So I was originally going to sit down and write a five-year anniversary post. I even started to do so. I realized, however, that I hadn’t written anything about my day yesterday…and it was an awesome day. So much so, that I think putting down a chronicle of that day is much more important. To me, anyway. Your mileage, as the saying goes, may vary.
When I got back from Dragon*Con last week, I promised my son that we’d spend a day together over the weekend. We got to go to Dragon*Con. J. got to go to his grandmother’s house for a weekend (where he got a PSP and assorted other loot). It seemed only fair I devote a day to Alex. I made no plans in Warcraft or around the house. Sunday was going to be his day.
Woke up relatively early, and made breakfast for the family. Omelete’s all around! It started with just one for Alex, but as everyone started to smell my wonderful cooking I ended up making three more. Not that I minded, really. I actually enjoy cooking, when it’s appreciated, and my breakfasts are almost always appreciated. I got dinner in the crock pot (pot roast…mmm), grabbed a quick shower, and then Alex and I were off.
Our first stop was at a place called Congo River Golf in Clearwater. It’s a nifty little mini-golf course that an interesting little bonus feature – you can feed baby alligators there. They have a partnership with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and a small habitat near the entrance. What’s most amusing about it is that the three dollar “gator food” is a cut up hot dog. Anyway, a rousing game of mini-golf took place, with the score a dead heat going into the final two holes. A poor calculation on Alex’s part on the last hole that dropped him into a rock trap put the game to me by a margin of only 2 strokes! Of course, we were both so far over par it wasn’t funny. Yeah, not so much of a future in the professional golf tournament thing for either of us.
After we left there, we stopped by the Barnes and Noble on Sunset Point for some books and a snack. Picked up a copy of Marvel Zombies, Ultimate Spider-Man TPB #3, and the new Dragonlance novel. Got a Halo book for Alex as well, despite his fears that it was too thick for him to handle. I was a little taken back by that statement. I mean, the kid reads at a 10th grade level! He shouldn’t be intimidated by a 314 page novel about a video game. I guess it’s just the level of books that he’s reading as part of his fifth grade curriculum. That bothers me to an extent, but he didn’t test well enough to make it into the gifted program so what can I do? Anyway, I talked him into letting me buy him the book and he actually had the first chapter read before we got home.
Ah yes, I’ll be inflicting The Hobbit on him soon…muwahahahah.
Split one of those mondo cookies with him while he had a glass of milk and I sipped on a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I’m such a whore for Pumpkin Spice. Really.
Next stop was Bed, Bath and Beyond where I wanted to look for some metal tins to store my spices in. I was sick of looking at my boring spice rack, and rapidly running out of cupboard space for the ones that didn’t fit in it. Alton Brown has this system where he uses metal tins and velcro to put them inside of his cabinet doors. I figured I could ape that pretty easily.
I was wrong.
At Bed, Bath and Beyond the only tins they had were magnetized ones that cost $2.00 each. I figured if I was going to be putting velcro on them it was silly to spend extra on the magnets, so I passed. Alton had said you could get the tins at a Hardware store, so Home Depot was scheduled on to our afternoon agenda. I did, however, get a wooden cutting board (something I desperately needed).
For lunch we went to eat at a place called Sunset Subs. I used to eat there quite often when I worked at the Staples in the Sunset Point Shopping Center.
It’s not nearly as good as I remember it being.
At the Home Depot I was again thwarted in my efforts to get the metal tins and velcro. Realizing that Alex was being dragged to all kinds of Not Fun places, we decided we’d swing by the movie theater to see about going to a movie. Unfortunately, there was literally nothing that we wanted to see. A quick stop by Target also failed to produce the tins I was looking for. The closest I came was finding a candle making kit at Michaels that had four tins in it, but I wasn’t convinced that the seal on those was going to be strong enough to stay closed when hanging on a door.
Lowe’s – Nothing. Finally we ended up at Linen’s and Things, where I purchased 15 of the exact same kind of tins that I passed on at Bed, Bath and Beyond.
As a side note to that – It’s not exactly what Alton promoted, but I think I’m happier with what I ended up getting. I actually found a place online that I could purchase the tins from today, and they are much less expensive. However, when you add in shipping and the cost of the Velcro and China Markers needed to emulate his system exactly I’m only saving about 20 cents per tin. Not only that, but the tins don’t have a shake or pour option. I realize that by having a clear top and not being stored in the cupboard my spices won’t be preserved as well, but I don’t buy expensive spices like he does anyway. Not at this point in my life. I really like the way the spices look on the fridge in their jars, too. So I think, for now, I’m sticking with the magnetized ones. In fact, I’m heading over to a Linen’s and Things here in Brandon to buy more today.
After we left Lowe’s I let Alex pick our next destination, so we were off to Game Stop. Of course, he asked me to buy him a game. It was a used copy with no book, so I plopped down the 17 bucks and got it for him. I figured it was about what I would have spent taking him to the movies anyway.
When we got home J. was watching The Two Towers so Alex couldn’t get on his new game. Instead we played a few hands of Chez Geek. At that point, dinner was done so I got that out of the crock pot and we had delicious pot roast. Alex got in a game or two after that, and then it was time for him to shower and go to bed.
Once he was down, I got my lunch together for today and set up the coffee pot to automatically brew in the morning. Grabbed one of my new graphic novels and went back in the bedroom to hang out with K. while she studied. We watched a little TV while reading, talked a bit, and flirted so much that despite her still being somewhat sick nookie became a necessary way to end the evening.
Not that I’m ever…EVER…going to complain when THAT happens.
So yesterday was, in a word, incredible. I spent some awesome quality time with my boy. We talked. We laughed. I shared some things from my past with him, and he shared a place he enjoys with me. I got to cuddle (and other stuff) with K. Even got to hang with J. for a bit (he played Chez Geek with Alex and I…he’s in that “I’m listening to my iPod and playing on my PSP while watching television so who are you and why are you interrupting me” phase so getting quality time with him is kind of hard). Didn’t play much Warcraft at all, and that’s not such a bad thing. As John (Banick) said to me in an email, we all probably needed a little time unplugged.
I got some pictures of Alex and I goofing around at the golf course yesterday. If I get them uploaded tonight I’ll share. I may still write about the attacks later, but I wanted THIS memory to be first. When, in ten years, I start scrolling back through my September posts to remember what I was thinking I want these thoughts to be the ones to rush back to me. These feelings.
Because yesterday I can truly say that life was just about perfect.
You don’t get that often.
