A Post for 2012

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I’ve spent the last 10 days on vacation. A much needed one. When you’re dealing with agencies on a large-scale project that requires virtually all of your time, it’s good to take a break when they do.

So I spent my Christmas vacation sleeping, catching up on movies and generally laying about while I wasn’t eating.

And man, did I ever eat. Three amazing dinners to celebrate my birthday — one at Trezo Vino, one at J. Gilbert and one at Blanc Burger. Great meals all, but my waistline is definitely worse for the wear.

My birthday and Christmas were terrific: I got everything I really wanted (except more storage for my computer…I’ll just buy that myself), including two new rad pair of sneakers and a new leather messenger bag for work (it makes me feel totally grown up).

And now, it’s officially 2012. Resolutions suck, but it’s a great time to start anew and set new goals for the year. So here are mine:

  • I’m getting back onto Weight Watchers for real. We had some great success with it last year, but I stopped counting points and really lost my way. No more messing around. I’ve got 50 pounds to get to my goal weight. I’m aiming for getting there by the end of the year. Ideally, I’d like to be there by summer, but I want to be realistic too.
  • I’ve got two big website launches this year. I want them both to go well.
  • I want to find some sense of purpose for this site. Whether it’s WordPress or Tumblr or whatever…I want to post more and have more clarity in my posts.
  • I obviously want to improve my work/life balance…whatever that might mean.
  • I want to go on another adventure with Alli. It’s been too long since our Italian adventure. It’s time for another.
  • Drink more water.
  • I’d like to take another crack at reading 25 books this year. It’s been 5 years since I last did it. Look for an upcoming post with the books I intend to read this year.
  • Keep being awesome.

Now that they’re written down, I have to stick to them, right? Isn’t that the point of stuff like this? What do you plan to do this year?

I Love Sneakers (and Other Birthday Musings)

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My birthday this year (as well as the 34 birthdays prior) falls 2 days before Christmas. Most people, upon hearing that say, “Oh man, that’s gotta suck.”

I don’t see it that way. My family has always been amazing at keeping my birthday festivities separate from Christmas, which I truly appreciate. Plus, I get to open presents like 4 days in a row, which rocks.

This year, the celebration of my birthday was on a level that is just about unparalleled. My lovely wife Alli and I started the 22nd by using our Groupon to Trezo Vino, where we dined on amazing bruschetta and I had a terrific pasta dish – trofie with lump crab and prosciutto, bread crumbs and chili flakes. It was as delicious as it sounds.

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We saw The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (if you like the books, I’m assuming you’ll like the movie, but man, is it ever brutal.

On my actual birthday, Alli and I woke up and had breakfast at my favorite place in Olathe, Old 56 Family Restaurant. Seriously, if you haven’t been there, go if only for the hash browns. We then headed to the movies again to see one of my favorites of the year, The Muppets. After the brutal nature of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, it was fabulous for the second time. Seriously, it needs to win an Oscar for Best Song.

Had to run an errand, then after a quick nap and massage, we met my family for dinner at J. Gilbert for steak and family celebration. There, I was able to wear my new shoes from Alli and I got another pair from my folks.

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The New Balances on the left are my new kicks from Alli. Old-mannish and retro-y, yet a little dressy…you know…because they’re leather. On the right, my new Muppet-inspired Kermit Adidas from my folks. They combine both my love of sneakers and my love of the Muppets. Plus, they are green. And they have the Kermit points around the tongue. So cool.

I also got a fancy new pen/stylus for my iPad and a bowtie from The Tie Bar from my brother and his family. Also awesome.

After dinner, we headed to another one of my favorite places, Christopher Elbow’s Glacé Artisan Ice Cream.

We topped it off by heading back to the movies to see the critically acclaimed silent movie, The Artist, which was completely charming in its simplicity.

All in all, my 35th birthday was freaking awesome. Family, movies, food, delicious food and rad sneakers. Yeah. I’d say it rocked.

Merry Christmas!

Why The Muppets Should Win an Oscar

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Consider this the beginning of my official letter-writing campaign to get at least one Oscar for The Muppets, one of my favorite movies of the year.

