To celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary, my wife and I went to see Wicked at Playhouse Square. Both of us had read "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" (which parallels "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"). The story follows the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba), her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East (Nessarose), and the Good Witch of the North (Galinda/Glinda). The story also shows how the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow came to be.

I hope everyone had a good holiday. Unlike most years, Rachel and I actually dressed up and went out to celebrate. It is the first time since our wedding since she has worn a dress! She looked wonderful in it. She will probably post the pictures we took on her site.

Recently, Rachel and I received mail stating we won a contest. Considering the recent problems with our bank account, we initially thought it was a fraud. But, after doing some research, we found that it was indeed legitimate.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! Still being unemployed, it is difficult to be thankful. However, I understand that times are tough for everyone. I am optimistic that I will be employed again shortly after the beginning of the year.

On Monday, Rachel and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. Actually, "celebrated" is probably not accurate. With our current situation, it does not seem appropriate to celebrate. But, we did we did remember the event. Last night, we went to dinner with friends and family.

On a Saturday six years ago, Rachel and I were married. It does not seem like it has been that long. Like most couples, while we do have the occasional difficulties, overall things have been good. Of course, things would be better if Rachel wasn’t at work right now and we had enough money to celebrate. But, as long as we’re together, it’s all good.

Things have been fairly quiet for the past few weeks. I have been settling in at work (which I absolutely love BTW). I do not quite like getting up as early as I do. But, I am getting used to it. I am even starting to exercise again as my schedule is becoming more predictable.

A few weeks ago, I received a ham from the HoneyBaked Ham Company. After removing as much meat as I could, I was still left with a rather large ham bone. Instead of tossing the bone, I decided to use it to make some bean stew. I started the stew last night, and I think it is about done. Of course, now I have the problem with an abundance of bean stew. I did use some of the excess ham stock and trimmings for the dogs' breakfast this morning. I think that might have been a mistake.

I have been on vacation this past week. Rachel and I went up to Casino Windsor to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. The trip there took about four hours. The major delay was the route we took. Instead of taking the Ohio Turnpike most of the way there, we took Route 2. Route 2 follows Lake Erie's shoreline for the most part. The scenery was nice, but had I known that the speed limit would drop from 65 to 35, I wouldn't have taken Route 2.

On Monday night, my parents-in-law took my wife and I to Olive Garden. I think that's the first time that I've ever eaten there (I don't remember). Anyways, the food was great. I had their "Tour of Italy." It consists of homemade lasagna, lightly breaded chicken parmigiana, and creamy fettuccine alfredo. I also had their salad and breadsticks. To finish off the meal, I had a nice slice of pumpkin cheesecake. Mmmm.