My Sunday with the girls .... Laura

My Sunday with the girls :-)

I have to admit I was intrigued when Gary came home and asked if I would like to take the girls to eat at a VERY cool new Japanese restaurant in Tyson’s called Wasabi. As we all know, fish + Gary = bad news, so the girls and I decided to try out Wasabi on our own and bring him along as our chauffeur for the day (it didn’t hurt that he had offered his credit card for shopping afterwards). The idea of maki rolls, fresh strawberries laced with ginger, and sushi dancing by on a conveyer belt was enticing, and it turned out to be very entertaining for all of us, not to mention delicious. I think that dining on dad’s credit card also added an air of excitement to the whole adventure…especially for Sam who was all grins in the back seat on the way.

Tika found some nice vegan options-  I found the vegetarian roll to be the best dish that I tried, and I feigned ignorance and smiled inside as bowls of chocolate and green tea mouse were eaten with chop sticks in between bites of tuna belly, seaweed salad, fresh strawberries, and dumplings. We finished lunch and headed straight to Cakelove for cupcakes. Apparently their dad had enforced a “no cupcakes if you don’t eat your lunch” rule the previous weekend, which I quickly changed to “if you are with me you can have cupcakes even if you don't eat any lunch”. Sam went for the chocolate cupcakes and Kris had her lemon bar…….sadly, Tika was out of luck this time as they didn’t have any vegan cupcakes (her dad double checked before we left, but still none were to be found).

Hmmmmm, and our “chauffeur” spent the afternoon having a nice fish-free lunch at Gordon Biersch (good thing he isn’t allergic to beer)  followed by some shopping on his own and sudoku while his four girls had a great time eating, shopping, and laughing (yes, Sam is very funny- and I don’t think I have ever seen her eat so much)

I just wanted to say thank you to Tika, Kris, and Sam. I had a wonderful time and it was a very special day for me. I also want to thank their dad for giving me that day and the opportunity to spend some time with the girls on my own……………and to use his credit card :-)

I can see that we will have a very happy, and entertaining, life together - 

Laura

Citizen Tika ....

OK - it does not have the same ring to it as a Orson Welles title but ... Tika is now a US citizen.

Well in reality her sisters are too since I am BUT Tika is the first to go through the process of getting documented as such. It was not a hard process but I decided to make it harder. She was originally scheduled for last Monday to go through the final step and obtain her Naturalization Certificate but I forgot to bring her "Green Card" and we had to reschedule. I felt horrible, not just for Tika but one of her teachers, Ms Alison, had come to see Tika take this next step. When we rescheduled Ms Alison could not make it so the attached picture is for Ms Alison. Thank you for all your support in all that Tika has done.

Congratulations Tika ... and Kris, you are next.

.... cu

Welcome to Minneapolis

Well - day two (ok maybe day one and then some) in Minneapolis. What a day. Work was good - good sessions at the conference and good chats with people in between. This evening myself and Jeff went and had a couple of beers before we ran off to Gasthof Zur Gemutlichkeit, a German restaurant that was featured on Man vs. Food.

Myself and Jeff tried our best to match Adam. No we did not do the Metre Bratwurst challenge but went for the House Platter with Bratwurst, Hunter Schnitzel, pork Chops, Rouladen and a combination of potatoes, sauerkraut, red cabbage and spatzel. I will be the first to admit it was a LOT of food. 


Entertainment wise we had a "oompah" band that specialized in AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.


It was quite a couple of interesting days in Minneapolis.

Very weird in DC

After coming back from Richmond myself and Tika stopped in DC so I could pick up something at the National Building Museum. As we were walking up there Tika said something about the Batman building. Turns out she meant the logo for the Harrington Hotel. And she was right - it looked a lot like a Batman logo.




Well a few blocks later it got weirder when we saw the Batmobile. One would have thought it was karma.



Location : Ashburn, VA 20148,

VCU Visit

Myself and Tika drove down this morning for another visit to VCU. Part of me thinks she wants to go here but she is nervous about committing. That is ok because I know she will make the right decision for her and we will support her.

She met up with her friend Holly and they are touring the campus and talking to people. Meanwhile I found a small cafe and I am sitting having coffee.

It is her time to explore - not easy when they do grow up.

Location : 1001 W Grace St, Richmond, VA 23220,