Day 28: 'Yep...still cold, still snow, still ice'

Hey all,

We're still under snow and ice as I assume most people in NC are. Doesn't look like anything aside from normality tomorrow so I suppose I will be trying to make my way to work.

Today was kinda lazy. In the late afternoon through the evening I cleaned up the kitchen and folded the clean laundry. Both areas were way overdue to be handled, but unfortunately I'm a lazy guy. Not that I'm proud of that or that I'm gloating about it, but I have not always been a get-it-done-right-on-time kind of person. It did get done though and ultimately that is the important thing.

Watched the movie '1408' tonight and that is a freaky movie! It was much better than I thought it would be and very thrilling. John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson were both good, but then again I haven't seen too many things those guys were in where they were bad. Hell, Samuel L. Jackson was even good in 'Snakes on a Plane', lol.

Wow what strange rantings this evening, haha. Partly because I am tired I'm sure. Anyways I leave everyone with a picture of some giant icicles that are hanging from the side of our house. I took this photo this evening while outside briefly.

Pleas everyone be safe tomorrow; the roads will be dangerous especially in the morning. Take care!

Day 27: 'Winter Storm Saturday'

Hey everyone,

I hope everyone in NC has so far survived the winter storm that has inundated our state.

Barbara and I have fared okay, however one of our furnaces broke last night so the side of the house with our master bedroom, kitchen, living room, dining room, and office, is currently without heat. We have heard from our heating and air folks, but they say it may be tomorrow or Monday. Luckily, we have heat on the other side of our house so we are staying in the guest bedroom and using the bathroom and shower there and it seems to be working okay.

Because it is cold in here at the computer, I am going to make this post brief. We have about 7 inches of snow here and sleet has been falling most of the morning and afternoon. Pooh Bear is insane with happiness as he loves the snow, so here is me and Pooh enjoying the snow.
So hope everyone stays inside and stays warm and safe and I'll drop another post tomorrow!

Day 26: 'Your beard is weird!'

Thanks so much to my good friend and hopefully new YOP follower Jessica J. Bowling for giving me unexpected inspiration for today's blog. This is awesome, the random stuff that makes this blog fun.

Jessica and her husband Matt are friends of ours. Jessica and I were hired on at Worden Bros. Inc. at the same time in October of 2005. We have both since left the company and Barbara and I were honored to be guests at their wedding this past spring. I called Jessica this evening to chat with her because it has been a while (my bad entirely) and because she has dutifully called or texted me wondering how we've been (again my bad because I am terrible at getting back to folks). I mentioned to Jessy that I had a blog and she asked me if was blogging about my beard and had I grown it out again. Well the light bulb exploded over my head! I have not done a post on my beard and how important it is to me. So thank you Jessy, hope you and everyone else enjoy this. Glad Matt's chops aren't here, my beard would be put to shame!

So this is my beard. I have grown it every winter in recent years because honestly, I like keeping my face warm in the cold weather. Rumors and theories abound as to why I grow my beard but the ol' do-it-to-keep-me-warm explanation has always been laughed off. Anyways I am glad I'm one of those guys who can grow one and I love having it. However, as soon as warm weather returns, this will come off and I will go back to having a goatee.

The title of today;s post comes from a saying in one of the corniest commercials I've ever seen. It was a 'Just for Men' commercial featuring one of my favorites, Emmitt Smith. With the weather bad and cold this weekend, thank goodness for the 'dirt' on my face.

A happy weekend to all, we'll see you tomorrow.

Day 25: 'Oops... aka Graceless'

Ok so, today was not so fun because I got to spend the afternoon in the doctor's office.

Remember the post from Day 9? Yeah well, that day I had originally gone into the attic with no shoes on. I figured that I was just putting some stuff away so it's no big deal and since I'm already inside the house and it's just the attic, why wear shoes? So I do not have infinite wisdom I guess because at my size navigating the small, thin attic ladder is a bit tricky and can hurt when you just have socks on. Coming down the steps on one of my trips I stepped wrong and something tweaked because my right foot started hurting like crazy.

I thought I was a tough guy and it would go away because it was just a strain. Well, it didn't go away and each day my foot hurt a little more. Fast forward two weeks and yesterday and today I could not walk right because every time my foot flexed the top of it would throb and so I had a noticeable limp.

