I was hoping to leave work early today to get things done for the party, but it didn't work out that way. A meeting was scheduled for this afternoon that kept me in the office until 430p or so. I stopped by Costco on the way home (for the second time today) and picked up some stuff for the party tomorrow. As it turned out, the mattress we wanted to get was on sale!
I had arranged for a colleague to help me get it home, but when I came over during lunch, the customer service rep told me they weren't on sale (there was no price tag attached to the mattresses). Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be.
I tried calling my colleague, but he wasn't around. Oh well, I thought, maybe I'll come back up with the van and toss it on top. I made a few calls when I got home and was able to get Charlie to help me out. Even better, we used his work van to bring the mattress home, so we didn't have to put it on top of our van!
Before that, however, D and the kids surprised me with my birthday present. She's been wanting me to get a new car for my birthday (the Altima is over 10 years old, but only has 85k miles on it), but I'd rather not go that route. While I'd love to have a new(er) car, I don't relish the thought of having a car payment. So, with that in mind, she did something I never expected: she bought me a pool table!
I was quite surprised when I found out (although she had consulted me with regard to the style, location, etc, I didn't know when it would be delivered). The kids were excited when I got home and I soon found out why when they led me to the basement. We played a few games before I had to get back to focusing on the party. Had it not been for that, I would've been down there all night. (Not to worry, however, I'm sure I'll spend plenty of time in the basement doing my best imitation of Minnesota Fats over the years.)
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Day 263 - 11/10/2007
N was up bright and early and since I'm the early riser, I got up and escorted him to the basement for him to watch some shows while I went back to work in the basement.
After a while, I reached a point where I needed storage bins so I made the trip to the store where I got what I thought was enough for the job at hand and went back to work cleaning the basement.
After a few hours in the basement, I broke for lunch and then took D and M shopping. Actually, N and I just dropped them off and picked them up later on. With D's knee still bothering her (especially getting in and out of the van), it's just easier to drop her off whenever possible.
While we were waiting for them to call for a ride, N and I raked the leaves in the back yard. This was the first "real" raking we've done all year (previous raking was done in conjunction with mowing the yard and simply bagging the lawn clippings). I ended up bagging only enough leaves for two bags, the rest I put on a tarp and dragged back into the woods. The way I see it, almost all of the leaves came from the common area and therefore that's where they should end up.
After raking I sat and listened to M practice her clarinet. I tried giving her some pointers on how to practice better and it appears to have taken as by the time her practice ended she was playing both her songs pretty good (Good King Wenceslas and Jingle Bells).
After dinner we played Mouse Trap and Trouble before putting the kids to bed, after which I did more work in the basement. I'm approaching the end of the storage area. Tomorrow I hope to be 90% done. (I won't consider it 100% done until all the yard sale/goodwill stuff is out and the workbench area is redesigned and organized.)
After a while, I reached a point where I needed storage bins so I made the trip to the store where I got what I thought was enough for the job at hand and went back to work cleaning the basement.
After a few hours in the basement, I broke for lunch and then took D and M shopping. Actually, N and I just dropped them off and picked them up later on. With D's knee still bothering her (especially getting in and out of the van), it's just easier to drop her off whenever possible.
While we were waiting for them to call for a ride, N and I raked the leaves in the back yard. This was the first "real" raking we've done all year (previous raking was done in conjunction with mowing the yard and simply bagging the lawn clippings). I ended up bagging only enough leaves for two bags, the rest I put on a tarp and dragged back into the woods. The way I see it, almost all of the leaves came from the common area and therefore that's where they should end up.
After raking I sat and listened to M practice her clarinet. I tried giving her some pointers on how to practice better and it appears to have taken as by the time her practice ended she was playing both her songs pretty good (Good King Wenceslas and Jingle Bells).
After dinner we played Mouse Trap and Trouble before putting the kids to bed, after which I did more work in the basement. I'm approaching the end of the storage area. Tomorrow I hope to be 90% done. (I won't consider it 100% done until all the yard sale/goodwill stuff is out and the workbench area is redesigned and organized.)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Day 172 - 08/11/2007
I spent a fun-filled day with the kids while D took a day off and had some quality alone time (well, I'm not sure whether she'd call it quality based on some of the things she did, but she had the day to herself to do what she wanted). I was happy to spend the day with the kids and we made it a full one.
