The Shweet Life

May Trip to Indy

2011-10-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

Catch-up Post 1: Trip to Indiana and Chicago in May

Yeah, Kris and I took some time to first head to Chicago and then to Indy and see my parents, Jenny & Bob and the kids. We did this the week after we closed on the new beach place, which I will refer to as Sailfish in future posts.

When we went to Chicago, we stayed with Brian and Meade at their place downtown. We met their dog and ate at some restaurants that were just bonkers. They took us to this mexican seafood joint that had the best crablegs I will probably ever have. Mo' props to them on that choice. And let the pics speak for themselves! We walked the magnificent mile, headed to a grill out at one of Brian's co-workers, and went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Great times had by all, especially since this was the last visit before Brian and Meade moved to Minnesota. Can't wait to visit them up north.

Here is a nice pic of us at the zoo with Brian and Meade

Below is when the four of us went first out to dinner (Brian, help me out, where did we go?) then out to a few bars.....at this point I don't remember the bars either....but the pic was nice!

But the trip was great. In Indy, we hung out with the family, just kind of chilling pretty much the whole time we were there, very relaxing. Oh, we fished the pond there in my parents neighborhood. Funny, I lived there until I was 21 or 22 and never really fished the pond and we caught so many fish in the span of a few days that I lost count on the first night.

Here is me and Granny at her place, we stopped there first on the way to my parents to say hello and have lunch.

Below is me and Jacob. We cool man!

Here's Kris, me and Dad fishing!

Happy Trails to one of our only trips this year!

Hitting Up some of the Shweetness

2011-10-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

Kristin and I took a vacation about a month ago at the beach place. We painted our bedroom upstairs, I planted some things in the front, and I wacked the hell out of a bunch of bushes with an electric trimmer I borrowed from a buddy.

Since our vacation, we've headed out to the beach one weekend, then had Kristin's mom come to visit. Kristin and her mom had some tickets to a So You Think You Can Dance show here in Orlando, which meant it was a perfect time for me to meet up with some friends and watch the UCF game.

Man, I haven't posted in a long time. This must be a record for me. I have so many things to write about that I don't know where to start. I guess I will download all my pictrues and write from there.

Until then, here's a picture of me finishing one of my Shweet Goals: I must admit, since March I did take the time to stop and smell the roses...in front of our new beach house.

What the Past Month Has Brought

2011-05-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Well, about a month ago, Kristin and I finally decided to jump into the housing market...again. With prices so low out at the beach right now, it was so alluring we finally gave a realtor a call. We were looking for something out in Cocoa Beach and decided that we wanted something close to the water and with low HOAs. On the first day with the realtor, we saw a number of places and as it turns out, we spotted what we wanted in just the second place. A townhome, it is located just across the street from the beach with easy access to the water. The walk from our front door to the beach is just four minutes and Kris and I are about a mile away from Jetty Park and 3 from Cocoa Beach Surf Company (and the Shark Pit's 4-7 Happy Hours...yes!).

So, we put the offer in and we're closing in two weeks. We went this weekend back out to the beach to do some boogie boarding for a couple hours and then headed back to our new place to measure two windows. The great part about this place is that it has a brand new kitchen with a great tiled counter, brand new washer/dryer so we can do laundry out at the beach during the weekend so we can keep up with chores while still bleaching out our week worries, new ceiling fans, and new blinds on all of the windows but one. I have to replace two screens, landscape the back, and that's about it. We do need furniture, but it will all come in time. The nice part is that there are tons of snow birds and folks moving out there that there are always great garage sales to go pick up furniture for the place, so I think it will come together really quickly. Last weekend, when I was at a golf outing, Kristin went garage sailing and found a mother load. The lady had a beach theme in her house and so Kris picked up a ton of beach themed stuff for the new place.

I posted the video of a walk from the front door of our place to the beach on Facebook, hope you enjoy. I'm sure I'll post tons of pictures as we get the place all set up. Oh, on the way back from the beach to meet our realtor, we were standing out in front of our new place and got to watch the Atlas rocket take off from the Cape, that was pretty cool! Looks like we will have a good place for Space parties! Ha!

The Future

2011-04-12T15:25:00.001-07:00

How many passwords do you have? I seem to have a username and password for just about everything. In fact, I truly believe that at some point, there is going to be a username and password on zippers. I’m going to have to use the right code to zip up a jacket or use a restroom. Now there is a password you won’t want to forget.

Or, I suppose there is a possibility of everyone moving to the use of biometrics. We will all scan our thumbs or fingers to get into everything we own. Soon, the future will hold the “new” household. Everything is linked in and you can manage it all with the touch of your iPhone 12. You wake up and before leaving the bed you’re starting the coffeemaker, starting your car out in the cold to ensure it’s nice and warm before you get in (middle of winter, of course) and you’ve also started the water in the shower to heat up prior to kicking your pajamas off and handing them to Jeebs, the electronic butler that takes your laundry to the washer for you. Your phone, which also works as a remote control to the 3D tv, will also automatically begin telling you the weather, scores of your favorite baseball, basketball, and football teams, and the estimated time of commute based on traffic patterns as you enter the shower.

Next thing you know, you’ve holstered your super phone onto your finger. Oh, I forgot to tell you, at this point your phone is a ring you place as a wedding band upon your ring finger and has a 4D display that shows on your lap or palm when in use. Yeah, the phone is so important we use it as wedding bands at this point. You’ve said the right words that make your phone also feed the cats and make you your take-to-work lunch you so desperately need to help compensate for that monthly phone bill.

At some point, you call mom and dad, speaking to them as if they’re sitting right next to you in the car on your way to work, because the hologram looks so damn real. You realize that you are wearing a black sock on your left foot and a blue sock on your right foot because you got dressed in the dark (you forgot to say “lights” this morning to get your phone to send a signal to the house and turn the lights on in the room). No worries, the cloth you wear in these days has is made of nanofibers that can change color depending on your desire. One quick sentence to the phone and Boom! You have two black socks on. And it’s always funny at work when one of your coworkers leaves their phone unlocked and you say “Clothes – Transparent” in a meeting…man, you got them again!!! Hilarious!

Yes, this is the future people. Everything done electronically. So many great and wonderful things ahead of us. And still….you’re screwed because you can’t remember the password to your zipper and you’ve been holding it in for hours. Damn it if you can’t remember the answer to the “Remind me” question to have it sent to your phone. I guess not everything is perfect in the future.

Have I been up to anything?

2011-03-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

I am not quite sure. For those who talk to me regularly, you know I started a new job in December and I've been trying to figure out just what the hell I'm doing there. The products, the programs, the various personalities...it's been a lot to let sink in. I think I'm finally figuring out everything, so I expect to have more less stressful days going forward than I've had. On top of that, I've traveled to Ft. Worth 3 times, Akron twice, but have tried to work toward the goals I've laid out. I plan on going to the beach this weekend, which I'm mo' pumped about.

Kris and I just bought Universal passes again. Man, those things are much better deals than Disney. But only if you like roller coasters and Harry Potter. Well, I'm good on the first and ok on the second. But I love me some Holloween Horror Nights!

Aside from that, my whole family just recently visited, thanks to Kristin! Thanks for the surprise, because even Jenny, Bob, Joshua, and Jacob made it down with the 'rents for a full-up holiday weekend. We all just hung out, and boy, was it nice. You gotta love hanging out with family over the course of a few days, just kicking back and being yourself.

Hmm, what else have Kris and I been up to? Just hanging out with some good friends of ours on most weekends, bought new couches (awesome), and I think that's about it. That's the past two months in a nut shell. Sorry I haven't been posting. Makes you want to forget about the blog, doesn't it? Well, have no fear, I will be posting much more going forward.

Turning 30

2011-03-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

So I turned 30 not too long ago. Yeah, the big 3-0. I've got 30 years of experience and (lack of) knowledge. It's amazing the things that you do and don't learn over the course of your life. Sometimes, regardless of how many times you view the lesson, it's not learned. Take, for example, every time someone says "Smell this." Yeah, who doesn't take a whiff?

At the same time, there are so many things I've had to learn the hard way. Regardless of what your parents tell you, you're gonna do it anyway. I sit at 30 years old and can honestly say that I've never taken a puff of a thing in my life, cigarettes included (example of listening). I can take pride in not breaking down in that. Jumping off a two story house...well, I can't say that I haven't given that a whirl, but kudos to me for not breaking anything. Example of not listening.

Yeah, life's all about lessons. Don't wash your white shirts with red hand towels. Don't dry new white t-shirts, they end up being smurf underwear. Don't cry in front of girls or policemen, you just look like a wuss (tried that to get out of a ticket...it just didn't work). Never drink a half of a fifth of tequila and a half of a fifth of apple pucker on your grad night, it always ends terribly. Never work at 8 in the morning after you've drank a half of a fifth of tequila and a half a fifth of apple pucker the morning after you drank it. That's the only time that the worm meeting the apple doesn't turn into a fun elementary school sticker or song.

Never let your little sister drive a remote control car in the street. It always means the end of the remote control car. Never let her son drive a remote control jet ski in the lake behind your house. Same result.

Wait, there are great things, as well. Look stupid (this can be applied to the bad stuff too, I guess). The only way to learn something is to look stupid. Some of the mistakes I've made have taught me valuable lessons. Like always checking before you sit on a toilet that the seat is down. I've learned that nothing is perfect unless you think it is. That one is important, let that one soak in. Oh, and perfect is different for everyone. You know, I have a life that means I am working or thinking about work from about 7 through 7 every day. That's just the way I'm wired. I am a terrible listener. My mind is always thinking about something. I know it's a weakness, but can't help my nature. I drink too much and work out too little. I eat too much and work out too little. I'm non-confrontational (I'm getting better at that every day that passes). I don't trust many people. Am I perfect? Hell no. But does my wife think I am....luckily, yes. And that is what I'm talking about.

I remember being 17 and driving my 1988 Oldsmobile '88 to bowling on a Saturday morning listening to Nirvana on my tape deck. Windows down, wind in my much more prolific hair. That's what life is. Remembering the small things. They're important because that's what has made you who you are.

Try everyday to stick to you what you believe in. I don't believe in many things - hell, the only times I go to church are when I'm with Kris's family (another lesson - nothing you believe or don't believe in is too important to put aside for a day.). Yes, I used the word "hell" on purpose. But if it's really important to you, don't give in.

Remember the apple you eat, the fresh air that you're breathing, the gorgeous scenery, to walk at night to see the stars, and the smell of the breeze - it's only because life is wonderful. You'll forget all of this fifteen minutes from now, but it's ok. You took the time to read it, hopefully 30 more years from now.

And you thought I was writing to you. Ha, I'm writing to me.

Catching Up at Home During Weekend

2011-01-09T14:37:00.000-08:00

It's been an uneventful weekend after the first week back following our week and a half vacation. Also, I was in Ft. Worth, Texas for a few days during the week so it especially meant that we had to catch up on things around the home. First, our Friday was spent first having a true happy hour (yes, we managed to hold it to a little over an hour) with some folks from work at the Tilted Kilt. My buddy John had to bring me over there since my car is still in the shop.

Oh yeah, that reminds me that I haven't posted what happened. Over our holiday break, my car blew a tire on a state road going about 70 miles an hour. I lost control of the car and we spun across all of the lanes and crashed into a guard rail. Luckily, Kristin and I were only a had a little soreness which was gone after two days of rest. But yes, I'm like Ms. Daisy and needing a Morgan Freeman to bring me around everywhere I go.

After the happy hour, we met some other friends out at dinner at Gators. For anyone whose been there, it's a freakin' party in your mouth. For the first time I had a Pretzel Reuben. It was a pretzel roll with grilled turkey, cheese and 1000 Island dressing. Whoa! This sandwich was off the hook. Why don't other places make sandwiches with pretzel rolls? It was like the cooler big brother of the Big Mac. It was big, solid, and probably gets all the ladies. I will eat this sandwich all the time now. Awesome.

Following dinner, we headed out to the bowling alley to get our groove thang on, Cosmic Bowling style. So we went through a few buckets of beer while we watched a group of teenagers dance like they were in a college club down the lane, getting freaky with their bowling balls. Rather strange, but the four of us just couldn't keep staring. It's like when you open the milk in the fridge and take a whiff, knowing it's been expired for two weeks and it's going to stink. Whew, that stinks! Let me take a whiff again just to be sure. Yep, it was like that.

But we rolled on and finished with a 247 in the last game (my other two sucked).

Saturday, I woke up feeling like I ate sandpaper and haven't felt good all weekend. I didn't do a thing yesterday and Kristin made us flatbread pizzas, which were slammin'.

Today, we were boring and ran errands. But we did watch Grown Ups with Adam Sandler and all his buddies. Pretty funny movie - cheesy like all of his movies, but still funny. I wish I were his friend, he buys them all sweet cars. Which would be awesome since I destroyed the back end of mine.

2011 Shweet Goals

2011-01-08T06:32:00.000-08:00

I've come up with the first 25 goals. Again, if anyone can come up with some, I'm looking for another 10 but haven't come up with any just yet. But, here they are:

1. Attend at least one Jimmy Buffett concert
2. Catch one fish
3. Surf at least one wave
4. Boogie Board at least one wave
5. Read 12 books
6. See 50 movies
7. Run 1,000 miles
8. Run one half marathon
9. Visit a Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Restaurant
10. Visit four states
11. Save $450 in coupons at grocery, $300 at restaurants (includes gift certs)
12. Do one activity in Orlando we've never done before
13. Attend at least seven sporting events
14. Try 12 new restaurants
15. Visit seven different beaches
16. Go to a zoo
17. Visit four new cities in Florida
18. Go on a five-mile hike
19. Go on a picnic
20. Get a picture in front of 3 large statues or monuments
21. Stop and smell the roses
22. Eat somethng disgusting
23.Take a picture of as many goals as possible
24. Go to an aquarium
25. Golf three times
26. See one play, musical, or orchestra
27. Eat a pizza starting with the crust
28. Rap about bunnies

So there they are. Should be an interesting year.

Little Bit of Bar Hoppin' To Ring In 2011

2011-01-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Last night we decided to head downtown to see what there was to be seen downtown. In our walk earlier this week downtown, we saw that a brand new dueling piano bar had opened near Amway Arena, so the thought originally was to check it out, listen to some live music, and try a new place.

When we arrived downtown, I parked in the first place I saw for $5. On the way to finding dinner, though, I was bickering like an old maid. "Do you think we parked close enough?" "Should I have parked closer?" I was blabbering like a little baby when Kris checked me back to reality stating that it was only about two blocks from our overall goal of the dueling piano bar.

I also must admit that it's been about six years since I hit the bars downtown. I'd make fun of myself here but it's hard to knowing that I paid about $7.50 for a Captain and Diet. Granted, it was a double, but I can have about 15 of those for about $7.50 at home. So, I may be less of a party animal but more of a money three-toed sloth. Pimp it Sloth, pimp it.

Back to our bar hopping experience. First we wanted dinner. We decided to head into a bar that had a huge outdoor plaza with three separate bar areas and an open dining area that was enclosed situated next to it. Ember, with dark, rustic wood beams scattered throughout the interior and lights dangling from the ceiling giving off a dark orange and red light, paying tribute to the bar's name gave us a cozy feel as we ponied up to the bar. Our bartenders slided us menus and we soon partook in crispy calamari and a delicious barbecue chicken flatbread pizza. We watched TCU beat Wisconsin and watched as more and more Michigan State fans entered the bar. The bowl game featuring Michigan State and Alabama was here in Florida, so there were plenty of both team's fans seen at the various bars we hit.

After dinner, we headed over to Wai Tiki, a tiki bar on Wall Street, hopped to Wall Street Cantina, and watched a drunk give the what-for to an Alabama fan. You had to love this guy's perseverance. Surrounded by a sea of red, he was clamoring about how good UCF was. I know, we did just win our first bowl game on the 31st of December, but the likelihood of us beating Alabama at this point of our program is not large enough to be throwing stones to make ripples in that environment. But somehow, over time, this pudgy little fellow made friends with the 'Bama fans, showing that there is still some southern charm down here.

We did try to head over to the piano bar. But, when we entered, we were two of about 15 people in there. One thing I know about dueling piano bars is that they love to make fun of some of their patrons. And our chances of being barbed were much higher with just 15 people. Plus, bars are just more fun with more people. We decided not to pay the cover and went back out in search of another bar. We ended up heading over to Latitudes, one of my favorite bars since it's on the roof of one of the buildings downtown. It's got a tropical flare and now, with the new Amway Arena built, a gorgeous view from certain areas of the bar. We finished our night here, which was a good time.

One thing we kept alluding to was the fact that everyone was starting to come out when we were ready to go. Yes, youth has it's advantages. But, we get up at about 7:30 or 8 and usually make a full day for ourselves. We'll run, take a walk together, clean the house, run some errands, or do something else that means not resting up. The way I remember it, when I was younger and knew that we were going out at night, I'd be relaxing around the house and doing nothing. Saving energy. I guess I can live with the former over the latter.

Kristin's Day

2011-01-01T14:01:00.000-08:00

As I've noted earlier, Kristin and I elected to not give each other gifts this year and instead swap days. She planned a day at Lake Eola and a personal chef. Me, I pulled out all the stops, as well. First, I took her to a fancy breakfast at this posh restaurant - the Waffle House. That's right, I spare no expense for Kristin. I even let her get a waffle AND hash browns.

In all seriousness, we always love going to the Waffle House, so we had a nice breakfast. Next, we met up with our friends, Casey and Allison, and did some fishing. We fished for a couple hours, caught a few bluegill and sunfish. I caught a huge bass and had it all the way to shore ready to pull him out when he got off of the hook. I swear, he was as big a round as he was long and could have eaten a small child. Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit, but he was massive. I wish I had landed him.

After fishing, we came home, got cleaned up and headed out to Winter Park. There is a boat tour of Lakes Osceola, Victoria, and Maitland in addition to skirting through the various canals that connect the lakes. While it's only an hour, it turned out to be a great time. Afterward, the two of us meandered down Park Avenue. It's brick streets, upscale shopping, and towering live oaks dripping with spanish moss made the day perfect. We stopped and had dinner at Panullo's Italian Restaurant and ate outside, sipping a great pinot noir and shoveling in manicotti, stuffed shells, linguine, and chicken parmesan. And, as we ate, a lady passed by and put a small piece of paper on our table and said "Happy New Year" as she walked away. That little paper was a coupon that saved us $15 on our meal. Sometimes people just surprise you with acts of kindness. Go stranger lady!

We headed home and then went over to Casey and Allison's for a bonfire and to watch the ball drop. We rang in the new year drinking champagne and that was the end of the day. Great times had by all.

Finishing Up 2010 Shweet Goals

2011-01-01T09:44:00.000-08:00

Alright, here's the rest of the list:

16. Visit ten different beaches: I got this one done by visiting New Smyrna Beach, Cocoa Beach, Wailea Beach, Haumana Bay, Kuhio Beach, Ulua Beach, Waikiki Beach, Waimea Bay Beach, Bonzai Pipeline, Sunset Beach, and a few other small ones out there in Hawaii. Can't believe I actually did this...

17. Ride on a boat: We did snorkel trips in Hawaii, Key Largo, and also a dinner cruise in Maui. Oh, and yesterday we went on the Scenic Boat Tour at Lake Osceola. That was actually pretty cool. And let's not forget when Kristin and Tom were turned deckhands on the pirate ship in Key Largo...

18. Go to Busch Gardens: Nope, failed on this one. That means it must become a goal for 2011.

19. Walk 100 miles starting May 16th: Started that day because that was when I created my list. I actually did do this through a lot of different means, but I enjoy walking. This means I'm going to be one of those old people who walk the malls at 7 in the morning on cold days. Awesome.

20. Go on a 5-mile hike: I might have, but I don't remember doing it, so I can't count this as a success. Moves to a 2011 goal.

21. Go to one restaurant from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: We had planned on going to Jacksonville yesterday to actually knock this one out. However, we decided to stay in Orlando so this goal ended up not being completed. This also means that I have to get it done this year. I'm actually really excited to do this one...

22. Attend one musical, play or orchestra: I guess we're not artistically inclined, because we never made it to any of these. We did attend the Beauty and the Beast show that Kristin's cousin is in at Disney...I think that's worth half credit since it was a musical, but not the original intent of the shweet goal. Hey, I get to do what I want :)

23. Attend 3 sporting events: This was a really fun one to do this year. We attended a Stetson baseball game in April with someone from work (Stetson is where Kristin received her undergrad), went to an Arena Football game where the Orlando Predators won to keep their playoff hopes alive, attended a Green Bay Packers game...in Green Bay (awesome), and saw the Orlando Magic lose to the 76ers.

That's it, 23 goals last year, but I wrote them very late. I'm actually in the process of writing up my new goals. If you have any ideas, drop me a line since I need some unique things to do. If you can give me some cool things to do in a two to three hour radius from Orlando, I'll add them to the list and see if Kris and I can knock them off. 2010 fades off into the sunset. I welcome 2011 and hope I can log some fun activities here on the ol' blog.

Shweet Goals

2010-12-31T05:44:00.000-08:00

I left my list unfinished in the last blog. Here goes:

4. See fifty movies: Iron Man 2, Old Dogs, 30 Days of Night, Zombieland, Blue Collar Comedy Tour 1 & 2, Clash of the Titans, Sherlock Holmes, A-Team, Rambo III, Lock Up, State of Play, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Date Movie, The Expendibles, Inception, Million Dollar Baby, Green Zone, Hurt Locker, When in Rome, The Box, Undisputed, Up, Failure to Launch, Hot Tub Time Machine, From Paris With Love, Robin Hood, Men Who Stare At Goats, Edge of Darkness, Shutter Island, Up in the Air, The Town, The Losers, Gamer, Bolt, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Repo Men, Bounty Hunter, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, The American, Salt, Coraline, Knight and Day, Marley & Me, Brooklyn's Finest, The Crazies, Death Race, Toy Story 3, Fourth Kind, The Proposal.

5. Attend at least one Jimmy Buffet concert: As noted, I hit one in Indy and one in Orlando. I honestly have lost count on the JB concerts I've been to, but I've got to be near double digits. I think I've been to 4 in Indianapolis, one in Charlotte, one in Tampa Bay, one in Orlando, one in Chicago (Wrigley Field baby!!)...I think that might be it. But JB concerts are so fun....I don't know when he'll quit touring, but it's fun to make at least a concert a year.

6. Complete at least one bike ride: Totally did this. About six years ago, Kristin and I bought bikes together. They're just mountain bikes, but they're still tons of fun to use, especially now that we live in a planned community with a bunch of gorgeous homes and a downtown. We can bike downtown, grab lunch, head through the tree lined streets, and just enjoy ourselves. We also took our bikes out to the Seminole trail this year and did a ride through Oviedo.

7. Snorkel at least once: Kristin and I grabed the breathing tubes and snorkeled the coral reef off of Wailea Beach in Maui and also took a trip on the Maui Magic, a snorkel charter to Molokini. Lastly, we did a trip to Key Largo with our friends, Tom and Tiffany, and chartered our very own snorkel trip out to grecian rocks.

8. Catch at least one wave boogie boarding and one surfing at two different beaches: This was half complete. I boogie boarded and surfed Cocoa Beach a few times. In fact, I actually took a day to myself off of work once this year and just headed out to the beach for some fun in the sun. I packed up some boogie boards, threw the board on the top of the car, and headed out to my favorite beach. I love those waves!

9. Bowl a 200: I did this many times this year since Kristin and I joined a bowling league again. We bowled every week and I actually had the league high game at 274. I nearly stole best average in the league for the first time in my bowling career, but came up a pin short. My average finished at 195.

10. Write 52 blogs during the year: Well, this makes 52, so I take that as a yes. I hope next year I can be more consistent with writing. Easy to say, much harder to do when that thing called work gets in the way.

11. Try at least 15 new restaurants: The Bistro (Akron), Flannagans (Deerfield Beach), Dukes (Waikiki), Stella Blues (Maui), Maui Tacos, Cheeseburger (Maui), Fuji Sushi, Milwaukee Ale House, Summer Palace, Red Star Tavern, Bubbalous Bodacious BBQ, Tilted Kilt, Lone Star, The Relax Bar and Grill (Orlando), Mala (Maui).

12. Save $250 from coupons during grocery shopping: Woohoo! Thanks to Kristin's new hobby, we managed to save over $400 from coupon savings during the year. This is a tremendous accomplishment that I really can't take credit for, but have to give it all to my amazing wife. Since we spend ridiculous amounts of money traveling every year, we've made what I see as a cool goal for 2011. We're going to use the money we save from coupons and gift certificates at the grocery and at restaurants to do all of our traveling. Hopefully this will incentivize us to save more shopping and also travel less or more prudently.

13. Spend under $150 on restaurants during one month: We only did it one month, and that was in August. Shame on us. But it was soooooo goood.

14: Lose 5 pounds: Failed miserably at this one. Actually, I think I gained 10. Oh well, there went my youth.

15. Kayak at least once: Kris and I went to the Brevard Zoo earlier in the year near Cocoa and kayaked through the African Safari area. In fact, I believe that this zoo is the only zoo in the country that offers kayaking. We also saw a baby gator in the canal, which was not planned by the zoo! Haha, there's always something interesting going on down here in Florida!

