Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Is that carbon monoxide? "Yeah, don't worry about it."

Over the past two months I've noticed that my pantry(upstairs in my kitchen) has been uncharacteristically warm. Like super warm. Think 80 degrees. It would normally never get above the mid 60's as it abuts an exterior brick wall, so it was great for a pantry especially if you have wine in there! :-) Last week we moved the wine down to the storage area in the basement which is a little less convenient, but is cooler. Since we had work done in the ceiling in the kitchen and insulation was installed, I just assumed the insulation was blocking some major air leaks which may have contributed to the cooling of the pantry. I was wrong.

We also had tuckpointers in as well and I thought maybe the work they did (some of which was on the exterior wall abutting the pantry) was preventing some air leaks. Again, I was wrong.

My upstairs neighbor has a washer and dryer in their pantry, so I thought that could be the cause of the heat. Wrong again.

So now the other day I received an email from a guy in the condo building asking me to contact our boiler repair guy because the maintenance guy (who basically cleans, takes out the garbage, shovels snow, etc) saw a leaking pipe in the boiler room. Well, that was an understatement. The leak was a pinhole leak actually in a pipe and it was shooting water about 10' across the boiler room onto all sorts of stuff including a light switch. Nice. Fortunately the maintenance guy had the sense to cover the switch with a plastic bag....though he didn't have enough sense to at least put duct tape around the hole like I did. It didn't stop the water, but the water was just dribbling down the pipe to a floor drain after I taped it.

The boiler repair guy came in yesterday after I called him and noted that there were actually TWO pipes leaking. So he fixed those, no problem. Then he saw that there was a leak above one of our water heaters too! What the hell?? It had been leaking for a while too because some of the connections corroded a bit. He fixed that leak as well and then I noticed that the water heater wasn't even lit! Again, WTH?? LL had mentioned that she wasn't getting warm water in the morning which is crazy since the bathroom she uses is about 30' from the water heaters. When one of them isn't lit though, that's a problem.

And that's not all!!

While he was working on fixing the pipes, the boiler kicked on. Our boiler is pretty old, but has been maintained well and does a good job heating the six units with steam heat. The boiler guy noticed it was really hot in the boiler room. Like really, really hot. The he noticed that the exhaust from the boiler wasn't properly ventilating. In fact, the flue was completely blocked with bricks and debris, a good portion of which was from the tuckpointers who secured our chimney by making it about half the size and putting a hood on it. After he took off some of the venting ducts and cleared away the debris, the boiler room was no longer so hot and guess what? Neither was my pantry. Yes, the boiler room is below my pantry. My kitchen wasn't impacted oddly enough.

The boiler repair guy said there was probably a significant amount of carbon monoxide going into my unit. When I explained that my carbon monoxide detector in my unit (about 45' from the boiler room) didn't go off, he said that's because heat rises and so does carbon monoxide. I'm not completely convinced that if CO was moving vertically into my unit that it wouldn't also move horizontally into my unit.

Today I called the tuckpointer and told him he owed us some money (he's paying half of the boiler room guy's bill) and is lucky he doesn't have a wrongful death suit on his hands!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

If you're ever in Vegas....

What a great game today! The Bears really took it to the Eagles today and it was thoroughly enjoyable to watch. The game was moved from noon to 3:15, which meant we were able to sleep in for a change. It was really nice to still be in bed at 8:30 and not on my way to a cold parking lot to cook breakfast, which I still love to do, but it's better to be in bed!

It was about noon when we rolled into the parking lot. On the menu today was chili, cheese brats, bacon wrapped dates and figs, chips and dip and apple slices with caramel dipping sauce. We had hot apple cider to help keep us warm too.

The sun was shining on our section of the stands for all of about five minutes of game time, but it was still relatively warm until the second half. At some point in the third quarter I put on my coat, though I had 4-5 layers on underneath it.

The Eagles are a pretty good team and recently have been talked up as not only a likely playoff team but also a possible Super Bowl contender. They were the first real quality win of the year (Dallas turned out to be a sham and Green Bay beat themselves with 150 yards in penalties). It was a huge win!!

