Happy Birthday Jason!

I've posted before about how awesome my wonderful husband is.  Anniversaries, Valentine's Days, birthdays.  I could gush on and on about how amazing he is on this, (two days past) his birthday.  But instead, I'll share a story about how we celebrated.

J is low-key.  Chill.  He didn't want a big to-do.  We just hoped for beautiful weather- which we got.  We wanted to relax and drink beer on a patio- which we did.  The rest of the story, I'm not sure I could make up if I tried.

We arrived at one of our local breweries in the late afternoon, and hit the jackpot right away with a large table to surround with a few friends.  Our server came over to take our beer order.  Any Parks & Rec fans out there?  This guy was pretty much Orin.  After he left to get our drinks, J said "He's high right now!"  Totally deadpan.  We weren't sure if he had any idea what was going on around him.  But surprisingly, we did get our drinks and appetizers without any trouble.

A few friends arrived, and we spent a couple of hours hanging out, drinking beer, chatting, and relaxing in the sunshine.  It was lovely.

Then we got hungry for dinner.  And that's when things started to go downhill.

Orin (I don't know his real name, so I'm going with Orin) came and took our order.  A few minutes later he came back and told us that the kitchen was really backed up, and that he was going to have to wait ten minutes before he put our order in.  Okay, no big deal.

An HOUR later, he came back over, and we found out that our order had not yet been put into the kitchen.

Apparently, some major shit was going down in there.

A manager came over and apologized, telling us that she was helping out in the kitchen, and that food was starting to come out, but that it would be at least another 40 minutes before they made it to our ticket.  (And apparently my sister overheard this manager yelling at Orin, telling him that he was supposed to tell us it would be an hour before he could put our order in, not ten minutes.  Yikes.)  Everything we wanted to drink in the meantime was on her.

We were relaxed about it- luckily J had already had a few and no longer had any cares in the world, otherwise I can't imagine he would have been so pleasant about it.  Also, in lieu of sending him a beer, my sister had sent him a pint of bacon earlier in the day, so he wasn't hangry like I was.

I decided I was fine with the delay.  And this is only because I walked a few shops down and bought one slice of pizza to hold me over.  Because isn't it totally normal to have to leave one restaurant to buy food at another, just so that your stomach doesn't start digesting itself before the first restaurant brings you your dinner??

When I returned, the table was still in jolly spirits, waiting on our food.  We may have been the only jolly table, though.  The tables around us were dropping like flies.  Families with kids, groups of twenty-somethings, and everyone in between started deciding that waiting two hours for a mediocre meal just wasn't worth it.  They were abandoning ship without having eaten.

Not long after this, food FINALLY started coming out of the kitchen.

I know this because Orin came over to our table with  a chicken sandwich and fries.

"I know this isn't the chicken wrap that you ordered, but it's chicken.  I figured you'd just want some food.  I won't charge you for it."  And he set the plate down in front of me.

Weird!  But hey, we're all hungry here.  We'll take it.

Shortly thereafter, another server came over with a tray of food...that we hadn't ordered.  He told us that our server had told him to just bring us any food that came out of the kitchen.  The people who had actually ordered this food had long since left, so I guess their meals were fair game?  And the food just kept coming.  Multiple servers, managers, kitchen staff- they just kept coming and coming, setting down more and more food.

We had a couple of chicken sandwiches, some wings, mac & cheese, a giant pretzel, some kind of wrap.  It just became a smorgasbord of other peoples' meals.  NONE of it the actual meals that we'd chosen, and none of it at any cost to us.

Guys, we couldn't stop laughing.  It was the most bizarre dining experience any of us had ever experienced.  And for the life of us, none of us could figure out what could have possibly gone down in that kitchen to cause that kind of shit show.

Eventually we were full and ready to leave, but we weren't 100% sure what we should do.  Not that we were hungry anymore, but we didn't want to leave if they were about to bring our order out.  Although I suppose if we did, they could just give our food to some other poor schmucks that had been waiting for days to eat?

When Orin came back, I asked him.  "Just to clarify- are we going to get the food that we actually ordered?"

"OH! ...No."

Guys, I'm dead.  It was so, so funny.

We all left saying that this was certainly a memorable birthday celebration, and one that J wouldn't soon forget.

It was a crazy, kinda perfect day.

Happy (belated) birthday to you, my love!  My wish for you this year is that you never have to wait more than two hours for dinner.  And that if you do, it's someone else's dinner that's delivered to you.  I love you!



