Dec 25, 2013

Christmas. I was awoken by talking in the living room, so I got up and exchanged gifts with my dad and grandmom. I gave my dad a photo of the Devil's Hole from Oregon, and I gave my grandmom a typing software so she can learn to use the computer on her own.

We went down to Tracie's house after a while so my dad could present me with my gift: an awesomely packaged sampler from Rumpsringa Brewing. It came with a growler (sadly empty,) coasters, a glass, and four bottles of their finest brews. The Christmas Ale is the only one I haven't had before, but it will be nice to have them in a larger quantity than just a sample this time.

I went to my mom's next to have dinner and exchange gifts as well. I gave her a photo of the Pittsburgh Skyline. She seemed to love it. Aiden wanted me to come play with him so he could show me all of his new toys in his room. 

We hung around downstairs talking about a bunch of things from electronics to healthcare. I was there for a few hours before I came home and took a nap. When I woke up I basically spent the night finishing up Burn Notice and eating broccoli bread. The series ended nicely and I was off to sleep right after.

Oct 14, 2013

Since we had the day off work I was up early and trying to be productive. I had to play with Aiden for a while since he and Sarah were here when I got up. I went to T & F to drop off photos to be printed and then went to Five Below looking for headphones. Unfortunately the pair I got were terrible so I took them back and exchanged them for another terrible pair. Looks like I will need to get my headphones somewhere else. I met Ryan at the course for a game. We both played pretty well, and the weather was perfect for being outside.

I had a phone meeting with the guy I'm shooting a wedding with this coming weekend. He just wanted to talk about details and make sure I'm right for the job. He thinks I am so I'm hired. I was still wired and wanting to enjoy the weather so I went for a run at Silver Run. I ran all the trails in a few loops and finished around sunset. What a nice day. I spent the rest of the evening mostly watching Burn Notice and looking up marketing strategies for my work.

Oct 6, 2013

Kate and I headed to Delaware in the morning to go to Iron Hill DGC. The forest was beautiful in autumn colors and leaves covering the ground. Regardless of how we played, the scenery was worth the trip to walk around the woods. There weren't many people there, so we didn't have to worry about crossing over anyone. The game went pretty well for both of us. I had some really good shots and some really bad ones. Overall it was a good day of playing though.

I always forget how long the course is. I start questioning whether it's a 27-hole course, but then I remember it's just because each hole is 400 ft or more that it plays longer than the ones I'm more used to. After finishing up the long course, we headed to Stewart's Brewing to get a flight and some food before we headed back. I didn't expect the place to be such a sports bar. There were TVs everywhere and fans with many different jerseys. I asked to be placed near the door since it was furthest from both loud TVs and yelling fans. Most of their beer was middle of the road, but the Big Bear Amber Ale was damn good. Definitely a smooth, drinkable beer.

On the way back home we stopped at Eliza's birthday party at a gymnastics gym. Aiden was there with Devin, and of course Tracy was there doing backflips down the trampoline thing. The kids and adults were allowed to play in the big foam-filled hole so we were doing dives and flips into it. Aiden was really enjoying himself just like the rest of us were. After singing happy birthday it was time to head out.

Later we gathered at Erika's to play games. We played a round of Settlers of Catan and that took up quite a bit of the night. It seemed like everyone was just on the brink of winning before Ryan finally did. We need to have more game nights.

Aug 23, 2013

In the morning I went to the Williamstown Farmer's Market with my grandmom. We had a coupon that you could redeem for a $20 gift card toward anything in the place. Seemed like a strange deal, but there was no catch. It worked. I got some fruits, veggies, and nuts. Worth the trip. After we got home I wanted to go for a run, so I headed over to Parvin and took one lap around the lake. After I got home and showered, the sun was going down and it looked amazing outside.

Sarah and Aiden were over so I took Aiden out with me while I shot some photos. I turned around in time to notice the rainbow that had formed and we got some shots of that too. We hung out for the next couple hours talking and having Aiden ask me to pick him up and play. That lasted for a while until he got tired enough that they had to head home. It was a nice night.

Jun 17, 2012

Ryan and I went to the rock gym in the morning and did some bouldering, trying out different routes. It gets hard really fast and my forearms really feel it.

My dad and Tracey had Aiden's fourth birthday party at their house. The family was all down there for food, barbecue, and watching Aiden eat his cake and open presents.

I biked over to Ryan's aunt's house later in the evening and we went for a run around their neighborhood. Afterward we hopped in the pool for a refreshing swim.

Jun 8, 2012

I worked in a math class at Lakeside during the day, and then went for a run around town after work. I went to my mom's for Aiden's birthday dinner, but we spent time playing in the yard and watching him ride his bike down the street. He does really well.

We had dinner and then got to the good stuff. Aiden was quick to blow out the candles and claim his position as a 4 year old.

He just wanted to get to this part. No need for utensils. After watching him destroy his cake and eat some of it we got to the present opening. Plenty of toys for him to spend time with and a Power Rangers sword for him to fight me with.

I came home and after being inside for a while I felt like I had to get out because it was so nice. I went for a bike ride down 49 which was pretty frightening. It was way too dark and I kept worrying about hitting something on the shoulder or getting hit by someone not paying attention. I need lights.

Apr 17, 2012

Another day I didn't get a job left us a nice day to go play disc golf at the Landis course. It was relatively calm so we could play without issue. We played about half the course before it was time to go pick up Aiden from school.

