Friday, December 28, 2007

Plug for a Love Blog

As I mentioned a few months ago, my friend Lisa is moving to Hawaii to live with Rich, who she met while vacationing on the islands. They've now started a blog. Check it out here!

Two Girls, But No Gaming

Today I got to see Mary Beth, one of my friends from the Game Day Girls, since she's in town visiting family for the holidays. (One more great thing about living in the Twin Cities!) She came by the house and got a tour, and then we walked to nearby Pizza Luce for lunch. It was really fun to see her and catch up, both on her family's goings-on and what the GDGs are up to. It made me miss them even more! Fortunately, I'll be back in Chicago in a few weeks, though I don't know if I'll make it to a Game Night this time around. In any case, it was great to see MB. And I love that we have matching puffy coats! Such Minnesota girls at heart.

Cheers to Good Friends!

Last night Becca & Omar took me & Tomkin and Christopher (Becca's brother) and his wife Pam (who are in town for the holidays) out for dinner at MASA. Man, was that some good food! And we ate a lot of it! Appetizers, entrees, and dessert. (I had chicken with mole poblano sauce and plantains, and churros with chocolate sauce for dessert. Delicious!) Of course we also had drinks, including sangria, margaritas, and ginger mohitos. And we had top-notch service--the best we've had here at any restaurant so far. It was really fun to get dressed up and go out with friends, especially ones we have such a great time with. Another bonus of living in the Twin Cities--not only do I get to see Becca & Omar more now, I get to see Christopher & Pam more, too!

I Say, My Dear Watson

Jim and Roxanne, who kindly watched Scout and Chloe while Tomkin and I were in Texas, are now on their honeymoon for a week, so we're watching their dog, Watson. He's a chocolate lab and VERY sweet. In fact, he's literally laying at my feet as I type this. He's got a lot more energy than our lazy dogs, and they all have a great time playing together. It is a bit tricky to walk all three of them together.... But Scout and Chloe are enjoying spending time with their new friend. And Tomkin and I like him, too!

One More Christmas Celebration

On Wednesday, Tomkin and I went to his parents' house to celebrate Christmas with them. We had a delicious lunch (turkey and wild rice), looked at pictures from when Tomkin was young (so cute!), and then opened more presents. His family is a lot of fun, and we all had a great time. It's nice that both of our families are so easygoing and drama-free. And they laugh a lot! This was the last of our Christmas celebrations for the year--four for Tomkin and five for me. Our first Christmas together has been amazing!

Dogs Love Christmas, Too!

I wasn't the only one who got to open presents on Christmas night--Scout and Chloe got some fabulous new gifts, too! My mom sent home a big rope toy for each of them. They get to chew into them and tear them apart without getting in trouble! Plus they're fun for playing tug-of-war. Tomkin's sisters sent the dogs a Hide-a-Squirrel--it's a stuffed tree trunk into which you hide three little stuffed squirrels. Scout and Chloe were very excited about their new toys!

Promise

After we got settled in at home on Christmas night, Tomkin gave me a few more presents, including a "promise" ring. We decided that it's symbolic of our promise to get engaged. And it's gorgeous! The main stone is an east-west cut onyx, and there are four garnets on each side plus two rows of small diamonds below. I'm still getting used to wearing it--but I love it!

