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
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
Which is more appropriate?
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.
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.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Boys Have Cooties.
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
I haven't done this for a while...
...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
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
Monday, November 24, 2008
Turkey Trot Down...
...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
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
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Another Day...
...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
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
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Second Stupidest Thing I Have Ever Heard
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
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
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