Monday - January, 3 2011

Day 3.....

Today was another fantastically lazy day around the house!  After several hours of intermittent napping, TV watching and World of Warcraft playing, Amanda and I finally made the effort to leave the house in order to run to Crate & Barrel to return a set of white melamine mixing/prep bowls Amanda had been mulling over whether or not to keep since she bought them - them, another set of white melamine mixing/prep bowls from Williams-Sonoma and a set of stainless steel mixing/prep bowls from Crate and Barrel.  This return follows a return of a set of Williams-Sonama glass mixing/prep bowls I gave her for Christmas.  She did keep a set of white Crate & Barrel serving bowls I also gave her for Christmas which have become part of what I have been referring to as bowl-a-palooza 2010....



Crate & Barrel - Returned



Williams-Sonoma - Returned

  

Williams-Sonoma - Returned



Crate & Barrel - Kept



Crate & Barrel - Kept

After Crate & Barrel, we grabbed a quick dinner at Potbelly Sandwich Shop - a restaurant we didn't have in Richmond and would be one of those places we would miss if we no longer lived in the area.

Once we got home, we decided it was time to dismantle the Christmas Tree while watching Christmas Vacation.  Our tree this year lost a ton of needles and was hit by dog tales more often then we would care to discus.  Sadly we did have to put together an ornament graveyard for the first time ever.  Upon closer inspection of the tree this evening though, we discovered this.....

One of our favorite ornaments ever had indeed been hit by a tale at some point during the holiday season and went unnoticed until now.  After that setback, we powered through and put away the rest of the ornaments.

At Amanda's suggestion, I pulled out the ol' handy label maker in order to help us organize Christmas for next year.  We still have to take the lights off the tree and put away the Christmas dishes, but those are tasks for tomorrow.  We still have one more day of vacation left and hopefully we can finish all that up, work on the dressers, give the dogs baths, nap, watch movies, play World of Warcraft (Amanda), blog and hit the gym all before it is time for bed so we are refreshed and ready to get back to the grid on Wednesday.  We'll see though.....we'll see.....

Sunday - January 2, 2011

Day 2.....

It was a fantastically lazy day today and Amanda and I didn't do too much at all.  I started off the day by getting up later than usual and sluggishly going downstairs to crash on the couch.  After several episodes of "American Dad" on Netflix, I decided to watch "Shutter Island" as it was now available streaming on Netflix as well.  Overall, the movie was pretty good.  I would definitely recommend it, but it's not a movie I feel the need to watch over and over again. 

After the movie, it seemed as good a time as any to take a nap while Amanda played World of Warcraft.  Once I got up and Amanda felt like she was finished questing for the time being, we decided to work on a dresser project we started months ago after purchasing three mid-century modern dressers from someone in the city.  Each dresser was definitely in need of some refinishing and once they are done they are going to look fantastic in our bedroom!

Low Boy - Needs 1 more coat of white paint and a coat of polyurethane



The Tall Boy - Needs 1 more coat of primer, 2 coats of white paint, 1 coat of polyurethane and the drawers need to be lined to match the Long Boy (the wood color is truer to the Low Boy pictured above)



Side Table - needs 1 more coat of primer, 2 coats of white paint, 1 coat of polyurethane, the drawer needs to be lined and Amanda wants to do a fun paint job that is undetermined that this point

After working on the dressers for a bit and with a need to wait for the primer to dry, we met Mel and Andy at Garibaldi's on Randall Road for dinner.  We always have so much fun at dinner and I am not sure how we got on the subject of TV shows from the '60s to the early '90s, but at least it was a fun discussion where the phrase "catch phrase" ("Did I do that?", "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!" and "Hi, my name is Darrel and this is my brother Larry and my other brother Larry." to name a few) was uttered repeatedly as memories of tuning into Nick at Nite were sparked!

