The No Worries Blog. New Journeys in 2011.

Sweet Weekend

2011-04-03T19:28:00.003-05:00

We had a really good weekend here in the Robinson house. Would you like to hear about it?

No?

Well, tough!

Friday was the Eureka Davenport Elementary PTO carnival. Robin volunteered to work at two of the game booths. She had a great time shagging balls at the velcro dart ball game and watching little ones jump around in the bounce house. While she was doing that I led/was dragged by the kids around the school so they could play the games.
Each game provided the kids tickets that could be exchanged for prizes at the end of the evening. Nora came away with a birthstone ring and a duck call beak. Nigel got himself a rubber cobra and a complimentary duck call beak. Not a bad haul.
After the carnival, we went home and took in the movie Despicable Me. I am sure you all have seen it, but if you have not, watch it now.

I assume that since you are still reading you have seen the movie.
On to Saturday.

You all know about my race on Saturday. However, I do have one update. I actually finished 7th place overall. That has been my best finish to date.
The rest of the day was spent out at Robin's Grandparents farm. Most of Robin's family gathered to help her Mom go through all of Grandma Bug and Grandpa Bob's stuff. It is time to get that house cleared to prepare it for demo. Robin's parents are planning on building a home on the land and moving out there in Septemberish. The plans are fantastic. I for one am really excited for Jim and Karen. It is going to be great for them to finally have a new home which they designed themselves.
We all worked hard and were beat at the end of the day. In the end we could all pat ourselves on the backs for a job well done. There is a lot left to do, but we got a great start.

Sunday brought the Central Illinois Auto Show. This has been a tradition for the kids and I for the last few years. They have a blast looking at all the new cars and "driving" each of them. In addition to the cars they have plenty of other family friendly activities. This years list included appearances by Dora the Explorer, Diego, Sponge Bob, Ronald McDonald, Spiderman and Thor. As well as a NASCAR demo. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Cheers

Racing Season 2011 Has Begun!

2011-04-02T18:33:00.003-05:00

I went to a 10k trail race at Black Partridge Park in Metamora this morning. The plan was to help the race director out with pre-race registration and other logistics involving the race. He told me to bring my running clothes just in case. I did and am glad. About 5 minutes before the race I laced up my shoes and grabbed a bib.

The course was fantastic. Mainly single track with a few nice hills, several bends and curves and a handful of well hidden water hazards. I really enjoyed the scenery and the variety of the course.

As for the race itself, I had no real race strategy going in as I did not plan to run. At the start I took off and was near the lead group. I was not too sure that I wanted to hang with that group or just have a laid back run, but before I was really able to make that decision we hit the single track. Once in that area our group split into two groups. The new lead group did not contain me and put some space between themselves and the rest of us rather quickly. I found that I was feeling pretty good and not happy with the pace my group was running. At about the half way point we hit the water station and an open area in the trail. I took advantage of the open space to make my move. I passed a handful of runners and settled into a quicker, but more comfortable pace for me. With about 1 mile left I caught part of the lead group. They had slowed and I was not able to find a way around them, so I fell in behind them and waited to hit the home stretch which would be in an open field. Once we emerged from the woods I kicked into high gear and left the guys behind.

I ended up with a time of 54:09 and in 8th place overall. As the race director said, "Not too shabby considering no warm up and a bloody knee!"

Oh, did I not mention the bloody knee? I have a history of falling on the trails. I have even earned a nickname, "Sir-Trips-Alot". Todays crash was due to indecision. As I approached a steep downhill I could not decide whether to run down slowly and in control or to enjoy some free speed. As you cannot do both at once gravity made the decision for me. I did a nice 4-point slide on my hands knees before scrambling to my feet and back up the hill. No one had the pleasure of watching my crash, but everyone got to see the result at the finish.

All in all a good day.

Cheers

Peanut Butter M&M's

2011-03-16T17:14:00.002-05:00

My day began with thoughts of Peanut Butter M&M's. The satisfying crunch of the candy shell as it gives way to the creamy peanut butter that is nestled inside a layer of sweet milk chocolate. I could not wait to get to work!

It all began yesterday when I caught a glimpse of this perfect candy in the vending machine at work. I needed to have those Peanut Butter M&M's. I pulled out my wallet only to find a $5 bill, and I just will not break a fiver for the vending machine. I like to credit my will power for this, but the reality is that I am just too cheap. To me, a single $5 is greater than (5) $1's. Breaking a fin to feed the vending machine is unfathomable. Life is much better with the $5 in my wallet, but I digress. Back to the M&M's.

I went home thinking about creamy peanut butter, silky milk chocolate, a crispy candy shell, and my plan to make them mine. The plan was simple enough, grab a dollar, get a good nights sleep, and get to work where my delicious snack awaits.

Everything on the home front went off without a hitch. I woke up well rested, my craving still in full effect, found a dollar, ate a good (but not too filling) breakfast, and headed out the door.

By the time I got to work I could barely contain myself. The wait had nearly spanned 15 hours. Sprinting into the break room, dollar in outstretched hand, I was hit with a ton of bricks. There was indeed one pack of my glorious snack left, but it was behind and empty slot! Curses! It is already well established that I am far too cheap to spend the money for an empty slot just to get to the silky, creamy, crunchy goodness. What was I to do? My day was shot.

At that point I really should have just gone home. Who could blame a person that had just been denied the treasure of the Peanut Butter M&M's for not wanting to do anything but curl up in the fetal position and suck ones thumb? Against my better judgement I decided to power through the day. Nothing went right from there on out.

I was 3 hours behind all day, missed my morning snack, had my lunch delayed by an hour, and nearly dropped my phone in the toilet. That was just a sample. I shall not bore you with the details. Let me assure you, the day did not go well. Just when I thought things could not get worse, they did.

Shortly after 1 p.m., when the second shift comes in, I heard a series of loud bangs and thumps in the break room. They were the tell tale sounds of someone taking on the vending machine. No doubt someone had seen MY Peanut Butter M&M's and taken on the challenge of the empty space. Based on the speed and the violence associated with the vending machine battle I knew my M&M's were lost. No crispy shell. No silky milk chocolate. No creamy peanut butter.

Mercifully, 3 o'clock made its way onto the clock signaling the end of my day. I gathered up my coffee cup, lunch box and made my way to the door. I took one longing glance at the vending machine and what did I see but MY bag of Peanut Butter M&M's. The scoundrel that had tried to fight the vending machine had lost. Now all that stood between me and the snack that I had been craving for 24 hours was a mere $.65. The day was saved.

I would describe the joy that was found in the consumption of the M&M's, but some things are better left to the imagination.

Cheers.

Holy Frustration Batman!

2011-03-12T09:39:00.001-06:00

I know I have only been running for a fairly short time, but it has been long enough for me to be completely hooked. When I do not get my runs in I get a little bit grumpy. Lately I have been grumpy.

What has been causing the grump factor? A nagging IT band injury. It has left me able to only run every other day. Every other day! That should be plenty you say. No, it is not. I am trying to get ready to run the U of I half marathon on April 30th. But Chris, you can already run 13.1 miles without too much difficulty. I know, but I cannot run 13.1 miles at or near a 7 min/mile pace. Thus the grumpitude.

The bigger issue here is the loss of the therapeutic benefit of running. Unwinding after work with a nice run keeps me sane. Well, sane-ish. We gotta keep it realistic here. How sane is a guy that cannot wait to run on a trail for 8 hrs, but I am getting ahead of myself here. Running keeps me centered, makes me happy and keeps me healthy. I miss it and want this injury to go the way of the dodo bird.

Much to my displeasure I am doing the right thing. Strengthening the supportive muscles, stretching the offending ligament, and resting. Big ole BOOOO to the resting. I just need to remind myself that rest today will allow for more and better runs down the road. Gotta look at the big picture here.

In the meantime....

DO NOT CROSS ME!

Cheers!

Lesson Learned 2

2010-10-27T20:13:00.003-05:00

I do not really learn lessons well at all. So, I am sure the event I am about to relay will have no lasting impression on me at all. Hopefully it helps one of you.

An assistant manager from a local KFC came into the warehouse yesterday. He was there to pick up an order HE called in. I capitalized the word "he" as it is very important. I walked over to the area where we keep our tickets for pick up. There was a order there for 5 cases of chicken for the Glen St KFC. I assumed, (you know what assume means, right?) that the ticket was for him. Off I went to the cooler to get the 5 cases of chicken. I brought them out, loaded them onto my two-wheeler, and took them out to his vehicle. At that point he and I (yes, he helped me) loaded the 5 cases of chicken into his car.

Did I mention that these cases of chicken weigh 50 lbs each? No? These cases of chicken weigh 50 lbs a piece.

Back into the warehouse we go to sign the ticket. He looks at the ticket, notices it is for the Glen St. KFC, and says, "this is for Glen? I am from Bartonville. I was pretty sure I did not need any chicken; only a case of potato wedges".

WOW!

I wonder at what point he realized the five 50 lb cases of chicken were not the one case of potato wedges he actually wanted?

What did I learn? When you assume that a KFC assistant manager knows what he ordered 15 minutes ago, you make an "ass" out of "u" (in this case said assistant manager) and "me" (played by yours truly).

Race Day Approaches

2010-10-27T06:22:00.002-05:00

Saturday marks the date of Nora's first race. She is running the .67 mile kids run in Germantown Hills, which is part of an event in support of their fire dept. I have run in their 5k the past two years and have really enjoyed the race. This is the first year that they have included a kids run.

Nora and I have been training for a little over a month for her race. The goals for her training were simple: 1. build confindence; 2. build endurance; 3. build some speed; 4. run a continuous mile prior to the race. To do this I plotted out a loop around the house that matches the distance of her race, which she has run several times (confidence). Additionally we have done a long walk at the site of my Eureka Trail Run, (endurance) intervals at the h.s. track, (speed) and finally a mile run at the track. We have both had a lot of fun running together and Nora has made some great progress. She is very comfortable with the distance she is going to run and has developed a good finishing kick. The thing I am most proud of is her ability and willingness to run through fatigue, mental or physical. That was most apparent when we ran a mile together on Monday.

She had never run a mile without taking walking breaks. I sprung it on her that we were gong to do the mile at just under the 1/2 mile mark. The mile, to her, was a big mental block. When I told her, she instantly started to worry and psych herself out. I was able to talk her down and remind her that during our interval work she had run more than a mile, just not all at once. During all this she did not slow down or break stride. She just kept powering throug as she processed the info. She decided she could do it and turned in a great time, 10:43!

Proud Dad.

Now as race day nears, I am nervous and excited. I want Nora to push herself and run the best race that she can, but at the same time I just really want her to have fun. I am excited to watch her run, but nervous that I may pressure her a bit. Gotta walk that line carefully.

As for me, I am running in the 5k that day as well. My initial plans were to try and post a sub 20 minute time. However, I have do very little training for myself as I have focused mainly on Nora. The sub 20 attempt may have to wait until the Jingle Bell 2010. I am still going to give it a go. You never know unless you try.

Stay tuned. There will be a race update complete with pictures.

Jingle Bell 2010

2010-10-26T19:11:00.002-05:00

It is time for the Jingle Bell run 2010.

The stakes are high this year.

I am the defending top overall fund raiser.
I am trying to run a personal record time of sub 20 minutes.
Within one hour of returning to the event I took over as this year's top fund raiser.

Most importantly, a friend of mine from the restaurant days is now in need. Her young son of 6 has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. This year, I run for him.

Will you do as you have done for the last two years and help me in my cause?

I am an Ultra-Man

2010-10-11T18:53:00.004-05:00

I run.

I run a lot.

As most people tend to do when they pick up a new hobby, past time, or what have you, I have done lot of reading on the subject. I have read Born To Run, subscribed to Runner's World and read various runner's blogs. Through out my readings I have been really impressed by the ultra-runners. For those that may not know, an ultra is any distance over the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. I have read their stories and seen the photographs of their accomplishments and been in awe. I could not fathom the thought of being able to do what they were doing. Sure, I have been successful in races of various distance ranging from the 5k to a half marathon, but never anything to compare to what these incredible athletes do. With that said you will understand my surprise with this picture.

The ultra-athlete in this picture just ran 30 miles. The ultra-athlete smiling back at me in this picture is,

ME!

How did I get here? How did I become the guy in the pictures that I used to stare at in awe? As I write this I am still in disbelief. Did I seriously just run 30 miles?

30 MILES!!!

Yes I did. I did it with a gentle nudge from a friend. Several hours of running with said friend and others. I did it with the support of a great wife and kids. I did it with the encouragement of a great community of runners. I did it with great determination and hard work.

I DID IT!

I Miss Blogging.

2010-07-24T08:21:00.007-05:00

Have you missed me?
My lack of writing can mean only one of two things. We have done absolutely nothing this summer or we have been so incredibly busy that I have not had time to write. Have a look and decide for yourselves

I am on the planning committee for the Eureka Reagan Festival. Nora came up with the concept for the above t-shirt design.
Along with the festival I am also a race director for a trail run that is in conjunction with the festival.

As you can see we have had a summer full of 4-H fairs, t-ball and baseball, swimming, family reunions, reading and more!
To finish it all off we will take a day or two and go to the Children's Museum in Indy.

Stay tuned!

Memorial Day Week

2010-05-26T04:47:00.002-05:00

It has started. I know the calendar will tell you otherwise and this weekend is known as the unofficial start to summer, but I believe summer has started. The calendar just doesn't know better. To bolster my case I will give you the following facts.

Yesterday was the last day of school for Nora and Nigel. They are both a little bit sad. Each of them liked their teachers and made good friends during the year. Fortunately for them baseball started.

Nora had her first practice last night. She (and I for that matter) was a bit worried about playing this year. We missed last year and have not really picked up a bat or ball since t-ball. This year is coach pitch and there is a 10 pitch limit while at bat. The focus is still on teaching the fundamentals, but they are starting to implement more or the rules. Nora was concerned that the other kids would be way better than her as they had an extra year under their belts. This was not the case. She has a good arm, stays in front of the ball, and made decent contact at the plate. Their is only one boy there that could actually catch. She is right on pare with the rest.

Nigel starts t-ball tonight. He has no idea what he thinks of the whole idea. Some days he is very excited, others he just shrugs. I think he will have fun once he gets used to it. We are hoping one or more of his friends from class are on his team.

For the rest of the week....
Nora has practice Thursday evening, we have the PTO end of school movie night on Friday plus an after party at a friends house, both kids have games on Saturday. Enough right? Not so fast. Sunday brings the Fyke family reunion and a cook out that evening at a friends. Whew...done.

Oh wait...

I have a 4 mile race Monday morning, the Chiefs game at noon, and Nora has a game Monday night.

Now, you tell me summer has not started. It is going to be a good one!

Cheers.

Slipping and Sliding in the Mud and the Blood at the CRUD

2010-05-23T08:12:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Robin and I went out to a nearby college state park for a 8 hr endurance trail run called the CRUD 8. Neither of us were actually running in the event, but were there instead to help and learn about the behind the scenes portion of running a race. She and I are going to be first time race directors for a trail run on August 21st here in Eureka. I must confess that I failed miserably on the helping bit. I was too enthralled by all the fun going on in addition to the run and was unable to resist the call of the trail. I'll get into that in a bit but first a bit about the actual event.

The run was set up to be run as either a solo run or a relay team of 4, and followed a 5k loop until the final 45 min which was completed on a 1 mile loop. Robin and I hung out with a relay team of guys from here in Eureka most of the day. Our boys were in contention for the overall mens relay lead. In fact they led most of the day. When it was time to switch to the mile loop the top 2 teams were tied. If they completed the same number of laps on the mile loop there was going to be a 1 mile run off to determine the winner. Unfortunately for our guys they ran out of gas. They were a bit disappointed, but had a great time anyway. The best thing about an event like this is the camaraderie among all the people there. Most the runners were there cheering on and congratulating the runners on the mile loop. There was a competitiveness to the top two relay teams, but a good natured one at that. At the end of the day it just a bunch of like minded people spending the day running in a park, eating, drinking, playing bags, jarts, and just having a great time.

