why i like family, among other things

so i have to confess that the number one reason why i enjoy family coming into town is entirely self-serving: free dinner out.  scott's half-sister (yes, that makes her my sister-in-law, but as i have four of them i thought i'd specify) and her boyfriend are in from california for a work conference and offered to take us and goo out to dinner.  we originally thought they'd be in denver, but turns out his daughter lives in boulder, so they're based up there for the week - who are we to pass up a free dinner just because of a 45 minute drive, though?  we're driving up to boulder after work.  :)  i have absolutely no idea how nice we're talking, or where we'll be going, so i'm wearing my normal jeans and cardigan to work, and brought a skirt in case they take us someplace nice.  i even wore a necklace today.  (edit: scott just told me that the angels playoff game is tonight, his half-sister is a huge angels fan, so we're going to this sports bar called the lazy dog up in boulder to do dinner and watch it.  i'm possibly more excited about that than i was about a fancy dinner because i love the lazy dog.  there was one in denver when we first moved out and we went there all the time to watch games, but it closed a few years ago.  they have amazing bbq chicken pizza, and i get to wear jeans.)

other exciting things this week:
- i bought a chair for $25 off of craigslist.  a glider and gliding ottoman, to be specific.  it was just such a good deal, i love gliders, and i have the perfect nook for it in my upstairs living room.  (right next to the stairs in the big empty space.)  the cushioning is in really good condition, and it's going to be the comfiest place to sit and read once i get it recovered.  the current fabric is plush and shiny, sort of gray with blue and pink streaks in it, very early 90's.  if i can convince scott to let me out of house project duty for a while on saturday, i think i'll run down to joann fabrics and see what sort of upholstery fabrics they have available, and how much it's going to set me back.  i'm very excited about my project.  almost as excited as i am for the picnic quilt that i already have fabric purchased for.

- i spent a good 5 minutes both last week and this week arguing with the kid i tutor about how old he is.  he was born in december of '98, so he's 10, right?  except he thinks that because he was born in 1998 and it's now 2009, that makes him 11.  *sigh.

- we got to use my office seats for the last pre-season nuggets game on tuesday night.  we used them a few weeks ago when they played belgrade (which is in serbia, fyi), and i will confess that watching two american teams play each other is much more exciting.  we ate dinner at home before the game with the solid intention of NOT getting junk food there ... but you can really only sit in the presence of things like nachos and hot dogs for so long before you crave something.  scott got us a churro in the 3rd quarter.

-  i got to work out, eat home made chicken pot pie, and have a 2 hour long phone date with my friend alison last night.

- and i'm very excited about cooking this upcoming weekend: i bought some stew beef on clearance sale a while ago, and finally had a brainstorm last month that i can use it to make beef stroganoff.  i did some investigating today and found a slow-cooker beef stroganoff recipe on cooking light that i'll be making for dinner on saturday.  then sunday night we're hosting small group, and the host typically makes dinner for the group to eat together beforehand.  i think the last time we hosted, i didn't feel like cooking, so we got papa murphy's pizza for the group.  this time, though ... oh, this time i'm making a small fall feast.  chicken legs, green bean salad amandine, homemade rosemary walnut bread, and the pioneer woman's sweet-roasted rosemary acorn squash wedges.  trust me, i'll let you know how it all goes.  and if you've never made chicken legs before, i highly recommend you give it a whirl - all you need is chicken legs and a canister of italian breadcrumbs which you can get generically for like $1.29 and lasts for forever.  dump out a small pile of breadcrumbs on a plate, roll your thawed chicken legs (yes, skin and all) around in it one at a time until they're coated, put them on a sprayed baking sheet, bake at 425* for like 35-40 minutes, and voila.  cheap, easy, seriously tasty stuff.