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!

First Time Out For Owen

So last night was a momentous occasion but not for good reasons. We are in the belief that Owen should eat what we eat since he has teeth and can chew etc. Well, last night that was not working very well so we had to have some recourse. Owen, after much debate as to whether or not he was going to eat anything, decided he was going to throw his fork at Wendy. Wendy replies "That is enough!" I grab Owen, put him in a chair facing the wall and told him to stay there.

Well of course since his world has now ended he wails but stuff his whole hand in his mouth while he is still crying. So out comes this whimper more or less instead of a full fledged cry. He also does his best not to face us. He clearly is facing 180 degrees away from the dinner table.

After a period of time I go and pick him up and he immediately puts his head on my shoulder. The other funny thing he does is deliberately not look at Wendy. Every time I turn so he can look at her he would pick up his head and look the other way. Finally he did not feel like lifting his head up anymore so he gives Mom the serious stink eye since she is the one who clearly ruined his life!

So what did Owen eat do you say? Avocado and cheese, what a meal.

Bob and Lisa Have Come and Gone

Bob and Lisa came and went over the weekend and it felt like a whirlwind. I wish weekends were longer and I wished Bob and Lisa could have stayed longer. We always have fun when they are here. We ate like crazy people too. Mohito Chicken on Saturday and Ribs on Sunday, what a feast.

Last night Julia and Kristi came over fro some play time. The kiddies ran all over the house tiring each other out and I know that Owen slept very well last night. I would imagine Julia did too.

Another random story since this post is already a disjointed mess of words. This morning the most bizarre thing happened at work. I was preparing my morning coffee and out of the corner of my eye I see this huge shape careening towards the window next to where I am standing. The next thing I know I hear THUNK! A crazy kamikaze Canadian goose crashed into window right next to my head. I quickly run outside and it is getting up and shaking it's head trying to figure out what happened. I start laughing as do a few other people who were nearby. I watch the bird for the next few minutes and it just stands in place probably trying to figure out what the heck just happened. Craziness to start a Monday morning.

Lisa & Bob; T Minus 3 Days and Counting

Saturday around lunch time we expect the arrival of Lisa and Bob which should include my sweet ass birthday present. We have some work to do to get the house ready but we are pretty excited for the annual summer foray to our abode. I am sure some Wii will be had by all.

Now that much of the family has Mario Kart we look forward to some friendly competition. So in other words, I am calling everyone out as a challenge that the Cincinnati based racing team rules!

Garlic Permeates

Last night Wendy and I decided we wanted to make Dinosaur's Motha Sauce. It's awesome once made but it requires a ridiculous amount of garlic. I think I used 5 or 6 cloves for the required amount. Anyway, I have washed my hands to the bone practically because all I can smell is garlic! However this does not seem to have worked because I think the garlic entered into my soul and is now coming out of every pore in my body. It's a good thing I am married because I would not be getting any dates. Wendy says "At least you are safe from vampires." I guess I have that going for me at least!

Packer out at CBS, to end Final Four run after 34 years

Could there be any sweeter words in college basketball? I don't think so.

Milwaukee; Lisa and Bob Next

Milwaukee was fun as usual, seeing Wendy's parents is always enjoyable. We were also able to see some friends while we were home too. We had to go to a baby shower for one of Wendy's high school friends and that was a good time.

July 4th was the same ol' with family from Chicago coming up for lunch. We sat around and talked and ate like crazy. We were so stuffed we barely had anything for dinner.

Next up is Lisa and Bob at the beginning of August. I can't wait to get my hands on the Cuzco jersey, it looks so sweet. Lisa has also been telling us of their golfing escapades so I might have to take L&B to the driving range whilst they are here.

Owen and the Wii

Houston, we have a problem...

This past weekend we had some crazy Wii action going on. On Friday Amy and Rich came over, after dinner at Bravos, to play some Wii. Owen was very happy about this and watched very contently. Saturday we had invited some friends over for dinner and afterwards we played some Wii. Again, Owen sat very contently even though there was mass chaos going on around him.

Then we come to Sunday night. We have had our bath, eaten our fruit and Owen is pretty much ready for bed at this point... Or so we thought. He proceeds to the TV stand, where we keep all things Wii including controllers, opens the drawer and pulls out both controllers and hands them to Wendy and me. He also then grabs a TV remote because in order to play the Wii he knows we have to push a button. He is pointing at the controllers and then pointing at the TV like he is Caesar who is saying "Let the entertainment commence!"

Needless to say we have hidden said controllers in a place that shall remain unnamed. I don't want a Nana, Papa, Uncle or Aunt making our lives more difficult. Sorry, I love all of you but I trust you when it comes to my son about as far as I can throw you. :)