Day Two Hundred Twenty Three

Dear Readers,
     The heat really picked up today.  Creating a sweaty mess of a day at work.  This was probably the hardest I have labored at work in a while and it just happened to be what felt like the hottest day of the year.  Sweating right through my work uniform and continually having to wipe sweat from my forehead.  Guzzling water all day long, trying to replace it as quickly as you are losing it.  I couldn't wait to get done with work and get into my air conditioned truck to head home.  Then, I went and made my life a little bit miserable by heading over to the gym.  It has been a good three days of getting back into the workout routine.  Two days of running three miles and then a third day of running and getting in some weightlifting.  My legs are going to be hating me the next few days.  Squats and calf workouts along with some ab workouts.  Squats can be a killer after a long period between lifts.  Either way, it felt really good to get back into the gym and do some work. 
      I then spent the evening over at Chris's house with a few other guys eating some barbeque.  The other Chris brought over some carne asada and my brother in law Matt brought some hot links.  I brought the drinks while Chris cooked everything up and it was a party.  Okay, not really a party, but a pleasant evening with the guys, telling stories and catching up with everyone.  It was especially nice catching up with Chaz, who I haven't seen for probably about a year or so.  Don't see him much, but there is plenty of trash talk between us, as we are in the same fantasy football league.  It was great to hang out with the boys, but now it is Olympic watching time with my wife.  Catching up on the DVR, watching the gymnastics all around.  These girls can do some amazing things.  So much fun to watch and so much Olympics to watch.

This Day In History: 1921
Future U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt is diagnosed with polio.

Born This Day: 1874
Herbert Clark Hoover - 31st U.S. president

"Words without actions are the assassins of idealism."

-Herbert Hoover

Wear it proudly.

Day Two Hundred Twenty Two

Dear Readers,
      Remember what I said about celebrating birthdays?  Well, we went out tonight with my father in law, Mark, and his wife Nancy to celebrate my brother in law's birthday.  I think that is three days in a row for Brandon.  Good for him.  Before heading out to dinner though, and after getting home from work, I went on a run for the second day in a row.  The Long Beach half marathon is only two months away, so there is a lot of training that needs to be done to be ready.  Yes, I know that I am crazy for going on that run with the heat scorching the Earth the way it was today.  I sure did notice it, and I was ready to call it quits even before getting to the half way mark of my run.  I pushed through it though and finished out my three mile run with sweat pouring from my forehead.  I just kept thinking to myself that I just had to take it one step at a time.  One more step, one more step, one more step...  I think I could have wrung the sweat out of the shirt and shorts after that run.  It was like running in a sauna.  Just have to fight through it.
      It was dinner at Roman Cucina in Fullerton.  I know I recommend so many food joints, but for Italian food, this place is one of the best.  Especially their Chicken Parmigiana, which is a huge slab of chicken that covers the plate of pasta.  You actually have to eat through the chicken to get to the pasta.  Just the way I like it.  So, another night of good food and good company.  I hope Brandon really enjoyed his birthday this year.  Including the little desert run we made after dinner.
      I don't know exactly how it was brought up that we would do this, but it came up some how and went for it.  We went to Farrell's in Brea for the first time.  It is a famous place that I think originated in Fremont, CA.  For those of you who don't know, it is an ice cream parlor.  About a hundred different options for desert.  Sundaes, splits, waffle cones, floats and milkshakes.  I tried something completely different tonight for myself.  Normally I would just have an Oreo shake or vanilla shake, but I went out on a limb and tried the Root Beer shake.  The floats are fantastic, so why wouldn't a milkshake version be any less awesome?  It turned out to be a really good choice, even though I was stuffed from dinner and could barely handle the sweet shake.  It was delicious.  I had to have some water with it to be able to handle the sweetness of the shake.  It was worth it though.  Something different and something delicious.  All four of us had to waddle out of there and I am sure the other three are still feeling the tightness in the stomach from all the food.  Worth it. 

This Day In History:1945
A second atom bomb is dropped on Japan by the United States, at Nagasaki, resulting in Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II.

Born This Day: 1631
Sir John Dryden - England's first official poet laureate.

"God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart."

-Sir Izaak Walton

Our evening out on the town.

Happy Birthday Bub.

By the way, nice shirt.

Farrell's Root Beer shake and water.

