It's That Time Again

Tonight was the first night of what I have to look forward to for the next 16 weeks.

That's right ladies and gents, the hubs had his first fantasy football draft.

Can you tell how excited I am for this annual event? C'mon, it's only the one time of year where the hubs gets to partake in fake, put together teams of real-life players, where all his time is consumed by sitting in front of the TV and computer.

Let me take you back a few years, a few fantasy football seasons ago, when we were honeymooning in Maui, Hawaii. Yes, it was our honeymoon. Brian was upset flipping out that the Internet wasn't free in the rooms. To make matters worse, his phone wasn't working properly for him to switch out his players.

Well, it was playoffs, and he just had to find a device that provided him with the world wide web. Our honeymooning adventures didn't matter one bit, his main concern was what running back he was going to play.

Lucky for him, my phone worked fine, so he didn't have to throw any childish temper tantrums about not being able to switch out players. Trust me, it would have happened. Even with the ability to use my phone and change his players, he still managed to drop a line several times on our honeymoon, "Man, I miss ESPN."

Gotta love the testosterone.

According to a Fox news article, nearly 37 million people spend an average of 50 minutes a week at work managing their fantasy teams during the National Football League regular season. In fact, it says that fantasy sports ranks just as high with shopping on eBay and online poker as the biggest waste of productivity at the workplace.

Too end this post, I wanted to display some team names I googled that made me chuckle. Enjoy! Good luck fantasy footballers!

Favre Dollar Footlong
Multiple Scoregasms
Wii Not Fit
TDs 'N Beer
Urine Trouble
Farve From Over
2 Mannings, 1 Cup
Vick's Best Friend
He Went to Jared
Bros Before SHAINCOES
My Vick in a Box
Somwhere Over Dwayne Bowe
Do Us all a Favre and Retire
Donte Drink and Drive
My Maroney has a first name its OSCAR

All About Me

Woof! Woof! My name is Jake, aka dumb dog, retard or nimrod, take your pick. I pretty much answer to anything, but don't approach my house if you don't want me to bark at you at first. I have a mean bark, but I'm really a big sissy.

I may be a re-re, but I sure am spoiled! My mom and dad love me so much that it was all about me this weekend! I got to play in the sprinklers twice, go for a car ride, and play at the dog park.

They even let me sleep in the bed because they felt bad for leaving me on Saturday night while they went out. I put on a major mopey walk and sad face when they made me go to the kennel before they left. And look what it got me? A night in the bed! That doesn't happen very often! Ha ha, suckers.

Check out all the pics I posed for this weekend. I'm such a good model. I'm definitely one of the most ideal dogs out there. Just sayin'.

 I love playing in the sprinklers. I like to think the sprinkler head is a bird. I have a mean stare.

 Then I take it in the face.

 Then I run all around like a nimrod.

Sometimes I bite the sprinkler head.

That was fun!

 On our way to the dog park! I was so excited!

 I'm the King of the world! Too bad I'm cuter than you Leo.

Look at me mom and dad! I can swim really good!

 This isn't my ball, but I'll go after it anyways.

 Friends!

 I'll admit, I like to pick on the little guys.

 Best parents ever.

Thanks Mom and Dad. I had a great doggie day!

Bittersweet

I can't believe what I am about to tell you...

For two reasons:
1. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it
2. I didn't think it would happen this quickly

I am giving up my soap opera. There, I said it.

Yep, I decided it's time to give up The Young and the Restless. I have watched this show for several years now, when my friends Beth and Smack got me hooked in college.

I was very loyal to Y&R in the beginning, when I had massive amounts of time to nap, watch TV, be a college student. You know how it is. Constantly watching episodes of Friends and Sex and the City on DVD, going out on a Tuesday night, living the life. I seemingly had a lot of time in college to fill my life with meaningless crap.  But great experiences I might add:)

Well, we had a brief separation when I first moved to Kansas City, but we reunited about a year ago. I have been extremely loyal since; DVRing the damn show every day and taking about 45 min. of my time to watch each and every episode.

It's a huge time commitment considering the many other shows it competes with in my DVR list.

Sometimes, I would have so many racked up in our DVR list, that it would take the majority of my weekend days to catch up.

So, as I pondered this pointless show and how much time I spend watching it, I decided it was definitely time to call it quits. I thought to myself, am I really supposed to watch this show for the rest of my life? It's been around since the early 70s.

My husband is especially excited. He would comment EVERY time I watched how stupid the show was and how horrible the actors were on it.

Bye bye Y&R. I might miss you, but I will enjoy my five extra hours per week. However, I will always wonder if Sharon and Nick ended up together? Did that crazy psycho Patti finally get her shit together? Did Lily survive cancer?

I will most likely think about this several times a week. Because that is how crazy I am. I will see something that reminds me of Y&R, and I will ponder what happened to these dramatic, pointless, unrealistic characters' lives.

It's sort of a problem for me. I always do this. I wish my mind didn't think this way, but I don't decide what pops into it.

