That's why I love him

Pete and me at Fogo de Chão last year, where we had also dined on our first date.



Five years ago today, Pete and I met. It has been a wonderful time since, and through all our ups and downs, we've been very happy together.

Tonight we were sitting around the tv as we often do most nights, watching something on the Military Channel (his choice), covered in snoozing cats and dogs, and our bellies full of McDonald's cheeseburgers. Pete suddenly looked at me and said, "Hey! Let's both concentrate on this pencil here and see if we can make it move by telekenisis." He had an eager look on his face, and carefully set the pencil on top of one of his car books, ready to concentrate.

I started laughing, and said, "See? That's why I love you! Because a normal night for us is watching tv, surrounded by animals, and spending our free time trying to make a pencil move. This is our lives together." And I laughed some more.

Pete smiled and seemed startled by this, but very pleased, and we eventually went on to throwing our brain waves at the pencil (it wiggled, but that was all). Good times.

I'm happy to have known you these five good, long years, my love.

Fun at Fogo

Matt and Shannon


Pete and Chris


Yummy bananas


Mmm...polenta


Skewers of meat in the front window—is it real?


Chris and Pete in front of the flaming meat



These are pix from our dinner last night at Fogo de Chão. Apparently we didn't need to break out the canoe to get around downtown, because the flooding seemed under control when we got there. Anyhow, the four of us had a blast and ate until our bellies were ready to burst. Nothing went to waste on our plates, and if one of us couldn't eat something, the other three were ready with their forks. Drinks were flowing throughout the evening—including my beloved Bloody Marys, of course—and the conversation was lively. We all felt privileged to have the opportunity to share such a wonderful meal, although I must admit our wallet is really, really crying today. Ouch, but yum.

(Photos taken with my iPhone)

Fogo de Chão

Pete and I are taking Matt and Shannon to Fogo de Chão on Saturday night. It’s as a thank you for them watching our house and animals while we were on our honeymoon. Here’s a description of the food and service from their website:

The lunch and dinner menu features unlimited servings of 15 different delectable cuts of fire-roasted meats, a sumptuous buffet of gourmet salads and fresh-cut vegetables, and a variety of Brazilian side dishes.

Each guest uses a two-sided disk to control the pace of their meal. The green side signals the Gaucho chefs to bring out skewers of sizzling fire-roasted meats to carve at the table. The red side indicates a stopping point. Turning back to green lets the Gaucho chefs know to start offering the meats again.

The traditional side dishes of warm cheese bread, fried bananas, crispy hot polenta and seasoned mashed potatoes are automatically brought to each table and replenished throughout the meal. The restaurant's award-winning wine list, traditional Brazilian beverages, and a variety of decadent desserts complement the experience.

We went to Fogo de Chão for our first date, and have gone several times since then, but this will be our first time with guests. I told Shannon to starve herself all day on Saturday, because she will be instantly full after the first round of meat makes its way around the room. I can never finish my food, and I always feel like I’m missing out on some fabulous food. I’m not so worried about Pete and Matt getting full too soon, however—Pete is a bottomless pit and Matt isn’t too far behind in that department either.

(Photos courtesy of Fogo de Chão)