Friday, December 11, 2009
Welcome To Notre Dame Brian Kelly
Monday, November 30, 2009
Melissa's Top Ten things I learned over my Thanksgiving break
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving Weekend!
The next morning we had to get up and start making the food for our
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Dude You Broke My Wife
Monday, November 9, 2009
Eat, Sleep, Puke – And The Babies Aren’t Even Born Yet
Saturday, November 7, 2009
A Lazy But Busy Weekend!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Two for One Special
Monday, November 2, 2009
Niagara Mini-Marathon Complete - We Both Made It!

- Case of LaBatt Blue
- 6 Cans of Grandma Browns Beans
- 4-5 Bottles of Weber's Spicy Mustard.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
What a Difference a Couple of Hours Makes
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Notre Dame / USC Weekend Thoughts
- The defense needs to step it up. You can't have the team on 3rd down and 9 and give up 30 - 60 yards.
- You can't let time that you will NEED later in the game to run off the clock to prevent the other team, IN CASE you score from getting the ball back.
- PETE CARROLL NEEDS TO STAY ON THE EFFING SIDELINE AND NOT ON THE FIELD!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Didn’t you Pee on Enough Sticks
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Been A While...
Training for the upcoming Niagara Falls International Mini Marathon has been coming along. Melissa and I are going to be running at the same pace, which is her's not mine, that will help me pace myself so that I don't do what I sometimes do, start too fast and end up walking. This past weekend we ran 9 miles straight (4.2 miles less than the full length of the Mini). We will be running 10 miles this week and then tapering off the running up until the big race. Wish us luck!
Turning to sports, the Fighting Irish are 4-1 with their only loss coming to Michigan and a controversial loss at that. They have won the last 3 of the those 4 in the final minutes and in one case seconds of the game. This weekend's showdown in South Bend, which we are going to, should be a good game. I had tickets to the 2005 "Bush for the Push" game in the Bend and didn't get to go because of work so I hope this weekend's game is as exciting as that game was but with a different outcome. Here's hoping that Jimmy Clausen and the Irish can put a hurting on the Trojans of Troy.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Welcome Penelope, aka Penny!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Notre Dame Defeats Purdue & Tailgating!!!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Running and Tailgating with My Cousin

Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Thoughts on the ND vs. Michigan Game!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Tenn. Trip Day 2 – Smoky Mountain Waterfall Hike!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Tennessee Trip Day 1 - Dinner @ Ye Old Steakhouse
Tenn. Trip Day 1 – Waterfalls & ND Football!
Tennessee Trip Day 1 – Ziplining
Melissa & I have never done this before and Melissa said “That sounds like fun!” So we found a place that takes you up to the top of a mountain and you Zipline down. We signed up, finished our lunch, and headed on our way. Mental note: Krystals = White Castles. The Ziplining was a blast. We headed up with 2 guides who were cool and funny. Our group was great too! I was able to snap some pictures of Melissa using my Blackberry, check them out. I would suggest that anyone who has the option of doing it does it because we had a lot of fun.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Lost In Mountainous Tennessee!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Construction, Construction, Wedding, Construction...
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Ideal Body Weight, Milkshakes, & Benihana!!!
Having said all of the above things, everyone is entitled to slip up at least once or twice. So let's talk about the rest of the weekend. We had dinner Friday night and took April out to the dog park. On the way, Melissa and I split a peanut butter shake, yummy! April had a lot of fun at the dog park. We let her play by herself (thanks to the German Shepard that came at her when we got there) and she seemed to like playing fetch and running around by herself. She loves the dog park!
Saturday we got up early and went to register my car. We also found out that Purdue opened up some tickets for the Notre Dame vs. Purdue game so we are going to the game with our cousin John, a Purdue graduate, and it will be fun! Then we took April with us and headed to the Outlet Mall in Jefferson, Ohio. The Outlet Mall there is pet friendly which means that some of the stores allow you to bring your dog in with you. April got a ton of pets, compliments, and lots of love. Being out by the Outlet Mall also put us near a Tim Horton's which means TIM BITS & ICE CAPP'S all around! We then headed back to Cincy and Melissa turn to me in the car and said "Benihana for dinner?" and I said SURE!