For example, every time I am in a park setting now with lots of bug noises around me, I think of Larry Schnackenberg. The man who recently went missing here in KC. He was found in a park where he was hiding out for 3 weeks. I continually ponder to myself what he was thinking and doing out there for all that time. Or, when I see a car wreck, I remember the time that me and Brian and friends were driving back from Colorado in a severe ice storm, when we passed a car flipped over in oncoming traffic. I always wonder what happened to that family in the car and if they are ok today.

So here's to Y&R...may I always be bitter about not knowing the ending, but know it's a sweet trade for the extra time.

150 miles...here I come

Did I just type 150 miles, but really meant to put 15? Nope. Maybe I added the one and meant 50? Not that either. Hmmmmm...

Dang, 150 miles must be correct. Which basically means I am pure and utterly CRAZY.

Brian and I recently signed up to do the Bike MS Kansas City ride benefiting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. If you aren't sure how MS affects people, imagine this:

One day you're feeling pretty good. The next day you can't walk, see or even get out of bed. Like a bizarre nightmare, you never know when MS will strike or how long it will last.

Moving is so much of who we are, it's easy to take for granted. MS stops people from moving, therefore the National Society exists to make sure it doesn't.

On September 25 and 26, I will be riding many miles over two days (150 to be exact) to get closer to a cure. I'm hoping I don't need a stretcher to pick me up in Sedalia at the half way point!

Ever since Brian and I were married, we have made a conscious effort to give back. Not-for-profit organizations through work, United Way, church, walks/runs/rides benefiting various causes, etc. I love the feeling you get after contributing to a great cause or volunteering for a charitable event. This is why I chose agreed to do this ride with friends. Although, MS has not affected my life or anyone close to me, it is an organization dedicated to helping people fight everyday struggles with MS, and they need our help.

This is where I ask for your help!

All riders must raise a minimum of $200, but I'm hoping to raise much more than that. I already have a very late start, so I have my work cut out for me. Plus, I have this strong feeling I will need to help my husband raise his portion:).

By making a donation on my behalf, you will help the Mid America Chapter provide local programs and services to more than 25,000 of our friends and neighbors who live with the daily effects of MS.  While the MS Society works to end MS, I will be helping people with MS move ahead.

If you could donate anything at all, I would really appreciate it. Please don't feel obligated!

Click here to get to my personal page and make a secure, online donation. Or you can mail me a check made out to National MS Society. I will also be sending an email to friends and family, so I apologize if you hear this twice!

Help me in my journey to support MS!

Trip to The Burg

Yesterday, I traveled to Greensburg, Kansas, for the Grand Opening of their new school. Greensburg is located in western Kansas, 5 hours from Kansas City and about 2 hours from Wichita.

If your aren't familiar with Greensburg, this was the town that was demolished by an F5 tornado back in May 2007. Ninety-five percent of the town was leveled, leaving the citizens and community of 1,564 with nothing.

Can you imagine being left with nothing? With no where to live? What would keep you there to rebuild?

Everyone watched the devastation on TV as the little town made national news everywhere.

Together, the people of Greensburg came together and made a commitment to start fresh, build green, and come back better and stronger than ever. Furthermore, they city council passed a resolution that all city buildings must be built to LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) standards. Which basically means they must be designed and built with sustainable materials, functions, etc.

Planet Green, a Discovery Channel Network, even made the rebuilding efforts into a TV series.

Today, the town has many re-built homes, a hospital, city hall, "main street", churches, a John Deere facility, and multiple other buildings.

Three years ago, my company was selected as the contractor to rebuild the new K-12 school. After a long process of coordination with FEMA, obtaining funding, design and construction, the new school is finally revealed.

The ceremony was extremely touching. I can't tell you how heart wrenching it was to see parents and children wipe their eyes as the ceremony speeches were given, remembering that day back in May 2007. The struggles this town has overcome is truly amazing.

This school is one of a kind, the pictures simply do not do it justice. Here's to Greensburg and their recovery!

 

Many of the guys (minus the ones in suits:) who moved their lives to Greensburg to help with the build.

Home Sweet Home

I spent my first weekend at home in six weeks.

Boy, have I missed it. I forgot how nice it is to just stay home.

Besides the typical weekend laundry, errands, house chores and couch potato time, we stayed pretty busy.  I had to work until 7:00 on Friday, so the evening was short lived due to our Saturday plans.

We were up bright and early Saturday morning to go on a group BikeMS training ride (more to come on this in a later post). I agreed to do this ride not knowing we were going to do 50 miles! Yes, 50 miles! That is more than I have completed to date, and I hadn't ridden in two weeks. Surprisingly, I survived. But, my legs felt like jello afterward.

Saturday night, Brian and I went to dinner. Just the two of us. It was nice to have some quality time with the hubs. We went to Stix, an asian/hibachi restaurant at the Legends. This is very close to our house and I had never been before. Very yummy.

