I Voted For A Winner...or a Loser, Depending on How You Look At It!!

Remember this old post??

Wednesday, November 05, 2008
My Voice Was Heard...My Vote Counted!

I sat and watched anxiously as the election results began to pour in. Would this be the year that MY voice would be heard? Would this be the year that MY vote would count? I stayed up late into the night...well, actually, early into the morning, and finally it happened!

I couldn't believe I made a difference! My man was elected!!

So, let me be the first to congratulate you, Allen Smith, you won your bid to become Bartholomew County Coroner, easily defeating Vest Coroner, or Bulletproof Vest, or whatever his name was!

Congrats, Allen! Now go out there and Coroner to the best of your ability!!
..........................

I voted for Allen, the Columbus resident who is losing weight on the Biggest Loser this season!





Ok, so my reasons for voting him in were a little immature, but I still did, and after seeing his personality and work ethic on tv, I'm glad I did. He seems like a good guy.

AND I saw him today, IN PERSON, at the Fairoaks Mall here in Columbus. Spoiler Alert*** he looks GREAT!! Way skinnier than that photo above!! Skinny enough to win the whole show?? I'm not sure about that, but he does look fantastic.

Congrats Allen on the election, and losing all that weight!

BIGGEST LOSER CHALLENGE - My Personal Weight Loss Journal

It all started easily enough. Becky and I were going to meet my mom and dad for dinner at the Outback Steakhouse and she said she had an idea.

Becky: "I think we should do a Biggest Loser contest. You and me, versus your mom and dad."

She went on to spell out the rules of the contest, which we tweaked along the way. I hesitated...

Me: "I don't know if mom would go for it...and if she did, I think she might quit if she didn't do very well."

In my mind, it was a reasonable excuse, but I also knew I wasn't sure that I could hold out and do it either. I was nervous I would quit, like I had so many times before. She reassured me it would be just fine, she always has a way to reassure me that it would be just fine.

We raised the question at the dinner table over steaks, bloomin' onions and loaded cheese fries. Mom and dad were excited and on board. We layed out the rules as follows:

1. 16 weeks
2. Weigh in every Monday.
3. Teams of two, each team puts $2 in the pot each week, the team with the lowest overall percentage of loss for the week added an additional $2.
4. Team with overall largest weight percentage after 16 weeks wins the cash.

It was set. The next day, while at a cookout at Becky's brother's house, we were talking about the upcoming challenge, and the third team was added...Becky's brother Albert and his wife, Tausha. They recommended a fourth team, the grandparents of Tausha's children, Glenn and Sue.

We added a new rule:

5. Team with the largest percentage wins 3/4 of the money, the individual with the highest overall percentage wins 1/4.

The game was on!

The following is my own weight loss journal. I will only speak in specifics about myself (with some kudos when necessary to the others!)

WEEK ONE

I stepped on the scale, and the number was a high one. 263 pounds. Yes, I know it is shocking. 32 years old, 6 foot one inch and 263 pounds. It was the highest weight I had ever been, and I was ready for the change.


(BEFORE - NOTE the double chin and large belly!!)

I had a plan: 1,000 to 1,300 calories a day. Three meals a day (because skipping meals or starving yourself is NOT THE WAY TO LOOSE WEIGHT!!) Exercise.

I decided on waffles for breakfast. Two waffles are 210 calories, syrup is 100 and a glass of milk is another 100. 400 calories...good start. I decided to not be super strict with myself and count every little thing. I wanted it to be a rough 1000-1300.

For lunch I had 2 lunchmeat sandwiches, whole wheat bread, slice of cheese on each. I wasn't ready to give the soda up completely, so I had one a day...with lunch. 500 calories.

Dinner was a Smart Ones box meal (or Lean Cuisine or whatever.) These are like 300 calories. Glass of milk...400 calories total.

Exercise for the first week was hard. I was doing a work out video when I could (which was hard with a 13 month old to keep entertained) and Becky and I started walking. 30 minutes a day.

NOTES ON WEEK ONE: I am never going to make it to the end!! I have to keep telling myself, "one day at a time, Tony, one day at a time." I asked Becky if she planned on walking everyday of the 16 weeks. She said yes. This is going to be a LONG challenge.

The first weigh in came, and I was nervous. The scale was nice to me, though.

WEIGH IN - WEEK ONE: 4 pound weight loss!! Becky had a good loss, too, and we felt great! Until the other team's numbers came in...8, 9 and 10 pound losses littered the field, the percentages dwarfed ours. We started in 3rd place after what we thought were great numbers! Becky and I calmed ourselves down and concluded it was a MARATHON not a SPRINT, and we would be ok...we just had to be steady, and watch as the numbers leveled out.