Quite a few folks including Barbara, Mom, and some folks at work suggested I go see the doctor. They were able to fit me in this afternoon and off I went. Dr. O'Donnell, my physician, pressed on an area on the top of my foot right below my pinkie and ring toes and I hollered out. He then ordered X-rays because I may have had a stress fracture...awesome (please note sarcasm).

Turns out nothing was broken so I have probably pulled the tendons in my foot and we still had the issue of pain and comfort. Well my doc had the best solution he could give me...


This is called a 'post op shoe', oh yeah, crazy sexy right there. This hot fashion accessory will be decorating my foot for a full week, then I should be able to go back to regular shoes. In two weeks if nothing has changed, I am to report back for further care. Hopefully this will be all that's needed. Barbara is calling me 'Graceless' now so hopefully that will stop in another week or so, haha.

Well that's the fun and awesome post for today. Aren't you glad you are now enlightened on what a 'post op shoe' is?

Off to WalMart to pick up a few things. Hope everyone has had a great week and I will write tomorrow.

Day 24: 'Trash Day'

Hey everybody,

One of the neat things about doing this blog is I get to share the ins and outs of my daily life no matter how mundane, weird, or strange. This is my life and the whole point is to bring people into it no matter what I am doing. I know I sound like I'm on a power trip, but I'm really not, it just helps me to know I don't have to bow to any outline or preconceived notion or expectation, it's just me.

So today was okay; a pretty good day at work and nothing really crazy happened. I did develop a migraine early in the afternoon and wasn't able to shake it until later this evening, but I managed to stay at work throughout. I am also having issues with a sore foot, but I think I will save that for a post in the coming days.

Aside from Wednesday evenings being when Mom comes to visit, it is also trash night. I go through the house and empty 8 trashcans (sometimes 10), and round up any recycling that needs to go out. Then I walk Mom to her car and drop the cans by the curb. Recycle only comes every other week now so I look forward to only having to push one can to the curb, haha. I usually think about trash duty sometime during my work day on Wednesdays, but it's more to help me remember to do it, rather than me having nothing better to think about, haha.

It is the weekly ritual and it's nice to be able to get it out of the house so it doesn't pile up. Good grief I know what that's like as I and my friends weren't the cleanliest when we were on our own in our late teens - early 20s.

So here is my big collection for this Wednesday. Yes, I know it's crazy, me putting a picture of the trash on here, but hey, this is part of my life. A routine part of it that deserves to be shared just like anything else I do.

Yep, I dutifully took this out and unloaded and loaded the dishwasher. Okay so that's all and I'm hitting the hay; see y'all tomorrow!

Day 23: 'Bob Vila Jr.'

Hey all,

Not much of a post tonight, I had a long rough day at work and got home, enjoyed another fantastic dinner, and then set about to unload\load the dishwasher and start putting the doors and fixtures back up in my bathroom.

So here I am hard at work putting new hinges on one of my bathroom doors...


I'll be glad when I have to time to get it all done, hopefully tomorrow.

Oh and NC State lost to a suddenly bad UNC team, lovely. Jeez they suck, just like every year, guess the Duke win was a fluke.

Hope everyone had a great day and I'll see you tomorrow.

Day 22: 'Ugh, this is no good'

Hey everyone.

Some days are good, some days are bad. This happens to be a bad day. Started out good and went okay, but unfortunately devolved in the evening with a bad migraine accompanied by slight nausea. However, this is part of sharing my life each and every day with you. You might see some rough days but you will see me, this I promise.

I have grown up afflicted with migraines that have been a familial gift starting with my grandfather, who never had pain just auras (physical malformations, typically momentary blindness with no pain), then Mom, then me. Just how the cards are dealt sometimes, but at least we know how to deal with it.

Barbara has been great tonight warming up a plate of her homemade 'Barbara's Helper', and then taking care of me after that. She always makes the misery of a migraine not so miserable, :).

So I say a short hello and a promise to meet up again tomorrow. I leave you with my evening companions. Take care.

Day 21: 'Who Dat going to da Super Bowl?'

I do apologize for the layout issues with yesterday's post and for it not being posted until the middle of the night. Maybe I won't have quite some many pictures on one post in the future.