2010 Shweet Goals - Just 1-3

2010-12-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

So, how did I do against my Shweet Goals for 2010?

I'll get it started, check out how it's gone:

1. Visit Four States: Well, Kristin and I had a good time finishing this goal this year. The first state I visited without Kris was Indiana. See, my dad and I had tickets to the Jimmy Buffett concert. Kristin and I had already gone to see a Buffett concert here in Orlando during March, but this was an opportunity for the old man to see a full concert, which he had never been able to do. Years ago, he and my mom went but it had started raining and they left early. This year, Dad got the full experience. We went to the liquor store, bought some premixed margaritas and headed in his Sentra to the concert. We popped open his trunk, where some massive speakers reside, and blared JB while wastin' away again. In addition, we met up with one of my old friends, Jennifer, her husband, and an assortment of their friends. We tailgated with them for an hour or two, then headed into the concert. JB was awesome, finishing the concert with Tin Cup Chalice, and the evening was finished. So was the trip.

Just a week later, Kristin and I departed for our five-year anniversary trip. The long awaited trip to Hawaii had begun. Due to Kristin's job as an auditor for a couple years and all of the travel that comes with that, we had a virtually free trip. The hotels and one flight were all free. In additon to this, because of her super status, we were upgraded in both hotels we stayed at. We had an amazing time which I dedicated a number of blogs to, so I won't go into the details here. Go Hawaii!

For work, I also traveled to Fort Worth, Texas and Akron, Ohio. I won't go into detail here since it was work and well, work is work. But, I did manage to get out in the evenings and try some great restaurants.

Lastly, Kristin and I went to Wisconsin since her proposal manager had offered us tickets to a Green Bay Packer game. What? Green Bay tickets? Count me in. We headed to the land of beer and cheese and had a great time. Another state that Kristin and I can tick off of the great fifty.

2. Read 12 books: Oh yeah. Here's the list:

Dragonknigt, Donita K. Paul
Dragonfire, Donita K. Paul
Journey to the Center of the Earth (Verne)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea (Verne)
A Hole in Texas (Waulk)
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Larsson)
The Girl Who Played With Fire (Larsson)
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (Larsson)
Hotel Honolulu (Theroux)
The Hunger Games (Collins)
Catching Fire (Collins)
Mockingjay (Collins)
Pirate Latitudes (Crichton)
The Mysterious Island (Verne)
All of The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis)
Homer & Langley (Doctorow)

3. Run 1,000 miles: Again, just barely, but this makes 2 years in a row with 1,000 miles. For the first time in five years, though, Kristin and I did not do a half marathon.

Root Beer Rum?

2010-12-30T15:57:00.000-08:00

Just a couple days ago, Kristin and I decided to head down Colonial and find the Hobby Lobby. We had never been to the HL down here in Orlando and we missed one of the places we used to fill our house with artwork and nick knacks.

When we did find the Hobby Lobby, we also found the Total Wine! If you've never been to Total Wine, I won't get into a large description since I think I wrote about the place years ago, but it's amazing! In my opinion, it's the Costco, Wal-Mart, or Sam's Club of alcohol. You can find just about anything you could possible want.

Like root beer rum. Yes, on this voyage, we found this delightful imbibement to tickle our palettes. In addition, we picked up orangecello, strawberry Irish cream (different and interesting), irish cream, Kahlua, spiced rum, vodka, and a po' man's midori. Hey, you have to fill your bar when you get the chance!

Later that evening, we mixed the root beer rum and A&W. Wow! Couldn't even tell that you had liquor in the drink. These things are dangerous. In fact, we had our personal chef over last night and as she cooked for us, Kristin sucked a few of these things down like they were water. Woohoo! Kristin never drinks, so it was her night to sit back and let someone do the work while she enjoyed the concoction.

And that is it, my friends. Root beer rum. It's awesome, give it a shot.

Christmas 2010 - The Personal Chef

2010-12-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

To finish off the day as I described earlier, Kristin hired a personal chef. She arrived at around 5:30 and through the night, would cook us a meal and dessert while showing us how to do it all. As Kristin sipped her Rum and Root Beer (I'll get into that later) and I my vodka and tonic (thanks, Brian), we watched as the chef explained each step and provided guidance on many other culinary delights. Her guidance was great: keep it simple. She wanted to teach us a meal that we could easily make and at the same time be a bit different.

The meal ended up being pistacio encrusted chicken with a cauliflaur puree and steamed broccoli. For dessert, we had creamy lemon tarts which were exquisite. We also learned very simple things, like mayonaise on fish is delicious under the broiler and she passed on many other little tidbits. The chef was also a journalist and provided us some insightful articles relating to us the easiest ways to flavor meals. The whole evening was very enjoyable. Kristin, you hit a home run with this one. What will be fun is cooking in our kitchen a year from now and talking about the time we had her over to teach us how to make a meal. And the neat part is that we will definitely do this meal again. We do, however, need a food processer and a blender, as both of those appliances do not exist in the Lacky home right now.

Lake Eola

2010-12-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

For christmas this year, Kristin and I decided to go with the gift alternative. This means that instead of swapping gifts wrapped neatly underneath the tree, we each had the job of planning out a day for the two of us to enjoy together. And Kristin's gift was used first. We started the day out at Lake Eola, the park in downtown Orlando. Today was a break from the cold, with the weather finally making it's way back into the sixties. We parked and headed first to lunch at The Relax Bar and Grill right there on Lake Eola. We shared a buffalo chicken flatbread sandwich while we watched the passerby take dozens of pictures of a nesting black swan. After lunch, Kristin and I walked the trail surrounding the lake and then went into downtown and walked the many streets peering into the many bars and eateries. Aside from some Magic games, we haven't really gone into downtown in about five years. So, the first part of the day has been a blast. Next up: we have a personal chef coming at 5:30 where she'll cook for us while also showing us how to make the meal. I'll give you all the heads up on how that was when we're done. Meanwhile, enjoy the picks of the two of us out at Lake Eola.

Got to See Magic Game

2010-12-19T04:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Kristin and I were offered some Magic tickets from some friends and had the opportunity to see the new Amway Arena. The old Amway was small, stuffy, and....well, old. Now, the new Amway is a tribute to new arena architecture. Open, glitzy and bright. The surrounding area was even built up to make the experience even cooler. There are restaurants, a bar overlooking the floor, and much much more. But not just restaurants. There are more restaurants than you can possibly imagine. There are carving stations, mexican food, pizza, barbecue, gourmet sandwiches (yes...gourmet), and then there's a basketball team.

Yesterday, the Magic also made a crazy big trade, getting rid of Vince Carter, Gortat, and a few other players to bring Gilbert Arenas over to the team in the hopes of adding some scoring capabilities to enhance Dwight's game. So, the Magic were shorthanded...and got whooped by the 76ers.

One great note: As we left, all of Orlando was blanketed with a very thick fog. Looking up toward the tips of the skyscrapers, we could barely make them out. Surrounding the arena, the city has installed large blue and purple lights, illuminating the foggy streets amazing colors. And then, Kristin asked, "Is this real or fake fog?"

Magic Fog. It's magic fog.

Milwaukee

2010-12-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

I don't think I ever blogged about this, but we went to Milwaukee in October. See, the proposal manager that Kristin has been working with had two extra tickets to the Packer game against the Lions and offered them up to us. If you're unfamiliar with Packer games, tickets can be hard to come by since the games are sold out far far far in advance. In fact, all tickets are pretty much season tickets. Chuck and his wife put their nephew on the waiting list for season tickets ten years ago and he's still waiting!

Knowing that we wouldn't go to Wisconsin as a leisure trip, this gave us both a good reason to head out there and see a new state, a couple new cities, and see a Packer game. One of my Shweet goals this year was to attend three different sporting events and this was also my third on the list, so why not?

We flew out for an extended weekend and really had a blast. During the first day we were there, we headed downtown Milwaukee for sight-seeing and tasting. We had lunch at the Milwaukee Ale House then walked along the river to view all of the sites. The weather was pretty good, overcast but still warm enough to enjoy the day. After having a couple pints at the Ale House, walking around downtown, we elected to try out one of the nearby breweries, Lakefront Breweries. We headed there, paid for the tour which also meant a free pint glass as a souvenier and a tasting...four free beers! Woohoo!.

The tour was a good hour and a half later, so Kristin and I headed out, hit the nearby park and just had a wonderful walk. We strolled through all of the local neighborhoods, looking at the old homes that have been kept up so beautifully by those who reside there. If you've ever strolled through a college or old town, you know what I'm talking about. Two story homes with wooden siding that's usually brightly painted and a front porch painted white with all of the ornate trimming. Fall flowers planted that can withstand the cold for maybe a few more weeks before snow or frost start killing them off. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk. After we went back to the brewery, we decided to not do the tour but use our tokens for the beer and then head off to yet another site within the area. So, we sat, tried the brews (Kristin had their root beer) and then headed over to the Miller Brewery. Unfortunately, they were sold out for the day so we headed back to downtown and walked some more. There, we hit two other microbreweries (one local to the area and one a franchise...Rock Bottom) before heading to one more site, the Pabst Mansion. Owned and lived in quite some time ago by the Pabst family (when PBR was one of the biggest beers here in America), the mansion was gorgeous. Just a few weeks ago as we were watching How I Met Your Mother, they actually showed a picture of it that made us think of Milwaukee. Anyway, the tour was awesome and a fun time filler. After that, we finally headed out to dinner and called it a day.

Sunday, we headed out to Green Bay, where we had the opportunity to enjoy our club seats while we watch the Pack tame the Lions, sitting with Chuck and Debbie. The game, the ambiance, everything about it was amazing. The crazy part about Lambeau is that the stadium is situated amongst a neighborhood. Local homeowners were making the extra bucks by selling parking spaces in their back yards or front yards, depeneding on how the home was situated to the road. The tailgating was awesome, you could tell that everyone made it a full day with regards to their home team. After the game, we walked over to a Buffalo Wild Wings and sat watching the Colts game while we waited for the traffic to clear out. After that, we saw a local park and got out, walking underneath giant maple trees just enjoying the day.

Lastly, on Monday before our flight, we headed to the Milwaukee Zoo. It was really a beautiful zoo, and this is one of Kristin and my favorite things to do in new cities (checking out their zoo). As the trip winded down, we realized how much we liked Milwaukee. Hopefully some day we'll find another reason to visit.

New Wall Unit

2010-12-12T07:14:00.000-08:00

I haven't yet had the opportunity to post, but we bought a new wall unit for the living room about a month ago. So, here 'tis. We haven't filled it completely yet, but I'm sure we'll gather enough trinkets over time to fill the whole thing. The goal will be to finally start putting framed pictures in the shelf at the top there. We'll see.

The cool thing about the pillars on the left and right is that they have shelves built into them, so they pull out and are secret storage areas. Guess it's not much of a secret now. Oh, and you tap the hinge of the glass doors to turn on the lights within the unit. I'll try and post a picture of the unit at night. The two doors at the bottom are black because they're speaker covers - we have our music system in there and the speakers are behind those doors. We can change those out for the same wood, glass or the speaker covers. Also, the middle doors can convert to glass, as well. I like the way it looks now, though.

Baby Blogs

2010-12-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

There are so many different types of communication out there now. I blog, facebook, email...even email through facebook. There's also the tweet, which I don't know much about except that it's a shorter version of a blog. My current thoughts in 140 characters. Hmm, I kind of like the concept. So, because I have no intention of doing yet another site and managing another username and password, I will begin to give short insights into my thoughts in blogs. Maybe this will get me blogging more frequently.

So, here are a couple of short comments. What's on my mind in baby bloogs.

Ran 10 miles today - feel like 10 miles was 10 too many.

Had a fried Spam sandwich today - if Spam was good for me I would eat Spam every day. What would the Chick Filet cows say about Spam? Why did they name email you don't want spam? It's nothing like edible Spam, which I totally want.

Went looking at christmas lights two nights ago with some friends....got to see the house that I think was on the old beer commercial that had their lighting in sync with music. Totally awesome.

Great Day On Saturday

2010-12-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Kristin and I had an amazing day. With her birthday in the middle of last week, we didn't have an opportunity to celebrate. Instead, we went bowling with our league. To compensate, Saturday was our day to hang out and truly celebrate. It was a full day.

In the morning, we woke up with wonderful weather. It was bright, sunny, and in the sixties or low seventies outside. We kicked off the fun with a light 4 mile run. When we were done, we got ready and headed over to our first UCF football game. And, this game for us just so happened to be the Conference USA championship game. A couple years ago, UCF finally brought football on campus by building a stadium. They had previously been playing near downtown Orlando in the Citrus Bowl. The problem with this is that everyone who wanted to watch the UCF games had to go all the way downtown. Not great for building a student base who attends the games. While the game yesterday didn't sell out, hopefully over time the program will continue to grow and build a culture where it's "cool" to go to the games.

The game was a blast and UCF's team looks like they're turning the corner. Their QB, who is a freshman, has poise and led the team to a 17-7 C-USA championship. This bodes will for at least the next couple years, as I believe the team will only get better. And let's not forget that the UCF basketball team beat the University of Florida last week, as well. UCF athletics is making a positive turn....Go UCF!

After Kristin and I watched the game, we headed back home to get things cleaned up. See, we haven't had time to catch up around the house for some time. But, we spent a little time getting the house in order and then finally, we got cleaned up once more and headed out to dinner. We had originally planned on going to Houstons, an amazing restaurant in Maitland. But, Kristin had a change of heart on our way out and we ended up at Longhorn, one of her favorite places to eat. We sat and watched Auburn beat South Carolina (Booooo) and devoured the parmesan encrusted chicken. From there, we walked the Waterford area and stopped at Friendly Confines for a pint (we had a coupon for a free pint...can't complain there) and then headed back. We decided it would be a nice night for a walk in downtown Avalon, so we headed down there. As it turned out, it was the weekend they do the holiday festival and a huge fireworks show that competes with the fourth of July. So, we walked around the various tents set up to sell trinkets and pretzels and all other types of foods, jams, and jellies until it was time to watch the fireworks blast off over the lake in the middle of the downtown area. The fireworks were beautiful and a wonderful surprise.

And that finished our day. We came home and watched Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz while falling asleep on the couch.

Appliance Revolt

2010-12-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

What is happening? The world has gone on tilt and suddenly conspirators exist in our household. It's as if all of the workings in the house have gone awry to teach me some type of life lesson. And it all starts with a giant armoire.

About six months ago, Kristin and I were driving home from the grocery store. On the side of the road, some couple moving from their townhome was selling a large armoire For $30. What an amazing price, right? Well, I bought this armoire thinking it would be perfect for a room upstairs. It had everything: slide away doors which hid the TV when it wasn't in use, large drawers for a guest to make their stay more comfortable by unpacking, and it was cool. But, when I bought a dollie to move the armoire upstairs, it was too big for the dollie, it slid off and fell on my leg. Don't worry, the hero of the story (that would be me) was not mortally injured. Instead, I decided that the armoire also looked nice...in the garage.

So here I am, with a nice armoire in the garage. That is the beginning. Next, our beer fridge, also in the garage, also resides in the garage. And we love our beer fridge. It's a fridge and it keeps all of our beer cold. Who wouldn't love that? But, on holidays we also use it for so much more. We keep leftovers in there. We keep pies in the beer fridge. We keep sodas. About two months ago, the computer board went out. We called an appliance technician to come out and fix it. And fix it he did. The cost: $500. Wow! That beer fridge was expensive to fix. Yes, I know you can buy a fridge for $300, but we already had this one. Three weeks later, the fridge went out again. Same part, but this time the company charged us only a $50 service fee. Why on earth we had to pay the service fee when they were the culprits for having to come out again. Yes, they fixed the exact same thing. And now, another three weeks later (during the weekend after thanksgiving), our beer fridge has gone out a third time. So now, I have a worthless fridge and an armoire sitting in my garage, thinking of other ways to create an upheaval in the house. And they have already found more co-conspirators.

The very same week of the fridge going out, one side of our reclining sofa went "out." I don't know how a sofa can go on the fritz, but it has happened to us. One side now has the foot rest go up, but you cant recline at all. And this past week, our blender broke while Kristin was blending up oreos. And today, my washer ruined two shirts. There was some type of brown funk on two white shirts when I pulled them out. I have no idea what the hell is going on. I'm hoping the brown funk came from something that was missed in a pocket and thrown in the wash, but I'm also thinking that this could be the great appliance revolt of 2010 in our home. They've had enough and are now pushing my buttons. Only time will tell. Meanwhile, I'm out a beer fridge, a blender, and a sofa. And it all started with an angry armoire sitting out in the garage. I underestimated this armoire. I will not let that happen again.

The Dish

2010-11-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, Kristin and I moved from Brighthouse (my least favorite of all cable providers) to The Dish. I don't know why Direct TV doesn't call brand themselves The Dish. It's just fun to say. Say it three times. The Dish, The Dish, The Dish. Don't you want The Dish now? Hehe....

It's amazing. We now DVR our favorite shows and have also picked up a few new shows because of it. If you're not watching How I Met Your Mother, you are one wacky individual. This is by far my new favorite show and I can DVR two episodes a day.

In addition, we're DVR'ing House Hunters, Cheaters, Nikita (this show is great, check it out), The Office, Tosh.O, and many other greats. The only problem with DVR is I'm an even bigger TV addict than I was. Plus, we have the HBO/Showtime package so when there is nothing on, I can throw on a movie I've seen five hundred times to kill time. I can't tell you how many times I've watched Avatar now. I even caught myself watching Kindergarten Cop the other day. You know you're addicted to TV when you're watching Arnold.

Fast forwarding through commercials is the third greatest thing since sliced bread. On a side note, sliced bread is awesome. Toast it, throw some ranch on it, and it's a party. But back to fast forwarding. I don't think I ever want to watch TV live anymore. I'll just watch something that I've DVRed, eat some Pork Rinds, and wait for the other show to get about 25 minutes into it so I can rewind to the beginning and watch the whole show commercial free.

Oh, and we got the NFL Network. How amazing is that? I no longer need to walk into the Ale House, drop $20 drinking and eating Buffalo Zingers, but instead relax on my reclining sofa (oh yeah, we ride in style) and sip whatever the hell I want...and it's mo' cheaper than even the Ale House.

Yes, The Dish has made me addict....I will never be the same.

And what is the deal with Dexter? I have watched a number of episodes....I just don't get what everyone likes about it.

I Love Fifty Brews

2010-11-21T15:38:00.000-08:00

What have we been up to? Well, there has definitely been a lot of work. Aside from that, Kristin and I have recently bought a new wall unit and loaded up our living room with awesomeness. I need to post some pictures, because I now feel very fancy.

This weekend, we went out with a couple friends to one of my favorite bars, which is great because it's so close to our house. Fifty Brews, new to Orlando, is the perfect place as long as you like beer. Check out the list of things you can do, for free mind you, at Fifty Brews while you're sipping your favorite brew:

Cornhole (yep, they actually have a cornhole league)
Darts
Pool
Air Hockey
Shuffleboard (the table variety...if you've never played, it's awesome)
Wii

Yep, it's all free. And, they serve fried twinkies and fried oreos. I know what you are asking yourself. "Why don't we have a place this amazing?" I don't know, but it's fantastic. Plus, all of their brews are $3.75 or less. On Friday, we played everything above except the darts and Wii and had a blast. I had a ginger beer, a milk chocolate stout, and a Golden Monkey. I don't remember what type the monkey beer was, but I do know I had a headache all day on Saturday.

Your last question. Did you partake in the fried oreos? You bet your ass we did. Were they great? No, but would you leave Fifty Brews without trying the fried oreos? I didn't think so.

My next task? Well, they have a club at Fifty Brews. See, they serve tons of different beers. And their challenge is to drink Fifty Brews in Fifty Days. Check out my postings at the back end of the year (since I have two weeks off and nothing else to do) to see what exciting (mis)adventures I will have in bellying up to this challenge.

Late Fees

2010-10-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

In 2003, I made a life changing decision to move to Orlando. I had accepted a position at a large Fortune 500 company and was entering the real grown-up world. Many of the things that I once had needed updating. I had an Orlando address and it was time to transfer everything over to the Orlando life. New license. New address for all my bills. New bills! And, one cannot forget, a new library card.

I lived in Orlando for three years. I met my wife, got a master's degree, and used the library. Leaving Orlando, my wife and I spent a year in Maryland and two years in South Carolina before returning to the city I'll call home for quite some time still. But, it's been a while since I went back to the library.

Well, I knew I owed money. My father and I had taken a trip to Key West back in '06 and I had a half dozen books that were overdue a few weeks. I had a couple CDs in the mix, as well. I returned them in the drop box and never paid my late fees. Leaving Orlando and coming back, I was faced with a predicament. Pay the fees or never take books out from the library. I did have an alternative. My wife. A true opportunity. She, too, could get a library card. She, too, could take books out from the library. And she, unlike me, owed nothing to the Orange County Library System.

So I have been utilizing her card for some time now. She was at work today, though. What is a man to do when he wants to take out books from the library? So, I went into this sanctuary of litarature. I basked in the warmth of novellas and autobiographies. I strolled through the aisles of worn covers and plastic sheaths. And I found things I wanted to take out.

"I'd like to get a library card," speaking to one of the librarians.
"Great, do you have a license?"
"Yeah, here you go."
"Have you ever had a card here before?"
"Yes, but it was years ago."
"Did you live in Ashton?"
"Hmm, I think so." Damn. She caught me. She found my old library card in the system and was in the process of telling me that it would only be a $3 charge to update my library card when...

"You do owe $44 in late fees that you will have to pay before you are able to take anything out."

And here it was. Staring me directly in the face was the fact that I was about to pay $44 in late fees I had been holding onto for quite some time. Can you believe it? $44 dollars. I paid the fee, and I must say that I feel liberated. For years I have had this fee over my head. For so long I have avoided the library for the sole reason that I had been fighting the silent war against the library. For four years I have been waiting for the secret library police to come after me and force me to pay the fee.

But, here I sit, with a book about the Romans and a surf movie. And I'm $44 lighter in the wallet. So be it. I love you, library.

Labor Day Weekend in Key Largo

2010-09-11T05:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we kept the tradition alive with our friends, Tom and Tiffany. This year, we headed down to Key Largo, the quiet, sub-tropical paradise full of snorkeling, diving, and eateries. We ended up getting down to Key Largo after a long drive on Friday and were glad to see our friends from Greenville, SC. While living there for about two years, we all grew close, spending most weekends together just playing cards or watching movies.

The initial drive up to the house we all rented was great. The A frame house, set up far above the ground on stilts, gave the feeling of adventure. Tom was prepping the grill and we got our tour. The first thing evident was the large shaded patio which spanned the entire area where the first level of the house normally would be. Walking out from underneath the home, you immediately encountered the canal the home is built on. Many homes on the canal had boats docked and waiting to be taken out to the open ocean.

Upstairs was amazing. The inside was all wood paneling and gave the feel of a log cabin. The masater bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, and living room made up the first floor. A spiral staircasae led us upstairs to the loft, where Kristin and I slept during the trip.

That night, we had steaks and vegetables, which Tom cooked up on the grill. We all didn't stay up too late, as we had a boat chartered for some snorkeling the next morning.

On Saturday, we awoke early threw on our bathing suits, packed bags full of SPF, towels, and goodies and drove out to the boat. Our captain, Alberto, led the four of us to our private ship while the thirty or forty other soon-to-be-snorkelers waited for their captain to take them to their boat. Some of these people actually started following us and our captain, which Alberto quickly turned around by giving them the what-for.

"This boat is not for you, you are to wait for the other boat. You don't go on this boat," he was telling the others. Meanwhile, he's as kind as ever to us as he leads us on deck. It's a nice boat, with seating for us in the bow and the stern. We ended up spending most of our time on the boat actually in the bow of the ship, as it was shaded by a canvas canopy. Soon, we were out on the open ocean, making a speedy cruise toward our snorkel spot. As we approached Grecian Rocks, the reef that we would be exploring, we noticed a large fishing vessel shipwrecked and sitting atop the reef. Yes, some captain drove his ship onto the rocks, ruining the ship and according to our captain, probably paying a severe fine for the clumsy mistake.

We were soon in the water. With good clarity and shallow water, the entire snorkel trip was amazing. First entering the water, the ocean floor was covered with sea grass and conchs. With little kicking, however, we were over a beautiful reef full of life. Parrotfish, angelfish, grunts, wrasse, and many other fish darted in and out of the various holes. We saw an old cannon from the 1600's sitting between large brain coral. Tom and Tif saw a nurse shark and stingray, while Kris and I saw a family of spiny lobsters huddling underneath the reef.

We snorkeled for about two and a half hours before we started making our way back to shore. It was a fabulous beginning to the day and probably my favorite part of the trip. When we left the boat, we made our way to lunch at The Big Chill, a bar and grill owned by ex-football coach and current commentator Jimmy Johnson. Sitting out on the back deck overlooking the water, we ordered drinks and awaited our meals. Tom took a couple bucks and gave the lobster claw a shot. The lobster claw was like those stuffed animal games you see at other places, where by putting money in the machine gives you a chance at winning a prize by grabbing it from the bottom of the glass enclosure. This one, however, had live lobsters at the bottom. If you are able to grab one, the restaurant would cook it up for you. Tom nearly grabbed one by the claw. Close, but no lobster. Kristin soon gave it a try and she actually had a lobster in the claw and out of the water before is squirmed it's way out of the clutch and back into the water. Almost had a fresh lobster roll...darn!

