It's been busy. We seem to have had our share of quick visits these past two months. After my brother came down to celebrate my birthday with us, Isa's Ninang Jen came down from Virginia Beach for a little quality time.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
It's typical, though, for Jen to come down every year for some time in the Florida sun. Although I had to work I was able to join the girls for dinner and then lunch before I went to work. Unlike years passed the visit was pretty low key. No clubs or bars, but rather what Jen likes to do best - SHOP. A few days alter she flew down to Naples to meet another friend to chill out. I was just glad that Isabella got to spend some time with her godmother and do some bonding.
The next week we were visited by El's sister, Lalaine, and her husband, Joe, from Connecticut. Again another dual purpose visit was lined up. One day with us and then a day with EJ and her husband, a high school friend from Goose Creek, who happened to live nearby in Tampa.
Friday we planned on going boating, but the spotty weather forced us to change our plans. Instead we ended up having lunch and drinks in Tampa at Castaways and then hang out at the beach in Clearwater. The weather held up decently for a couple of hours, but rain came in quickly as it did consistently all week. We packed it up and met up with EJ and Corey for dinner close to their home.
By 8ish it was time to say goodbye to Joe and Lalaine and head back home. Although it was also a quick trip, again Isa was able to spend some time with her auntie and uncle, whom she bonded with quickly.
Friday we planned on going boating, but the spotty weather forced us to change our plans. Instead we ended up having lunch and drinks in Tampa at Castaways and then hang out at the beach in Clearwater. The weather held up decently for a couple of hours, but rain came in quickly as it did consistently all week. We packed it up and met up with EJ and Corey for dinner close to their home.
By 8ish it was time to say goodbye to Joe and Lalaine and head back home. Although it was also a quick trip, again Isa was able to spend some time with her auntie and uncle, whom she bonded with quickly.
Again the damn weather messed up plans and we decided to go to Celebration to let Isa play at the park (very quickly) and then Downtown Disney to watch Hulk 2, which was pretty awesome - so much better than the first Hulk. I gotta tell you Edward Norton did well as Bruce Banner. He was very much in tune to Bill Bixby's character in the tv series role. Even the storyline was significantly stronger than the first.
Afterwards we decided to have dinner at BJs Brewpub, which opened up a location closer to home. What a disaster. I hate to say it - they sucked. The Millennia Mall location, although had shitty service, always managed to put out great food. I can't say that the Loop location did anything right. Slow service and an inattentive server only frustrated me more with real shitty food - sold out entrees, missing side dishes and overcooked, dry food. I can honestly say that we will NEVER come back to this location. What a joke. They won't last long.
Afterwards we decided to have dinner at BJs Brewpub, which opened up a location closer to home. What a disaster. I hate to say it - they sucked. The Millennia Mall location, although had shitty service, always managed to put out great food. I can't say that the Loop location did anything right. Slow service and an inattentive server only frustrated me more with real shitty food - sold out entrees, missing side dishes and overcooked, dry food. I can honestly say that we will NEVER come back to this location. What a joke. They won't last long.
Finally at long last we came home where I was able to try out El's new toy, the Wii Fit. We purchased the rare Nintendo Wii awhile back but never really got to play it. Since then I've been logging a little time on it with the Wii Fit and MarioKart (which my bro, Ricky, got me for my birthday - thanks man!). Basically a good day just some hiccups along the way...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Memorial & Birthday Weekend
Weeks ago El had tempted me with a trip somewhere to celebrate my aging. Cool. Seattle, San Fran, Vancouver, Charlotte and Vegas were thrown out there as possibilities. They all sounded good to me. Lately on vacations I've been wanting to go places where we could get lost as tourists. I also had the idea of inviting my older brother Ricky to join in - it's very rare that we even get to hang out anymore and knowing he's been under a lot of stress as well I though it would be cool.
I wanted to take it easy his first day so it was just a day of running errands and chilling at the house. While we did that I took El to Totally Me Salon on Conroy to enjoy the last of her Mother's Day gift of a haircut and manicure/pedicure. We had lunch at O'Boy's barbecue where Ricky and Isa bonded and later in the evening El let me and him head out to the theater to catch the new Indiana Jones flick. I was looking forward to the film and while it didn't disappoint it did feel lacking in some respects. It's obvious Lucas and Spielberg tried to recapture the old spirit of the previous films, but let's face it...Indy is just too godd*mn old to do what he used to do. Still it had left me with good closure (Brody and Henry Sr. both passed away, Indy reunites with Marion - whom I felt was trying too hard to "act", and couple of other surprises). I think what I loved most about the previous films was despite incredible storylines they were always done in a believable, gritty way. Indy got banged up. Special effects were kept to a minimum. Now it seems every movie, including this one, has to use CGI somewhere and the film suffered somewhat from it. It was also interesting to see in the beginning the motorcycle scene that El and I watched firsthand at Yale while attending Lalaine and Joe's wedding
I had hoped to get to Moss Park to have a cookout and run the boat on the lake, but inclement weather canceled that. Instead Ricky prepared us some Udon Noodle Soup for breakfast and in the evening we cooked out at the house. El had prepared a Greek-inspired Beef Kebobs with Tzatziki Sauce and pita.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
