November 24, 2011
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Two Sundays ago, we had one of those lazy days where we're grateful for friends we can just hang out and relax with. Sandy and I (with our families) went to Melissa's house for lunch. Sam showed us how to make homemade pasta. It was surprisngly easily and given how much pasta my family eats, it might make sense to invest in our own Kitchenaid pasta maker attachments. We talked, the kids played Kinect, we played Mahjong, Kaitlyn taught Zachary the game Qwirkle ... we stayed for about 6 hours.
For most of the following week (4 days), I attended the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing. I flew to Portland, Oregon for keynotes, professional workshops, and a career fair. The best part was networking though ... 2 nights, I stayed up until past midnight talking to other women in my field. It was great to get the perspectives of both recent college graduates and senior leaders ... and a bit eye-opening to see that we share many of the same challenges. Perhaps because women are such a minority in the tech industry, I've found them to be extremely supportive and collaborative.
I flew back Saturday morning, in time to make Zachary’s last soccer game (lost) and spent the day just hanging out with the kids. I missed them! Sunday morning, I went on a jog with Sam … and in the afternoon, I went to see Sandy and Melissa’s dance showcase. They both had their hair done, and combined with the competition style ballroom gowns and smooth dancing, they looked professional. The hours of practice definitely paid off!
While I was at the showcase, James took the kids to the Children's Museum ... Sam, Alex, Nicole, and I met up with them aftewards.
The next Friday, both kids had a school Thanksgiving potluck during lunch. Zachary baked homemade chocolate chip cookies for his class, but we came up short. Considering the 32 students, parent volunteers, and teacher, I had to augment with some store bought Pillsbury cookies. Not all the cookies were the same, but all 36 were eaten! Zachary’s class had too many volunteers, so I attended Calie’s feast.
In the afternoon, I went to Zuda yoga with some of my coworkers. My last yoga experience was the Bikram variety, which left me both light headed and nauseated. This was a much more positive experience, and I needed the relaxation more than I thought I did. I may just sign up for their $10 for 10 days special! Ended the work week winning a contest from one of my favorite local bakeries – best ever pumpkin cake pops and chocolate cupcakes (Thank you Little Delights!)
Saturday morning, I hosted a playdate for Calista with her classmates Hannah and Hayden (twins!) Calista and the twins play well together and enjoy doing many of the same activities, so we'll have to meet up with them again soon!
After lunch (but not right after), I took both kids to Sky High, where we met up with Zachary’s soccer teammate HauHau. It was pretty crowded with so many soccer team and birthday parties, but the kids still had lots of fun.
Saturday evening, our favorite victim, I mean babysitter, came over to watch the kids. James, JP, and I went out for dinner at Wasabi (after finding out that the wait at Fat’s was over an hour.) I was tempted to order my usual chirashi, but was glad I decided on some of their creative rolls instead. Then it was off to see ‘Spamalot’ at a new theatre only a few miles from our home. How nice to have a theatre so close, and with free parking to boot! I’m definitely interested in seeing more shows there. Spamalot was quite funny; British humor is right under awkward moments humor on my list. Slapstick just annoys me … and probably anyone else over the age of 5. Not that I'm judging or anything.
After the show, I headed to Kathy’s house for karaoke and dessert ... specifically the infamous shoo-fly pie, hand carried from Pennsylvania. It was pretty good. I was expecting pecan pie without the pecans. It was more like a super moist spice cake without the spice ... with graham crumbles on top. Karen, Melissa, and Kathy were great Lady Gaga impersonators (singing only, not appearance.) We talked a lot (surprise, surprise), and I didn’t get home until past 2am!
We had Tabitha and Melissa's family over for a brunch play date on Sunday (who needs more than 4 hours of sleep, right?). I served up plain scambled eggs, a breakfast casserole (egg, hashbrowns, sausauge, cheese), a pumpkin cinnimon bread and strawberry cake from Great Harvest, and a smoked salmon platter complete with capers, creme fraiche, and red onions. Having Sam over is a great excuse to put out a smoked salmon spread, as we are both huge fans of wild Sockeye. Tabitha brought over an awesome cake that Jigme made ... and it tasted as delicious as it looked! I couldn't quite tell you what the kids played - they are so good at entertaining themselves now that I bascially ate and socialized. So maybe it was really a playdate for me.
Mid-afternoon, James' dad came to pick Zachary up. Since Zachary's school is out for the whole week, we decided he would stay with his grandparents. It would give him time to bond with extended family, as well as give James and I some time alone with Calista. Zachary was very excited to leave and took a bag of board games he wanted to play. We had thought Calista would be either sad or jealous, but she was happy to see him go.
We ended our weekend with dinner at Chicago Fire with Melissa’s family. I’m not usually a fan of pizza, but I crave the sauce and crust on their deep dish. Plus they serve Caesar salad with anchovies. Yum! With only one child at home, bedtime was easy and I went out for a massage after putting Calie to bed. I've been getting massages ~2x a month ... Golden Hand is close, $33/hr, and open late (so I can go after the kids are in bed) ... so worth it! I must have been exhausted because at one point I woke myself up with my own snoring.
Monday night, we had slow cooker pot roast for dinner (note: sweet potatoes are not like regular potatoes or carrots - they fall apart and make a bright orange mushy mess). Usually I love having a few days of leftovers, but with Thanksgiving travel looming and my fear of eating old meat, we were eager to share our dinner with friends. We had Melissa's family over (including Sam's brother) and we polished off all but 1 lunch sized portion of pot roast and all of Jigme's cake as well as 2 cupcakes. Then we talked about how many calories we could eat in one day if there were no negative health/weight impact. I think it's unlikely to eat more than 8,000 calories without feeling sick. Sam insists 12-15k is easily doable. Without the "old JP", we will never know.
Tonight, we celebrated Melissa's birthday at her home. Sam and Melissa made squash/goat cheese ravioli with butter sage sauce, topped with roasted pine nuts. We also had grilled pork and sides of bread and brocoli. I swear I don't pick my friends based on cooking ability - I just got really lucky! Happy Birthday Melissa!
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