Oops! He did it again!
So the other night my father-in-law took HC and I out for my belated birthday dinner.
After dinner, we stop to pick up some groceries. We come home and start to put away the groceries. We both get distracted.
We hear a crash in the kitchen. We come running.
We find HRH under the dining room table frantically eating the ribs we had left over from dinner. The empty take out container laying on the kitchen floor.
Yep. We'd forgotten about his
ability to reach the kitchen couter top.....
Oops! He did it again.
We were NOT amused!! But we had to laugh a little bit. The little bastard!!
Labels: Birthday, food, HRH, Random things..
Weekend Update
Another good but busy weekend.Friday evening we went to the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts for a showing. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoy the openings. We've been to 3 or 4 of these and I've enjoyed myself at every one. I'm always amazed at the creativity and talent. I've not run across anything I thought was crap. Afterwards, we came home, fired up the chimnea and watched a DVD, (De-Lovely), outside. It was the perfect ending to the week.Saturday we went to yoga and ran errands. We took a nice drive up to Soergel's for some fresh fruits and vegetables. We met up with H & J that night at the Southside Works to listen to the 80's cover band Velveeta. They were very entertaining.Sunday we went to yoga and came home. HC had to work on her painting job. I washed the cars and cut up some logs. We had my belated b-day dinner at J's. Outta sight as usual. The first cassoulet of the season!!! He's the best. Labels: Birthday, food, Miata, Music, Pittsburgh N'at, show, Weekend Update
Musings at 3:00 am
A couple of nights ago I couldn't get back to sleep. I hate that. Sometimes I'm able to get right back to sleep. Other times I'm up for hours. And then I'm useless the next day...Here's what rattles though a Chowder's head at 3:00....- Ideas to fix problems at work. E-mails I need to send out. Call I need to make.
- Things to try on the new laptop to get it to print to the F'ing printer. I've wasted countless hours on such a basic task. Piece of sh!t. I can't belive it's being such a pain in the ass. I know it'll be something simple...
- Try to relax & get back to sleep.
- Things I want to get for the Miata. Shiny good!! Must pimp my ride....
- Holy Sh!t I'm going to be 43 soon.
- Turn on the satellite radio and surf for something to listen to. That'll do it!!
- Money. No I can't pimp my ride this year. I've spent so much on cars this year. My desire to pimp my ride must wait until next year. It's nice to have NOT need to have kind of stuff.
- How about breathing exercises? That'll help me relax & get to sleep.
- House projects: patio, front walkway, roof.
- Worry about where we're going to get the money for these projects.
- I've got 7 more vacation days to burn by the end of the year. Where to go. Where to go...
Labels: Birthday, Cars, ChowderHead 101, frustrations, house, jobs, Miata, Random things..
What's been going on?
Sorry I haven't posted recently. Here's what's been going on...Work: Hasn't let up. It's kept me running around like a chicken without a head. They have no idea what they want but they want it ASAP, yesterday if not sooner. And they don't tell me what they need and then get on conference calls and complain!?!? How can I help you when you don't let me know your needs? I've been trying to remember to do my breathing exercises to keep my stress at a manageable level. (It's helped a little) I've been walking HRH after work. That's helped too.Miata: Finally all fixed up. New clutch & glove box lock. I'm tops down again!! Oh I forgot to mention the new glove box latch was needed because someone tried to break into the Miata when we went up to Morraine State Park a while back. They stole a pair of $5 sunglasses from the center console and broke the lock on the glove box. You know whoever they are are really hard up when they need to steal $5 sunglasses. I hope they enjoy the cheap sunglasses as much as I did. I'm glad they didn't get into the glove box though since I had a 12 CD holder in there...HC: She's doing well. Busy with work and getting sporadic painting jobs here & there. HRH: Unsatisfied with the amount of food & toys his peeps give him. Always planning his next escape attempt in search of the land of food-&-toys-a-plenty.The Daddy-o: Doing well. He's been going on his daily walks. He's in good spirits. He had me took into a trip to Montreal for him last week. (I've stopped telling him it's cheaper if you plan your trip at least 14 days in advance.) It's his money and he can spend it however he chooses. I'm not used to him being this way. All my life he's been very frugal with money. So to have him pass up the opportunity to save some money for the same service/item is strange to me. But I guess it does add to the spontaneity AND besides he's not getting any younger so you never know...Me: Still frazzled & burned out. I need to get motivated to find my "What's next?" HC's been very supportive but I need to get motivated to read my "What Color is your Parachute" book and do the exercises. Most days I'm so tired at the end of the work day all I want to do is go home & hide. Thinking is T-H-E L-A-S-T thing I want to do. But I need to do it. I'll know when the time is right. I've noticed in my life things do happen for a reason. If I can see & learn the lesson I'm supposed to, I'll move on to the next phase/step in my life. Oh yeah. It was my birthday last Tuesday. HC took me to Whisper's Pub for dinner. The food, service, and atmospere were very nice. We'll be going back!Kids: We're back to going back & forth. Concerns about risks to HC's health. Concerns about having the time, energy, and money to raise a child. Concerns about how it will change our lives. We like our life together now. What's a child going to do to the mix?!?! Concerns about how good a parent I'd be. After all, I'm not the most patient person....Labels: Birthday, Cars, ChowderHead 101, Colored Parachutes, Family, frustrations, HC, HRH, jobs, Miata, Parents, Time to get on with my life, Update
Weekend Update
The weekend was a nice mix of activity and relaxing.
