Trying not to be Lame

Join Me At Church on Sunday...

2009-08-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Below is a letter that I wrote to all my friends about the launch of www.northpointonline.tv on Aug. 16th at 6pm EST...And you're my friends too so you should read it and then join me...

And, here's a brief look at what we'll be watching/listening to....

Promo: "Losing Your Religion" from North Point Media on Vimeo.

To All,

I truly hope that this email finds everyone doing well in your respective locations. Things in the ATL are great and the married life is treating me well. Time certainly flies by as Amanda and I celebrated our one year anniversary over a month ago. Craziness I tell ya…

So, I’ll cut right to the chase…You’re my friend and I want you to join me at church on Sunday. That’s as clear cut as it comes. But I know some of you are thinking, “Hey Jonathon, I live in California or Vegas or Michigan or Texas or Louisiana or Chicago (or you name the city) and I really don’t see myself coming to Atlanta this weekend”. Or “Hey Jonathon, I live in Atlanta and you invite me and I’ve told you several times that I’m not into it.” Or “Hey Jonathon, you know my beliefs and you know they don’t line up with yours, so put down that crack pipe you’re smoking?” Or maybe it’s some other question…Nonetheless, I have the answer for all of them…It doesn’t matter…

And why you ask????

Well, let me tell you why…

Buckhead Church (www.buckheadchurch.org), the church Amanda and I have been a part of for a few years is launching a brand new live online service (www.northpointonline.tv) at 6pm EST this Sunday August 16th. That means, regardless of where you live, as long as you have a computer with internet connection, you can join me. I’ll be in person there during the actual service and if you’re watching, it’s like we are there together. Cause it's live...Not recorded...But live...Maybe we can shoot a text or tweet back and forth to really form that bond…The possibilities are endless…So, no Sunday’s best, just you and your computer sitting in your chonies watching some incredibly awesome music and hearing a life changing message…

And I know there are several on this email that have totally different beliefs than me on this whole church thing and I honestly and sincerely understand. Regardless of our differences, we are still bros. But, I can say from the bottom of my heart that the message you will hear will be none like anything you have ever heard. It’s not the if you drink a beer you’ll go to hell stuff. It's not old ladies with funny hats. It's not old hymns being sung by grandmas...I promise you that it's not....It’s relevant, it’s applicable, it’s real and it’s potentially life changing. And once again, all you have to do is take up some bandwidth on Sunday afternoon in the comfort of your own home. So has they say in St. Lucia, “No pressure, no problems.”

So…Recap…

1) You’re my friend

2) You should join me on Sunday at 6pm EST at www.northpointonline.tv

3) That’s 3pm EST

4) That’s 5pm CST

5) And something else for Mountain Time but they’re kind of weird with their whole time change thing so you’ll have to figure it out…

6) And if you’re up to it, shoot me an email or text to let me know what you thought

Check out www.jburnside.blogspot.com for a little teaser video…

You guys shred and I miss all of you who I don’t get to see very often…

Your Red Headed Friend,
Jonathon

The Walk 09....

2009-07-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, Amanda and I headed down to Panama City Beach with about 400 high school students from Buckhead and Brownsbridge Church. It was absolutely amazing. The students were awesome to hang with and God just lit my heart on fire...I took some video while I was down there and finally got around to editing it. This was my first shot at using iMovie so if you think it's lame tell me in a constructive manner so I don't get all boo bears since I'm such a sensitive dude.

thinking about blogging again...I'll keep you posted...

2009-07-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

Smokety Smoke Goodness....

2009-04-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

In the grilling world, the big debate is charcoal vs. gas...Some say that charcoal has better flavor whereas some of the gas side say there's no difference...
I'm a gas guy cause I have the patience of a 3 year old and don't like dealing with the charcoal. I do however offer a solution to bring some smokey goodness to your gas grill...
Here's a step by step guide...

Step 1: Purchase some wood chips from your local home improvement or BBQ store. They should have several varieties to suit your smokey pleasure. Right now, I'm on the Apple Wood kick. These bags run about five to eight bucks.

Step 2: Soak your wood chips in some water for about 20 - 30 minutes. Go ahead and light up your grill while you're soaking.
Step 3: Grab some drip pans that normally go on your grill to use as your smoke box. You can make your own smoke box using foil if you don't want to use these. Step 4: After your wood is soaked, place the chips in the drip pan and cover with foil. Cut a few holes to release the goodness.Step 5: Place the homemade smoke box on your flavorizer bars or somewhere above the flame. Then give it about 5 minutes to start smokin'...Step 6: Throw on your grub...In this case, it's a nice rib eye and some sliced zuke...

That is all there is to it. It probably takes about the same amount of time to do this than to get your charcoal grill going but I still am going gas. One of these days when I have a sick backyard to have several outdoor cooking devices I'm sure I'll have both. But while we're in team apartment, I'm on team propane.

Wouldn't Mind Being in HB Today....

2009-04-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Stoked to be Home...

2009-04-11T14:28:00.001-07:00

Just got back from a long work trip...As you can see, several places were visited along the way. The purpose of the trip was to take a couple of engineers from our boat division in Japan to survey some dealers about some super secret kick tail new product...All in all, it was a successful trip. The two dudes from Japan were super cool. Didn't know a lot of english but I helped with that. They will go back with some Jonathon-Nese...
Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pics during the trip...
Here's a few though...
Johnathan Hillstrand from Deadliest Catch. We met him at a sushi place in Sarasota. Super cool guy. He sat down and rapped with us for about ten minutes. Said the new season that starts on April 15th is going to be off the chain...

Here's a few shots from fishing on Sat. in St. Petersburg. Great day. The guys had a blast and the fishing was pretty good too.
One of the several reds that we caught...

My boy Mochizuki...He was big dog that day...

The other guys we were fishing with

Saw a real cool band at the hotel we were staying at in Shreveport...Whiskey Folk Ramblers...Go check em' out here.

Really stoked to be home. This was the longest amount of time that Amanda and I have been apart since we've been married and it sucked. So thankful to be home...

Have a great Easter everyone...

Must Be In the Genes...

2009-03-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

My parents used to have driveway throw downs before they has a sick backyard. Amanda and I are continuing the tradition. Last night we threw down on my majorly good grub. Then we just hung out in the garage and had fun taking photos.

Long exposure goodness...
Little heavy handed with Lightroom but I like this style of photo that looks like we were drawn with chalk...
I don't know why I think this pic is cool but it is...

Keeps Getting Better...

2009-03-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

Based on my last post, I thought it couldn't get better...
Kind of did...
Eating Cookie Dough Ice Cream.
Watchin' Entourage on iTunes.
Enjoying my #2 spot in my bracket where I shall continue to dominate.
Amanda's watching Greys on the DVR.
Weekend shreds...

Great Freakin' Weekend...

2009-03-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Weekend was stupid fun...
Quick recap for all you fans out there...
Friday night - Picked up Cara (Amanda's So Cal Friend) and had a great dinner at Osteria 832. Love that place. Good food. Kind of cheap. It was great to hang out with Cara and learn about her biz...She was selling some website goodness at the World Congress Center this weekend...Heard she closed a few...Great job Cara! I think I may have convinced both Amanda and Cara to start blogging as well. We shall see...
Saturday - Amanda and I went our own ways and got a bunch of stuff done. By bro man Jimbodini has been so kind enough to store my grill this last year and since it's officially Spring, I had to reserect that fool from the dead. Got a bunch of stuff from Lowes and Home Depot to bring it back to life. More on that later...Janer and I went to a great b-day party on Sat. night. Great times with some new folks that are turning out to be some great friends.

Sunday - Top 10 service today at Buckhead Church. "When tempted, don't say don't, say help." Really, really good. Lazy for a bit and then used the Weber. Red Snapper a couple of different ways along with some grilled asparagus. Although we live in an apartment, we throw it down. Had a great time hanging outside, grillin' and listening to some Jack J...

The goodness on the grill - Snapper on Cedar and Snapper in Foil...Holler for the recripe.
Our little set up...
Ridiculously hot and awesome wife...
Great weekend. Loved every second. Looking forward to a great week...Hoping you have a great one as well...

Why I don't do Facebook...

2009-03-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Over the past several weeks there have been a couple of blog discussions going on about a couple of things that have been rather interesting...One has to do with moral integrity and what some people do to safeguard their marriages. The other having to do with relationships in a Web 2.0 world.

And I thought since I've been getting asked by about everyone (sorry Grandma) I know about joining Facebook, I thought I join in the discussion on both fronts...

I know everyone has their opinion on these things and I'm not offering my opinion on either of the two above subjects but more of why I do what I do...

First off, I have the propensity to be an idiot. That being said, for me, I don't do facebook for the simple reason of not having a chance to be an idiot (at least in the social networking front). When I did the whole myspace deal back in the day, it was so easy to reconnect with people of the past. And I caught myself being way too involved with checking out how so and so was looking and spending more time checking out pics of people than wanting to know how they were doing. Basically, I was being an idiot. So I gaffed the myspace thing as did Amanda and we agreed that we wouldn't do the facebook deal. I'm sure it's a great thing but it's just something that Amanda and I have chosen not to do...I know we could probably have an account together so we can hold each other accountable but it's still a risky prop...Because remember, I can be an idiot...

To the second part of the discussion...I feel at times I'm a crappy friend. I'm so ridiculously blesssed to have the raddest friends on the planet and I feel I don't spend enough time with them or call/email them to see how they're doing. I have friends right here in Atlanta that I haven't hung out with 6 months. That's crap. I have friends in HB that I haven't talked to since I've gotten married. That's crap. I have a friend that had a baby 3 months ago and I just called him a couple of days ago. That's crap. I have a friend in Bolivia that got married in January and I haven't returned his call or email (Sorry bro). Not because I don't like him but because I'm lazy and I take my friendships for granted sometimes...So for me, joining the Facebook revolution would probably make me a worse friend as I can't even juggle the friendships I currently have...I know reconnecting with little Billy from 4th grade homeroom would be rad but I need to give some shout outs to my bros that I got now...Once again, I'm sure people are able to make that whole deal work but I just can't see myself making it happen. I have too many relationships that I need to work on...

Enough said...I gotta get on the phone and send some emails...

I don't forward emails but I will post this one cause it made me laugh out loud...

2009-03-18T18:53:00.001-07:00

A soldier ran up to a Nun. Out of breath he asked, "Please, may I
hide under your skirt. I'll explain later."

The Nun agreed. A moment later two Military Police ran up and asked,
"Sister, have you seen a soldier?"

The Nun replied, "He went that way."
After the MPs ran off, the soldier crawled out from under her skirt
and said, "I can't thank you enough, Sister. You see, I don't want to go to
Iraq ."

The Nun said, "I understand completely."
The soldier added, "I hope I'm not rude, but you have a great pair of legs!"

The Nun replied, "If you had looked a little higher, you would have seen a
great pair of balls. I don't want to go to Iraq either."

Reason 8.72 Million...

2009-03-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

My wife shreds...
She was proud of her dude and got him a gift today...
Since flowers just aren't manly, she hooked me up with something better...
Fruit flowers!!
How cool are these?
Freakin' love this chick...
Ridiculously lucky.
The fruit is pretty bomb too...