Another comment on Vegas: if you're a fan of the Saskatchewan Rough Riders of the CFL and you find yourself in Vegas when they are playing, go to the Rock House bar on the strip. The place is filthy with Canadians wearing green and white. Just something to think about if you're there on a Sunday and the Rough Riders are playing!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Happy Turkey Day!


So many things going on and to post about from the exceptional to the mundane....or from the slightly less mundane to the really mundane.

Ever since engagement night (last Sunday), I've been fighting a sore throat and probably some sort of sinus infection-y issue. That said, this week hasn't been without interest, even though I've been sleeping in every day until 9 or 10.

Wednesday was the pre-holiday dinner at Ricardo's, hosted by Bill the Bear. Also in attendance were Smitty and his wife, both noticeably smaller after losing 20+ pounds each on Weight Watchers. Good for them! There was no calorie watching this night though as much cheese dip, cheese slices, pies, wine and meatless pasta dishes were consumed. Finally, around midnight or so, I had to call it a night because the next day was Thanksgiving and I had a 7 a.m. wakeup call.

Why 7 a.m.? There was football to be played!! Some of the guys who sit around me at the Bears game hold a Turkey Bowl game at 9:30 in a far southern suburb (Matteson) and though it's almost an hour away, I've played 3 years running now. The first year I was an offensive MVP as our team dominated with me at QB. Last year, I turned into the bad Jay Cutler and had a horrible game throwing something like 6 interceptions in a loss. This year, almost a year off of shoulder surgery, I was back on top again. We pick teams like you did when you were a kid and after last year, I slipped significantly in the draft, though I guess I was a captain the first two years I think. Anyway, there were only one or two guys picked after me for the 6 on 6 game (last year we had 10 or 11 a side).

After leading a scoring drive at QB on our first possession, I threw a pick 6 (an interception returned for a TD) on our second possession to tie the score. Ugh. It was no repeat of last year though as I ended up throwing for two scores, running one in and picking a ball off for a near touchdown. Five of the six guys on our team scored a touchdown and we won 42-7. I was named MVP once again.




Here's the team photo, though the guy on the left in the picture wasn't really on our team. In fact, he's 0-3 in Turkey Bowl games. He's a pretty selfish player and it's really hard to play a team game when you play that way. And yes, that's a new Turkey Bowl trophy! Very cool.




Thanksgiving continued with a 45 minute drive to my parents' house in Naperville. Upon our arrival we were welcomed with a big bed sheet hanging on our garage door with "Laura said yes" written on it and a big smiley face. Nice touch. We also were given a fruit bouquet and lots of helium balloons with congratulations on them. Even Sommer got into the act by giving us a snow globe with the Eiffel Tower inside. Very nice.

The food was awesome as always and I consumed probably too much of it. From there we went to my friends, The Kibbys, house down the street. Naperville Greg and Terry and Sharon from Wisconsin are part of this family. After a short visit, we headed home for some much needed rest.

Tomorrow is the Bears/Eagles game, so my next post will probably be Monday.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Blackout Wednesday

It's one of the biggest drinking days of the year and I imagine I'll be partaking a bit myself, but nothing too crazy. Bill the Bear is having a party over at Ricardo's house. Yes, he's throwing a party at someone else's house. Not a bad gig. Bill's house is getting some renovations done or something, so Ricardo was obliging.

In my writeup yesterday I forgot to mention that on Saturday we hit the older part of Vegas now dubbed "The Fremont Street Experience". It's pretty cool actually if you've never been. There are three or four blocks of street that are closed off to car traffic and the street is under a roof with a huge light show on the inside. Pretty sweet. They've added a long zip-line ride down the middle of the street that's about 30' off the ground. Very cool. We didn't do it, but the next time we go we will!!

And here are the pictures, post engagement, pre-Zumanity show.


































Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Big News!

So sorry for not updating for a while. Trips to Vegas can lead to all sorts of things being thrown out of whack, not the least of which is computer time. The trip home yesterday ended up being delayed over 3 hours by the weather, but we finally got home around 8:30 or so. It was warmer here yesterday than it was in Vegas!