Ladies and gents I am a tad conflicted with this post but nonetheless glad I can do it. Today was the NFC Championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints and the must see TV event of the weekend here at our house. Whoever won is headed to the Super Bowl in Miami, FL to face the Indianapolis Colts. Barbara is a big Saints fan (as I mentioned in the 'Pay Day' post) so she was on pins and needles as the game progressed. She has been painting some of the doors in our home so she did that during most of the first half and some of the second half to keep her nerves in check. As a Dallas Cowboys fan it is hard for me not to see my boys in this game but if they couldn't do it, why not the Saints?

Look at what the city of New Orleans has been through. This is an amazing and wonderful thing to happen to a city that has been so beleaguered in recent years. These citizens are still trying to pull their lives together after the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, and for that matter almost lost the Saints because of it. Well the Saints stayed and now for the first time in their history, have made it to the Super Bowl. Even though it wasn't my team I was really happy to see a team who has perennially been one of the worst teams in the NFL face down numerous challenges to make it to the biggest stage of them all. That and to see the joy on Barbara's face also made it all worth it. We will now be hunting down a Fleur-De-Lis flag, if not a New Orleans Saints flag, to adorn our house for the coming two weeks.

A very happy Sunday here and a great end to the weekend and start to the week. For my baby, here is today's picture...
Barbara happily displaying her Drew Brees t-shirt that I bought her a couple of weeks ago. She was a tad emotional during the trophy presentation which was great for me to see her so happy. Now maybe, when I am in insane, blow-up, crazy angry\happy mode when watching my own teams, she'll understand. On second thought, maybe not. Haha

Well looking forward to the week and wishing everyone a happy week as well.

Day 19: 'How hard can it be?'

Hey everyone... it's FRIDAY!!!!!!

The weekend is here and yours truly could not be happier. So I am going to throw an interesting picture out here today and hopefully an interesting post to go with it.

So, I have not done much in the way of figuring out all the odds and ends of this blog here at blogspot and I have discovered that I know next to nothing about being a blog administrator. This is pretty sad because I work with computers for a living and, well, I should know these things. At the moment though all I know is what suits me just fine, and that is typing and uploading my pictures. I mean what else is there?

Well, it has been brought to my attention by several people that it is rather hard to post comments here at the blog. I admit I love it not only when folks visit but when they leave a comment, it just reinvigorates me to keep this amazing thing going.

So today I sat down and I am looking at the different features here and, you have GOT to be kidding me, this stuff is more advanced then the computers at NASA. I mean really, I am writing silly stories with pictures and it's like you have to have a military missile launch code to leave a dang comment! The blog administrator stuff, forget it, there is like 7 or 8 different sections with oodles of fields to be changed or maintained, I think working in my yard is easier! Obviously, I am exaggerating a bit here but it was shockingly funny to see all that had to be looked over and configured to try and make things easier for you the reader. However, I am going to try and figure this out because I want everyone to stop by and if you are moved by something, I want to hear from you! :)

So our picture du jour is -

The Comment Moderation page here at 365 by 365. I am going to have to get to know this better in order to set up the simplest and most efficient site for my readers and the public. Right now you have to sign over 5 pints of blood and your first born to actually get a post up. Security words, and 4 different ways to sign your name? It's wild folks but trust the Big B here, I am a man of the Internet people and I intend to do my part to make blogging and comment posting easier for everyone!

(Steps down from soapbox, collapses it, folds it and puts it in velvet bag and back in storage) ;-D

So a great weekend ahead I hope for us as well as everyone out there. Be safe and have fun, I'll see you on the morrow for a bit o' Saturday night fever, 365 style!!!

Day 18: 'Best part of Winter'

Hey all!

Yesterday was a bang up posting and I'm afraid I can't top it today, but this is a fun, more loose subject matter. :-D

The thing I love most about Winter is hot chocolate! No matter where I'm at or what I'm doing, I always like to think about eventually ending up at home on the couch with Barbara and a hot steaming cup of cocoa before bed. It's comical how much I like my hot chocolate, just ask Barbara!

So tonight is the season premiere of what I consider THE best show on television, Burn Notice on USA Network. I am telling you this show is unreal and I have been anticipating it's return since the fall.

Here is my favorite winter beverage, haha.


