The Nelson Narrative

I'm playing catch up here.  On Saturday the 9th, Olivia had her last soccer game.  Her team finished in first place, with a record of 8-1-1.  After the game they had a party at MOD with the cutest cake. The next day, Sunday the 10th, my girlfriend treated me to a spa day.  She just wanted to do something special for me since my mom recently passed away and she sold a bunch of Starbucks stock for a huge profit (having bought it way back in the early 90s or whenever).  We both did a full package with a bath (soak in a jetted tub with a bunch of stuff, I don't know what all), hot stone massage, lunch, facial and pedicure.  It was awesome. lunch at the spa in the "relaxation room" Last weekend we all went to see Frozen 2 with one of the girls' friends and her mom.  It was good but I liked the first one a lot better. A pretty tree outside the theater Olivia has been sick all week.  She stayed home from school on Tuesday ...

I ended up hosting Thanksgiving this year for 8 of my extended family (so 12 total with us).  This required some creativity because our table only seats 6, technically, but we were able to squeeze 2 people on either end instead of just one.  It wasn't really even a squeeze.  Then we set up a card table for the other 4. Niece-in-law Morgan, step-mom BJ, and Niece Amy Niece Amy, Nephew John and my Dad I got up at 6 to get the turkey ready and in the oven by 6:30.  It was done by 12, a little earlier than I was planning for (I was shooting for 12:30 because we were planning to eat around 1:00) but last year when Paul's family was here the turkey took FOREVER for some reason.  Like way longer than the 20 minute/pound rule.  Not sure why, maybe it wasn't quite thawed all the way or something. Anyway, after dinner we all just sat around visiting and watching the game (Dallas/Buffalo), then had dessert and hung out another hour or so. After we cle...

A friend of mine just had a birthday and turned 55.  She didn't do anything for her 50th so she decided she really wanted to do something fun for this birthday, like a quick little trip to somewhere warm and preferably beachy (having moved to Austin 7+ years ago she misses the beach/ocean).  She ultimately decided on San Diego.  And while she invited several people, I ended up being the only other person that could swing it, for whatever reason (money/time, etc.). It was a really fun, whirlwind of a trip.  We both flew down on Friday (her from Austin, me from Seattle).  She got there around 10:30 AM and I got in around 3, so she took a nap and did some shopping while waiting for me to get there.  We actually stayed up in La Jolla because it was a little cheaper.  So once I got to the hotel and got settled in, we jumped in an Uber and went to the La Jolla town center area for dinner.  We tried to find a place with a good view of the sunset and al...