Back to Robin and me. We both took our shot at the loop. Her in her VFF's and me in my Nike Free 5.0's. Did I mention that we have had a bunch of rain in the week leading up to run? The trail was a hilly, muddy mess with areas of standing water, and only got worse as the day went along. I had zero traction. To get any kind of footing I had to hug the edge of the trail which force my right leg into the brush. It was a scratched up bloody mess. I think Robin fared a little better than I did but not much. For that matter, no one really fared well traction wise. Several of the hills required a duck walk to get up and the down hills were basically just controlled chaos with the hopes of not hitting a tree. IT WAS A BLAST! Robin did one loop and I did three. My hat goes off to the guys and gals that ran in the event. It was tough going. I fell on each of my loops including a self inflicted head first slide. Looked over my left shoulder to yield to runners in the event and tripped over my own feet. Nice!

They day was a blast and I am now completely hooked on trail running.

Cheers

Illinois Half Marathon

2010-05-02T07:47:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was my big day. The day that I have been training for for over two months, the Illinois half marathon.

The day started very early at the Robinson household, 4:00 a.m. for me and 4:20 for everyone else. I wanted to be on the road by 5 a.m. The race location is 1 1/2 hours away and I wanted to get there early enough to get warmed up and properly hydrated. Race time was set for 7:30 a.m. We made it out of the house by 5:10, not bad with two little kids, and met my parents near the interstate entrance. From there we caravaned on to Champaign. Getting into town took a bit longer than I had hoped and I really began to double think my decision to not go down the night before. Oh well, too late. We were on location and parked by about 6:50. I was able to get in a warm up run and Robin, the kids and my parents were able to find a good spot near the start to see me off.

The race started about ten minutes late. I mention this because that ten minutes was apparently enough to screw up a fellow runners pre-race bathroom needs. I had to help form a human wall so he could pee in a bottle. Makes me wonder what he would have done had the race started on time.

That is him in the white shirt, black shorts and all the way to the right.

Anyway...

We started under grey skies, low 60's, fairly humid with a steady but not over powering wind. Really good conditions actually, could have used a bit less humidity, but I will not complain. The race route itself was flat and very nice. We ran through neighborhoods, downtown Champaign, a nice park and back to Memorial Stadium for the finish. All along the route people were lined up cheering us on. People had signs, dressed in funny costumes, had noise makers, and generally created a party atmosphere. Heck of a way to motivate a runner!

My cheering section.

My goal was to run the race in 1hr 45min or less. In order to do that I was going to need to average 8 min/mile. I have done that on my long runs on several occasions so I felt pretty confident in meeting my goal. I took off with adrenaline flowing...maybe a bit too much. I ran the first 9 miles averaging around a 7:30 min/mile. Then I hit a wall. My pace dropped like a rock. I had several people yelling and encouraging Superman, I did have to admit at mile 12 that I was feeling a bit more like Clark Kent. That, however, would change.

Upon entering the stadium, seeing all the people in the stands, and the time on the clock was all the boost I needed. I was able to kick it into high gear and finish with a time of 1:43:06. I exceeded my goal, finished 314th of 6500, 32 in my age division, and trimmed 13 minutes off my time from last year. Not a bad run if you ask me.

Kicking to the finish.

After wandering around scanning the stands and drinking water I finally found Robin. She pointed the way to my parents and the kiddos who had watched the finish from the stands. They were all very excited and proud of me. Robin, doing a great job of crewing for me, had gatorade and peanutbutter and jelly sammiches for me. We hung out in the stands for a bit letting me cool down and recover. This allowed us to see the marathon winner come across. It is pretty impressive to see a guy run 26.2 miles in 45 more minutes than it took me to run 13.1. That guy was moving. After that we packed up our stuff, made it back to the car and head out. I spent the ride home recovering, re-hydrating and thinking about next year.

Reunited with Robin after the finish.

Cheers

100

2010-04-27T19:03:00.002-05:00

This will be short. What lead up to it was not.

Today I logged my 100th mile of running for the month.

I cannot explain how cool it was to look at my running log and see 100 miles for April. After my run on Sunday I saw that my scheduled distance for today was going to put me pretty much right on the the nose (the total is actually 100.2). Once I realized that, this run could not have come soon enough. I was telling anyone who would listen, and those who would not, about my upcoming milestone. The day could not end soon enough.

Once I got home I threw on my running shoes, a big smile (not to worry I had pants on as well), and I shot out the door. I can only imagine what people must of thought as I bound on down the road with an ear to ear grin and a wave for every passing car. Only I knew what I had done, and it was most likely only impressive to me. But damn it, I was stoked. Oh what a feeling, when we're dancin' on the ceiling.

Well, with that said, I have one more 2 mile run this month and then it is off to Champaign for the U of I half marathon. I am going to start May out right with 13.1 miles. Wish me luck.

Cheers.

All Sports All The Time

2010-04-17T18:19:00.005-05:00

Today was my first race of the season, the Eureka Hearthouse 4-mile run. Since I was going to start the day with a sporting event I figured that we should end it with one as well. Today also happened to be opening day for Peoria's minor league baseball team, so we decided to take in a ball game as well. First things first, my race.

Not only was I running in the race today, but I also was volunteering with the set-up and food as well. After the run there is a hot dog cookout complete with potato salad, chips and cookies for the runners and their families. The men's group at our church was handling the food prep so I decided to pitch in. I was on site around 6:30 this morning lending a helping hand, which mainly consisted of moving heavy things and chopping fruit. Not a bad deal.

(And we chop and we chop and we chop. Chopin!)

Eventually my parents, Robin and the kids showed up. I got the time wrong by a half an hour so everyone had more time to enjoy the lovely weather. Did I mention it was in the mid 40's with 12-15 mile/hr cold winds? Needless to say my cheering section was not thrilled by the extra time in the elements. The set-up crew did not mind as they set Robin to work on some more fruit cutting. Robin was also instrumental in my pre-race finishing touches. The race was set to start at 9:30 and after spending 3 hrs in the cold I was more than ready to get going, and boy did I.

(Will I still have this big smile at the end?)

(All business at the finish.)

My goal for the race was to improve upon last years finish and get another medal. Last year I finished with a time of 27:56. Good enough for 26th overall and 3rd in my age group. This year I ran the 4 miles in 26:48, 17th overall and 4th in my age group. I know, I trimmed over a minute off my time and fell a spot in my age group. What gives! Fact is, my age group is loaded and it is pretty tough to place. I still got a medal and am thrilled with my time improvement.

(To answer the earlier question...YES!)

(The spoils of victory.)

Two hours later the Robinson crew was off to the ole ballpark. I had been promising the kids for a while that I would take them to opening day. Both Robin and I were having second thoughts as the wind had not died down and the temp had only reached the low 60's. The idea of getting windblown for 3 more hours was not too exciting. Lucky for us Robin found a spot on the grass in left field that was shielded from the wind, but still in the sun. It actually got a bit on the hot side.

We watched an exciting game complete with a homerun, several double plays, a couple runners caught stealing and 13 runs. The good guys came out on top 7-6. The kids also got some time in out at the play ground. All in all a great afternoon at the game. On a side note for my local readers, if you have never been to a game at O'Brien Field I highly recommend taking one in. We have been to at least one game every year since it opened and love it. It is a very safe, fan friendly ballpark.

To finish the day off my parents treated us to dinner at T.G.I. Fridays. Good meal with great company. The perfect way to end a near perfect day.

Cheers

Tomorrow It Begins

2010-04-16T18:06:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is my first race of the year. I am running the Eureka Heart House 4-mile run. This race is pretty special to me. It is the first race in which I placed. Last year I ran a 27:56 and came in 3rd in my age group. This year I am looking for a repeat performance if not better. Much like last year most of my training thus far has focused on the U of I half marathon. Light on speed work, heavy on the mileage. It worked out well for me last year and I have no reason to think it will not give me similar results this year. I am very excited.

In addition to running in the race I am also helping out with the post race picnic. The organizers provide a meal of hot dogs, potato salad, cookies, etc... for all runners and their families. Our churches men's group is setting up, cooking and serving. I will be involved in the setup. Should be a good morning.

After the race is opening day for our minor league baseball team, the Peoria Chiefs. We are taking the kids and spending the afternoon at the ballpark. I am not sure who is more excited, the kids or me.

All in all we are in for a great day with plenty of photo opps.

Cheers

Lesson Learned

2010-03-31T19:50:00.002-05:00

One of my friends warned me not to egg on Wednesday. She told me that Wednesday was a tough S.O.B. and was ready to rumble. I did not heed the warning. I talked a lot of smack, got up in Wednesday's face and dared it to give me its worst. Why on why did I not listen to my dear friend Barbie?

Wednesday sucker punched me with time stoppage. I still have no idea how it pulled it off, but it did. It took no less than 6 hours to travel along the time line between 9 a.m and 10 a.m. Lesson learned. I shall never, ever talk trash to Wednesday again. As for Thursday....

Spring is officially upon us. The kids are on Spring break. They got out of school today at 11:10 a.m., and will not go back until Monday the 12th. Since it is not chronologically possible for me to be in school still, I ask the question, why did I not become a teacher? What a life.

I have recently been pondering the concept of gratification. It seems most of the "kids these days" only believe in the instant variety. They are truly missing out. Is there actually satisfaction without effort? Can you be pleased with your results when they are derived from little work and or the doings of others? No, you cannot. To prove my point may I offer running races as an example?

“There is no glory in training, but there is no glory without training.” Once you enter a race no one is going to carry you to the finish. No one is going to help you push through the wall at mile 5 of your 10k. It is all on you. You have to put in the miles all by yourself. You have to sweat it out and do the work. Lack of preparation, dedication and motivation will bite you in the ass. Once you commit yourself to the work, do it and accomplish that goal, there is no better feeling. Finishing a race whether you are first, last or somewhere in the middle there is no better sense of accomplishment. The same can be said for life in general. Put in the work and you will be greatly rewarded.

Cheers.

Watch Out For Wednesday

2010-03-30T18:58:00.002-05:00

Today was too smooth. Based on the schedule I had set up for today I should have come home battered, bruised, dirty and dragging my tail end on the ground. Instead, I came home upbeat, clean, unscathed, full of energy and ready for a run. Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining about having an easy day, but the universe tends to balance things out.

Today's schedule was very full and with not enough space between. Tomorrow has half the appointments and several open blocks of time. You can see why I am concerned. A day that appears to be that smooth is bound to be filled with potholes and pitfalls. Wish me luck.

On a more positive note, I had a fantastic run today. I put in 4.5 miles at a 7:50 min/mile. I cannot tell if I am more excited about my upcoming Heart House 4 mile race or the U of I half marathon. I am maintaining strong training paces with out maximum effort. This bodes well for my races!

I related news, I have added a link called my training log. It is exactly what it sounds like. It tracks all my runs. I would love it if someone would click on it and let me know if it works.

Cheers

Bailed

2010-03-28T17:19:00.002-05:00

Todays entry was going to revolve around our church's Maundy Thursday service and my role in it. There has been a change in plans and thus a change in topic. Let me explain.

Our mens group had an idea to do a live re-enactment of the Last Supper. There was to be the 12 disciples, Jesus, and a narrator. I believe only the narrator and Jesus had any speaking parts. The disciples were just props, for lack of a better word. I did not really have any interest in this at all. I am a traditionalist when it comes to church. So, I kept my head down on this one and hoped the day would come and go without my involvement. No such luck.

On Thursday evening I received a call from Jesus, no less, asking me for my participation as a disciple. Now, what I am about to tell you must NEVER be used against me. If you ask me to help move a mattress, dig a ditch, watch your kids, be a disciple, I am going to say yes. This situation was no different. I mean Jesus called. Like I am going to say no. Rehearsal was to be this Sunday at 4 pm.

When I got to church today things were pretty disorganized. A bunch of guys all milling about looking for direction. The driving force behind this production did not seem to be interested in taking charge. Did I mention there were a bunch of guys there? We only needed 14 in total and counting me there were 15. Did I mention that Jesus and one of the other guys who I knew was taking part were not going to be there? That puts the total up to 17. So, I took the logical course of action. Ate a cookie and bailed without saying a word. I felt a bit guilty, but the Duke - Baylor game is helping me cope. I hope you all can find it in your hearts to not think less of me.

Hmmm. Turns out that even with the change in plans the post topic remained the same.

Cheers

Bit Of A Late Start

2010-03-27T19:04:00.002-05:00

Well I have missed most of the first quarter of the year, but I am finally posting. I have a book worth of observations, rants and raves, and humorous stories, however I do not have the patience to write all of it down. Nor do I believe you would want to read the incoherent mess that would ensue. Instead I'll just start with current doings.

Let's go with the obvious subject, the theme of my blog and one of this households favorite hobbies...running. Currently I am training for the U or I half marathon which will take place on May 1st. This is the same half marathon I competed in last year and I am really looking forward to it this year. I got a later start on my training than I would have hoped, but the rust fell off relatively easily. I have been logging about 20 miles a week in 4 runs and doing strength training two days a week. I am in great shape and feeling pretty good about the race. My goal is to run 1h 45m or less.

As a tune up I am running in the Eureka Heart House 4 mile run. That is the first race in which I placed. I am looking to defend my 3rd place 35-39 male finish. That race will be run on April 17th. I will definitely post pictures and results from that race.

Robin has resumed her running and is eyeing the Washington Cherry Fest 5k on June 4th as her first race of the year. She has taken to barefoot running and is really enjoying it. The weather in these parts is the culprit for her later start. Snow, cold roads and barefeet do not mix. She would love to run in more than one race this year and I am sure she will do it.

As for the kids and their running, they will be taking part in the Illinois Valley Striders kids series. It is a run every Monday night at 6pm in Peoria for children 12 and under. We may not make it every week, but will do our best to hit the majority. Hopefully this will help lay a good foundation for some of the kids fun runs during the summer. I look forward to the day that they can run with us in a 5k! Additionally, they are both playing ball this year. Nora will be playing instructional baseball, coach pitches, and Nigel will take part in his first year in t-ball.

I think this has been a good start. What do you think?
More to come...I promise.

Cheers

Turkey Trot Update

2009-11-25T18:45:00.002-06:00

The official results are in:

30th place in a field of 135
4th place in the 35-39 age group
28th out of 81 men
My official time was 28:15. A 1:50 improvement over last year.
Not too bad. If I cut that much time off next year we will be eating major award turkey next Thanksgiving.

My next race is December 5th, the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis. Last year I did not run it for time, just the experience of running in the winter. This year I have been training pretty hard and am much more accustom to cold weather running. There just might be a personal record in the cards. Gotta go sub 20:56. On the fund raising front, I have just gone past the halfway point towards my goal. Thank you to everyone who has helped out so far. I would love some more help in order to get over the $1000 mark.

Tomorrow is turkey day. The Robinson Family wishes you all a wonderful day. Remember to where your fat pants!

Cheers.

It Was A Good Day...

2009-11-23T18:26:00.002-06:00

...Because it was my birthday.

At work I only received one birthday wish. It was a very nice wish as I did not tell anyone at work that my birthday was upcoming. One of my employees actually remembered from a conversation about two weeks ago that today was my day. Made me feel pretty good.

Facebook provided several birthday wishes from friends and family. It is very fun to read them and see all the funny comments. I have some pretty good people in my life.

The best came at home.

Nigel picked out a card all by himself for me. He had made one on the computer for me, but while at Halmark he saw one that changed his mind. It had a cute puppy on the front and the card said "It would be ruff to find a better daddy than you". He signed it himself and everything.

Nora made me a card. It was great. Picture a giant block blue "M" that folds open to a maize background. One the background was a picture of she and I surrounded by "Go Blue". That's my girl.

Jim and Karen (father and mother in law) gave me a wonderful card that further feeds my ego, and a stash of my favorite cookie, Pepperidge Farm creme filled pirouettes. They gave me a can of mint, hazelnut, french vanilla and chocolate fudge. Yum!

Robin gave me a great gift. She is not the biggest Christmas fan. The materialistic nature of the season tends to get her down. From time to time during the season she lets that get the best of her and goes a bit Scrooge on me. Her gift to me for my birthday is a promise to try and enjoy the Christmas season this year. Yahoo!!

All in all a great day. Thanks to all!

