. My friends (Marc and Kelley) generally stop by later after dinner. And as a running joke, my BFF (Kerry) always says she will try to stop on by but never does. This year, she did not even bother saying she will try to stop on by.
Anyway, this year I had the enviable task of cooking the entire dinner. In addition to being pregnant, Karen has been sick for what seems like forever with this awful sounding cough. I think it has been over two weeks now, and she is still coughing like crazy. So rather than have her stress about Christmas Eve dinner, I decided to have her stress over my cooking of Christmas Eve dinner all by myself.
On the menu for the night was ham, green beans, rice pilaf, and rolls. Karen's parents were bringing meatballs. Truth be told, the menu was nothing fancy. I was particularly excited to cook the ham because I wanted to try a new mustard glaze. (For anyone curious, the glaze was okay. I thought it tasted okay.) That reminds me, I now have to figure out what to do with the glaze packet that actually came with the ham. Can the glaze be used for something else?
In the event anyone is curious as to why I just did not use the glaze packet that came with the ham, I like to experiment with things... and I like to control the ingredients of what I eat when I can. In particular, I like limiting the amount of high fructose corn syrup that I eat (and the glaze had high fructose corn syrup). I'm not totally against high fructose corn syrup. I try to avoid ingredients that I think are synthetic when I can.
After all, I believe that some of our current health issues are a result of what we have done to our own food supply. You read about girls getting their menstrual cycle at very earlier ages now. As well, there seems to be a lot of people that I know who have developed gluten allergies, something that seemed so uncommon in the past. While I can't prove that some of these things are due to the hormones and other synthetic things we have developed to improve food, I like to think that there may at least be some correlation. Hence, I like to limit the amount of things like high fructose corn syrup.
Regardless, I think Christmas Eve dinner went well. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal. My parents, in particular, definitely enjoyed seeing our twenty one month old daughter (Briana). Briana was simply wound up. She ran around the house, laughing of course, like there was no tomorrow.
When she eventually crashed and went to bed, my parents and Karen's parents left... in like a span of minutes. It was funny because it was pretty much like our parents only came to see Briana (and not Karen and I). Once that entertainment was over, it was time to go. I guess that's the life of a parent these days.
But that was okay. It gave Karen and I some time to relax a little. And if anyone is curious, when Marc and Kelley arrived we just hung out and unfortunately ended up watching an episode of "Swamp People" because nothing else was on television. "Swamp People" is one bizarre show. The show aside, it was just good to just hang out with Marc and Kelley.
All in all, it was a good night.
Anyway, this year I had the enviable task of cooking the entire dinner. In addition to being pregnant, Karen has been sick for what seems like forever with this awful sounding cough. I think it has been over two weeks now, and she is still coughing like crazy. So rather than have her stress about Christmas Eve dinner, I decided to have her stress over my cooking of Christmas Eve dinner all by myself.
On the menu for the night was ham, green beans, rice pilaf, and rolls. Karen's parents were bringing meatballs. Truth be told, the menu was nothing fancy. I was particularly excited to cook the ham because I wanted to try a new mustard glaze. (For anyone curious, the glaze was okay. I thought it tasted okay.) That reminds me, I now have to figure out what to do with the glaze packet that actually came with the ham. Can the glaze be used for something else?
In the event anyone is curious as to why I just did not use the glaze packet that came with the ham, I like to experiment with things... and I like to control the ingredients of what I eat when I can. In particular, I like limiting the amount of high fructose corn syrup that I eat (and the glaze had high fructose corn syrup). I'm not totally against high fructose corn syrup. I try to avoid ingredients that I think are synthetic when I can.
After all, I believe that some of our current health issues are a result of what we have done to our own food supply. You read about girls getting their menstrual cycle at very earlier ages now. As well, there seems to be a lot of people that I know who have developed gluten allergies, something that seemed so uncommon in the past. While I can't prove that some of these things are due to the hormones and other synthetic things we have developed to improve food, I like to think that there may at least be some correlation. Hence, I like to limit the amount of things like high fructose corn syrup.
Regardless, I think Christmas Eve dinner went well. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal. My parents, in particular, definitely enjoyed seeing our twenty one month old daughter (Briana). Briana was simply wound up. She ran around the house, laughing of course, like there was no tomorrow.
When she eventually crashed and went to bed, my parents and Karen's parents left... in like a span of minutes. It was funny because it was pretty much like our parents only came to see Briana (and not Karen and I). Once that entertainment was over, it was time to go. I guess that's the life of a parent these days.
But that was okay. It gave Karen and I some time to relax a little. And if anyone is curious, when Marc and Kelley arrived we just hung out and unfortunately ended up watching an episode of "Swamp People" because nothing else was on television. "Swamp People" is one bizarre show. The show aside, it was just good to just hang out with Marc and Kelley.
All in all, it was a good night.
I Suck At Stars (Again)
On Christmas Eve, Karen, my twenty one month old daughter (Briana) and I continued an annual tradition and went out for breakfast. The location of that breakfast: Stars, located in Hingham. Now, I suck at Stars (again). After all, I had just eaten at Stars the night before because my friends (Marc and Kelley) organized a little outing. And it was not just any meal. It was dinner. So now I could return for breakfast!
Luckily for me, I was not the only one who had just been at Stars the night before. My BFF (Kerry) was also in attendance. The two of us just couldn't get enough of Stars. Also joining in on the annual tradition was my friend (Jen).
I'm not sure how the tradition started. I think the tradition began with just Karen, Kerry, Jen and my friend (Joanna) a long way back. I was fortunate to be invited the next year, and the rest is history. Sadly, Joanna could not come this year as airline tickets from Oregon, where she currently resides, to Boston are at an astronomical price right now. It's too bad because I definitely enjoy seeing Joanna. She just cracks me up with her stories. Perhaps that is also why I get a kick out of her brother's stories as well.
Anyway, Stars was delicious as usual. I ordered the chef's special pancakes, which were a surprise unless you really wanted to know what the surprise was before ordering. Needless to say, the pancakes were delicious. The surprise consisted of white and dark chocolate morsels with jimmies. Yum! Briana enjoyed them as well.
Speaking of my little minion, Briana, she got her first taste of video games at Stars. She did not actually play a video game. There is an old arcade game at Stars that has all of the old classics. The arcade game is complete with a joystick and a trackball. Essentially, you cycle through the classic games with the joystick and then play whichever game you choose.
Briana, in her infinitely curious nature, wanted to see what the arcade game was all about. So, I sat her on the chair in front of the game and let her cycle through the classic games using the joystick. I'll admit, there were some that I never even heard of. Needless to say, she enjoyed it. Daddy's girl!
Video game aside, that was the only thing I gave into with Briana much to the surprise of both Kerry and Jen. I get the feeling that everyone expects me to be wrapped around my little darling's finger. But nope.
Regardless, I had a fun time at Stars (again). Some of the topics of discussion included smokers and the propensity for the smell of smoke to get into clothes. Kerry, in particular, leaves her clothes outside when visiting her mother to avoid getting the smell of smoke in her clothes. Naturally, that got me thinking that I should play a practical joke on Kerry by asking my friend (Gretchen) to steal her clothes the next time she visits her mother. For anyone curious, Gretchen lives near Kerry's mother.
Anyway, Stars was a great time. The food was delicious and it was good to hang out with just Jen and Kerry.
Luckily for me, I was not the only one who had just been at Stars the night before. My BFF (Kerry) was also in attendance. The two of us just couldn't get enough of Stars. Also joining in on the annual tradition was my friend (Jen).
