Russ drove back to Missouri, after work, on Tuesday night (Valentine’s Day) due to a court appearance we both needed to make on Wednesday (more about that later).  Keeping everything as a surprise is always hard for me… because I want to say, “This is what I did!”.  BUT, I managed to keep my mouth shut.

We started the evening at Jimm’s steakhouse in Springfield… which used to be Steak and Ale.  The meal was wonderful and we had a great time.  We drove home, and when Russ walked in the door all of his presents were lined up on the kitchen table.  He had a huge heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie that I had decorated with red icing, and some peanut butter/bacon/chocolate bars (they were different, definitely!  But not bad!).  Russ also got several frog items (I kissed a lot of frogs before I got him as my prince charming!), a levitating globe for his office, some cologne and other miscellaneous items.  The girls got him a talking stuffed dog that looks like them- and probably says the same things they would!

He got me 4 pieces of jewelry… all with a different message of love in Gaelic. Little did I realize that there was going to be a test and I needed to study!  Here are the messages:
A heart pendant (with the Celtic knot on it) says, “Mo Thaisce” (means “My Dear”).
Another heart pendant has his and my birthstones.
A pair of earrings (cubic zirconia, because I constantly lose earrings)
He got me a “Solar Eclipse ring“, and it has engraving on the inner and outer part of both rings. The outside of the outer ring says, “Mo Chroi” (love of my heart), inside says “Mo Sioghra” (my eternal love). The outside of the inner band says “Ta Tu Go Halainn” (You are beautiful), the inside says “Graim Thu” (I love you).
It all came with a little card that said, “Mo Chuid Den Tsaol” (my love, my friend, my share of life)

— I cried.  I’m not sure, but I think he might like me. 

On Wednesday we went to court (regarding a lawsuit with family over my deceased mother’s estate) and while it was MY mother (and Russ is just my boyfriend), he got sued as well.  We had our first hearing in June regarding the case… and this hearing was a lot of rehashing of stuff that was discussed in June.  But, in the end, the decision of the judge was what our attorney’s hoped/figured it would be… so I hope that this is the end, and that it’s truly light at the end of the tunnel, and not a train.  (knowing my luck, though… it’s a train)

On Saturday we were SUPPOSED to have a poker game.  Sadly there were several folks missing due to birthday parties and the flu… so we ended up cancelling it late on Saturday afternoon and moving it to this next Saturday (and everyone is a “yes” to coming… as well as a few new folks).  So, we sat around the house and had a quiet evening.

And that is all the news I have to report for this last week.  Next week we’ll talk about the poker game and anything else that happens during this week (though I expect it to be quiet).

Have a great week!

Last week was a very quiet week for me… visited my friend in the hospital (who had graduated from ICU to a regular room, and got to go home on Saturday!  Big changes since they didn’t expect her to survive the night a few weeks ago!).  Friday night was fun, as we met our friends (Gary, Jennifer and Keith) for dinner at a local sushi place that we have (or, rather, had) fallen in love with.  Sadly the service was HORRENDOUS (it took us almost 2 hours to get our sushi) and the food quality was… eh.  Which was dissapointing since the last time we were there (around Christmas) everything was great.  I hope that it was just some sort of weirdness that they encountered on Friday night, and it isn’t going to be the new “norm”.

Saturday we went to pick up 2 (of the 4) of our new dining room chairs.  The table and chairs that I have has been in MY posession for the last 22 years.  My parents bought it when I was about 8, and used it until I was 12 (when it was put into storage).  SO… the table/chairs are about 32 years old.  The local craftsman we purchased it from is still in business, and we visited him recently to get a chair repaired… and while there we found chairs we really liked (that were more suited for our “plus size” stature) and ordered them.  They had to build the chairs and then try to stain them to match the table (they’re close!).  The other chairs will be ready in a few months… we told them that there was no rush on the next set, and they have other orders to get filled before working on our next set of chairs.

