A Bittersweet Week

Our week began with the highest of anticipation and expectation. The Champions League game starring our Manchester United and Barcelona (also sort of our Barça) was on Wednesday, and, sadly, United did not win. However, if someone had to beat us, we're okay that it was them. They were certainly the better team on Wednesday and they absolutely deserved the title. We played bumpy the entire match and just never really pulled it together. Such is life. Hopefully we'll reclaim the title next season. As spectators, though, we did have a great time. Neill came in to join us, we picked up Dan and Mona, and we got prime bar real estate at the Globe for lunch, pints, and ninety minutes of tension.

On the 'sweet' end of it, Trevor and I went shopping on Thursday to get him some new work gear, and we were hugely successful. A great pair of boots, five pairs of pants, three new shirts, and socks (that I made T. buy because they're labeled with the days of the week. Just in case he forgets. Also they're super cute.). 

We trained out to the 'burbs that night for one of the last times to have dinner with Mom and Dad Bork at La Tasca. The food and wine were delicious, and the company was better. They're counting down the days, now, until they're in the new place. We're hoping by the mid-June we'll have some new photos of the big move-in.

We spent a chunk of the weekend zipping around on the bike, and thankfully so since the weather is supposed to be crumby tomorrow and Tuesday. We had drinks and snacks with the Segars last night at a new place, Rootstock, and we're certainly making plans to go back for more wine and cheeeeeeese. They have an entire six-cheese plate on the menu, but since Trevor and I had eaten just before meeting up with Dan and Simona, we weren't hungry for too much. Although the tiny samples of cheese we did have were terrific (served with prunes cooked in Earl Grey tea--the tastiest thing I had all night), the flatbread was mushroomy heaven, and the wine was refreshing. And the pièce de résistance was bacon-bit toffee. Yes, you heard me right. They had a "dessert" of chunks of toffee with bits of real bacon inside. Weird. I've yet to make up my mind about it. The toffee was soft--perhaps because of the extra fat in the bacon?--and I like my toffee crunchy. But it was sweet, and the salty bacon surprises were strangely tasty. Or just strange. I'm still thinking about it and will probably have to try it again next time, just to be sure. 

Today we drove down to Pilsen for lunch at Simone's, saw Dan, Russ, and Desiree, had a good meal, and then took the long way home to enjoy the weather. When we got home, we farted around for a while reading, and then I had to finally start the laundry (boo). We also watched Valkyrie this evening after dinner, and it wasn't as bad as I was anticipating it to be. Actually, it was quite interesting. After the movie, both Trevor and I said we'd sort of hoped that they would have changed the outcome so that the coup had been successful and history was changed. What a feel-good movie that would have been, right? Hitler assassinated by Tom Cruise! Wha-hoooo! Alas, they were true to basic principals of history and we got a pretty decent movie, if not a still feel bad history of Nazi Germany. But Tom Cruise wasn't overly Cruisian, which helped. And Eddie Izzard was in it, though not in drag.

And that's where we are now: about to turn in for the night. One more day before Trevor starts his new job, and we'll fill you in on that later in the week. Happy Monday, everyone!  

Summer Vacation for the Whole Family

Because we all know that Henry really needs a vacation, what with all of his playing, walking, napping, eating, and sleep-running (a pretty hilarious sight to see. If we had a video camera, you would all be watching him pant, whine, and "run" in his sleep right now. But since we don't, please just imagine it.). 

Trevor and I, though, are certainly enjoying the time off from work. I finished the semester at the end of the first week of May and don't start summer school until June 8th, but I was on campus a few days last week for a job search committee I'd volunteered to be a part of. We were interviewing for a new English Department faculty, and we found a super duper shining star. I hope she accepts the job, but we won't know that until mid-June. Trevor actually came with me to school on Thursday to put together a table we'd got at Ikea. I have the idea to rearrange my office because my officemate, Kat, will be moving into a single at the end of the summer. I'll be getting the new faculty hire as a new officemate, but it's a perfect opportunity to make the office a bit more efficient before she moves in. Trevor had to talk some sense into me, though; I wanted to rearrange immediately (you know when you get the yen to do something--get a haircut, alphabetize your books, redo your filing system--you've got to do it now, you know?), but he explained to me that moving big heavy bookcases and filing cabinets while they were, um, full, would be a lot harder to do than to wait and move them when they're empty. So, logic wins and I'll be waiting for Kat to clear out her clutter before I shift the room. Bah, logic.

Trevor found out last week that he starts his new job June 2nd, which means he still has one more full week of "vacation," although it's much nicer to be on vacation when you know that you're starting a new job in a week. So this week, after I go to work tomorrow for a few hours (meeting, schmeeting), we've got the whole week to frolic. And frolic we will. 

Wednesday is the Champions League Game, and our lads are playing against Barcelona. It's going to be an excellent game, though hard for us to watch since we do really like Barca (it is, after all, where we spent our honeymoon...). United is our team forever, but it'll be difficult to root against Barcelona--not nearly as much fun as it was rooting against Chelsea last year for the game (booooo Chelsea. You stink like rotten fish.). But it will be a great time because both John and Neill Power are coming into the city on Wednesday morning, and then the four of us are going up to the Globe to watch the game among the fans. Trevor and I had tried to watch last year's match there, but we didn't anticipate the crowds and got to the bar a bit late. We're making no such error this year, and we're going to be waiting on the sidewalk for them to open the doors. I'm so excited, and it'll be even more fun to watch it with more fellow Powers. Now if only Sean could get the day off, it would be perfect. (Hint: Sean, if you or Angi are reading this, take the day off.)

We've also got to take some time this week for clothes shopping (you don't need to twist my arm). Trevor's new gallery requires that he wear a step up from jeans and tee-shirts, which is fine (fun, actually!), but it means that we've got to get his wardrobe into shape. We'll most likely go on Thursday morning when the shops won't be too crowded. I'll make sure that we've eaten a nice breakfast, are wearing appropriate shopping shoes, and take time throughout the day to hydrate and snack to keep up our energy. And if he gets too tired, I'll send him home and continue on my own. These are the sacrifices I am willing to make for my husband.

On Thursday night, we'll go out to the suburbs to meet up with Mom and Dad Bork for some tapas dinner. They won't need to be in the 'burbs for much longer; they got word last week that their new crib will be ready in a couple weeks. Mom saw it and said that the tiles are up and the powder room is finished, and that the painters told her that it's their favorite unit in the building. I'm certainly not surprised, but it makes me even more excited to see it! 

Although we're not doing much on this rainy Memorial Day, we were able to see our friend Kate yesterday for the morning and afternoon. In three weeks, she's moving to North Carolina (from Madison, WI), so we won't get the chance to see her for a while. We had a tasty brunch with her, her friends Bari, Meg, and Ross, and then Trevor, Kate, Bari, and I headed down to Pilsen to visit Dan

and drink some bloody mary's, and this delicious melon drink he fixed up for me:

Yes, that is a Dum-Dum lollipop in that drink. It was delicious and I'll have to remember it for the next sunny afternoon we spend hanging around.

Because of the nice weather, Trevor was able to spend most of the weekend on his bike, and I was along for the ride. We went from Belmont and Elston, down to 18th street (not all in the same trip), and it felt so nice to be breezing around the city. Hopefully this week will afford us more good riding weather. Though the current picture from the window doesn't look too promising. 

But we'll keep you up to date. Hope you are all having a nice Memorial Day and thinking about all of your veterans (thank you Grandpas Bork and Bosco and Madel!).