A boozer and not a loser...

So I have had a heck of a week - run run run - I don't think I have had more than an hour here and there to actually relax. I totally blew it on my no drinking campaign - Last night at the bowling alley I had 3 glasses of beer (not terrible) but not really what I expected out of myself. And drinking drives me to eat - so after bowling Dad and Lisa said hey let's go over to Spires and get some dinner (not exactly a good idea at 9:30pm). Without protest, my stomach led me over there to eat a giant ham and Swiss sandwich with fries and a bowl of soup... I hate that I eat so much... and to boot I am going on the road starting Sunday - I always eat bad when I travel...

Ugg - I need to staple my lips shut - I really would like to get back to the weight I was before I quit smoking...

So this trip I will be going to the beautiful and glamorous cities of Lancaster and Hanford California. I'm not sure which one I am more excited about. At least I don't have to fly and rent a car and all that junk... I will have the lex with my satellite radio...

One plus is that my favorite sushi restaurant in the whole wide world is in Lancaster - mmmm Big Tuna... they have an all you can eat nightly special for $25... which is a total steal...

Bass Pro Shop!

WOW WOW! what a place! So sunday after church I took my little buddy Bryce to check out the bass pro shop... He is 4... I have never seen such a place in my life. We got in the boats and played with all the switches and opened all the cabintets. Looked at the camping stuff, went in all the tents, played with the BBQs, tried out the crossbows, looked at the fish in the huge tank. Bryce drug me around the store for over 2 hours. He is such a great kid and we had a blast.

GEEZ THATS A BIG PUMPKIN

This is from a pumpkin contest in Half Moon Bay, CA - "Farmer John" won with a pumpkin weighing 1581 pounds... dang man!

Ugly Betty

I LOVE UGLY BETTY! Last night's episode was one of the best ever, not only did Ignacio Suarez come back from Mexico, but Justin learned how to play basket ball and Henry actually confronted Charlie about her affair and the fact that the kid may not be his. I have to say the pinnacle of the entire show was when Willamina, through the magic of photshop, convinced Alexis Mead that the two of them were great friends. It was HILARIOUS - there was a picture of them square dancing I was busting up (Shel yelled down stairs for me to shut up)...

Anyway... kudos to ABC... what a great show and a great episode!

Bag of nuts & a turkey burger, but still no booze...

So one of our operators from Virgina was in the office today and I was so glad to see her - she is a real pal. She brought me this bag of Virgina Peanuts. They were delicious - unusually greasy and salty... even more so than your average run of the mill nut... needless to say I have been pouring them straight from the bag right into my mouth all morning...

As if the nuts weren't filling enough I went to Carl's Jr and tried out their new Turkey Burger.... GROSS it looked like something you would buy in the freezer section of the grocery store and microwave. It was luke warm with some chewy bacon and nasty ranch sauce... Leave it to Carl's to totally mess up a great idea. I don't know why I bother going there - the fries always suck, the sandwiches are mediocre at best - what a waste of $6 and time. I would have been happier with my lean cuisine frozen dinner and some green salad here in the break room.

AND today is day 10 with no alcohol... I have really enjoyed the clarity of mind the past 10 days, however would still like to drink, I think I have proven the point to myself that I can skip drinking if I want to - however I feel the opposite, I miss drinking, I like a buzz now and again... I should just limit it to a day or so a week...

l guess we will see how tonight goes, maybe I will have a drink at the bowling alley... maybe not...

Haloween is in the air...

Well its that time of year again, the air is getting chilly, its still dark out as I stand in the cold waiting for my train in the morning and ahh yes - the stores are stocking truckloads of candy on the shelves. I couldn't help but notice the 5000 pounds of candy in huge orange barrels that I had to walk by while entering Albertsons the other day. So to celebrate I put up my Halloween decoration on my desk. -

Sometimes I worry about being too festive... Maybe I am overdoing it...

Anyhoo - the chill in the air and the dusting of snow reminds me also that the ski season is soon upon us. I tried on my ski suit the other day and thank God it still fits good... this quitting smoking nonsense has put me on the path to obesity... however the non drinking thing has made me snack less at night - which hopefully will balance everything out...


I love winter time - hopefully it will be full of snow and I will get some good skiing in...

The cat is so not affraid of me...

Now I live with my cat - I know what your thinking... The cat lives with me, however anyone who is owned by a cat knows better - I was singing and dancing around on the floors in my socks and not once did my fat cat move from the ottoman that he knows he is not supposed to be on... I think I will box him up and send him to the sausage factory tomorrow...

Smoking, Drinking, and all that jazz...

So this past Thursday completed 100 days of not smoking and I actually think I will be OK - seriously I thought it would be a lot harder. I do get fidgety sometimes and miss a good morning smoke with a cup of coffee (the breakfast of champions) but I'm sure I will get totally over it eventually...

Now drinking is on my mind... Last week in bible study we were talking about demons that we all have to face... for some reason the frequency of my drinking was on my mind... (no doubt via the Holy Spirit) - I have to say I don't think I am a drunk, I rarely drink more than a drink or two, however I do drink often... and that kinda scares me. Anyhow - long winded thing (I am always long winded) I have given up drinking for a week to see how a sober mind sits with me. I have been drinking tea and taking hot baths after work to relax. I have to say its better, but part of me still wants to relax with a nice vodka, soda, lime... Since I was able to quit smoking, I'm sure I can quit drinking too - just a sip on special occasions... or is that really the point that I don't need booze at all - special occasions are better enjoyed sober so I can take in all that the occasion has to offer... hmmmm

Well I am boring myself with all this philosophy... In the background I am downloading music to fill up my iPod... I just got "All that Jazz" from the Chicago soundtrack... (the musical - not the cheezy movie) there is a difference - there is a difference....

I think I will dance around the living room in my socks before bed.... that will be medicinal in some weird way...

Poor Britney...

Ugg so I had to drive into work today (I had a bunch of computer crap to bring into the office) and traffic sucked... totally sucked...

But driving in the car for almost 2 hours did give me the chance to listen to my favorite morning show on the radio - and they were dishing about Britney Spears the WHOLE time... poor girl... she (without a valid license) was seen driving her kiddos all over town the other day. They kids looked so sad and she just seemed to be out of her mind. I thought she was crazy when she gave that half hearted performance on the VMAs but now I think she has really lost it. She used to be so cute, I was so in love with her about 8 years ago - now she reminds me of some other washed up crazy childhood star like Dana Plato or that one chick, cant remember her name...

Ohh well - I will toss up a prayer for you brit... hopefully you can get yourself out of this mess while your kids are with their dad...

Vegas and Famous Daves

So I spent the week in Vegas (well Summerlin) and it was ok. The courtyard was clean and good Internet access so I couldn't complain. I did discover my new favorite BBQ restaurant (sorry Coulter's) right next to the hotel was a Famous Dave's BBQ Restaurant. The staff was so well trained. They asked us when we sat down if we had ever been there before... when we responded no the server took us on a "tour of the menu" explaining everything. It was refreshing to see people who actually care about their job. I went with the Dave's Sampler (I now think probably meant for two) It came with ribs, buffalo wings, catfish, chicken strips, fries, and green beans. Not to mention the variety of 6 sauces in a cool little rack on each table. I was in hog heaven and my stomach paid the price later that night! but YUM - so worth it!

The rest of my trip was uneventful - I did go check out the new Planet Hollywood casino (really they just slapped a new sign on the Aladdin) - nice place - I might stay there next time I get to town so I can try to get back the $120 I left on the craps table...