Gobble til ya Wobble

I have always wondered why we got the day after Thanksgiving off but not the day after Christmas. Perhaps to afford extra travel or boost the economy on Black Friday. Or maybe its to catch up on rest after days of preparation leading up to and all things Turkey Day. We began preparing to host our first Thanksgiving weeks ago, with slight touches around the house. But the real work kicked in Tuesday evening and never really let up well into the night Thursday. We spent hours cleaning, or doing our best at it. We spent plenty of time in the grocery store, and a few trips back. We wined and dined and cleaned some more. Our first major holiday hosting was a huge success. To highlight: the overnight brine for the turkey was key to a deliciously fried bird. Perfectly written (and set) place settings for 10. Neither the chocolate chip nor the pumpkin maple cheesecake was voted better than the other, both were scrumptious. The Jon and Kate plus 8 marathon proved more entertaining to our guests than the terriblly lop-sided football games on the air. We have a lot to be thankful for this year and I was especially thankful for family and friends to be able to join us for such a great feast. I couldn't have wished for a better Thanksgiving day...so luckily, I didn't have to use my wishbone wish on such. I didn't burn the house down and the only time Roo got to sit down all day was to eat. So we certainly deserved a day of rest after all of that...but instead we were up and out around 8 adding to the consumer chaos of Black Friday.

Don't Cry for Me Argentina

As I am at home doing laundry and picking up dogs from the groomer and washing dishes, Roo and Jess send their best via Blackbery from the front row of Phillips Arena in Atlanta. I suspect more pics will follow upon their return tomorrow.

Its beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving

If the Extreme team can makeover a house in an hour every Sunday, who was to stop us from mildly renovating our bathroom over the weekend? It started with our do-it-yourself painting of the guest bedroom that will house Roo's in-laws for Thanksgiving. My mom, step-dad and sister are driving up from Florida this week. Our prep list of to-dos is slowly shrinking...practice frying a turkey. Check. Paint the bedroom. Check. Stock up on groceries. Check. Clean the house...well lets not get ahead of ourselves. Roo and sis head to ATL tomorrow for their front row show of the Queen of Pop. Had we cleaned this weekend, my wife would not have returned to find the house in the same manner. So instead, we used the leftover bedroom paint to add some color to the master bathroom. Then we had to replace the mirror. Then we needed to change the color of the light fixture. Then we had to stain the cabinets. Let's add some of that grafiti art above the tub. Exit brass cabinet knobs. We probably need to replace some of the caulking around the shower. It took more than an hour, the project technically started on Tuesday and just wrapped up an hour ago. How do those folks at ABC do it?

Madge on Monday!

Is she a lucky star?!?

Yes that's my sis and yes WE will be sitting in the FRONT ROW at the Madonna concert in ATL on Monday.

6 Months

Happy 6 Month Anniversary to Us!!

I should be mad at you...

For coming into my life

and turning things every which way...

For flashing that smile

that melts my heart

and makes me forget

what I was saying...

...for the way

thoughts of you

constantly interrupt my days

and make it next to impossible

for me to focus

on anything

but the shape of your eyes

and the softness of your lips...

I should be mad at you...

but I'm just too busy

being in love with you.

Have a Little Faith

I had a potluck lunch meeting today at work. I needed a desert dish and Roo quickly stepped in and seized the opportunity to test out a Turkey day dish. We are hosting Thanksgiving this year with my mom and family coming up from Florida to stay with us for 5 days and Riley's parents joining us Thursday. My brother will be in attendance, though he's a regular 'round these parts when it comes to eating. I also reached out to a stranded co-worker that can't get back home to Ohio until Christmas. He accepted our gracious invitation. Holy cow Uncle Jesse, we'll have a full house. Needless to say, there is a lot riding on our first Thanksgiving. Roo is working on the menu as we speak and I'll be frying my first turkey this weekend as a test run. So back to my office feast, Riley has been working over the baby showers and holiday parties of recent months to fine tune her homemade chocolate-chip cheesecake. My waistline speaks for her cooking ability, but yet she was worried about the outcome of a Thanksgiving desert experiment: maple pecan pumpkin cheesecake. She was so worried it wouldn't work for my work that we whipped up a backup batch of cookies just in case plan A was a bust. At the luncheon, I carved the first slice to hide a crack in the crust on the side. I watched as the main entrees were consumed and the first few sweet-seeking stragglers browsed the desert line. It almost wasn't even fair. Riley's treat was up against an assortment of store-bought pies and cupcakes and candies. It only took one endorsement and the cheesecake was history. One of my cube neighbors suggested Riley should make and sell them. After hearing a brief version of the test run concerns, another office mate implied that Riley can cook with her eyes closed and not have to worry about the outcome. To start the day, I was worried I'd have to take too much home...at day's end, my only stress was being able to squeeze 5 minutes between client calls to clean the crumb-laden cake plate. The cheesecake was a huge success. Roo may have been surprised by my office results and perhaps also when she got a taste for herself on the slice I cut and saved, but I've always had faith in her ability to feed me. And now more friends from work want to come over for Thanksgiving.