I'm not sure how the tradition started. I think the tradition began with just Karen, Kerry, Jen and my friend (Joanna) a long way back. I was fortunate to be invited the next year, and the rest is history. Sadly, Joanna could not come this year as airline tickets from Oregon, where she currently resides, to Boston are at an astronomical price right now. It's too bad because I definitely enjoy seeing Joanna. She just cracks me up with her stories. Perhaps that is also why I get a kick out of her brother's stories as well.
Anyway, Stars was delicious as usual. I ordered the chef's special pancakes, which were a surprise unless you really wanted to know what the surprise was before ordering. Needless to say, the pancakes were delicious. The surprise consisted of white and dark chocolate morsels with jimmies. Yum! Briana enjoyed them as well.
Speaking of my little minion, Briana, she got her first taste of video games at Stars. She did not actually play a video game. There is an old arcade game at Stars that has all of the old classics. The arcade game is complete with a joystick and a trackball. Essentially, you cycle through the classic games with the joystick and then play whichever game you choose.
Briana, in her infinitely curious nature, wanted to see what the arcade game was all about. So, I sat her on the chair in front of the game and let her cycle through the classic games using the joystick. I'll admit, there were some that I never even heard of. Needless to say, she enjoyed it. Daddy's girl!
Video game aside, that was the only thing I gave into with Briana much to the surprise of both Kerry and Jen. I get the feeling that everyone expects me to be wrapped around my little darling's finger. But nope.
Regardless, I had a fun time at Stars (again). Some of the topics of discussion included smokers and the propensity for the smell of smoke to get into clothes. Kerry, in particular, leaves her clothes outside when visiting her mother to avoid getting the smell of smoke in her clothes. Naturally, that got me thinking that I should play a practical joke on Kerry by asking my friend (Gretchen) to steal her clothes the next time she visits her mother. For anyone curious, Gretchen lives near Kerry's mother.
Anyway, Stars was a great time. The food was delicious and it was good to hang out with just Jen and Kerry.
Friday, December 23, 2011
I Suck At Stars
Tonight, I had a long overdue night out with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) and my BFF (Kerry). Don't get me wrong, I see most of them on a weekly basis. I just don't get many opportunities to hang out with them by myself. Luckily for me, tonight was one of those nights as Marc and Kelley planned a night out at Stars located in Hingham. (Stars has a gluten free menu.) Plus, my BFF would be there which is always a good thing.
Too bad I suck at Stars. Stars has a martini called "Mommy's night out". I decided to try it because they were out of their pumpkin pie martini. Bummer because I was looking forward to the pumpkin pie. Needless to say, "Mommy's night out" was an okay drink... as girly drinks go. I was actually wondering why it's called "Mommy" and not "Daddy"... or "Parent's"... because I do a heck of a lot of things for my twenty one month old daughter, even when Karen is not sick or pregnant or both. Parent discrimination. Why, I would even go so far as to say I do a heck of a lot of things for Karen. Yes ladies, I'm quite the catch. Just kidding.
Regardless, I had a blast tonight and not just because I was able to imbibe my friend known as alcohol. Like I said, it was good to see Kerry again. For Andrea and I, it was particularly gratifying because we both received gifts from Kerry. We each received Dillon High School Football t-shirts. Go Panthers! For anyone curious, the t-shirts are a reference to Friday Night Lights, which was a television show that the three of us watched.
Anyway, it was fun hanging out together. Among the things that came up in discussion were "Geek Love", a television show about geeks doing speed dating at the NYC comic con; "Community"; and new BFFs.
The speed dating geekfest at the comic con reminded me of my original suggestion to Kerry that she should attend one to find a guy. Granted, I originally suggested a Star Trek convention, but a comic book convention works even better since it's not so specific. Like I try to tell her, geeks will treat a woman right (unless you get that ubergeek who thinks he's above the other geeks).
Needless to say, Kerry was not so keen on the idea. Hence, the topic of finding a new BFF... after other topics of who she would dress up as for the comic book convention and all of that. Yeah, she wasn't going for the costume, especially when the costume involved fishnet stockings.
All in all, it was a fun time. I'm glad I had the opportunity to unwind tonight.
Too bad I suck at Stars. Stars has a martini called "Mommy's night out". I decided to try it because they were out of their pumpkin pie martini. Bummer because I was looking forward to the pumpkin pie. Needless to say, "Mommy's night out" was an okay drink... as girly drinks go. I was actually wondering why it's called "Mommy" and not "Daddy"... or "Parent's"... because I do a heck of a lot of things for my twenty one month old daughter, even when Karen is not sick or pregnant or both. Parent discrimination. Why, I would even go so far as to say I do a heck of a lot of things for Karen. Yes ladies, I'm quite the catch. Just kidding.
Regardless, I had a blast tonight and not just because I was able to imbibe my friend known as alcohol. Like I said, it was good to see Kerry again. For Andrea and I, it was particularly gratifying because we both received gifts from Kerry. We each received Dillon High School Football t-shirts. Go Panthers! For anyone curious, the t-shirts are a reference to Friday Night Lights, which was a television show that the three of us watched.
Anyway, it was fun hanging out together. Among the things that came up in discussion were "Geek Love", a television show about geeks doing speed dating at the NYC comic con; "Community"; and new BFFs.
The speed dating geekfest at the comic con reminded me of my original suggestion to Kerry that she should attend one to find a guy. Granted, I originally suggested a Star Trek convention, but a comic book convention works even better since it's not so specific. Like I try to tell her, geeks will treat a woman right (unless you get that ubergeek who thinks he's above the other geeks).
Needless to say, Kerry was not so keen on the idea. Hence, the topic of finding a new BFF... after other topics of who she would dress up as for the comic book convention and all of that. Yeah, she wasn't going for the costume, especially when the costume involved fishnet stockings.
All in all, it was a fun time. I'm glad I had the opportunity to unwind tonight.
I Suck At Circle Furniture
Today, my present to Karen (and her present to me) arrived. As scintillating a gift as it may be, Karen and I got ourselves furniture this year for Christmas. We had ordered the furniture from Circle Furniture located in Pembroke.
Now, I suck at Circle Furniture. We have never ordered furniture from there before. But I must say, it was a great experience. Of course, the free candy in the store (like Jolly Ranchers) may have swayed my decision. Although truthfully, Circle Furniture was the only place to actually have furniture that would fit the spot we were looking to add furniture to.
Karen was looking to add a sectional to our first floor living room with hopes of opening the area up in terms of seating, as well as giving our twenty one month old daughter (Briana) more room to play in. Prior to the sectional, the room only had two seats and a table. While that may be okay for just Karen and I, it wasn't going to work well when we had more than the two of us in the room. Hence, the sectional.
I actually thought it was a good idea, in part because adding the new sectional also meant that later on I could replace our television in the living room with a new flat panel television. Karen said the new television is all me. Woo hoo! I can't wait to make that purchase.
Anyway, the sectional arrived today and it looks great. Briana even seemed to enjoy it even though she may have gotten a concussion because of it. Sadly, Briana accidentally fell on her head while standing on the sectional (after repeated attempts by Karen to tell her sit instead of stand).
In what can best be described as a Charlie Brown flip, Briana seemed to spin 360 degrees in the air and land on her head. I actually only caught the dramatic part of the Charlie Brown spin (ie. the head meeting the floor part) because I was in the other room. Briana was with Karen at the time. I walked into the room... and plop. It was devastatingly sad. Luckily for us, Briana's melon is pliable. After a lot of tears, she was back to her regular self in no time and jumping back on the sectional.