Sunday, August 16, 2009
Doggie Pool Party!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Thirty!!!
I've decided this song will be my motto for the coming year.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Cincinnati Premium Outlets
- Jimmy Buffett, Songs I Know by Heart. I sang every song making Greg crazy. This was the second time we heard the CD today. I'm not so sure Greg wants hear Jimmy Buffett again for awhile.
- I decided I am going to move to Florida or somewhere in the Carribbean so I can become a Buffett head and go to Margaritaville frequently
- You should never risk it with your gas, just ask the three people with broken down cars along the way.
- I posted at least 5 messages on facebook
- I realized there was a Tim Horton's at exit 29. That meant I would have an iced capp after sitting in the car forever, maybe even some TimBits. This combination is way better than birthday cake!
- It's great to be able to budget a specific amount of money for clothing shopping and not feel bad about spending
- People in Cincinnati must be crazy for outlet shopping! Do they not realize we are in the middle of a recession????
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Dave Ramsey
I watched Dave's show for a couple months before I decided to pick up his book and learn more about his plan to help people get out of debt. I read the book and encouraged Greg to read it as well. We decided at this point that we needed to get on this plan and change our attitude about debt as it had become a standard in our lives. So far under this plan we have paid off and closed accounts for three credit cards and we have three to go, along with our cars & student loans. We are projected to have everything paid off in the next two to three years depending upon how Murphy impacts us during this time frame.
Here are Dave's Steps (we are on step 2):
1. $1,000 In An Emergency Fund
2. Pay Off All Debt With The Debt Snowball
3. 3 To 6 Months Expenses In Savings
4. Invest 15% Of Income Into Roth IRAs and Pre-Tax Retirement Plans
5. College Funding
6. Pay Off Your Home Early
7. Build Wealth And Give!
We continue to watch the Dave Ramsey show daily as part of our motivation. We also recently watched a documentary, Maxed Out, about credit card companies and the lengths they go to keep people in debt to make money. We may take Financial Peace University down the line but for now we are doing well. We meet weekly to discuss our budget as a family and use the envelope system to control our spending. We love changing our family tree and hope our decisions now have a long term impact on keeping our children and those around us out of debt as well.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Half Marathon Training
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sorry It's Been So Long!

Since the MLB 5k (pictures to the left) is over the next race that we will begin training for is the Niagara Falls International Mini-Marathon. I plan to twitter about my progress during the race (as I do during most of my races) and will post our times and hopefully some photos from it when we are done. Well, hope this post has quenched your thirst for posts for now. I will post some more this weekend.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Running with April & Shoulder Injury

Sunday, July 12, 2009
MLB All-Star 5k Results are In!!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
MLB All-Star 5k is Tomorrow!!!

Friday, July 10, 2009
Random Thoughts While On The Road!!!
1. Shouldn't someone fine either the trucking company and/or the truck drivers for all the shreds of tires that litter our roadways?
2. There should be another qualifier for being labeled "International" for airports. A couple flights to canada shouldn't cut it for the Terra Haute Airport.
3. When you are a kid 70 miles on a car trip seems like an eternity. As and adult, anything under 300 doesn't seem that bad and on most major highways 70 miles is 1 hour of driving.
4. Why the hell are there so many dam weigh stations on the side of the road if the are not going to be used & even if the are used I only ever see one cop car the usually so if someone is transporting something illegally are you really going to shut down the weigh station and take off after him/her?
5. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT drive 10 miles under the speed limit in the left hand lane and then give me a dirty look as I and my fellow motorist fly by you. You are not doing some sort of public service, JUST MOVE!!!
Sent from my Blackberry®
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Car Troubles & MLB All-Star 5k Run Against Cancer!!!

Monday, July 6, 2009
Saturday Tour Around St. Louis!!!
We rode the Metro to the Science Center and we had a little bet about where to get off to be the closest to the Science Center since my sister said we should drive to the Science Center. Turns out our idea was better since we didn't have to walk very far (2 - 3 blocks) to get there and the money we would have paid to park would have been more than our subway tickets. Melissa is always fun during a museum/Science Center visit since she is big into interesting things like science and history. We saw several exhibits and did the traditional Science Center thing by purchasing some freeze dried ice cream :-). After leaving the Science Center, we went to Union Station to see the Fudge Makers make fudge and to do a little shopping however we arrived shortly before 6 so shopping was pretty much out of the picture. All in all, it was a great trip to St. Louis, Melissa and I had a great time! I will post pictures from our trip soon.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Happy 80th Birthday Aunt Nett & SURPRISE!
After the party, we went and saw Jennifer's new house and I took Melissa for a tour around Waterloo. I showed my old grade school, Ahne's Bakery, the post office, our old house, and several other local landmarks, there are not many in Waterloo :-). We then went back to the hotel and partook in a St. Louis tradition, Imo's Pizza! I would say that my listings of pizza would be:

