Dad Dreaming

My dad passed away in 2003, but for the last month or so I've been having dreams with him in them - occurring maybe once or twice a week. Usually I'm just hanging out and chatting with him, although I can't remember anything that we were talking about.

Last night was another one. They are quite a blessing and I hope this trend continues.

They're certainly better than the dreams with mobs of mad midgets.

Family Sports Car

Recently, Amanda reminded me of yet another reason why she dislikes my car. Because if we need to use it in a clinch or an emergency, we would be unable to transport the kids in it.

Well, last weekend we wanted to drop off our main family car (a red Ford Escape) at the dealership for some maintenance, but the friend that usually picks me up for things like this wasn't available.

So I decided that since we upgraded Emily's car seat not too long ago to one that can be secured with a shoulder belt , and since both kids' seats have been facing the front (not facing rearward) for a while now, and since there was also a need to use my car for this purpose - it was time to attempt to fit the two car seats in it.

And sure enough - viola!





Sure, we have to move the front seats up a little bit further than their normal position, but IT WORKS! We actually used my car for the whole weekend too.









In the last picture, you can see that I used the seats' tether straps too, just to make them extra secure.

Weekend Update

This weekend was great! In only two days, I/we fit in the following:

Enjoyed a family outing.
To celebrate Lucas being potty trained, we rewarded him by going to Chuch-E-Cheese's for pizza dinner and games on Friday evening.

Enjoyed a date night.
I arranged for a babysitter on Friday night so Amanda and I could go out. We didn't do anything too exciting (Barnes and Nobles for coffee and dessert, then Wal-Mart to find some mother's day gifts and cards), but it was nice to have time together, away from home and without the kids.

Had a guys' night out.
To celebrate my friend Michael's 32nd birthday, his wife arranged a surprise poker party. So I got to play poker with five other guys on Saturday night - and I almost doubled my money.

Was productive.

• I purchased my old work laptop for $98 + tax. They completely erased the hard drive, so I installed Ubuntu (Linux) Multimedia Center RC1 on it. It installed faster and runs faster than Windows, has a nicer interface, and all of the programs that I need it for are already included too. And it's FREE!
  
• I prepped and painted the first coat on our downstairs bathroom. Amanda finished the second coat while I was playing poker with the guys. Then Sunday I returned the bathroom to functional status again.
  
• I finished the modifications to my front car speaker boxes. I hope to install them tonight.
  

Had Church fellowship.
In addition to Sunday morning, we attended a joint pot luck Sunday evening with our church and the local Home Start program.

Went outdoors and got some exercise.
We went for a (approximately) four mile jog on Sunday morning, with me pushing the double jogger. We also took a short walk Sunday evening.

Taming of the Salmon Shrew

Well, my father-in-law has accomplished what I thought was impossible. He convinced Amanda to actually say that she liked the taste of salmon and, get this - would like to cook it more often.

This is a battle I have been fighting for as many years as we've been together. I really enjoy a well-prepared salmon (blackened, lemon pepper, cream sauce, etc), but aside from the occasional fish stick Amanda absolutely refuses to eat anything that swims.

When her parents were visiting though, my father in-law cooked a salmon that she not only tried, but enthusiastically approved of.

The surprisingly simple recipe is below:

• Put it on an olive oil covered grill pan (we bought one at Bed Bath and Beyond).
• Rub olive oil on the whole salmon (front and back).
• Shake lemon pepper and seasoned salt on it.
• Grill with the lid on for 10-15 minutes or until it flakes.

Success at last!