Happy Sweet 16 Amanda

Well folks, its been awhile since I updated this. Halfway thru the NFL season and my Cleveland Browns are a Federally-declared disaster area with a 1-7 record so far. And now with a chance to totally embarass Dawg Pound Nation on the national stage with a Monday Night game against our arch-rival Baltimore Ravens. If the Browns play hasn't improved dramatically, this could be a slaughter. But then some good might come of it and our sorry excuse for a front office might finally get that football genius (such as Marty Schottenheimer) for a GM or President. A guy who can finally rebuild this team into a title contender. That is the hope of Dawg Pound Nation.


Onto a much happier topic. Our lovely teenage neighbor, Amanda celebrated her Sweet 16 Birthday (Monday, Nov 9th). And we got to celebrate it with her. FYI, Amanda is becoming one beautiful classy lady who (along with her mom and her sister Vicki) helps keep my lovely wife company when I have to go out on the road. Here's some Sweet 16 pics of Amanda (which we sent to her over MySpace as well):

Oh and that new dress she's wearing, we got her for her birthday. Well actually we gave her the $$ for it and she picked it out. Isn't she a knockout?
(A definite guy magnet. I hope she lands a totally classy boyfriend who treats her right).

My lovely wife Kyrsten with Sweet 16 Amanda.




















Amanda with her newborn niece, Elizabeth Rose (who's mom is her older sister Vicki). As you can see, I got to hold little Elizabeth as well.



I just had to include this picture of little Lexi (Amanda's niece as well). Just look at that expression as she contemplated digging into Grandma's choc cream pie.



And that's our Happy Sweet 16 for Amanda.





Oh and I sent this nifty YouTube video ( as a birthday card) to Amanda. She had never heard this song by the Beatles before (gee you know you're getting old when today's teenagers don't recognize the Beatles) but Amanda absolutely loved it.

Birthday Song for Amanda, by The Beatles.

I think we'll also send her Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little 16". After all your Sweet 16 only comes around once in a lifetime.

Next Sweet 16, our other lovely neighbor, Leslie which is next March.

Its Been Such a Long Time...and my BROWNS still suck!!!

Well folks, like the old hit song Long Time from the classic rock group Boston, its been such a long time since I actually updated this blog. Just haven't really felt like it as there's always something more important. Like my family (wife & girls), this road-trippin job , Browns games....well maybe not so much this season.

Speaking of my Browns, well they're off to their usual sucky start, 0-2 after two games and a lackluster performance against the Denver Broncos last Sunday. I know this is going to be a rebuilding season for the team but sheesh, can't they at least generate some freakin touchdowns?
No wonder the defense gets so gassed in the 4th quarter, they're on the field for most of the game because our offense can't generate any freakin offense.

In other news, I may a possible career change opportunity come up over the course of the next 12 months or so. I won't comment on it much more than that at this point but in involves people we know who know other people who are in a position to help. Which is something I haven't had with past career "possibilities".
The drawback, I may have to take a cut in pay. But it would offer two things I find quite valuable and worth the reduced pay. One is the fact I'll be home most of the time. Two, there are possibilities for some honest to goodness career advancement.
A few years ago I wouldn't have been interested. But funny how a job that has you away from home can change one's perspective.

In a update to a previous blog, my old teen hangout Randall Park Mall has now closed down for good. What was once a fun place for a guy in his teen days to hang out, shop and meet girls is now a dead hulk of a empty building.

Informational Wikipedia Article on RPM.

Well our girls continue to grow up and get taller (and prettier, ). Gigi is now 10 years old, Laci is 5. My how the time goes by so fast.
Well if I think of anything else....well Kyrsten (my wife), I love you dearly.

First Blog for 2009.

Well folks, while Lane is scratching his head looking for my original Ruby Tuesday Thinkings posting, thought I'd put this up to summarize as much as I could, the original posting (which I was going to copy over to my Blog but somebody got a stinky fin...err....itchy delete finger before I could copy it.

Inauguration Day: No I did not watch it, I just got the quick 1 minute version as during the ceremony, I was out on a fitness hike thru the California desert mountains. We're spending some time at a shopping center in Rancho Cucomonga B4 heading towards Edwards. My candidate (Mitt Romney) didn't get in so I could care less about the 170M party the Democrats threw for the Obamessiah Coronation. Instead I've decided to set my sights to the future, namely 2012 and the hope that a Sarah Palin/Michael Steele (B-Greg knows Mr. Steele rather well I think) would bring back to this now-bankrupt government.
And that's all the political commentary I have here.


Much happier, taking my family ice skating (for the first time ever) over the Christmas holidays. I was quite a scene all of us getting used to the ice skates. Since I have a roller skating background (from my teenage days), I managed to master the ice skates rather quickly and helped my girls do the same as you can see.

Oh well, I'm not quite Brian Boitano but hey.




All the Christmas lights, the ice rink in downtown Cocoa and family members (including some family from St. Petersburg joining us) made for a real nice Christmas evening.


Also a couple days later, the lovely lady of the house and I went to see the Lippizaner Stallions show as their annual tour stopped in Orlando. Kyrsten had been wanting to see this show for a long time but never did until this Christmas season.
At the arena before the show.




More coming as I think of it but for now, time to rest up for Edwards.