Two [almost dead] white dogs and one dead turkey

As you can see, I have been posting quite a bit here lately. It's mostly because I have had the week off and have nothing better to do. Or I actually have a life again and therefore have something to write about.

So let me first confess something. Well, I confess this sin for both Greg and I: we almost killed two cute white dogs. Our good friends Nate and Ryan asked us to housesit for them while they were up in Paso Roblos last weekend. I mean, maybe we tried to kill them because we were jealous that our friends were tasting wine without us, but I can asure you that was not the motive. Greg and I are just a little bit spacey. Somewhere along the line Ryan must have told us when they were getting back. But for some reason, we believed that they would be back on Sunday (when in fact they would be home on Monday afternoon). So we packed up all our stuff and left on Sunday morning. The dogs were home for over 24 hours by themselves. Amazingly, they did not starve to death and they didn't even have accidents in the house (hardly would they be called accidents at this point). Anyway, the dogs are alive and well. I couldn't afford to replace those pure-bred Westies anyway...

So on to Thanksgiving. We went to Sam and Pete's house after spending the morning with Adam. By the way, Adam made our apartment smell wonderful as he baked his little heart out in our kitchen: pumpkin pie and cream puff dessert. It was soooo good! Plus, he made this incredible shrimp dip thing. Of course, Sam and Pete's apartment looked gorgeous. Especially the table (see left).

I volunteered this year to bring the turkey. Yeah, you thought I was vegetarian but I ordered a free-range turkey from the natural foods store down the street. What the hell, I had almost killed two cute white dogs and didn't feel bad about that, so was I really supposed to care about an ugly ass turkey? But seriously, this turkey had a fine life pecking in the open fields before it was killed at the beginning of this week. Pete said there were a few feathers this hand plucked bird (yikes, now that is fresh!). I did try a bit, but I still don't care for meat all that much. I am thankful that the evil corporation of Tyson got none of our money this year.

After dinner we were all stuffed and Adam almost gave birth to his Thanksgiving Dinner Baby (see right). A walk around the block prevented his water from breaking. As you can see from the photo evidence, he was really pregnant looking and super grumpy like a real maternal maniac. Later in the evening, Frank stopped over and we listened to music and played games. Making it's second annual appearance, Greg's snoring filled the room at about 11pm. Below, you see a picture of Greg dealing out the leftovers for everyone to take home. By the way, if anyone wants any of Sam's fluffy buttery mashed potatoes we have about 10 pounds of them in our fridge.

The Hotel D&G

I begin this blog with Greg relaxing in his mint julep mask... oh wait... where is the mask? The title is not what you might be thinking. We did not stay a few nights at a boutique hotel in Beverly Hills that only caters to people who wear overpriced Italian shoes, tight pants, and gallons of cologne. I am talking about how my apartment became the hustling and bustling "Hotel Dan & Greg" of lovely Mar Vista (it sure beats the Jolly Roger Motel down the street). In case you are wondering our past guests included:
Monday - David arrives
Tuesday - Chris arrives
Wednesday - Chris departs, Adam arrives
Thursday - at 4am, David departs; Adam departs
...next Wednesday - parents arrive

All of this comes with a free shuttle service to wherever you please. Trips to downtown are frequent and depart daily. May include side tour of skid-row and tent city* and wrong turns down dark streets/alleys. *Not responsible for any loss of personal belongings.

Okay, for real. I had a great time showing off my lovely city. It was 80 on Monday and I took David to the beach.

On Monday night, we hosted the fabulous "second bi-annual make-your-own-pizza" party.

This picture to the left shows our first guest to arrive: Fran(k). He made a delicious summer squash pizza. In addition to this precious chef, we had a lot of friends here including Ryan and Nate, Chris, Kent, Jeanette and Joel, Tyler, Kaila, Tim, Melissa, Ryan A., and Brian. Greg beat everyone at Mario Kart on Nintendo:
This is an example of one of the pizzas (they did not last long!)... look at these hungry bitches.

Ice Skating and Pumpkin Carving

Me on thin blades traveling on ice was highly entertaining for all observers. People: I can only walk with my feet as the good lord intended! I tip toed around the edge of the rink while Pete and Sam wizzed by at 60 mph. Adam, Ian, and Greg were a bit slower but by no means did they suck compared to me. Marcus refused to go on the ice (this was about the best decision anyone made that evening). We wore our scarves and mittens even though it was a brisk 70 degrees outside. I must say, my favorite part of the evening was getting back on solid ground. Here's a picture of Pete taunting me from the rink...

After our ice capades at Culver Arena, we all went to carve pumpkins. Fran(k) had dirty thoughts as he poked around inside the pumpkin with his hand. He had to excuse himself to have a moment. Kidding! I was a skeptic but his cat pumpkin turned out great. Adam's was by far the scariest. It took him the longest to complete and he is quite the perfectionist when it comes to fruit art. And, Virginia's... well... it was... a sad styrofoam pumpkin. At least her's will be around forever as it will never biodegrade. Mine only lasted for 3 days in the Southern California sun before melting into a pool of water and mold. It was pretty gross. Here is a picture of the pumpkin line-up for 2006 lit up at night for all to enjoy:
Greg made pumpkin seeds (from nine pumpkins!) in the oven the following day.

Will I ever wash the suit?

So I leave for Michigan on Wednesday and I am really excited yet sad to leave all of my wonderful friends in Los Angeles for the summer. I am especially going to miss Greg! Ugh... I am going to miss the beach!!! I really do not know how I survived this past week: conducting a lot of 8,9 and 10 year olds in a hot gym in a hot stinky suit (that I still need to dry clean). Then all of the pizza parties at school to celebrate. I need a 4-6 week sabatical from any Pizza Hut smell. Just so you know, that smell lurks in a classroom for a long time...epecially when it is 80 degress outside. ICK!

I am also really going to miss Dawn, my coworker. She has been an absolute insipiration for me in rejuvinating my love and motivation for teaching. Plus, she has been become one of my closest friends in such a short amount of time.

Giving thanks 2005

So I leave this post "untitled" to make an artistic statement. Mostly this has to do with photos I have uploaded. I would hate for words to take away from the art or to place in your mind an idea about what is to come. Anyway, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all of my new friends here in Smogville. This holiday is by far my favorite and this year did not change that one bit. Greg and I went to a little get-together over by USC and then drove to Sam and Pete's apartment to have Thanksgiving dinner. Sam and Pete were wonderful hosts, lighting candles, putting on holiday music, and having the table set just right. Oh, and the meal was delicious. It felt like I was having dinner with a close family. The above photo shows how we used Ian and Rachel's apartment to make the rolls and the creamed corn. We left dirty notes on their to-do list in the kitchen. Sam had banned me from his kitchen because I asked too many questions. It was quieter at Ian and Rachel's anyway.

I passed on the flesh but Pete cooked a 20 pound bird for everyone. "Only a half pound per person" says Pete "Martha Stewart" Brophy. That thing looked perfect (see left). Pete will now work at the Butterball hotline. Too bad the job only lasts one day.

We ate....

...and we drank...

...and played Dance, Dance Revolution... Some people were better than others...but I do not judge.

...and we all harmonized to Greg's snoring (someone had a little "too many" martinis). Yeah, it's cliche but I will say it anyway: I am pretty thankful for all of the wonderful people that have come into my life recently and I would not have it any other way.