Ahh, The Holidays have begun
23 Nov 2007 4 Comments
Thanksgiving was at The Folks again this year. I wanted to do my part so I invited everyone over for breakfast at my apartment.
Brotha-Man’s in-laws were heading in from Connecticut so he, Sil and The King were unable to come. I told Mom I was ready to have them all but I would have to borrow one plate. She laughed but we both know that was better than when I had the pancake breakfast a few years ago. I had only invited Mom and Dad that year but Nicole was living with me at the time and her Fiancée, Lou, stopped by so we had to wash the only four dishes I had and reuse them as fast as possible. We laugh about that every year now.
So Mom, Dad and Sis came for breakfast. Mini Red and I were up late doing the final cleaning Wednesday night. We had already done the grocery shopping Tuesday, which was not fun but I approached it with a Zen like attitude and we survived. Thursday, Mini Red and I got up early since our guests were arriving at 9am. I was still doing more cleaning and wiping down the kitchen cabinets when Mini Red said, “What are you doing Mom?”
I replied, “I’m cleaning.”
“Mom! Do you really think they will notice a speck on your cabinets and point it out?”
“Hey! My schedule doesn’t warrant dome deep cleaning like this so when I have the chance I will scrub the cabinets and such.”
For breakfast I had scrapple, bacon, eggs, fruit, cinnamon buns, home fries, toast, OJ and coffee. The five of us squeezed around my dining table and breakfast was a success. Dad even expressed how much he enjoyed it and that was an incredible feat considering he doesn’t like much of anything anyone cooks except for Mom’s cooking.
After breakfast I drove Mini Red to her Dad’s. I was feeling grumpy and I think that was just a combination of exhaustion and the fact that the holidays are here. I am determined to really enjoy the holidays this year. The shopping is always a bit unnerving and I refuse to let any of it get to me and just figure out what it is I want out of the holidays to make me happy.
So when I got home I went for a run. Who could resist when it was so beautiful out. Now I’m probably the worst runner out there, I’ll walk and run and walk and run and so on. I did a bit more running this time and hit some neighborhoods I haven’t been through in a long time. All the while I was enjoying listening to The Kooks. This is unusual since I don’t normally take the iPod when I run but listening to the music and taking in the sights of the beautiful trees will put anyone in a great mood.
I leisurely took my after shower run and took my time drying my hair and getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner at 5pm. I was feeling the hunger pains since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and although tempted to just grab one little piece scrapple I didn’t. I was the last to arrive at The Folks but dinner wasn’t near ready and I made a beeline for my nephew, The King. He looked at me and cried. Mom hollered from the kitchen, “Red! Did you make The King cry again?”
“Yes!”
Ends up he was hungry so I let him be. We were all hungry and this year there were no dips, which was probably a good thing. We opened the wine and by the time we sat down to eat we were all buzzing off the wine on our empty stomachs. After the fabulous dinner, which I had seconds of the pineapple stuffing, we excused ourselves to let the dinner settle before we dug into the desserts. The King was much happier so we played and he even told me a story. Gawd, I love this kid and he is growing so fast that we suspect he will be very tall like my brother and thus will be carrying his Mommy around by the holidays next year.
Thanksgiving was a success and now all I was trying to do was stay awake. I had been so exhausted and I was feeling my run then after the wine and all the food I knew I would sleep well. I was home and in bed in time for Grey’s Anatomy and I could barely stay awake for that. Earlier in the evening I sent out mass text messages to all my friends wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving. I received replies all the way up till 2am and still I would easily fall back to sleep easily.
Yeup, the holidays are off to a good start. I’ve recently realized how much I love the holiday commercials and movies. I believe White Christmas is playing today and I love the Sisters song. It’s just the shopping is the part I’m not looking forward to.
Can’t we all just get along?
21 Nov 2007 4 Comments
Sis’s man, Chase, sent me this:
Had to post it cause it’s too good not to share. The facial expressions are priceless.
Thanks Chase!
A Riotous good time at the Oyster Riot
18 Nov 2007 2 Comments
in alcohol, family, food, friends
A Riot by definition is: To act in an unrestrained or wanton manner; to indulge in excess of luxury, feasting, or the like; to revel; to go to excess.
The long awaited Oyster Riot was last night and a good time was had by all. Our goal was to arrive before the doors opened since we only had three hours to eat as many oysters as possible.