Here's a rundown of the trip:




We stayed at the newly renovated Stratosphere Hotel. It's not the Bellagio or Caesar's, but the rooms are nice and this was our view. Plus with discounts and such, a four night stay cost $120!! Can't beat that!!!








Here are some pics of the strip at night from the top of the hotel in their restaurant. We went there on Thursday night for a light dinner, which still cost $60. A rotating restaurant high above the strip (106 stories up, but still lower than the sky deck a the Sears Tower which is 103 stories up....go figure) isn't cheap.






We had a light dinner because our clocks were thrown off a bit and we had a late snack during half time of the Bears game, who were playing Thursday night. The Bears were one of three winners in a row I bet on!! It was almost 4-0, but New England only won by 3 and the line was 4.5. Oh well, 3-1 is pretty good in Vegas.







Friday morning, after breakfast at Starbucks, we walked the 1.1 miles to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, home of the show Pawn Stars on The History Channel. If you haven't seen the show, you should check it out.

Here's our hotel as viewed from somewhere around the Pawn Star shop.












On the way to the shop, we past this old time Vegas sign. Pretty cool.


















And here's LL outside the shop. We love this show and were excited to see the store. Unfortunately, the television folks were on tour in Mississippi so they weren't around for the weekend. We were going to walk there every day until we saw them too. Oh well, lots of other things went on instead.













Here's the inside of the shop. Not nearly as big as it looks on TV!












Here's a Nagel piece going for $2,400 I think. I just took three Nagels out to my parents house for their garage sale! Who knew?? My are prints though and I'm pretty sure this is an original.

















They show this case almost every episode. The clock on the top shelf is called a death clock, so named because the way the material is made often ended up in the early demise of the artisan.










Friday night we hit the Rio seafood buffet and ate Opelio crab legs until we were stuffed. During our food orgy, I discovered a trick to eating them which really helped! Normally the claws, while meaty, are tough to eat because of cartilage in the middle. That cartilage though is attached to either the upper or lower pincer (the one that moves). If you wiggle that pincer and pull it out, there goes the cartilage too leaving you a nice big chunk of crab meat to devour!!! Outstanding!!

After the buffet we went to the Voodoo Lounge on top of the Rio where you can go outside for a great view of the strip. It was a little chilly and LL maybe ate a little too much, so we didn't hang out there for long. Next time!

Saturday was a fun day as well with trips up and down the strip thanks to the monorail system. We bought the 3-day pass and it was worth it. One cab ride can cost $15 easily and the pass is $28 for 3 days. We walked through most of the hotels because LL had never been to Vegas and things change pretty much every year, so some stuff was new to me as well.

We gambled a bunch as well playing black jack and Pai-gow poker. Pai-gow is a fun game and was the only game at which we ended having a winning session, but was also the game where we lost the most in one session. Saturday was spent mostly gambling.

Sunday morning most of the tourists leave, so pegged that night for getting tickets to a show and having a nice dinner. First though we watched some NFL games in a huge room at our hotel which is opened up for NFL games every week. All the games are on a TV somewhere in the room and you can see all of them from just about anywhere in the room. I discovered this place last year when our softball team stayed there. It's better than a sports book because the TV's are much bigger and there are no distractions from other events (like horse racing). It's all NFL the whole day. Awesome. They have a $2 nacho bar and a bunch of other specials too. You can bet in the room and even play blackjack with female dealers who wear much too small referring outfits. A nice touch. After not being able to make a winning on pick on more than one or two games a week (out of three games which I would select), I went 3-0 to start. Unable to resist temptation, I bet on a fourth game in the afternoon and lost, but it was close and my team dominated the whole game. A late TD though cut the lead to 3 and I was giving 4.5. Doh!

Dinner was at the Eiffel Tower restaurant outside the Paris hotel. The view from the restaurant is spectacular as it overlooks the fountains at the Bellagio which do their show every half hour. We ended up with early dinner reservations, 5:15, to insure we could get a window table for the fountain show which LL had yet to see. It was already dark, so the show was truly spectacular.