Fact! I'm faster that 80% of all snakes...

2009-03-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

Rainn Wilson, AKA Dwight Schute is blogging these days and it's a pretty cool website/blog.
www.soulpancake.com just launched and it's definitely worth the look.
I never would have pegged this dude as a spiritual guy but it seems that he really is. I hope this becomes a cool community with people sharing their opinions to life's big questions.

Check it..

New Breakfast Spot...

2009-03-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

Amanda and I skipped our Friday night date night to this morning instead...Usually, we take it down to Highland Bakery for breakfast but I was given the task of finding a new spot.
That new spot...West Egg Cafe...
Awesomeness, awesomeness, awesomeness...
Really good food and a great vibe. Amanda got herself a smoked salmon benedict and I got the huevos tejanos...Amanda also got a red velvet cupcake which she hasn't grubbed on yet. Apparently this place is known for their cupcakes.
If you haven't been there, you should. Don't be lame.
And behind the parking deck was this cool looking building and I attempted to be cool urban photog...Attempted being the key word here...

Winter Vonderland...

2009-03-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

Snowed in the southeast today. Walked out of church at noon and it dumped for a good three or so hours. Had a blast taking photos of my hot wife.

I'm pretty much ready for it to get warm now though...

This is the view from our bedroom looking down onto the pool area...

Out like trout.

Gas Pump Cop

2009-02-25T18:33:00.000-08:00

For those that live in Georgia and ever go to your local gas station you know this dude. He's creepy and he's all about catchin' people that drive away without paying for gas. I kind of want to meet the guy one day...

Anyways,,,randomness, I know...

Get Your 909 On...

2009-02-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, I still blog...Just not very often...
Last night, cruised to Motor X with Janer, Doche, Ali and two little dudes from my small group.
Absolute blast. Place was sold out and packed.
Team Yamaha and James Stewart won the main event.

Stewart coming across in first...Dominated start to finish...
They brought out stunt riders before the main event and brought some crazy goodness...
Me and my little homies...They were lovin' it...
Janer, Ali and the Doche...

I took a bunch of video as well that I'll try to edit. Just got iLife 09 and apparently iMovie is way easy to use...We shall see...

2009-01-29T21:38:00.000-08:00

I just had one of those days where I realized how much I love my job. I know it sounds kind of corny but I really do. I seriously cannot sleep right now because of all the stuff I have rolling around in my dome.

Usually when I get asked what I do for work, I can't really explain it. After I tell them I work for Yamaha, and then have to explain that we sell outboard engines and not electronics, I tell them my title is Supervisor of Business / Market Planning and they want to know what a Supervisor of Business / Market Planning does. And honestly, I can't give them an answer. My job description is a blank sheet of paper. And today was a perfect example of that and I really do have to share...

We have had our three boat companies in that we own as well as our newly purchased propeller manufacturer discussing year end for 2008 and the forecast for 2009. And if you hadn't noticed, it's kind of a tough market out there right now and we sell a product that isn't really a necessity. So we have to drastically change our course to survive...So between these meetings as well as the other things I have going on right now, here's a random smattering of things that I did today...

1) Discussed the timing of new EPA regulations and how it pertains to the pricing, programs and new product launches for this year and beginning of next.
2) Dug through different HR stuff (ie work share programs and WARN act) as we deal with staff reductions at some of our facilities
3) Talked through aluminum ingot prices and how they are affecting gross profit at our boat builder in Missouri. We use several million pounds of aluminum each year at this factory so you can do the math when we have a penny swing per pound in aluminum pricing.
4) Had a conversation with a web designer in Southern California who I am working with and talked through the layout of a new product we are trying to get introduced in about a month.
5) Worked with our product manager on the copy for a brochure we are getting ready to pull the trigger on...Need to finish this one first thing in the morning.
6) Had to explain what is going on with the Yen vs. the dollar and how that affects cost of goods. If you didn't know, Yamaha is built in Japan where the Yen is kicking the dollar's ass right now.
7) Attended a video conference with another boat builder in Vonore, TN and was given the lead on reducing our emission footprint at each of our group's five locations.
8) Drew up a new process for our monthly financial meetings...First one due on Wed.
9) Starting pulling data for 50 different markets in the US for a huge competitor of ours to find out their market penetration and how we can combat.
10) Worked with our boat builder GMs on contingency plans on wholesale and retail financing of boats and motors (If anyone has any good ideas, I would love to know it because getting money right now sure isn't easy)
11) While giving a tour of our new warehouse, saw that some product I just had brought in had a wrong label and had to call our supplier in Indy stat...This one kind of sucked...
12) Talked with a boat designer in Florida about our schedule moving forward on some really cool stuff...
13) Began making plans for a couple of focus groups in Dallas and Shreveport for above said "cool stuff"...
14) Learned about acid passivation on stainless steel boat propellers and how to combat rust
15) Ended the night with a video conference with some super cool electic Japanese boat designers on some new concepts

Whew!!! What a day...It's typically not that crazy where I'm juggling so many things at once. I'm usually working on two - three of those things a day but nothing like today...But seriously, I loved today. That's pretty much why I can't explain to anyone what I do or what my job title means. I really just want to put "Dude" down on my business card. I think it would better suit me anyways and I wouldn't have to really explain it.

I'm so thankful that I have a job that isn't boring. I'm so thankful for my bosses for letting me run with some of this stuff and letting me make big decisions. I'm so thankful for the incredibly smart people I get to work with and absorb stupid amounts of knowledge.

Anyways,,,just wanted to get that mind dump on paper while I was rollin' around...Time to go back and spoon with the missus...

Fun Little Grubbage...

2009-01-25T16:31:00.001-08:00

Hooked up a fun little meal for Amanda and I on Thursday night...

Here's the scoop:

Ground Turkey (85/15)
Diced Onion (White)
Diced mushroom
Diced water chestnut
Grated carrot
Romaine Lettuce leaves
Hoison Sauce (Asian sauce, really good)

Throw all of the above, save the carrot and lettuce, into a frying pan. Cook til' Turkey is good to go. Spoon out some of the meat stuff onto the romaine lettuce leaf and sprinkle some carrot on top for color. Eat like a taco...

This is a super easy recipe. It's good. It's healthy. And there are probably like 8 million combination's based on your tastes...

Andy bros down with Barack...

2009-01-25T16:07:00.000-08:00

The Pastor of the church that I go to, Andy Stanley, encouraged us to pray for the new President. Well, apparently, he walked the talk...Andy was invited to say one of the few prayers said at the National Prayer Service the day after the inauguration.

It's also pretty cool that he's the only dude that's not rockin' a robe or a crazy hat. I'm sure Andy wanted to pimp some jeans and a polo but went with a suit instead...

Check out below...

Mountain of Stone

2009-01-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

Late this week we finally got some weather that didn't require parkas and long johns...Thank gosh...

So Amanda and I decided instead of hitting the gym yesterday that we hike up Stone Mountain. Absolutely beautiful day. It was great to see so many people outside. It was great to see so many families hanging out with each other. It was great to get outside with Amanda...

Although I've been working out the past three weeks, I'm still incredibly out of shape and thought I was going to die going up but made it. I was kind of glad to see Amanda and others on the way up kind of winded as well...Made me feel less of a sissy boy.

Me and my baby boo....
Stuff like this never gets old...Amanda, I can't tell you how much you make me laugh...
Here's the view from the top looking into Buckhead. You can see Amanda's place of employment.
And this is the opposite view that was taken today from Amanda's office looking out at Stone Mountain. Is that just coolness or what?

A bit of a Problem....

2009-01-25T15:40:00.001-08:00

I have a problem...And it's a pretty lame one at that...I really like to read...

How lame does that sound?

So far in 2009, I've been on team read...Amanda and my friends said that's all I blog about now. So I'll pair it down a bit...

Here's a quick glimpse into the few that I've read in 2009 thus far...

The Audacity of Hope by President Barack Obama
Pretty good book. Will be looking forward to his book after his time in the Oval office.
Favorite lines of the book: "Identities are scrambling, and then cohering in new ways. Beliefs keep slippin though the noose of predictability. Facile expectations and simple explanations are being constantly upended. Spend time actually talking to Americans, and you discover that most evangelicals are more tolerant that the media would have us believe, most secularists more spiritual. Most rich people want the poor to succeed, and most of the poor are both more self-critical and hold higher aspirations than the popular culture allows. Most republican strongholds are 40% democrat, and vice versa. The political labels of liberal and conservative rarely track people's personal attributes."

Flight of Passage: A Memoir by Rinker Buck
A little dandy of a great adventure of two young kids in the 60s...Fix up an old Piper Cub and fly it to Southern California from New Jersey. Fun read.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh...Phenom book about an incredible lady, husband and former slave. Modern day story that will make you cry your face off. I read this book last Sunday. Yeah, just one day. I'm a tool but it's that good of a book. If you don't cry, you may not have a heart...

Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller
Another great cross country adventure...This time in a volkswagon bus. Nice read. Fun. Funny at times. Liked Blue Like Jazz better but nonetheless enjoyed this one as well...

Those are in the complete box of 2009...

I'm currently in the middle of Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and am also going through Francis Chan's Crazy Love with our small group. Both are drastically changing the way I view life...

J-Dub and T-Ro

2009-01-25T15:31:00.000-08:00

My good friend Jim (J-Dub) got married last weekend to his lovely bride Toni (T-Ro, now T-Ro Dub)...

Those two are like peas and carrots...

They had a great weekend planned out that I was stoked to be a part of. Friday night consisted of a faux rehearsal party at Taverna Plaka. Goodness is all I have to say about that. And we got to enjoy the antics of another young buck named Jonathan as well...Dude is hilarious...

The ceremony itself was small and intimate. Pasta Da' Something. It was a perfect setting for their wedding. Food was stupid good. We're going back sometime. Had a blast catching up with folks that I don't see enough.

Super stoked for both of them as they travel down this thing called marriage together...

The bride and groom...Much like myself, Jim married way out of his league...
My bride...Freakin' love you girl...
Our small group from back in the day, save Curt...

My Holy Molie

2009-01-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

On November 5, 2007, I made my first journal entry into my first moleskine...At the end of 2008, I filled the remaining pages with thoughts, prayers, drawings, etc...
Looking back on these pages of the last year, it's so ridiculously evident that God answers prayers and takes away our burden...Most of the journal entries at the beginning of the year were filled with anxiety, worry and doubt...It's crazy to see the transition of where I'm at now. It's also crazy to see when there's gaps in journaling and Bible reading, I come back crying in a fetal position. When there's consistency, there's a lot more joy and gratitude...

I just started a new moleskine for 09'...One of the things I want to focus on in 2009 and the rest of my life for that matter is giving God my time in the morning...I usually read and journal at lunch in a secluded cul-de-sac behind where I work. It's awesome and all but I want this to happen first thing in the morning and I want to be more consistent...When I say consistent, I mean everyday...even when I'm traveling and on the weekends...

I'm looking forward to a great 09' and beyond of going through His Word and putting these thoughts on a piece of paper...

My little Sis in Africa...

