PERFECT PAIRING BRUNCH…

just read about this and felt the need to share. If only I had a place where I could have people over…

http://www.traditionalhome.com/mobile/food/entertaining-southern-brunch-recipes.html

TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG…

So it has been almost a year since I have posted to my blog. A ton of stuff has happened but nothing too interesting. I am not sure why I stopped but I did. I guess I got over the blogging thing or maybe I was bored…

I am not sure if I will continue this blog or not but thought since I can update from my phone I might as well make a post…

Keep tuned to see what I decide to do with this blog and what is going on in my life. I know you missed my updates…

UPDATE & NEW ADVENTURE…

UPDATE:

So I did not make it to Martin’s until this evening and well I was less than whelmed. Yeah it is open on Sunday and sell beer/wine, but like I have said, that is not a selling point for me. I found the customer service horrible and the fake bricks painted on the walls were tacky. I did like that there is a ton of Ukrop’s items, which is what I consider their only saving grace. Upon checking out I only saved $3. When I shopped @ Ukrop’s I would typically save $10-$15…

NEW ADVENTURE:

So I have decided to take advantage of the whole beer & wine at Martin’s and elsewhere for that matter. I will admit that I love Coor’s Light & $2 chuck but I want to broaden my horizons. A while ago I got some Magic Hat and really enjoyed it. It was the Spring Seasonal – Vinyl Lager. This was my first time having Magic Hat and it was so good. So tonight while I was exploring the aisles of Martin’s in Carytown I picked up a 6 pack of Starr Hill’s (a Charlottesville Brewery) Pale Ale. I also picked up a Mouton Cadet. A Bordeaux from Baron Philippe de Rothschild. According to the label, it “combines the Bordeaux winemaking tradition with the values of authenticity and exacting standards that have always been the pride of [their] family. Made from three classic grape varieties – Merlot (65%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), and Cabernet Franc (15%) – the wine unites several fine appellations of Bordeaux region, expressing all its richness and diversity in an elegant bouquet of flavors.” Here is to a good week of new adventures after work with hopefully awesome tasting adult beverages…

This will be replace the monthly challenges that I stopped doing…

NEW EXPERIENCES…

All my life I have shopped at one grocery store and as I stated in a previous post that store has been sold and I must now find another place to shop. The Ukrop’s in Carytown has now been changed over to Martin’s and it had its first day today. I know they are selling some Ukrop’s goods but to me it won’t be the same…

I know I need to get over this and just move on to another store but it’s hard for me. I hate Kroger as I find the stores disgusting, horrible staff, sub par products, and just not Ukrop’s. I know people say they are cheaper but I disagree. Foodlion is below Kroger in ranking in my book but has more riffraff in terms of customers. Yes, I know I probably have offended most people, but I like what I like and do not like to shop with people who smell and look like they strolled right out of the trash bin behind the store…

Tomorrow I will venture over to Martin’s to scope it out and see if I will shop there. If not I will move over to Ellwood Tompson’s and shop with what I imagine to be the organic foodies (i.e. people that weird me out) or to Libbie Market. The selection there is limited but so far I have enjoyed their lunch selections…
Update to come soon…

CONFESSIONS OF AN OVERPACKER…

Confessions of an Overpacker

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I saw this article on facebook from the study abroad peps where I work. The title intrigued me as I consider myself an overpacker. I remember getting home from Europe after college and having to head up to NY for a weekend to celebrate my graduation along with 4 other of my cousins who also graduated that year. I have the largest suitcase made by by Louis Vuitton. Yes, say what you want. I have owned their luggage for years and it well made and handles well. I have never had a piece fall apart and I never have to double check to make sure the bag is mine. But back to the reason for this posting. I packed this bag full to head up to NY for a weekend. This bag is supposed to be large enough for a 14 day trip and I can fill it up for a weekend. Needless to say when I arrived home to meet up with the rents I was told that the bag was too big and I could not conceivably need everything inside. I was given a significantly smaller bag and told that whatever I could get in the bag I could take. I hated this but I survived…

I am always over packing and have done so since as long as I can remember. I go up to NY a lot to visit family and one trip I made it in a carry on and everyone was shocked. I have to admit so was I. I hate that I have to pay to check my luggage. But have been known to fork out the small fortune to check my two bags both trips. I miss the days of when it was free to check two bags. People like me got spoiled by this policy and now I am paying for it. I try to get it all in one bag but rarely do. I have two carry ones always, one for my computer and crap and the other with a set of clothes and shoes in case my luggage gets lost. Something that in the 22 years I have been flying has yet to happen (knock on wood).

