Big Fat with Friends

Not sure the time when I got up, but I'm thinking it was between 730 and 8am. I do know that I slept really well. I exercised, walked Ykraps, and enjoyed plenty of alone time before Mindy made her presence known. My buddy Myron left a VM message around 845am suggesting we meet up so we could pick-up the cornhole boards he made for Mindy's teacher friend. After remembering to stretch, I left for my run around 930am. I ran four miles. I wondered how my body might respond after the three days of skiing, There were no ill effects whatsoever. For that I was pleased. After my run I returned Myron's call to arrange a meeting. I suggested lunch at Windchimes, a Chinese restaurant in Dublin next to the infamous Dub Pub near noon. By the time that Mindy and I both had our showers it was after 1130am. We headed out at 1145am. We left daughter Courtney yet another voicemail about Thursday's family Xmas celebration. We're starting to get the impression that she might be upset with us. :) We arrived at Windchimes just after noon. Myron was waiting near the door. After an introduction we headed in for lunch. Windchimes had quite the lunch crowd - always do - but they still found a table for the three of us. I can't recall what Mindy & Myron ordered, but I ordered their War Sue Gai combination and a bowl of won-ton. Mindy ordered won-ton with her lunch too. And after seeing how good ours looked, Myron asked for a bowl as well. We shared kid stories, and then talked a little shop. I didn't want to dwell on work related matters too much. After all, I was on vacation. We spent about an hour together before we headed out to move the cornhole boards from Myron's pick-up into the Honda. Myron headed back to work while Mindy and I headed out for more Xmas shopping. Our next stop was the Trueman Rd Target. Our primary goals was to exchange the PS2 Madden 2010 for the same only for the Wii console. But who can go to Target and get just one thing? We picked up a handful of other miscellaneous items too. Amongst them were a new pair of purple ski gloves for Mindy. We got Jacob some new gloves too, only his weren't purple. :) Mindy bought me an inexpensive yet functional waterproof outer shell that can be used for skiing or running. It was marked down to $25. What a deal! After Target, we shot down to Anthony Thomas chocolate factory for the annual Xmas stop. There we bought candy for a handful of folks still on our list. We dumped $50 in a hurry. Before heading home, we made a stop at Deena's house, just around the corner from ours. Mindy insisted that I head inside with her. Deena was a gracious host and seemed eager to show me around her finely appointed home. As she mentioned, it's small, but also functional and very nicely decorated. She's definitely got the 'Martha Stewart' touch. No detail overlooked. Lots of cool ideas jumping from her shelves and walls. We must've visited for 30 minutes. After leaving Deena's we were finally headed home. As we pulled in the drive, I noticed that my Bose iPod dock was left on our front porch. Actually, I was a bit discouraged that they left it without requiring a signature given its dollar value and the obvious detail on the box. After getting settled, it wasn't long before Mindy headed off once again only this time for the grocery store. She hadn't been grocery shopping for nearly two weeks. We were out of more than a few things. I used the quiet time to load the Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 software on my new PC. It didn't take long to load. I spent at least an hour fooling around and trying to learn some of the features that my Corel software so glaringly lacks. Mindy was home around 530pm. After helping her carry in the groceries I took Ykraps on his evening walk down towards Mike & Teri's house. On our way back I stopped briefly to chat with Kenny who was out shoveling their driveway. I felt bad for not getting to it while he was away. I asked if he and Chrissy wanted to join Mindy & I for dinner at the Big Fat. Chrissy came out seconds later. They agreed to join us for dinner. I told them about an hour. The neighbors came down about an hour later, and after a drink we left for the Big Fat. I drove. The Big Fat was crowded. For the first time I can remember, Johnny or Maria weren't there manning the restaurant. Alex seemed to be in charge. Despite begin crowded, Alex found us an open table near the back. Great! Kenny asked if they had Labatts. They did not, but offered a Greek substitute, Mythos Lager. He accepted. Mindy ordered a glass of Shiraz, and Chrissy a Corona. I went with Jack & Coke. We ordered some fried calamari and some of their pita bread appetizers, too. For dinner, Mindy & I both ordered their sizzling sea scallops. Kenny chose their leg of lamb special while Chrissy went with pasta. Our meal was good but the scallops weren't as tender as they usually are. They must've been over baked/broiled. More often than not, they'll literally melt in your mouth. Kenny wasn't that thrilled with how they prepared his leg of lamb either. Too well done for his liking. I picked up the check. Alex sent over free desserts. That's the Big Fat. Always making one feel special. Once in our subdivision, Mindy suggested we drive around looking at Xmas lights. We pretty much followed my running trail taking in all the holiday lights. Finally back at home we agreed to meet at our house for a night cap. Kenny & Chrissy walked home to fetch some beers, and also across the street to see if Kapil wanted to join us. They returned five minutes later beers in hand. Kapil said he was on-call and wouldn't be joining us. Too bad. We hung out laughing and drinking for another hour. Kenny started yawning first. We agreed to hook up again on either Xmas eve of Xmas day to exchange some small gifts. Mindy & I headed to bed soon after the neighbors left. We had designs on skiing again on Wednesday.