icky, achy & grumpy

I've not been real pleasant to be around these last few days. Yesterday I woke up not feeling so well. My head throbbed and I just felt weird and achy all over. I spent about a half an hour at work and gave up and came home. I was having a lot of trouble concentrating on even simple things like typing emails. I ended up spending the rest of the day on the couch either sleeping or semi-watching television. Today, I'm feeling a little better. The headache is gone but my upper back is really sore and uncomfortable when I move too much...this adds to my ability to be a real bear to be around. I know that I've been short with Greg, and he doesn't deserve it. He even made brownies last night. What a guy. I don't know if this mood and aches are from the complete crap I've been eating lately....but to try to counter act it, I picked up some grapes and carrots at the store this morning. I've been snacking on them all day. Who knows... Well I work late tonight, yippee. I hope that I can muster up a better mood before I get home. Greg deserves to have some happy Mike around the house.

burger daze and I really like her, damn it.

Has there been a better Saturday, weather-wise, this summer? I'd say that there hasn't. We had a great day. I started the day by sleeping in...wonderful. I still woke up a bit cranky somehow, but I worked through it and was quite pleasant to be around for the rest of the day. Yea me! We did a spot of shopping in the early afternoon and then headed home so Greg could take a short power nap before we headed to the Hamburger Festival. We got to the festival around 2:30 in the afternoon. There were quite a few people there, but it wasn't so busy that the lines were too long. We bought our food and drink tickets and scoped out the burger booths. Our first stop was Fat Burger. Their small sized sample-burgers were simple, but delicious. We picked up some fresh cut fair-fries and diet cokes then headed over to the Street Trolly Diner's booth. There we spilt a BBQ burger and a Chili Burger. They were ok, but couldn't compare to the Fat Burger. After feasting, we caught the Bobbing for Burgers Contest on the main stage. All I can say is it looked really messy, and I'm sure that their shirts are now stained beyond repair. There's not a Tide Stain Remover Pen big enough for that mess.
We headed home for a short bit and then Greg surprised me with some date night plans. He found out that there was a sneak preview of the movie No Reservations playing up in Macedonia. We usually go to the weekend matinees, so it was extra fun to go to an evening movie and come out of the theater to the night sky. The movie was really great, probably the perfect romantic comedy. For some reason I don't really care for Catherine Zeta-Jones, I think it's the Michael Douglas effect, but as usual she won me over in this movie. It was just really really good. I highly recommend it. We ran into Megan's sister Paula and my old Blockbuster manager Pam and her husband at the theater. Now here's what I didn't care for about this movie experience. So, in life, I typically get what I want. Poor Greg, yeah I know... He's a real trooper. Well, when we go to movies I usually insist that I get the aisle seat (you know...stranger, danger and I usually have to get up and visit the little Mike's room.) Anywho, tonight Greg insisted that he get the aisle seat. So I gave in and let him have it. Now as the theater was filling up, I was fearing that someone would have to sit right next to me, and I wouldn't have my empty "safety seat" to my right. Picture this, there were 4 seats between me and the next couple in our row. Perfect, I thought. Another couple would come up and sit in the middle of the 4 seats leaving me with my "safety seat." So that couple comes up the stairs, they look nice enough, they move towards our row and ask if those seats are available. I reply yes, then jokingly remark, "but you'll have to share your popcorn with me." They laugh and then head down the row and sit right next to the other couple leaving two remaining seats between us. Did I scare them away with my popcorn remark? That's what I get for trying to be extra friendly...lesson learned. Oh no, now a second couple could sit in our row, right next to me, and I would have no safety seat. Curses! And wouldn't you know, that's exactly what happened. A Ken and Barbie type plopped right down beside me and chatted and got all lovey-dovey during the movie. Ick. At least it was a great movie. And a really great day spent with the best guy in the world.

weekend plans

We'll be in downtown Akron for the 2nd Annual National Hamburger Festival on Saturday afternoon. There's going to be a bobbing for burgers contest. Sounds tasty... I'll be sure to get some photos of that.

emmy love

One of our most favorite shows is CBS's How I Met Your Mother. Neil Patrick Harris (formerly Doogie) is my favorite part of the show. He steals nearly every scene he's in. Yesterday he was nominated for an Emmy for supporting actor in a comedy. Well deserved. In other Emmy news, Friday Night Lights, in my opinion the best show on television, didn't get much Emmy love. That's a shame, some Emmy publicity may have raised it's profile among non-viewers. As it stands, I have some troubling feelings that it might not make it through it's entire second season next year.

breaking news...

Greg is receiving a new job offer today. I'm hoping that it's in the six figures so that I can quit my job and become the house husband that I was meant to be... Oh and I want to be able to go to the mall and take out $200 from an ATM whenever I want... Ah, dreams.

not my strongest subject in school

home sweet home

Rittman
Originally uploaded by myboxcamera

I came across this picture in flickr tonight. Rittman is where I spent my entire childhood. This photo pretty much sums it all up. Ah, memories.

