by jltitus on June 26, 2009
You know there’s nothing better than spending time with friends you haven’t seen for a while. Tonight Eric and I met up with our friends Eric and Natalie at Toro Bravo for dinner. It was such a nice time. We all had some AMAZING food. Thanks Eric for ordering the Paella because that was the bomb!
What’s even nicer is that the four of us talked about all sorts of things; politics, greenhouse emissions, farming hemp, American history, and more. It’s so nice to have friends that are well rounded and able to hold conversations well. I always learn so much from Natalie and Eric each time we get together. It’s fun too because I can share the things I know a little bit more about too. Thank you both for a great night. We need to do it more.
After dinner and after dinner drinks Eric and I headed to southeast Portland for the infamous Whiffies Pies that I’ve heard about from people I follow on Twitter. All I can say is YUM! I had the marionberry pie and Eric has the pineapple pie. They were both so tasty, nice and warm.. and well… just good.
I snapped a picture of Eric with his pie.
Tagged as:
eric,
friends,
natalie,
portland,
wiffies
by jltitus on July 4, 2006
Tonight was amazing, it was everything I’d hoped and more. All the neighbors came together and we had the most amazing BBQ. Everyone came but people from one house. I thought that was pretty good. It was great to meet all my neighbors after saying “hi” and waving for so long. We all realized that of the 8 houses in the Cul-de-sac, five of us work for Intel. We got to meet the babies in the neighborhood too. The whole night was just terrific. Eric did a wonderful job being the grill master. Everyone brought a dish or two for the potluck. We had more food than we knew what to do with. All of us ate very well.
Lara, the girl in this picture was the first to start the fireworks party. He dad, Brian had bought some fireworks for her to shoot off and do. She started with a sparkler and was a little nervous about holding it and swinging it around. Next it was the popits (you throw them on the ground and they make a snap or pop sound). Lara was nervous with those two but it wasn’t long and she was grabbing handfuls of them and throwing them as hard as she could. It was cute and funny at the same time because she’d throw them and not all of them would pop so, Subash walked around and stepped on them to pop them. We all joked with him that it looked like a new dance.
Later in the evening, when it got dark, Sammy and Pla broke out their Costco sized box of fireworks and started the show. Between Sammy, Pla, Eric and Brian they had two,three and at one point four going at the same time. It was a great night. Everyone said they had a good time and were glad I set it up… next up, and end of summer party after we’re back from Boston.
Click the picture for the rest of the pictures, there are some wonderful fireworks pictures. I’m getting better all the time with the new camera. I love DSLR!
Tagged as:
fireworks,
friends,
hillsboro,
neighborhood
by jltitus on August 26, 2005
Tonight was so much fun. Today was so much fun. I worked from home today and got a lot done on this project I’m working on. The crazy part of it is this HUGE project is due in just a couple of weeks. It’s wild to think that what I’m working on is going to go out to the entire company. It’s a lot of pressure and means a lot of working day and night, week days and weekends to get it all done by the deadline.
Tonight was great though because we went over to our friend Ed and Livia’s house for a BBQ dinner. Ed and Livia have three kids that are just adorable. The youngest is Emmy a little girl about 4 years old. She’s so cute I wanted to just scoop her up and hug her all night. She’s a little monkey too and spent most of the night climbing all over things, especially her mom. Alex and Grayson (the boys) are so incredibly cute and the most well-mannered boys I’ve ever met. Ed and Livia should be proud.
Last night Eric made some great salmon, Livia made a wonderful spinach salad and we had rice too. Oh and I made dessert of cobbler. It was such a yummy dinner. It was great that we all helped make the dinner too. Ed broke out some great wine. I forget what it was but it was tasty and one of the wines served at our reception last year. The night was so nice. We sat and joked, laughed, chatted about all sorts of things and enjoyed a wonderful relaxing night with friends. It really made me appreciate my friends. On the drive home Eric and I talked a lot about friends and how great they can make you feel. How you can go months and not see or talk to a good friend but then you talk on the phone and the months seem to dissolve and it’s like only a day has passed. I think that’s really true from my very best friend LeAnne or Jim. I can go months without talking to either of them and then either I pick up the phone or they do and we talk forever. Friends are great!
Well, it’s late and should get to bed. I’ve got a great book to read right now….
Tagged as:
bbq,
dinner,
ed,
eric,
friends,
livia
by jltitus on June 25, 2005
Today was AWESOME! We had a whole bunch of people over for a BBQ, it was so nice. We had Eric’s brother and family, guys from Eric’s basketball team, some of my friends from Intel and the neighbors. It was such a great group of people.
The weather was wonderful and so nice that we were all able to hang out outside and chat without being super hot. It was a great afternoon. I think everyone had a great time. We all had things we could talk about and I don’t think we talked work (Intel) much at all which is really hard to do when you’ve got a bunch of people from work. Everyone brought something to the potluck. The food was so great. We had wonderful salads, and desserts for everyone. Eric made this great lemonade too. Man it was great!
Most everyone left by 7 or 8 but Mike and his family stayed and we watched some TV. We watches the first two episodes of 30 days and a few other shows. It was so great to all hang out together, watch some TV and chat about things. Mike’s kids are so well behaved. I was so impressed. His kids are early teenagers. Not once did I see them pull one of their parents aside and ask to leave or give the look that they didn’t want to be here. Very impressive! It was such a great night, I hope that we can get together with them more and have something like a games night or something. I guess we’ll see.
