Dinner & a movie...Take 2

Mom, you'll love this one.

Back on Valentine's Day, my Mom was in town for a conference so of course we took complete advantage of the situation and decided to go out for dinner and a movie. More of the new theatres are incorporating a screen that is attached to a kitchen so you can order dinner and eat while watching the movie. So Mr. S bought made reservations, Mom babysat and off we went (the movie was Jumper, btw; mindlessly entertaining but not stellar by any means). Long story short, the kitchen was grossly understaffed and we ordered but never received food. We were compensated with free passes to another movie, which we decided to use this week to see Indiana Jones (you'll have to ask me directly for my thoughts on that since I don't want to spoil it for anyone).

While I arranged for a sitter last week, I forgot to tell her what time to get here so I called her Wednesday night (show was Thursday). Glad I did because she had an emergency come up and couldn't watch Gavin. [Insert expletive!!!] Thursday was the last night IJ would be in this special dinner theatre; we had to go! After an hour of frantic phone calling to everyone we could think of who wouldn't be terrified at the thought of watching Gavin, our friend Nate said he'd watch him (yay!!!).

Fast forward to Thursday: we leave work early to race to get Gavin and get home (show's at 6:20 in a town west of downtown that would normally take 20 minutes to get to but factor in rush hour traffic). Nate finally gets to our house, we quickly walk him through dinner and bedtime routine and off we go. We get to the theatre with 15 minutes to spare and just as we're about to relax and look forward to meal with the much-anticipated IJ movie..... "You'll be in theatre 14, which is off to your left and down the hall."

Um, excuse me?????

About an hour beforehand the management and staff were notified that a private party was taking over the dinner theatre screen and the showing that was already scheduled (and obviously tickets had sold for) would be moved to a different screen. Can you say "pissed?" We were (and still kind of are) LIVID!!!! It's more than just coming to see the movie, it's the experience of that particular screen with dinner. We hadn't eaten (starving!), rushed to get there and now things had been changed. The movie management staff was furious as well. We could tell because we immediately sought one out to find out what was going on. We didn't get an answer other than the decision was made above the staff actually working that night and no one was told until mere minutes beforehand.

Fortunately, we were compensated, yet again, with free passes. This time they are not dated so we don't have to use them within 180 days. AND they are for the VIP seats, whatever that means...we'll find out.

I'm still not satisfied though. I learned while waiting for the movie to start that not everyone seemed to be compensated, or to the same level, that we had been. Nor did anyone from management come in to make an official "I'm so sorry but we hope you still love us; everyone gets free popcorn" statement. I sent the theatre chain a scathing e-mail demanding an explanation. We'll see what happens.

Oh, and I think we're going to go see The Dark Knight with our new set of passes.

Sadly, you know this is going to be my kid someday

I'm not the only one

I'm sure people roll their eyes or mime the gag reflex or something when I say that I miss Mr. S so much when he travels and I really don't care for him being gone (despite the fact that when he's not here I can keep the house soooooooooooo much cleaner; it's weird).

Monte deeply despises him not being here. In fact, Monte all out loathes change. Only where I get mopey and blah, Monte's feelings manifest themselves in the form of vomit. Usually in the kitchen or dining room. It was especially fun last night to come downstairs to make Gavin's bedtime bottle while he's crying in his crib and find dog vomit waiting for me at the base of the stairs. *sigh*

Oh, and if you think this is bad just because the Master of the House is gone, imagine what it was like for the first couple weeks Gavin was home. I'm soooo thankful for my MIL who took the time and energy to focus on him as well and hand fed him for a few days.

Is it Tuesday yet?

Mr. S has gone to Chicago for the NRA show. He'll be back on Tuesday night.








*Sigh*

You may be wondering what I'm doing up this early on a Saturday. For you non-parents out there, The Schedule rules. The Schedule shall not be altered. And rather than desperately attempting to sleep until Gavin gets up, I decided to spend one glorious hour with my bathrobe and my coffee cup just enjoying the quiet of early morning and the cool breeze through the windows. :)

I recently joined Facebook and have actually been enjoying it, though I still don't get the whole application thing and don't really have time to play the games. I've reconnected with some old friends and THAT is awesome. On friend, Liz, and I go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. There is a picture of her mom holding me when I was a very little baby; 4 or 5 months old maybe?? Our families have been friends forever, thanks to the Navy. Anyway, she and her family still live out East so when we're in the area for Mr. S' family reunion, I'm totally stealing a day or two and visiting them and also try to meet up with my aunt and uncle in DC maybe. I don't get out East too often and I'm dying to see these people again. I loathe the idea of taking Gavin farther from his grandparents but a part of me still dreams of going home.

Alright...in the interest of truly enjoying the 30 minutes or so I have left before Gavin must be up I shall log off. Have a wonderful day to you all! :) (oh, and happy moving to Auntie Swa. I'm sorry to say that I don't envy you just now but soon you'll be settled in and it will be WONDERFUL. Treat yourself: light some candles and take a bubble bath then dance around your living room) ;)

I so have moments like this:

Mmmmmm...Cow...

This one's for you steak lovers out there!! We had this for dinner last night and it was soooo simple and SOOOOOO tasty I needed to share:

2 rib-eye steaks (about 1 1/4" thick although mine were thinner than that; they just cooked faster)
1 medium onion
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Havarti cheese
Baguette

Slice up the onion really thin. Heat some EVOO (yes, I follow RR) over medium to medium high heat and add the onion and vinegar. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat another pan, grill pan or grill. Rub EVOO, salt and pepper into your steaks and put on the grill. If you have the recommended thickness, cook them about 6 minutes per side for medium doneness. When cooked, remove the steaks and cover with foil tent to rest. Split open the baguette and toast on the grill or under the broiler (you want to cut the baguette down to size for about a 4" or 6" sandwich).

Can you see where the yumminess is going? Trim the steaks down so the fit nicely on the baguette. On the bread, lay your steak, a slice or two of Havarti, some of the balsamic onions and put the top of the bread on. YUM!!!!!!

Now, that's the basic recipe. We decided the next time we have this I'm going to get a different kind of bread though; one that we don't need to be Jaws to eat.

Try this and let me know what you think! :)

The Washing Machine has a sidekick...

For years I've held this belief that the washing machine either is or holds captive some kind of being that survives on socks. I mean, how else can you describe the Lonely Sock Phenomenon?

Yesterday while sorting laundry I realized that this being has a partner in it's despicable crimes: the Laundry Chute. Gavin got multiple pairs of socks for Christmas and pretty much right after the, maybe, second washing a couple pairs were unfortunately destined to be lonely for the rest of their days. Well, when I was pulling clothes out of the laundry chute, for some reason I decided to poke my head in and see if anything was left. Lo and behold I found one of the socks from Christmas! It has to have been in the chute for 4 months.

Beware Laundry Room beasts... I'm on to your trickery!!