I'm already hurting. And I am not even half way done.

Day Two Hundred Twenty One

Dear Readers,
     July and August are the busiest months for birthdays for us.  There are eight birthdays for us to celebrate within the two months and then start off September with another one.  Lots of dinners and parties and gifts.  It makes for probably the busiest two months out of the year for us.  Something going on just about every weekend and quite a few days during the week.  Tonight we celebrated our friend David Taylor's birthday.  His birthday is actually the 2nd, but we were finally able to take him out to dinner tonight. 
      Before heading out to dinner though, we went out to lunch with Brandon and Brooke at Straw Hat Pizza here in Lakewood.  Might as well take advantage of the lunch buffet, especially considering I had some buy one get one coupons to use.  Just another excuse to get stuffed on pizza and soda.  You had to roll me out of the door after that lunch.  Going out to lunch also helped us to beat the heat.  We don't have any air conditioner at the house and neither do they, so it was nice at the pizza joint and then decided to go to Target afterwards to stay in the air conditioner.  Man, it has really been hot this week and is supposed to be super hot this weekend.  Thankfully it is supposed to cool down by next week.  Just too hot to be moving around too much.
      We took David Taylor out to dinner in downtown Long Beach at a restaurant called Gladstones.  We gave Dave the choice for dinner, based on what we had a coupon for.  Dave is a frugal spender, so we knew he would appreciate that.  An evening of delicious seafood, strolling along the water and Dave and I pushing each other into trees while walking.  Yup, you read it correctly.  Dave started it though, I just finished it.  Thanks for being a good friend Dave and Happy Birthday.

This Day In History:1974
In an evening televised address, President Richard M. Nixon becomes the first president in American history to resign.  With impeachment proceedings underway against him for his involvement in the Watergate affair, Nixon was bowing to pressure from the public and Congress to leave the White House.

Born This Day: 1937
Dustin Hoffman - Academy Award winning American actor.

"I have no riches buy my thoughts.  Yet these are wealth enough for me."

-Sara Teasdale

Some pics of our day.

So full...

Chewbacca face.

Happy Birthday DT!

Day Two Hundred Twenty

Dear Readers,
     Happy Birthday to my old man of a brother in law, Brandon.  Okay, he is only 33 years old, but at least he will always be older than me.  He he.  I had a great time celebrating his birthday with him at Dodger Stadium today.  Even though the Dodgers couldn't get some decent hitting to save their lives.  It seemed like everyone just wanted to try and save the day by hitting a home run, but they all had warning track power, giving Colorado the easy fly ball outs.  They really know how to tick me off sometimes.  Just get a freaking base hit and string something together.  Quit trying to win the game on one big swing.  I digress.
      Back to Brandon's birthday.  It was not just getting to go to the game that was awesome, it was getting a bobble head for probably my favorite Dodger player.  Sandy Koufax.  That guy was amazing and it doesn't hurt that he had the same number that I had during high school football.  So, I got a bobble head to add to the collection, I got a program, and I got a new Dodger hat.  Which I had been wanting for a long time now.  I finally found one that fit right.  I wasn't the only one to get some new Dodger gear.  Brandon picked up a new hat, a shirt and a sweater.  Have to love getting some new Dodger gear.  I am pretty sure Brooke got some new Dodger gear as well.  I am pretty sure it is a good sign she had just bought the shirt she had on because of the tag that was clearly showing.  Maybe she had intended to take it back if the Dodgers ticked her off, which they did to me.  Maybe she got it at the stadium store, sneaking it out by putting it on like she had had it on all along.  What a thief.  She takes after her husband who did the same exact thing when we went out for Brenna's birthday back in May.  He is starting to rub off on her.
      After the disappointing game, when headed over to the Apple Pan in Culver City.  Raina and I had seen it when we were out there for the prescreening of The Dark Knight Rises a few weeks back.  I had remembered hearing about it on a show called California's Gold many years ago and had always wanted to go there.  They apparently have the best pie, including a famous banana cream pie.  So we made a plan to head on over after the game to get a little pie.  It took us longer than expected since there was major traffic on the freeway due to major construction.  We almost didn't make it.  It was 11:45PM when we got there and they close at midnight.  Just in time to get a little desert.  Unfortunately they ran out of banana cream pie and we had to settle for chocolate cream pie.  Which happened to be very good, so we can only imagine how good the banana cream pie must be.  Just means that we have to go back again.  Just a little diner with only counter top seating that serves burgers and pies.  Well worth the drive.
      By the way, Brooke made a major speech mistake in front of me.  Resorting to her old ways of saying "woof" instead of "wolf", she called Brandon the "boy who cried woof".  It was pretty stinking funny and she immediately realized her mistake of saying it and saying it in front of me, which expounded the embarrassment, because you know I was going to tell everybody via blog.  Sorry Brooke, I just had to do it. 