Regardless, I think the furniture looks great. And I definitely can't wait to purchase that new television now.
Now, I suck at Circle Furniture. We have never ordered furniture from there before. But I must say, it was a great experience. Of course, the free candy in the store (like Jolly Ranchers) may have swayed my decision. Although truthfully, Circle Furniture was the only place to actually have furniture that would fit the spot we were looking to add furniture to.
Karen was looking to add a sectional to our first floor living room with hopes of opening the area up in terms of seating, as well as giving our twenty one month old daughter (Briana) more room to play in. Prior to the sectional, the room only had two seats and a table. While that may be okay for just Karen and I, it wasn't going to work well when we had more than the two of us in the room. Hence, the sectional.
I actually thought it was a good idea, in part because adding the new sectional also meant that later on I could replace our television in the living room with a new flat panel television. Karen said the new television is all me. Woo hoo! I can't wait to make that purchase.
Anyway, the sectional arrived today and it looks great. Briana even seemed to enjoy it even though she may have gotten a concussion because of it. Sadly, Briana accidentally fell on her head while standing on the sectional (after repeated attempts by Karen to tell her sit instead of stand).
In what can best be described as a Charlie Brown flip, Briana seemed to spin 360 degrees in the air and land on her head. I actually only caught the dramatic part of the Charlie Brown spin (ie. the head meeting the floor part) because I was in the other room. Briana was with Karen at the time. I walked into the room... and plop. It was devastatingly sad. Luckily for us, Briana's melon is pliable. After a lot of tears, she was back to her regular self in no time and jumping back on the sectional.
Regardless, I think the furniture looks great. And I definitely can't wait to purchase that new television now.
I Suck At Sending Christmas Cards
I have that nasty envelope glue taste in my mouth and I thought I would share. I finally finished addressing all of the envelopes for this year's Christmas cards. Sure, today is the day before Christmas Eve... but I suck at sending Christmas cards.
In my defense, the cards that we ordered online did not arrive on time. We ordered our cards through Vistaprint this year and just for some reason the actual delivery date was a little slower than the estimated delivery date. Oh well. Hopefully no one will mind that the cards are that late.
Someday when snail mail is totally a thing of the past, I'll never have to worry about sending out Christmas cards on time (or ever...). But until then, I'll have to make do with what I have.
In my defense, the cards that we ordered online did not arrive on time. We ordered our cards through Vistaprint this year and just for some reason the actual delivery date was a little slower than the estimated delivery date. Oh well. Hopefully no one will mind that the cards are that late.
Someday when snail mail is totally a thing of the past, I'll never have to worry about sending out Christmas cards on time (or ever...). But until then, I'll have to make do with what I have.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
I Suck At Community
Yesterday, my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) came over. After all, it was Wednesday and Wednesdays are Prince Spaghetti night. Needless to say, it was a great night as usual hanging out with friends.
I was pleasantly surprised when Andrea brought along her famous peanut butter balls. Yum! I have already devoured almost all of them within a 24 hour period. I enjoy them that much. Not to be outdone, Marc and Kelley also brought treats from Harry and David. Those were equally delicious too. I have no idea what I ate from Harry and David, but it tasted good. (The only way I can describe it is that it was a chocolate thing...)
Anyway, on the agenda for the night: Community. Too bad I suck at Community. Technically speaking, NBC sucks at Community because the network should continue airing the show and not have it be on hiatus. I, as well as many other television viewers, enjoy the show a lot.
In fact, all of us were able to watch the remaining episodes of the third season (prior to the hiatus). So should the show return, we will be all caught up. Hooray!
As an interesting side note, I learned how to do the Troy and Abed handshake. The handshake is not particularly difficult to do, but having no one to practice with does put a damper on things. (I don't think I could convince Karen to practice it with me.) Luckily, Marc was able to practice the handshake with me.
All in all, it was a great night. Go Community! Hopefully NBC will bring the show back!
I was pleasantly surprised when Andrea brought along her famous peanut butter balls. Yum! I have already devoured almost all of them within a 24 hour period. I enjoy them that much. Not to be outdone, Marc and Kelley also brought treats from Harry and David. Those were equally delicious too. I have no idea what I ate from Harry and David, but it tasted good. (The only way I can describe it is that it was a chocolate thing...)
Anyway, on the agenda for the night: Community. Too bad I suck at Community. Technically speaking, NBC sucks at Community because the network should continue airing the show and not have it be on hiatus. I, as well as many other television viewers, enjoy the show a lot.
In fact, all of us were able to watch the remaining episodes of the third season (prior to the hiatus). So should the show return, we will be all caught up. Hooray!
As an interesting side note, I learned how to do the Troy and Abed handshake. The handshake is not particularly difficult to do, but having no one to practice with does put a damper on things. (I don't think I could convince Karen to practice it with me.) Luckily, Marc was able to practice the handshake with me.
All in all, it was a great night. Go Community! Hopefully NBC will bring the show back!
Monday, December 19, 2011
I Suck At Celebrating My Birthday
Today I am another year older. As far as memorable birthdays go, I would definitely have to say this year's birthday celebration was quite low key. I guess you could say that I suck at celebrating my birthday. After all, today, more than any of my other birthdays in the past, seemed like just an ordinary day in my life.
The day began as usual with my doing chores around the house and my preparing food for my twenty month old daughter (Briana) before she actually woke up. When Briana woke up, that's when time exponentially transpired. A few diaper changes later (and watching her make a mess of breakfast), the next thing I knew it was almost noon.
By that time, my mom stopped for a visit. She wanted to celebrate my birthday by taking me out for lunch, which was great. We ended up going to the Abington Ale House. In what seems like a birthday tradition, I ordered the sirloin steak. Delicious! Being married to a dietitian, I don't get to eat steak all that often. So any time I can devour steak (and not choke on it) is good.
The Abington Ale House excursion was definitely the highlight of the day. Because afterwards, I really did not do much other than take care of Briana. It was nice seeing my mom. My dad, whose birthday also happens to be today, could not make the Abington Ale House luncheon. It would have been nice to see him today too, but I did the next best thing: I wished him happy birthday over the phone.
Incidentally, today also happens to be Hot Amy's father's birthday and a former co-worker's (Kristen) birthday too. So happy birthday to all of them too! Oh, and happy birthday Alyssa Milano! I can't forget her. I can never forget her. She's the only reason I watched Who's the Boss. (I realize that statement taken out of context could make me seem creepy, but in case anyone is curious... I am younger than Alyssa Milano. And at the time of Who's the Boss... I was a kid... she was a kid... it made sense in my distorted mind.)
Anyway, essentially that was my birthday celebration. Karen has been sick of late, so we didn't really do anything when she got home from work. Although, I suppose you can say we watched episodes of Community together. Well, I re-watched the episodes that I saw with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) last week. In an attempt to get Karen caught up, I hooked up the computer to our television and just watched a bunch of episodes with her. Great show!
But that was pretty much it. I think one of the reasons why today seemed like more of an ordinary day to me in comparison to past birthdays is because there was no birthday cake. Granted, the Abington Ale House gave me a little cupcake... but it's not the same. I was actually tempted to buy myself an ice cream cake, but sadly ran out of time. Plus, that would have just seemed odd: buying myself a cake to celebrate my own birthday.
The day began as usual with my doing chores around the house and my preparing food for my twenty month old daughter (Briana) before she actually woke up. When Briana woke up, that's when time exponentially transpired. A few diaper changes later (and watching her make a mess of breakfast), the next thing I knew it was almost noon.
