Tennis Serve

For the first time in a long time I had to chance to hit the tennis court.  I didn't have anyone to play with but I went out to practice my serve.  I was hitting both powerful first serves and my new kick second serve.  I spent about an hour hitting serves while my son was at soccer practice.  It was a fun to be back on the court.

More Retirement Stuff

Today was my dad's second retirement party.  This time it was cake and snacks and he got a plaque to mark his 36 years in the government.  It is quite the achievement and I was happy to be part of the festivities.  My dad got emotional during his speech to everyone.  His life is going to change but it has been nice celebrating with him.

Pickles

I had a nice surprise during a busy day at work.  My co-worker Marcus made some homemade spicy dill pickles.  He gave me a full jar and the pickles were very tasty.  I brought some home and my son had some too.  It is always great when someone does something unexpected and nice.

Homecoming

After two weeks at sleep away camp, my daughter came home today.  It was great to see her after all this time.  During camp, she got no meals with meat so I knew she would be craving burgers.  Since it didn't rain for once, I bought some ground beef and some brioche buns from Whole Foods and grilled it up. Turned out amazing.

Smashing Pumpkins - at Royal Farms Arena

One of my favorite genre's of music in 90s alternative and the Smashing Pumpkins were a big part of that genre.  My wife and I saw most of the original members on stage in Baltimore tonight.  Billy Corgan sounded amazing, as did the band.  During the three hour show, they played everything I wanted to hear, including my favorite song "Mayonnaise" from the classic album Siamese Dream.  A fun night for sure.

Retirement Party

After 36 years of working, my dad is finally retiring.  Some of his colleagues join my mom, dad, and I for a celebration at one of DC's best restaurants.. Rasika.  We had an amazing feast, with tasty appetizers, an incredible main course and great dessert. 

The best part for hearing all the old stories told by my dad and his co-workers, some of whom had worked with him for two decades.  

Ice Cream in the Rain

After a brief respite from the rain during the day, the torrential downpours returned for the evening time.  We even had a few flashes of lightening.  In order to brighten up the day a bit, my son and I drove up to a soft serve ice cream place in Ellicott City to get some dessert.  My son got a cup of vanilla and chocolate swirl with marshmellow and I of course got the strawberry soft serve in a cone.  The experience didn't make the sun come out but it sure tasted good and made us feel a bit better.

Rain Rain Go Away

It's been raining for several days straight....everything from drizzle to heavy rain to torrential downpours.  To top it off, there were some thunder and lightning.  The dogs haven't been too happy, having to stay indoors for most of the day.  Today there was a slight respite from the rain.  I took the two dogs on a short walk but it was still nice to get out and let them sniff around and of course use the bathroom!

Cooking

Been trying more non-meat dishes at home. By no means am I going vegan but I'm trying to cook something meatless once a week. Today's attempt turned out well.... Asian noodles with tofu.

Dog in a Blanket

It was tough to chose one great thing about Sunday.  We watched a movie together as a family, relaxed and even prepped food.  But toward the end of the night one sight was just too cute.  Guinness, with a bit of help from my son, was laying on the couch with a blanket wrapped around his head.  That was no question the greatest thing about today.

Learning About Finances

Today my wife and I went to a full day seminar to learn about finances, with a focus on retirement and planning for college tuition.  I was not too thrilled about waking up early on a Saturday morning but I have to admit I really learned a lot.  I think both my wife and I came a way with a better idea of things we need to do financially.  

Hanging with my Son

I spent most of my day off Friday doing things with my son.  In the morning we biked over to the nearby park and did the obstacle course a few times.  We then went and hit some tennis balls.  Later we went to Ruby's work and went together to a nearby food truck.  The one we chose was making fresh pizzas.

After lunch my son and I went and played a game of mini golf. It was a close game but he won by a few strokes....which is fine with me.

We followed golf with.....frozen custard!!!  It was a nice way to end the afternoon.

Evening Walk

After a long week of craziness at work, an evening walk with the family and the dogs was just what I needed.  There is nothing more fun than seeing how excited the pups get when all of us walk together.  Topaz was her crazy self on the walk and Guinness did the last part of the walk without a less....my wife's idea!

Midweek Date Night

Our son went to go sleep over at a friend's house tonight so me and my wife and a random midweek date night.  It was a beautiful evening to be out and my wife looked absolutely beautiful in her blue dress.  We went to a new restaurant close to our house and had a great time.  We ate, drank and talked... and even got dessert.  A pretty perfect Wednesday evening.

Madden

Today I spent some time playing Madden football on the Xbox with my son. I try not to let him play too many video games but since it was raining I suggested we play. He beat the heck out of me but it was still fun to play something together.

Family

Today my cousin came into town to take his mom back to Detroit. I hosted him, his mom , my parents as well as my wife's parents for dinner. Ruby rolled pasta he night before.  I made the sauce, cut some veggies and prepped a whole red snapper. It rained so I couldn't grill everything but dinner turned out great. I really felt good cooking for everyone and spending time with family.