Friday: I had a few vacation days left over from last year so I took it off. It was a treat for me to have a leasurely breakfast with HC. Since we were in the Strip District, we got 90% of our grocery shopping done. I then ran a few other errands while HC met up with 1 of her former co-workers for lunch. I took HRH out for a walk. It wasn't too cold or snowy when we left the house. He'd been stuck in the house for days and I could tell he was getting a little stir crazy. Anyways, half way through our walk the snow really kicked in. And the winds were pretty strong. HRH was not amused but what can you do?!? Keep walking. That night, I took S to the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild for his early birthday present. We saw International Guitar Night, featuring Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Brian Gore, and Andrew York. Part of the Guitar Society of Fine Art Concert Series. It was awesome. Those guys were amazing. So much sound out of a few instruments. And very different than the type of music he and I typically listen to. Also, I'd never heard Indian music played live before so that was a first for me. S had a good time. After the first number S said that piece alone was worth the price of admission. Saturday: Was a relaxing day of watching videos, working out, doing laundry, steaming clothes, and hanging out. We didn't have anything planned so we didn't even leave the house. Besides, it was very cold. So yet another good reason to stay inside! Sunday: Yoga. Brunch. Chores. A little shopping. J came over to hang out, have dinner, and get caught up. - Wine.
- Nibbly plate (Cheese, olives, artichokes, salami)
- Mixed green salad. w/HC's Killer homemade blue cheese dressing.
- Herbed pork chops.
- Cous Cous.
- Caramelized Baby Bella mushrooms and shallots.
- Wine.
Labels: Birthday, Music, Weekend Update
HC’s birthday dinner
My Dad took us out to the Middle Road Inn for HC’s birthday dinner last night. The Middle Road Inn is a nice local bar & restaurant. No, it’s not as fancy as the Point Brugge Café but the food is good and the people are nice. HC had a sandwich. The Daddy-o and I opted for their All-you-can-eat Crab Legs. My Dad and I were pigs! In our defense the Middle Road Inn enabled us to be pigs. Usually if you go to an all you can eat place they start you out with a couple of crab leg clusters or ribs or fish fillets or wings. Then they’ll check in on you in 20 minutes or so. If you ask for more, they’ll bring you 2 or 3 more. The pace is usually slow. They’re hoping you’ll notice you were full 2 plates ago or tired of waiting before you eat all you can eat. Also they usually try to fill you up on sides or bread. (Gee it sounds like I’m talking from experience of something….Not like I’ve ever gone to all you can eat places.) I guess I should add glutton to my profile. I love food. Making it. Eating it. The Middle Road Inn does not use this strategy, they start you off with a heaping plate of 6 crab clusters and bring out refills 6 clusters at a time. The crab legs were meaty, hot, and fresh. The meat was sweet. No need for the drawn butter.Seafood tip: Fresh seafood does not smell or taste “fishy”.
Honestly, my Dad and I each had a plate and a half of crab legs. In the context of “all you can eat” that’s not that much. In the context of crab legs, that’s a lot-o-crab. In the context of watching what I eat and smaller portions, that was a lot of food. I could’ve eaten more but the “smaller portions” voice in my head eventually became louder than the sound of cracking exoskeleton. So I couldn’t ignore it anymore and had to stop. Now that’s not to say I wasn’t full. I was full after the first plate… Some vices die H-A-R-D!!!!!!Labels: Birthday, food, Parents
Happy Birthday to my Wife
Today is the HC's birthday.
I give thanks daily for such a talented, smart, funny, patient, hard working, and adventurous mate.
And I'm thankful that she makes me use my words. Communication is so vital in any relationship. And I know sometimes I'm not so good at communicating what's going on in my head. I am so lucky.
She's the best of all time!!!Labels: Birthday