Yes this mug does say The Man, The Myth, The Legend... I mean it's me we're talking about here, ;-). I found that mug a couple of weekends ago at Marshall's for $2.99 and I had to have it!

So I will enjoy the rest of the beverage and my favorite TV show and I hope everyone else has a great Thursday night and Friday!

Until tomorrow...

Day 17: 'Admiring a bit of history'

Today's blog picture came about pretty much out of the blue and I am glad that I decided to go with it.

As I said last week every Wednesday I walk from Durham Station to my family's church, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church, to catch a ride home with my mother. Well, I was walking there tonight and took some exterior shots of the church for the blog, but interestingly enough they didn't come out well at all. I went inside the church and while waiting for mom, I went downstairs behind the sanctuary to visit what is probably my favorite room there.


This is the History Room at Duke Memorial. My sling bag takes away from the ambiance and picture but then again I am still learning at getting just the right pictures, lol.

I am a huge history buff and I am eternally grateful to my father for raising me that way. I know that this love of history may not have fully blossomed until recent years but it's always been there. This room is a treasure trove of history mostly about Duke Memorial but also about Durham. The picture on the wall in the upper left corner is of Washington Duke and I believe it was found in the attic of the church after many years . There are documents written by the Dukes when the decision was made to start the church, the official registration papers for the former Boy Scout Troop 13 that was based at Duke Memorial, documents and news articles from when the church was placed on the Nation Register of Historic Places, and other pictures and papers of historical significance to the church. It is so humbling and awe inspiring to stand in that room and take all of that in. What an amazing history the church has had and even greater is the fact that there were members who strived to keep all of these things together.

Seen throughout many of these photos and papers is Mr. William Coman and Mr. Dillard Teer. Mr. Coman, who passed away in 2004, was one of the most respected and loved men in Durham's history and I was fortunate enough to call him friend. He was my mentor when I went through becoming a member of the church. He lived for the history of Durham and his knowledge and humor were things I loved whenever I was able to spend time with him. He took a lot of interest in me and taught me more than I could ever adequately type here. Mr. Teer is of the same vein and has done many amazing things to champion the cause of Durham as well as our church. Mr. Coman and Mr. Teer are some of those genuine folks who I will always admire, much like my Dad and my grandfathers who have passed on. I am going to pursue working with Preservation Durham and other things that i can immerse myself in so that the people of Durham will not forget what people like William Coman, his wife Pat and Dillard Teer and his wife worked so hard to keep relevant. Mr. Coman had high hopes for me and it has always been a regret that I had to stumble and make mistakes in my adolescence and that he is not here to see the man I have become. I told Mom tonight that being in the history room made me miss Mr. Coman but I can also imagine him looking down and smiling at what I have become. I hope to carry their legacies forward.

What a great post this has become and even better because it came by a surprise with a single impulse and my trusty little Kodak.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading, more tomorrow

Day 16: 'Organic Centerpiece'

Hello all,

Today was back to the grind day but not too bad overall. A little tired but that's because I stayed up entirely too late last night. I tell ya I have really got to try and go to bed earlier, I am not in my teens\early 20s anymore, lol. Work was work and the ride home was uneventful which is always good and a blessing.

Barbara, who is always coming up with great ideas on how to improve the look of our home or to add some creativity to our decor, recently started what I think has the potential to be very cool and something I think will look fantastic once it finishes. Barbara has taken some small landscape stones, put them in some glass bowls we have, then put Paperwhite and Purple Crocus bulbs on top and filled the bowls with water. The bulbs have begun to sprout roots around the stones and hopefully within the next two weeks, our dining room table will be adorned with gorgeous fresh flowers that are living while they bloom. I think it's a great idea and I can't wait to see the finished product. I am especially excited to have them in the winter when as we all know things aren't coming up yet.

So here is the beginning of our centerpiece, I almost certainly will revisit this when we have blooms.

I have included a couple of Wikipedia links here about these flowers in case anyone would like to do more reading. Sure there were other sources but Barbara knows how I love my Wikipedia, haha. Have a wonderful and safe Wednesday everyone, we'll see you later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_papyraceus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocus

Day 13 'Movie Night'

Hey folks,

Great and relaxing Saturday here, got out of the house and ran around a bit and then came home and watched Barbara's New Orleans Saints destroy the Arizona Cardinals and Barbara taped up the first part of the office for her painting.

