tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164145992024-03-07T17:51:03.692-06:00Fertile GroundStacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14716896540454461639noreply@blogger.comBlogger1232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-4296198714013765022016-09-21T14:58:00.000-05:002016-09-21T14:58:36.751-05:00JimmySo, Warren found a baby squirrel a few weeks ago.<br />
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My reaction? I said, "If you leave town, I'm not taking care of that thing."<br />
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At first, he kept Jimmy (as named by the kids) in a big bucket and fed him with a dropper. Then he transitioned him into a cat carrier. <br />
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During the day, he either hung out in the hood of Warren's hoodie or played on the punching bag that now hangs from the dining room ceiling.<br />
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Warren's desk is nearby, so when Jimmy started jumping from Warren to his nest and back again, he decided it might be time to let him outside.<br />
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So, he set Jimmy free and gave him the option of coming back to the carrier and coming in for the night. <br />
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After a few days, he didn't come back one night. The boys were all worried, but the next morning he showed up.<br />
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He needed a little more hoodie time.<br />
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And that's the story of how Warren became the crazy old squirrel guy. Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-65190688058002594612016-09-13T15:42:00.002-05:002016-09-13T15:42:57.887-05:00All the Taco Trucks<b>Alternate Title: Defying the law of diminishing returns<i></i></b><br />
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I received the most amazing assignment ever--rank all of the taco trucks in Memphis. Since I can only eat so many tacos, I enlisted the help of my firstborn. He had to be bribed with a promise to visit the Apple Store along the way, but then he was totally on board. It was actually quite amazing to pick him up from his dad's house on Saturday and not only have him be dressed and ready to go, but to also seem excited.<br />
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I explained the law of diminishing returns to him and we discussed different criteria we might use to rank the trucks and it was all quite civilized.<br />
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I don't want to ruin my upcoming Thrillist piece, but I will say a few things about our FIVE HOUR TACO EATING ADVENTURE just to build some anticipation.<br />
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I love the El Burrito truck on Jackson. It was our first stop, so you know the whole diminishing returns might come into play, but they had a great selection and the owner was a doll.<br />
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He had the best salsa of the day too--it was a creamy avocado based sauce. And I now know that a taco is not complete without a pickled carrot.<br />
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Satchel Snapchatted along the way. I have no idea what he said.<br />
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Across from El Burrito is Jalapeno's, which may or may not be affiliated with this little place just a few feet away.<br />
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I was tempted to try it, but worried about not having enough room for all of the other tacos in my future.<br />
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On Summer Avenue, we discovered this RV Pupuseria. Tacos are more of an afterthought here, but still tasty. We need to go back and eat a pupusa.<br />
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The Los Jarochos truck was closed due to the owner being on vacation, so we were forced to go into the ice cream side. It's like a little La Michoacana. Great pops and ice cream, and my favorite--chocolate covered bananas. With sprinkles!<br />
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Next, we came across this truck on White Station, but it had started raining and no one was inside despite the "Open" sign being lit up.<br />
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And then we searched and searched, but the famed Chili Verde with the strawberry salsa was nowhere to be found. (Anyone know where it is now?)<br />
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We headed toward Hickory Hill and that's where we found the Los Compadres truck. I don't *think* it's affiliated with the restaurant. (I asked but didn't get a straight answer due to my inability to speak Spanish.) At first I thought it might be filling up it's tank, but it is fully operational right between the BP pumps.<br />
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There was a cooler full of jumbo Mexican Cokes and I couldn't resist. I think it was my first Coke in three years, maybe? <br />
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Yep frozen treats, a Coke, and more tacos than I could count all in one day! Decadence!<br />
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One of the coolest parts of our adventure was collecting all of the different salsas. As far as I could tell they were all homemade.<br />
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After eating at seven taco trucks and one ice cream place, we spent a grand total of $25. Satchel insisted on a $5 order of tamales at La Guadalupana, otherwise I never would have broken my second $20 bill.<br />
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We were both full, but not dying--though I didn't eat again until Sunday. When I emerged from my room Sunday morning, Satchel said, "I want more tacos."<br />
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Of course by then, I'd had numerous people mention trucks we never found, so I seriously considered it...for a minute. They'll have to wait for the update or part 2. I definitely think it was one of my funnest assignments ever. I'm so glad Satchel was with me.Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-56339561202076286722016-09-07T12:14:00.000-05:002016-09-09T15:40:14.011-05:00ChicagoLast Friday, I drove the kids to Chicago for the weekend. I wanted to see the Giants play the Cubs. I've only been to Chicago once, and I think I was about Satchel's age at the time. It was kind of a big deal since it was the first time I drove them to a city I didn't really know, and we weren't going with anyone or meeting up with anyone.<br />
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Jiro, true to form, was excited about the trip and ready to do whatever. Satchel needed a little coaxing.<br />
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Our drive started off great. Both boys were chatty and I was able to get them talking about school, their teachers, and even girls! We decided to stop in Sikeston, Missouri for lunch. Warren and I took the boys to <a href="http://diningwithmonkeys.blogspot.com/2012/09/lamberts-cafe-sikeston-mo.html">Lambert's Cafe</a> on the way back from St. Louis four years ago, and it took Satchel about three years to shut up about it. There was a time that he wanted me to rent a pink Hummer limo and drive him and his friends there for his birthday. <br />
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So Satchel was excited to go, and it was funny to see him experience it as a 14 year old vs. a 10 year old. He started off by saying, "I'll have a hamburger." This was a joke since I usually get annoyed when we go somewhere new and (presumably) exciting and they both order hamburgers. But, I really didn't care what he ordered. <br />
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At one point he said, "This is the most red neck place ever." I replied, "You didn't used to think that." He then said, "I didn't know many stereotypes when I was younger."<br />
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Great! Ha!<br />
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Our food was fast and tasted fine. I really enjoyed the free fried okra. I forgot how expensive it was, but whatever. Too late. As we were packing up, Satchel said, "Everything's better when you are younger. Like garlic fries."<br />
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So mission accomplished--we never have to eat there again!<br />
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The rest of our drive was fairly smooth. I listened to baseball on the radio and the kids alternated between sleeping and staring at their personal screens. We arrived around 7:30pm.<br />
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We stayed in an AirBnB in Logan Square, and it ended up being a great spot. We were able to walk to lots of restaurants and whatnot and it was right by the train station. Jiro's first order of business was eating a Chicago style pizza. We located a Giordano's within a mile and a half and decided to order and then walk over. This helped us orient ourselves to the 'hood, and the pizza was ready when we arrived. It was everything we wanted it to be.<br />
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The only thing missing was beer.<br />
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We made it back to our abode and crashed. <br />
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Saturday was all about baseball and we were all excited. We walked over to the train station and with the help of a nice employee, we figured out what tickets to buy and where to get on and off and all that. The kids made fun of me because I didn't know which buttons to push on the ticket machine.<br />
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(Satchel also told me that a 44 year old woman should NOT be taking selfies.)<br />
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It was the monkeys' first time on a subway. Despite Satchel's expression in the photo below, they loved it.<br />
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When we switched trains, we met some Giants fans. On our second train, the closer we got to Wrigley, the more Cubs fans we met. The train was a sea of blue by the time we arrived.<br />
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We picked up our tickets at Will Call, snapped a few pics and then found our (amazing) seats.<br />
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For those of you not in the know--the Cubs have been having an incredible season. The best in 100 years. The Giants, three time World Series winners (2010, 2012, 2014) had a strong start to the season, but have been in a major slump since the All-Star break. Well, the Giants came through on Saturday and managed to win the game in a very exciting 3-2 squeaker. I couldn't have asked for a better game, and even the monkeys totally got into it.<br />