I set some goals for myself:

1. Loose 3 pounds a week.
2. Make it to 220 pounds in 16 weeks.

(Yes, I know 3 pounds a week would make 48 pounds total, and 220 is only 43 pounds after 16 weeks. It was just a week loss number and a overall number.)

GOAL UPDATE - 4 pounds down, 39 to go!!

WEEK TWO

I kept with my eating routine with no deviation. I was moving more and eating less...I had to loose weight, right? We upped the walking to an hour at a time, roughly 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 miles. During the day, I kept with the workout video and alternated it with a heavy bag routine.

WEIGH IN - WEEK TWO - 3 pound loss!! The other teams, as predicted, leveled out after the big first week. They cut their calories big and eliminated the soda so the shock to their systems lead to a big first week, but a modest second. Another big week for Becky lead us to be in first place for the week...but we still had a long way to go to climb out of 3rd.

GOAL UPDATE - 7 pounds down...36 to go!

WEEK THREE

Still feeling good. Working out, eating good. I needed to say goodbye to the soda, though. I dropped the one can a day to zero. It was hard, but I knew it would help.

WEIGH IN - WEEK THREE - 4 pound loss!! Once again, Becky and I took the top honors, but we were still way behind. Dad was putting up big numbers to keep his team on top. Albert and Tausha were dropping a good percentage, too. I was still confident because I knew Albert and Tausha were the smallest couple coming in and would eventually run out of weight to loose. Mom and dad I thought would struggle because of them being 60 years old and 53 years old respectively, and Glenn and Sue were struggling, so I thought we could stay above them. Not to mention I was the biggest guy starting and had the most to loose. Becky works HARD, so I knew even though she didn't have a big amount to loose, she would fight to the end and scrap out a few extra pounds down to the end.

I was about to find out, however, that you should never bet against my dad in a weight loss challenge!!

GOAL UPDATE - 11 down, 32 to go!

WEEK FOUR

No changes...still cranking it out and feeling good about the work outs. I am beginning to impress myself because I never thought I could hold on this long.

WEIGH IN - WEEK FOUR - 3 pound loss! I was still ahead of my 3 pound a week goal, so I was happy. A zero from Becky put our percentage in 3rd place...and Dad was a full 5 pounds ahead in total loss. 19 pounds in 4 weeks?!? He was going to be tough to beat...but I decided to go after him, hard!

GOAL UPDATE - 14 down, 29 to go!

WEEK FIVE

Rough week. After the week four weigh in, I had to go to the doctor. The verdict: Poison Ivy. I couldn't do the heavy bag (couldn't get the gloves on) and I slacked on my workouts. I continued to eat right, however. It didn't matter...

WEIGH IN - WEEK FIVE - 0 pound loss! Oh no!! Thankfully, Becky pulled a great number, and we finished 1st once again. The numbers were close this week, so we didn't gain much ground, but we were gaining. Marathon, not a sprint.

GOAL UPDATE - Still 14 loss, still 29 to go!

WEEK SIX

I needed a good week. Still unable to do the heavy bag, I picked up an exercise ball and started integrating a small routine to replace the bag. It worked!! Becky and I also instituted a "cheat meal." One meal a week, we could eat whatever we wanted. I was nervous, because of my zero the week before, but I thought it would help "shock" my system. I chose Baby Back Blues BBQ...loves me some pulled pork!! Started on diet soda...careful, it still has lots of sodium!

WEIGH IN - WEEK SIX - 4 pound loss!! Another 1st place finish, but still in 3rd overall! Dad had a big week, so we didn't gain ground on them, but we did on Albert and Tausha.

GOAL UPDATE - 18 pounds lost, 25 to go!

WEEK SEVEN

I changed my lunch to two hot dogs (I don't know the brand, but they are fat free, and, like 40 calories per dog...check the package. Mom told me about them (I think my cousin Tracee told her) and they are DELICIOUS!) It really dropped my calories per day, as now I was eating 250 instead of 500 for lunch!

WEIGH IN - WEEK SEVEN - 5 pound loss!! My biggest number yet! It was a good week for it, too, as Becky, mom, dad and Tausha all had zeros. We were the top team again, and gained lots of ground...still in 3rd, though!

GOAL UPDATE - 23 pounds lost, 20 to go!! I reached the 20 pound lost mark!! It was finally getting real for me!

WEEK EIGHT

I knew this was going to be a bad one, as it was the week of the Cubs game in Chicago. I ate deep dish pizza...I ate hot dogs at Wrigley...I had soda...it was bad! I fought hard the 3 days prior, and the 2 days after.

