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8.09.2010
8.02.2010
Home Alone
On Tuesday Michelle departed for a short stay in the land of tax-free shopping and thus left me home to myself for the remainder of the week and weekend. I believe she is working on getting some pictures together and will tell us all about her trip later.
My newly found free time was primarily spent brainstorming ideas for the wedding, but with nothing coming to mind I ventured off to find inspiration.
Wednesday was occupied exploring outer space and studying inter-planetary diplomacy with Blizzard's eagerly anticipated follow up, Starcraft 2. It will be important to make sure everyone at the wedding is of the human race otherwise disaster is sure to ensue.
Thursday followed my normal schedule and involved trying to make my cardiovascular system explode within the one-hour time limit of the Great Valley Training Race. I set a new personal best and survived for 29 of the 30 laps. Getting my heart rate in check now is going to pay dividends later when I see Michelle walking down the isle and I spike to 180bpm standing still.
I hadn't planned much for Friday, but that worked out well since Jamie needed help getting the transmission bolted back in his wife's GTI. Most Volkswagen transmissions are simple and easy to work on. The headache comes when you try to lift and reposition the 80lb clunk of junk back into the engine bay from underneath the car. It was a fun challenge though, and I hope to always keep Michelle's gears spinning.
Un-intended acceleration?
Saturday I spent most of the morning working on the mountain bike. For some reason I got the idea that building a mountain bike would be a fun winter project. It's now August, but it's finally finished.
Saturday afternoon, Jamie and I rode motorcycles. Martin Motorsport was having a Triumph demo day, and I was able to test ride the new Bonneville. Saturday has nothing to do with the wedding really except that it needs to happen already so I can save up for another motorcycle.
Michelle came back early on Sunday so we could look at houses with our moms. I love getting the opinions of our moms and, lucky for us, they both love giving them. Anyone know about tank-less water heaters?
My newly found free time was primarily spent brainstorming ideas for the wedding, but with nothing coming to mind I ventured off to find inspiration.
Wednesday was occupied exploring outer space and studying inter-planetary diplomacy with Blizzard's eagerly anticipated follow up, Starcraft 2. It will be important to make sure everyone at the wedding is of the human race otherwise disaster is sure to ensue.
Thursday followed my normal schedule and involved trying to make my cardiovascular system explode within the one-hour time limit of the Great Valley Training Race. I set a new personal best and survived for 29 of the 30 laps. Getting my heart rate in check now is going to pay dividends later when I see Michelle walking down the isle and I spike to 180bpm standing still.
I hadn't planned much for Friday, but that worked out well since Jamie needed help getting the transmission bolted back in his wife's GTI. Most Volkswagen transmissions are simple and easy to work on. The headache comes when you try to lift and reposition the 80lb clunk of junk back into the engine bay from underneath the car. It was a fun challenge though, and I hope to always keep Michelle's gears spinning.
Un-intended acceleration?
Saturday I spent most of the morning working on the mountain bike. For some reason I got the idea that building a mountain bike would be a fun winter project. It's now August, but it's finally finished.
Saturday afternoon, Jamie and I rode motorcycles. Martin Motorsport was having a Triumph demo day, and I was able to test ride the new Bonneville. Saturday has nothing to do with the wedding really except that it needs to happen already so I can save up for another motorcycle.
Michelle came back early on Sunday so we could look at houses with our moms. I love getting the opinions of our moms and, lucky for us, they both love giving them. Anyone know about tank-less water heaters?
7.26.2010
Dog Days of Summer
This weekend didn't feel like the usual run around we usually experience. Starting Wednesday, we were entertained with some extra companionship from Sammie (Heather and Ryan's boxer mix). I say that he is so spoiled by my sister and brother-in-law, but Ben and I didn't fall short of spoiling him any less. He enjoyed sleeping between us on our bed a couple nights and even got a taste of our grilled cuisine on Friday night. (Don't worry Heather--- no begging was allowed; Ben cut up a little piece and put it in his bowl.) I feel terrible when we have to put him in his crate, but Ben and I had plans to ride the Schuylkill river trail to Phoenixville to do a drive by of a house we are going to check out on Tuesday. The bike trail goes right on the street and the river flows right behind the house. I am excited about the old character charm and kitchen, while Ben is ecstatic about the 2-bay car garage.
Saturday was hot, hot, hot! While Ben made his way to the city for the 2nd (i think) annual alumni softball game, I headed over to my cousin's graduation party. We both sweated our asses off and both decided to cool off with a few cold ones. He enjoyed some brewskies with his frat bros and I enjoyed some margaritas and sweet tea vodka with Michelle and Coleen. We called it an early night since Ben had a race Sunday morning and I was actually going to cheer him on!