If you are still looking for a last minute gift for me you can always follow this link to my Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis donation page and make a donation in my honor.

Race Day

2009-11-22T18:47:00.004-06:00

Today was the 2009 Turkey Trot. Since running the race last year I had been very focused on performing better on the hill and improving my time. As the race day came closer my priorities changed a bit. You see both Nora and Nigel expressed interest in running in the 1/2 mile youth fun. As I am sure you can imagine I became a bit more focused and interested in the kids. I wanted to make sure they performed as well as they could and most importantly, had fun. For the most part mission accomplished on both fronts. I will start with the kiddos.

I had spent quite a bit of time coaching the kids on how best to run a longer distance than in the back yard. We talked about pace, not running too fast, or getting discouraged by other kids doing better than them. They both seemed to have a pretty good handle on the concept and were excited about the day. When we arrived we got the kids over to the starting line where they received last minute instruction on the course by the director. He gave the commands and they were off like a shot. Too fast in my opinion. Nora and Nigel got off well and seemed to be doing well. After the initial surge Nigel began to drop back a bit. Nora, bing the great big sister that she is, fell back with him. She did not want Nigel to feel bad. What a great girl. Unfortunately, from that point on it went a bit pear shaped for the Nigel. He got mad about half way through because all the other kids were beating him. Robin told Nora to run her race and leave Nigel. He ended up not wanting to finish. Nora, however, ran well. She ended up running the 1/2 mile in 3:43. She asked if that was good. In order to put it in perspective for her I told her she ran at a pace equal to the pace I run in training runs. Pretty great for my little girl! For Nigel's part, he was a bit bummed that he did not finish, but still had fun. I was very proud of both of them. My primary goal was to just have them try.

As for me, I was fairly satisfied with my performance. I know I had talked a length about placing in the race and getting the family a turkey. However, going in I knew that was not going to be a reality for me. I have trained well, but came to the realization a bit ago that shaving 3 plus minutes off last years time was just not in the cards. So, with the mind set of just running my race and having fun I set out to do my best. That takes a load off the mind. I had a nice run on a beautiful day and learned that I have little more work to do before I am a hill master. Hills are hard. I finished with a time of 28:16. That is 18 seconds slower than my last 4 mile race (no big hill climbs in that one), but 1:49 faster than I ran last year. I cannot complain about that. As an added bonus, I was under one minute off the third place finisher in my age group. There is always next year!

My focus now turns to the Jingle Bell Run on December 5th. I am running pretty strongly these days and hope to perform well. However, that is not the performance in which I am most interested. I really want to raise as much money as possible for the foundation. I am about halfway to my goal of $1000. Please visit my donation page. You know tomorrow is a my birthday, in fact many of you may be reading this on my birthday. Do you know what would be a great birthday gift? That's right, a donation to the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis.

Now for some pictures from the day. Disclaimer: They are not in order. It was late and I was really more focused on my glass of wine! Cheers.

Nigel did not finish because he got off course :-)

Proud Nora with her first race ribbon.

Nora finishing and getting her ribbon.

Halfway.

They're off!

Post race bare foot jog.

That girl beat me last year...not this year missy!

Coming through the trees to the home stretch.

Surprise!

2009-11-17T18:55:00.002-06:00

This past Friday night was a huge surprise. Robin and I had been invited by some friends to go to the Illinois game on Saturday, and were planning on leaving early in the morning. My parents agreed to watch Nora and Nigel over night so they thought that they would kill two birds with one stone and have us all over for dinner to celebrate my up coming birthday. (They will be out of town on my actual birthday weekend.) I was looking forward to a quiet night. That was not to be the case.

After about a half an hour there were visitors at my parents door. Our good friends Josh, Adrianne, Claire and Eve showed up along with Josh's parents, Jerry and Vicki. To say I was surprised is an understatement. Shock is a better description. The dinner and company was fantastic. This was my first ever surprise party. It was worth the wait.

The next morning was a big day for all of us. Josh, Adrianne, Robin and I made our way to Champaign for the game while my parents prepared to take Nora to her basketball clinic and then both Nora and Nigel to the zoo.

The U of I game was a lot of fun. Josh and Adrianne made sure that both Robin and I had the appropriate apparel. In fact, at one point I was even seen wearing a U of I snuggie. Can you believe that? I did break out in Maize and Blue hives shortly there after. The game was a bit of a bummer. U of I lost. There are some who believe that I, due to my recent luck at Michigan games, may be a jinx.

Meanwhile, Nora had a blast a her clinic. She is really enjoying leaning how to play the game. I am looking forward to watching her play next week. After the clinic Grandma and Grandpa took them to the Peoria zoo. They recently opened an Africa exhibit. I have heard lots a great things about it and the kids say they delivered. They both had a blast and want us to take them back.

As you know I usually add photographic evidence for all of these events, however, Blogger is not cooperating tonight. Sorry.

On an unrelated note, only 18 more days to go until the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis. I am about half way to my goal of $1000. I would love you help to make it the rest of the way.

Strange Feeling

2009-11-12T17:32:00.002-06:00

I did not go for a run tonight. I have been doing a lot of training recently in order to get ready for the Turkey Trot and the Jingle Bell. Today I just did not have it in me. At the moment that I made the decision I felt it was the right choice. I was unmotivated and positive I would get nothing out of it. Now, however, I am having some version of buyers remorse. Hanging out with the family, helping with the kids homework, and having general quality time recharged me. I miss my run. On the plus side I am feeling pretty good about the training thus far. Knock on wood, I am going to do well in both races. Speaking of...the Turkey Trot is a week from Saturday and the Jingle Bell is in three weeks. Still plenty of time to support the cause!

State of the Brewin'

2009-11-11T17:38:00.002-06:00

As pointed out by cousin Adrian there has been little to no mention of my home brewing as of late. There is a very good reason for that. I have not been brewing. I am both distraught and very thirsty. Normally I do not do much brewing in the summer as the hours of boiling water tends to heat up the house. However, since the start of the fall season I have not yet got into the groove. I am in need of inspiration.

I want to make my Honey Wheat again and either a stout or porter. My biggest road block has been having both the ingredients and or access to them at the same time as I have the time to brew. Oh what to do. I shall ponder this over a cup of coffee.
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If you have any suggestions throw them at me. Do not forget to check out my Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis pag. I am still the top fund raiser but want to do more.

Technical Difficulties

2009-11-10T17:57:00.002-06:00

It has been a rough couple of days. It all began on Saturday.

Nora had her first day of basketball. For girls her age they do not have teams and play games. They just focus on practicing the fundamentals of the game. She was a bit nervous on the way over, but as soon as she saw a classmate her spirits lifted. She had a blast and has shown marked improvement since the Father/Daughter clinic we attended in the spring. I would love to show you pictures, but that leads into our first technical issue.

Our camera seems to have taken a turn for the worse. I was preparing to focus in on Nora for a good action shot of her driving to the hoop for a lay-up when the viewer went black. The screen showed an error message. Error messages are rarely good.

Later in the day Nora and I were doing a little raking. We decided to split up and tackle the job from separate fronts. I was giving the lawn a final mow and sucking up a few leaves as well. While I was doing that Nora was scooping leaves up, putting them in the wheelbarrow, and hauling them to the street. I cannot stress enough how big of a help Nora was. WOW! During this I was listening to my mp3 player with my headphones. After I finished my area Nora and I teamed up. We both wanted to listen to music, so I went in and got my docking station with speakers. I set the speakers up in the bed of my truck, unplugged my headphones and plugged in my mp3 player. The tunes were blasting and Nora and I were back to work. After a hard day of raking Nora and I had some recycling to do. We climbed into the truck and off we went. Have I mentioned what a huge help Nora is?

The next morning I got up and prepared to go on my run. Gotta have tunes for my run. Unfortunately I could not find my earphones. I borrowed Robin's and off I went. Upon my arrival home the headphones location dawned on me. I recycled them. Technical difficulty number 2.

Let's move to Monday. To say I had a bad day at work would be an understatement. I made a pretty big mistake, and was beating myself up a bit. Robin suggested that I grill burgers. Grilling usually puts me in a good mood. Thanks to my Dad we have a Big Green Egg. The thing is amazing and I love it. Prior to starting the coals I needed to move it back into position after having moved it to get leaves up. While I was moving it I had an issue. It tipped, the wheels shot out from under it, and it came crashing down on the edge of the cement stoop. Ceramic and cement do not mix. It shattered. I was about as crushed as it was. There are several parts not broken and we may be able to get replacement parts, but... Wow what a bad run of days.

Hey, you know what would make me feel better? Clicking on this highlighted underlined link and supporting me in the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis.

Come back tomorrow for an update on my state of homebrewing.

It Was A Sign

2009-11-05T17:49:00.002-06:00

I have what I feel to be very sound advice:

If your cat, first thing in the morning, pukes into your heat vent; go back to bed. The day is not going to get much better. You will get in multiple arguments with muttonheads, and that never ends well. Your boss will treat you as a pack mule, and your lunch will be interrupted at least 37 times. Trust me, you do not need this. Go back to bed.

On the bright side, all days do come to an end. Mine will have a good ending and is off to a great start.

We just returned from the parent/teacher conference for Nora. Turns out Nora is her own toughest critic. She judges the quality of her work and efforts more harshly than does her teacher. Even better, she loves school. Mrs. Rayburn is very pleased with her spelling and reading level, and loves how willing Nora is to participate in class. Could not be more proud.

To finish off the night we are going to dine on homemade chicken fingers, hash browns and peas and carrots. As for the evenings culture we will be viewing Transformers 2: The Rise of the Fallen. The jury is still out as to the libation of choice, but rest assured there will be one.

So, in summary, cat pukes in vent...go back to bed and skip to outstanding review of child followed by dinner and a movie.

Cheers.

Rolling Now

2009-11-04T17:00:00.002-06:00

I got it going on now. I am managing to blog on a fairly consistent basis again and I have risen to my rightful place as the top individual fund raiser for the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis. (Click here to support a winner.) Thank you very much to those who supported me last year and have continued to do so this year.

Speaking of running, I seem to be in a bit of a groove there as well. I am following a training program that combines speed work and mileage in order to obtain your personal best in a 5K. I am using it to get ready for the Turkey Trot 4 mile run on Nov 22nd. The top 2 finishers in each age group win a turkey and a trophy. Now I love Thanksgiving turkey, but can you imagine how much better a major award turkey would taste? I have a real shot this year.

Staying on the athletic front, Nora has a big day this coming Saturday. That will be her first day of park district basketball. For girls her age they do a series of clinics every Saturday through Dec as opposed to trying to play games. They will teach and stress the fundamentals so the kids have a better skill level and understanding of the game. I am sure that will make the games next year a bit more enjoyable. Nora is very excited and I cannot wait to watch.

Oh, one final thing...

"V" was awesome!

Cheers

Tonight They Arrive.

2009-11-03T17:54:00.003-06:00

I am pretty excited about a television program that is making a second coming tonight.

As you may remember in about 1985 NBC televised a mini-series called "V". It told the story of an alien invasion by a race that looked like humans and brought the promise of hope and a new golden age. However, beneath their human like exterior was the skin of a reptile and the cold blood to match. Once the Visitors true intentions were revealed the battle for Earth was on.

My brother and I and all of our friends loved it. In fact, that Halloween he and I both dressed as Visitors. Thanks again Mom for making some pretty awesome costumes.

Tonight, thanks to ABC, the Visitors return. I cannot wait to watch it. I can only imagine how much better it will be visually than back in the '80s. I have a few chilled New Castles and am ready for some serious T.V. watching.

During a commercial break why don't you head on over to my Jingle Bell Arthritis Run/Walk donation page. I am currently #4 among the top fund raisers. We can do better!

What A Weekend

2009-11-02T18:09:00.006-06:00

I am warning you in advance. I have a week of blogging under my belt and am feeling sufficiently warmed up. This could get a bit wordy.

We had one very eventful weekend in the Robinson household. There was a great dinner with good friends and old folks, illness, tailgating and football, begging for candy and all finished off with cake and ice cream.

It all started on Friday, as most weekends do. The Yoders were kind enough to include us in a monthly dinner they have with his parents, Jerry and Vicki and good fiends of his parents, Jerry and Linda. Adrianne greeted us with her usual spread of fantastic appetizers and Josh warmly welcomed us with a beer and a glass of wine. The eight of us enjoyed nice conversation while Josh slaved in the kitchen over sea bass, fresh green beans, and orzo. The fish had a macadamia crust and Josh made a mango chutney sauce for it as well. Everything was delicious. I was fairly certain I had had my fill until Josh brought out the two person skillet cookies. I maned up and ate my share and a bit of Robins as well. There was only one draw back to the evening...it ended. Oh, yeah, and Robin got sick.

Most of the food and drink we had was fairly rich. Robin and rich food is not a great mix. Unfortunately, it all tasted so great that she just could not say no. Her stomach decided to spend most of the day on Saturday reminding her of the bad mix. Lesson learned?

On Saturday I bailed on the family and went to the U of I/Michigan game in Champaign with my Dad. This was part of our continuing tour of the Big Ten. The Yoders were going as well and Jerry & Vicki were taking the RV. Tailgating heaven awaited. There were about 18 of us there, 10 Wolvierine fans and 8 Illini fans. Once again there was a great spread of food including several varieties of brats, burgers, soups, you name it and it was there. We all had a nice time with plenty of friendly banter between the rival fans. You all know the final score so I am going to forgo the pain of actually typing it out.

While my Dad and I were on the way home Nora and Nigel were getting ready for a big night of trick or treating. They were getting together with cousins Pete and Sofie. Once the transformations were complete Pipi Longstockings (Nora), Bumblebee (Nigel), Optimus Prime (Pete) and a witch (Sofie) hit the town in search of candy. Based on the bags I saw once I got home I would say they were successful.

On Sunday we all gathered at the Bressner's to celebrate cousin Alex's birthday. What better way to end a weekend filled with great friends, food, football and candy than with cake and ice cream.

What a weekend.

If A Tree Fell In The Woods...

2009-10-29T16:28:00.002-05:00

...and there was no one there, would it still make a sound?

By the same token, if someone trips, falls over backwards and there is no one there to see it, is it still funny?

The answer is a resounding, YES! Cracked myself up good; funny bone wise no actual cracked bones. Now several of my long time readers may remember my Belly Flop post from last year. Now this is no belly flop fall, but still funny none the less.

I was in the warehouse getting ready to separate a shipment onto separate pallets. I placed a stack on the floor and proceeded to remove the plastic wrap from the main pallet. As I was pulling the loose wrap away I took a step back. My foot came down on the edge of the pallets I had put on the floor. Obviously I lost my balance. In an effort to regain said balance I took a step back with my other foot. Anyone care to guess where that foot landed? Needless to say I went over the pallets backwards sending the contents of my pockets skidding across the warehouse floor.

Quickly I looked around to see if anyone had witnessed my display of grace. No such luck. I alone was there to enjoy my spill. So, I decided to make the most of it. I laid there for a moment and had a good laugh. Then, at the first possible chance, I told anyone who would listen my tale of coordination.

One would think that my story would end there. No, oh no my friends, it does not. After stacking the product up on one of my stacked pallets, I lifted it up with my forklift and prepared to drive it to the cooler. I drove into the stack of pallets. No worries, no damage.

Wait, there is more. At this point I was down to one pallet on my fork lift and one on the floor. I grabbed two cases of lettuce and began to walk around the pallet on my lift to place the upon it. Tripped over the pallet, again. This time, as I had got a lot of practice in, I was able to maintain my balance and not eat the floor. I think these pallets had it out for me.

The rest of the day went off with no further incident.

Thanks to Jim and Karen for the donation. I am off and running now.

Revelation

2009-10-28T19:08:00.002-05:00

This is not a revelation in its purest sense, but it was a moment of clarity.

As most of you know I manage a warehouse. With that comes the joy of managing hourly laborers. It seems that most of these people lack a certain amount of work ethic and like to blame "the man" for all of their short comings. "The man" in this case is almost always the owner of the company. On several occasions I have tried to encourage the guys to work a little harder, pick up the pace, or put in a little more time. The response is always, "I'm not doing anything extra for him, (the a fore mentioned "the man" ie. owner of the company). "He doesn't do anything for me". Oye!