WEIGH IN - WEEK EIGHT - One pound loss. I'll take it! I thought I would gain!! Becky busted her BUTT to compensate for the bad week I knew I was having. We hit first once again. Six of eight weeks at the top...still in 3rd! (But getting really close!)

GOAL UPDATE - 24 pounds lost, 19 to go. Half way mark: I am still on pace, losing exactly 3 pounds a week over the first 8 weeks!

WEEK NINE

I needed to rebound...I worked hard. I switched to a two a day walking routine, cause I could do that easier with Hendrix. I would wait til he was tired, and walk while he slept in the stroller. I really worked hard this week.

WEIGH IN - WEEK NINE - 7 POUND LOSS!! My biggest yet! Another big loss from Becky made it 7 of 9 weeks on top, and we finally cracked into the top 2, just edging out Albert and Tausha in the overall. Dad was still cranking out big numbers, but we were gaining on them!

GOAL UPDATE - 31 pounds lost, 12 to go!! 30 pounds!!

WEEK TEN

I think I found the reason I lost 7 pounds. Volleyball. We had two matches the Sunday before the weigh in, and I think the 7 was a false reading...cause I fought the scale all week to get back to zero. I was up 1 or 2 pounds all week (once, I weighed myself, shaved, weighed myself again and gained a pound! Shaving??)

WEIGH IN - WEEK TEN - 0 pound loss! After being up all week, I consider myself lucky with a zero. I really don't want a gain through this whole thing! Our first last place finish...BOO!

GOAL UPDATE - 31 pounds still lost, 12 still to go.

WEEK ELEVEN

With only 6 weigh ins left, I was getting nervous that I wasn't going to reach my goal. I amped up the workouts, trying to walk faster, so a little more. But there was a snag...Little Caesars opened up a pizza shop 3 blocks from my house! $5 pizza?!? I tried not to think about it, BUT a LC's employee was walking in front of my house with a WE'RE NOW OPEN! $5 PIZZA! sign. Up and down my street, right in front of the window where I sit...all day. I called Becky, she picked up a pizza for us. (NOTE: We've had a pizza once a week since they've opened! Weeks 11 - 16!!)

WEIGH IN - WEEK ELEVEN - 4 pound loss! Yes, I'm back on track!! First again...and now we were in first overall!! I jumped from 5th place individually to 3rd. Becky was now in the lead. We needed to hold on to take the whole pot home!!

GOAL UPDATE - 35 pounds down, 8 to go!!

WEEK TWELVE

I forgot about the volleyball double curse!! I was up 3 pounds by Wednesday, and had to fight the scale once again...I was preparing myself for my first gain in the 12 weeks...but slowly, the scale started to move in the other direction. I learned something important...On tuesday, when the scale showed a gain, I tried to eat less. That does not work! Wednesday, I ate my LC pizza for the week, and Thursday the weight came down. Your body will shut down if you don't give it fuel. It will think it is starving and shut down. Keep your calories right!!

WEIGH IN - WEEK TWELVE - 1 pound loss! Whew!! Wasn't expecting that!! We came in second and kept our lead as it was a low week for all teams, except Glenn and Sue, who were finally catching their stride. Just as I had thought, Albert and Tausha were running out of weight to loose, mom (though not giving up!!) was having a rough patch, but dad was still going strong.

GOAL UPDATE - 36 pounds lost, 7 to go!

WEEK THIRTEEN

I knew I had a double volleyball match this week, so I was confident that the weight loss would be good. I wanted to push our lead and make it bigger, so I pushed myself hard this week.

WEIGH IN - WEEK THIRTEEN - 5 pound loss!! I wasn't expecting this much loss! I was happy, but worried...I knew I would struggle in week 14. Also unexpectedly, I was the ONLY PERSON to loose any weight this week! Becky, dad, mom, Albert, Tausha and Glenn drew zeros. Sue gained a small amount. I moved into 2nd on the overall, and FINALLY passed dad in total weight loss, and percentage weight loss!

GOAL UPDATE - 41 pounds down, 2 to go!! 40 pounds!!

WEEK FOURTEEN

The gain was on again early!! Stupid Volleyball double!! I had to push myself once again. The weather had turned, too, so I had to walk in the mall. Not my first choice, but what could you do? Becky and I were no longer walking in the evenings together because I reffed two days a week and played one, she played some, and it was getting colder. But we tried to hit the treadmill upstairs when we could. (I even started running a mile straight for the first time ever!!) I had to do more on my own, and I'm not a great self-motivator!! Would this be a gain week for me??

