Almost ready

My wife really wanted a gym in our basement so we cleared out the bedroom and started working.  We got the carpet out and removed all the furniture.  Today we made really good progress getting the new flooring down.  It is hard work but looks amazing so far.

Hectic But Worth it

Things are really hectic this week but we have something to look forward to.  We are leaving for Florida in a couple of days so there is a lot of stuff to take care of.  Still the though of sitting in 80 degree weather is making the crazy days go by.

Big Game

Had a good day at work today but while I was there I was watching some of the Redskins game.  It was a tight game against the division rival Giants.  The Skins' defense played inspired football, holding the Giants rookie running back to less than 40 yards.  I had to listen the rest of the game on the way home on the radio and heard an amazing game clinching touchdown by Adrian Peterson.  I got to watch the amazing run when I got home. 

Election

After a really good workout I picked up my parents and took them to take part in early voting.  It is a very important election and I wanted to make sure to get my vote early.  It was way more crowded as I thought it was going to be but the process went smoothly.  Taking part in our democratic process is so important.

End of the Week

A crazy work week is finally over and I am finally sitting down to relax.  Kids are showered and getting ready for bed and the dogs are both passed out.  The wife is away and I miss her but right now I'm laying on the couch watching Thursday night football.  It is always important to decompress after a long day and I am doing that right now!

Surprise Night Out

Had a crazy day at work covering the series of suspicious packages sent to various place around the country today.  As I was about to make dinner, we found out my recently retired dad secured a spot on the community board of directors.  My wife suggested we all go out to celebrate... and we did.  We went out to dinner at a nice local spot called Stanford Grill.  We all enjoyed the food and company. 

Dinner

Over the last two nights I had both my mom and mother in law cook dinner for us. It was greatly appreciated since Monday’s and Tuesday’s are really busy for me taking the kids to all their activities. Tasty food and a bit of piece of mind for me too!!

Skins Game

My co-worker took me to the Washington Redskins-Dallas Cowboys game today,  He bought some great brisket sandwiches and some beer which we had while tailgating in the parking lot.  When the game started it was competitive from the start.  At the end of the day, I got to watch my team win a big division game.  It was great to be there to see it.

Soccer

I had a chance to watch my son play two soccer games today..back to back.  His team was already short with some players out sick but then lost one more to injury.  Despite this, the team played hard and played even better in the second game.  They fought tooth and nail in order to get a 1-1 draw against a very good team that had plenty of players to sub in and out.  I was very proud of my son for how hard him and his team played

Dinner out

Finished up another crazy week at work and my wife suggested we all go out to dinner.  It sounded like a great idea.  After picking up my son from soccer practice we headed out to Clydes by the lake.  The food was actually not that great, except of course for my lobster.  But it was still nice to be out and about with the family. 

Gift of Food

Posting this a day late...I had a pleasant surprise when I got home from work.  My mom who just had surgery on her right hand and wrist made some yummy food and dropped it off for us.  I was pretty tired after work so it was great to have food ready to go.  The whole family enjoyed dinner.

Guitar

For the first time in a few weeks I plugged in my electric guitar and jammed out for a bit. I play my acoustic almost daily but don’t get a chance to plug into my amp very much lately. It was really great to turn up my amp and play some metal riffs!!

Birthday Continued

Today was my son's actual birthday and the whole family got together to go eat Korean fried chicken.  It was my son's choice to go to Bon Chon and we all had fun indulging in the meal.  After dinner we came back home to have cake that was prepared by my niece....brownie bottom, a layer of ice cream and layer of cookie.  Great birthday meal to end a weekend of fun.

Sushi time

I took my son and daughter to his soccer game this afternoon.  The team lost but played much better in the second half after giving up some quick goals to start the game.  Afterwards there was a sushi place I wanted to take the kids to.  My son loves sushi and it is is birthday weekend to it seemed to be the right choice to get sushi for lunch.  We tried a place in Annapolis, not far from where my son had his soccer game... and it was delicious and even pretty to look at.  A fun way to spend the afternoon.