I couldn’t help but feel I was lagging behind, due to my new heels, as we walked in to the metro. When we got off at Metro Center we headed to the 13th Street exit and just before getting on the escalator it happened. My heels got stuck in a grate…Both of them. The others were already on the escalator and Mrs. M was laughing at me. I had to step out of them reach down and yank them out of the grate. Unfortunately, marks were left on the left heel. I was sure to avoid the grates as we walked down 13th street toward the Riot.
We arrived just as they were opening the doors. It wasn’t long before we found more of our family and friends as we were reaching to get oysters. Mrs. M and I quickly got antsy for some wine though. It seemed as if everyone was trying to eat as many oysters as possible and as quickly as possible.
Of course they had the Olympia Oysters which are an all time favorite. I would grab five ore more of the Olympia at a time. Yes there are that good. I was disappointed with the Kusshi Oysters this year. My first one was good but the next wasn’t so I went in for two more and still it wasn’t going so well so I called it quits on the Kusshi. I thought it might have been me but others made similar statement expressing their disappointment in the Kusshi oysters.
Somewhat near the Olympia Oyster is where I found my favorite wine ‘Vicars Choice’ Sauvignon Blanc out of New Zealand. This wine wasn’t getting very much attention which is one of the reasons I went over there. All the attention was drawn to the wine next to them where there was this hot chick, with killer cleavage, pouring that wine. She was drawing a crowd of dudes and trying to entice them to vote for her wine.
Through out the evening we circled and tried various oysters and wines and bumping into people we knew and enjoying the sights of others. One dude was wearing a leopard print smoking jacket. I’m sorry to say I didn’t capture a photo of that. Mrs. M and I were captured taking a break from our heels buy John G. who took the photo below.
By 8:30 I couldn’t eat another oyster and there was still an hour to go. The wine was going down real well and soon my feet didn’t hurt anymore. We took our group into Old Ebbitt (the Riot was held in the lobby of the building) and continued that party there. The place was crowded and I honestly don’t know how long we were there. As we made our way out is when I bumped into our foot photographer, John G. I guess this is when I mentioned the blog.
The walk to the metro and the ride back is very blurry and I was glad I wasn’t driving. Thank you Mrs. M for being so responsible. I vaguely even remember pulling out my keys to get into my apartment. Evidently, I did talk to a friend of mine once I got home and had a good laugh when I heard all about it today.
I haven’t gotten schnockered like that in quite a while and this was a good one.
The Best Saturday Ever!
17 Nov 2007 3 Comments
Hair cut at noon then did some shopping for tonight’s Oyster Riot.
Bought great new shoes for tonight.
Bought fun, inexpensive, jewelry at H&M.
Bought new bra / camisole at Victoria’s Secret.
In essence… Spa, shoes, jewelry and lingerie for big fun party downtown.
I feel like such a girlie girl.
Not your typical conversation
16 Nov 2007 1 Comment
in friends
Ra just called me and often times when we are on the phone she is talking to the boys at the same time. She is a stay-at-home Mom and the boys definitely keep her busy.
Today when she called she was trying to get them ready so they can go grocery shopping. Getting the boys dressed and ready can be quite a feat. On top of that her oldest has a skin condition that requires constant moisturizing. So that is one more thing she has to do while fighting to just get them dressed.
With all that going on this is what I heard when she called me. (Note: in blue is what she was saying to the boys):
“Hi. How are you? We haven’t seen you in a while”
“Take your clothes off”
“Are you going to stop by this weekend?”
“Get on the bed!”
“We haven’t seen you in a while.”
“No we aren’t going to use the Vaseline this time.”
At this point I’m laughing so hard that co-workers are staring at me.
She had to go but said she will call back soon. There is no way that call will be as interesting as the first but this sure made my day.
Pucker Factor
16 Nov 2007 1 Comment
in work
A few weeks ago my company had its annual meeting of all the Project Managers and Executives.
Word quickly traveled down the grapevine that my blog was mentioned in the meeting. I was surprised to say the least and believe my pucker factor was at the nth degree. My co-workers read this blog and I have been informed that some of the execs read too after a certain someone decided to throw me under the bus. Something about my cool factor elevating their own? Hahahaha. Someone thinks I’m cool.
All is cool with that though because I have nothing to hide.