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I really wished I had bought tickets for Sunday, too, but I knew we should do other things while in town.<br />
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We took the train back to our apartment and had some much needed downtime.<br />
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Then we went out to a <a href="https://diningwithmonkeys.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-chicago-diner.html">VEGAN dinner at the Chicago Diner</a> and a movie.<br />
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On Sunday, our main objective was getting Satchel to <a href="https://diningwithmonkeys.blogspot.com/2016/09/eggsperience.html">Eggsperience</a> for a Tommy Boy skillet. With the help of Uber, we accomplished that goal by 10am.<br />
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Next, we walked to Millennium Park to see Cloud Gate. The park was insanely crowded due to the holiday weekend and a jazz festival, so our pictures are less than inspired. It was cool to see it in person.<br />
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From there we sought refuge in the Chicago Athletic Association's game room. It features pool tables, foosball, shufflebaord, bocce and chess. All free! After smoking Jiro at foosball, I went for a beer and listened to baseball while they goofed off.<br />
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After an hour or so, we went down to the lobby to check out the famous <a href="http://diningwithmonkeys.blogspot.com/2016/09/shake-shack.html">Shake Shack</a>.<br />
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Then Jiro's one request--to go to the top of the Willis Tower--needed fulfilling.<br />
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This proved to be a Hurculean effort--we were in line for about 4 hours. Thankfully I had the baseball game to keep me occupied and the boys managed to keep themselves entertained.<br />
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It was pretty cool once we made it up, but we all agreed it was NOT worth the waiting. We found out the hard way that you can get a City Pass ($98 each) and skip most of the waiting. The pass gets you into five attractions and is totally worth it if you plan to do them all.<br />
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From there we attempted to take an Uber to the Furious Spoon, a Ramen place by our apartment, but ended up at a different location. This was the part of the trip where Satchel decided his mother sucked so bad at directions that he had to take over. Fine by me! We did eventually get to dinner, and then back home. We crashed early, and then hit the road home at 8:30am.<br />
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Overall, it was a great trip. Maybe a bit on the quick side, but long enough for the monkeys to get a taste of the big city. We definitely made some memories and it was quite fun having the boys all to myself for a few days.<br />
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Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-82794760749080656402016-09-07T10:29:00.000-05:002016-09-07T10:31:49.178-05:00I've been a little lostI've been a little lost. Not completely, but a little. After eleven years of blogging on the reg, I just sort of quit. I could blame the divorce or the kids wanting their privacy, but I don't know if either of those are totally true. I've just felt quiet, I guess. But man, being quiet doesn't really work for me. I need to get out of my head. I read <a href="http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/09/journaling-can-help-you-out-of-a-bad-mood.html">this article</a> last night, and well, I think I'm back.<br />
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I've been writing, just not about what's going on in my life or in my head. I'm basically a master list maker now thanks to <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/search/?q=stacey%20greenberg">Thrillist</a>. I even managed to get a list on <a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/soothing-sounds-for-todays-modern-ambien-intolerant-woman">McSweeney's</a>, thanks to my favorite collaborator. And anyone who's seen a recent issue of <i>Edible Memphis</i> can attest to the fact that my editor has been very generous with me.<br />
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But I need to record the mundane events in my life. My memory sucks and is just getting suckier by the day. I don't want to lose the now. It really is fun to go back and look over my old posts. Honestly, it's a little scary too since a lot of the time I don't remember the events and it seems as though someone else did the writing. But, having a record is nice. And I need to keep doing it. I just need to find a way to do it without breaching the privacy of the people wrapped up in my daily life.<br />
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I still like writing about food, but it does seem mostly pointless. Writing about food was always the most fun when I was doing <a href="http://www.diningwithmonkeys.com">Dining with Monkeys</a>. Thanks to our recent trip to Chicago, I was able to get the monkeys to try some new things and dammit, I'm going to write about it whether they like it or not.<br />
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So yeah. Here goes. Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-74605688006810581832016-03-31T11:00:00.001-05:002016-09-07T09:41:45.966-05:00Long time, no postYikes, it's almost April and I haven't made a single post ALL YEAR! What's up with that? I guess we've all been a little busy. Not sure that there's been anything too out of the ordinary to post about. <br />
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Jiro is playing soccer for Liberty again. <br />
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Satchel actually tried out for Snowden and made the team. Due to rain and whatnot he's only had one game and I got no good pictures.<br />
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Jiro went to his first ever concert at the FedEx Forum: Fall Out Boy. Ha!<br />
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What else? We've made a couple of funny videos together--one for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlPV5hAr7BQ">Lauren's surgery</a> and one for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L2Prx-rAbg">my upcoming birthday</a>. <br />
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Spring break was last week, and we did manage to take a little day trip to Oxford. I told the boys we were going to have a nice lunch, see an art exhibit, visit a bookstore and then go to Faulkner's house. Satchel said it sounded like the nerdiest trip ever. Then he did a really funny nerd voice, but refused to let me capture it on video.<br />
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Anyways, we had a really nice lunch at Boure. (More on that later.)<br />
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Then we walked across the Square and saw Maggie Russell's show at Southside Gallery.<br />
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The kids both really liked it, though they are too cool to make any pleasing facial expressions.<br />
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Our next stop was Square Books. Satchel actually asked me, "Why would we hang out in a bookstore?" Thankfully, he was able to answer his own question. And yes, he found a book to buy.<br />
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I quite enjoyed sitting on the upstairs balcony and drinking a coffee while people watching down below.<br />
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Next, Jiro insisted on getting a cookie from this place clearly created for stoners.<br />
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Then we hit Off Square Books and Square Books, Jr. where we found treasures such as the Handicorn. Oh and these little hands. Satchel said, "Do you know how many high fives I could give with these?"<br />
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After walking through the Square, the boys started to get a sense of how important Faulkner was to the town.<br />
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Rowan Oak was our last stop, and both boys were actually quite interested and enthusiastic about it.<br />
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It was a great little day trip.<br />
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<i>I've actually got a travel assignment on Oxford so if any of y'all have some insider tips and other suggestions for things to do, I'm all ears. Email me: stacey at fertilegroundzine dot com. Thanks!</i>Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-42059220196016340772015-12-29T15:34:00.000-06:002016-01-14T15:35:07.650-06:00Holiday ActionSatchel decided he was a super Jew this year and asked that he get all of his presents during Hanukah. Also, when I told him that his hebrew name is Shlomo Nitzan he lost his mind. He changed all of his gamer tags and online profiles. Who would have thought?<br />
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Warren took the boys to Amurica and had a family photo done. (He even mailed them out!)<br />
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Chip took some pics of me and the boys, <a href="http://diningwithmonkeys.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-beauty-shop.html">but they are over on that other blog</a>.<br />
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Per usual, we spent Christmas Eve at Gigi's. There was gumbo, dice and ugly scarves.<br />
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Christmas morning we continued our tradition of delivering meals for MIFA.<br />
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And we finished up our family time at CK's with some greasy food and magic tricks.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/24382558815/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1545/24382558815_f91c4f7f4a.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-23533677420718787262015-12-07T16:07:00.000-06:002015-12-07T16:07:07.237-06:00BrokenFile this under self-indulgent.<br />
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Ever since the Cooper-Young 4-miler, I started getting a little more serious about running. Some friends and I decided to sign up for Wade's Big Adventure, which is an 8 mile trail race at Shelby Farms. We spent several weeks running the trails on the weekends and on race day we totally kicked ass. I mean we did't win or anything, but we had fun and we felt strong. We'd all signed up for Sylamore in February and planned to once again double our distance (4->8->16.). <br />
