Eatin Good In MI

Fri-
Omelets & Hashbrowns
Lunch- Hot & Sour soup, Fruit Salad, Crostini
Supper- NY Steaks (grilled), Rutabega & Carrot Bake, Fresh Greens Salad

Sat am-
Bagels & Cream Cheese, Omelets
Lunch- Veg Beef Soup, Cheese & Crackers wi/Elk & Venison Sausage (from Montana)
Supper- Crusted Salmon (from Lake MI that my Aunt & Uncle caught), Lemon Couscous, baguettes, cole slaw, Wild Blueberry Pie (my Aunt & Uncle picked them)

Christmas-
Joshua's oven-baked omelet, sweet rolls (all baked in the shape of a pine tree), and fruit
Lunch- (grazing) Hot &Sour / Beef soups, Cheese & Crackers with (some more of that outstanding) Lake Salmon (but Smoked this time!), Sand Shrimp Cocktail
Supper- Baked Pheasant with Morel Mushrooms Calso hand picked by my Aunt & Uncle), mixed veg, cranberry relish, bagguettes, and salad.

40o And Rainy

I think I brought the warm weather from AZ with me to Michigan. Its almost 40o F here. All the snow is getting slushy and it's even raining.

MoA Baby!

In all the rush and with sleeping all last weekend away with pneumonia I never had a chance to shop for gifts this holiday. Good thing my extended layover in Minnesota landed me next to the Mall of America. I am excited to see a lot of relatives this weekend!

Things that make you go Hmmm...

In Phoenix they're all in English and Spanish...

Pneumonia Sucks

16 workouts missed

5 pounds of muscle lost

4 doctors visits

3 days out of work

2 good parties missed

3 types of RX drugs

3 types of nasal sprays

1 really good friend made sick

1 cat scan of my head

1 x-ray of my chest And not even a partridge in a pear tree for all this trouble.

Sumo Hockey

At 2 - 0 Lightning vs. Coyotes the Sumo Hockey players in the end of the 2nd period are the best part of the game. Did the Cardinals give some of their players to the Coyotes this year?

Home For Orphaned Pastries

We arrived at the movies early last night to see The Chronicles of Narnia. I wanted to grab something to drink to stay hydrated after losing a ton of fluid to this stupid sinus infrection of three weeks now. It's definitely not gettting better so I am hitting up the doc's office yet again this week. I am so sick of the russian roulettte of decongestants, and nasal sprays that all work for about an hour then quit.

Anyway Velasco and I hit up the Coffee Plantation across the street where I purchased a hot chocolate. The case had some good looking pastries in it. On second look I noticed there was only one of each type left in it. It seemed like these were the last of the pastries for the day waiting, hoping someone would purchase them and devour them there or take them home and zap them in a microwave the next morning to cram them down with a coffee on the way to work to prevent them from being thrown in the rubbish at the end of the night. Coffee Plantation's Home for Orphaned Pastries.

Dang Bro Can You Cook!

I found the stray's owners, they put up posters on the street where I found her. The only tough part about the whole experience was when I got home from the gym after work. She was a little stressed about getting out of the house, so she tore up all my aluminum blinds on the windows and french doors. Great! I wanted to get different ones anyway but it still bites until I replace them. After dropping Allie off at her owner's, I hit up Velasco's for dinner last night. He made his first chicken parmasean, and it rocked.

LOST DOGS

Found a stray today. Now comes the whole trial of finding the owner (if I can). She seems like a great pup and gets along with Dante fine. He's excited to have a live-in girlfriend right now. Really excited. I am going to hit up the neighbor-hood where I found her roaming with signs and flyers this week, and take her to the vet to see if she has a chip in her.

Late Nite Chow

Philadelephia Sandwich Company 24 hours baby!.

Family Day 2005
Everything went well at our annual Family day today. I even got to meet a new friend. This is one of the critters one of my guys had on display. He has a whole menagierie at his house for breeding and selling exotic animals. We also had Hummer rides and some blackhawks on display.

Sean and Velasco taking a ride in one of my trucks.

Jamie the Javelina!

I wish I had your seats Thom! After the game I found out about six of my friends were there too. That's a decent tailgate party. Next game. :)

AZ vs SC

Yeah they bite, but still a fun game. AZ Cardinals vs. SC Jaguars.

After moving the wood-pile today I was pretty hot. But like all pools in Scottsdale mine isn't that warm right now... the plunge reminded me of the waters off the coast of Maine in the springtime. Once my extremeties were sufficiently numb I decided it was a good idea not to try for another cannonball off the diving board. Off to the gym then out to tour some of the bars in Phoenix with "Boston Jonny" and the Hilliker crew if I can keep up.

