Put This One In the Books

We're ending the year on a cold windy night. Overall, one of our warmest December's so that's ok. This see what January will bring to the great midwest.

Key West is totally packed for NYE. Nothing like Duval Street for a big event.

Krissy and I are officially staying in tonight. We bought steaks and shrimp for tonight. We'll hit dinner this weekend and just  try and get completely healthy. Hopefully we can find a Bogart movie on television.

What an up and down year. It seems like only yesterday that we went camping and really had to fight the mosquitoes.

It was an absolute pleasure writing the first year of my blog. It all started January 1st of last year. Readers from 28 different countries and I thank each and everyone of you. My only two problems were being sick earlier in the week and a bad signal one day while we were camping.

Stay safe and have fun tonight!

Later

Stock Predictions Were Good

On this balmy 13 degree day I thought I would recap my January 1st stock picks. Seven out of my 11 picks were good including the Dow hitting 18,000. Four of my winners really exceeded my expectations by quite a bit including X, MU, AA and JBLU. They were large picks to start with so I'm very proud of them.

My 4 misses weren't horrific and  I just missed with C which hit 56.95 after I predicted 58.00. I'll make next year's picks on the first for 2015.

A chilly day but at least I'm feeling better. It's supposed to go back to upper 30's later this week. I'm still very pleased that I'm not doing any snow removal yet!

The football playoffs start but for some of us it's more interesting following the coaching rumor mill. If the Bears don't hire good replacements it could be another decade of insignificance,

Looks like NYE dinner at Bosley's if our health is up to the daunting task. Krissy has been in bed all day trying to get better. If I was a betting man, I'd say we make it tomorrow!

Later

Recovery Road

Wow, I have to get out of my sick bed and at least write something. My guest blogger was just too good!

They say the temperature is dropping but I wouldn't know. I haven't been outside since friday night. I'm starting to feel better though although I'm sore everywhere.

I didn't even get to enjoy football yesterday as I was laying on the bathroom floor for most of it. This strain of flu is something else. I haven't been this sick in 25 years.

The Bears at least made some progress by firing both the head coach and the general manager. Sometimes you need to know when to throw in the towel and just start over. Today was the beginning of that process for the Chicago Bears.

I did see an interesting Joan Crawford movie today called Flamingo Road. She actually comes off as quite likeable in the movie.

Off to bed again and to ply myself with some more liquids. Tomorrow has to be better. I hope!

Later

Flu strikes

Sadly our favorite blogger has come down with the dreaded flu. Consequently, & despite his best efforts, he is unable to do today’s blog. Lucky for him (but probably not for you-sorry) he has a super awesome girlfriend who will do her best to fill this space.  

So here it goes I will start with the required sports observations. The Bears lose (sigh) again.  This is it for the Bears coaching staff, their time is up etc. etc… This is their worst record in 10 years and so on and so on…

Now on a positive note (for me not Jake), the Packers won again GO PACK!

Jake usually shares an interesting tidbit from a TV show he watched but being I spent my day watching a marathon of The Housewives of Atlanta…I have nothing worthwhile to share. Sorry.

I spent some time with my mom, my aunt, my cousin and her family in Woodstock, IL this weekend. We had a great time, my family makes me laugh.

The town of Woodstock is where they filmed the movie Groundhog Day. They have a super cute town square which has numerous plaques scattered throughout referencing Groundhog Day. The Bed & Breakfast used in the 1993 movie is for sale. It’s a beautiful old Victorian built in 1895 and has 8 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms so if you are interested and have a cool million this might be for you!

I just got back from the drugstore where I bought every possible type of cold and flu medicine. I even bought Pepto-Bismol which my sister and I, when we were little, called the pink medicine (we weren't terribly creative) and we hated it! Todd has no history with the pink medicine but it was still a struggle convincing him to take it.

While I was at the drugstore, I called my mom for her advice in treating an upset stomach. She suggested the old standby of white soda but also suggested baking soda or maybe it was baking powder? Now I am forgetting which one, I wonder if it matters. When I bake, I seldom have all the ingredients I need so I am often forced to improvise. As a result, my coworkers are never very excited when I bring cookies to work.  I don't really blame them.