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Since the race was on a Sunday, I also had a soccer game that day. I didn't feel tired, but my brain was not communicating with my body in the way that it normally does. I had a total freak accident that resulted in me crushing my own foot. After several X-rays and finally an MRI, it was determined that I broke my first metatarsal. <br />
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Yep, broken again. It's actually been a good 9 years since I broke my leg in three, and 25 (!) since my ACL surgery. And compared to those two injuries, this is nothing. (I hope.)<br />
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When I moved into the Pie Factory, I kinda had a feeling I'd be tackling these stairs on crutches some day.<br />
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Thankfully the crutches only lasted about ten days.<br />
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Also, please note I got a pedicure ASAP. Even better, Kristy crocheted me some toe covers for my cast.<br />
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Being in a cast has severely cramped my style. I was running three times a week, doing yoga twice a week, and playing soccer. Now I can't even stand at my desk. It's frustrating as hell. But I haven't let it totally ruin me. I still made it to New Orleans for Thanksgiving weekend (more on that later. maybe!) and I am trying to look on the bright side.<br />
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<b>The Bright Side</b><br />
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1. At least it's my left foot, so I can still drive.<br />
2. I got to take three days off to convalesce which resulted in getting to watch every episode of "The Master of None."<br />
3. The kids have learned to carry their own shit.<br />
4. When I met the Mayor-elect, I got to make a joke about Chuck Brady running me over.<br />
5. According to the pedicure dude, I have a cool story. "At least you didn't fall in a hole," he said.<br />
6. Strangers talk to me, a lot. "I told you not to kick the dog," they say. "We aren't getting any younger," they remind me. "You were watching soccer or playing soccer?" they ask. (Ok maybe this one belongs on a different list!)<br />
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I'm four weeks in, and hopefully transitioning to a boot soon. I so want to scratch my ankle.<br />
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Wish me luck. I haven't given up on Sylamore yet.Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-50176898721393461212015-11-18T10:52:00.003-06:002015-11-18T10:52:56.945-06:00Ravioli Day 2015Ravioli Day is my favorite. It is also one of the few days of the year when Satchel is excited and motivated to leave the house. <br />
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"Do you think the Alleys will ever give us their recipe?" he asked me.<br />
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"No," I replied.<br />
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"Not even when they get old and die?"<br />
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"Nope."<br />
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This year marked our tenth year of making ravioli with the Alleys. TEN YEARS! (Unless we did the math wrong.) This year, Aunt Elizabeth was busy packing up her house to move, so I was in charge of making sure everyone washed their hands and didn't fuck up. I was drunk with power! Not really, it was a lot of pressure!<br />
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The best part of being in charge, was having Genevieve sit next to me AND talk to me!<br />
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As much as Satchel loves to eat ravioli, he is not usually into making it. He stayed outside most of the time riding his Swegway with the other kids. Jiro did come in and help for awhile, which was sweet. Chip took a bunch of pictures, but his computer broke or something, so I am making due with mine!<br />
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We were aiming for 50 dozen this year, but I think we capped out around 38? I could seriously make ravioli all day. I love it.<br />
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There's always lots of laughter, and not just because we are making jokes about ball size.<br />
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We eventually lured Aunt Elizabeth over with disturbing photos of giant balls and triangle raviolis.<br />
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We were basically done by the time she got there, so we moved on to the "patiently waiting for the ravioli to cook" phase of the afternoon.<br />
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This time is also known as "time to dip bread in the gravy."<br />
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Let the record show that despite being in charge and drinking a lot of Ananda, it was not me napping on the couch this year!<br />
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In Melissa's defense, she did run 13 miles earlier that morning! (Elizabeth also snuck in a power nap before dinner.)<br />
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Soon, everything was ready and the children were summoned.<br />
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Ravioli Day is the best.day.ever!<br />
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Look for Richard on the cover of the next issue of Ravioli Men Magazine.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/22726093469/in/album-72157660591302147/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/588/22726093469_6cf495b18f.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-887833559363219542015-11-06T16:08:00.000-06:002015-11-06T16:09:34.984-06:00October!I just went an entire month without a single post. I guess that means I've been busy! Here's a recap, for the record.<br />
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Jiro got to spend a week at the beach for Fall Break thanks to the incredibly generous and amazing Edwards family.<br />
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He went last year too. How lucky is he? Last year he got pretty homesick and I got a ton of late night "I can't sleep" texts. This year, I barely heard a peep. He had a great time. <br />
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We had to celebrate Warren's 49th (!!) birthday without him. Satchel and I took Warren to the Beauty Shop for a fancy brunch that included cake.<br />
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If you are thinking that Satchel looks huge in the picture, it's because he is. He's officially taller than both Warren and I (though only one of us will admit it) and his feet are definitely bigger. It's an amazing thing to watch your baby grow taller than you!<br />
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Wait, I thought I just said Satchel is taller?<br />
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Someone just got busted on his tippy toes!<br />
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Let's see, what else? I am still amazing the children with my culinary skills. I made potato soup for the first time and Satchel said it was better than Warren's. (Shhh!)<br />
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Satchel saved up enough money to buy a Swegway. It's pretty awesome.<br />
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It's actually making him want to leave the house, which is great. <br />
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Jiro has been learning to play bass now that he's in the band.<br />
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He's VERY shy about it.<br />
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On Halloween we had our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153226736547896.1073741854.88843692895&type=3">very last Rock-n-Romp ever</a>. Ever! It rained so hard that we almost cancelled, which would have been a first, but the awesome owners of Memphis Made let us move it inside. Good thing, since original DC founder, Debbie Lee, came all the way to Memphis for the show!<br />
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It ended up being really awesome, and it was great hanging out with Debbie! Mean ol' Satchel refused to attend.<br />
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After RnR, Warren and Jiro dressed up for Halloween and went to a party.<br />
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That's Jiro in the monkey mask. He's a Black Ops 2 character called Lui Calibre.<br />
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Guess who Warren was?<br />
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Alex from a Clockwork Orange!<br />
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I don't play Black Ops 2 and I haven't seen A Clockwork Orange, so I'm a little out of the loop on how awesome or not awesome these costumes are.<br />
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And that was October! At least what I can remember of it!Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-79791683454723472432015-09-24T15:19:00.000-05:002015-09-24T15:19:15.286-05:00Soccer Lady AdventuresLast weekend was full of soccer lady adventures. <br />
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On Friday, Lauren, Jenn and I ran the Cooper-Young 4 Miler in our jerseys before joining the rest of the team for a ride on the Sprock-n-Roll.<br />
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Considering it was 900 degrees when we started, I was happy to have finished.<br />
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The Sprock-n-Roll was a great follow up adventure. Lots of people were out and about and we felt like celebrities rolling down Cooper.<br />
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Joanna served as bartender/DJ. I can't express how much freaking fun we had. <br />
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On Sunday, Lauren, Jiro and I drove to Birmingham to see the USWNT play a friendly against Haiti on their Victory tour. Paula, the boss lady of the Thursday night league, organized group tickets for about 20? 30? 40? of us, so it was super fun.<br />
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We had a quick bite at Flip Burger before going to the stadium.<br />
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There was a shuttle service to the stadium, and we had the best driver ever.<br />
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I think they said there were 35,000 people in attendance.<br />
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Look! The USWNT is right there! Abby and all! And my favorite, Julie Johnston, scored the first goal right in front of us.<br />
