The Sweater Party

I alluded to the fact that we went to Mandy and Todd's sweater party a couple weeks ago, so here are the details. For the last four years, Mandy and Todd have thrown and ugly Christmas sweater party. We could not make the first two years because we were down in B/N and it was hard to get away. Anyhow, we went last year and were eagerly awaiting this years edition. 

Well, living back in Naperville has it's ups and downs, one of which is living in close proximity to Andrew. Mar and I were planning on leaving around 7:15 in order to maximize our Saturday night. Well, thanks to Andrew, we were delayed. The reason being, was Andrew's new girlfriend, Autumn. (For those keeping track, this has given Andrew a leg up on The Competition.) Anyways, Andrew called me and asked if we could leave at 8:30 instead, so we could go together. I said we would wait, then foolishly asked him if he would be the one to drive. There was silence on the other end as he did not anticipate that response and told me that he was hoping that I would drive so he could enjoy himself. Naturally, this is what I expected, so I told him that I was fine with driving. 

Well, 8:30 rolled around and Andrew was nowhere to be seen. After a few minutes, I called him and asked him what the delay was and he told me that Autumn had just arrived. I told him to get a move on because we wanted to leave. He kind of stumbled with his words as he tried to further delay his arrival and told me that Autumn was going to "eat a sandwich here so she wouldn't get your car dirty." This made me even more upset, because I could have cared less if she ate a sandwich in my car. Time continued to slip away, and at 9:15, Andrew and Autumn arrived, sandwich in hand. Mar and I looked at each other and said nothing as they got into my car and she ate the sandwich as we drove to the city. Draw your own conclusions.

Anyways, after pulling off the most badass parallel parking job ever, the sweater party was a smashing success. Mar got us a couple of awesome sweaters at a local resale shop and everyone loved them. Everyone at the party had pretty sweet sweaters, especially Todd's brother Brad and the dude that showed up dressed as a Christmas tree. It was great spending time with friends and kicking back for the holidays. I hope that Todd and Mandy maintain this tradition and more people can make it next year.

The Competition

A little while back, we were enjoying a nice meal with Todd, Meg, and Andrew at Quigley's. Our wedding happened to come up and Megan espoused how she was hoping to have a date to the Event of the Decade. We assured her that she would and expressed our concern for Andrew's odds of having a date. When this concern was mentioned, Andrew's ears perked up and he said with an air of confidence that he was not worried about having a date, because he was sure that he would. Upon saying this, the rest of us just looked at him as he casually ate his sandwich and appeared to be surprised that we were not as confident as he appeared to be in his ability to procure the arm of another. 

Well, in order to make things interesting, a little deal was struck between Andrew and Megan. Here are the details of what is now known as The Competition:

1. The wedding cannot be the first "date."
2. At least five dates must be in the record book in order for the person to qualify. 
3. The person cannot be paid.
4. The rules committee (Me, Mar and Todd) have the authority to strike a date from the books if it is deemed to be unacceptable. 
5. The loser will have to pay for the winner's hotel room.
6. In the event of a tie, the contestants will each receive five dollars to use at the casino the night of the wedding. 

I am sure that several of you have already heard about The Competition, but I just wanted to make it formal. 

Really?

Although I missed SNL last night for the sweater party, which I will post about soon, I saw this little segment today on the web and could not resist posting it for all of you to see. We all know about the current allegations that our esteemed governor is facing, but Seth Myers and Amy Poehler but a hilarious spin on it. Enjoy.

I Hate Snow

Let me correct that, I hate snow this early. It took me an hour and forty minutes to complete a commute today that normally takes between twenty-five to thirty minutes. It was horrible. Thank goodness I had NPR to listen to as they reported about nothing but our awesome governor.

Blokus

Jillian and Anthony exposed us to this game, and we just cannot quit. We went over to Anthony's house to have dinner while they were in town for Thanksgiving, and following dinner, they suggested that we play this game that his family had started playing last year. The only way that I can really describe this board game is a crude mix between Chinese checkers and Tetris. Without going into too much detail, the is a total blast. We liked it so much that we went out and bought it soon after playing for the first time. I even took it in to work and let some of my kids play. They too loved it and some of them have gone out and purchased it for themselves.

P.S.

Jillian has posted a very similar entry that just so happened to be put up today before I could finish my thoughts on the topic. I still believe that her and Anthony were cheating and conspired to defeat me.