Saturday, November 29, 2008

Rowing Challenge - Week 4

The row on 11/26 was not fun....never row after eating dinner out.

11/25 10K meters - 42:45
11/26 10K meters - 42:59
11/28 10K meters - 41:39
11/28 5K meters - 21:19
11/29 10K meters - 41:45
11/29 5K meters - 20:55

50,000 meters for the week

(all times in minutes:seconds)

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Rowing Challenge - Week 3

I didn't actually reach my minimum this week....gonna have to dip into the previous weeks 5K overage to keep my average at 50K per week.

11/18 10K meters - 42:25
11/18 5K meters - 21:40
11/19 10K meters - 42:29
11/19 5K meters - 21:45
11/22 10K meters - 42:45 (this time has been corrected)
11/22 5K meters - 21:45

45,000 meters for the week (this total has been corrected)

(all times in minutes:seconds)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Musical Review - STOMP (and, a food review of La Familia)

This was our second trip to Bass Hall in the last two weekends. We met our friends Bill & Tara at La Familia for dinner before the show. I don't have any food pictures but I will talk a little about La Familia. This restaurant is just off of 7th Street west of downtown. It actually used to be on 7th Street in a closed down McDonald's. I worked at the UNT Health Science Center when this placed first opened up. When they opened I immediately thought to myself....ok, here's a place opening up in the same location that a McDonald's failed...not gonna make it there. That was back in 1996 and, they are still in business today. They moved to their current location several years ago because of all the 7th Street growth. Dianna and I both feel the same about this place.....we really love the atmosphere and the service, we just think the food could be so much better. They tout their food is very fresh, that they don't hold food over from one day to the next. And, I believe them...but, that doesn't necessarily guarantee great food. Everything we have ever tried is just average. We have yet to order a single memorable food item. In fact, Saturday night we ordered something worth mentioning, just so you won't make the mistake of ordering it. I am talking about the queso w/ chile con carne. Everyone at our table expected some good queso with taco meat. Instead we got not-so-great, super bland queso with some Tex-mex enchilada gravy. A definite waste of 8 bucks. Again, if it wasn't for the cool atmosphere and the fantastic service we would probably never re-visit....as it is we only eat here maybe twice a year. Oh, almost forgot to mention the alcohol. No draft beer which is a big negative but, the frozen drinks are pretty good, including the Jack Daniels slush drink...this is one of Dianna's favorites.

Back to STOMP. Didn't have super high expectations but, was expecting a good show. STOMP gets a lot of publicity...so much so it was on my must see list. It's really hard to describe the show other than saying its all about percussion...percussion on anything and everything, except your typical percussion instruments. There was some comic relief throughout the show but, it still couldn't save it for me. The show lasted about one hour and 45 minutes, without an intermission. And, I think there is a reason for that, in my opinion anyways. If they had an intermission I think they would lose about 20% of the audience. I was actually "done" at the 45 minute mark. I am not saying the performers are not talented because they certainly have more rhythm than I do. And, I'm not saying its a poorly produced show....because I think it is very well choreographed. I was just done with it about half-way through...and, Dianna was too. I really needed that intermission just to get my drink on (and to use the bathroom).
Bottom line....glad I a saw it....but, would I buy tickets again if it came back, hmmm, that is a definite no.

Rowing Challenge - Week 2

11/11 10K meters - 42:29
11/11 5K meters - 22:18
11/12 10K meters - 42:27
11/12 5K meters - 22:11
11/14 10K meters - 42:25
11/15 10K meters - 41:39
11/15 5K meters - 21:48

55,000 meters for the week

(all times in minutes:seconds)

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Anniversary Weekend - Day 3

(pictures coming soon)

Right after waking up we got ready for the trip to Glen Rose to pick up the girls and take them to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. When we arrived at my parents house we visited for a little while before having an early Thanksgiving lunch served. Even though the girls ate a late breakfast they were still up for turkey and all the fixings for lunch. (more to come)

Musical Review - ABBA: The Hits


Dianna bought tickets to "ABBA: The Show" @ Bass Hall in Fort Worth for our anniversary gift. Those who have read previous blog posts know that I really like ABBA and, now Dianna likes them as well. The evening's show featured the ABBA tribute band Waterloo performing with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. The FWSO actually only played on about half of the songs. This tribute band actually travels the world and is known as the best ABBA tribute band. The performance was incredible with both women having very powerful vocals that sounding exactly like the original ABBA recordings. There were a couple of songs with the guys leading the vocals that weren't so good but, ABBA doesn't have many songs with the guys leading the vocals. The only reason I think guys even lead is to allow the women to change outfits. A couple of musicians from the original ABBA band performed including their incredible saxophonists and their drummer. This is as close to seeing ABBA perform because back in 2000 the original ABBA band was offered $1 billion for a reunion tour (yes, that's billion!) which they turned down. This band has sold over 400 million albums/CDs and they are still very popular worldwide. If the show comes back in town we will definitely buy tickets again. Interesting side note - Dianna and I might have very well been some of the youngest people at this event. Must be because of all the FWSO season ticket holders.

Awesome show, easily one of the best musical performances I have enjoyed....thanks, Dianna !

