Charlie Birthday!

Cookbook Club: Broccoli and Chicken

We made broccoli and chicken for this month's cookbook club. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, considering that I picked the recipe!

I guess that MAYBE I used chicken breast instead of thighs, so the meat was't very tender. And MAYBE I got the wrong kind of black bean sauce that ended up being really salty.

But I did end up eating all the broccoli throughout the week. And Charlie's amended version was really good - Just broccoli, chicken, cheese and rice. Preston and I were both jealous. 

A little surprising for an exciting night.

So I told you about the rangers game. Well, that wasn't my only anniversary gift for Preston. I also surprised him with a private dinner, dancing and a night of reminiscing.

My friend Sarah works at the nice hotel in town, Hotel Fredonia. She helped me set up a private dinner for two, with a personalized menu, in one of the parlor rooms at the hotel. It was the parlor on the sixth floor, where the suites are located. And there was no one else on the floor, so techniquly, you could say I rented out the sixth floor. Of a hotel. For our anniversary.

Hooooolla.

It was a total surprise. Lots of surprises in a row. Here's a list.

First, when his parents picked up Charlie for the night, they also took the dog. Hmm.

Second, I put on a fancy dress. A pretty black dress that swirls when you spin. Way to fancy for dinner out in Nacogdoches.

Third, when we got to the hotel, where I asked to stop for a drink before dinner, I turned and went to the elevator instead of the bar. I told Preston that Sarah had given us drink vouchers for the sixth floor cocktail hour. (there is no sixth floor cocktail hour.)

When the elevator doors opened onto the sixth floor, the first thing Preston saw was our wedding video playing on the tv. Then he saw our wedding album and family photo books. Then he saw the bottle of prosecco and meat and cheese platter waiting for us.

We toasted with the champagne flutes that we used to toast at our wedding. We used our own crystal. We used our own china place settings and serving platters. I gave him a card that said I would always eat all the chocolate - Happy Anniversary. And we ate a fancy dinner and danced like fools on our own private hotel floor.

I loved surprising him. I think this was the beginning of many romantic gestures to come.

We also decided that we're renewing our vows for our tenth wedding Anniversary. And we're throwing a huge party. And there will be a parade. And a saxophone. And dancing.

There will always be dancing!

A Rangers Game for Preston

As I mentioned, not a big sports fan. It's funny how much sports really has saturated my life now, eight or nine years after writing an article about it for the college paper.

I remember writing about my first Thanksgiving Cowboys game, my first Cowboys game really, and how the parking lot smelled of frying turkey. The best part was that when we sat down in our seats, I was ready to act like an interested, supportive girlfriend that had ditched her family on thanksgiving for her boyfriend. Preston, however, pulled out his portable radio and put headphones on so he could listen to the radio broadcast, with no intention to interact with me during that game. And yes, I still married him. Thinking about it now, this may be why I've never totally accepted sports. I'm always on the outside of it. It's a thing Preston does without me and I am ok with that.

So for our eighth anniversary, I went to a Rangers baseball game with him. It was maybe the fourth one I've been to. And no matter how hot I was or how uncomfortable the seat was, or how close I was to the stranger next to me or how bored I was, I was determined not to complain. And of course, it didn't hurt that after the second inning, we joined some of Preston's family friends in a suite.

If you don't know about suites, they are amazing. It's like your own private baseball experience. The seats are spacious. There is shade. No one is trying to slowly inch their elbow a little further into your designated seat area. If this had been my experience that first time, things may be different now.

Preston has also mellowed in his sports fanaticism. He now realizes that sports with Katie, his wife, is different than sports with his buddies or by himself.

So that was my gift to him: a day immersed in baseball culture. It's not a thing he can hold, but we can remember that time we went to a ball game on opening weekend.