We left the house about 930a and made a couple of pit stops, the first at the coffee store and the second at the dump to drop off some chemicals. After the dump, we made our way to Burke Lake Park, where we unloaded our bikes from the van, strapped on the fishing gear to my bike rack and made our way around the lake. We weren't very successful in the fishing department (I had one bite, but when I was reeling it in, the bass jumped and spit out the lure), nor were they kids successful in the lack-of-complaints-about-being-hot-and-tired department, but we were successful in the having-fun-and-spending-quality-time-together department.
We ended up riding around the lake even though the kids didn't want to, but since we were more than halfway when we decided to call it a day, going all the way around was shorter than going back the way we came. Next time we'll have to not go as far (or they'll just have to deal).
After loading up our gear in the van, we headed down and took a ride on the train (as pictured above). This was the first time N rode the train without feeling anxious. We've tried doing it in previous years, but he was afraid of the tunnel. This time, however, there was no fear whatsoever, which is a good thing as during Halloween, they have "Boo Train" rides where there are kids in costumes along the route, some silly, some scary, tossing candy to the kids. It's a fun time, but not when the kids don't want to ride.
On the way home we stopped by Merrifield Garden Center (or, as N calls it, MerriGardenFields) for some plants. I wanted to plant some mint to use in mojitos and we ended up not only getting that, but also some basil, aloe and some rock garden plant that N picked out, in addition to a couple of planters. The one M is holding below will be taken to my office.
Once I saw it I knew I had to get it. Now I just need to get a plant to put in it. Why didn't I think of that while we were there? (I had originally envisioned putting the plant that I have in my office in it, but am not sure whether it will look good in it. We'll see.)
We checked out and headed home, where D and I planted/repotted the plants. D had enjoyed her day at home and was given some bonus time when I took the kids to the pool. It was hot and the pool wasn't very crowded, although the kids did enjoy the company of the Craig girls.
After the pool, we came home and enjoyed a rousing game of memory with the memory game I got at the Grand Canyon last year. M started out pretty quick and N surprised us with his mad memory skills, but in the end I wound up pulling it off on the backstretch and was first across the line when it came time to tally our matches.
Overall it was a great day. Nothing like spending some good, quality time with the kids on a Saturday. As for how I handled it without getting too worked up, it's simple: I expected them to do exactly what they did (not want to focus on fishing that much, complain about the bike ride, hit me up for a ride, etc.), so everything turned out as planned. Yes, I understand that's not the best tactic, but if you set the expectation that the day will be fun-filled and the kids won't complain about something, you're setting yourself up for failing to meet your expectations.
Oh yeah, it's also helpful not to get worked up when they're just kids being kids.
We left the house about 930a and made a couple of pit stops, the first at the coffee store and the second at the dump to drop off some chemicals. After the dump, we made our way to Burke Lake Park, where we unloaded our bikes from the van, strapped on the fishing gear to my bike rack and made our way around the lake. We weren't very successful in the fishing department (I had one bite, but when I was reeling it in, the bass jumped and spit out the lure), nor were they kids successful in the lack-of-complaints-about-being-hot-and-tired department, but we were successful in the having-fun-and-spending-quality-time-together department.
We ended up riding around the lake even though the kids didn't want to, but since we were more than halfway when we decided to call it a day, going all the way around was shorter than going back the way we came. Next time we'll have to not go as far (or they'll just have to deal).
After loading up our gear in the van, we headed down and took a ride on the train (as pictured above). This was the first time N rode the train without feeling anxious. We've tried doing it in previous years, but he was afraid of the tunnel. This time, however, there was no fear whatsoever, which is a good thing as during Halloween, they have "Boo Train" rides where there are kids in costumes along the route, some silly, some scary, tossing candy to the kids. It's a fun time, but not when the kids don't want to ride.On the way home we stopped by Merrifield Garden Center (or, as N calls it, MerriGardenFields) for some plants. I wanted to plant some mint to use in mojitos and we ended up not only getting that, but also some basil, aloe and some rock garden plant that N picked out, in addition to a couple of planters. The one M is holding below will be taken to my office.