Finally we are settled down for a nice quiet movie night . We are going to watch...


We hear this is funny and we hope it's good. We both like Sandra Bullock as an actress so it was a good choice.

I know it's short but sometimes I just have a little to say, :-).

Adios

Day 11 'Danger, Kitten at Play'

Happy Thursday to all the folks out there.

Today was an average day for both Barbara and I and I thought it'd be a good idea to use today's post to introduce our 3rd 'kid', the aforementioned yet never seen Smudgie Beans Bailey. We got Smudge in August 2009 from the Orange County Animal Shelter. She has been equal parts joy and terror to us, Sunny, and Pooh. She was very skittish early on (even when we got her at 8 weeks), and she still runs from just about anything but she does spend more time around us and laying with us then she used to.

She was my idea and I picked her out so Barbara made sure everyone understood she is my cat. However I know she has bonded a bit more with Barbara, but I don't mind that at all ;-p. From the moment I saw her I knew she was coming home with us and I have not regretted it one day since.

She initially was going to be an indoor\outdoor cat, but since we have kept her in as a kitten, it would appear now that she is going to be a house cat for the rest of her life. We are just hoping our house, furniture, and sanity can survive that. I will say she is one of the prettiest cats I've ever seen. Barbara and I watched an episode of 'Cats 101' and from what we heard, Smudge is at least part Turkish Angora. She is all energy though I can tell you that!

So here is a picture of our little one getting medieval on a cat toy. She is dangerous when presented with toys, lol.
So there is Smudge. We named her that because she has a 'smudge' of calico color on her face that starts on the bridge of her nose and extends down her left cheek.

Well that's about all I can write, because I am so very tired. Hope ya liked today's picture and we'll see what we have tomorrow!

Day 10: 'Special Guest'

What is up everybody, I have made it to double digit days and pictures (or 'daytures' if you will), with blog post number 10. Thanks again to those who have stopped by and I hope more will check it out.

Today was a fun day because usually on Wednesdays Barbara and I host a guest for dinner at our house. This guest is gracious enough to give me a ride home when I get off at Durham Station after work so, amongst other reasons I thought she should be photograph 10 here. On Wednesdays when I arrive in Durham this person is nearby so it is convenient for them to give me a lift. That and well I should see this person at least once a week I suppose, unless of course she has something better to do on her schedule. ;-D

So who is this mystery person? Well guess no more because my friends here she is...

My mother Mary Lee Bailey, who is on the left, is a semi regular guest at our table on Wednesdays and was the perfect subject for today's post. Here she is laughing at Barbara, who is trying to hide behind our giant spathiphyllum 'Herschel'. Mom is at church on Wednesdays at hand bell practice so since she is less than a block from the station I just walk up there and she gives me a lift.

Mom was very self conscious about tonight's pic-n-post but she can breathe a tad easier knowing that out of the several pictures I took this has made the final cut. It had the 'real life' feeling to it that I would like most if not all of my pictures to have. A very genuine moment I thought and one that I am very glad to share with all of you.

We had a lot of fun and a wonderful dinner of spinach salad with sliced eggs, bacon crumbs, and a homemade honey vinaigrette dressing; as well as cornbread stuffing and barbecued pork chops. Yes people, we eat good at our house. ;) It was delicious and then we hung out for a while. Finally I took the garbage out and Mom made her way home.

Well that's about that, now we're on the home stretch with 2 more days before a 3 day weekend!

Everyone take care and we'll see you tomorrow.

Day 9: 'Working hard...or hardly working?'

Hey everyone. Today was a long and pretty boring day at work but no rest for the weary. There's a lot still left to be done here in the putting away Christmas department. There are two trees to 'undress' and take down, and other assorted decorations to put away, like the fake holly leaves and Santa's hat on the deer head in the man room. Also got some laundry to put up and if I am lucky I can get a few minutes on the couch with some hot chocolate and one of those delicious muffins I made last night (yes, shameless plug for my own cooking, and I am not a pro by any stretch).

So sorry to be brief once again but I promise to write more tomorrow. It should be good as we will have a special guest to the blog on Wednesday, Day 1o (wow I've hit double digits).

For Day 9, I leave you with a slightly funny and I'm sure less than appealing sight, me going up the steps to the attic to put away decorations. Woo hoo!