2009-01-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

Just got off the phone with my sister to hear about here trip to Cape Town, South Africa. Wow, Wow, Wow...
Really inspires me to go on a mission trip this year...
Here's a few pics of the gospel in South Africa...

Check out all the pictures HERE
Absolutely Incredible!!!!

BlueLand...

2009-01-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

Brown Man's chick-a-dee hooked up some ridiculously good tickets for last night's Thrasher's game. Section 104, Row G...Yeah, that's 7 rows from the glass at mid ice...In fact, just 4 or 5 steps down was the box for all the dudes that did bad stuff on the ice...

It was a fun game to watch...Even if you're a non hockey guy...Game went into overtime and eventually to a shoot out where the Thrasher's came through...Huge thanks to Terry for hooking these up...

Couple pics...

Me and my little lover...
Just a couple of rows down was the penalty box...Seriously, these seats were absolutely ridiculous...
The Thrashers after their big shootout win...Good stuff...Tough break Canoockers..
So after the game, the police officer that guards the penalty box hands Amanda a puck and tells her "That he enjoyed watching her tonight." Little creepy....
The homeboys...

2009 Reading List

2008-12-31T12:56:00.000-08:00

I like to read. I read a bunch in 2008 and I want to continue that in 2009. Several of the books that I read this year were off the cuff. I didn't plan on reading them but I would pick them up at airports or borrow them from others. I'm going to take a different approach this year and make a list to stick to.

This list runs the gamut. Fiction, Non-Fiction, Literature, Biographies, Inspiration and a few classics...36 in total, average of 3 a month...

I have a few already but still need to get a bunch...If you want to hook a brother up with a gift or let him borrow one, that would be swell...

And in the spirit of the upcoming Inaguation, I'm going to start off 2009 with Nixonland and Audacity of Hope.

1. Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
2. Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
3. Einstein – Walter Isaacson
4. Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama (On the Shelf)
5. Getting Things Done – David Allen (On the Shelf)
6. Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
7. Good To Great – Jim Collins
8. Crazy Love – Francis Chan (On the Shelf)
9. The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the Whitehouse – Nancy Gibbs
10. The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
11. Hot, Flat and Crowded – Thomas Friedman
12. Screwtape Letters – CS Lewis
13. Same Kind of Different as Me – Ron Hall
14. Lions of Lucerne – Brad Thor
15. State of the Union – Brad Thor
16. Take Down – Brad Thor
17. Blow Back – Brad Thor
18. The Apostle – Brad Thor
19. Depression Economics – Paul Krugman
20. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith – Rob Bell
21. Machine that Changed the World: The Story of Lean Manufacturing – James Womack (On the Shelf)
22. Through Painted Deserts – Donald Miller
23. The Paths We Choose – Sully Erna
24. Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time – Greg Mortenson
25. The Man Who Owns the News – Rupert Murdoch
26. Hemingway on Fishing – Ernest Hemingway (On the Shelf)
27. The Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger (On the Shelf)
28. 1984 – George Orwell
29. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
30. On the Road – Jack Kerouac
31. A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir – Donald Worster
32. The Working Poor: Invisible in America - David K. Shipler
33. Servant Leader – Ken Blanchard
34. Flight of Passage: A Memoir – Rinker Buck (On the Shelf)
35. Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan – David Magee
36. The Wisdom of Listening – Mark Brady

Ok, Ok...One more for 2008...

2008-12-31T12:18:00.000-08:00

I didn't think I was going to finish this one before the New Year but I just couldn't put it down last night...So, I stayed up til' about 1 or so and finished it up...

This was one of the best books I've read this past year. Malcolm Gladwell takes a look at success through a different lense...Opposed to looking at the individual and their success, he takes a look at many other factors.

We all love a good story about a person that defeats all odds and becomes a success through hard work and determination...Movies and books are often written because of "self-made" men/women.

The best example that was given talked about the tallest tree in the forest. It's all about the hardiest acorn that becomes the tallest tree. We examine why that acorn was so much better than all the others but neglect analyzing the soil it grew from, the sunlight it received and the trees around it. Here...I drew a picture for you...

In light of this example, Gladwell takes a look at specific examples of successful individuals and analyzing the forces surrounding the individual and their success...ie when they were born, socio-ecocomics and cultural legacies. Absolutely fascinating is all I have to say.

As complex as the topic is, he makes it incredible easy to read and understand. Lots and lots of facts from lots of different studies that have already been done.

If you haven't done it already, put this one on your 09' reading list. It's worth your time.

Onto 2009 for me...

Trippy Tree....

2008-12-30T18:01:00.000-08:00

All the trees outside of work have absolutely no leaves...I've wanted to take a pic for a long time because they look so creepy...I finally did today.

The original picture was pretty sick by itself because of how blue the sky was today but I dug the blur effect that iPhoto gave it...Kind of looks like a cover a crazy book or CD album..

Couple More Books...

2008-12-30T17:30:00.000-08:00

During this last week in So. Cal, I had a bunch of free time to read. Yee Haw for me...

I finished up my 3rd Brad Thor book of the year. I really dig this dude's stories. It's mindless reading and I'm not really learning anything but it's just good ol' fashion action packed stuff.

The main character (Scot Harvath) is involved in yet another plot by a terrorist organization to take down is family and friends. Of course, he's a bad ass that totally goes against the grain of what the President or the CIA says...

I won't give it away...But in the end, dudeman gets the bad guy. I hope I didn't ruin it for anyone...

After I was finished with the above book, I found this dandy in my rent's house.

I've actually read a couple of other Ben Mezrich's books in the past. In fact, the movie "21" with Kevin Spacey is based on his book Bringing Down the House...

Needless to say, I was pretty stoked to find this book because I really enjoyed the others that I have read. The main character in this book is a young guy (24) that luckily gets hooked up with the NY Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) through some pretty gutsy moves. After some gritty and smart work, he gets hooked up with the nephew of a powerful sheik in Dubai who works for the ministry of finance. Long story short, these guys were the masterminds that helped get the Dubai Mercantile Exchange up and running. Something that people laughed at when first proposed. It's now up and running...True story...Check it out...www.dubaimerc.com...Is fo' real...

I guess that about rounds out 2008 in terms of reading. I don't think I'll finish the book I'm reading now so that will have to go into 2009...Speaking of, I'm going to post my reading list here in the next couple of days. I've got a bunch of books picked out right now and trying to narrow down the final few...This year, I've read about 25 books...I'm shooting for 40 next year.

Tracers....

2008-12-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

Amanda and I were cruising to Target tonight and I saw the moon shining through the branches of this cool tree...So I flipped a quick U to get my camera and tri-pod...You can't really see the moon but I thought the pic turned out kind of cool...

God is Good!!!!

2008-12-20T08:44:00.000-08:00

Following email was sent from someone in our small group who is going through a death of a grandparent...

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to give you all an update. My grandfather is now at home with Hospice taking care of him around the clock. Sunday night, he prayed for salvation and Monday, a cousin who is a minister came and baptized him at his request. He understands exactly what that means and can't remember much, but reminded me yesterday that he's been baptized :)

So, as horrible a time as this is, I'm reminded that God's grace is so amazing! This would be completely impossible to get through if not for Him. I want to thank all of you for your prayers and please continue to pray for his peace and for God's grace in his life and for strength for our family.

Since this email, the grandfather has passed away and is now looking down from Heaven.

I'm always amazed that regardless of what a mess we are, He is always pursuing us...

Cahones...

2008-12-18T20:24:00.001-08:00

Totally impressed with Obama's pick to deliver his invocation at the inauguration. Not because I like Rick Warren. I'm impressed because Obama knew it was gonna tick people off that voted for him. That took stones and I admire him for that.

A Recipe for Ya...

2008-12-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

There's a place in Southern California called Wahoo's Fish Tacos that I absolutely love. All their stuff is just so fresh and grubness...Since I'm not able to eat at Wahoo's every single day, I shook things up a bit and cooked something similar here. This is a great and easy and goodness recipe. Especially for single dudes out there that don't really want to cook...

So, here ya go:

1) Cup of cooked rice...This is the only thing you have to cook...I personally use a rice cooker because of the consistent quality and I can set it and forget it...
2) Warm up some black beans and place them into the little rice valley that's been made...
3) Shredded lettuce next...
4) Now for some meat...I like to use this pre-made chicken breast in SW flavor. It works well but you can use whatever meat you want or don't want if you're veggie-tarrean...
5) Here comes the dairy group with some Mexican cheese...That warmed up chicken and rice will help the cheese melt into gooey proportions...

6) I top the whole thing off with some Herdez Mild Salsa. I love this salsa. It's found in the true Mexican aisle of the grocery store so you know it's close to the real deal and not made in New York City...Nonetheless, you can pick your flavor...7) And here's to some enjoyment!!!!

So there ya go...It's a great and easy recipe that requires some time and a microwave...Maybe a pot or a rice cooker if you don't use microwave rice...

Let me know what you think...

If you can dodge a shoe...You can dodge a ball...

2008-12-14T18:22:00.001-08:00

GW: It appears that guy is about to throw a shoe at me...GW: Holy crap!!! It's really a shoe and it's headed right towards me...
GW: Sissy ass arm...Wasn't even close...Why is this guy next to me absolutely unfazed?

My Boy Jimbo - The Bach Party

2008-12-14T18:06:00.000-08:00

Friday night was the celebration of my buddy Jim's bachelor party.
11 dudes manned up and threw down for Jimbo's fiesta...
Insanely fun night.
First - Stats...Guiness and Smythicks tap at the table. So goodness.
Next - Thrasher's Game...Ridiculous seats. Thrashers got thrashed by the Bruins but there were several good fights and 10 goals between the teams.
After That - We ended up at Lennys to see Yelawolf. Unfortunately, he didn't go on until about 1:30 or so...J. Ross, Wes and I were the only ones to stay...
The bands before Yelawolf was some of the worst stuff I've ever heard. Yet hilarious.

All in all...Great nite with some great buds.

Love ya J-Dub and incredibly happy for you...

The Bachelor in full force!!!!
When I talked to the ticket office, I asked for the Zamboni but instead I got this...Better than nothing I guess...The Thrashers got smoked but they threw down...
The Crew...

Dudeman should be working the Clinique Booth at Lenox

2008-12-12T14:09:00.001-08:00

Get Elved...

2008-12-12T13:58:00.001-08:00

Do yourself a favor and click on the link...
Courtesy of my awesome Mom...

Elf Freakin' Tastic!!!!!

What to wear when your wife wants you to do Chores....

2008-12-11T15:38:00.001-08:00

Minor Rant....

2008-12-08T21:30:00.001-08:00

Here's the deal...I didn't vote for Obama...

But I am rooting for him 100%...

Why wouldn't I? I hope he earns my vote in 4 years from now because I think if he does then he would have completely turn this economy around and set a great foundation for the future...That being said...

He was on Meet the Press this weekend and said this....

TOM BROKAW, MODERATOR: Your vice president Joe Biden said during the course of this campaign it would be patriotic for the wealthy to pay more on taxes. In this economy, does he still believe that?