WEIGH IN - WEEK FOURTEEN - 0 pound loss! Another bullet dodged! A huge week for Becky helped keep us in the lead, but Tausha stole her thunder, doubling Becky's week 14 weight loss! Both the overall and the individual title were in doubt for us...we were confident we could win, but we had to start our sprint. Becky had surpassed her goal of getting back to her pre-pregnancy weight a few weeks back, but, like I predicted, she was scrapping for more to help us win. I need to pick it up these last two weeks!!

GOAL UPDATE - Still 41 pounds lost, still 2 to go! TWO POUNDS!! Come on, Tony, you have to do this!

WEEK FIFTEEN

I knew the dreaded double was coming...well, I shouldn't say dreaded, cause I do get good numbers from it...but I knew the numbers were elevated. I tried pacing myself. Walked outside Monday morning. Walked the mall Tuesday morning. But no evening work outs either day. Nothing at all Wednesday. Half hour on Thursday and little to no workouts the rest of the week.

WEIGH IN - WEEK FIFTEEN - 2 pounds lost! I wanted to hit my goal of getting to 220 lbs this week and I accomplished it!! I am so proud of myself for achieving this goal. One week to go, and I'm going to push it, hard!!

GOAL UPDATE - 2 pounds lost, 0 to go! I DID IT!!

WEEK SIXTEEN - LAST WEEK!

Walked the mall Monday and saw Allen from the Biggest Loser (which inspired me to go an extra 20 minutes.) Mall again on Tuesday for an hour. Wednesday I woke up sick!! Oh no! Took it easy the rest of the day, but hit the mall again Thursday for an hour. Some volleyball Friday, and I was able to walk outside with Becky Saturday and Sunday, as the weather was beautiful. I am so thankful that I was able to end the 16 week journey the way I started it...walking with Becky. (She had lost 28 pounds at this point.)


FINAL WEIGH IN!! - 1 pound loss. With the finish line in sight, I guess I got a little complacent. I'll take it happily, though.

GOAL UPDATE - 44 total pounds lost! I ended at 219 pounds, 1 pound under my 220 goal (but 4 pounds under the 3 pound a week goal.) I'm hoping to do the same thing my dad has planned, and keep the weight off for a year. We'll have to wait and see on that goal!


(AFTER - Lookin' a lot better!)


(Surprise, surprise! I went down 2 whole pant sizes!!)

TEAM WINNERS - Team Tony and Becky! Yes, we finished the marathon in first place!

INDIVIDUAL BIGGEST LOSER - Becky!

THE FINAL NUMBERS

Team:

1st - Tony and Becky - 17.43% (72 lbs lost for team)
2nd - Dave and Cindy (my mom and dad) - 14.48%
3rd - Albert and Tausha - 12.20%
4th - Glenn and Sue - 2.68%

Individual:

1st - Becky - 18.67% (28 lbs)
2nd - Dad - 16.93% (43 lbs)
3rd - Tony - 16.73% (44 lbs)
4th - Tausha - 12.33%
5th - Albert - 12.11%
6th - Mom - 11.05%
7th - Glenn - 4.21%
8th - Sue - 1.02%

What a journey! I can't claim to be a weight loss expert now or anything, and I'm not looking to brag any, I'm just proud of myself and everyone else for losing so much weight. It really wasn't about the money, it was about the people I love making a change in themselves for the better! I'm glad Becky came up with the idea, and we actually did it...I didn't like being so big!

The Yard Sale

Yard sales. Some people love going to them for the deals...some love the hunt...some very rare people love having them. I fall into all three catergories. Maybe I am a glutten for punishment, but I have to admit that it is thrilling for me to get the items ready, price them, interact with the people and ultimately, make the deal. The cash is nice, too.

There are two reason people don't like throwing yard sales.

1. It's just too much work. Just the thought of getting everything together and priced is enough for most people to just say forget it...that's not to mention the eventual clean up!

2. Parting with one's stuff is hard. I struggle with that myself.

A co-worker of Becky's didn't want to deal with either, so I was recruited to take on the challenge. After all, I'm not above hard work, and it's not my stuff, so I said yes. It seems she had sold her house, and just didn't want to move the remaining stuff. With this information, I knew I had the green light to be aggressive with their stuff to just get it sold, lest it be swept away to Goodwill.

After my initial consultation to see what she had, I was left thinking we would make some cash with some bigger items, a couch, a love seat, a refridgerator...but there wasn't much more to sell. Just some knick-knacks, some odds and ends. Then the word came down the week of the sale that a few items were no longer in the sale.

The couch, the love seat and the refridgerator.

