Creole Wisdom

Leroy Brown

                      ... and I thought I looked good in a black t-shirt...

Way back in December, shortly after K and I met he came over for dinner. He was wearing his usual "business" attire. Except he didn't exactly look like your run of the mill, buttoned up downtown guy. I realized his suit hadn't been altered yet.

Then. It hit me. He reminded me of someone. Beyond the zoot suit, something else, a song:

me: you know who you look like?

k: who?

me: that guy in the song, you know, in the south side of Chicago...

k: Leroy Brown?

me: Ya!

For whatever random reason I have this image of Leroy Brown and see a movie in my head every time I hear that tune.

But don't worry, K doesn't keep a razor in his shoe or anything like that. My goodness, this is only Minneapolis after all. He does have a pocket knife, though, being from north of Lake Street I suppose you just cannot take chances! Just kidding :)

king tut

This past weekend K and I enjoyed King Tut at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I love the Science Museum. K choose to purchase a museum membership so our tickets were a great price. We had a fantastic time.

Our date started out with dinner at Cossettas, we both ordered the same dish. This has happened before :)

King Tut was just incredible. If you're local you must see it. We could not get over how fascinating it all was.

Basically since the Vatican trip with dad in 2002 I've thought gift shops were dumb. You know I love my Catholic faith, but I am certainly not waiting forty five minutes to purchase a saint medallion. Please, no!

But not K, he likes to spend time looking at each and every item in the shop. I'm thinking, honey, my back is killing me! I walked out to check my phone and K says: I was trying to be sneaky and buy you something. Oh that man. I came home with a gorgeous woven basket.

I think one of my favorite things about K is how much we can just talk, usually about anything and especially about common passions: history, politics, faith.

Perfect Saturday date with the best company.

Have you seen the King Tut exhibit? Will you if it comes to your town? Do you think gift shops are dumb?

32.

Yesterday was K's thirty-second birthday. He is old as dirt! Just kidding. Haharhar. He said he was feeling "age sensitive," and someone at work was making fun of him (a forty-year-old). I planned the evening out well, like I try to: dinner at Fujiya and a museum trip. Sadly food took forever and the museum was closed before we could get there. So K picked out a film to watch and like I always do I fell asleep after fifteen minutes. Thankfully the birthday man did not judge.

His smirk in this photo is killing me. Thank you to the host for snapping this, I love people who do that for me.

I think we'll continue the celebration through the weekend. Those venetian paintings aren't going anywhere soon.

the best

I nearly forgot to tell you all about my most favorite date with K so far:

The gun range.

It was fun as hell. I want to go back.

I've had an obsession with glocks for years and finally my dream came true: I got to shoot one. I know you weren't expecting that!

Two things I learned at the gun range:

1- Don't wear sexy high heeled boots because while it looks really hot to be shooting a gun while wearing them, it's incredibly uncomfortable.

2- The whole thing was really sexy. Read: hot. I don't know why, maybe there is some type of psychological reason for this? K teaching me to hold and shoot a handgun + watching him shoot = hot.

I didn't do all that bad. K sweetly saved these caps for me because he knows I'm kind of sentimental.

So, have you ever gone to the gun range? Did you love it like I did?

fridate

K and I had a little date last night. It was really simple. We're both home bodies, what can I say? I made ravioli from Costco with chicken and a creamy butter sauce. It was really delicious and easy. After K said, let's do something.

It was kind of late, so we went to Barnes & Nobel. We walked around and looked at a few things. I noticed a sweet book. K took it and we kept walking around. Except, I noticed that each time I went to look at a book I'd look up and he'd be gone. I'd quietly call for him to hear no response and had to look until I noticed his tall figure looking in another section.

Then we ran into some great parents of a boy who was in my preschool class. We all chatted until the crabby clerk told us to check out. It was closing time.

When we got into the K told me: I wanted to surprise you with this book, and that's why I kept walking away. Then the lady didn't even put it in a bag.

For some reason I thought that was really funny. Here he was trying to surprise me and I kept finding him.

