Steel

Feeling much better today...

Found out over the weekend that both Alleve Cold & Sinus and Nyquil contain the same active ingredient as Sudafed--the one that won't let me sleep! So in addition to being sick, I couldn't get any rest.

For our 11th anniversary Saturday, Scott gave me the traditional gift of steel in the form of a solid three-pound brick which he milled himself; every plane is exactly 90 degrees to its neighbors. It's a nice follow-up to last year's eight-ounce block of solid aluminum (the traditional 10th anniversary gift--who comes up with these things??). The year before he surprised me with two gigantic planting pots for the patio (the 9th anniversary is, you guessed it, pottery). I really enjoy his engineer-brand of creativity! So this year I jumped into his game, and gave him a set of steel tools he'd been after.

Since I wasn't feeling well, we decided to forgo the nice dinner out in favor of a dvd ("Hitch") and Chinese take-out (chicken soup, in my case). We also hooked up Xbox Live and installed the new Halo2 maps. He spent a lot of time with me (when I wasn't drugged or asleep) and I soaked up the attention.

The other night I had a chance to hook up with my brothers for a few games on Xbox Live. It's a totally different animal from playing split-screen with Scott! First of all, Scott and I are pretty evenly matched--Ron and Jeff are way out of our league. Secondly, no glimpses of my opponents screen to clue me in on their location. Lastly, a free-for-all between five players is a lot more confusing than a one-on-one! Needless to say, I got whipped. The guys took turns putting me on their teams, since I was an asset to no one!