Ouch! I was wondering if we would even make $100 total. I scrounged around the house for some stuff to both buffer the sale (to make me some extra cash), and some stuff to appeal to a younger generation as the sellers are an older couple, and had older stuff. Gotta know your audience.

I decided I would only need one night to arrange and price the small amount of stuff I saw in their garage. So, the Friday before the Saturday sale I loaded up my tables, a few boxes of records, some DVD's and CD's and a box of stuff from our yard sales past and I headed to Shelbyville to get the sale ready.

I arrived at 6pm.

I was told that the new homeowers would be at the house painting, which made me a little nervous. I didn't want to bother them, of course, and I was hoping they were nice people. My first impression wasn't promising. As I approached the house, a muscular, older man was exiting the house. I introduced myself and commented how weird it was for me to be having a yard sale at his house.

Him: "Don't matter to me, it's not my house, it's my son's."

Oh no, he seemed gumpy. No prob...I'll stay in the garage, keep my head down and get the job done. I passed through the house without much talk, and opened the garage door only to be shocked with what I saw.

It looked like the entire garage had exploded with clothes, boxes, baskets, and miscellaneous items. Did I mention this was a two and a half car garage? I couldn't even SEE the floor. The small pile of stuff I saw a few weeks previously had multiplied into more of a mountain! I quickly dug in, cause I knew it was going to be a long night.

I began with a sort, and piles began to form. Clothes, glassware, bags, shoes, furniture, candles. The vision was forming, but the amount of stuff was bordering on overwhelming. Several times I had to just step back and think about the big picture. It seemed I was just pushing things from one side to the other, so I decided the sort was over and the pricing needed to begin.

Before I marked my first item, the new homeowners came out to the garage. I braced myself for the worst, but to my surprise, they were extremely nice. The couple were probably a few years younger than I am, and they were super friendly, offering me gatorade and pizza. They browsed around the piles a bit, picked out a few things they wanted to buy, and left for the night. That was a relief!

I grabbed out a table from the car and made room against one of the garage walls. I cranked out the christmas items, then pushed all the bigger items to the front of the garage knowing they would line the driveway. A work space in the back of the garage transformed into my glassware area. Shelves on either wall turned into a make shift "wares" area (wares being all the little knick-knack stuff. Pots, pans, small lamps, etc. Electronics took a shelf. Baskets spread out under the shelves.

It was now after 10 pm. The garage looked like it was barely touched. I began to panic a bit, thinking it would not get done.

That's when I made the executive decision to go "auction-style" with stuff...that is, I threw similar stuff into boxes and marked it "ENTIRE BOX FOR ..." whatever price I deemed fit. This sped things up a bit. But what was I going to do with Mt. Clothes Fuji over in the corner?? Forget it, move on.

Finally, at 2 am, I pulled the plug. Everything was priced, and with another hour or so the next morning, I was confident I could make it happen. Knowing that yard sales always have early birds (and the sale was set to begin at 8 am), I decided I needed to leave Columbus at 6 am, it is about a 35 minute drive to Shelbyville after all, so that would give me an hour and a half before the official start time.

I was in bed at 2:45 am, up at 5:15 am. Adreniline was going to have to get me through. I arrived at the sale spot at 6:45 and began pulling stuff out to the drive. It was a controlled chaos. I didn't have time to waste, so I just grabbed and pushed. To my amazement, no one showed up until 7:45 (I learned later the seller put "no early sales" in the newspaper ad, and people actually listened.)

I didn't get the dvd's, cd's or records out before the flood gates opened, but people didn't seem to care. They dug right in and looked in the boxes anyway until I could get them set properly. I had one more HUGE PROBLEM.

Mt. Clothes Fuji.

I brought my saw horses and a flat board because I decided I was just going to throw them on the table (to get them off the ground) and employ a clothing tactic that had worked great for me and Becky in the past: Fill a bag for a $1. That's right, you cram whatever you can into a bag, and pay a $1. Clothes typically don't sell very well, unless you have baby clothes, so this was a way to cut the pile down and make some cash. Two problems with this plan quickly arose.

1. There were a lot of bulky XL sweaters and the likes, which meant you would probably get, at most, 2 or 3 things in a bag. Not good for business.

2. I didn't have time in the sea of customers to even set up the saw horses before people started hustling me for prices.

I had to think quick. There was only one thing to do.

"Anything in that pile is 25 cents a piece." I exclaimed.

And thus began the greatest mosh pit I have ever seen for clothes at a yard sale. Women began literally DIVING into the pile that sat on the garage floor. It was unreal! Tell me the last time you saw people at a yard sale attack clothes like that! I must have make $50 or $60 on clothes! Remarkable considering they were 25 cents a piece, that's 200 - 300 articles of clothing! This one old lady filled two huge boxes...spent $20 on clothes herself!

