Most of this past week has been a blur, but a much needed distraction. First, Nikki's side of the family came to visit for the weekend. Everybody arrived in time for dinner on Friday night. As usual, I loved subjecting people to my cooking, so the menu du jour consisted of slaw, BBQ bruschetta, Jerk wings, scalloped potatoes, a corn/zucchini medley, and gumbo. Nikki made a frozen banana dessert that stole the show.

Saturday was the feature day of their trip. Our plan for the day was to go to Carowinds, our amusement park here in the Queen city. I can say we all had a blast. The lines were short, the weather pleasant, and the crowds were fairly sparse. I had never been there, but I am sure we will all go back as soon as we can. Its fun to be a kid at heart.

From the park, we continued the fun into the night by heading into Uptown for a BBQ/Blues Fest. We were able to meet up with a couple of my friends which added to the fun. The crowds were a little more annoying here, but it was a great way to wind down the day.

Sunday we had a quite filling breakfast and then we gave them a quick tour of the Whitewater Park. So I have been there twice, but yet to actually do anything besides hike. I know the third time is the charm.

We loved having Nikki's side of the family down and like I said it was a much needed break for the both us.

The second half of the family week revolved around me using up some of my accumulated air miles to join up with Amanda and Glenn in St Louis for a day. Nikki couldn't make it because of commitments with school. I liked the nature of the quick trip over there and it was good to see a couple games and to spend some time with my side of the family.

You can see why the week was a blur, but a needed distraction. The worst part about losing my job has been us cutting back our traveling. (After living across the pond for over a year anything was going to be a cut back). These couple of days sure hit the spot and will tie me over until our big trip next March. I am so glad that we have 2 good sides to our families. I know we are truly blessed to have so many fun characters on both sides.

All is well, especially here sitting in my chair. Nikki is back in school and well Coop is still maintaining his 18 hours of sleep minimum for a day (or there about). We had a good relaxing summer of just catching back up on little things we have missed out on over the last year. I thought back to last year and it dawned on me that we were about to get our stuff stolen in Portugal tomorrow one year ago. If I could only rev up the Delorean and go back to warn us that something was about to happen. Ha. The truth is, we handled that situation mighty well and it was just a little speed bump on our trip. I guess it shows our character a bit, plus it taught me to back files up a little more often and to never think that keeping a blackberry and our extra cash hidden in a computer bag was a good thing. Like I said, it was just a snag.

No real, concrete news on the job front for me, but there appears to be some momentum picking up with one group that I have been talking to for a very long time. I haven't felt this comfortable with a group of architects in a long time. I recently read where 40% of all architects in Charlotte are laid off, plus firms are still laying people off and I have even heard of some potential firm closings. Times are tough, but I think I am in a good position for when firms get the green light on hiring. This firm that I have been dancing with for a while submitted my name with theirs as an expert consultant the other day. It made me feel real good again to see a team that values my expertise when others tend to forgot the ones they rode to get them where they are. I have no animosity to that former group, because I knew what I was dealing with all along.

Happier tunes. Cards are running away with their division. 31 straight games without losing ground to the Cubbies. That's a new MLB record and an amazing one at that. I predict major changes in Chi-town this off season. It looks like their fans would give up on them after 101 years of losing.

I just heard the band Elbow last week. I know they have been around for awhile, but I am slow at times. They instantly became one of my new favorites.

And with those mindless nuggets, I leave you a few pics.

I wasn't a fan of Ron Mexico before his incarceration and he hasn't done much to make me feel any sympathy for him lately, but I thought this was cute. Hopefully an animal rights group will get in on some of the profits and publicity that is going to come out of this ordeal. He'll be here for week 1 assuming he makes the team. So if he travels with the team while on suspension, I am sure there will be some hecklers and protesters to 'welcome' him back.

Some cute little niece turned the bid number 2 today. It doesn't seem right that she is already 2 or that it has been 2 years since we received the call from Amanda (no less) saying that she had her. We where halfway around the world in Venice, but we managed to surprise everyone on our way back to the US with a visit. At times, it does seem a lifetime ago though.



We hope you have a great day Miss Kaylie. Your cake looks amazing, maybe Amanda missed her calling. Looking back on the post from last year, you have really changed.

Happy Birthday Cooper!

It is weird to think that Coop has been around 7 years now and for that the majority of that time, he has been with me. I love the first picture I took of him looking up at me and seemingly being so glad he was leaving the pen in GA. I remember him rolling around in the floorboard for about 2 hours and then deciding he wanted to sit in the truck seat the rest of the way home.

I was in Europe for his last 2 birthdays, so I thought I would make it up to him today. I found a real quick recipe for a peanut butter, honey and carrot cake and added cottage cheese for icing. I made it nice and messy, hoping that it would not last long and that it might create some memorable pictures. Needless to say he enjoyed his first ever birthday cake and probably would have eaten the whole thing if we would have let him.

