Entries Tagged as 'birthday'

The Packers Won On My Birthday

September 9th, 2011 · 2 Comments


…with Alden


…with Jess


…with Danny & Caroline


…with Ed

The Packers kicked off the NFL season this year by taking on the Saints at Lambeau Field on my birthday. A few friends and I met up at Logan Bar & Grill to watch the game. This is probably the sportiest of the bars in Logan Square. We don’t really have sports bars here. The weather was on the cooler side, but nice, and it started raining. Logan Bar & Grill had their doors/windows wide open and it felt really nice, without having to actually be outdoors.

The game was the first time since 2000 that the last two Super Bowl winners were matched up. Also, it’s the third time in four seasons that the Packers opened the season on national TV at prime time at home. No pressure, guys! The game was exciting and high-scoring. And, though I was a little scared on the last drive, the Packers ended up winning 42-34.

Also, Dallas flew to Las Vegas yesterday. I gave him $20 to put on the Packers at the sports bet. He added $30 and so we had $50 riding. If the Packers won by 4 points then we’d win $100. This was the first time I ever was cheering for the spread as well as a win! Kind of stressful!

Thanks to everyone who came out for drinks on my birthday! It was an exciting, but laid back night. … Just what I wanted.

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Birthday Flowers

September 8th, 2011 · 5 Comments

For the 10th year in a row my parents sent me flowers on my birthday! I’ve come to expect this flower delivery so this time they sent the flowers one day early so that they’d be a surprise!

Every year the flowers they send me are so different. This year is a pretty bouquet of fall-colored roses, daisies and carnations. And some berry kind of things.

Finally, as has become the tradition these past few years, here’s an updated photo of my work desk. You can also see my birthday gift from Dallas, the handbag hanging from the hook on the right.

Thanks, Mom & Dad!

UPDATE: On the afternoon of my birthday, Nintendo also sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. They did this last year too, but for some reason I didn’t expect it this year.

These flowers have some really tall lillies (?) that are really interesting.

The other flowers are kind of the same color palette as the bouquet from my parents. Soft autumn colors.

Thanks, Nintendo!

Birthday flowers from previous years:

- 2010
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2005
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002

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Birthday Dinner at Arami

September 7th, 2011 · 1 Comment


Accident photo that I ended up really liking

Dallas will be out of town for my birthday and through the weekend, so we celebrated my birthday by going out to dinner last night. We went to Arami, a Japanese restaurant that we’ve been wanting to try for ages. We have tried before to get in on a weeknight and they were too packed. A Tuesday evening after Labor Day was just the right time.

We ordered a ton of food. For appetizers we got edamame; seared hotate (scallop) with unagi (eel), mushrooms and shiro miso; and hamachi kama. The scallops were amazing. I wanted to lick the bowl to get all of the delicious sauce out. And the scallops were perfectly seared. The crisply unagi pairing was really good.

Hamachi kama is the prized portion of the collar of a Pacific yellowtail. Dallas and I always order this at Sansei in Hawaii when it is available, so when we saw it on the specials menu, we had to get it. It was tasty, but not as good or as big as when we get it in Hawaii. Still, we enjoyed it.

Dallas ordered an assortment of sashimi and it came out next. I was suprised because we were sitting there finishing up our appetizers and I saw a lady with a huge fishbowl type of container and it was filled with orchids and bamboo shooting out a few feet in the air. I thought at first someone ordered a huge drink. When they brought it to our table, I saw that it was filled with ice and had all of the sashimi displayed on the ice with seashells and rocks and flowers. It was gorgeous! I wasn’t taking photos during this dinner, but check out a few here. Beautiful presentation aside, the fish was super fresh and very tasty. Dallas loved it.

For an entree I got two maki rolls. One was with hamachi (yellowtail), tuna, scallion, jalapeno, shrimp and spicy mayo. This was a great, clean tasting roll. It did have some mayo on it, but not an excessive amount that would mask the taste of the fish. Also, the spice was just the right level of spicy. My other roll had kani (king crab) and ebi (shrimp) and almonds. This was my favorite of the two rolls.

Dallas got the kimchi ramen with tofu, pork belly, a poached egg and scallions. He loved it. I think he’s going to divorce me and marry it. After eating all the ramen and scraping the bottom for more, he was too full to think about dessert. Arami offers mochi and gelato. I opted for a toasted sesame, fig and chocolate chip ice cream and loved the flavor combination.

So, really great birthday dinner. I’m sure we’ll be back here again. I think it’s our new favorite sushi spot!

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Fourth of July in Norwell, Massachusetts

July 7th, 2011 · No Comments


Lucy & Dallas waving


Dallas & the Luannes! (Lucy’s full name is Luanne.)