Lunch was good and we soon all went back to the house and took a short nap. We all then went downstairs and started fishing the canal. Soon, Kristin caught her very first fish! Not just on the trip, but in her life. And her first fish was a small mouth grunt. Kristin was exteremely excited and we all had a good time just sitting there fishing. And so began Kristin's enjoyment of fishing. Meanwhile, we all cast our bait into the water and waited for more nibbles.

Later in the evening we headed out to dinner at a restaurant attached to the Marriott. The food was delicious and it was the end of a wonderful day. With no specific plans on Sunday, we were ready to wake and see what would be ahead of us.

Just a Nice Day...

2010-08-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

It's halfway through the weekend. Kristin and I went out do the Enzian in Winter Park to catch a movie that we've been dying to see over the past three weeks. See, Kristin recently finished the second book of the Salander Trilogy. I finished the trilogy just a few weeks ago. Waiting for Kristin to catch up, we were finally prepared. Whe drove into downtown and then down the cobbled streets through Winter Park, finally reaching our destination. The Enzian, which is an indie theater, is showing The Girl Who Played With Fire for folks like us to compare and contrast against the books. The movies haven't been made by Hollywood just yet, so we're actually lucky! Yes, because America hasn't touched these books cinematically, we have been forced to watch the first two productions from Sweden. Subtitles mean nothing, as it takes one of my favorite series and turns them into real life, real people.

The Enzian was a gem. Driving in, we parked under hundred year old live oaks with spanish moss reaching their little fingers as far as they could toward the grass surrounding the trees. Ferns surrounded the trees and beautiful orange, red, and orange flowers were lighting our way toward the entrance. Eden, the outdoor bar connected to the theater, introduced the two of us to the environment. After we purchased our tickets, we entered the seating area. A plethora of tables and couches awaited us. We selected a four seater and soon we were ordering hummus, warm pitas and beer while we watched the previews.

We watched Salander and Blomkvist make headway against Zala and all of the evil that enters this world as we sipped our soda and local brew (respectively). As the movie drew to a close, so we thought did our experience. Yet, as we exited the theater, we headed over to Eden and parked ourselves on the pub stools, looking out toward the beauty that surrounded us. Vines worked their best to grow up the old tree trunks, while I couldn't help but feel like I was having a pint at a local pub in Pandora. Short, but fantastic experience at the Enzian. I will look forward to heading out there numerous times in the future.

I love beer

2010-08-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

I sit here sipping a Guinness, in all of it's glory and can't help but wonder a key element to the beer's label. It's Guinness Draught with an "a" in draught. A long period of time without rain is considered a drought, with an "o." In fact, dictionary dot com defines a drought as a period of dry weather, especially one that is injurious to crops. Interestingly, we need crops to make beer. And, if I'm out of draught, I am in a drought. One might wonder if the word origin of draught ties back to the word drought. Do the Irish discuss when entering a Public House that they are in a drought for draught?

What's the deal with all the owners or CEOs of beer companies? I see them all on tv and they're all skinny. How do they keep all of those beer guts scarce? If I continue to drink the magical beverage over time without break, I begin to see that it sticks. Like a frat house floor after a party, it works in the same fashion. Everything that I eat the next day (or the same night) sticks to my midsection. If you know me, you know that I run regularly and keep at least what I consider a pretty active lifestyle. Yet, the beer continues to pester me. While I would consider myself a 5/10 on the scale of a beer connoisseur, I now must maintain a beer-free environment at home unless I have guests. My beehive can no longer contain the nectar I enjoy, as it is just plain bad for my budget. Because if I endulge, I must also endulge in the purchase of new pants.

Have you heard the new Race Trac commercial. It refers to beer as liquid rainbows. Great description. I wish I was a beer leprechaun.

The 25

2010-07-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

I wrote this a long time ago and put it on my facebook because someone sent me the tag. I don't tag others, but thought it would be fun to dothe 25. But, since it's in a place where I don't think anyone ever goes to, I decided to utilize the good ol' blog.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. Leaving college, I had a list of goals: live in Florida, learn to surf, live in SC, and own a home. Pretty simple, but since then I've done all of those. If only one of the goals was "Don't lose money on your first house." Ouch...

2. Been married for five years...well, almost five years. One week away

3. I love to eat toast and ranch because an old buddy, Nick G., taught me that toast and ranch is good.

4. My second toe on each foot is not bigger than my big toe. I think you can divide the world into those whose second toes are bigger than their big toes and those whose aren't.

5. For those of you whose big toe is the same length as your second toe...that's just creepy man.

6. Goals: I actually carry around a list of 25-35 goals each year to accomplish in my wallet.

7. I love to write in my free time. Usually off-the-cuff. I'd say I'm more a narrator than a writer. Just narrating my point of view.

8. I ran 1,000 miles for the first time in four years last year - legs finally stayed healthy enough for me to run consistently. Go legs.

9. I love anythng buffalo. Buffalo wings, buffalo chicken pizza, buffalo...s Did you know the cross between a cow and a buffalo is called a beefalo? I love that, too.

10. In the past five years, I've lived in Florida, Maryland, South Carolina, and Florida again. Kris and I are done moving. Orlando lifers now.

11. I hate it that restroom doors swing into the restroom. So, even if you wash your hands, you still have to grab the door handle that the non-hand washers grab to get out.

12. Why hasn't anyone started a toilet paper advertising company - advertisements on squares of toilet paper...I could make millions.

13. Ever been in a bank line and you know the person in front of you farted but you don't say anything? That's the worst.

14. I've been to at least 8 Jimmy Buffett concerts. I've lost count but the coolest venue was Wrigley Field

15. Favorite Football team is the Indianapolis Colts - need at least one more SB before Peyton retires.

16. Bowling is awesome. For those who hate on the sport...nobody's perfect. I forgive you. And that's why you're single.

17. Cake isn't good. Pie is good. I love pie.

18. If I were to meet anyone in the world, it would be my wife. Did you say awe? That was me sucking up to my wife.

19. Why do we have a small amount of hair on our toes? Why don't I lose that hair instead of the stuff on my head? The body is just not practical...get rid of the creepy hair, not the stuff I like!

20. I have a full-size beer fridge. The beer fridge is an amazing thing.

21. I collected shells and pencils and a kid. No wonder I'm weird.

22. I think it would be amazing to boat the entire Mississippi from start to the Gulf.

23. When I went to Ball State, our football team had the longest losing streak in the nation. When I went to UCF for grad school, their football team had the longest losing streak in the nation. I'm beginning to think it had something to do with me.

24. I never bet or gamble unless I know I'm going to win. You should never take a bet from me.

25. Every town should have an Ale House. It's the greatest bar and grill ever. 35 shrimp....mmm.

Hoarding Body Wash

2010-07-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

As many of you are probably aware, Kristin and I have a budget in Excel in which we track our actual costs spent, by dollar, against said budget. In fact, we have our budget, actual costs by category, cash flow statement, and estimate at complete (EAC) to which we forecast our ending net income for the year. This is our second year tracking cost, and has helped us understand where our money has gone over the years in addition to helping us generate better spending habits. For example, we spent $500 last year alone at the Orlando Ale House, our favorite restaurant and bar. It doesn't sound too hefty, but consider two things: we moved here in March last year and we split meals. But, we've been able to reduce our spending at restaurnats from about $400 a month last year to $150 a month this year. Yes, a drastic change in lifestyle which has meant bringing in lunch from home to work (and my reintroduction to chef boyardee....they have pop tops and spaghetti and meatballs are good room temperature...I swear) and eating dinners out primarily on Friday's and Saturdays.

But this, my friends, is simply an introduction to the purpose of my blog. Another avenue we have explored has been coupon cutting. In our visit to Indiana in December of last year, my sister showed us "the book." Ah, the book. A binder, plain and simple from an exterior examination, has a dollars and cents blood running through it's baseball card sleeve veins. Once you've exhaustively opened the cover, you enter into the wild world of couponing. Kristin, my friends, has a hobby.

In fact, we've gone from the half-inch binder to a full one-and-a-half-inch binder. To a couponer, this is not the size of your binder, but the greater the opportunity to save money. It's shelves of loot for the picking. Sailing the isles, Kristin and I have become coupon pirates, searching out the most lucrative ports for pillaging.

There are massive benefits. Even though our eating out has been drastically reduced from last year, our grocery bills have actually lowered. Yes, they've been reduced! Today, I stocked up on deodorant. We got six Right Guard deororants for $1. It's hard to believe, but amazing. We got seven Crest toothpastes for $2.25. All now lie ready for use in our linen closet. We won't buy either deodorant or toothpaste for a year.

But, there are also negative habits you get. Kristin, in all of her amazingness, has succombed to a couple. One is free body wash. She will have coupons that equate to free body wash. And let me pause at this point to let you know that I do not use a body poof. Or, as you fancy people call it, a loofa. I use a bar of soap. I don't understand the interest in body wash...it's like washing your body with a giant booger. No booger wash for me, I love my bar soap. Nevertheless, we have almost an entire row in our closet dedicated to body wash that we haven't spent a dime on, but still gather like a carnivorous squirrel gathers useless nuts. If I went to booger wash, I could shower for the next thirty years without having to procure a single lathering medium. I still stand strong. The few. The proud and the bar soap users.

Shweet Goals for 2010

2010-07-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it's way late to be posting my goals for the year, but it's always better to be late than never. I put these together trying to keep them consistent with prior years and also trying to mix it up a bit. It's a short list this year, primarily because I let half the year slip through the cracks. I'll status at the end of the year...I certainly hope I do alright at accomplishing what I want this year. But as lift always goes, usually the best stories come from those times you never plan for. I hope to have a ton of those during the year.

1. Visit Four States: To date, have visited Indianapolis in May for Buffett, visited Akron, OH for work, and Hawaii in May for five-year anniversary

2. Read 12 books – Have currently read the last two books in the Donita Paul series (Dragonknight & Dragonfire), Journey to the Center of the Earth (Verne) and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Verne), A Hole in Texas (Wouk), Hotel Honolulu (Theroux), and I'm working on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

3. Run 1,000 Miles - at 550 with a half marathon to train for (in October)

4. See 50 Movies: Iron Man 2, Old Dogs, 30 Days of Night, Zombieland, Blue Collar Comedy Tour 1 & 2, Clash of the Titans, Robin Hood, The A-Team, Lock Up.

5. Attend at least one Jimmy Buffett concert: Attended Orlando concert in March and Indianapolis concert in May Go Jimmy!

6. Complete at least one bike ride: Rode the Seminole Trail in April

7. Snorkel at least once - Snorkeled many times off of Wailea Beach and also took a snorkel adventure to Molokini in Maui. Also snorkeled Haunama Bay in Oahu.

8. Catch at least one wave boogie boarding and one surfing at two different beaches - Cocoa Beach has been visited frequently by Kris and I already, but I guess we need to find another beach to chill on.

9. Bowl a 200 - Bowled my first series of the year on 7/2. 186, 214, and a 243. Guess I still have some ability with that big round ball.

10. Write 52 blogs during the year

11. Try at least 15 new restaurants: The Bistro (Akron), Flannagans (Deerfield Beach), Dukes (Hawaii), Maui Tacos, Black Hammock, Stella Blues, Mala (Maui), Cabo Wabo Cantina, Kona Brewing Company, Chart House (Oahu)

12. Save $250 from coupons during grocery shopping

13. Spend under $150 on restaurants during one month

14. Lose 5 pounds

15. Kayak at least once - Kayaked in the Brevard Zoo in first half of the year

16. Visit ten different beaches - New Symrna, Cocoa Beach, Wailea Beach, Kuhio Beach, Haumana Bay,

17. Ride on a boat - Airboat Ride on Lake Jessup (saw gators and a bald eagle!), snorkel trip and a dinner cruise in Hawaii.

18. Go to Busch Gardens

19. Walk 100 miles starting May 16th

20. Go on a 5-mile hike

21. Go to one restaurant from Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

22. Attend one musical, play or orchestra

23. Attend 3 sporting events: Went to Stetson Baseball game (April), Arena Football Game (July)

Oahu - Day 1

2010-07-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

*This Pic is from our room in Oahu - the scene is Diamondhead, just east of Waikiki

Our final time in Maui was spent on the sands of the beautiful Wailea Beach and the calm waters of the Pacific, snorkeling directly in front of where our room was situated. In anywhere from five to twenty feet of water, Kristin and I were immersed in a sprawling oceanscape of coral and fish. The floor was covered in a color palette almost too gorgeous to be real. In our final moments of snorkeling we spotted underneath the coral bank a massive green sea turtle relaxing his day away in fields of rainbows. While Kristin and I gazed at the amazing sea creature, we slowly waved our hands to keep us from drifting away. At the same time, it was a subtle way to hold this week for a few more wonderful moments. Maui was spectacular, everything that we could have hoped for in a vacation locale. Crystal blue waters, calm breezes, great meals, sunsets and more importantly, memories.

With the first half of our vacation complete, it was off to Oahu. Yes, we still had a full five more days to spend in the Sandwich Islands. We packed our bags with souveniers and sunscreen and soon our aircraft was taxiing to the gate in Honolulu. Let the adventure continue.

It was the afternoon. We picked up our car rental, which turned out to be a minivan, and meandered toward our next hotel, the Marriott in Waikiki. Checking in, Kristin's status garnered us yet another upgrade and a beach view. In fact, it garnered us much more, for we had a panoramic view of Diamondhead, the ancient and extinct volcano that is just part of Hawaiin beauty. Entering our room on the 29th floor, we were greeted with chocolate strawberries and a basket of fruit from my parents. We devoured the strawberries as we stood atop Waikiki on our balcony and soaked up the scenery.

We unpacked and changed, ready for a dinner out on the town. We elected to head toward a restaurant we had heard about from friends - Dukes. Named for an olympic gold medalist back in the early 1900's and also one of the fathers of modern surfing, it is a must when in Hawaii. We bought some drinks, a Blue Hawaii and a Mai Tai and walked down to the beach to watch the surfers ride five- to six-foot waves toward shore as we waited for a table. Life could not be any further from work. I had a cold drink in the middle of the Pacific. I was with the girl that made it all matter and life couldn't be any simpler.

All too soon, our buzzer went off and we were seated for our meal. I won't go into the details, but the food was specatular. I had a seafood medley that was covered in a refreshing coconut based sauce and Kristin had the monchong. While we sat and ate, a three-woman Hawaian band was moving from table to table, playing for those who wanted to provide a small tip to be entertained for a few unforgettable moments. Soon, the trio was at our table and we listened to the older women with her beautiful voice seranade us with local music. And that, my friends, was our first night in Oahu.

Buffett - May 2010 - Under the Big Top

2010-07-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

So I wrote this post on my flight back to Orlando, just never got around to posting. And I never got any pics in soft copy, so it's just text...

While work has taken the majority of my attention in recent months, this weekend provided a short but enjoyable distraction to my daily responsibilities. Months ago, my parents had purchased Jimmy Buffett tickets for my father and I to attend in Indianapolis. With those tickets purchased, I quickly followed with additional planning, purchasing myself a ticket in to Indianapolis. Lo and behold, the months have passed and it was this past weekend that had me flying into my hometown to spend time with the family and see the venerable Buffett in yet another concert series.

I arrived into Indianapolis on Friday, dog tired from a long week. Kristin and I have been spending quite some effort getting up in the morning prior to work and running. With work being so time consuming, the only real stretch available to Kristin and I to get a run in has been the mornings. So, every day at around 5:30 we’ve hit the trails. The problem with these occurrences is that we have not yet been getting to bed at a more sufficient time, leaving me drained of energy by the end of the week. This trip, while completely enjoyable, has not exactly provided the opportunity to catch up on shut eye.

As I was saying, my parents picked me up at the airport at around 11:30 and we headed home. There, my sister and nephew were there waiting for us to arrive. Jacob was snug in his crib while we caught up for about an hour. Saturday morning came far too quickly and we were all up prior to 8. We started the day with a full breakfast of sausage, biscuits, eggs, coffee and juice. Afterward, we took a family walk around the neighborhood. It’s been years since I’ve last seen the neighborhood in full bloom. Since Kris and I have been coming during the holiday’s, this is the first time in about two years that I’d seen leaves on the trees. It was great to see that the neighborhood I grew up in has old, seasoned trees in everyone’s front yard and that the circle makes for a nice walk. We all spent the three-quarter mile loop chasing Jacob, as he ran almost the entire loop, only to stop and turn and watch us as we worked to keep up.

After the walk, we headed back into the house to play. I went for a run in the late morning and upon my return, we started prepping for lunch. It also being my mother’s birthday, we had one of her favorites – grilled brat burgers. Lunch was great thanks to dad’s grillmaster skills. Afterward, we spent the afternoon a little more quietly. A stop at Party City to pick up some lei’s for dad and I rounded out the afternoon. Jacob was a blast – his vocabulary continually increasing and his neverending reservoir of energy made for a fun day.

The Jimmy Buffett concert was awesome. Dad and I headed into the concert a couple hours early to do some tailgating. We stopped and had dinner at my all-time favorite sub shop, Penn Station…amazing. At the concert, we sat out on the back of his car and listened to some Buffett. Soon, though, we ran into an old friend of mine from high school and tailgated at the back of her, her husband’s, and their friends’ limo prior to finding our way into the concert. Jimmy, as always, didn’t disappoint. We sat through about a 2:30 set which finished on a high note: an acoustical solo version of Tin Cup Chalice. The Big Top concert was over. Dad and I had sat through his first full Jimmy Buffett concert. The seats were great, the band was great, and the whole event was great. I stay vague because, as we all know….what happens at a Jimmy Buffett concert stays at a Jimmy Buffett concert. Party on, parrotheads!

Sunday has been more of the same. Getting up before 8, I rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes. Well, perhaps not getting it completely out. Jenny and Jacob were soon there, and we were all around the kitchen table having breakfast and then getting ready for the day.

Some time outside throwing the football with Jenny and then Dad, having lunch at McDonalds, and watching Thomas the train finalized my voyage. I’m now back on a plane eating air miles and finding my way back to Orlando. A great trip, but I could sure use a nap.

Final Full day in Maui

2010-05-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

After our day snorkeling, our last full day in Maui had a dinner cruise planned for the evening. Kristin's mom had got this for us (Thanks so much!) as an anniversary gift. For our morning, we started with a run at the gym and then went to the serenity pool on the resort. The resort actually had five different pools, this being one of them. The cool part about this pool, though, is that it's edge was a waterfall, so it looked like it rolled right into the ocean. I think they call these infinity pools. But we relaxed at the pool for a couple hours, then went to the neighboring pool to have lunch. I think Kristin has been missing one of our favorite meals...pizza!!! With that being said, her order was placed for none other than the succulent dish, this time in the flatbread variety. For me...if you've read my blog in the past, you know that I had a goal of attaining some fish tacos. So, at the pool, I had fish tacos from the resort. They were delicious!!! And so was Kristin's pizza...hehe.

Kristin and I had a great time just lazing, having lunch, and taking in the scenery. Maui had been so good to us up to that point, we couldn't wait to hitch a ride on the Ali Nui, the catamaran which was to take un on a voyage in search of the perfect sunset.

We were picked up from the hotel at 4:30 by the van that would take us to the same harbor we shipped off the morning before for a snorkel trip. Instead, we headed onboard for what would be a great time. This very new cat would supply us with appetizers, drinks, and some new friends.

Once we took off, we started talking to a couple from California. Down to earth and with great personalities, Kristin and I hit it off with them. As I sipped mai tais through the evening (when in rome...) and we all nibbled on cheese, shrimp, beef, and an assortment of other tidbits, the four of us laughed it up. Unfortunately for some who did not have sea legs, they ended up praying to the porcelain gods for a steady sea.

The sunset was beautiful, setting against the mountainous shores of Maui. After a couple hours and sunset and moonrise...we headed in. It was back on board the van, where we headed back to the hotel. The couple we hung out with, Bill and Aly, were staying at the same hotel. When we all got off, we decided to go to Maui Tacos, a place I had been talking about for three days! Yes, this fish taco was amazing...it's what I envisioned a fish taco to be. I thank the couple, they bought us dinner!

It was another fantastic day to add to our vacation. What a blast! But, I hate to say it, we only had a half day left in Maui. Tune in, same bat time, same bat channel, to see what we did for our final few hours on the island I'm absolutely sure Kristin and I will visit again.

Definition #2: The 36 Rule Definition #3: Slappy

2010-05-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

The 36 Rule: This addition to the Lackey vocabulary was generated in Hawaii, both Maui and Oahu. Simply pronounced the thirty-six rule but meaning the three - six rule, this term explains what happens at three mai tais and six mai tais. To provide the best explanation of the 36 Rule, I will show pictures of one at three mai tais, then at six. Please note that this rule applies to most drinks, not just mai tais, containing alcohol content.

Person at three mai tais:

Person at six mai tais:

Slappy: This term is used when one has reached the slap-happy stage of drinking. Typically in conjunction with The 36 Rule, one may be slappy from drink 3 forward. Slappiness is the stage you want to maintain during your evening - Slap-happy being the stage you are willing to sit next to a stranger, slap them on the back and say Aloha!

Getting Up and Snorkeling

2010-05-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

The day after the luau was to start with a snorkel trip we had booked a couple days before. With the drive out to the docks being about 40 minutes, we had to get up at around 5:30 to get ready, pack our bags with SPF, and be out the door toward the Maui Magic, the ship which was to be our home base for the five hour voyage.

When we arrived to the ship, we were treated to breakfast at the stern. The bagels and cream cheese were right on target for Kristin and I. Soon, we were pulling out of the slip on a gorgeous morning and heading out of the harbor. The snorkel trip was broken down into three separate elements. First, it was about a 40 to 50 minute sightseeing adventure down the coast of south Maui. From the ship, we saw the two large mountains/expired volcanoes, one being the great Haleakala and even our hotel. Nestled next to the Grand Wailea, it was easy to spot our hotel from the ship. The cruise was great with the wind in our hair, the sun beating down and tanning our skin, and music blaring from the ship's radio.

Finally, we made it to our first snorkel spot. Molokini crater, a sunken crater in the middle of the Pacific and a locale which is regularly voted one of the top dive spots in the world would be our first underwater exploration. Here, we saw various types of corals in the hues of greens, reds, blues, oranges and yellows. In addition, we saw various types of fish. If I knew the different names for them all, I would definitely give them to you, but my scholarly intellect (hehe) doesn't make it's way into the underwater realms.

We had a great 50 minutes navigating the crater, but then went back on deck for a drive out to another location where the crew hoped to help us spot some of Hawaii's green sea turtles. And, alas, at our second location, we were lucky to do so. Kristin and I had the chance to spot and swim with a small green sea turtle! What an experience! Kristin absolutely loves sea turtles, so it was a great lifetime opportunity to do this in the open ocean.

After another hour in the water, we headed back on to the ship where one of the crewmembers was making burgers and dogs. The two of us spilt a burger, chips, and some veggies, which hit the spot perfectly. With a slow drive back into the harbor where we spotted another four sea turtles on the surface of the ocean, our morning had come to a close. We had a great time with the snorkeling, but we were then heading back to our hotel.

For the remainder of the day, we walked the paved trail that extended over Wailea Beach, Ulua Beach, and Mokapu Beach and even went down to the beach for a short time. Going back up to the room, I left Kristin to get ready for the evening and headed to Ma La, one of the restaurants with a beautiful second-story view of the Pacific. At this time of the day, the sun made the water glisten like millions of little diamonds as it made it's nightly dive into the water. A...you guessed it...mai tai kept me company while I waited and watched the sunset. In talking with the bartender, she recommended a local restaurant, Stella Blues, for a good dinner. Once Kristin was done with getting ready, were were out.

Dinner was magnificent. I had the macadamia nut & panko breaded ahi tuna, served medium rare and Kristin had a fish only served here in the Pacific, mon chong. I had never heard of this fish and it is a rarity to see Kristin order something that she's not accustomed to. Luckily, she absolutely loved her dish, as I did mine. It was one of the best meals I've had in a long time, definitely the best since we've been on vacation. We sucked down dinner, and that was the end of our day. Another great day for the books. My goodness, what could possibly be next????

Lahaina Part 2

2010-05-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

After our stroll through the heart of Lahaina, we realized we still had about two hours to kill. Uh oh, I think Kristin and I didn't plan this too well. Being on our feet all day and in the warm sun was making us tired. We went to the car and sat with the air on, thinkin about taking a nap. Trying to get comfortable, we just couldn't seem to find a way to fall asleep for a half hour. But, just down the street, I saw a place open titled "Glow Putt." Hmm. Putt putt, but glow in the dark....sounds like we gotta try it.

We did the 18 holes of glow putt and if you've ever done something similar, I won't need to explain. For those of you who never have, here is the exciting paragraph for you! Basically, some guy takes a bunch of 4x4's and creates the different holes, varying it up by making turns in different locations on the course...and two of the holes had loop D loops where the ball goes through the loop D loop and exits toward the hole. Then, the same guy takes a bunch of neon tape and plasters it everywhere. I think I saw a poodle covered in neon tape just running around glowing like nuts. Lastly, add the black lights. And you have glow putt. Hey, it killed the hour we were looking to kill and we actually had fun doing it. Thank you glow putt.