 While I was out, I noticed that the temperature has dropped. It’s back to the low teens and single digits. Looks like a cold New Year’s Eve and I hate that! It hampers my attempts to dress cute. I often fantasize about living in a place where you don't have to put on numerous layers before leaving the house. To get away from those 6 months of the year when your eyes water from the wind and your lips, cheeks and hands are constantly chapped. I am thinking Key West would be a fabulous option.

Thanks for putting up with me and my ramblings;) Hopefully Jake will be up and about tomorrow, feeling better and back to his blog.  

Have a wonderful Sunday night!

K

The Cluster Headache

It's been a lost day. I've had a cluster headache all day and it won't go away. The temps remain in the high 30's and I'm stuck inside.

Krissy made it back from Illinois. Now's she stuck with me tonight for entertainment.

I did manage a couple of old favorite movies on cable including Vacation and Ocean's 12. Plus I had chinese food twice more today.

Krissy is looking at lawn improvement stuff already. It's going to be fun topping last year's yard. More lights, a fountain and who knows what.

The last regular week of football is tomorrow. Finally time to put the Bears out of their misery. I'll still watch it until the bloody end.

Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow. We have a Groupon for brunch at the Upper 90. Going back to bed now. Have a better weekend than me!

Later

Dad Made The Train

The day after Christmas and my dad and Dee made the train and are off on their annual Arizona pilgrimage.

I'm still recovering from my recent illness and have a constant headache now. Krissy is off visiting relatives in Illinois until tomorrow so it's just me and leftover Chinese food.

I'm thinking of taking an early evening nap and then waking up to see if I feel a bit better. I had a long night of writing planned on my book. Hopefully, I'll wake up around midnight and pull an all-nighter as I need to start making more progress. I'm over halfway done but the end isn't in sight yet.

Have a safe friday night!

Later

My Dad

Two Margaritas And A Brandy Chaser

The title reflects how I made it thru Christmas Eve. Once I made it home I went straight to bed but feel a ton better today.

We had eggs benedict this morning which they do every year at Krissy's mom's house. Not a bad way to start a day.

Coco is over now and opened his presents. He seems quite happy with the classic edition of Stratego. It's an awesome game that has been around since 1908!

We're drinking coffee and Kahlua right now and Krissy and Coco are putting together a robot.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Later

Lime Squeezers

Eggs Benedict

Stratego

Margarita Time

Robot Eyes

Cookies and Booze

Christmas Eve Time

Another warm December day hitting 39 degrees on the thermometer. It doesn't look like a white christmas this year and I'm just fine with that.

The Bulls grinded out a tough win last night against Washington. The Wizards embarrassed them last year in the playoffs.

Krissy got a nice start on the holiday and texted me the following pics. I'm so tired but heading up to Mequon now. Maybe this caramel macchiato will wake me up!

Later

Krissy

Jen

Nana

DOW 18,000

My prediction from the first day of this blog came true. I took some grief over it and it certainly looked like a longshot in the spring but I'll take it. I'll go over all my 2014 predictions next week and give some more for 2015.

It's 45 degrees here and I'm still sick. I've been up since 2am. A big thanks to Krissy for taking care of me and she's making me some honey with tea and brandy. I'm going to sleep tonight one way or another!

The GDP numbers for the third quarter were the best we've had since 2003. Things are starting to look extremely solid.

The Bulls are playing Washington tonight but I'm sure I won't be able to stay awake long enough to watch it.

Enjoy your good health!

Later

Joe Cocker RIP

It's been a rainy day but still better than snow. I'm a bit under the weather but fighting it hard. The only thing I haven't tried is my grandma Kiner's remedy right before bedtime. A shot of whiskey!

The night's still young but I best finish my blog before I get to the remedy.

I heard our good friend Justin was in a car accident but luckily wasn't hurt. Such a good guy and a heck of a mover as well!

I caught part of the Kentucky-UCLA basketball game the other day. Kentucky looks like an absolute world beater.

Legendary bluesman Joe Cocker passed away today. He played at Woodstock and made a name for himself. How he isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is an absolute shame. Thanks for the memories and great music Joe. Your resume speaks for itself!

Later

Christmas Pugs

Another nice December day. We drove to Illinois for a family gathering. Another great food day courtesy of Cindy and Joe!