BARACK OBAMA: Well, I think what Joe meant is exactly what I described which is that if, if our entire economic policy is premised on the notion that greed is good and what's in it for me, it turns out that that's not good for anybody. It's not good for the wealthy, it's not good for the poor, and it's not good for the vast majority in the middle.

And I get a little powerpoint slide from a Union rep at the Atlanta airport that says this, "The IAM (I am the Future) will end Delta's unilateral control over wages and give employees the ability to negotiate and ratify the wages and other employment terms they want."

This was from a Union representative which is a major constituency of Obama because of his stance on Unions. Doesn't this say "What's in it for me?" Doesn't this say, I could care less about our customer, where's my jack and my benefits?

I'm not saying that the machinists and mechanics shouldn't get paid a crap load of money. In fact, I hope they do. Not because they tell their bosses that they should but because they are really good at what they do. I depend on these people monthly. I fly all the time and I hope they do a great job and I hope they get paid a bunch because they are really good...Not because they have worked there the longest or not because they and a bunch of other people like them told their bosses that they should get paid a lot...

I don't want to get raises because I tell my boss what I want to make. I want to get raises because my boss sees value in what I do and I give a crap about the entire company...

Isn't an employee/employer relationship unilateral when it comes to pay and benefits?

Boss: Hi Joe, you get paid this much to do your job description
Joe: Ok, so what you saying is...Is if I do that, I get this?
Boss: Absolutely.
Joe: Cool....
Boss: Now go get em' Tiger...

I seriously hope this country doesn't go back to Union control...I think they served a great purpose at a time (ie No Human Resource Law and horrible working conditions)...But I don't see the benefit now...

If someone does know...Please clarify....

T-Ro in the House

2008-12-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

My bro J-Dub's fiance is now blogging....

Her name is T-Ro and she likes cats and Obama....

Go see what's crackin' over there and say what's up....

Gotta Love Re Runs...

2008-12-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

For those that haven't seen the goodness yet...TLC...Dec. 9th...8:30am EST...
Check your local listings...

Great Quote

2008-12-07T09:32:00.001-08:00

"Blame who you want...If people would have listened to the voice of wisdom opposed to the voice of greed or the voice of discontentment, we wouldn't be in such a mess today." - Andy Stanley

Marinate on that for a little bit....

Heart for the Homeless...

2008-11-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, Amanda's Xtreme small group was involved in a service project with several other small groups...They were going to make bag lunches and serve them to the homeless in downtown Atlanta.

There was a great turnout of kids and adults and we ended up making about 500-600 sandwiches and lunches...

From there we headed to South Atlanta to meet up with Seven Bridges to Recovery, the ministry that this was all through...

Initially, I was merely going as protection for the girls but when I got there, God totally spun my heart around and said "You're here to serve"

The head dude of the ministry was a gnarly looking harley dude that brought the Word for all of us there in a KMart parking lot. It was real, it was raw and I loved it.

From there, we split up into two groups and headed out to feed the homeless of Atlanta.

It's always amazing to see poverty up close and personal. It's a huge problem and it's right here in our backyard of Atlanta. There are about a million reasons why...Nonetheless, it's there...

We went under bridges and left food on beds. We prayed over beds together. We talked to the homeless and prayed with them. We gave away clothes and told these unfortunate souls how much we love them.

It was faith in action.
It was real.
It was organic.
It was beautiful.
It was the way I think Jesus would want.

Fortunately, there was a photographer there capturing the day. Here's just a taste...

The sandwich making line...
Here's the entire group of Buckhead Churchies after making the lunches...
Some of our friends we met...The lady really wanted something to warm her head and one of the guys pulled off his beanie and gave it to her...
This is Pastor 7 of Seven Bridges to Recovery throwin' down the Word before we hit the streets...
A team of folks praying and encouraging...
A typical sleeping set up under the bridge...
Praying over a bed...Asking God to lift up whoever sleeps there...
Lets get involved this holiday season. Lets get our heart turned upside down. Lets get in really uncomfortable situations and serve. Lets love on people that we don't know. Lets forgot about our standard of living and care about lives.

Photo credits: Michael Martin @ www.capturedbeauty.smugmug.com

Sorry Amanda...

2008-11-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

I know this is so 5 months ago but Amanda was going to shoot me if I didn't do this soon...

So, here you go...

A few pics from our honeymoon and the link to a whole bunch more...

How lame are pirates these days????

2008-11-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

Seriously, what's the deal with these lame pirates?

For those that don't read or watch the news, these lame little Somalis hijack oil tankers for ransom and it's getting pretty crazy.

But let's take a look at how lame these guys are...

Lame boat...At least they are rockin' a good outboard...

Lame motive...Going after ransom money opposed to gold and treasure
No parrot on their shoulder
No eye patch
No hook hand
No peg leg
No skull and cross bones
These guys suck...
This dude sums up what a pirate should be...

Stupid Team

2008-11-25T13:52:00.001-08:00

My team sucked this week....
Kellen - What the heck?
Lendale - Negative points? Really? Appreciate that...
Philly "D" - Way to step up...

Oh well...Onto to week 13 against Doche...In a first play tie with the Brown Man who's looking pretty strong right now...I've beat him twice though...

A few more reads for you...

2008-11-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

After my last book review post, I got back on it and read a few more books since then. First one is The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin. For those that don't know Jeffrey, he's an analyst on CNN. I really liked him because he was rather impartial during the election. Throughout the election, he frequently spoke about the Court and how the next President is going to have a significant impact on the court because there are several justices in there 70s and 80s that most likely will be done soon.

The book itself focused on the Rehnquist Court which saw the same Justices together for over 10 years which is the longest in Court's history. I greatly enjoyed the book and learned a lot about how the Court works and how they come to their decisions. I was also interested in Sandra Day O'Connor's role in the Court as the typical swing vote. She was nominated by Ronald Reagan but was very moderate in her voting record. I dug her moderate positions and wished there were more Justices like her that don't take a right or left approach to the bench...

I also didn't know abortion shows up so much in the Court. I have opinions on this that I want to explain in another post.

Nonetheless, it was a great book and a great read...

After reading about the Supreme Court, I dove into another Brad Thor book...If you don't remember, I read another book by the same author a few months back.

I actually liked this book better than the other one I read. The main character in the book is a bad ass, arrogant, tough as nails secret service agent that doesn't mess around...Basically, the main character, Scot Harvath, is trying to track down an terrorist organization before he wrecks havoc on the US. Awesome stuff.

I'm really liking this author and am going to be digging into the rest of his books. They are quick reads and very action packed. If by chance you have any copies of this dude, please let me know. If not, hopefully they will have them at the library...

Last up is Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley...

For those observant readers, I read another book by the same author here. This one though caught my eye while waiting in a grocery store line but Amanda had me wait and gave it to me for my birthday. Buckley is a political satirist and he didn't disappoint with this one. The President in his book finally has a chance to nominate a Supreme Court Justice but he has a congress and senate that aren't too entirely stoked on him so he can't get the first two books through the Judiciary Committee. While watching TV at Camp David, he runs across a TV Court show (ie Judge Judy) and is intrigued by the witty, fiery, Texas female judge. So, he nominates her and because of her popularity, the constituents of the Judiciary Committee members are forced to say OK...You can imagine the rest of the story.

Once again, great funny quick read that was very enjoyable. If you're interested, let me know and I'll let you read it. Also, if you have any of Chris Buckley's earlier books that you're willing to let go for awhile, let me know...

Next up, NixonLand...An 800 page beast about Richard Milhous Nixon...Lovin' it so far.

Fantasy Football Week 9&10

2008-11-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

The couple of weeks have brought successes for the team of Burns...That would be me in first place as I head into week 11...

I need the team to step up big time because the dude I am going against has some good match ups that should produce some big points. We shall see...

Week Ocho...

2008-10-28T19:07:00.001-07:00

I know, I know...You're asking, what about week 7...Well, week 7 sucked really bad sport fans. And opposed to cussing a bunch on this blog, I figured to let it stew and give a two week summary instead...

Like I said, week 7 sucked...My team didn't show at all and the team I played did. Stomped, kicked, beaten down is all I have to say...

That brought me back into a three way tie for first coming into week 8...

Fortunate for me, the dude I was playing (Green Machine) apparently didn't check his team to see that he had 5 guys on a bye week. Good break for me I guess...As you can see by the final score, my team played all right...Peyton putting one in the end zone himself certainly didn't hurt either...

I'm headed into week 9 now in a two way tie with Brownman and am going against wee little rye rye...Truthfully, I'm not too stoked on my team right now. I made some moves tonight hoping they pay off big on Sunday...

Reading Machine...

2008-10-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot lately and I haven't posted any reviews and for that, I apologize.

I shall post now:

The Shack by William Young
Phenom book. There was lots of hype about it and I really do think it lived up to it. Several theologians and pastors out there have given it a bad rap because it's not theologically sound. I'm neither but thought the book was awesome. It really provided a sense of tangibility to the Holy Trinity. It may not be right but it gave me some great insight of how God may think. If you haven't read this. Please do. Tell me you want a copy and I'll buy it for you. You can check out their website here to get the gist of the book since I won't do it any justice here except to tell you to read it...

King of Torts by John Grisham
After Amanda and I listened to another Grisham novel we decided to check this one out on our trip to Panama City. Once again, very entertaining and a great listen. Same ol' same ol' with Grisham in that it's about a small time lawyer going against big corporation. But there is a major twist that sends this thing all over the board. If you want to listen to it, holler at me and I'll send it to you. It's worth it if you have a long drive somewhere.

Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden
This one has been on my list for a while and I finally got to it. I read another book by Mark Bowden last year and really enjoyed it. This was a cool book. It gives a brief history on who Pablo was and a pretty detailed look at how he was taken down with the help of american authorities. This was a very enjoyable read. You kind of get lost with all the Columbian characters involved though.

Next by Michael Crichton
I bought this book at Barnes and Noble about 4 months ago and never touched it. It was on sale for 5 bucks and was hardcover so I figured what the heck. This is the first time I've read a Michael C. book and I have to say dude has whack job imagination. This book ate me up. On a recent trip to Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago, I waxed this 400 page mofo. It's about big biological research companies working with genes...Human and animal. Let's just say there was a talking monkey and a smart ass talking bird that pretty much saved the day in the end. Crazy stuff I tell ya.
Since I read chomped this book up while on the trip I needed something to read coming home...The old man at the airport bookstore asked what I was into and I told him about my recent read. He was quick to say "You have to read.......

Timeline by Michael Crichton
So I went with the dude's recomendation and did it...I didn't like it as much as Next but it was still entertaining. Once again, this dude has crazy imagination to write this stuff....Essentially, it's about a company building a time machine like deal that sends some researchers off to France in the medievil period. Entertaining. Kind of got boring through the second half. I only finished because I wanted to see what happened.

This past week while in Michigan, my buddy Doche gave me another to read which he is a firm believer in...

