The Melting Pot

S&GS invited C&I along with JenG to go to The Melting Pot for SS's birthday! Neither C or I had ever heard of the place, but it may have just become our place to go when we want to go out to celebrate something really big! We had a wonderful evening spent with friends, and the restaurant is very cool! Thank you very much for inviting us!

It's a fondue restaurant, and up until last Saturday, the only thing I knew of fondue was chocolate fondue where I dipped my strawberries. Suffice it to say there is a lot more than chocolate to fondues. (though the chocolate part is still be my favorite!) Cheese fondues started us out with several different types of cheese and spice mixtures from which to pick. Melted cheese is always good, IMHO, but half the fun was all the rigmarole involved! Special pots on heaters built right into the table, dozens of things to dip, sharing dipping suggestions!

The main course was coolest because I would have never thought of having a main course fondue-style. Pick your broth or oil mix, pick your types of foods, and cook it yourself. Those who have done fondue might be rolling your eyes, but this was a new experience for us, and we had a blast! We had a broth they made at the table, brought out our plates of meats, veggies and dips, and instructed us all on proper use and to keep our raw meats away from our food plates. Chicken, shrimp, beef, broccoli, potatoes, pasta, mushrooms, you name it!

The the grand finale - dessert and fire! C&I got the s'mores fondue (chocolate,marshmallow,graham) and the others got the turtle fondue (chocolate,caramel,walnuts). Our waiter poured on flaming brandy (Ah, the pyromaniac in me was happy-happy!) and started it to melting! Imagine - a big bowl of melted chocolate with marshmallow melted in along with crumbled graham crackers, served with all the strawberries, marshmallows, cheesecake, pound cake, pineapples, and other fruits we wanted to dip in the heavenly mix! !!!!!BLISS!!!!!

So, if anyone wants a fancy dinner out at a very cool restaurant, look up The Melting Pot in Reston, VA for a wonderful evening out!

Spoiled

Spoiled. That's me. What else do you call it when in one weekend my fiance serves me three meals (five, if you count eating out), arranges for us to visit 4 possible apartments, washes my car, and spends more than 8 hours helping me sort through books donated to the library?

But I SO appreciate it all! The books absolutely HAD to be sorted by today. Without his help, I'm not sure it would've gotten done and I certainly wouldn't have gotten to spend much time with him!

And while he might try to plead off that the meals weren't a big deal--frozen pizza or hamburger helper. One of the meals was definitely more planned--he made pulled BBQ turkey and mashed potatoes, then provided corn and cole slaw to go with them. And all of the meals--from Wendy's to homemade were exactly what I wanted at the time!

Random Fact: Today is 14 months from the day we started dating.

Since Kansas

Sorry, there hasn't been much blogging since we returned from Kansas. I'll try to keep this short, but there have definitely been lots of activities! (I didn't say we were busy! :-)

When we returned from Kansas, Jesse's mom and sister were in the area. A bit of time with them was much enjoyed and they were able to sell two of their puppies.

On Sunday (the day after we returned from Kansas), there was a clogging performance at the Clarke County Fair. Other than one song skipping out in the middle, it went fairly well--the normal missteps and forgotten sections (especially when one hasn't been clogging in the past week).

The clogging was followed immediately by a farewell dessert reception for JohnV. He's been in the area since 1987 (except for '88 or '89). He's been very active in HSLDA, BRBC, Awana, PHC, and has MANY friends. He will be missed as he goes off to law school this year.

I don't know what it was about Sunday evening. Despite all that was against it--just getting back from Kansas, tired from clogging, and feeling a bit sicky--it was still a GREAT evening, fellowshipping with friends and just being with Jesse.

Sunday afternoon, I decided that I'd picked up a cold somewhere between Kansas and the flight back to Virginia. I wasn't feeling bad, just drained (generally physically and congestion). Monday afternoon, I left work early to go home and spend some time resting and recuperating. Jesse surprised me (and made my day much better!) by showing up with a single rose and a get-well gift. We ended up watching the latest VeggieTales movie, LarryBoy and the Bad Apple. It was "homework" for the church event Friday evening and there wasn't going to be any other chance to do it.

Tuesday and Wednesday were routine activities--work, clogging on Tuesday, youth group on Wednesday. Jesse was presenting the lesson on Wednesday, so he had to do some extra prep for that. It was a typical turn-out for the summer--very small group--but I thought Jesse did a great job with the lesson. The youth group is just getting started on a study about Christian ethics. One of the questions Jesse posed on Wednesday night: When Abraham and Sarah entered Egypt, they lied about their relationship and God punished the pharoah and made it VERY clear to Abraham that in lying, he had been wrong. On the other hand Rahab lied to hide the Isrealite spies and was very well rewarded (given her life) for doing so. What made Abraham's lie so wrong, but Rahab's lie to be rewarded? Answer to be discussed in later meetings. They are also looking forward to discussing such topics as abortion, drugs, killing, and choosing friends.

