My Last Blog Post

Today is my 234th and final post to my blog, Sbtothe5th. It is with a degree of sadness that I am resigning from the ranks of "blogger". I have had a great deal of fun with this blog and it has taught me a lot about expressing myself in words. In fact, this blog has lead me to my current project of working for Examiner.com.

I want to say thanks to all the wonderful readers of my blog. It was great to know that I had a small part of your day each time you read my blog. I hope that I either made you think or made you laugh. That was my intent.

With the constraints on my time and creativity, I have not been able to devote as much time as I would like to be able to maintain this blog to my standards. I don't want to be the person that makes posts of no value or that only blogs every month or so. So with that, I have decided to stop blogging. I will leave the blogging to the real bloggers like Rob at Robshep.com and Teresa at Continuingthejourney.blogspot.com. If you have never checked out their blogs you should. They are great.

Again, I want to say thanks for reading my blog.

Mountain Dew

Is there any drink better then Mountain Dew? The answer is no. When I was younger, my mom used to try to substitute Mello-Yello for Mountain Dew, but it isn't even close to the wonderfulness that is Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew is the single greatest beverage invention of our life time.

It was on tomorrow's date, September 3, in 1964 that Pepsico first started to distribute this amazing drink. It is the 4th highest selling soft drink in the world behind Coca-cola classic, Pepsi Cola, and Diet Coke.

So, with tomorrow being this historic anniversary, let me be the first to say thank you to all the people that had a hand in bringing about the greatest soda of all time, Mountain Dew.

Cold Tacos

Some people like to eat cold, fried chicken. Others enjoy eating cold pizza. For me, there is no food, normally served hot, that tastes better cold then cold tacos, specifically cold Taco Bell tacos.

I first discovered this treat after a youth sleep over. We had ordered tons of tacos (that was when they were $.39 each) and had lots of left overs. So, for breakfast, we ate cold tacos. They were great. The shell transforms from crispy to soggy. The meat, cheese, and lettuce form into this big tasty glob.

I know a cold taco does not sound too delicious, but trust me, it is. You should give it a try the next time you have a taco or two left over. You will be glad you did.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. My mom is a wonderful mom, and for the past 3+ years has been a wonderful grandma. For the most part, my mom exhibits the same great characteristics as a grandma as she has always shown as a mom. She is caring, kind, and loving. There is only one glaring difference between my mom and my mom as a grandma. That difference is candy. Now, every time we see her, she has candy for the boys. When I was growing up, I don't remember my mom caring around m&m's in her purse. My boys love that she always has some sweet treat for them. So I guess the only difference between being a mom and a grandma is candy.

Mom, I love you. I am so happy that you are a part of my boys lives. We all hope you have a wonderful day!

Cleveland Browns will win the Super Bowl!

Two weeks from today, the Cleveland Browns play their first game of the 2009/2010 football season. So, for the next two weeks, I can have the belief that the Browns will win the Super Bowl. Of course, after the first game, it may become clear that they will not win the Superbowl. However, until then, I believe!

Go Browns!

Super Fan - Not me!

If you've ever been to a sporting event, or even watched one on t.v., I am sure you have seen the "Super Fan". You know the guy. He has his face and/or body painted his team's color. He has all the team merchandise, whether it be the foam finger or the hat or the team colored silly hair. And, when the game starts, he is always the loudest, most enthusiastic person in the entire stadium.

As much as I am a fan of many teams, I will never take the step from "Big Fan" to "Super Fan", and this is why. Every year, whether it be at the Super Bowl or World Series or NCAA Championship, as the game winds down, the cameras scan the stands. There is nothing more pathetic then a close up of the losing team's "Super Fan", as the tears rolling down his face wash away his team colored, face paint. As exciting as it was to get all decked out in your team gear, I imagine it to be even more painful to change out of, after your team suffers a big loss. Such is the plight of the "Super Fan".

My Mind

I recently read a study, by researchers at the University of Virginia, that said a person's brain ability peaks at age 22. The study went on to further state that mental powers start to dwindle at age 27.

I am 36 years old, soon to be 37. So, that means that I have been losing my mind for almost 10 years now. Sure, I knew that physically I couldn't do the things that I used to do, but I thought my mind was as sharp as ever. I guess not.

Seeing as my mental ability is declining with every passing moment, I will seize this day to live life to the fullest. Sure, because of my diminishing brain ability, I may not able to remember it tomorrow, but at least I will have fun today!

National Enquirer Game

Years ago, we had a game called "The National Enquirer Game". In the game, each person or team would take a random picture from a pile and come up with a caption for the picture. The funnier, the better. I thought we could play that today. The picture is below. Just add your caption through the comments. Thanks for playing.

Our Song

Thanks for the responses on this blog and Facebook about what song Sarah and I should choose as "Our Song". After thinking it through and weighing all the suggestions, I have made a decision.

My decision, per a suggestion made through Facebook, is that Sarah and I do not need to have a song as "Our Song". It is ok if there is no special song that brings back memories when we hear it.

Who knows, maybe some day something will happen and a song will be playing, and it will be at that moment we decide to make that song "Our Song". Until then, we will go songless.

Thanks for the suggestions anyway.

What I've learned from T.V. (6)

People say that you can never learn anything by watching television. As a huge fan of the medium, I must disagree. I am a firm believer that you can gain great amounts of knowledge by watching t.v. This is my sixth post in which I will highlight some of the useful information that I now have stored in my brain because of television.

The Office:

I have learned more then my fair share about beets and beet farming.

Human resource representatives can often times be a downer when it comes to employee morale.

When it comes to doing anything, bigger is always better. (That's what she said)

See a man about a horse

Sometimes I like to use phrases that may have all but vanished from our modern language. One such phrase is to "see a man about a horse". If you have never heard this phrase, it generally means that you have to go to the bathroom, but you don't really want to say that out loud.