Cranberries and Confidants

I can't say I was pleased to head into work today after "G.W." pardoned two Turkeys but apparently forgot to give the federal workforce Friday off like the last 4 years.

I was happy to visit with my cousin Kristin who I haven't seen in about 15 years. Too much to catch up on at the dinner table with my Aunt Faye and the crew at her house. Not to mention keeping the four dogs at bay from the table. Dante was an angel the whole time. He usually is until someone leaves the room then he thinks it's carte blanche to drag any morsel of food - wrapped or not off of any counter or table. Luckily that didn't happen.

After taking a plate to my other Aunt in TUS I headed back to PHX. There I grabbed another amazing meal prepared by 'Boston Johnny' and ended up staying there for a while enjoying the good company and wine and of course lots of chocolate, almost (sorry I have to be honest John) the best Tiramisu, and some killer rasberry cheescake before finally heading back home.


A strange Phenomena that has started this week is becoming the 'confidant'. On more than one occasion this week someone has approached me (and sometimes quite obliquely) to confide that this or that person they are dating, engaged to, or currently seeing isn't the right one. Perhaps I am oozing some pheremone of the brokenhearted. Being in the tail-end of the "I'm over being depreessed still kind of pissed-off" stage of realizing my heart wasn't in the right place at the right time to start something. It must be some resonant connection that is attracting these folks to me. In one instance it was someone whom I met only once before. Maybe some people like to hit up a 'stranger' with this stuff because they think they'll recieve an objective response without knowing the history.

To everyone who catches this in time, I hope you all have or are having a great Holiday Weekend. (Hmmm.... Vegas actually sounds like fun, Ed) I think I am going to hit the gym then spend the night polishing off as much of Robert Jordan's latest as I can make it through.

Cheers.

AZ vs. CA

@ The Coyotes Game

Coyotes vs. The Ducks

Howl for the Coyotes!

CPT A

Yeah, pretty cheesy. Still a great T-shirt...

V & I by the pool

Ahh, Life in Phoenix in November. Can't beat the weather now. Spent a really nice weekend at home for the first time in a while. Definitely one of the best weekends I have had here so far. Went out with some friends Friday. Saturday night we had a few rounds of poker and then out to check out the pending remodeling of a bar in Scottsdale. Sunday I had breakfast with my friend Ed and Velasco at this awesome spot in Phoenix, La Grande Orange . Spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool reading Robert Jordan's latest. I am excited to see my cousin Kristin this week when I visit my aunt in Tucson for Thanksgiving. I haven't seen my cousin in about 10 years.

MMM... chiken

Dinner @ Pei Wei ... I'm enjoying dumping my diet and eating everything in sight! 185 lbs. here I come!

Ice - Nine

Yeah- I learned the hard lesson that Dry-Ice is COLD! Frostbite in AZ. Crazy.

Pilot Instructions

Sign at the terminal in Yuma, AZ

The last day as an "LT". Contemplating this beneficial change. It's friggin' awesome! After spending four years as a "junior officer" this is a big octave change in the ranks. At the full time job I am constantly beating on the walls of very senior officers and having to educate them on policy and sometimes dictate what they should be doing. This is difficult to do as a jr. O. That's all they see. The rank on the collar. They forget that I represent and have the full backing of a one-star general.

This new level gives me a
little more clout when I have to head around and conduct OSHA inspections and instruct facilities on what must be fixed. The extra pay is nice, but it isn't a lot. Plus it just feels freaking good to finally make this goal. For the longest time I had some captain's rank pinned in the old Pathfinder then in the bimmer to remind me every day of the goal and what responsibility I will be stepping into. I replaced it with the gold oakleaf for Major this weekend.

During the promotion ceremony I stated what I have said many times. A lot of officers lose sight of the NCO's (sergeants) and lower enlisted. Having spent time as one has definitely helped me keep perspective. THEY are the ones who should get credit for every success of my unit. THEY are the ones who make me as a commander succeed or fail miserably. The unit has had some rocky days, but overall they are a great team. I am really proud to command them. I have about another year and 1/2 left in command and I already know I will miss it. These soldiers will always have a spot im my heart.

"I don't care about winning the fight, I just care about doing damage. I just want to hit hard and do a lot of damage. Winning will take care of itself." -Jack (Ultimate Fighter)

When I was boxing in Kuwait (1:5) I hit a wall in training. The coach, one of my best friends told me what my problem is. Rick said, "You have the same problem I had when I was in Golden Gloves... you don't really want to hurt the other guy. If you want to continue with this you are going to have to make a change inside that is not necessarily good. You are going to have to want to kill the other fighter. You are a nice guy at heart and that's what is stopping you but if you do this you can't go back." That's when I became an assistant coach and judge for the fights.

