Today is my wedding anniversary. Too bad I suck at wedding anniversaries. It was nine years ago today that I duped Karen into marrying me. And still, the joke is on her.
In the past, when we were young and wild whippersnappers, we used to celebrate our anniversary by exchanging presents based on the traditional anniversary gift list. Sadly we stopped that practice as those traditional gifts became increasingly difficult to plan around, like iron for the sixth anniversary. As much as I enjoy a little ferrous, I can't for the life of me imagine wanting anything made of iron. (Bueller... Bueller... Bueller...)
Needless to say, we ditched that idea. For the past few years, however, Karen and I have been dining out at the same restaurant on our anniversary. That restaurant: the Square Cafe, located in Hingham. A few years ago, my favorite sister-in-law's BFF (Gretchen) had recommended the place to us when we were deciding on where to go out for dinner on our anniversary. Always up for something new, we gave the restaurant a try and we've gone back ever since on our anniversary. (Thanks Gretchen!) We enjoy the food that much.
This year, however, there was a slight twist with our anniversary as we decided to bring our children with us for dinner. In years past, Karen and I had offers from family to watch our kids while we celebrated our anniversary. For our ninth anniversary, no one outside of my friend (Andrea) offered to watch our kids. (Thanks Andrea!) And as much as we appreciated Andrea's offer, we felt bad sticking her with a two year old and a two month old. So the kids came with us to dinner, which is always a daunting task because it could either go very well... or very badly.
Luckily for us, today our two year old (Briana) was very good. In fact, I would say that Briana enjoyed the food at the Square Cafe too because she ate practically everything on her plate. In case anyone is curious, I had the ribeye steak with jumbo shrimp and scallion mashed potatoes and asparagus. Yum! I had no problem being part of the clean plate club today.
Karen and I actually did something we hardly ever do when we dine out. We ordered an appetizer and a dessert. Generally, if we are to order something besides our main dish, it is usually appetizer or dessert, hardly ever both. But since the food was so good, we had to indulge. We had the crispy hot and sour calamari (made with grapefruits and mango) and the strawberry rhubarb crisp. It was so good.
Needless to say, it was a delightful dinner. I enjoyed it immensely. And as a side note, we ran into one of the librarians from our library. She was out walking her dog when we ran into her. It was good to see her... and her huge labrador retriever, Jasper.
All in all, it was a good anniversary. I can't believe it has been nine years.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
I Suck At 7-Eleven
Oh thank heaven! I suck at 7-Eleven.
The most memorable part of today, aside from hearing that my two month old daughter (Bridget) pooped all over Karen, is getting a slurpee at 7-Eleven. Today, 7-Eleven was offering a free 7.11 oz. slurpee to patrons to ring in the flavors of summer.
I haven't had a slurpee in some time. In fact, the last time I had one was probably when 7-Eleven gave away a free slurpee two years ago. (I think I missed the free slurpee offer last year.) Needless to say, the slurpee was great! For anyone curious, I had the new Slurpee Lite Fanta Sugar-free mango with 50% fewer calories. Of course I had to try that particular flavor. It was new, it was mango flavored, and it was good!
Anyway, the free slurpee was a nice treat to have after dinner. Thank you 7-Eleven! You made my day.
The most memorable part of today, aside from hearing that my two month old daughter (Bridget) pooped all over Karen, is getting a slurpee at 7-Eleven. Today, 7-Eleven was offering a free 7.11 oz. slurpee to patrons to ring in the flavors of summer.
I haven't had a slurpee in some time. In fact, the last time I had one was probably when 7-Eleven gave away a free slurpee two years ago. (I think I missed the free slurpee offer last year.) Needless to say, the slurpee was great! For anyone curious, I had the new Slurpee Lite Fanta Sugar-free mango with 50% fewer calories. Of course I had to try that particular flavor. It was new, it was mango flavored, and it was good!
Anyway, the free slurpee was a nice treat to have after dinner. Thank you 7-Eleven! You made my day.
I Suck At Being A Library Trustee
Today, my reign of terror officially begins.
After being elected for the glamorous position of library trustee on Saturday, I stopped by the local town hall today to be sworn in. Now I suck at being a library trustee. Truth be told, I didn't even know I had to be sworn in because this entire political arena is all new to me. But I guess it makes sense that I would need to be sworn in. It is, after all, an elected position.
Anyway, the process to be sworn in did not take too long. I'll admit it. I almost flubbed the lines that I was to repeat during the process. Who knew there would be so many sentences to remember and repeat? But it's done. It's official. I'm a library trustee.