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It quickly became apparent that Haiti didn't stand a chance, so the game wasn't that exciting after the first 15 minutes. But it was still awesome. I mean, come on.<br />
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It was fun to sit with all of our buddies.<br />
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When it was all over, Jiro desperately tried to get an autograph from Abby, but was mistakenly directed to the Haiti side. He took it in stride.<br />
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Then we did a little tailgating before hitting the road back to Memphis.<br />
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Special thanks to Paula for making this happen. We all had a great time.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/21497697800/in/album-72157656726853883/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5781/21497697800_4fcf336cca.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-48249460497432735122015-09-18T16:18:00.000-05:002015-09-24T14:50:49.479-05:00All Day I Dream About SoccerLast weekend was the Soccer Elite Tournament at Mike Rose. Liberty sent two teams, including Jiro's and Satchel debuted as a ref. (He took the three day course back in August.)<br />
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On Saturday, Jiro played two games and Satchel reffed 4. Four!<br />
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On Sunday, Jiro played in one and Satchel reffed two.<br />
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Then I had a game. <br />
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That was a lot of soccer! I loved it!<br />
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Satchel made lots of money, and Jiro got his first win of the season.<br />
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The weather was awesome.<br />
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The only other thing of note was that my own mother mistook me for Julie Cloar. We have the same hairstylist!<br />
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It's not Brantley. (This is us belatedly celebrating Julie's birthday after the Highballs' game. Her three boys played six games over the weekend!)<br />
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I can't wait for the next tournament!! <br />
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p.s. Here's a picture of Jiro from one of his first games that Chip just sent me. Beast!<br />
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I should also add that apparently middle schoolers do not need to be tucked in. Over the summer the boys typically stayed up later than me, and now that we are back on a schedule, they seem to be just fine going to bed without any coddling or snuggles. I do of course kiss them ad turn off the light. Satchel has even been known to say, "I'm tired. I'm going to bed." What? I still have to nudge Jiro and let him know it is bed time, but he doesn't really put up a fight.<br />
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I can still get some TV watching snuggles, but I fear those days are numbered too.<br />
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I think I'll spend the weekend wandering the grocery stores telling the new moms, "It goes by so fast!"Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-28876573549347359372015-08-20T15:28:00.000-05:002015-08-20T15:28:00.676-05:00Road Trip! Part 3After our super busy day on Saturday, we decided to take it easy. Kate and I lounged in the backyard while three of the boys watched TV and one of them, the amazing Santiago, made us breakfast! With only one good arm, I might add.<br />
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As you can see from his face, he was the first to fall asleep the night before. Boys!<br />
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Three of the Provencios' friends joined us and we all went to the neighborhood private beach. Santi finally got to relax!<br />
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The bay was pretty shallow, but there was a deep part for boats, so the boys spent a lot of time jumping into the deep part when not floating in the shallow part.<br />
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There was also a short lived attempt to keep a fish alive in a float.<br />
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Akuma had fun too.<br />
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After awhile we went back to the house, got a little food in us, and then headed over to Carlos' apartment for more swimming, but in a pool.<br />
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There was some pizza and even a little raquetball...or whatever game they were playing on the raquetball court.<br />
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Then it was back to the house. I went to bed and they were allowed to stay up as long as they want. In the morning it was time for goodbye (not photographed). It was sad, but certainly not their saddest goodbye. I think our trip help everyone realize that our friendship is strong enough to survive living in different cities. We'll see everyone again, hopefully sooner rather than later!<br />
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The ride home was uneventful. The boys ignored me in favor of summer reading, which was hard to complain about!<br />
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And they did a LOT of sleeping! They certainly had a lot of catching up to do! We spent an uneventful night in the outskirts of Knoxville then had a little hot chicken in Nashville before finding our way back home.<br />
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This was definitely the most ambitious trip I've done with the kids. (Keep in mind Warren once took them on a 5 week roadtrip!) They are really fun to be around and great in the car. I'm so happy we went!Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-24893473407626651892015-08-19T15:02:00.001-05:002015-08-20T09:11:59.280-05:00Road Trip! Part 2Once the boys had a chance to run around and get the lay of the land, we loaded up in the car and went into town for dinner. The Boys loved watching the boats.<br />
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And they were totally impressed by this kid making art on the street. (WE had to circle back after dinner & ice cream.)<br />
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Our dinner at Frontier House (?) was really delicious. Jiro and Enrique shared a huge steak dinner. It was really cute. We were all so busy catching up that I didn't take any pictures. My dinner was really pretty though--lump crab meat with bibb lettuce, lots of fresh fruit and avocado.<br />
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After dinner there was some ice cream, some more strolling, and then back to Kate's house to watch a movie. I went down to bed around 10:30pm I think. The boys continued to run around until about 3am when I begged them to go to sleep! They were about to set up a board game!<br />
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They did finally sleep and Carlos came over with donuts, eggs, and bacon around 10am. We had a nice breakfast and then headed into DC for the day. (Thankfully I did not have to drive!)<br />
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We started off at one of the art museums that was apparently famous for its cafeteria chicken tenders. It's true.<br />
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In the cafeteria, Satchel saw a replica of a Thibeaux painting he studied at Snowden. Carlos went to inquire as to whether there were any actual Thibeaux paintings we could see and we were directed to the National Portrait Museum. So after lunch we headed that way, but made a stop at the Air & Space Museum first.<br />
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The boys ran off to do their own thing for the most part, but insisted they check out the monkey (Abel?) who went to space, later died from an infection, and then was stuffed and put on display!<br />
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They all managed to get super thirsty while walking around, but refused to drink out of the water fountain because it was "gross." Really? So, we got them some bottled water outside, but they had to sit through another group photo.<br />
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Then we went to the National Portrait Museum, which was awesome. In addition to three Thibeaux paintings, we saw tons of other cool stuff.<br />
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The boys started losing steam after an hour or so, so we had to promise to feed them again. But not until I had one more group shot!<br />
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Now, I know we were in a city full of awesome restaurants, but we had six mouths to feed and still several hours worth of sight seeing to do. So, standing there outside the museum I spotted a Chipotle and the monkeys went wild! Ha!<br />
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Once sated we headed towards the monuments. First up, Lincoln. (Note Santi's photobomb.)<br />
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And I love this outtake with Enrique's photobomb.<br />
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I appreciate that Carlos made this day educational.<br />
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And that tourists did their part too. Want to guess what this group is doing?<br />
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I'll give you a hint.<br />
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Yes, the dude is laying on the grass so that it looks like the Washington Monument is his penis. Turns out it was actually two teens with their parents staging that photo! Ha! The boys were inspired to take pictures that looked like they were licking, punching and holding the monument.<br />
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Up close it is even more spectacular.<br />
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Next was the Jefferson monument. And then FDR. And then MLK! I had never been to any of them. It was dark by now and extra fun, I think. FDR's monument was my absolute favorite. It had tons of quotes that read like they could be spoken today.<br />
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We made it back to Annapolis around 10pm and no one had trouble sleeping, that's for sure!<br />
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One more day to go. Stay tuned.<br />
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Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-30899804984281610912015-08-18T14:14:00.000-05:002015-08-18T14:14:54.567-05:00Road Trip!The boys and I had one last hurrah before school started. We drove to Annapolis, MD to visit their besties. I am not a power driver like Warren, so I planned to take it slow. Also I hate driving at night.<br />