Sarah photobombed the birthday candle photo! (Sarah, Luanne, Adam, Ron, Marty, Jan, Molly)


Dallas’s Cake Creation


Lucy tasting whipped cream for the first time.


Of course, she loves it! (She is also doing her signature wave here.)


Adam by the pool.


Adam & Sarah

On the Fourth of July we drove down from New Hampshire with Matt, Molly,Lucy, and Buddy to Norwell, MA. This is where Matt’s parents, Luanne & Marty, live. Dallas has spent many an Independence Day at Marty & Luanne’s house. Looking back, I spent the 2004 holiday and 2007 holiday there. It seems like more. As I told Luanne, in our hearts we spend every Fourth of July there. It’s what we tell people. We go to Norwell/Boston for Fourth of July. In reality, we get there as much as we can. It’s the effort that counts, right?

We spent the day swimming in the pool, playing a little bit of frisbee game, and relaxing. Marty made his kielbasa that he is known for. The secret ingredients are mustard and honey. Then he just keeps it hot in a pot. So good. He also grilled up some delicious cheeseburgers, which were served with potato salad. Very traditional, it sure hit the spot! I hadn’t had a cheeseburger or potato salad forever.

Aside from the holiday, it was Adam’s birthday on July 3 and Molly’s on July 4, so Luanne made her family’s traditional blueberry crumbcake. It was so delicious. She also served strawberry shortcake. Dallas took the strawberries from that and put them on top of his blueberry crumbcake and then topped that with whipped cream. Also, Matt gave Lucy some of the cake with whipped cream. She loved it. They really try to restrict her sugar intake, so I think she was just amazed!

On this holiday the party was smaller, mostly family, a few friends. But that does not mean it was not fun. It was great to be able to see Marty and Luanne again and to hang out in the sun and in the pool and with all of the family for one more day before heading back to Chicago.

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Osteria Nonna Maria, Sheboygan, WI

June 23rd, 2011 · No Comments

While I was staying over in Kohler, WI, we went to dinner at Osteria Nonna Maria in Sheboygan, WI. It was just a short drive from Kohler. Jill had somehow heard about this place while looking up restaurants online. It’s a small hole in the wall kind of place. It’s a house in a row of houses in a residential area. When you see the sign pointing to downtown, go the other way, basically! It’s a “hidden gem” according to our hotel concierge when we asked for directions.


SEE YOU IN MY NIGHTMARES!

When you walk in there’s a dining room with booths to the right. It has the feeling of a diner crossed with your grandma’s house. In fact, the owners, Bill and Mary Jo (Nonna Maria), have photos of all of their grand kids on one wall. To the left is the kitchen. We were lead through this area to a room in the back with a bar and some “interesting” wall mountings.


Parmesan Artichoke Crostini – Fresh grated Parmesan cheese and artichoke on toasted Italian bread


Fresh-baked olive bread


Salad with homemade creamy dill dressing


Chicken Cacciatore – Chunked chicken in Nonna’s creamy Sicilian marinara and vegetables served with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on imported capellini

Our server for the night was Kim, who is the grand daughter of the owners of Osteria Nonna Maria. Kim was perfectly nice and attentive, giving us recommendations off the menu. We had a super delicious parmesan and artichoke crostini for an appetizer. We all got salads to start and most were obsessed with the creamy dill dressing. It was like putting dill dip on top of your salad. So good. Our bread was hot-out-of-the-oven olive bread. And for my entree I got chicken cacciatore. At some point during dinner, the owner/grandma stopped by our table and chatted with us a bit. I thought that was nice.

I couldn’t finish all of my pasta so they wrapped it up for me to go in this cute duck made of aluminum foil. Actually, mine was more of a duckling, because Jill had a big portobello wrapped in hers which made it a lot bigger duck.

When Jill made the reservation she spoke with Kim and asked her about cake for dessert for Jen’s birthday. Kim said “let me talk to my grandma” and her grandma ended up making a whole entire cake for us! It was the lightest angel food cake, which was perfect since we’d just eaten a somewhat heavy dinner. Kim said this is the cake that her grandma has made for her birthday every year for as long as she could remember, so we made her take a slice to eat as well.

It was Jen’s mom, Nancy’s, birthday just a few days ago, so Jill arranged for her to get a slice of tiramisu with a candle in it, not knowing that we were getting a whole entire cake for Jen! We passed the tiramisu around the table. There was a lot of whipped cream on it, which Kristin loved and took care of. I really liked the part that was soaked in the strong coffee/espresso. So good.

Overall, I’d say that Osteria Nonna Maria is a hidden gem, as our concierge had said. The food was great, the prices were reasonable, and with Kim and her grandparents, and the fact that you were in a house-like building, you almost felt like you were dining in someone’s home.

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