Levi and Evelyn Maeve were spending the evening inside the house. Their dad was with them, and he got everyone each a glass of milk. Olivia had gone out to dinner and bowling with her boyfriend, Cameron, as well as Victoria and her friend, David Wolff. Their mom was out with Louise and Elizabeth Baranovsky. Tonight was going to be a good night, even though Levi, Evelyn Maeve, and their dad were going to stay in. They ordered pizza and had glasses of milk. They decided to watch as many comedy movies as they possibly could until late tonight. Evelyn Maeve would probably be out like a lamp before too much longer. And who would know with their dad? Levi could definitely pull an all-nighter if he’d so choose.
​
“What kind of pizza did we get tonight?” Levi asked their dad.
“The one with errthing on it!” Mr. Cranston exclaimed hysterically.
“My fave.”
“Our fave.”
“True that. I’m just really hungry, so I ain’t complaining,” Levi remarked half-heartedly.
“I knew,” Mr. Cranston replied.
“Where’s Evelyn Maeve?”
“I think she was hanging out with Duchess and Prussia.”
“Ah, so she didn’t decide to climb on the roof like I’ve done before.”
“Certainly not.”

Levi Cranston sleeping

It's Haiku Monday.
A week after Thanksgiving.
Holiday season.

Those chocolate cake pops.
I'll admit are very good.
Very much homemade.

Much is going on.
Lighting of the Christmas tree.
In downtown Valpo.

Cherries jubilee.
Is a type of hot chocolate.
Very very sweet.

Peppermint mocha.
Is totally in right now.
​And festive AF.

I am a banana.

Asparagus for me, please.
Merci beaucoup.

A little more garlic sauce, please.

Balloons for sale for thirty cents a balloon.
Umbrellas are a dollar thirty more.
Free to write Rockybado.
Free to write The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs.
Obviously The Magic Video Game.
Octopus.
​Noodles.

Hello everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is the day where many people have their extended family over at their house for a huge meal, which typically consists of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Afterwards, they may either watch sports on TV, play video games and/or board games, or do absolutely nothing else.

But that is not the case with my family. We are staying at our house today, since we don't have much family from around the area. And, although we are having the typical Thanksgiving dinner, we are most likely doing nothing else other than that.

Since it is Thanksgiving, you might be wondering how David Ingram's family (Rockybado), Andrew Grzedek's family (The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs), and Levi Cranston's family (The Magic Video Game) celebrate Thanksgiving. Although they all celebrate Thanksgiving much differently, I'm more than certain that they still have a great time.

David Ingram comes from a small family. He only has four cousins on his mom's side. The Ingram's extended family is all from Northwest Indiana, so they all celebrate Thanksgiving together. Every year, the family goes to a different house to celebrate Thanksgiving, meaning that one year the Ingram's host, and another year, the Ingram's cousins' family hosts. Both sets of grandparents have also hosted. The Ingram's do not have a typical Thanksgiving. The Ingram's dad always cooks Italian food, including his very own homemade mostaccioli and tiramisu, to name a few things. David and Brody also help cook the Italian food. This has always been a tradition with the Ingram's and their extended family. After their feast, they all watch good and bad Christmas movies together.

Andrew Grzedek comes from a large family. He has many cousins on both sides of the family, most of whom are from Northwest Indiana. The family who does not live in Northwest Indiana is from around Chicago. The family members have a race to create a social media event page first to determine who is hosting the Thanksgiving party that year. Since Andrew moved to downtown Valparaiso in June 2014, he, two cousins, and a mutual friend from college have done a pre-Thanksgiving party. This consists of going out to eat at a restaurant on the square and then going to one or two bars. Then, for actual Thanksgiving, Andrew and the two cousins spend Thanksgiving with the family, and their mutual friend goes to his family's house (who also live in Valpo). The family has the typical Thanksgiving dinner, consisting of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Then, after the actual feast, some family members watch football, some play video games, some read, and others converse. The family celebrates Thanksgiving from Wednesday to Sunday.

Levi Cranston comes from a medium-sized family. He and his immediate family typically stay at home and celebrate Thanksgiving together, with the kids' grandparents and two half sisters and their family joining them. The Cranston's have family in either Northwest Indiana or Rhode Island. Sometimes, they have gone to other houses for Thanksgiving, but they normally like to stay at home. Levi celebrates Thanksgiving with his family on the actual day. On the day after, he goes out with his best friends and girlfriend and go bowling and explore downtown Valparaiso. Instead of having a turkey for Thanksgiving, the family has rotisserie chicken. The Cranston's grandma, on their dad's side, does not like turkey, so they have always liked the idea of replacing the turkey with rotisserie chicken. However, the rest of the Thanksgiving dinner is typical. After the feast, the family doesn't make many plans.

However YOU are celebrating Thanksgiving, enjoy the rest of it.

I'll be blogging again some time during the weekend.

From,

You Know Who

It was a nice summer evening. Andrew and Alyssa were practicing their tennis skills at the tennis courts at the nearby high school. Andrew played tennis in high school and college. And Alyssa wants to play tennis in high school. Even though that’s another year away, she has always wanted to be a great tennis player before tryouts. That would take many hours’ worth of practice. However, that would always prove to be worth it. It worked for Andrew. So why wouldn’t it work for Alyssa? More likely than not, it would.
​
“What should we do now?” Andrew asked his little sister, after they decided to call it quits on practicing.
“Beats me. What should we do now?” Alyssa repeated the question.
“Sundaes?”
“I don’t know about a sundae tonight honestly.”
“If not a sundae, a milkshake?” Andrew offered.
“I could go for an ice coffee, honestly,” Alyssa said.
“Or a smoothie?”
“I could go for that, too.”
“Pina colada smoothies, though.”
“Sounds good.”

