Did anyone miss me?

I actually drafted a post several days ago, and just as I hit Publish Post, the stupid AdWare "bug" on our six-year old computer zapped it and I just didn't feel like re-writing. Anyway, I thought I'd just post a ramble tonight about what we've been up to.

• Eli turned six last Wednesday. I had to make a mad dash to Des Moines that day - left here at 5am, got there at 8 for an 8:30 meeting that was over by 10:00am. Stopped at the hospital to visit an employee that had surgery, back on the road by 12 and home by 3. We got a carry-out pizza, then took the boys to Chuck E Cheese to play arcade games.
• Spent $16.53 for a hiking waist pack at Cabela's. I'd been wanting one "real bad" and decided to get it as an early birthday present for myself. It was in the Bargain Cave, so I saved $6.
• Saturday morning we had Eli's birthday party from 10-11am in the backyard. Had something like 13 or 14 kids. It was dang hot, but we played several games and all the kids seemed to have fun. Eli got several Lego sets for things like firetrucks, Batcars, etc. They've played non-stop since then with them, and I'm even getting accustomed to stepping around the small pieces embedded in the carpet throughout the house.
• Took Eli and Nathan to see Cars. It started at 1:30, and since it's been in the theaters for over a month now, I thought it would be wide open. Jenny dropped us off right at 1:30 since we figured there'd be 20 minutes of previews. We walked into the theater (the movie had been moved to a small one in the 20-plex and much to my dismay it was packed. The only seats left were down on the floor so we sat in the second row from the screen. Ordinarily I'd have been peeved, but it was really cool, especially the scenes where the cars were racing - made it feel 3-D. I used my new waist pack to "smuggle" in popcorn and Capri Suns for us. Jenny laughed, but I told her I was justifying to her that the bag was a "need" and there are lots of things I "need" to use it for, like going to the movies.
• Sunday was killer. Jenny and I both had early-morning church meetings which meant that all of us got to church at 9am and didn't get home until about 3pm. The boys were exhausted and a bit cranky, just like us. But all in all it was a good day.
• Last night we had a really fun combined activity for the youth. We played "Faith Factor", a twist on the TV show Fear Factor. The youth had a blast and the boys actually had a good time with the girls. It was also 13 years since I was baptized (August 1, 1993).
• Today I had to ride with an Account Executive to visit customers. I have to do that 12 times a year to "keep a pulse" on how sales is going in the field. Luckily we only made three calls and I was home by 2pm. We went to a Thai restaurant, called "Thai Restaurant" (so much for originality), that's close to our house. They played real Thai music, which I think adds to the flavor of the food. There's nothing worse than going to Chinese or other ethnic restaurants and having to listen to HipHop or Country. The food was outstanding; I had a rice dish with chicken and basil with chili paste over rice (Gra Prao), but I can't remember what it was called. The waitress was an old Thai lady that I think had a thing for me because she kept coming by flirting with me. She even gave me extra crab rangoons.
• Got all our credit card balances transfered to a 0% account. Jenny's been wanting to get it done, so I did it tonight. I hate to have another account, but there's no sense paying interest. Debt stinks, that's why we're getting rid of it. Jenny just finished reading "Not Buying It: my year without shopping". I just started it last night.