Sure, it might sound a bit ridiculous to say "I've got to go see a man about a horse" when you have to go to the bathroom, but I think that is why I like it so much. And, there is nothing cuter then your 3 year old taping you on the shoulder and politely saying, "Daddy, I've got to go see a man about a horse."

What phrases do you wish would come back?

Back to School

Back to School means a bit more to me this year then recent years past. Sarah and the boys will be headed back to school in the next few weeks, but this year I will feel back to school more through our College age ministry.

A few class members have already went back, while several others will go back soon. How will this leave our ministry? I don't know yet. Hopefully, there will be a few that come back for the school year. We will see.

Today, I ask you to say a prayer for our College ministry and all of our members. A few will be facing College for the first time, which can certainly be an adjustment. Others are nearing the middle or end of their College careers and will soon be heading out into the workplace. Pray that they will always look to God for guidance through every step they take.

Thank you Mr. or Mrs. Obvious

Have you ever heard someone say something that was so obvious that it made you laugh? Here are a few of the most obvious statements that I have heard that gave me a nice chuckle:

1) "If we have three kids, two of them are bound to be the same sex."

2) "When we were engaged, before we got married..."

3) "They need to know that or else they'll never know."

Hawaii

Today is the 50th anniversary of Hawaii becoming our 50th state. I have never been to Hawaii, but I have heard that it is an amazing place. I hope to be able to take a vacation there someday.

So, today, in honor of our 50th state, if you have a Hawaiian shirt, wear it. If you do not have a Hawaiian shirt, I am sure you could string together a grass skirt to show off to the world your support of our neighbor to the west, Hawaii.

Garage Sale

I am not a huge fan of garage sales. For the most part, I see them as someone trying to get you to buy there junk. I know that some people love garage sales and often times you can pick up nice things for little money. I guess I am just an anti-garage sale snob.

However, I have to admit that I have picked up a couple things at garage sales that I thought were pretty cool. The coolest thing I remember ever buying at a garage sale was a set of "Welcome Back Kotter" greeting cards. If you do not know, "Welcome Back Kotter" was a t.v. show that starred John Travolta.

I do not remember how old I was when I made this purchase. I would guess anywhere from 7 to 10. The cards had scenes from the show with funny greetings on the inside. I still remember my favorite was a picture of the Sweathogs (The name that the gang when by on the show) on the outside and a great greeting on the inside. The greeting read, "Up your nose with a rubber hose". I remember thinking how funny that was.

What was the coolest thing you ever bought at a garage sale?

Our Song

Many, if not most, couples have a "song". Whether it be the song that was playing when they first met or the song that played during their first dance together as a married couple, they have one special song that is their "song". Unfortunately, Sarah and I do not have a "song". But, that is all about to change.

I am seeking the help of my loyal blog readers to help Sarah and me pick our "song". Through comments left on this post, I will be taking your suggestions on what song we should choose. From now until next Wednesday, every suggestion will be considered and then I will post our top three choices for everyone to vote.

So, this is what I need from you. Post your suggestion as to the song we should consider as our "song" and the reason you are making the suggestion. Here is an example:

"Leaving on a Jet Plane" - I am suggesting this song because you guys had to fly back and forth to see each other a lot when you first met.

or

"Love of a lifetime" - I am suggesting this song because when you found each other, you truly found your love of a lifetime.

See, it is that easy. I welcome all suggestions, whether they be cheesy, funny, or extremely appropriate. So please, comment as often as you would like and we thank you for your help!

What I've learned from T.V. (5)

People say that you can never learn anything by watching television. As a huge fan of the medium, I must disagree. I am a firm believer that you can gain great amounts of knowledge by watching t.v. This is my fifth post in which I will highlight some of the useful information that I now have stored in my brain because of television.

Saved by the Bell:

By watching Saved by the Bell, I have learned there is "No hope with Dope". (Just ask Johnny Dakota)

I learned that the bigger your cell phone, the cooler you look.

Friends forever is an awesome concept. It's even better when you can sing a pop song about it.

And, probably the most true to real life thing that I have learned is if you are dorky and have a weird nickname, you will never get the girl. (Poor Screech)

The art of the TP

A couple days ago, we were driving out of our neighborhood when we passed a house that had been tp'd (That is toilet papered). I have to say that whoever did the job was pathetic. The yard had about 20 trees in it, but only 5 or 6 had any toilet paper in them at all. The trees that had been hit seemed to have only 1 or 2 rolls at the most. It just looked sad.

I wonder why such a poor display of tp-ing occurred. Was it the economy? People just couldn't afford to spring for an extra jumbo pack or two. Or, was it because this current generation just simply doesn't know how to tp a house.

Whatever the reason, it made me feel bad. I felt bad for the tp-er. If the word got out, about how bad of a tp job they did, they couldn't show their face around town any more. The humiliation would be awful. Then, I felt bad for the victim of the tp. Someone cared about you so little that they only used maybe 1 jumbo pack for your entire yard. Again, just sad.

Toms Shoes

If you are in the market for a new pair of shoes, you may want to consider buying a pair of Toms shoes. If you haven't heard of Toms shoes, you should check out their website here. Toms is a shoe company, that is true. However, it is much more then that. You see, Toms is a company that not only wants to sell shoes, but also wants to make a difference in the world.

The founder of Toms Shoes, Blake Mycoskie, started the company with the idea that, for every pair of shoes they sell, they would give away a pair to a child in need. Check out their website to see what a difference this company is making. While you are there, you might consider buying a pair of shoes. You will have a nice pair of shoes and be making a difference in a life of someone less privileged.

Are you ready for some football?

Yesterday, Madden NFL football came out for the Xbox 360. I have yet to pick up my copy, but I hope to real soon.

Every year I think that I might not get the latest Madden football game. I figure it will only be a little bit better then the year before's version. So, why buy it? That lasts until they start marketing this year's game. All the commercials and all the hype get me excited to play the new game.

