Pork butt and dominoes

Apologies for our lack of posts around these parts; the real world has been interfering with a blogger schedule.

However, Jamey and I did manage to make time for a little dinner, games and fun this past weekend.

The pork butt and all its juicy goodness.

Saturday night, our friends Brigid and Kyle came over (and brought their new baby Connor!)

Jamey got up at 8 that morning to put a pork butt in the smoker, and arguably it was the best we’ve tasted yet with that contraption. (The pork we previously smoked was also delicious, as was the smoked chicken we worked with last week.)

Honestly, the food we put into this thing just keeps getting better and better. Our next attempt will probably involve some sort of stuffing, which we plan to mix with the mortar and pestle Jamey also got for Christmas. (I told you he got a bunch of cooking contraptions this past holiday, for which we are extremely grateful.)

We paired the meat with a side salad, some fresh green beans, a delicious sampler cake that Brigid and Kyle brought, and of course plenty of spirits.

You can read more about Brigid’s take on the night on her blog, as well as see some interesting pictures of Jamey and me. (It’s ok, we are secure in our level of attractiveness…although Kyle, Brigid and Connor’s normality may make us seem that much more ridiculous.)

But Connor chilled on our floor all night! It was more than precious.

We finished up the evening with a game of Mexican train dominoes, and I dare to say that we might have started a new board game addiction for the Hines family. (I think the Lenenskis and Monahans can truly identify. 2 a.m. domino games anyone? Dad?)

Dominoes by candlelight (and wine).

All in all, it was a stellar evening for an all-around relaxing weekend. Can’t wait to do it again.

A bottle of wine and the Internet do not mix

Very occasionally, Jamey and I get awfully silly.

And tonight we got awfully silly.

I bring you our future child:

The Jamey-Claire baby.

This is our future. Is it a girl? Is it a boy? Why is it blond? Only time will tell.

But for now, I can only say that for the past hour we have had way too much fun with this website and its photo uploading and blending capabilities.

…Now back to your regularly scheduled Thursday evening.

Bunny ears are now bat ears

Last night, Jamey and I fully entered this decade of technology.

Bat ear antenna. Or digital flat antenna, as the box describes.

Jamey hasn’t been one for cable television in quite some time. He voluntarily abandoned it several years ago when he realized he only watched one channel, and when your sole channel is playing shows liked UFO Hunters, it’s safe to say the channel has jumped the shark. (Then again, when said channel also has a show called The Nostradamus Effect, maybe your interests with said channel and said channels’ audience aren’t all that far off.)

Lately – as in the past few years – my television viewership has also lessened. I can on occasion while away several hours in front of the Food Network, but for the most part that’s the only channel I stick to. Any broadcast television I typically watch online or stream later.

However, there are only two times in the entire year I like to watch shows in their regularly scheduled hours. The Superbowl, you might guess? No, not this girl. Maybe the State of the Union address? I am flattered you think I am such an active, participating citizen. Continue reading

Epic Mickey isn’t so epic these days

I got a video game for Christmas.

That paintbrush spraying action? WAY harder than it looks.

It’s Epic Mickey, which I play on the Nintendo Wii system. If you’re familiar with how the Wii controller works, it’s a handheld wireless remote that you wave at the sensor bar, which can be placed either above or below the television. How you wave or move the remote determines your character’s actions on the screen and in the game. High-tech? Possibly. Stressful? Way more than I like to admit.

Continue reading