the butterfly in my garden this evening

this and that

Greg's been moved to Seville for work again. This time permanently. That drive make me worry a bit more. I liked it better when he just had a ten minute drive to work with no interstate traveling.
I made one of my favorite one-dish-meals on Monday. It's an easy minestrone soup that you use frozen meatballs in. (I know...frozen meatballs? It makes for easy prep and gets dinner on the table a lot quicker.) I cooked it in my new dutch oven (pictured above). I've been wanting a dutch oven for some time. I found this one at Target. It was rated pretty well on some web site that Greg had looked up months ago. I'd been searching for it for some time at many of the Targets in the area. And as soon as I stopped my obsessive search for it, then it pops up. Sitting all pretty on the shelf at our area Target. I'm really looking forward to making Greg's Mom's chili recipe in it this fall. Scrumptious...
On a non-food related subject...I really need to make an effort and get back into the habit of going to the gym. I'm paying for it every month (well actually my CFO, Greg is paying for it.) I always feel so good about myself after I work out, I just need to recommit myself to it. Any suggestions on how to do that?
I have the entire weekend off work. I think I may try to talk Greg into making another trip down to Columbus to see our buddy Jason, and to most likely stop at Sonic. (And now we're back on food topics.) That's right kids, there is now a Sonic within two hours of our home. It's probably best for our waist lines that it's not any closer. Stops at Sonics in the south are always highlights of our vacation travels. I loves my cherry lime-aid slushy drinks.
Business must be slow at the dealership where I purchased my CR-V five years ago. They called and left a message that my car is due for it's 80,000 mile tune up. They've never called before. Was my 50,000 mile tune up not as important to them? They only call when they need something...
Read a funny line in the Akron Beacon Journal today. Bob Dyer, one of the columnists, wrote that the new Akron Art Museum, "has had more openings than the U.S. - Mexico border." It's true. It finally opened to the public yesterday following 4 private opening events for other groups of folks. I attended two of them. The Museum is magnificent. I will write more about that later.

akron area fountains - part 4

This is a relatively new fountain to Akron. Though I believe that it is a replica of a fountain that used to be at this site in the "olden days." It's located in a small but beautifully landscaped park on W. Market Street not too far from Downtown Akron. In fact, it's right across the street from this fountain that I featured earlier in the series. I always know that summer has officially arrived when the water starts a churnin' in this fountain.

more guilty pleasures

Here's a couple of our latest guilty pleasures around the Sterling-Derr homestead:

• BBC's Little Britain - We've finished the first season on DVD, and are now working through the second. It's a great sketch show with some very fun characters. Some of my favs include Marjorie Dawes, Vicky Pollard, and of course, Lou and Andy. Yeah, I know...
• VH1's World Series of Pop Culture - A great pop culture quiz show that comes just once a year.
• Fergie's Big Girls Don't Cry - I hate myself for this one, but it's damn catchy.
  

last day of vacation

It's been a long week and a half of vacation. (Well almost a week and a half, I did have to go in to work for one evening event.) What have I accomplished? Nearly nothing. And that's exactly how I wanted it. I had a lot of "Mike time." I feel recharged and relaxed. Just what I needed. And here's the really great news. My first week back, I will be working at least 55 hours. How cool is that? Other highlights of the upcoming week include two preview tours of the new Akron Art Museum. I was invited to the Friends and Colleagues Tour on Thursday and Greg and I are invited to the Members Only Preview Tour over the weekend. At work we have the Storytelling Festival this week, which is always a lot of fun, and free. You should stop by. My one day off this coming week is Thursday and I work through the entire weekend. Once again, it's a very good thing that I'm recharged and relaxed. Oh, and I'm already really looking forward to my next vacation with Greg and friends to the Outer Banks at the end of September.

akron area fountains - part 3

My next fountain in the series can be found in downtown Akron. It's located in Cascade Plaza behind the First Merit Tower and in front of the Radisson Hotel. There are lots of tables in the plaza for folks to enjoy their lunches. During the summer there are lunch time concerts and farmers markets here as well.

family time

You all know what the tag line for the Olive Garden is? "When you're here, you're family." That's exactly how it felt today. Greg's mom made me feel very welcome. In fact, after we were seated and the waitress introduced herself, Greg's mom introduced us all as family. She brought up two of Greg's neices and a nephew with her. They were very cute. It was really nice to see, for the first time, Greg interacting with his family like that. I hope that this was a first of many meetings. We had such a nice time. I even got a hug from her as we left. That very simple gesture meant the world to me.

it's here

Today I meet Greg's mom, for the very first time, for lunch at the Garden of Olives in Columbus.

it starts tonight

My annual summer obsession is back, tonight! The premier of Big Brother 8. Just a hunch, but I think these two just might be the gays in the house...

one X less

So, I've been down about 40 pounds from my heaviest for well over a year now. (I need to get energized and drop some more lbs.) That means that I've been wearing a smaller size. I was holding onto my bigger clothes "just in case." Well today, about 80 of those items are coming out of the closet (my closet was bursting at its seems) and heading to the Haven of Rest Ministries. They will be getting quite a few of my Eddie Bauer discards. I hope that they appreciate them as much as I did. That's a picture of my more slimmed down closet. The top rack was over stuffed with sweaters. They are now neatly packed in a couple of bins for the summer. And oh yes, I'm a wooden hanger kind of guy. No plastic or wire hangers in this house. So now, for the rest of my vacation this week, I suppose I should spend some time at the gym. I don't have those extra x's to fall back on now.

herbalicious and other green stuff

Here are some updated photos from my garden. My basil is doing very well (thanks again Patty for the basil plant). My mint, rosemary and variates of parsley are growing well also. I've posted a couple of other pictures. One of my beautiful day lillies (also a gift from Patty several years ago). The last is a photo of a bouquet of snapdragons that I cut from my garden this week. I sent a vase of them over to Michele today too. Thanks for spending the morning with us.

breaking news!!!!!!!!

Greg's mother has agreed to finally meet me next Saturday in Columbus. This is a big step. After six and half years of being with Greg, I get to meet the woman who brought him into this world and helped make him the wonderful man he is today. I'm both excited and very nervous. I know what a huge step this is for her, and I'm so very happy that she is making it. Anyone with tips on meeting the in-laws; feel free to post them to the comments section below.

akron area fountains - part 2

Here's my second in the series of Akron area fountains. Can you guess where this one is located? It's in front of the McDonalds on West Market Street near downtown. I like how the water jets recreate the shape of the golden arches. Anybody for a twenty piece box of chicken mcnuggets?