Most people I know are not that happy with the new policy as it makes it less comfortable to fly since everyone and their mother is bringing on carry-ons. I unlike many of my friends enjoy flying. It relaxes me and is one of the most enjoyable experiences. I tell people that flying is my happy place. I could fly all day every day, well if they allowed me to bring my dog…

I hope you enjoy the article and this little insight into my life. You have been forewarned that if you travel with me you will see luggage for a small army but mark my words I always handle my own luggage…

11TH ANNUAL UKROP’S MONUMENT AVE 10K…

Yesterday I ran the 11th Annual Monument Ave. 10K. This was my second year running this race and while I do not consider myself a runner nor do I really enjoy running there is something to be said to run in a race like this one. This year was a lot tougher of a race for me (I didn’t really train at all) but I got through the entire race and ran the entire way. Oh did I mention I knocked off almost nine minutes from last years time…

Again this year my parents did not come out to support me. I guess I should learn to expect that from them but a huge part of me wants to have them there cheering me on along the race and to be there to give me a high five at the end. While this obvisously did not happen Amber, one of my best friends from college, called me shortly after I had finished to see how I did. This one phone call made my day and picked me up from the slump I was in from not having parental support…

My body was killing me yesterday. To make things worse I had to go into the GAP and they kept my on-call. I was walking (if you could call it that) like an old man about to die. Once I got home I took some Excedrin and crawled into bed with the heating pad. It was one of the best nights sleep that I had gotten in a while…

Running my second 10K has gotten me thinking about potentially tackling a half marathon. One of the many running groups in Richmond has a training team for this race and while it is kinda pricy I think I might just go ahead and do it. I do not ever see myself running a full marathon because 26.2 miles seems way to long to me…

Okay enough rambling for right now. I need to tackle the day and actually do some cleaning…

IT’S BEEN AWHILE…

So March has almost come and gone and I got out of the blogging routine. For some reason I got the urge to write this evening, most likely due to the fact that I need to clean my apartment because it is being shown tomorrow and I am really good at procrastination…

This weekend I am running my second 10K but this time I am not as prepared for it. I did not train like I should have (I have only run 5 times since signing up for the race) and I have no desire to actually run it. I am going to do it because I paid for it and well my students know that I am doing it and I do not want to show up on Sunday and be like oh I was too lazy to do it…

I also found out this week that I did not get into law school and while I am bummed out I have been trying to look at the positives:

- Law School is not part of tuition remission

- I would most likely had to quit working

- I can move to a new place in the fan instead of close to school/work

- I can take the LSAT again and improve my score thus improving my chances for the next time I apply

- I still have time to apply for the MBA program if I want

Okay so I need to get cracking on this whole cleaning the apartment and boxing crap up, so I am going to head out…

A FAILED FEBRUARY…

So this month I was going to post each day with what I am thankful for and well that failed miserably. I have a few moments before my students come in for calling and thought I would update the world as to what went on with my life this month…

My best friend had her baby and it is one of the best looking babies I have ever seen. I do not say that about a lot of people’s newborns but Evelyn might even beat me out as best looking baby. I am not going to lie. I came out looking good and have gone downhill ever since. Think what you want of me thinking I was the best looking baby to grace the world’s presence…

On the 12th my dad took  my step-mother and me out for a joint birthday dinner to Lemaire @ the Jefferson. If you have not been since they made the updates you need to. I enjoyed the atmosphere back then but I enjoy it equally as much with all the changes and plus more people my age will enjoy themselves. I cannot believe I just admitted that I like something that changed. Mark your calendars as it might not ever happen again. It was a nice meal. I had fried oysters to start, then moved onto the steak for the main course and topped it off with some gingerbread cake for dessert. We all shared a nice bottle of wine and enjoyed ourselves. We even had a Richmond celebrity appearance by Pam Reynold’s. If you do not know who she is then google her and check her out. She is big on the fashion, arts, and charity circuit…