I truly believe animals and pets aide and comfort us at all times and I am so glad I found my snotty nose friend below.

Well our little fantasy baseball league has made it to the All-Star Break with only 1 person really lagging behind. I think everyone is enjoying it and the second half should be entertaining. Glenn started strong and has been riding the Pujols machine all season. It took Justin's team a bit to start, but now Justin and Glenn have been swapping the lead after some injuries and suspensions knocked Nikki down a bit. Amanda has made a recent charge with some good pitching and key pickups. As for me, I have basically been watching the rest have fun with only small ventures out of the cellar. It is a long seasons though.

All-Star selections - Justin 15, Daron 13, Nikki 11, Glenn 10, Amanda 10
Most Batting Points - Glenn/Pujols 676 (2nd Amanda/Fielder 512) a huge gap between 1st/2nd
Most Pts/Game - Glenn/Pujols 7.51 (2nd Nikki/Ibanez 6.7)
Players in Top 10 in Pts - Glenn 4, Justin 3, Amanda 2, Daron 1
Players in Top 10 Pts/Game - Justin 5, Glenn 2, Nikki 2, Amanda 1

Leading Total Batting - Glenn
Leading Total Pitching - Amanda

The Pitching totals appear to be down right now, so I will get to those stats later. There are big stakes (ha) resting on this competition, so we will see how the 2nd half turns out.

Greetings from a guy enjoying a lazy Monday afternoon. We had a great 4th this year. I guess we can't top last year when we were able to spend it with Cary and Justin in London. Oh and that is where we met Tim (the face mask bachelor party guy). This year we enjoyed the Friday with James + family at the Pops in the Park. I am glad we made all 5 events this year and the fireworks were a splendid sent off. We expanded our typical fare to include some pizza for the finale. I think we both really enjoy our new pizza favorite, the Pizza Peel and the ants really enjoyed Nikki's pizza also. On Saturday we took in the Knights game. Nothing like baseball and more fireworks for the 4th. I really wish they would hurry up and move to the Uptown area. Nikki can attest to the fact that I would be there quite a few nights if they would move. Besides our 2 excursions, we had a nice and relaxing Holiday weekend.

• RIP - Steve McNair - I have just realised over the last few days how much I admired this guy. Too bad that it appears the circumstances will put a tarnish on seemingly a great guy.
• Congrats to the Cards All-Stars and they are still in 1st at the half way point of the season. A few tough games are left before the break, but hopefully they will take the majority of them.
• I was really hoping the Palin resignation was b/c she was under Federal investigations. I guess she is just here to stay for a bit longer.
• I had a great cooking week last week. First there was a sausage ragu that will be a keeper, then I tried stuffed Lamb loin wrapped in Prosciutto 2 different ways. One had an apricot stuffing and the other had rosemary wrapped in anchovies. Both were delicious. Maybe I need to take breaks from cooking more often for better results.
• No real news on the job front. I am rather busy in the mean time and still discussing options with a few suitors. I would like to position myself for an enjoyable, non-draining job and while I can, I will be keeping my options open. But as I stated last time, I am really enjoying what I am doing in the mean time.
• I can and can't believe Coop turns 7 this year. I have missed his last 2 birthdays, so I might have to do something special this year. Good thing he doesn't seem to mind much.
• I have been doing some spring cleaning and I found where Nikki and I have lived together for over 2 years now. I am glad she is such an easy going roomie. We have started discussing the details for the little ceremony in Costa Rica. I think it is about a 90% go right now. Sacrificing a few things this year in order to have a great wedding with friends and family will probably be a highlight that we will never be able to top.

And on that note, so long 'til next time.

Yep I am alive and I actually having a lot of fun back in the good old US of A. Every once in a while I do miss bits of my European life, but not the muck I had to wade in to get to the fun parts. On to the tidbits:

• I 'forgot' to wish my sweetie a Happy Birthday on here last week. I actually didn't forget, but I couldn't find the picture I wanted to post and gave up. I guess that is the love you get from me now Nikki. Can't find the right pic, so no post, ha. She had a good birthday btw.
• I love Ben Harper's new band and CD. Probably one of my favorites CDs of late, but I have been desperately needing some good music lately
• Redbird baseball is a rollercoaster this year, but entertaining to say the least
• Why am I having a lot of fun? B/C I guess I am glutton for punishment while I relive some of the (productive) things I experienced in college. Working small odd jobs can be quite fulfilling and a lot better than dealing with some of bureaucratic bull I dealt with. Sometimes it very good to step away from the center of a storm to realize how big of a storm you are in. I have always been a type of person that understands the forest while still focusing on the tree. Now I realize that even if I can control my part of the world, at times there can be storms that cannot be controlled and should be left alone.
• Since I am back to pseudo contractor life, there is more beer around. That is where the above bull comes from. German beer tonight, Franziskaner Weissbier, thumbs up from this guy that usually doesn't like German beer.
• On a good note, several interesting job thingies floating around, but I think I am going to be choosy while I can.
• Best quote of the day "Looks like Ahmadinejad took a page out of the GW Bush election strategy. Nice to know we aren't the only country whose right wing will rig elections". That W guy can still raise the hair on the back of my neck. I guess he is hiding in a hole somewhere counting all his money he made off of oil and wars.
• And finally to lighten the mood a bit, a few pics and the first may or may not have been me and JR working last week. Maybe we should try that method.