Yeah... that is super sexy right there, it just screams male model calendar doesn't it? Um...no, no, absolutely not (as people start screaming and running for their lives).

Hey folks you take what you get here. I just live it and it gets posted. Living the dream people, living the dream.

Til next time!

Day 8: "Mmm mmm good!"

Welcome back everyone and the first full week of 365 in 365 is in the books. I must say I'm happy to have made it to the mini-milestone and it has made me even more excited and more committed to see this thing through.

I was remarking to Barbara on the way home tonight that I feel as if I don't have enough variety or inspiration during the week for pictures as I might on the weekends. Sure, I could go out and take a picture of anything and throw it up here, but I want to capture things that are a part of my daily life. I want to photograph things I see everyday or maybe something new that affects my thinking or something old that I have been dying to document. So yes this means I am hard on myself and my own biggest nit picky critic.

Barbara looked at me when I said this and she said "I just don't think you're being as creative as you could be then because there are plenty of things to take pictures of during the weekdays". Well that struck me during dinner tonight where I was having another one of Barbara's amazing meals (cous-cous and jerk chicken). I always want dessert after dinner so I walked to the pantry and started digging. When I came out I had killed two birds with one stone, I was going to have dessert and the photo du jour. Everyone meet contestant number 8:

Oooh yeah!!! Cinnabon Cinnamon Streusel and yes I BAKED THEM. I stick to the small and easy stuff (translation: boxes with pre made mix and simple instructions). Haha.

Yep I had two a little while ago and they are good if I do say so myself. A resounding success on Day 8 and in the kitchen as well.

See ya on Tuesday.

Day 7: 'What the..?!?!'

Editor's note: Since yesterday's picture featured me, then it wasn't taken by me so technically against the rules I set forth in post # 1. However, as we go along some pictures will need to include me to represent what is going on in my life. Yes I am being a perfectionist here, ;).

What is up everyone. This will be short as I need to get up early for work tomorrow. A nice weekend of laziness, staying home, and trying to get all of the Christmas decorations down, (which is more of a job than I thought), didn't provide opportunity for a lot of pictures outside of the house. However, as I was searching for inspiration this evening I found it in the form of my 4 year old cat Sunny. He's good for snuggle as well as the occasional picture and he is just fat, and real laid back, except when he is in the house with our kitten Smudge and she is absolutely aggravating the daylights out of him.

Well I caught what I thought was a very creepy, very cool picture of Mr. Sunny tonight and I will be sharing it as the 7th picture on the blog. Just consider it his caught-by-surprise-and-not-real-happy-about-it pose (as evidenced by tonight's title).


Pretty evil looking huh? Don't worry he didn't eat anything gross, the dark splotches on his mouth are just part of natural color, pretty funky I think. I love this guy, he is always down to sit on my lap or greet me at the end of the day after work. Originally he came to us as Barbara's not long after we started dating. With time, Barbara says he has become more my cat and I suppose that could be true. Interestingly enough since Smudge came into our brood and she is without a doubt mine, we have taken pity on Sunny and he is back to being a bit more of Barbara's. I don't think he cares either way as long as someone lets him in or out, feeds him, or rubs him on his head for doing nothing, lol.

Okay folks talk to ya tomorrow!

Day 6: 'YES!! A moment 13 years in the making!'

Hey everyone, oh am I excited. I am cutting this post close at 36 minutes to midnight but I had to wait until late because it would dictate what would happen here.

What is happening here is a great, fantastic and glorious moment and one that I haven't seen since 1996. I am talking about my Dallas Cowboys winning a playoff game! We are on a 4 game winning streak now and have destroyed the Philadelphia Eagles 34-14, the second thrashing of the Iggles in consecutive weeks. This is unbelievable. I feel relief, joy and any other super positive feeling one could have in a moment like this (and yes, I just said super positive). Finally the monkey is off of Dallas' back and I can stop hearing the crap from other people about how much we suck in December and how we can't do anything in the playoffs. Well folks, we are the hottest thing going in the NFL right now and we have won a playoff game for the first time in what seems like an eternity. Holy crap we are on to the next round to face the Minnesota Vikings and 8,000 year old Brett Favre. Shout out to my buddy Darren, my bus driver, my coworker Tameka, my old coworkers JC and Dean, and all of the other Cowboys fans I have had the pleasure of knowing... we did it guys! Cowboys all the way!!

