Mario and Minestrone

You know you're a foodie when ...
it's 10:30 at night and you're waiting for your homemade Italian minestrone to finish simmering so you can taste it and then go to sleep. 

Apparently I got waaaaaaay too excited about my meal plan for the week yesterday and decided to do a bunch of cooking all at once rather than waiting to cook on the day(s) when we're supposed to actually eat each item.

So now we have [extra] spicy tomato soup and minestrone awaiting us in the fridge.

Oh yeah, and the last of the potato soup I made this weekend.

And a squash soup I pulled out of the freezer to make room in there for some of the new soup.

Note: Soup season has definitely come to Seattle. 

And with it comes "video game season".

Weekend Happenings: Tolkien, TNG and the Big Bang Theory

It's finally the end of Monday.

Monday took TWO cups of coffee for me to function like a semi-conscious human being, especially when Little Guy decided that 4:30 am and 5:30 am were good wake up times this weekend.

This morning, he actually let me sleep (mostly) till 6. It was heavenly.

Not to worry. Despite the crazy "let's pretend we're three time zones away" schedule, it was a fun weekend.

For one, I did this:

"Never laugh at live dragons!" - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Duly noted. 

while drinking this:

"Earl Grey. Hot ... Make it so." - Jean Luc Picard

I lucked out with a husband who says, "What can I do to help? Take Little Guy? Okay!"

I got an entire afternoon to sit and read The Hobbit and drink tea while he and Little Guy watched the Seahawks/Jaguars game upstairs with the neighbors.

And it was fantastic.

To be honest, I'm not sure if he likes hanging out with Little Guy more because he likes being a dad ... or because he likes having a legit excuse to act like a little kid. Either way, it's ridiculously fun to watch them giggle together.

Mr. Dude keeps telling me all the things he's going to do with our kids - play whiffle ball in the yard, go to the science center, play Mario Kart, build Lego sets.

I believe him, too, because those were a large part of his childhood and he loves any chance he can get to act on his nostalgia.

That being said, I should be on the lookout for hidden plans to build a treehouse, complete with acrylic window for a Star Trek-inspired clear screen thingy.

What on earth would you call those?

Not sure, but maybe you should ask these guys:

The Big Bang Theory as The Next Generation.
Source: The Official Star Trek Site

Mr. Dude has indulged me by watching all of Season 6 over the course of the last week. Big Bang Theory, that is. 

Not The Next Generation. 

We already did that. 

In fact, we've already watched The Original Series, The Next Generation AND Deep Space Nine. 

That's seventeen (17!) seasons, folks. 

Not episodes. Seasons. 

So when I reference Earl Grey and think of Picard, or when I see an episode of Big Bang Theory that has the main characters dress up as Data, Worf, Picard and the Borg ... I know what I'm talking about. 

The irony? 

Watching The Big Bang Theory counts toward the seasons Mr. Dude "owes" me since I watched SEVENTEEN (17!) seasons of one of his shows. 

He's now seen SIX full seasons of Big Bang Theory and THREE full seasons of Downton Abbey. 

He'd like to claim that each season of Downton should really count as 2, and that he should be off the hook for anymore since last season was such a heartbreaker. 

And then I remind him that 6 + 3 = 9. 

He's still short by 8 seasons. 

So ... Casa de Nerds has a standing 8 pm Thursday date to watch Season 7 of Big Bang Theory (aka, laugh at the nerds) starting this week. And there will be a standing 8 pm Sunday date to watch Downton, starting in January, no matter how many times he protests. Even then, he's still got 6 more seasons of my choice to go ... 

Muahahaha! 

Hello, world!

So, I was going to start this blog a few weeks ago. And I promise I've been working on it. But something about life as a mom ... and a computer malfunction (an ironic story for another day) ... and lots of crazy things happening at our apartment ... all got in the way of me finishing up the formatting the way I'd like it to be.

And then I saw this comic strip posted to ThinkGeek's timelinee on that ubiquitous social media stream everyone seems to rely on:

Source: http://bit.ly/1575J7q

I, in turn, shared it on my former English teacher's timeline. I said something rather sarcastic (and funny! I promise it was funny!) about not knowing anything about any of these kinds of procrastinators. Never mind that I was am a procrastinator by nature ... (*cough* sarcasm! *cough*)

Tonight, we launch. 

No, the blog isn't formatted the way I want it. 

No, I don't have the first month's worth of content planned-ish (at least in my head) so that I know what I'm writing about while I get into a groove. 

No, it's not perfect. 

(Gasp!)

But then this conversation happened tonight:

[Mr. Dude and I were relaxing for a few minutes while Little Guy was napping before we headed out for some errands at the end of the day. He is at his computer in the second bedroom and I am reviewing emails, etc, at my own laptop in the living room. I wander in to see what he's up to.] 

Me [hearing the voice of GLaDOS]: You playing Portal? 

Mr. Dude: Yes. They had a guest appearance. 

Me [actually seeing the screen]: That's not Portal. That's Defense Grid. 

Mr. Dude: Oh, they had her voice appear. And there are the Portal Guns and those are Companion Cubes in the center. 

Me: So the same company makes Portal and Defense Grid? 

Mr. Dude: No. Different companies. 

Me: Isn't that like mixing franchises? Sounds like Star Trek invades Star Wars. Or vice versa. 

Mr. Dude: No, they just really like Valve Software, so they partnered with them to make an add-on pack for the game. Pretty cool, huh? 

Me: Oh, so it's like Star Trek and Star Wars mixing and everyone being okay with it.

Mr. Dude: Exactly.  

------------

Three things: 

1. Why on earth do I know a video game by the voice talent or what I see on the screen? 
2. How the heck did I get married to such a nerd? 
3. I needed to write that conversation down. Pronto. 

(Bonus Point: Conversations like this happen all. the. time.)

And that's why this blog exists. 

Because sometimes you just have to write this stuff down, otherwise no one will believe you when you try to tell them how funny it is. 

And because sometimes, you need to distinguish between when you're actually being a nerd and when you're just married to a nerd. (Ahem. This is where you visit the so-called "About Me" page.) 

And because I like to write, dagnabit.

Procrastination has ended. The blog has begun.

So follow along for more crazy and funny stories of life at Casa de Nerds. You know you're nosy enough.