The sale pushed on, and I didn't even have a change to breathe until 10:15. Someone bought all my dvd's for $100, so that put some cash in my pocket. (FYI...I sold 7 records and 2 cd's...business was bad for those items!) People sporatically came and went, spending a few bucks here and there. To my amazement, those auction-styled boxes made 3 or 4 times what I had marked on them, because people didn't want the whole box, they just wanted to pick stuff out. I was also surprised that at the end, I only had a third or less of Mt. Clothes Fuji left.

With the sale over, I packed everything up and put it in the corner of the garage, nice and neat. The garage that was a day before filled, was now empty save for a line of stuff across one wall. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

In the end, not counting the $100 from the dvd's, I made $342 for the seller. She graciously gave me half. My final take was $270. Not too shabby for 2 days hard labor! We both got some money, she didn't have to deal with the selling of her stuff. It was a win-win!

If you want me to run a yard sale for you with great results, or have stuff you want to sell on eBay, just drop me a note, I think this might be my nitch!!

Check it Off the Bucket List: My Trip to Wrigley Field

OK, kids, this is going to be a big one. Make sure you have some time...of course, a lot of it will be pictures, so it won't be too bad.

Yes, this is my play-by-play of my first trip to Chicago...and WRIGLEY FIELD!

Enjoy!

It's always been my dream. Wrigley...the ivy...the seats on the buildings across the street...Waveland Ave...the friendly confines...the Chicago Cubs. My brother, Andy and I grew up watching the Cubs. We always made plans to go, but never followed through. As you faithful readers know, it was Becky that pushed my hand and bought me tickets to the game for Father's Day...and our Anniversary (they were AWESOME seats, hence the need to spread the tickets to two special days.)

I picked Andy up Thursday afternoon, and we were off. The game was Friday, but I wanted to get there, get a hotel room, check out the area and make sure we: 1. didn't have to drive in Chicago at night, and 2. weren't late to the game.

I have a phobia of big cities, one that is getting WAY better since my Aunt Mary Ann introduced me to Mandy...Mandy being the voice that directs me on my TomTom GPS, of course! (a special thanks to you, Aunt Mary Ann, I don't know what I'd do without TomTom!!) I was fully expecting to be totally stressed the last 20 minutes of the trip, but with Mandy leading the way, it was smooth sailing! Our hotel was .4 miles from Wrigley, close to Lake Michigan, so it was very scenic driving in, which was nice. I quickly noted that Chicago was one of the "cleanest dirty cities" I've been to. (it is downtown in a big city after all.)

After a few minutes, Mandy informed us we had reached our destination. There was one problem...we didn't see our hotel! We drove down the road and stopped at a Walgreens. It was for the best, as I needed some deodorant, and Andy needed a restroom. I asked the guy at the counter, who was EXTREMELY nice, where the hotel was, and he directed me to it. I grabbed the deodorant and a cool Cubs batting helmet pen holder (on sale for 50% off $15) and started to check out.

Walgreens Guy: "I'll sell you a second helmet for 3.50 if you want another one."

Me: "SOLD!"

Walgreens Guy: "Good, I'm tired of looking at those things!"

Already the Chicagoians (or is it Chicagoites??) were proving to be nice people!

We backtracked right to our hotel. The hotel had no parking, but there was a parking garage next door attached to the hotel. In doing my research, I noticed that was where we needed to park, so I pulled in. The sign ahead of us read:

STOP! LEAVE KEYS IN THE CAR AND WE WILL PARK IT FOR YOU.

I looked cautiously at Andy, and sat unsure of what to do. I wasn't about to just leave my car without talking to someone. After about 10 seconds, an attendant came out and gave me a ticket. I gave him the keys, grabbed our stuff and left the car in his hands.

Not to worry, the hotel attendant assured me that was the way it works. I felt better. The attendant checked us in (he was very polite, too!!) and we went to our room. We made a quick call to our lady folk, and set off to walk over to Wrigley Field to take some photos and map our route for the next day's game.

As we turned the corner onto Addison, I asked Andy if we were going the right direction as I starred at the map.

Andy: "Um, yeah, I think so..." he said as he tapped my arm and pointed up ahead. There, in front of us in the distance was Wrigley Field!


(The scoreboard from outside of Wrigley Field.)


(Harry Carey statue with Wrigley in the background.)


(Ernie Banks statue.)


(The famous Wrigley Field sign.)

We made a lap around the entire stadium, taking it all in. I touched one of the outside walls and just couldn't believe I was there. At one point, we could see through to the inside of Wrigley Field! We both, without hesitation, took a quick glance and turned away.

