Twitter Machine Tuesday

Don't have much to say in the lead up to this week's Twitter Machine.  Erin had a great birthday and a fantastic party over the weekend.  My girls keep doing weird, hilariously cute things.  The Oscars and NBA All Stars happened.  I drank lots but not so much that I was sick the following day.  It was a great week.

Enjoy the machine!

-Didn’t watch the Oscars. Heard Billy Crystal did blackface #classy #topical

-Erin wants to watch the recording just to see Meryl Streeps acceptance speech. It can’t be that great.

-I just want to see the disappointment on Clooney’s face when he didn’t win #schadenfreude

-Didn’t really watch the NBA All-Star Game either

-Apparently something called a Pitbull performed at half time

-Chris Brown added some punch to the performance

-The Dunk Contest had more staging and costume changes than a Broadway musical

-If I wanted to see a bunch of props, I’d watch a Carrot Top set and then kill myself for wanting to watch a Carrot Top set

-Ana likes to turn on toys that make music and then just dances. Sweeter than a bowl of Lucky Charms and maple syrup.

-I cannot get enough of We Are Young by Fun. It’s going to be tough to top it for my song of the year.

-I love the Razzies. As a person who loves to hate sucky things, it’s the perfect awards for me.

-Leap Dave Williams is a movie that actually needs to be made #30rock

-When you think about it, Leap Day is utterly ridiculous. We play catch up every 4 years. #stupidcalendars

-If you don’t use credit in over 15 years, don’t expect to be handed a loan. #useitorloseit

-When you tell Ana to give the doggy a kiss, she tries to lick the dog’s head. I’d stop her, but too busy laughing.

-Grace’s dog-like tendency: Sticking out her tongue and panting like the dog does #seriouslythesekids

-Tis the season for Easter candy! Cadbury and Reese’s eggs own all candies!

-Erin’s wig birthday party was awesome. Everyone really embraced wigging out.

-Got to hang out with Kim at the party. Pretty much the most famous person I know.

-That’s sadly accurate, and I’m totally okay with it.

-Also got to meet Kim’s husband Todd for the first time. He is a blast and a half.

-We played beer pong and flip cup. It was the first time Kim had ever played either, and you could hardly tell. #sarcasm

-Still haven’t purchased presale tickets to The Hunger Games. I've not-so-subtly reminded Erin about 27 times.

-Grace also goes “Ah” after drinking something if you do it in front of her

-It makes me feel bad about cursing in front of them because they’re definitely going to copy that too

-Not bad enough that I've stopped doing it #shit

-Wanting so badly to see Snow Patrol and Ed Sheeran in May. Stupid responsibilities.

I'm off to plan my Leap Day party and my viewing schedule for Leap Dave Williams on USA (Characters Welcome).  Hope you all have a wonderful start to March.

Hard to Say "Buh-Bye"

This morning as I was leaving for work, Grace stood in front of the door and kept saying “Buh-bye” to me.

It was at the same time adorable and heartbreaking.  She knew I was leaving.  She knew how to tell me goodbye.  But she definitely didn’t want me to go and didn’t know how to express it.  Her solution was to stand in my way so I wouldn’t leave.

I gave it a few seconds worth of thought because I totally considered just staying home and not going to work at all.

It was only a second because they are the reason I leave for work every day.  Not because I want to get away from them.  I hate that part of it.  I leave every day because I want to provide the best possible life for them.  I want their life to be easier than mine just like my parents wanted my life to be easier than theirs.  Just like any parent wants to give his or her kids a good life.

But in that second, I had to question why I do it.  Why do I leave them?  Why do I even give them an opportunity to be sad?  Why can’t I just spend every moment with them?  What do they think when I go?  Do they miss me and look forward to me coming home?  Do they count down the sleeps until we have a day together?  Am I doing more harm than good by not spending time with them?

I can get lost in these thoughts, and I often do.  Usually it’s late at night or during a slow day at work.  Maybe it’s in a moment of frustration at my job (which I had a lot of at my old employer).  They’re always in my thoughts, so moments where I drown in the worry of letting them down are inescapable.  

It will only get worse as they get older when they’ll not only be unable to comprehend my leaving but also be able to tell me they’re sad or angry about it.  I’m not looking forward to those moments.  It's those moments when I'll tell them that I have to go, and they'll hate it and maybe even hate me.

They don’t understand why I leave every day or how I feel about it.  They may never know the whys and hows.  They may not understand the sacrifice involved until they have kids of their own.  So until then I’ll tough it out and keep getting up every morning and leaving to the sound of their protests.  And my heart will keep breaking a little every time I do.

Daddy Daughter Days

Not much of a story to tell you from this Thursday.  Instead we're going to let the pictures tell the story.  Mostly.



Breakfast in bed




That's not my bear



They love this dog

 

The real Nook



CHEESE!!!

Blustery day

Redecorating

Fashionista

My Shoes

Seriously. Can't emphasize enough how much they love her

30 by 30: Trying New Foods

If you only recently started reading my blog or never leave the confines of your Google reader page, you may not know about my goal to complete a list of 30 items before I turn 30.  I've got them listed to the left of my most recent posts on my main page.  You can also read more about them here.

I've been slowly working my way through a few of them.  For example, I've had about 15 of the beers on tap at Yard House.  I've been kissing my wife and daughters every day.  And I know the marathon that I'm going to run (even though it will happen after I turn 30).

Last weekend was a time to knock out another item on my list.