Then we discovered sour starbursts. K has me eating candy. I'm not a crazy candy person but my Lord can that man eat some candy. Good thing we both like sour stuff. I told him I'm going to get some cavities.

But, I digress. You see the way he looks at me in the first photo? Yes, I know I know

:)

That is all.

valentine hex

Oh my Valentine's Day...

I think someone put a hex on K and I. Our special day did not go as planned:

A handmade easel lovingly crafted without power tools broken en route. That was pretty disappointing.

K asks me, "did you get your roses?" Nope. Florist didn't bring me the pretty bouquet of pink roses K had arranged to be sent. He went in there today and their response was flowers were undeliverable.

Dinner service took forever. We waited 45 minutes for our entree. I ordered salmon with capers, jasmine rice and asparagus. There's wasn't one asparagus spear on my plate.

I'm pretty sure K felt worse about all of this than I did. At the end of the day I'd rather have an imperfect Valentine's day with K than a perfect one with someone else. What's perfect anyway?

I took care of dessert, we had homemade ice cream sandwiches: brownies for the cookie part and butter pecan ice cream in the center, edged in coconut and cut into hearts.

The bell hop at the hotel-restaurant took a lovely photo of K and I. I love that dress from Ireland and K loved my heels and lipstick.

K wrote me the best card and some extremely sweet words were spoken over the night.

I hope you all had a hex-free Valentine's day!

and he knows it

K and I at our first Wolves game, way back in December. My hair was long.

Very early yesterday morning I asked K in all seriousness if it was hard work being that handsome.

He looked at me and then said, "sometimes, yes."

Then I reminded him an hour or so later about that conversation.

"Really?! I said that?"

Ha ha. Yeah, ya did, sir.

It's a difficult task, but someone has to do it.

A few thoughts going through my mind:

...I like dating older men. They are like wine, but let's not take it too far (fifty year olds are not attractive to me in that way, bless their hearts!)

...It's nice to date someone you actually have good conversations with.

...Kate said to me that she's never heard me laugh so hard with someone before. I'd say that's the damn truth! Life is too short not to be silly :)

Here's to more wolves games.

 

beets

K took me out to dinner a few nights ago.

We went to Jack's which we are now both mildly obsessed with. I appreciate their new approach to American classics, K values that he can order both grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese with some lemonade.

We discussed some random things. It was a respite time after a busy and slightly emotionally stressful weekend.

One thing I learned is that K and I both hate beets. They smell bad and taste bad. Once K's aunt made him eat a side of beets, he took a giant gulp of milk and swallowed each beet whole like a pill. He went through a gallon of milk. His aunt never made him eat beets again. I laughed so hard at that.

For dessert we indulged in bread pudding. It was incredible. I was completely stuffed and laughed out once the check came.

lucky.

I know life is hard sometimes, and you know it, too. But every once and a while I feel very, very lucky. It doesn't happen every single day, but it gets me through ordinary moments when it does:

I love this photo of K and I. We're drinking lemon lift and isn't he sweet to let me tuck my toes under his legs?

I had a good weekend:

K and I went to Saturday night mass, my favorite. Two good moments:

1-We get into the pew, a few moments early and as we get down on the kneeler K knocks the one in the pew behind us down. THUD! Reminds me of when I pulled down the kneeler and broke my grandma's toe. Completely on accident, sometime in 1993 at my uncle's wedding.

2-The Basilica did two collections, one normal and one for heating. The heating bill for December was $13,000. I know, yikes, but it's a giant cathedral. K looks at me and says as I'm getting $5 out of my purse, "I got this first one, you give for the heating." Then he discretely put $20 in the basket.

After, K took me to Bryant Lake Bowl for dinna. We eat everything on our plates and then I completely killed the coconut cheesecake. The waitress told me I was "easy to please."

Our conversation revolved around how I am going to achieve my 24 goals and all the cool features K is going to put in the home he builds someday.

I like him.

rip.

K took me ice skating at The Depot. I love that place. It ranks up there in the top five of best places to go on a date.

The best part (and I'm still laughing about this): K was pretending to be silly and fell on the ice on purpose. What he did not plan to do was rip his pants.

This man is hilarious.