Fair Tax by Neal Boortz and John Lidner
Very very interesting book. Here's the premise...Take away all federal income, payroll, capital gains, social security and medicare taxes and replace it with a 23% consumption tax. According to the authors, it's not a tax cut. It's revenue neutral. Meaning Gov't still should have same amount to spend and pay social security and medicare. There are so many more details to it that I don't have the will to type about but I will say it's interesting. There's several things I'm not concrete on and would like to do some more research. If you haven't read it, don't knock it. There's a lot of people out there that knock this plan without knowing anything about it along with not liking the guy that wrote it but I suggest you read it first before coming to conclusions. I'm not sold but the premise is pretty interesting and I think should be explored further....

That's it for now...I'm reading a great book about the Supreme Court now which is interesting by Jeffery Toobin (CNN dude). Also, if you have any good suggestions, let Amanda know...She's shopping for my b-day...I'm thinking about really getting into American history stuff. I saw a documentry on Nixon the other night and I'm intrigued to read about former presidents...I know, I'm such a tool...

If you want any of these books to borrow to peruse, let me know...

Yachts, Wood and Holland...

2008-10-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

One of the many cool things about my job is the fact that I get to be around boats...I love boats, I love being on boats and I love seeing how boats are built. I think it's so cool that talented individuals can create something so cool...

Well, the past couple of days, I've been in Holland, Michigan meeting with a group of designers talking about new boats to build in the coming years. Great stuff...Great people. And I'm really looking forward to what the future holds for the stuff we are talking about. It's been a long term project that I've been working on for the past three years and it's cool to see some of it starting to come to fruition...

So the guy that I'm up here with, knows a guy that knows a guy that is the head sales dude at Tiara Yachts...Tiara just so happens to be in Holland, Michigan. Of course we had to go check it out. Absolutely amazing is all I have to say. By far the biggest and most impressive boat manufacturing facility I've ever been to. They build boats that our bosses boss buys. That's why there are called yachts and not boats. That was yesterday...

Today, while at lunch with head guy of the design company we're talking to, I asked him about the wooden boat company that he's done some work for. He said it was right down the road and asked if we wanted to check it out...We were like, ahh yeah we want to see some wooden boats...

And what a treat it was...totally different from yesterday...Small place (maybe 5,00o square feet)...No fiberglass, about 10 employees that build all 20 of their boats per year by hand. It was incredible to watch these craftsman at work. The company is called Grand Craft and they make replica boats of the past. Wood used to be the material of choice when building boats but manufacturers got away from it and starting using fiberglass...These guys are keeping it real. Something crazy...It takes about 90 days, start to finish to build a 58' Yacht with triple engines and it takes these dudes about 8 months to finish a 26ft boat with twin engines. You guys probably could care less but it's really cool stuff...

Anyway, that's been my last couple of days and I wanted to share because I thought it was so cool...

This is the Tiara's plant...Employs a lot of people...

And this is an example of what they build...

This is a grand craft...36 ft. Commuter...

Another...23 ft. Sport...

In Fuego...Week 6 Fantasy Style

2008-10-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post last week about Fantasy Football but I will say the outcome was good...With that said, I was heading into week 6 in a two way tie for the top spot with Doche...

My team was phenom this week...Everybody contributed and it made for a dominating win...That would now place me in sole position of first place. I don't know how long it will last but I'm enjoying the moment.

My boy Romo is out but fortunately I never got any offers to take Peyton off my hands so I got him ready to roll...And by all looks of things, he's rollin' and should step in nicely while T. Ro is out with a broken pinky...Go chill with Jessica dude and rest up...

Wadded up!!!

2008-10-09T17:42:00.001-07:00

This economy and election cycle has really gotten me wadded up lately. I feel so jaded and seem to get pissed so easily...I'm really glad that Amanda and I are on the same page politically for the most part...Otherwise, shoes would have been thrown at each other...

I hate that I'm being so consumed by this...Therefore, I'm instituting a no news weekend...I'm only gonna watch football and baseball on TV and I'm not getting on the internet the entire weekend...

It's on...

PS - I'm twittering now...Why, because I'm a one liner type of dude...Check me out here

Beware Vegetarians...

2008-10-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I had a great weekend. There wasn't just one thing that was great about it, just the entire weekend was good...We got a lot of stuff done and spent a lot of time together. So to celebrate we decided to do something that we have never done since we've been together...Cook some meat...We always eat chicken or fish and have never got down with a nice piece of beef...

So we got two 20 ounce Ribeyes from Fresh Market...Beastly pieces of pure goodness...

Fortunately, our apartment complex just installed a BBQ down by the pool so Amanda and I had a nice candlelight dinner listening to music via Iphone...Great night...Great food...

Look at that goodness...20 ounces of pure joy...
That's a huge loaf of foraccia bread on the left that we dipped in some nice olive oil...
Finished product...Steak, portabello, salad with vinagarette, candles and some blue moon since we couldn't buy wine today...Sundays in Georgia I tell ya...The above picture doesn't show the mood because of the flash...This kind of does...

Not very happy right now....

2008-10-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Down 2 - 0 to the Red Sox and headed back to Fenway with Beckett on the mound...Not feel great about this at all...Plus the Dodgers are up 2 - 0 against the Cubbies and headed back to LA. And all my Dodger buddies have made sure that I know what's going on...

this sucks...Go Angels on Sunday night!!!!

Tonight's Debate...

2008-10-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

Watched tonight's debate start to finish...Loved it...

I thought both sides were phenomenal. Much more exciting than the presidential debate. Both candidates seemed much better prepared and offered more specifics than rhetihoric. Palin to me was much stronger, sincere and specific in domestic policy. Biden was amazing in foreign policy. Dude knows what's up when it comes to stuff across the pond. Overall, toss up in my mind. Of course, CNN has Biden the winner and Fox goes to Palin...What do ya know...

Additionally, I want to say that I was very impressed with the moderator Gwen Ifils. She was incredibly impartial and fair. The only think I wish was that she would have pushed both candidates to answer the questions more directly...Both hey, it's politics...

Roland Martin (CNN) said before the debate, that people should vote on the issues and not on who they like more personally (something to that affect). And you know what, I agree with the guy. I typically don't. The only thing with that statement though was that it was clearly a jab at Palin voters who like Palin and the person she is. What strikes me as so ironic though, is that most people that are probably going to vote for Obama are clearly voting for him because of style and not substance. And that's totally fine. If you connect with a candidate on a personal level and could care less about his/her policies, by all means vote for them. But for Martin, who is obviously a huge Obama fan to make such a statement is so lame.

Personally, I'm undecided as of right now. I have some fundamental differences in opinion with Obama, Biden and the democratic platform (and they have nothing to do with conservative social issues). And some of the things they have said recently pushes me away even further. Yet despite that, there is a part of me that really likes Obama. I'm seriously going to have to pray a bunch on this one. It's a tough choice and I want to make a vote for someone and not against someone.

I haven't wrote very much here regarding this political season. I've done this because I'd rather have a conversation with someone that seeing a debate run rampid on a blog. If you do post a comment, please be coherent and not stupid and divisive...There's enough of that...

New Reading Material for You...

2008-10-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

For those that are very observant, you've noticed several new blogs on the right hand side that are pretty cool...Well, at least to me they are. You should totally go check em' out.

But I wanted to highlight one that you should really go read. It's www.changetheworldwithlove.blogspot.com...And none other than the wee Burns of Shannon is the author. That's right, Shan is a blogger. And she is phenomenal. She started this thing because in December she is headed to South Africa for a couple of weeks on a mission trip.

Seriously, go read it. She's funny, she's eloquent and so transparent and sincere....You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll hug the person next to you...

Great stuff...Go here now!!!

Week Quatro...

2008-09-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

Another dub for Burns. Team didn't play that well but was able to pull it off. Still in dire need of a receiver. I'm in 3rd right now, behind Brownman and Doche...I'm liking prospects of the rest of the season...

Weekend Review...

2008-09-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

Didn't watch the debate on Friday night but saw clips. Weak on both sides...Same ol' same ol'...

CNN talking heads proclaim Obama the winner...Fox News, guess what, McCain...What a shocker that one is.

Saw Righteous Kill on Friday night with Amanda, Terry and Brownman. Lame. Deniro and Pacino are way too old to be New York cops.

Great dinner on Sat. night with the Walshes, Revillas, and Weirs (almost)...Great food, great wine and tons of great conversation.

Had a great time with my small group kids this morning. Got to rock my PJs and a mo-hawk. Fun stuff.

Andy Stanley brought one of the best sermons I've ever heard today.

Fantasy team so far is doing ok for the week. Not great but good enough to hopefully win. Need some Baltimore "D" to step it up tomorrow night.

Watching David Blaine right now. Dude is crazy weird.

Becoming a Michael Crichton fan. Read one of his books last week and am tearing through another.

Headed to Sarasota tomorrow to meet with some people that are way creative and talented. Looking forward to a good meeting on Tuesday morning.

Gown time...

Who's ready for the Master Debators????

2008-09-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

I hope both candidates, for the sake of all of us, bring a solid game tonight.
I hope we hear solutions and not false promises.
I hope we hear direct answers and not politic speak.
I hope they don't mud sling.
I hope they highlight differences in a kind manner.
I hope they are genuine and sincere (tough to tell on this one).

I hope the American public regardless of party listens to both sides.
I hope the American public has an open mind.
I hope the American public makes their decision in November on what candidates say and not the media...

Good luck tonight to both...But Jed Bartlett would still womp your arses!!!!

Who's Excited???

2008-09-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

One solution to our foreign oil problem...Just don't supply it...

2008-09-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

For those who don't read or watch the news, Atlanta has no gas...Well, limited gas. Hurricane Ike messed up some the refineries that supply the SE with gas. So since last week, it's been a bad deal around the southeast. It's actually pretty crazy...Amanda and I waited for about 30 minutes last night to get gas. We saw almost one fight after one dude cut in line...Crazy stuff...

So tonight, we had to take some pics to show our friends who don't live here...This line must have been at least an hour long tonight.

My Week Three...

2008-09-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ahhh yeah!!! Down by 15 on Monday night and Crotch-meister (Jets) and Nate Keading (Chargers) come through. Sorry BrownMan. I was actually in Indy on Monday night and I was going nuts in my hotel room purely rooting for two players...Could care less about the game itself...Nonetheless, a big "W" for Burnside. 2 - 1 thus far and really liking my team. I need to make some changes though as I have bye weeks coming up.

As Promised from previous post...

2008-09-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

My creation from tonight:

Red Snapper pan sauteed in butter, garlic (lots), light Tony's and sprinkled with lemon pepper...
White rice cooked in rice cooker...I like to cook my rice in chicken broth...Better flavor
Blue Runner Beans drizzled atop the rice...
Spring Mix salad with seedless cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and balsamic...
And washed it down with a nice 2005 Cab (Charles Krug - Peter Mondavi family) - the boss man gave it to us...

Grub 101...Write it down...

The Grubness...

2008-09-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I used to really like Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice...It was good and it was super easy for Amanda to cook...

That was until I was introduced to Blue Runner Creole Style Red Beans...I didn't discover these beans, they discovered me...While at my bachelor party, the dude that delivered the crawfish found out the reason we were there and gave me a six pack of the beans. I thought it was kind of weird but at the same time, pretty freakin' cool...