We passed the new Amazon facility near Kenosha. It's empty on the inside but they sure built it fast. I'm not sure when it will be up and running but it's a massive facility. 

Gas prices are at five year lows around us. I didn't think we would see prices so low again.

The Bears lost again. Willie Young their best defensive player looks like he's out with a serious injury. That's the kind of season it's been.

Kristin is making reservations for New Year's Eve. I believe she has two sets and will cancel one of them. The NYE music schedule has been hard to find so we still have some final work to do. Frankly, I'm not much of a NYE person. Too much amateur hour for my liking.

Check out the photo of Pete and Frank. It's a dog eat dog world out there!

Later

Merry Christmas Amigo's

Liquor Sales Trending Up

I'm basing the blog title to personal experiences within the last 24 hours. We went to the legendary Wolski's Tavern last night. A steady crowd in and out all night. Then to the liquor store today for gifts. We went two weeks ago also to the same store and it was a zoo. That  was nothing compared to today. Parking was near impossible. People loading up with boxes of booze for friends and family!

We were at Target before that. On a square footage basis not nearly as crowded as the liquor store..

We had lunch at Oscar's on Pierce Street. The joint has only been around since 2011 but it has a great reputation for burgers.

I'm all tired now and getting ready to pick up Coco.

Later

Oscar's Burger

Jim Working On The Ford

Coco Singing

Simone

Bud Selig's Sweet Deal

Bud Selig goes into retirement next month and the baseball rumor mill has him making 6 million bucks a year as a pseudo pension. What a sweet deal for him. Nobody is in an uproar about this but if he would have been a state worker making a tiny fraction of that people would be bad mouthing him for sure.

Last year at this time we had quite a bit of snow. Nothing in site so far as the early season snow has melted.

There's a protest going on tonight in Milwaukee over the Red Arrow Park shooting last spring. Traffic was bottled up for a while but it looks like it's clearing up.

Krissy and I stopped at the grocery store in the early evening. We used a self service scanner. It malfunctioned so many times that a worker had to help us numerous times. The full service lane would have been so much faster!

I keep seeing two big misconceptions about Cuba in the news. One, that it's an impoverished Caribbean nation. If anyone has travelled thru the Caribbean almost all of those nations are poor. Cuba has it better than Jamaica in my opinion with a pretty decent health care system as opposed to the Jamaican medicine man that I met in Negril.

Secondly, it is assumed that everyone hates Castro. Actually he seems liked by quite a few and at least respected. Unlike most politicians who send soldiers out to die from behind a cozy desk, Castro climbed thru the jungles and fought Batista on the frontlines in hand to hand combat. I don't agree with him but he did walk the walk. Could you even imagine Dick Cheney ever doing that?

Tis The Season

Another late night full of running around. Coco had his Christmas program at 5:30pm then we did a bit of shopping. Nothing is routine anymore until we get to January.

We brought home Burger King for dinner. My boycott is officially over. I will miss the King commercials but life goes on. This new one by our house stays open until 3am and they even deliver.

The Badgers hired another new football coach. It seems no one wants to stay very long which is odd as they have been very successful since Alvarez became the Athletic Director.

The reviews for the Fleetwood Mac tour are overwhelmingly good. They come to Milwaukee February 12th and I'm still working on tickets!

Later

Looking For A Job In Cuba

Geez, the television blowhards are really at it tonight. The disaster of a cuban embargo policy isn't going anywhere soon. We've been doing that since 1961 and it hasn't worked. It's truly the American definition of insanity.

The new deal appears to allow one another to have an Embassy. It's merely a precursor until the Castro's die. Senator Marco Rubio says it will just further strengthen the Castro's. Nobody lives forever Marco. Maybe you should have kept your ass in Cuba and your mouth too while you're at it. You certainly show no concern for the Cuban people after you made it across the Florida Straits with your family!

Jabari Parker of the Milwaukee Bucks suffered a season ending knee injury. The Bucks can't catch a break and I still don't think a deal gets done to keep them in town. You might like Seattle better when your knee heals up.

Norman Bridwell passed away this week. He was the legendary author of Clifford the Big Red Dog. Coco loved the books and the television show.

The season finale of Survivor is tonight. I've thought about trying out for that show quite often. I'm such a fan. Naw, I probably have a better chance at getting a new job in Havana!