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Our first day on the road, we stopped in Nashville to have lunch at the Pharmacy. It's yummy burgers, fries and homemade sodas. They also have the most amazing patio ever. It seriously goes on for days. However due to the fact that we arrived during the lunch rush, we took the first available and ended up sitting inside.<br />
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Satchel was pretty grumpy about lunch and the trip in general, but thankfully cheered up by the time we got to Knoxville. We got there around 4pm and probably could have kept going, but we decided to get a nice hotel room and enjoy the city.<br />
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We were right by Market Square so we took a stroll and found a Satchel approved dinner spot, Soccer Taco.<br />
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I thought the food was just okay, but the boys loved the soccer theme and talked about Fifa players throughout the meal.<br />
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We did some exploring and window shopping and then went to see the new "Vacation" movie. It was so inappropriate, but super funny.<br />
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The next leg of our trip was only four hours, so we slept in, had lunch in the square, and then went to meet the world's sweetest baby.<br />
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We arrived in Blacksburg at Hope's house just in time for dinner.<br />
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And drinks!<br />
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The restaurant had a special where you could flip a coin and win a pizza. Jiro won!<br />
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After dinner we did some strolling and hit the health food store for snacks.<br />
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Back at Hope's, the boys chilled while we sat in the backyard and chatted. Then we all watched a movie until we fell asleep.<br />
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We were eager to hit the road on Friday so we could possibly avoid DC traffic. That plan failed, but we made it in one piece and I have a new found understanding of what traffic actually is!<br />
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The boys were so excited to see each other and picked up right where they left off. More to come!<br />
Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-59225276124409706052015-07-28T15:36:00.002-05:002015-07-28T15:36:43.810-05:00Foot GolfOn Saturday the boys and I decided to check out Memphis Athletic Ministries' foot golf course at the Defense Depot. What is foot golf? It's golf with a soccer ball! Fun, right?<br />
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It's actually quite challenging. Look at that hill!<br />
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Satchel easily won the first hole.<br />
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Hole #2 was 200 yards further!<br />
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Thankfully #3 had a water station!<br />
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By hole #5, I was kind of kicking ass and the teenager was grumpy about it. "I'm not mad that I'm not winning," he explained. "I'm mad that I'm losing!" We let him sit out for a minute.<br />
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#6 had water to drink, and to traverse.<br />
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By #7 the heat was getting to everyone, but we persevered.<br />
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We eventually lost track of who was winning and just tried to do our best (and not melt). I loved it. I want to go back! And I want to check out the Riverside course.<br />
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The beauty of the MAM course is that it is only $5 each in the form of a donation. And it's about 5 minutes from Midtown.<br />
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Since it is affiliated with the church (a church?) it is not open on Sundays.<br />
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Let me know when you want to go!Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-91691742190103639652015-07-24T13:48:00.000-05:002015-07-24T13:48:34.962-05:00Blue HairI have always secretly wanted to dye my hair blue--like real blue, not old lady grey haired blue. So when Jiro started asking me about dying his hair blue I wasn't exactly opposed to it. I strung him along for a few weeks thinking he'd eventually drop the idea, but he didn't.<br />
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Having never actually dyed my own hair, I didn't feel qualified to do it myself at home. No way did I want to be the target if he hated it!<br />
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So, I enlisted the help of a professional, Ms. Holly Woods. She's at Paggio's, right by Warren's house. Here's the play by play...<br />
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Before.<br />
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During.<br />
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After.<br />
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He was SO happy. Holly did a great job.<br />
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When we went to get Satchel, I thought for sure he would want to get his done next. When I asked him he said, "Yeah. Can I dye it brown?"Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-68910877851905373092015-07-21T15:32:00.000-05:002015-07-21T15:32:22.351-05:00Jun Kaneko ExhibitThe monkeys and I braved the heat on Saturday to see the Jun Kaneko exhibit at the Dixon. I wasn't familiar with him before, but I really loved the pictures I saw of the exhibit and couldn't wait to go.<br />
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I mean who doesn't love a giant head sculpture?<br />
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I loved the bright colors and fun patterns.<br />
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Jiro's favorite part was looking to see how much each one weighed. (Thousands of pounds!) <br />
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Jiro was also great at reading the map and making sure we didn't miss any.<br />
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Both boys were delighted by Kaneko's more recent work. Bears? Pigs? Mice? We weren't sure, but we loved them.<br />
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The gardens are absolutely beautiful this time of year, and there was plenty of shade.<br />
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It was the perfect afternoon activity. As an added bonus we got to see the gorgeous succulents exhibit too.<br />
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Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-27167421886512629042015-07-20T15:25:00.000-05:002015-07-20T15:25:30.442-05:00Oster Family ReunionWarren, the boys, and Satsuki had the world's fastest trip to South Dakota and back for the tri-annual Oster family Reunion. Since I was not there, I am piecing this together from the photos Warren sent.<br />
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They camped out their first night--somewhere in Kansas. There were rabbits near the campsite so Satsuki went crazy.<br />
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The next night they stayed in Wall, South Dakota in a motel. Wifi!<br />
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I received no family photos, but apparently they had a "photo booth."<br />
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The kids said they had to eat mostly fast food because of Satsuki. That was not a complaint.<br />
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They did a drive by of Mt. Rushmore before hightailing it back home.<br />
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They said it was a fun trip and they enjoyed seeing their cousins and Oji. Too bad there are no photos!Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-62501355173913656942015-07-10T15:11:00.001-05:002015-07-10T15:11:38.099-05:00NolaFriday morning we headed to New Orleans. It was just 50 miles away! First stop, Bouree, a new "Wing & Daiq" shack uptown on Carrollton. The monkeys were actually a little cranky about it, but I didn't let that stop us. Once there, they loved it, of course! I'll do a full review on DWM.<br />
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The next stop was Cafe du Monde. Seriously, Jiro told me for weeks that he wanted to eat beignets and it had to be the first thing we did in Nola. Obviously it was the second thing we did, hence the previous grumpiness, but we managed to hit it when there was no line! That never happens.<br />
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We got a table right by the street, so we had excellent people watching while we waited for the dliciousness to come out.<br />
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I regret not getting a photo of the dude who was "Just Chillin with Coco." Coco was a small dog who rode on the front of the scooter and wore sunglasses. I also saw a hispter carrying a cat. New Orleanians love animals!<br />
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Satchel didn't really care about beignets, but he humored us.<br />
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We walked around Jackson Square briefly, then headed to Amy's house. It was officially Leo's birthday, so he got to open a few presents.<br />
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We hung out for a bit and then we walked over to Oaxalis for some dinner and drinks. Amy's sister, Megan, came along, as did Leo's cousin, Emily.<br />
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Megan totally forced Satchel to be sociable, which was darling.<br />
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Leo was also darling with his birthday Shirley Temple.<br />
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We had lots of drinks and lots of yummy food, including more wings!<br />
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After dinner, we were all a little beat, and buzzed, so we headed back to the house to chill. It was Leo's bedtime, and Amy usually falls asleep when he does, so the boys & I watched Chappie, which we'd been wanting watch forever.<br />
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Saturday morning, Jiro was once again clamoring for beignets. I made sure everyone had a real breakfast, and then he, Emily & I rode bikes through Crescent Park back to the Quarter. <br />