This Day In History: 1861
During the U.S. Civil War, Thaddeus Lowe becomes the first man to fly professionally for the American military as he performs reconnaissance over Confederate forces in a balloon.

Born This Day: 1876
Mata Hari - Dutch dancer, courtesan, and double agent during World War II, working for both France and Germany.
1979 - Brandon Piliavin - My fantastic brother in law who doesn't know how to spell Clayton Kershaw.

"If you want to get across an idea, wrap it up in a person."

-Ralph Bunche

Pictures of the Dodger game and desert at the Apple Pan.

The whole fam at Dodger Stadium.

Delicious Chocolate Creme Pie

Same plate about five seconds later.

Can you tell how excited she is?

Happy Birthday Brandon.

The famous Apple Pan

Brandon's left on tag.

Day Two Hundred Nineteen

Dear Readers,
      This was a very lazy day for me.  I took the day off in advance of going out to Havasu for the weekend.  I had a pretty good idea that I would be pretty tired after that weekend.  It probably helps that my boss forced me to take the day off in advance, thinking I might call in on Monday anyways.  So, I slept in and watched some TV from our DVR.  Worked on some blogging.  Watched some more TV.  Then laid around for a bit, before finally going out to run a few errands.  Picking up Raina's wedding dress that we finally had cleaned and boxed up.  Which I didn't actually pick up because it ended up not being ready.  Then to Best Buy to see about possibly finding something to spend my gift cards that I had gotten for my birthday.  Which the only thing I found was a movie that I have been wanting for a while and finally went on sale.  Miracle, a movie about the amazing American hockey team that beat the Russian team in the Winter Olympics in 1980.  Have to love a feel good sports movie.
      We also celebrated my dad's birthday as a family tonight.  I went to pick up some carne asada and pastor to grill up for dinner.  That stuff isn't cheap, but it is worth every penny.  I know I talk about food quite a bit in my blogs, but I really do love good food.  I grilled up the meat, along with some corn and hot links, and we stuffed our tummies with good eating.  It is just the kind of thing that my dad loves for his birthday.  Having the entire family around with lots of food.  My dad doesn't like anyone to go hungry.  He would rather have more than enough food than to even come close to not having enough.  We topped it all off with a super sugary and sweet cake that my sister made.  It was a cake that I had seen in one of her magazines and asked her to make, which she did because she loves me.  It was really good, just a little too sweet for me.  Okay, it was a lot too sweet for me.  It doesn't help that I can't handle sweets too well.  It just looked so good in the magazine with all the caramel and chocolate shavings on it.  What I could handle, was delicious.  Much thanks to my sister the pastry chef.

This Day In History: 1890
The first execution by electrocution is carried out at Auburn Prison in New York on William Kemmler, who had been convicted of murdering this lover with an ax.  Electrocution as a means of execution was first suggested in 1881 by Dr. Albert Southwick.

Born This Day: 1911
Lucille Ball - American comedienne and actress.

"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age."

-Lucille Ball

Patience is a virtue.