Along with Michelle and Sammie, we headed to the Great Valley Corporate business park. Of course, my tardiness made us miss the start of the race. Unfortuantely, Ben's attack tactic didn't get him first place, but I am proud of him anyways. In one year of mostly self training he has come a long way and I don't worry as much when he pushes himself to all limits. And thankfully there were no crashes! I would have been a flailing lunatic running into the road! Sammie was a ham and soaked up every bit of attention he could get, so we stayed and watched the category 4 race too before heading out to grab some grub. The rest of Sunday was filled with food and napping. We said goodbye to our rent-a-dog when his rightful owners picked him up and ended our night with more food and picking tentative food options for the wedding.
Coming soon: wedding planning update.... don't get too excited =)
Saturday was hot, hot, hot! While Ben made his way to the city for the 2nd (i think) annual alumni softball game, I headed over to my cousin's graduation party. We both sweated our asses off and both decided to cool off with a few cold ones. He enjoyed some brewskies with his frat bros and I enjoyed some margaritas and sweet tea vodka with Michelle and Coleen. We called it an early night since Ben had a race Sunday morning and I was actually going to cheer him on!
Along with Michelle and Sammie, we headed to the Great Valley Corporate business park. Of course, my tardiness made us miss the start of the race. Unfortuantely, Ben's attack tactic didn't get him first place, but I am proud of him anyways. In one year of mostly self training he has come a long way and I don't worry as much when he pushes himself to all limits. And thankfully there were no crashes! I would have been a flailing lunatic running into the road! Sammie was a ham and soaked up every bit of attention he could get, so we stayed and watched the category 4 race too before heading out to grab some grub. The rest of Sunday was filled with food and napping. We said goodbye to our rent-a-dog when his rightful owners picked him up and ended our night with more food and picking tentative food options for the wedding.
Coming soon: wedding planning update.... don't get too excited =)
7.20.2010
Catch and Release
My weekend updates seem to be drifting farther and farther from the actual weekend. Sorry about that! Yesterday we looked at five houses after work though, and I'm afraid none of them look promising. Tonight works better, so I'll give you a brief re-cap of our weekend in Point Pleasant.
I titled this post Catch and Release because our weekend was focused heavily on catching up with old friends and releasing the work week tension over cheap beer and bought (more on that later) seafood.
The weekend started promptly at 5:00 Friday when I sprinted out of work, jumped in the car, and averaged 13.2 miles per gallon over to Michelle's work.
My fuel economy only improved slightly over the next several hours as we were quickly deployed into the field of battle known as: The Invasion of New Jersey. My former state put up a good fight though and managed to distract us with erratic driving and jug-handles. We finally made it to Point Pleasant though, and after several slices of pizza we were off to a house party.
Whipped cream vodka?
We didn't stay long though because Saturday was going to be a busy day. For the low price of $45 per person, you and your friends can re-live a whole season of Deadliest Catch in one BYOB afternoon.
You can also kill two birds with one stone as this coastline is where MTV's Jersey Shore is filmed, bro.
Inspired by a $40 "biggest fish" pool, Michelle was eager to drop a line.
Then she got sea-sick and took a nap.
Meanwhile, the rest of our crew realized that maybe we were going to finish our two cases of beer.
Yours truly managed to be the most successful angler of the day and caught four fish. Sadly (or fortunately depending on your perspective) they were all too small and were returned like the sweater Grandma got you for Christmas.
"Get a good picture of my muscles for the blog!"
A quick stop at the seafood market fixed our fishing trip, and we returned home to cook the biggest freaking feast you could imagine.
We also celebrated Nags's belated 25th birthday.
Caroline showed up later and treated us to random dirty phrases.
After a while though I noticed my fiancee had gone missing. I'm getting pretty good at knowing her hiding spots though.
Like a good fiance I then inflated the air mattress and treated my love to a night next to the boy who didn't shower after a fishing trip. Sunday morning came way to soon, but we cleaned up and made our way to a local breakfast place famous for its potato pancakes. This place had over 200 omelets to choose from, and I eventually settled on the "belly buster". I didn't take a picture of it, but it pretty much resembled a previously consumed omelet after one's belly busted.
After breakfast we made the long drive home, watered the garden, and collapsed. The good news is our squash is growing now! Luckily vegetables aren't subject to catch and release sizing.
I titled this post Catch and Release because our weekend was focused heavily on catching up with old friends and releasing the work week tension over cheap beer and bought (more on that later) seafood.
The weekend started promptly at 5:00 Friday when I sprinted out of work, jumped in the car, and averaged 13.2 miles per gallon over to Michelle's work.