After dinner, Amanda and I ran to Target and then home to check on the pups - who, incidentally, made a decent sized mess while we were away.  After we cleaned up and they ate dinner, Amanda and I decided to hit the gym.  We just got back not too long ago and are both exhausted after our workouts.  We have been going to the gym fairly regularly for the last few months, so we decided that instead of making going to the gym a New Years resolution this year (a resolution that I have been making for years), our resolution is to go to the gym as consistently as possible and to continue working out with our personal trainer in an effort to get fit!

So now, I am trying to decide if I want to watch TV, put another coat of primer on the Tall Boy and side table or just go to bed.  In any case, Amanda and I have still have tomorrow and Tuesday off from work, so I don't feel an overwhelming need to start something else tonight or an overwhelming sense of dread that I have to get up early in the morning and so I need to go to bed now.....even though Annie says otherwise.   

Saturday - January 1, 2011

Welcome Back!  Today marks the first day of 2011 and the first day I get (back) into blogging.  I originally set this blog us as a 2010 New Years resolution, but never really followed through with the actual updating of said blog - a blog I was hoping would be a great place to document the fun exploits of me, my wife, my pets, my family and my friends in an attempt to make myself realize just how much I should be thankful about being able to do!

Since today was New Years Day,   we were able to sleep in and enjoy a relaxing day shopping, watching movies and just generally hanging around the house .  We were fortunate enough to have Mel, Andy and Dolly spend the night at out house after a great New Years Eve dinner at the Bavarian Lodge in Lisle, IL (a tradition Mel and I started last year) and as soon as we were all up and dressed, we headed to Randall's Pancake House & Restaurant in Elgin, IL.  for breakfast.

After we ate, Mel and Amanda decided they wanted to make (another) trip to Hobby Lobby looking for crafting supplies.  Knowing that their previous trip resulted in an unrealized loss of three hours, Andy and I decided to hit the movies to see "Tron Legacy" in 3D.

I had never seen the original "Tron" before, but it wasn't really a necessity and I enjoyed the movie anyway.  The special affects were really well done and the movie overall was exciting and very enjoyable.  I'd definitely check it out again once it was available streaming on Netflix.

After the movie, Andy and I regrouped with Mel and Amanda at our house where the crafting fun had already begun.  With that, it was time for another movie - this time a rented disc from Netflix of "The Joneses".  I am not sure where I first saw a preview for the movie, but it looked intriguing.  Amanda and I really enjoyed it, but I don't think Andy was as enthralled with it as we both were and it did spark some "ethicality" debates, but in the end we had to agree to disagree.   I'd recommend the movie though if not just for the overall premise.

After that movie, it was time for dinner.  Since it's now the start off a new year and we have been in Illinois for almost a year already, we decided it was time to finally start trying to mark off some things on our list of things to do before we (hopefully) head back to Richmond.  On that list - a trip to White Castle - a trip we all agreed we would not need to make again.  Perhaps if any of us had grown up going to White Castle we would have felt differently, but at least it is something we can say we did.

White Castle Sliders

Amanda and her tiny sliders!

Mel and Andy return from White Castle

After dinner, we watched a few episodes of "Better Off Ted" streaming on Netflix and then it was time for the Sweeneys to go home. All in all, it was a very satisfying day and I do really enjoy days where you don't have to do a lot to feel like you have done a lot. As for tomorrow, we'll have to wait and see what comes our way. For now though, I think I am going to head to bed. The pups are tired and Amanda is playing World of Warcraft....and that is all it really takes to make me ready to sign off for the night!



Say Cheese.....

Well, it’s been a while since my last blog post and if I am going to keep this up and achieve my blogging resolution, it’s time for another entry!

So this, for lack of a better idea, will be my camera post. Now, as most of you may know from following Amanda, she loves to take pictures. She (we) has (have) gone through at least 3 digital cameras in the last 9 years and there are at least 80GBs of space taken up by photos on our external hard drive. So when our latest digital camera finally died, it was time to join the big leagues and she (we) decided to purchase the Canon Rebel XSi DSLR camera. It is an amazing camera and takes amazing photos, but it kind of big and not a camera Amanda can just throw in her purse for spur of the moment photography.