Racing

It is my son's birthday this weekend and we decided not to do anything really big as far as a party goes.  But I did plan a surprise for him.  I picked him up then went and got his best friend and took them to the indoor go-kart place to do some racing.  They were both really surprised and happy.  My son had never driven but picked things up really quick.  He finished 3rd in his first race.  It was fun to see how much he enjoyed the day.

Nine Inch Nails

Posting a day late since I got home past midnight... After working all day I met with with my brother in law to go to the Nine Inch Nails concert.  We went out for happy drinks before the show and felt pretty good as we headed inside the venue.  Trent Reznor is still absolutely amazing..even now at the age of 53.  His band was pretty good too as he played some classic Nine Inch Nails songs, including "Head Like a Hole."

Food at work

There was crazy breaking news at work...the US ambassador to the UN announced her resignation.  Things was nuts since it was so unexpected.  I did a pretty good job getting things together but I didn't have much food with me and all the craziness made me pretty hungry.  My boss came to the rescue.  There was an upper management meeting and they had all this extra Thai food which was brought down to our area.  I dug in a gladly pigged out!

MNF

For the first time this season my favorite football team was on Monday night football.  It was a big matchup between the Redskins and the Saints.  The game wasn't going the way I was hoping but it was still cool to see my team play in prime time.  Win or lose they were still guaranteed to remain in the top spot in the division.

Escape

After work, my wife and I met up with some friends to do an escape room...basically a room or rooms with a theme that you have to find clues to escape from.  We had to get through four rooms and it as a horror movie themed experience.  We did a really nice job working together to find clues and find ways to unlock doors.  It was a fun time and not too scary, although one of our friends was "taken" temporarily!!

Hanging with Friends

Posting a few hours late... we spent all the exploring DC as a family.  We ate good food and spent some time at the Portrait Gallery.  But the best part of the day was hanging out with some of our close friends in the evening.  We hadn't seem many of them for a couple of months so it was great to catch up and hang out.  We had dinner together and spent time with a friends' babies.  I even got to play some guitar.  It was a really fun night.

JW Marriott

My wife was invited to another work event and we decided to all tag along. We got a room at the iconic JW Marriott hotel in downtown DC. We’ve driven by dozens of times but never stayed. It is absolutely beautiful and it is so much fun to be here as a family.

Nick of time

It was an end to a long week at work, during which I went in much earlier than normal.  I planned to make burgers but I noticed the clouds coming in.  After I dropped off my son at soccer practice I came back and started to prep the food.  Then more and more clouds started to come in.  I then rushed out and got in the car and drove back to soccer practice.  I literally got there as soon as a torrential downpour was about to come down.  I got my son in the car and we drove off right as a monsoon like shower was coming down.  My timing couldn't be better.

Biking

It was a really nice day outside so after work and after the kids got home I went on a nice bike ride with my son.  It is always nice to feel the air in your face as you glide down the bike path.  It was a fun way to spend part of the early evening.

Long Day

The day started with a 3:45am wake up call from work.  One of the guys on the overnight shift was overwhelmed and two people had called in sick....so I went in.  It was a really busy day but the good part is I was headed home by 12:45pm.  I was able to get a good workout in before it was time to pick up the kids.  They both had their activities so I spent most of the evening driving one back and forth and then picking up the other one and doing the same.  At the end of the evening we were all ready for some yummy food...and sushi did the trick.  It was a rough day but it ended the right way....with a good meal and a beer.

Healthy Eating

I've been trying to do meatless Monday's for meals lately.  Today I came home from work and immediately got cooking.  I had to take both kids to different evening sports activities so I needed something quick and good.  I ended up making some quinoa in one pot and veggies and beans seasoned with cumin and chili lime.  I mixed it all together and what I ended up with was a good healthy meal.