Later

The Beatles In Milwaukee

There was an interesting documentary on the Beatles concert in Milwaukee just over 50 years ago. They played at the Mecca arena which is where the UWM Panthers now play basketball. The highest concert ticket was priced at 4 bucks and was attended by mostly young girls. The hotel they stayed at is now a Marquette dorm. The people that were interviewed still remember it as one of the greatest days of their lives!

The weather is still hitting the high 30's but the wind whipping off the lake is making it chilly.

It looks like Jeb Bush is close to announcing that he's indeed running for President. I still like his father so much.

Sons of Anarchy is auctioning off everything from their set. Motorcycles, vests and even the Airstream that Unser lived in. The beginning bids aren't outrageous but I'm sure the bikes will get bid up pretty good.

Oil is at 55 bucks a barrel. I never thought we would hit that again. The oil company stocks are way down which is dragging down some of the indexes. Between falling oil, sanctions and the falling ruble, the wealthy are taking it in the shorts in Russia. It's keeping Putin fairly quiet also!

Later

Foggy Cold And Tired

 Oh man, what a day! I didn't get home until after 9pm. Krissy made me a nice dinner at least. We were supposed to go shopping tonight but that never materialized.

It was a foggy day throughout. Not Grand Canyon foggy but still nice.

I've been so busy I don't even know of anything important happening. Looks like my lousy day isn't getting any better. The Bears are getting their butts handed to them again.

Oh well. Nowhere to go but up tomorrow!

Later

Fog Over The Lake

Brown Bottle Pub

What a great night last night. Krissy and I went to dinner with John and Angela at the recently re-opened Brown Bottle Pub. From 1938 till 2004 it was a legendary bar and restaurant at the old Schlitz Brewery. The walls are aligned with famous old movie stars who ate or drank there back in the day. I especially liked the ones of Lucy and Desi Arnaz!

It reopened last month and it pretty much remains intact. I used to go there when I first moved to town and still have a shirt that I bought there. A big kudos to Tony Keller for a great evening. He also happens to be an old softball buddy of John's. We'll definitely be back and make it a standard hangout for years to come!

After that we headed over to Bar Louie's to watch 5 Card Stud play. They put on a great show once again!

We drove thru downtown this evening and Red Arrow Park was packed with ice skaters.

I saw an incredible site on the news this morning. The Grand Canyon was full of fog. It looked trapped like it couldn't get out. I love the fog. We seldom get very much thick fog but when it does I'll go out walking in it for hours.

Later

John, Myself and Tony 

Beer Barrel Hand Rail

Two Buck Tappers

Paul Revere Is Back

After dinner at the Hotel Metro last night we didn't make it very long. Both of us were tired from a long week. We did manage an after dinner drink at the Mason Street Grill followed by a walk thru Cathedral Square to see the Christmas lights. Also a final beer at the Standard Tavern.

A fairly lazy day but we did manage to get out of the house to do some grocery shopping. I'm going for a run in a few minutes. It's been hanging around 40 degrees today but it is quite damp.

They found a Paul Revere time capsule in the Boston area this week. Apparently, workers were doing some damage repairs and decided to remove it from the cornerstone of a building.

 It wasn't a secret or anything like that but the contents aren't entirely known. It looks like they plan to open it next week. Who knows, maybe it will contain some shocking secret!

Later

Cathedral Square

The Standard

The Cracker Box

St. Marcus improved to 2-0 this season and remains undefeated since they were in 4th grade. They played in an ancient gym the size of a cracker box. The stage was the only place to sit and for some reason it had an old fashioned well pump at the back. Players chairs on the sidelines were on the court which was already too narrow to begin with. Winning makes everything better though it seems.

Congrats to Congress for passing a budget and screwing the people once again. The only people that win is Wall Street and they get deregulated further once again. The taxpayers now are backing some of their investments if they lose money. Thank you Paul Ryan for the free market enterprise talk which was apparently coming out of your ass!

We watched Sons of Anarchy finale last night and the end did it justice. Thanks for a great 7 years!

Hotel Metro for dinner in a few minutes. You have to love those groupons!

Later

Simone's Blue Tongue

Coco Far Right

Who Likes Uber?

