Turkey Days and Electronic Nights
This was an exciting Thanksgiving. Let me explain.
The plan was to have ten guests over for a big turkey dinner on Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). As we all know, nothing ever goes according to plan.
Thanksgiving Thursday:
Stephanie's mom, sister, and grandparents were among the invited guests--her mom, being the communication link for the four, got it in her head that a Thanksgiving dinner can only be eaten on Thanksgiving, so that's when they showed up. Without warning. After a two hour drive.
Fortunately, Stephie and I had done a fair amount of cleaning Wednesday evening (so we could take it easy on Thursday and be mentally ready for guests)--but not nearly enough for my Love's exacting standards. And of course, there was no food ready (except for what her grandparents brought). So, after a short freak-out period, they went and picked up a ham, and we had a ham Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving. After dinner, they rather awkwardly let themselves out. I guess we didn't really gain many relations points with Stephie's mom's side of the family this time...
Anywho, after cleaning up from that, Keith showed up as expected, to visit and await Friday's festivities.
Black Friday:
Stephie and I found a Black Friday deal we couldn't resist on a plasma TV (as our old TVs are hand-me-downs or dorm-room purchases; hardly fit for modern console gaming). So we got up at 4:30AM, went to Circuit City, purchased it (and the little additive accoutrements that are necessary but unforseen and rack up the bill), and promptly discovered it wouldn't fit in our car. Great. So we came back home, napped for a few hours, and waited for the time to begin cooking. At that point, while Steph looked after the turkey, Keith and I went out to drop off extra food for baking at my parents' house, grab some supplies that were unexpectedly used up on Thursday, and pick up the TV in his slightly-bigger car.
Still not big enough! But fortunately, the Circuit City folks had the idea to take the top off of the TV shipping box, shaving a few inches and allowing us to fit it inside. Whew!
At home, the rest of the guests slowly arrived--Shaun, Ian, Sherry, and my parents. While we waited for dinner to cook, we played Guillotine and Taboo. Then was food, which was quite good. Afterward, we played Settlers of Catan, and then enlisted people's help in setting up the TV and TV stand. (Shaun was MVP for all three efforts) We also convinced Kyle to stop by.
Then, of course, we had to try out the TV, which consisted of firing up the XBox and watching The Guild. Afterward, past midnight, everyone except our out-of-the-area visitors (Keith and Shaun) went back home, and we all went to bed.
Gaming Saturday:
On Saturday, we convinced Ian and Kyle to come back, as well as (at various times) Mike, Jenn, and Joe. We played Red Dragon Inn, which apparently will net at least two sales of the game. (It is a lot of fun!) Before that, we also played some Mario Kart.
Finally, everyone except Shaun filed out.
Simple Sunday:
On Sunday, Shaun left early in the afternoon, and Stephie and I relaxed, cleaned up, and tried out Munchkin Quest. And went to bed early.
The plan was to have ten guests over for a big turkey dinner on Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). As we all know, nothing ever goes according to plan.
Thanksgiving Thursday:
Stephanie's mom, sister, and grandparents were among the invited guests--her mom, being the communication link for the four, got it in her head that a Thanksgiving dinner can only be eaten on Thanksgiving, so that's when they showed up. Without warning. After a two hour drive.
Fortunately, Stephie and I had done a fair amount of cleaning Wednesday evening (so we could take it easy on Thursday and be mentally ready for guests)--but not nearly enough for my Love's exacting standards. And of course, there was no food ready (except for what her grandparents brought). So, after a short freak-out period, they went and picked up a ham, and we had a ham Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving. After dinner, they rather awkwardly let themselves out. I guess we didn't really gain many relations points with Stephie's mom's side of the family this time...
Anywho, after cleaning up from that, Keith showed up as expected, to visit and await Friday's festivities.
Black Friday:
Stephie and I found a Black Friday deal we couldn't resist on a plasma TV (as our old TVs are hand-me-downs or dorm-room purchases; hardly fit for modern console gaming). So we got up at 4:30AM, went to Circuit City, purchased it (and the little additive accoutrements that are necessary but unforseen and rack up the bill), and promptly discovered it wouldn't fit in our car. Great. So we came back home, napped for a few hours, and waited for the time to begin cooking. At that point, while Steph looked after the turkey, Keith and I went out to drop off extra food for baking at my parents' house, grab some supplies that were unexpectedly used up on Thursday, and pick up the TV in his slightly-bigger car.
Still not big enough! But fortunately, the Circuit City folks had the idea to take the top off of the TV shipping box, shaving a few inches and allowing us to fit it inside. Whew!
At home, the rest of the guests slowly arrived--Shaun, Ian, Sherry, and my parents. While we waited for dinner to cook, we played Guillotine and Taboo. Then was food, which was quite good. Afterward, we played Settlers of Catan, and then enlisted people's help in setting up the TV and TV stand. (Shaun was MVP for all three efforts) We also convinced Kyle to stop by.
Then, of course, we had to try out the TV, which consisted of firing up the XBox and watching The Guild. Afterward, past midnight, everyone except our out-of-the-area visitors (Keith and Shaun) went back home, and we all went to bed.
Gaming Saturday:
On Saturday, we convinced Ian and Kyle to come back, as well as (at various times) Mike, Jenn, and Joe. We played Red Dragon Inn, which apparently will net at least two sales of the game. (It is a lot of fun!) Before that, we also played some Mario Kart.
Finally, everyone except Shaun filed out.
Simple Sunday:
On Sunday, Shaun left early in the afternoon, and Stephie and I relaxed, cleaned up, and tried out Munchkin Quest. And went to bed early.