This is what we saw from our table as our meal started.










Pretty awesome show! Unfortunately it got really windy in Vegas as a front moved through and they shut down the light show after this initial one.











And here's the Eiffel Tower at night.

















The Eiffel Tower, with restaurant, as seen from the Bellagio across the street. It was a full moon too!

















And the food was good too! We had scallops and escargot for appetizers and I had the pheasant while LL had beef wellington I think. We opted for a strudel for dessert with both cinnamon and vanilla ice cream.












At this point, I decided the time was right and the moment couldn't get more romantic, so I pulled out an engagement ring and asked LL to marry me. I KNOW!!! Pretty awesome!!! She even said yes! It was a very emotional moment, as you could imagine, and as it should be. Unfortunately, most of the pictures from here on were taken on LL's camera, so I'll get those and post them soon. The waiter returned and asked if he missed something. We told him and he brought out this:



Apparently it says Good Luck or Congratulations in French. LL told me, but I forgot.

After dinner we headed to the New York, New York hotel where our show, Zumanity, was being held. It's a Cirque du Soleil type show and was just ok. I expected a bit more acrobatics, though what they did was pretty cool.


The time leading up to the show though was spent calling relatives and texting friends. Everybody has been very excited for us and have been filled with congratulations. We're excited too!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Back from Vegas!!

Much to talk about and pictures to post. It's been a long day, so I'll post Tuesday in the morning at some point.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Vegas Baby!

We've had an awesomely mild Fall to this point. October was one of the sunniest Octobers on record and I loved every minute of it. As I posted on my Facebook page the other day, every day in the 50's steals a day from ol'man Winter. November has been dry and 5-10 degrees above normal as well. Very nice!!!

Sunday was a great weather day for the Bears game, which is key since we were outside for 8 hours. It was especially nice because last year when Joisey Ken was in town for the Bears/Vikings game, it was about 15 degrees and we opted to hit a bar before the game instead of tailgating. So he didn't get to have the tailgating experience. The year before that, I got the 48 hour flu or something and couldn't go to the game, though Ken went with Benny Baseball. Since we had everything made up, Ken got at least an idea of the tailgate, but I'm sure it wasn't as much fun as when I'm there. Ha! So we got lucky with the weather this year. Here's hoping the schedule has the Vikings playing here early in the year next year!

Off to Vegas tomorrow through the weekend, so my posts may be scattered.


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Still so busy

It was another busy day today with a four hour trip to the burbs which included traveling and a meeting. Since it was almost lunch when the meeting started, I had to grab a late lunch when I got home. Fortunately, after getting caught up, there was enough time to get a trip to the gym in before dinner.

The gym is a different place after 5 with a lot more people and a lot less space to move around. It's not nearly as pleasant to be there and a bit tougher to get a workout in. Because I do 16 different exercises, sometimes more, I have to keep moving around to whatever is available as well as rotating between leg and arm exercises. The workout was pretty good though and I still got it in in about an hour.

Another day of meetings tomorrow and then Vegas baby!!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Joisey Ken in the house!

So after the big day with my niece on Thursday, Joisey Ken flew in for the weekend. Thanks to a good buddy of mine, we were able to go straight from the airport to a country club for a round of golf while the weather was good and before the sunset. Neither Ken nor I played well, but it was fun and who doesn't like playing at a country club? Plus we ate like kings....though we started with a McRib on the way back from the airport. Ha!

So Friday night we laid a bit low with some Thai food. Saturday morning was a cheese and chorizo omelet morning along with some maple sausage links. Yum. Then we decided to hit the golf course yet again! It rained most of the morning and was colder, but as we sat in the parking lot trying to decide whether to play or not, the rain stopped. Out we went and we got the whole round in again. Ken was on fire to start the round, but struggled on the last few holes. For the weekend, I think we basically tied.

