Family…Food…Friends…Fun – in no particular order at all, these are really things that make life worth living.  This was a GREAT Easter weekend and I had a blast.  Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt with some of the younger members of our family and extended family and Sunday we had Easter dinner with my best friend and his partner.

Saturday morning sort of had me worried – I mean it was supposed to be in the low 80′s and it didn’t get there fast enough – the day actually started out kinda cool and overcast but that changed just in time!  We had Ian and Nicky with Audrey; we had April and Shannon with Aden along with April’s mom and her new beau; and we had Isabella (Isa) and Antonio (Toni) all over for lunch and the hunting of pastel, plastic candy-filled eggs.  Apparently the warning I’d given the twins earlier about letting the little ones get a chance at the eggs must have fallen on deaf little ears.  We had to reign them in a couple of times so that Aden and Audrey could get some too.

The weather was great and we had a simple lunch of hot dogs, chips & hummus and beans – had to have something the dwarfs would eat!  Sadly, Audrey wasn’t feeling well – the poor thing was coughing up a lunch – so Ian and Nicky left a bit early to get the baby to the doctor.  Keith later told me Ian or Nicky had called to let us know that apparently Aud was having an asthma attack – egads but she was feeling a bit better.  After the rest of the folks left, the twins and I hung out until our 4:30 showing of How to Tame Your Dragon (in RealD 3D) – side note – it was a SUPER movie and I swear the 3D effects actually seemed better than those in Avatar.

Sunday we futzed around the house doing some gardening and cleaning of the pond and Keith did some cooking.  Ben and Tim came over after going to the annual Easter event, ‘Monument on Parade‘ and we had a nice dinner.  Keith made cauliflower and blue cheese soup, a delicious green bean/red onion/olive/hard boiled egg salad, leg of lamb roasted with fingerling potatoes and olives and for dessert a yummy Meyer lemon crepe cake that he found in the Easter edition of Martha Stewart Living.  Although I didn’t really eat my lamb (it’s just a me thing – I think the idea of a baby animal coupled with the musky smell/taste is just something I can’t hack) I did wolf down 2 bowls of the soup and ate everything else — yes, yes I put my NutriSystem on hold for the day but, I’ll be back to it tomorrow.  (Hell, I’m just proud I’ve gone from 232 down to 215 in about 2 months – YAY ME!)

Now, I’m winding down my day on the back deck with a glass of Barefoot Moscato (thank you Nicky for turning me on to this – I think I like it even better than my normal Chateau Morrisette ‘Our Dog Blue‘!!) and my laptop (yay home wi-fi) blogging about my fantastic weekend filled with family, friends, food and fun!!

Now, if only I knew of someone who was kind and trusting other than myself.  Hehehe – Happy April Fool’s Day everyone.  So far I’ve seen quite a few good ones, I especially like the ‘Google has changed it’s name to Topeka’ one and the office cube covered with dixie cups taped to the desk and walls – the ones all over the desk are filled with water….should make for an interesting clean up!!

Can’t really plan anything here for my hubby cause I know he’s an avid reader……

My Heaven on Earth.

I know that sounds quite unappetizing but to me it is/was a WONDERFUL combination.  This time of year I start reminiscing about Easters and Spring Break in the Outer Banks (OBX for those that know) of North Carolina.  When my sisters and I were young, our paternal grandparents would take us to Nags Head for Easter.  I remember thinking at the time it was a HUGE deal because, if I recall correctly, we usually got out of school a day or two early.  I just remember thinking how neat it was that we got to miss school to go to the beach.

We would always stay at Travelers Inn, which was right across the street Jeannettes Pier (which was MUCH more impressive back in the day – before a hurricane took most of it away), and it had a swimming pool so we thought we were just the cat’s ass – hey we were KIDS what did we know.  My grandmother would hide those individually wrapped Brach’s marshmallow eggs out in the sand and shrubs around the hotel and the kids would hunt for them – making sure we didn’t step on or grab those evil little spinney seed pod thingees. *shudder*  I would always, ALWAYS try to wake up extra early to run across the street and see if, over night, the tides had brought any cool treasures to the beach that I could collect.  I was usually rewarded with bits of driftwood, some mermaid purses, broken shells and the like but, I vividly remember finding a conch shell that was only slightly chipped.  I don’t know what happened to that shell but, for the longest time, I had it in my bedroom while I was a boy at my parents house.