It was time for the luau. When we got to the Old Lahaina Luau, which everyone recommends, we got the last parking spot!!! I love it when that happens. Then, all of the other cars are passing going, "Durn it!" or "If we had come just 5 minutes earlier....it was you putting that make-up on that slowed us down," whereby the wife retorts "Well, next time we'll go out wearing our bathing suits and you'll be happy."

Waiting to be seated, the hawaiin men were passing out, you guessed it, Mai Tais! So, Kristin and I sipped Mai Tais as we were being led to our seats. The Hawaiin man, dressed in nothing but a yellow cloth covered in green flowers, walked us to our seats, which gave us a fantastic view of the actual luau. He managed to tell us that the bar was open until dinner began and that we had about twenty minutes to walk around the site, view some of the traditional basket weaving, tiki god carving, and liquor pouring prior to the start of the festivities. Oh, and I shouldn't forget that both Kristin and I received fresh, real lei's, worn around our necks for the remainder of the evening. So, we did everything I just mentioned. Basket weaving...check. Tiki god carving...check. Liquor pouring...mmmm....check. We also got some fantastic pictures of the two of us at the luau, even one with a rainbow in the backdrop. Yes, it's real and man, I love Maui!

Dinner began and it was buffet style. Unfortunately for Kristin, she didn't end up enjoying the food too much. Unfortunately for me, I enjoyed the food. Guess I ain't trimming down at all during vacation! They served some fantastic elements, like the ahi tuna salad, which contained ahi sashimi and some vegetables, octopus, barbecue chicken, pulled pork, poi (that stuff was nasty), sweet potatoes (they were purple, though and really good), and many other dishes. Kasika, our waiter, wasn't the best in the world, nor the brightest, but we still made it back to the bar every now and again ourselves to replenish our liquids.

After dinner, the ceremony began with dancing from both the men and the women. It was extremely entertaining and we watched for about an hour. We did leave about 30 minutes before it ended. Both Kristin and I were exhausted and we also had an hour drive back to the hotel. It was an amazing day.

Lovin' Life in Lahaina Part 1

2010-05-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

As for the second day of our Hawaii adventures, we had a luau planned in the evening in Lahaina. We started the day with a workout. I failed to mention it in the prior blog, but we have been hitting the gym every morning. We've also been getting up around 6 a.m. every day, which also means we've been going to bed around 11. After the gym, we headed directly for our favorite sandy spot, Wailea Beach. There, we splashed around in the water, relaxed on our beach towels, and had more rum in a pineapple. We stayed out underneath the warm but enjoyable sun for a couple hours before heading in to the room to get ready. While still the morning, our plan of attack was to head into Lahaina, hit the shops, then make our way to the luau which was situated on the outskirts of the shopping area.

Once we got there, we searched out Cheeseburger in Paradise for lunch. While we originally thought it was connected to Jimmy Buffett, it was the sister store to the restaurant we had lunch the day before. Nevertheless, we decided this was still a great place to sip mai tais, have lunch, and relax. We were seated upstairs with direct views of the Pacific. In fact, looking out at the old sailboat shipwreck half submerged and pointing out to the open ocean at a 35 degree angle, it was the perfect backdrop to a....salad? Yep, ol' Mike here weighed himself earlier in the day and decided to try to do something right...so I had a coconut breaded shrimp salad. Hey, I tried. At least I ate more greens during this meal that I had in total over the past month. Kristin tried out the burger. We were actually seated next to a newlywed couple whom we chatted with briefly. They were on a cruise of the Hawaiin islands, in Maui for only two days. This cheeseburger haven was actually there last stop before returning their rental car and heading back out to sea on their giant boat.

The cheeseburger wasn't the best ever made. Actually, they only cook them in one style: well done. This is unfortunate for Kris, as she's used to me cooking them medium during our own grill outs. But, the scenery was totally worth it. After lunch, we headed down Front Street, the "main drag," to cruise the gift shops, as JB would say. During our stroll, we ran into a park directly on the beach with a group of banyan trees that actually grew together. At least one branch from each tree eventually grew into another tree, so every tree was interconnected. I suppose you can say it really was one giant tree in that regard. Centered in the middle was the "mother" tree, the largest and most sprawling. The branches were so long, the city actually placed support beams underneath to ensure their survival. It was truly amazing scene. As I was taking pictures of the tree in a panoramic view, I actually ended up taking a picture of someone's wife posing for her husband's picture. It was actually hilarious. I'll have to share it sometime, not in this blog, though. Her husband taking the picture is below in another one of my pictures, though. Please note the unbuttoned shirt, thereby showing his perfectly chiseled abs...um, yeah.

We stopped and had a couple beverages at a restaurant sunken below a shopping center but in the middle plaza still open-air. The name of the place, Da Kitchen, was catchy. The bar was gorgeous, with a waterfall surrounding us and golden pothos plants growing like jungle vine, creating a vast blanket of green which colored the water feature. When we asked a lady who was drinking a local Lava Flow (pina colada and strawberry daquairi) if she would take our picture, she thought I asked her if I could take her picture with her drink. "No, ma'am, I would like you to take a picture of my wife and I." Oops. Well, she took it as soon as she shook the cobwebs from her head. It actually turned out fantastic.

And then...the luau. That would be the next blog.

The Elusive Lackey Monkey

2010-05-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

In Hawaii, there resides an elusive beast which few capture on camera. At the Marriott in Wailea, we were anxious for an opportunity to spot this crazed animal.

Amongst the banyan trees, we sought a golden opportunity. Quick, elusive, the Lackey Monkey is rare to see. For some time, it was as if it was taunting us...

We continued to snap photos with all hopes of getting a clean shot. However, this fiendish little figure was not a ready participant.

And yet, we continued to chase the rambunctious animal. It's movements were speedy, but we think we caught another small tidbit. It's daringness continued.

That Lackey Monkey...

Finally, a somewhat clean shot.

But we still wanted a clear image of the Lackey Monkey...what could lure him out? Aha! A Starbucks opened today at the Marriott. And the Lackey Monkey loves his caffeine! No signs saying not to feed the animals. Here, monkey monkey

We were getting closer. Finally...the coffee won and we got our picture. Strange - ugly yet beautiful. The sun beams filtering through the canopy gave a strange awe inspiring facet to the scene. The overall confusion a full sighting of this animal gives you leads you into a moment of clarity. I think, after sighting and photographing this odd looking creature, I now fully comprehend at least half of Picasso's work - what he was trying to capture in his modernistic approach. There's an ugliness and a beauty, a repulsiveness yet the lure of the animal. I think now I understand the meaning of life. Yes, much can be had by seeing these monkeys in the mist.

PuPu

2010-05-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

I saw this place and I had to take a picture. While we haven't eaten the PuPu Platter yet, it's on my list of things to do. I wonder if they serve corn in the PuPu Platter? How many napkins does one need to wipe their mouth after a meal of pupu? Oh, how I hope they have a PuPu platter. I hope there is enough privacy in each booth for me to handle my pupu without others watching. Perhaps it's a communal pupu. Pupu Pupu Pupu. I just love this place.

Hawaii - Day 1

2010-05-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

After our voyage and initial pass out session (we were exhausted), we arose to our first morning in Maui ready for some beachiness. And lucky for us that Wailea Beach was just a few steps away from our room. So, we headed down to the beach, where we relaxed, snorkeled in the crystal clear waters, and threw the football. It was funny, the first thing I saw when I put my face into the water was a small crab and two triggerfish. Afterward, we didn't see too many fish. Must have just been bad luck. As it turns out, I think there is a coral reef off of our beach, I just need to snorkel further out. But, we'll get to that.

While our hotel is fantastic, we also realized sitting out at Wailea Beach that the hotel next to us is the famous Grand Wailea Resort, the largest and most famous of the hotels here on Maui. While I'm impressed with it's splendor, I'm more impressed that I can get a refillable pineapple full of 24 oz's of Mai Tai. Bar opens at 10, baby! And, once you buy one 24 oz. Mai Tai for $7 more, the rest are the same price as the 12 oz. Mai Tai. I didn't need to go to college for a finance degree to see the deal there.

So, after a few hours on the beach and in the water, Kristin and I elected to go for lunch. We headed to the Shops at Wailea, where we entered Cheeseburger, sister store to Cheeseburger in Paradise out at Lahaina. This reasonably priced establishment had amazing fare. The two of us elected to split a teriaki glazed chicken sandwich, blanketed with swiss cheese and grilled pineapple on a ciabatta bun. To wash it down, the mai tais spoke to me.

We walked the shops and made only minor purchases. Afterward, we headed back to the beach for a final dip and football toss. At this point, the water was getting choppy and the wind picking up. After taking a nap, it was then time for another eating extravaganza. We headed out to Kamaole and the shopping area there. We found a restaurant on the second level, LuLu's. Here, we found the laid back, low-key environment we're always looking for. Open air and on a deck, we had crab rangoon for an appetizer and split the pulled pork in a mango barbecue sauce for dinner.

After dinner, we strolled down to The Dog and Duck, an Irish Pub where we played three or four games of darts (hmm, who won Kristin? Hehe) and then headed home. A fantastic start to our trip in Hawaii. No major events on our first day, but it allowed us to gather our bearings. And still, we fit enough in that we were pleased with ourselves when we put our heads to our pillows.

What's The Deal

2010-05-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hawaii is awesome. There are so many unbelievable things that I could write enough blogs to get me through my goal of 52 this year. But, it wouldn't be me if I didn't complain about something.

The roads and their speed limits. What the heck is the deal, man? Most of the highways max - that's right, MAX out at 30 miles per hour. In fact, the majority of the time I'm going 20 miles per hour. I will retype for emphasis - on the highway! It's no unique situation on the highway, however, but also on every main road used here on Maui. This, I just can't figure out. I think a baby can drive faster than this without getting into an accident. Wait, that actually happened. I saw a mother running down the side of the road pushing a stroller and it was going faster than me.

Maybe they do it because they want you to enjoy the scenery around you. Maybe they have some phrase here in Maui in polynesian verbage that means Slow Down Your Life - Take It In. Maybe they're trying to preserve some rare mountain goat that traverses it's highways. Hell, I have no idea, but it's driving me nuts. We rented a convertable and we actually leave the top up. When we put it down, we don't gather enough speed to actually garner a breeze through our hair. And if they truly are trying to protect a mountain goat, I must see this fantastic beast. For it to wreak this much speed limit havoc, it must be a glorious sight.

I'm just kidding, obviously. I'm really not that aggrivated, but it makes for a better blog. In reality, the only thing that really aggrivates me is I can't get the car to go that slow. It's so mountainous that I'm holding the breaks for the majority of the time trying to keep the car at 20. Meanwhile, all the locals are slicing past me like a hot knife through butter. I know I'm driving like a grandpa, but durn tootin, I get where I'm goin'.

Hula Hula

2010-05-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

One of the fringe benefits of having traveled for approximately 75% of her time over the last two years is that Kristin accumulated a lot of Marriott and flight points. Stemming from this, we have been able to hit Hawaii for our five-year anniversary with style. And, since our stay here in Hawaii will be a ten day adventure, I hope I can share with you some of the highlights.

First, we had to do the flight. From Florida, we headed first to Minneapolis, which as a 3.5 hour flight. From there, it was a direct flight into Oahu. With the total flight time of 14 hours, we hoped to spend most of that time sleeping. So, in a daring stab of excitement, we elected to stay up all of Friday night after a full day of work. Getting home, we did a 3 mile run. I had been working a ton of hours, so I hadn't had the chance to pack yet. The remainder of the night was Kristin and I packing, cleaning, and getting set for our trip. At midnight, we ran 4 miles and got cleaned up, finished packing, and sat down to watch Sherlock Holmes to kill the final couple hours.

At around 5:30 in the morning, we headed to the airport. The first flight was uneventful. We both slept most of the way. I will give Kristin mo' props because she booked our flights so early that on both, we had exit row seating. Getting seated on our flight that would take us over the Pacific, we waited as the remainder of the passengers boarded and the flight attendants prepared for takeoff. Our seats, however, were located right in front of the door that everyone entered the aircraft from. And, it was drizzling. While Kristin and I were not too taken aback by the little water, the flight attendant had the gate personnel give us a $100 voucher and we also received thick, first-class blankets to cover up for the flight. If you know Kristin and the fact that she could be cold in a sauna, this was an even greater gift than the $100 voucher.

Dude, the flight was pretty good. While we had anticipated sleeping most of the way, dey got movies mon! We each had our own tv and a list of new release movies to watch. So, I spent hours watching Legion, Avatar, and another movie that for some reason I can't remember. And, they kept feeding us, so I probably gained two pounds on the flight over.

We arrived in Oahu and caught a jumper over to Maui for the first part of our stay. We had to pick up our rental via Enterprise, where we upgraded from a standard rental to a convertable...shweet. From there, we headed over to our hotel, which is just amazing. The first thing that stands out is the fact that the reception area is open air. The front desk is situated across from a beutiful landscape of banyan trees creating a canopy to shade all underneath and a koi pond with a waterfall trickling down into the pool. Because of Kristin's status, the first thing that they did for us was to upgrade our room from a terrace view to deluxe ocean view and also provide us with a complimentary two beers and strawberries, which were in our room when we arrived.

The first thing we did when we got to the room was open up the patio. Lo and behold, the luau which Marriott puts on four nights a week, was in session and our patio provided a direct view of it only 25 yards away. What an amazing first night! We sat on our patio with the low rolling waves lapping against the lava rock while eating strawberries and watching a firedancer. Life doesn't get much better than this...and we had 9 more days!!!

I've got plenty more to share, but I'll sign off for now. Below are some pictures of the view from our room.

The Definition of...Gamble Gas

2010-05-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Inside this crazy language, there are a few terms that are used here in the Lackey household which you, the reader, will not find in any dictionary. And so, to better educate the reading public as to the terms utilized here, under the Floribbean rooftop de Lackey, I bring you the short, but insightful blogs defining these words. I've gathered these words through a lifetime of experiences and influences, so they vary in importance.

The first term we will define is Gamble Gas. Have you ever had the need to flatulate, but worry if there is more than just hot air hidden behind the desire to release? You had a heavy plate of mexican refried beans earlier and they haven't been sitting well. Your stomach is making sounds as if a little gremlin is at choir practice and you just can't stop farting. Little farts, big farts. Then, you get this little message in your brain. It's your rear end giving you this little warning: "Wait, not sure if this next one is just gas." With most of these warnings turning into false worries, you soon learn to discard that warning like the local Tuesday paper.

But, worthless as that local Tuesday paper may seem, it may come in handy. Especially when you're packing "heat." Not the regular number two, but a number two in a more liquid form. A small fart may lead to a squishy situation. And this is gamble gas. You get the warning, realize there may be some small (or large) probability that more than just hot air may be escaping, but you elect to go all in. You shove your stack of chips into the middle of the table and in essence, let it ride.

Gamble Gas. In this game of "Craps," you end up winning more than you lose. But boy, do those times you lose suck. A few notes for those of you who are now educated in gamble gas. Never, and I mean never, bet on gamble gas when you're sick. It often turns into a sticky situation where you and your pants are the loser. Never bet on gamble gas at work...unless you have a change of clothes at work. If you absolutely have to release some pressure, try and let go a tester fart. A tester fart is simply a very small fart to see if it's a "wet" or "dry" fart. With a tester fart, you can potentially save whatever you're wearing if you walk slow enough to the restroom.

Finally, one more lesson. Never, and I mean never, wager on gamble gas when you are in cold weather. Cold weather highly impacts your decision-making process regarding gamble gas. You take more risks. You let loose when in other instances you would not. And the worst part is that you won't realize that you lost the gamble for a good ten steps. Because your skin is cold, it will take additional time for your brain to realize that your body has been trying to relay a crappy message for quite some time.

So, you've learned the definition of gamble gas. And hopefully, I've been able to provide you some important lessons that you will utilize in the future. And if you're here at our place and here one of us say something like..."Uh oh, gamble gas," you know that there is an internal battle being fought. An internal battle with external consequences.

The Search for the Baja Fish Taco

2010-04-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

There are few things I see on television that I actually take note of and pursue at a later date. Various explanations account for the reasons I find interest in particular items, but like everyone, I find certain things appealing.

The most recent interest for me: the Baja Fish Taco (the BFT for simplicity sake) from Long John Silver's. I rarely eat fast food. In fact, I can't remember the last time I went to BK or McDonalds for anything other than one of McD's iced coffees. But something about the baja fish taco...I crave this taco of tacos. It may be the Long John Silver's fried fish fillet with it's intense juiciness. When you bite into the crisp, yet flaky fillet, you get an explosion of fast food awesomeness that leaves you wanting the next bite. Or, it may be the fact that it's a taco, a simple derivation of the american burger that provides an immense simplicity to a meal. Or maybe the baja sauce...what the hell is baja sauce? I'm so curious, I feel like I'm in the search for the unfindable El Dorado. Mmm, baja sauce.

After viewing the commercial for this new fantastic looking taco multiple times, I dripped with enough saucy interest in discovery I headed to my automobile. Like a feather to breeze, I was swept away in an adventure of exploration. Yes, Long John Silver's and it's BFT. Mmmm, baja sauce.

There is only one Long John Silver's near my home. I have to drive about fifteen minutes to reach this said destination. It's a pinnacle of modern day efficiency. Owned by the same company that owns Taco Bell, the owning corporation has elected to build two restaurants in one. Yes, a family can go to one restaurant and have either Taco Bell or Long John Silver's. Needing nothing but a baja fish taco, I elected to reserve the opportunity of entering this eatery for another time and instead slowly progressed through the Drive-Thru.

Looking at the menu prior to getting to the talk box, I did not see the new menu item on the display. Nevertheless, I was excited for this new dollar menu item. I didn't see any dollar menu, so despair had no time to lay it's potent seed in my mind. Instead, I shifted gear into first and slid my car to the talk box. The drive-thru worker asked me some silly question and I said no - trying to sell me some new kind of $1.99 drink, I'm sure. "No thanks. I just want one of the new baja fish tacos."

"I'm sorry sir, we don't carry that item."

I'm sorry, what are you talking about? No baja fish taco? "What? You don't carry the baja fish taco?"
"No, we're a combination store, so we only carry half of each menu."

Let's examine this statement. So, because it's Long John Silver's-slash-Taco Bell, I can't get the new BFT. Hmm. Let me rephrase. Wouldn't it make more sense that I can get a baja fish taco from a Long John Silver's-slash-Taco Bell than from a stand alone Long John Silver? Couldn't they take a taco shell from the Taco Bell side, a piece of fish and lettuce from the LJS side and make me my taco? The only additional item required to be distributed to the store is the baja sauce. If anything, shouldn't the only place I could get a baja fish taco is a Long John Silver's-SLASH-Taco Bell? Who runs this place? Are they idiots? Wouldn't it be like going into Pizza Hut and asking for a pizza with just breadsticks as toppings? I was flabbergasted.

So, I left. Much like those in search of El Dorado, I finished my adventure with a dire hunger and yet wanting to continue my search. However, having learned from prior explorers, I knew that furthering my lust for the Baja Fish Taco would just extend my despair. I headed home for lunch. The Baja Fish Taco continues to elude me. Perhaps, some day....

This Weekend Part II

2010-04-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

While my original post was intended to discuss the events that brought Kristin and I from Friday evening to our current state of Sunday, post grill-out, I ended up discussing the who's and what's of Akron, OH. Go figure.

My intention was to discuss the events that triggered the outcome of this weekend. I got home on Thursday afternoon and spent the remainder of my free time working. On Friday night, however, we had an opportunity to release. While I was traveling for half of the week and the last two days of the work week went all too fast with the activities at my place of employment, Friday night was one of the events I was waiting for this year. We had bought Universal tickets a couple months ago for the purpose of enjoying the roller coasters and the Mardi Gras. This, the last weekend of the bead-laden events, starred Sheryl Crow one evening and Flo Rida the other. Friday, Sheryl Crow, is what I was waiting for. I really have no idea what or who Flo Rida is. I know that if you take the space between the words away, it's Florida, which is my place of residence and also where we saw Sheryl Crow. Yep, Friday night, we headed out to Universal to check out the concert - for free, by the way (because it's part fo the annual pass) - and enjoy one the first warm evenings.

The concert was great and ended around 11. We headed home and in the morning, got up early to have coffee, a bagel, and then begin driving to the beach. Thoughts of Harvey's Grove juice and fresh grapefruit danced in our heads. On the way out down SR 520, I spotted a 6 foot gator just off the road. Woohoo! I love gators. When we got to the beach, it was a little too chilly to lay and sun. The sun was hiding behind too many clouds for us to get a tan, anyway. So, we grabbed a map from Cocoa Beach Surf Company and headed to the Brevard Zoo. It was a very small zoo, but the cool part about it was that it was the only zoo in the U.S. that has a kayaking adventure. We kayaked for a half hour through a small, dredged canal that brought us through the African Safari. We saw about 8 giraffes hidden away behind the forest from the regular crowd munching down leaves from tall trees and some sleeping, curled up on the ground. We also saw apes, ostrich, and lemurs on the cruise through the waters. In addition, local fare spotted the sides of the canal. To the right of our kayak around one bend was a small, baby gator about 2.5 to 3 feet long clearly visible lazing in the shallows. We also spotted about a dozen turtles and an anhinga.

Again, the zoo wasn't the greatest. In fact, I would rate it as the worst zoo I have ever been to. But, the kayaking made up for the actual size and quantity of different animals. They actually had a section of Florida animals. The funny part is that we've seen about half of them all on the lake in our back yard, so we're probably just spoiled.

Today, we got up early and Kristin conducted herself with the utmost responsibility to her hobby. That's right, she was couponing like crazy. Afterward, we did the uneventful - groceries and laundry. We did lay by the pool in the back of our neighborhood for about an hour and really, that's about it. Surf and turf tonight (seasoned salmon with a teriaki glazed T-Bone) off of the grill with a few mai tais finalized our evening.

Good weekend and I'm spent.

A Weekend Full of Adventure and Excitement

2010-04-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a wild ride. This weekend really started last weekend in many ways. Last weekend, Kristin's mom and Aunt Anna came up for the weekend and we just relaxed around the house, making our regular pit stop at Gators Dockside. Aunt Anna loves their wings, and I need few excuses to head there and devour either the hot teriaki grilled wings or fried dill chips, washing either of them down with icy cold $1.50 bud selects.

But, on Sunday, I had to head to Akron, OH. I was teaching a class there from Monday through Wednesday and that meant being away from home and getting out of the typical rhythm that exists when you're under your own roof. Akron actually was very enjoyable aside from how busy I was. I had a fantastic night at The Bistro chowing down chicken marsala & crab cakes, chatting up with the owner and really feeling like one of the locals. She had chicken livers on the menu, which I had wanted to try and she talked me out of, followed up with her bringing me a chicken liver meal with my other meal...wow. The food was fantastic and I was really feeling like I was from Cheers. In fact, another local owner of a pizza chain showed up with his wife and he ended up buying me beers until we were both ready to go home and sleep. He gave me a couple coupons for free pizzas should I decide that a tasty pie would be a good idea the next day and I headed home.

Aside from my flight getting cancelled (boo) on Wednesday night and me ending up having to stay an extra ngiht, the trip went overall pretty good. In fact, when I got comp'ed a free night's stay at my same hotel & a free dinner, I took the shuttle over to the hotel, sat at the bar, had them make me a chicken ranch pizza (off of the menu) and ended up staying up far too late discussing the differences between the UK and the US with my one-night friend from overseas. He'd basically been living in the hotel for the past three months doing something regarding turbine engines and being a team lead since he had installed the same machinery in Singapore months earlier. It was like that country song that they sit and chat about life, love and all other things before they go separate ways. I taught him a few things about American ways which he hadn't understood while also supplying him with his first $2 bill and he taught me much about Britain, Ireland, and the gorgeous coastline I always dream of visiting.

This blog was meant to discuss my weekend, but as life always goes, it took a slightly different path. I hope that your weekend started the same way - planned something boring, but you took that infamous road less traveled. Guess that means I also need to blog again...

Full Weekend - Recovering from Wounds

2010-03-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been jam packed. With the first real warm weather this year, we've gotten as much outdoor time as possible. Plus, with things getting more busy at work, I fear this is my last post in quite some time. First, yesterday, a four-mile run followed breakfast. This was the only time so far this year that I was able to run outside without a shirt on...a clear indicator that the weather has changed for the good.

Following the run, Kris & I got cleaned up, pumped our bike tires up, loaded the jeep, and headed out to Seminole trail, a very long, paved trail winding through Oviedo. We biked underneath a cloudless sky and gazed at the forest surrounding us. Aside from a few armadillos grazing on the grass along the trail, we saw little of animals or birds. We pedaled about 13 miles before calling it quits. Tired and hungry, we stopped at Jeremiah's Italian Ice and grabbed a super fantastic icy snack before heading back home.

After getting cleaned up yet again, we made a stop at a liquor store that's closing nearby (what, a closing liquor store? How on earth does that happen?) and on the way home, noticed an armoir for sale on the side of the road. For only $40, it was too good to pass up. Only catch: the damn thing weighs about 400 pounds. Nevertheless, we packed it into the car and headed back home. We put it into the garage, opened up the bottle of Margaritaville Passion Fruit Margaritas, and relaxed on the back porch for a couple hours just watching the water and the wood storks wade in the shallows for food.

