This weekend was a good ol’ time. Lauren and I had a bit of a “date night” Friday with the roommates away. We got some take-out sushi and watched the Twins dismantle the Mariners, then went out for ice cream and took in Tropic Thunder in the theater, which was quite funny by the way.

Saturday we rode our bikes up to the Metrodome as part of a promotion to get half-price tickets for the Twins game. There we met up with Chris Ahrendt and watched the Twins blow a 5-0 lead before coming back to win 7-6 in the ninth. That evening, the whole Ahrendt clan stopped by our house to chat, then Chris, Carol, Lauren, and I went over to the Black Forest to reminisce over a few brews. It was an excellent time catching up with the Ahrendts, and long overdue!

On Sunday we headed down to Bloomington for a Sunday brunch with the Poulters before Lauren’s brother heads back to college. Lauren’s grandma was even there from Iowa. Despite being in her mid-80s, she drove all the way to the Twin Cities. She had us all laughing during a commercial for some weed repellent. As the weeds slowly faded away into dust, Grandma Joyce said, “What’s that burning? Is that marijuana?” It was the last thing we expected to hear out of an 85-year-old’s mouth.

I was just browsing through some old e-mails and thought I’d share the ten most recent nicknames that Lauren and I have called each other. Decide for yourself whose are funnier!

Lauren has recently called me…
chocolate parrot
snuggle nut
cute bear
nice pickle
honey bear
delightful turkey
delicious linguini
fuzzy cardigan
sweet banana
charming walleye

And I have recently called her…
lover bundle
cute reindeer
playful kitty
cuddly koala
spunky squirrel
baby snail
angel gums
snapping dolphin
smiling pelican
sweet onion peel

Considering neither of us has used the same adjective more than once, I’d say that’s pretty impressive. While I focus primarily on animals, Lauren likes to mix it up with some foods and inanimate objects. If I had to go with one of those ten names to call Lauren all the time, I’d choose Baby Snail for the sole reason of it rolling off the tongue. If Lauren were to settle on one of those names for me, I guess I’d prefer Charming Walleye for the oddity of it.

Speaking of nicknames, Lauren recently referred to someone she didn’t like as an Ass Hat. God only knows what a real life Ass Hat would look like, but for some reason it had me in classic Marcie Glanzer-like hysterics for some time just thinking about it. God, I’m laughing hysterically again just typing this. What’s the matter with me?