“The demons are gone!” - Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones

Gosh this is awesome, un-frickin-real! My fanhood is strong and I am actually a tad verklempt, haha. Seriously what a great time for the true America's Team. Way to go guys, a total team effort and I couldn't be prouder. What a time to be peaking, let's get one step closer next weekend.

So here is Day 6's picture and the first on this blog featuring yours truly, in all my gear early in the second half...

Yeah that's just good looking right there... hahaha. See y'all tomorrow!!!

PS - Thanks so much for all who have stopped by and left comments so far. I really appreciate the love and it confirms to me this was a good thing to start and to continue on with it. Please keep coming back and keep posting!

Day 5: 'It is FRIGGIN COLD outside!!!'

Hey folks. Another round of 365 squared here!

Now I like Winter... but I like Winter when it's 40 or above. Right now in the triangle here we are having ridiculous, stupid, asinine weather. I'm talking below 20 degrees and close to single digits in the middle of the night. Now this is just wrong. I don't care if you're from up north and we have it easy, blah, blah, blah... the cold we have right now is TOO COLD. I am walking to and from work basically unable to move because I have 800 plus layers of clothing on and that gets pretty restrictive. I specifically have chosen to stay in a mild weather area so I can avoid cold like this. Now I'm not saying I can't handle a visit or a vacation in a severe cold weather area but full time would be a no-no. If this diatribe is indicative of me being a wuss or a whiner, then so be it!! Hahaha. I will wear that badge proudly, ;-). I don't like extremely cold weather. I need a hot beverage and a great indoor heating system!

So this brings me to today's picture... we at Schwab have witnessed this since it was built in early December, and it continues to be a source of curiosity and\or entertainment, depends on who you are. But here is my question...

WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING?!?!? It's ice skating OUTSIDE in wind and air BELOW 30 DEGREES!!! I get that it's fun, I get that it won't be year round, I get it's an abnormally fun activity, but skating on a sheet of ice when I am outside in air that is already cold enough to freeze things is, umm, questionable at best. No, I admire these folks for doing this but when I was freezing my kiester off trying to take this picture I was not thinking this was neat OR a good idea (can you tell I like my caps lock today?).

To those of you that love the cold and can handle it, bless you. For those like me, head inside somewhere, get in front of a heater, and a have a hot cider or hot cocoa on me! Warmer weather please hurry up and get here!!!

Peace out for now!

Day 4, Picture 4: 'Out of Order'

Hello my peeps, and welcome to another entry into the wild world of 365 in 365!

Throughout my life I have often been pegged (and I suppose rightfully so in most cases), as a very random person. So it is no surprise that I have and, with this post very much continue to be, random in regards to the picture I put up every day. This one is really going to cause some head scratching I'm sure but hang with me, it's quite entertaining.

For Day 4 I actually got my inspiration yesterday on the way home from work and I couldn't wait to capture it today and put it out there. This is actually hilarious to Barbara and I, and I hope by the end of this post it will be hilarious to you as well. First, a little background...

George's Diner is on Hillsborough St. in Durham and very close to our house. It is a shabbily decorated '1950's' style diner and honestly, I think one of the worst, if not the worst, place I have ever eaten. It opened a few months ago and we ate breakfast there shortly after they opened. The service was 6th rate at best. We ordered drinks and it took about 20-25mins for that to come. Then we ordered our food and it took another 30 or so minutes for that to come out. When we did get our food it was the worst plate of eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes I've ever had. The sausage was actually completely un-edible and the 'seasoning' for it was just horrible. Barbara's Eggs Benedict was equally as bad and she was ready to leave in short order. We agreed to never go back and never recommend the place. I have nothing against the folks that own and run the place, but their initial attempt at a restaurant was laughable.

So just months after their opening we see a huge banner on the side of the restaurant that says "New Staff and New Cooks". I know, hilarious and pathetic. Kinda said it all but the pathetic comes in when you have to erect this shortly after YOU OPEN FOR THE FIRST TIME. Barbara and I agreed maybe the money spent on bad, fake, 1950s style memorabilia would've been better spent on a real, experienced, and credible staff to begin with. I mean really, are you ever going to have a good restaurant without good waitstaff or cooks? I think not. I don't care about the jukebox and I'm not going to your place to play tunes on it, that's for sure.