Kristin was wise to nap in the sun for an hour. After munching down pulled pork sandwiches that we had cooking all day in the crock pot, we changed and headed out to Universal Studios. Having annual passes rules, especially when there are concerts every weekend. This weekend, we had Miranda Lambert, a country singer whose show started at 8:30. We got to Universal early and to bide time, we rode The Mummy roller coaster. Alas, this was also Mardi Gras at the park, so after the coaster ride, we stood on the street walk and watched the parade pass by as we held our hands out as if we were baby birds waiting for our daily feeding. We were waiting for beads. Yes, Mardi Gras is nothing without the beads being pitched by the parade floats.

The concert was awesome, but all things must come to an end. When we got home, we passed out. A long day left us exhausted.

Today, we started out running, but afterward, I had decided it was time to move the newly bought armoir upstairs. Unfortunately, as I slid the dollie over the garage lip, the armoir slid off the said dollie. And...onto my leg. My knee is so bruised it looks like a piece of raw meat. I'm lucky though. I didn't drink all of the passion fruit margarita yesterday...

'Rents Are In Town

2010-03-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a busy one. My parents flew in on Friday night. Once we picked them up, the original plan was to head for dinner in the Waterford area. When we stopped for dinner, the Orlando Ale House, a local favorite, was stuffed with patrons and a two hour wait. We collectively said no thank you and headed across the street to Vito's, which had a similar wait. Instead, we ended up back at our place munching down Lil' Anthony's Pizza, garlic knots, and salad.

Saturday was a massively busy day. We started with breakfast and my dad and I going on a walk through the neighborhood. The weather was nearly perfect, if not for the chilly breeze and the temperature hovering under 70. The slight chill made it just a tad too uncomfortable for shorts or short-sleeve shirts. When we arrived back home, the four of us decided to head out to to the beach. My parents wanted to walk and shop in Cocoa Village, an historic district near the coast with antique shops, restaurants, and other gifty / niche stores that are usually fun to browse but you seldom purchase anything.

Arriving into Cocoa Village, we were pleasantly surpirsed to find that the Cocoa Village Art Festival was this weekend. With mom and dad in the back, we turned into a small little parking area and prepped for a day of shopping through the various tents. The four of us dressed warmly and headed into the thick of the festival.

We all had a blast just cruising the tents and checking out the different varieties of arts and crafts. Tons of paintings, sauces, and jewelry painted the sides of the roads. Occasionally, the scent of hot dogs or italian beef trickled past our noses. It was a pleasant day to stroll through the streets.

After we had our share of festivities, we headed to the beach for lunch. We sat down at Coconuts, a fantastic restaurant directly on the water in Cocoa Beach where the food is simply amazing and the ambiance is pristine. With a live band singing Pencil Thin Mustache and Take it Easy, lunch went down ever too quickly. Crab cake sandwiches, fried shrimp, quesadillas, and chicken sandwiches were our selections and were a perfect lunch staring out at the Atlantic.

Once lunch was over, we headed to Harvey's Groves, a local shop that sells the absolute best orange juice you'll ever taste in your life. They're only open from October to May, so it's important to get as much juice in during that time as possible. We grabbed two gallons, got our free sample of juice while we were there, and talked to the lady working there a bit to catch up. I've been going in there since I first started vacationing in Cocoa Beach and so we always chat when I go in.

On the way home from our adventures, we actually saw two gators sitting on the sides of the different ponds speckled next to SR 520. We were so excited with our gator sightings, Dad and I were determined to see another when we got home. While Kristin took a nap and Mom surved the internet, Dad and I headed out to downtown Avalon and started walking to a local lake. When we got there, sure enough, we spotted a gator floating in the middle of the lake. The snout and body were visible from where we stood on shore. Wahoo! Another gator sighting!

When we got home after also stopping at the liquor store and Publix, we began making honey liqueur while the girls went out shopping. To have a bottle for our honey liqueur, we had to finish off the rum...mai tais!
We also started grilling brat burgers and chicken and just hung out. Soon, the girls were home, the mai tais were done, and we were munching down dinner ravenously.

Finally, we completed the day playing cornhole in our living room with the entire back open to the outside. A great end to a great day. Today was busy, but yesterday was intense. Fun trip. We dropped mom and dad off at the airport tonight and now it's just catch up. Another week of work and no time for play :(

Qote This

2010-03-07T04:16:00.000-08:00

I will start by thanking my sister-in-law for this idea. It was so good, in fact, that I had to give credit where it was due.

What I'm going to discuss is the quotes we use every day but really make either no sense in today's era or never even made sense to begin with. Like giving someone what-for. What the hell is what-for? It doesn't sound very scary. If someone wanted to give me what-for, I'd ask them what I have to give them in return if they're giving me the what-for. And what were they giving me what-for for?

Sleeping like a baby? This is typically quoted when we see someone in deep sleep, drooling on themselves on a sofa couch in the middle of a movie or football game. I've never had a baby, but my sister recently did and let me just say this. Babies don't sleep that good. They're up. A lot. So sleeping like a baby sure ain't in a deep sleep with noise all around them. It's getting up every couple hours and crying. Next time you see your significant other or a family member sleeping on the sofa, be careful calling it sleeping like a baby. You may be responsible for rocking them back to sleep when they wake up. Or feeding them.

What about Paris Hilton's "That's Hot?" Why do we call things that we think are intersting "hot?" In most instances, they're just room temperature. If a guy sees a good looking girl walking down the street and identifies her as having said "hotness," he's probably incorrect in assuming her body temperature is any different than his 98.3. Not only that, but we use the terms "cool" and "hot" to mean basically the same thing. Does this make sense? They mean exact opposites, so why do we use them to refer to the same thing? That's cool. That's hot. Which one is it? If I touch it, am I going to be cold or receive a burn?

Poor Prince. Or the artist formally known as him. Or " " or whatever he's called these days. First of all, if he was going to change his name, why didn't he become King next? Isn't that the proper transformation? If he was going to change his name more than once, he should have started out much less ambitious. He could have started with Knight or Earl or Duke. Hell, he could have given credit to the history of music and called himself the Duke of Earl before moving on to Prince. That's not even where I was going, I was going to refer to his song "Party like it's 1999." I lived through 1999 - what the hell was he talking about? I mean, I had a great time in '99, but the parties that year were really not any different than the other parties I have been to. The only difference in '99 was that we wore "2000" glasses on December 31st instead of "1999" glasses in 1998 before it was New Year's. Expectations. Prince must have had very high expectations for 1999. Like flying cars and parties in flying cars. Or talking monkeys. And real everlasting gobstoppers. Crazy Prince.

"You made your bed, now you're going to have to lie in it." Hmm. If I have to lie in it now, why the hell did I make it? What does this mean? I don't know how this refers to really anything meaningful. I woke up, made my bed like a good, clean person, and now you're telling me I must mess up this perfectly made bed to lie in it? What did I ever do to you? I know that this quote in particular is spoken to someone after some transgression has occurred and that person is stuck with the outcome. But aren't there better ways of saying they are stuck with the outcome? Like, "Man, you are stuck with the outcome." Just don't get this one.

"She'll be waiting til the cows come home for Johnny proposes." Now, let me start this one off by saying that I get where it comes from. If a cow wandered off for a farmer, it would be a very long time, if ever, that the cow would make it back home. But there really aren't that many people who have cows anymore. This saying has lost it's edge. If someone is waiting an eternally long time for someone else to do something, there are tons of other ways of saying it. Like, "She'll be waiting til the iPod runs out of songs before Johnny proposes." Isn't that more "hip and now?" There's another one that's lost it's touch. Who says things are "hip" anymore? And if "hip" was '70's, shouldn't we have just moved to a different body part to mean cool? "Dude, that shirt is so thigh, chicks are gonna dig you."
"Wow, that car is so foot."
"Oh Susie, I love your new hairdo. It's so armpit."

Haven't heard anyone use those...yet. Well, that's enough for today. This is actually something I can revisit - there are just too many sayings that don't make sense.

The Buffett Concert

2010-03-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

A week ago, Kristin and I went to the Jimmy Buffett concert at Amway Arena here in Orlando. She had bought me tickets for the event and gave them to me on Valentine's Day as an early birthday gift. Ah, Jimmy Buffett - nothing washes away stress like a glass of margarita, it's tart lime flavor flowing over my tongue, making way for the bite of tequila at the end of the sip.

The venue wasn't my favorite, but JB played for nearly three hours - amazing! This being my seventh or eighth concert, I generally know the playlist. It will always hold the all-time favorites like Volcano, Boat Drinks, Margaritaville, but it's great when he mixes in a few other greats like Tryin' To Reason With Hurricane Season or Last Mango in Paris.

I've always been a fan of Buffett. Well, not always, but since I was introduced right before entering college, I've been a huge follower. Nay, a Parrothead. While some people go to church for their religion, I would say that I go to the radio. My lust for subtropics stems from the lyrics and steel drums that I heard from the music I listened to all through college. In fact, graduating, I knew exactly what I wanted over the next five years. My goal was to get to Florida and live what I had been dreaming for four years. I was lucky enough to have my dreams come true and move to Orlando a week after I graduated from Ball State. I followed the sunshine and salty air to what I will forever call home. Yes, I left for a few years, but Kristin and I couldn't get the ocean breeze and sandy shore out of our minds.

Now, I get a chance every night to watch a sunset over the water in the back, holding a mai tai and relaxing to Banana Republics or Knees of My Heart. With misadventures to look back on encompassing alligators and ocean waves, I have a plethora of things to keep my mind going while the sky turns from orange to purple. And Jimmy Buffett is really what stemmed it all. So great gift, Kristin. To quote Jimmy Buffett, it truly has been a Lovely Cruise.

New Olympic Events

2010-02-27T09:46:00.000-08:00

The winter olympics are nearing completion, leaving me with little to watch on tv. I don't watch Survivor, have always been lost when it comes to Lost, am not looking for an Idol (American or from somewhere else), and wouldn't want to even know one of the wives of Orange County, Atlanta, or anywhere else that has a bunch of money grubbing ladies.

I can't say I'm a massive fan of the winter olympics, though. While it has provided me something to fall asleep to every night for the past few weeks, I can't imagine they would be that fun to go to. All of those skiing and bobsledding events - can they be that much fun to watch? I kind of envision being at these events to be much like going to the Indy or Daytona 500 except even less descriptive. Every once in a while when someone passes, your head whips swiftly from right to left (or left to right, depending on which side of the track you're on). And the worst part is you have no idea if they're being faster than the others because they aren't racing at the same time. The little clock on TV at least tells the viewers at home if they have a chance at the gold. Meanwhile, those at the games are decked out in giant coats and sherpa boots with little to show for it. They should start giving medals to the patrons who have the endurance to stand that long at these events, not the actual athletes.

But I got to thinking - why are events so different between winter and summer olympics? If the winter olympics has curling, why doesn't the summer olympics have shuffleboard? It's practically the same thing, isn't it? And then there is ice dancing. Why doesn't the summer olympics have regular dancing? Here's a list of some additonal sports I think they should entertain:

1. Ice Sprinting: If running a 400 is tough in the summer olympics, running it on ice would be twice as entertaining. While the closest thing we have to this in the winter olympics is speedskating, why should they get the advantage of the blade on their shoes? Put these guys in some socks and then we have entertainment...

2. Snow Volleyball: We all fell in love with men's and women's beach volleyball in the summer olympics. But why don't we have snow volleyball? Snow is like sand, is it not? And wouldn't the level of difficulty be increased if they're still required to wear just shorts for men or the bikinis for the women?

3. Outdoor swimming - I think both the summer and winter olympics should move outdoors and force the swimmers to compete outside. What good is the "home-court" advantage for the hosting country if swimmers aren't required to go outdoors. Yes, this also means I would expect to see Phelps swimming in 50 degree water in that tiny little speedo, as well. That's truly olympic, people.

4. Ice Gymnastics: Yes, those little ladies in leotards would have to do their backflips...on ice! Half the people would be watching for the beauty of the sport, the other half would be watching for the amazing "wrecks," where the men and women participating slip and slide into walls or don't get their jump off perfectly and go bump on the ice. It would be funny seeing the gymnists wearing bike helmets..hehe.

Some other things I think that should be entertained for the next winter olympics is snowball fighting, snowman creation, and soapbox derbies for the summer olympics. Yes, like when I was in boy scouts, olympic teams in the summer should be given a set of materials and make their own "bobsled" that they have to race against the other teams down a steep mountain to claim their medal. This would be the summer bobsled event.

Smokey Milk Stinks

2010-02-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

Alright, so we decided to cook dinner tonight when we got home from work. Unfortunately, Kristin was making hot chocolate a couple weeks ago and the milk bubbled over onto the stove. Also unfortunately...that milk created some super glue-like substance on the oven that is impenetrable by any known human created cleaning supply. I swear, I need some form of freak meteor rock that's half diamond and half kryptonite to get this stuff off of the stove. Anyway, I tried cooking up a steak in the pan after breading it. Yeah, I was going to make country fried steak with mushroom gravy...we're eating like the Beverly Hillbillies here at the Lackey household. The only problem is the milk chip glued to the oven hasn't cooked off, so the house totally reaks of burnt nastiness. Meanwhile, the breading on the steak cooked faster than the steak and Kristin and I were left looking at a raw steak with a coccoon of blackened bread crumbs.

So I sit here blogging in a house filled with milk stink and a hungry tummy. And you've never smelled stink until you've smelled milk stink. Skunk got nothin' on milk stink. Actually, I kind of dig skunk stink. When I drive through a patch of road with skunk stink, I take extra sniffs 'cause skunk - it's pretty nice. So considering I can like skunk stink, this milk stink has serious muscle to it.

Well, I'm off to bed. I'm going to fall asleep with either my face in the pillow or puffing milk stink. Hope you don't have milk stink anytime soon. It's gross.

Livin' With Sea Monkeys

2010-02-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had Sea Monkeys? They're these crazy little critters that hatch in water when you buy the mini aquarium. Place a packet of what looks like sugar in water and in a few days you're off the hook with a whole community of aqua acrobats looking for some high quality green food at the top of their domicile.

Well, to prove to Kristin that the illustrious sea monkey really does exist (for all of you, yes, I do know that they are brine shrimp), we bought them back in September and since, we've had a family of sea monkeys hanging out in our kitchen. The problem is, I don't want them anymore. But, it's like having a blind dog with no ability to hold their bowel movements in the house. Regardless of whether you want to get rid of them, you have that emotional connection. They're alive - living, breathing entities that you don't just want to call it quits for them. So I have only three sea monkeys left. And, I have completely no ability to just flush them. Instead, I'm stuck with these little mongrels in our house until they finally expire.

Yes, life with sea monkeys. It's crazy. Sometimes I wonder if I put them into the lake behind us if we'll have one giant family of sea monkeys running the show behind the house. It could be like the mob. They'll start buying up patches of seaweed for the fish to relax in. Turtles need a shell waxing? Ok, but it's going to cost you. And you'll owe the "family" a favor. So, if a pelican ever floats its way far enough from the beach and lands at the lake, the turtle will have the "obligation" to assist in the riddance of the known pelican, hence finalizing the transaction. Alligator finding it's way to the lake? No problem for the sea monkeys.

"So, you're hungry? What if we just so happen to locate you a thickly bass who might happen to be surrounded by a cloud of, say, sea monkeys who happen upon his or her path and their line of sight has been affected by said sea monkeys? Perhaps you will have a hefty meal while also necessitating you to stick around a bit, should the "family" need your unique capabilities on a project?"

Yes, sea monkeys running the show in our lake. That would be awesome.

Sun....the ultimate Leg Warmer

2010-02-20T16:29:00.000-08:00

So today was one of the first days in the past three months where Florida hit the 70's. With the warmer climate, the Lackey partners in crime headed out to one of our favorite destinations. Cocoa Beach, with it's old-town, kind of stuck-in-the '60's feel and it's great outdoor locales was calling our names. First, we snuck in a hard (only because we didn't run all week) 5 miler through Avalon, then cleaned up and hit the road. On the way out, we passed Gator Jerky. Well, not just gator jerky, but also the start-up selling gator jerky out of the back of their truck. Hmm, gator jerky out of the back of the truck...what makes people buy it? I've never done drugs, but I'm assuming that someone willing to buy gator jerky out of the back of a truck is like a drug addict willing to buy a "hit" off of anyone who's got some white stuff in a baggy. Yes, there are some serious jerky addicts out there waiting for that next dehydrated meat "hit" to get their fix. And it being gator just makes it that much more amazing.

The drive was wonderful. Sometimes, isn't it great to hit the road with no timeframe? Nowhere to be, no time schedule. We have very few of these days, but today was one of them. Driving underneath the blanket of sun and blue sky was relaxing, even stimulating. Kristing and I had a great discussion, both of us excited for our Hawaii trip in just a few months. Further, we were excited for the beach and juice. Juice?

Yes, juice. Harvey Groves, only the best orange juice you'll ever have in your life! Yes, it's the up in my giddy. This juice is so freakin' good you'll write home about it. Hell, I'm writing a blog about it because it is so good.

We arrived at the beach and walked from Cocoa Beach Surf Company (free parking...yes!) to the Pier. Kristin and I had a couple drinks watching the volleyball players and the surfers enjoy their respective sports while we sucked down our libations and prepped for further excursion. We walked further north before heading back to the car. The weather was so perfect that me in my shorts and flop flips and Kris in her jeans and fleece were both amazingly comfortable. Salty breezes tickled our cheeks as we gazed at the wonderous possibilities of sooner or later retiring at this great little hideaway.

Once we got back to the car, we went to Harvey's, got a free gallon of juice, a bag of super ridiculous grapefruit, and some marmalade and headed to Coconuts on the Beach, a bar right on the sandy spread Cocoa has to offer.

We had a freak of a quesadilla there that was so good, I would argue it's the best you can get anywhere. We then headed home. Yes, the end to a perfect day. My face is slightly hot because of the pinkness I haven't felt on my face for over four months and I'm comfortable sipping a mai tai while I blog about our day. Life is good here in O lan do. Love you all for reading - Take care.

Full Weekend - Tons of Concerts on the Horizon

2010-02-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

While I entered the weekend with the need to get tons of work done (d'oh), Kris and I still had plenty of time to spend together, squeezing some enjoyment out of the Saturday and Sunday, as well.

On Saturday night, we decided to head to Universal Studios. They're running a killer special, with their Mardi Gras celebration in high gear along with a concert series through April. For $115, we decided the annual pass price was too good to pass up. So, despite the cold weather, we drove out to the theme park. Wearing winter coats and gloves, we bought our tickets into the park and then strolled over to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville to have dinner. If you've never been there, you're totally missing out. The ambiance is enough to transport even the coldest of snowbirds to a tropical paradise where even the guys order the Pink Cadillac margaritas.

Kris & I split a cheeseburger in paradise and a couple tropical concoctions before we headed over to the park. The Mardi Gras parade didn't start until 8 and we were in the park by 7, so we headed over to the Mummy roller coaster to kill some time. We got a ride in and then parked ourselves down the main boulevard, tucked next to a restaurant to prevent the cold wind from stealing our heat. Soon, the floats were passing by, with riders throwing beads out to the patrons. We had a blast, but before the concert by Heart began, the cold won. Kris and I headed home. It's great to know, though, that we're going to have great concerts over the next few months. Get this (they're all going to be free): Dierks Bently, Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, the Beach Boys, 3 Doors Down, and a few others. Man, what a deal!

Then, today for Valentine's Day, my wonderful wife surprised me with Jimmy Buffett tickets. So, we're heading to downtown Orlando in just two weeks for our fourth JB concert together. Guess I'll have to find that ol' coconut bra....

We also snuck in an 8 miler today. Feeling good about that one since I haven't been able to run that much lately.

Another Month Bites the Dust

2010-01-31T06:46:00.000-08:00

Heading into February, I'm excited. Without the possibility of moving and finally getting into a rhythm here in Orlando has allowed me to focus on other things in life. Kristin is leaving the "roadshow" and will be home full-time starting in February...can't wait! Albeit, it does mean that I will undoubtedly be having less pizza and beer for dinner (d'oh), but having her around will far outweigh my loss of cheesy, saucy pies. Heck, it might even mean that I lose a little bit of the extra Michael that's growing around my waistline...

January was fantastic. A busy month, but Kris and I had a fantastic time changing some of the "ways we roll," cutting coupons, saving money, and eating at home. After looking at our expenditures and realizing we spent $500 at the Ale House in '09 (and we only lived here since March), these dramatic lifestyle changes were deemed necessary. Added to all this, we got back from Greenville, SC last Monday from visiting our great friends who just had a baby, we actually had a pretty eventful January.

I think this year is, as a whole, going to be pretty fun. We have Hawaii in June, New York in July, and who knows what else in the latter part of the year. On top of this, I really can't wait for a warm weekend here in Florida so we can head out to the beach and catch some waves. My toes are pasty white and if I lay down on the sandy beach, I might blend in. I guess what I'm leading to is a new list of goals for 2010. While I did awful at accomplishing everything I wanted to last year, I am reenergized in this new year and look forward to posting everything Kris and I do. Keep looking back, because I plan on posting a ton. It will usually be on the weekends, though. I don't have much time during the week to get these things done.

"Gator Done!"

2010-01-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

With the Florida weather finally cooperating and reaching the 70's for the first time in two weeks, Kristin and I wanted to get out of the house, albeit even if it meant just going to lunch. And that's precisely what we did today. Because the Colts are playing tonight (watching the great game right now...Go Colts!), we wanted to get out early today. Also, I've been wanting to go out to the Black Hammock, a restaurant on Lake Jessup. Lake Jessup, by the way, has the densest population of gators here in Central Florida, so we were hoping to spot one.

We drove out to Oviedo and weaved our way to the restuarant through orange groves and overgrown sidestreets. The scenery was beautiful, with the bright and sunny oranges adding color to an otherwise overcast and grey day. The old oak trees with spanish moss blanketing the lower branches also provided a wonderful backdrop to the day.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we parked and walked out toward the boat dock and small jetty. Before getting all the way out to the lake, there were assorted pens with gators. One very large gator, Hammy, was the key feature of the three pens. Hammy, a fifty year old, six hundred and eighty pound gator, greeted every one of the patros with the same relaxed, immovable gaze.

After gazing at the gators for a while and taking note that on warmer days, they do airboat rides to see the various species of wildlife - gators (of course), bald eagles, turtles, snakes, wild boars, and a whole plethora of other members of the bird family. Come March, I'd like to make my way back and take one of the boat rides.

The biggest reason we came, though, was the restuarant. I have been wanting to mow down on some gator and with our Entertainment coupon (one meal free!), we entered. We had a fantastic lunch and I devoured the Buffalo gator tail sandwich and fries like I hadn't eaten in a month. The gator tail was excellent - fried in small chunks, breaded, and doused in buffalo sauce. I'm a big fan of chewy, and this sandwich had a high level of chewiness.

Well, the pics are attached. Kris and I had a great little excursion today. Hopefully in a couple months, I will have pictures to share of an airboat ride!

And here's Kris. As you can see, the tree snuck up on her and scared the begeezzeez out of her!

A Great Run

2010-01-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

So today probably topped out somewhere in the 50's with a windchill bringing our overall temperature down into the 40's, but at least it was sunny. Not just sunny, but the warmth the sun provided brought enough energy to our bones that we were able to run eight miles into the leafy Waterford area. For many here in Florida, this kind of weather is something they would have skip the peninsula we live on if they had the opportunity to choose. However, for me, who grew up in the midwest, I love this short change of pace. The brisk air against my skin brings me not only to a different temperature, but to a different time of my life. Because I moved here directly after college, it reminds me of living in Indianapolis. I once again feel spry in the legs and an extra jump in my step. The humidity is gone temporarily and the memories come sweeping in with the windchill.

But running in the cold now is a collaboration of then and now. I remember those frosty runs at Ball State, with snow and ice spotting the ground and causing me to watch where each step landed down the Cardinal Greenway as I also tried to keep an eye toward the empty corn fields covered with snow. But I also remember the wonderful times that Kristin and I had in Bethesda, running the trolley trail on a regular basis and covering up everything but our lips, ears, and eys from the icy air as we stomped over asphault and old, damp leaves. Though the sky in both memories was grey, the mood was always an assortments of bright yellows, greens and blues. I love those cold runs. They make me feel alive, like it has taken all year for the weather to remind me that I'm still not invincible. With that, the mind always becomes more clear and the senses raise themselves into a whole new level.

So today, I really did have blue skies, but the same chilled weather. Kris and I ran eight miles through a treescape blotched with brown palm fronds underneath and slow, meandering lizards. The lighter blue of the sky made the many ponds we passed with their wavy surfaces a crystally blue. The wind, about twenty miles an hour, kept our cheeks rosy and our mouths hard to move. With only ten minutes left, we past a lone sandhill crane standing against a backdrop of water and scrubby pines, beckoning to some unforseen comrade with it's distinct call.

A beautiful day and a wonderful run. Sometimes I thank the day for reminding me who I am. And, who I was.

Oh, How I Love Technology

2010-01-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

Isn't it crazy that technology keeps churning and gets better, thinner, smaller, and faster? Technology is supposed to make our lives easier. Meanwhile, I now have about fifty passwords that I have to remember, seventy-six cords for each specific device that I can't lose, and a coffee table up in our loft that houses the millions of batteries that I need because we go through them constantly due to this new technology.