My revelation:

I do not work for "the man". Now I know that technically I go to work, follow the guidelines he has laid out for his company, and collect a pay check from him. So, yes I work for him. However, at the end of the day I do not really care whether or not my efforts have made his life better. Do not get me wrong, I both like and respect my employer. However, I only care that my efforts make sure my bosses business stays open and profitable, to ensure I have a job. I work solely for the betterment of myself and my family. In short, I work for me, and why in the world would I not put in a little extra effort for me? Why would I not put in extra effort for my family? Have you seen them? They are cute, cool and a lot of fun!

In summary:

Be selfish. Work hard for your self and reap the benefits.

On the other hand...

Did you know that you can cut your ear while shaving your head?
You can!

Thanks to my Dad for getting the ball rolling on my Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis fund raising efforts!

FYI: If you click the underlined blue words you too can help my efforts.

Hey, Whaddya Know...

2009-10-27T17:54:00.002-05:00

...It's raining!

I am going to look on the bright side of life. Due to the wind and rain the vast majority of our leaves are on the ground. I have only had to rake the yard 2.5 times this year and at the rate the leaves are coming down I only see 1.5 more times in my future. Granted, it will be very hard work, but it will be done.

I spent most of the day Sunday, 9:30 - 2:30 with a half hour lunch, raking. By Monday morning the was very little evidence of my efforts. Today, there is very little visual evidence of grass in our yard.

I should not complain about the leaves. They provide so much shade in the warmer months that we really save on air conditioning. I will just chalk it up to the pride of ownership.

Speaking of complaints, I do have one. I hate cleaning out the gutters. I know, who doesn't. However, in my case the leaves do make the gutter cleaning at my house a special kind of h-e-double hockey sticks. To make it even worse, my ladder broke last week while I was cleaning. Fortunately, I notice prior to it completely splitting in two and sending me through the window. Back to the bright side of life, I got to stop cleaning the gutters.

Have I mentioned that I am running in the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis? Throw me a bone (or donation) people!

One of Those Days

2009-10-26T17:26:00.002-05:00

Do you ever have one of those days where you have really been looking forward to something but when the time comes you just can't seem to get excited for it?

Well that happened to me on Saturday before of all things a race. Now just so you understand, I am usually so worked up the night before a race that I can barely sleep. I go over it in my head countless times. When I finally try to sleep I stare at the clock as if I will be able to will the hours away. Once I am up I am pacing the downstairs and trying to hustle everyone out of the house. If I had it my way I would get to the race an hour early.

That was not the case this past weekend. I slept like a baby. Milled around the house in the morning convincing myself that 5 more minutes would not hurt. Once I got there I just did not feel any excitement. I told myself that once I started warming up I would be fine. It must the cool temps that were dampening my spirits. Nope, still did not really care. Surely after the race began my competitive fire would rise and I would be good to go. Yep, that was the ticket.

The gun sounded and I was off. Unfortunately after mile 2.25 I did not care, again. I slowed down and jogged it in the rest of the way. Up to that point I had been running at a personal best pace. That fact was not enough to keep me going. I crossed the line at 21:15. A decent time, but a far cry from the time I had hoped to post.

I am not sure what happened to me Saturday morning, but I hope that does not happen again any time soon. I have been grumpy and kicking myself for two days now. Thank goodness that I am not a world class Olympic athlete. If I had spent years getting ready for an event and then flop like I did on Saturday...Oye!

Hey, since I have your attention, do not forget the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis.

Superman Returns

2009-10-24T11:06:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the severe lack of action on the NO Worries Blog. I have been on the run, literally, a lot this spring/summer and now into fall. I am going to take a que from my training for running and keep this short. Don't want to pull a finger trying to type too much on my first post back.

I am returning for the 2009 Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis. Last year you guys were a huge support. Your kindness and generosity helped me rise to the number 2 spot for individual fund raisers. I am calling on your spirit of giving once more. On my end, I am going to try and match last years second place fund raising finish with a top three finish in the race for my age group this year.

In this case green is not my kryptonite. It is my source of power...Let me have it!

I will keep a link on my blog page to my donation page for the run. I just may mention it a time or two as well.

Thanks!

On Your Mark, Get Set...

2009-07-09T19:11:00.011-05:00

Go!

The Robinson Family Forth of July felt like one big race, and a good one at that. It began on the 3rd with fireworks in Morton with Mom and Dad Robinson. We have been heading over there for fireworks for the last several years. We had some great dessert, snacks, and a few drinks. Then we moved out to their driveway for the pre-show festivities...Nora and Nigel working the sparklers, or sprinklers as Nigel calls them. The show was nice and we did not have to deal with all the crowds. The night ended with Nora and Nigel staying with Grandma and Grandpa Robinson for a sleepover.

The next morning came early. It was the morning of the Peoria Firecracker 5000. Both Robin and I were running the race. For her it was her first and I was going for a personal record. Needless to say we both had some nerves working. Robin and I got there around 7:00 a.m. and the kids showed up shortly there after with my parents. During our warm-up the rain began to fall, it was going to be a damp run. Since Robin and I had very different goals we lined up in different areas for the start. I eased toward the front and Robin towards the back. The gun signaled the start of the race and a slow but steady increase in rain. By the end there was a solid rain falling and we were totally soaked.
I ran a pretty good race and finished with a time of 20:56. I was hoping to break the 20 min barrier, but I think I expended too much energy trying to get clear of slower runners. Still I cannot complain as my time was good enough for 2nd place in the 36-40 age division, and 49th overall out of 506 runners. My favorite post race comment came from my Mom. I had talked about the race and my goal so she knew what I was gunning for. When I found them after the run she greeted me with, "What happened?", instead of good job or congrats. Thanks Mom!

Robin ran a great race. This was her first race and has only been running for 12 weeks. Her goal was to finish the run strong and finish around 36 minutes. She did both. She ran in 36:28 and had a very strong finishing kick. I am VERY proud of her, and very excited that she was talking about her next race the following day.

Well as I mentioned we were having a soggy start to the Forth. The rain was set to clear out by 1 that afternoon. It did not. Eureka was forced to postpone their celebration activities to the following day. I cannot say I was disappointed. Robin and I were both a bit tired and could use the rest as the next day was going to be packed.

On Sunday the 5th the Forth of July was back on. Eureka's parade had been rescheduled for 4 p.m. We were part of a float for our church. Due to a lack of time and resources our float was a pickup truck, fringe, posterboard, and kids throwing candy. We mainly wanted to have a presence for the church and advertise our VBS. Goal accomplished and the kids had a blast. I think the highlight of the parade was the dune buggy that was in front of us. I am pretty sure regular maintenance had not been performed on said buggy as it continually stalled. In order to get it going it required a push start. Guess who provided the push. Me. It puttered out a total of 6 times during the parade. After the 6th I politely suggested that the driver did not make the turn with the rest of us and instead go straight and off the route. The rest of the parade went off without a hitch..unless you call running out a candy a hitch.

That night called for more fireworks. Unfortunately I get up too early for work on Mondays and did not think I would be able to stay up that late. I was right. I fell asleep in the chair prior to the start. Fortunately the kids were a bit tired as well and saw a good show two nights earlier. Also, you could hear them and catch a glimpse of them from our house.

All in all it was a good but long weekend...kinda like this post. Hope all is well.

Cheers

Here It Is Sports Fans

2009-06-25T18:17:00.010-05:00

Saturday the 20th was a very special day for Nora and I. That was the day she and I participated in the Eureka College Father/Child basketball clinic. The clinic was run by the men's head basketball coach with the help from 4 current players and 1 former that is coming back as an assistant coach. They did an outstanding job. All of the players were patient and considerate of all the children and their various skill levels. They had their work was cut out for them as the kids ranged in age from entering 1st-6th grade.

The head coach ran us through a good warm-up and stretching routine prior to doing any activity. That was followed by good, well explained ball handling skills. They were drills that showed the kids how to get a good feel for the ball, how to use your fingers, not your palms, and focusing on using both hands.

After the ball handling we moved to four different shooting stations. They taught the kids the Mikan drill, lay-up drill, free throws, and a station with the gun. More on the gun later. For Nora and other younger kids they had a 7 ft hoop set up for them to shoot. Nora was a bit hesitant at first because she does not like being put on the spot. After a little calming down she was fine and joined in the fun.

Nora shooting a lay-up.

Giving Nora some pre-free throw advice.

The form may need some work, but the shot was GOOD!

Taking a pass from Nora and putting up a shot.

The above picture was from the a fore mentioned gun drill. The gun is a machine with a tall net up and around the hoop that rebounds the shot and passes the ball back to you. It teaches you how to catch and shoot and put arch on your shot. Since the small kids would not be able to get the ball high enough they had the kids catch the ball from the gun and pass the ball to the Dads for the shot.

After the shooting drills it was time for the Father/Child game. It was actually the kids against the dads. One of the college players acted as the full-time point guard for the kids. We had a blast. The kids won 39-18.

A little in game action.

All in all the day was a huge success. Nora had fun and is looking forward to next year.

Nigel getting ready for next year.

What a Weekend

2009-06-23T18:34:00.002-05:00

I am not going to tell you a thing about all the good stuff that happened this past weekend except that the Father/Child basketball clinic was great. However, I am going to tell you about the hectic start to my week which actually began this weekend.

Saturday evening I received a phone call from the owner of my company around 11 p.m. He never calls me just to chat, so, I was pretty sure he was not making a social call. We were experiencing major failure with several of our freezer components. The service company was there and working to get things back up and running. The battle raged on until 3 in the morning. Temporary fixes were made and the big work would be done on Monday.

When I got into work Monday we started digging into the guts of the compressors and evaporators. We found several issues, many of which should have been caught during preventative maintenance rounds that were preformed by the service company. (They are in the process of trying to cover their very exposed butts.) I have spent the better part of the last two days going in and out of the extreme cold of the freezers to the blistering heat of a Central Illinois summer (93 today). I have learned a bit more about the various parts that run our freezers. Not enough to ever really fix anything, but enough to know how to keep some of the items in better working order.

I know I promised info and pics from the clinic. Unfortunately I do not have the pictures uploaded yet. The story needs the pics.

Until tomorrow.

Cheers.

It Was A Wet Day

2009-06-19T04:27:00.002-05:00

We had some pretty serious storms come through the area yesterday. They started as I was on my way into work around 4:45 a.m. I was treated to one impressive light show as I was driving. It sprinkled a bit but did not let loose until I made it into the building. When it let loose, boy did it come down. In fact it rained so hard that it overwhelmed the gutters on the warehouse. Water backed up under the flashing and was pouring into the building in buckets. One of my employees spent over an hour and a half moving pallets and mopping and sucking up water. Fortunately the storm was short lived and the amount of rain that came down was pretty unusual.

The water was too much for our gutters at home as well. We had a wet basement. There were a few boxes of stuff down there that we were either going to donate, get rid of, or find a better place to keep. They were just down on our priority list. The water moved them to the top. Robin did all of the moving of stuff while I was at work. When I got home I took over and cleaned up the remaining water. On the bright side, the basement floor is mopped.

Robin and I are looking forward to a few dry days. Oh bummer...it is supposed to rain Friday. Yay! I think the weekend looks good.

Cheers

I Blew It

2009-06-16T18:41:00.002-05:00

This actually happened a while ago. I missed sign-ups for baseball this year. Nora will not be taking the field. In my defense, Eureka does not have a park district. So, if you do not know the individual people running the league it is hard to get any info. By the time I was able to track the right guy down it was too late. Nora made the waiting list. So far no luck. She is taking it in stride and says she'll be ready for next year.

Instead, we are filling the summer with other activities. As I sit and type Nora and Robin are at the library participating in sit 'n' stitch. People get together, chat, knit and crochet. She has also been taking part in 4H and loving it. As for a sporting activity on Saturday Nora and I will be taking part in the Eureka College Father/Child basketball clinic. It is open to kids (and their Dads) entering 1st - 4th grade. At the end of the clinic there will be a Father/Child game. I am so going to dominate those little rug rats. I will own the low post! Nora and I are very excited. There will be pictures.

Robin and I both ran tonight and enjoyed perhaps one of the few remaining cool days. Tomorrow is going to be 88 and humid. Not good. You all need to have an extra glass of water for me.

Cheers

Dodged a Bullet

2009-06-15T19:18:00.002-05:00

I had a close call at work today. It requires a bit of a back story so bare with me.

It all stemmed from a cooler door being damaged by my night crew at work. One of the guys ran into the door as it was closing with his fork lift. The resulting damage was significant and would require replacing parts, not just getting the door back in shape with "gentle" persuasion. I looked over the door and thought we would be able to get away with just replacing one section of the door.

I called the manufacturer of the door, explained my situation, gave measurements of the damaged section, and asked if we could replace the damaged part. The man on the other end of the phone said, "oh, a door leaf. Yes we can do that".

(Side note: the word "leaf" denotes section, right?)

So I ordered my EXPENSIVE door leaf and patiently awaited its arrival.
Today was the day. My leaf arrived. My 8' x 10' leaf. I was not shocked. I was petrified. What had I done? I quickly called the manufacturer again and asked why my "leaf" was so big. Turns out, a leaf is the whole door. I missed the measurement detail in the quote.

This could have been a huge problem for me. Fortunately, it was the only option we had. We could not replace only the one section, the entire door had to be ordered. We were not expecting the door, but it does make the price of the leaf easier to swallow.

Long story short...sweat the details.

Cheers

Trying to get back into the swing of things.

2009-06-14T08:12:00.002-05:00

I have been keeping myself pretty busy these days. So busy in fact, that I have completely neglected my blog. I have spent most of my afternoons and weekends running in preparation for the Firecracker 5000. It is a 5k race on the Fourth of July on the Riverefront in Peoria. I am hoping to take home another award for a top 3 finish in my age group. Stay tuned. That, however, is not why I am so excited about the run.

For years Robin has kept up the mantra, "why run if no one is chasing you?" Well, I guess after a year of watching me she decided to see what all the fuss is about. A little over a month ago Robin went out for her first run. Since then she has purchased quality running shoes, excellent running attire, created a run playlist on our sansa, and signed up to run in the Firecracker with me. I think she has been bitten by the running bug just like me. I gotta say I am very proud of her and myself for making a convert.

On the home front we are making slow and moderately steady progress on the kitchen. We have all the cabinets repainted and new hardware. A few of the doors need to be planed down a bit in order to close properly. The wall paper is mostly stripped and the ceiling is cleaned for painting. Now we have to patch holes in the walls and ceiling, paint the ceiling and hang the new wallpaper. Once that is down we will tackle the floor and counter tops. We should have it all wrapped up by 2010.

In entertainment news the no satellite experiment is gong great. The kids do not miss the extra shows at all. They spend way more time playing together and spend more time outside. Most importantly we are not hearing the phrase, "I want that", after every toy commercial. Thanks to the website hulu and our computer we get to watch most of the shows we watched with satellite with the added bonus of limited commercials. This is the way to go for sure!

Nora is enjoying her summer off after first grade, and Nigel is enjoying his summer before the start of kindergarten. Nora had great final marks. She exceeded expectations in reading, writing and math. That's our girl. Nigel can read, draws very well and is very well prepared for school...thanks to big sis.

That is life here in a nutshell. I will try to keep you more up to date with our summer adventure.

Cheers

I Stand Corrected

2009-04-21T19:32:00.002-05:00

Thank you to Adrian for pointing out my error. Yesterday I complimented Pixar for an other fine children's movie that adults could get behind. Well it turns out Dreamworks made Monsters vs Aliens, not Pixar. When Adrian pointed that out I suddenly remembered the little guy fishing on the crescent moon (the Dreamworks logo) being abducted by an alien ship. Good save Adrian.

Cheers

Daddy, Daughter, Son-day

2009-04-20T18:46:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend the day with the Nora and Nigel. Robin had some work to catch up on and a meeting at church. She is on the search committee for our new minister. Anyway, that left Nora, Nigel and I on our own on a rainy day.

