Amador Wine Tasting

Saturday, Jess and I went wine tasting with my parents and her Dad and Stepmom to Amador County. I had never done the whole wine tasting thing and it was a very fun day. Another photo diary coming your way...


Jess getting ice cream 11 in the morning. She couldn't be happier.




Group photo at our first winery. My dad with his normal big smile!!(Or not)

My dad checking out a purchase he made.

The ladies checking out the guy pour at the second winery.

I was the designated driver for the day. Free water!!

This was at our third winery. The girl who helped us was awesome and we must have tasted for about an hour while she explained things thoroughly. We spent a lot of money there because of her.

Me and the Mrs.

My folks

The view from the 4th winery

Where it all comes from...

My beautiful wife

Our folks

Showing off their wine-stained tongues

A flower at the 5th and final winery

Evil E's Saturday Scavenger Hunt #19

When I heard that this week's word was "animal," I said no problem. If you know me, you know I love my dogs! Here are two recent pictures of our children...

Our dog Leia, otherwise known as Leia-Boo or just Boo.

Our old man Orko. Also know as Orkopotamus or Pot for short.

I'm always looking for an excuse to post pictures of our kids!

Ummmm...creepy

Ok, so my words can't do it justice, so just read the news article...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Puerto Rican man has been granted his wish to remain standing — even in death. A funeral home used a special embalming treatment to keep the corpse of 24-year-old Angel Pantoja Medina standing upright for his three-day wake.Dressed in a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses, Pantoja was mourned by relatives while propped upright in his mother's living room.His brother Carlos told the El Nuevo Dia newspaper the victim had long said he wanted to be upright for his own wake: "He wanted to be happy, standing."The owner of the Marin Funeral Home, Damaris Marin, told The Associated Press the mother asked him to fulfill her dead son's last wish.Pantoja was found dead Friday underneath a bridge in San Juan and buried Monday. Police are investigating.

So, homeboy is dead, but propped up in his house just chillin' there for all to see. I found out later he was a known drug dealer and was found shot 11 times. All power to him if this was his wish, but it kind of creeps me out. Here are the pictures from his wake.




Nobody puts Angel in the corner...





Anyone else heard of this before. Someone told me it is actually a Jewish tradition, but I can not confirm this. Anyone? Oh, and if it is your tradition and I offended, sorry...

A couple of funny videos

I want to blog today but am out of ideas so I have decided to post a couple of videos that have made me laugh lately.

For the first, you need a little background. Last year in the beginning of the NFL season, Kevin Everett, a player for the Buffalo Bills, injured his spinal cord and we initially were told he would never walk again. Miraculously, he recovered. This is a report on that...





I love when reporters mess up on live tv. Here is another great example. This guy changes his tone and speech almost instantly when something makes him mad.

7/17/08 Family Reunion

Jess and I were gone this weekend for a family reunion in the Bay Area. This was for her mom's side of the family and we have done this in August for about 5 years or so. Photo diary seems to be the way to go...


Eating the best food - cheeseburgers!!!




Jess playing games. She looks so sad so she must have missed.

Jess running to her goal

Playing the pass the pretzel game

She got hit with a water balloon. Not happy!

She's all wet, but she seems to be taking it well.

Umm...where did the bocce ball go?

That's how I roll

My new gang.

Having a drink

What a brat!

Just....wow....

Normally, I delete the majority of forwarded emails sent to me because often time, I have seen them before or I worry about forwarded emails containing viruses. I opened one up recently as it was from a friend who usually never sends me them. I decided to give it a chance. I am glad I did. What follows may be considered a little racist, but you know, it's just in good fun and hopefully you have a sense of humor...

First the picture...

Okay so this is how I imagine this conversation went:
Wal-Mart Employee: 'Hello 'dis be Walmarts, how can I hep you?'
Customer: 'I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week.'
Wal-Mart Employee: 'What you want on the cake?'
Customer: 'Best Wishes Suzanne' and underneath that 'We will miss you'.

Too friggin' funny....

Hodge Podge

Just some random things going on in my life...

I got a few new Muggs since I last posted. A couple of people on the post seemed confused on the size. Truth be told, they are actually not super small. They are around as tall as a DVD case, maybe a teeny bit smaller, but not really THAT small. I LOVE them!