I have to say that I will never go back to the box stuff...You have a couple more steps when using this stuff because you need to cook the rice but it's well worth it...Go to their site and buy some and you'll thank me later...

Wait a couple of hours and I'll how you the finished goodness...

Week 2

2008-09-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

Week 2 of Fantasy Football pitted me against my boy Rye Rye...

After Sunday, I was getting absolutely smoked and was down by 60 points with Romo and Barber to play on Monday night. My defense didn't get to play on Sunday because of Hurricane Ike and Brownman said I should pick up the Philly defense for Monday night. I thought about it and decided not to because I figured if Philly defense did well, then Romo and Barber wouldn't have produced...

Needless to say I lost by seven points as the Boys of Dallas went off...Who knows if the Philly defense would have gotten me 7 points. I know they had at least an INT...

Oh well,,,onto week three vs. Brownman...

NFL Week One

2008-09-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

Last year my fantasy team sucked stanky rear end...Between a shady QB situation and several injuries throughout the season, I think I finished near the bottom...

This year is going to be a different story. Week One went well...

My boy Romo (Who was my third pick) is going to carry me to victory this year...I have no doubt...I have Payton benched I'm so confident in this Jessica Simpson loving mofo...

It's on this year...

Loser of the league this year has to gear up in full cowboy get up and go out one night during the Christmas break while rye rye is home...

Labor Day PC Trip

2008-09-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

The parentals, Amanda and I headed down South to Panama City on Thursday after work...We are staying at some family friend's pad and it's been a blast...

We are about to bounce but I wanted to throw up a few pics before we headed back to the ATL...

We had to hit up the Lotto place right when we got out of Alabama into Florida. We're still poor...
This is some model we saw on the beach...Actually my mom...

On Saturday morning, the boys headed out to catch some meat for the evening. We got so lucky as the weather was phenom and the Gulf was like a lake...We slayed em'...

This is the scene on the way out to the first hole....Huge boil of Bonito...We had to stop and catch a few for bait...
This is Jacob getting absolutely schooled by one of those Bonito...He was a trooper and caught a bunch of fish...
Here's Pops with a nice Amberjack that smoked him for a little bit...
Jacob probably had the biggest snapper of the day with this bad boy...It was consumed on Sat. night inside of a tortilla with salsa...So good...
Here's my poor attempt to be like Jake...Not bad though...They all eat the same...
This was the night before on an evening cruise we took...
While we were fishing on Sat, the girls went and spent some money...
These are our hosts...

And these are the host's kids...
This was taken this morning...The house is off of St. Andrews Bay and the storm surge from Gustav covered the dock...Apparently it's still coming up...

The Parentals...

2008-08-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

My lack of blogging lately is solely attributed to my parents being in town...They've been staying with Amanda and me since Friday of last week...It's been fun...The weather has kind of sucked during the week but we've kept pretty busy...We're waiting for Amanda to get out of work to head down to Panama City for the long weekend.

Back at the blogging thing hardcore next week...

Here's some visual enjoyment from the week...

Brave's game on Tuesday night with my buddy Mike and his family and the Doche...

No trip to the South is complete without taking it to the House...

I was there before Phelps...

2008-08-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Because I've been stupid lazy about blogs,,,I'd thought I write about China. For those that haven't noticed, the Olympics have been on for the past two weeks. It's pretty much ruined my life in a great way...I'm really ready to get some sleep though...

In March of 2003, I took a trip to Beijing for an International Marketing trip...It was my first trip outside the states, save Mexico...It is so crazy that the Olympics have finally come to fruition because when I was there I talked to several architects and planners that were from all over the world already getting ready to build new hotels and infrastructure.

It was a blast of a trip and would definitely love to go back one day...

I've got several things to write about and i will eventually, just not now...

Buckhead Night of Worship

2008-08-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

As I said in my last post, Amanda and I had a hot date last night for our two month anniversary. We went to an awesome Night of Worship at Buckhead Church. This night was all about worshiping, praying and taking communion. Sunday's typically comprise of a few songs so Buckhead does something like this every once and awhile...

It was phenomenal. Music was great and the presence of God was felt big time. It's so insane to hear 2500 voices in unison praising our Heavenly Father.

I was able to get in a lot of prayer throughout the evening and at one point I just said "God, I want to go balls for the wall for you". I even kind of laughed after I said it...But seriously, I've been totally luke warm lately and I don't like it. It's always great to have a kick in the tail like I did last night.

Also, last night, the team at Buckhead Church talked about the launch of the Buckhead Music Project. Basically, a lot of the musicians that play on Sunday mornings (And they are stupid talented) are going to be playing different bars, clubs and venues around the Buckhead area. It's not going to be all praise music but more of their own stuff that they've written. And I can honestly say that the musicians and singers that rock out on Sunday mornings are very talented...It should be pretty cool and hopefully spur some conversations...I'm looking forward to it...Check it out here

Two post in one night...I'm going to bed now...

Two Months and a Day...

2008-08-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the two month anniversary of Amanda and I being married. I have to say, it's been an awesome two months. We've had all sorts of fun these last couple months and have been able to totally relax. It's bordering on laziness (at least for me) but heck, we deserve it.

Some of the things I've learned/enjoyed/need to get better at these last two months:

Amanda is the hottest and best roommate I've ever had (Sorry Jeff, Ryan, Shags, Austin, Mac, Rye Rye, Scotty, Dave, Bourbon, Todd, Jim, Nessie)
She's makes the bed every morning - Something I've never done
Still working on putting the toilet seat down - That's gonna take some time
I'm becoming the master smoothie maker in the morning (Thanks Brownman for the blender)
I freakin' love our new bed and bedding - So blessed
We are doing a great job with managing our finances

The last couple months have been great. It's so awesome hanging out with my best friend everyday and being the first thing I see in the morning.

Yesterday, while having coffee room talk with this lady at work we were discussing coffee drinking habits and I told her I didn't drink coffee until I got to work because I made smoothies for Amanda and I for breakfast...She was like "Well, that's just because you're Newlyweds." So does that mean that after a certain period of time, I can't do nice things for my wife...I think not!!! I love doing it and she loves doing the same for me...SMOOTHIES for life baby cakes...

Anyways, two months down and many many many more to come...And we had a great date night to celebrate the occasion...See next post...

My first Post in August...

2008-08-05T20:01:00.001-07:00

Been totally weak on the blogging thing lately and I oh so apologize...

I'm in Texas right now working with my boys at Skeeter on some real cool strategic business planning stuff that they are going to unvail this fall. We are putting some awesome stuff together and I think the finished product will produce some great results...

It's crazy how booming the economy is here right now...The oil and natural gas fields are going crazy. We went to Chili's tonight (that's the extent of Kilgore restuarants) and 85% of the people in there were oil field workers...And I have to say that I have a greater respect for those dudes after watching a mini marathon of Black Gold on Tru Tv on Sunday...For the most part, the people here have no idea that the US is kind of in a recession...I'm sure as heck not gonna tell them cause they're buying boats like crazy...

I'm really stoked about tomorrow morning...A good friend of mine and his wife are scheduled for their second little dude to enter this world at 7am tomorrow...I'm headed to the hospital in the morning...Really stoked for both of them...Can't wait to see the new little guy...And to those who are curious, Amanda and I are waiting for a couple of years to have one of our own...

That's about it...

Oh, one more thing...I freakin' miss the heck out of Amanda...Now that we're married, being out of town is a lot different. I miss you baby and can't wait to see you tomorrow night...

Ooooppss!

2008-07-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I kind of blew it...Not intentionally...

Since, we've been married, I've typically taken off my ring before I got in the shower...Yesterday, as I was getting on 285, i looked down and seriously almost past out...Totally forgot...

I felt naked the entire day...I kept my left hand in my pocket and honestly stayed in my office the whole day. It was seriously weird. I didn't like the feeling of not having my wedding ring on.

I was speed racer on the way home from work yesterday to make sure I got home before Amanda to throw it on...I did...And didn't say anything about it...Still in shock about it...

I told Amanda tonight and she got a good laugh...

It's staying on for good...Even if I have to get an X-ray...

Wow!!!

2008-07-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

Best record in baseball...Ballin' big time...Beatin' up on Boston...And now, you trade for Tex...You're huge Reagins (GM for the Angels)...

I'm still in shock...

For all those baseball fans out there....Does this truly make the Angels the front runner for the World Series?

PS - I heart the Angels

Recent Reads...

2008-07-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

I've been somewhat on a reading/listening kick here lately...So I wanted to share some of that goodness of what I've been reading and listening to...

First read on the list is Alan Greenspan's Age of Turbulence. I actually read this book while on the honeymoon...Do I know how to party or what??? Anyways, I've wanted to read this book for awhile. I had heard good things about it and with the current US economic situation, I wanted to hear what AG had to say...

The book is basically split into two parts...1) His bio 2) Ecomonics...Well, the first part talks about economics as well but the second half of the book was much more termy...I don't think termy is a word...But you know what I'm saying.

Truthfully, I enjoyed the first half of the book much better because I really liked hearing what he had to say about the presidents he worked for as well as why he made certain decisions while in the Fed. Dude is smart...Dude hung out with lots of cool people...Including, Ayn Rand, the lady that owns me and all I'm worth...

If you're kind of a tool and like econ stuff or history, read this book. Have a econ dictionary on hand because there are some words I still don't know what they mean...

A few weeks ago for the 4th, Amanda and I drove to Indiana, Rensselaer to be exact, for a family reunion (Probably need to do a post on this as well)...My first with the new fam...We decided to drive it because the plane tickets were stupid high and we bit the bullet and made the 10 hour run...

Well, before we left, I went to Barnes and Noble and threw up money all over the place and bought a couple of books on CD...Kind of like reading....

On the way up, we listened to Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I think this was an Oprah book and I heard it was fairly popular.

Truthfully, we didn't even make it all the way through. It just didn't do it for us. A few of her stories were funny but for the most part we felt like it was a boo bears party for her...She was the reader as well which made it even more boo bearish...We should probably listen to the rest but I don't think I'll be able to get through it. Just not my cup of tea man...

If anybody wants to buy this from me,,,let me know...20 bucks, it's yours...

The second book that Amanda and I listened to was the Appeal by John Grisham. RAD is all I have to say. They need to make a movie about this one because I'd see it and after my Rock the Reception starness, I'd probably have to be in it as well.

In all seriousness, this is a good read/listen. The jist without giving too much away...Big business trying to get a Mississippi supreme court judge elected to rule liability cases in their favor. The 10 hour drive felt like 2 while listening to this book.

I'm sure it's a really great read as well but the dude that read the book was very dynamic and was able to do different voices for all the different characters. Phenom job reader dude...

If you like John Grisham stuff, this won't let you down...I promise....

A few weeks ago, Amanda and I were watching Glenn Beck (I'm a toolbag) and he was promoting an author and his new book...Sounded awesome and Amanda was stoked on it so I bought it...

The Last Patriot by Brad Thor is the epitome of awesomeness.

Here's the five cent version since I know that you are going to read it right after you read this...

Some fundamental Muslims chasing down a professor who thinks he has a lead on Mohammad's last revelation that would totally contradict the entire Qur'an. Are you getting excited yet? You should...Because an ex-secret service agent gets involved, the President of the US and Thomas Jefferson...What? Crazy, I know...And that's why you should read it...

