thanksgiving. yeah, i know the post is a little late

and incomplete.
It was a fun time. Jen and Matt's new kitchen rocks, especially with the cardboard parquet floors ;) Played sous chef for a bit. I never knew how much fun chopping veggies for 2 hours could be... of course i had my sister and mother in the kitchen too, fighting for control over space, who's doing what, etc.
Duckpin bowling was fun, but i think being jason's momentum was even better. Jay wasn't able to push and toss the ball at the same time, so i gently pushed him down the lane and he threw. He actually got a spare. I got a lot of gutterballs.
Highlight of the weekend had to be the game of Taboo. Some of the off-color comments included: "Jewish people like to eat these" (bagels) and "These sometimes don't branch in the South" (family tree)
Oh yeah. And my brother in law accidentally snorted some sausage biscuit into his sinuses.
Go Team Sausage!

scroogelike?

so yesterday, we're out running mindless errands, and find ourselves at a bigK cuz i saw some ad on tv for a cheap xmas tree.. and the advertised one is pretty crappy [surprise]. so, as i'm falling into the bait-and-switch trap, checking out the next, better-looking, price tiers, gary wonders aloud, 'do we even *need* one at the house? it's not like we're hosting anything big this year.." and he's right. right?

orange-maroonish

Hero.... ish.

My left hand is now very sore. On Friday Jay and I (with Lori in tow) went to Best Buy and got the latest installment of Guitar Hero II. I love all the new songs that are included (look them up, im too lazy to list them) and the hammer notes/pull offs are so much easier. What I love about the game is that it only shows 4 of the available songs for the level. After you complete the 4, the 5th song is played as an encore. Not only is it a great explanation for the 5th song, but it leaves a bit of a mystery for the final song- something to work toward.
Confident in my rokking out skills, I started on hard; for the first few levels I was doing fairly well. Then the solos got harder. then the intros, the chorus.... hand cramps... clammy palms... oh crap. Yes, its harder.
I finished hard today, but i think i'll let my arm rest for a bit before I move onto expert. give it a day or 2.

mmm. beefy.

Yesterday, to continue my extended vacation due to parent teacher conferences Jay, Lor and I met up near Fox Valley. After spending way too much at Best Buy (got Guitar Hero 2!!! Ill post that one later) and having a Gingerbread Latte at Caribou (really good, plus Jay got the Fa La Latte- Eggnog flavored) we went over to Miga 59- a Korean BBQ restaurant- right next door from Caribou. Lori and I had a hankerin' for some bulgogi and we tried to go here after work one day at 330, but theyre only open for lunch and dinner, the latter starting at 5.
We all had the buffet, which had a ton of great stuff. Probably the best bi bim bap (rice w/ veggies) i've had in a while, and i was a big fan of the small side dishes- beef wrapped asparagus, squash tempura, etc. Bulgogi was excellent of course, not as greasy as I've had it elsewhere, so i was grateful for that.
What surprised me was that the BBQ didn't WOW me. we got some short ribs and beef, it felt like it was lacking something. They were supposed to be wrapped up in lettuce and eaten like that, but after one bite into the wrap and everything popped out. In my opinion the beef wasn't seasoned enough. On the other hand the ribs were seasoned just right, were pretty tender, but I had trouble chewing it, there was a lot of connective tissue still intact. Still it didn't spoil the night
For dessert Lori had the Tiramisu and Jay had a Korean rice cake. I think the waiter didn't hear me when I said I wanted the rice cake too, but.. well.. eh. I just mooched off of the tiramisu Lor didnt eat :)
Overall, good stuff. I'd recommend going back. But if you do, it might be a good idea to dress up a little more than we did; it was kind of ackward sitting in this nice restaurant with a hoodie, jeans and sneakers.

The Pledge

Student: "Why do we put our right hand over our heart when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?"
My response: "Try using your left hand."

(student pauses, tries it out)

Student: "Ohhhhhhhhhhh......"