Another Date Night

Craig and I were lucky enough to have another date night over the weekend. It was wonderful!
We do a babysitting swap with friends of ours. I'll be watching her three munchkins this weekend while she and her husband enjoy one of the films at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

We ate dinner at Palms Bistro and it was fantastic! The menu consisted of what can only be described as grown up food. There was not a Mc Nugget or a Mc Anything on the menu. There were no applesauce cups, no chicken fingers, no placemats that doubled as coloring paper. There was Mac and Cheese, but it had lobster in it. Craig enjoyed a pork loin chop with some sort of ancho chile sauce. I had the tomato gnocchi in blue cheese cream sauce... which also had asparagus, pecans and chicken mixed in. Oh my goodness. I think I was in some sort of heavenly food coma. We had an uninterrupted conversation. I had a cup of decaf after dinner. We ate slowly but we were still done eating fairly early. So we wandered around the neighborhood where the restaurant is located... Milwaukee's Third Ward. Then we drove by the lake for a little bit. After that, we headed for Kopp's Custard for dessert. I had a mint chip cone and Craig opted for the Heath Bar cone. I was sufficiently stuffed.

Amazingly, we were home by about 9:30pm. Only gone for a few hours but it recharged our batteries just enough!

Date night recap

Last night was DATE NIGHT!!! And we had so much fun! We went to see "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." It was really funny and a really good movie. Some crude humor, but what do you expect from the guy who also produced "The 40 Year Old Virgin," another favorite of mine.

Afterwards we went to dinner at Habanero's, a great little Mexican place here in 'Tosa. I did something I've never done before. I sent my margarita back to the bar! I took two sips, looked at Craig and said, "This isn't a margarita, it's a strawberry smoothie." I was nervous, but I also didn't want to pay $7 for a smoothie when what I wanted was a margarita! So I got up my courage and told the waiter that I wanted a different drink, as there was no tequila in my margarita. The bartender came over with a bottle of tequila and poured until I told him to stop. And he used the good stuff too. That ended up being one of the best margaritas I've ever had! He also apologized, saying sometimes the bartenders are a little shy with the tequila. He actually thanked me for saying something! So lesson learned! If you're not satisfied, speak up!

Alex was very good for my friend Sara. (We're doing a babysitting share... they get one night a month, we get one night a month, and no one has to pay for sitters.) Sara brought her son Ryan who's 4 and the boys played and had a great time. A good time was had by all and we can't wait to do it again!

Date Night Follow Up

We ended up eating at Water Buffalo, a restaurant in Milwaukee's Third Ward. Great restaurant. I'd like to go back there in the summer. It's situated right on the Milwaukee River and they have outdoor seating. Couldn't really take advantage of that in the driving snow!!!

"The Lion King" was AMAZING. I have never seen anything like it. The procession at the beginning, the songs, the dancing, the costumes and masks. I could see it over and over. It was such a treat. When I worked at the TV station, we would often get tickets to opening night so we could write about the performance, review it, etc. I haven't been able to take advantage of that for awhile. So it was nice to get to a theater performance. I told Craig I'd like to go see "Spamalot" next month, too. But I don't know if we'll be able to do that or not.

Alex did very well with our friends the Strunks. It probably helps that we see them quite often. We're trying a babysitting share with them. So far so good! I'll babysit for them March 2 when they go to the Billy Joel concert.

It was also enjoyable to have grown-up time. I of course feel guilty for saying that. It's a mom thing. But it was nice to just focus on the two of us. It always kind of shocks me how when Craig and I are truly on our own, it takes awhile to remember how to talk to each other without Alex being the main subject. But once we get past that, we really reconnect as a couple. My New Year's Resolution is to have date night's more often. They don't need to be big expensive endeavors. We could go out for a burger and fries for all I care. We just need more couple time.

Date Night!

Date Night has finally arrived for the Hofers! Craig got us tickets to go see "The Lion King" for Valentine's Day, and tonight is the big night. My friend Sara and I worked out a babysitting trade. We're going to drop Alex off at their house, then go out for a grown up dinner (there will be no nuggets or fries involved), and then off to the theater. With the crummy weather, I was a little concerned we might have to skip dinner. I was afraid they might cancel the performance... which they actually did the day that we got the 16 inches of snow! But so far we're on! Hooray! I'm sure I'll write tomorrow about the show. I've never seen it, so I'm especially excited. "The Lion King" is one of my favorite Disney movies ever. I've heard the staging and performance is so beautiful, so I can't wait!