I see where Key West has Uber now and the cab companies are complaining. The cabs are almost not needed on the island as it's easy to walk everywhere. Especially when you want to see something on every block.

Krissy and I used it in Milwaukee for the first time about a month ago and it was cheaper and faster than a cab. On New Year's Eve it's virtually impossible to get a cab at all. It's at least an hour wait.

Dinner was old school tonight. I wanted a hearty meal but made due with toasted cheese and a salad. Krissy bought a Hotel Metro groupon today and we might use that this weekend.

I saw gas prices as low as 2.54 yesterday. Oil prices have dropped to 61 bucks a barrel. I'm not sure if it will go much lower but at least hang around for a while please.

St. Marcus has another game tomorrow night. They are 1-0 this year and 12-0 last year. They've never been beaten but are playing a team tomorrow that they've never played before. I can't wait. Bring it on!

Later

XMAS Comes Early

Jon Lester signs with the Cubs, gas is down and the river isn't frozen! What a great day for Chicago Cub Fans and we're going to hit 40's this weekend. I'm loving it.

I had a chance to walk down Wisconsin Avenue today and the lights are spectacular. Then inside to the Grand Avenue Mall and watched the singing bears. They are up every year for the holidays. It's the highlight of that mall besides the food court. It's not much of a mall anymore.

I can't wait for spring training to begin. Pitchers and catchers report in about 7 weeks. We have hope again!

Later

The Maestro

The Bears

SOA Finale

The end is tonight after 7 years of Sons of Anarchy. I've only watched the last 3 seasons but I'll be watching the first 4 seasons sometime soon. Kurt Sutter really put together a winning cast with superb writing for this show. I'll probably keep it taped and watch it together with Krissy this week as she's working tonight.

Not a bad December day and it hits upper 40's this weekend.

The Cubs traded two minor league prospects for All-Star catcher Miguel Montero. Still waiting for a Jon Lester announcement anytime now.

I took a couple more pics of the 833 East Michigan  project. They've made a lot of progress the last month on the 18 story building. For some odd reason I check it out almost everyday!

Later

833 E Michigan 

Coming along

The Royal Visit

Another warm December day. I actually overheated a bit while running tonight. That doesn't happen often to me in the winter.

Jon Lester is expected to make a decision sometime tomorrow on where he will be playing. I'll be extremely disappointed if he doesn't choose the Chicago Cubs. They just signed Jason Hammel's today to bolster their rotation.

Brett Favre is back in Green Bay tonight to honor Bart Starr at tonight's game. He didn't leave on the best of terms but I hope the fans don't boo him. They were pretty bad for 20 years until Brett arrived in town.

Prince William and Princess Kate are in New York for a 3 day whirlwind visit. I'll never forget when Prince Charles married Diana. My mother was all excited and woke up very early and made breakfast before the 4am wedding CST. Believe me she wasn't the only one to do that. A look out our window and every house had some lights on!

Later

Bar Rescue Milwaukee

Kudos and thanks to Michelle and Gary for a wonderful party last night. The food was excellent and all the kids had a wonderful time. We ended up with a bottle of Kahlua and a Bailey's sea salt caramel liqueur.

We watched part of the Badgers loss last night. Ouch, a 59-0 loss to Ohio State. The game was out of control pretty quickly.

Sons of Anarchy is down to one episode left. We watched last week's episode this afternoon and it left the show short a few characters if you know what I mean.

A new hotel opens this week in Key West called the Marker. It's a 96 room luxury hotel that I believe sits on the old trailer park land. I'm not sure if I ever took any photos of the park but it was obvious from my first time there that it was an extremely valuable piece of property. Too bad we heard about the Cyber Monday special after the fact.

Bar Rescue is on tonight featuring the Milwaukee episode filmed this summer. We first heard about the possibility of this back in late spring from one of the owner's sons. It will be exciting to see if we recognize anybody, as this bar was in dire need of a rescue!

Later

Hello There

Spectre

Another 30 plus degree day on the Eastside with Festivus going on tonight. There's been a bunch of Santa sightings so far today and they've been riding bikes around the city. We even saw two of them on a tandem.

We have a holiday party tonight at Michelle and Gary's. We ran out to the liquor store for the booze exchange already.