Interestingly enough, the next step in being an elected official is taking an ethics course online. I guess it is required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I find that somewhat ironic considering that there have been some elected officials who recently have been anything but ethical. These officials include the likes of Charlie Flaherty, Tom Finneran, and Sal DiMasi to name a few. Heck, throw in Dianne Wilkerson's name. And politicians wonder why they get a bad reputation.
Politics aside, running for an elected position has definitely been an interesting experience thus far. Hopefully I can make a difference. That's all I want to do. Granted, I'm limited to making a difference only with the library, but it's a difference nonetheless. I wonder if this is how all politicians get their start. They have dreams and aspirations of making a difference, only to become jaded with the "machine".
I suppose the only other noteworthy event of today is that I filled up the gas tank of my car. It's noteworthy only because it has been over a month since I last filled up the gas tank. I was pretty excited when I realized that it has been a month and a week since that happened. I'm so glad I work so close to home. Take that big oil companies!
After being elected for the glamorous position of library trustee on Saturday, I stopped by the local town hall today to be sworn in. Now I suck at being a library trustee. Truth be told, I didn't even know I had to be sworn in because this entire political arena is all new to me. But I guess it makes sense that I would need to be sworn in. It is, after all, an elected position.
Anyway, the process to be sworn in did not take too long. I'll admit it. I almost flubbed the lines that I was to repeat during the process. Who knew there would be so many sentences to remember and repeat? But it's done. It's official. I'm a library trustee.
Interestingly enough, the next step in being an elected official is taking an ethics course online. I guess it is required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I find that somewhat ironic considering that there have been some elected officials who recently have been anything but ethical. These officials include the likes of Charlie Flaherty, Tom Finneran, and Sal DiMasi to name a few. Heck, throw in Dianne Wilkerson's name. And politicians wonder why they get a bad reputation.
Politics aside, running for an elected position has definitely been an interesting experience thus far. Hopefully I can make a difference. That's all I want to do. Granted, I'm limited to making a difference only with the library, but it's a difference nonetheless. I wonder if this is how all politicians get their start. They have dreams and aspirations of making a difference, only to become jaded with the "machine".
I suppose the only other noteworthy event of today is that I filled up the gas tank of my car. It's noteworthy only because it has been over a month since I last filled up the gas tank. I was pretty excited when I realized that it has been a month and a week since that happened. I'm so glad I work so close to home. Take that big oil companies!
I Suck At Celebrating My Mother-In-Law's Birthday
This past Sunday, my family and I celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday. Too bad I suck at celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday. For the celebration, Karen's family took everyone out to Quan's Kitchen located in Hanover. Apparently, Chinese food has been a tradition when it comes to my mother-in-law's birthday celebration.
Joining in on the festivities were my favorite sister-in-law (Janine), my favorite niece (Kaleigh), and my favorite nephew (PJ). If it were a competition between son-in-laws, I scored some major son-in-law points on Sunday in part because PJ could not attend the celebration. I would say I'm up a few points by now. Just kidding.
Anyway, the food at Quan's Kitchen was quite delicious. I must say, the manager of the restaurant is very friendly. She came over to our table many times to ensure everything was good. Plus, I think she wanted to say hello to my two year old daughter (Briana). Incidentally, I think Briana likes the restaurant a lot.
I spent a good chunk of time at Quan's Kitchen walking around in circles up and down the aisle of tables with Briana. If she takes after Karen, she'll probably be a distance runner. Truth be told, I'm not sure how many laps I made around the tables. I lost count after 10.
Following the delicious lunch, everyone headed back to our place for dessert and presents. Turns out, my mother-in-law loves Martha Washington geraniums. Apparently, those geraniums are hard to find this season. Luckily, Karen was able to find one for her mother's birthday.
And what may be the most memorable part of the day for me is the look of joy my mother-in-law had when she saw her "Nana" t-shirt. My mother-in-law wants to be known as Nana to my kids (and my niece and nephew). Her claim, however, is that there are not a lot of shirts that use the term "Nana". Luckily again, Karen was able to find a shirt that mentioned "Nana". (Karen is such a good daughter, right?)
Anyway, I say the Nana t-shirt was the most memorable part of the day because I don't think I have ever heard my mother-in-law shriek with joy. If only I had recorded my mother-in-law's reaction... if only.
All in all, I think my mother-in-law had a great birthday celebration.
Joining in on the festivities were my favorite sister-in-law (Janine), my favorite niece (Kaleigh), and my favorite nephew (PJ). If it were a competition between son-in-laws, I scored some major son-in-law points on Sunday in part because PJ could not attend the celebration. I would say I'm up a few points by now. Just kidding.