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The park is really lovely and such a nice way to walk/ride to the Quarter! When we arrived back at Cafe du Monde there was a major line, but luckily it moved quick.<br />
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We decided that beignets definitely taste better after a bike ride!<br />
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By the time we got back to the house, it was time to get ready for Leo's birthday party. Jiro helped fill water balloons and kept Leo entertained.<br />
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I decorated the porch and taste tested Amy's fancy cocktails.<br />
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I also taught Satchel how to do fancy streamers.<br />
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The party was a big hit.<br />
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It culminated in fireworks over the river. Again, no photos!<br />
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We all crashed early again--definitely not the usual for me in Nola! We had to get up early Sunday so we could make it back before the World Cup final!<br />
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Amy sent us off with some kombucha she made from Warren's "mother."<br />
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I told the boys we could get a Juan's Flying Burrito for the road, and as a bonus, we got to check out nearby District Donuts. (These were sent home for Warren to enjoy with the boys.)<br />
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And that was it! We definitely did NOT have enough time in Nola. Guess that means we'll have to go back soon!<br />
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Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-20146800667466325582015-07-08T16:46:00.000-05:002015-07-08T16:49:13.859-05:00Bay St. LouisLast week, the boys and I packed up our stuff and headed to Bay St. Louis for a little R&R. We were lucky enough to have a great place to stay and fun friends to join us.<br />
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We arrived just before sunset and hightailed it to the beach before the last bit of light was gone.<br />
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The water is quite shallow and calm.<br />
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And due to the heat? Tide? Proximity to the bay? There were lots and lots of jellyfish!<br />
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Some of us were less excited about the jellyfish than others!<br />
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After some splashing about, we went to The Blind Tiger for some seafood. (Not sure what is happening in this shot.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19283505630" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/428/19283505630_80ba8261ca.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt=" "></a><br />
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Then it was back to the house for some back patio relaxing.<br />
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Tuesday, we slept in a bit, had a nice breakfast at the house, and then went back for more beaching.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18850915494" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/477/18850915494_a5deb70f9a.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt=" "></a><br />
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Surprisingly, Satchel, who told me he wasn't even going to put on his swimsuit, was way more of a trooper than Jiro. (He got spooked by the jellyfish.) Satchel and I walked out as far as we could, looked for cool stuff on the beach, and made sand castles.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19466977762" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/494/19466977762_7762fbce13.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Kylia was also a trooper.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19285756600" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/454/19285756600_fefdcab90b.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt=" "></a><br />
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I didn't mind having a buddy under the umbrella.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18850945664" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/290/18850945664_0bced365d2.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt=" "></a><br />
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After a few hours, we went back to the house. We let the kids do their thing and the adults went back to the Blind Tiger for some World Cup and Bushwackers! Launa and I were super excited to learn that there was an outdoor bar. The US v Germany game was intense and super fun to watch.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19287238259" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/505/19287238259_1057414f9b.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt=" "></a><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19287182029" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/277/19287182029_d88bc6e358.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt=" "></a><br />
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Wednesday was much of the same, but we found a section of beach that was less popular with the jellies. And everyone else!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19285841140" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/274/19285841140_3d6837be23.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Jiro was a little more participatory.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19467343262" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/299/19467343262_b903f72570.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt=" "></a><br />
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Back at the house we made an early dinner and the kids had a rousing game of Monopoloy.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19464511782" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3850/19464511782_2dddd69cf0.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Then Launa and I went back to the Blind Tiger to watch the Japan v. England game. It was rainy so we had to sit inside, but it was still fun. Oh, and Aimee said we had to try the loaded fries, so we did.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19467082332" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/271/19467082332_e0eacdf4fe.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt=" "></a><br />
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We watched a movie back at the house and then hit the hay.<br />
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By Thursday, the kids were beached out, so we split up. Launa took her girls shopping and I took the boys for a drive across the bridge. There wasn't much to do in Pass Christian, so we went to Shaggy's to enjoy the patio and a snack. A snack for Satchel was the 20 oz ribeye.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19285729788" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3779/19285729788_66616151ab.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt=" "></a><br />
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Jiro and I had daiquiris. (His was virgin, at least we think so!)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19473379255" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/334/19473379255_dd6ee86f84.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt=" "></a><br />
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Back in Bay St. Louis, the kids wanted to check out the playground down the street. (It had a sprayground too, but they deemed themselves too old.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19473269905" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/387/19473269905_4ace6f0ec2.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt=" "></a><br />
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We kicked the soccer ball around for a bit, but the heat was eventually too much for us.<br />
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Satchel and I ran some errands to procure dinner necessities like olive oil and shrimp. There was actually a pretty darn authentic NY style pizza place called Brooklyn Pizzaria (or something), so we grabbed a pizza too. Somehow it escaped my lens! I think we wanted to eat it more than we wanted to photograph it. Yum!<br />
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After dinner, we headed back to the beach to shoot off some early fireworks. The kids of course loved it! And I somehow took no pictures! But here's a nice evening shot...<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19285864490" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/256/19285864490_202f349b75.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt=" "></a><br />
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Friday morning we cleaned up, packed up, and hit the road to Nola! More on that to come. I'll leave you with this ginormous grasshopper that was in the front yard.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19285813828" title=" by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/511/19285813828_86a47523bc.jpg" width="400" height="332" alt=" "></a><br />
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A super big thanks to Aimee and her mom, Martha, for hooking us up in BSL!<br />
Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-47043152932625720242015-07-06T13:52:00.000-05:002015-07-06T13:52:10.953-05:00B Team + Rock-n-Romp CampMiles and Natasha came all the way from Massachusetts to attend Rock-n-Romp camp with the boys. Liz & Vanessa sent them down with their grandmother, and she, Warren, and I took turns taking care of them. I was a little worried about them being away from home for so long, but they did great. Of course, being in an amazing camp all day long helped entertain them and wear them out, so by the time I needed to feed them and get them settled in for the night, they were more than ready.<br />
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Here's Warren dropping everyone off for Day 1.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18904471999" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3810/18904471999_56f2de99fd.jpg" width="400" height="284" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Satchel was a counselor this year, and less than enthusiastic about it. ("None of my friends are doing it," he complained. "You need more friends," I replied. It is hard mothering an introvert! But that's a different post.)<br />