By that time, my mom stopped for a visit. She wanted to celebrate my birthday by taking me out for lunch, which was great. We ended up going to the Abington Ale House. In what seems like a birthday tradition, I ordered the sirloin steak. Delicious! Being married to a dietitian, I don't get to eat steak all that often. So any time I can devour steak (and not choke on it) is good.
The Abington Ale House excursion was definitely the highlight of the day. Because afterwards, I really did not do much other than take care of Briana. It was nice seeing my mom. My dad, whose birthday also happens to be today, could not make the Abington Ale House luncheon. It would have been nice to see him today too, but I did the next best thing: I wished him happy birthday over the phone.
Incidentally, today also happens to be Hot Amy's father's birthday and a former co-worker's (Kristen) birthday too. So happy birthday to all of them too! Oh, and happy birthday Alyssa Milano! I can't forget her. I can never forget her. She's the only reason I watched Who's the Boss. (I realize that statement taken out of context could make me seem creepy, but in case anyone is curious... I am younger than Alyssa Milano. And at the time of Who's the Boss... I was a kid... she was a kid... it made sense in my distorted mind.)
Anyway, essentially that was my birthday celebration. Karen has been sick of late, so we didn't really do anything when she got home from work. Although, I suppose you can say we watched episodes of Community together. Well, I re-watched the episodes that I saw with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) last week. In an attempt to get Karen caught up, I hooked up the computer to our television and just watched a bunch of episodes with her. Great show!
But that was pretty much it. I think one of the reasons why today seemed like more of an ordinary day to me in comparison to past birthdays is because there was no birthday cake. Granted, the Abington Ale House gave me a little cupcake... but it's not the same. I was actually tempted to buy myself an ice cream cake, but sadly ran out of time. Plus, that would have just seemed odd: buying myself a cake to celebrate my own birthday.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
I Suck At Santa Visits
Yesterday, my family had a special visit. A jolly o' soul with a white beard and red suit happened to visit my house yesterday. Too bad I suck at Santa visits.
In preparation for the event, Karen and I invited our friends (Cass, Ellen, and Meredith) to come on over and bring their respective children. Their children are all younger than our twenty one month old daughter (Briana). And of course, we invited my mother-in-law and father-in-law because they happened to be Santa's special helpers.
Needless to say, it was an interesting experience. This year, Briana seems to be afraid of good o' Santa. She cried uncontrollably to the point where she didn't want us near Santa when we visited Karen's relatives in Lowell. (Is there a lot to love about Lowell?) Whenever we've been walking around the mall, she would purposely avoid getting too close to Santa, preferring to watch him from afar instead.
I'm not sure when this fear developed. After all, she was okay last year. Then again, she was not even a year old the last time she saw Santa. I have a feeling that this may be a natural thing for babies: fear of Santa. The only reason I say that is because my niece and nephew behaved the same way when they were young. And as luck would have it, Cass and Ellen's daugher and Meredith's son also cried when they were in the presence of Santa yesterday. I bet it's the shoes. Just kidding.
Despite the tears, all of the children seemed to enjoy one particular aspect of the Santa visit: the receiving of gifts. Santa = tears. Presents = smile. After Santa left, all of the kids played with their toys. And might I add, having three kids in the house gets crazy.
All in all, I think everyone had a good time. And really, how can you not? Santa came to visit.
In preparation for the event, Karen and I invited our friends (Cass, Ellen, and Meredith) to come on over and bring their respective children. Their children are all younger than our twenty one month old daughter (Briana). And of course, we invited my mother-in-law and father-in-law because they happened to be Santa's special helpers.
Needless to say, it was an interesting experience. This year, Briana seems to be afraid of good o' Santa. She cried uncontrollably to the point where she didn't want us near Santa when we visited Karen's relatives in Lowell. (Is there a lot to love about Lowell?) Whenever we've been walking around the mall, she would purposely avoid getting too close to Santa, preferring to watch him from afar instead.
I'm not sure when this fear developed. After all, she was okay last year. Then again, she was not even a year old the last time she saw Santa. I have a feeling that this may be a natural thing for babies: fear of Santa. The only reason I say that is because my niece and nephew behaved the same way when they were young. And as luck would have it, Cass and Ellen's daugher and Meredith's son also cried when they were in the presence of Santa yesterday. I bet it's the shoes. Just kidding.
Despite the tears, all of the children seemed to enjoy one particular aspect of the Santa visit: the receiving of gifts. Santa = tears. Presents = smile. After Santa left, all of the kids played with their toys. And might I add, having three kids in the house gets crazy.
All in all, I think everyone had a good time. And really, how can you not? Santa came to visit.
I Suck At Megamind
On Friday, my friends (Marc and Kelley) were in the neighborhood. In an act of spontaneity, they contacted us to see if we were around. Lo' and behold, neither Karen nor I had any big plans for Friday. Such is the life of parents of a twenty month old (who is actually twenty one months old as of this posting).
Anyway, it was great seeing Marc and Kelley. We ordered takeout dinner from Uno's, which is located just up the street. On Marc's recommendation, I ordered the wild mushroom and Cabot cheddar artisan thin crust pizza. It was delicious. I devoured the entire pizza, which really is not a difficult feat for me if you know me.
From there, we just hung out and eventually ended up watching Megamind together. Now, I suck at Megamind. I had recorded the movie on my DVR months and months ago with the intent that some day Karen would be interested in having a family movie night. Marc and Kelley are essentially family, so it's good to know my plan worked.
(The following is a trailer for Megamind.)
All in all, the movie was very enjoyable. And as usual, it was fun hanging out with Marc and Kelley. Among some of the topics of discussion that came up were Mass Effect 2 (great game!) and the television show Grimm. Kelley has been trying to plug the show in an effort to get other people to watch it. I told her I'd give a go.
Anyway, it was great seeing Marc and Kelley. We ordered takeout dinner from Uno's, which is located just up the street. On Marc's recommendation, I ordered the wild mushroom and Cabot cheddar artisan thin crust pizza. It was delicious. I devoured the entire pizza, which really is not a difficult feat for me if you know me.
From there, we just hung out and eventually ended up watching Megamind together. Now, I suck at Megamind. I had recorded the movie on my DVR months and months ago with the intent that some day Karen would be interested in having a family movie night. Marc and Kelley are essentially family, so it's good to know my plan worked.
(The following is a trailer for Megamind.)
All in all, the movie was very enjoyable. And as usual, it was fun hanging out with Marc and Kelley. Among some of the topics of discussion that came up were Mass Effect 2 (great game!) and the television show Grimm. Kelley has been trying to plug the show in an effort to get other people to watch it. I told her I'd give a go.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
I Suck At Plumbing
It only took about four years or so, but I can now cross off that one plumbing project from my to-do list. Yes, I suck at plumbing.
When Karen and I added a second floor to our house, the contractors installed a generic basic faucet in the second bathroom. Interestingly enough, we had a faucet already planned for the second bathroom. Back when the house was a shanty (although who am I kidding... the house is still a shanty), Karen and I purchased a contractor pack of faucets. The pack consisted of two faucets that we had planned to use at the time for our downstairs bathroom and our master bathroom.
Like most of my home improvement projects, at the time I only completed one of the tasks: the downstairs bathroom. I have since had to install the faucet again in the downstairs bathroom when we renovated that, but that is another story. (The bathroom had this god awful ugly green tub and water damage galore before the renovation.)
Anyway, with the second floor renovation, we decided to use the other faucet for the second bathroom as opposed to the master bathroom. The only problem: we forgot to give the other faucet to the contractors when they were hooking up the sink in the second bathroom.
