Monthly Archives: January 2020

Appetizers and a Sushi Burgerversary

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Vivian and I had a busy, busy weekend getting set for and hosting our biennial hors d’oeurves party, among other things. I actually took a day off work to help clean house and then took the kids to Burger King to blow off some steam on Saturday before taking them to Grammy and Pop Pop’s to spend the night. Vivian had helped put together a kind of Sleeping Fort in the basement with Grammy, where Hannah and Aaron spent the night.

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Then on Saturday, we had a handful of our friends over to get stuffed together by eating plates full of hors d’oeuvres. Tamra and Ryan brought Wisconsin-style Bloody Mary cocktails, Jenny and Kody brought some cranberry brie pinwheels, Phil and Jen brought pineapple cupcakes and Japanese pancakes (respectively), Anne and Brandon brought Meatball Sliders, Lisa brought phyllo-wrapped spanakopita with roasted pumpkin seeds, and our friend Sage brought stuffed mushrooms, which won the Pig in a Blanket for the evening.

We had a good evening eating and “shooting the breeze,” as well as trying out a weighted blanket and playing a round of Hit or Miss, a game that Lisa was kind enough to bring. We even brought out Harold the Guinea Pig, who seemed to enjoy being held and nibbling at leftover bits of celery, cilantro, and carrots that we fed to him.

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The next day, Vivian and I had a lovely morning of No Kids, which gave us the chance to sleep in and actually spend time visiting with people at church afterward. We picked up the kids from Grammy and Pop-Pop and also grabbed some sushi from Jade Palace for lunch in honor of our Sushi Anniversary. Then my mom came to babysit so we could finally watch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker together, a film that seemed to do a reasonable job making up for the previous two films.

Then we dropped by Sickies Garage Burgers & Brews, which had recently opened in the thoroughly remodeled old Summer Kitchen on Cornhusker Road. It’s been an insanely busy place for the past couple weeks, and we had about a half an hour wait when we showed up for a table for two. It was worth it, though. We shared a plate of fried pickles and then Vivian and I had a “Smoky Burnout” and a “Car Lot” burger, respectively. They were so good, we got a third “Honky Tonk” burger to share when we went home.

It was a fun weekend, and a nice annual exercise — however exhausting — to spend a few days cleaning house in the middle of winter just to have some food and fun with our friends. It was also nice to celebrate 13 years of being “official” with Vivian! Happy Sushi (and Burger) anniversary!

Zoey, Breakfast, and Snow Daze

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We’ve had a fairly quiet start to the New Year so far, mostly staying warm inside and quietly preparing for an Hors D’oeurves Party among other things at the end of the month.

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We celebrated the two-year adoption of our little tuxedo cat, Zoey on January 10. We had a few extra kitty treats in a bowl of premium food for her for dinner, and then we let her get her first whiff of catnip — which immediately made her go a bit crazy rolling around on the floor.

Then the next day we had a men’s breakfast bright and early with the men of Wildewood. We had a few breakfast burritos and listened to Scott talk a bit about his plans for the group this coming year. I got to sit at a table with my dad and talk a bit about evangelism as well, particularly his missionary work in Brazil.

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In other news, we’ve had snow, snow, and more snow. It hasn’t been all that much in accumulation, but we’ve had bitter cold on one end and slush on the other that’s kept schools closed and us stuck inside. It’s been a good time snuggle up on the couch under a blanket and read comic books.

It’s also been a good time for warm, comforting winter foods like beef stew, homemade bread, breakfast corn dogs, and buffalo chicken dip. Hannah and Aaron have also been finding ways to amuse themselves dressing up as video game fighters and sticking poop emojis on the ceiling. Hannah even came out to help me shovel once and spent a little time making a snowman with her doll Suki.

I think we’ve had almost enough of winter this far, but there are still a few more months to go.

Movie and last pump it up

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It’s been a groggy start to the new year, getting used to a regular forty-hour work week after having a fortnight bisected by Christmas and New Year’s. Vivian’s been making use of her new KitchenAid mixer, whipping up some homemade pizza and sticky buns that have definitely been a treat.