  

Life is Happening

Yep, I missed my bump update last week, but rest assured, I am still pregnant.  I'll catch you all up this week.

In the meantime, here's what's been going on round about these parts.  And yes, I could probably split this up into several posts, but let's be honest...I'm not so great with keeping up with the ole' blog lately, so this way is probably best.

• Since going back and forth approximately a million and three times about whether to try and sell our house and move or to stay put for awhile, we finally refinanced.  Why we didn't do this sooner, I'll never know.  We dragged our feet for far too long, and then suddenly, just like that, our mortgage payment is $300 less each month than we've been paying.  Thank you, President Obama, for your wonderful government program for those unfortunate homeowners like me, who have been previously unable to take advantage of these low interest rates.  We are now on a three year plan to move (actually, we're down to two and a half), and I'm okay with that.  Especially given all the recent work done around here to make all of our rooms usable spaces!
• We had to put down our sweet hound dog Daphne.  She very suddenly got very sick, and over the course of a heart wrenching month, declined to the point where we knew what we had to do.  It has been hard to get used to not having her around the house, but we are adjusting to being a one dog family.  And to find that silver lining- I had no idea how much easier life would be with only one.  We're glad Daphne is at peace now.
• Moving on past the sadness...the boy is finally becoming a talker.  At one point, I was keeping track of his words.  And then suddenly, there were too many, and we were adding to the list at such a rapid pace, that I gave up.  He has surprised us several times with things that he's able to say.  He knows the sounds of just about every farm animal, can name many body parts, and can ask for things he wants.  (Or at the very least, he has mastered "please" and will beg and point.)  And as it is clearly in his genes- his most clearly spoken word is "beer."  He points to J's glass each night and lets us know that he knows what's in it.  He also demonstrated last week that he is capable of repeating what he hears his parents say, as he very clearly said "DICK" from the backseat of the van after he heard me call a parking spot stealer this offensive term.  Oops.  Time to turn on the filter.
• And finally, this awesome video.  Enjoy.      

CollegeHumor's Favorite Funny Videos

obsessions {link up}

 There's a little blog called saige wisdom out there.  I can't recall how we found one another, but we have some striking similarities.  Like the fact that we're both gingers (well, me, at least almost) with little ginger baby Gabriels of our own.  Fun.

Anyhoo, Sara over at sw is running a little link up about current obsessions.  I thought I'd link up this week and see what others in the blogosphere are obsessed with.

For me?

~First and foremost this week, the declutter**.  I can't tell you how good it feels to get.crap.outta.my.house.  I am going to make a FORTUNE at our upcoming yard sale, because the pile of goods in the "to sell" stack is growing at an alarming rate.  So far, my room is completely gutted, and Gabe's is close.  At least in those two rooms of the house, I can breathe again.  Aahhhh....

Remember that huge pile of crap that used top reside against that wall?  Well, it is no longer spewing itself everywhere around my bedroom.  Joy.

~Sam Adams Boston Lager.  I feel like anything Sam Adams makes is like the most generic of the craft beers.  J says that Sam Adams was just the trailblazer of the craft beer movement.   Either way?  I don't care.  I just love a Boston Lager.  (Read it like BAH-stin LAH-ga in your head.  It's more fun that way.)  And after a long day of decluttering, (or who am I kidding, even after a long day of sitting on my duff watching trashy daytime TV), nothing beats a cold beer.

~Speaking of TV- I have a renewed obsession with Gilmore Girls.  The reality of the situation is that the only time the TV is turned on during the day is while I eat my lunch, just after I put the nugget down for his nap.  And these days, I have been re-watching Gilmore Girls from the beginning whilst eating my bologna sandwiches.  Oh, how I love those zany Gilmores.

And there ya have it.  My obsessions for the week, and my first ever link up.  That was fun, wasn't it?

**Disclaimer: This was actually written on Friday, but I somehow didn't get around to actually posting it until today.  Unfortunately, due to the ripping up of bonus room carpet, a few boxes have made their way back into my bedroom.  Sad face.

Magic Puffs

I've determined that no matter what is going on, no matter the sad baby face, no matter the situation, I have a magic trick to make my child happy.  It's the puffs.

We've tried the green puffs (collards, spinach, and kale), the red puffs (strawberry), the orange puffs (sweet potato), and the yellow puffs (banana).  The flavor matters not.  The boy loves him some puffs.

