Cornhole Part III

Here are pictures of the third set of cornhole boards I've made. These particular ones were made for the parents of our good friends Em and Andrew. Her parents live on the water, down in Florida, and we thought a nautical theme would be appropriate. We pondered for several minutes, and decided to spell out their first names using nautical signal flags!! Personally, I think they turned out pretty good (except for the big chunk that DHL put in them during shipping)!!

Another Successful Year

Last night, we hosted our 10th or 11th annual Christmas Party, and it was the 6th or 7th year for our Teddy Bear Parade.



In lieu of bringing gifts or other food dishes, we asked out guests to simply bring a NEW teddy bear to be donated to the local fire station. From there, they travel with the emergency personnel and are donated to children they come across who have been involved in a tragedy or crime.



This year was not a let down, and we already have 40+ bears to donate, with several more to come!! Thanks to everyone who donated bears this year!!

What's Wrong With This Picture!!

I won't mention any names, but this was taken at a retail store (let's just call it Mal-Wart). How long will it take for you to find the error in their ways??

What A Finish!!

Down by 11 points, and needing 4 bullseyes to my opponents 3 bullseyes, I stepped up and threw the best finish I could ever throw!!! Not sure if/when that will ever happen again!!!

Best Cricket Game??

Today, Rookie and I threw one of the best Cricket games I've ever been a part of. We threw one triple each round, and closed everything in less than 8 rounds. We joked about getting no X's, and that's just what we did. He finished with a double bullseye for the win. It was a crushing defeat for our unnamed opponents, and a game that we will remember for a long, long time!! Nice game Rookie!!

Monster Golf

Yesterday afternoon, my nephew celebrated his 7th birthday at a place called Monster Golf. It was quite a clever idea ... get a large retail space, black out all the windows, replace all lights with black lights, paint everything in glow-in-the-dark paints, and then build a putt putt golf course inside!! They also had two party rooms for hosting birthday parties. It was actually pretty fun, and I think all the kids had a great time. Now, it wasn't one of those fancy putt-putt golf courses with waterfalls and windmills, but I assure you it was just as tough. Between the games, the golf, the pizza, and the soda, all of the kids had a GREAT TIME!!! Here's the best picture I could get with my iPhone (remember, it's very dark in there)!!!

Twice in Four Years!!!

Well, it's over. I'm talking about the 2007 World Series, and the Boston Red Sox have done it again!! With a strikeout in the bottom of the ninth, Papelbon sealed the deal (a four game sweep of the Colorado Rockies) for the 2007 World Champions!! Congratulations Boys!!!!

World Series Here We Come!!

Well, my boys did it last night. Coming back from a 3-1 deficient in the ALCS to beat the Indians in Game 7. The next step is the World Series, and the Colorado Rockies. Good Luck Boys!!!

Melon?? What Melon??

JP brought in some "Fresh Melon" ice cream bars today, and from what I understand, they're REALLY good. However, my curiosity got the best of me, so I read the ingredients:

• Corn Syrup
• White Sugar
• Processed Whole Milk Powder
• Processed Butter
• Condensed Milk

Don't get me wrong, I'm not unappreciative of what JP did, I thought that was very nice of him. I just prefer the yogurt covered pretzels!!!! Thanks JP (notice there's no link to his blog site ... ask him why there isn't)!!

Newest Cornhole Boards

This past weekend I finished up my second set of cornhole boards. This set of boards wasn't for me ... it was for my brother-in-law. I told him he needed the practice since I always seemed to beat him. :) Well, here's a picture of his new set of boards ... delivered to him on the Sunday that the Jets played the Giants. I bet you can't tell which of the two he roots for each Sunday!!

The Monkey Is Off Our Backs

Well, Thursday, October 4th was a good day for Squeak and I ... it was the day we got rid of the broken man trophy!! Who are the new owners?? Well, that would be Vasu (AGAIN), and Fan (his first time I think). Enjoy boys!!!

New Duck

I got a new duck this weekend to add to my collection ... isn't he cool?? Sorry for the crappy iPhone picture ... however, thanks to Scrappy for touching it up!!

North Georgia State Fair

My family and I made our annual trek to the North Georgia State Fair last Thursday night. We go every year to chow down on funnel cakes, root beer floats (with homemade ice cream), caramel apples, cotton candy, and everything else that's bad for you. This year's free concert was Craig Morgan; a country music artist that we really enjoy listening to. He played two of my current favorite country music songs. Hey, you can't really go wrong for a $5.00 admission charge (actually $2.50 with 2 for 1 tickets from Party City)!!