Sunday was for church, car maintenance and other errands, house stuff and a recovery ride to keep my muscles loose. Lots of biking this weekend!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend as well!!

Mind Boggeling

I recently received an email that sort of shocked me.

I'm not an addict of bottled/canned beverages such as energy drinks, juices, sodas, teas, etc., but I do occasionally drink them. Normally when traveling. Some would think I would drink more of them with my sweets addiction, but I'm more into candy, ice cream and desserts.

Anyways, the email was the 20 Worst Drinks in America 2010.

Here's the couple that surprised me. I included a link to the entire list, so check it out. Very interesting.

Number 18: Worst Energy Drink

Rockstar

Sugar Equivalent: 6 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts

None of the energy provided by these full-sugar drinks could ever justify the caloric load, but Rockstar’s take is especially frightening. One can provides nearly as much sugar as half a box of Nilla Wafers. In fact, it has 60 more calories than the same amount of Red Bull and 80 more than a can of Monster. If you’re going to guzzle, better choose one of the low-cal options. We like Monster; it offers all the caffeine and B vitamins with just enough sugar to cut through the funky extracts.

This one irked me a bit because it is in several alcoholic shots/bombs. Guess you should request Red Bull from now on:).

Number 17: Worst Bottled Coffee

Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino

Sugar Equivalent: 32 Nilla Wafers

With an unreasonable number of calorie landmines peppered across Starbucks’ in-store menu, you’d think the company would want to use its grocery line to restore faith in its ability to provide caffeine without testing the limits of your belt buckle. Guess not. This drink has been on our radar for years, and we still haven’t managed to find a bottled coffee with more sugar. Consider this—along with Starbucks’ miniature Espresso and Cream Doubleshot—your worst option for a morning pickup.

I used to drink this A LOT in college. I never knew it was that bad for you!

Number 16: Worst Soda

Sunkist

Sugar Equivalent: 6 Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches

Wait . . . but aren’t all sodas equally terrible? It’s true they all earn 100 percent of their calories from sugar, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still varying levels of atrocity. Despite the perception of healthfulness, fruity sodas tend to carry more sugar than their cola counterparts, and none make that more apparent than the tooth-achingly sweet Sunkist. But what seals the orange soda’s fate on our list of worsts is its reliance on the artificial colors yellow 6 and red 40—two chemicals that may be linked to behavioral and concentration problems in children.

Loved this when I was a kid.

Number 15: Worst Beer

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

Carbohydrate Equivalent: 12-pack of Michelob Ultra

Most beers carry fewer than 175 calories, but even your average extra-heady brew rarely eclipses 250. That makes Sierra’s Bigfoot the undisputed beast of the beer jungle. Granted, the alcohol itself provides most of the calories, but it’s the extra heft of carbohydrates that helps stuff nearly 2,000 calories into each six-pack. For comparison, Budweiser has 10.6 grams of carbs, Blue Moon has 13, and Guinness Draught has 10. Let’s hope the appearance of this gutinducing guzzler in your fridge is as rare as encounters with the fabled beast himself.

I don't drink this beer, but I was shocked to see that one beer has the same carb intake as 12 Mich Ultras! Maybe some of my adventurous beer drinking friends drink this?

Number 3: Worst Drive-Thru Shake

McDonald's Triple Thick Chocolate Shake

Sugar Equivalent: 13 McDonald's Baked Hot Apple Pies

There are very few milk shakes in America worthy of your hard-earned calories, but few will punish you as thoroughly as this Mickey D’s drive-thru disaster. Not only does it have more than half your day’s caloric and saturated fat allotment and more sugar than you’d find in Willy Wonka’s candy lab, but Ronald even finds a way to sneak in a full day of cholesterolspiking trans fat. The scariest part about this drink is that it’s most likely America’s most popular milk shake.

This makes me sad because they are mighty tasty. I don't get them often, but the 13 apple pies makes me sick.

See full list of 20 Worst Drinks in America 2010

Sorry for Partyin'

The lake weekend and bachelorette party was super fun and much to remember. As usual.

Like it's dynamite. Or maybe that was just part of the song that we kept playing over and over and over.

Rather than telling everyone a ton of stories that only we would understand, I decided to display the weekend in photos. I took hundreds, literally. However, I didn't take any at party cove on Saturday:(. Tear. We were pretty much in the water the entire day, so it just didn't happen.

Ready for picture overload? Mmmkay.

Lake Weekend Celebrating Wiseass

Starring...

 Rains

 Connor

 Hans

 Studer

 HK

 Lang

 Schools

 Whit

 Smack

Yours Truly

And...

Drum roll please...

Wiseass herself!

And her side kick for the weekend...

Yes, you are seeing it correctly.

With a string included that makes it go up when pulling. Hilarious.

Beer pong on the water. Simply awesome.

 Cupcakes! With little penises.

There was some ICING going on

Of course there were lap dances

More Icing...

Congrats to Mrs. Stein!!