Tagged as:
bbq,
eric,
family,
friends,
our house
by jltitus on December 6, 2004
I will never in my life understand boys and their sports. Tonight Eric is having the boys from basketball over for pizza to watch the Seahawks vs. Dallas Cowboys. Apparently there are quite a few bets running on this game. It’s interesting to watch these guys. A few sit and watch the game quietly while one is ?. “the yeller” he’s so into the game you’d think he was there, right on the sidelines. Then there’s the “analytical one” who sits quietly and analyzes every move of the game. These guys yell at the TV and drink their beers enjoying every minute of the game? even if their team isn’t winning. I think it’s so interesting to watch these guys. I don’t understand it but at the same time, I think it’s great. It’s great to see Eric with his friends enjoying a good game and cheering his team. They laugh, joke and shout. What a great thing to witness. I’m so happy that Eric has such great friends.
It made me think, do women have the same thing? Is there some occasion where women will get together for several hours bonding while watching something else?
Tagged as:
eric,
friends,
seahawks,
sports
by jltitus on June 19, 2004
Today the guys went golfing and Brandi and I went shopping. We hit TJ Max and I found some great shoes to wear with my wedding dress. I also found a few things for the kitchen. I put them on layaway and so I’ll get them in a few days. Brandi and I went to JoAnne’s so she could find some fabric for a project she was doing. I went and looked at silk flower and found a great pre-made bouquet for the wedding with calla lilies in it. I got a few coral roses to put with it, had Brandi look at it and got it for the wedding. I also got the Maid of Honors too. The cool thing was that it was all on sale?half priced so now I just need to get the roses for the boutonnieres and then put it all together and that will all be done. Yeah? one more thing done. Tonight we went to Old Chicago Pizza for dinner and played some trivia. It was a really nice night. I love having friends visit.
Tagged as:
brandi,
eric,
friends,
golfing,
john,
shopping,
visit
by jltitus on June 18, 2004
Today Eric and I packed back up to head back to Portland. We’ve got friends coming into town tonight at 8pm. We had breakfast with mom and packed the dog and everything else, it wasn’t easy since I’d gotten boxes of pictures from grandma and mom. Eric and I decided to go home via Tri-cities. When we got to the cities we ended up going out through Richland because there was some construction on the blue bridge or something. We grabbed lunch, took the dog out for a walk, jumped in and were off again. The drive home was pretty uneventful, Eric drove again. This time I didn’t have to sit in the back with Baylee. I’d positioned her crate under her and a few pillows so that she could lay down and still see outside. She seemed to like that better. She’d even tap the window when she needed to go to the bathroom. Of course both times this happened on the way home there wasn’t a place close for her to go so we would panic and hope to find a place soon. We weren’t very good coming home. We got home unpacked and Baylee got to visit with her best friend next door, Duke. He’s a yellow lab and he and Baylee are the best of friends. When she escapes out the front door she runs next door to Dukes house. We got everything taken care of before our guests came. John and Brandi Wasnock finally made it down for a weekend. We didn’t do a whole lot that first night. I think we just hung out and went to bed eventually.
Tagged as:
baylee,
friends,
portland,
visit,
wasnocks
by jltitus on November 2, 2003
Talk about a great day. I got up this morning, went and got the paper, a latte and a croissant. Then I came home, read the paper, sipped on the latte and relished the fact that I was eating an almond croissant, bet that’s not on Weight Watchers. I did pretty bad today so…. I’m setting the goal that I’m going to work out each day this week and drink my 64 oz of water a day. I figure I’ve got a few days, weigh in is on Friday.
Today my best friend in the whole world called. Jim and I have been friends since I moved down the street from him in 1976. Of course then, his sister and I used to pick on him all the time but somehow as we grew up, and I moved across town we developed this lifelong friendship. Most friendships come and go but for some reason Jim and I have such the friendship that we’ve carried it through for years. We’re not the kind of friends that send just the token Christmas card and maybe one phone call a year. We REALLY keep in touch. He’s in the cruise industry again. He called me from Florida today. Apparently he’s going to be up in Washington for part of November. I’ve got to figure out a way to see him and introduce Eric to him. I really want the two most important men in my life to meet. Eric is the love of my life and Jim, he’s my best friend.
Tagged as:
everyday life,
friends,
jim leary
by jltitus on November 2, 2003
Tonight we went to a friends costume party. I hate costume parties. I think it’s because I’m never satisfied with the costume I pick or how it looks. I just like to go to a party as myself and have a good time. Jason’s house was all decked out in Halloween stuff. It was a pretty good time. At first when I got there I didn’t talk to many people but then I started loosening up a bit a mingled. There were a ton of people I didn’t know. There were lots of cool costumes though. One guy even cam dressed as a storm trooper. I did realize tonight that I’m not much a party person with people I don’t know. When I’m in a group with people I know I talk and you can’t shut me up. When, in this case, I’m in a room full of people I don’t know I just find a corner, watch people and wish I could melt into the wall just so I didn’t have to be there. Strange I know…so I’m going to have to work on that. I don’t know why I get that way, shy I guess.
Tagged as:
eric,
friends,
halloween,
jona,
party
