This weekend in pictures is definitely epic. I raced Steve Andrews down the Super Slide at Franklin Carnival, Awesome Girlfriend Megan came through in the clutch while we entertained a record number of people at my place, met friends new and old in Lafayette, we gave a gift to one of our bartender buddies, and went to my first ever New York Football Giants game!
Friday night our weekend started at the Franklin Pond where we had so much fun enjoying The Franklin Carnival. I had so much fun hanging out with Steve Andrews, his daughter Kim and granddaughter Gracie. It was fun seeing little Gracie get so excited to run around and play everywhere. While doing a Facebook Live video tour, our friend of the show Mayor Nick came up with the brilliant idea for me and Steve Andrews to have a race down the super slide! Andrews is claiming I got off to a false start, but he's just jealous I was quicker to jump when the ride attendant said "Go!"
You always run into friends at The Franklin Carnival, right? We had so much fun running into old friends and making new ones.
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Saturday morning, back to more work fun. We had a wonderful time for the Shoppes At Lafayette grand reopening. This can be such a huge win for us in Sussex County, and I'm not trying to be self serving because local places to shop make me very happy. Patti from Shoppes At Lafayette put together a weekend full of fun, and the fall weather was absolutely gorgeous. The mall is pet friendly too, so Awesome Girlfriend Megan and I were able to play with lots of cute puppies! Huge victory. I did a Facebook Live tour of the mall, but ended up with a BEAR encounter! Okay, they were in reality wood craft bears, but to me a bear is a bear is a BEAR!
Then Saturday night, it was time to break a record. You may know that entertaining is not my strong point. Before Awesome Girlfriend Megan, you would maybe once in a blue moon see me have two or three friends over my place. I'm always high strung and super OCD worried about whether or not everyone is having an amazing time. Awesome Girlfriend Megan loves to entertain, and put up all of those beautiful lights on my deck. Earlier in the week while calling my Dad, explaining to him how nervous I was, he replied with "Don't worry, Steve. Meg's got this." LOL. Padre is absolutely right. We got 4 pounds of ground beef from a farm stand, pack of hot dogs and we were ready to rock. Then as the day went on, we heard from more friends who were around in town. Including me and Awesome Girlfriend Megan, we had a total of ELEVEN PEOPLE AT MY PLACE!!!! ELEVEN! I panic if there's anyone other than Meg coming over my place. The stakes were pretty high. Some of our besties Carrie, Janice, Jasen and Janice had our amazing burgers before, but the others hadn't. Time to impress with my Longhorn Steak House seasoning! Everyone enjoyed their burgers --- I think. The party is almost a huge crazy blur to me. I got in the zone, started grilling with my trusty meat thermometer and we were golden. For added comedy, our Besty Edward commented "Steve Allan, the only person we have ever seen even use a meat thermometer for HOT DOGS." It's no secret, I would be absolutely lost without my meat thermometer.
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Sunday Funday. Awesome Girlfriend Megan and I came up with a plan. Our bartender buddy Rachel at The Cottage is a fellow diehard Dallas Cowboy fan just like Meg. They always have fun bonding moments. Bartender buddy Rachel is expecting, and her Giants fan husband won't allow their kids to be Cowboys fans. Meg and I were going to give Rachel a Cowboys onesie, but after meeting Rachel's husband who apparently lifts a lot of weights, we came up with Plan B. We made Cowboys sneakers for her! Surprise! My friend Damian was less than thrilled to be surrounded by Patriots and Cowboys fans again at his bar.
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Meg and I said our goodbyes as she went back to Hackettstown, and it was time for me to go to my FIRST EVER NY GIANTS GAME! Yes, you read that correctly. The Giants who have been the bane of my existence for years, who have broken my Patriots heart twice in The Super Bowl? Yes, those Giants. My buddy Brad has been going to Giants games for over 20 years. This summer, he talked me into joining him partially because of their impressive tailgating rituals. WOW. Brad and his friends are absolute tailgating pros. The party started with 6 people, and quickly escalated to 25. They have all been doing this every week for over 20 years. Homemade sausages, ribs, steak, and my description can't even give it justice. Brad's friend Ralph is a butcher, and it was like watching a cooking show in the parking lot. This guy was putting on a clinic!
Then we ventured into the game. Seeing future hall of famer Drew Brees in person was quite a sight. Indeed, I was rooting for the Giants. In case you're wondering, I was rocking my Rutgers hooded sweatshirt which was the best available decision. I realized earlier this week that all of my other hoodies are for my Boston sports teams. I was able to mingle with Giants fans quite well, screaming over bad calls by referees and sometimes bad coaching decisions.
The Giants lost, but we still had so much fun. My voice is definitely a little groggy today after all that fun yelling. I need to go to more live NFL games in person. The energy and passion is so much fun, plus you can really get so into it that other troubles fade to the back of your mind. Overall, this weekend was another reminder of how blessed I am to have such amazing friends. I hope your weekend was wonderful too. Time to start planning next weekend!