New students were arriving on-campus at PHC during the week. By Thursday evening, they'd been through a day of orientation and we and other faculty and staff and families joined them for a cook-out. After the meal, the RA's presented a series of skits about college life--dorm roommates being chosen based on e-mail addresses, getting advice from your RA, signing up for every extracurricular activity immediately, etc. Very well done!

We still made it to clogging after that without any problem.

Friday was a big day at work for me. In the morning, I interviewed a person for a part-time library position. In the afternoon, I conducted 3 sessions of library orientation for our 85+ new students on campus.

Friday after work was the WLCC Family Fun Night. The church had an evening of coloring, games, and snacks wrapped up with a showing of the latest VeggieTales movie. They were even able to get LarryBoy to show up and direct the games. (I'd love Jesse even if he were purple and green.)

Saturday was an all day (9-4) Walk Through the Old Testament Seminar. It was very enjoyable. At the end of the day, we had 77 hand signs with keywords to remind us of all the major events and people (and geography) in the Old Testament. Ask us if we still remember it and you may have to tolerate us demonstrating the whole thing! :)

In the evening, we headed back over to PHC for a Luau--food, games, and fellowship with new and returning students, faculty, staff, and families. Based on questions I got at the Luau and since, one rumor that went around among students was that I got married over the summer. Hmmm....do they think I'm that impulsive or that private and hard to know?

Sunday was very relaxing--just spending the day together with nothing particular to do. We watched a movie, did a load of laundry, took a walk, visited with Mark & Megan and family, and I don't remember what all else.

Monday was the start of PHC classes. I had an extra long day working 8:30-8:30. But I got quite a bit accomplished. The new president, Dr. Walker, spoke in the convocation chapel. I was pleased with how much ground was covered in a 1-hour library student assistant training meeting. There was also an HSLDA/PHC mixer in the afternoon. By the time 8:30 arrived, I was ready to get away from PHC for a bit. Just minutes before I leave, Jesse shows up to make sure I end my day on a good note!

A Moment in Time

A recent warm evening found us enjoying the summertime. Jesse had a blanket spread out on the grass for us to just relax and enjoy the evening quiet surrounding us. Fresh summer fruit--black cherries, black raspberries, and strawberries--provided a sweet, juicy snack. And as the sun went down, we chatted--catching up on inconsequential things that had happened recently; sharing random ideas and thoughts that struck us as interesting or funny; brainstorming possibilities for the wedding and honeymoon; and dreaming of a house of our own.

Eventually, the bugs came out and chased us back indoors. But for a moment in time, there was just us.

Weekend Date

As Jesse put it, Saturday was probably the "perfect date for us"--lunch, movie, book shopping, church, and dancing all in one day! And, of course, what really made it perfect was that (as SS put it) I got to spend the day with my "sweetie."

I started out getting a full-night's sleep and getting up at a reasonable hour. Spent the morning doing some catch-up things around the house. Having already accomplished something for the day, I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the day.

We started with lunch at Chipotle. Arriving at 12:30, we had plenty of time before the 2:00 movie, so relaxed and just enjoyed chatting. Before we knew it, it was 2:00.

A short dash down the block put us in the theater just in time for "End of the Spear." Not a light-hearted or "fun" movie, but very good. While I enjoyed the movie thoroughly, I wondered if it would have the same impact for someone who might not be familiar with the back story or doesn't have a basic appreciation for Christian missionary work. I was struck by the fact that the movie almost made a point of not mentioning Christ or the gospel message, at least not as we are familiar with it in the west.

With an 1.5 hours before our next destination, we headed next door to browse Borders. We checked on some of the books upon which the movie is based and ended up reading portions of other books that caught our eye, like Jesus Misquoted and Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters.

Again, we almost lost track of the time, but headed back to P-ville just in time for BRBC's baptism and celebration service in their new church building. It was exciting to witness eight baptisms (including one girl that I worked with in Sparks), refreshing to worship with a number of hymns and choruses, heartening to be able to recognize some of the people who were key in the building completion, moving to take time to pray for the church members and ministries, and adventurous to wander through the new building checking out the various corners.

After the service, as we headed home past the skating rink, we realized that it was the third Saturday of the month and there was a contra-dance in progress. With almost no hesitation, we stopped and caught the last half of the evening of dancing.

So that was our Saturday, January 21. Nearly a month since December 22, when we got to spend the day together--only due to my changed flight. And despite Jesse's visit to Kansas at new years, it felt like a long time since we'd gotten to spend much time together.

One last note. Despite any vicious rumors that might be circulating, Jesse and I are still speaking to each other, at least last time I checked. And that was just....ummm....let me think here.... :D

Popping a couple buttons off!

I got to go to the PHC Christmas Party with the most beautiful woman there!

Ok, you can go back to whatever you were doing. I just had to get that off my chest!

;^)