Anyway, the food at Quan's Kitchen was quite delicious. I must say, the manager of the restaurant is very friendly. She came over to our table many times to ensure everything was good. Plus, I think she wanted to say hello to my two year old daughter (Briana). Incidentally, I think Briana likes the restaurant a lot.
I spent a good chunk of time at Quan's Kitchen walking around in circles up and down the aisle of tables with Briana. If she takes after Karen, she'll probably be a distance runner. Truth be told, I'm not sure how many laps I made around the tables. I lost count after 10.
Following the delicious lunch, everyone headed back to our place for dessert and presents. Turns out, my mother-in-law loves Martha Washington geraniums. Apparently, those geraniums are hard to find this season. Luckily, Karen was able to find one for her mother's birthday.
And what may be the most memorable part of the day for me is the look of joy my mother-in-law had when she saw her "Nana" t-shirt. My mother-in-law wants to be known as Nana to my kids (and my niece and nephew). Her claim, however, is that there are not a lot of shirts that use the term "Nana". Luckily again, Karen was able to find a shirt that mentioned "Nana". (Karen is such a good daughter, right?)
Anyway, I say the Nana t-shirt was the most memorable part of the day because I don't think I have ever heard my mother-in-law shriek with joy. If only I had recorded my mother-in-law's reaction... if only.
All in all, I think my mother-in-law had a great birthday celebration.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
I Suck At The Avengers
Avengers assemble!
Today has been quite the busy day. After all, today is election day for the town of Norwell. The biggest item on the ballot, other than my name... and my ego, is the budget override. For anyone curious, in Massachusetts, a statute known as Proposition 2.5 (two and a half) was passed in 1982. The statute gets its name from the maximum percentage that a municipality is allowed to increase its annual taxes by. Thus, a municipality cannot increase its annual taxes by more than 2.5 percent. And naturally, there is a way to circumvent that statute. That method: an override, which allows the town to increase the percentage over 2.5%.
For those who are interested, the override did end up passing. More taxes = fun! And as a side note, I apparently did win for my bid to be a library trustee. Go me. So in terms of the library, I guess the override will help make my elected position a little easier. Although truth be told, the library is like the Rodney Dangerfield of Norwell. It gets no respect as evident from the fact that it is the only department that had its budget slashed away at by the Selectmen. No other department had that done. I'm guessing none of the three Selectmen use the public library. Hopefully the newly elected Selectmen will.
Anyway, voting aside, my parents sprang a little surprise on me today. Calling me bright and early in the morning, my parents invited my family to dim sum. My relatives have been visiting for the week. As it was their last day here, they wanted to go out for some dim sum. And like I enjoy saying: you win some, you dim sum. Or maybe it's: you dim sum, you lose some? Eh, whatever.
As the dutiful son, I naturally had to go. And nothing is more relaxing than getting a two year old daughter and a two month old daughter ready to go at the spur of the moment. Fun fun. We ended up eating dim sum at the Grand Chinatown located in Quincy. The food was good. I enjoyed it a lot better than the China Pearl, but I may be biased only because my two year old daughter (Briana) had her 100 day party there. Don't ask. The worst part was finding parking there. Who knew it would be so busy there on a Saturday?
When dim sum was over and my duty was fulfilled, I headed back home only to spend what seemed like hours mowing the lawn. Luckily for me, my friend (Marc) came just at the right time. Incidentally, my friend (Christine) also had stopped by a few minutes before Marc. I didn't get to chat much with Christine, but she was coming from some party somewhere nearby and decided to drop off some Tupperware. I didn't get the full scoop. I'm sure Karen would know better than me.
Marc and I, however, had plans for the night. Those plans: the Avengers. Now, I suck at the Avengers. Okay, so maybe not really. It was definitely fun hanging out with just Marc tonight. It was like a geekfest, considering the fact that we both enjoy comic books and things of that nature.
For me, it was also the first time I got to watch any movie in 3D. And no, I don't consider the Hannah Montana concert that I watched in 3D a movie. And yes, I watched the Hannah Montana concert because my niece (Kaleigh) wanted to watch it. (Sure, I did.) I must say, IMax 3D is pretty neat.
Needless to say, the movie was awesome. Of course, how could it not be? Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame directed the movie and wrote the screenplay. He can't do any wrong... even if he created Dollhouse. Plus, it's the Avengers! Earth's mightiest heroes!
All in all, it was a good busy day. I definitely had a blast eating at Bertucci's for dinner again for the second straight day and watching the Avengers with Marc. The geekfest was a nice way to end the night.
