Hello everyone out in radio land! Welcome back to the coolest blog in my subdivision. I've been busy-busy gathering up some cool pictures and stories to share over the last few weeks. There's been a lot going on and I finally have some time and motivation to sit down and finish this post. (Thank goodness for long Thanksgiving weekends!) We got the Christmas decorations out on Friday and are pleased to announe that the new house has been Christmas-tised for for the first time. Erin found Sam's Christmas collar, and in spite of my protests, made him wear it. For his dignity, I insisted that it be removed after the photo was taken. Good sport.
I had to change up my outdoor decorations this year; all of our white lights are in the bushes and in the garland. That garland used to be hung in our old livingroom, but I'm NOT putting all of those holes in the walls again, so I decided to hang it all outside this year.
Erin's Christmas village has really grown, it's got a fancy new home near the kitchen counter. I rigged up a hidden switch that turns it all on and off like that! *click*
We had an interesting Thanksgiving this year! It was the first time that we either weren't in IL with family or had family visiting, so we decided to host a dinner at church for others who also may need some company. There were about 10 people there and we cooked a 20lb turkey, plus everyone brought the other traditional components of a good Thanksgiving meal. Needless to say, we had a good time and had more than enough to eat.
I've had the opportunity to get out on the motorcycle this fall and grab some good shots with my new camera. I like the following so much, I'm thinking about making it part of a custom banner for my blog. This is Falls Park around November 1st.
A couple weeks ago, I took the fizzer up to Caesar's Head and rode up the mountain for the first time. It was a great learning experience for me, and I also had the opportunity to snap some beautiful pics along the way.
At the top, I pulled into the park and took some time to enjoy the views of Table Rock and the foothills.
It was a beautiful day, sunny about 65 degrees.
This would be a great view to wake up to every morning!
The sky was very hazy (it was nearing sunset, too) but you can see why I like to come up here so much!
I haven't been on the motorcycle as much this past week because I've been playing on my new Wii! My parents bought us a Wii as an early Christmas gift and I'm so glad they did. It's so much fun. It might not be cutting edge visually, but the ability to get so involved in the gameplay is beyond fun for a couple of video game newbs like us. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!
Here's Erin, configuring her Mii. It's funny to see our characters on screen look so accurate.
I saw this outside the mall one day; It made me want to snap a picture and submit it to thereifixedit.com...
Last month, Erin and I and a couple friends from church attended a special presentation on piano history at the local Steinway dealer in Spartanburg. It was neat for me, because I wanted to learn more about the topic. Erin probably learned more about this stuff in college than I did, being I was a computer-major nerd and not a music-major geek.
There were at least 15 antique pianos on display, some of which were 200 years old. This was my favorite:
We were treated to a ragtime concert after the presentation. I never would have considered ragtime to be my favorite genre, but after hearing it live for the first time in my life, I have to say I really enjoyed it.
I did some major upgrades for my home computers recently. I maxed out the processor in my Dell Dimension 9150 (Pentium D, 960) I then took my Pentium D 830 and installed in my HTPC. Since the newer chip was hotter that the old celeron that powered our HTPC, I swapped out the heatsinks. Here, you can see the stock intel cooler, compared to the new Scypthe Scepter, which is not only much better, but quieter too.
To help with the airflow in the cabinet, I sealed off the HTPC compartments and installed a couple USB powered fans to draw cool air through the cabinet. So far, it has worked like a charm!!
While doing some shoe shopping in the mall, I spotted these winners. I don't care how much better they may make my workout, I'd rather kill myself.
A friend of mine from work, who is also a Peoria native, ordered some Kitchen Cooked potato chips online and thoughtfully gave me a bag. It was a nice taste of home. Thanks!
Erin and i tried a new pizza place a couple weeks ago. This is a newer place in Simpsonville: Tony's. Not to be confused with Anthony's, which I reviewed last year and was not impressed with.
Their menu system was original...it was scrawled on the wall!
I ordered some cheese sticks and you can imagine my surprise when they brought out something that resembles a friggin' pizza! I should have just ordered these instead of a pizza. They were excellent, though.
The pizza was very good, I have to say. I liked everything about it! It's not as tasty as Bellacino's, but it comes in a close 2nd! We definitely will come back in the future.
After dinner, we stopped over at the Downtown Coffe shop in Mauldin and enjoyed some live folk music.
Last week, I tried a new Chinese restaurant in Mauldin, called.... China. Wow, original name! The interior looked like...spoiler alert.....like every other Chinese restaurant you've EVER BEEN TO IN YOUR LIFE.
Chinese restaurants get a dual tiered review: crab rangoons and General Tso's chicken. Let's try the rangoons first. They were really good!
The General Tso's chicken was pretty good, but not good enough to have again. A good G.T.C. plate has crispy chicken, some spice, and a sweet, sticky glaze. This, like Lin Garden, was kind of cold, soggy, and definitely not spicy. And what's with the giant onions? It was the first time I'd seen it served that way, so I never thought to ask for the omission of the onions! My search for the perfect Chinese place continues!
Just to give you an idea of what else is going on in my life: The first 2010 Alliance Drum & Bugle Corps practice is next weekend! We hope to see a full corps there, and we'll get more information about the 2010 show, uniforms, and more. I have my audition materials ready and I'm plumped. Not only am I excited, but I've gained a little weight since DCA finals, hence the plumped part. With any luck, I won't be the oldest member of the hornline. When most of the instructional stuff is younger than me, that might be a challenge. The real challenge is keeping my body in corps shape... I'll do better this year, I promise. Just no more chocolate truffles, Erin, organic or not!!
My quartet is still singing, and we've been hard at work for contest, which is coming up in Greenville in March. I'm singing the lead part now, which I do enjoy more than Tenor. Erin and I are coming back to Illinois a couple days after Christmas, so look out for us. We'll have some time to sit down with friends and family and share some more of our adventures. Hope you enjoyed my pictures, here's wishing you a terrific Holiday...er... CHRISTMAS season!!!