Since it is Tuesday Tag day on Evil E's blog, I thought I would post a picture I saw on the side of my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. How rude! Never actually seen graffiti done in crayon!

I drove past this place yesterday. Now this is physical therapy I could get behind!!!

Last Saturday night, we had our third progresisve dinner with my folks and Jessica's folks. This time we were in charge of appetizers.

Jess made cheddar bacon puffs which were awesome.

She also made this apple treat which was apples in brown sugar and balsamic vinegar served over white cheddar cheese.

This is a pic of the full spread. I love this pic.

My parents made fish and chips from scratch for the first time which was very cool. They even bought the little baskets that you use to serve them in. In addition, we had fresh clam chowder in a bread bowl. We hadn't served the chips yet in this picture.

Finally, Jessica's parents did an ice cream sundae spread. There were 4 kinds of ice cream and all kinds of toppings. I wish I wasn't so full and I could have had more!

It was all yummy but I felt bad the whole time as well. I have been working really hard on my weight since I got my Wii fit for my birthday. Since June 2, I have lost 13.2 pounds - well, as of before the progressive dinner. I gained some with the dinner, but I am certain I will get it back off. I haven't exercised and been good with my food in this way for a while. I am the lightest I have been in over 2 years which is nice and rewarding!

Evil E's Saturday (Sunday) Photo Scavenger Hunt #18

I hadn't done one of these in a while and wanted to get in on the fun. I actually knew what I was going to do as soon as I heard the word was "space." I decided I would use the word to give a tour of my house. Some of these places I know you have seen before, others, I am sure you have not seen. So, here ya go....


My space of entertainment...

My space of fun...

My space of relaxation...

My space of sleep...

My reading space...

My work space...

My space of.....umm..who am I kidding, I don't work in my garage!

My New Obsession

I have an addiction to collecting. Once I get something cool and I know it is part of a collection, I have a really hard time stopping. My new obsession is collecting Mighty Muggs. What are Mighty Muggs? Well, Mighty Muggs are new figures produced by Hasbro that come in very unique, but simple designs. As of right now, they are releasing Star Wars, Marvel Comics, and Indiana Jones, with Transformers and GI Joe to follow. When I started collecting these 2 weeks ago, I promised Jessica I would only collect the Marvel ones otherwise it would get WAY out of hand. So, in the two weeks since I have started collecting, this is what I have so far...

A couple of group shots!

In honor of dearly departed Captain America...

Aren't they adorable? I am in love with these things. They are a big ticket right now though so certain ones are hard to find. I got in the game a little later so I have been searching everywhere of a Venom figure. He is hard to find though. So far, I am missing him, Ghost Rider, and Black costume Spiderman. I also have a couple special ones that are limited edition on preorder. I am hooked.

Want to see all of them including the Star Wars and Indy Jones? Go here...

Contest Results!

Well, my contest to come up with the best email urban legend is officially over and I have your results. I had a grand total of TWO entrants. Yes, I know pretty disappointing. Last time I ran a contest I also only had two entrants so I think I am done with contests on my blog. Fortunately, the two entrants I did receive were wonderful! As there were only two entrants, I will declare both the winners and make them eligible for the prize. Evil E and Laura, if you would like my CD of really angry music, you can email me your address.

For the rest of my readers, here are the entries I received.

First, from Laura...


SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT!!!

Warning, especailly to women...DO NOT use colored toilet paper! The dye used in it is NOT good for you and could even be HARMFUL!

Remember when you found out about Red Dye #40 in your food? They use something very simlar in toilet paper, so you need to be especailly careful about the pink paper. It contains cancer causing elements that can build up in your system over time. They are absorbed into your membranes when wiping.

I know it seems crazy, but the manufacturers consider the risk small. WHY TAKE THE CHANCE?

BE A FRIEND AND PASS THIS ON!!!


Seriously, if this got passed on, I guarantee, at least half the people who read it would stop using colored toilet paper. People are that gullible! Good job Laura!

Next, on to Evil E...

PLEASE READ THIS EMAIL AND PASS IT ON TO FRIENDS< FAMILY, AND COWORKERS. Someone’s life depends on it!!!!

In the last couple of months there has been a rash of unsolved murders in the Greater Cleveland Area. These murders have been occurring in all areas of the region and have been happening to members of all demographic groups. The Cleveland Police are remaining tight-lipped about the situation, but some rumors have leaked out about the cases. Please see the details below.