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Christmas, Texas-Style

Tomkin and I are back from warm, sunny Texas, back to the land of snow, snow, snow. We had a great trip! I got to Texas last Tuesday. Mom fixed my favorite dinner--potato pizza hotdish, orange jell-o with mandarin oranges, and Peppermint Bon Bon (aka mint chocolate chip) ice cream for dessert. De-lish! On Wednesday we headed to the mall, and I saved Mom all kinds of money. She got me four sweaters, three tops, a dress, and a skirt for $130! Love those sales at Macy's. We also did a little last-minute Christmas shopping, and we got to have lunch at Chick-fil-A, which they don't have up north here. Mmm, mmm!
Wednesday night, Mom, Dick, and I went over to Dick's daughter Lisa's house for my second Christmas celebration (of five). I hadn't seen her new place before--it's her dream "doctor" house (she's a doctor), and it was gorgeous. Her daughters, Linda and Chelsi, were there, along with Chesli's boyfriend, Ryan. We gorged ourselves on incredible appetizers (including homemade chocolate-stuffed monkey bread) and fabulous drinks (such as peppermint martinis), and then we had a huge, delicious dinner (including ham, cheesey hash brown casserole, and homemade butter pecan mousse for dessert). We were stuffed! Then we spent hours opening gifts. Everyone, including Lisa's dogs DD and Jasmine, had a great time.
Thursday morning Mom and I had breakfast at IHOP (the restaurant, not to be confused with the International House of Prayer), and then we did a big grocery shopping trip at H-E-B. I had to finish wrapping my Christmas gifts, since they won't let you take wrapped presents on the plane anymore. It was strange not to have Ellis around to get into everything! Mom and I had lunch at Ye Olde English Bakery, which was delicious. (Would you believe Mom was actually so full she didn't get dessert?) It's funny how many activities seem to revolve around food.... We stopped at Mom's new hospice office and chatted with some of her co-workers, and then we headed to the airport to pick up Tomkin. Yay! It was great to see him again and fun for him and Mom to finally meet. We had a low-key evening--Mom made a melt-in-your-mouth pot roast for dinner, and Tomkin and I took their dog, Bosley, for a walk.
Friday it was gorgeous and sunny out--the perfect day to go rambling around the little town of Salado. After doing some shopping, we asked around for a Mexican restaurant. The only one in town happened to be attached to a Texaco station. We were a little wary, but the food was delicious! We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, walking, and browsing, then headed back home. We stayed in and ordered pizza and had another nice, relaxing evening. Tomkin and I enjoyed taking Bosley for a walk every day.
Saturday morning Linda and Chelsi came over, and Mom fixed Grandma's pancakes. (Man, did I eat well on this trip!) We all played a game of Phase 10, and then Tomkin took a nap, and we girls played Scattergories. A little later, we all headed back to Lisa's house. Chelsi and Linda introduced me and Tomkin to Guitar Hero on the PlayStation--it was harder than I thought it would be! Who knew being a rock star was so much work? It was fun, though. We had another amazing dinner (macaroni & cheese casserole and pork chops), and then we all played Taboo. At some point, a tire on Mom's car went flat, so Linda and Chelsi drove us home.
Sunday morning, Mom and Tomkin and I went to the auto department at Wal-Mart (no other tire places were open!) and got a new tire. Then we headed back to Lisa's, and Tomkin (our hero!) changed the flat. Since Tomkin and I had to fly back on Christmas Day, we moved our celebrations up a day, so for us the 23rd was "Christmas Eve." Mom, Tomkin, and I went out for dinner at El Chico (our family tradition is either pizza or Mexican food on Christmas Eve), and then we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. Back at home, we each got to open one present, and then we all played a game of Facts in Five. Dick won, of course.
Monday was our Christmas. As soon as we got up, we all looked in our stockings to see what Santa had brought us, and then we unwrapped all our presents. Santa sure was good to us this year! Keesha (the cat) sat in her spot on Dick's ottoman the whole time, and Bosley (the dog) excitedly checked out the gifts people got. I got The Diana Chronicles, a book about Madagascar, the third season of Arrested Development on DVD, Amy Winehouse's Back to Black CD, Trivia by the Pound, earmuffs, and lots of other goodies. Mom fixed German Thumbprint Bread for breakfast, and Lisa and Linda stopped by so Linda could say good-bye before heading back to Oregon. Then Tomkin and I took a nap. (All that eating and present-opening was exhausting!) Later in the day, Lisa's ex Bob, came over and had dinner with me, Mom, Dick, Tomkin, Chelsi, and Lisa. Chelsi's boyfriend, Ryan, joined us when he was done with work. Mom made such a wonderful dinner--turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, jell-o, scalloped corn, salad, and rolls. Mmmm!!! For dessert we had three kinds of pie, plus Lisa brought over a fabulous cake she had baked. We played a game called Hit or Miss and then Who? What? Where?, both of which were really fun. And then our Christmas Day was over!
Tuesday morning Mom drove me and Tomkin to the airport. The weather was clear and sunny, and we figured that traveling on Christmas would be smooth sailing. Unfortunately, our first flight got canceled, and our connecting flight got delayed. So we got home about three hours later than we'd originally planned. But we had good stuff to read and food to eat, and we just enjoyed each other's company, so the day really wasn't bad at all. Tomkin went and picked up the dogs as soon as we got home. They'd been staying with Jim and Roxanne, who live nearby. They have a dog named Watson (who we're dog-sitting for a week starting today), so they're used to being around dogs. Unfortunately, our dogs were apparently pretty naughty while they were visiting. They continuously got into the garbage, one chewed up a phone book, and one even threw up. Plus they both insisted on sleeping in bed with them every night! Oh, and Scout celebrated his 8th birthday while we were away. The dogs have been very rebellious since they got home--so much for all that obedience training! It was great to see them again, though. Tomkin and I had a really wonderful time in Texas; getting to be with the dogs again made it easier to come home.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Happy Holidays!