So, here soon I will be heading out to pick up this year's Madden game. I can not wait to play it!

Welcome home Molly!

Today, our friends, Kevin and Teresa, arrive home from China with their daughter Molly. According to Teresa's blog, everything went well, for the most part, with the adoption process. I know that big sister Meg and big brother Carson are anxiously waiting to meet their little sister.

Please say a prayer for their entire family as Molly transitions into the family and life in Ohio.

Swim Lessons

Recently, my oldest son, Selleck, started taking swimming lessons. He is such a natural in the water, without even a little bit of fear. His favorite thing to do is a flip off of a diving board or the side of the pool. Where does he get that from? I don't know.

When I was younger, I used to try flips off the diving board. In fact, on one vacation, I spent the better part of three days trying to learn how to do a good flip. However, after a red back from smacking it on the water, I knew my flipping days would be few.

What causes a person to stop trying to do a flip? Is it wisdom? You get to the point where you know that, more times then not, when you try to flip you will hurt your back. Or, is it fear? You fear the outcome, so you don't try the flip.

Many times in life, there are opportunities that we let slip by, either out of wisdom or out of fear. There is a fine line between the two. If you turn down an opportunity because you are wise enough to know that it is not for you, then that is the right thing to do. However, if you let an opportunity pass because you have a fear that a similar result will occur as it has in the past, then you could be missing out on something great.

How do you make the determination between wisdom and fear? Honestly, the only response I have is to lay it at the feet of Jesus. His guidance will help us be wise when appropriate and will help us overcome our fear when that is needed as well.

Clocks

In our bedroom, we have 2 clocks. The first is an alarm clock at the head of our bed. The other, a digital clock we have inside our entertainment center. The first problem is our alarm clock runs fast. It is not unusual to set the clock, then a week later it is already a few minutes fast. The second problem is our entertainment center clock runs slow. It can be set properly, then a few days later it is behind by a couple minutes. The entire thing is maddening.

The funny thing is that I have never thought about returning those clocks, to the store I purchased them, because they are defective. But, when you really think about it, they are defective. Sure they keep some sort of time, but not accurate time. Most other products that are not working, even a little bit, we have no problem returning as defective to get a replacement. But clocks, we just accept them no matter how fast of slow they run.

What if other products we just kept, even if they were a little off? Could you imagine a lasik eye doctor that had a laser that every third day it would make an incision slightly off where the doctor intended it. That doctor would get a new laser pronto. How about a chef that had a range that every couple of days it would heat things hotter and cause everything to burn? That chef would be looking for another range.

It seems like we have been giving clocks a free pass to be as wrong as they want to be. I think it is time I bought a new clock that can keep accurate time. Of course, then I would not have my clock to blame, if I am running late. Maybe I will keep my clock after all.

What I've learned from T.V. (4)

People say that you can never learn anything by watching television. As a huge fan of the medium, I must disagree. I am a firm believer that you can gain great amounts of knowledge by watching t.v. This is my fourth post in which I will highlight some of the useful information that I now have stored in my brain because of television.

Cheers:

There are so many things I have learned from watching Cheers. First and foremost, I have learned all of Cliff Clavin's little known facts.

I have learned that there are 988 bolts holding together the basketball court of the Boston Gardens.

The best birthday gift is often a song from the heart. (See below)

National S'mores day!

Did you know that today is National S'mores day? If you did not before, you do now. My family loves S'mores. We even have a indoor S'mores maker thingy ( I don't know what the actual name of it is).

Maybe you all know this, but I just heard about something awesome that I am going to try the next time we make S'mores. Instead of using a chocolate bar, substitute a Reese's cup. Brilliant! I do not know why it never occurred to me before to do this. I am sure it will be delicious.

So, enjoy a S'mores or two today to commemorate National S'mores Day!

Help!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have started writing for the Examiner.com, as a travel, road trip examiner. I have already posted several articles and have a few more ideas for others. I wanted to ask for you help. If there is any place you have been or have heard about, that would make for a good travel feature, let me know. I can always use the help.

Even if you do not live near Cincinnati, that is ok. As long as I can get there in a car, I will call it a road trip. Europe, Asia, and Hawaii are out, but most other places are fair game.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Bacon

I love bacon. Almost every non sweet food there is, bacon makes better. Bacon on burgers, perfect. Bacon wrapped tater tots, wonderful. Bacon crumbled in macaroni and cheese, nothing could be better.

However, I think someone has finally taken things too far. Someone has now made bacon flavored lip balm. As I mentioned, I love to eat bacon, but I certainly would not like to have a piece of bacon stuck to my lips for the day. I do not think I will be trying bacon flavored lip balm.

Preaching vs. Teaching

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine that teaches Sunday school. We were discussing what was harder, preaching a sermon or teaching a Sunday school class.

His contention was that preaching was harder because you had to command every one's attention for 30-40 minutes, up front, all alone, without any interaction with others.

I felt that teaching was harder then preaching for several reasons. When you teach, you can have others take you on a tangent and it is sometimes hard to get back focused on the lesson. Also, when you teach, people can ask you questions. Some questions can certainly help clarify some of the points you are wanting to make, while others may just distract you completely from your points. And, the worst part of taking questions is getting the question you don't know the answer to. Where as if you are preaching a sermon, no one gets to ask you questions. Whatever God directs you to say and what you have researched and thought out, you get to say without interruption or having to worry about not knowing an answer.

So, to me, I still think teaching is harder then preaching. But, in the end, if God truly calls you to be a preacher or a teacher, he will equip you with what you need to be successful.

Cincinnati Premium Outlets

Today, in our town, the Cincinnati Premium Outlets open for business. They are billed as an upscale outlet mall. My wife is so excited. I, of course, not being a fan of shopping, am less excited then she is.