I am going to try to get around to posting a bit more. I have some old pics that I need to go through and such. Plus it keeps me from picking on the old bulldog for a bit (Cooper, not anyone else that people may be thinking.) Ha, yep I like my mood.

About time to post something. We had a great trip to see my family in TN and for a few days of fishing. It was the perfect break for me.


A Fish Fry with the Family

Beale St.

Fishing Pics.

As you can tell we packed in the fun. I loved being on the water and relaxing. Too bad we didn't have any luck the day Nikki got to go, but it was still fun. Dekan was a trip on the boat. He also became my harshest food critic. He said the barbecue sauce I made for our Jerk Chicken was 'awful'. Truly a funny moment and maybe he has a little Gordon Ramsey in him. What a great trip to TN.

• Cards are playing some decent ball and are really entertaining to watch. 2 more from the Cubs would make me about as happy as I can be.
• The fantasy baseball thing is addictive for everyone, especially all of us trying to catch Glenn. It is kind of tough when you have to pick from rooting for the Cards or your fantasy team. But it gives baseball another layer of interest.
• The weather here has been amazing. I am so glad I am here and not soaking in London, but it is probably nice there by now.
• Coop is so much a Daddy's boy and he doesn't mind telling Nikki so.
• We are going to go to TN in the next couple of weeks to go fishing with Dad for the first time in years. I should have some nice pictures of our trip.
• I am an eternal optimistic. I think that is a good approach to life.
• It is always good to see some old friends, when times could be considered blue. Their words of encouragement and support are never passed off lightly.
• Nikki is almost done with school for the semester. Then I can resume my normal speaking voice in the house, instead of quiet Daron. I might be fibbing on that one.
• In my down time, I summed up what I want to see in the world up in about 30 more trips. I do love my expensive hobby, but I wouldn't give up a thing for the sights that I have seen in the world. Hopefully I can persuade some friends and relatives to join us on some our adventures.
• Allergies suck. For all of us here in our household.
• I have been ripping through recipes from my soup book and Indian book I received for Christmas. I should have taken them with me to pass the time in London.
• US/UK Differences - We have aisles in the Grocery store devoted to Mexican or Asian cuisine, they have aisles devoted to Indian food. Here a Chinese restaurant on every corner, there Indian. I find it interesting to see how food has traveled around the world.
• I can't wait to go hiking.

On to the rest of a Saturday.

I mentioned that a few of us were in a fantasy baseball league this year. I have now added a weekly scoreboard so that everyone can see how poorly my team is doing. There has already been some excitement over it through just one week. It should be something that keeps us 5 entertained during the season. We have to get Glenn and Nikki to slow the pace down a bit first though.

Well I mentioned an inside joke when I posted the "One Week..." post last week. Most of you guys know but I came home yesterday. I am not going to talk much about the situation right now, but I would say I am most likely back for good given the lack of work in the London office. Maybe they will get things going soon, but the mood there was somber.

But on to the good point, I am home. Not much gets me down and I can tell you I was like a little kid on x-mas day on the plane yesterday, even with carrying my weight in luggage. It was so good to see Nikki at the exit of immigration. I think that was when reality clicked in that it was probably my last trip back. I am so glad I have someone as strong as her in my life. She knows how tough the last 14 months have been on me and that I got through it mostly on her support and love. My little buddy, Cooper, was surprised by being home. Nikki said she could really tell that his mood instantly changed when I got home. It was cool to sit around last night, have a home cooked meal, and to just have my stuff around me. I am not that materialistic, but after 'camping' for that long, you begin to miss a few things. (like MLB network).

I did have a nice weekend in London before I left. I decided to take in a few of my favorite parts. Walking around the tourist areas of London reminded me of how much prestige a well designed city can have. I really enjoyed an afternoon at Westminster Abbey and then the next at the Natural History Museum. There were so many other areas that I should have went back to, but time was fleeting.

Anyway, who knows what my coming days hold, but I am not worried about a thing right now. No more expensive London, endless hours in transit, or fickle weather. I did enjoy a lot of my experience there, especially when Nikki was there, but it also reinforced where I am supposed to be. I have had enough of big city life for a while. Now I can see how long it will take me to do all that laundry I brought home, at least I have normal size washer to put them in plus a dryer. After that, I can get back to resuming my American life.

Coop needs to work on his 'welcoming pose' a bit.