Sick Day

I was recently thinking how proud I was of myself for not missing time over the past few months because of illness. That went up in flames today. Friday night, Janine and I joined family to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We traditionally have corned beef and cabbage with bread and Irish Butter (it's green). Everything was great, but somewhere in the group someone carried in a stomach bug.

Sunday morning everyone who went to that party woke up with said bug, and I mean everyone. I think it's just a 24 hour thing, but I'm still feeling the effects even now. I've had 3 slices of bread with some chicken noodle soup the past 48 hours and I'm still not hungry at all. I have kept hydrated though. I always remember how much I love 7 Up, because it's the only time I get to drink it.

Here's hoping no one else gets this virus, because it's no fun..no fun at all.

Brainstorming No More!

One of my excuses for not posting the past few months is that I've been "brainstorming" ideas for the blog. This has turned into an excuse not to post anything at all, so I remembered one of the techniques I learned in grade school when it came to coming up with material for writing.

So I give you some ideas that I came up with by "Free Writing" instead of just....thinking:

• Irreverence Posts - Most of you know I have a Tumblr page that feeds the news items that I find interesting. Last year I would post my thoughts on those stories and it made for some pretty decent material. I became too lazy for such commentary, so I'm going to have a weekly recap, but I'll keep it short. Two articles short.
• Commute Podcast - For a while, I was using the Utterli service via my cell phone to post audio updates and that was starting to go over well; people actually took five minutes once a week and listened to it. I plan on doing that again, and keeping things short and sweet. No more than a five minute post.
• Random Thoughts - I miss doing this. I'm going to have my fun random thought post at the end of every month to recap things. The emphathis is on 'fun!'.
• Article - I really need to post serious content, at least once a month. I'm going to plan on one short, but well researched article based on my life experience and current events. The goal is to be relevant and maybe entertaining.

Now here are some of the ideas that did not make the cut. The best part about free writing is coming up with some seriously crazy ideas. Who knows, I may try some of these yet:

• Random Appliance Pic - I would take a picture of something in the house (not just appliances), and talk about it.Yes, it's lame.
• This Week in Tweets - I know everyone's talking about the Twitter now, but in a year, it'll go the way of MySpace. It'll be yesterday's news. The tech crowd is fickle and already hungry for something new, especially since this Twitter is hitting the mainstream.
• Ask Mikey - Really? No one is going to ask me a serious question and expect a serious answer. I'm not a professional anything and offering up my opinions to people's real questions would strictly be for entertainment. Like playing the lottery or getting your palm read.
• Video Blog While Lawn Mowing - As I mentioned before, I'll be cutting a lot of grass this year. It would be a great idea to post a video podcast of me talking about random things while doing this loud yard work. Not.

At any rate, I'm moving past the idea stage and into the acting stage. I want this to be a fun place for people to go to find something fun and thought provoking. A man can dream. Stay tuned, my co blogger has a post coming up next!

The Ides of March

I fear the incurable writer's block that I've been struggling with this year and my blog. I decided to post a week end post and go over something, anything. I think if I give myself deadlines, I'll actually start piping out content again. So what am I going to talk about this week...or better said, what am I going to talk a boot?

I was very happy to watch Martin Brodeur win his 552nd game as goalie for the New Jersey Devils. He passed Patrick Roy's mark this week. His next record is to win the most shut outs, and so on, but as anyone who reads my blogs know, I've always been crazy about my teams not only when they win, but when players achieve great things. It was good in these times to have some pride in something and to cheer.

So what about things at Chamberlayne Farms?

Janine got me a nice executive desk and Thursday night, I set it up in the guest room, and hooked up the computers. I'm hoping having this up and running and having room for my printer, and even Janine's laptop will get me posting more and broadening my reach on the net.

Tomorrow Janine and I will be visiting my parents. I'll try to get some springtime shots of the Northern Neck. I know the warm weather is going to be a welcome change and I look forward to not turning on the oil heat, but opening the windows and working in the yard.

Famous last words, right?

On Being Thirty Five

I had a very nice weekend.

Sam and Jessi came to visit and celebrate my 35th birthday with Janine and me. They got in late Friday night in time for a meal that I had prepared myself. I cooked some roasted potatoes and prepared some pan seared chicken strips. Yeah, it tasted just as good as it sounds.

We spent Saturday at the house relaxing while Janine worked, and then spent the evening together at the new Movieland theater watching The Watchmen. I personally enjoyed the movie. It's very engaging, and it confronts a lot of philosophical beliefs that we all hold by warping them in an alternate world. With that said, it was more graphic than it needed to be, and the soundtrack seemed off balance. I can never recommend this movie to anyone that is not an adult. It really pushed the bounds of it's R rating, but the overall visuals and storyline is recommended for anyone who enjoys the comic book/graphic novel genre.

We rested up Sunday morning before heading out to lunch and exploring our new neighborhood at the Virginia Center Mall area. They then left Sunday evening and Janine and I finished our weekend together at the house.

Yesterday Janine and her Mom took me to Red Lobster to celebrate my birthday. We all tried to go on Saturday, but the crowds were too big and we ended up eating at Ruby Tuesdays. I got a couple shirts, a gamer chair, and Janine is going to help me get things together for me to have a desk for the second bedroom. I can't wait to get that together! I never had a full desk/small office before.

I had such a nice birthday weekend. I took a four day weekend to relax and recharge. It was also enough time to reflect on my good fortunes and blessings, which we all need to do more, especially these days.

Coming Soon

What? Snow?

Snow2
Originally uploaded by Mike and Janine

I had to take a couple pictures or I wouldn't believe it took until March to get any snowfall this winter. It's beautiful up here!