I looked forward to Jason Segel and James Bobin’s take on my favorite Jim Henson characters for a while and when it finally reached the screen, it was everything I’d hoped for and more. It had the feel of one of the classic Muppet movies and yet, it felt updated for today’s audience.

One of my favorite parts of the movie was the terrific soundtrack that was overseen by music supervisor, Bret McKenzie, aka Rhymenocerous, aka one half of Flight of the Conchords.

McKenzie was responsible for the opening number, “Life’s a Happy Song” and the pivotal “Man or Muppet” song:

My favorite musical moment of the movie, however, comes early on in the plot, when Gary and Walter are trying to convince Kermit to get the gang back together and put on a show. Kermit sings this very sweet, heartfelt tune in the hallway of his office called “Pictures in My Head,” written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis, and Chen Neeman (produced by McKenzie).

That song represents what I think a lot of people love about the Muppets. Sure they are nostalgic and a little corny, but they are also a beloved part of pop culture and American society. Jim Henson’s creations have always been a favorite of mine and I’m so glad that their movie delighted so many people this year.

My hope is that the Academy Awards this year will acknowledge the great songwriting of McKenzie and his team and at least nominate one song for an Oscar. I’d prefer if it was “Pictures in My Head”, but honestly, the whole soundtrack is great and I’d be happy with just one song being recognized. I truly can’t think of a reason why they shouldn’t be nominated. Randy Newman’s been nominated time and time again. Why can’t The Muppets?

Clever songwriting at pivotal times during the film…what are the actual requirements for a song to be nominated for “Best Song”? Whatever they are, I am unaware of any reason why The Muppets don’t qualify or are not deserving.

I encourage you to tweet #muppetsbestsongoscar if you agree with what I’m saying. Who knows? Maybe we’ll be able to inspire some voters online.

Happiness and Sadness

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Last week was pretty big if you’re an Apple fanboy like me.

Happiness

It started off with the announcement I’ve been waiting for for several years — my hometown carrier, Sprint, will now carry the iPhone as an option. The Kansas City Star actually ran a story where my excitement about the device coming to Sprint was the lead.

To say that I’m excited is an understatement. I’ve been wanting an iPhone since the device came out, but my loyalty to my friends who work for our hometown company has outweighed that desire. Plus, since I’m a part of Sprint’s Advantage Plan, my monthly is pretty cheap. With family members also on Sprint in other cities, those free mobile-to-mobile minutes add up. Combine that with unlimited texting and data plans included (vs. a hefty increase on other carriers…I mean, SERIOUSLY, who would pay $20/month for unlimited texting?) and I haven’t been able to make the switch.

Now, I can. The iPhone 4S is scheduled to replace my crappy HTC Hero as soon as is humanly possible. I can’t wait.

Sadness

Steve Jobs - Image from Apple.com

I’m not an engineer and I rarely design things anymore and yet, Steve Jobs passing still made me really sad.

Whether you are an Apple fanboy like me or not, his impact on the world is pretty remarkable. Not only was he responsible for bring the iPhone to fruition, he:

  • revolutionized the music industry, proving that people will pay for their music if you make it easy.
  • brought joy to the lives of both kids and adults through his contributions to entertainment through his leadership at Pixar.
  • proved that small details matter when it comes to design and that people like simple things that just work.

I’m not going to go on and on about his influence in my life…frankly, I just loved his products and respected the diligence and attention to detail that he put into everything that he did. He was just a man after all. He had flaws. He wasn’t perfect. But he was an exceptional guy.

I lost my Uncle Larry to pancreatic cancer in 2006. It’s a horrible, nearly unbeatable form of the disease. It sucks. My heart goes out to his family. Instead of being sad, I’m going to try and just make something amazing. I think that’s what both Steve and my Uncle Larry would appreciate.

Learning to Play Guitar

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For as long as I can remember, my dad has been an amazing guitar player. I never took much of an interest as a kid because I was wrapped up in my own stuff – sports, school, girls, etc.

I come from a very musical family. My mom and dad were in a folk band in college called The North Door Singers (Google them). They sing at church. My brother sang at our wedding and could always carry a tune.

I’ve never had that confidence. I sang when I was a kid in church choirs and at campfires and I even tried playing the piano for like two weeks. But performing music never really stuck on me like it did with the rest of my family. That didn’t keep me from loving music. Not even a little.

