Look How Hip We Are: Volume 1

We were having our typical Friday night. Peeling myself off the couch from two hours of TV watching, I tried to convince Derrel, again, that 10 o' clock is an acceptable time to go to bed, even if it is Friday.

That's when Derrel suggested going downtown to the late-night hot dog stand.

When in Rome...



And, in classic Ebert fashion, we went to hang with the hipsters...in our flannel pajamas. One step at a time.

Then, to add insult to Polish dog injury, we did it again on Saturday night, only this time, I opted to try some frozen yogurt from Red Berry instead. It tasted...a little different. A little...nasty, actually.
Derrel: "What is that taste?"
Nicole: "I don't know, organic?"
Derrel: "Yeah, that's disgusting."

Look here, hippies, you keep your earth-kissing, tree-embracing fare away from us. We'll take our food processed please (and if you could stuff it in a casing and only sell it late at night, that'd be great).

As Much as We'd Like to Deny It...

...a good lot of the highlights from our family visit centered around food.
Derrel decided he wanted to make chocolate-covered strawberries for his mom the night before they came, so we did. 56 of them (give or take the three we ate in the process). Vancouver was more centered around a lack of food. We drove through Stanley Park (the largest park in North America), and attempted to find lunch along the way. We came upon three restaurants that were closed (or crazy expensive) before we headed back into town and proceeded to get temporarily trapped inside the lobby of mostly-deserted building (Derrel: "Is there some secret to getting out of here?" The guard over the intercom: "The secret is to press 'EXIT'.") Who said Canadians were friendly?

(Exhibit A)

On Sunday, Dennis and Derrel treated us with a Fried Fiesta. Buffalo wings, homemade potato chips...and it only took a week to stop our house from smelling like we were deep-frying. :O)

On Monday we had a picnic in nearby Whatcom Falls Park, and were able to miss the rain by about 20 minutes. Tuesday meant introducing the family to the Spuddy Pizza, and I think they've been converted.

A fun visit that went way too fast. We can't wait to see you guys again soon (and in the meantime, I'll try to lose some weight to make room for it). :O)

Vancouver Bound

Derrel's parents and grandparents are visiting for the next couple of days, so we decided to check Vancouver out today. As we reached the US/Canadian border. Derrel and his father broke out into song. There's no doubt that these two were cut from the same cloth.
For your enjoyment, and any blackmail needed for the future.
Turn the volume up, I had to record this recital from two rows back.

I just want to be able to wear a t-shirt without feeling like I should be floating over the Super Bowl.

Well, it's true. But I couldn't think of any catchier titles.

Getting the bonus day with the family this past weekend meant having precious nuggets like these:

(sorry, can't flip it, not savvy.)

I was walking into R.E.I today...

and got to the front door at the same time as a large group of guys who were more than happy to let me hold the door open for them. ALL of them.

Get a good sleeping bag, guys. It must be cold in that woman-less cave you live in.

The Grammy's

We watched a good chunk of the Grammy Awards last night.
(Thought to self): We're pretty hip. Look at us, watching the Grammy's.
Derrel: Who's that?
Me: I don't know.
Five minutes later.

Me: Who's that?
Derrel: I don't know.

It was a sad day.

Times, They are a Changin'

At the beginning of next month, our church is starting a 40-day ministry called "Faith by Hearing". For 28 minutes a day, we'll listen to a reading from the New Testament and, in 40 days time, we will have heard/read the entire new testament. When the church did this 15 years ago, only tapes were available. Now they have it in CD AND MP3 formats. Pastor then played a video that attempted to explain how each format should be used, the technology required to use it, and how to set up each technology with each format...in it's own right, it was very confusing. I can only imagine what it must have been like for the older folks, who started shaking their heads before pastor could even finish saying "MP3". We'll see how that goes.

In other news...
A couple of years ago, not long after Derrel and I started dating, he learned that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is my favorite ice cream flavor. That spun into a conversation about how, in my house, more cookie dough gets eaten before the actual baking process than what actually comes out of the oven. He told me it was really unsafe to eat so much raw cookie dough. Even in the beginning of our marriage, he still held the belief that my intestines would give in at any moment, yet I persevered.

Fast forward to today at Coldstone.
Derrel: "Can I get extra cookie dough in my cookie dough sundae?"

Who says wives can't change their husbands?
I love this guy.