How You Know You are Married to a Man

I tried calling my husband yesterday afternoon to let him know that I had picked up some of his favorite beer. When he didn't answer, I texted him, "Bought you a case of Augustiner, don't need to talk." He came home so excited, he said it was the best text message he had ever gotten. He had plenty of beer at home and he didn't even have to call me back.

Probably the longest, ongoing argument in the Roberts' House

It was 2002. I was 22, lived in an apartment with my best friend, and later moved in with Nick. I had dropped out of college, but was waiting tables full-time to pay my bills. My little sister was 17, living at home and going to high school. My parents decided to go out of town for the weekend and left my sister at home. Afterall, she had never done anything wrong and would never follow in my foot steps. Well, it turns out that my sister had a party and drank all of my dad's special Canadian Club. I don't think I even stepped foot in their house that weekend. I mean, I had my own apartment to have parties in and my own liquor to drink. I don't even like whiskey, or really liquor.
I don't know when my dad finally noticed that his liquor was gone, but I certainly heard about it. That's right y'all. My dad blamed me for taking his liquor. I know that I shouldn't have cared, but when you've spent your entire childhood being in trouble for everything you can possibly imagine, you don't really want to be blamed for something you didn't do. Yay! First Born. Anyway, my sister would never admit to drinking the liquor and usually got really mad at me and demanded that I drop it. Uhm! Clue number one. Or really 4, because, clues 1-3 were the fact that I had my own apartment, my own income, and a dislike for whiskey. Anyway, this argument has gone on in my family for the last 6 years. Nick has sat through it at probably every Christmas dinner. I needed to be absolved.
This year for Christmas, my sister gave all of us the best gift ever. She bought my dad a bottle of Crown Royal with a note that said, "I drank your liqour." Finally. I think 5 minutes after I saw it she said, "ok, can we drop it now?"
I guess so.

What's Going On?

Just A few things that are going on my life:

• Nick and I had a delicious and easy dinner last night. I marinated a flank steak for 24 hours in Stubb's Beef Marinade. Then Nick broiled it for about 8 minutes on each side. When it was finished he sliced it against the grain, we threw it on some tortillas with sauteed peppers and onions and a little Seriously Sharp White Cheddar Cheese. I made a little Mexican Rice to go on the side. It made a very satisfying meal.
• My sister has gone back to college and is living in her first, ever apartment. My mom says she is quite the homemaker. I am very proud of her, even if she doesn't seem to know her own address.
• This weekend Nick and drove around Richmond to check out the locations of houses we had seen for sale online. We didn't see anything that blew us away. Bottom line, I don't think we can afford a house in the location we want, with the space we need, and the charm and character I want. Most of which the townhouse we are renting right now gives us. So we are back to debating whether or not we should buy a house again or continue renting until I finish grad school. It would be nice to not have to worry about yard work on the weekends when I have to study.
• I have been organizing my desk and files today. This should make working a lot easier. I am very pleased with my work.

Family Visit

The family visit was wonderful, though not long enough. We spent a whole day near Charlottesville visiting wineries. My Mom was a little tipsy halfway through the first one. The country out there is beautiful. We started out at Barboursville, where we sampled seventeen wines. No wonder Mom was tipsy. I enjoyed their Merlot, Reisling and Chardonnay. Then we went 2 miles down the road to Horton. Mom and I only sampled the fruit wines. It was something new for both of us. While sweet, the Blackberry and the Blueberry were very good. The Pear was also good, reminding us of most white wines. Her favorite was Strawberry. Then we had to sit outside to allow Mom some time to sober up.


I like this picture. I am the shorty of the family, but it makes me look taller than my sister and my mom.

Then we went to Keswick. Keswick was by far the favorite. Mom liked that they had bar stools and food pairings. We bought a bottle of Chardonnay for our picninc and a bottle of their Heritage Red for later. We had a fabulous picnic at the vineyard. Italian Sandwiches, pasta salad, and Bitter Orange Crostata. We had a wonderful time, and enjoyed the nap on the way home while Nick drove.

The Roberts are coming!

My family is coming this weekend, all of them. My mom, dad, and sister. They should be driving up here as I type (when I really should be working). I am so excited. I have a wonderful Virginia weekend planned. We will do a little sight seeing tonight and then head out to dinner. Nick and I haven't been able to agree on a restaurant yet, so I'll let my family decide. Of course, I will make the places I want to eat sound delicious and the places Nick wants to go sound awful. Tomorrow is brunch at my favorite breakfast place and then we are heading towards Charlottesville to visit wineries and have a picnic. My sister is a wine steward, so it is a learning experience. After we get home, we will grill out, sample more wine, listen to music, and most likely, make Nick regret marrying me as we all break out into the Roberts' Dance. I can't wait.

In-laws

Unfortunately, the in-law invasion didn't happen. Just my parents-in-law came. My sister-in-law got put on bed rest a few days before they were supposed to visit and my niece got sick, so my brother-in-law stayed home to take care of his ladies. Bed rest must be miserable and Kit has a lot of work on his hands for the next few weeks. But my niece is adorable isn't she and is trying to help out.