My family, God bless them, has always said, “But you have a great voice! You should sing.” NO.

OK, maybe.

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For the past several weeks, Jake and I have been learning how to play guitar from my Dad. Each Wednesday, my mom cooks us dinner and we meet at their house for a few hours to learn new chords, progressions and lately, songs.

Last week we learned our first real song — an original that was written by our friends out in Wyoming (also known as the Cowboy-version of the Osmonds) for my niece. The three of us learned the song and played it for her and the rest of our family last weekend.

This week, I got to bring a song that I wanted to learn — “Poison & Wine” by The Civil Wars (which you may be familiar with if you pay attention here). And last night, I went home and I sang it to my wife. I didn’t sing it well, but I sang it.

I sent a text to my dad today that read:

I am terrified of singing. Having a guitar in front of me as a shield helps.

It’s the truth.

I still don’t think I can sing. People may pooh pooh that thought, but if you’ve ever heard anyone else in my family sing, you’d understand my trepidation. But ever since I started learning how to play guitar, I’m not as scared to actually do it as I once was. Having that shield/security blanket sure helps because if I think I sound bad, I can just play louder.

Regardless of that, Wednesday nights have been this wonderful combination of family and learning something new and it’s a lot of fun.

Special thanks to Alli who snapped the photo in this post.

Progress and Plateaus

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Like many people, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to lose weight. I’ve consistently put on weight year-over-year since we got married 11 years ago. I decided to break the cycle this year. Heck, if Jennifer Hudson can do it, so can I.

So back in January, Alli and I started Weight Watchers Online. I’ve never been very good about watching what I eat, so being forced to enter my points every day was something I had to get used to at first.

But the progress I saw initially was pretty great. I lost my first 10 pounds in 4 weeks and felt better. Alli said I almost immediately stopped snoring, which made me feel even better.

Over the year, I’ve lost an additional 25 pounds, prompting me to get a tattoo as a reward.

Since I got over the first 30 pounds I wanted to lose, I have kind of floundered. I haven’t put all the weight back on, but I haven’t been losing anymore. It’s easy to identify why…I’ve stopped tracking my points, being less diligent about watching what I eat.

That hasn’t caused me to balloon up to my original weight, but I haven’t gotten past my initial 35 pounds, which is frustrating.

My last weigh-in, though, a small miracle. I lost 2 pounds and I finally feel like I’m back on track. This has been a challenging weekend since it’s Alli’s birthday today, but my hope is that I can make up any ground I might lose this weekend during the week.

We’ll see. My weight has been a battle for much of my life. I love food and I particularly love nights like Saturday night that are spent around a dinner table with people that you love, talking, eating and enjoying each other’s company. Honestly, if I gain any weight this week because of that, I won’t be mad.

Still, I’m hoping for more progress and less plateaus.

Currently Listening: Sarah Jarosz

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Sarah Jarosz

I love finding new music. I do. (I promise this isn’t turning into a music blog.) I love particularly when recommendation engines work. The other day, I was browsing the Amazon MP3 music and they suggested an album to me by Sarah Jarosz. It’s reasoning? Because I previously purchased music by: The Civil Wars, The Belle Brigade and The Head and the Heart (thanks for that one, Tyson). Since these are probably my three favorite discoveries of the year, I purchased the album sight unseen.

What a great recommendation! Since I’m in this Americana/Bluegrass/Folk mode right now, this album is right up my alley. Loving this song, Come Around, particularly, but the whole album is pretty great. Jarosz is a less-sleepy version of Norah Jones. Check her out if any of this sounds good to you:

Pictures of the Civil Wars

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I want to take pictures as beautiful as Allister Ann, the photographer who has accompanied my new favorite band, The Civil Wars, on their tour this summer.

When they came to KC’s Crosstown Station, I tried to get some of my own, which were fine, but when I compare them to the ones that have been posted to The Civil Wars’ Tour Diary…they’re just not quite as engaging.

John Paul White of the Civil Wars strumming his guitar

The top photo is Allister Ann’s from the Newport Music festival, the second one is a shot of John Paul playing his guitar that I took. Clicking that one takes you through to the whole set of shots I took.

You can decide which you like better.