So, I decided to surprise them with a movie. What better than Monsters vs. Aliens 3D! Don't tell the kids, but I wanted to see it just as much as they did. They have come a long way with the 3D technology. The first 3D movies I remember were nothing more that a publicity stunt to get you to go see a bad movie. That has changed. The images have depth and really leap off the screen. If you ask Nigel, they leap off a bit too much. The preview for Night at the Museum 2 put Nigel in my lap. The dinosaur was trying to get him! Back to Monsters vs. Aliens. The story was great and the 3D effects were brilliant. We all had a good time and really enjoyed the film. Pixar does a nice job entertaining the kids and giving the adults some humor they can get behind. All in all, we three kids had a good time!

Cheers

Mission Accomplished

2009-04-18T11:36:00.004-05:00

As you know last year I began running. The initial goal was to get in good enough shape to be able to run and finish the Morton Pumpkin Festival 10k. While training to do that run I entered a few 5k races and had good success. At that point my competitive nature began to take hold. I continued to push myself in subsequent runs and was nearing a level that would allow me to place in my age group. With that in mind I set a goal to place in a race this year.

I plotted out the races that I planned to enter this year, and scoped out the competition. I figured out that I would have to maintain a 7:15/mile pace to be able to crack the top 3 in my age range. I have run that fast for a mile or two, but never for an entire 5k or 4 mile run.

Enter todays Eureka Run with Your Heart 4 mile run. They were giving out medals to the top 5 in each age group, so I pegged this as a golden opportunity. I lined up this morning with high hopes and an anticipated time of just under 30 minutes. Anyone have a guess as to what the guy in the picture below put up?

27:56.

I not only broke 30 minutes, but as you can clearly see I was sub 28 minutes for the 4 miles! The entire run I kept telling myself...DO NOT SLOW DOWN...YOU CAN MAINTAIN THIS...YOU WILL PLACE. At the 13 minute mark I reminded myself that I could do anything for 15 more minutes, or in this case 14:56. My time was good enough for third place in my age division and 24th overall. To say I am pleased with myself is an understatement.

I ROCK!!!

Cheers

Race Season Has Begun!

2009-04-13T18:24:00.002-05:00

This past Saturday I ran my first race of the year. It was held at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. They hosted a marathon, marathon relay, half marathon and 5k. Between 7-8 thousand people took place in the combined events. My friend Josh and I participated in the half marathon. What an experience! I loved every minute of it. The course was fantastic, and the community did a fabulous job getting out and supporting the runners. It was a good feeling having so many people shouting out encouragement and support as we ran down the streets.

The course was advertised to be flat and fast. I can attest to the flat bit, but am not too sure as to the fast part. Josh and I started out together and ran the first 7 or 8 miles together. Somewhere in that time frame I lost Josh. I kind of zoned out a bit and when I snapped back to reality Josh was no where to be found. So, from there on I carried on by myself just taking in the scenery and moment. At mile 10 I caught up to a old high school friend of mine who was running the full marathon. We chatted together for about half a mile until we half marathoners turned off to head to our finish. I was in for one amazing finish.

We were set to finish at the 50 yard line of Memorial Stadium. That in itself sounds great, actually doing it is hard to describe. We approached the stadium and ran along the exterior of it for about .1 miles before doubling back and heading to the field entrance. We turned and ran down the tunnel and emerged on the field to the sounds of cheering fans and supporters. Once on the field we ran along the back of the end zone until we reached the sideline. From there we turned up-field, ran the length of the field to the opposite endzone, turned and ran along the back of that endzone until we reached its midpoint. At that moment we turned and ran up the middle of the field to the finish at the 50 yard line. The jumbo tron was on capturing all the runners as we crossed the line. It was incredible. When I hit the stadium I was so pumped up and excited that I could not help but sprint the rest of the way. I crossed the finish with a time of 1:56:09. Not a bad time for a first half marathon. I hope to have some pictures soon to post.

Next weekend will be my second run of the year. I am running a much more modest distance of 4 miles, but with the lofty goal of placing in my age group. To do so, I am going to have to break 30 minutes. I think I have it in me.

Cheers

Going, going, gone.

2009-03-30T16:14:00.002-05:00

On April 10th we will be taking a big leap. That will be the final day we have Direct TV. No we are not replacing it with Dish Network, comcast, mediacom, or any other satellite or cable t.v. service. We are going old school (sort of) and will have only broadcast t.v. and what we can get through Netflix and the computer. Now before any of you feel too sorry for us you must realize we can get about 90% of the shows we watch from the three mentioned sources. The only difference will be not being able to watch the shows the night they air (most networks air their shows in their entirety via their website the following day) and no ESPN for me. The first issue is no issue at all as we have Tivo and rarely watch shows on the night they first air anyway. I will ease my ESPN addiction through checking scores on the internet and listening to ESPN radio.

Why are we doing this? Saving $700 a year is a pretty good reason in itself. Do you know how much beer I could brew with $700? Money, however, was not the reason. As more and more companies tell us how we "need" to have this and "need" to be connected to that we began to feel push around. So, we are pushing back. We do not need cable. We do not need a cell phone plan with unlimited minutes and texting. We do not need most of the "wants" that society has deemed to be "needs". So, we are pushing back starting with Direct TV and then in June giving Verizon Wireless the heave hoe.

There is yet another bonus to losing the satellite tv. No commercials and complete control over what the kids watch. We are very tired of the constant bombardment of material things toward the kids. All kid shows these days seem to be nothing more than filler between commercials for new toys. Nora and Nigel want 50 new things a day. Gotta stop.

The timing cannot be better. Summer and its busy schedule is quickly approaching and I cannot think of a better time to make a clean break. Stay tuned to see how it goes.

Cheers

Whew!

2009-03-29T07:16:00.002-05:00

It is over. As some of you may remember from last year my company must go through a yearly inspection to ensure that we are meeting all of the proper food handling requirements. I am responsible for making sure the facility and now trailers (apparently that is out of the transportation managers skill set) are free of pests, holding proper temps, doors sealed, and generally neat and clean. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get an entire warehouse ready for this type of inspection with the help of essentially one other person? Hard, but I have no choice. If I do not get a certain score we must go through this inspection again in 3mths. Not gonna happen on my watch. We, I mean I, scored a 97%...see ya next year EcoSure! Now I can get back to focusing on the more important things in life like my blog!

So, what's new you may ask? Well, I am currently in training for a 1/2 marathon on April 11th. It is being held at the U of I in Champaign/Urbana. I have added a link to the event web site if anyone is interested in checking out the course and all that is planned for the race. This is going to be my longest run to date. My friend Josh and I have been training together since late Jan early Feb. Even before we started training for this event I had been maintaining my running through the winter. Running in snow, ice, sleet and single digit temps is different. It is amazing how warm you can stay with the winter running gear they make now. That being said, I am looking forward to sun and 60's and 70's.

The following weekend we are running in a charity race here in Eureka. It is a 4 mile run to benefit the Hearthouse, a shelter for domestic abuse victims. I have run 4 miles in times good enough to place in my age division, so I am pretty excited to see what I can do in this race. My recovery from the 1/2 is going to be a big factor. Wish me luck.

Now that my inspection is over I hope to be a bit more regular on the updates.

Cheers

Disaster

2009-03-22T16:22:00.002-05:00

I knew this day would come, but I thought I had at least 18 more years. Nora likes boys. As you can imagine I am in a state of shock and fear. How did this come about you may ask? Well, gather 'round as I spin a tale of young love.

It was a Wednesday. Not unlike any other Wednesday, so how was I to know I was in for a life changing revelation. Work was progressing well. We are in the midst of getting ready for our annual inspection, and I was working diligently when I got a call from my Dad. He and my Mom wanted to treat us to dinner at a local restaurant...sounded great to me. Nothing works up an appetite like scrubbing, well, everything. (By the way Mom and Dad, I am ready and willing any night!) After a phone call home to Robin to check our ever changing social calender I found that we had two conflicts. One was Robin's choir practice and the other was a play date for Nora with one of her classmates, Calahan (boy name? girl name? These days who knows?) Dinner with Mom and Dad would have to wait.

Once I got home the evening went on as most Wednesday evenings do, with the exception that Nora was not home. I asked Robin about Nora's friend, Calahan, and that is when I found out when Calahan was a boy. My mind was racing. Who is this boy? Who does he think he is inviting my daughter to his home? What are his intentions? Am I freaking out WAY ahead of schedule? I stewed for the next few hours while waiting for her to come home.

Once she came home I wanted to give her the third degree, but I did not want to tip her off to my paranoia. So, instead I asked the basic questions...What did you guys do? What did you have for dinner? Did you have fun? None of the answers were out of the ordinary. My fears were beginning to subside. Then it all went horribly wrong. Nora told me that Calahan was the sweetest boy in her class. I jokingly said, "Nora's got a boyfriend". Big mistake. As they say, "Let sleeping dogs lay. If it ain't broke, don't fix it", and several other cliches. I was fully expecting her to say "ewww", or "Dad, you are silly", or "gross!" She offered none of those reassuring retorts. Instead, she giggled and smiled. GIGGLED and SMILED!

What is that? My world is in turmoil. This cannot be happening. Boys have cooties until at least age 25. How am I to handle this startling revelation? Well, like many great men before me, I pretended nothing happened at all. Let me repeat...Nothing happened at all!

I am off.

Cheers

Words of Wisdom

2009-03-04T07:42:00.002-06:00

"A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, the slowest and weakest ones are killed first. This is good for the herd, because the health of the group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Exessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest cells first. That's why you always fell smarter after a few beers." -Cliff Claven

Cheers,

Chris

Found It

2009-01-27T04:35:00.003-06:00

I have spent the last month, in fact this entire year looking for my blog. Every time I thought I getting close to tracking it down, poof, the trail went cold. Upon opening up my computer this morning, much to my surprise, there it was. How could I resist, I had to post an entry. A lot has happened since I last wrote.

The year ended. For the first time in several years the Robinson family actually rang in the New Year. Several factors prevented us from celebrating in We got together with some friends for dinner, drinks and Wii. Yes, we got our first taste of the Wii. It is a blast. If you let yourself get into it you can really get a workout playing. Just make sure your kids are out of range or you may pop them in the head.

Last Feb for Valentines Day, Robin and I took a weekend trip to the Chicago area. Part of the weekend was a shopping trip to Ikea where we picked out new family room furniture. Long story short, it would not all fit in BaRT (Big Red Truck), so we decided to leave the chair we wanted and run up some weekend to pick it up. Well that weekend finally rolled around two weeks ago. Robin and I went up on a Saturday morning, picked up our recliner and were home by 3:30pm. Did you know that you could get scrambled eggs, bacon and breakfast taters at Ikea for $.99? I love Ikea!

I finally brewed the much talked about Vanilla Porter and for good measure I have added a Honey Wheat and Saison (farmhouse style ale) to my at home inventory. I have sampled the Vanilla porter...it is not quite ready yet, but it is yummy. It should be ready for the big game. The Honey will be ready the following weekend and the Saison is about a month away.

Robin has been knitting up a storm. She really enjoys the hobby. Her most recent completed project was a pair of socks for Nora. They are very warm and fuzzy and Nora loves them. Robin has also become very active at our church. She sings in the choir, extremely well if I do say so myself, acts as the wedding coordinator, and has recently joined a small group committee. We really like our church and the people there, so it has been easy to be involved.

Nora and Nigel are fantastic. We are preparing for Nora's 7th birthday on Feb 5th. We will celebrate it on the 7th with a bowling birthday party. Nigel is becoming well versed in the ways of the Force these days. He has been playing Star Wars everyday for about a week and a half. His favorite guy is Darth Vader. I knew that one had a dark side. Nora is still enjoying school and doing very well. The teachers are really impressed with her creativity and how well she gets along with all her classmates. Nigel is ready for kindergarten. Robin and I are not. Where is the pause button?

The running has started again in earnest. I am training for a half marathon on April 11th at the U of I. I am amazed at the clothes available for cold weather running. My running partner, Josh, and I went for a run on Sunday in 10 degrees and were very comfortable. Our beards froze, but the rest of us was quite warm.

That is enough for now. I have left a trail of crumbs as to not lose my blog again. Until next time....

Cheers

Which is more appropriate?

2008-12-29T17:14:00.002-06:00

Homebrewing with Dad...

or...
Making her first Easy Bake cake?

The one thing I can tell you, and I have first hand experience, both rock. Nora has been my assistant in the brewing process several times. Now, thanks to Santa, I have had the opportunity to be her assistant baking a cake. On Friday, Nora made her first yellow cake with chocolate frosting. The cake was great and the chef and I had a blast making it. Being the good big sister that she is, she allowed Nigel to lick out the bowl. I am sure there will be many sweet treats to come.

Cheers.

Boys Have Cooties.

2008-12-14T08:09:00.007-06:00

That is my story and I am sticking to it.

Yesterday Nora went to a day of beauty for one of her classmates birthday. It was held at a local saloon. (Hey, it's a small town...we gotta multi-task. Either that or I cannot spell.) The girls all had their toe and finger nails done and their hair styled. All the attendees had an absolute blast.

This is why ALL boys have cooties:

Check the nails:

In less unsettling news:

I finally brewed again. Yesterday's batch was the long awaited vanilla porter. This morning, I am happy to report, it was bubbling away. The little yeasties were eating up the sugar, making alcohol and releasing carbon dioxide. It will be a test of my patience on this brew as I have been looking forward to making it for about a year. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Cheers.

I haven't done this for a while...

2008-12-10T04:42:00.009-06:00

...So bare with me while I get my typing legs back.

We have been on a nice little run since my last post. I'll break it into categories for you.

Family:

We hosted Thanksgiving with Robins family, my parents went East to be with Brett, Jori and the boys. We had turkey, ham and all the trimmings. Robin cooked one heck of a good bird, Robins sisters and mom brought great sides and desserts, as usual, and we all ate well. 21 of us in all. The kids had a wonderful time playing and running around in our newly remodeled front room (more on that later). On a down note, Nigel caught a doozy of a cold and infected many of us including Robin and I.

On the Friday after Turkey day I went to the store and picked up the family Christmas tree. We spent the day on Saturday decorating it and the house. You know the house just feels better when it is decorated for Christmas.

On Dec 6th we went to a good friends house for their annual Christmas dinner. Their were 5 couples there and 9 kids. When this group gets together I am not sure who is louder, the grown up kids or the, well, other kids. We had great food, great conversation, and a great time. Life is good.

Running:

My last post mentioned the Turkey Trot. It was a 4 mile run with a monster hill. Doesn't sound all that appealing to most, but I had a blast. What a great way to spend my birthday. Two weeks later, on the 6th, was the Jingle Bell 5K for arthritis. It was the biggest run, attendance wise, that I have been in to date. They had a costume contest, food, fun and games for kids, music and all to raise money for arthritis.
Prior to the run I had been in touch with a friend from high school, Shelley, that was going to run as well. We had not seen each other since high school. We were able to find each other prior to the start and chat a bit. Shelley runs a bit slower than I like, so I took off after running with her for about a 1/4 mile and then waited for her at the end. She, her husband Ryan, who I went to school with as well, I were able to catch up after the run. I met her two little boys and had a nice chat. The day was a great success.
My time was a respectable 24:14, good enough for 129th place out of 614. Most importantly, however, were results of my fund raising efforts. Thanks to those who generously contributed through me, I was able to raise $670, and come in as the #2 overall individual fundraiser. That's right...I got a trophy. It has inspired me to participate in the event next year, and put together a team for the run and the fund raising. Shelley is going to help me out as well and we are going to kick some arthritic butt.

This was definitely my last race of the year. I am going to continue running though the winter to stay in good condition and get ready for next season. I have set a goal to place in the top three for my age group in at least one race. That is a hefty goal as my age (35-39) is one of the most competitive out there.

The Room:

As promised here are pictures of the finished project.

Robin should be proud of herself, I know I am.

Cheers

Turkey Trot Down...

2008-11-24T18:43:00.004-06:00

...Jingle Bell to go.