Andy looked at me and said just what I was thinking..."we shouldn't look, I don't want to spoil it for tomorrow." He was right...taking that glance made me feel guilty. We needed to wait.

We walked down North Clark to Palermo's "Red Ivy" restaurant, a place that specialized in Chicago Style Deep-Dish Pizza. You can't go to Chicago and not have Deep-Dish Pizza, right? We were met by the third, and maybe the most, friendly Chicagoian, our waitress, Karissa. We ordered a large pizza, and she quickly informed us that we didn't want the large, we probably wanted the small.

Me: "I don't know, we are pretty big guys!"

Karissa: "Trust me, you don't want the large!"

We compromised and ordered the medium. She informed us it would be 45 minutes to cook the pizza, it was very thick after all. Andy and I chatted about sports, and watched the football game preview while we waited, which was nice because I don't get to talk to Andy as much as I would like, and the dude is an encyclopedia of Sports knowledge. Easily the most knowledgeable sports fan I know!

Then the pizza arrived. Now I'm one to admit when I am wrong, and Karissa, if you are reading this by some odd coincidence, I WAS WRONG! That pizza was HUGE!


(The pizza. Medium. REAL mozzarella cheese. EASILY the BEST PIZZA I have ever had!! I highly recommend Palermo's "Red Ivy" Italian Restaurant.)

We waddled back to the room, was talked out of a few bucks by guys on the street (I'm an easy target!) and watched the Steelers beat the Titans (then watched the 1990 Bulls beat the Cavs...it was 24 hours of Jordan on the Chicago channel to commemorate MJ's being inducted to the Hall of Fame.)

FRIDAY

I woke up too early and we had to sit around the room and wait. We had the continental breakfast and watched the Bulls take the Lakers in game 5 of the Championships for their first title. At 10, we headed towards Wrigley for the 1:20 game. I wanted to get there, walk around, see batting practice, and just enjoy the whole experience.

It was a sea of Cubs blue and it was awesome! When we finally made it in, we walked the corridors of the friendly confines and found a tunnel to our seats. When we emerged from the tunnel, the sun shone through the blue sky onto the playing field. I almost cried. Here are some pics:


(View from behind home plate.)


(Shot of the Wrigley scoreboard and ivy on the outfield wall.)

As we made our way around, we finally found our section, #34. I showed the guy our tickets and he took us down to our seats...we got closer, and closer, and CLOSER! We were indeed in the front row on the first base side. FRONT ROW!! Wow, Becky really hooked us up!!


(View of the visiting Reds dugout from our seats. Yep, we were THAT close!)


(Andy in front of the dugout.)


(Andy and I with the scoreboard in the background.)


(Various Red's players including Bronson Arroyo.)


(Red's player graciously chatting with a dad and his kids. Signed some stuff for them, too!)


(Adam Rosales, Reds #23)


(Announcer's booth.)


(Close up of the Scorebard. Welcome to Wrigley Field indeed!)

Now it's important at this point to point out how close we were to the Red's bullpen. (See next photo.)


(#33 Micah Owings warming up...don't know why, he wasn't pitching.)

When Owings was finished warming up, the bullpen catcher left the ball sitting on the field about 15 feet in front of us. (see next photo.)


(See that ball sitting at the top of the picture on the left??)

The catcher left and the ball sat there, taunting me. I wanted that ball! Just then, the Crowd Management guy came out and stood right in front of the ball. I jumped at the chance.

Me: "Excuse me, sir...can I have that ball for my son?"

Him: "Sorry, I can't give the balls away, but instead of kicking it back onto the field, I'll leave it there, and if a player comes by, ask them. They can give it to you."

I felt defeated, but I still had hope. And then, this guy came towards the ball.



(Darnell McDonald, #16.)

Me: "Excuse me, sir...can I have that ball?"

Without saying a word, he scooped it up and tossed it to me. I couldn't believe I was holding a ball used by the players, FROM WRIGLEY FIELD!!


(My Wrigley Field ball...complete with a Wrigley Field grass stain!!)

NOTE: Thank you Mr. McDonald...I know I had Cubs stuff on, and most of your teammates were throwing balls to Reds fans, but you don't know how much it means to me to have this priceless momento from Wrigley Field! You are my new favorite Red of all-time! Move over Johnny Bench!!


(Craig Tatum, um, stretching. Ouch!)


(Putting down the lines, old school style!)


(Not sure who #31 is for the Reds...anyone? NOTE: Talked to Andy, #31 is Johnny Gomes...)


Craig Tatum in the bullpen.)


(#31 again - Johnny Gomes - and #19 Joey Votto.)


