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Fa la la la la

by on December 15, 2011, in but in our house we never get bored, holidays, life etc., video games

I haven’t really had the urge to blog lately, though I don’t think it’s because I’ve been super-busy. I mean, I have been, but that’s never been an excuse to not blog. Ugh, I don’t mean for this to turn into one of those “Sorry I haven’t updated lately!” posts, either, because I hate those. I only blog for myself, so if anything this is an apology to my future self when I come back here to figure out what I was doing in the fall and winter of 2011 and there’s no record of my life.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim came out Nov. 11, which was a game I’d been looking forward to for about five years. It’s consumed my weekends lately, and some weeknights. It’s worth it, though. It’s the third Elder Scrolls game I’ve played but the first I’ve played on the Playstation platform (I played Morrowind and Oblivion on the Xbox and Xbox 360, respectively), and there have been some freezing bugs that I’ve had to work through, but for the most part I’m pleased with the game on the platform. I bought it for the Playstation because that’s the system that’s got Internet access, so I’m crossing my fingers for some sweet DLC.

And despite the fact that I’m not Christian and I do not, in fact, try to keep the Christ in Christmas, I’ve really been enjoying this holiday season. I have finished all of my holiday shopping, and I was able to complete about 99 percent of it online. Actually, being able to avoid rabid asshole shoppers is probably why I’ve been able to enjoy the season.

I decorated our bookshelf with big colorful lights, our living room window with small, warm white lights, and the kitchen cabinets with light-up stars. I’ve already burned through my WoodWick pine-scented candle, but another one is on the way. I used to get bummed out that we couldn’t have a tree in the house because of the cats, but I think I like our tradition of decorating the bookshelf and putting presents underneath it better, anyway. No trees are killed, no sap stains the floor and the cats really don’t give a shit about trying to eat the lights after about 20 minutes of them being up.

To me, Christmas is completely secular. It’s that feeling when the air has turned bitterly cold but the house is warm, and turning on sparkly lights and sitting under the Slanket on the couch with Ian and the cats makes it even warmer. It’s sharing wine and good food with friends and family as we exchange gifts and cards. It’s the smell of pine or mistletoe-scented candles that crackle as I fall asleep on the couch each night.

It’s a last bastion of contentedness before we move into the doldrums of winter, which always bring with them a boring nothingness that drags on until the terrain begins to green again in the spring.

But for now the lights are up and the candle is lit, and it’s Christmas.

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A family Thanksgiving

by on November 28, 2011, in but in our house we never get bored, holidays, we don't always put the "fun" in dysfunctional

For the first time in… I don’t know, 12 years or so, I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my mom and both of my sisters. My two sisters came down to visit last year, too, but this year my mom came along and it was awesome. After 14 years of living in Tennessee I’ve gotten used to crashing friends’ houses, and Ian’s family adopted me as their own years ago, even before we dated, but there’s just something special about having my own family with me for a holiday.

And we had a full house: My mom, two sisters, brother-in-law and two pomeranians (Isu and Oreo, who belong to my sister and brother-in-law) piled in the car and drove down Wednesday, staying until Sunday morning. I wasn’t sure how bringing two small dogs into a four-cat household would work out, but it actually went better than I could have expected. (Except for one incident where Gordo, the oldest cat, got upset and peed on the couch where the dogs had been sitting, hitting my mom’s leg in the process. Sorry about that, mom.)

We packed a lot in: Thursday was Thanksgiving at Ian’s mom’s house, which, like any Southern Thanksgiving, was an all-day affair complete with a deep-fried turkey and plenty of booze. Friday we held Steaksgiving at our house, where Ian grilled steaks and we cooked for 10 people, including his dad, dad’s wife, sister and our nephew. Considering we only have a table that seats four I think we pulled it off OK, even if I did get a little stressed as our three-year-old nephew began grinding cheese into the floor and feeding the dogs crackers, leaving crumbs everywhere. Nothing a little Windex and wine won’t fix, though. (And thankfully we had wine—Ian’s dad, my mom and I together drank four bottles in just a few hours.)

Saturday was Ian’s birthday and he wanted to go to the shooting range, so he and my brother-in-law went up to On Target while my sisters, mom and I took the dogs for a nice long walk on the Greenway and then hit up Digital Planet. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I’m glad now that we were part of Small Business Saturday. Although we did eat lunch at Panera, so I guess we also celebrated Chain Restaurant That Is Pretty Healthy for Fast Food Saturday as well.