I think those initial trips to the Outer Banks were what started us on – well my – life long love of the place.  Some people like Virginia Beach; some like Myrtle Beach; some like the Florida coast – me….I’ll take the OBX over all of that.  I know my mom loves the place as much as I do.  Eh, I even remember our very first beach house that we rented in Salvo it was the Wimbledome.  We actually were repeat renters at this particular house but then as the years went by, we tried different homes.  The last one that we rented was the Idler – Keith and I rented that for mom because she had always wanted to stay at a house “on the beach” not 1 lot back, not ‘Ocean Side’ but, ON the beach.

We usually prefer to go down a bit further than Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, and Killdevil Hills to places like Salvo, Waves, Rodanthe (yes the recent Richard Gere movie is about this place), Avon etc..  No matter which house we stay in there are 2 prerequisites for a week long vacation in the OBX, we HAVE to go to The Blue Whale or Jobobs Trading Post- it’s in the rules…we just have to – and it wouldn’t be a summer vacation in the OBX without to me (or mom).

I need to start planning for one or more 2010 OBX trips.  I want to take more trips with my nieces and nephews and my parents and such but, I also want to take vacations with “My” family – us, our son & daughter-in-law and of course our granddaughter.  I’ve decided that it’s going to be part of Audrey’s life too once she gets a bit older – going to the OBX.  I hope she falls in love with it as much as I did.

In the meantime I’ll just wax sentimental with my childhood memories of sun, sand, and easter eggs.

Sand and Eggs and Sand

Happy Valentine's Day

 OR

Happy Birthday to Keith

Actually, it’s BOTH - that’s right!  Today is Valentine’s Day AND it’s Keith’s 51st birthday!  For his birthday, I got him 3 David Austin ‘Jude the Obscure‘ roses – which REALLY do smell like guava – I have NO idea how that happens but, they really, truly do smell like a lush tropical fruit.  I also got him some new Green Pans which are sooooooooo freaking amazing!

Wow – I haven’t posted anything in a while (well….over a week but meh).

He Inspired So Much, In So Many

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and I think this particular MLK Jr. Day seems even more symbolic because tomorrow the first African American President of the United States of America is sworn into office.  Tomorrow history, for the United States, will be made.  I cannot pretend to imagine what African American citizens went through during the fight for their civil rights but, I wonder if people like MLK Jr. and Rosa Parks and others were called ‘Activists’ like outspoken LGBT citizens are today.  I wonder if there was a ‘Black Agenda’ like the supposed ‘Gay Agenda’ ? If only the LGBT community had such a leader – he inspired so much in so many – I am sure he would have been a very interesting person to know personally.

This is one of those days that I wish my paternal grandfather was still alive (though don’t let that get out, I have an image to maintain).  He was one of those old school racists who said, ‘black people don’t have the capacity to learn that white people have’ and even changed his (and my grandmother’s) will to state that I would be disinherited if I married outside my race.  I wish he was alive if for nothing more than to say, “See papa – you were WRONG!” and see the look on his face to know that an African American was THE most powerful man in the country – and possibly the world.

I enjoyed my MLK Jr. Day off very much – I woke at about 5 AM – because Keith (who DID have to work) WOULDN’T get up with the dogs.  I answered emails and worked on my newest pet project The Anatomy & Neurobiology Blog for my department at VCU; I paid some bills online; got my neice a birthday card (HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY AMBER!) and some cash; visited with my parental units for a while; talked to my dad about closed radiator systems, ductless heating/cooling, and insulation; talked to my mom about wanted to help my cousin move back to Virginia; looked up various birds that were coming to our feeders and vegged watching LOGO and taking a nap – and enjoying a couple of bowls of Captain Crunch!