(Joey Votto)


(Shot of the field during the National Anthem.)


(Close up of Derrek Lee.)


(Another one of D. Lee.)


(Cubs starter, Rich Harden.)


(Close up of the ivy in left field.)


(Close up of the Reds' Joey Votto and the Cubs' Aramis Ramirez.)

I'm not going to bore you with game stats and such, I'll simply let the next picture do the talking!!


(YES, CUBS WIN!! 6 to 4.)

Some stuff to note:

1. Geovany Soto, the Cubs catcher, hit a home run...which was cool to see.
2. Andy predicted before the game, and then again before his at bat that the Reds' Jonny Gomes would hit a home run. He did.
3. In long standing Wrigley Field tradition, the fan who caught that home run ball threw it back!! Way to go!!
4. I said "this is awesome" about 10,000 times...it was, after all, AWESOME!!
5. I got to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (a Wrigley Field 7th Inning Stretch tradition) with my brother!!
6. I got a freakin' ball!!
7. As we were leaving, we noticed a group of people gathered around a parking lot...the player's parking lot!! We saw Jake Fox leave, we saw Cubs legend Ron Santos, and I was a chain link fence thickness away from former player and Cubs commentator Bob Brenly!! I always wondered what I would do if I was that close to a "famous" person. Would I get an autograph? Tell him he should be the next Cubs manager? Nope, I just walked by and laughed like a little school girl with my brother about how "we just saw Bob Brenly!!"

We made our way back to the hotel, retreived our car (no, the mileage wasn't all jacked up like when Ferris Bueller took Cameron's dad's car to Chicago either, I checked!!) and we drove home, happy. (Unhappy that it took us two hours to go 40 miles to get past Gary, but it was rush hour on Friday!)

ALSO NOTE: For there being 40,000 fans in attendance, I can't believe how easy it was to get out of the stadium, and Chicago. There is hardly any parking around Wrigley (except a $50 lot next to the field, and $20 to park at McDonalds across the street!) Where do they all come from?!? I know, most walk, get bussed in, or take the Subway, but still, 40,000?!?

And, in case you were wondering, yes, I TiVo'd the game...and YES, we were on tv...check out a few shots of us!!


(Us, tiny. Click picture to enlarge so you can see the arrows. I'm on the left, Andy the right.)


(We're getting closer!!)

And, then, the money shot. Joey Votto fowled one over towards us...a broken bat softy...


(I'm in the green, in case you can't read the arrows.)


(No, those are NOT my arms flailing around!!)


(As close as the tv showed us!! Pretty awesome, though!!)

In the end, we spent a lot of money (thanks, dad for hooking us up!!) and we had, you guessed it, AN AWESOME TIME!! Love you Chicago, love you Cubs!!

The Universe is Watching

Well, kids, it's my last day of Two-a-Days, and just when I thought no one noticed I didn't blog at all yesterday (ya'll did notice, right?), along came this little reminder that the universe is always watching...



First time EVER I actually cracked open a double yolker!! Crazy, I tell you.

Hope you enjoyed Two-a-Days...I'll try to blog more, I really will!

Practice!!

Went down to the 'Burg tonight to "watch" Becky's women's league volleyball team practice. Well, it went quickly from "watching" to playing as nobody showed up to practice against them except for my dad...

So, we played 2 on 5. What a workout that was! Dad and I handled them for the first two games, then went on a three game losing streak as the women worked the court on us, and totally took advantage of us having 2 people. I was running all over the place, and Dad was working equally as hard just trying to run down my bad passes caused by half exhaustion, half great serving from Becky's team. We did manage to take game 6...but only barely!

I am hopeful they will have a great season this year. They look strong.

Wipeout!!

Whilst going over the yard sale items with Becky's co-worker, Hendrix decided he wanted to walk down her slightly sloped, paved driveway. Well, it started as a walk...then a jog, a run, and a wipeout!

I tried to get some photos of the damage, but most of them are blurry...kids are quick, ya know!

(click on photos to enlarge)


(See the poor guy's head!! NOTE: sorry about the incorrect date on the first few photos...)


(Waving to the camera.)


(Clapping...we were listening to a song on the MP3 player that was "live" and the audience began clapping, which makes Hendrix clap!)


(Reaching for the camera.)


(I don't know what he's doing here...I guess he wanted me to stop!)


(A decent still shot.)


(Once again, trying to stop me!)

This isn't his first fall, he did this to his lip back in July...


(See his busted lip? He fell on a register crawling to his room for a diaper change...poor guy!)


(Doesn't seem to affect his monster face, though!! Scary!!)


(Still a cutie, even with a busted lip!)