That night we all went out to Mellow Mushroom for dinner and more drinks (as with any good Irish/German family, this holiday weekend was very heavy on the booze), and then came back home so Katie and I could sing the shit out of some Rock Band songs. They left Sunday morning, and Ian and I laid around the house nursing hangovers and doing laundry.

And now it’s back to the grind, though my mind is trying to focus on Christmas shopping. It’s also focused on how irritated I get when people tell me I shouldn’t say “Happy Holidays,” but that’s another post for another day.

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A grody New Year

by on January 3, 2011, in around town, but in our house we never get bored, holidays, jump aboard the crazy train

Ian and I rang in the new year with some good friends at a party across town, and like always with this group, things got a little crazy.

A grody New YearMost of the guys at the party are in the Army, and at one point in the night (I think it was still before midnight) decided it would be a good idea to give each other saline IVs. They need to be able to give IVs in the field, so I guess they wanted to make sure they were up on their training. That, and they decided that some extra hydration would prevent hangovers.

Except that the first couple of tries didn’t work, and I heard something about catheters not advancing and veins blowing and then there was a huge bump on one guy’s arm and I almost blacked out just from thinking about it.

In addition to all of that nonsense, the friend Ian and I brought with us hadn’t eaten in almost 24 hours by the time the party rolled around, but that didn’t stop him from diving into the beer and champagne. Although I don’t think that’s what did him in. His demise came when the Army guys (I’m telling you, these guys party like none other) decided to try a twist on the exploding-Pepsi-and-Mentos trick and mix champagne with a powdered protein supplement called No Explode.

That is not a good name for the product.

After mixing it together in a cup and not getting any explosions, they tried putting it in a plastic water bottle, adding more champagne and shaking.

Still nothing.

So our friend we brought, you know, the guy who didn’t eat anything for 24 hours until he got to the party? Yeah. He drank it.

And blew chunks all over—and I mean ALL. OVER.—the hosts’ bathroom walls. And floor. And inside and outside of the toilet. And sink cabinets. Pretty much any surface in the bathroom was covered in vomit.

And I had to clean it up.

Wait, let me rephrase that. I felt kind of guilty for his destruction since we brought him, and I guess I was just at that magical place of drunkenness where my desire to be a helpful, good guest and friend overwhelmed my sense of smell and sight. That, and my friend was so embarrassed (ok, drunk) that he offered me $100 to clean up after him.

And so I cleaned the hell out of that bathroom. I cleaned up every bit of puke that I could find. And if there is any way to sober up quicker than scrubbing gallons of your friend’s orange vomit off various bathroom surfaces, I haven’t found it. Because after that I sobered up, drove us home in the pouring rain, and I took that $100.

Happy New Year.

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Happy holidays!

by on December 23, 2010, in but in our house we never get bored, holidays

Any regular reader of this blog should be well aware that I am not religious. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love Christmas, because it’s my favorite time of year. The whole Christmas and New Year’s time of year is my favorite, and here’s what it means to me:

  • A week off work. Although I love my job, I also love having about 10 days that I don’t have to wake up to an alarm and drive 80 miles a day.
  • Video games. For as long as I can remember, Christmastime meant Ian and I getting a new video game—or in the case of the last couple years, a new video game system—and our friend Scott coming over and all of us playing until the wee hours of the night.
  • Old friends in town. I’ve lived in Murfreesboro for more than 13 years now, which means that I’ve made friends who’ve moved away but still come back here to visit their families at the holidays. Christmas and New Year’s are undoubtedly filled with visits from old friends, both of Ian and I, and thus nights of laughter and ridiculousness.
  • Booze. Not to sound like an alcoholic, but growing up in an Irish-Catholic (and German) family meant booze with every holiday (ok, or regular) meal. Luckily Ian’s family likes the sauce, too, so starting with Christmas Eve we generally have a non-stop party around here for at least four or five days. And not having to get up at 7 a.m. for work the next day is icing on the booze-infused cake
  • New Year’s Eve. Last year Ian, his dad and I were installing a new laminate floor in our house so we didn’t do much for New Year’s, but it was still my favorite memory of the year and a moment I hold close. This year we have plans to party with some friends of ours who never disappoint, and we can’t wait!

I have a lot to be thankful for in my life, and I am looking forward to 2011. So here’s wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

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A Southern Thanksgiving

by on November 28, 2010, in but in our house we never get bored, holidays, we don't always put the "fun" in dysfunctional

A Southern ThanksgivingOn Wednesday night my two sisters and brother-in-law drove down to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with Ian and I, which was awesome because I haven’t had any of my own family with me on a holiday in about a decade.

