Holidaze Happiness

This week is my favorite week of the year. Just look at this schedule:

Monday, December 20^th – Orlando Siblings Birthday Bowling Bash

Wednesday December 22^nd – Braggin Rights game Illinois vs Missouri

Friday December 24^th – Christmas Eve

Saturday December 25^th – Jesus returns to Earth to buy an iPad and get in line for the post holiday sales

What I love most about this week is that the closer you get to the holidays everyone seems to be in a good mood. (For myself this was particularly true this year since I got all of my shopping done much earlier in the year than in prior years. I’ve been done for almost 2 weeks now, and after driving past the stores the afternoon I couldn’t be more relieved that this is the case. ) Last night my neighbors had a holiday party and it was just a fabulous time. Delicious baked goods, adult beverages, and holiday cheer were all in abundance for everyone to enjoy. While I only knew a handful of people there, it was still very easy to chat up a conversation with total strangers. There is something about this time of year that just seems to get people into a good mood. Honest – I do believe that it was all holiday spirit and had nothing to do with the delicious libations that everyone was consuming in excessive quantities. Altruistic or not, it makes a better story.

So as you’re bouncing around the stores last minute looking for that perfect gift before settling on a gift card, remember that you should be all smiles while you’re doing it.

Hold the Coffee

I believe I’m one of only 15 people in the entire Chicagoland who does not drink coffee. I’m not referring to just having a cup once in a while – I don’t drink it period. Upon learning this fact, the most common response I hear is “What do you do for caffeine in the morning?” For the longest time it was nothing – I just wake up and go about my day. Now, take that with a grain of salt because I’m a horrible morning person; I have to set my alarm for 7 am if I want to make sure I’m out of bed by 8, and even that is a chore. But as I approach my 31^st birthday I felt it was time to maybe mix up the routine a little bit.

Staring after Turkeypalooza I’ve been drinking a black tea in the morning at the office. I have noticed the caffeine effect of the black tea, and it’s actually been helpful in starting the day. But what I like about the tea as opposed to anytime I’ve ever tried coffee is it provides that feeling that jolt of caffeine. It’s a slow, soothing warm greeting – a gentle hug as opposed to a slap in the face. It’s enjoyable – especially since the heat at the office was out for the better part of this week.

Happy Holidaze!

Happy Holidays! It’s the best season of the year, so I highly suggest you get out your credit cards, get into the 4-wheel drive sleigh and go spend your way to happiness for your loved ones.

In all seriousness, I love the holidays. I just put up my little Christmas Tree and I couldn’t be happier right now. I don’t care that it’s only a 3” tree and sits on my kitchen counter. Just seeing it out there puts me into the holiday spirit. Which is why I want to head out and shop. I mean, spread holiday cheer with giving. Or something. Meh, give me a glass of cider and bourbon and I think I’ll watch Elf instead. So wait, is the holiday season about spending, giving, or indulgence in food and the subsequent laziness? We’ll go with yes.

Back from Beyond

Wow – I can’t believe it’s been this long since I’ve posted over here. Actually, I can believe it. When I started this blog back in the day, I had this altruistic notion that I’d post on it twice a week and lots of people would be anxiously awaiting what I had to say about this and that. Oh, what a fool I was. Between work, training for a marathon, and other excuses for not following through on something, I just for some reason always found something better to do.

But what still sticks with me is this notion that by publishing what amounts to random nonsense on the Internet will lead to fame. It certainly isn’t the reason why I’m doing this, but it’s a thought that definitely sticks in the back of my mind. That is the one truly remarkable thing on the Internet; not how it connects millions of people to porn almost instantly, but rather it helps facilitate everyone’s Hollywood dream of being famous.

Do I expect these sporadic posts of mine to lead to a sitcom on CBS? Not really. I am doing this really just to entertain people, mostly myself. And if the right person does find this amusing, please leave your info in the comments section and I’ll get back to you by the next time I post something. Hopefully it’s within a year.

