Monday, November 17, 2008

What a week, what a weekend...

Okay, it looks like I managed to not post a second update in the past week.

Ouch.

At least I got pictures posted.

Oops.

So let's get into the whys, as they're pretty cool in my book.

First off, Sasha and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary this past Tuesday. Quite the day for both of us. Sasha, as always, opened up with a couple of cool and sweet cards. (No, I'm not sharing the contents.)

Then I quickly snagged a bouquet of flowers before we left work. Since we generally carpool to work, I thought to surprise her by having the flowers sitting on her seat right after work. Well you know what they say about great minds....

So when I climbed into the driver's side, there was a gift on the seat for me! Fallout 3 for the PS3! Now that's a wife who knows her husband, or at least knows how to find out what he wants without asking directly.

For her, it was a variety of products from Bath and Body Works as well as a very nice bottle of wine that I had assistance in picking out. It was a Syrah/Viognier blend made through the collaboration of a French grower and an Australian grower, with the grapes grown in Australia. Excellent, was Sasha's assessment. Hopefully I can find it again for her.

Dinner that evening was at the always tasty Crawdaddy's Cajun/seafood restaurant here in Milwaukee. Some deep conversation to accompany the excellent food. We opened up with some spicy crayfish on their fresh baked sourdough bread. Then Sasha had a light salad with a very good Cajun ranch dressing as a prelude to her 4 oz blacked fillet that joined with a large shrimp resting on top. Very yummy steak that had the "melty" quality that I really appreciated in steak.

I had the baked halibut that was filled with a fantastic crab stuffing. While bites were exchanged, we really dug into both of our meals with enthusiasm. Normally, we have their key lime pie, but this was a time where we had eaten so much that exploding would have happened next.

One topic of conversation was the writing of our family trip list. Locations/cities in the United States that we feel the kids need to see at some point to get to know their country. Now some cities did not make the list as they are a given. Disney World covers Orlando and Florida. We'll visit Phoenix to see Grandpa John and Grandma Louise. And Chicago will be a frequent trip due to the amount of family in the area.

Other cities on the list: Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, the trip through the Northwest to see Mount Rushmore and other such sights. Toronto is also on the list, even though it is in Canada. San Francisco and Boston are on the list while San Diego is not, but will be visited due to the fact that we like the city so much.

It was fun to discuss the various cities we want the kids to see. Some of these places we haven't been to ourselves, so there will be much excitement for all of us.

After Tuesday, we moved into prep mode for Marcus's first birthday party on Sunday. Wednesday, was quiet as we just did some planning and I put in a bunch of time on Fallout 3. (Any game where Liam Neesen voices your father has got to be cool.) Thursday, Sasha had the kids for the day and we got the tables opened up.

By Friday, the basement was mostly arranged and all the non-food items were purchased - decorations, plates, etc. (More Fallout 3 for Jon.) And then Saturday kicked things into full gear.

Sasha stepped out right away to hit WalMart for the metric ton of food that needed to be acquired, while I stayed with the kids. And what a trip she had - 11 pounds of ground beef, 10 cans of crushed tomatoes, five cans of beans, and I don't know how many packets of chili seasonings. Weight-wise, it was around 35 pounds of chili pre-cooked. Somehow, it all managed to fit into our incredibly large stock pot, but it was a worry that we went a little too big for our own good.

Once that was cooking, it was time for the cornbread muffins. I have no real idea on the total number of muffins made, but I'd hazard a guess of over fifty. That was a lot of cornbread!

Meanwhile, the beverage fridge was filled to the brim with soda, beer, wine and juice boxes. Quite the combination.

Then the kids were tucked and the final round began. Streamers in the green and gold of the Green Bay Packers went up, as well as blue and orange for the Chicago Bears. Table covers, chairs arranged, leaves in the tables, various hanging decorations, and at 11 pm, the house was ready for the arrival the next day.

Which will have to be another post.

Be seeing you,

Jon

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