We made sure they got a Southern-style Thanksgiving, too—my sister Katie injected her first turkey at Ian’s mom’s house, which Ian then deep-fried (a spectacle in itself, if you’ve never seen a turkey get deep-fried before and wonder why so many people burn their homes down trying it).

Also on the menu were deviled eggs, sweet potato casserole, chickenless dumplings (ok, those were for me) and all the other usual fixings for a filling Thanksgiving meal. And as she’s known to do, Emily made friends with a kitten that wandered into Ian’s mom’s yard and stayed pretty much the entire day.

That evening we met up with Ian’s dad, his dad’s wife and their visiting friend for a family-style Thanksgiving dinner at Maggiano’s, where I was extra-thankful Emily had come along since I helped Ian’s dad drink a couple bottles of wine. Don’t get me wrong: Spending time with Emily is always fun, but having an under-21 sister comes in handy at certain times, if you know what I mean.

A Southern Thanksgiving

We celebrated Ian’s birthday on Friday out at Old Chicago, where we had a bit too much tequila and again Emily’s driving-drunk-people-around skills were much appreciated. We continued the party back at our house with a few hours of Rock Band 3, which ended not too long after someone passed out upstairs and another someone puked a few times. I’m not naming names, but it wasn’t me.

They drove back up to Chicago yesterday as Ian and I lay on the couch recovering, which actually is where we are again today, taking it easy before we jump back into work tomorrow after a great holiday.

I don’t get to see my sisters very often, but when I do it’s always some sort of hilarious adventure. This weekend didn’t disappoint. (Oh, and I need to give props to Katie for remembering just about every Easter egg in the first three levels of Adventure Island.)

(More pictures here.)

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I am so excited

by on November 4, 2010, in but in our house we never get bored, holidays, we don't always put the "fun" in dysfunctional

For the first time in probably more than 10 years, I will be with members of my own, blood-related family on a holiday. My two sisters and brother-in-law are driving down from Chicago to visit for Thanksgiving!

Now, I love that when I was in college my friends took me in on various holidays—especially Ian’s family, who I have been hanging out with on holidays well before he and I were even dating—but there’s just something about having members of my own family with me on a holiday after so many years that is really exciting for me.

I hope they bring their appetite with them, though. Because there ain’t no Thanksgiving like a southern Thanksgiving. And we’ll be having two—one with Ian’s mom and one with his dad—on the same day.

Awesome.

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So we had a party this weekend…

by on November 1, 2010, in but in our house we never get bored, holidays, photography

So we had a party this weekend...

Saturday night Ian and I hosted what we called our second annual Halloween party (we’ve thrown, I think, four Halloween parties in this house, but I believe this was the only one that was held consecutively), and it was a blast.

I don’t know why, but every time we host any sort of party I have this complex that nobody is going to show up. But then tons of people do, and it’s an amazing time and people keep asking us to host more. I also realized that our parties never start slowly. With us, it’s a quiet moment before the storm and then BAM, there’s like 30 people in our house and you have to speak loudly to be heard over the din of laughter and people freaking out over the drums on Rock Band.

And so my complexes aside, it was an awesome time—one that I paid for on Sunday, but it was definitely worth it.

I’m already planning the next shindig… I’m thinking a White Elephant party in December, maybe. Can you play Rock Band at those?

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July 4 | Casualty of fireworks

by on July 6, 2010, in around town, holidays, photography, Project365

July 4 | Casualty of fireworks

As is tradition, Ian and I celebrated the 4th of July over at his mom’s house along with a few friends. We stopped at a fireworks tent on the way over and picked up a bunch of mortars and other fun explosives, and what you see here is the aftermath of Ian trying to sneak up on Scott while he was lighting a firework—and then tried to run away. He was left with a bruised and scraped thumb, but that seems to have been the worst of the injuries this year.

The next day my car was covered in burnt paper and ash, and I was reminded of one of the reasons I love living in Tennessee. What better way to celebrate your country than by blowing things up in the street?

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Happy Zombie Jesus Day!

by on April 4, 2010, in holidays

Whatever you believe or however you celebrate, I hope today is a great day for you. I’m planning on eating some good food and cake and enjoying the gorgeous day we have here in Murfreesboro.

Even us heathens can appreciate a nice spring day.

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Feb. 16 | Fat Tuesday

by on February 17, 2010, in food and/or beverage, holidays, photography, Project365, the first rule is you do not blog about work

Feb. 16 | Fat Tuesday

My office is always up for cake, and King Cake for Fat Tuesday is no exception. For the last few years (or maybe more, I’m not sure), the cake has come from Larrivieres in Gallatin and is really, really good.

I have yet to get the baby!

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