On Sunday I ran in the 38th annual Peoria Turkey Trot at Detweiller Park. I finished 5th in my age group and 56th overall with a time of 30:05. This was a 4 mile run whose course had a one mile climb and a one mile run on turf. I did not have a lot of experience running on either hills or turf going in and it cost me. In fact, the little training I did do on hills here in town actually caused me to injure myself (upper quad strain on my right leg) which I then aggravated halfway up the hill in the race. The injury forced me to walk for about .5 mile, and I had trouble getting a good stride going on the turf. All in all I cannot complain at all about my overall performance...5th isn't too shabby.

Nigel and I stretching.

Coming through the trees to the home stretch.

Next up is going to be my last race for the year, the Jingle Bell run for arthritis. It is a 5K fund raising race for arthritis. I would like to thank everyone who has helped out by contributing to the cause through me. I have two weeks until the race and would love some more help...so, if you can and are interested please click here.
I also have a link to my donation page to the right on my blog.

Cheers

Another Day...

2008-11-20T17:48:00.002-06:00

...another gem. God I love my co-workers. They say the darndest things.

We were discussing the counting of inventory, and use of calculators when one of the night "supervisors" said this..."I don't use a calculator. My head is more accurate". When I questioned this logic he defended his position by stating that calculators are made by humans and therefore have human error built into them. Let's ponder this for a moment.

Human error built into them.

His head is more accurate.

Is he not human?

Did I mention he miscounted one item by 113 and came up with 6x7=35. Can you even imagine how far off those numbers would have been had he used a calculator?

I could write a book on all the wonderful things he says on a weekly, if not daily, basis. However, it would get a bit tiresome and I think some of you may think he needs a helmet. Instead, I will share a few from time to time for a bit of humor.

I am pretty excited about tomorrow. I get to go have lunch with an old friend from high school, who I have not seen in about 15 years. Very exciting. Then the Robinson family is having dinner with the Yoder's at their home. What a good day! Perhaps I shall go to sleep now to make the day come faster.

Cheers

The Second Stupidest Thing I Have Ever Heard

2008-11-19T18:45:00.003-06:00

A while ago I shared a story about a conversation that rattled around in my head, and drove me absolutely crazy. Click here for a refresher. Well, I have a new one. It is more of a statement than it is a story, but it rattles just the same.

One of the policies that we have at work is that all of our drivers must call in every morning and report on their status. It is therefore very common that I field calls from a driver or two. Today was no exception. The following is a direct quote from one of this mornings calls. "Somehow a sign got caught under my truck, and I have been dragging it down the road." Somehow!?!? I have an idea, do you?

News flash:

Date line Central Illinois. Reports are flying in across the region of suicidal road signs. Apparently signs, feeling unappreciated due to drivers total disregard of them and their message, are hurling themselves in front of oncoming traffic. One startled driver commented, "All I know is suddenly I heard a weird scraping and grinding noise".

Seriously! Somehow a sign got caught under your truck, really?

Four days until my Turkey Trot and two and a half weeks until the Jingle Bell run for arthritis. Don't forget to check out my web site...I would really love your help.

Superman runs for arthritis.

Cheers

Brotherhood of the Traveling (under)Pants

2008-11-13T17:12:00.003-06:00

Todays run brought more hills and with that more traveling underpants. I did make an interesting observation, however. My drawers seemed to go the same direction as the hill. Up the hill, up the...well you get the idea. Unfortunately I ended my run with an uphill climb. My warm down was not comfortable.

A little over one week to go until my next race. On Nov 23rd I am running in the Peoria Park Dist Turkey Trot. It is a four mile run and includes a pretty sizable hill, thus the hill training. I am pretty excited about this race as it to be my first cold weather run. Fortunately I have had some practice lately in the cold. Maybe I will go extreme and start training in the freezer at work.

Tomorrow is a pretty big day for Nora. Her class is having their reading celebration. They get to have this special day because they have read over 500 take home books since the school year began. All the kids get to go to school in their pjs, bring their favorite stuffed animal, and spend the day reading. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

That's all folks!

Twelve And Counting....

2008-11-12T19:36:00.002-06:00

...I hope.

I am thrilled that I have had 12 consecutive posts with a comment. They are mostly from from my parents and MIL, but hey, most of my readers are family. So, no need to split hairs, right? Keep 'em coming, please.

Did anyone catch my implied Larry King tone from the last post? I was going for completely random, unconnected thoughts with absolutely no segue. Who better to channel than the "King"?

I am currently watching an episode of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery channel. It revolves around the removal of abandoned mobile homes. It is both hilarious and frightening at the same time. It can best be described as one long 12 year old boys joke. The episode title is mannequin factory. Check it out if you find it in re-runs.

We had our very first parent-teacher conference on Monday. I was a very proud parent before, but now...wow! My Nora is the best!!! She is right on line with her reading and math and has very good handwriting. The thing that made me the happiest was the teachers comment about her creativity. The teacher cannot wait to see the creative twists Nora will add to their projects. She is a very creative little girl and is not afraid to do her own thing. Socially she has no issues. She loves her classmates and they love her.

We are nearing the end of our room re-model. It looks like a room. Yahoo!

Cheers

I Don't Wanna Jinx Myself, But....

2008-11-08T18:32:00.005-06:00

....I have had eleven consecutive blogs with at least one comment. Do you have any idea how happy this make me? I am so very proud of you, my loyal Chrisophiles, for reading my blog and taking the time to leave the occasional comment. Let's keep it rolling.

Observations:

Michigan Won! That was not a typo. Michigan Won! They beat Minnesota today 29-6, and maintained possession of the Little Brown Jug. Click here for a little history.

I have found the answer to a question posed in a Saturday Night Live spoof commercial. In said commercial they were advertising a new food product. It was all flash, no substance and never named the food. When asked what this wonderful food was they would just answer, "It's not yogurt". Wanna know what it is? It's Gogurt. There are no live cultures, a bunch of unpronounceable items, a healthy dose of high fructose corn syrup and more sugar than a can of Coke. Nope, it's not yogurt.

Dose any one still have a rotary phone? Better yet, remember the first "touch tone" phones. You know the ones where you would push the button and then hear the click, click,, clicking of the number dialing. Those were awesome.

When and why did conveniences become necessities? The particular one that is driving me up the wall is the leaf blower. I gave one of these modern wonders a whirl on Wednesday. It took me 15 minutes to clear a space that took me under 5 minutes with a good ole rake. Do not get me started on the fact that it cannot clear thick layers of leaves and the fact that once you get the leaves air borne the wind tends to deposit them wherever it sees fit. I did find one use. They are so loud that you cannot even hear yourself think, which as bizarre as my thoughts tend to be....

Michigan 29 Minnesota 6 Still awesome!

Home remodeling is fun again. Nora and Nigel are both old enough now that Robin and I can get in a few mostly uninterrupted hours of work. Makes a huge difference. We, and by we I me mostly she, have been fixing our front room.

Before:

Pretty wallpaper

Even better walls underneath.

After:

Give us a day or two more...we are not quite done.

Anyone know what time it is?

Yeah, you know.

Cheers!

Glutton For Punishment

2008-11-06T18:36:00.003-06:00

Apparently I enjoy pain and discomfort. I went for my afternoon run today and decided I wanted to do a little hill work. A big advantage of hill training is that it allows you to simultaneously work on aerobic, anaerobic, and muscular fitness. My upcoming race has a pretty sizable hill toward the finish and I want to be prepared for it. Also, I like the change of pace. Anyway, back to my run. When I hit these hills it was not enough for me to just maintain my pace. No, I had to pick up the pace, and I do not mean going from a gentle jog to a nice run. No, I needed to jump up to my finish the race kick. What is wrong with me. My hammys, calves and glutes are going to be killing me tomorrow. You know what the kicker in this whole ordeal was? My drawers were not cooperating. They were traveling uphill just as I was...if you get my drift. Do you have any idea how hard it is to maintain your pace and stride while trying to get your drawers to travel back downhill? Not to mention how silly you look to those around you.

Now for something completely different...

I have declared tomorrow and every subsequent Friday to be Superhero Friday. From this time forward I shall don a superhero t-shirt for work. Last Friday was the Green Lantern and tomorrow shall be Superman.

Martini time

Cheers

Nora's Big Game

2008-11-03T18:29:00.006-06:00

This past Saturday was a very big day for Nora and I. Before I get into why it was such a big day I will give a little back story for those of you who may need to be brought up to speed.

A few years ago my Dad and I began a tour of the Big Ten in an attempt to watch Michigan play in all the different stadiums. We have been to several and have really enjoyed seeing the campuses. This year we were to attend the Penn St game and the Purdue game. We made the Penn St game with Brett. That was a ton of driving in a weekend, but worth every second. Their stadium is amazing and the fans were really into the game. We were in the upper deck and when the fans started jumping the the whole structure would bounce and pulsate. It was awesome.

This past weekend Dad and I were supposed to take in the Purdue game. Unfortunately for him he came down with a horrible cold and was not able to go. Fortunately Nora was willing to step in and take his place. That's right, I got to take Nora to her first Michigan football game. She and I were all decked out in our Michigan jersey's and Michigan hats and ready for a great game. We had a nice drive over in the morning. We got there just in time to see the Purdue marching band parade into the stadium. She really enjoyed that. Once in the stadium she really enjoyed seeing all the fans there and being all caught up in the excitement. I had a great time watching her take it all in and explain various aspects of the game to her.

My favorite was on the occasion of Purdue's first punt to Michigan. I explained that Purdue did not move the ball far enough and would have to kick the ball to Michigan. Nora then said, "Oh, then our guy has to catch it and run for a touchdown, right?". I said that is the idea, but it rarely works out that way. Wouldn't you know...Michigan returned the punt for a touchdown. That touchdown put the Wolverines up 14-0. It was a very exciting start to the game. In the end Michigan did lose, but Nora and I had a great time, and that was the most important part to me.

Getting ready to go.

Here comes Purdue.

The Wolverines getting ready.

The halftime show was cool. Check out their big bass drum.

Go Blue!

Birds!

2008-10-28T18:25:00.003-05:00

Tuesday is here and I have finally recovered from the trail mix fiasco on Friday. It required two days of lunches chocked full of my mix to get me back on track, but I feel I am okay now.

With that said I have a new issue. My warehouse is no longer bird free. On Monday I was assaulted by the chirping of two swallows frolicking in the rafters. They flew around, playing happily, as I helplessly watched their antics. Have they no respect? Have they no idea the danger they face? Obviously not. Correction, one of them does.

This particular bird had the nerve to attempt buzzing the tower. It came flying down the middle of the aisle right at me at head level. I gave it the same treatment I gave the bat in my entry "I'm An Idiot", except replace the pillow with my coat. It only stunned it a bit and the bird was able to fly away. I think the message was sent. Today I did not hear or see either bird. Victory is mine! I know it is a false victory. It only means one of two things. One: The birds just did not come out into the main part of the warehouse, or B: There is a way in and out for them. However, at this moment it is all that I have.

Cheers

A Brave New World

2008-10-23T18:24:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is going to be a day filled with adventure and a sense of the unknown. I am heading down a path untrod in over a year. There is no telling the trials and tribulations that lie ahead, but I shall forge on bravely.

I am having lunch without my mixed nut/raisin/nutty banana chip snack. Stop laughing! This is a big deal. I have become a bit of a creature of habit and I am not sure how my body is going to handle the shock to its system. Robin told me that she hopes I make it through the day. Me too! But I can't be sure. I am many amazing things, but a soothsayer is not one of those things. In its stead I have put together a little combo of wheat thins, triscuits and raisins. A solid snack, no doubt, but I shall surely miss the sweet softness of the cashew, the rich taste of the brazil nut, the buttery flavor of the pecan, and the fresh nutty crunch of the peanut. Don't even get me started on the glories of the nutty banana chip.

Now I hope you all understand the perils I face in the great unknown that is tomorrows lunch. This is what it must have felt like for the crew of the Starship Enterprise as they prepared to boldly go where no man has gone before.

With that I say to you

Good night, but hopefully not goodbye!

Cheers

Freakin' Out Man

2008-10-22T19:06:00.002-05:00

I am under way too much stress these days. Due to the very cool networking site, Facebook, I have re-connected with several people from my past. This re-connection has brought new readers to the No Worries blog. With those new readers have come a few compliments on my humor and writing ability. Now I feel the pressure to perform, to have my "A" game on every time I plop down at the keyboard. As I type I am shaking with nerves...I'm freakin' out man. I am going to have ask for the patience of my Chrisophiles during this stressful time. My writings may be a bit off. Now onto todays thoughts.

I have had a few revelations about myself lately.

One:

The music I loved in my youth is now in the classic rock range. Janes Addiction and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, to name a couple, have albums that are 20 years old.

"B":

My language has changed. I told a truck driver that the "potty" was the first door around the corner on the right.

Furthermore:

I care even less what people think of me. Today I was rocking out Doug and Steve Butabi style to "Believe" by Cher for the world to see.

Last But Not Least:

I'm a hoot.

Cheers

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

2008-10-19T14:47:00.002-05:00

As some of you may know my Dad, brother Brett and I went to the Michigan-Penn St. game in Happy Valley this weekend. It did not end well for the Wolverines. However, we had a very good time. State College is a very cool town and Beaver stadium and the fans are unbelievable. As for the game itself, I have figured out a way we might have enjoyed it even more.

We Coulda...
left at halftime. Michigan was leading 17-14.

We Shoulda...
ignored any and all sports media for the next 24-48 hrs.

And then...

We Woulda...
enjoyed a much more pleasant outcome for Big Blue.

That is not how it played out. We witnessed the dismantling of Michigan at the hands of Penn St. We made our way out early in the 4th quarter with Michigan down 29-17. Before we had made it out of the stadium it was 36-17 and on the way to the 46-17 blow out that everyone anticipated.

Perhaps the Purdue game will yield a better result.

Cheers

Why I Don't Talk To People In The Office....

2008-10-14T17:06:00.002-05:00

...And other random rants.

As some of you may know about two weeks ago I had your standard, run-of-the-mill, head cold. Nothing that really slowed me down in terms of getting through the day, but did have me congested and sneezing a bit. When asked by people in my office if I was sick I said sure, but nothing major. Now two weeks later I am being blamed for every little ailment anyone in the office may have. Listen folks, I am not sure what you may have heard, but my head cold did not give you strep throat, cause your arthritis to flare up, or give your cat feline aids. Leave me alone!

Leaves. How is it that I am able to rake up a pile of leaves that appears to be enough to cover every inch of all the trees on our property, yet the trees themselves appear to have lost no leaves at all?

Hmmm...I guess that I did not have as much to complain about as I thought. Wait a minute, I almost forgot. I am out of gin. It may be time to learn how to make that as well!

Cheers!

Weekend Summary

2008-10-13T18:30:00.002-05:00

Saturday:

I got my first good run in since being sick. It felt good and I was happy that the week off had no ill effects on my pace. My low expectation/optimistic attitude while watching Michigan football took a major hit. Losing to Toledo...really? Come on Michigan, are you serious....Toledo? Fortunately I was able to distract myself with the bottling of my altbier. That night we went over to Brandon and Susan's (Robin's sister) for a cookout and campfire for her birthday. Fun was had by all.

Sunday:

I spent a good part of the morning and early afternoon tracking my friend Josh and his progress in the Chicago marathon. He finished in 5hrs 10mins 36secs. He said he was a bit disappointed in his time, but happy he finished. I for one am proud of him and impressed. 26.2 miles is a long way. The remainder of the day was filled with recycling, some yard work, laundry and football. I voted against brewing. I may have to wait a couple more weeks on that one.

That's it for today.

Cheers

Update.

2008-10-11T09:08:00.003-05:00

At the suggestion of Adrianne, Josh's wife, I have visited the Chicago marathons website. There they have a section that allows you to sign up and receive updates for specific runners at set milestones...10k, halfway, 30k, and of course the finish. The updates will be sent to me via e-mail. I am pretty excited to track his progress, and send out my good vibes. A lot of time and dedication goes into training for a run like this and I really want him to do well.

And now for something completely different...

I am getting ready to bottle my German Altbier. I used very little grains in this brew, mostly extracts so there is not as much of need for it to sit in my brewing bucket. I would like to get my vanilla porter brewed tomorrow as it will need more time to come together...more grains in this recipe.

Another subject change...

Did I mention I got new glasses?

You like?

Cheers

Send Good Vibes, Please.

