happy birthday, dad!

i am probably on the road to arizona right now.  or, more likely, i am scrambling around doing last minute things.. trying to get out the door and on the road.. because, no matter where i am going, i am rarely on time.

marshall hates this about me. yet, he married me anyway. that’s true love, people.

dad’s birthday shenanigans!

as i mentioned, yesterday was my dad’s birthday.  the big 9 – 5!

oh wait.. no.. the big 5 – 9! 

dear old dad requested chicago dogs, complete with all the fixings, for his birthday dinner. and whatever the birthday guy wants, the birthday guy gets!  momma b & i had no idea what “all the fixings” entailed, so we turned to wikipedia.. although i suppose i could have turned to mara! that gal knows her chicago dogs.

anyway, wikipedia said this:

A Chicago-style hot dog is a steamed or water-simmered, kosher-style, all-beef frankfurter^[1][3] on a poppy seed bun,^[4] originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish (often a dyed neon-green variety, sometimes called piccalilli^[5]), a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt.^[1][6][7][8] The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" because of the unique combination of condiments.^[9][10]

perfect.

 

instead of boiling them, we grilled the dogs. we also grilled chicken for the anti-hot dog people (aka me and my sister in law.)

customary poppyseed buns.

while the dogs & chicken cooked, my dad made fresh squeezed lemonade with a *hint* of lime.

the lime matches his shirt!

it was seriously delicious. too bad it hurt my geographic tongue and i couldn’t drink much :(

we also had watermelon & corn as side dishes. yum and yum.

here was momma b’s chicago dog:

and my chickenago dog:

it was so dang good! i have never thought to top a chicken breast with hot dog fixings. definitely a great idea.

i managed to capture several corn addicts in the act!!

we love corn in our house.

there was one hot dog creep..

and one hysterical momma b. love this shot.

  

after our bellies were full of dinner, we sang happy birthday and candles were wished upon.

 

then, before the cake was devoured, it was time for presents!

 

he was super happy about the real vermont maple syrup marshall & i got him ;)

then.. CAKE! my mom makes a FANTASTIC red velvet cake. from scratch. she’s quite the baker.

i ate around the frosting and picked out just the cake part. i am not a frosting gal.

i’’ll be back next time with another honeymoon recap! take it easy, friends.

Qs~

1. hotdogs: love them or hate them? i am not a fan. the only time i will eat one is when camping, but even then.. i don’t prefer them. i just hate the way they taste. i do love bratwurst!

2. favorite kind of cake? i am not really a cake person.. i am all about the ice cream. but if i had to pick.. i would say the almond cake with blackberry filling that was served at my wedding. excellent.

xo. janetha g.