Today Makes 1 Year!

365 days ago Sara and I were getting married... right around this time of night; what with the time change. We gathered with 50 of our family and friends in an old historic house in White Bear Lake Minnesota. Sara came down the stairs and she looked beautiful. We exchanged vows. Kissed. Then started our life as a married couple by hitting a bar before the reception. It was a great evening.
Now here we are 1 year later and it's fun to look back and review our first year of marriage. We fought, we cried, we laughed, we loved, we groomed each other, we cuddled, we sat in bed reading together, we walked the dog, we laughed, and we fought a little. It's been an eventful year.

As we start on our second year of marriage I can't help wondering what is in store for us. We've been together for over five years and are at a different place in our lives now than we had anticipated. I am anxious to see what other changes we will meet together in the near and distant future.

(Read the below post to see what we did to celebrate our anniversary.)

Monday is the actual date...

... but Sara and I went out last night to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. Almost 365 days ago Sara and I were finalizing plans and counting down to the nuptials. Now, here we are, a year later, and it's hard to believe that so much time has past.

We decided to go out for a celebratory dinner downtown Annapolis. We both wanted to try this restaurant, Osteria 177, so we made reservations and hoped for the best. We got downtown early so we went to another bar for a pre-dinner drink. Turns out we knew the bartender, through my brother, and got a free second round. (Gotta love it when that happens.)

Sara asked me at one point if I had told the restaurant staff that we were celebrating our anniversary; I didn't. We walk into the restaurant and give them our reservation. The hostess greets us and congratulates us on our anniversary. We are led to our table and our waitress also greets us with, "Happy Anniversary!" Hmmm, I guess I must've told the staff it was our anniversary. I didn't remember. Then she says, "Ma and Pa Patsy are putting $ towards a bottle of wine!"

The In-Laws!

That's what happened. Sara's mom had called and told the staff about our anniversary, and put down some money towards a bottle of wine.

The bottle of wine, Tofanelli's Napa Valley Charbono, was amazing. (Thank You Very Much!) Dinner also did not disappoint. We started off with beef carpaccio, and arugula salad for appetizers. For our entrees Sara had a Rockfish dinner, and I had parpadelle w/wild boar sauce. Tiramisu and after dinner drinks closed out the meal. All of the food was great. We will definitely be returning.

Gutbusters & Broken Hearts

Went to the Redskins' game last night. We lost to the Cowboys! It was a difficult loss to accept. The first drive looked good and we thought that the game might be a good one, but by the 4th quarter it was clear we were not going to pull it out. Oh well, other than the losing part I had a great time.

We got to the parking lot a few hours before the game and tailgated. We pulled out a little grill, heated up some food and drank some beer. Chicken wings, brats, and Gutbusters.

"What's a Gutbuster?" you ask?

Well, my brother wrapped a harboiled egg with bacon, then wrapped that in ground sausage, then rolled it all in steel cut oats, grits, and various spices. He baked them, I believe, and then we just heated them up on the grill. They were amazing...

(It's quite possible that the Gutbusters were probably the nicest thing my brother has ever done for me. As I bit into that heavenly morsel I found myself forgiving him for countless wedgies, and other scarring childhood memories.)


(Above Right) Adam and I relax before the game.
(Left) Reb bites into his creation!

'Obama - The Change We Need.'

'Sirius/XM Radio - The change I don't need or particularly like at this point in time!'

The Sirius/XM merger was bogged down in Congressional Hearings for an eternity and if the FCC had gotten their way it would've died on Capital Hill. Now, the merger has gone through and changes are being made and we're all going to have to adjust.

Today I got into my car to start my morning commute and my Sirius Satellite Radio unit updated. All of the sudden my preset channels are all screwy! May not seem like a big deal to you but it bugged the shit out of me. I spent the entire drive scanning through all of the channels just to see what changes had been made. The Vault is now XM's Deep Tracks! 6o's Vibrations has turned into The 60's on 6! Buzzsaw has been renamed The Boneyard! The biggest shock...  'BACKSPIN' IS GONE!  My old school rap station has been axed.   My preset channel is empty... Today of all days; I needed my 'Chubb Rock' Fix!

Damn You Change!

Dear Mr. Anonymous Driver in the Black Honda Accord,

You do not know me but I am a fellow commuter on the Washington Beltway. I, too, sit in traffic every morning, and wish for a speedier flow of automobiles. It is not always a pleasant drive. I don't imagine you like spending so much time in your car every morning; neither do I. I would like to give you a friendly piece of advice to carry with you when you're in your Black Honda Accord every morning.

You are not alone!

I am there. I am right beside you. I am in the lane next to yours. I am watching you. My jaw is stretched wide open, and my eyes are popping out of their sockets as I see you, a well-dressed, professional young man, digging up your nose to the second knuckle. We all do it. I'll admit to picking my nose in the car. I do, but I try to be discreet about it and I have never - NEVER - followed up the act by inserting the same finger into my waiting mouth, as I saw you do!

You can't dey it. You dug up your nose, while I was watching, and then put your finger in your mouth! Twice! I saw you do it twice! Who knows how many times you commited this disgusting act during your commute. I almost crashed my car I was laughing so hard! What are you driving to your first day of Kindergarten?

In closing, I would just like to say that a person's diet is their own business. I would hate to judge a person I don't know but, in this case I would have to say to you, 'You eat boogers, my good man! (My good, booger-eating man!) Gross!'

Sincerely,

Mr. I Only Had A Bagel This Morning

I'm Not Very Political!

I think it's silly to vote for someone based strictly on skin color, age, political party, or what they have between their legs!

But if I didn't I'd vote for a bright blue, 19 year old Libertarian straddling a bottomless pony keg!

• Blue because it's one of my favorite colors!
• 19 years of age because... well, that one doesn't really call for an explanation!
• Libertarian because the more I read about them the more I kinda like their thinking!
• The pony keg's just the capper!

I voted. In this state the outcome's pretty predictable but I voted so I could feel as if I have a say in the post-Bush America. We an only go up from here...

Hopefully!

Code Name: Toss N Turn

I'm reading this book about American attempts to sneak undercover agents into Nazi occupied Europe during WW II. There's a lot of details about agents, POW's camps, failed missions, etc.

I didn't sleep very well.

All night long my dreams were of parachuting into enemy territory, cyanide capsules, and Gestapo agents!