It will be nice to have a new place if I need to find something, hopefully at a discounted price. I am sure I will visit the Nike store on more then one occasion.

So, if you are like my wife and can not wait to visit the outlet, I have compiled a few things to know that you might find helpful. You can read it on my Examiner.com page here.

Good luck finding the bargains!

All hope is gone...

All hope is gone...No, not in life, in baseball. Last week I officially gave up hope for the Cincinnati Reds to make the post season.

It is sad when it happens. But, inevitably, each year about this time, I go through the despair of admitting the baseball season, for me as a Reds fan, is over. Not only is it sad on it's own merit, but it also seems to signal that summer is drawing to an end. Fall will be here before we know it. The World Series will happen, again not with the Reds involved.

So sad.

Chick-fil-a does it again

First of all, I need to apologize to you, my loyal readers. Yesterday, Chick-fil-a, at Voice of America park in West Chester, was giving away free chicken sandwiches to all customers to celebrate their birthday. I did not find out about this until the afternoon, so I could not blog about it to let you know. Again, I am sorry.

However, I did stop by Chick-fil-a on my way home from work to pick up a chicken sandwich. It was a mad house. The drive thru line circled twice around the building. Every parking spot was filled and many people parked at nearby businesses and walked over. It was crazy.

Here is where I say that Chick-fil-a did it again. It was awesome to give everyone that stopped by a free sandwich. That is impressive all by itself. However, this is where Chick-fil-a knocks it out of the park. I got in the back of the drive thru line, that wrapped twice around the building. One would have thought it would take an hour to get through the line, but it actually took less then 10 minutes. That is impressive. Some fast food places take longer then 10 minutes when you are the only one in line and it is 3:00 in the afternoon.

Chick-fil-a staffed in a way that they could still provide great customer service, even though they knew they would have huge numbers of customers. It would be easy for them to think "We are giving you free food, so you will wait as long as it takes". But, they didn't. They wanted to give me something, but still valued my time. Way to go Chick-fil-a.

If I was not already before yesterday, I for sure will be a life long customer of Chick-fil-a. They never stop exceeding my expectations. Yesterday, besides the free sandwich and great customer service, they also put a coupon for a free breakfast entree in my bag. Chick-fil-a, you are awesome!

Kodak Theater and Oscars

While in Hollywood, Sarah and I toured the Kodak Theater, which was right next to our hotel. All in all, it was a pretty boring tour. However, there were a few things I learned about the Academy Awards that I thought were interesting enough to share.

First of all, when the camera pans to "back stage" at the Kodak theater, they are really at the hotel we stayed in, the Renaissance. No photography is allowed within the Kodak theater. I know, it is a bit ironic that no pictures can be taken in a theater named after a film company.

Also, I learned that the Academy Awards has a $30 million dollar budget. They sell the t.v. rights for $100 million, but still charge everyone who attends, including those presenting and winning awards, $375 for each ticket.

I thought this bit of information to be funny. When the red carpet is first opened, inside the theatre, all the bars are open bars in an attempt to lure stars off the red carpet into the theatre. However, once the show starts, all the bars become cash bars to get the stars to leave the bars and go sit in their seats inside the theatre. You would think that big Hollywood stars would have no problem paying for their drinks, but it seems they like free stuff the same as everyone else.

Another funny fact is that many of the stars stay in the Renaissance Hotel, which is just steps away from the Kodak Theatre, but still get in a limousine, drive around the corner, then get out on the red carpet.

The Kodak Theatre, by itself, is pretty boring. However, learning about the Academy Awards can be interesting and a little funny.

Classic Video Game Systems

As I recently played my Xbox 360, I thought about how far video game systems have come in my life time. I can't even imagine how far video games systems will progress by the time my boys are my age. Here is a list of the video game systems that I have had and some of my favorite games.

Atari 2600 - This was my first video game system. Some of my favorite games were bowling and Pit Fall. Looking back at it now, it was very basic, but it seemed like such great technology at the time.

ColecoVision - This was my second gaming system. It was a step up from Atari. The graphics were much better and the games were cooler. My favorite game was Super Action Football.

Commodore 64 - This was my first computer, which was mainly used to play video games. The graphics were so much better then the ColecoVision and there were lots more games. I had a friend that seemed to have all the games and I would borrow them from him. My favorite games were Summer Games and Dr. J and Larry Bird go one on one.

Sega Genesis - This was my first console system that did not have the block looking graphics. My favorite games were Bulls vs. lakers and the NBA playoffs and Michael Jackson's moonwalker.

Playstation - This was truly the first step toward the next generation of video game systems. The graphics, for it's time, were leaps and bounds above anything else out there. My favorite games were Dream Team (basketball) and College Slam.

Playstation II - This was the first next generation gaming system. The gameplay and graphics were very realistic. My favorite games were Madden Football and Legends of Wrestling.

Xbox 360 - This is my current gaming system. The graphics are amazing, especially on a high definition t.v. The games are very realistic feeling and each year they get better and better. Currently, my two favorite games are MLB 2k baseball and NCAA college hoops.

Lynn's Paradise Cafe

For my first post, on Examiner.com, I wrote about a restaurant we visited on our trip to Branson Missouri. It is called Lynn's Paradise Cafe. It is just outside of Louisville, Kentucky.

Lynn's was such a fun place to eat. The entire restaurant is decked out with bright colors and interesting things to look at. The food was great, as well. The portions were huge and the menu included many unique items. So, if you ever find yourself in the Louisville area, check out Lynn's Paradise Cafe. You will be glad you did.

You can read more about Lynn's from my post on Examiner.com here.

Personal Space

In our civilized culture, it is a common courtesy to honor another person's personal space, the space around them that no other person should enter into. I have come to realize that there are varying sizes of personal space needed by each person. For me, I require a large amount of personal space. For others, personal space is almost non existent.