Today has been quite the busy day. After all, today is election day for the town of Norwell. The biggest item on the ballot, other than my name... and my ego, is the budget override. For anyone curious, in Massachusetts, a statute known as Proposition 2.5 (two and a half) was passed in 1982. The statute gets its name from the maximum percentage that a municipality is allowed to increase its annual taxes by. Thus, a municipality cannot increase its annual taxes by more than 2.5 percent. And naturally, there is a way to circumvent that statute. That method: an override, which allows the town to increase the percentage over 2.5%.
For those who are interested, the override did end up passing. More taxes = fun! And as a side note, I apparently did win for my bid to be a library trustee. Go me. So in terms of the library, I guess the override will help make my elected position a little easier. Although truth be told, the library is like the Rodney Dangerfield of Norwell. It gets no respect as evident from the fact that it is the only department that had its budget slashed away at by the Selectmen. No other department had that done. I'm guessing none of the three Selectmen use the public library. Hopefully the newly elected Selectmen will.
Anyway, voting aside, my parents sprang a little surprise on me today. Calling me bright and early in the morning, my parents invited my family to dim sum. My relatives have been visiting for the week. As it was their last day here, they wanted to go out for some dim sum. And like I enjoy saying: you win some, you dim sum. Or maybe it's: you dim sum, you lose some? Eh, whatever.
As the dutiful son, I naturally had to go. And nothing is more relaxing than getting a two year old daughter and a two month old daughter ready to go at the spur of the moment. Fun fun. We ended up eating dim sum at the Grand Chinatown located in Quincy. The food was good. I enjoyed it a lot better than the China Pearl, but I may be biased only because my two year old daughter (Briana) had her 100 day party there. Don't ask. The worst part was finding parking there. Who knew it would be so busy there on a Saturday?
When dim sum was over and my duty was fulfilled, I headed back home only to spend what seemed like hours mowing the lawn. Luckily for me, my friend (Marc) came just at the right time. Incidentally, my friend (Christine) also had stopped by a few minutes before Marc. I didn't get to chat much with Christine, but she was coming from some party somewhere nearby and decided to drop off some Tupperware. I didn't get the full scoop. I'm sure Karen would know better than me.
Marc and I, however, had plans for the night. Those plans: the Avengers. Now, I suck at the Avengers. Okay, so maybe not really. It was definitely fun hanging out with just Marc tonight. It was like a geekfest, considering the fact that we both enjoy comic books and things of that nature.
For me, it was also the first time I got to watch any movie in 3D. And no, I don't consider the Hannah Montana concert that I watched in 3D a movie. And yes, I watched the Hannah Montana concert because my niece (Kaleigh) wanted to watch it. (Sure, I did.) I must say, IMax 3D is pretty neat.
Needless to say, the movie was awesome. Of course, how could it not be? Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame directed the movie and wrote the screenplay. He can't do any wrong... even if he created Dollhouse. Plus, it's the Avengers! Earth's mightiest heroes!
All in all, it was a good busy day. I definitely had a blast eating at Bertucci's for dinner again for the second straight day and watching the Avengers with Marc. The geekfest was a nice way to end the night.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
I Suck At Bertucci's
Yesterday was day two with Solar City. Thursday was the home energy audit. Yesterday was the engineering audit to inspect our roof to calculate possible placement of the panels. Unlike the previous day, yesterday's audit only took the regular three hours.
Sadly, things don't look too good on the solar front. The engineers do not seem to think that we would get as much sun exposure as they originally thought, which is a bummer. Hopefully, things will work out though. I may have to pray to the sun god, Ra. Ra is a merciful all loving god... especially if you need a tan.
Anyway, as Karen was exhausted, I decided to take the family to Bertucci's located in Hingham. Now, I suck at Bertucci's. I actually have not been there in some time. The idea of dining out at Bertucci's came about because I received a coupon from them via email yesterday. And they say email marketing doesn't work...
Luckily for me, when Karen is exhausted she can't really think straight when it comes to what she want to eat. So off to Bertucci's we went. And rather than eat at Bertucci's, we took our pizza to go... to the back of the Derby Shoppes.
Located at the back of the Derby Shoppes in Hingham (past the Apple store) is a little area for bocci. Not only that, there is a garden used by b.Good. For anyone curious, b.Good is growing mint for medicinal purposes of course. Aside from the bocci and the garden, there is actually a nice little place to sit covered by an umbrella.
So that is where we had our dinner. We ordered the Eggplant Napoleone and the Stella pizza. Both were very delicious. I've missed going to Bertucci's. Had my friend (Hot Amy) been there, I'm sure she would have enjoyed the meal too. After all, Hot Amy is a fan of the eggplant. If eggplant had a Facebook page, I'm sure she would "like" it.