- La Nova Pizza & Wings - Buffalo, NY - Link.
- Imo' s Pizza - St. Louis, Mo area - Link.
- Bob & John's La Hacienda - Buffalo, NY - Link.
Monday, June 29, 2009
10 Things We Learned On Our Florida Vacation
9. Shell beaches are way more uncomfortable than sandy beaches.
8. It never fails someone will get into an argument if your trip involves teenagers.
7. You will get burnt even if you have sunscreen.
6. Churros are basically chew sticks of Cinnamon and sugar.
5. Always jump in the single riders line as it likely will be extremely shorter than the main lines.
4. Loss Of Use is a big con by rental companies to try and get you to purchase their insurance coverage (your personal insurance will cover it).
3. Security screening @ the airport @ 5 in the morning is a breeze & moving walkways in airports are not rides, move.
2. Saltwater + Blackberry = Corrosion + $50 for a new blackberry.
1. Witnessing and trying to help out after a 4 car accident that left a father & 2 kids losing their wife/mother can really put things in perspective.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Florida Vacation Day 1!!!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Adventures in Dog Sitting
Our adventures with her health have continued this past month. Three weeks ago we noticed April was peeing much more often than usual on our walk. I'd heard from someone at work that if dogs do this they often times have UTIs. So we took her to the vet, got a UTI dx and started treating her with antibiotics. We also found out from the vet that she had two types of oxylate crystals in her urine which could lead to stones in her bladder. Sometimes the crystals are a product of the UTI, sometimes stones.
Two weeks later, we broght back another urine sample and the vet called within an hour and said one type of the crystals had cleared up but she still had calcium oxylate crystals and she wanted to bring her in for a urine culture (they get the sample right out of the bladder somehow) and an x-ray of the bladder to check for stones. I asked if it was normal to have a dog so young have stones and she said no but normally dogs this young don't have crystals either. So we made an appointment to take April to the vet Monday for the testing.
In the meantime when we were playing with her on Sunday we noticed she had a little cough whenever we got her running really fast. We didn't think too much of it but it concerned me enough to mention it on Monday as I was dropping her off. I figured it might be allergies or possible a collapsed trachea (which is very common in small dogs - not harmful).
I got a call from the vet a few hours later and was happy to learn that April did not have any stones in her bladder! We have to wait on the results of the urine culture to determine how to further treat the UTI symptoms. Yahoo, no surgery!! However, the vet tech asked a couple more questions about the cough and conferred with the vet and came back and told me she has KENNEL COUGH. I asked how she could have gotten this, she has had no exposure to dogs in the past month and she received the vaccine a couple months ago. After some more discussion we determined that she got it at the groomer the week before and I learned that the kennel cough vaccine does not provide 100% protection from the disease.
At this point I was a little panicked. We are going to Florida in 3 days and had made an appointment to drop her off at the PetSmart pet hotel, I knew they would not take her now. As I was asking the tech if she thought they would take and her and wondering what I was going to do, she started to tell me that the techs at the vet's office will often board client's dogs for them while they are away. I asked if she was one of the ones that does it and she does and if she was available this weekend. She was and she has two dogs as well. Although the kennel cough is very contagious she was not worried about April transmitting it to her dogs since they'd both had the vaccine and she had such a mild case. She told me a bit about her dogs and we made arrangements to drop April off tonight.
I was a bit apprehensive about leaving April for this trip but when we got there and she started to play with the other dogs I felt much better. She was running around and exploring and in general just having a good time.
We are headed to Florida in the morning and as much as I am going to miss the dog, I know we left her in good hands. I cannot wait to relax and have some fun in the sun!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
2 Days Till Florida!!!

Saturday, June 20, 2009
Old Navy Tank Tops

Today Old Navy had women's tank tops on sale for $2 each!!! None of mine fit anymore since I've lost so much weight. We got there at 8:00 just in case it was crazy like the $1 flip flop sale had been. We were first in line and by the time they opened there were probably 30-40 people waiting but it was pretty much a non-event. We got right in grabbed what we needed paid and got right out.
I replenished my stock for $20 bucks!! I love Old Navy's sales.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thoughts on the Sunburst...