After picking up the chairs, we went out to dinner in Springfield (MO) at a sports bar I found out about Saturday morning.  The name is Bair’s, and they had WONDERFUL burgers!  Russ got the BBQ brisket burger (about $10), but it was a 1/2 pound burger patty COVERED in an equal amount of BBQ brisket.  I got the All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp (every day they have a menu special… a few days each week there were “buy 1 burger, get one 1/2 price” specials), which came with 2 sides (typically coleslaw and fries).  I ended up picking fried dill pickle slices and onion rings as my sides (also AYCE, from my understanding).  The basket of butterflied shrimp was MASSIVE, and came with additional baskets of onion rings (yummy!) and pickles (heavenly!).  Before our meal, though, we got the “Cheddar Munchers” (a lot like the “cheesy tots” that Burger King USED to have… but much better tasting!) that came with a WONDERFUL homemade ranch (as did my pickles and onion rings).  They also have a daily Long Island Iced Tea special ($3) and other days they have other drink specials as well.  Needless to say, we enjoyed our meal a LOT… and ate ourselves silly and there was a ton of food still left on the table.

Once home, we had our friends Aimee, and her son, Spenser, over for Rock Band night… while they played Rock Band with Russ I tackled getting laundry done and then proceeded to turn into bartender for everyone… which turned into a “trial and error” drink mixing session for me.  A few hours later I had abused my liver way too much… so Russ helped me to bed (the room was spinning way to fast for me to do it on my own).

Sunday I got up and did our weekly grocery shopping… which I wouldn’t have done, except they were calling for a “winter storm” to hit Sunday night.  After I got home from shopping and putting everything away, we headed to Springfield for dinner (we chose Red Lobster).  I was actually somewhat surprised at the situation in Springfield… every parking lot was covered in a heavy coat of salt.  SO, when I got home I decided to follow their lead and put a nice coat of salt down on our porch and ramp, just in case I needed to go somewhere today.  The snow didn’t start until 3am or so.  By noon, the snow was melting (it was hovering right at freezing) and my porch and ramp was almost completely clear.  What little bit of snow (about 3″) that was sticking around was escorted off the decking by broom. 

Of course, as we’re leaving Red Lobster (we traveled there in separate vehicles), Mr. Smarty Pants (aka Russ) was at a stoplight (no one was near us) and revved his engine a little bit.  I thought, “Fine, I’ll race you if that is what you want” and the light turned green and I floored it.  I easily pulled away from him and then discovered I was speeding (he apparently realized the same thing, at about the same time) so I slowed down.  I called him and we had fun giggling about it.  But I wondered WHY I was able to pull away like that, especially since I assumed the SUV he was driving (A Ford Explorer, Eddie Bauer edition) was a LOT lighter than the SUV I drive (Cadillac Escalade ESV… which is MUCH longer than his vehicle).  So, once I got home I decided to investigate… weirdly enough both vehicles weigh the same (1 pound difference), but I have more horsepower… which was obvious.  It was still a lot of fun… girls rule!

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day… today I have completed getting Russ’s presents wrapped and placed in the gift bag for him.  Cards have my heartfelt thoughts written in them and they’re tucked into the gift bag as well.  There will be a few homemade gifts that I’m going to finish up tonight… those will be outside the bag for him to encounter when he first gets home tomorrow night.  Before he gets home, though (provided the bad roads are actually cleared), we will meet in Springfield for dinner at a secret place.

You’re probably thinking, “Home tomorrow night?”… yes, it’s true… even though he typically works Monday-Thursday at his office in Arkansas, he will be back in Missouri on Valentine’s Day.  No, not because he’s soooo romantic he couldn’t stand not seeing me, but because we are both having to appear in court on Wednesday.  The court hearing revolves around the estate of my mother, who passed away in October 2008… and it’s been one heck of an experience trying to get all of this settled, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the end of the whole thing.  I HOPE.

Okay, enough on my tales for this week!  Next week I’ll tell you about dinner, his presents, the court hearing and our monthly game night (which is Saturday).

Have a great week!
Cheryl