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I was a little worried about trying to cook for everyone on Monday, so we went to Huey's for dinner. Miles and Tasha LOVED it. I don't think they get to eat burgers on the reg.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19093942431" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3783/19093942431_3fe680a946.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Back at the apartment, Tasha and Jiro helped Miles learn his lines for an upcoming role in the Wizard of Oz.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18468084314" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3946/18468084314_c6c7168949.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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The boys all had games and YouTube videos to watch, so I had to go old school keeping Tasha occupied.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19064392796" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/301/19064392796_22100a2f8e.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Warren was in charge on Tuesday, and decided to introduce the kids to Jerry's Sno Cones.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19135889416" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3691/19135889416_7ed350d024.jpg" width="374" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Wednesday the kids finished their pet rocks. Most of them broke by the time we got them home, but they were cute while they lasted!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18975894119" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/519/18975894119_1fb3e33d64.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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I decided to cook for everyone, and despite the apartment getting a teeny bit smoky, it was a total success.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19165519411" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/556/19165519411_7f7bfae48d.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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As evidenced by the above photo, Satchel was siblinged out by Wednesday and started to retreat into screens. The others were much more social about it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18974453638" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/396/18974453638_b301504d69.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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This is what Tasha looks like in the morning. I got pretty good at getting everyone up and fed and out the door in about thirty minutes.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18974312360" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/366/18974312360_4404d003a1.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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By Thursday, Satchel was doing his best to get out of going to camp. We compromised--I let him stay with Warren while I kept the three younger kids. <br />
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I made dinner two nights in a row! I went with burgers again, and the kids told me they were better than Huey's! Ha! By Friday breakfast, Miles asked me why I didn't have my own restaurant!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19165544791" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/361/19165544791_e4e01949e6.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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The weekend was a little hectic, but we managed a group outing to Tamale Fest, the new playground at Overton Park and the Shell.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19470575285" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/414/19470575285_25cd613835.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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The kids clearly loved their new tees. I got them all to smile by saying, "Say Deez Nuts!" They were less compliant at the Shell.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19283015468" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/364/19283015468_6469d08357.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Sunday's showcase was a major success. The three youngsters were in a band together called Firepit.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18849952523" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/335/18849952523_7645845119.jpg" width="400" height="284" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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After two days of working on an original song, they scrapped it for a cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Per usual, Jiro was on bass.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19470528205" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/354/19470528205_c9dd0edccf.jpg" width="400" height="284" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Tasha was on keys.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19474893741" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/550/19474893741_2d803ff7a2.jpg" width="400" height="284" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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And Miles sang!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19470577135" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/283/19470577135_7b94f609b3.jpg" width="400" height="284" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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(All black & white photos by Chip!)<br />
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They did a great job, and their moms were super proud.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19464231662" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/489/19464231662_43a8bf5ec2.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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All in all, it was a great week. I'm looking forward to what the future summers bring for all of us.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19444526766" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/289/19444526766_91fb8f2e82.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-58839841193779091992015-06-24T15:45:00.000-05:002015-06-24T15:46:38.440-05:00Father's DaySundays are generally busy due to O35 soccer and whatnot, plus we had the B Team arriving, so we had an early Father's day celebration on Saturday at the Brooks.<br />
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We started off at the Brushmark, where my pal, Abby, has recently taken over as head chef. She hasn't done a total menu makeover yet, so I am saving an official review for later. Warren was quite pleased with his lunch--a burger, naturally.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19064382086" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/521/19064382086_309d2d5ee7.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Then we went down to check out the Art of Video Games exhibit.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/19064381796" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/263/19064381796_4d114cb891.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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It was very interactive and included a giant Pac Man game.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18468099144" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/410/18468099144_b726974327.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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(It moved really slow and reset the high score each game, so I didn't get sucked in.)<br />
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Overall I think everyone was impressed, so I definitely recommend it. I thought it would be more arty than it was, so I was happy to see that the last room contained some cool murals and painted arcade games. And tehy allow photos!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18904461679" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/297/18904461679_4f0f1c1cb0.jpg" width="400" height="287" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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On Sunday, Warren got to spend most of the day with all FOUR of his babies, which was pretty cool. He brought them to my soccer game, which was a nice surprise.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18904450449" title="Untitled by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/418/18904450449_446b6af70e.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Tasha was calling Satchel her tree, which was adorbs.<br />
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More on the B Team visit and Rock-n-Romp Camp to come.Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-53690929639554951832015-06-16T12:01:00.000-05:002015-06-16T12:01:35.244-05:00Bass ProThe only thing that appeals to me about the new Bass Pro, is the roof. I wanted to ride the elevator, check out the view, and maybe have a drink at the bar, called The Lookout. (I heard you get a free drink with your elevator ticket.) Anyway, last night, the monkeys and I decided to go check it out. Since Jiro had a $25 gift card from his birthday, he was totally on board. Satchel had to be nudged a bit, but he eventually came around.<br />
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I was hoping to get to the top for sunset, but as we pulled into the parking lot, we saw a fire truck and a lot of people standing outside. We waited a few minutes before throwing in the towel, and luckily they started letting people back in. I told the boys we should do the elevator first and they agreed. We tried to buy tickets but were told the elevators were out of service for a few minutes and to come back later. Of course, I had to ask why if it was just a few minutes, we couldn't just wait, but eventually they suggested coming back in a hour. Whatevs.<br />
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(We later learned that someone pulled the fire alarm which in turn stopped the elevator. People got trapped on it, and I'm sure there was a lot of ensuing drama.)<br />
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The boys and I commenced looking around for things to buy for $25 or less.<br />
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This Davy Crockett hat was a contender.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18241363703" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5502/18241363703_e481d94065.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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These sunglasses were way out of our budget, but fun to try on.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18835742306" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3753/18835742306_b032951771.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18835673836" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5475/18835673836_f6c3c544d3.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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Jiro ultimately decided to spend his money on a candy bar for himself, Pop Rocks for his brother, and a Father's day gift for Warren. Is he the sweetest kid ever?? I think so.<br />