It seems that some of the cases have a common thread involved. The common thread is an email that goes something like this:

If you have a heart you will help little Samuel. Little Samuel’s parents were tragically killed in a car accident and he now is in the care of his very poor and destitoot grandmother Delilah. Delilah loves little Samuel (little Sammy as she calls him) but does not have the financial werewithall to provide him with the good life he deserves. Here is a photo of the little guy, can’t you spare just a little to help him out, please?

[Evil E posted a picture here, but I couldn;t figure out how to copy a picture from a Word doc to use elsewhere. Weird...]

Little Samuel can keep smiling like this through the generosity of just a few people. If you can spare even a dollar or two it would be greatly appreciated. Little Samule will thank you, his poor granny will thank you, and your rerward will be great once you get to heaven.

Please send your email address to helplilsam@yahoo.com. Someone will be in contact with you concerning your anticipated donation. We thank you in advance for your generosity.

It seems that a couple of kind hearted people were generous enough and fool enough to give their help to little Samuel. In a few of the cases it seems that the people did contact the email address. It can be assumed that some sort of information was given to the “helplilsam” foundation. Apparently the kind folks got a big reward when they got to heaven a little sooner than anticipated. They were murdered. No other details of the pending cases have been leaked or disclosed. For information on this, please contact realkiller@gmail.com we will send you the latest updates on these cases. Please pass this to several of your friends so the word can be spread and the “helplilsam” killers can be brought to justice.

Brilliant sir, and the pic, despite me not being able to get it off the doc was a very nice added touch.

Good job you two and thanks so much for partcipating. You two did a great job! I could see both of these making the rounds and people believing them!

Horrific

First off, be sure to check out Tuesday's post if you haven't already detailing a contest I am running through Monday. There is even a prize involved!

I had something I wanted to blog about, but then I ran across this article of an event up in Canada yesterday and I had to post it. Check this out...

Horror on Canadian bus as man beheaded Thu Jul 31, 5:15 PM ET

A man sleeping on a Greyhound bus as it rolled across the Canadian Prairies was killed and decapitated by his seatmate as horrified passengers fled to safety in the night, witnesses and police said on Thursday."

All of a sudden, we all heard this scream, this bloodcurdling scream," said Garnet Caton, who was sitting just in front of the victim on the bus. Caton said that when the attack was over, the knife-wielding killer displayed his victim's severed head to the onlookers.

A 40-year-old man was taken into custody at the scene on Wednesday evening on a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, but has not been charged, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.Police declined to speculate on what prompted the attack, and witnesses said the victim and killer, who apparently did not know each other, had enjoyed a casual cigarette break with other passengers only minutes before the attack.

Witnesses described a scene of bloody mayhem that erupted without warning on the bus, which was traveling east to Winnipeg, Manitoba, on a routine scheduled run.

"The attacker was standing up right over top of the guy with a large hunting knife -- a survival, Rambo knife -- holding the guy and continually stabbing him, stabbing him, stabbing him in the chest area," Caton told CBC Television.The attack continued as other passengers fled the bus and waited for police, Caton said. He said he, the driver and another passenger desperately tried to hold the bus door closed to prevent the attacker from leaving."He calmly walks up to the front (of the bus) with the head in his hand and the knife and just calmly stares at us and drops the head right in front of us," Caton said."There was no rage in him ... It was just like he was a robot or something."

Police praised the calmness and cooperation of the passengers, who were taken to a hotel in Brandon, Manitoba, and were being given crisis counseling and other assistance by authorities and Greyhound."Believe me, if we could do our jobs without having you relive this terrible experience we would," RCMP staff Sargent Steve Colwell said in a statement to the passengers that was read to reporters in Winnipeg.Passengers said they were having difficulty coping."I tried to get to lay down at 4 o'clock this morning but was up 10 minutes later because every time I closed my eyes I'd see this man in the window with some guy's head I had just smoked a cigarette with," Cody Omstead told CTV News.Greyhound said in a statement that it was cooperating with police to determine what happened. It said that intercity bus travel remained the safest mode of transportation in the country.

Sounds just horrific. I can picture it vividly and I can imagine the fear of the people on that bus. Kudos to those who risked their lives by holding the door closed so that guy couldn't escape. Horrible...