Turkey Day 2010

My Thanksgiving blog is a little overdue but no worries, here's a rundown of the events surrounding my Turkey Day.

Of course any good Turkey Day begins with the preparation and this year we tried "brining" the turkey. This consists of making a solution of spices and veggies for the turkey to soak in before roasting. The 23lb turkey soaked in the brine overnight and roasting in about 3.5 hours. I don't mind saying it was fantastically moist and tasty.

Tee and I also took part in Operation Homecooking, which means that we hosted a couple of airmen trainees from Lackland AFB. We got word of the event through our HOA. The process was a simple phone call, a background check, and picking up the trainees from the base, which is nearby. There were tons of people at the base taking part in the event. It was awesome. The two recruits we hosted were fantastic. They were so grateful to get off the base for the day and have a home cooked meal. Taking part in Operation Homecooking was one of the best things I have ever been a part of.

Family was also in attendance including my brother and his family who spent the night. Everyone seemed to have a great time and they also seemed to enjoy the food. What else could you ask for? Before everyone left we drew names for a secret santa between family members and took the group picture that you see above. After a little football and some Xbox Turkey Day was over and we were heading back to drop off the trainees. Tee and I were overflowing with thanks that we could share this Turkey Day with family and provide a break to two very awesome people who are serving our country in the Air Force.

Monster Jam 2010

Monster Jam 2010 is officially in the books. And leave it to a state like Texas to sell out the Alamodome in the name of gas-guzzling nonsense.



There was action! We were so close we almost got dirt sprayed in our face. Much thanks to my mom for the great seats!



With all that action Tee worked worked up a mighty thirst. Luckily this large mix of frozen margarita and strawberry daquiri was only a few feet away from our seats.



And then there was the carnage! Vroom Vroom...Crack!

ISU Vs Iowa

I know it's a little late, but better late than never. Here's some pics from the Hawkeyes game where they beat the Iowa Stae Cyclones game.



It was rainy and warm.



But practically everyone in the state comes out for this game.

You Looking at My Bitch? Wiggy Wiggy Wah

Saturday Tee and I went to see Kathy Griffin at the Carver Hawkeye Arena. Tee is a big fan and I have to admit that I wasn't a reluctant attendee. For those who aren't familiar with Griffin's show "On the D-List" it's basically Kathy shamelessly crashing A-List events in an attempt to improve her own celebrity status.

Kathy makes her mark in stand-up now by bringing average no ones like me a glimpse of celebrity life from the inside. The stuff other celebs don't say about themselves. It's the stuff that doesn't make it on camera and it's definately not the fake, sensationalistic crap the tabloids spread. It's how celebrity X acts in green room or how celebrity Y talks about another actor.

One of the funniest things she talked about was Lindsey Lohan and her girlfriend. The girlfriend is apparently a big Hollywood DJ, who happened to be the DJ at the NBC pre-emmy award thing that Kathy crashed. Kathy claims that the DJ is a really butch lesbian type, so the punchline was the girlfriend saying to someone imaginarily flirting with Lohan, "You looking at my bitch? You looking at my bitch?" while mixing on her IPod, Wiggy Wiggy Wah. This is of course after going on about how much bullshit it is to call being a DJ with an IPod a career.

She was funny, trust me. I forgot the camera at home or I would have tried to snap a better picture than the one I took on my phone from 34 rows back.

Independence Weekend

I spent my 4th with Tee at her parents' house in Independence. The festivities began with a parade down mainstreet. It featured tractors, semis, local businesses, and the high school marching band.







After the parade, Theresa's brothers and sisters played in a volleyball tournament. Bad news for me was I didn't get to play, but the good news was that left plenty of time for me to visit the food stands. I had a brisket sandwich, a hot dog, and Tee and I split a funnel cake and some pork ribs.

On the 5th, we headed back down to IC for barbecue at our place. I grilled up some chicken boobs and brats. We played Polish Horseshoes, Ladder Ball, Guitar Hero, and find the cat brains. It was quite a scene.







Sunday, we went back to Indee and saw a movie with the family. Little one's went with mom to see Wall-E and the older ones went with dad and us to see Hancock. A nice ending to a great weekend.

Yes, Catch Phrase is a Drinking Game!

When the right group of people come together a simple game of Catch Phrase can make a case of beer disappear pretty quick. And that group of people came over last night to celebrate our friend Kate's birthday.



Highlights of the evening include Michelle falling down several times while playing outside, Kate poking Michelle's chest padding, and a rare sighting of the ever elusive Marky Mark.

As the British say, "It was a top night!" It's nice to have friends who like to laugh and joke around as much as I do.

Rainy Barbecue

Some friends came over Saturday, despite the rainy weather, to have our first barbecue of the year. We had grilled burgers, which were delicious if I do say so myself, and hot dogs, which were a little suspect.

I also tried a new beer which pretty much sucked called Goose Island. Theresa made some cookies and our friend Michelle brought us very nice flowers for out table. I also got to play a little Guitar Hero III with Jason a.k.a Tubby McFatpants. It was a good time eventhough the weather sucked, but it is April so what can you do.

Nice Weekend

On Friday, Tee and I went to a "social" gathering where we met people from Columbia, Guatemala, & Spain. The gathering was held in a nearby town where I work. We met at the home of a family from Spain. I was invited by the town's Rec Center director, who was originally from Piedras Niegras, Mexico. It was an especially nice evening as we sat around talking about the similar Spanish words we use which have different meanings.



Saturday, we changed gears as friends from my old job came over to celebrate a friend's visit from KC (pictured above) and a friend's birthday. We had homemade lasagna, cake and played Sing Star.



Tee had to work tonight and has two finals this coming week so we didn't take in a movie to round out the weekend.

Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner

Tee and I had a Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner at our place this past weekend with some friends we know from my job. Tee and I were in charge of making the turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes. Everyone else covered the remaining dishes and desserts--all of which were very tasty!



After everyone ate, and I gorged myself, we played a couple of games. We started with True Colors, which is a game that let's you "secretly" vote for someone in the group that best fits a given question. We also played Fact or Crap where you decide as fast as you can whether the given information is indeed fact or crap.



The winner of Fact or Crap walked away with a pretty sweet door prize. Congrats Jason! Tee and I had a great time and thought everyone's food was terrific. We can't wait to do it again.