Yesterday Amber (my oldest niece) and Ashley (our daughter) went to meet Keith for lunch at Dalat Vietnamese restaurant in the West End.  Keith and Ashley had Pho, I had Grilled Pork and Broken Rice (only mine had cucumbers and pickled carrots, not tomatoes), and Amber – being new to Vietnamese cuisine stuck with a more familiar dish – Chicken with Orange Peel.  After we ate, we shuttled Keith back to work and went out for the day.

We initially went out to Short Pump to go to the mall out there but, after realizing that they’d both been there before, I opted to head to Carytown for the afternoon.  On the way back into Richmond, I had to stop at Whole Foods to pick up some EO Peppermint & Tea Tree hand soap – because IMHO – it is THE BEST! and smells sooooo good.  While we were there I was showing Amber around the place and telling them both that if it was closer to Petersburg, I would probably shop there a bit more often (honestly their prices are not THAT horrible on their store brand stuff).  So, we also each got a drink (Ashley and Amber got Pomegranate soda and I got a TAZO Pomegranate tea) and then we each got a miniature tart/cheesecake and then piled in the car for Carytown.

After getting to Carytown, we parked and walked down one side, stopping in various shops along the way until we got to the end of the strip.  We stopped in Mongrel and I bought a card for Jeffrey and some really neat candles for Amber(pomegranate and something – she’s really into pomegranate now) and Ashley (pineapple, ginger, and tangerine) that they liked.  Ashley picked up a really nice pashmina at Bygones and Amber almost got a pair of sunglasses…except they were scratched up – and of course that was the ONLY pair that they had.  She did end up deciding that for her Sweet 16 that she was going to get a tiara – which I agreed too =).

Carytown shopping area of Richmond

Towards Cary Court Shopping Center

We crossed the street to Ben & Jerry’s to start our way back up the strip where we each enjoyed a small ice cream cup of delicious, yummy ice cream!

Ashley at Ben & Jerry's

Amber at Ben & Jerry's

After finishing our ice cream we headed back to the car but I, of course being the overgrown child that I am, had to stop into World of Mirth to show them one of my favorite stores EVER!  This place has the BEST toys and a lot of other cool stuff for kids of all ages.  Amber and I were playing with the sunglasses and the hats – seems I’m not the only big kid after all LOL.

Amber trys on a tiny, tiny hat

Me in H-U-G-E shades bein' "cool"

We continued back up the street, I showed them where we took Alex (my oldest nephew) for lunch at Galaxy Diner and extolled the glories of the ‘fried pickle’ and that they also offer fried Oreos and Twinkies too.  I think the only other store we stopped into was actually Ten Thousand Villages, a really neat store that sells fair trade items from around the world.  I saw tons of stuff to buy in many of the stores but alas, just coming off of the Christmas season, fundage was a bit on the tight side though, I’m pretty sure they both had a good time.  Then we rode around the Fan a bit and I showed them the various apartments I lived in – Floyd Ave., Lombardy St. & Park Ave., and Monument Ave. before we hit the road back to the Southside.

It was nice to be able to get Amber out and show her around ‘The City’ and I think both she and Ashley had a nice time.  I really don’t get to spend as much time as I like with the nephew and niece monsters and I HAVE to get better about that.  All in all though, I think we had a pretty damned good day!

Side note – I did get a bit annoyed when I uploaded the photos from the past few days only to realize that the date was $%#@& up on my camera so, even though these show 12/23/08, it was actually 12/29/08.

Someone sent an email on how to create a ‘Redneck’ Christmas Tree but,  I actually think it’s a really neat looking tree all things said.  Judge for yourself.