Before Christmas we noticed they were closing at night, even though another huge sign out front proclaimed 'Open 24 Hours'. Finally, days later, we noticed they weren't open at all. Well I assumed the inevitable and Barbara and I pondered what would happen with the 'decorations' inside. Then we pulled in and what do you know... they're not closed after all, supposedly returning like a bad dream! Ladies and gents, without further ado, here is the 4th picture for this illustrious blog, the handmade 'closed' sign taped to the door of George's Diner.


Umm... yeah.... riiiiiiight. Close down for the most important part of the year (the holidays) for a 24 hour diner with a Waffle House just blocks away providing constant competition anyways??? That screams success right there. Something tells me being without heat couldn't have made eating there any worse. By the way, I am really not scared of the alarms and cameras being on... well actually if they catch me this close to the restaurant I guess that would be embarrassing enough, ;).

Needless to say we haven't eaten there again even with the 'improvements' that have been made and I can say with some certainty that getting heat back in the building will not make it anymore enticing, hahaha.

Ok that is a really long post (phew!), so I hope you enjoyed it and I can't wait to throw something out there for you tomorrow!

Ciao

Day 3, Picture 3 'End of the Holidays'

Hey all! Here we are on January 6th and that means another holiday season has come and gone and we are headlong into a new year, and in our case, the dawn of a new decade. I can't begin to explain what I have gone through, seen, experienced, or watched our country go through in the last decade and it's been a pleasure, good or bad, to live through the first 10 years of a new millennium. Here is my best wishes to all of you for health and happiness for the next decade or the 'teens', lol.

The holidays are always my favorite part of the year and any year I can see through with friends and family is a great one. So, in memory of the recently passed holidays, I present Day 3's picture, the giant Christmas tree outside of my office building in Raleigh. When I say giant I mean this thing is say, at least 30 feet tall. I think White House big when I see this tree!
I'm glad I caught this today as I can't imagine it will be up very much longer, but who knows I could be back later this week with pictures of a crew dismantling it!

Like I've said, look alive folks; it's anybody's guess what you'll see 'mañana', but I can say that no matter what, this blog will keep you entertained and on your toes!

Peace out party people, I will see y'all next time!

Day 2, Picture 2: 'The Workplace'

Hi all, Day 2 of the ambitious blog project and, while I admit not the most exciting picture ever, this is a vital and repetitious part of my week, the office.


This is where I make the dough folks, 5 days a week, helping to keep the national financial machine rolling. I do enjoy it here and I work with some very cool people including one of my closest friends Michael, who I've known for about 10 years.

It's a good job with a great atmosphere that finds a nice balance between being casual and fun and being serious and hard working when the time calls for it. I think the best thing about it is the support and help we give each other. We all know how crazy and stressful business can be sometimes and it makes it worthwhile to have a team of folks around who can balance out those long days and give you a hand even when you don't think you need it.

Ok well I apologize for this being brief but it's time for Barbara and I to hit the hay and get ready for the morning. C'mon middle of the week, let's go!

There's no telling what you'll see tomorrow... <:-D

The Beginning, my inspiration and goal

My girlfriend and I recently saw the film Julie and Julia and it has inspired me to start writing on this blog again and to rechristen it anew as a purpose driven blog where I can set a fun and realistic goal and race toward it, bringing along whoever would like to join me.

I am going to take a small Kodak camera and carry it with me through my daily life and take a picture every single day for a year. My goal on January 4th, 2011 is to have 365 pictures representing 365 days of my life along with my own ruminations on these pictures and my life.

I am excited to embark on this endeavor and I hope whoever stops by can and will take some of that excitement with them.

Without further ado I bring to you Day 1 and Picture 1, our beloved, mild mannered, and handsome 12 year old yellow lab.... My buddy... Pooh Bear.Here is Pooh shortly after our dinner waiting patiently for someone to rub his ears or his belly (and believe me he gets PLENTY of that, he is spoiled rotten!). Pooh has a great life and he makes ours infinitely brighter every day. You will learn more about Pooh and his feline siblings Sunny and Smudge in the coming year, I guarantee it.

But for now this will be all for Day 1, see y'all tomorrow.