I should have one of my hands surgically replaced by a remote controller. Whether it's for the TV, the DVD player, the Playstation, the Wii, or the radio, we have controllers for everything. Some of the real hobnobbers have remote controllers to change their thermostat, start the oven, change the firmness of their beds, even opening and closing their blinds. This is probably the reason America is getting so fat. They can brew coffee, have it served to them, turn the TV on, preheat the oven, close all the blinds in the house, start the wash, and change the baby with a remote. Ok, maybe they can't change the baby, but I'm sure it's coming. But the problem with remotes is they're always lost. Now, I spend half my day looking for the remote, finding the right wire to go with my camera, or heading to the store to buy batteries for one of my dead remotes. Where the heck is that simplicity?

And don't you just hate it when you walk in from a day of shopping or you just got back from dinner and you sit down on your couch and reach for the clicker and you realize that it's across the room....next to the TV? Dang it! When I cleaned earlier, why the heck did I put the clicker next to the TV? I hate it when I do that. So then, I have to get up, walk over to the TV, grab the clicker, then mosey back to my cushy spot on the sofa, and begin the whole process again.

What about cell phones? For many reasons, they're fantastic. But if you're a guy, here's the scenario:

I get ready in the morning on a Saturday. I choose to wear my cargo shorts because, hey, it's Florida and I love to harness the sun's power, baby. I throw my Fossil wallet into my back right pocket, my money clip in the front right pocket, my keys in the left. Then, I have the hunk of phone that I have to carry. Now, I have a touch screen phone, so it's pretty big. Really, carrying around this phone is like carrying around a mini PC everywhere I go. I have to throw this massive thing in my pocket, as well. Then, my wife says to me, "Honey, I don't want to carry a purse around, can you carry my phone?" Sure honey, I don't mind. Now, I've got a mini PC in each pocket and I have to wear a belt just so the 36 pounds of technology doesn't allow gravity to drag my shorts to my ankles.

Then I butt dial. This is the biggest load of crap about these touch phones. My phone's screen gets "unlocked" by one of the other things I'm carrying in my pocket and I'm all the sudden calling my parents, my sister, even people I don't even have loaded into my phone. I think I caught it once where I was connected to some other country, but I'm not sure. I'm just waiting for one of these butt dials to have me say something really stupid on someone's voicemail.

I just recently joined Spacebook. I call it Spacebook because for a while, I was confused and calling one MyFace and the other Spacebook. That's another thing that to be part of the new, tech-savvy age, I've signed up to. Why do I feel my life is getting more complex with all of this technology, not more simple?

Saving Money in 2010

2010-01-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

So one of my big focuses this year is to save some cash. That's right, I've been spending like a free-wheeling fat cat when I'm a lowly middle classer...

So I'm bringing my lunch. Yes, I'm now a lunch box cowboy heading into work each day with the saddles loaded with ham and swiss on a Publix roll. I even ate chef boyardee out of a can this week. Didn't even heat it up. Just like a cowboy.

But the glamour is gone. Now, I sit in the midst of the cubicle jungle. Lunch can be dim lit at times...my track lighting has a lamp out. But, one of the nearby cubes has a drive thru - a candy dish. It's like buy one get one free but the first one is free, too. Candy dishes are awesome.

And, I've been cutting coupons! Coupons, the life blood of savings in the aisles. When you start cutting coupons, you realize that you become excited when you find a coupon that you will use. Woohoo, a toilet paper coupon! Yes! Save $.40 on a box of pasta! And those coupons at a dollar and above, don't get me started. It's like digging in the sand and finding buried treasure.

Grocery stores are cool, though. I dig walking through the isles finding new stuff to buy. You see the weirdest stuff. Like crackers that are flavored like chicken. Have you ever had Chicken in a Biscuit? Those things are amazing! It's chicken...in a biscuit. How can you not enjoy the soft, crunchy cracker flavored with salty goodness? It's watching a firework show from the back of your mouth and partying like it's 1999. Mmmm....

Anyway, my sister told me about Coupon mom. I don't know much about this lady, except that she can walk into a store and spend less than $5 and get $100 worth of groceries. That is simply amazing! I feel all cool when I utilize the buy one get one free taco dinner kits (and I don't even eat that much mexican). How on earth does she do it? Some people may look up to guys like Tiger Woods (probably more single men than kids now), but my hero: Coupon Mom.

Long, long ago, I remember a time when going out on a Saturday night to the clubs or the bar to watch a game was a great time. Now, I want my scissors, a cup of joe, and the red plum and proctor and gamble coupon periodicals. And I'm under 30! In another five years, I could potentially be wearing pants that wouldn't get wet if I was wading in a river up to my knees and those old men sweaters tucked into my pants. What have I become? Oh well, at least I'm having a good time. Go coupons!

Holidays

2010-01-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

This past two weeks has been mo' busy. We've been hustling and bustling. First and foremost, we started our voyage by flying into Baltimore to stay with Kristin's sister & her husband, Erin and Matt. We weren't the only ones heading into town, though. Kristin's mom, Aunt Anna, her dad, Uncle Ray & the kids, Brian, and even Aunt Kathy and Bob made the voyage to Baltimore to see Erin & Matt's first house and the assortment of faces there. Erin and Matt gave us the tour of the home during the first night we all showed up and their 4 BR two-level home was full of character and their own touches. The house was beautiful and had great, spacious rooms.

Christmas came and in true McCue fashion, we didn't open gifts until around 2 in the afternoon. We all hung out, relaxed, ate tons of food, played games, and swapped gifts. Everyone was happy with their gifts and after the gifts were opened, I believe the ladies began working in the kitchen in preparation for the christmas dinner. I love big meals, because they carry with them tons of people and a large assortment of treats. On Christmas, those treats inclueded manigot, sauce, meatballs, sausage, ham, and other items that I didn't touch because I ate too many sausages and meatballs. Dinner was great and we finished the evening with me playing Santa from an old suit Uncle Ray brought and then playing board games. Sorry, Uncle Ray, for splitting the bottom of the pants! Yes, I split the rear end of the pants....hehe.

On our final day with the group, we all went duckpin bowling, where we all showed that we had no idea how to do it! But, we all had a blast and I believe that Brian was the big winner. He could possibly go pro with his duckpin bowling skills. Who knows, maybe potential career path. Anyway, we left the bowling alley and were chaufferred by Erin and Matt to the airport so we could catch our flight to Indianapolis. There, we would spend the remainder of our voyage with my family to see Jacob, spend some holiday time with the whole family, and catch a Colts game. Erin and Matt were great hosts and we had a blast in Baltimore. But, it was time to move to the next step.

In Indy, we hung out with the whole family, just relaxed, and had a great time. Jacob, my sister & her husband Bob's child, was a treasure. At about a year and a half old, he has changed so much since we last saw him and Kristin & I couldn't get enough time with the kid. We all went shopping, had our meals together, went to Castleton Mall (still my favorite mall in the world) and we got our fix of Penn Station...the greatest sub shop in existence.

On Sunday, Dad and I went to the Colts game. Kris did an amazing job this year with my christmas gift and gave me tickets for my dad and I to the Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium. The new stadium was amazing and until the 3rd quarter, the Colts were winning. Dad and I had a blast and this was the season the Colts could potentially go undefeated. Alas, it was not meant to be. The coach (Caldwell) pulled the starting offense in the third quarter and the lead vanished. The Colts ended up losing the game, but Dad and I had a blast while we were there. Getting to see the Colts in their new stadium in potentially a historical season was pretty darn cool.

The trip was great and Kris made our way home on Wednesday. Since then, we've spent tons of time just getting the house in order. In 2010, we have a lot of things we would like to accomplish. Kristin will be starting a new job here in Orlando with the same company, allowing her to stay at home more, which will be great. Aside from that, we will be going to Hawaii in May/June, Greenville in January to see our friend's new baby, and who knows where else, we always have happy feet and love to travel.

It was a great holiday. Unfortunately, vacations always end and work begins once again tomorrow.

2009 - Summary of the Shweet Goals

2010-01-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

The first thing I want to do is go over how well I did against my list. I really didn't look at it during the year with so much activity and my lack of free time. However, I won't know how I did until I get through this blog:

Michael’s Goals for 2009

1. Run 500 miles - This I nailed! In fact, because my legs held up all year, I was able to run over 1,000 miles for the second straight year! I hope I can keep it up in 2010...

2. Swim 500 laps - Not even close. When we were living in Greenville, we had a lap pool in our neighborhood. In fact, it was practically in our backyard. So, I had planned on getting my laps in during the summer. However, we moved to Orlando in March and we never joined a gym here (we just run outside and do the Wii Fit). Bummer dude.

3. Complete 700 miles on Elliptical - Again, no gym membership. But because I was able to run this year, I killed number 1, so I feel that accomplishing that I'm much more successful than had I done 2 and 3.

4. Visit 2 states never visited before - Kristin and I had a wonderful trip to Denver earlier this year. So, we went one for two.

5. Visit five states - Let's see: Indiana, Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Maryland, South Carolina...I think that covers it this year.

6. Complete one race or walk - Kris and I completed the Palm Beaches Half Marathon in December to keep the streak alive.

7. Refresh SCUBA Certification - Nope, didn't get this done. This should be a focus this year, since we're going to Hawaii!

8. Complete at least 2 open water dives - Nada

9. Surf at least one wave - Oh yeah, back in Florida and enjoying the surf. I did way more boogie boarding this year because Kris got into it, but I definitely got onto a board and enjoyed the ride.

10. Watch 25 movies - I probably had this accomplished in the first half of the year. I didn't write them down, but my favorite was Avatar. That movie was amazing, I recommend that to anyone.

11. Read 20 books - I think I read six: Dragonspell, Dragonquest, Silverthorn, Krondor the Betrayal, A Darkness at Sethanon, Brisingr. Man, I need to get on this during 2010.

12. Of the 20 books, 4 be non-fiction - Ouch, another missed goal

13. Complete a five-mile hike - While we didn't go anywhere special, we definitely conducted a five mile walk from our house through Avalon. I consider this partial success, but it would have been better had we gone somewhere. Another thing that we did that I don't think is on this list is kayak at Wechiwa Springs and saw a couple gators, which was amazing. And, we kayaked for two hours, so that should count for something!

14. Attend one MLB game - Nope, no MLB in SC or in FL, so we missed the boat on this one.

15. Attend one NFL game at a stadium I’ve never been to - Cha Ching: Kristin bought me and my dad tickets to the Colts game in Lucas Oil Stadium. It was a great game to attend since Dad and I love the Colts, and we had a chance to check out the new stadium, which was just plain amazing! Great gift, Kris!

16. Attend one sporting event I’ve never done before - No, didn't do this, but should have.

17. Take pictures of at least one monument - Nope

18. See two beaches - Cocoa Beach and Deerfield Beach

19. Begin my book - Nope

20. Eat at 5 different Chinese food places - I don't think so. The only places that come to mind are PF Changs, Wasabi, and Wok and Roll. I love chinese food...

21. Learn how to do 2 things I currently don’t know how to do - Well, I put up a ceiling fan and I'd never done that. Hmm, is there anything else? No, I don't think so.

22. Travel west of the Mississippi - Oh yeah. Denver baby

23. Write 52 blogs during the year - No, I failed miserably here. I started the year pretty good, but didn't follow through. Work has been busy this year, in addition to getting our new home in great shape for 2010 so Kris and I don't have to worry about it. And that was a success.

24. Work at one community service event - I'm terrible....nope

25. Attend one play / musical / symphony - nope

26. Visit two different museums - Went to the Coors Brewing Company and the Railroad museum in Colorado. Both were fun to do.

27. Visit one state or national park - Went to Red Rocks in Denver, which was awesome!

28. Visit a zoo outside of Greenville - Denver Zoo

29. Catch a fish - Yeah, I got my fishing license here in Florida and at one point had planned on stocking the lake behind us.

30. Ride a train - Didn't ride a train, but I did go on a train. Actually, I went on many trains in Denver at the museum. It was cool, but they didn't move.

31. Milk a cow - That would have been fun, but no.

32. Climb rock-climbing wall : Nope

33. Cook new meal once a month - We didn't follow this to a T, but we did cook many new things during the year. One of our goals in 2010 is to try a lot more new stuff, so I'm kind of excited to give updates on that.

34. Attend one local event (high school game or concert) - We did go to Oktoberfest in Avalon, where they had music, beer, and jolly good times.

35. Attend 3 Greenville Drive games - We moved, this goal died.

36. Try 2 new foods - Honestly don't know. I usually like trying new things, but I didn't write them down this year.

37. Do 20-mile bike ride - Nope, but I did a ton more bike riding this year than I ever have before. There are bike lanes here in Avalon Park and the neighborhoods are so much fun to bike through, I go out probably every other weekend and bike between 10 to 15 miles.

38. Eat at 5 pizza places - Papa Gio's, Lil' Anthony's, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, All-Star Pizza, Mellow Mushroom

39. Of the 5, 2 must be new pizza places - Papa Gios and Lil' Anthony's.

So there it is. Although we didn't complete all the goals I had at the beginning of the year, we did so many other things. Moving in and of itself was insanely busy. I hope 2010 allows us to do a lot of the "fun" things I had listed above for last year, because we have the house all set and our focus can be on more of the "fun" stuff. I look forward to giving updates this year and hopefully being better with my blog.

Running a Half

2009-12-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Kris and I kept the streak alive and completed another half marathon. This time, we headed even further south from our residence and stayed with Kris's mom over the weekend. We signed up for the Palm Beaches half-marathon this year and I'll get into how great the actual race was, but the overall weekend was a good one. We headed down to Deerfield Beach on Friday night and got there around 9 and ordered a pie from All-Star Pizza, a local joint and sat around in the back room chatting and sucking down saucy goodness.

On Saturday, Kris's mom and I got up early, headed to breakfast at Poooooneeera, did a little shopping at a french store, Tarshay, and headed back to the house. Aunt Anna and Kris were still sleeping away the morning, so we proceeded to hang up the icicle lights outside. Once we finished, the slumberers started wiping the cobwebs from their eyelids and the day....began?

While the morning was already in the 80's, the day turned sour as a storm blew in. An old friend came over and the ladies all swapped stories as I headed out to the beach, found a little bar overlooking the break, had a couple pints, and watched some volleyball. Drizzle pattered the sand, but it was still nice enough for me to dip my toes in the sand a bit before heading back to base. From there, the friend left, and we all packed into the car and headed up the CityPlace, a new chic outdoor mall near Palm Beach to pick up Kristin and my race packets for the next day. We picked up our info and race numbers, shopped a bit, and then ate a wonderful dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. It had gotten chilly during the day. The worst part about the chilly bit was that it came with rain. Wet AND cold....the worst combination. We kept hopes up for a decent morning so it wouldn't be a miserable run.

As it turned out, we got up around 5:15, threw on our running gear, and headed out to the starting line. The morning was brisk, but perfect for a half marathon. The race itself had a beautiful path, with about half of the race in view of the intercoastal. And, every mile-and-a-half, they had water and bathrooms, which just shows how well-thought out and planned the race was. I finished in about 1:45 and Kris came in at around 2:04. The day remained somewhat overcast, but no rain...wahoo! Another race down in the ol' logbook of life. Actually, we always print off our race times and finishes and put them in our "race folder." Yes, we're tools now. So, our fourth half marathon together and while neither of us had our best times, it kept the streak alive while providing us with our best course yet. In February, we're heading over to Tampa for the Gaspirilla, so we'll have our 2010 half marathon out of the way in a short couple of months. Look out, though. I expect to do a few next year!

West is the Key

2009-10-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

Just a couple weeks ago, an old friend and his fiance were having a wedding down in Key West. While work has been very busy and the week after week question is always whether Kris will be in town or not, we decided to head down to the southernmost tip of the U.S. and celebrate with the friends I knew from high school and college.

My old roommate and his wife, Pemp and Missy, came into Orlando mid-week before the wedding. Pemp's mother owns a condo on the west side of town near Universal, so they had decided to make a full week of vacation out of the celebration of Bob and Maryann's wedding. The came into town on Wednesday afternoon, and it wasn't until Thursday night that the two of them came over to our house in preparation for our long journey the following morning.

We had all decided it was best if they stayed over at our place on Thursday night so the drive would be easier on all of us the next morning. When Pemp and Missy arrived, we gave them the tour of the house and then headed out for dinner, Papa Gio's. Well, it started with Margaritas in downtown Avalon, but because he service was so atrocious, we paid for our drinks and headed over to Papa Gios. The dinner was amazing and afterward, we headed back to our house and ended up spending the rest of the evening out on our back porch, reminiscing and relaxing as Jimmy Buffett and the fountain in the lake provided the perfect background noise.

On Friday, Kris and I got up early (even though we stayed up on the porch until 3 drinking and doing that reminiscing) and ran. After we all got cleaned up and packed, we headed out on the road, determined to make Key West by 7:00 in the evening. 7:00 because that was the time the rehearsal dinner, where everyone was invited, was scheduled to begin. On the way down, we ended up stopping in Deerfield Beach to say hello and Happy Birthday to Kris's mom. Then, as we went through Miami, we also stopped and said hello to one of Missy's old friends from high school. As it turns out, we did make Key west before 7:00, but after both Kris and I checked into the Marriott (which was the nicest room I've ever stayed in my whole life) and Pemp & Missy checked into the Sheraton, we were heading to Duval. To the Rum Barrel, where the rehearsal dinner was already in action, and where we had a chance to see the wonderful bride & grooom.

I've added pics to this blog, though rather preemptive, because I have far too many pictures to put them all in one blog. More to come in future blogs.

Our Lighthouse Inn

2009-10-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, but it's time to start back up. While I'm pondering the continuation of the blog, it's still a great spot for me to share some of the pics that we've taken in recent weeks. While I still have a ton of things to blog about, I'm providing a short blog just to show off the recent accomplishment...the completion of one of our upstairs bedrooms. Named the "Lighthouse Inn," it's our version of a cottage feel for our guests to stay and enjoy. Kristin's mom came this weekend as our first guest and enjoyed the New England feel and the light and crisp tone of the room. Today, we added the finishing touch. We had corner unit that was dark brown and didn't match anything else in the house. Kris and I painted and antiqued the unit to fit perfectly in the room. I will say that while I call it the finishing touch, we do need one more picture above the bed. Other than that, the room is done. Here are the pics. Maybe you will be the next guest to enjoy the cottage feel, the water view, and some warm coffee in the morning with us on the porch the following morning. Enjoy!

The game

2009-08-30T06:34:00.001-07:00

It was time to go and we finally headed to our hotel in downtown Denver. As it turns out, daily parking at the hotel was $27 but there was a parking lot with $6 parking a block away, so we made our way there, saved $21 a day, and walked our luggage over to the hotel. Thanks to Kristin’s constant traveling, she’s a platinum member at the hotel, so we got to stay on the fancy floor. The fancy floor is the floor that you can only get to by putting your room key into the designated slot in the elevator so that the elevator will stop on that floor. Too bad for all the Joe Shmo’s we’re living the life of fanciness.

We actually relaxed for a couple hours. Kristin napped, I got some work done, went down to the gym for a run, and then came back to the room to get cleaned up. By the time I was dressed, it was 5:00. At 6:10, the Colorado Rockies were playing the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. Hmm…sounds enticing. Of course, that’s why Kristin and I had elected to stay downtown on Saturday night. We wanted a chance to see Coors Field and were happy they had a home game. From the hotel, we walked about 20 minutes over to the field. We waited in line behind some guy who just couldn’t seem to get the tickets he wanted. He was spending so much time trying to get the best possible tickets for the least amount of money it was ridiculous. Nevertheless, we got to the ticket counter, procured a set of tickets for $24 that were in the upper deck (but is there really any bad seats at a ball game?) and went in.

Since neither of us had seen the field before, we meandered around the first level to see the sights, take in the aura of the field, and get a feel for the layout. I know, you’re thinking “What do you mean get a feel for the layout? It’s a freakin’ ballpark!”

We proceeded to head up to our seats and when we arrived at them with a pretzel in hand, we were amazed at the view. And we were also blazing hot because our side of the field didn’t have any shade, but instead was baking from the sun as it was slowly (and I mean two hours away kind of slowly) setting. But, with the backdrop of the mountains, it was awe inspiring.

The Rockies were quickly down 6 to 1 early on in the game, giving Kris and I the belief that the game would be a blowout. The Rockies, however, were quick to strike back. In the 6th inning, the Rockies’ bats came to life and the inning lasted long enough for the fat lady to show up, sing, and dance. They scored seven runs in the inning, four runs coming off of two separate home runs. The crowd went nuts and we were having a blast cheering along. And, the Rockies fans are wicked fun when it comes to the wave. The wave passed by us about 5 times in a row during the inning as the fans were totally in to it. I’ve never seen the wave last that long, so it was pretty cool.

The views were spectacular. As the sun melted below the mountains, it painted us a beautiful ending to a wonderful vacation. We left the game after the seventh inning stretch, missing the Rockies scoring another four runs, but beating the traffic and finding our way to dinner. Our flight was leaving at around 6:30 the next morning, so we needed to get packed and to sleep early in the evening. We stopped for dinner at the Rocky Mountain Diner, right next to our hotel. Our salad and fruit were actually very good and I sucked down about four sodas, while Kristin nursed her Diet Root Beer.

Our vacation was over, which also means that my insane posting volume will likely decline. Denver was one of my favorite destinations. I put it up there with Boston in terms of favorite cities. Kris and I will definitely go back some day to explore a little more. And maybe catch another Rockies game.

Drinking Up (and then) the Zoo

2009-08-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I’ve left you last after we trekked through Red Rocks amphitheatre, tired ourselves out, and had lunch at QDoba. Later in the day, we decided to head to the Coors Brewery. While I had been earlier in the week, Kristin had not. Also, it allowed me to be less responsible since I had a designated driver to chauffer me around. We went to the brewery, took the self-guided tour, and finished with a few beers and a great education about beer and specifically, Coors. The one thing that was completely new for me was the drive into the brewery on the tour bus. This time, the driver brought us all through the actual downtown of Golden and gave us a bit of the history. Kris and I had a lot of fun just strolling through the brewery and afterward, we were exhausted. We’d done so much over the week with the aquarium, running, the amphitheatre, the brewery, it was a relaxation night.

We had dinner in a fantastic restaurant across the street from the hotel, McGrath’s Fish House, where we split an appetizer and a meal. From there, it was back to the hotel for some vegging out and rest for our Saturday.

We got up on Saturday needing to check out of the hotel. We were changing hotels from the Marriot in Golden to the Marriot located in downtown Denver. So, we packed up our things, printed off our boarding passes for Sunday morning, bought some coffee & headed in to downtown. Instead of going to the hotel to check-in (too early), we headed somewhere else. Kristin had the responsibility of making the calls for our Saturday, since I had been calling the shots on our previous excursions. Her choice: the Denver Zoo.

Why the zoo, you ask? Well, many people were telling us to see the sights around Denver. We heard how beautiful Boulder was, the many great aspects of Colorado Springs, white river rafting, hiking, and train rides. And as great as all of those sounded, driving an hour away from a city that we hadn’t seen before to see something we hadn’t seen before didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Call us lazy travelers, but we like the aspect of driving only 15 minutes to see these attractions.

And I will have to tell you that Kristin was right on the money with the Denver Zoo. I haven’t been to that many zoos in my life. Indianapolis, Brookfield (Chicago), Greenville (SC), Busch Gardens, and the National Zoo (Washington, D.C.) are probably it up to this point, but the Denver Zoo surpassed all of these regarding the plethora of animals present and the ability to view them. While Kris and I have spent at most a couple hours in each of the other zoos looking at animals, our day at the Denver Zoo turned out to be near 4 hours! That, and the last hour was kind of rushed since both of us were tired and our feet hurt.

This zoo was fantastic! It had a ton of animals and the weather was nice enough not to want to hide in the shade all day…for both us and the animals. We had a chance to see elephants, hippopotamus, rhinos, a million kind of birds, yak, kangaroo, Rocky Mountain sheep, lions, tigers, snow leopards, tapir, tropical fish, an anteater, gorillas, apes, monkeys, bears (brown, black, polar), turtles, and a bunch of freaky African birds, one of which was carrying around a dead mouse in it’s beak. Oh, and we also saw a sea lion show which was fun to watch.

Really, I’d recommend this zoo to anyone who likes to see different animals. Every corner of this zoo had something I hadn’t seen at another zoo before or even knew existed. The weather was fantastic and Kris & I had a blast just looking around.

Check back later for the second part to our last day!!

More Pics of Red Rocks

2009-08-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

Rock Collecting

2009-08-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

You ever seen giant red rocks? Well, if you have, then you've been to the same place that Kris and I went to today. I know that you've been sitting there, highly anticipating the next excursion that Kris and I would be taking. We took Friday off to be able to see some sights and enjoy the day. Our first stop was to visit Red Rocks Amphitheater and Park, which was simply amazing. The drive from the hotel was only 9 miles, so it was a short trip, as everything has been up to this point, to the giant red outcroppings.