Oh Yes

Opening day means only one thing - another opportunity for me to begin another potentially futile effort at managing a fantasy team. 

But this is my year!

iLove iMac

For my good friend Lindsay, who was the first person who said that Macs were superior to a PC in every way....

you are right. I don't even know what I'm doing and I like it. 

Bacon Explosion

So we made it. How was it? Well, honestly, it was....different. I'll never come out and say something has too much bacon, but let's just say this was a LOT of meat. I think grilling it instead of having a slow cooker kind of hurt the end result. Or maybe it was the fact we were too lazy to break up all of the ground Italian Sausage. Either way, we did it, and we all managed to live to tell the tale.

All meatiness aside, BBQ bacon is fantastic. I think I will be smothering it in the delicious spicy condiment much more often in the future.

I <3>

3rd Annual Super Sunday Funday Extravaganza Tent A Thon Event

The big day is finally here. Anyone that has even sat in the same room as a computer has heard about the gluttonous heart busting Bacon Explosion. Well, in the fine tradition of Turkeypalooza, Bacon Ballz, and not wanting to live beyond 30 years of age, we have decided to prepare this fine delicacy this afternoon. (There will be a full update and report from post op after my quadruple bypass tomorrow) But in the meantime, hey, let's watch football!

Steelers 34 Cardinals 30.

Super Monday

SUPERBOWL WEEK!

What is the attraction of the Super Bowl? Underdog stories? Gratuitous nudity? Great halftime shows? No, these are nice but those are too detailed. When you step back from this game and the rest of all NFL games, it's the mother of all Sunday Fundays. You wake up early, start drinking early, flip back and forth between the pregame analysis on any of the channels and the NFL Films all day marathon of every previous Super Bowl. You get to eat all of the snack foods that you enjoy so much; lil' smokies, sausage and peppers, the whole gamut of dips and chips, and many more meat and cheese covered products.

I'm going against my better Cubs judgment as rooting for the Chicago St. Louis Arizona Cardinals. How can you not root for the underdog? Feel good story set aside, I do have some logical (at least guy logic) reasons for rooting for them. First and foremost, Larry Fitzgerald was very good to me in Fantasy Football this year; showing some love is the least I can do. Secondly, as a Detroit Lions fan, if the Buzzsaw that is the Arizona Cardinals can get to the Superbowl, then we have to have a chance of winning 5, maybe 6 games next year.

Go Football!

Happy New Year!

2008, you sucked. (Well, not entirely. As a devoted Illini fan there is no conceivable way that I could say any year involving a trip to the Rose Bowl is anything short of awesome. ) But one thing I've never understood is the concept of a New Years resolution. I mean, if you know of something that you'd like to change about yourself to make yourself a better and happier person, why wait until once a year to make amends? With that said, I've got a few things that I am resolving to take care of in the new year:

1) Getting better at poker. I am really going to try to practice this year so I'm no longer the laughingstock of the Foster Tuesday Night Poker Club. This is going to happen. You just wait.

2) Read more. I'm almost done with one book (Freakonomics, which I embarrassingly admit I have not read yet.) There are many books that I've had on the proverbial "To Read" list, and this year I vow to get to them. I will even chronicle them here with reviews and such. Interactive!

3) GYM! This is every one's goal, but the whole marathon thing was rather intoxicating. So this year we've got the Shamrock Shuffle, the Sprint Triathlon, and the Half Marathon on the docket. Call me Forrest, but I like running.

4) PHISH CONCERTS. I'm going to them. Sounds strange, but if you've been to one, you'd understand.

5) Be a little more consistent with the whole blogging thing. I'm just too lazy to do a lazy man's job, but this is going to change. I'm taking my laziness to the next level and entering the draft.

So there you go. Hypocrisy and and useless information about me all in one post.

PS - Tedd Sucks.