I was a bit surprised when this PM said when they have their weekly meetings in her office they pull up my blog to catch up on the goings on of our office. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. I’ve only mentioned work a few times and it’s not very informative. I’m not worried about my content but I am worried what might have been thought by the others.
I considered closing the blog down at that point but obviously I didn’t. That all blew over or rather I calmed down about it.
I was reminded of it today when I was cleaning an organizing my work emails and came across this cartoon that was sent to me.
Are you IN or are you OUT?
14 Nov 2007 3 Comments
Are you IN or are you OUT?
You are IN if you know the, long, awaited, season 4 premier of Project Runway is tonight! At 10PM on Bravo.
I’m just too excited about this. What a great week! Project Runway on Wednesday, a Happy Hour on Friday and the Oyster Riot on Saturday.
Project Runway is bringing back the same crew, which consists of Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Ninia Garcia and Michael Kors. I probably wouldn’t watch if Heidi and Tim were missing from this crew. Evidently, they are changing some things in the challenges and word is there will be a different feel to the show.
For all things Project Runway check out The Blog.
Now I’m no fashionista, which is clearly seen when my pick every week is the complete opposite of the panels, but I love to see the Designers imaginations at work. It amazes me to watch people who can see their creation and bring it to fruition. I would have to say my favorite part of this show has to be how cutthroat they all get and the cat fights that ensue.
So know you have the scoop on this popular show and you too can be IN.
The Riot is almost here!
13 Nov 2007 1 Comment
And, DAMN, I can’t wait!
I’m talking about Old Ebbitt Grill’s annual Oyster Riot, held on the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving. This year tickets for both nights sold out in less than 40 minutes.
This will be the second year for me and I have been patiently waiting. Thousands of the world’s best oysters will be devoured along with award winning wines. Have an empty stomach when you arrive so as to take full advantage of the oysters that are offered up but be careful not to drink too much wine prior to filling that empty stomach. Besides the raw oysters there will be will be fruit & cheese, shrimp, crab claws and some hot oyster hors d’oeuvres to help fill that empty stomach. Maybe I should stop eating now so I will have room for it all come Saturday.
We have pretty big group going including The Folks, Brotha-Man and Sil, friends of The Folks along with Mr & Mrs. M and more friends. The plan is for the night to continue in Dupont with more friends after we have stuffed ourselves full of Oysters and Wine. I’ve taken care of everything down to Mini Red, who will be away for the weekend at her Dad’s. I’m sure I will need recovery time on Sunday.
If you have tickets in hand to go then I’ll be the one with the Red hair so be sure to say “Hi”. If not then I won’t be reminding you about this next year when it comes time to purchase tickets. We don’t need any more competition when it comes to getting these tickets.
A little Prayer never hurt
12 Nov 2007 2 Comments
I used to work with this dude, G-Man. At first I thought he was a creep. He likes the ladies, which is obvious, but I got to know him and found we could talk quite candidly. I also learned how in love he is with his wife. She is his second wife and quite a bit younger than he. She wanted to have a baby with him but he had had a vasectomy after his first marriage and two kids that are now grown. I think he was hesitant due to having already raised kids but he loves this woman enough to go through a lot to create a child that is part of each of them.
First he went through surgery to have his vasectomy reversed. He was told it would take a year before his soldiers would be active again. They then found that there was an easier way. They could extract active soldiers, somehow, and he didn’t need to have that surgery. The costs for in-vitro are astronomical so they got into a program where they would donate eggs to reduce their costs. You can’t beat that and helping others is an added bonus.
They had tried to plant, or whatever you call it, the fertilized eggs several times. G-Man told me they had just gone in again to plant more eggs and he didn’t know how much more of this they could do. I called Aunt Dot, who you might recall has been a nun for over 70 years. I told her about G-Man and his wife and asked her to put their names in The Book. The Book is a book that sits outside the chapel where Aunt Dot lives and special intentions are written in there and all the Sisters in the community pray for these special intentions. After two weeks of putting their names in the book G-Man and his wife found out they were pregnant. Wahoo!
Nine months (or so) later G-Man’s wife gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. There were problems, their weight was low and jaundice to name a few. The doctors were positive the kids would get over this hump but G-Man and his wife were worried. So I got a call from G-Man while in the hospital and he asked me to call Aunt Dot right away and put the kids’ names in the book to have the Sisters pray for them. He was sure this would help because he was convinced Aunt Dot and the Sisters prayers helped them finally conceive. The kids did get over that tough time and three years later they are thriving.