And rather than have the contractors switch it back out, we decided that I would just make the switch at a later point in time. Who knew that later point in time would be over four years?
Anyway, I was able to switch out the faucets thanks in part to my parents who came down to take our twenty month old daughter (Briana) out to the mall. With Briana out of the house, that meant I had more time to dedicate to the home improvement project.
At first, things weren't looking too good for me. After I had removed the generic faucet and installed the desired faucet, I turned on the water. Everything was good, except that the water would not stop coming out of the cold water side of the faucet. So, I had to take apart the valve to see what was up. Turns out, the rubber washer was misaligned.
A few minutes later, voila! The water stopped when I twisted the faucet handle. The only problem: I had the open and the close reversed within the valve. So, I had to take apart the valve again and reset it correctly. Needless to say, I got the faucet to properly work.
Interestingly enough, after my initial gaffe, I immediately thought about my BFF (Kerry). The faucet in Kerry's bathroom is reversed in that you have to turn the handle in the opposite direction of what one would normally expect. It occurred to me that the reason for that may be the same thing I had just experienced.
Anyway, it felt pretty good to finally cross something off of the to-do list. Following my plumbing project, I made a brief visit to Karen's grandmother who lives in Hanover. I was explicitly asked by Karen's grandmother to help her with some technical issues. The technical issues involved cable television and the computer. Specifically, the issues were to switch out the cable box with a new one and figure out why she could not open an attached document in her email. Needless to say, the technical issues were resolved. Thank you OpenOffice.
When Karen and I added a second floor to our house, the contractors installed a generic basic faucet in the second bathroom. Interestingly enough, we had a faucet already planned for the second bathroom. Back when the house was a shanty (although who am I kidding... the house is still a shanty), Karen and I purchased a contractor pack of faucets. The pack consisted of two faucets that we had planned to use at the time for our downstairs bathroom and our master bathroom.
Like most of my home improvement projects, at the time I only completed one of the tasks: the downstairs bathroom. I have since had to install the faucet again in the downstairs bathroom when we renovated that, but that is another story. (The bathroom had this god awful ugly green tub and water damage galore before the renovation.)
Anyway, with the second floor renovation, we decided to use the other faucet for the second bathroom as opposed to the master bathroom. The only problem: we forgot to give the other faucet to the contractors when they were hooking up the sink in the second bathroom.
And rather than have the contractors switch it back out, we decided that I would just make the switch at a later point in time. Who knew that later point in time would be over four years?
Anyway, I was able to switch out the faucets thanks in part to my parents who came down to take our twenty month old daughter (Briana) out to the mall. With Briana out of the house, that meant I had more time to dedicate to the home improvement project.
At first, things weren't looking too good for me. After I had removed the generic faucet and installed the desired faucet, I turned on the water. Everything was good, except that the water would not stop coming out of the cold water side of the faucet. So, I had to take apart the valve to see what was up. Turns out, the rubber washer was misaligned.
A few minutes later, voila! The water stopped when I twisted the faucet handle. The only problem: I had the open and the close reversed within the valve. So, I had to take apart the valve again and reset it correctly. Needless to say, I got the faucet to properly work.
Interestingly enough, after my initial gaffe, I immediately thought about my BFF (Kerry). The faucet in Kerry's bathroom is reversed in that you have to turn the handle in the opposite direction of what one would normally expect. It occurred to me that the reason for that may be the same thing I had just experienced.
Anyway, it felt pretty good to finally cross something off of the to-do list. Following my plumbing project, I made a brief visit to Karen's grandmother who lives in Hanover. I was explicitly asked by Karen's grandmother to help her with some technical issues. The technical issues involved cable television and the computer. Specifically, the issues were to switch out the cable box with a new one and figure out why she could not open an attached document in her email. Needless to say, the technical issues were resolved. Thank you OpenOffice.
I Suck At Community
Yesterday was a good day, and not just because I finally completed Mass Effect 2 after 40+ hours. Who says you can't play video games when you're a parent? For anyone curious, Mass Effect 2 is a great game! I thoroughly enjoyed the game, even though the object of my desire, Yeoman Kelly Chambers, melted into tiny bits before my eyes. I'll have to replay it at some point to actually get a happier ending.
Mass Effect 2 aside, I had the opportunity to hang out with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). Unfortunately, Karen could not attend the shindig. She was still feeling the effects from her fever. Yes, it's almost a week now that she has been sick. And like any good husband and father of a twenty month old, I said to her "Later, chump" and made a mad dash out of the house for my brief minutes of freedom. Just kidding.
On the agenda for the night was starting season three of Community. Now, I suck at Community. All of us have been planning to start the third (and possibly last) season of the show for some time. Our schedules have been busy this month and it just seemed like we could never get everyone together. Needless to say, we started the third season yesterday. (And for anyone curious, Karen assured me that she would watch the episodes online so as to catch up with all of us.)
As usual, the episodes were hilarious. We actually made it through six episodes last night, meaning that by the end of our next get-together we should be all caught up with the series. Too bad the show is currently on hiatus. Damn you NBC!
In addition to Community, we also ordered food for dinner. Andrea was coming directly from work and consequently would not have the opportunity for make dinner at home. So all of us decided to order from the Fowler House. I ordered the burger. Even though I devoured my burger (and most of Andrea's), I would say that I was not that impressed by the Fowler House burger. I attribute my voracious eating more to my bottomless pit of a stomach, than to the great taste of the burgers.
All in all, it was a good night of just hanging out and having fun. And naturally, with my bizarre train of thought, I ended up thinking about which Community character all of us would be if my circle of friends were similar to those of the Community characters. Kelley and Andrea suggested Troy for me.
Mass Effect 2 aside, I had the opportunity to hang out with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). Unfortunately, Karen could not attend the shindig. She was still feeling the effects from her fever. Yes, it's almost a week now that she has been sick. And like any good husband and father of a twenty month old, I said to her "Later, chump" and made a mad dash out of the house for my brief minutes of freedom. Just kidding.
On the agenda for the night was starting season three of Community. Now, I suck at Community. All of us have been planning to start the third (and possibly last) season of the show for some time. Our schedules have been busy this month and it just seemed like we could never get everyone together. Needless to say, we started the third season yesterday. (And for anyone curious, Karen assured me that she would watch the episodes online so as to catch up with all of us.)
As usual, the episodes were hilarious. We actually made it through six episodes last night, meaning that by the end of our next get-together we should be all caught up with the series. Too bad the show is currently on hiatus. Damn you NBC!
In addition to Community, we also ordered food for dinner. Andrea was coming directly from work and consequently would not have the opportunity for make dinner at home. So all of us decided to order from the Fowler House. I ordered the burger. Even though I devoured my burger (and most of Andrea's), I would say that I was not that impressed by the Fowler House burger. I attribute my voracious eating more to my bottomless pit of a stomach, than to the great taste of the burgers.
All in all, it was a good night of just hanging out and having fun. And naturally, with my bizarre train of thought, I ended up thinking about which Community character all of us would be if my circle of friends were similar to those of the Community characters. Kelley and Andrea suggested Troy for me.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
I Suck At Subway
Sadly, the highlight of my Monday involved eating. On Monday, my mother and I grabbed a quick bite to eat from Subway. Now, I suck at Subway. I have not eaten at Subway in quite some time.
My parents were down visiting the golden child known as my twenty month old daughter (Briana). As I was ill-prepared to make lunch for the day, I offered to grab takeout. And by ill-prepared, I mean I was lazy. As a parent, there are just days that I want to take a break from things and Monday happened to be one of those days.