He's learned to recognize the container.  When he sees me pull it out of the pantry, his little feet kick, kick, kick.  Literal squeals of delight escape his mouth.  He is SO EXCITED about the puffs.

Turns out, this has not only made the nugget a happy boy, it's made me a happier mama.  Saturday, Aviator Tap House.  The parents want to sit on the patio and enjoy the beautiful afternoon while sipping a delicious beer.

THIS, folks, is why you need the big stroller.  There's a try for snacks.  Puffs.  YES!

Happy baby, happy mama.  Success.

Hurricane's A Comin'

Since moving to North Carolina, I have gotten to experience a storm or two.  It used to be that when a storm was brewing, I ran to the store for this:

Now, I'm concerned with having this:

For these:

Ah, how times have changed.

In all seriousness, Irene is on her way.  We are far enough inland that we only expect some strong winds and heavy rains (wait...isn't that what a hurricane is?), but folks on our coast are looking at something a little more serious.

We're hunkering down, after a quick trip to the grocery store this morning.  And lest you all worry that I am no longer the (almost) ginger you know and love...beer is still on my shopping list.  ;)

30 Day Challenge | Day 10: My Favorite Restaurant

This is a toughie for me.  I like to eat out just about as much as I like to cook!  My favorite place to go depends on the mood.  So I'm going to cheat, and pick two places.

Here's the first:

Not much to look at on the outside, but on the inside, well...this is the real reason we go to Tyler's:

Beer!  Lots and lots of beer!

We also go for this:

The Beer Cheese Queso is the most amazing dip evah.....

If we're feeling a little fancier, or maybe like we'd like a dining experience, we go here:

Because who wouldn't love this?

And now I'm hungry.

Happy Saturday!

A Saturday of Landing Planes

This weekend, our favorite local brewery opened its new location!

We were so excited when we heard good beer was coming to the 'Quay!  In our little town, any hint of a night life or a cool hang-out is sheer amazingness.  Aviator Brewery started out in a small airplane hangar, but quickly grew in local popularity...due to its extreme awesomeness, of course.  Now they have a much bigger brewery space, in addition to the taproom, where we like to have weekend beverages of the non-Miller Lite variety.

Lots of our pals showed up for the big day!  Somehow I managed to miss photographing our pal Jason and his wife, Blaire.  Jason works for Aviator, and always keeps us updated on the goings-on at the brewery.  (Just so you know, since I somehow missed their picture, Jason looked particularly jaunty with his mutton chops.)

Here are some other photos from the day!

J and I...looking shiny.  It was scorchingly hot.  I was very proud of my hair before we left the house...once we got there, not so much.

Scott and Amy.  Scott and J spent lots of time speaking nerd.

Julie and Ryan.  Thank God for Julie and her hair tie.  Without her, my aforementioned hair would have been a COMPLETE disaster.

Kim and her new man, Chris.  Cutie new couple!

Laurel and Amanda.  Two of my favorite ladies!

Good times!

My Favorite Drink

I love my job.  Before moving to this new position this year, it had been six years since I had worked with kindergarteners.  I had absolutely forgotten how much I loved them until they came back into my life this year!  I currently work with five small groups of little ones a day; three kindergarten groups and two first grade groups.  Although the first graders are ultra cute and sweet, they lack a tiny bit of the innocence that the kindergarteners have.  They're more careful about just blurting things out, for fear of embarrassment.

Kindergarteners know no such fear.

My students are always saying funny or cute or ridiculous things that make me laugh.  For example:

• A few weeks ago one of my students said (at 11:15): "Mrs. Anderson!  I know what time it is!  It's eleventy-three!"
• Mrs. Anderson: "What's a word that starts with the letter g?"  Student: "Gangsta!"
• A neat freak whose supply drawer was messy: "My drawer is a catastrophe!!"
• At snack time, a little boy had forgotten to bring his snack: "I ain't got no snack!"  Me, correcting his grammar: "I don't have any snack."  Student, exasperated: "Well I don't have any, either!!"

This list could go on and on!

One of a teacher's greatest fears is that some day, a student is going to say something inappropriate, and we won't be able to hold back our laughter.  I had one of those moments today.

Mrs. Anderson, trying to give the kindergarten students hints about words that start with w: "What's something that we drink?"

Student answer: "BEER!"

And that was all she wrote, my friends.  I immediately laughed out loud, which of course set the rest of the students into fits of giggles.  It took me several minutes before I could explain that"WATER" was the word I was actually going for.

Have I said yet that I love my job?