Received our WE Energies bill today. Our usage was done last month 33% from the previous November which was warmer by a lot. Yet our bill was up 40% due to the generous rate hike the state allowed them. That's what happens when you give big donations to the right party. All of them a bunch of crooks to the bone!

We found a Chuck E Cheese lunch box in Coco's room while cleaning today. Everybody was content to give it away till I looked online and saw one going for 22 bucks. Collectibles are my middle name!

Filming starts monday for Spectre starring Daniel Craig. Thats right, James Bond will be back next November with Sam Mendes directing once again and I'll be in attendance with a posse on opening night. I wouldn't mind Adele taking another stab at the title song again neither. Bond, James Bond!

Later

The Mustangs Romp

Another nice December day. If the rest of winter stays like this I might actually stop complaining.

I ran over to John's last night to watch the game. Thanks amigo. Too bad the Bears lost another one although it was fairly exciting the second half. Brandon Marshall suffered two broken ribs and will miss the remainder of the season.

An excellent jobs report came out today. The best month since 1999. It hasn't picked up much in Wisconsin though. We're still lagging behind most of the country for some reason. 

St. Marcus picked up where they left off last season with a big 49-13 victory in their season opener. Last season as 4th graders they had an undefeated season going 12-0 and winning two tournaments.

Coco was the second guy off the bench missing his only shot but grabbing three rebounds. His defense is once again spectacular. His only mistake was taking the ball the wrong way after the first half and getting an over and back turnover. He laughed it off though and I told him at least he didn't shoot and score for the other team!

Later

Season Debut

Running With Beer

Key West Rum

Not a bad day with temps in the 30's. Coco went to school today and he has his first basketball game of the season tomorrow night!

Rumor has it that it might be a timing belt problem versus the starter on the Ford Escape.

Krissy is making shrimp scampi for dinner. She  does it so well. Only enough lettuce for one so guess who doesn't get a salad tonight?

We don't get the NFL Network anymore so I'm heading over to John's tonight to watch the game. Hopefully the Bears don't embarrass themselves. I'll actually run over carrying some beer and run back after the game after consuming some beer. I have a triathlon to get ready for!

The Key West First Legal Distilling company is having a party tomorrow night. They are celebrating the 81st anniversary of prohibition being revoked. It's a fairly new company and so far you can only buy the rum in South Florida. Another reason to visit soon!

Later

Towed Away

The Car Died

Oh what a day. The car died after work. Jim and Joanne came down and gave us a ride home while waiting for a tow truck. Thanks so much!

It looks like it's the starter. Luckily, we live downtown and can get around on foot. I grew up in the boonies 5 miles from anything. I think that's why I love living on the eastside of the city. At least until I get to Key West!

We waited for them at the News Room bar. Nothing like onion rings and Spotted Cow for dinner!

Skating is now open at Red Arrow Park. No thanks, I'm still full from the onion rings.

Going to bed now. Here's hoping for a bit less excitement tomorrow!

Later

Mr. Bobby Keys

The weathermen were correct and we rolled into the 30's today. Looks like that's the trend for the week. November ended up being our 11th coldest November month ever.

Coco has a sore throat. He made it to 6:30am basketball practice and did well but his teacher sent him home shortly after 8am. He's getting more like me every year!

The U.S. Mint has a new Everglades quarter coming out. I saw a pic of it and it's a pretty sharp coin.

Legendary sax man for the Rolling Stones, Bobby Keys passed away today at the age of 70. The hard drinking Texan first started playing for Buddy Holly when he was 15 years old.

He also played with Lynyrd Skynrd, Eric Clapton and Joe Cocker. His solos at Stones concerts were magical as I saw them many a times. Thanks Bobby!

Later

Beer Butt Chicken

The temperature really took a nosedive today. I almost froze my face off when I was running. It's supposed to warm up tomorrow though.

The sunday shoe shopping was indeed a fiasco. What should have took 20 minutes took an hour. Coco found a great pair of Nike Jordan's and that was the easy part. I kept bumping into people as I was picking out and trying on running shoes.

It was my first purchase of running shoes in about 20 years. When I ran for Team Etonic I received 2 huge shipments of shoes and sweats a year. I still have some but I really needed a pair of well cushioned shoes.