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As we walked around, Satchel had an ongoing joke about everything camo. "Why are these racks empty?" he would ask. It was funny.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18239360894" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3870/18239360894_968d3b1efa.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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Eventually we saw that the elevators were back in action, and we bought our tickets. $10 each, and sorry, no more free drinks! (Kids are $5 before 4pm.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18674120238" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5519/18674120238_ac05006c97.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18861891435" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5334/18861891435_6c5c86de21.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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The elevator ride was fun, and fast, and we made our way out to the observation deck. We just missed the sunset! Surprisingly, Satchel was scared to walk out to the ledge. And even more surprisngly, Jiro and I were not. It was a little freaky though.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18856568462" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5526/18856568462_0e362d2d5a.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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After taking some pictures and enjoying the view, we went inside. <br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18856753812" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5596/18856753812_fd025e0d29.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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They boys wanted to sit at the bar and get a drink, and maybe a snack. (They were also serving appetizers.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18676962330" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3896/18676962330_1a1eb24491.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18674211358" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3840/18674211358_ace3b75286.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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I had agreed to basically get the boys whatever they wanted since I was chalking this all up to a one and only visit. But, none of the food sounded too appealing and I had already fed them a nice dinner at home. I wasn't in the mood for a drink, so I ordered two Shirley Temples. The bartender told us that you had to be 21 and up to sit at the bar, which must have made the kids look sad, because she then said the drinks were on her, which was sweet. (I tried talking her out of it.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18856724092" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5491/18856724092_6570bafd49.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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The boys were thrilled with the drinks.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18856680422" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5336/18856680422_d9634715ce.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18239220114" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3709/18239220114_36a1ecc294.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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There are some pretty sweet views inside from the North. (East wall is the elevator, South and West face observation decks.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18241353593" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3841/18241353593_137d0d0bf7.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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We went to take one last look, and Satchel got his nerve up for a quick picture.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18835733856" title="Bass Pro by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5465/18835733856_065951e9ec.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Bass Pro"></a><br />
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It was a fun visit. I can't see ever wanting to hang out in The Lookout, since it is very touristy, but it is definitely worth one trip. Kinda like Graceland?<br />
Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16414599.post-22179947366239921432015-06-02T11:54:00.000-05:002015-06-02T11:54:00.991-05:00Hello FreshEveryone on Facebook is always talking about Blue Apron. It's a meal delivery service. Or a grocery delivery. Well, they send you recipes and all of the ingredients in a box and then you cook the meals yourself. My soccer buddy, Lauren, uses it. (I've been invited over for "I need to cook three Blue Apron meals before everything goes bad" dinner parties on a couple of occasions!) Another friend, Paul, told me that his girls have learned to cook using the boxes.<br />
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After nearly a year of cooking the same things, I thought maybe Blue Apron, or something like it could help teach me (and the kids) a few things. At the very least it would add some variety to our dinners.<br />
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Several friends were giving away free codes and such on Facebook, but when I looked at the meal options for Blue Apron, it didn't really get me excited. Thanks to the magic of the Facebook algorithm, I started getting other ads for similar services. Enter <a href="https://www.hellofresh.com/">Hello Fresh</a>. Their recipe options all looked yummy, so I decided to sign up for three meals a week designed to feed two people. (I figured the 4 person option was too much, but if the recipes were a hit, I might bump it up later.)<br />
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The box was due to arrive Wednesday, but because of the holiday (Memorial Day), it came Thursday. It was heavy as shit! Haha. (There were several bricks of ice in it keeping everything fresh.)<br />
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I had invited my mom to dinner, so we decided to go ahead and make two recipes so we'd have enough for four people. Jiro was super excited to help, which was much appreciated.<br />
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Our first recipe was flank steak with bean salad. (The directions are on the left in the pic, and the picture is of the shrimp sandwiches that we did not make.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/17761997264" title="Hello Fresh by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8807/17761997264_30239e54e2.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Hello Fresh"></a><br />
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We followed the directions very closely, and I was so glad that Jiro knew how to mince. (Thanks, cooking camp!)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18384619355" title="Hello Fresh by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8774/18384619355_ba936f55ec.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Hello Fresh"></a><br />
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We didn't care too much about the bean salad. It was all about the flank steak. I haven't attempted to cook meat in years. Maybe decades? So, I was so pleasantly surprised to learn how easy it was to cook the steak!<br />
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This is Jiro waiting for it to stop resting so he could eat it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18380545572" title="Hello Fresh by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/268/18380545572_bff5bd3a1b.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Hello Fresh"></a><br />
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He agreed to put beans on his plate for a photo, but refused to eat them.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18384611305" title="Hello Fresh by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7751/18384611305_76a81f8d24.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Hello Fresh"></a><br />
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After he and I ate, we worked on the chicken tacos with mango slaw for my mom and Satchel. (I wasn't up for coordinating two meals at once quite yet!)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18198476399" title="Hello Fresh by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8820/18198476399_eee1a38301.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Hello Fresh"></a><br />
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Jiro was a big help again, and I was once more amazed at how easy it was to cook chicken on the stovetop.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18386240481" title="Hello Fresh by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8885/18386240481_522916eee6.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="Hello Fresh"></a><br />
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The tacos were a total hit.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18196817698" title="Hello Fresh by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/304/18196817698_6789dfb962.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Hello Fresh"></a><br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/56254348@N00/18196934030" title="Hello Fresh by Stacey Greenberg, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8855/18196934030_0d64c8b4b0.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Hello Fresh"></a><br />
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I basically had all of the ingredients to make more tacos, so I did a week later. Only I may have been slightly overconfident as I almost set off the smoke detector. Which if you live in a house is no big deal. In an apartment building, everyone gets evacuated! Thankfully the windows open and we avoided any embarrassment!<br />
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I never made the shrimp sandwiches--we just ate the shrimp! And when I redid the tacos, I left out a few ingredients the kids weren't crazy about, like onions.<br />
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I don't know if we'll do this forever, but we'll definitely do it a little longer. It's been great learning new recipes, cooking together, and gaining some much needed confidence!<br />
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If you want to try it, this code (D4XYGC) will get you $40 off your first box. Woot!Stacey Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067384545487563830noreply@blogger.com0