This past weekend Mini Red and I took a trip up to Scranton to See Aunt Dot. We hadn’t been up there since April so it was time. It will be a year since the stroke on November 24th and she will be turning 95 on November 28th. She has gotten much better but there is an issue with her knee and they won’t operate. This means she won’t be walking again and this frustrates her but I think she has accepted it and is trying to remain positive.
We took her gifts and it’s nice to have her not fight me on that anymore but she is sure to find something else to fight with me about. One of the things we took her was a HUGE remote. The one she had was small and was a pain to operate. I loved watching her with this huge thing, she loved just switching channels. At first she would hit the numbers and she would hit the same numbers over and over. Then it was by the up and down arrows. Next she would mess with the volume and I think I may have lost some of my hearing after that. She loved it and was sure to show anyone who passed her room. The last visit all she did was introduce us to everyone but this time all she just talked about was this remote but she did brag that it’s a gift from her visiting nieces.
We also brought her two more plants, an Amaryllis and a Christmas Cactus. She loves plants and especially ones that bloom. These haven’t bloomed yet but when they do it should happen as the excitement from the remote dies down.
By Saturday evening Aunt Dot and I were ready to part ways for the day. During the day I had been running blocker for Mini Red to escape now and again. She would go to our room down the hall and lay down and watch a TV show she wanted to see. She was such a good girl and even played her violin for the Sisters. But Saturday had been a long day and a lot of events for Aunt Dot. I was bored and beat tired and she was worn out. This was evident when we both became a bit snappy. We parted ways to get some rest and meet up in the morning.
Mini Red and I wanted to leave as early as possible but we stayed for Mass but not lunch. They all tried to lay the guilt trip on us but we weren’t having it. It was a beautiful Fall day which made the drive home absolutely beautiful. I’ve said it before and I will say it again but I do love driving on Route 81.
During our visit I had a list of people to put in The Book. If you are a praying kind of person then throw these special intentions in your prayers too. If you need some special prayers then let me know and I’ll be sure to pass it along to Aunt Dot.
The visit was a success and I’m sure I’ll hear about it from Aunt Dot for at least the next few weeks. Mini Red and I definitely have had our fill of the convent for a while.
What do you do if Karma bites first?
07 Nov 2007 4 Comments
in hmmm
“What goes around comes around.”
“Karma can be a bitch.”
Usually if you do something not so nice they say karma comes back around and bites you on the butt.
Tuesday’s drive home was awful. It’s not like I’m trying to speed I’m just trying to move forward. If so many DC drivers weren’t driving up the side and cutting in (and cutting people off) then I believe everything would move much smoother.
I also believe that sightseeing during rush hour should be illegal. Arrest them and throw them in jail! I swear some people mosey along checking out the sights when us regular people are trying to get home. Do it on the weekend or the middle of the day.
I was running late, due to the traffic, and finally arrived to pick up Mini Red. We had to rush home so she could change for her swimming class and rush off to get her there in time. Then while she was swimming I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few things. The grocery store was pretty much like the drive home. I couldn’t get past anyone so I could move along. I stayed patient but I was feeling frustrated. Everywhere I tried to go someone was blocking me. It was a conspiracy I tell ya.
When it was time to check out, though, there were NO lines. I repeat NO line whatsoever. I don’t think I fully appreciated that until just now. As I was pushing my cart of paid groceries to my car, in the far parking lot, I got to thinking about karma. I was trying to think of what I could have done for karma to bite first and keep throwing these blockers in front of me.
My driving frustration did elicit a few choice words but I have never outwardly threatened or flipped off another car. I have raised my hands in frustration though but that isn’t showing anger and I’m sure the other car didn’t even notice due to whatever issues they were having, which was stopping my progress.
Sorry I digressed… So as I was walking to my car I thought “I’m not going to take my cart to the central cart parking place. Everyone else leaves them all over the place. I’m gonna bite karma back!”
Ohhh I’m such a bad cart returner! HAHAHAHA
I decided not to let karma dictate me and I was going to do the right thing. So I grabbed not only my empty cart but a second one and put them in the proper place.
“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” – Wayne Dyer
I decided to take control of karma and nip this crap right there and do what is right. I took my karma back!