*Edit:  Thanks to Courtney for letting me know the guys that created the Mountain Dew Tree have a website, check it out here and be sure to check out the video at the bottom where they describe making it!*

Staring with the base

Working your way up

Some Mountain Dew cans, wire, and PVC pipe

Tree is taking shape

Finished product

Mountain Dew Tree Lit Up

Busy Busy Busy – my family is coming for dinner at 5 o’clock; we have to pick up Ashley, Keith’s daughter, from the train station in Richmond around 8:30 and tomorrow Nicky, Ian, Audrey and Nicky’s family are coming over for dinner - so we’re doing our mad dash house cleaning and such. FUN!  I’ve also picked up a wicked cold somehow *casts glance at the twins* so I’m all plugged up =( 

This morning I recanted last nights adventures with my cousin Allen and my aunt Joey to Keith.  We had a really good time – my only regret was it didn’t seem long enough and most of the catching up was done in the car riding around but….was fun none-the-less.  We went to Stony Point - to see the snow show and such and so Allen could use his gift cards only to find out the mall does the snow promptly at 7 PM and then, for only 15 minutes – CURSES!  It was fun to see the little kids ice skating in the mall – man, if I tried that, I would be flat on my butt!  We walked through the stores and talked and caught up – it’s amazing the things that Allen remembers.  Things I couldn’t recall if I had tried but, as soon as he mentioned them it was like *light bulb* OH YEAH!  I remember that!!  We rode around downtown and I showed him our first house on W. 28th Street; we went by the James Center to look at the lights; and rode down Monument Ave. to check out all the huge houses and their lavish and very festive displays.

8:44 PM continued -

Well, my folks and sisters and nieces and nephews have gone.  We all had dinner and exchanged presents, I think everyone was happy with what they got.  Dad got me a circular saw – w00t! – now I (or Keith) can work on the wainscoting and crown molding for the bathroom and various other projects.

Ashley called and her train my not be into Richmond until around 11:30 or so….wow….3 hours late – nothing like a slow boat instead of an Amtrak eh?

It’s warmer than I would have liked so I guess that means we get no snow =(

I remember Christmas Eve used to be the night we would go to Grandma Mary’s house for dinner and presents and then go home.  I swear, I tried to stay up late to see if our pets could actually talk….somewhere I remember someone telling me that animals were given the gift of speech at midnight on Christmas Eve – something about the Baby Jesus or something I think.  I have YET to hear anything from ANY of my animals…..dammit!

Well, time to go, A Christmas Story is on so we’re switching between that and a James Bond movie!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Saw this commercial and thought, ‘Wow, that’s what people should be doing instead of buying into all this consumerism crap.’  I mean really, how many personal electronic devices, housewares, new sweaters, DVDs or CDs or how much jewelery do we need?  Honestly, isn’t it a little hard to throw a tantrum when you don’t get that new Wii or the latest PDA when there are others (read as your fellow human beings) that don’t have food or clothing or shelter? 

For the person who has everything … or for the person you just DON’T know what to buy, instead of getting something that will be forgotten in a matter of weeks or months, why not consider Changing the Present – in more ways than one.

So on the way home from the gym this morning I’m listening to Lite 98 because they play Christmas music 24/7 this time of year and….well….I like Christmas music.  As I’m turning onto Temple Avenue a rendition of Little Drummer Boy comes on so I crank  up the volume as that is one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time – well that and it was one of my favorite Christmas shows as a child too.

So I’m listening to the song and thinking of the television show and how much I loved it and I start crying.  I don’t know why, maybe it was just the emotions from the song, maybe it was the fact that it made me remember being a child and all the wonder Christmas held for me as a kid – you know when you still believed in Santa and all that.  Or, maybe it’s because I’m just a big softy after all, I mean I cry when I listen to songs from Phantom or songs from various Opera…or even that damn song Christmas Shoes….it makes me cry too.  Maybe that’s what music is supposed to do, evoke feelings and memories - heck all this time I thought it was for shakin’ yer bootie to.

‘Your gift, little drummer boy, given out of the simple desperation of a pure love is the one favored above all.  Aaron’s heart was filled with joy and love and he knew at last that the hate he had carried there was wrong, as all hatred will ever be wrong for more powerful, more beautiful by far than all the eons of sadness and cruelty and desolation which had come before was that one tiny crystalline second of laughter.’

How is it that a claymation Christmas show for small children can teach such an important yet very simple message yet most men cannot grasp the concept that LOVE > HATE?  I guess it requires one to not only open their ears but to open their heart as well.