Why do I need so much personal space? I really don't know. I just have a hard time dealing with people leaning over my shoulder or bumping into me. I hate large crowds, because I do not have adequate personal space. Whenever I sit at a stadium, movie theatre, or even church, if it is not a member of my immediate family sitting next to me, I like to leave an empty seat between me and that person. Now that I think about it, that is probably why I am so adamant about the Men's room etiquette of leaving one urinal between me and the next guy.

Can a person cause his need for a large amount of personal space to decrease? Maybe. But I don't think I want to. I am happy with the size of the bubble I try to keep around myself.

Another job I'd like to try once

On our vacation to Hollywood, I came across another job I would like to try, if only for a day. That job: a costumed street performer in front of Graumann's Chinese theatre on the walk of fame. Well, I guess you would call it a job. They do it every day and make money at it. So, yes, I would call it a job.

The good thing, it seems, is that you don't, necessarily, have to look like the person you are trying to portray. We saw an Elvis impersonator that looked no more like Elvis then I do. There were, however, many impersonators that looked a great deal like who they were impersonating. We saw a very good Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Gene Simmons, and Superman.

I am not sure who I could impersonate, but I am sure there is someone that I kind of, maybe, look remotely like that people might give me a few bucks to have their picture taken with. I think it would be a lot of fun, for a day.

The Ohio State Fair

The Ohio State Fair starts today. I have not been to the fair in years, but after getting information about the fair for an article I wrote for Examiner.com, I realized that the fair might just be a fun place to take the family.

I had always stayed away from most fairs, because I am allergic to ever animal, it seems. But, the Ohio State Fair offers many, many more choices then just the livestock area.

Every fair has great food and this one is no different. I love the Italian Sausage sandwhiches. I can even be talked into a carmel apple or funnel cake. Fair food is the best!

The Ohio State Fair also has a great Midway with lots of kid friendly rides. I am sure our boys would love that.

It is also amazing to me the entertainment that is coming to the fair, Kelly Clarkson, Rascal Flatts, and even Kenny Rogers. Very impressive.

So, if you are like me and have not tried a fair in a while, I would check out the Ohio State Fair. It looks to be awesome.

What I've learned from T.V. (3)

People say that you can never learn anything by watching television. As a huge fan of the medium, I must disagree. I am a firm believer that you can gain great amounts of knowledge by watching t.v. This is my third post in which I will highlight some of the useful information that I now have stored in my brain because of television.

Happy Days:

From watching Happy Days I have learned that, no matter how tough someone is on the outside, they can be very tender hearted on the inside.

I also learned that sometimes, siblings just disappear (Chuck).

Finally, I learned, from Happy Days, that trying to jump 14 garbage cans with my motorcycle is probably not a good idea.

Examiner.com

Do you know anyone that is a paid journalist? If you answered no, hold on a minute. Now you do. That would be me!

Last Monday, I started as a travel writer for Examiner.com. I am writing for their Cincinnati, Ohio page with a focus on Road trips. I have posted 4 articles so far and it has been pretty cool.

Paid journalist is probably a bit over stated. I do get some pay for each time my article is read with a few other factors that are involved. Certainly nothing I could make a living from, but hopefully enough that I can take Sarah to a nice dinner once a month.

So, if you enjoy my blog, check me out on my page on examiner.com. Even if you are not from the Cincinnati area, I should have a few things that are universal to everyone. That, and maybe you just want to help put a few bucks in my pocket. Either way, thanks in advance. Also, if you have any ideas for what you think I should write about, let me know.

United breaks guitars

When I was doing a little research about United Airlines, for our last trip, I came across this video. Apparently, the gentleman featured in the video, Dave Carroll, flew on United with his band. During the trip, his guitar, that he had checked as baggage, was damaged. He contacted United several times, but they refused to compensate him for the cost of repairs to his guitar. So, in this day in age, where does someone turn to get results? Youtube, of course! Dave and his band made a video, posted it on youtube.com, and though and behold, United saw it and agreed to pay for the cost of repairs to his guitar. The video itself is pretty funny. Check it out.

Movies I haven't seen

You may find this hard to believe, but I had never seen an Indiana Jones movie until the end of last year. It is not that it was intentional not to see them. I just never got around to it. I knew they were classics, that everyone loved, so I did want to see them. It just never happened.

Apparently, there are a lot of classic movies I have yet to see. Here are a few that have escaped my view:

Casablanca
It's a Wonderful life
Dances with Wolves
Gone with the Wind
The Godfather I,II, and III
Schindler's list
Silence of the Lambs
The Terminator
Braveheart
Die Hard Series
Shrek
Gladiator
Rain Man
The Lord of the Rings
The Matrix
A Beautiful Mind
Remember the Titans
The Dark Knight

Wow! That is a lot of highly rated movies I have yet to watch. What about you? What movies have you not seen that everyone else calls a classic?

Backing in

On our last vacation, I was reminded, a few times, of one of my biggest pet peeves. That would be the driver that must always back into their parking spot. You know that person. Whether it be in the parking lot at a crowded concert or a church parking lot on a Thursday morning, they have to back into their spot.

What makes this worse is that the driver doing the backing usually has no backing skills. They have to take 3 or 4 runs at it before they can get their car parked straight. And, they don't care who has to wait on them while they attempt to back their car in.

I don't get why people do this. Does it save time? In the grand scheme, it costs more time. I have never seen someone have to take 4 tries to back their car out of a parking spot after being forward facing. If I had to group the drivers that do this, I do believe it may have a little bit to do with the age of the driver. It seems that the majority of backer-inners are older drivers. Now, that doesn't preclude younger people from committing this awful act.

If you are a backer-inner, please let me know why you do this. You may say that it helps you get out faster when you are leaving. I can understand that. But, why do you still do it when you are the only car in the lot? It just may be something I will never get.

The Ice Cream Cone

A few days ago we celebrated National Ice Cream day. Today, we will talk about the single greatest invention that took the enjoyment of ice cream to new heights. That invention, the ice cream cone.