Home Cookin'

I came home after a long day at work and my wife and son were busy making homemade tomato soup.  We watched a movie as it simmered away.  Along with the soup, my wife grilled up a nice cut of strip steak. 

She cooked it perfectly and topped it with homemade chimichurri sauce.  We also had some slices of homemade bread to round out the meal.  It was a perfect end to the week.

Guys Night

For the first time in a really long time I had a guys night out.  Five of us met up for dinner and drinks at a restaurant.  We had a good time talking and laughing.  Sitting there I was thinking how lucky I am to have so many different groups of friends.  There are times when we all hang out together and there are times when I hang out with different groups separately.  No matter what, it is always a fun time.

Night Out

Tonight as soon as my wife came home from work we headed out to meet some friends for drinks.  I always love to go out and socialize and it was a lot of fun catching up with good friends. We got some appetizers and a few cocktails.  Great conversation and great food makes for a great night.

End of Week Grilling

Got home after a crazy week at work..... with the Thai cave rescue story to begin the week and Trump NATO to end it.  After I got home, me and Taj hit the store to pick up some burger meat and buns.  As the weather got a bit more pleasant in the back yard, I threw the burgers on the grill.  Inside I made a pizza as a starter and some tater tots.  Perfect meal to end the work week.

This Face

Every time I come home I'm greeted with the cutest overgrown puppy in the world.  Guinness can't control his excitement when someone in his family comes home. 

His tale wags and he makes a high pitch noise.  Today he sat on the couch with me and watched the World Cup matchup between England and Croatia.  I was pulling for England...but they lost in extra time. 

Still it was a great run for the team and fun to able to watch with an overgrown puppy on my lap.

News.. the good kind

For weeks, the saga of 12 young boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand has dominated the news cycle.  I've been at the forefront of helping cover this story at work.. and today the last remaining boys and their soccer coach were rescued from the cave.  It is not known what the condition of the boys is but the fact that they were all pulled out alive was really amazing.  I even did a voiceover for the TV package that was produced on the final rescue.

Anniversary

Today was our 18th wedding anniversary. As always I make dinner reservations and we went out to celebrate and spend time together.  And as always it was great to be out on a date with my wife. The food was just ok but the whole grilled fish was amazing.

When we got home the kids made some signs and put up old  pictures of us in the family room as a way for them to be part of the an anniversary celebration. My wife and I were both extremely touched. 

Pool Time

After work our family got invited to our friends' house to hang out at their pool.  It was bright and sunny so sitting around the pool seemed like the thing to do on a Sunday evening.  We all had fun hanging out and talking.  It was a perfect end to the weekend.

Bike Ride

The weather today was beautiful... sunny but pleasant.  After taking care of some chores my son and I went on a bike ride.  It was a perfect way to spend part of this wonderful day. 

We saw a few deer hanging out during the ride.  The best part was spending time with my son.  We even found a new route to get home.

Foo Fighters

Posting this a day late since we lost power late last night.....I've been a fan of the Foo Fighters for a long time and haven't seen them live in concert in years. The whole family had tickets to the sold out show Friday night and it was one of the most amazing rock concerts I've ever seen. 

Dave Grohl left it all out there on the stage during this nearly 3 hour show and Taylor Hawkins was amazing behind the drums.  I knew every word or every song and it was a concert experience I will never forget.  Everything from the sound to the lights to Dave talking to the crowd on stage..... all absolutely amazing.

Spicy Margarita

I don't drink a lot these days... and not the way I used to back in the day.  But at the end of a long week at work, a nice stiff drink once in a while is pretty relaxing. 

Today I had a spicy margarita and it was just what I needed.  Fresh ingredients and chilled on a hot summer day.   

July 4th Chillin'

Today was July 4th... I had the day off so the whole family, including dogs, slept in past 1030am.  I got up first and made bacon and pancakes.  Slowly the rest of the family came down and ate.  After that we all just hung out, watched some TV and spent time cuddling with the dogs.  Instead of planning anything big for the 4th, we pretty much chilled out and relaxed.  Later on in the evening I took the kids, my mom, and her sister to the nearby high school from where we could see the local fireworks.  We had a pretty good view and the best part is we were close to home.  All in all, it was nice to not have anything on the schedule.  

Family Movie

Since tomorrow is a holiday all of us decided to hang out and watch a movie together.  We watched the latest Star Trek movie on Amazon prime.

Ruby made fresh popcorn on the stove.  We all got out bowls of popcorn, got comfortable and watched the movie together. It was good quality family time.  The dogs watched for a while before they fell asleep. 

World Cup

It was close to 100 degrees outside today so staying in and watching the most popular sporting event in the world seemed like a good plan.  I watched the games while I was at work and came home in time to watch the second game of the day. 

It is still sad that the US team didn't make it this year but it has been fun watching powerhouses like Brazil and France move ahead.  

Strumming

After a long day at work nothing is more relaxing than playing my acoustic guitar for a little while.  I've been playing since age 15 and no matter how stressed I am, a few chords on the guitar takes the stress away.

Today I was playing Green Day's "Ordinary World," which is one of my recent favorite songs.  And it sounds pretty amazing on this guitar, made by Seagull.