2008-10-10T19:45:00.003-05:00

I, well, not me perse, but my good friend Josh is in need of all of your good vibes. I am very serious when I say all of your good vibes. Do not hold back. Give until it hurts. What is so dire that I make this plea on his behalf you may ask? 26.2, that's what. My buddy Josh, and his sister are running in the 31st annual Chicago marathon. The farthest I have ever run is 12 miles and let me tell ya...it hurt. Josh has to run 14.2 miles further. He and his sister need all of the Chrisophiles pulling for them. So, beginning at about 8a.m. on Sunday through about 11a.m. be sending your thoughts to Josh and his sis.

Michigan Blues

2008-10-07T18:03:00.002-05:00

The Michigan Wolverines football season has begun with a whimper. They are 2-3 with blowout loses to hated (at least by me) Notre Dame and Illinois. They do not have the right players to function in the system their new coach wants to run, and their defense spends too much time on the field. There is however, a bright side to all of this. There is no pressure. They cannot suffer that one crushing loss that will "ruin" the season. (See Appalachian St 2007) There is nothing pure viewing relaxation. No pressure, just eternal optimism, and the occasional surprise. (See Wisconsin 2008)

So when my Dad, brother and I head off to Happy Valley to watch Michigan play Penn St I will not go with fear of a loss, but instead optimism and my Tom Brady Michigan jersey.

Go Blue!

Not hangin' Them Up

2008-10-06T16:11:00.002-05:00

Back on September 14th I said that I was most likely done with races for the year. Well, I just can't seem to shake the bug just yet. I have two more on the schedule.

On November 23rd I am going to take part in the 38th annual Peoria Turkey Trot. It is a 4 mile run, and just happens to be the Peoria areas oldest running race. The top two overall finishers and the top two in each age division will win a free turkey compliments of Kroger. Thanksgiving dinner is on me this year!

Then on December 6th I am going to take part in the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis. This is a benefit run for arthritis and I figure by the time i am done with this running thing years from now I may have some achy joints. So, I better give back while I can. Stay tuned.

As with all of my runs this year I will again call upon the powers of various superheros. I am not sure who yet, but the usual suspects will be up for consideration.

Hope all my readers are well...

Cheers

Brewing Season Has Begun.

2008-10-05T15:02:00.002-05:00

I brewed my first beer of the season yesterday. I went with a German Altbier. It is somewhat like a pale ale, except it is softer and more well balanced. Pale ales tend to be hoppy and bitter. It should be a good drinking beer for the fall.

No matter how many brews I do I still get excited and a bit nervous when waiting for the fermentation process to begin. So, as you may imagine I was thrilled this morning when I opened up the "beer closet" and saw the tell tale bubbles of fermentation in my airlock.

On tap for next week will be bottling on Saturday and possibly brewing my long anticipated vanilla porter on Sunday. I am hoping to get a few more brews done this year than I did last. I really enjoy the hobby, the fruits of my labor are delicious, Nora loves helping me bottle, but it can be a bit time consuming.

Stay tuned for my next post as I have an announcement. Until then...

No Worries.

Batman Birthday

2008-09-28T17:14:00.009-05:00

I am well overdue on this post...nearly a month in fact. Nigel celebrated his 4th birthday in full Batman style. We invited over a few of his friends and their families for a cookout, cake and the all important opening of the presents. Fun was had by all and I feel can be best summed up in picture form.

Enjoy.

Nora added her artistic abilities to the decor.

Nigel just opened his "Batpod". Thank you Yoders!

Nigel in his Batman shirt...I have a matching shirt.

The Batman cupcake cake. This thing was so cool. It came with a Batman motorcycle toy on top.

Nigel's new costumes helped turn this into a costume party.

Party's over.

Spinach Is Merely a Plecebo...

2008-09-16T18:09:00.002-05:00

Recently I found myself thinking about Popeye and his battles with Bluto and other ne'er-do-wells. Inevitably Popeye would find himself in a tight spot or in the process of being completely pummeled. Every single time he went for his can of spinach, consumed its contents, and then rained "h", "e", double hockey sticks down upon his over-matched opponent.

I contend that he never actually needed the spinach in the first place. Let's put aside the biological aspect of the picture. We all know the human body would not be able to digest the spinach, process the minerals and vitamins and then send them throughout to provide the needed power. That goes without saying, right?

My point is this:

The man just popped open the can with his bare hands, or...
He generated enough lung power to turn his little pipe into a blow torch.
I think he was doing just fine in the strength department. Popeye, stop toying with Bluto. It's just plain mean.

This is just a sample of the random thoughts that go through my head on a given day. And people wonder why I am always in a good mood.

Martini Time!

Cheers

Overruled!

2008-09-14T06:16:00.003-05:00

The votes are in, were counted, and a decision was made. Batman was the victor over Superman. However, I felt the Chrisophiles chose poorly. I mean come on, how do you pick a guy in an armored suit with fancy gadgets over the Man of Steel, faster than a speeding bullet, it was a race you know. Besides, I had to be fashion conscience. My running shorts are either red or gray and my Batman shirt is gray. I just would not look good. So, Superman was the new winner. You did not really think the No Worries blog was a democracy did you?

Superman served me well and the race was a success. This was the first time I had tried to run this distance at anything more than a 10 minute/mile pace, so I was not too sure how I would hold up. I held up well.

There were 418 people in the Pumpkin Festival 10K this year. I placed 104 with a time of 49:20. I was able to maintain a similar pace for the 10K that I ran in my 5K runs. I slowed up a bit in the last two miles to just over a 8min/mile pace, (had to save energy for the pumpkin pancakes). This will most likely be my last race for the year and I am very happy with what I have done in my first 6mths of running. I will maintain my training and focus a bit more on Nora and her progress. She really wants to be able to run a mile and eventually be able to be in a race with me.

Superman preparing to wave to his fans at the finish.

I still owe you all a post for Nigel's Batman birthday.

Cheers for now.

Extra! Extra!

2008-09-09T18:10:00.002-05:00

Nora and her friends have made the paper!

Last Friday we went to see American English, a Beatles tribute band with some good friends of ours the Yoders. It was part of a free outdoor summer concert series put on by the local electric company. Before the concert started we had a picnic dinner and the kids ran around and had a bunch of fun. Once the music got going the kids began cutting a rug. Claire, the Yoders youngest, had some serious dance moves. Well the kids dnacing caught the eye of a photographer for a local newspaper. He came over, gave us his card and asked if he could take some pictures of the kids for the paper. Of course we said yes. All of our kids are adorable and we could not deprive the world of their cuteness. Follow this link to see for yourselves.
Nigel is noticeably missing from the pic, he was hanging out with Robin listening to the music. They got the names reversed in the caption, but I bet you all figured that out.

Cheers

Race Day Approaches

2008-09-09T04:32:00.002-05:00

The big day is approaching quickly. The race that started this whole running thing for me is this Saturday, the Pumpkin Festival 10K. The training has gone well and I am in good condition for the distance. I am looking forward to a nice run. However, the question of Superman or Batman still lingers. Who should it be? Now I normally do not campaign for one or the other, but how do you vote against "faster than a speeding bullet"? Although, Batman does have all those wonderful toys....

Go Vote!

Cheers

I'm An Idiot!

2008-08-27T21:20:00.002-05:00

That statement may be a blast from the past for some of you. Robin has commented that some of my, "I am an idiot" stories are legendary. This story may just fall in that category. However, it just may lend itself to a new brand of story, "Chris is a wuss".

Last evening, or to be more specific, this morning, I was eased into that awake/asleep/still dreaming state by a series of strange noises. The first of which was a high pitched squeak. It was followed by a fluttering sound. This happened a couple more times until I was jerked completely awake by two cats galloping across me. Now fully awake I am able to here a constant fluttering noise circling our bedroom. The cats were running in circles to match. I am still a little groggy and thinking this is one heck of a cricket in our room. Finally the sound focuses against the window wall of the room. I can now make out both cats watching the proverbial tennis match of this giant bug flying back and forth in front of our bedroom window. Then, I catch a glimpse of our visitor as it makes its way across our windows. Now the high pitched squeaks and and fluttering make way more sense. We have a bat.

With this realization I decide to wake Robin. I mean you cannot very well catch a bat without waking up others in the room. I nudged her and said, "We have a bat". Her response was, "huh"? I repeated, "We have a bat". Robin countered with, "what do you mean"? So, I was a bit more specific, "We have a bat in our bedroom". With that Robin got up and it kinda went downhill for me. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was going to go get something to catch the bat.

She returned armed with a small pail and a rolled up Captain America comic. Very logical as Cap does wield on heck of a shield. The following events happened simultaneously:

Light went on...
Bat went crazy (as did the cats)...
I went under the sheets.
Give me a break, I did not want to get it stuck in my hair. I had not trimmed my beard in weeks.

Meanwhile Robin is bravely swinging away with the Cap at our bat. I eventually gathered myself enough to climb out of bed to join the fight. I grabbed the closest weapon at my disposal, a pillow, and begin taking swings. After a few blind flails I connected. The little fella ricocheted off our bed and land on the floor partially under the dresser. In came Robin with the Captain and the pail to scoop him up. He revived a bit during this and at one point was laid out, wings spread on the floor. He looked just like the Bat symbol! Awesome!

Robin eventually got him in the pail and we walked him outside. The pail was dumped and our bat flew off into the night.

I must admit my time under the sheets while Robin was battling the bat was not one of my stronger moments. However, I feel I redeemed myself with the pillow shot. Who am I kidding....
I am an ~~idiot~~ wuss.

Cheers

Say That Again....

2008-08-26T20:00:00.002-05:00

I have two random and non-related issues to complain about tonight.

First:

A Walking Taco is an acceptable lunch for grade school children. What is a Walking Taco you ask? Well it is a bag of Fritos with some meat and cheese dumped into it. How in the world is that considered a balanced, good lunch? I understand that these lunches need to be inexpensive for the schools, but they also need to be nutritionally sound. It seems at times that the emphasis is on the inexpensive and not so much on the nutrition. An apple, a slice of good cheese and some whole grain crackers would cover both the objectives. I think the main sticking point for people may be the idea of an entree. We need to get past that and fix our kids lunches.

Second:

Why is the 1960's Batman not on DVD or at least on T.V. anymore? The answer to the first part is copyrights. There are a few people who will not sign over the rights. Have they no foresight? Do they not realize how many Bat-fans will buy that series? Batman is very popular, again, and they could make a mint. As for the second part of this conundrum, I have no idea. It was in syndication at one point, why not now. Holy Bat-withdrawals, I need some "Pow, Biff, Bam and Splat" in my life.

Speaking of Batman, he is leading the way as the Superhero for me to channel through a t-shirt for my 10K. There is plenty of time left to vote. Be heard Chrisophiles!

Cheers

Wow

2008-08-24T07:27:00.004-05:00

Nora floored me yesterday. I was getting ready to work out, she and Nigel were down in the workout room and I was upstairs getting my mp3 player. All of a sudden I here a very excited yell from Nora, "Daddy, I just did a one-arm chin-up." Now not that I consider my daughter a liar, but a one-arm chin-up from a 6 year old? I figured at best she was holding on to the bar and hopping up and using the momentum to complete the chin-up. So, I went downstairs and asked her to show me. Nora walked to the bar, grabbed on with her right hand, gripped her right wrist with left hand, hung for a moment, and then pulled herself up. No hop, no jump, just a good clean one-arm chin-up. Then, just for good measure she did one with the left arm. Gotta have good balance you know. WOW! My little muscle girl. During the remainder of my workout she would do one-arm chin-ups, and on one occasion did two in a row.

On the running front, Nora and I have hit a little bump in the road. She had been using her old Wal-Mart tennis shoes and the heel support had broken down. Due to that she hurt her left heel. Therefore we took most of last week off and have got her some good Nike running shoes. Her heel now feels fine and we will begin running again tomorrow.

As for my running I am well on pace for the Pumpkin Fest 10k. I am not going to have the same kind of success as I have in the 5k, but I think I will do just fine. I have not yet decided which superhero I will channel for this run, but I have narrowed it down to Superman or Batman. In fact, I think this calls for the input of the Chrisophiles, check out the poll and help me decide. The poll will be open until the night before the run. Which t-shirt will it be?

That's all for now.

Cheers

What A Difference A year Makes

2008-08-19T19:24:00.002-05:00

Today Was Nora's first day of school. This year she is a big first grader. One year ago as Nora lined up with her new class mates to go off to class for the first time there was a look of worry on her face and tears in her eyes. This year she ran into her new class with a huge smile on her face and barely glanced over her shoulder to say goodbye to us. Our little girl is growing up. I would like to take this opportunity to file a formal protest...she is not supposed to grow up! We did not authorize this nor have we filed the proper "aging" paper work. This needs to stop now.

I would write more, but I am too enthralled in the Olympics!

GO USA!

Cheers

The Week In Review

2008-08-09T08:52:00.009-05:00

I got some very good news early in the week. Brett, Jori, Kiernan and Grayson are coming back to visit in September. While here they will take in the Morton Pumpkin Festival, visit friends and family and take care of a few errands. Most importantly they are going to have Grayson baptized at Bethel Lutheran, Brett's and my childhood church. He and Jori have asked me to be Grayson's Godfather. It is a great honor and I gladly accepted. Grayson, as your Godfather, be aware that someday I will need a favor...maybe not today or next week but.....

Nora and I have continued our running. Today we will wrap up week two with a 8 minute run. She has made nice improvements in her stride and endurance. Yesterday we covered the most distance to date, .62 miles. The best part of it all is she is having fun and we are able to do this together.

Off we go.

On Monday Robin and I surprised Nigel with an early birthday present. We got him his first bike. To say he loves it would be an understatement. He is pretty fearless on it and is already cruising around on his training wheels. It works out for Nora as well. She has her own, but it is much bigger and she does not feel as stable. Nigel's is lower to the ground and Nora feels much more secure. They both love riding it and are making great strides. We also bought a scooter for them to aide in improved balance.

Nigel and his new bike.

Nora scooting along.

Early Tuesday morning a big wind storm blew though Central Illinois traveling at 61 mph and bringing 60+ mph winds with it. I am fairly certain that our little town of Eureka got the worst of it. 2700 homes were without power for most of the day, including ours, and you could not drive by a house without seeing limbs and branches all over their yard. Many people lost entire trees, including a huge one in the high school parking lot. We were lucky and only had branches down in our yard. We did have a big branch down on the roof outside Nora's window, but no damage was done.

Down tree at Eureka High School.

Today we had a few big plans for the weekend that are in jeopardy due to a light rain. I volunteered to mow the lawn at our church, and wanted to put up our tent for a little camp out tonight. They say this rain is supposed to pass quickly, but it has been coming down for about an hour now. I need everyone to send their clear skies vibes this way.

I do have a back-up plan. The OLYMPICS! Robin and I love the Olympics, particularly the summer Olympics. We watched as much of the opening ceremony as we could stay awake for, and I am watching women's volleyball as I type. The US women are playing Japan and have a 1-0 lead, but are trailing in the second set. USA! USA! USA! I think my affection for the Olympics is tied to two major events in my life. First, the Robinson family moved to Illinois prior to the '84 summer games. Those were the first games I really remember watching and they are tied to a major change in our lives. Second, my personal branch of the Robinson family tree moved to Colorado just before the '96 summer games. Robin and I broke newly weds and did not yet know many people. So, our entertainment for two weeks consisted of a 6-pack and the Olympics. Oh the memories.

Update: Japan has tied the US at one set a piece.

Cheers!

Aging

2008-08-01T04:28:00.003-05:00

Last night we had a nice dinner at my parents house. Cousin Tom and Barb were in town so we were able to have a nice visit with them as well. When we arrived we exchanged pleasantries, hugged and then Tom hit me with this..."Chris, you've gotten grayer since the River". I prefer to think of it as more distinguished. Distinguished? Who am I kidding? I am too much of a goofball to ever be confused as distinguished. Well, I guess that is what happens when you are the oldest of the youngers. Tom is right, I am grayer and believe it or not I like it.

Nora and I went for our third run yesterday. This one was a four minute run that covered 1/4 mile. It went very well. We did a better job of pacing and did not end up with a pain in her side. Most importantly she had fun.

