2009 Resolutions in Review

Back in early ought nine I wrote up a list of resolutions for the new year. A precarious task for sure with a new baby on the way, but as they were written so shall they be reviewed...

- Ride at least twice a month
Fail, I think I made it to mid April when Kaden was born.

- Ride more miles in the current month than I did the previous
Fail, Save the month of September.

- Ride and camp more
Pass, our goodbye to Russ ride covered this one.

- Try a new recipe a month
Pass, I can't document it, but I cooked like a mad man in 2009.

- Improve my writing
Pass, between my online D&D game and blogging I like to think I got better this year.

- Take more photos
Pass, see the pictures.

- Improve my video editing (and post more videos)
Pass, see the videos.

- Lose weight (see riding goals)
Fail, I think I am up 5 to 10 pounds over last year, see cooking and cycling.

- Take at least one grappling or BJJ class
Fail, no excuses.

- Read more comics
Pass, I read a ton.

- Build an arcade
Fail, I meant to do this honest, it will make the list for 2010 for sure.

- Finish a 40k army
Fail, after discovering D&D this year I really have no need for this anymore.

- Organize my workshop
Fail, it is currently a hot mess.

- Back up my data
Pass, I got an external hard drive and software that backs up everything weekly.

- Become a good Dad
Pass, while this is subjective for sure, I think by not cooking meth in our kitchen and reading to him every night I'm doing a pretty good job at this Dad thing.

Hmm, 8 out of 15 isn't bad, but it isn't good either. I'll be putting together my 2010 list this coming week in another post, hopefully I can complete even more.

Blogcation 2009

Apparently I am taking this month off, a blogcation if you will, to work on other projects and be with family. I didn't plan it this way, but it was a welcome break in the face of the holidays, bathroom renovations, video editing and more. My Tumblr went dark for the week of Christmas as well, but the lights are back on today. The same goes for Twitter, but that has a pulse again too.

As for the rest of the stuff, I edited the last 7-ish months of baby video down to four videos last week with all the trimmings. I'll dedicate a whole post to them in the coming weeks. There will be an obligatory Christmas post with bunches of pictures from Kaden's first. We made home made brownies last week to, nothing to complicated, just no store bought mix and they were ten times more delicious. As I mentioned above we renovated a bathroom and I have all kinds of before and after pictures to share.

I have been absorbing media at a more steady clip, so I'll have mini reviews of new comics, movies and games this week and next too. The Wreck Awards will be returning this year, now that I have annualized them it is practically law that I make a post. I'm sure there will be more than all that, but I feel like my blogging plate is filling up quick, so for now I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are planning a happy New Year.

P.S. I'll have a 2009 New Year's resolution review and brand new list of shit I won't do in 2010.

Finishing, Twitter and Peppers

Wood Finishing
Wednesday night was my second class at Woodcraft since I decided to add yet another hobby to my list of many. The last class was how to build a basic box, it was very hands on and the result of my labor was tangible. My choice for a follow up was a finishing course. I figured it made sense to at least learn how to sand, stain, seal and clear coat my first project. It felt a little less satisfying to not walk away with something, but getting a crash course in a topic I knew zero about prior to attending was equally great. Hopefully I will have new pictures of the finished box on the site sooner than later.

Twitter
Now that I have a new phone, text plan and the same amount of thoughts and life experiences, I have awakened my twitter account (@wreck36) from it's seven month slumber. Finally getting it synced up with my Facebook and Tumblr was the push I needed too. Posting to twitter from my desktop previously just seemed like I was doing it wrong. So now it is on to even more social media. Look out should I be successful in getting my employer setup to tweet as well.

Stuffed Peppers
On the menu at the Tabib's Tuesday night was stuffed bell peppers. A meal I have made once before that turned out tasty enough to warrant a second pass. This time it went faster, cleaner and tastier. They are simple enough to make: brown beef, cook rice and combine the two with tomato sauce, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and salt/pepper to taste. Stuff the mix in the peppers and cover the tops with a mix of tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and fresh parmesan. Bake at 350 for one hour and the result is what you see to the right. Basting it every 15 minutes with the tomato sauce mix will keep them moist. Supah Tasty.

Comics & Books
Long neglected my "what am I reading" list on the right hand side of the bee-log has been updated and bumped up above the links sections. Nothing special, but why have it if it is not up to date.

Thanksgiving Days

Images of cornucopias filled to the brim with harvest treats and religious separatists with more belt buckles than maize, dance in my head in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. When day dream meets reality though, I eat too much, watch a lot of football and go without sleep on Black Friday. This year was no different, I'm happy to say. We started Thursday morning with a trip to my parent's house for a pancake breakfast. Given the large meals we planned to eat later in the day it was probably ill advised, but pancakes are super tasty.

Our first feast was had at Crystal's grandparents and was host to a crowd of 16, including three great grandchildren (Rowan, Kaden and Landon). The food was tasty as always and football was watched, but as a side show to three little ones running, walking and crawling all over creation. I felt like napping post meal, but instead we went outside for pictures galore. The boys played in and tried to eat the leaves and all together had a great time. It will be fun to see them get together each year and see how much they have grown.

Round two was back to my parent's, where we Kaden went to bed for the night prior to us eating a later than normal feast. The food was equally as tasty as our lunch and equally filling. Following dinner we did some Black Friday ad planning. A dessert that put me beyond full was next and then we were off sans Kaden to our home. That's right, our little boy spent his first night away from home at my parent's. It was a little tough passing his room and not seeing him through out the night. Crystal couldn't sleep upstairs without the white noise of his baby monitor humming away, so she slept in our first floor spare bedroom.

Sleep in preparation for waking up at 2:45am that is. Crystal and her mom are seasoned Black Friday shoppers who get out the door at 3:30am and don't come home till 4pm later that day. I normally head out with my brother for some door buster deal or another around 4am, but this year I could not seem to find one thing I wanted. So I stayed up to see what deals Amazon might have and to my disappointment there was nothing on the web I wanted either. So it was off to bed for the most sleep I have had since Kaden was born.

Saturday morning we packed up and drove to Crewe, VA to see Crystal's other set of grandparents. We showed off Kaden's new crawling, standing and clapping skills in their family room and then headed to Walmart, because that is what there is to do in Crewe. After Walmart we ate lunch at a sub and pizza joint and bid the grandparents far well. Sunday Kaden and I were sick all day. It sucked. The end.

The rest of the pictures are here.