Day Two Hundred Eighteen

Dear Readers,
      I have made it home safe and sound.  It was a long day though.  We left Scott's house at about 9:30AM and drove straight home except for a quick stop for gas and a bite to eat at Burger King.  It was a straight shot, having to pass up a ton of slow cars and trucks on the two lane highway in the middle of the desert.  Not a bad drive other then the traffic we hit once we got on the 91 freeway.  It all worked out and we made good time home.  I dropped the other guys off and headed over to the park.  Raina was watching Micah, so we decided it would be a good day to have another park day.  Brandon, Brooke, Chris, Liz, Raina, Micah and I went over to Rossmoor Park, which has become out go to park for hanging out.  There is so much more room for activities.  Even with a huge group there along with us, there was enough room to make it still feel uncrowded.
      I think we found out that we are ready for another soft ball league.  Brandon was out there hitting balls with us and he was taking the cover off the ball.  Chris has played for years and can play defense and hit, while I have a season under my belt and am ready for more.  Maybe we can convince the girls to play with us.  Wouldn't that be something.  As long as Liz doesn't nail Raina in the shin with another softball while batting, like she did a couple weeks ago.  Liz tagged the ball hard enough to actually leave an impression of the stitching from the ball on Raina's shin.  Poor Raina was in pain, but it was pretty funny.
      Playing with Micah at the park was a blast, even as tired as I was.  He makes me laugh whenever he copies whatever I might be saying, or even when he tries to copy the sounds I make.  He was copying my whistle that I was doing while pushing him on the swing.  I now have him saying in a cookie monster voice, "Hungry!".  Maybe it isn't cookie monster, but I couldn't think of a better way of describing it.  It was also funny to see Micah become afraid of a younger kid.  He couldn't stop staring at this other kid who was half his age and probably half his size.  He got so scared of him that when the younger kid started to get close, he ran to me and held tight to my leg.  It was pretty funny, considering he can be a bully to his older cousins.  Just shy I guess.
      Even though I was completely tired after the weekend out of town, it was great to be back and a fun day at the park.  Plus I got a fantastic dinner of spaghetti with Italian sausage.  Yum.

This Day In History: 1884
The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid at Bedloe's Island (now known as Liberty Island), New York.  On October 28, 1886, U.S. president Grover S. Cleveland accepted the actual statue as a gift to the United States from the people of France.

Born This Day: 1930
Neil Armstrong - American astronaut, first man to set foot on the moon.

"What the world needs is more geniuses with humility, there are so few of us left."

-Oscar Levant

Just Do It!

Day Two Hundred Seventeen

Dear Readers,
    Day two of being out on the lake.  You could definitely tell that Saturday is a much busier day for being out on the water.  All you had to do was sit and watch the movement of the water.  There was a ton of more wake from all the boats in the water.  Not to mention all the boats in the channel by London Bridge.  Just a completely unending row of boats going back and forth through the channel.  We took the boat out to the river that feeds into the lake today.  Scott then proceeded to try to fool me into jumping into the water before anybody else.  Trying to make me jump into freezing water in the river.  The water is much colder in the river then in the lake because it is continuously moving.  Fortunately, Ryan jumped in first revealing how much colder it actually was.  I jumped in anyways, it was invigorating.  After being in the freezing water at the beach last week, the water in the river was refreshing.  Especially considering that the water in the lake is like bath water.
      Later in the day, while riding through the channel, we saw one of those hydro jet propulsion jet packs.  One of those packs that sucks the water and spits it out super fast to shoot a guy strapped to the pack into the air.  I have always wanted to fly one of those things around.  It seemed totally awesome, but probably way too expensive.  It was cool to actually see one live after seeing pictures for years.
      After another long day with too much sun, we were way too tired to be out the way we were the previous night.  And yes, I did get a little sunburned, but just a little.  So we finished our last night out by gorging ourselves with as much food as we could.  We went to the Golden Corral, which I have seen a ton of commercials for but never actually seen one near where we live.  Turns out, there isn't.  So why is there so many commercials for it?  I will never understand that.  We finally got to try it out.  I think it is a better version of Hometown Buffet.  The food was surprisingly good and there was a ton of deserts, including cotton candy and a chocolate fountain with strawberries and other assortments to dip.
      After an evening of gorging, we went back to Scott's house where Josh immediately fell asleep while the rest of us watched some Olympic television.  I promptly fell asleep on the comfortable couch while trying to stay up watching.  I didn't wake up until about 3:30AM to head to bed for a real nights sleep.  After a weekend like that, it almost makes me want to get a boat.  House first though, then boat.

This Day In History: 1922
Every telephone in the United States and Canad goes dead as switchboards and switching stations are shut down for one minute in memory of the device's inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, who had died two days before.

Born This Day: 1901
Louis Armstrong - American jazz musician.

"The more we study the more we discover our ignorance."

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

More lake photos.

Way lots more boats today.

Beard flopping.

You can barely see the jet pack guy.

Heading back to the house after last day.

Scott's huge garage.  Pretty cool.