I'll let the pictures speak mostly for themselves, but we started out at the top of the mountain and walked down the steps on the side of the amphitheater. Once down, we headed to what is referred to there as the Trading Post and took the 1.4 mile roundabout trail through the wilderness. This trail is not anything like a suburban paved trail. It's in the wilderness and you have to watch where you step. We did find a dead rattlesnake while out on the trail, indicating to both of us that there were still definitely live ones lurking about. Though not properly dressed for the occasion, we still elected to run half of the trail, only stopping when we had to push past weeds or hike up the rock. Once the trail was done, we walked behind the amphitheater to where the stairs truly began. I tell you, going up what had to be 300+ stairs was insanity. Both Kristin and I were sweating and tired. But it was a gorgeous day and a site I won't forget. Afterward, lunch at QDoba and then we took a breather here at the hotel so I could get some work done and post this wonderful blog.

Here Fishy Fishy

2009-08-19T06:46:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was less eventful until the evening. This time, I joined Kris in working the full day, except I followed EST and Kris, working at the Colorado site, worked the local mountain time. With a two hour difference, I had some time to kill waiting for her to get out of work, so I strolled through the mall across the street and then stopped in to Hops, a chain of microbreweries which had a restaurant here. Lucky me, it was happy hour, so I was able to take in a couple varieties of their brew.

Once Kris did get home, we headed to the Denver Aquarium. They have a restaurant wrapping around the giant holding tank with sharks, barracuda, grouper, and a variety of other fish. And with the aquarium only about 15 minutes from the hotel, it was a very short drive for a night full of enjoyment.

We had a great meal in a unique environment, the pair of us taking turns spotting different kinds of fish and munching on lettuce wraps and mahi & shrimp with a coconut rice. I was actually very pleased with dinner and afterward, we paid our checks and headed into the actual aquarium.

Going to aquariums in different cities has become a standard for Kristin and I. So far, we've now been to the aquariums in Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, and now Denver. Ironically, the person who never wanted to go to the aquarium in Chicago has been the one who enjoys it the most...Kristin!

This aquarium was a pleasant surprise. The tickets were cheap versus other aquariums we've been to. For $15 admission per person, I feel like we definitely got our money worth. There was a ton of variety throughout the aquarium and a great selection of sharks in their large aquarium, in addition to a sea turtle, sawfish, a giant grouper, and a few moray eels. They also had jellies, an octopus, tigers (not sure how they fit in with fish, but it was cool), and a stingray touch tank.

After we finished the aquarium, we walked out and directly on to a paved trail which we found out when miles both way. It was along the South Platte River and from further investigation, the trail extends a full 30 miles and links a variety of great stops. The views were amazing and we walked for about a half an hour, only quitting because the sun was setting on our day.

Another great adventure here in Colorado. It was a perfect stop for an evening after work because the aquarium stays open until 9 and you can grab dinner before entering. I would recommend this evening to anyone traveling to Denver. I don't think we have any plans for Wednesday, so look for another post on Thursday night. Take care.

Colorado Day 2 Part 2

2009-08-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

After the Railroad Museum, I entered my car wondering what the next closest tourist attraction was to my current location. So, I went to the trusty GPS for guidance, and what came up?

I know what you're thinking....The Coors Brewery located in none other than Golden, Colorado. But, I'm sad to say that you are wrong. The next closest tourist destination from the Railroad Museum was...the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. I'm not lying! Yes, there is a museum dedicated solely to patching together leftover pieces of fabric. I'm sorry to say this, but I think they would have to pay me reverse admission to enter that place. Ok, next thing on the list was...you guessed right this time, the Coors Brewery. I was only two miles away from the brewery - Wahoo!

So, I saddled up and headed over. I called the number to make sure they'd be open and they were finishing their last tour at 4. It was 3:44. I moved like a Colorado buffalo looking for chick peas. If that's not a saying, it should be.

Anyway, I made it in time. I was going in. I parked, took the bus, and was soon engrossed in American's Western Mecca. Like the trains, I learned a whole lot that I didn't know. Like when Prohibition was devastating the beer industry and the companies who created the golden liquid of the gods, the Coors family was selling malted milk and cookware to stay afloat. That, and they were probably shipping secrent kegs of beer to anyone who was buying a dozen gravy boats was what was keeping them alive.

And what do you think gives the Coors beverage such a clear and crisp taste? Why, it's the wonderful water filtering through the Rockies! And they say New York has good water...I'll take beer making water over pizza making water any day.

It's a self guided tour, and the best part is it's free. As a matter of fact, they stole the marketing strategy of the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and they actually pay their visitors to walk through. Yes, at the end of the tour, you're given not one, not two, but three glasses of liquid gold to quash any worries about whether or not you'll ever get run over by a herd of wild turkey or something crazy like that. Me, I had to live with just one of the three free drinks. I had to drive and be responsible, so learning about beer was the best I was going to get today. But, there's always tomorrow...

Anyway, I can always have a beer while I'm typing up my blog...mmm...rail car full of beer...

Colorado Day 2 Part 1

2009-08-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

So....how do I get this rail car full of Coors home with me?

On the second day in sunny (and cloudy) Golden, Colorado, the main character of your favorite blog was abound once again. With the heroine having to work and well, Mike taking most of the day off to explore, there was much trouble to be had.

The morning has little to discuss except that I procured myself a loaf of bread, some peanut butter, and a bag full of jerky. If you're asking what this is, it's my lunch for the next four days. Ahhhh peanut butter and jerky.

Anyway, back to my adventures. With Kristin doing that stuff called work, what could I possibly do with my time? I mean, what would a women from Florida who doesn't drink or drive trains not want to see?

I've got it! She would hate to go to the Colorado Railroad Museum! So, I drove the 8 or 9 miles to this museum, which surprisingly is kind of in the middle of nowhere. I paid my discount rate of $7 to receive my ticket and entered through the doors. As you can see from the pictures, the $7 was well worth being able to tour around and through some of the greates pieces of American Western History available. In all reality, it's a tourist trap, but it's really cool to be able to see all of these old trains scattered about the grounds. I know a whole lot more about narrow guage rail cars and locomotives along with the various types of cargo and bunk cars than I ever did before.

Hey, quit gawking at my Caboose!

Mmm.....rail car full of Coors.....

Do you know how much beer I would have if I could talk Kristin in letting me take a rail car full of beer home with me? I would have one six-pack of beer per day for the next 90 years. I learned this during my second adventure of the day. I think the rail car would outlast my liver, but we're talking lots of beer, people! If I could only figure out how to get that rail car home...

So I meandered about the mock rail station, taking in not only the trains, but also the mountains that surrounded me. What a gorgeous place to be. Plus the weather was in the 60's so I was just living it up.

And then it hit me. Like a five day old loaf of french bread across the head, the idea struck as if it was meant to be. There, sitting on the tracks at the very same museum was the Coors dual engine (diesel and electric) locomotive! This is how I can get my rail car full of Coors home! Aha! Life as we know it has been altered by this french bread epiphany. And my first stop on the wort crazed adventure was complete. Enjoy the pics.

Day 1 in Colorado

2009-08-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

If you weren't aware, Kristin's audit job requires her to travel quite a bit. One of the trips that she had on the schedule was an audit in Golden, Colorado. Since I had never been that far west, I elected to follow her out and work from there for the week. We actually arrived today, Sunday, where we got in at about 11:30 Mountain Time. With the afternoon to check in and see some sights, we picked up our car and drove to Golden, which is only about a half an hour from the airport.

In the distance, I got a chance for the first time to see the Rocky Mountains, which was an amazing sight to see. Hopefully, this week, Kris and I will be able to get a closer look if we get some time to head out there, but it's at least neat to see from the distance. Once we checked in to the hotel, we headed to downtown Denver for lunch. And, we ate at a familiar microbrewery, Rock Bottom, where we used to eat religiously in Maryland. What was neat to see was that at this Rock Bottom, all of the beers were completely different than those offered up at the restaurant in Bethesda. In fact, one payed homage to it's exact site on 16th street with the 16th Street Wheat beer. See, in downtown Denver, there is an entire outdoor mall where the street is closed down to drivers except for the mass transit busses which help cater to those shoppers who don't want to walk the entire strip. This was great for Kris and I, because after our Ball Park Pretzels with amazing spicy spinach dip, we strolled along the strip and kept our eyes peeled for something interesting.

It's important to note beer count while I'm in Colorado for any blog. See, Colorado has the highest brewery count per capita in the country. So, at Rock Bottom, I enjoyed the 16th Street Wheat and the Hop Bomb, another micro with a sensational hoppy, fruity flavor and also a clip higher in alcohol content. You won't hear me complain about that. So two local brews...mmm.

As Kris and I walked down 16th we noticed a Coyote Ugly Saloon. Yes, like the movie. We were curious if it actually was like the movie so we decided to head in and see for ourselves. The place was huge on the inside and dolled up like a western-style bar. There were two ladies working the bar, both probably in college or at the age to go to college but have decided that working at Coyote Ugly pays far better than going to school. The two were actually passing a microphone between them, talking, cussing, or making fun of some of the patrons. It was humorous, so long as it wasn't at Kris and I :)

I ordered a pint of Fat Tire Ale and Kris was forced to order a Cap'n & Diet...they wouldn't fetch my libation until Kris ordered one for herself. Meanwhile, they were making fun of the hillbillies at the other end of the bar. Soon, Kris and I had our drinks and the bartenders had set up shots of Red Bull throughout the bar and began a race between the two of them as to who could down all the shots without using their hands and make it back to the bar first. Next thing we know is one of the girls is dancing on the bar (again, yes, like the movie) and the other is shouting curse words at people who half walk in and decide to turn around and not face "the music."

The other thing I'll note is that strings above the bar and the liquor were covered in women's bras, an obvious practice the patrons on a Saturday night oblige with gusto. Obviously, people have a pretty good time at this bar on the weekend. But, also suffice it to say that I came to the conclusion there are definitely people I would not want to see walking around in there bra-less.

Beer count: 3 (Fat Tire)

With our day in downtown coming to an end, we left Coyote Ugly. We would have taken a picture inside, but were worried that we'd catch too much flak from the barmaids with the microphone, so we saved ourselves the embarassment. We continued walking and got to Coors Field before we decided to head back to the hotel.

We finished the evening having California Pizza Kitchen pie and a Blue Moon (which is brewed in Golden...I wonder if I can get a tour there...)

I've also taken some pictures from the balcony at our hotel to show you the view directly from our window. Pretty nice!

Kayaking Wekiwa

2009-08-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

One of the activities that Kristin and I tackled during my absence on the blogging scene is a kayaking adventure at Wekiwa Springs, starting out at the spring which stays a constant 72 degrees year round and meandering down the Wekiwa River.

One of the things that drew Kris and I to kayaking is the fact that on our last weekend while living in Orlando the first time, we went to Wekiwa and had a fabulous time. This time, the weather was anticipated to be in the low 90's by the afternoon, but this did not keep us from going to enjoy the day.

We ended up renting out two individual kayaks and headed out. On the trip out, we kept our eyes peeled for alligators, as I had never been that close to one in the wild and really liked the idea of being that close to nature. Kris, on the other hand, wouldn't have minded if we never saw a single gator.

We actually went out and down the Wekiwa for about 45 minutes, allowing us ample time to make it back to the rental center to return our kayaks since the rental time was only two hours. However, one thing we hadn't noticed on the way out is that we were going with the current. On the way back, we would be going against the current. Ouch...especially after kayaking for 45 minutes and we weren't used to using those puny little arms that we have. Well, I'll speak for myself since Kris has some serious guns... :)

Also on the way back, I led the way. As I was paddling up the river, I noticed a log coming directly at my kayak. Wait, that wasn't a log...it was a gator! The tail was slowly swathing back and forth through the murky water and I was fascinated. Kris, on the other hand, was yelling at me to paddle away. Soon, the gator was turning toward the bank and Kris and I had our first real encounter with wild gator. Earlier in the day, we saw a stump in the middle of the river and I had told Kris that I didn't think it was a stump, but the eyes of a gator! She started freaking out and totally froze...her boat actually ended up hitting the stump. She then followed this up by stating that she would throw herself into the water to save me from the gator....I'm sure glad she didn't have to. She could have gotten a splinter.

All in all, we used the entire two hours kayaking. Our arms were like puddy when we were done and both of us were ravenous. We ended up going to an Orlando Ale House (which is awesome if you've never been) for lunch and pigging out afterward to finish off the great Orlando adventure.

More House Pictures

2009-08-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

Here are more pics of the house. Enjoy!

The Wonderful Weekend

2009-08-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

We started out this weekend with a free dinner at The Lobster. I call it The Lobster, but it's Red Lobster. See, we use our Discover Card for everything that we can so we can earn points and receive gift cards for dinner. We had turned in some of these points for a gift card to Darden and so we headed out to The Lobster. While our tastes vary from season to season, Kris and I are totally in to The Lobster and it's delicious Parmesan Encrusted Tilapia. The meal is huge and so we split and add a salad, the perfect thing to do for a couple trying to watch their budget. It also opens up some cash for a top shelf Long Island Iced Tea, as well :)

Kris got home on Thursday, so having dinner together on Friday and enjoying some R&R together is something that we don't take for granted. Good food, easy conversation, that's what life is all about. After dinner, we headed over to ABC Liquors. See, before we had left, I looked up the ingredients to make a true Mai Tai. See, this tropical concoction can be produced with light rum and a Mai Tai mix you buy at the store, but what fun is that?

No, instead, we bought all of the proper ingredients and headed home to watch some tv, have some Mai Tai's, and just relax.

If you're curious, a Mai Tai is the following ingredients:

Light Rum
Ameretto Liqueur
Triple Sec
Pineapple Juice
Sour mix
Myers Dark Rum Floater

Mmm....Mai Tai.

Saturday was eventful, as well. We completed a five mile run in the morning in the blistering heat, then cleaned up and had lunch at Wasabi, a sushi bar located just across from our neighborhood. Sushi is super fantanstic, and the Blue Hawaiin Roll and Crunchy Tempura Roll were exquisite.

I'll skip the rest of our Saturday to get right to Sunday. We completed a 3 mile run and got cleaned up and headed directly to the beach. We boogie boarded for a couple hours and had a blast. Afterward, we went to the car and saw the local painter who was selling his fare. We ended up buying the two pictures you see scattered about this blog for a total of $25. The sunset at Cocoa Beach Pier reminded us so much of when I proposed to Kris, we just had to have it. And they look kind of like us, too :)

Anyway, that was our weekend. Hope you all had a good one yourselves.

Jenny Is A Tomato

2009-08-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of my sister and I. You can tell that from an early age, we've always found our niche. Me, I've always been the jokester, so I guess being a clown was perfect for Halloween. As for Jenny, she's always been...a tomato? Alright, maybe not the best indicator for what we became, but it's a great pic and I have to post a picture of anyone in my family in a tomato suit.

Finally, Pictures of the House

2009-08-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

I've caught a ton of flak because I haven't posted pictures in a while. So, for those of you who want to see our house now that it's finally set up, here are a few pics of the downstairs. I have to keep you all interested....more pics to come at a date to be named later :)

Where Do They All Come From?

2009-08-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

While at Universal yesterday, I found out how amazing it is to be within the crowd. I'm going to refer to the vast majority of folks at Universal or any other theme park "Park People." I think the only group who may be more diverse in their sizes, shapes, attire, and general disregard of mainstream social conformities are Carnival People. Park People, either because they are at a park or because the noncomformity of other people at the park call them there, are a sight to see.

Keep in mind that yesterday was blazing hot. Here in Florida, in August, it's like swim walking. The humidity is atrocious, and the temperature itself is in the 90's. So, while it was likely about 95 yesterday, the humidity made it feel like the temperature was over 100.

First I'll allow your imagination to run wild. What do you think we saw at Universal Studios yesterday? Have you ever been to a theme park? Did you see things that you thought no human should ever really see? Yes, now we're getting warmer.

I'll try to keep myself in check and be somewhat fair and not bash everyone. The first group I will give overall crap to, though, are the people in jeans. What the hell are they doing in jeans walking around in the sun when it is 100 degrees outside. An hour into it, they've got this sweat stain on their ass that looks like something from an inkblot test and you're wondering what on earth possessed them in the morning. Hmm, I'm going to be walking around in 100 degree weather today....I'm gonna wear jeans. We're not in texas roping cattle or doing farmwork. We're riding roller coasters and eathing cinnamon churros. No jeans necessary.

Next, I'm going to talk about hygiene. I understand that we're all outside all day long in the heat, so after a while, everyone starts to get a little "earthy." Yes, sweat begins to stay for so long that it starts to ferment into a slight earthy smell. However, most people don't stink. I mean, stink is just nasty. And it takes a lot to stink. We went on Deuling Dragons, a roller coaster, and the guy in the row in front of us lifted his arms to show off how not afraid he was of the roller coaster. All he showed us was that he was definitely Unsure and that new levels of stink I didn't think existed were present at the park.

You're wondering why I added a smell, this Stink, to this blog of unattractiveness. When you see someone walking through the park and even their loved ones are staying 2-arm lengths away from them, that's visible Stink, people. And visible stink is just nasty.

Alright, I've steered clear from bashing the individuals who probably are life Park People. And also those that because it's a park, have elected to go as a Park Person (like the people who wear those water shoes around the park even though there is only one ride that involves water). When you go to the park, don't pretty yourself up, put make up on, and wear something you're going to be uncomfortable in all day. But don't go in your nastiest pair of semi-see through gym shorts and a t-shirt that says something weird like "I fish, therefore I am." Oh, and don't go walking around with an umbrella to keep the sun off yourself. Wear some SPF....that's what it's for. Don't become one of the Park People.

Universally Good

2009-08-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

I picked Kristin up from the airport on Thursday night. Unlike the past few weeks, she was able to make it home on Thursday instead of Friday evening, allowing for another night of her and I hanging out and just enjoying some fabulous R&R.

Her getting home on Thursday evening also allowed for us to utilize Saturday for a day long activity versus doing laundry and catching up. A few weeks ago, we received in the mail a free ticket from Universal Studios, an apparent promotion to lure us into the park and waste our money frivilously on Hulk shirts and hats that say "Thing 1" and "Thing 2." In addition to the free admission for one of us, another coupon was attached to the ad for a $50 ticket.

Are you kidding, a Saturday at Universal for less than $100? One regular admission is now $94 if you can believe it. So, Saturday morning, Kris and I went for a run, had some breakfast at the Golden Arches, then headed off to use our amazing cost savings tickets.

When we arrived, our discussion regarding work activities had us so enthralled that we didn't even pay attention to where we parked. We hopped out of the car and proceeded to make our way to the ticket sales. Purchasing our tickets, we fell for the trap. Since the tickets were so cheap, we bought the "VIP" Express passes, which let you skip the regular lines once per ride and go through the cheat line. I call it the cheat line because instead of waiting for up to 2 hours, our longest wait on any ride was about 20 minutes. Hey, they were only $35 a piece and we caught every single ride in Island of Adventures during the day and even some of the rides in Universal Studios. So instead of just spending $50, we spent $130, but I tell you, it was worth every penny.

We rode the Hulk, an amazing roller coaster, enjoyed the 3-D experience of Spider Man and Shrek, rode the Dr. Doom Drop, the Deuling Dragons, and even wasted our time on the Poseiden's Fury walk-through. Kristin summarized that experience perfectly when she said she heard one woman on the way out say, "That's an hour of my life I'll never get back." Ok, so we batted almost a perfect thousand. Other than that activity, the day was awesome.

After hitting every ride in Islands of Adventure, we elected to partake in a cheeseburger. Nay, it was not just any cheeseburger, but one from Jimmy Buffett's...a Cheeseburger in Paradise. We sat at the bar, watched the volcano inside the restuarant erupt and spew the fifty gallons of margarita down it's walls and into the blender. Kristin sipped on her Bahama Mama while my concoction of choice was the Rum Runner. When you're living the life in Florida, what I refer to as a Staycation, that's what you do. You get drunk in the afternoon watching Jimmy Buffett music videos broadcast onto a large sail takking to the port of indecision.

After our libations, we headed into Universal Studios to hit a few more rides. We went onto the Jaws ride, primarily because I've always wanted to see that shark pop out of the water. You gotta love sharks popping out of the water, so long as you're not bleeding from an open wound and bobbing on a surfboard.

And that was it, folks. Afterward, we were both so tired from walking around in 95 degree weather all day that we came home and passed out watching a Cubs game.

Life is short - drink it up. And before you die, you gotta see Jaws pop out of the water.

Aloha from the Shweet Life - Michael

I've been bagged

2009-07-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

I would rather be a piece of fruit.

Before you read too into that statement, realize that I’m currently like all of the other items at your local grocery store. See, when you go shopping, you collect all of the what-have-you’s into your grocery cart, what I commonly refer to as a “buggy,” and then head to the check-out for the cashier to deposit all of your what-have-you’s into grocery bags.

Once the groceries are fully bagged and you’ve paid by cash, credit, check or some crazy means of barter, the transaction is complete. You take your groceries to the car, deposit them into your trunk (while keeping the bag of chips with you so you can snack), and make the trip home.

The key to this whole process is at the check-out counter, each item is scanned by the little laser gun that the cashier has. Well, my neighborhood has just installed one of those laser guns at the front of our gated community. They also stuck bar codes to each of our cars so we can get in. Today, when I went home, I got scanned. Yes, friends, I’ve been given a UPC.

Like a jar of Vlasic pickles or a can of Beefaroni, I too wear the blazon of the UPC. I too have been simplified to a standardized and approved strip of skinny and fat dual-colored set of lines. The means are different…it’s a car and an individual, but the ends are still the same. That which is scanned still has the end destination of home and once at home, goes directly to the pantry.

But I much more enjoyed being a piece of fruit. See, before this UPC business, I got into my neighborhood by typing in a PIN on the touch pad that also decorates the front of my neighborhood. Yep, just like the fruit. If you’ve ever looked at your fruit at the grocery store, each individual piece has a sticker on it with a four- or five-digit number. You bring the fruit to the cashier, they measure the weight, type in the “PIN” and shazaam, you have your total cost. It’s more “personal,” if you will. The cashier has to actually do something. You’re not just paying for a teenager to run a bag of chips over the scanner, you’re paying for the full-service aspect. Now, instead of being a fresh tomato, I’m just a can of processed tomato paste.

Life was so much better being fresh produce. It was a pain, but at least it was full-service.

When I'm Old Vol. 1

2009-05-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

You ever wonder what it's going to be like when you're old? I gotta tell you, I'm mo' excited to get into that range of age where it's expected to fart in public. Let me just ask, when does it become alright to start wearing black socks with sandals and shorts hiked up to the neckline?

Whatever it is, at some point, old people just say, "Who Cares?" And I can tell you, I will bask in that light. Even if I have two good legs, I'm still going to buy a cane made from a bull (check, they do exist), and walk around making vulgar comments to women and children alike.

For example, sitting at a mall, I'll be wearing Blue Blockers even if there are no windows and the lighting is dark. I'm wearing plaid pants that are too short to cover my complete leg, but I bought them for $6 at Wal-Mart and they have a stretchy waist line, so I'm ready should the bowel's move peculiarly. I've got velcro shoes not because it's tough to reach my feet (even though it is), but because I've always liked the Crrrrrrrr sound it makes when you rip the two sides of the velcro apart. I'm also wearing a bright green t-shirt because it was $0.36 at CVS and I bought it when I was also picking up my 22 prescriptions to lower my cholesterol, blood pressure, and volume of crapping in my pants. Oh, and I also picked up a plaid blazer from...ok, I'll be honest, I have no idea where all these old people are finding these plaid blazers, but I guarantee I will get my hands on a few of them.

So I'm sitting there in the mall just watching the comings and goings of the day, wearing my Blue Blockers and resting my chin on my cane when a women with a baby sees me sitting there as calm as ever and says to me after her child runs over to me and speaks gibberish, "Sorry, he's just getting his teeth in and is as active as ever." My reply: "I think he's stealing mine and either he or me need a diaper change. Either way, you're in for a sticky situation, so strap on some gloves, pull out the handy wipes and get to work on both of us."

Yes, living in old age will be awesome. And for me, that will just be the beginning.

Michael the Moped Maniac

2009-05-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

So I said to my wife the other day, "Kris, we should sell my car and buy a moped." The whole reason I said this is because we've got the car paid off, so if we sell it, we'll make a good hunk of change. Then, we can buy a moped for $800 or something and when I'm stuck at home without a car, I can still get to dinner if I wanted to go out. See, now that we're living in a brand new home, we're only two miles away from a ton of restaurants. Pocket the excess cash and then enjoy my new wheels.

When I started looking at it, it's not as good of a deal as I originally thought. I still have to get a license plate and then I would have to pay motorcycle insurance instead, which would be more. On top of that, I'm not sure I want to be a moped guy. I think in America, it's a lot like Capri pants for men - it's considered either European or weird. Or both. There's nothing wrong with Capri pants or mopeds, but you just open yourself up to a ton of jokes. Plus, I've always wanted a motorcycle, always thought they were cool. I get a moped and I'm like John Wayne on a pony...it's just not as cool.

If I get a moped, maybe I can "trick" it out. I could put some flames on it, add my own flare. I could start a moped gang that rivals that of the Harley crowd. Instead of wearing Hog shirts, we can get shirts that say something like "Piglet or Bust." Hey, I'm not bashing moped owners, I'm considering joining the crowd, but if I'm gonna catch flak for it, I'm gonna have to have an open mind to the jokes I know will inevitably come.