Some people are really upset at 5 St. Louis Ram football players for their silent hands up gesture. One person had the audacity to say it ruined the american tradition of football. Last time I looked the United States Constitution was a slightly bigger "tradition" than a football game!

Krissy made a beer butt chicken in the oven yesterday. I've only had them on the grill before but this one was perfect. The only hard part was getting the beer can out of his butt after it was done. Indeed it was a 2 person job!

Later

Beer Butt Chicken

Coco's Shoes

My New Shoes

Hurricane Season Ends

Yesterday was the warmest day in a few weeks. We spent most of it in the car but had a great time at the family gathering!

My brother in-law Joe made some pork on his smoker and it was tremendous. He also did great in the cocktail department!

The big Packers game is coming on soon so Krissy is making a whole chicken with a new recipe and drinking a mimosa!

Today marks the official end of hurricane season. Florida as a whole can take a deep breathe and Key West hasn't been hit since 2005. Hopefully they are celebrating in style on Duval Street. Well done my friends!

Later

Palm Tree With A Bow

At Wolski's

My Dad

Deanna and Sarah

Niki and Mary

Andy And His Dad

Nieces In The Food Line

Joe And Me

Nike Outlet Day

It's warming up a bit today and looks good for the next couple days. We're heading to Illinois today for dinner at my sister Cindy's in Naperville. Krissy is making her world famous green bean casserole!

Last night was a good night. We had fancy tacos at Bel Air then headed over to the legendary Wolski's Tavern. Some Boston fans were there and they are heading up to Green Bay for the big game tomorrow.

Mickey Rourke quit boxing 20 years ago. But at the age of 62 he won a boxing match last night. He's planning a few more also. I wish he would do a few more movies. The Miami native always stayed local and never went to Hollywood. White Sands is one of my favorite movies!

The first Ebola test vaccines are having positive results. All the gloom and doom panic sayers should be ashamed of themselves. There's no more cases in the United States. It's amazing how science and doctors know what they are talking about although I never doubted them.

Oil is around 67 bucks a barrel. Drillers and energy stocks are taking a pretty good hit. Don't feel sorry for the manipulators and speculators. They did alright for themselves for a long streak at the expense of the middle class.

We'll be stopping at Nike Outlet on the way to Illinois today. I promised Coco a brand new pair of basketball shoes. With making high honor roll it's a promise I'm delighted to keep!

Later

The Rush Begins

A few snow flurries this morning but the 20 plus degree weather is holding steady.

Get well wishes to Pele. He's in intensive care in the hospital but reportedly getting better. He retired in 1977 but most people consider him to be the greatest soccer player of all time!

Krissy has a new hobby. She uses photo editor on pictures to make them whackier than they already are. She has some interesting stuff!

A new poll shows that the majority of people feel the economy is now getting better. It's been a long time to see a poll of this magnitude. It's no coincidence that it correlates with lower gas prices. We filled up yesterday and one can definitely notice the bottom line difference.

Many people are out banging it out with one another in various store lines. Not us. There's always a deal out there somewhere so we won't fight the crowds. We will however start an early happy hour at our favorite mexican joint!

Later

John Wilson and Fonzie

Drilling

Don't Ask

More Drilling

A Long Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. The weather pretty much mirrored last years holiday.

I picked up Coco looking all sharp with Ipad in full charge. Unfortunately the kids he usually plays with were sick this year. Still, it was a great meal.

The Bears started out well for once. Then just fell off a cliff. Time to redo the roster and the coaching staff. Just a terrible underperforming team.

We passed a shopping mall on the way home. Carloads of people lined up at stores. I'll never be one of those people!

Four hours total in a car with a busy today tomorrow. I'm really thankful for my sleep number bed!

Later

Pardon The Turkey

Another cold November day but it's the day before Thanksgiving and it's a popular bar night. We're meeting Angela and John at Balzac shortly for cocktails.

Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday. Nothing fancy, no presents needed just some food, football and friends.

The Bears play Detroit tomorrow in the early game. It's been a while since they've played on Thanksgiving so hopefully they gut out a win against a great defense.

I was in Puerto Vallarta once during this holiday. It was just one ordinary day in Mexico and seemed a bit odd as I recall.

In 1989 President George H.W. Bush did the first official turkey pardon. President Obama carried on the tradition today. I love turkey too much to take a pass. Stay safe tonight and have a toast on me!

