Nightime Rituals

So it seems the night time ritual when going to bed become...

1) Read books
2) Get our blanket (takie sp? Patri, help me out here)
3) Dad carrying Owen upstairs
4) "Mom, give me rubbies please!"

Note point #4 :-)

Bags

"Owen, you have bags under your eyes, you look tired."

"Where Daddy?"

"Under your eyes Owen."

"Mommy, gets the bags away please."

:-)

I tried typing :-) to Wendy in AIM and somehow the search box was active and this is what I received back as results...

Your search for ":-)" returned no results.

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Summer Has Started

Summer has officially started, going to be 90 today for the first time this year I believe. Also, another wonderful summer tradition in Cincinnati has begun, SMOG ALERTS! Don't fill up your gas tank between 9 A.M. and 6 P.M. but do you really think Cincinnatians care? Of course not, lines all over the place in the middle of the day at gas stations. We really need a mind set change in this country and pronto!

Read'em and Weep

I don't have much to day, just read'em and weep!

SU and Stuff

So I am looking at the Big East Tournament bracket and I see Syracuse has to play a team they should beat tonight at 9:30, Seton Hall I think. So if they beat Seton Hall what do they get in return for winning? A date with UCONN the very next night. The Big East is crazy good this year and UCONN is the #3 seed. Louisville is #1 and Pitt is #2. I would have never guessed Louisville would have been the #1 seed in the Big East Tournament. Rick Pitino is just quietly going about his business and sneaking up on people. Another Final 4 run for the slick one?

Uni

So on Friday Wendy and I decided that we should go get some sushi. One, because it had been way too long and two, because I was craving it like crazy. Anyway, we have watched Anthony Bourdain for years and his favorite place to go is Japan. He has talked about Sea Urchin Roe or Uni, for years and years and years and how wonderful it is and how it melts on your tongue blah blah blah. You get the idea.

This past Friday I finally got up the courage to order some Uni at dinner and let me tell you, this stuff is unbelievable. It is so creamy and rich with a hint of sweetness it is hard to describe. Basically, it was so good it bordered on the orgasmic. Funny enough, Anthony Bourdain just did a show on food porn where he talked about all of his favorite foods in the world and why as humans, eating great food can be one of the most magnificent experiences we will ever have. The synergies of my moment and having just watched his show could not have been more complete. So in the end I say "BRING ON THE UNI!"

It's been a while

Ok, I am blog slacker, what can I say? Life has been pretty busy with tons of parties to go to and the SAP project starting to pick up. We head to Milwaukee in 3 days for our yearly holiday jaunt to the great white north. Owen will be spoiled and mom and dad will have to suffer with whatever is left over.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas!!!

The Eagle Has Landed

Patri and Maia have made it Cincinnati without too much issue. A picture is below.

John, Kristi and Julia came over tonight for some toddler bonding, fun was had by all!

Gas

Gas is now down to $1.75.

I voted

10 minutes to drive to my polling place, 10 minutes to vote, 10 minute drive back to work. I could not have drempt it would have been so easy given that there were cars EVERYWHERE at the church this morning. I am so happy I waited.

Gas

I just want to note that in Mason, OH gas is $1.93. That's right $1.93. Pretty amazing if you ask me. It only took $30 to fill Wendy's car yesterday. Only a few short months ago it cost over $60.

Our Prayers Are With John, Patri and Maia

John, our prayers are with you, I don't think much more needs to be said.

Crusades & Columbus Crew

You are probably asking, what the heck are these two subjects in the same heading for a post? Darn good question. I had lunch with a football (soccer) buddy of mine today and we were talking about how great Wikipedia is. Mike says "I want to do a 6 degrees of separation experiment with Wikipedia to see if I can go from one thing to something else in 6 mouse clicks or less." How we landed on Crusades to Columbus Crew I don't know but it clearly has footy origins.

Anyway, after lunch I tried to see if I could perform this seemingly impossible task and well, it's not that impossible. Not only did I perform this minor miracle in 6 mouse clicks I actually did it in 5. Here is the path I followed so if you want to check my work, go for it! Believe it or not the following links are on the respective Wikipedia pages.

Crusades to Western Europe
Western Europe to United States
United States to Sports in America
Sports in America to Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer to Columbus Crew

Red Sox Go Home!

Today is a happy day in the land of a perennial Yankees fan, the Red Sox lost to Tampa in 7 games. They get the same thing my team does this year which is absolutely nothing. Granted my emotion is mixed because the Yankees are being run so poorly and Brian Cashman needs to be shown the door. Maybe some day we can get us back to what had us winning in the 90s. A mix of guys who are not over paid, know how to do their job and not cause trouble in the locker room. Is that too much to ask?

Dad Survived The Weekend

I know it's no big deal but I think this is a exercise in relativity. I survived the weekend alone with no naps! For whatever reason Owen has decided on weekends he does not like naps. I did everything I could think of, car rides, TV Owen does not like and Stroller rides. I thought the stroller ride was going to work yesterday and I thought I had won the battle but when I went to pick him up to take him upstairs all hell broke loose. No nap for Owen, no nap for Dad either and I really needed one!

I know Patri will have to deal with much, much greater in a week but I feel proud of my accomplishment. I commend all those single parents out there who don't have a loved one coming home after only a week away or have a loved one away for an extended period of time. I grovel in your greatness because it is a truly amazing feat.

I didn't get to cut the grass

Whoops! I am ashamed! Well, not really.

Weekends Go Too Fast!

Yes, I said it, weekends go way too fast! Friday you feel so free and you have 2 whole days to relax or get done what is needed to be done. Then Sunday night rolls around and you are not feeling so free anymore because you know at about 8 AM the next morning means sitting at a desk in front of a computer. I should have practiced golf like that was going to be my job then maybe I could be like Tiger! Or maybe not...

Back from Sodus, NY

Well, Wendy said she survived my 15 years renunion and all of the activities that were involved but I had a good time. It was great to see some faces from yester-year. People I used to love being around and have a beer with. Seom people have changed a lot and some have not. All in all it was an enjoyable experience.

David, a.k.a Sweet D, left a comment on my previous post and I could not agree more. Life goes so fast but we should always cherish the good times and those we love being around. Whether it's friends or family moments from this past weekend I will remember forever. I hope everyone from this past weekend has a renewed interest in keeping in touch. It would be great to keep a good thing going.

Going Back to S-O-D-U-S

Well, this is it, my 15 year renunion approaches faster than I ever would have imagined. I looked at the RSVP list and there are some names on there I am surprised to see and some I am not. I feel a little nervous because I have not seen most of my former classmates in 15 years. Having said that I am looking forward to seeing some people I used to like hanging out with.

Besides the renunion I am looking forward to hanging out with my folks. Being at home is always so relaxing and it makes me wish I had family closer. However, maybe I would not cherrish the time I do get to spend with my family as much? I cannot answer that because it is how our family has always operated ever since I was a wee lad. My grandparents did not love close and neither did my aunts and uncles.

The other thing I am looking forward to is playing golf with my father. Sodus Bay Heights is whereI learned to play golf and I always love going back there to play every now and again. I never realized how hard SBHGC was until I moved and played golf courses people thought were hard and I thought they were easy!