I think it would be awesome. I would have a two-seater to bring my gal around. The wind blowing through my (lack of) hair, I would be at one with nature and enjoying the sun on my skin. I could stop at Publix and pick up a few essentials (like Jalepeno flavored tortilla chips - you know, living on the wild side), put them in my little carrying case on the back of my moped, and be back on my way. Cruisin'. Just Cruisin'.

Yeah, that's life on the wild side. If i've got a moped carrying case, I can get rid of my fanny pack.

Life from a Bass-Ackwards Perspective

2009-05-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

Water's a little chilly today. I was up in the shallows looking for breakfast and sure enough, found a few minnows to appeal to my palette. Carl, on the other fin, has had a bit of bad luck this morning. While looking near the ol' tree which has been laying near the bottom of the pond for the past few years, he caught sight of a worm floating about. I tried to warn him not to go for it, but Carl's belly thinks more than his head and started swimming like a dolphin. Within a few seconds, Carl had a hook in his mouth and was fighting to get off. Naturally, I swam off, as there's nothing that can be done by watching the poor spectacle. I saw it happen a year ago with Stan. Stan was a fatty and would eat bird crap if it hit the water in front of him. One morning he saw a "minnow" bumping across the top of the water and just had to partake in the mini-buffet. Five minutes later, Stan's being measured and remeasured by some fat guy on the shore wearing a pink tank top that says "My Life Is Bass Ackwards." Why do people find it so amusing to wear these goofy looking shirts with some pun about the hobby they enjoy? You don't see us fish wearing shirts that say things like "Worms...Breakfast of Champions" or "I swim because I have no legs." Nope, we're just living life and enjoying it for what it's worth, not slapping a pink tank top on and looking like a darn fool.

Well, back to Stan. I have a terrible worry that he's now mounted on that fat guy's wall. So I left Carl for the fight of his life and began feeling some hunger pains myself. So, I swam up into the shallows and started looking for something to eat. Man, could I use a crawfish. It's like a fish's seafood dinner. While you enjoy a lobster tail, I love my crawfish. Crunchy, sweet, but harder to come by. I'm like a minnow in an algae store when it comes to those thngs. However, I couldn't seem to find any this particular morning, but there was a family feeding ducks so I was able to swipe some of the bread out from under those feathery fowl. From there, I went down to the bottom of the pond to see another old friend, Junky. Junky is a cat - oh, you should find this interesting. We call what you call a catfish a cat and the one on land we call a cat-furball. See, we're all fish, so we don't add the "-fish" suffix to everything, but instead add the suffix to you landlubbers. So you are guessing correctly when you think about the other species that would have their names changed. Parrot-bird, dog-crotchsmeller, the list goes on and on. Anyway, I went to discuss Carls terrible predicament with Junky and found Junky speaking with none other than Carl himself! Yep, he got away, lucky basshole...haha, get it? See, us fish can have a sense of humor.

Oh, there's one thing that I take particular distaste in. Why must you call us large mouth bass? I'm a man, so I'm not going to cry about it, but I would love to whack you people upside the head now and again. Just because we have large mouths doesn't give you the right to be throwing it in our face all the time. If you see another person walking around who had big ears or big feet, do you call them Big Foot Larry or Big Ears Michael? Nope, you just call them Larry or Michael. Why can't you just call us Bass? I must say that it is rather rude. Besides, from my perspective, I don't have a big mouth, but it's people who have small mouths. Would you like it if I call you Small-Mouth? I sincerely doubt it.

Well, I'm going to go float in the shallows for a while and enjoy the warmer waters. The day has turned for the better and I expect everything to go well for the remainder. You all take care now, and remember, when you go fishing, you're catching somebody's mother, man! If you really must go out and put a hook in one of our mouths, catch and release. You wouldn't enjoy it if we stuffed you and put you at the bottom of the lake.

If I had a billion dollars...

2009-05-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

With all of the car dealerships going bunk and what seems like tons of businesses and my favorite restaurants going out like the tide, I figured I'd try and figure out what to do with all of the excesses.

First, I'd take all the money the government is giving to the banks who won't loan anyone anything anymore and from the car companies who are closing up anyway and start paying people to farm and teach. Our country has all this land and we import food from other places - does that even make sense? Meanwhile, bank and auto CEOs are making millions for flushing their companies down the toilet. So in my universe, instead I've got Farmer John making six digits a year on a government subsidized salary producing ears of corn out the wazoo and sending it to ex-steel machinist Tony in Detroit who's found a new way of utilizing corn meal to make socks. Farmer John is also sending his ears to China to make cereal so it's re-shipped to the US...wait, scratch that, he's sending it to ex-car dealership owner Leroy who now owns a corn syrup manufacturing plant thanks to Farmer John's low-cost corn. Leroy pumps out thousands of pounds of corn syrup which helps ex-branch manager Alice produce the most fantastic new soda on the planet, Fizzie Wizzie, which she exports to India. Our fellow Gupta in India starts stopping at the seven-eleven (or is it eight-twelve in India?) and picks up his new favorite soda, Fizzie Wizzie, every day on his commute home from his job in a plant - a subsidiary owned now by Tony the sock manufacturer.

Little does Gupta know that his money will slowly trickle back into the US through that Eight-Twelve and back to Alice so she can pay Leroy for the corn syrup. Leroy then pays Farmer John for the corn and Farmer John is wearing a great pair of corn socks, warm in his living room listening to a book on tape written by a student of one of the teachers who's salary was also subsidized by the government instead of bailing out a crappy car company who produces a ton of low mpg automobiles that look exactly the same. Fizzie Wizzie goes public, a consortium of 80 year old ladies in Florida invest in the company, make millions and slowly start dying of old age. They leave their millions to charity and the school system. The school system invests the money and creates a trust which funds three teachers salary every year simply on the interest of the account while the charity invests half in a local corn growing agreement with Farmer John to send food over to hungry kids in Africa and the other half in buying a new distribution center which was once a car dealership.

Sounds pretty darn good to me. So where are those billions going again?

My Favorite Shows

2009-02-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

Doesn't everybody have list of favorite tv shows? I have a list, but instead of just for now, here's a list of favorites that I've had over the years. This doesn't mean that I still watch every one of these, it just means I was a giant dork for most of my life.

A-Team: I know, You pity this fool. With Mr. T in the cast as B.A., the show was amazing. How can guns be shot so much without a single person ever getting hit by a bullet? I don't think anyone ever died in the show, which is amazing because each episode had at least one major explosion.

Saved By the Bell: Who didn't watch this show in their teens? The crazy part is looking at the show now. What the heck were we thinking?

Family Matters: Urkel. That's all I've got to say.

American Idol: Really, I only like the audition weeks. It's hilarious to watch these people make fools of themselves and then cry because they thought they could sing.

Seinfeld: Strangely, this show never gets old for me. I can still watch episode after episode. The puffy shirt, Elaine's dance, Puddy, George working for the Yanks, the chinese restaurant, the list goes on and on. Probably my all time favorite show.

The Simpsons: I must have spent the equivalent to one month of my college career watching Simpsons episodes with my roomies. Eating dinner, drinking beer, and laughing at the Simpsons. Doesn't get much better than that.

Smallville: Before I got married and while living in Orlando, I elected to live with no cable. I only got two channels on my tv and so Smallville was one of the few shows I could watch. I ended up really enjoying it and got addicted for the first few seasons, but I haven't watched it since.

Spider Man: When I was in high school (yes, high school), I used to love the Spider Man cartoon. It was actually very good. The part about Spider Man that I don't get is how he can make all of that webbing without getting crazy hungry. You'd think he'd be running through McDonalds every hour or just eat spoonfuls of crisco to replenish himself.

Sanford: Not Sanford & Son, but the one or two seasons of Sanford, when he roomed with Cal. Those were hilarious episodes.

I think that about sums it up for me. I guess I left out Friends, but that show has virtually no replayability for me.

I like radio

2009-02-12T09:16:00.001-08:00

In the Wall Street Journal, an article outlines the financial trouble Sirius XM is in and the potential for an outside investor to swoop in and acquire the company. The shares of the stock are at all time lows and I'm still wondering how they've lasted this long. Unlike the television, where the choice is basically getting five channels for free or buying cable, the satellite radio has a multitude of competitors. First, the FM radio stations are plentiful to begin with. Why buy the cow when you get the milk free? Sure, we have to listen to a few commercials between our songs, but I've been in rental cars with the satellite radios and they have commercials on their stations now, as well. Sure, you may get 200 channels or even more vs the 30 or 40 you get on FM, but 30 or 40 is still pretty good. Really, how many channels do you listen to? Do you think that would change if you got an additional 160 channels? I highly doubt it. There is a reason that the preset channel buttons in your car only equate to six or seven. Heck, I really only listen to three channels when I'm in the car and don't even use the extra buttons.

The next area of competition is CDs. Unlike DVDs for the television, CDs offer more playability. While I don't pull out my favorite movies to listen to every day, I can sometimes listen to one CD for a full week without getting annoyed. I can take a couple weeks off, then listen to it again. Actually, I seldom listen to the radio because of this.

Third, and I guess this is rather constant across a vast majority of us, I get a lot of my phone talking done while driving from one point to another. I do this because when I'm watching tv, I'm usually eating or folding laundry or something else.

With all of these other alternatives, why on earth would I pay a monthly charge for the satellite radio? And I'm guessing that is exactly why Sirius XM is in such trouble. Because as everyone is tightening their belts right now due to the economy, this luxury item is one of the first monthly costs to get cut. See you later cow, I've got other free sources for milk.

Life as an Ill-Tempered Tree

2009-02-08T11:30:00.001-08:00

Man, it sucks to be a tree. Of all the gosh darned things I could have been, I was put on this earth as an oak tree. I was planted 40 years ago in the corner of the Smith's lawn. Did they ask me where I wanted to be planted? Nope, they didn't. Did they say, "Hey, Woody, would you like to be planted to that fine looking dogwood in the middle of the yard?" Nope, they stuck me in the back of the yard, all by myself when I was just a young sapling. Life was tough back then, for a couple years, they just stuck some little flowers around my body, as they call it, my trunk. And if you've ever noticed, flowers are very bad conversationalists.

Lucky for me, at least the flowers didn't talk much. After those couple years, however, the Smiths decided to plant bushes around the fence on both sides of me. Obviously, they don't know trees very well. Here I was, for about ten years, stuck with bushes as neighbors. If you can't tell, I find the bushes far inferior to me in many ways. First, they can't grow nearly as tall as us trees and, if anything, take away from all the beauty our lower bodies have to offer the naked eye. Have you ever stepped in dog poo? That's what a bush is, a bunch of crummy dog poo, and I had a whole heap of it surrounding me for years.

But the worst part about a bush is it doesn't shut up. "Hey Woody, did you see that blue bird?" "Hey Woody, what's the weather like up there?" "Hey Woody, what do you recommend, I've got a bad case of the ground squirrels?" Woody, Woody, Woody. I had to listen to their blathering and whining for what seemed like an eternity. I would have rather had those stupid looking flowers back rather than listen to their issues. You know the dumbest thing though? Those ugly Smiths came out every weekend and paid all this attention to those bushes. They trimmed them, they watered them. What, did they think that trees don't like to get watered too? Were they too stupid to see the forest for the freakin' tree? As they sat out on their back porch barbecuing (plank grilling off of a wood deck, may my brethren rest in peace), they would complement each other on how each had such a "green thumb."

Let me tell you this: I've seen those Smith thumbs. None of them are green (the loveliest of colors) and they are all ugly.

The Smiths finally moved. They packed their stuff up and went to some place called California. I feel bad for any tree that gets stuck with them. The next few years went pretty uneventful. I caught some lucky breaks, though. The neighbors were adjacent to the street and when some company came around installing power lines, the old Maple Tree near the road lost half her branches to make way for the lines. You should see ol' Maple now, she's still half bald and looks like a damn fool. Those pain-in-the-branch bushes kept blabbering down below, and I had a variety of sparrows using my branches as a nesting area. Sparrows? I don't mind unique birds like cardinals or blue jays, but freakin' sparrows? Let me say this: when the wind blew, I was always sure to give those sparrows a good jossling. Hehe, I still get a kick out of scaring them.

Oh, and why don't you people shoot woodpeckers? You may enjoy seeing them, but I sure as hell don't. Do me a favor. Next time you see one, don't sit their wide eyed like an idiot. Go get a gun and shoot the little peckerheads.

The next owners were some name I can't pronounce. Don't ask why, you should figure that out. I'm a tree for crying out loud, you should be impressed I've written this much. They were alright. They ripped up those overgrown bushes, so I thank them for that. They planted two small maples near me and a Bradford pear. I've been with them since and actually enjoy them all. The only thing I don't like about that maple to my left is as it's grown, it's taken away some of my sunshine in the afternoons and that really gets my bark in a twist. Hopefully they'll be putting up powerlines near that maple sometime soon, but I don't bet on it.

Anyway, the only pain-in-the-branch with these owners is that they had a little peckerhead son. They'd send him outside with no toys. Now what do you think a kid with no toys is going to do? That's right, he decides to climb the biggest tree in the yard...me. I had that little runt climbing about my limbs like a little parasite. I don't mind people, so long as they keep their distance. But, when you have some smelly little snot using you as chutes and ladders, you're ready to shake the little crab apple right out of your branches. However, I haven't made it this long without thinking. If I hurt the ground squirrel, his dad is going to chop down the tree he fell out of. No, I'll take the minimum amount of damage. He'd peel off some of my smaller branches, which is not enjoyable. Picture losing a finger...would you like losing a finger? Yeah, it doesn't feel good.

Those people lived in the house for about 15 years before leaving. Once the kid grew, he ended up not bothering me too much. Aside from having a couple bad cases of ants, those years went pretty smoothly. My current owners, the Jawkowsi's or Jamkaski's or something or other, they're alright. Except the fat guy that lives there decided one summer to hang a hammock between me and a maple. I now know what a human mother must feel like when she has to carry her fat baby. Lard man would park it in the hammock. It was like a fat fly in a giant spider web. I would sit there looking down just hoping for some giant eight legger to come and eat the fat man. I would strategically drop leaves down onto him that had bugs on them. The whole hammock thing didn't last more than a month. Besides, what makes him think he can use my shade? I've spent 40 years building up a great amount of shade, I don't want that fat man using it like it's his own.

So that's my life. I didn't even really touch on winter because that is just too easy. How would you like to stand in the snow buck naked? Yeah, that's what I thought. You'd think one of you humans would think to bring out a blanket or something to help out. I lose my leaves in the fall and have to sit there naked all winter. Not fun at all. And you just sit there, once again, wide eyed just watching the leaves fall off me in the fall. And when we trees lose our leaves, what do you do? You rake the lawn. The lawn!!!! Oh, you better keep that grass in tip top shape, don't even worry about the freakin' tree in your yard, it'll take care of itself.

Don't tell anyone, but I've got it all planned out. When I finally get too old to want to fight the storms and winds, I'm letting myself fall. I've got many years to go, hopefully, but I hope to plan it to fall right into that house that them fat Jamkawski's live in. Hopefully, I can take a couple of them out during the fall. It's the least I can do after the genocide I see every winter looking through their windows. There they are, all huddle around the fireplace, stoking the fire and throwing another...gulp....log onto the flames (may those poor trees rest in peace as well). Luckily, for now, I have a pact with a cardinal. I give the cardinal shelter and the cardinal craps on fat man's windshield ever time the car is in the driveway. I love that cardinal.

And that, my smelly human friends, is my life. A lot tougher to be a tree than you thought, isn't it?

Saturday

2009-02-08T05:45:00.000-08:00

It's Sunday Morning and I'm sipping coffee and nursing two tired legs. Yesterday, I put in some time at the gym doing 5 miles on the Elliptical and 2 on the treadmill as a stepping stone toward my Shweet Goals 2. Yesterday was gorgeous outside, so I also wanted to spend some time increasing my bodies' vitamin D. I warmed up some of my "award winning" chili and headed to downtown Greenville for a walk from Reedy Falls to Cleveland Park. In Greenville, we have a trail which follows the Reedy River for a two mile walk between those two landmarks. After spending a couple hours downtown strolling about, people watching, and at the end, relaxing, I headed back home. Well, I had to first stop at Total Wine to pick up some Corona Light. It was beautiful out, so I decided that it was Grillin' Time.

Ah, yes, grillin' time is one of my favorite times. Some people eat to live, I definitely live to eat. For those people who argue that it's not healthy to live to eat and we should fill our bodies with health foods like tree bark and salad, I'll politely tell you to enjoy your Whole Foods Market while my New York Strip Steak is cooking up perfectly.

But yesterday was not steak. Instead, I bought Johnsonville Brats some time ago that were just waiting to be pulled from the freezer. The difference with these is that they were Brat patties, which I have never had before. The only potential way to make a Johnsonville Brat better is potentially making it a hamburger patty. If you read my last post, you know how much I like the sandwich.

So I sat out on my back porch, sipping Coronas and listening to the flames grilling down the sausages. A nice way to cap off the day. You notice I haven't mentioned Kristin and that is because she is currently in Hong Kong.

So what is on the agenda today? Well, I haven't figured that out myself. It's going to be 70 outside today, so I'd love to get out and enjoy the day somehow, but I haven't figured out how. I'll try and keep you posted.

My Restaurant

2009-02-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

Have you eaten any angry food lately? I just recently tried the Angry Whopper at Burger King and I fully endorse this new Angry sandwich. It's a large, flame-broiled patty of goodness topped with pepperjack cheese, barbecue sauce, jalepenos, fried onions, and all of the regular fixin's. It's the sandwich that fights back, though I was surprised to find that it is not nearly as spicy as the commercials indicate. I'm beginning to think that the farmer never really yelled at his onions, but I guess it's possible. Nevertheless, if you're looking for a path toward Angry Enlightenment, the Angry Whopper is the way to go.

I'm a giant fan of sandwiches. The greatest part about a sandwich is that as long as it's on a bun, it's a sandwich. So the variations of regular sandwiches still impress me and make everyday meals so darn good. I've always said that one day, I want to open a sandwich place and name it "That Sub Place" so that when people are hungry and go, "Hey, Petunia, let's go get lunch at that sub place," they'll end up driving to my sub place even if the speaker meant somewhere else. Or when someone goes, "Do you know that sub place down the road? It's awesome, we should eat there," they're giving me free advertising.

I also want a place to sell pasta on a sandwich. Why can't some place do a ziti parmesan sandwich? They already have a chicken parm sandwich at just about every place. And when you eat your pasta, don't you always dip garlic bread or breadsticks in it? Yes, the Ziti Parm on a Garlic Bread Hoagie could be the next giant thing. Pasta….goood. Sauce and Cheese…mo' good. All of it on a Garlic Bread bun….now we're talking Crazy Goodness. Nothing against the Angry Whopper, but my Ziti Parm would be the ruler of all sandwiches. Especially with mini meatballs peppered throughout. I would put it on Texas Toast. Texas Toast is quality toast. Funny how Texas Toast is made by the New York company. That's odd...

Oh, and as for my eating habits, I've continued the streak of no french fries even though we did go to Burger King by getting the $1 side salad with fat free ranch dressing…just another alternative. Although, I have to say, the dressing was less than stellar. In fact, I ended up putting a little bit of buffalo sauce on my salad instead to eat it. Mmmm….buffalo sauce.

What is school teaching us?

2009-01-24T09:23:00.000-08:00

So many times individuals or groups of people don't fix the problem until it happens. For example, our current market is in the throws of it's worst downturn since the Great Depression. For the first time, one countries' problems are the worlds, as the economies of each region have melded into one Global economy. And the many problems, partially stemming from greed, the rest stemming from as Alan Greenspan has coined, "irrational exhuberance." For Americans, we've spent more than what we have. We've used financial instruments to buy, buy, buy. During the real estate boom, realtors prodded (though not forced) people to put in bids as quickly as possible and offer contractual terms which were more beneficial to the seller, like waiving the inspections or offer a value in excess of the listed price. We lived the examples above while in Florida at the peak of this exhuberance. Realtors and banks consistently pushed ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages), buying a vacation house or condo, or using other instruments to get into the market (like interest only mortgages). At one point, I read in the Wall Street Journal that areas in Chicago began offering 100 year mortgages. Wow....Nevertheless, it is a perfect example of a first time home buyer doing something outside of their regular personality.

What about credit cards? So many young adults find themselves continually climbing out of a hole they built while in college or directly thereafter. Nobody helped them understand the true power of compounded interest working against them. Once credit card bills start accumulating interest to the principal, it's like a faucet of debt that you just can't turn off. No one taught the college student the basics of finance.

Finally, the college student arrives on their first day at their first real job. The company offers a 401(k) or 403(b) and they have to make their decisions. First, should they reduce what they can get paid now by putting 8% of their salary to a retirement fund they can't use until they are in their 60's to get 4% (or less) contributed by the employer. What about the selections in the retirement fund or pension (if it's offered)? Should they put the majority into a small-cap fund, a bond fund, an aggressive growth fund...the list goes on and on.

I have a solution: teach finance in high school. Right now in high school, students are required to take biology, physical education, algebra, geometry, music or art, english, social studies, computer courses, and an assortment of others. I won't question the importance of any of these courses, as there are a number of reasons why each of these are important. However, what about teaching the basics of finance to someone before they enter the real world? Balancing a checkbook, what the time value of money means, what kind of financial instruments are out there for purchasing or what it means to lease. What are the keys when looking at mutual funds and the fee structures associated with them? Really, there are three scientific elements in my opinion which can be used to explain how and why things in our world happen - physics, psychology, and finance. It's blatently apparent now that psychology and finance blend together in many regards, so why not add that tool to the toolbox for children today?

Just to give an example of what is important to young adults, we teach them in high school about sex education but not finance? So we teach kids how to have children, but not how to take care of them financially? Who is that more unfair to, the new mother and father or the child?

Today, we have foreclosures galore, giant SUV's getting as low as 8 miles a gallon, pickup trucks being driven by those who don't truly need to have the capacity, ridiculously expensive electronics, and "irrational exhuberance" across many elements of the market. There is no better time to teach the basics of finance to our younger generation. Just like history and english, we cannot rely on parents teaching all of the right things to their children oustide of school, which is why it is so important to unfortunately, force this upon them. It's the most basic and important element for everyone once they enter the real world and also is one of the top two reasons couples end up arguing. See, finance can drive psychology.

Mmm....

2009-01-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

Today, I kicked off my morning with some bacon. Man, I love bacon. I think everyone loves bacon, so much that we put it on everything to make it better. Bacon cheeseburgers, bacon, egg & cheese croissants, turkey and bacon with swiss sandwiches, bacon-wrapped scallops. The problem is, it's not exactly good for you. In fact, it's so good because it's fatty and greasy and awesome. But, in my efforts to lose weight and sneak under 180 pounds for the first time in three years (I weighed myself yesterday and I've lost 3 pounds - go me!!), I've radically adjusted my eating habits starting January 1. How can someone radically changing their eating habits eat bacon, you ask? Well, I have turned to turkey bacon. And I'm going to give it a giant AWE SLUSH!!!!!

Butterball apparently makes turkey bacon and I made a very delicious BTM this morning. Bacon, Miracle Whip Light, and three very thinly sliced tomatoes. It was a delight and now I sit in the house with the wonderful aroma of cooked bacon floating across the air in my living room. And I did this all with just a fraction of the fat.

Afterward, I readied myself for some errands. It's amazing how much time we spend during our days away from work just getting ourselves ready to go back to work. I had to go get my hair cut, then drop clothes off at the dry cleaners. When I went to Great Clips, I had to put my name in and await my turn. I always go to Great Clips because at SuperCuts, Kristin's ex-boyfriend has apparently made a career at being one of the haircut models on the wall. You know, those pictures the people are smiling at how happy they are having the "perfect" haircut? Well, he's apparently one of those people for SuperCuts, just sitting in a field enjoying his haircut. And when I go to SuperCuts, it's like one of those Scoobie-Doo cartoons....everywhere I go, those creepily happy eyes from the picture on the wall follow me. And to top it off, hair cutteries are full of mirrors, so I can't get away!!! Ahh!!!!

But I was safe at Great Clips. As I sat there, I thought about my hair. I used to have a lot more. I thought of how I keep losing my hair, but I don't know where it's going. To prove that I'm losing my hair, I thought I'd share some ways you know you're losing that great hair of yours:

When you put sunscreen on your forehead, you now have to remember to also lather the two little peaks that are sneaking around the top of your head. Just ask my dad - during one trip to Florida, he forgot to lather those two peaks and he looked like he was some type of little devil.

When your wife buys a brush at the store and it's a Buy One Brush, Get One Free, the free brush is the tiny one for her purse, and you end up using that one because it's just the right amount of brush for the right amount of hair. Using a large brush just seems like a giant waste of brush.

You buy shampoo and it lasts a year. Same applies with a bottle of hair gel.

When you get out of a pool, you don't have to dry your hair off to stop the water from dripping into your eyes.

And finally, your haircut takes less than 10 minutes.

Yes, my haircuts remind me just how quickly that hair of mine is going away. But, I say enjoy it while it lasts. I hope I have another 10 years or so until my nickname becomes Q Ball. I'll start using more sunscreen on an annual basis than hair gel and will need a buffer to shine my head.