Saturday, June 6, 2009
Melissa's Sunburst Experience
Of course Greg was gone like a shot out of the starting gate. He tends to run faster than I do so we've decided we will run separately for these races so we can see how we do time wise. I expect he will always be faster than me, after all he is 8 inches taller than I am! As we got going I also got caught in a glut of people that were going a little bit slower than I generally pace myself at and it took me about the first 1/4 mile to be able to get to the outside so I could find a group of people that was running at my pace so I could effectively pace myself. I was very excited when we got to mile marker one and I realized I was really doing this. Granted we've been running 6-7 miles every Sunday for the past month but to actually be running a distance in a real race was an incredible feeling for me. This was also where we went up our first hill. I was dreading the hills since last year this was the part of the 5k that totally killed us (other than not being as in shape as we wanted to be). I went up that hill like a champ and continued the run down the St. Joe river enjoying the scenery and thinking about the finish line. Around mile marker 3 the guy that was leading the actual marathon passed us with his 2 cop escort. It was neat to realize I was running with elite athletes! As we were running through some of the South Bend neighborhoods it was fun to see the families on their front lawns cheering the runners on! My favorite yards however were the ones where the sprinklers were placed at the edge of the yard so you could run through it and cool off slightly. The next couple of miles were fairly uneventful until I reached the point where we made the turn up the hill that nearly killed me last year. I ran up it with no problems and nearly cried as I realized how far we have come in the past 5 months. We have really worked for this and I felt incredible. When I got to mile marker 5 I knew I was really going to run the whole thing and I sped up. There is a point where you make a turn and all you see ahead is the Golden Dome of Notre Dame and it was an awesome feeling to be able to run towards it and know that I was going to end up running across the 50 yard line at Notre Dame stadium. From this point forward I picked up my pace a little bit and started running faster towards the stadium. As I approached the ND tunnel I reached a full on sprint and flew through the tunnel out on the field. I could see the finish line and there was Greg with the camera waiting for me! I ran across the finish line and all I could do was just hug him because I was so proud of us! This was quite a contrast to last year when I felt so awful after the race I didn't want anyone to touch me.
Greg's parents were there to greet us but as I looked around the stadium I couldn't see them. So we loaded up on some post race fruit and popsicles and ventured into the stadium to find them. When we finally spotted them we realized they brought our puppy in with them to greet us! It was so great to see her after our run. She greeted us with lots of kisses and love. We sat back listened to some music, enjoyed our snacks and watched some of the marathoners finish before we took April back out on the 2 mile trek back to the car.
All in all it was a great race. I was kind of disapointed in the mile markers, they did not do a very good job of marking them so you knew clearly which race they were for which was a little frustrating. I loved the Meijer post race food and look forward to coming back next Spring to run again!
2009 Sunburst 10k Done & Results Are In!!!
Well this morning we ran in the 2009 Sunburst 10k race. Melissa and I did well. I finish the race in 1:03:52 (would have been shorter if I hadn't walked a 1/8 of a mile. Melissa (who ran the whole think :-) way to go honey) ran it in 1:06:35. I am so proud of both of us for completing this race. This was a goal we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the year and I was scared it wasn't going to happen along the way, but I am very happy that we stuck with it and completed the task. | ||||||
Bib | FName | ChipTime | Overall | Sex Pl | Div Pl | Pace |
3268 | Gregory | 1:03:52 | 852 | 478 | 68 | 10:18/M |
3269 | Melissa | 1:06:35 | 926 | 423 | 94 | 10:44/M |
Monday, June 1, 2009
RedLegs 5k Results & Overall Progress
Position | Division | Division Place | Sex Place | Name | Time | Pace | Difference |
1314 | M -30 - 34 | 144 | 863 | Gregory | 0:29:53 | 9:39 | :29 |
1572 | F -25 - 29 | 170 | 598 | Melissa | 0:31:33 | 10:11 | :28 |
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Redlegs 5k Race Day!

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Monday, May 25, 2009
Memorial Day Weekend
This weekend Melissa and I had a lot of fun. Saturday we went and did not participate in the recession by going to Old Navy and buying flip flops for $1.00 each. Next, we went to Trader Joe's to buy some salsa and a few other things. After that we went and picked up our registration packets for the Redlegs 5K. We have the Redlegs 5k this weekend and then next weekend we have the Sunburst 10k, I am so excited!

Sunday started off with Melissa & I running 7 miles in preparation for our Mini-Marathon in October. After that we went to church and then Subway for lunch. We then watched Transporter 3 and then went to Cheeseburger In Paradise for dinner with a friend of Melissa's from Buffalo. She brought her 2 grand daughters with them who you can see in the picture to the right. This is always fun since she brings us a case of the best beer from North America, Labatt's Blue Light. We also got Troyer Farm's cheese puffs, Bison's Chip Dip, & Sahlen's hot dogs.
Monday, we went to Play it Again sports and picked up some free weights and a medicine ball. We have decided to turn our former spare bedroom into a workout and exercise room! We keep you updated as to it's progress. We managed to get April out for her walk before it rained and we will be running inside a couple of miles to finish out our weekend. Tonight's dinner consists of our usual weekend favorite, blackend salmon, sweet potatoes, and corn on the cob.