Picture Catch-up Part 3, Chloe

Who doesn't love pictures of the best dog in the world; Chloe.



The red, white and black huskies



Joey, Chloe and Luke



This is why a white dog at the park is a bad idea



After getting cleaned up at Hair of the Dog grooming in Canton



She likes the firetruck and the snow (at a stoplight)



Chloe talks in her sleep ...



and can keep herself busy pretty easily

Don't know why the video quality is so bad, I guess they got compressed when I e-mailed them.

Picture Catch-up Part 2, Football Games

Other than the several Ravens games I go to each year, I thought I'd like to see another stadium this year and how the crowds treat me. A bunch of friends are Steelers fans so I figured I'd head there.



Justin, Marko and I tailgating



This was a pretty awesome stadium and I can't wait to go back next year



I was really impressed how few Ravens fans were there. The Steelers fans apparently don't sell up their seats for big games like a lot of fans do here in B'more.

Overall, I was treated pretty well, even after we won. It may have had to do with being surrounded by friends that were Steelers fans, or that I didn't really try to start anything, or that I'm 6-4, 260; regardless, it was a pleasant experience.



I've wanted to see Mike Vick play live because it's hard to see the whole field on TV and what affect he actually has on defensive backs. I chose the perfect game to; the 59 - 28 pummelling of the Redskins on a cold and rainy Monday night.



Let's just say that after the TD pass to Desean Jackson on the 1st play of the game, it was easy to see how scared the DBs were that he could pass like that and it allowed him to run all over the field. I was happy with the decision to go to that game, but I wish it was somewhere else; I can't stand FedEx Field and it's a nightmare to get to/leave from.



This is from the Ravens - Steelers game in baltimore last weekend. I went to both games this year and amazingly, both stadiums were pretty silent while I left. BTW, this picture is from an iPhone app called 360 Panorama, it works pretty well during the day, but figured I'd try it at the stadium and like the results (will get one at the Ravens - Saints game next week during the day to see how much better it comes out).

Picture Catch-up Part 1, Culebra Puerto Rico

First, Happy Birthday Aunt Karen.

OK, these picture catch-up posts are going to be incredibly out of order but that's the nice thing about having a blog ... you can do whatever you want.

These are from the second weekend in November in Culebra, Puerto Rico. I went with a great group of people and it was the perfect escape from work and the increasingly colder weather.



The ferry ride from the mainland to Culebra take about 75 minutes and you get to see a bunch of the other islands off the coast of PR




These 2 pictures combine to be the view from our condo's balcony; too bad my phone couldn't capture how truly awesome it was



The ladies of the trip with our bus driver Willy; we had a party bus both nights and he came in with us everywhere we went



Some of the group chilling on our balcony



When there's drinking and available coconuts, the only logical conclusion is a coco-lantern



Our only meal out, at Eden, was excellent (had lobster that was great)



Kirby, Jackson and I after the meal. There's a reason for my face, but I'm not telling here



The group with Willy (my phone's lens had a smudge)



The ferry leaving Culebra



One of the streets in old San Juan; we had time before our flight and decided to take a stroll through

So yeah, still not doing much here

Wow, 55 posts last year and I'm only at 7 (including this non-post) this year.

I guess this just hasn't been something I think about very much anymore or maybe I haven't really felt the urge to share any of the boring things that I've been up to lately.

It could also be because I haven't done a damn thing to my house and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to start this.

Oh well, I guess I'll think about writing something substantial here this week. Maybe talk about the awesome trip to Pittsburgh this weekend to watch the Ravens beat the Steelers or the second job I'm starting this week at a wine bar or the weddings I have this month and next or the upcoming trip to Puerto Rico or maybe ... just maybe, I'll write about how awesome my dog Chloe is. She's pretty f'ing awesome.

Blogging Fail!

So that whole thing about me blogging more often is probably starting to get a little tiresome by now. My last post was in May and a lot of fun stuff has happened since then.

Unfortunately, my knee has been bothersome since May so the whole working out thing has been more of a crawl than a sprint. I am hovering around 253 so I guess 20 lbs. in 2 months without a lot of effort is decent progress. I have over 3 months to go and since I'm no longer playing volleyball 5 nights a week, my knee has been feeling a lot better.

As for what's been keeping me busy, I've been having cookouts or going to cookouts a lot more often this summer than in the past. I really enjoy having an impromptu get together and picking up some kind of meat and just grilling it with a small group of people. Without as much volleyball, my evenings have been free, but somehow I still haven't been able to do much work on the house. I think the 90-100 degree heat might be contributing, or maybe I'm just too content right now, but I'd really like to progress a little faster on that front.

I have a bunch of fun stuff coming up in the next few weeks that I'm excited about. I'm picking up my Ravens season tickets today which makes me happiest of all. I'm going to the Shinedown concert next week that I've been looking forward to for a couple months. 98 Rock is doing the bacon and beer for Ravens training camp next Friday and I'm pretty sure I'm going to that with a bunch of guys from my old job. The Man City - Inter Milan soccer friendly at Ravens stadium is the next day and there will be 12 of us at that. Can't wait to tailgate.

That's all for now, let's see when I post next.

Monday Update - Week 1

Every Monday (or in the case of a holiday, Tuesday) I am going to try and post about my progress toward my goal of 220 by November and how what I am doing it working out.

I succeeded in going to the gym every [week]day last week and also met my goal of not drinking at all throughout the week. I even held out when my beach volleyball team went out after our match on Tuesday and I got the burger and beer special (Turkey burger, no cheese, only some of the roll) when I gave my beer away. Went to a party Saturday night with my bottle of water and still had fun, although I really wanted to get a late night pretzel from the square. I went shopping and bought a bunch of baby spinach and several chicken breasts for meals this week and am looking forward to cooking more.

I also been weighing myself everyday when I go to the gym. I figure doing it on the same scale at right around the same time everyday should provide a decent tracking metric for how I am doing on that front. When I started last Monday, I was 273; today I weighed in at 262. At the end of each of these Monday posts I'll put a tracker with the starting week (May 17th), the last week, and the current week.

That's really all I got, I'm going to track my lifting too, but I need to get used to that first since I have never really lifted on a regular basis and probably never correctly.

May 17th - 273
Last Week - 273
This Week - 262

Just Booked - Culebra Trip

I just booked my flights for a trip to Culebra, Puerto Rico and am already excited. The trip isn't until November, but everyone wanted to get everything planned as early as possible. I'm going for a long weekend with a bunch of friends from work, including some that have been there many times before.

Culebra is a small island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico and doesn't have very much development to take away from the natural beauty of the location. The two pictures below show the islands location relative to Puerto Rico and the lack of development via satellite view.





We are staying in a couple villas by one of the numerous beaches. There is very limited access to these beaches so for the only people around are those staying at the same "resort" as you. Below you can see how the place is surrounded by trees and water with just a small access road leading to it. I really can't wait to get there and have that kind of privacy.



Oh, and the best part? This is the view when you walk out of the villas:



I'll probably post about this periodically as I research stuff to do and buy things I'm going to take.