Basically, if you like anything Dan Brown has written, you need to stop everything what you are doing and read this book. It reads quick...I finished it in a flight to Dallas and another hour in a hotel room...Seriously, quick...This is the Muslim version of the Da Vinci code and we all know that that book was kind of lame and slow and not interesting...Right!!!

The only thing I didn't like about this book is the size of the author's name on the front. I totally understand that you have one of the coolest last names ever in THOR but come on bro...Why even title your books??? Maybe a pic and your name god of Thunder...Also, because of this dude's greatness in life, the back cover is homeboy's glamor shot...Lame holmes...Show a picture of the main character holding a machine gun next time...

That's it...

Next up...Half way done with The Shack....Interesting so far....

And also...Don't say anything anybody yet until I post something about this....but....I'm reading Audacity of Hope by Barack...This will be for another discussion....

So True...

2008-07-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

Buckhead Church does baptisms in a very cool way...They pre-record the person's testimony and show it before they get dunked...It's truly awesome...

Anyways, heard this today during one and let out a "heck yeah grunt".....

"I realized I didn't have to commit intellectual suicide to have a relationship with Christ"

May have botched up the words a tad but that's pretty close...

So true bro...Loved it...Whoever you are, thanks for having an awesome testimony to share with 3,000 people this morning...

The goodness...

2008-07-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I was volunteered to babysit this little dude as the ladies had a night out...His name is David and he's the son of Amanda's co-worker...He's a cool cat that likes Bob the Builder and Thomas the train...

Before David came over, I wanted to cook him some grub and his mom said that hot dogs and mac n cheese would be fine...I of course picked that menu since those were pretty much my favorite things as a kid...Unfortunately, David got some grub before he came over but I still went ahead and cooked myself up some insane hot dogs and mac n cheese...So good...Little dude ate push ups all night instead...

That's the goodness right there...Hot dogs were a little bit different when I was a kid but nonetheless, what was your favorite meal as a little dude or chick???

Oh...Someone's real funny...

2008-07-24T16:50:00.001-07:00

Last week while out of the office, someone at Yamaha decided to have fun with my recent office move and decorate while I was gone...

I come in Monday to an empty office, Zach Efron, Hannah Montana, pink pillows, pictures of other people's wives, cardboard cut out of pro fisherman and little high school musical stickers all over the place...

Someone's gonna pay...

We Rocked!

2008-07-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Who watched and what did you think???

TLC Tonight 8:30pm

2008-07-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

We're Rockin' the Reception tonight at 8:30 tonight on TLC...Don't be lame...Watch it....Love it...

For all you in the dirty dirty, we'll be at Wing Factory on Roswell in Buckhead to watch it on the big screen...There should be a few people there...And so should you!!!

Here's a taste of tonight>>>>>>

More Pics...

2008-07-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

Check out this phenom slide show by our photog...

Dude is amazing...

HERE

Photos!!!!

2008-07-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

Go here now!!!! Enjoy....Lots more to come....

Waffle House Action...

2008-07-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

I got back from Texas last night and because of my rock star husbandry, I took my beautiful wife out to Waffle House for breakfast...I'm such a romantic...

Anyways, last week I learned that Amanda's camera has a time lapse video feature and Los over at Ragamuffin Soul.com has done some pretty cool videos with that method...So I gave it a whirl...It was my first time doing a video through Imovie so it's not great...But plenty more to come now that I know what's up with this thing...

So, here's a 45 minute breakfast in one minute...

Enjoy...

Rockin' the Reception...Tuesday Night!!!!

2008-07-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

The time has come for Amanda and I to have our 15 minutes of fame...

Many of you know, that we had the opportunity to be taped for a new show on TLC called "Rock the Reception". For those that didn't know, now you do...

About a month and a half before our wedding day, we recieved an email from our wedding coordinator concerning a new show and needing applicants. The show was about the couple having a first dance choreographed and surprising the wedding guests...Since Amanda and I were already planning on doing a choreographed dance, we figured what the heck, let's sign up. Truthfully, I didn't think it was going to happen since we were on the East Coast and wouldn't have a chance to do a face to face interview...Nonetheless, we filled out the paperwork and sent it in...

To my surprise we got a call back and they asked if we could do a taped over the phone interview...Right on!! So my buddy Eric hooked us up with his camera and we did an over the phone interview with the casting director...It went really well...One day I'll show the tape of us...

Even at this point, I didn't think there was a chance of this happening but lo' and behold a couple days later, they called back and said "You're In"...Holy crap, we're going to be on TV...

Because of this, we had to head to So Cal a few days earlier because we had to do taping throughout the week...Hardest part about this was we couldn't tell anyone...It had to be a total surprise...That was tough...

I have to say that it was quite an experience going through that process...The producers were super cool and made it real easy...We got to pick six people from the wedding party to do the dance with us which made it that much more fun...We included Amira, Shan, Melissa, Shags, Rob and Mac in the dance...They were totally stoked and all about it...They had to keep it hush hush as well...

The main choreographers are typically this husband and wife team (Napoleon and Tabitha) who are apparently pretty big in the dance world...His bro was getting married the same weekend so we got hooked up with this chick Chantelle...Totally cool...Kick arse dancer and sister of another sick choreographer Wade Robson...

The week was filled with rehearsals and tapings...They got all kinds of footage of us throughout the week...So who knows what they are going to show and what they won't...We shall see...

The dance turned out freakin' awesome and we brought down the house...I seriously cannot wait to see it...And when might you be able to see it????

This Tuesday night...July 22nd 8:30pm EST/7:30pm CST...on TLC...You West Coasters are going to have to check your local listings...It's on four times throughout next week so if you miss the one on Tuesday night, there will be more...

Amanda told me last night (as I'm in Texas right now) that they had a commercial for the show and it showed a few clips of us and our show...It's going to be off the chain...You need to watch...You need to leave a comment here after you watch and let us know what you think...

Amanda just had to do this...She's so rad...

Our crew at the studio...

Wedding Day...

2008-07-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

I'll do my best to be brief with this post concerning that actual day of wedding and just show pics... I know it's biased but we had the best wedding ever...

Everything about the entire day was perfect. If you live in Southern California, Strawberry Farms is the shizzle for throwing a wedding. Amanda looked absolutely perfect coming down the aisle with her dad. I was an absolute mess...In a good way of course. The ceremony was filled with Christ and it was beautiful. Our pastor did a phenom job at delivering the ceremony with our letters we wrote to each other and just expressing our love for God and how He is our foundation...

The reception was off the chain...Of course the dance we did set the whole deal off (which I'll get into in another post)...From there, her dad gave a great opening speech...Lots of dancing, lots of fun...We could have gone for several more hours...

All in all, it was the most beautiful day I've ever been a part of... None of this does the day justice,,,had to be there I guess...Nonetheless, here's a few pics...

Here's Amanda opening up her Wedding gift from me...A little bling for her arm...

Here's me opening mine...Amanda got more creative than I did and made a book based on the "10 things she loves about me"...I was a mess and I even heard a few of my boys weeping a bit...

Our ridiculously cute Flower Girl and Ring Bearer...Ally and Mason...

I freakin' love this guy...Here comes the bride...B-E-A-utiful...Gorgeous...Perfect...My best friend...All smiles...I think we were just about to kiss...Rockin' Rod (new pops in law) brought it down with a great speech...Amanda and I made sure we still got a slow dance in together even though we brought down the house with our first dance...I can't wait to see our photogs pics from this because the lighting was absolutely insane...This was pretty fun for me...My boys were absolutely hilarious here...It was like the garter had anthrax on it...Check out Gronz in front pushing people away from that thing...This pretty much sums up the evening...That's my mom on the left...There were some sweaty messes that night... Here was our get-a-way ride...
Still waiting on photos from the photographer...Once I get those, I'll post all of the pics on to a public viewing area...

Be looking for some honeymoon pics and then the TLC "Rock the Reception" story...It's on...We have a date...Are you ready or what????

Rehearsal (Drama) and Dinner...

2008-07-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

Throughout the entire week leading up to our wedding, it was fairly stress free...Busy but not crazy stupid tear your hair out stressful...Until Friday...

It started off with a somewhat hectic morning with more taping, picking up wedding gifts, dropping off rental cars and then off to dance rehearsal and taping...Once again,,,all gravy...

The gang ripped off several rehearsals and were looking tight...Right about lunch time as we sit down to grub, my sister is wincing...This doesn't appear to be good...Finally, we talked her into telling us what was wrong and apparently her bum knee had popped out of place and was not going back in...No bueno...Shan's supposed to be in the dance the next day and she has a leg dangling out of place. After a few phone calls, producers being all up in our face trying to catch the ensuing drama and me finally about to lose it, I say "I'm taking her to the hospital." So Shan and me hop in the car and head to the emergency room to get her leg fixed up. Mind you, we have our rehearsal in just a couple of hours and for any of those that have never been into an emergency room know it's not a quick process...Oh yeah, my sister is not only in the dance but is a bridesmaid as well...And, I'm the groom and kind of have to be at the rehearsal...

After a couple of hours at the hospital with the sis' my parents relieve me so I can go to the rehearsal. Rehearsal starts at 4 and I'm way late...I'm stressed needless to say...My parents aren't able to come to the rehearsal, my sis' is down with a bum leg, people are waiting on me and to top it off one of my groomsman calls me at 4:30 to ask "What time he needs to be there?" I'll be honest, a few four letter words were uttered at that point...

Once I finally arrived, everything ran pretty smooth. Our Pastor and wedding coordinator did a great job on keeping everyone on track...Truthfully, it was tough to keep my cool throughout the entire time because my dad, mom and sister weren't there...

After rehearsal, we headed off to Buco di Peppo for dinner...Great time...Something like 60 people...Shags and my dad put the whole thing together with a great menu and lots of great wine. My parents and my sis' finally showed up about an hour into dinner...

We had a great time telling stories to everyone about the members in our wedding party and had lots of awesome Italian food...

Needless to say, it was a somewhat stressful day that ended on a high note...We all headed back to the Hyatt where mostly everyone was staying and was able to see a bunch of friends that had gotten in for the ATL...I headed home with the folks that night to try and get some sleep while Amanda and the bridesmaids had a suite and stayed at the hotel...

More pics...

My bride and pops in law...
The ladies...
My boys...
Our ring bearer Mason and Flower Girl Ally...
My voice of reason while I was kind of wadded up...Pastor Isaac...If you live in So Cal, go see him at Rock Harbor in Costa Mesa...Great place...
Shags came up big by telling everyone the menu and wine selection for the evening...
Homeboy Dave from Vegas...
Mims and Pops...Freakin' love them...
Amanda, Amira and Sarah...
Just entirely too cute to not show...He's a cool little dude...

More stuff and pics to come...Playing catch up ball big time with this stuff...

I'm actually in Sarasota, FL right now missing the living crap out of my wife...Be home soon baby doll...