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We spent Saturday taking down our Christmas tree and decorations, bringing an official end to the holiday season (and introducing the kids to Mr. Bean and Punky Brewster in the process). Then on Sunday, we dropped by First Presbyterian for another movie night. We arrived early enough to get in some quality playtime outside, playing hide and seek with the kids on the playground and then inspecting a tree stump to determine its age.

Then inside, we got some chili dogs with a few of our friends for dinner before watching Homeward Bound, the 1993 live action animal Disney film that Vivian and the kids have seen multiple times, but I never had. The kids got to break out their sleeping bags as well and get a nice view right up front.

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Then on Monday night, we had one last bouncy trip to Pump it Up. We’d gone to multiple outings at this inflatable indoor park, all hosted by the Autism Society of Nebraska. Hannah and Aaron have both loved going up and down the big slide and hopping across the giant balls over an inflatable pit.

We’ve even come to know a few familiar faces after coming month after month, but unfortunately Pump it Up will be closing its doors at the end of January, so this was our last trip. We didn’t tell the kids, and I hope we’ll find a new bouncy venue for them to hop themselves down once again.

We may be having a quiet week or two coming up, which will be just what we need to get the house ready for another Hors D’oeurves Party at the end of the month. Stay tuned for that!

Happy New Decade

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Hello, 2020 — a New Year, a New Year, and a new season of writing on the wrong year on everything. Seriously, it’s going to take a while for 2020 to sound more like a real-life year and not a TV show.

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Somehow, we ended the year in the same way we started it — with a visit from Senator and Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren. I’m honestly surprised she’s still in the race, considering the gaffe claiming Native American ancestry. She’s one of the farther-left candidates on the Democratic ticket, which is a shift from her earlier days when she supported such things as school choice. She’s still one of the front-runners, however, so I joined a couple hundred people at Woodrow Wilson Middle School to hear her talk about teachers’ unions, climate change, and other Democrat issues. (Strangely enough, she didn’t once mention Donald Trump or the impeachment, which was something of a surprise.)

Her husband Bruce Mann was also in the crowd, which seemed a mix of older folks, families, and young people. Sen. Warren also seemed to make a point of making time for “selfies” after her Q&A session, which at least half the crowd of around 300 stuck around for. It was interesting to see how many people were getting selfies before the event started. Unlike most folks in the crowd, however, I wanted to get a question on video rather than a selfie. Her staff didn’t seem sure hat to make of that (and seemed a bit suspicious of me), and they insisted on holding my phone for me when I got up to meet Sen. Warren. Was going to ask if she’d appear on the show of her former student, Ben Shapiro, but I decided to ask a softball supplied by my daughter Hannah and asked about Warren’s kids instead. You can see a video of that here.

It’s always a bit of a thrill to meet the Presidential candidates I hear about on my daily podcasts, even if I’m not planning on voting for them. In about a month, they’ll all be gone!

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Then on New Year’s Eve, we celebrated the only way we know how — with lots and lots of food! We made some homemade corn dogs with a corn dog maker unearthed from our basement, along with some frozen fruit smoothies using a smoothie maker Hannah got for her birthday. My folks (and Uncle Jonny) came by a little later and got to meet Harold the Guinea Pig. They brought along a fondue set and some sirloin steak to cook in boiling canola oil, which was quite tasty. We also sampled some unique cheeses I’d gotten from Aldi, which included an “ash” brie and Borgonzola.

After my folks left, Hannah played Trouble with Mommy and Grammy while waiting for midnight. Jack and Donna joined in and stayed later for a cheese fondue that Vivian cooked up for us. Hannah stayed up late as well, having fun dipping things in the cheese fondue and serving them to us rather than eating them. We had the TV tuned to the ball drop in New York City and then toasted the New Year when they replayed it for the Central Time Zone, ringing in a new year and a new decade.

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We slept in on New Year’s Day and then had a mostly quiet day cleaning up and then playing at the park with the kids. It was warm enough for them to have an hour or two to run around the Sandy Park before Jack and Donna came over to our house for dinner. Jack brought a black-eyed pea soup made with leftover Christmas ham (specifically the bone), which we had with a table full of hors d’oeuvres (hooray for meat roll-ups).

Now that the holidays are officially over, we’re going to have to start taking down our decorations and thinking about all the things we can expect in 2020 — fun and otherwise. Happy New Year, everybody!