I know there are only two more weeks until Christmas, but I’m finally going to post something about Thanksgiving. Here are some highlights:

Abuelos:

My abuelos, grandparents, were in town from Mexico. It was so good to see them and spend time with them. My grandfather is hilarious and always has a joke to tell. My grandmother is one of the cutest people in the world and I don’t know anyone with a bigger more loving heart.

Catan:

Anna and I were introduced to Settlers of Catan back in October. We have loved it ever since. There have been plenty of nights dedicated to the art of Catan, so we decided to bring our game down to Corpus Christi with us.

Our family playing group consisted of: Becky, Sean, Anna, and I. The game was a riot from the beginning to the end. All kinds of name calling, dirty looks, screaming, and teasing. I think the best part was watching Becky scream when she lost.

Geo-caching:

We also spent a few hours geo-caching around various places in Corpus Christi. With Stephen leading the way, we forged through bushes, small brush, and muddy landscapes to find different caches. We found one cache overlooking the bay, which had a really nice view. We also found an eel that was sitting out of water. It looked like he had been bitten or hooked by a fisherman. He was gasping for air in between the rocks just out of the water. We were eventually able to throw him back into the water. Geo-caching was a fun little adventure.

- Bob

You know, when you get married, there are just some things that you just don’t know about spouse ahead of time. For example – I didn’t know that Bob was that much of a computer game player until we got married, and that was all that he did after work. I had no clue. While we were dating – he set aside those games for some good times with me, and once married… he picked up the hobby again. Bob didn’t know I have an overwhelming appetite for paper – or that I was a huge pack rat, until we started to take boxes upon boxes of stuff from my house after we were wed. Bob best kept secret though wasn’t discovered until a year of marriage was up, and it continues to grow. And here’s the craziness…. the man is just plain lucky when it comes to watching sports.

Maybe you are wondering what that means. Well, let me give an example. When we were first married, we went up to Seattle, and went to a Mariner’s game, verses the Cleveland Indians (this is back when the M’s were decent.) Well, that game we went to was the only one that the Indian’s won in that series. Then during the NCAA Basketball tourney 9 months later, the luck continued. When Bob wasn’t in the room, the games would be ho-hum, slow and boring. But once he would walk in – the trailing team would pick up steam, and win from behind. And of course, it was always the team that Bob was cheering for. Still thinking it was a fluke, I just laughed it off. But the luck goes on…

But it’s been over two years later, and there have been countless times of luck. I am starting to think the timing is just ingrained in him or something. He walks into the room, turns on the tv and sees the touchdown of the day. Or he stops playing his XBox randomly to catch the blocked kick turned interception that gets run back for a touchdown. All the time, I just am left to say… “Dang, you are lucky to have caught that one – because you really aren’t watching this.” I was starting to wonder if ESPN should just call up Bob to do their Top Ten plays of the night. He seems to see the top ten just by flipping on the TV.

But Friday night proved to be a cake topper. We were watching Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, and mid way through, I decided on a little popcorn. We paused the movie – and Bob just happens to flip on the World Series, just in time to see the final strike out and the celebration. And a celebration for us indeed. We don’t have to watch entire games to see the action.

With the arrival of Bob being back from the middle of nowhere, I realized there is one thing that I would miss from him being gone. That is not cooking. Somehow, he just doesn’t appreciate a bowl of cereal for dinner like I do. So back in the kitchen I went – in a way relearning the method and (mostly) madness of cooking. And the results have been mixed at best so far…

I made the enchiladas for Bob – which was a huge fat hit, or so I think. He said, “These are better than my mom’s!” I was floored, and pretty proud of myself until he backed it up with, “Yeah, but she doesn’t make them though.” Gee, thanks.

Then on Monday night, I had a swelling of my lips, and a showing of a rash on my neck – which is the second time in month. I called the Bob’s mom and asked her what the Doc would say. She said that I was probably allergic to some food (I guess another to add to the list of cats, dogs, and dust). She said, “Pop had a reaction every time we went to one restaurant, and we think it is just to capers, but we have just quit going there altogether.” So I had to ask, “Yeah, I can’t exactly quit going to my own fridge though. This is one restaurant that is a little harder to quit!”

Probably a good thing that Bob is out of town again this week… that cereal is looking awfully good…

Sorry about the boring blogs, friends. I just kept blogging (as you can notice, it was all on the same day) and I have learned my lesson not to do boring blogs. My friends the Meltons called me like it was an emergency to get me out of the house. Can’t say I didn’t mind though – I always have good times with them…

Bob and I are planning on getting a new camera this weekend, and then I will have to post pictures of our apartment, and my new workspace. It was recently redesigned with a cheap “as- is” shelf from Ikea. I now actually have room on my desk to work! Wahoo!

Bob is still working out on the east coast, and will be there for what feels like forever. Honestly, it’s been so long I think that I have forgotten how to cook. If you have any tips for the forgetful, post a comment!

On occasion, it does get a little lonely without Bob around. I have been well taken care of by my good friends the Meltons – watching Project Runway or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with them and having all sorts of good times – but there is from time to time a little loneliness. But it never lasts long as long as I am close to my plant patio.

I have set up on our foot long garden patio a few plants to brighten my day. It is just next to the computer, so I like to look outside and see them from time to time. Well I always seem to have a friend out there when I need one. One day it was a fat pigeon that came by and sat in my planter box and just stared me down for 5 minutes. It was pretty funny. And today one of these little gecko/lizards was just sitting pretty in my Hibiscus plant – although I think he was making a breakfast of it. So if you ever feel a little lonely just take a look around outside – you never know who you will find!