tp2

yeah, i need to cop these for summer…

…

i’m excitable.

…some people call me the space cowboy…

i have some of the best friends in the world.

i say DAMN GOOD!

i still need to buy the DVD.

found this video on YouTube…

got to love The Goonies sample in the beginning.

what a GREAT show!

(inspired by terry p. on swordstyle)

it just seems like yesterday that it was christmas/nye and now 2007 has come and gone. this year had it’s moments, some which were great, others…not so much. here’s a list of a few things that i enjoyed this past year. ..

top 5 albums
1. Kanye West - Graduation
2. Common - Finding Forever
3. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
4. Slightly Stoopid - Chronchitis
5. Beastie Boys - The Mix-Up

top 5 movies
1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
3. Zodiac
4. Knocked Up
5. Beowulf

close, but not quite…Transformers, 300, Ocean’s 13, and American Gangster (only because i haven’t seen it…)

top 5 video games
1. God of War II
2. Guitar Hero III
3. Guitar Hero II
4. Madden 2008
5. Tiger Woods 2008

top 5 sporting events
1. Super Bowl XLI: Bears vs. Indianapolis
2. Floyd Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya
3. Game 5 NBA Eastern Conference Finals: LeBron James 2OT performance
4. Bulls vs. Detroit, 2007 NBA Playoff series
5. New England Patriots: Perfect Season

top 5 memories
1. 311 in Chicago
2. White Sox game with the WORD crew
3. Afterhours lawn mowing @1057
4. Christmas and NYE with Jen
5. Myrtle Beach in November

top 5 tv shows
1. Lost: Season 3
2. The Office
3. Planet Earth series
4. Sopranos
5. Sunday Night Football on NBC (i love football!)

top 5 websites
1. Bug Cafe (we played so much Scrabble this past year…LOL!)
2. homegrowngamez
3. BlackBerry
4. Beatport
5. Real Simple

hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday! i’ve got a bunch of pictures i still have to upload, so be patient…it’s coming.

somehow i managed to lose the championship game in one league. i moved from 5th to 4th in another. but i lose the office-survivor pool between me and one other person. then there’s the 1-point lead i am holding in the 311 BB NFL Pick’Em League. the last league is the one am i most proud of, considering there were 25 teams making picks.

on the season, my record for picking NFL games (straight up) is 182 - 86 or a 68% winning percentage. 2 out of 3 isn’t bad, right?

i’ve got to say, this was one of the more memorable Christmas holidays i can recall. i am fortunate to have such loving family and friends. the past few weeks have been hectic, with trying to get everything together and making sure to wish everyone Happy Holidays. i think i was able to spread a little holiday cheer this year, but if i happened to forget you…please know that i love you all and i wish you nothing but the best in 2008.

spending this Christmas holiday with J. and hanging out with the family was fun (a little hectic at times) and quite amusing! we had a lot of fun hanging out with Kel on Friday night, and Sean on Saturday night. and to top it off, the Bears walloped Green Bay 35 - 7….SWEETNESS!

i spent most of my time wrapping presents and cooking on Christmas Eve. made some home made Crab Cakes for our traditional family dinner. i think 9 out of the 12 turned out ok. i managed considering that i was short-handed without some key ingredients (e.g. bread crumbs of the non-panko-variety, dijon mustard, hot sauce). i do believe i want an 8-10 inch chef’s knife after cooking this weekend. the vegetables didn’t have a chance vs. me in the kitchen. we also steamed 5 lbs. of Alaskan King Crabs legs. i ate 3-4 legs with a ramekin of drawn butter.

delicious.

yesterday, was more of the same. spent most of the morning getting the 20 lb turkey out of the brine and into the oven. if you want to serve a juicy and tasty bird on your next holiday gathering, the Good Eats brined turkey is the way to go. throw in a huge ham and you’re set. plus we had quite the spread again with stuffing, asparagus, green bean casserole, mostaccioli, spicy sausages, 2 salads, home-made gravy and all the desserts one could imagine.

yum.

thank you everyone for the gifts, cards, drinks, e-mail, text messages, etc…i wish you all a wonderful and healthy 2008.

word.

…since i’ve written on the blog, so i figured it’s time for an update. where to begin, where to begin?

played a few rounds of golf with the guys before the weather turned windy and cold on us here in Chicago. shot in the low to mid 90s the three times we played at Water’s Edge GC. this place is definitely worth the price. challenging. great brats. smooth greens. fast pace. i am pretty sure that purchasing Tiger Woods ‘08 for the PS2 helped me figure out what was wrong with my swing. it’s all in my shoulders…keeping them balanced throughout the swing has straightened out the slice and chili-dipping. i have also been focusing on hitting “down” on the ball and trying to take a divot in front on the ball. both of these things took 10-15 strokes off my round.

<— happy. LOL!

what else? oh, my Halloween costume (see the Karate Kid Halloween Dance scene) did NOT work as i had planned. after hours at the Home Depot i was ONE PIECE away from making the shower curtain hold up. in the end, i wouldn’t have been able to move around the party anyways. the hallways were too narrow for the portable shower.

oh, and i’m happy to post that my baby nephew celebrated his 1st birthday! YAY! unfortunately, i was unable to be at the party because i had planned a trip to Myrtle Beach with some friends months ago. i took some beautiful pictures on the beach and all our friends. good times. i’m happy i was able to get out of the city for a long weekend. i’ll upload some pictures to picasa tonight…i didn’t get home until late monday night / tuesday morning, so i’m spent.

this weekend was so much fun. we went to the Hey Mercedes show at the Metro on Friday. they sounded as though they were still touring….so amazing. here’s a setlist that i was able to find on the Absolute Punk message board (there may be some errors, because i swore they played Lashing Out…):

1. Quality Revenge at Last
2. St. James St
3. Frowning of a Lifetimes
4. Eleven To Your Seven
5. Bells
6. Go On Drone
7. A-List Actress
8. Boy Destroyer
9. Que Shiraz
10. Our Weekend Starts On Wednesday
11. Playing Your Song
12. It’s Been A Blast
13. Knowing When To Stop
14. Unorchestrated

Encore:

15. Quit
16. Let’s Go Blue

Afterwards, we went to Jake’s Pub to have a drink in memory of Mikey. I believe the White Russians won this round…!!!

Saturday, we had breakfast at Mac’s and then painted wine jugs at the Division Street Fest. i really liked the girls jugs..LOL!!! later on that night we were able have dinner and watch the USC vs. NEB football game, only to be disappointed by the Trojans. there were definitely some hilarious moments (e.g. elbow scars, splinters, puddles, jager, bells, cab drivers, camera phones, gym class heroes, PUH!, newd, more jager, and on and on and on…..)

i miss those two girlies, so we’d better hang out again soon!

:)