Anyway, it was good to eat at Bertucci's. The food was definitely delicious.
Sadly, things don't look too good on the solar front. The engineers do not seem to think that we would get as much sun exposure as they originally thought, which is a bummer. Hopefully, things will work out though. I may have to pray to the sun god, Ra. Ra is a merciful all loving god... especially if you need a tan.
Anyway, as Karen was exhausted, I decided to take the family to Bertucci's located in Hingham. Now, I suck at Bertucci's. I actually have not been there in some time. The idea of dining out at Bertucci's came about because I received a coupon from them via email yesterday. And they say email marketing doesn't work...
Luckily for me, when Karen is exhausted she can't really think straight when it comes to what she want to eat. So off to Bertucci's we went. And rather than eat at Bertucci's, we took our pizza to go... to the back of the Derby Shoppes.
Located at the back of the Derby Shoppes in Hingham (past the Apple store) is a little area for bocci. Not only that, there is a garden used by b.Good. For anyone curious, b.Good is growing mint for medicinal purposes of course. Aside from the bocci and the garden, there is actually a nice little place to sit covered by an umbrella.
So that is where we had our dinner. We ordered the Eggplant Napoleone and the Stella pizza. Both were very delicious. I've missed going to Bertucci's. Had my friend (Hot Amy) been there, I'm sure she would have enjoyed the meal too. After all, Hot Amy is a fan of the eggplant. If eggplant had a Facebook page, I'm sure she would "like" it.
Anyway, it was good to eat at Bertucci's. The food was definitely delicious.
I Suck At Community
This past Thursday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my two month old (Bridget), and I went to my friend's (Andrea). After all, Thursday is must see tv night and the tv that we must see is Community. Too bad I suck at Community.
Truth be told, we almost did not make our weekly get together with Andrea and my friends (Marc and Kelley). We were running a little late due to a home energy audit conducted by our friends at Solar City. I felt somewhat bad for the Solar City person because he apparently was at our house for about six hours. Apparently, he was shorthanded. Thus, what normally is about a three hour job took twice as long.
Luckily, I was able to give the guy a hand when I got home from work. I had to tape our air registers shut. I never realized how many vents we had... until I started taping them shut. But, it was all worth it. I got all psyched up because I got to see the part of the audit where the big fan is attached to the door. Yep, it's the little things.
Anyway, because of the audit, we ran a little late to Andrea's who was hosting for the week. And I must say... Community was hilarious. Well, if you are geek like myself... the first of the three episodes that aired on Thursday was awesome. The episode involved video games. Hence, geek.
Needless to say, it was a good night. We got to see Andrea's new shelves in her closet. It almost made me want to start my home improvement projects again, but we'll see how that goes. One of the things that I want to do more of is use my time more wisely. And there's nothing more wiser that I can think of than sitting at a computer blogging. Just kidding.
For me, I seem to lose a lot of time. I have no idea where it goes. I work. I come home. I eat. I take care of my kids. Before I know it, it's time for bed. Repeat cycle. Rather than fall into that vicious cycle where nothing productive gets done, I want to start budgeting time differently. But like I said, we'll see how that goes.
Truth be told, we almost did not make our weekly get together with Andrea and my friends (Marc and Kelley). We were running a little late due to a home energy audit conducted by our friends at Solar City. I felt somewhat bad for the Solar City person because he apparently was at our house for about six hours. Apparently, he was shorthanded. Thus, what normally is about a three hour job took twice as long.
Luckily, I was able to give the guy a hand when I got home from work. I had to tape our air registers shut. I never realized how many vents we had... until I started taping them shut. But, it was all worth it. I got all psyched up because I got to see the part of the audit where the big fan is attached to the door. Yep, it's the little things.
Anyway, because of the audit, we ran a little late to Andrea's who was hosting for the week. And I must say... Community was hilarious. Well, if you are geek like myself... the first of the three episodes that aired on Thursday was awesome. The episode involved video games. Hence, geek.
Needless to say, it was a good night. We got to see Andrea's new shelves in her closet. It almost made me want to start my home improvement projects again, but we'll see how that goes. One of the things that I want to do more of is use my time more wisely. And there's nothing more wiser that I can think of than sitting at a computer blogging. Just kidding.
For me, I seem to lose a lot of time. I have no idea where it goes. I work. I come home. I eat. I take care of my kids. Before I know it, it's time for bed. Repeat cycle. Rather than fall into that vicious cycle where nothing productive gets done, I want to start budgeting time differently. But like I said, we'll see how that goes.
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