I'm leaving tomorrow to celebrate Christmas in Texas with my mom. Tomkin will be joining me soon. Since I won't be blogging for more than a week, I just wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays, however you're celebrating this season! And thanks for reading my blog!

Welcome to the World, Emmett!

More congratulations are in order, this time for Peter and Emily, who welcomed baby Emmett into the world yesterday! He weighed in at 8 lbs, 14 oz. Congrats!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Welcome to the World, Emma!

Congrats to Kerri & Martin (and Libby) on the birth of baby Emma today! Mom and baby are both doing well. Hooray!

Christmas Celebration #1

Earlier today, Tomkin and I drove up to spend the day with my dad, Sandy, Phillip, and Alex. First we had brunch at the Blackberry Ridge Golf Club. We had great food (and lots of it!), a beautiful view of the snow-covered golf course, and the best service so far since I've moved here. After brunch, Alex had to go back to his apartment and write a paper for a history final. The rest of us headed back to the house to exchange Christmas gifts. Usually we just send gifts to each other, so it was quite a treat to get together and celebrate in person this year. We laughed a lot and had a really fun, relaxing day.

This "Nutcracker" Was Not So "Suite"

Last night Tomkin and I had dinner at Villa Roma. It's kind of a hole in the wall, but the restaurant actually used to be a dining car, and the pizza was delicious. Really bad service, but still a fun (and cheap) place to eat. Tomkin had never been to the ballet before (he's seen other dance, but not ballet in person), and I figured "The Nutcracker" would be a pretty good way to ease him in. So we got tickets to Ballet Minnesota's version, which was being performed right here in St. Paul. Sounded great! Unfortunately, it was TERRIBLE. First of all, most of the dancers were children, which was just weird. (Although, as Tomkin pointed out, that's how you draw a big audience--there were lots of enthusiastic parents there.) The orchestra was bad, the set design was mediocre, and the dancing was downright awful. Plus they made lots of weird choices (such as lowering two swings in once scene...then raising them back up without anyone using them). Fortunately, it was SO bad that it was quite entertaining. And everyone else there seemed to love it! Tomkin said this won't really count as his first ballet; we'll try again another time.

Dog School Graduates










Since we'll miss the last two dog training classes, Tomkin and I did one big make-up class yesterday afternoon. Scout and Chloe had their last lesson, and then they both had to pass a test in which they were asked to sit, lie down, stay for 15 seconds, shake hands, and do loose-leash walking. Both of them passed with flying colors! They each got a certificate and were very proud. Or at least happy to earn lots of treats. We found out that Becky, our teacher, just got a job training sea mammals at the Como Zoo, which is really cool. Scout & Chloe vs. Shamu....hmmm....

End o' Week Fun

Last Thursday night, Tomkin and I took the dogs to their last regular dog training class at PetSmart. Friday morning I had an interview with Digital People, a creative staffing company, and I joined the Editorial Freelancers Association, which has a chapter in the Twin Cities. I'm still trying to drum up more freelance work. Tomkin and I had lunch at Pizza Luce with his friend Ben, who I hadn't met before. He's 23, and Tomkin and I both felt kind of old after hanging out with him. When he asked what we were doing for fun, we were like, "Well, we walk the dogs almost every day. We're going to the ballet soon, and we got tickets to see 'A Prairie Home Companion.' Oh, and I've got Tomkin hooked on 'Project Runway.'..." Ben did not seem impressed. That night we had dinner with Jill and Chris at Carmelo's Ristorante. Jill is another former Holy Covenanter, and she and her husband, Chris, moved here from Chicago just a few weeks before I did. It was fun hanging out with them, and we had a fabulous, inexpensive meal. I do have to say, though, I've noticed that the restaurant service here hasn't been great. It seems like most of the servers we've had have been pretty slow and not too on top of things. Regardless, Carmelo's was still a great find, and we had a really nice evening.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

The Joy of Costco

On Wednesday, Tomkin and I had lunch with his parents, which was fun. His dad does carvings, and his mom paints them, and they currently have art exhibited at three different shows, including one in downtown Minneapolis, so they're excited and happy about that. It's really cool! After lunch, I took Tomkin to his first-ever Costco outing. People keep telling him awesome it is, and now he understands. (Kind of like with TiVo!) We started shopping for our New Year's Eve party and managed to find some other treats, too, of course. Love that Costco!

Using Our Brains

Last Tuesday night, Becca and Omar came over for dinner. Tomkin made guacamole, three pizzas, and mousse for dessert. We all enjoyed the food, including Scout, who managed to snatch three slices of pizza off the counter! After dinner we played Cranium, which was hilarious. The women, how shall we say, triumphed resoundly over the men. But, hey, who really pays attention to who wins when we're having that much fun?