Anyway, my mother suggested grabbing food from Subway because she had heard about some promotion for $2 subs. It turns out, Subway is offering 6-inch meatball subs and 6-inch cold cut subs for $2 for the month of December. Always one for a deal, I said "sure, why not?"
Needless to say, I ordered 5 meatball subs. And interestingly enough, they were good. I devoured 3 of the 5 subs. In my defense, I was only planning on eating two. Karen was not hungry, so I ate hers. After all, subs don't reheat well.
It was definitely filling. If Subway keeps the promotion for all of next year, I may partake in the Jared diet. Just kidding.
Naturally in keeping with the food theme, I also decided to continue my devouring ways later that day and eat some gummy candy from
Sugar Plum Chocolates. My friends (Marc and Andrea) recently took a day trip to New York City. Among the things they brought back from their trip was this gummy Outrageous Alphabet by Sugar Plum Chocolates. In case anyone is curious, the gummy letter they got me was an M.
The gummy letter is huge. I think it actually may be bigger than the ginormous gummy bear that my friend (Aimee) gave me awhile back. If it's not bigger, it is just as large. Well, it didn't take me long to polish off the gummy letter. And might I add, I was completely stuffed after eating the gummy letter. Those 200 calories were worth it though.
My parents were down visiting the golden child known as my twenty month old daughter (Briana). As I was ill-prepared to make lunch for the day, I offered to grab takeout. And by ill-prepared, I mean I was lazy. As a parent, there are just days that I want to take a break from things and Monday happened to be one of those days.
Anyway, my mother suggested grabbing food from Subway because she had heard about some promotion for $2 subs. It turns out, Subway is offering 6-inch meatball subs and 6-inch cold cut subs for $2 for the month of December. Always one for a deal, I said "sure, why not?"
Needless to say, I ordered 5 meatball subs. And interestingly enough, they were good. I devoured 3 of the 5 subs. In my defense, I was only planning on eating two. Karen was not hungry, so I ate hers. After all, subs don't reheat well.
It was definitely filling. If Subway keeps the promotion for all of next year, I may partake in the Jared diet. Just kidding.
Naturally in keeping with the food theme, I also decided to continue my devouring ways later that day and eat some gummy candy from
Sugar Plum Chocolates. My friends (Marc and Andrea) recently took a day trip to New York City. Among the things they brought back from their trip was this gummy Outrageous Alphabet by Sugar Plum Chocolates. In case anyone is curious, the gummy letter they got me was an M.
The gummy letter is huge. I think it actually may be bigger than the ginormous gummy bear that my friend (Aimee) gave me awhile back. If it's not bigger, it is just as large. Well, it didn't take me long to polish off the gummy letter. And might I add, I was completely stuffed after eating the gummy letter. Those 200 calories were worth it though.
Monday, December 12, 2011
I Suck At Pseudo Christmas
Yesterday was the holiday tradition in Karen's family known as Pseudo Christmas. Now, I suck at Pseudo Christmas. I think Modern Family's "Express Christmas" has a better ring to it.
Pseudo Christmas is held in the lovely land of Lowell. There is a lot to like about Lowell or so the residents there will tell you. It just so happens to be where Karen's aunt, uncle, and cousins live.
Personally, as much as enjoy Lowell, I think Karen should have skipped her family tradition this year. She has been battling a fever this entire weekend. She actually almost cancelled going to my BFF's (Kerry) holiday party on Saturday due to her fever. So going out the following day, even if it's family tradition, probably isn't a good idea. But that's just my opinion. As I am posting this, she is still battling fever-like symptoms (and it's Monday). Oh what people do for "tradition".
Anyway, it was a nice Pseudo Christmas. With Karen being sick (and pregnant), I actually spent most of the day making sure our twenty month old daughter (Briana) was not getting into things. I actually missed out on the majority of the "silly swap" that Karen's family holds because Briana wanted to play elsewhere. Luckily for me, I drew an early number. So I could just pick a gift... leave to attend to Briana... and no one would miss me.
For me, probably the most memorable part of Pseudo Christmas was taking a break to go to a discount auto parts store with Karen's cousin's husband (Tommy) and my favorite brother-in-law (PJ). PJ needed to pick up some light bulbs for his trailer. We weren't gone that long, but the break from being a responsible parent was definitely nice.
One of the other things that I'll probably remember from Pseudo Christmas 2011 is Karen's grandmother's sister (Mary) and her love of apple pie. Suffice to say, Mary is mentally not all there. She is being taken care of by her son (Kevin), who interestingly enough told me a side story about how someone calls him "Mike" now because he was spotted wearing a jacket I brought to the silly swap of Pseudo Christmas 2010. I brought an old high school jacket with my name on the sleeve. Kevin (or Mary) was the lucky recipient of the jacket last year. As a result, Kevin uses it as his smoking jacket and apparently someone whom he vaguely knows greeted him with a "Hi Mike" the other day.
Anyway, Mary had a slice of apple pie for dessert. She wanted a second helping of the apple pie, but Kevin told her that there was none left. So back and forth they went over the apple pie and how she wanted another slice and how Kevin said there was none left. Of course, while this is going on PJ is egging Mary on about getting another slice of pie. It seemed like the discussion of the apple pie lasted forever. And truthfully, there were two slices of apple pie left. I happen to know that because I ate one of the remaining slices. Apple pie = yum! (Mary was right.)
Pseudo Christmas is held in the lovely land of Lowell. There is a lot to like about Lowell or so the residents there will tell you. It just so happens to be where Karen's aunt, uncle, and cousins live.
Personally, as much as enjoy Lowell, I think Karen should have skipped her family tradition this year. She has been battling a fever this entire weekend. She actually almost cancelled going to my BFF's (Kerry) holiday party on Saturday due to her fever. So going out the following day, even if it's family tradition, probably isn't a good idea. But that's just my opinion. As I am posting this, she is still battling fever-like symptoms (and it's Monday). Oh what people do for "tradition".
Anyway, it was a nice Pseudo Christmas. With Karen being sick (and pregnant), I actually spent most of the day making sure our twenty month old daughter (Briana) was not getting into things. I actually missed out on the majority of the "silly swap" that Karen's family holds because Briana wanted to play elsewhere. Luckily for me, I drew an early number. So I could just pick a gift... leave to attend to Briana... and no one would miss me.
For me, probably the most memorable part of Pseudo Christmas was taking a break to go to a discount auto parts store with Karen's cousin's husband (Tommy) and my favorite brother-in-law (PJ). PJ needed to pick up some light bulbs for his trailer. We weren't gone that long, but the break from being a responsible parent was definitely nice.
One of the other things that I'll probably remember from Pseudo Christmas 2011 is Karen's grandmother's sister (Mary) and her love of apple pie. Suffice to say, Mary is mentally not all there. She is being taken care of by her son (Kevin), who interestingly enough told me a side story about how someone calls him "Mike" now because he was spotted wearing a jacket I brought to the silly swap of Pseudo Christmas 2010. I brought an old high school jacket with my name on the sleeve. Kevin (or Mary) was the lucky recipient of the jacket last year. As a result, Kevin uses it as his smoking jacket and apparently someone whom he vaguely knows greeted him with a "Hi Mike" the other day.
Anyway, Mary had a slice of apple pie for dessert. She wanted a second helping of the apple pie, but Kevin told her that there was none left. So back and forth they went over the apple pie and how she wanted another slice and how Kevin said there was none left. Of course, while this is going on PJ is egging Mary on about getting another slice of pie. It seemed like the discussion of the apple pie lasted forever. And truthfully, there were two slices of apple pie left. I happen to know that because I ate one of the remaining slices. Apple pie = yum! (Mary was right.)