Thank goodness for these runs with Nora or else I would not have done any running this week. I started the week being sick, so I missed Tuesday. Yesterday was the dinner and we only had time for Nora's run. I need to get out Saturday morning and put in some miles. The Pumpkin Fest. 10K is just around the corner.

Well that's all for now. Time to get moving for work.

Cheers

Disaster Avoided

2008-07-30T18:55:00.002-05:00

Last night when walking from our family room (which is a newer addition to our house) to the office (part of the original structure), I got hit in the head by a drop of water. I looked up and there was water dripping from the door frame. We were in the midst of a downpour outside and it somehow was making its way inside. Robin went upstairs to our bedroom which overlooks the roof of the newer addition. Our roof is rubber and small buckled gap in it. I had most likely created the issue a couple weeks ago when I was up there cleaning the gutters and trimming branches. To make a long story short, Robin was able to reach the offending gap, seal it, cover it and stop the leak. All we need to do now is real seal it. Disaster Avoided.

On the Nora running front, we did two 3 minute stints today. We ran for 3 minutes, rested a bit and then ran for 3 more. We covered .41 miles, Nora got a stitch in her side and learned about pacing. She did a great job and I am very proud of her.

Well I think it is about time for relaxing here in the Robinson household. First step will be to convince the kids this is a good idea and the second step will be to shake up a martini.

Cheers

Summer Olympics 2020

2008-07-29T18:22:00.002-05:00

As you know I have begun running. I am having a blast doing it and have has a reasonable amount of success in the races in which I have competed. Nora has taken notice to the amount of fun I have both training and running the races. She started asking if I thought she would be able to run in a race someday. I said sure as long as you practice and train like I do. She asked if I would teach her. That made me pretty happy. So, I went out on the internet and found a running program for kids. It is based on time instead of distance. We started today. (Josh, I did not ditch you for her. I have been sick and did not think I could handle anymore than a run with her.) We ran for 2 minutes and covered .14 miles. Tomorrow we run for three minutes, rest and run for three more. We are both looking forward to the day. She had a blast and told me that it was the best part of her day. I have been looking forward to playing sports with the kids for about 6.5yrs. Never thought it would be running. Life is good.

Cheers

Best Party Ever

2008-07-27T17:15:00.004-05:00

Update to the weekend:

We just returned home from the pool party. It was a success to say the least. There was an inflatable water slide, a kiddie pool, a 4ft deep pool and a big swing set. Nora and Nigel loved the water slide. Each time Nigel went down he ran over to us to tell us how awesome it was. This was the perfect end to a great weekend. Now to finish it off with a few hot dogs.

Cheers

Great Weekend

2008-07-27T07:41:00.003-05:00

This has been one of those weekends that you never want to end. We have all had a lot of fun and have managed to get a lot accomplished around the house. Anyone care for a recap?

Friday:

I took a half day off of work so I could go swimming. One of the members of our church has a pool and invites people over Monday-Friday, and Robin & the kids have been taking her up on her offer. Nora and Nigel love it and have been begging me to come with them. So, on Friday I went home at lunch time and hit the pool. Nora showed me how she floats on her back and Nigel kicked around in his floaty tube. Fun was had by all.

Earlier in the day Nora lost her first tooth. She was very excited. The night before a bite of corn on the cob started the process and a sandwich at lunch finished the deal on Friday. Our girl is growing up in spite of our best efforts.

Friday night was our Wild Night as noted in yesterdays post.

Saturday:

The kids started their day at Grandma and Grandpa's house with some very special waffles from the "Silly Snacks" cookbook Nora checked out from the library. They were called Wafflewiches. You make them by preparing two waffles, spreading one with a mixture of melted marshmallows and peanut butter, topping the mixture with sliced banana and chocolate chips and then closing the sandwich with the other waffle. Instant energy. The kids went off to a park after that and ran off all that energy.

During all this Robin and I spent the morning at Menards getting landscaping materials. We then hit the yard and showed no mercy to our weeds. We expanded and mulched one bed and weeded and mulched an other. We also picked up material to make a small fence to separate a rock parking area and a flower bed we put in earlier in the summer. Doing yard work is very satisfying. You see instant results for all your hard work.

I got big news from Brett yesterday. He called me from the top of the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Yes, I said on top of the Green Monster. One of his Air Force buddies, Major Dan Begin, called him up and asked for a favor. Last year Dan entered a raffle to win an authentic Red Sox World Series ring. He won. Yesterday was to be the day that the ring was presented to Dan. They were going to have him read the line-up and throw out the first pitch. When The Red Sox found out that Dan was in the military, they wanted to play up that fact and pay homage to our service men and women. So, they requested that he wear his uniform for all the activities. He said no problem, excepted his uniform was in Baltimore. The Sox said they do not care, get it here whatever the expense. The expense ended up being Brett. The Red Sox flew him out, put him up in a hotel, gave him a ticket to the game, and VIP treatment once in the park. That treatment included endless brats, burgers, sausages, and Heineken, and access to the top of the Green Monster. While he was up there he get hit in the hand by and homerun ball hit in bp and Julio Lugo's autograph on his ticket stub (which he gave to one of the kids there). Not a bad day.

Sunday:

Today will be a big day to finish out the weekend. We have VBS celebration at our church service this morning and a pool party with one of Nora's kindergarten friends. Robin and I would love to do more yard work, but I do not see that happening. The list of things we want to do is endless. Why does the weekend have to end?

Cheers

Wild Night

2008-07-26T08:39:00.002-05:00

Robin and I decided to celebrate her birthday last night. I know it is a bit late, but celebrating on a Friday night is better than on a Monday. We started things out by dropping Nora and Nigel off with Grandma and Grandpa Robinson for a sleepover. Then we were off for our night.

First we hit Ming's, our favorite Chinese buffet. I know, buffets do not sound like our thing, but this place does sushi and they do it very well. The amount of sushi Robin and I put away more than covers the price of admission. We filled our bellies and were ready for the rest of our night. Next up...home. We got into our cozy clothes, mixed up a couple of Martini's, and put in a movie. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing night at home. I know, we are crazy.

Cheers

Home Alone

2008-07-22T18:54:00.002-05:00

This is an odd week for me...a sensation that I am not used to feeling. Robin and the kids are attending VBS at our church this week, so, that leaves me at home alone. I can do whatever I want!

First up was pretty obvious. I re-enacted the scene from Risky Business, because who doesn't like Old Time Rock 'n' Roll. Then while still in my undies I downed a beer in front of the fridge with the door open. Later I ate a bag full of chips and followed it all with some chocolate chips. I of course did plenty of belching and scratching during all of this.

Reality.....
I showered, made my lunch for the next day, washed some dishes and did a little laundry. Now I am sitting in a very quiet house wondering what to do with my time. A beer does sound good...

Cheers

Slacker

2008-07-21T19:17:00.004-05:00

Many apologies. I have been a blogger slacker. Many things have happened in the time since I last posted. Babies have been born, people have passed on, the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie has been viewed by my children 327 times, the Detroit Tigers made it to .500, then under, then back, then under and back again...you get the picture, Nora's first T-Ball season wrapped up, The Dark Knight made $155.4 million in its opening weekend, Robin and I celebrated 12 years of marriage(July 20), followed by her birthday(July 21), and I found out when I will die. You get the idea, lots happened. and I was not here to give you all the details. For that I am sorry. I would fill you in on all the details, but I am sure you would no more want to read them all than I want to write them all. Instead I will focus on more recent and future events.

Something funny from church this past Sunday. We were celebrating Christmas in July and the sermon was of course on the birth story. Within the sermon our minister used the work "fantastical". My mind immediately went to a Dr. Seuss birth story, and from there a little rendition of Noah's Ark...One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. I avoided laughter, barely.

In future news, I am going to brew again soon. In honor of the one year anniversary of the last Tuke reunion I will be making B's Point Place Vanilla Porter. I may have to figure out how to ship....

Cheers

Time For Recovery

2008-07-06T07:49:00.002-05:00

This has been an action packed weekend, and I for one am tired. After all the festivities of Thursday and Friday I spent yesterday doing yard work.

The day began with my bro-in-law, Brandon, over at Robin's parents house. They needed brush clearing and general clean-up done around their yard. I actually enjoy doing that kind of work so the time passed quickly. We got a lot accomplished. I hope they like the results.

After that I came home and spent the remainder of the afternoon trimming bushes, picking up sticks in the yard, and doing some general clean-up. I wanted to get more accomplished, but both my weed whip and my lawn mower are out of commission. That is just as well since all the activities of the day really got my allergies going.

Once I did what I could do in the yard I hoped on my bike to run some essential errands. We were dangerously low on gin, needed more milk, and something to throw on the grill. So I threw on my backpack and peddled up to the local liquor store, got our provisions, then headed back over to the grocery store for milk and hotdogs. I love living in a town small enough that allows us to walk and/or ride anywhere in town that we need to go.

Today is another beautiful day. It may bring more yard work, it may bring brewing, it may bring nothing but laundry and movies. I think we have done enough this weekend to deserve a break. I know my nose could use it.

Cheers

What A Weekend...

2008-07-05T09:03:00.006-05:00

...And it is only Saturday. Let's recap the action so far.

Thursday:

We started the weekend with a bang. Nora had a T-Ball game at 6. Her team was up first and she was the 2nd batter. The first pitch she saw she smacked down the 3rd base line. Her second hit from the pitcher in as many games. She gets very excited when she gets a hit, almost as excited as Robin and I. My parents were there to see the action and were very proud Grandparents for sure.
After the game we all caravaned over to my parents house for a little dessert and fireworks. Morton puts on a nice little 15-20 minute show. We have a pretty good view from their front yard, and do not have to deal with finding a parking place. The kids loved the show and I will never tire of them either.

Friday:

Race Day. I have decided to channel the powers of various superheroes for each of my races. For my first race I selected Green Lantern and ended up being mistaken for a girl. So, for this race I decided to go with SpiderMAN. As promised I have pictures from the Firecracker 5000.

Spidy and family pre-race.

Spidy is tiring but finishing strong.

The official results were posted this morning. I finished 94th out of 591 and turned in a time of 22:08. Not too bad if you ask me. Yesterday I forgot to mention the best part of the race, the post race spread. They provided a buffet of water, Gatorade, bananas, apples, bagels, pizza, and beer. You better believe I had a 8 a.m. pint.
After the race we headed home for the Eureka forth of July parade. We are very proud of our tractors and firetrucks here. The kids had a blast and ended up with way too much candy.

Nora, cousin Sofie and cousin Pete waiting for the parade.

Nigel looking cool while passing the time with a pinwheel.

After the parade we all rested up a bit for the big Bressner July 4th cookout/picnic/bonfire/Kirsten's B-Day(Robin's older sister)/firework show. We went over around 3 and stayed until 10:30. A long but very fun day. The kids survived on sidedishes while I downed some great ribs provided by Brandon's Dad, Randy. A good time was had by all indeed.

Well I think I have babbled on long enough. Time to go do some landscaping at the in-laws.

Cheers

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T09:07:00.004-05:00

The Robinson Household wishes all the Chrisophiles a worry free Independence Day.

Our day has started out early and quickly. As I had mentioned before, I was running in the Firecracker 5000 5K this morning. Nora and Nigel really wanted to go watch Daddy race, so, the whole family was up and going at 6 a.m. We met my parents at the race starting area around 7, and I was off and running by 7:30. It was really nice having such a great cheering section, and it paid off. I turned in a personal best time of around 22:04. You may remember I ran my last race as a female and turned in a time of 23:44. From now on I think I will run as a male. I will post some pics from the race later.

The rest of our day is action packed as well. As I write this the rest of the family is getting ready to go to the Eureka July 4th parade. After that there are several activities in town and a big family cookout at Robin's sisters family's house. A great day will be had by all and I trust your day will be great and Worry free.

Cheers

Groove

2008-07-02T04:24:00.002-05:00

I figured staying in my groove while on vacation was going to be tough, but getting back into it once home was the real challenge. I go days without even checking my e-mail let alone sitting down and writing. I am fairly certain that my brain is still on vacation. It is the only explanation for how so much time has passed between my last posting without me even noticing.

Speaking of grooves...Nora found hers last night. She got her first hit from a live pitch in a game. She was so happy and a little surprised that she just stood there at the plate and watched the ball. After a bit a encouragement from the fans she ran on down to first where there was a very happy, excited, thrilled, proud Dad/1st base coach waiting. Now all we have to do is get her to learn how to catch! Of course, that can be said for all the kids playing.

We have a big 4th of July coming up. So big that is going to take two days. On the 3rd Nora has a game after which we will be heading to my parents house with the Bressners (Robins sisters family). Morton does their fireworks on the 3rd and my parents have a great view. The morning of the 4th I have an other 5K race in downtown Peoria. From the sounds of things I am going to have a big cheering section as Robin and the kids will be there as well as my parents. Then that afternoon we will be heading to the Bressners for a cookout and a viewing of the Eureka fireworks. I know we are going to have a blast and I hope you all do as well.

Hopefully this posting means that my brain has returned from vacation and I am a bit more regular with the No Worries.

Cheers

Is This Perfect Or What?

2008-06-11T10:47:00.004-05:00

It seems that most of the homes in the area seem to be named. Upon arriving home yesterday from our adventures, (see Robin's blog) Robin pointed out the name of our little vacation home.

Hakuna Matata means No Worries. Could there be a better place for the No Worries author to spend his vacation? I think not.

Now after reading Robin's blog you may ask yourself, how could he still have No Worries? After all Nora is illin'. Well, Nora has assured me that she will be just fine after a bit of snuggle time with me.

Cheers

Vacation

2008-06-10T10:50:00.002-05:00

I know I promised updates while on vacation, and I shall not go back on my word completely. However, there is no need for me to repeat the fantastic work Robin has done in documenting our trip. So, check out her blog. There is a link to the right.

Cheers

Flying Rules!

2008-06-08T09:21:00.002-05:00

We are here safely in Sunny CA. The kids LOVED flying. Nora let out a squeal of laughter and delight when the the plane took off from Peoria. Nigel had a huge smile on his face and was laughing as well. They both were excellent on each flight. Robin and I are a couple or proud parents.

That's all for now. Just wanted to let the Chrisophiles know we are safe and sound.

Cheers

Washington Cherry Festival 5K

2008-06-07T06:42:00.005-05:00

Yesterday i got a phone call from the Washington Park District, they helped organize the 5k. The gal on the phone asked to speak with Chris Robinson. I said, "This is". She then told me that they had a trophy there for me from the 5K,and that I could pick it up or they could mail it to me. Since we are leaving for vacation I asked if they could mail it. Then since I could not wait until I got home to see how I did, I asked what place the trophy was. She said she would have to go check, but would be right back. When she returned to the phone she informed me that I was the overall winner in the 35-39 age group for....females.
Female 35 to 39

Place Name City Age Overall Time Pace
1 Chris Robinson Eureka IL 35 68 23:44.3 7:39/M
2 Amy Lee Morton IL 39 121 26:25.0 8:31/M
3 Heidi Ricker Deerfield IL 39 126 26:56.7 8:41/M
I replied that I was a male. She agreed. We decided there must have been a paperwork error.

On the positive side, I placed 68th overall and was in the top quarter, aprox. I am very proud of my performance for a first race. Not to mention I am the fastest 35-39 year old female in Central Illinois.

In other news, we leave for vacation in a few hours. The lap top is making the trip so there just may be a No Worries update or two.

Cheers

Oh Vacation, Where Art Thou, Vacation

2008-06-04T04:55:00.002-05:00

Work karma knows I am going to be gone next week. That is the only way to explain the start of my week. We crammed 4 days of work into the first two this week. Monday was a full slate of incoming trucks topped off with route changes at the end of the day. I was in at 5a.m., and did not leave until 3:30p.m. Yesterday brought a different set of challenges, excuse me, opportunities. One of our trailers had its freezer/fridge unit fail. So we started the day with finding a new trailer and salvaging what product we could. Then having to repull items and then load the new trailer. On top of all this I am helping cover for a guy inthe office that is on vacation. No Worries, makes the day go fast.

Cheers