On July 23, 1904, Charles E. Minches of St. Louis, Missouri, came up with the idea of filling a pastry cone with two scoops of ice cream, thereby inventing the ice cream cone. The walk-away cone made its debut later that year at the St. Louis World's Fair.

So, today, feel free to enjoy an ice cream cone to commemorate this wonderful date in the history of desserts. And, of course, you can't really enjoy an ice cream cone without a huge scoop of ice cream on top!

First, First Class

On our recent trip to Hollywood, California, we flew United Airlines. We, of course, flew in what they call their Economy class. I have always know it as coach. As a frequent flier in coach, I have always wanted to fly first class, but could never really afford the ticket price. So, my first class envy has always been pretty high. But, now, United Airlines has caused my envy to raise yet another notch.

On our flight to California, we boarded the plane as usual and walked through the first class area to get to our seats. (I think airlines do this to make sure you know you are not a first class passenger) The plane had the normal first class seats, but then I noticed something different. United calls it their first class suite. I call it first, first class.

What the United suite is, is basically your own personal, all in one, area. It is like your own little pod away from everyone else. First of all, you have a seat that lays completely flat to make a bed. Not the two inch recline we had, but an actual bed. You have your own personal video screen and work station, complete with a laptop power source and fax. And each passenger receives a 5 course meal. We didn't even get peanuts!

So now, first class isn't even enough to desire. Now I want to sit in first, first class. But, until I strike it rich, I will be happy with my crammed coach seat, with it's 2 inches of recline, while I look around other people's heads to try and get a glimpse of the movie that is being shown.

What I've learned from T.V. (2)

People say that you can never learn anything by watching television. As a huge fan of the medium, I must disagree. I am a firm believer that you can gain great amounts of knowledge by watching t.v. This is my second post in which I will highlight some of the useful information that I now have stored in my brain because of television.

Three's Company:

The most prominent lesson I have learned from watching Three's Company is that eavesdropping, although often tempting to do, only leads to misunderstandings and awkward situations.

I have also learned that, no matter how difficult times may be, pretending you are gay is not always the best course of action.

...in front of a live studio audience

In a previous post, I told you about attending the taping of "Rita Rocks", with the exception of one minor incident. I call it an incident, because it was nothing short of brutal. Here is what happened...

Before the taping begins, and during the breaks between scenes, there is a comedian that entertains the live audience. Well, at one point, the comedian asks if there is anyone in the audience that can juggle. No one, in the entire audience, raised their hand. That was, until my wife, Sarah, raised her hand, pointed at me, and hollered "He can juggle!" The problem...I can't juggle. It is probably better stated that I can barely juggle. Nothing more than that at all.

The comedian saw Sarah pointing at me and beckoned me to the front. I assured him that I really couldn't juggle. However, he wouldn't take no for an answer. At some point he had the audience chanting my name. So, to my dismay, there I was, in front of the entire, live studio audience, the "Rocky" theme playing in the background, showing my lack of juggling skills. And, to top it all off, it wasn't just for one break between scenes, but more like four or five times I had to juggle.

Towards the end, I was starting to get into my groove. I was able to keep all three balls going for at least 10-15 seconds at a time. I will have to admit, it was fun and I got a free T-shirt out of the deal. I even had a couple of people in the elevator, after leaving the show, tell me how much they liked my juggling. It was pretty cool.

National Ice Cream Day!

In 1984, President Ronald Regan declared July National Ice Cream month and the third Sunday in July as National Ice Cream day. So today, my friend, is National Ice Cream Day! What does that mean for you and me? That means that today we can eat all the ice cream we want and not have to feel even a little bit guilty. After all, we are just celebrating the freedom provided to us by our forefathers. In fact, it would be down right unpatriotic to not have an extra scoop or two. So, make sure to enjoy your Ice Cream on this very special day.

Ketchup? Really?

For the most part, when I sit down to eat with someone, I don't care what they eat or how they eat it. My sister, Tammy, used to dip her pizza in ketchup. Sure, disgusting, but I didn't care. I have eaten with several people that dip their french fries in ranch dressing. That's fine too (I actually kind of like that one myself). However, the one thing that I can't stand is when someone puts ketchup on their hot dog.

I don't know what it is, but it is just wrong. I think it disrespects the hot dog, and I won't stand for that! If you have to go with a singular condiment for your hot dog, it must always be mustard. There are many, many other acceptable hot dog toppings, just not ketchup. There are onions, chili, cheese, and even sauerkraut, all of which are perfectly fine. I am even willing to listen to other exotic items as possible hot dog toppings. Anything, as long as it isn't ketchup.

I don't have a personal thing against ketchup. In fact, I think ketchup is perfectly acceptable on many other things, just not hot dogs!

Gordon Ramsay - London West Hollywood II

My worries about eating at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood, from a previous post, proved to be unfounded. Our lunch turned out to be wonderful. We knew it would be a bit expensive going in, but, afterwards, I felt that it was well worth the splurge.

Here are a few of the highlights from our dining. I started with an asparagus risotto that was amazing. It was finished with mascarpone and aged Parmesan. So, good! I also had, what had to be ranked toward the top of the best steaks I have ever had. It was a seared rib eye steak with horse radish pomme puree and truffle sauce. Just delicious! Sarah had a chicken dish that was really great too. Her highlight was the dessert. She loves grapefruit, so she tried the grapefruit sorbet with a grapefruit foam. She loved it.

So, the next time we watch "Hell's Kitchen" and see Gordon Ramsay yelling at his chef's, I will better understand that he knows exactly what he is doing. The food that comes out of a Gordon Ramsay kitchen is truly world class.

