Date Night and Couples Night

Friday night Steph and I had a rare date night. Very rare. Very nice. We had the rare combination of some spare spending cash, and a free babysitter. So, Steph and I enjoyed a bizarre amalgamation of old and new. We went grocery shopping. Yup. And it was nice. Then, we went to see the "Mysteries of the Great Lakes" Omnimax at Cincinnati Museum Center. Back when we were dating, Steph and I saw the new Omnimax movies whenever they came out. So it was very much a nostalgic trip. The movie was...okay. Honestly it should probably have been named "Saving the Sturgeon" which would have been more accurate. As much as we've come to love the great lakes scenery, there wasn't enough of it. Still, beats watching another Barbie classic.

Dinner was at Don Pablo's on the river. For those who don't know the history here...back before we understood both the massive amounts of debt and the massive amounts of calories, and before doing so was a major headache with even 2, let alone 4 kids in tow...we used to eat out a LOT. I mean, ALL. THE. TIME. And Don Pablo's was the high shrine of gluttony and credit card expense. "Hey, it's Wednesday, let's go eat at Don Pablo's!!!" We hadn't been for a long long time. Nowadays, when we go out, it's usually Cici's because it's cheap and it's already loud there so if the kids scream, no harm done. The food is not bad but it's not good, and after you stuff your face with it a few times, the thought of going back is less and less appealing. So a few weeks ago when the planets aligned, we decided to make Don Pablo's our first date night back.

So how was it? Honestly, not as good as previously remembered...but still very satisfying in a guilty pleasures kind of way. I can still eat a ridiculous amount of food when I want to...and the nice thing is I can usually skip the next 2 meals. We reminisced a lot about the REALLY old days in Peebles and how terrible we were with food and money back then. It was a very nice evening, but next time we might opt for something a LITTLE more highbrow in the food department.

That was Friday. Saturday night was our inaugural couples evening with B&K and M&B - we're starting an every 2 months rotation, and we hosted this time around. It was very nice to have everyone over and be adults. I sincerely hope that this can keep up - we have a good time together - I hope they had as good a time as we did. I generally abhor social situations like that, but it felt very comfortable, which is saying something for me. If they are reading this I reassure them that my occasional distance is not disinterest...I may have made that mistake in the past but I'm trying to correct it. Friends are few and far between in this world, and I've got some good ones. Not a lot, but the ones I've got are good.

All in all, all is well. We are entering a 'grind' now - lots of full weeks at work with no breaks in sight. At the other end is Thanksgiving. Let's do this.

Matt