...and the wine is bottled poetry..

Napa was absolutely amazing. Trip Favorites - Shramsburg, Prager Winery & Port Works, Milat Vineyards, and Fried Olives at Don Giovanni.

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Dear UPS: We get it

Seriously, what is the deal with the whiteboard UPS commercials. Its a pretty straight forward concept, I need something delivered to someone and I give you some money and you take it there for me. I don't need a guy with a Cosby sweater and late 80s intellectual mullet to draw a picture demonstrating how mailing a pacakge works. It takes me longer to figure out what his stupid drawing means that it does to understand what it takes to send a package. The cartoon about how a bill becomes a law has more substance. What can brown do for me? Stop annoying me with this guy. I've moaned about this marketing migraine before...I think my present mood is partly to blame for this rant. The Bears lost another game they shouldn't have today. On various radio stations, Christmas music has started its 24-7 loop earlier than last year. Tomorrow, I'll be flying west just as Roo flies back east, our planes will cross pathes in the air. guess being apart for 11 of the past 14 days is what really has me down, not the Michael Bolton wannabe and his whiteboard. But seriously UPS, we all get how it works.

"Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it."

We're both traveling for work this week. I'll be spending the next 6 days in Napa while EJ will take a quick 2 day trip to Pittsburgh. I'm not sure what's on his agenda but here's a sneak peak of a few things that are on mine!!

This will be my first trip to Napa (actually my first trip to California period). I can barely contain my excitement! I hope the weather's nice in Pittsburgh.....

No Jokers or Palins or Werewolves, Oh My

Another Halloween has come and past and I am not sure what hit me. It started out like any other night, I got home around 4:45 to find Max and Kennedy's noses pressed against the window at the front door. I got the mail, straightened up the kitchen from Phil and Jessica's pizza lunch, fed the dogs, changed clothes, made a mix CD of Madonna to set the tone for Jess's costume, watched an old episode of King of Queens. The one where IPS is on strike and Doug, Deacon and Arthur are living it up remains my favorite episode. I literally laughed out loud and before I could stop the calm before the storm was over. A small posse had formed at the end of our cul-de-sac and our house was targeted. It was just past dusk when the first doorbell rang. I didn't have a gameplan drawn up let alone my Scarecrow costume on yet so I did what first came to mind...flung the door upon and thrust out the bucket of candy to the neighbors kids. About 3 hours, 4 Batmen, 16 princesses, 2 dead bridesmaids, 2 Ironmen, 12 Supermen and 1 Winnie the Pooh later, I am nearly out of candy and exhausted. I managed to contain the dogs between the baby gate at the top of the stairs and the closed gates on the back deck. I watched Fright Night (a terrible 80s vampire horror) and did a crossword puzzle as waves of tricker and treaters ebbed and flowed. I had barely made it halfway through the downs before it seemed the Great Pumpkin had come and gone. I was amazed to see the bottom of the candy bucket. Almost equally amazed to have NOT seen any Joker or Sarah Palin costumes. The night went by fast, as did the week, which means Roo's trip to Phoenix was over before I knew it. I hate she missed the big night. Is perhaps a trick-or-treat session in order this time next year with a Buzz Lightyear of our own? Maybe next year is too soon, but add this to the list of reasons I am ready for a Baby Roo...I don't want Roo to have to miss all of this because of work next year. I want to be part of the cul-de-sac trick-or-treat posse. But then, who would be here to give out all of our candy?