A friend of ours, Jenn, is quite ill. We wish her the best of health.

On the shoe front, we have added a new style, Hermes. Better photos are forthcoming.

Short version: Birthday Party Photos

It was a complete and wonderful weekend. We started off Friday night with Sushi, followed up by a bit of Starbucks to power me through a poker tournament. I had my best win to date, finishing 2nd out of 189 and scoring $750 virtual dollars (I immediately cashed out $500). It was a late night to bed, but feeling good.

Saturday morning was all about the party preparation. We cleaned the house, set up the yard, and I purchased some supplies. Given the extra cash I spent liberally at the liquor store, stocking up for the summer. Er, well, at least the next couple weeks.

Artemis and I cleared out around 1 pm for our friends Mi Ae and Shaun's baby shower, while Yin and her friend Tukta continued food preparations. We only stayed a couple minutes really, but it was nice. They had a huge tent and a very professional set up. Their house has a very similar arrangement to ours, and I like to inspect the little differences among houses in our neighborhood, so that was fun. We darted back a bit after 2 for final party preparations (read: drink beer and take a nap).

My 15 minute nap was interrupted by our first guests, my pappy and Barbara, who arrived 5 minutes early. I understand when kids are so excited they can't wait to rip open presents on Christmas morning, but adults should arrive on time. So, I had a 10 minute nap (33% shorter!), but I shrugged off my completely justified tendency toward bitterness and the party began.

More guests arrived, and it started hopping. The food was expansive and superb, if we can overlook the very poor attempt at shrimp cocktail. Shrimp curry, crab fried rice, chicken skewers, fruit salad, home made cookies, and a huge veggie dish formed the bulk of the food offering. Drinks consisted of some soda, orange juice, wine, 4 types of beer (send a man shopping...), and Rum & Tonic w/ Mint, my personal favorite. I truly believe everyone was satisfied.

Artemis was a blast. She didn't have a nap, but she was on full cylinders the entire party. She is kind-hearted and a social natural - she greeted most all of the kiddie guests, several by name. She approaches them, and her closer friends receive kisses and/or hugs. Precious. She continually wished happy "Ba da da" day to everyone, and only truly realized it was her birthday when the singing began and I slowly spun her around to see all the friendly faces. After that, she said "It's Artemis birthday" and I think she gets the concept. There was cake.

After the party, we pretty much chilled. I had a couple drinks during the party, so a short nap was no problem. I awoke in time for a huge 9 pm tournament, with 790 players and a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool. I played my heart out, and made it to the final table, where I promptly screwed up and finished 10th. Still, a nice job, if a bit intimidating knowing that someone at the table would walk away with $12k (and another with $7k). I finished with a healthy $600 to give me my first +1,000 weekend.

Sunday we allowed Artemis to slowly open her presents, which quickly found their way to all reaches of the downstairs. I got a bunch of work done on the shed project, getting half the shingles on and otherwise tightening up some of the edges. Looks like one more weekend, although I need to manage my time carefully since Yin's birthday is coming up and I have two very large tournaments on Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm. Sunday ended with Chipotle and Modelo Blanco, so you know I went to bed happy.

Happy Birthday Artemis!