My fuel economy only improved slightly over the next several hours as we were quickly deployed into the field of battle known as: The Invasion of New Jersey. My former state put up a good fight though and managed to distract us with erratic driving and jug-handles. We finally made it to Point Pleasant though, and after several slices of pizza we were off to a house party.
Whipped cream vodka?
We didn't stay long though because Saturday was going to be a busy day. For the low price of $45 per person, you and your friends can re-live a whole season of Deadliest Catch in one BYOB afternoon.
You can also kill two birds with one stone as this coastline is where MTV's Jersey Shore is filmed, bro.
Inspired by a $40 "biggest fish" pool, Michelle was eager to drop a line.
Then she got sea-sick and took a nap.
Meanwhile, the rest of our crew realized that maybe we were going to finish our two cases of beer.
Yours truly managed to be the most successful angler of the day and caught four fish. Sadly (or fortunately depending on your perspective) they were all too small and were returned like the sweater Grandma got you for Christmas.
"Get a good picture of my muscles for the blog!"
A quick stop at the seafood market fixed our fishing trip, and we returned home to cook the biggest freaking feast you could imagine.
We also celebrated Nags's belated 25th birthday.
Caroline showed up later and treated us to random dirty phrases.
After a while though I noticed my fiancee had gone missing. I'm getting pretty good at knowing her hiding spots though.
Like a good fiance I then inflated the air mattress and treated my love to a night next to the boy who didn't shower after a fishing trip. Sunday morning came way to soon, but we cleaned up and made our way to a local breakfast place famous for its potato pancakes. This place had over 200 omelets to choose from, and I eventually settled on the "belly buster". I didn't take a picture of it, but it pretty much resembled a previously consumed omelet after one's belly busted.
After breakfast we made the long drive home, watered the garden, and collapsed. The good news is our squash is growing now! Luckily vegetables aren't subject to catch and release sizing.
7.16.2010
Fantasy Update
In case you've missed it, the Tour de France has passed its halfway point and so too has our fantasy competition. Unfortunately for Michelle though, her team has been less fantasy and more nightmare. Of her original riders, a brief recap follows:
Cavendish - his leadout man, Mark Renshaw, has been kicked out of the race
Bellotti - forgot his legs in Italy
Armstrong - crashes have him nearly 10 minutes behind
Martin - burnt out after day 1
Farrar - abandoned with a broken wrist
Vande-Velde - abandoned with broken ribs
Evans - a broken elbow has him nearly 8 minutes behind
Dean - busy taking headbutts to the face
Luckily, they still get to ride over these:
Cavendish - his leadout man, Mark Renshaw, has been kicked out of the race
Bellotti - forgot his legs in Italy
Armstrong - crashes have him nearly 10 minutes behind
Martin - burnt out after day 1
Farrar - abandoned with a broken wrist
Vande-Velde - abandoned with broken ribs
Evans - a broken elbow has him nearly 8 minutes behind
Dean - busy taking headbutts to the face
Luckily, they still get to ride over these:
7.12.2010
Short and Sweet
After last weekend's extended stay, this one seemed short and sweet. We started things off with a bang though (pun) and drove down to Olde City to see Neon Dynamite at the Khyber. Don't be fooled though, that handsome guitar player isn't Seth Cohen, but instead my hometown BFF Anthony Rubbo. These guys absolutely rocked, and it was great to see him playing with a group that shares not only the talent but also the passion that he has for music.
Saturday morning brought much needed rain showers to area and luckily let me get some much needed sleep. Saturday night though featured the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium in West Chester. This is a huge race held through the main streets of West Chester every summer, and after seeing the crowds and speeds I think this will be one of my target races for next year.
The unique thing about this race is rather than starting at the crack ass of dawn, it starts right at sunset for a very different type of race. It also makes for neat pictures:
Unfortunately a race starting at 7:45pm means you don't get home from West Chester until rather late. Not good when you have one of those crack ass of dawn races Sunday morning. This one took Jamie and me back to Bethlehem for a short 12 mile oval loop. The pace was faster than normal since it was so short, but we were both feeling good somehow and managed to come into the final sprint with me in 4th and Jamie in 5th.
If you've been watching any of the early stages of the Tour you might see that towards the end of a flat stage the big strong guys come to the front and unleash hell in a mad frenzy 200 yards from the line. Unfortunately for me, such was the case on Sunday as well, and I ended up losing 10 spots in the sprint and finished 14th.
Data:
9 laps - 12 miles
30mins
avg speed - 24mph
top speed - 31mph
avg HR - 174bpm
max HR - 193bpm
It was a good race though, and I can't be bummed about 14th out of 34 so to celebrate we stopped at our team sort-of sponsor, Vegan Treats, on the way home!