Abbie cared less for the concert, and more for the goats!!! She really loves those little guys ... actually, she loves to pet and talk to them, but she didn't want anything to do with feeding them. She left that up to Mommy, Daddy, and Aunt Dede!! She also rode a pony for the very first time which was something we never thought she would do.

And, to our amazement, she actually ASKED to go on some rides. Here she is riding "Dragon Tales" all by herself. I think we were more scared than she was as she unknowingly raised herself into the air when the ride started. Daddy took her on the Dumbo ride, but (oh darn) no photos are available. HA!!!!

Worth the Effort

Each year (for the past 10 years), my wife and I have a Christmas party the first weekend of December. Each year, we tell people not to bring anything except a new teddy bear. We then take all of the teddy bears and donate them to the local firehouse. Well, this morning I discovered that all the effort we put into the party, as well as transporting the bears to the firehouse, was all worth it. Several emergency vehicles showed up at my office building ... three fire rescue vehicles, and one ambulance to be specific. When I went to the window to check out what was going on, I noticed a teddy bear in the passenger seat of one of the fire rescue vehicles. Of course I got really excited (just ask Squeak)!! I tried to get a picture with one of our PTZ cameras, but he pulled away before I could get a good close up. Here what I did get ... you'll have to take my word that there was a teddy bear in the seat (or ask Squeak again)!!!

Better Late Than Never ...

Everyone else posted their Lego Persona weeks ago. However, I accidentally deleted mine before I could capture a screen shot of him. Well, weeks later I finally decided to step through the process one more time. Here's what I came up with ...

Note: There was not option for an iPhone accessory!!

They're Just Too Cool!!

Well, today I did it ... I ordered an iPhone. I guess the "pressure" of the guys at work finally did me in. Or maybe its because it's a Super Cool phone!! Either way, it will be here in a few days so stay tuned!!

Blast From The Past

I was listening to XM radio yesterday, and had to turn it up when the Fat Boys version of Wipeout came on (featuring the Beach Boys). I'm not really sure why I liked it so much, but I sure was jamming out to it!! Go ahead and make fun of me, I don't care!! In case you're not sure what I'm referring to, here ya go ....

The Cost of Love

This past Sunday (and I mean all day), I put together a play set for my daughters ... and as you can see, it's still not finished!!! I figured it might take 4 to 5 hours to complete. However, when the instructions said 5-10 hours, my jaw dropped. Here's a picture (a bad picture) of the set. I will try and take a better picture during the day. Want to know what was involved in building the swing set:

• 10+ Hours of Labor
• 874 Screws/Bolts
• 54 Washers
• 51 Random Pieces/Accessories
• 123 Pieces of Lumber
• 51 Page Instruction Manual
• 16 Bottles of Gatorade

On Thursday, Abbie used the swings for the first time. She wanted to go down the slide, but it hasn't been secured to the unit yet. Dad and I are going to try and do that tonight (and finish up the rock wall). Thanks to Danielle, Jim (my father), and Tony (my father-in-law) for helping because I could never had done it without them. I Love You Abbie and Katie!!!

Milwaukee's Best

When the self-proclaimed "DT Baseball Crew" visited the Brewers in Milwaukee County Stadium, they were building the new Miller Park right next door. If you wanted to, you could purchase a baseball that would be enshrined in the gift shop of Miller Park. You could sign the ball, put someones name on it, or just leave a message for everyone to see. The four of us decided to memorialize our feat of visiting all of the MLB stadiums by purchasing a ball. You can see it if you want the next time you visit Miller Park. Below is an up close picture of our baseball enshrined somewhere on a wall within the Fan Zone Gift Shop (notice all of the baseballs on the walls??).

A New Friend

This morning at work, Kim stopped me and told me she had something for me. Low and behold, it was a MLB Potato Head figurine in my favorite team's uniform!!! I had seen this little guy in a couple of recent mail order catalogs, and have wanted to get one, but never ordered it. Well, now I won't have to. THANKS KIM!!!

New Stadiums

My friend Matt (also known as "Matt Matt") sent me this link that shows the proposed baseball stadiums over the next few years. Looks like I'll need some buddy passes!!! Thanks, Matt

Simpsonize Me

Burger King had a commercial for the new Simpsons movie, and in that commercial, they referenced a website where you could create cartoon characters of your or your friends/family. So, I decided to give it a shot. What do you think??