We took him to the zoo in Cape May where he immediately wanted to feed the goats so he did that and seemed to enjoy it. As did the goats.

It turns out he's not a fan of a lot of animals and he has a short attention span. He wanted to see the giraffes (the real ones) so we went all the way to the back of the zoo to see them and then he was like, "Yep.. okay can we go?" We walked around a bit more and he was transfixed by the otters for a bit before he lost interest in that as well. He doesn't like lions and the monkeys weren't being entertaining.

He did seem to have a lot of fun at the playground outside the zoo. He made some friends, as it seems like he can do very well, and began playing with them and crawling through tubes. There is a small rock wall that I got him to climb as well and he seemed pretty good at it. Eventually we had to tear him away and head home.

I met with Kim in the evening about the wedding to go over a few specifics and ideas. Later I met Ryan at the gym to do some circuits.

Mar 29, 2012

After a seemingly long day at Lakeside, where I finished The Girl Who Played with Fire and began The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (so good), I met Kate at the course for a round of disc golf. We played most of the wooded holes and skipped some of the more open ones because of the wind, but it was a good time.

Later we went to her house and Chuck came over to watch Big Bang Theory before we went to pick up Aiden and take him home. He's hilarious.

I got some things done in preparation for the weekend when I got home and then I got to bed pretty early.

Jan 7, 2012

I headed up to Malaga Diner in the morning to meet Arianna so we could discuss her engagement photo shoot. We figured out pretty quickly what we wanted to do and then we caught up and enjoyed our eggs.

Kate and I picked up Aiden later and took him to Fat Jack's for lunch. He always enjoys it. And he always gets the same thing: mac and cheese and a corn dog.

We took him to the park after eating and he had an amazing time. I wish I could enjoy things like that. He ran around for a couple of hours playing on everything and even made a few friends on the playground.

I went for a run at Silver Run after we got back from dropping him off. It was warm enough to want to stay outside longer.

We went up to PB's later for the Yards event. This time they actually knew it was happening and had some beer for Ron to sample for people. He snuck me a bottle of Yards' Old Bartholomew too! We hung out for a while and I got to use my New Jersey Craft Beer discount card for the first time. They have a great deal at PB's.

I shot some photos of the event to write about it for my site and NJCB, but we headed out after being there a couple of hours. The crowd was pretty good this time and Ron had steady visitors. We were just ready to head home.

Dec 25, 2011

Christmas day. I got up and said my greeting and went to my dad's to exchange gifts. Along with the cash, I got a set of tools. It's full of tools, too so I'm set up for a while. I'll keep it in the trunk for emergencies.

I met Ryan at his house and we went to the park for our workout since the gym isn't open on Christian holidays. We did a bunch of shoulder stuff that seemed more difficult than some of the things we do at the gym. The weather was quite nice for it though.

I went to Kate's after showering and her mom showered me with little gifts like magnets and a reflector vest for running and these tic tacs. Mmm.

We went to my mom's for some food later and I didn't end up staying very long or eating much. We hung out with Sarah and Aiden, trying to play a game of Jenga. It didn't really work out. Aiden doesn't get physics just yet.

I came back to Kate's later to exchange gifts. After we exchanged, we went upstairs and tried out the tea pitcher I got for her with the citrus loose-leaf tea. It was really good. No need for sweetening.

We hung out there for the evening and talked. I eventually headed home and watched things until I was tired.

Dec 18, 2011

I went to the gym with Ryan in the morning to get our circuits in and then met Kate and went to my dad's house for the family Christmas party. I had a few snacks and some pepperoni bread and some less-than-desirable beer.

The gentlemen went downstairs and played pool on teams of two, switching out after each game. We lost a lot. Probably partly because of my poor billiards skills.

We had a proper meal upstairs and I got to hang out with Aiden for a while. We spent most of the time in the kitchen.

We came home and got stuff together for our "party" which consisted of us, Chuck, Sarah, Ryan, and Erika. We played Cranium and drank some Magic Hat. I miss that game.

This was our spread of food that we picked at while playing Telestrations. I think I only ate the carrots and cheese.

Though it was a small party, it was a lot of fun and everyone left happy. We hung out for a little while and cleaned up a bit then I headed home as well.

Nov 27, 2011

I went over to the Bridgeton Christmas parade in the morning with Kate, Sarah, and Aiden. We lined up along the chilly street and waited for the fire trucks and marching bands to go by. It was as exciting as it sounds.

Aiden really enjoyed himself by collecting tons of candy that the people on the floats were throwing at him. He gave me the Tootsie Rolls because he doesn't like them.

We all went to Fat Jack's BBQ after the parade for lunch once we realized the Buffalo Wild Wings wasn't open yet. They have good food. I'll have to stop in again. Aiden ran around the place since we were the only customers.

Kate, Chuck, and I went up to Philly later to have something to do. We went to Barcade, a bar that has about twenty old arcade game machines set up. I got a beer and we played some Mario Bros. and Ghosts and Goblins and a few others. They're all only a quarter, which is great!

We went over to the Abbaye for their karaoke night and Chuck sang "Faith" by George Michael. He did a good job. I didn't sing anything and Kate shamed everyone by singing a couple of songs.

It was a good time out since we had nothing else planned and we'll have to go back to the Barcade sometime. We came back and I watched The Departed with Kate.