The goodies this bakery produces are such a rare treat for vegans, and my teammates go absolutely bonkers whenever they get the chance to stop in. The cakes and donuts are pretty good though, and it's good to know that animals didn't have to suffer for them to be made.
Here's my post-race nutrition:
Luckily the donut wasn't my only post race meal. Julie and EJ invited us over for dinner!
EJ made some delicious chicken and eggplant parm (sorry animals), and we promptly devoured it. We also had some cookies from earlier in the day when Michelle and her mom decided to bake.
"They're ok, but I wouldn't enter them in a baking contest"
And finally the climax of our short and sweet weekend, the obligatory picture of other people's dogs:
Saturday morning brought much needed rain showers to area and luckily let me get some much needed sleep. Saturday night though featured the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium in West Chester. This is a huge race held through the main streets of West Chester every summer, and after seeing the crowds and speeds I think this will be one of my target races for next year.
The unique thing about this race is rather than starting at the crack ass of dawn, it starts right at sunset for a very different type of race. It also makes for neat pictures:
Unfortunately a race starting at 7:45pm means you don't get home from West Chester until rather late. Not good when you have one of those crack ass of dawn races Sunday morning. This one took Jamie and me back to Bethlehem for a short 12 mile oval loop. The pace was faster than normal since it was so short, but we were both feeling good somehow and managed to come into the final sprint with me in 4th and Jamie in 5th.
If you've been watching any of the early stages of the Tour you might see that towards the end of a flat stage the big strong guys come to the front and unleash hell in a mad frenzy 200 yards from the line. Unfortunately for me, such was the case on Sunday as well, and I ended up losing 10 spots in the sprint and finished 14th.
Data:
9 laps - 12 miles
30mins
avg speed - 24mph
top speed - 31mph
avg HR - 174bpm
max HR - 193bpm
It was a good race though, and I can't be bummed about 14th out of 34 so to celebrate we stopped at our team sort-of sponsor, Vegan Treats, on the way home!
The goodies this bakery produces are such a rare treat for vegans, and my teammates go absolutely bonkers whenever they get the chance to stop in. The cakes and donuts are pretty good though, and it's good to know that animals didn't have to suffer for them to be made.
Here's my post-race nutrition:
Luckily the donut wasn't my only post race meal. Julie and EJ invited us over for dinner!
EJ made some delicious chicken and eggplant parm (sorry animals), and we promptly devoured it. We also had some cookies from earlier in the day when Michelle and her mom decided to bake.
"They're ok, but I wouldn't enter them in a baking contest"
And finally the climax of our short and sweet weekend, the obligatory picture of other people's dogs:
7.07.2010
Potent Potables
Some of my colleagues may disagree, but the food and drink budget for a wedding should include more than Jack Daniels and a piece of cow. Most will agree though that the food is what makes or breaks a wedding (and a budget). Fortunately my fiancee writes great emails, and we were invited to a complimentary tasting by Robert Ryan Catering tonight.
First though, we have mini cucumbers!
Ok, so the evening basically consisted of the Robert Ryan staff serving us a mixture of hors d'oeuvres, appetizers, entrees, and deserts while answering all of our questions at the same time.
I got a free beer too! They sure know how to sell me!
Here are the hors d'oeuvres. Please feel free to ask about anything you see. I don't want to type up the whole menu and share all of their secrets, but I can certainly let you know what each item is and how awesome it tasted. The scallops wrapped in bacon with pineapple dipping sauce was unanimously awarded first prize.
The appetizers:
Beautiful fiancee:
The entrees:
Overall we were incredibly impressed by the food and the professionalism of the caterer. She also assured us that she has special vegan and vegetarian meals too but unfortunately didn't have any prepared tonight. Michelle wrote to several other caterers too so I'm hoping to enjoy a few more wedding planning nights like this.
First though, we have mini cucumbers!
Ok, so the evening basically consisted of the Robert Ryan staff serving us a mixture of hors d'oeuvres, appetizers, entrees, and deserts while answering all of our questions at the same time.
I got a free beer too! They sure know how to sell me!
Here are the hors d'oeuvres. Please feel free to ask about anything you see. I don't want to type up the whole menu and share all of their secrets, but I can certainly let you know what each item is and how awesome it tasted. The scallops wrapped in bacon with pineapple dipping sauce was unanimously awarded first prize.
The appetizers:
Beautiful fiancee:
The entrees:
Overall we were incredibly impressed by the food and the professionalism of the caterer. She also assured us that she has special vegan and vegetarian meals too but unfortunately didn't have any prepared tonight. Michelle wrote to several other caterers too so I'm hoping to enjoy a few more wedding planning nights like this.
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