I Suck At Holiday Parties
Saturday was my BFF's (Kerry) annual holiday party. Too bad I suck at holiday parties. For the past ten years (I think), Kerry has been having a party North of Boston during the holidays.
This year, Kerry mentioned it may be her last holiday party. In essence, it would be her holiday party to end all holiday parties. So we'll see. Attending the possibly last holiday party North of Boston were my friends (Marc, Kelley, Andrea, Cass, and Ellen).
Early on, the party would be divided by geography. Kerry's friends from Massachusetts would be in one room; Kerry's friends from Rhode Island would be in the other; and never the twain shall meet. Logistically, it makes sense because people tend to go toward what they are comfortable with. Over the years, her friends from both states have started mingling together. And this past holiday party on Saturday was just that.
Although as an interesting side note, I think Kerry may now be attempting to keep some of her friends from mingling. Karen and I found out on Saturday that Kerry's friend, Sam, is also from the South Shore where most of her friends from Massachusetts reside. Sam lives in the mean streets of Weymouth to be exact. All of us have met Sam before, but that interesting tidbit somehow never came up.
I actually find Sam pretty funny and personable. When I first met her, she had a lot of love. She loved watermelon. She loved quinoa. And she told everyone with such enthusiasm. It was bizarre, yet funny. And of course, she didn't even bat an eye when seeing Marc in his skimpy mesh track shorts from high school that were way too small for him now. Now, my friend Garv on the other hand was blinded by the sight.
Anyway, it was nice seeing friends and hanging out with everyone. Karen and I actually did not stay too long because our twenty month old daughter (Briana) was not liking the fact that we were out and about without her.
One of the main topics of discussion from the night was the hierarchy of geeks, nerds and dorks... since most of the people in attendance were either geeks, nerds, or dorks. Cass didn't think he fit into any of the categories... and I'll agree with him. After all, he's going to be the future mayor of Quincy! Vote Cass for mayor!
Another topic that got me thinking was what superhero I would be. It only makes sense since the previous topic was about the hierarchy of geeks, nerds, and dorks. That thought (about what superhero I would be) entered my mind because Marc and Kelley suggested that Kerry could dress up as the Black Canary and attend a comic book conference. Much like my original suggestion from years back to Kerry about attending a Star Trek convention... the ratio of women to men is greatly skewed in her favor.
Naturally, when Marc and Kelley suggested that Black Canary was actually fitting for Kerry, that got me thinking about what superhero I would be... much like what actor would play me in the movie about me. I suppose if you combine the two, I can have an actor play me becoming a superhero in the movie about me...
This year, Kerry mentioned it may be her last holiday party. In essence, it would be her holiday party to end all holiday parties. So we'll see. Attending the possibly last holiday party North of Boston were my friends (Marc, Kelley, Andrea, Cass, and Ellen).
Early on, the party would be divided by geography. Kerry's friends from Massachusetts would be in one room; Kerry's friends from Rhode Island would be in the other; and never the twain shall meet. Logistically, it makes sense because people tend to go toward what they are comfortable with. Over the years, her friends from both states have started mingling together. And this past holiday party on Saturday was just that.
Although as an interesting side note, I think Kerry may now be attempting to keep some of her friends from mingling. Karen and I found out on Saturday that Kerry's friend, Sam, is also from the South Shore where most of her friends from Massachusetts reside. Sam lives in the mean streets of Weymouth to be exact. All of us have met Sam before, but that interesting tidbit somehow never came up.
I actually find Sam pretty funny and personable. When I first met her, she had a lot of love. She loved watermelon. She loved quinoa. And she told everyone with such enthusiasm. It was bizarre, yet funny. And of course, she didn't even bat an eye when seeing Marc in his skimpy mesh track shorts from high school that were way too small for him now. Now, my friend Garv on the other hand was blinded by the sight.
Anyway, it was nice seeing friends and hanging out with everyone. Karen and I actually did not stay too long because our twenty month old daughter (Briana) was not liking the fact that we were out and about without her.
One of the main topics of discussion from the night was the hierarchy of geeks, nerds and dorks... since most of the people in attendance were either geeks, nerds, or dorks. Cass didn't think he fit into any of the categories... and I'll agree with him. After all, he's going to be the future mayor of Quincy! Vote Cass for mayor!
Another topic that got me thinking was what superhero I would be. It only makes sense since the previous topic was about the hierarchy of geeks, nerds, and dorks. That thought (about what superhero I would be) entered my mind because Marc and Kelley suggested that Kerry could dress up as the Black Canary and attend a comic book conference. Much like my original suggestion from years back to Kerry about attending a Star Trek convention... the ratio of women to men is greatly skewed in her favor.
Naturally, when Marc and Kelley suggested that Black Canary was actually fitting for Kerry, that got me thinking about what superhero I would be... much like what actor would play me in the movie about me. I suppose if you combine the two, I can have an actor play me becoming a superhero in the movie about me...
I Suck At Little Duck
On Thursday, Karen, my twenty month old daughter (Briana), and I had our weekly get together with friends. We ended up going to Quincy where my friends (Marc and Kelley) live. My friend (Andrea), who has since become Kelley's drinking buddy, was unfortunately not able to join us due to work-related issues. So for the second straight week, all of us were not in attendance. Someday, we'll get to season three of Community (such a great show!).
Anyway, it was great to hang out with Marc and Kelley. Kelley recently returned from her trip to Germany (Sprechen sie Deutsch?) and we were able to see all of her pictures.
Aside from that, we just hung out, laughed, and watched some things they had recorded on their DVR. One thing in particular was recorded just for Karen. It was an episode of the Daily Show which had Betty White on as a guest. Gotta love Betty White.
Oh, and we also did something we haven't done in a while: we ordered takeout from the Little Duck. Now, I suck at the Little Duck. I haven't eaten there in awhile, but since Karen was craving it (and really, who would deny a pregnant woman her craving?) we got dinner there. As usual, the food was delicious. Oh Little Duck, how I missed you so! Okay, so maybe I had a craving too...
All in all, it was a great night as usual hanging out with friends.
Anyway, it was great to hang out with Marc and Kelley. Kelley recently returned from her trip to Germany (Sprechen sie Deutsch?) and we were able to see all of her pictures.
Aside from that, we just hung out, laughed, and watched some things they had recorded on their DVR. One thing in particular was recorded just for Karen. It was an episode of the Daily Show which had Betty White on as a guest. Gotta love Betty White.
Oh, and we also did something we haven't done in a while: we ordered takeout from the Little Duck. Now, I suck at the Little Duck. I haven't eaten there in awhile, but since Karen was craving it (and really, who would deny a pregnant woman her craving?) we got dinner there. As usual, the food was delicious. Oh Little Duck, how I missed you so! Okay, so maybe I had a craving too...
All in all, it was a great night as usual hanging out with friends.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
I Suck At Attending A Service For Remembrance
It's good to know that I can still feel pain.
On Tuesday, Karen, my twenty month old daughter (Briana), and I attended the 19th Annual Service of Remembrance at the Old South Union Church located directly across from South Shore Hospital. The service is held for families who have lost children. Too bad, I suck at attending a service for remembrance.
I've been attending the service ever since our son (Braden) passed away in 2008. As a result, this year was the fourth annual service I've been to. It's amazing how quickly time goes by.
