Almost August

Can you believe we are over halfway through this year? It seems as if my days and weeks have been flying by. Not fair, I say! I have only played golf four times this year. I have been busy though. Two jobs and whatnot. And speaking of the two jobs, I put in my two weeks notice at the part time job this week. I dare say I've had enough. When my youngest brother Joel worked there, it always seemed fun to work beside him and hang out with him. Since he has quit to join the Ky. State Police Academy, it hasn't been the same. Good things can't last forever.

Next weekend seems to be turning into what will be a very interesting weekend. On that Saturday, Beth and I are hosting a meet-n-greet for our parents and siblings(or those who can make it anyway-sorry Chase and Alisha). I don't think I will be nervous at all. I am quite partial to both sets of parents. I am worried, however, about all the food that will need to be prepared. I will be grilling for nearly 16 people on my tiny grill. I have grilled for several more on one occasion, but not in the 90 degree heat. I am sure Beth will have her hands full with appetizers and what have you. I just hope that everything runs smoothly.

We have set our wedding date for November 26 (Oct. 8th if Chase asks). Yeah, that's two days after the greatest eating day known to man. I will have to only eat three plates on Thanksgiving, you know, to make sure my tux will still fit. The wedding stuff seems to be finally coming along. We went to a Sandals resort presentation the other night and I believe we have settled on St. Lucia in the eastern Caribbean for our honeymoon destination. It looks quite exotic with the towering emerald green pitons and the aqua blue marine horizon. I can't wait. I must go now! No...must hold it together just a while longer.

N-E-Ways, I will keep you informed how the upcoming weekend goes. It will be a great adventure. Until then, Happy Thursday!!!

Legends, Barley-Hole, and Hitchery

What's cracking this week? An extremely slow week at work was rewarded Friday night with a trip to Applebees park with Beth, brother Joel, and a couple of friends and co-workers. I thought the Legends were to be routed early by the Lakewood Blueclaws after an early 8-runs-in-two-innings tear. But, the game went 13 innings. Sorry, I only stayed until the bottom of the eighth. You see, I recently acquired a set of Cornhole boards from a friend at work. And, if you aren't familiar to the game "Cornhole", it is more or less a glorified bean bag game infused with the red-neck chic game of Horse shoes, with the occasional tendencies to turn up a Miller High Life Light brew(my new favorite beer). I guess the game originated in the Cincinnati area, so it was only a matter of time before it made it to the Bluegrass.

Anyhoo, we left the game early to run by Krogers to grab supplies to create makeshift Cornhole bags. Once there, we decided on sandwich baggies for the bag part. The stuffing of the bags was changed from dried pinto beans, to black-eyed peas, to finally dried barley--an excellent substitute if you can't find cornfeed. Since barley was the filler, the name was changed to "Barley-Hole". Can't argue with that! My skills were lacking, Friday night being only the second time to ever play the game. But, it was fun nonetheless.

I actually attended another wedding this weekend of a co-worker. It was a really nice outdoors wedding. I thought it would be absolutely too hot for the suit. However, cool heads always prevail. Well, thinking of cold things helped me make it through the ceremony without breaking the sweat. Mind over matter, people. If you don't mind, then it doesn't matter! I think that this will probably be the last wedding I attend before I go to my own, hopefully.

Anyone watching the MLB All Star game tomorrow night? Yeah, me neither!

Have a great week and make sure to check out my link to the 1980's song lyrics quiz. I scored a 95.5. Beat that, Chee-say!

Busy as a Biz-zee!

Wow, I have driven almost 2000 miles since my last post. That means I have been extremely busy. Not a lot of time to post. Funny Story---Tuesday before last(June 28), my fiance was out of town visiting her parents and visiting possible wedding sites in W.Va., I typed up this huge blog detailing the weekend events-wedding, family, etc.... Piece of crap laptop at our house locked up when I initiated the spell checker on my monologue. So, there was 45 minutes wasted on an entry that will never be read. Suck! I also missed the entire new episode of Reno 911 that night. Dedicated, huh?

Oh, well. The wedding was really nice. I really enjoyed seeing all my family, friends, and people (for lack of better term). We had a great time at the reception and after party. (I staggered back to my parent's house as the sun was getting ready to rise.) Still, it was great to catch up with a lot of people. From the last post, I explained how I was next on the list for marriage. I took from my cousin's wedding this-"No matter how ready you think you are, you aren't at all, but that's okay." This applies to everything in life. That's what experiences are all about. And that is what makes them memorable. Any event so exciting that has happened to anyone can be described in great detail from the individual. Every emotion and physical feeling is etched into the fibers of their being. It often becomes a happy place one returns to often when he/she needs cheering. They don't need anyone to remind them. First home run in T-Ball, getting one's driver's license, first kiss.....ah. You see what I'm saying.

Fourth of July, feelings? Mine? How about if you shoot off fireworks, clean up your mess no later than noon the next day. We were out of town for the fourth visiting family. We come home to a mess that has the appearance of strewn trash across our front yard. Family members can liken it to an entire brick of Black Cats ignited at once. A mess nonetheless.

Last year on the Fourth, we were getting ready for our Western Caribbean cruise. Packing for our flight we heard several fireworks discharging. We even opened the blinds so we could see them flash. Since the flight to Tampa left at 6:30 a.m., we were in bed by 11:30. By midnight the fireworks were raging as if we had just defeated the British and continued to do so until 2:00 a.m. Beth wasn't happy-as if I needed to say that. If Beth ain't happy....

I hope you had a great Fourth of July weekend. I know if I have to eat another grilled hotdog or burger in the next week, I may just regurgitate. Until next time.

PS Chase, "Bist du dumm oder vas, Lan"