Saturday, December 30, 2006

The Party Of The Year

Last night was Tall Brad and Proud Mary's wedding and reception. The wedding was lovely. (Well, there was the disappearing bridesmaid incident, but I'm pretty sure there was a good explanation for it.) The reception was spectacular -- held at the Minnesota History Center (the same venue that FindLaw used for its holiday soiree). It will long be remembered as either "The Wedding Reception With The Extended Drum Solo" or "The Big Party The Night They Hanged Saddam", depending on your outlook.

I believe the quote of the night (from Erik) was something along the lines of, "Chicken testes taste like onion!", though I'm going to rely on Scooter's better memory to get it right. (I'm sure both he and Poo-Tee-Wheet will be blogging the party, especially since they have the great photos of Christy F's cleavage.)

Another strong contender for quote of the night would by the lovely bride's pronouncement (over the loudspeaker) that she had "finally settled". We all knew that already, Mary.

The third nominee would be the groom's brother's self-introduction (also over the loudspeaker): "I'm Brad's brother and Mary's sister." This may have been the shortest best-man speech in recorded history. Or ever.

By the way, that's two parties this month at the History Center for Kristi and me, and both nights there were Minnesota Wild games downtown as well. Somebody needs to plan these things out better.

UPDATE: Scooter comes up with another version of Erik's quote -- but not on his blog. Although his is probably more accurate overall, I stand by Erik's use of the word "testes".

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Saturday, December 23, 2006

Birthday Follow-Up

So, the gift list, which was very satisfying in a geeky sort of way (although, really, nothing can compete with the Toshiba notebook computer Kristi gave me for my birthday/holiday present last year):
  • A Rockler gift card from my brother-in-law and his family;
  • Two CDs from my sister-in-law and her family (a Kinks CD to fill a gap in my collection, and Marykate O'Neil's latest;
  • Four O'Reilly books from my mom and Kristi's parents (the CVS and shell scripting books are going to come in very, very handy in my new life as a NetKernel-on-Linux developer);
  • Also from Kristi's folks, the seventh and final season of Buffy on DVD, finishing out my collection;
  • From Emma, a tub of Red Vines (my favorite treat);
  • And from Kristi, a fondue set (yes, I've been wanting one for a while, 'cuz if I can make cheese fun for Emma, maybe she'll actually consume some protein -- plus, you know, chocolatey fun).
We took a drive (the five of us in a Yaris (cramped but, well, cramped) down to Red Wing, just to get out of the house. John hadn't been that direction before, and it's been years and years since I have. Tonight Kristi and I will do dinner and maybe a movie -- depending on how soon we get out of here.

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Birthday Report: Early Edition

It's a funny thing. I woke up knowing it was my birthday, but it never occurred to me until I sat down to write this that it was my birthday and that I was another year older. So I'm kinda thinking maybe I'm not.

Kristi got up early to get groceries, and I got up early to do some work (writing documentation) -- but thought I'd pop in here quickly to wish myself a happy birthday. I know there's a pumpkin pie for me in the fridge; beyond that, the gift situation is hazy. More later.

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Friday, December 22, 2006

The Upstairs

So, the remodel is mostly done, and Kristi's parents are our beta testers this Christmas. We still have lots of detail work to do, plus general decorating (rugs, pictures, etc.). But it works.

Looking down the stairs from the landing, you can see the new maple treads. You can also see the masking tape on the treads and wall, because I haven't finished painting the stair skirting. Kristi textured the stairway walls, and they look great.



So, once on the landing, you can take in most of the space. The front alcove is to the left, with a table for games, puzzles, etc. Barely visible behind the baluster in the middle of the picture is our new 42" LCD TV, which will ultimately mount on the wall above where it's currently sitting. To the right of that is the gas stove, which does a great job of heating the room.



Coming off the stairs, now you can see the built-in bed, as well as the new armoire, couch, gliders and tables.



I'm kind of proud of the bed. Much of the work upstairs was contracted out, but I did everything on the bed except the drywalling, from the framing on. I built the drawer faces to match the cabinetry in the bathroom.



Speaking of the bathroom: the shower glass looks pretty good.



So does the rest of it.

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Sunday, December 17, 2006

Wow!

I'm Time Magazine's Person of the Year! I have to admit that this is something I never, ever anticipated. I mean, to share an honor once held by Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, George W. Bush and Bono ... what can you say?

This is going to look so fucking good on my résumé.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Eventually ...

... Scooter will find out about this photoshop contest at Worth1000, so I might as well let him in on the secret now. Yes, Scott, the second-place winner is the love-child of my doomed relationship with Miss Cayucus 1973.

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