Part 1 – Week before the wedding festivities…

2008-07-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

First of all, planning a wedding in Southern California while living 3000 miles away sounds like quite a feat, but it really wasn’t…It was a tad more expensive primarily due to flights but overall not that bad. Plus, I have a rock star wife that was stupid organized and have family (new and existing) that pulled so much together so we didn’t have to worry about it…

All being said, we went to So Cal a full week early, not for planning purposes, but to hang with the family/friends as well as do the taping for the show…

We originally bought our tickets for the Tuesday before but had to change those up to Sat. instead. I had called Delta a few weeks prior to see if we could change and the lady said that we could fly same day confirmed for only a $75 upcharge…SWEET!!! We got killer deals on our tickets so a few more bucks to get our there three days earlier sounded great…So after our manicures and pedicures (did I say that out loud) we had in Atlanta we started calling Delta to see if they had seats available…This is where the story gets somewhat lame…Apparently, when talking with the lady a few weeks prior, I didn’t catch that we could fly only same day as our ticket…Not a few days earlier…This deserve a big giant boo bears…So dumb Burns…Needless to say, we had to totally rebook our tickets…That certainly wasn’t cheap but it had to be done since we had a full day scheduled for Monday and Tuesday…Once again, boo bears…

Nonetheless, we arrived into LA safely…As usual, the weather was perfect and seeing the parentals, Shan and the dogs is always awesome…We pretty much just chilled through the weekend…We did however eat Del Taco and In N Out a few times…Please move to the ATL guys…Amanda and I alone with the help of Mac will keep you in business…I promise…

Monday began the taping, which I get more into later as well as the arrival of Mac and wee little rye rye…

Tuesday was a lot of taping for the show and the beginning of our rehearsals…This was also the time that we told some of our wedding party that they were going to be in the dance…Long day…Ended at Sushi where my dad must have dropped a his 401 (k) buying everyone in the place some raw fish and Sake…Great night…

Wednesday was more taping and then it was on…Brownman arrived from his first ever leave the Eastern time zone flight from the ATL. The boys, consisting of wee little rye rye, Robby, Shags, Mac, Brownman and myself headed downtown HB…We then hooked up with my buddy Mike and his wife who has just arrived from Southern Louisiana. Rob introduced my buddies to “Rainbows” at Aloha Grill where we proceeded to drink more than one. In fact, Brownman and Mac had several. My bro Dave showed up from Vegas and met us there and then Amanda, her mom, Amanda’s sis and Schumann showed up…The party was getting expensive so we made the decision this show need to be taken back to the Burnsarosa…

This is why I love home…Within an hour, we had over 30 people at the house having a great time BBQing out…No plans, it just happened…

During the deal, Rob and my mom pulled out the 1998 High School Grad video of Rob, Shags, Blainer and I doing Madonna’s Vogue…Wow is all I have to say…Everyone was on the floor laughing at this debacle…Great stuff though…

Thursday brought some actual wedding stuff. Amanda and I went down to the court house to make things almost more official and got our wedding license. For 61 bucks, we were in...From there, a few of the boys headed to Mens Warehouse to get our tuxes. After that, my small group homies (Jeremy, Jim and Charlie) showed up and we were off again. A huge mob of us headed to downtown HB and rented beach cruisers. From there it was off to Newport. This turned out to be one of the funnest parts of the week. We ended up at Sharkeez in Newport and met a few more peeps there and had a blast. When Amanda and I got engaged, this was one of the first things we planned. A lot of our friends were somewhat skeptical of the whole deal because they thought that it was going to be Tour de So Cal…We didn’t let them down…

After a few hours in Newport, we headed back to HB and met another huge mob of folks at Freds. We must have had 80 people in our group there…Another buddy of mine from the ATL was in town for the wedding and he was having his B-Day celebration there as well. Great freakin’ time is all I have to say…It was such a diverse group of people that was have an awesome time. We took it deep that night…A few romances were started that night which I won’t get into…

So, that’s five cent tour of the week prior to the wedding…Here’s several pics to enjoy…

Next post…Friday’s Rehearsal Drama (kind of) and Dinner

Sushi-san!

Slurricanes with the homeboys...Lil' Mike with his Bride and his Gene Simmons tongue

Burnsarosa Backyard BBQing...
Everybody in the living room watching Jeremy, Rob, Shags and I making fools of ourselves from Grad Night 98'...
61 bucks for a piece of paper saying we can be married in the great state of California...
Sharkeez - Newport Beach...
The Ladies at Freds after the bike ride...

I'll get all the pics up soon to a public gallery...

My blogging sabbatical…

2008-07-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...”Where’s the photos? Where’s the stories? How bout’ the honeymoon? When’s the show on?”

I seriously didn’t know I had such a strong blog following…Because I’ve been getting absolutely hammered with all these questions…

Well, I’ve officially come off the three week blog sabbatical to get back into the swing…It’s been a extremely lazy past few weeks that have been great for Amanda and me…We’ve strayed pretty much away from all things…I wouldn’t consider it lazy, just trying to incorporate the island living that we became so accustomed to in St. Lucia...

First and foremost, I love being married to Amanda. There is no one else in this universe that I would rather spend the rest of my life with…Just wanted to throw that out there before I begin this deal…

So,,,in the last month, a whole bunch has happened. And opposed to writing a ridiculously long post trying to summarize everything that has gone down, I’ll break this up into five parts…

1) The week before the wedding festivities…
2) Rehearsal Drama (kind of) and Dinner
3) Wedding Day
4) Honeymoon
5) TLC Show Rock the Reception…

I won’t give too much info on number five until I have more details of when the show is going to be on…Plus, when I signed my life away on that contract, I think it said to not promote it until the show was on…Better go back and check that out…

So that’s that…Now read the post that shall appear right above this…

We're back....

2008-06-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Amanda (My Wife...Wow, that sounds awesome) are back in town...Had the raddest most relaxing honeymoon one could possibly have....We have lots of photos and stuff to share but for now it's off to bed...

i love hb...

2008-06-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I got into So. Cal on Saturday evening and things are coming together...I'm so stoked to be getting married on Sat. Yeah, Saturday of this week...5 days...I'm marrying my best friend...

Great day of golf with rob, shags and pops yesterday. You seriously cannot beat this weather with a stick...

Already have had Sugar Shack, Del Taco and In N Out while I've been here...Gaining weight before the wedding probably isn't the best thing to do but I seriously love this grub here...

Mac and wee Little Rye Rye get here in a few hours...And Amanda have a huge surprise for all of you that you'll get to see on Saturday...Off the chain awesome is all I have to say...

My Boyz Part Sixer...

2008-06-05T20:48:00.000-07:00

About three years ago, I met Jim. I didn't meet him at work...I didn't meet him through mutual friends...I didn't meet him on mySpace...I met Jim at an event call GroupLink...An event which brought seven strangers together to meet once a week for fellowship, bible study and prayer...We've been doing that one Wednesday nights for the last three years...Some changes to the group but Jimbo's been there the entire time...

Jim has seriously been a huge part of my life over the last few years. He's a great listener and has a huge heart for people. When Amanda and I had our brief sabbatical, Jim was there. I was bummed and he was by far my best bro during those times when I just wanted to revert to making bad choices, he held me accountable... Thanks so much Jim...

I'm actually chillin' in his house right now writing this because he's been gracious enough to let me crash on his couch the past few weeks as Amanda lives in our place...

And I'm super stoked for the guy because he just got engaged to a totally awesome chick...Just like two weeks ago...Way to go Jimbo-Dini...He's marrying way out of his league...Don't worry dude, I totally know the feeling...

The rest of the gang...

My Boyz Part Cinc...

2008-06-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

Coming in at #5 of 9 for my groomsman is homeboy Todd...T. Gizzle fo' Shizzle...

The Gronz started working at Yamaha about a week after I did and we've been bros pretty much from the beginning...Super good dude that is down for anything...Loves toys and challenges...That's his deal...Whether it's buying something or taking on a new business challenge, he's all about...He's also about one of the most creative dudes I've ever met...

He's a lover of dogs, especially his slightly kind of retarded dog Rainey...Just kidding bro...

Seriously, I'm stoked that this dude is my friend and I'm stoked that he's cruising out to So. Cal next week...

3 Reasons my Dad Rocks...

2008-06-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

1) Married my Mom
2) Raised my sis and me
3) Got tattoos of his dogs (Dick and Bailey)...Actually, the dogs were inherited when my sister and I moved out...That makes him rock even more...

My Boyz Part Quad...

2008-05-31T16:18:00.001-07:00

Next in my list of nine of my closest friends is one Jeremy Blain...

Jeremy and I go way back into the days of middle school. We battled things out on the volleyball court...Marine View vs. Vista View...I'm pretty sure I dominated the entire time. That's just how it goes...

We became big time bros in high school and wrecked some havoc. Of course...Also had several fun parties at his mom's place...Where's Bence with that saw???!!!!

Jeremy is by far one of the most ambitious dudes I know. Works retarded hard...

He also had lots of cool stuff and if I lived in California, I would help him use a lot of those cool things. Blainer also really manned up at the Bachelor party and smoked the Red fish...He was sweatin' catching anything and I think he caught more than anyone...

Great dude that I'm stoked is one of my groomsdudes...

See you next week holmes...

My Boyz Part Tres...

2008-05-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

For my on going series of My Boys/Groomsman,,,I'm bringing it down with a west coaster...

I truthfully don't know how I met Jensen...aka The Bence, Benny, Benson...I think we was Blainer's friend but I really don't know.

Regardless, Bence has been a great friend since we've met...He's manned up a couple of times and cruised to Texas...He caught his legendary "lunks" on one trip. It's about the only fish he's caught in several years.

A few years back he also bro'd down and cruised to Atlanta where things got dirty...

Overall, great dude, good golfer, horrible fisherman...

Bence, You shred!

Jensen didn't actually catch this fish. Ben Jarrett caught this fish...Rumor has it, he didn't boat a fish an entire trip...We still like the guy though...

My Boyz Part Deuce...

2008-05-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

Back in the days of Texas, I met Austin Brooks. Austin is a cool cat that I'm stoked to be friends with. Him and I worked at Skeeter together for a few years but have continued to stay bros after I moved. We had a brief stint of being roomies as well. I love giving the dude crap because of his metrosexuality and assortment of lotions...I will admit though, he is a handsome man...

Him and his wife (Tamara) are cruising from "Deep in the Heart of Texas" for the wedding...So Cal is going to wrap this dude up and most likely they won't be leaving...

Austin, you shred!!!

Help Please...

2008-05-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

My buddy Paul hooked me up with a sick All Clad Fish Poacher...Here's the deal though...I've never poached a thing in my life. I emailed All Clad and asked if they had recipes to go with their product but they were pretty much useless.

So, how does one poach fish in this thing? It has a rack that I don't know if the fish is supposed to be fully submersed or if it is supposed to be above the water and steam? I don't know. Please help because once Amanda and I get married, I want to poach it up...

Back to a somewhat Normal life...

2008-05-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

Finally got the couch and rest of the furniture moved into our new place today...It's starting to feel like a regular place now...Lovin' it...Hatin' that my Boo is in Vegas right now and I'm not...

Huge props to Brown-Man and Doche today for helping a brother out...