For New Years Eve Spouse & I decided to go to Dos Locos again with Steven & Thad, Joe P, and Michael. (Michael's partner Nathan is a nurse and had to work at the hospital.) We rung in the new year there last year and had a great time. Joe & Darryl own and run Dos Locos and they always make sure we have fun.
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| Michael & Joe P |
We started with a pitcher of Spicy Mango Margaritas and chips with salsa and a large guacamole. Honestly, I probably could have skipped ordering an entree with the number of chips and guac I ate. But no, I ordered the Mexican Platter which consists of a beef taco, a chicken enchilada, and a cheese enchilada with rice and beans and about 7 lbs of melted cheese. Don't get me wrong - it was delicious, but way too much food. I wound up taking 1/2 of it home.
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| Me & Spouse |
Part way into our meal Joe (of Joe & Daryl, the owners) passed out party hats, tiaras, Happy New Year necklaces, and noise makers. Some at our table were slow embrace these accouterments but I forced them to put them on, at least for photos.
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| Steven & Thad |
At some point Joe (of Joe & Daryl, the owners) came around with a tray of shots, passing 1 out to each of us. I'm not certain of the ingredients but I think it was Cotton Candy vodka and cranberry juice. Steven took a tiny sip and wrinkled his face, so I finished his. Thad was unwilling to even try it, so I drank his too. A 2nd pitcher of margaritas was delivered to our table so I freshened everyone's glasses. (Isn't that a funny term? "Freshened"??)
Joe P asked our group to make new years resolutions. Most came up with silly things (ie: lose 150 lbs) which was funny and made us laugh. Our waiter brought us champagne flutes and before we knew it, we heard the countdown to midnight. I forced everyone to don their party hats and tiara (again) and we toasted the new year.
Afterward we hung around for about 1/2 an hour, then went home. It was a fun way to celebrate New Years Eve. Here's hoping all of you celebrated New Years Eve the way you wanted to (out or at home) and that your 2015 is peaceful, happy, and prosperous.
This past weekend I had a rare weekend off work, and managed to resist having to meet clients on my days off.
Spouse & I decided to do some much needed power washing. Against my wishes we bought a power washer a few weeks ago. (I prefer to pay someone to do it rather than have to figure out how to use and maintain the machine to do it myself.) But Spouse really wanted to buy and use it, and well, since I bought Big Ella years ago I have no room to complain about his decision on how to spend our money.
He read skimmed the directions and put the 117 pieces together. We removed the 4 love seats, 2 chairs, 2 end tables, 2 dining tables and 8 dining chairs from the rear screened porch and started experimenting with the 3 tips which give different widths of spray and power. After a few minutes we got the hang of it and cleaned the mildew, cobwebs, and dirt from the screened porch.
Next we cleaned all the furniture we'd taken off the porch, and then we headed around to the side entrance of the house. Because of the sun's direction, that part often does not dry thoroughly after rain and had some algae along with the dirty, cobwebs and mildew. (Note to self: consider repainting white trim a color that doesn't show so much.) We were pretty impressed with the work we did, and to my genuine surprise, we really didn't argue like we usually do when trying to complete home projects. (Spouse prefers 'fast' while I prefer 'thorough'.)
By the time we finished the side entry, the screened porch and furniture were dry, so I loaded all the furniture back into the porch while Spouse was inside making a cake.
That evening we went to cook-out at Mike & Nathan's place. Spouse made a Luau cake (my name for it) which was delicious and simple. Just make an orange flavor box cake mix according to the directions, but substitute crushed pineapple with its juice for the water. Once its cool, ice with butter cream frosting and sprinkle with coconut flakes. It was a big hit.
On Sun we had a leisurely morning at home, drinking coffee on the freshly cleaned screened porch, dead-headed the roses, and eventually got ourselves ready to go to the beach. We picked up wraps from the deli on our way so we could eat lunch at the beach with our friends Joe P, Rick, and Tim. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and really enjoyed our time at the beach. Later that evening we met up with Steven & Thad and Joe P for dinner.
It was a fun and productive weekend!
