I [heart] Davids It helps me to say these things aloud, I think.

December 31, 2006

College Night at Dave and Busters

Filed under: Entertainment,Friends — JeniQ @ 3:21 pm

Every Christmas or New Year’s, Dave’s crew of college buddies from the University of Dayton get together. They’ve been doing this for years now. They are great people, and I love getting to hang out with them and their kids.

This year we met Joe and Nancy with their two boys, Dan and Jake and Reynold and Lynn with their two girls at the Dave and Buster’s right down the street from Mom and Dad’s.

Dave, Jeni and Annabelle, one of the cutest little people I know.
Jeni and Dan

Reynold and Katie, the other cutest little person I know.
My favorite game at DandB’s is Time Crisis. Go here to view a trailer.

Christmas in Cleveland

Filed under: Cleveland,Family,Holidays — JeniQ @ 3:03 pm

Friday morning we arrived in Cleveland to visit with Dave’s family. I love them. They’re all so nice, and they seem so normal compared to my family. I love visiting here, too.

When we arrived, we headed straight over to Skyline because we were “good and hungry.” Ever had Cincinnati-style chili? It’s an acquired taste, but once you’re hooked, you’re hooked! It’s a very finely textured chili that is cooked for hours and hours. It’s made with spices like Cinnamon, which we always think of a sweet, but it’s not really sweet at all, just the connotation of sweetness. It’s served over top of angel hair spaghetti, and topped with mounds and mounds of very finely shredded cheese. You can also get it topped with onions and beans, but that spoils the beauty of a perfectly-made Jumbo Three-Way. Ah, I’m getting hungry thinking about it!

After everyone filled up at Skyline, we went back to Mom & Dad’s and a few hours later opened our Christmas presents! The kids were going crazy, and they had a great time opening all their presents. So did I!

Audrey, Carson and Riley dive into the gift piles.

Eric proudly displays his NC-Raleigh Browns Backer T-shirt, which says “I bleed orange.”

Vince, Leslie’s new boyfriend, with Leslie, Audrey, Riley and Eric.

December 28, 2006

Pantry Makeover

Filed under: Household — JeniQ @ 2:55 pm

We had the most productive vacation ever. Aside from getting our new washer and installing new shelving in the laundry room, we gave our pantry a makeover as well. Dave installed a new shelf in the pantry and he cleaned out and reorganized it in the process. He installed the shelf very high up, about 20 inches from the ceiling. Only he can reach up there. I think it’s part of his plan for me to keep him around. 😉

Here’s the new shelf Dave installed, way up there at the top. The good part about tall ceilings is that you get them in the closets, too!

And here is the pantry, full of our stuff.

Even More Christmas Photos

Filed under: Uncategorized — JeniQ @ 2:51 pm

These were too cute not to share.

Here are the chocolate covered strawberry ornaments I got from Dawn and Jonathan!

More Christmas Photo Ops

Filed under: Gifties,Holidays — JeniQ @ 2:44 pm





Dave with presents, our new 12 bottle wine chiller, my new flat iron, Dave’s bakeware from Granma, and my Demeter fragrances!

December 27, 2006

My New Washing Machine!

Filed under: Household — JeniQ @ 4:37 pm

Ele posted the question, what would you do with a big fat $1500 bonus? I decided then and there that I would want a new washing machine. Nothing was wrong with ours, but I wanted something that would be gentler on my clothes. I also thought it might be more efficient, but I didn’t realize how that new, front-loading washers are both more energy-efficient and more water-efficient.
I did get a bonus this year, and a nice one at that. And about two weeks ago, we started having problems with our washer! I read and read about them, and finally picked out the Whirlpool Duet Sport, based in part on a review written by Clumsy Ox and the convincing things that the sales guy at Lowe’s Home Improvement had to say. The salesman also suggested I wait until the day after Christmas so as to take advantage of their 10% off sale.
Tuesday morning, we did just that. We bought the washer along with some shelving material to give us more space in the laundry room. We installed the shelving on Tuesday. This morning, the delivery guys arrived at 9:15 AM to drop off my new washing machine!

Christmas Dinner Feastacular

Filed under: Holidays,Meals & Food — JeniQ @ 4:23 pm

Mom and Gene were scheduled to come over for Christmas dinner, but Gene was sick and couldn’t make it. So, it was just Dave, Mom and me.

I made:
  • Turkey
  • Stuffing/Dressing
  • Baked Acorn Squash
  • Sweet Potato and Apple Stuffing
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Cranberry Sauce

Mom made marinated chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, and Dave made a pumkin pie. I also set out a little teeny portion of cheese and crackers with grapes as an appetizer. We had the BV Coastal Estates Pinot Noir to start with and a Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais after that.

December 25, 2006

Living Room Redux

Filed under: Household — JeniQ @ 12:52 am

Just before Christmas, I decided it was time to rearrange the living room. I try to remember in my life that change is a good thing and change is possible. I sometimes have to stop and remind myself of that when I’m simply managing the status quo. Not making a change is as powerful a deciding to make a change. I think that’s how people get into a rut: by not realizing that staying the same is making a decision to do so.

My way of incorporating this truth into my life is to rearrange the living room furniture. I used to do it a lot when I lived on my own, but for Dave’s sake it’s probably only every 12-18 months or so. Bless his heart, he once did it for me as a surprise! 🙂

So, just before Christmas I rearranged the living room while Dave baked up a big batch of cookies. I got to do it all by myself, so I got a bit of a workout. It was great and I’m really happy with the results.

December 22, 2006

Addicted to your MP3 Player? AudioFlik.com is for you!

Filed under: Entertainment — JeniQ @ 8:37 pm

Alright, time for a shameless plug for my brother’s new project, Audioflik.com. He is such a creative force. I am so impressed with him. He has created a entirely new kind of content for your MP3 player – serialized content delivered to your Inbox in high-quality MP3 format.

The first story is an Action Adventure with a Sci-Fi twist called Arctic Invasion: Project Elara. The first chapter is available for download now – for free! I just listened to it and it’s really cool! Good voices and great sound effects, and my nephew saying “Audio Flik Dot Com” which is just too precious! A new chapter will be available in a week or two. I bought the entire thing for $9.99, so when the next chapter is available, I’ll get an email and can download the next chapter.

If you’re familiar with audio books, this isn’t the same thing. There are multiple actors, not one person modulating their voice for each character, so you get a much better feel for who each character is. And audio books typically have no sound effects (which is a good thing) or lame sound effects (which is bad thing). This has real sound effects, as if you’re watching a movie.

Think about the action shows and dramas that people used to crowd around their radio to hear every week, before television made an appearance. Think about the TV shows you tune into each week, to see what happens next. That’s what this is like. The characters are interesting and dynamic, the effects are great, and each chapter leaves you waiting for the next installment.

Check it out at AudioFlik.com and give a listen to the first chapter for free. Maybe this is the kind of content your MP3 player’s been missing!

December 20, 2006

Presents!

Filed under: Gifties,Holidays — JeniQ @ 12:21 pm

Look at all the presents under our Christmas tree! I can’t figure out how there are so many. Doesn’t it look festive? Last year when we had a holiday cocktail party, I ended up wrapping more than one empty box so that it would look nicer for the party. But this is all real! I think Dave’s going to make out like a bandit.

Incidentally, we struggle each year with what to do with our Christmas Cards. Each year I think I’m going to have a creative solution, but I always start thinking about it too late. This year, thanks to Cayce destroying the drapes in our front room, I did come up with a creative solution.

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