After some tailgate shopping in the late afternoon, we headed up to a great steak and rib place called The Gail Street Inn. As you know, I've started cooking ribs this year, but they cannot compare with what Gail Street offers. Wow....just awesome. But the night was not over yet! When we got home, it was time to make some food for the tailgate in the morning. Fortunately I had already started the chili and put it on low while we went to dinner, so it was pretty well done by the time we got back. It was just before midnight when we finished up and got to sleep.

The morning came early and it was chilly out, but we were at Soldier Field bright and early (or at 9:00). Sausage Andy and a mutual friend of ours joined us at the tailgate along with blind Mender, E-Money (from softball) and two guys that E knows. It was a pretty great tailgate which included the introduction of sliced apples and a caramel dipping sauce......OMG were they awesome. Bacon wrapped shrimp and bacon wrapped dates appeared as usual and we served up the chili as well. Blind Mender brought this egg, cheese and sausage loaf which was awesome. I still need to get that recipe. Oh, and for breakfast I made breakfast sandwiches and maple sausages per usual. Good eating.

We also drank....a lot. Oh my. It was all good though. Ken's not used to the long day of boozing and had to take a nap after we got home and unloaded the car. There is little doubt now as to why I gain weight in the Fall. I don't even want to know how many calories I consume on a football weekend. Yowza.

Ken worked in cahoots with LL to buy me a Julius Peppers jersey on Saturday. He told me he needed to go to a store to get a hat and not for an instant did I think, "How the hell do you come to Chicago in mid-November without a hat?" Well, of course he had a hat, but he knew I wouldn't take him to the store to get me a jersey if he said that's why he wanted to go. Bastard! And LL was working with him on it. Taken down from the inside!!

This morning I took Ken out to the airport and went onto work from there, so it was sort of slap back into reality. A great weekend though!!! And where are the pictures?? Yeah, I didn't take a single one. Nice job. Sorry future me who is looking back and reading this entry!!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Long overdue post

There's just been so much going on, it's been tough to find time to write something meaningful....heck, to even write something less than meaningful. But a picture says a thousand words, so here's about 15,000 words!

My niece, Sommer, came to spend half the day with me on Thursday. We started off at the Play Station store where we played a few games for about a half an hour. It was fun since I don't have any gaming system of my own.




We took a train to Michigan Ave (Sommer likes trains) and then took a bus over to Sears Tower, renamed Willis Tower a while ago.












Sears Tower is a little more than 347 Sommers tall. They have all sorts of interesting little things like this before you get on the elevator to head up. The ride is only about a minute long and they show pictures on a screen in the elevator of other structures that you would now be passing as you ride the elevator up (including the great pyramids and the Eiffel Tower.










On the skydeck at the 103rd floor, there are four see-through ledges onto which you can walk. They are completely enclosed, so there's no threat of falling or anything. In this picture, I'm taking a picture of Sommer taking a picture of me. I'm on the ledge, but she was a little uncomfortable going out to the ledge.
















Obviously, she got over her hesitation fairly quickly. Here she's posing on the ledge with her new "sunglasses".















She was even up for laying down on her stomach and on her back. This picture was more interesting. Looking down through the clear floor was pretty crazy though.













After the Sears Tower and then dinner, we headed to the local Fox affiliate for a studio tour.



Here's the group (left to right): my sister Lori, Jodi (Ricardo's wife), Jessie (cousin of a cousin of LL's), Sommer, LL and my brother-in-law Steve.














Amy Freeze herself gave us the tour! She did a great job and here she posed for a picture with us in the newsroom.










Here we are in the Weather Watch area adjacent to the cameras which shoot the news broadcast. This is where we watched the broadcast from actually.












Before the broadcast started, we were allowed to go behind the desk and check out the cameras and such.









Here I am reading the news!












LL taking her shot behind the desk.














LL by the Weather Watch area. Look at all the monitors devoted to the weather.













Opposite the news desk is this clock which keeps everyone on schedule. It's a little tough to see, but there's a little rubber rat above the clock and then a stuffed Homer Simpson above the rat. Too funny.














Amy is getting ready for her segment. Fortunately I didn't get in trouble for having my phone out.











And here's Amy doing the weather just feet away from us! Nice job.












