{"id":2444,"date":"2013-12-22T20:09:45","date_gmt":"2013-12-23T02:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/?p=2444"},"modified":"2013-12-22T20:09:45","modified_gmt":"2013-12-23T02:09:45","slug":"vacation-christmas-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/?p=2444","title":{"rendered":"Vacation: Christmas Early"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saturday was Christmas.\u00a0 I know it\u2019s only the 21st<\/sup>, but sometimes you have to bend to meet the situation.<\/p>\n

This morning, Rick and I ran out on our errand.\u00a0 It\u2019s a ways down to South Elgin, but it is definitely worth the trip.\u00a0 We went to Herb\u2019s Bakery to pick up a carrot cake that I had ordered for Sascha\u2019s fifth birthday.\u00a0 On Christmas (or around there somewhere), Sascha celebrates her birthday.\u00a0 Rick decided that we needed to get the cake from Herb\u2019s.<\/p>\n

I had called in the order.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing how many decisions you have to make when ordering a simple cake.\u00a0 Herb\u2019s cakes are definitely worth the effort.\u00a0 The cake was carrot with cream cheese frosting and cream cheese in between the layers.\u00a0 Apparently, there is a fancy frosting you could get, but I went with the plain since Rich and Rick aren\u2019t fond of nuts.<\/p>\n

I got back to the house and was able to clean up.\u00a0 From there, Rick wanted to open gifts.\u00a0 He donned his Santa hat and began handing out packages to individuals.\u00a0 Sascha got to open her gift first.\u00a0 The Perez family sent Sascha a little something.\u00a0 We work with Carolyn and Sergio, who own a full Husky named Professor Fuzzibottom.\u00a0 We tried to get Sascha to open the package herself, but she just didn\u2019t understand the concept.\u00a0 It was a green alligator with 8 different squeakers.\u00a0 It has become the toy that she lays on in the office now.<\/p>\n

Our tradition is to open each gift and rotate through each of us.\u00a0 I thought we all did well.\u00a0 The guys might have wanted more specific gifts, but I didn\u2019t think they did too badly.\u00a0 Rick had gotten one of his gifts early.\u00a0 He received the components to build his own computer from his father.\u00a0 Being technical or a software developer means that you have to understand what it takes for a computer to work.\u00a0 Building one is the best way to learn.\u00a0 Let me tell you from personal experience, it\u2019s a lot easier now than it used to be.\u00a0 Rick\u2019s face was priceless when he opened the chainmail pouch.\u00a0 I thought it was interesting and a good additional to his Ren Faire outfit.\u00a0 Maybe not.<\/p>\n

Rich got a new license plate holder for Sally.\u00a0 He picked it out for me to buy.\u00a0 So I know he got what he wanted.\u00a0 There was the usual beer calendar and undies, plus the new hiking socks.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t a hint, but he received items to help him organize his tools in the new garage.\u00a0 He got a couple of t-shirts with sayings.<\/p>\n

I got my calendars and chocolates.\u00a0 They are pretty well shared with everyone here though.\u00a0 I got a Colts t-shirt that looks like a jersey and champagne for my mimosas and Black Velvets.\u00a0 I like the practical gifts.\u00a0 The guys gave me hedgehogs for the dryer.\u00a0 Since I can\u2019t use fabric softener, the hedgehogs are to help with softening the clothes.\u00a0 These little spiky plastic guys are just thrown in with the load to tumble the clothes soft.\u00a0 I tried them and I thought they did a good job.<\/p>\n

It was time for our traditional Christmas dinner.\u00a0 Rich had been working on the rib roast all morning.\u00a0 The smells in the house were wonderful.\u00a0 Our dinner consists of rib roast, or roast Who beast and Yorkshire pudding.\u00a0 This is also Rick\u2019s favorite meal.\u00a0 We enjoyed our meal and family time.<\/p>\n

After cleaning up, we had dessert and our celebration of Sascha\u2019s birthday.\u00a0 Around Christmas time, Sascha was born.\u00a0 Her original name was Holly to honor her birthday.\u00a0 She turned 5 this year.\u00a0 This year, she responded when we sang, \u201cHappy Birthday.\u201d\u00a0 She danced around and was very excited.\u00a0 Then it came time to cut the cake and hand out the pieces.\u00a0 Rick gave Sascha hers.\u00a0 As soon as the plate hit the floor, the slice of cake was gone.\u00a0 I swore that I could hear it being sucked in.<\/p>\n

Now it was time to get Rick packed up.\u00a0 I had washed the new t-shirts and other clothing items.\u00a0 Rick repacked some of the items so he could take the new clothing.\u00a0 Then it was time to take him to the Gregorys\u2019 house.\u00a0 Loading up the car, I drove him over and said good-bye.\u00a0 I would miss Rick.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be the first time Rick has been gone, but it\u2019s been some time since he has been gone for this length of time.<\/p>\n

Back home, Rich and I settled in for the evening and the next two weeks without Rick.\u00a0 So we thought.\u00a0 Around 5:00, Rick popped into the house.\u00a0 Apparently, it was decided to pick up another controller for the PS3 for gaming while on vacation.\u00a0 For a second time, I said good-bye.<\/p>\n

Rich and I passed the evening quietly and making plans for our vacation.\u00a0 We are planning to go to Michigan for a few days.\u00a0 Otherwise, we have several projects around the house as well as the opportunity to fix some foods we\u2019ve wanted to make for a while.\u00a0 Rich is a great gourmet cook and vacation gives him the time to cook.\u00a0 I plan to eat well.<\/p>\n

Now vacation starts.<\/p>\n

\"Rick<\/a>
Rick and Sascha enjoying some time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"I<\/a>
I got my annual Beagle calendar for the kitchen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rich<\/a>
Rich got his beer calendar for his desk at work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rick<\/a>
Rick was happy, but he didn’t look too happy here with the mini Marshall amp speaker for his phone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rich<\/a>
Rich got a couple of interesting t-shirts. I liked the one that said, “A man has to brew what a man has to brew.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rick<\/a>
Rick got more Asimov’s Robot series books. Reading for his trip.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Now<\/a>
Now I can celebrate my Colts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hiking<\/a>
Hiking socks! Now Rich will be ready for hiking on vacation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rick<\/a>
Rick had been asking for a Jack Harkness coat. The best he could do was a t-shirt with the coat imprinted on it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hedgehogs<\/a>
Hedgehogs for the dryer. This is a cool idea. They seem to work also.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"I<\/a>
I got Rich a Fit bracelet to track his waking and sleeping. It would be interesting to see what it says about him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A chainmail pouch for ren faire. Rick wondered about it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rich<\/a>
Rich carving the rib roast for our Christmas dinner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Our<\/a>
Our Christmas dinner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sascha<\/a>
Sascha waiting for the birthday song and then a slice of cake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Snuggle<\/a>
Snuggle time with Dad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Saturday was Christmas.\u00a0 I know it\u2019s only the 21st, but sometimes you have to bend to meet the situation. This morning, Rick and I ran out on our errand.\u00a0 It\u2019s a ways down to South Elgin, but it is definitely worth the trip.\u00a0 We went to Herb\u2019s Bakery to pick up a carrot cake that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2463,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444\/revisions\/2463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}