To remedy this, my in-laws got me (and Amanda) a Canon PowerShot SX20 IS digital camera for Christmas! It is a an amazing second camera that, in addition to being smaller than the DSLR, will allow me to take my own pictures in addition to the pictures Amanda takes when we go out. I have already taken a few photos just to try it out! Check them out:

A holiday shot in Williamsburg

Another holiday shot in Williamsburg

A Williamsburg shot

Yet another holiday shot in Williamsburg

Domino

Another of Domino

Domino & Lita's new food and water dishes

I can't wait to take more!

However, as good as our second camera is, it is also too big to just throw into Amanda’s purse. So we are now contemplating purchasing the Canon PowerShot SD780 IS digital camera to give us a third option for our photographic needs. It is sleek, small enough to throw into Amanda’s purse and is a Canon so it fits all our remaining criteria! Plus Mel has it and it works wonderfully.  Is it a bit excessive? Probably. But when you take as many pictures as Amanda does, it will be nice to distribute the workload and hopefully keep each of our cameras longer than 3 years! And if not, at least I will have been able to take some photos of my own in the mean time…..I just don’t have my hopes up when it comes to using the biggest camera in the room when Amanda is around…

Canon Rebel XSi DSLR

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS

New Year’s Eve Dinner at The Bavarian Lodge!

On New Year’s Eve, Mel and I once again found ourselves alone, but together, since Amanda and Andy weren’t able to make it to Chicago to ring in the New Year as we had planned. But, as 2009 has shown us more than once (even on its last day), plans have a funny way of not working out. So with that, Mel and I decided to try The Bavarian Lodge – a place Mel found online in our never ending search for awesome pubs. And this place was indeed AWESOME! The food was fantastic German fare, the atmosphere was rustic and homey, and they even had a list of house rules on their website! What more could you ask for? So below are some pictures of what we had to eat (and drink) that night. Excuse the quality of the photos as they were taken with a cell phone. And if you are ever in the Downer’s Grove, Illinois area, I suggest you give the lodge a try!

Mel Checking out part of the Extensive Beer List - and I mean EXTENSIVE!  I of course went with my usual Cider.

 

After the beverage decision, we made an appetizer decision- German Potato Pancakes!

Four (2 already eaten) savory pancakes with garlic and onion, served with sour cream and apple sauce.

 

 

Then it was time to make an entree decision - by far the hardest decision of the evening.  We both decided to make our own combo meals in order to get a variety of more foods......  Each combo meal came with soup or salad.  I got the soup -Cream of Broccoli - and it was fantastic and Mel got the salad with Parmesan Peppercorn dressing and homemade croutons!

Then the rest of the food came out: I (foreground food) had Homemade Meatloaf and Chicken Schnitzel with a side of mashed potatoes, gravy and mixed vegetables. Mel, (background food) had Wiener Schnitzel and Kassler Rippchen (a sort of pork chop) with a side of gravy, red cabbage and bread dumplings.  It was all amazing food.

After all that food, we were stuffed, but we still wanted dessert. Doing the sensible thing though, we got two desserts to go!  I got the Triple Chocolate Brulee which was good, but very rich and had a strong orange flavor.  Mel got the Apricot Kolachky which I didn't try, but looked really tasty!

On the way back to the car in the frigid cold, I decided to snap a picture of the outside of the restaurant.  It was so warm and inviting inside it was hard to go back outside.

Check out the real ice sickles!  They have been known to kill you know!

And so even though it isn't what we originally planned, it was a fantastic New Year's Eve and I hope to take Amanda and Andy to The Bavarian Lodge soon! Until then, here is to a happy, safe, and prosperous 2010!