Work has been crazy busy but I finally found sometime to get back to some of my consulting work. The extra cash will be nice come tax time when I have to shell out to Uncle Sam. I have been reading more and taking time to relax so that I do not get so hectic. I have even gotten somewhat organized at work. All of my projects have been planned out through the end of March with deadlines. Here’s hoping that I am able to keep up the momentum and meet all deadlines…

I have even watched a few movies, which I will post about sometime. The housing situation is still up in the air. I have yet to find someone to take over my lease but I have not found a place either. I am looking close to the Village shopping centre or at places that are all-inclusive. Hopefully I will have found something by the end of the month…

Day 9 OF THANKFULNESS…

So today has been a long and crazy day. I had shipment this morning, which starts @4am. This means I have to get up by 3am to get eat, take Ava out, make coffee, brush my teeth and get on my way. I rarely shower or change clothes to do shipment. I literally roll out of bed and accomplish as many of the above tasks that I can and get on the road…

It is days like today that I am thankful for coffee. I somewhat recently bought a french coffee press from IKEA. This thing makes about 4 cups of coffee which is great for a single guy to consume. Now I hate to waste coffee and even more so I hate to reheat it. So as of last week I have started to fill two travel mugs full of coffee on shipment days. I drink one mug on my way in and the other mug is consumed while unboxing and putting out clothes. What this means is I am wide awake and ready to tackle the day. The only downside is that when I do this I am not able to sleep when I get home from shipment around 9:15am. I used to go in and do shipment and come home and go to bed until noon when I would wake up to get ready to head into my fulltime job. This new regime however is doing better because I am less tired throughout the day and can get more done. Evidence of this today is that I have now blogged 3 times and have gone to see 2 potential new apartments. I have also contacted my douchebag of a landlord about getting out of my lease early. Here’s hoping everything works out…

On a side note my best friend should be popping out her baby any minute now. She has been admitted to the hospital and I am on dog duty until she gets home. Since the likelihood of my sister having children is a big fat NILL I am planning on “adopting” this child as my niece…

I am gonna go read some in my book (Becca – you might be rubbing off on me as I have read 3 days in a row) and hit the hay. I have another long day tomorrow but Friday is near and my parents are taking me out for my birthday to a place that requires coat and tie but that is all I have gotten out of them…

APARTMENT HUNTING…

So I have blogged a few times about my crappy landlord and how he neglects to fix things. I have decided that I need to stop complaining and move out because I think most people are sick of me whining about it…

I went to see two different places this morning. One was on the 2800 block of West Grace (not my idea street) and the other was in the Tuscan Villa Complex. I have linked the names with their craigslist adds for your viewing pleasure…

Pro’s of the West Grace Apartment -

• In my budget of $850
• Allows animals
• two WORKING fire places
• gas stove (cooking)
• granite countertops
• pantry and tons of kitchen storage
• owner knows some family friends from Lynchburg
• dedicated off street parking spot
• has a sweet deck

Con’s of West Grace Apartment -

• is located on West Grace
• not much closer to work
• enter/exit of the apartment is on the back deck with potential for falling down stairs in bad weather
• only a 1 bedroom
• bathroom is not well lit

Pro’s of the Tuscan Villa Apartment:

• really nice condo community
• potential for rent to own
• secured entrance
• no upstairs neighbors
• washer and dyrer
• dishwasher
• gas stove (cooking)
• in my $850 budget

Con’s of Tuscan Villa Apartment -

• only allows one pet (i have 2)
• small washer and dryer
• not updated
• bathroom is borderline gross
• no off street parking spot

I am still searching closer to work. Not that I want to move out of the fan area but I know it would be better for Ava if she could have a yard to play in and if I get into Law School it will be nice to be close to school/work to let Ava out and not have to drive 15 minutes to work…

Thoughts or suggestions are welcome…