And a nice picture with Ms. Freeze. Thanks a lot Amy!!!








Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Getting stressed about being stressed.

This week hasn't been bad at all from a work perspective, a nice break after last week being busy. Today though I looked at my calendar about NEXT week and started to get stressed. Actually, next week starts tomorrow! Yep, on Thursday. My niece (and later her parents) are coming to town and she and I are going to pal around for a good part of the day.

After getting her a hot chocolate at Starbucks, we're going to go to the Sky Deck on the Sears Tower in time for the sunset. Should be awesome. Then we'll hook up with her parents and LL for dinner in the west Loop before going to Fox Studio for a tour and to meet Amy Freeze!!

Friday, Joisey Ken comes in and we go straight from the airport to the golf course!!! It's supposed to be in the upper 60's. Saturday is up in the air because the weather is supposed to change dramatically. Then Sunday is the Bears game.

On Monday, I literally go from dropping Ken off at the airport to a meeting!! Ugh. Then possibly another meeting in the afternoon. Tuesday is my 7 a.m. meeting at my church followed by a trip to the far west burbs for another meeting. Wednesday is an all day meeting and then Thursday we're off to Vegas.

Holy Crap!!!

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Flaw in the Plan

As you know, I've got a new workout regimen: lift weights, take a day off, run the next day, then lift again. At least that's what I thought would be a good plan. Yesterday I ran for the first time, as I wrote yesterday, and today I hit the gym to lift weights. It was pretty tough on my legs I have to say. I'm not going to give up the regimen yet, because I think it will get better as I get used to running. Still, pretty beat today.

Had a great evening of beer tasting set up at Binny's Beverage Depot tonight with Ricardo and Bill the Bear (who is less of a bear as he shaved his beard, but that's a story for another time). So here's the emailed ad to which we were responding (though I was organizing):



WINTER BEER TASTING
Tuesday, November 9, 6:30-8:30pm
Get wrapped up in the holidays and sample over 70 limited edition seasonal craft and import beers! A variety of holiday gift packs, many including custom glassware, will also be displayed and available for purchase. $15 W/Binny's Card / $25 non-members.
Call 773-935-9400 for more information.
Chicago - Lakeview
Binny's Ivanhoe Castle & Catacombs Tasting Room | Chicago | 773-935-9400



WINTER BEER TASTING
Seems pretty clear cut right? You show up, pay $15 (as members) and we taste beer for 2 hours. Unfortunately, what the message doesn't say is that they took reservations and space was limited!!! WTF??? Why would I think space wasn't limited? Well because on the same page of ads for events, they had these messages:

This event fills up quickly! Reservations are reccomended. $50 with Binny's card / $60 non-members.

See, now if I wanted to attend that event, I would know that I need to make a reservation. Unbelievable. Fortunately there are bars in the area and we headed to The Duke of Perth and had some food and beer. Still, a very stern letter is going to be issued to Binny's for their handling of this event. I will be heard!!!!

Monday, November 08, 2010

First day of running

Today was my first day of running per my new schedule. It went pretty well as I put in 3 miles in just over 30 minutes. Though the pace wasn't up to snuff, it was intentionally slower since it's been a while. Tomorrow it's back to lifting weights.

If you live around Chicago and are interested in my chaise lounge, it's for sale! Only $250. It's 40" wide at it's widest and 6' long. Let me know if you're interested.

















Sunday, November 07, 2010

I love the extra hour.

The weekend was an even more welcome sight than normal after a busy work week. After eating out two days in a row, we stayed in and cooked on Friday night which was very relaxing.

Saturday was a lazy, sleep in morning after which I cooked cheese and chorizo omelets and maple sausage links. After watching a little football and digesting my breakfast, I hit the gym for a nice workout. My new strategy for working out is to leave three days in between to allow time for my shoulder to fully recover. Starting this week I'll incorporate running on day two of the rest. Hopefully it's a schedule that will keep me in pretty solid shape during the winter months.

