We had Kevin, Lindsay, Andrew, and Debby over for a dinner of Ma Po Tofu. It was delicious, but the beef version had a little too much beef. I think I’d like to make it more, and try it with more and different kinds of veggies. We’ve been doing it with minced mushrooms which works really well, but I think it could be even better. After eating we played a game of Legendary, the Marvel deck building game. Steph won by a lot, but it was close to all of us losing.
Archer finally caught something while he was out on a walk the other day. It looked like a little bird that had just fledged and was on its first trip out of the nest. It was alive when he brought it in, but it quickly died. Archer was mad when I took it away from him. The kitties have been really great recently, and they both have been very cuddly. We’ve found that the stick side of Archer’s toys is what he will really go after. Here are some kitty pictures!
and some kitty videos
This state park was really nice. The camp sites were nestled back in the woods, and the old air strip on top was great for watching the sunset. We got there Saturday morning and did a nice hike in. Part of the Canyon Trail was washed out, so it was a little treacherous. Hai and Mark turned back and went up the Fire Road at that point, but we got to camp at about the same time. The group we were with was really nice, including Steph, Hai, Mark, Michael, Joey, and Ryan. We played some exploding kittens on the air strip while watching the sunset. A little cotton tailed bunny hopped by while we were playing. Just after sunset the fog really started to roll in and walking the half mile back to camp was like walking through a horror movie, especially with all the red light from the headlamps lighting up the fog. It was getting pretty cold so we called it a night early.
The hike out was pretty uneventful, and seemed a lot faster than the hike in. It might have just been my imagination, but we also took the Fire Road back and didn’t stop for lunch/snacks/rest breaks. It was also a downhill hike back, whereas the hike to the camp was mostly uphill.
I’ll add in some pictures when I get them. I didn’t use electronics the entire time we were there, but Hai took a lot of great pictures.
We had a really nice dinner with all the roommates and SO’s. It was a cooking night in, and we made some delicious garlic bacon. It was a fun time, and we got to play a little Codenames of course.
My parents came in town for a weekend just to see me. They were nice enough about not getting to see me during the day on Monday and Tuesday.
Saturday they got in and we walked around Google for a bit. It was a nice walk, and pushed my dad a big. It was the first time I had seen all the Android statues and also the first time I had ridden any of the Google bikes. Steph was busy for dinner so we went to a nice Mexican restaurant near my place after my parents checked in. They came over to my place and dropped me off, then had an interesting time getting back to their hotel. The gps took them to Santa Clara instead of the 3 blocks to the correct spot.
We then went to Monterey in the Morning. It was a nice drive up, and we got to talk a good bit. Once we got there we went to the aquarium and had a very nice time going through all the exhibits. I really liked the masses of small fish that they had in all the tanks. It is mesmerizing to watch the fluctuations that they do together. I would love to see more things like this, and maybe I should put it in some of the games I do.
We walked around downtown Monterrey for a bit and decided to head back for dinner. We ended up just ordering ahead for some take-out chinese and going back to the hotel to watch the Oscars. We played a round of Codenames and had a good bit of fun doing so.
Monday evening we had dinner at Scratch, which was quite nice. Everyone was a bit late, so it didn’t matter particularly much. The food was good, and to everyone’s liking. It was a very nice second meeting for my parents and Stephanie’s parents.
The last time I saw my parents before they headed out was at lunch on Tuesday. We ended up having a nice quite lunch at an Italian place nearby my work, mainly because the two places I wanted to take them had lines that would have taken 20-30 minutes.
I really enjoyed their visit, and it was perfectly timed with Steph having the martial arts seminars.
Steph and I joined Nick in his shared cabin for a weekend of skiing/snowboarding in Tahoe. We went to Heavenly the first day and I sat out the second day when the two of them went to Kirkwood. I really enjoyed most of the runs, but the traverses were terrible, and at one point I had to hike a couple hundred yards through powder, which wasn’t pleasant in the least.
A lot of other people we knew were there that weekend, including Andrew, Debby, Riley, Rong, and Adam. Kevin and Lindsay also came to Tahoe, but they were staying in the casino and not on the slopes. After the skiing we had dinner at Capisce? and it was pretty tasty. Then we played a few rounds of Codenames and a lot of the triple wheel slot machine. It was a good time all around. I relaxed a lot on Sunday and got caught up with work. I also got some more shelves for our kitchen. I really enjoyed having the day to myself.
I really liked this book. It had a lot less angst than the previous two. There was also a lot of resolution to the stories, as opposed to open endedness from the first two in the series. There was a bit of a vague ending with the final bad guy, but it might be more clear for me exactly what was going on if I were to re-read it a time or two. I’m not going to write more as to not spoil it.
Steph and I were joined by Irene, Tina, and Jeremy for a nice paint nite. I got a mixed coffee drink, and decided to go way off from the guide once the background was done. I really liked how the kitties turned out and bonus points if anyone knows who the person is in my painting.
Stephanie and I joined her parents for dinner on Monday in San Carlos. The San Carlos area is really nice, and I enjoyed the dinner. We went to the French restaurant, Cuisinett. The food and service were fantastic. I got the duck salad, which was made perfectly. I really enjoy a well cooked duck, and the salad was very fresh tasting.
It's an Exciting World 