Porcupine

Finally Snow in Snowbird.

Sure, the last day here and the snow starts falling

Dinner @ Joes Crab Shack

5A220220

nice alligator...

Unfortunately the good group picture was washed out. (clockwise) My mug, Jill, Petrina and Kurt. Missing in this are Tom (my co-worker), and Mike. It was great to see some of the Team from hiking up Mt Kilimanjaro this last July. I'll NEVER forget you guys. The tiny clock radios in the rooms here don't get any AM stations so I couldn't listen to Kurt's radio show. Thanks for an AWESOME dinner - has the three-cheese ravioli with this nice squash sauce.

5A0I0215

Not a bad view from the gym @ Snowbird, UT. At a conference here until Nov. 4th.

Halloween was mellow but spent in some great conversation. first time in a while that I have lost time in deep discussions. Unfortunately, I also was so overcome by the smoke in a bar that my eyes were burning on the drive home.

"The streams who's crystal floods pour over nuggets of pure gold do not flow in any flat and acessible river bed but in a narrow rocky valley surrounded by gigantic Ideas, and over its entrance the mighty Spirit stands guard like a cherub with his sword, turning back all who expect to be admitted at the usual price for a play of ideas." - Presussische Militair-Literatur Zeitung, 1832

Sporting our new uniform for the Army - the ACU (Army Combat Uniform). They are so comfortable I feel like I am wearing my pajamas to work! the nice thing is they are wash and wear - no more pressing uniforms. Plus the additional pockets are great too.

Sunset over the range in Florence, AZ

Get Some!!!

One of the best parts being a commander is seeing your troops succeed. We were supposed to stay overnight at our armory tonight after a long (14 hour) day of weapons qualifications. They did so well and qualified 100% of those who went I let them go home tonight.

Nothing beats some of the simple joys of watching the stars at night, or reveling in the sunrise with the one you care about most in this world. Sunrise over Whidby Island, WA.

Back in Washington State again for one of the best weekends of my life.

RITC Baby!
Floor Seats at Rage In The Cage.... freaking awesome!
This was Steve's first time at a cage match. I told him that sometimes there are fights that break out in the stands... not even five minutes later, yup you guessed it.. there were four fights in the audience that night. The funniest one was on the floor near us and the guy was giving the cops a bunch of smack so they just cuffed him and dragged him out. What a dumbass.




Then there was the fight with 'roid boy', some guy was jacked on steroids, this was really obvious by his build. He recieved a mixed welcome when he walked up to the octagon, some loud cat calls. Then he was DQ'ed (disqualified) for some reason I forget, but when he was leaving the floor, the audience was throwing trash down at him. Don't piss off an arena of fighters. What a great night.

I can't believe this is undoctored. The sunset from on Mt Humphreys was amazing. Good thing we had a flashlight to make it down the mountain.

Going slowly took longer than I planned on this trip. Steve and I almost at the top - on top of Arizona enjoying the view.

Steve and I startin to feel the altitude at over 11,000'

At a little over 14,600' Mt Humphrey's dominates Flagstaff, AZ

Had a blast of a weekend. Took a few extra days off to head up Mt. Humphrey, the highest point in AZ at 12,600'. I learned a lot from the Kilimanjaro trip about acclimatization. Took it "poli, poli" (slowly, slowly) above the 11,000' marker. Saw some nice fights at the Glendale stadium (www.rageinthecage.com) on Friday night, checked out some of the bars in Phoenix after. Saturday we drove out to San Diego to go to some great parties, the second one had a phenomenal DJ. Your roomate kicks butt, Urban! Thanks for driving Steve. And to everyone else in the 'crew' this weekend I hope you all had as much fun as I did. One more for the record that I'll never forget. Pictures to follow...

Sunset Yesterday - Reason #246 to get to Arizona

Spent another awesome weekend in Seattle. Sometimes I wonder if Phoenix is really the 6th largest city in the country. In some ways it's a lot more backwards, conservative and restrained than some smaller cities like Seattle. I am beginning to really like that town, and the friends I am making there. ;)

I've uploaded a slice of the last two years of my life here. I hope that those who browse through what I have so far can get a feeling of what's happend. Carpe Diem.

Dante and Paige (aka Shante') goin at it again....

Church...
Can't believe she's over 14...

Kelley & I at the Skylounge...
Yeah I know they changed the name.. what 3 times?
It'll always be the Skylounge to me.