We went to San Francisco last Sunday to have a birthday dinner for my wife.  Her brother and sister live in the city, and it just worked out for everyone to head down there.  It was a lot easier just staying in a hotel that night and driving back for work the next morning

We asked my parents if they'd watch the girls overnight.  They of course jumped on the chance to spend 24 hours with the babies.  In fact they were downright giddy.  I just don't understand people that don't leave their kids and deprive the grandparents of stuff like that.  But that's a post for another day.

We had a reservation at Spruce in San Francisco.  I had never heard of it because I'm not in the know like all the cool kids, so Erin and I perused the menu the night before.

That's when I got excited.

You see one of my favorite things to order at a nice restaurant is duck, and Spruce had it with huckleberries, smoked honey jus and shaved fois gras.  My mouth was watering just thinking about it, but I was especially excited about the idea of trying foie gras.

My reason for including try a food I've never had before on my list is my need to be a little more adventurous.  I sometimes pre-judge food based on the ingredients instead of giving the flavors a chance and letting my taste buds decide.  I decided this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

I was a little let down when our server told us that they were out of duck, so it looked like I would have to wait until another day to try foie gras for the first time.  That was until Erin mentioned it to the table and her mom said how much she loved it.  At that point it was decided that we would have some as appetizers instead.

It was absolutely delicious.  The served it on a vadouvan waffle (it tasted like sourdough and was amazing) with pear jelly and a pear syrup.  I'm so glad I walked in with an open mind because it was one of the most delicious food items I've ever had.  The combination of flavors was unreal.  The foie melted on my tongue, and the flavors were other-worldly.  We loved it so much we had to have another order.  This time around the server convinced us that we had to try the classic wine pairing.  With foie gras that means Sauternes, a sweet wine.  The combination of flavors was like fireworks in my mouth.  I didn't think it was possible, but the foie was even more buttery with the sweet wine.  I wanted it for every course.

It was incredible, and I'm so thankful that I got to knock an item off my list in such delicious and grand fashion.

This is the part of the blog where some of the readers out there chastise me for eating a food that is inhumane.  I'm well aware what goes into making foie gras.  I know that gavage is force-feeding a goose to fatten the liver and make it more delicate.  I also know that as of July 2012, it will become illegal in California to produce or sell foie gras created via gavage.  What do I have to say to defend eating it?  Nothing.  It ain't illegal yet.  You can judge me, but it won't change that I ate it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

But I do think it's funny that the people who would take me to task for it are the same people that would say we need to be more European in the way we live and govern.  I guess that doesn't include or food preparation, right?

Twitter Machine Tuesday - Sappy Birthday Edition

Today is my wife's 30th birthday.

It's funny to look back on all the birthdays we've had together.  We started dating over 10 years ago, and her birthday has always been a source of found memories.  I remember going down to San Diego to celebrate with her while she was in college.  We'd drink too much and stay up too late.  We'd hang out in her dorm and eat at the Old Town Mexican Cafe on Sundays before I left.

I remember her 21st birthday.  Well I don't remember it in person because she was in Spain.  She called me in the middle of her night and the middle of my day after celebrating with her Spanish friends.  I told her how much I missed her and how much I hated not being with her on her birthday.

I remember moving to Colorado right before another one of her birthdays.  She didn't want to see me go.  She hated me when I left, and there was a part of me that hated myself.  She felt abandoned and had every right to.  I hated that I left her, but I'm also glad to have spent that time on my own.  It made me appreciate her that much more.

I will never spend another of her birthdays without her.  I want to be the man that is by her side on important days like today.  I want to give her all the gifts she deserves and all the love I can.  I can't wait to give her gifts that I've organized with our girls.  I see hundreds of handmade cards and gifts in her future.

I love my wife.  I love my best friend.  I love Grace & Ana's mom.

Happy Birthday Eringirl!

Now enough of the sap and on to the Twitter Machine:

-Birthday balloons are the girls' new favorite toy. They fight like Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome over them.
-I just don't buy Donald Sutherland as President Snow in The Hunger Games #nerdalert
-Apparently Netflix Instant pulled all the Whitney Houston movies, so the studios can make more $ #soulless
-While the headline on ESPN about Jeremy Lin was unfortunate, I don't think the guy needed to be fired
-"Pitchers and catchers report" are the best four words of every year
-I plan on giving up being thoughtful for Lent
-The Oscars are on Sunday #whocares
-I would never go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I hate that city. Love the food. Love the music. Hate the city.
-Kristen Wiig's whole MO on SNL is putting both her hands over her face and acting surprised. Every impersonation.
-Erin shares a birthday with Alan Rickman, Kelsey Grammer, Chuck Palahniuk, a Baldwin, Ellen Page, CP-30 and Rue McClanahan #RIP
-She's probably pretty excited I left Jennifer Love Hewitt off that list #ohwait
-Minimalist piss me off. How dare you not want more stuff.
-Almost done with season 4 of The West Wing. I'm thinking LOST will be next on our rewatch list.
-Then it's up to me to convince the wife to watch The Shield
-Seriously Birthday Cake Oreos may be the greatest invention since penicillin
-Paris Hilton's ex-boyfriends disagree with that last statement.
-The Simpson's 500th episode was enjoyable.  Nothing groundbreaking, but it was solid.
-I see 2 & 3 year olds with ipads and iphones and just shake my head. Heaven forbid interacting with your kids.
-Kids in overalls is the cutest damn thing you'll ever see. Especially my kids. #biased

I'm going to go back to spending time with my wife on her birthday.  Happy Tuesday everyone!