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DOW Prediction Close

A snowless day in the mid 20's. I've still have to go running. The weekdays are getting tough especially when it's dark so early.

George Eads is leaving CSI after this season. He was one of the original cast members when it premiered. It's still a great show and basing it out of Las Vegas was one of the greatest ideas in the history of television!

Derrick Rose came back for the Bulls last night and they won. Caution with this great point guard at the beginning of the season will payoff come playoff time.

Krissy and Coco put some Christmas solar lights on the front bushes. She wants to leave them up year round. By the time we get done buying solar lights we won't need electricity. The property is starting to resemble a helicopter launch pad!

At the beginning of the year I predicted the DOW would hit 18,000 and I meant it. I quickly soured on that prediction with all the world conflicts particularly the Putin/Ukraine situation. With gas prices down and GDP up, I'm within 200 points. Go DOW!

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Wrigley Field For Sale

We're in the midst of a slush storm. I'm going running in a few minutes so this shall be fun. We have 40's in the forecast for next week.

We are stopping at Nike Outlet in Kenosha on saturday on our way to Illinois. Getting Coco some new basketball shoes and I'm scoping out running shoes.

No word yet on the Jon Lester sweepstakes. I'm still clinging to hope that he chooses the Cubs!

Chuck Hagel resigned as Defense Secretary today. He was terrible at his confirmation hearings so this shouldn't be a big surprise.

Krissy is torturing me with that Kardashian program. One of them was just whining that they have no where to host a birthday party because their mansion is still under construction. They just might be the most terrible people on the face of this earth!

Just in time for the holidays you can get a piece of Wrigley Field. It's currently under renovations. I'd be interested in an outfield wall brick myself but they are trying to reuse most of them. The site is cubs.com/authentics. Grab a piece of history!

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Level Shelves

Another nice November day. It sure makes running easier than fighting a slippery sidewalk in 10 degree winds. There's plenty of that ahead for me.

A happy birthday to my Dad and Angela. I'll be polite and not mention anybody's age.

Coco sang in church today with his class. A very nice job and the service started with a wonderful video that I need to find. It was like a rock star quality short that you would find at a U2 concert.

The Bears won their second game in a row. A win on Thanksgiving keeps their chances alive but basically they need to win out.

Krissy went to Home Depot today which is always dangerous. We hung up a shelf in her changing room which used to be my office in another lifetime.

 Anyway, it was supposed to be a 15 minute project. Of course, if you want anything remotely level automatically add another hour to the task!

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A Frozen River

People are out and about everywhere enjoying the warm weather. It's only in the 40's but people are acting like it's the first warm day of spring.

Kind of a slow day. Grocery shopping and tacos for dinner.

Krissy and Coco are putting up Christmas decorations as I write. They both like doing that. I never have, not even as a kid. I'll just troll on the internet until they finish. I have a Red Stripe beer keeping me company!

Key West has an unsecured wireless network now in Old Town. The other sections of the island will have it later on by next year. Milwaukee had plans to do that at one time but it fell thru.

The Bulls are having a rough go out west losing to Portland last night. Three players sat out including Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose. Now Taj Gibson will be out awhile as he severely sprained his ankle. It's a deep team and it's still early so no worries.

I went running and took the walking bridge over the Milwaukee River. It's still frozen. I don't remember it ever being frozen in November!

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Waukesha Water

It warmed up a bit this afternoon. It should be nice enough tomorrow to get a couple of runs in.

Coco's sister Simone is pretty sick. He'll be spending the entire weekend with me trying to stay healthy.

I'm still not used to how dark it is so early. We still have another month to go for the darkest day of the year.

The Bulls have 3 players sidelined by injuries. It's a tough road trip as it's the Circus Trip. Every year the circus comes to the United Center sending the Bulls on a long extended west coast road trip.

Krissy is out visiting her sister tonight. She was too cool to eat Little Caesars pizza and hangout with Coco and I.

The City of Waukesha announced that they will have to violate a court order regarding their drinking water. It has too much radium in it and they were supposed to eradicate the problem by 2018. Three more years they have to do complete the task but they don't seem to be in any big hurry. Cut your taxes to the bone and keep poisoning your kids. What a town!

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