For anyone curious, the service in addition to remembering the lost loved ones allows for people to share encouraging stories with one another. And every year at the service, I always wonder what it is that I would say if I had that opportunity. I don't think there's really much I could say other than the experience sucks. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Luckily for everyone, I did not share that encouraging thought. Instead, I spent the entire service at the "crib room" complements of my loving daughter. My always curious daughter was definitely not going to sit patiently through the service. So off to the "crib room" we went... at the start of the service.
The crib room is essentially a play area to keep little children occupied during the service. The room also broadcasts the on-going service, so that you don't really miss out on anything that is said. Interestingly enough, Briana and I were not the only ones there. When we got there, a mother and two of her children were already in the room.
I generally think Briana is a handful. She's curious and on the go until she sleeps. Fortunately for me, Briana pales in comparison to one of the children I met in the crib room. The girl was slightly older than Briana and she literally ran non-stop circles around the room for the entire service. It was impressive... and insane at the same time.
Needless to say, despite the interesting experience in the crib room, I did get to hear Braden's name over the speakers. It was good to be able to dedicate a night to him, which is something I think I don't do as often as I'd like.
And as proof as to how soft I have become, I actually teared up in the crib room. It was not even for Braden. The grandmother of the other two children in the room was telling me how her daughter lost her son. To me, it was just an awful story about how the unborn child was near full term and just one day, the mother could not feel any movement. The baby simply had passed away. I think what struck me as the worst part of the story was that the mother had to deliver the deceased baby. I felt so sad when I heard that. Heck, I feel sad typing it right now.
Anyway, it was good to remember Braden. I still wonder what he would be like right now if he had survived. I miss you, Braden. Please don't forget that I'll always love you.
On Tuesday, Karen, my twenty month old daughter (Briana), and I attended the 19th Annual Service of Remembrance at the Old South Union Church located directly across from South Shore Hospital. The service is held for families who have lost children. Too bad, I suck at attending a service for remembrance.
I've been attending the service ever since our son (Braden) passed away in 2008. As a result, this year was the fourth annual service I've been to. It's amazing how quickly time goes by.
For anyone curious, the service in addition to remembering the lost loved ones allows for people to share encouraging stories with one another. And every year at the service, I always wonder what it is that I would say if I had that opportunity. I don't think there's really much I could say other than the experience sucks. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Luckily for everyone, I did not share that encouraging thought. Instead, I spent the entire service at the "crib room" complements of my loving daughter. My always curious daughter was definitely not going to sit patiently through the service. So off to the "crib room" we went... at the start of the service.
The crib room is essentially a play area to keep little children occupied during the service. The room also broadcasts the on-going service, so that you don't really miss out on anything that is said. Interestingly enough, Briana and I were not the only ones there. When we got there, a mother and two of her children were already in the room.
I generally think Briana is a handful. She's curious and on the go until she sleeps. Fortunately for me, Briana pales in comparison to one of the children I met in the crib room. The girl was slightly older than Briana and she literally ran non-stop circles around the room for the entire service. It was impressive... and insane at the same time.
Needless to say, despite the interesting experience in the crib room, I did get to hear Braden's name over the speakers. It was good to be able to dedicate a night to him, which is something I think I don't do as often as I'd like.
And as proof as to how soft I have become, I actually teared up in the crib room. It was not even for Braden. The grandmother of the other two children in the room was telling me how her daughter lost her son. To me, it was just an awful story about how the unborn child was near full term and just one day, the mother could not feel any movement. The baby simply had passed away. I think what struck me as the worst part of the story was that the mother had to deliver the deceased baby. I felt so sad when I heard that. Heck, I feel sad typing it right now.
Anyway, it was good to remember Braden. I still wonder what he would be like right now if he had survived. I miss you, Braden. Please don't forget that I'll always love you.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
I Suck At Alba Restaurant
In celebration of Karen's birthday, my friends and I went to the Alba Restaurant located in Quincy. Now, I suck at Alba Restaurant. I don't believe I have ever been to Alba's. My friend (Marc), however, seems to think I may have been there over three years ago when there was an incident involving him being doused in water by the waitstaff (accidentally, of course). If it is true, I sadly don't remember that incident and it just goes to show how terrible my memory really is.
Regardless, Karen has never been to Alba's. She wanted to try their breakfast as the Brioche French Toast was recommended to her by one of her friends. So off to the Alba Restaurant we went for breakfast on Sunday. Joining in on the celebration were Marc, my friends (Cass, Ellen, Garv, Leeann, Andrea), and my BFF (Kerry). Cass and Ellen's baby daughter also joined us as well, which gave my baby daughter (Briana) someone else to play with. And by play, I mean look at it.
Anyway, I ordered the Alba Special, which was an omelet with feta, tomato and spinach that came with potatoes and an English muffin. The meal was good. The problem, in my opinion, was the service.
We waited... and waited... and waited for our meals to arrive. There was never once a mention of the reason for the delay, or even an acknowledgement that they were taking longer than expected. When I say we waited, it was a ridiculous amount of time for things as easy as french toast and eggs. Other tables that had come in after us had already finished and left before we got served our food. Not to mention, when the food did arrive, the food came out in waves where a few of us received food while the rest of us had to watch and wait for a prolonged amount of time for for the next food item to arrive. It was terrible.
In my opinion, if Alba simply acknowledged they were having problems, I would have been okay with that. But nope. Nothing. It seems to me like that should be basic customer service 101. I also found out later from Karen, who was equally disappointed with the experience, that the bathrooms did not have any toilet paper. That struck me as equally terrible because we arrived for breakfast when the restaurant opened. To have no toilet paper in the bathroom during the opening hours is just a sign of bad management.
Needless to say, even though the food was decent, I probably would not recommend the Alba Restaurant in Quincy. The service was just that terrible. Sadly, the celebration was for Karen's birthday... which was back in October. But at least we got to hang out with all of our friends and enjoy our time together. So that part was nice.
Regardless, Karen has never been to Alba's. She wanted to try their breakfast as the Brioche French Toast was recommended to her by one of her friends. So off to the Alba Restaurant we went for breakfast on Sunday. Joining in on the celebration were Marc, my friends (Cass, Ellen, Garv, Leeann, Andrea), and my BFF (Kerry). Cass and Ellen's baby daughter also joined us as well, which gave my baby daughter (Briana) someone else to play with. And by play, I mean look at it.
Anyway, I ordered the Alba Special, which was an omelet with feta, tomato and spinach that came with potatoes and an English muffin. The meal was good. The problem, in my opinion, was the service.
We waited... and waited... and waited for our meals to arrive. There was never once a mention of the reason for the delay, or even an acknowledgement that they were taking longer than expected. When I say we waited, it was a ridiculous amount of time for things as easy as french toast and eggs. Other tables that had come in after us had already finished and left before we got served our food. Not to mention, when the food did arrive, the food came out in waves where a few of us received food while the rest of us had to watch and wait for a prolonged amount of time for for the next food item to arrive. It was terrible.
In my opinion, if Alba simply acknowledged they were having problems, I would have been okay with that. But nope. Nothing. It seems to me like that should be basic customer service 101. I also found out later from Karen, who was equally disappointed with the experience, that the bathrooms did not have any toilet paper. That struck me as equally terrible because we arrived for breakfast when the restaurant opened. To have no toilet paper in the bathroom during the opening hours is just a sign of bad management.
Needless to say, even though the food was decent, I probably would not recommend the Alba Restaurant in Quincy. The service was just that terrible. Sadly, the celebration was for Karen's birthday... which was back in October. But at least we got to hang out with all of our friends and enjoy our time together. So that part was nice.
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