Andrew Grzedek with a pizza

What a great weekend.
My friends came from Illinois.
To spend time with me.

In downtown Valpo.
Walked into some coffee shops.
And some sweet shops, too.

A color me mug.
Something I will get myself.
Some time next weekend.

Pizza and arcade.
Could not be better than that.
​And a rock concert.

It was pretty great.
Life is good most of the time.
​'Specially with friends.

Hi, how are you?
Every day is a good day.
At noon, I'll meet you for coffee.
Right now, I'm saving for a condo.
Tomorrow, I'm closer to my goal.

Be right back.
Every hour, I have to use the bathroom.
At noon, at one, at two, at three.
Too much coffee.
In a moment, things can change.
Now I want a caramel apple spice.
Going to the loo every thirty minutes.

I'm not ashamed.
Now that I have gone to a coffee shop.

Move over, soda pop.
You can't beat a nice cup of coffee.

Clueless that soda pop may not be the best option.
Hopefully I can enjoy a cream soda the next day.
Ever since the beginning of November,
Since the crisp aroma of fall has struck us,
​Tomato.

It's Haiku Thursday.
It is not so normal though.
Oh well. Whatever.

We went to Georgia.
I am talking last Thursday.
It was lots of fun.

I met a new cat.
She is not my kitty, though.
She's affectionate.

We explored a park.
We also explored a mall.
It was very fun.

I played some ping pong.
Ping pong is my favorite sport.
​Love my family.

It was a summer evening, and Jack, Levi, Asad, and David walked over to a bar. They all wanted to try at least one or two craft beers, but they wanted to make themselves comfortable first. The four boys got to the bar early because they didn't want to sit in the crowd for a long time. Jack sat at a chair by the bar, and he motioned the other three boys to come over to where he was sitting. They all sat the bar, waiting for the bartender to come and take their orders. Jack got a domestic beer. Levi got a hard cider. Asad got a Pinot Grigio. And David got a White Russian. So far so good.
​
"David, are you gonna find a hot girl tonight?" Asad joked.
"I dunno," David replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, there have been some here that you liked. Right?"
"No, not really."
"What about that one brunette that we saw last week?" Asad asked.
"Whoops. Forgot about her. She was kinda pretty," David replied.
"I liked her glasses."
"Oh yeah, because they were pink."
"They're so unique."
"Yeah. Unique is good."

Asad Prejesh and David Savino playing a pick-up game of basketball

It was Saturday October 29th, 2016. Levi Cranston and his girlfriend, Mackenzie Burbanks, decided to take a day trip to Chicago today. Their housemates, Jack Andrews and Asad Prejesh, were busy anyway. And, even if they weren't, Levi and Mackenzie were hoping to just have the day to themselves. After all, Levi's 25th birthday is tomorrow, October 30th, and he and his girlfriend were going to make today extra special.

At 10:30 in the morning, Levi and Mackenzie drove to the train station from their place in downtown Valparaiso, Indiana. They waited there for a few minutes until the train came. And then they had an hour train ride before they'd make it into the city of Chicago. They just sat on the train listening to rock music. And then that time passed very quickly.

Before they knew it, they arrived in Chicago by train. Levi and Mackenzie had the whole day at their feet. And they were trying very hard to decide what they'd want to do. Since they didn't really make any plans. Probably get something to eat and explore the city for a while.

For lunch, they went to a very popular Mexican grill. Levi and Mackenzie were both in the mood for it, so that was most definitely the path of least resistance. The line was a little long, but well worth it. Mackenzie got a chicken burrito, and Levi got a steak burrito. Life is amazing.

"Hey, Mackenzie?" Levi got his girlfriend's attention.
"Yeah?" Mackenzie replied.
"Are you going to eat the other quarter of your burrito?"
"No, I'm not hungry now. Would you like it?"
"Absolutely," Levi said with a smile.
"You're so cute," Mackenzie remarked with a smile.
"So are you."
"So, what should we do afterwards?"
"I'm open."
"Oh gosh! So am I."

​Levi and Mackenzie did not know what to do afterwards. But what they did decide to do was just play it by ear and walk around the city for a bit. In fact, that was all they really wanted to do. They wanted to explore as many coffee shops and stores as possible. And also go to a few of the parks.

It was about 6:30 in the evening, and Levi and Mackenzie headed toward the train station. They made the 6:22 train, and the ride back to Valparaiso was going to be a long one. Mackenzie got a window seat, and she spent the whole train ride resting her head against Levi's shoulder. And Levi rested his head against his girlfriend's head. It was a nice hour and fifteen minutes to get back to Northwest Indiana.

"How ya doing?" Levi got Mackenzie's attention.
"Fine," Mackenzie replied.
"You sleepy?"
"A little."
"Awwwww," Levi said with a smile.
"Wanna watch some movies when we get back to Valpo?" Mackenzie asked her boyfriend of eleven years.
"Absolutely."
"What should we watch?"
"I have plenty of ideas."
"Oh boy."

Levi and Mackenzie drove back to downtown Valparaiso. Jack and Asad were most likely still not home yet. They were probably going to be home until later tonight. At least Levi and Mackenzie had the place to themselves, and they could watch some of their favorite movies while snuggling on the couch. At least for a little while.

Levi and Mackenzie got one of their favorite movies out and rested on the couch. Since the couch has a pull-out bed, they decided to use that. Both kids were resting their heads on a few pillows, and they were just taking in the moment. They were both very comfortable. Levi was watching the movie, and Mackenzie was about to fall asleep with her head on Levi's chest, listening to his heart beating.