Rita Rocks

We just recently returned from our trip to Hollywood, California. We had a great time. We did a lot of fun things. One of the most enjoyable things we did was attend a taping of the sitcom "Rita Rocks". The show stars Nicole Sullivan (King of Queens) and co-stars Tisha Campbell-Martin (My wife and kids) and Richard Ruccolo (Two guys, a girl, and a Pizza Place).

It was very interesting to see how a t.v. show comes together. From the stars to the director to the camera guys to all the assistants, everyone had their own roles to play to contribute to the final product.

One of the most interesting things to watch was how the writers got together after every scene. You could see that they were discussing how the scene went and whether or not to make changes. A few times they would then re-shoot the scene with a new joke in place. I assume the original joke, that looked good on paper, didn't play out how they thought it would, so they changed it.

So, if you ever have a chance to attend a live taping of any show, I would suggest you do so. It is a lot of fun. And, I would also recommend checking out "Rita Rocks" when it starts again in the fall on Lifetime. It is a pretty funny show that they whole family can watch.

Men's Room Etiquette

In many areas of our society, it seems that proper etiquette has been lacking for some time now. No area is that more evident then when it comes to the Men's room. I feel that this is not, necessarily, due to a wanton disregard for proper behavior, but a lack of knowledge of how to act once inside the Men's room.

With that, I have decided to take it upon myself to help educate the men in our society, as it pertains to proper Men's room etiquette. It is quite simple to practice proper Men's room etiquette as long as a few rules are adhered to. Here are the rules.

1) It is alright to talk to someone in the Men's room up until the point you start to reach the urinal area (approximately a 10 foot radius). Once within this area, all conversation must stop. Conversation may resume once out of this 10 foot circle. No matter who is next to you, even a long lost friend you haven't seen in years, there is to be no conversation in the 10 foot "Urinal Circle".

2) When choosing a urinal to take care of your "business", you must choose a urinal that is not adjacent to a urinal that is currently being used by a fellow patron. For instance, if you enter a restroom with three urinals and the one to the far left is being used, you must use the one to the far right.

Special note: If there are only three urinals available and both the left most and right most urinal are being used, you must then use a stall. If no stall is available, you must come back when the restroom is less crowded.

3) A few short items that you would think should be common sense, but apparently not:

A) No food or drink of any kind is to be taken into a public Men's room. Just plain disgusting.

B) Footwear is mandatory for a public Men's room. Again, just disgusting.

C) When using a urinal, you must look straight forward at the wall in front of you and no where else. For obvious reasons.

D) Absolutely no contact is to be made with another patron while in the Men's room. No handshakes, no high fives, no pats on the back. Again, the reasoning behind this should be obvious.

I hope that posting this will help bring back civility to the Men's room.

What I've learned from T.V. (1)

People say that you can never learn anything by watching television. As a huge fan of the medium, I must disagree. I am a firm believer that you can gain great amounts of knowledge by watching t.v. In this post, and future posts, I will highlight some of the useful information that I now have stored in my brain because of television.

The Brady Bunch:

The Brady Bunch has taught me many valuable things. The first thing it has taught me is that a blended family, although it may be difficult at first, can truly work.

I also now know that "stinker" is not a socially appropriate name to call someone.

When catching a football, it is always preferable to catch it with your hands or arms, rather then your nose.

Finally, the Brady Bunch has taught me that, when it's time to change you've got to rearrange, who you are into what you're gonna be.

What in the world did you say to me? IV

This "What in the world did you say to me" moment happened at a White Castle restaurant. It was a Friday morning, around 11:00 and I stopped in to buy lunch for my team at work. I was the only person in the restaurant at the time. I walk to the counter and here is the exchange:

Me: "I will take 20 cheeseburgers, 20 hamburgers, 5 orders of onion petals, and 5 orders of fries."

White Castle counter guy: "Sure, will that be for here or to go?"

I didn't say anything, but thought to myself, "What in the world did you say to me?" It was probably more like, "Did you really just ask me that question?"

After a long pause, he responded, "Oh. I guess that would be to go."

I am sure the guy just gets used to saying "For here or to go", but it just stuck out as funny to me. I don't know that I have ever ordered that much food at once, and the one time I do, the guy seems to think I might be capable of eating all of it.

Guilty Pleasures (music)

Do you ever find yourself listening to and enjoying a song that you wouldn't dare let other people know about? If so, you, my friend, have a guilty pleasure song. I actually have a few. At the risk of embarrassing myself, I am going to list them here. However, you can continue to read this only if you agree to post a comment with your guilty pleasure song. Think of it as group therapy. Here's my list:

I think we're alone now - Tiffany

I'm gonna be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers

U can't touch this - MC Hammer

The Rose - Bette Midler

How do you talk to an angel? - The Heights (Jamie Walters)

Now your turn. What is your guilty pleasure song?

Gordon Ramsay - London West Hollywood

Today is the day we will be having lunch at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. As fans of the show, Hell's Kitchen, we have always wanted to try a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. I am really looking forward to this. However, I am a little concerned with the menu. It certainly contains many things I have never tried, but, I am up for an adventure. With items such as tuna tar tare and braised ox tongue, I hope my stomach is up for an adventure as well! Here is a link to the lunch menu.

Camping

As we are on vacation, staying in a very nice hotel, I am reminded of how some people choose to spend their vacations. To some, camping is the greatest vacation there is. I would not be one of those people. I just don't understand why people love to go camping, yet, every summer, camp grounds are packed with people. I can understand the cost savings of camping. If you want to go somewhere and a hotel room is too expensive, camping can be that cost effective way to still go on that vacation. I get that. However, the people that their only reason to go camping is the enjoyment they get from camping, I don't understand. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Brilliant inventors have come up with things that give us comfort, things like air conditioning, indoor running water, a bed. Why would you purposefully give these things up? And, probably my most pressing question for you camping loving people is that, if you are the type that gets no greater joy then when you are camping, then why do you have a house? If camping and living that lifestyle are so awesome, why not live that way 365 days a year?