Once I saw it I knew I had to get it. Now I just need to get a plant to put in it. Why didn't I think of that while we were there? (I had originally envisioned putting the plant that I have in my office in it, but am not sure whether it will look good in it. We'll see.)We checked out and headed home, where D and I planted/repotted the plants. D had enjoyed her day at home and was given some bonus time when I took the kids to the pool. It was hot and the pool wasn't very crowded, although the kids did enjoy the company of the Craig girls.
After the pool, we came home and enjoyed a rousing game of memory with the memory game I got at the Grand Canyon last year. M started out pretty quick and N surprised us with his mad memory skills, but in the end I wound up pulling it off on the backstretch and was first across the line when it came time to tally our matches.
Overall it was a great day. Nothing like spending some good, quality time with the kids on a Saturday. As for how I handled it without getting too worked up, it's simple: I expected them to do exactly what they did (not want to focus on fishing that much, complain about the bike ride, hit me up for a ride, etc.), so everything turned out as planned. Yes, I understand that's not the best tactic, but if you set the expectation that the day will be fun-filled and the kids won't complain about something, you're setting yourself up for failing to meet your expectations.
Oh yeah, it's also helpful not to get worked up when they're just kids being kids.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Day 24 - 03/16/2007
The spring like weather left us last night and we woke up to rain, which turned to freezing rain, sleet and then snow throughout the day. So much for a warm weekend. Since I went in early (which I'm wont to do on Fridays), I left around 4p to go to the gym. For some reason they were closed. No advanced notice or note on the door, so who knows what's going on. Since I didn't get my workout in on Tuesday, I was sort of bummed, but at least I'll shoot for a run tomorrow (weather permitting).
I came home from work (in the freezing rain/sleet) and played Life instead. Before sitting down to play, I hit the basement and got a start at the weekend organization. I moved some Christmas decorations into a portico under the front hallway and rearranged some other stuff. Spying the cases of beer in the corner, I grabbed two bottles of homebrew and put them in the fridge for later on.
We played Life and D was tech support. We've decided that whoever is tech support will win, since they get $50k whenever someone skews the spinner, which happens quite often. Sure enough, she won. M and I didn't even bother going to Millionaire Estates as we both knew we didn't have anywhere near enough money to challenge her. Oh well, maybe next time.
Fast forward to after the kids are in bed and I decide to call my mom to help fix her printing issues. We (somehow) resolved those rather quickly and the conversation turned to clutter and the emotional duress it puts you under. The conversation was actually pleasant so I didn't push too hard on what she needs to do with the basement. After our conversation, I opened on of the beers that was chilling from earlier. Not so good -- down the drain it went. I opened the second one and found it to be just a little better. However, a little better than "tastes like crap" isn't too mouth-watering so I poured that one down the drain as well. I went out in the garage and was about to grab the Smithwick's Ale when I spied a beer Uncle Jim brewed for Aunt Ann for her retirement. Seeing as it's only been a few years, I figured that wouldn't be bad, so I brought that in and opened it up. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Very, very nice!
I came home from work (in the freezing rain/sleet) and played Life instead. Before sitting down to play, I hit the basement and got a start at the weekend organization. I moved some Christmas decorations into a portico under the front hallway and rearranged some other stuff. Spying the cases of beer in the corner, I grabbed two bottles of homebrew and put them in the fridge for later on.
We played Life and D was tech support. We've decided that whoever is tech support will win, since they get $50k whenever someone skews the spinner, which happens quite often. Sure enough, she won. M and I didn't even bother going to Millionaire Estates as we both knew we didn't have anywhere near enough money to challenge her. Oh well, maybe next time.
Fast forward to after the kids are in bed and I decide to call my mom to help fix her printing issues. We (somehow) resolved those rather quickly and the conversation turned to clutter and the emotional duress it puts you under. The conversation was actually pleasant so I didn't push too hard on what she needs to do with the basement. After our conversation, I opened on of the beers that was chilling from earlier. Not so good -- down the drain it went. I opened the second one and found it to be just a little better. However, a little better than "tastes like crap" isn't too mouth-watering so I poured that one down the drain as well. I went out in the garage and was about to grab the Smithwick's Ale when I spied a beer Uncle Jim brewed for Aunt Ann for her retirement. Seeing as it's only been a few years, I figured that wouldn't be bad, so I brought that in and opened it up. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Very, very nice!
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