After working out, we headed out to see LL's parents in Joliet who had just returned from a two week trip to China. They told us all about their travels and the group with which they traveled while we visited and then went to dinner. Interestingly enough, we went to "The Lob". The Lob is Red Lobster and it was a place my family frequented for celebratory dinners when I was a kid. Unfortunately I have a love-hate relationship with The Lob. While I crave the food, it's loaded with sodium and isn't cheap. You can easily eat at a small restaurant in Chicago where you know the chef in the kitchen for the price they charge.

Today was another lazy start with the same breakfast as Saturday. You can't have enough chorizo!! Then the Bears came on and eked out a win after losing two three-point games. Their future opponents: Vikings, Jets, Patriots and Dolphins did not look good in their games, so there are signs of hope. I'm such a Cubs fan!!!

Can I just say that I wouldn't mind having us "fall back" every Sunday, especially during football season. It would be awesome to have an extra hour before the games start. I really like when the Bears have the 3:00 start times, but we don't have any this year.

Here's a picture from one of those small restaurants in Chicago: Tratoria Sapori. They serve Italian food as you might imagine and it's very high quality. The chef, Chef Anthony, who is also the owner, came out to meet the patrons. Though I know he doesn't remember me, I stopped him as he walked by (ok, I yelled "Hey Chef Anthony!" as he walked by) and introduced LL and ESDNM. Our dinners were delicious and he sent out this beauty for dessert.





Yeah, that's one big, ass piece of Tiramasu. The three of us, already full, ate almost the whole thing. I had ESDNM put his hand up for reference. Awesome!!

Friday, November 05, 2010

No Post Thursday

Thursday was a work day for me so I didn't have time to post. Actually, I had time to post, but chose to relax instead. Updates to come including a picture of the largest piece of tiramisu I've ever seen!!

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

The Count Down Begins

Ms. Amy Freeze wrote me back about visiting the Fox Studios and I'm looking at some day next week! Trying to figure out whether I'll do it when Joisey Ken is in town or before. We'll get a tour and then watch the 9:00 news live! Should be fun!! There are 10 spots and I have about half of them filled. Let me know if you're interested.

And it's only two weeks until I hit Vegas again! Whoo-hoo!! Vegas is awesome and it's LL's first trip. Very much looking forward to it.



Finally, this picture has been making the rounds on Facebook, so I copied it for the blog. It's a reinforcement of what I discussed at the last election: NOBODY can fix the economy, no matter what they attempt, in the next 4 years. At the time I told you (if you're a Democrat) to vote Republican to make them deal with problems they created. Not enough people read my blog though and now this election is seen as an indictment on Obama, even though (other than universal healthcare) he's done no more or less than any other President would have done.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Some Pictures



Just thought I'd throw up some pictures today. Hope you all got out and voted!!!

Ricardo managed to sneak into this pic from last week. He was hammered!!
















At the McDonald's anxiously waiting for our McRibs.




















Success!!! LL is as excited as I was!!
















Mmmmm, McRib goodness.

Monday, November 01, 2010

Culinary delights

Despite the cold weather this weekend, LL and I went for ice cream one night. That's not particularly remarkable, nor is the fact that LL got the birthday cake flavor. By the way, if you haven't had it, the birthday cake flavor tastes like you're licking a birthday cake. I mean it doesn't taste LIKE birthday cake, it IS birthday cake. Unbelievable. So I tried the pumpkin pie flavor. Guess what? Yep, it's as if you have a piece of pumpkin pie sitting on top of your cone. Unbelievable.

The other culinary delight we indulged in this weekend was the McRib. I'm not sure if it's available everywhere or not, but if it is available near you, make sure you get one. Awesome. I don't care how bad it is for you, you have to have one before they go away again.

The Bears had the weekend off and they still looked bad. How could that be if they didn't even play? For one, the lowly Oakland Raiders beat the snot out of Seattle, who beat us by 3. The Cowboys, one of our few quality wins, went to 1-6 after losing to Jacksonville, a team which was surrounded by discussions of losing its franchise. Then the Lions (who really beat us in week one if not for a properly applied awful rule) beat the Redskins by 12 who beat us by 3. The weekend just made us look even worse.