Do you enjoy camping? If so, please let me know why? I don't know that I would ever change my mind about camping, but would be interested in hearing your point of view on the subject.

Leaving, on a Jet Plane

This morning, we leave from Norfolk, Virginia headed for Los Angeles, California. I'm not looking forward to the 6 1/2 hour flight time, but I'm very excited to get to Hollywood. We are sad to leave the boys for 4 days, but they will be in very capable hands. And, I am a firm believer that a husband and wife need to, periodically, take a few days away from their children. It will strengthen our marriage in the long run. Besides, the boys could probably use a few days away from us as well.

So, were off to Hollywood

Chad Jarnagin

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have recently started my own Facebook page. It has allowed me to reconnect with a lot of friends from my past. It is really cool.

One such person, I reconnected with, is a friend that we went to the same church and elementary school growing up. His name is Chad Jarnigan. What I knew about Chad was that he moved away to sing in a gospel quartet. They were really good. I knew they had put out a couple albums and toured around a bit. However, that was about all I had known about what happened to Chad.

After connecting through Facebook, I was happy to learn that Chad has done some awesome things. Check out his website, chadjarnigan.com. He is currently the Worship arts Pastor at Rolling Hills Community Church in Nashville, Tennessee. According to his site, he has toured over 1800 shows/events. He has performed in many sports stadiums and arenas. Needless to say, he has made a great life for himself. I am proud to say that I know him.

Facebook

Now that I am leading the College age Ministry, at Liberty Heights Church, I have been encouraged to start my very own Facebook page. Apparently, everyone who is anyone has a Facebook page. And now, that includes me.

Facebook is a great tool to reconnect with people you haven't talked to in years, as well as keeping up with the goings on of people that we do see frequently, but had no idea what their day to day life was like. Facebook is also a great tool to communicate things to large groups of people very quickly. That is my main hope for use with our College Ministry.

For those of you that haven't used it, Facebook allows two users to declare themselves "friends". So, when you first start using Facebook, you, kind of, feel like the kid sitting alone at the lunch table. You see everyone else with lots of "friends", but you don't have any. Slowly, but surely, people you know start "friending" you. I have to admit, it was a pretty good feeling to pass the 100 friend mark. Of course, I then took a look at some of the members of our College ministry and see that a few have well over 700 "friends". That puts me back in my place.

So, if you haven't signed up for Facebook, you should. It is pretty cool. Besides, I could always use another "friend".

What in the world did you say to me? III

Here is a recount of a "What in the world did you say to me?" moment I was a witness to. I was standing in line at Penn Station restaurant (For those of you that may not know, Penn Station is a east coast style sub shop). I had placed my order and was waiting on it to be cooked.

Through the restaurant entrance, I see a guy walk in and immediately realize that he knew one of the guys working behind the counter. The conversation went like this:

Customer: "Bill, man, I haven't seen you in forever. What have you been up to?"

Worker: "Not much. How about you? Where are you working?"

Customer: "I've been working at this store in the mall. I am now the assistant manager."

Worker: "Man, that is great to hear."

Then it happened. The "What in the world did you say to me?" moment.

Customer: "So, where are you working?"

The worker responded with some version of "What in the world did you say to me?" I think it may have been more like, "What kind of stupid question is that? You see me behind this counter with an apron and a spatula, don't you?"

The conversation ended with the worker turning around and never again acknowledging that the customer was still in the restaurant.

The Outsiders

One of my all time favorite movies, that was originally a best selling book, was "The Outsiders". This movie may have had the all time greatest cast, from top to bottom, of any movie. How about these names? Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Leif Garret, and Matt Dillon.

The movie also has my favorite character name of all time, Sodapop Curtis. I just think it is a cool name. So cool, in fact, that I begged my wife to let us name a child Sodapop, but should wouldn't go for it. (She wanted S names and Sodapop is an S name) If you have seen the movie or read the book, you know that Sodapop was one of three brothers. His youngest brother (And the star of the movie/book) was named Ponyboy, another original name. Then there was the oldest brother, Darrell. Really? Darrell? Sodapop, Ponyboy, and then Darrell? I think the author must have gotten tired of coming up with really cool names. Not that Darrell isn't a fine name, but it is nothing compared to Sodapop or Ponyboy!

If you have never seen the movie or read the book, I would suggest doing so. Both are great. If you have read the book or seen the movie, I have 2 words for you, "Stay Golden".

Independence Day

One of the coolest perks of our new house happens on the 4th of July. In our town of Monroe, Ohio, each year they celebrate the 4th with a very nice fireworks display. Last year, with Slade only being a few months old, we decided that going to the park to watch the fireworks was in the "too hard" category. So, we chose to stay home. We happened to be upstairs when we heard the fireworks start and took a look outside to see if we could see anything. We discovered that we had a great view of the fireworks from our master bedroom. We opened the curtains, brought the boys to the window, and enjoyed a great fireworks show from the comfort of our own house. It was great. And, we didn't even have to fight the crowds to get back home after the fireworks, because we were already there!

This year, however, we are out of town for the 4th and will have to miss the Monroe fireworks. We are spending the week in Virginia with Sarah's parents and, I am sure, will be checking out a fireworks display in their town. They do have fireworks in Virginia, don't they?

Another Vacation

I'm on Vacation! Today we are leaving for a few days in Virginia, then we are off to Hollywood, California!

In Hollywood, we will be staying at the Renaissance Hotel, which is right next to Grauman's Chinese theatre (The one with all the star's hand prints) and the Walk of Fame. We plan on trying a world famous Pink's hot dog and I am trying to talk Sarah into a stop by Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles. We also have a lunch reservation at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. More about that in another post.

We have tickets to a sitcom taping and will do lots of other touristy things. We will also take these few days to sleep in! That might be one of the best parts of the whole trip. I will make sure to blog some of the highlights when we get back.