Rowing Challenge - Week 1

Here's my weekly update:

11/01 10K meters - 43:25
11/02 10K meters - 42:39
11/04 10K meters - 42:34
11/05 10K meters - 42:52
11/06 10K meters - 42:42
11/08 10K meters - 42:19
11/08 5K meters - 21:34

65,000 meters for the week, includes an extra day

(all times in minutes:seconds)

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Anniversary Weekend - Day 2

I was pleasantly awakened by the loud chirping of one of our smoke detectors located on the other side of our house at exactly 4am. Luckily, I was able to get back to sleep without any problems. This did setup a trip to Costco later for a bulk purchase of 9 volt batteries, among other items.
After we both woke up and read the paper we headed out to the gym. Dianna's kick boxing class started at 9:45. I rowed while she was in class. Since her class is actually 60 minutes and my usual 10K row only lasts about 42 minutes I challenged myself to row another 5K with just a 4 minute rest. I actually felt pretty good on this second row....finished with a decent time of 21 minutes and change. This may setup for a new workout routine.
When we got back to the house we decided to do some yard work before showering. So, we mowed, edged, trimmed and fertilized the yard. While working in the yard I got a burger craving....after we got ready we headed out. On the way to Costco we stopped at Johnny B's, my current favorite burger in the DFW area.
Got back home and watched some college football while snoozing. Dianna got to take a rare daytime nap, too. This day went by fast....it was time to get ready for our Bass Hall date. Dianna had purchased tickets to see ABBA: The Hits. Read my review here. We stopped at Uncle Julio's off of Camp Bowie for an awesome Tex-mex dinner.

Movie Review - Role Models (and, the Movie Tavern)

Dianna and I love comedies...so, after seeing the trailer for Role Models we decided to check it out. Now, we only go to the movies without the kids about once every three years. It doesn't make a lot of sense to spend money at the movies when you have a home theater with a 110" screen, popcorn machine and kegerator. Anyways, as we get in line at the Movie Tavern to pick up our tickets there's a small confrontation with the couple in front of us and the ticket seller. Apparently the Movie Taven is very serious about their signage that states no unaccompanied minors after dark because the dude in front of us, who appeared to be about 13 years old, kept trying to convince the ticket seller that they were both over age even they had no ID. Once we got in we had to wait for the theater to be cleaned up.....Dianna went to the restroom only to come back with a crappy look on her face. The women's restroom did not have toilet paper, soap or paper towels. I didn't ask for any other details....I just didn't hold her hand the rest of the night :)
As we are watching the previews I decided to get a pitcher of beer and a bucket of popcorn. After waiting in line 10 minutes I place my order.....as soon as I asked for a pitcher the girl behind the counter asks for TWO ID's. So, I said your kidding, right? And, she said, "no." Then I asked her if that was some kind of state law to which she replied, "yes." Whatever. So, I took a walk of shame back to my theater seat, empty handed. What I find ironic is that this place sells a mug that is almost as large as the pitcher.....except the mug is $7 bucks more than pitcher (you do get to keep it and bring back for refills at a discounted price).
Now back to the movie.....Role Models stars Paul Rudd (Seth Rogen's brother-in-law in Knocked Up) and Sean William Scott (aka Stifler from American Pie). Both of these guys seemed to be typecast these days. Paul Rudd plays Danny, a character who thinks his life is crap, and Wheeler (Stifler), Pauls co-worker who chases every female that has a pulse. These two get into trouble with the law and find themselves forced to participate in a Big Brother type program (instead of going to jail). While mentoring two kids the adults learn just how selfish they are themselves....and, the kids, well they actually steal the movie (one of the kids is McLovin from Superbad). The movie was actually very predictable but, Dianna and I both enjoyed it....even though some of the scenes are very forced, such as the tow truck driver incident, we laughed throughout the whole movie.

Anniversary Weekend - Day 1

Ok...technically our anniversary was last weekend but we are celebrating this weekend. Tonight we took the girls to my parents in Glen Rose where they will spend two nights living it up with the grandparents as A. likes to say, NO RULES! When we arrived my mom had my favorite Cuban meal ready for dinner....black beans and rice. This time she just made Tex-mex rice (which she makes the best Tex-mex rice!) instead of the traditional white rice that typically accompanies black beans. This is a compromise for everyone else who likes the Tex-mex vs. the white rice. She also made her version of Cuban picadillo which is actually more like Tex-mex Picadillo...mmmmmmmm, great food....awesome food, better than any restaurant, anywhere!
We left the girls after dinner to drive back to the Fort Worth area. Earlier in the afternoon I purchased tickets for Dianna and I to see the movie Role Models. Check my "review" here. We were a little early for the 9:45pm showing so we stopped at the Don Pablo's around the corner from the Movie Tavern.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Faith.....

....renewed....in America....November 4th, 2008. EOM.

Monday, November 3, 2008

A personal challenge to myself

Rowing machine from Concept2

The month of October was not a good exercise month for me so, I am challenging myself to row, on the device pictured above, a minimum of 50,000 meters per week for the rest of the year. My plan is to row 10,000 meters a day, 5 days a week, until December 31st. This will put my rowing total for the year at slightly over 1.4 million meters (that's ~870 miles for those of you who have not converted yet). I will post my times at the end of every week here on my blog as my "proof."

Saturday, November 1, 2008

My kids quote of the week

One evening earlier this week the girls were watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" when A. asks rhetorically, "How come Snoopy doesn't talk?" Then, unexpectedly, M. exclaims, "Dogs don't talk, silly!"