Today Is A Good Day!!

At work, we have a roaming "broken man" trophy that goes to the current two-man team to get shutout in Foosball. Well, Leah and I were the current holders of that trophy ... until today. We obtained that trophy by challenging the big dogs around the office, and today we were relieved of that awful burden. Thanks Rookie!!

Nice Little Find (Hopefully)

Today during lunch, I ran to one of my favorite second-hand establishments and found some of these. It is a pocket-sized helmet set from the now defunct United States Football League (USFL). It has been 20+ years since the league was in existence, and I figure these might be a collector's item. So, I picked up a few (okay, a bunch) and headed back to work.

Second Best Western

We stayed at the Best Western in Winter Haven, Florida about two weeks ago for one of my best friend's wedding. Even though the weekend was great, the hotel left a lot to be desired. First of all, there were ants in the room. Not too many, that's not the point. Maintenance came (after I had to call twice) and left a trap in the ceiling, but it didn't help. With a pack and play, and two kids worth of stuff, we just decided to just stay in the room and suck it up. Then, the air conditioner went out one of the three nights leaving us sweating in bed. It worked just fine the other two nights, so we're not sure what happened. Oh, and to add insult to injury, their wireless internet didn't seem to work either, but that was the least of my worries. What really got me irritated was the General Manager's "parking spot". He always parked his large, white pick up truck under the covered guest drop off area. Of course, we arrived in a torrential downpour, and had to back up under the cover (in front of his truck). He was there the next two days as well. I asked the front counter about that, and eventually talked with the GM himself. I told him that I thought he shouldn't be allowed to park there, and should leave that open for the guests. Guess what he told me?? He said "that parking spot is one of the benefits of his job". I'm sorry, but that's BS!!! I don't have a problem with him parking up close IN THE PARKING LOT, but not under the covered drop of spot. What's funny is there was a sign that said "No Parking". I guess that meant "No Parking Except for the General Manager". What's even more funny, is the picture of the hotel that I've attached came directly off the Best Western Corporate website. If you look closely, you can see his truck in the very same spot!!! I sent my thoughts to the Best Western Corporate Office, but I don't expect a reply. If I hear something, I'll be sure to let you know. Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.

Habitat For Humanity

This morning, and most of the afternoon, I helped build a Habitat for Humanity house for my parent's church. The young home owner's name was Nicole, and she was very, very sweet. She has two daughters, and in 13 weeks, they'll have a house they can call home. Man, talk about being tired at the end of the day ... I'm so tired, I probably won't even be able to finish this [Zzzzzz].

Diamonds Are A Man's Best Friend

Yeah, I'm a huge baseball fan, so what!! I'll have you know that I've been to EVERY current MLB team's stadium, and then some. I've been to the 30 current stadiums, as well as some of the newer ones. That means I've seen both the old stadium, and the new stadium in cities such as Houston, San Diego, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Pittsburg. I've even seen the Expos play in Montreal, Puerto Rico, and now Washington. Don't believe me, here's the tickets from the first 30 stadiums to prove it. There are actually 32 tickets in the frame. There is an additional one from the Yankees/Braves World Series Game 2, and two different tickets from the two Astros' stadiums (Astrodome and Enron Field).

Not Sure Why ...

Don't ask me why, but I now have a blog. Call me a push-over, call me a follower, call me whatever you want, just don't call me late for dinner!! It seemed like the thing to do, and if I wanted to stay in the foosball/lunch clique at work, I figured I needed to create one as well. And yes, if everyone else jumped off a bridge, I would to .... they wouldn't do it unless it was fun!!!

What Did You Just Say??

Yes, you heard right, I said CORNHOLE!! A few months ago, I was introduced to the widely growing game of cornhole. I played it once, and I was hooked. The game is also known as Baggo, Bags, or Bean Bag Toss, but I prefer the term cornhole. Since I also pitch horseshoes, bowl, and have pitched slow-pitch softball, the game's technique of tossing 1 pound bean bags underhand came very naturally for me and I picked up the game very quickly. I love pitching horseshoes, but not everyone can do that. Throwing 2 pound metal horseshoes the distance of 40 feet was tough for some people (and especially kids). So, a game where you can throw a 1 pound bean bag only 27 feet was definitely more popular. Since I have 9 nieces and nephews, I decided to make a set of boards myself so we could play at family gatherings and parties. I will leave you with a picture of a generic cornhole board, but will post a picture of my set of custom made boards very soon!!