Weekend Recap

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Here's a recap of mine.

FRIDAY: Disappointed. I wasn't feeling very well Friday afternoon/evening. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the dozen or so people in my office that were sick this past week. Anyway, I was disappointed because I had to back out on going out to a bar with some friends for some cold beer and hot rock 'n roll. On of the great bands of our time, Stray Voltage, was playing at Calhoun Station (which could have been another bar to add to the list). Stray Voltage is a fun band to go see. Play a lot of classic rock and are just generally a good time. Check out their website if you have a chance. Also, for you Milwaukeeans, they will be at Yesteryears in West Allis on April 7 which I plan on going to. See you there!

SATURDAY: Not too exciting. Work around the house. Saturday night though, Kirsten and I went to a new restaurant (for us, not new in general) called Ann's Italian Restaurant in Hales Corners. Very neat place. We went for, what else, pizza, and was very impressed. I'll rank it at a solid 2 on my top 3 list of pizza places. The coolest part about the place though was while we were waiting (we didn't make reservations) someone (the owner perhaps?) came by and asked if we wanted something to drink. It was pretty sweet and unexpected. Giving out beer, wine, soda whatever while you waited for the table. I had never seen that before. I'd highly recommend checking out the place.

SUNDAY: Kirsten and I made the trip to Green Bay for a baby shower for my cousin Scott and his wife Jessica. Jess was very recently given doctor's orders to not travel so Scott had to man up and host the event. I, feeling sorry for him and wanting to hang out with him, went as both moral and male support. I couldn't let him handle sitting in a room full of women relatives by himself, even if presents were involved. Sunday night we had dinner at my parent's house before coming back which was nice. Made it back by 9:00 so I could catch the rerun of my favorite show, The Shield, since I missed it last week. All in all a good weekend....

Ironman here I come

So yet another transformation has come as a result of this union with my wife nearly 4 months ago. I now go to Bally's and work out. To those of you that know me, this may come as a shock. I feel bad that I keep presenting these disturbing jolts of news to my friends. When I ran into My Cousin, er, Friend Vinny last week told me how he couldn't believe that I now actually READ for fun! Most people like him were surprised that I can actually read.

Anyway, so here we go again. I work out. I run. The other day I ran a mile, without stopping, for the first time since High School. Granted it took a hair under 11 minutes, but I did it. Like I said when I posted my 2005 Reading Material, this may not seem like much to some of you but it's huge for me because the closest thing I do to exercising is curling bottles of High Life.

My wife is a runner. Loves to run. Why, I don't know. There are many things that just puzzle me about her. Another is how she eats pizza four times a week, but that's another post. I, on the other hand, do NOT enjoy running but it's worth it because otherwise she's on my case. Plus she's a nurse and knows my cholesteral is high so that's a double whammy on the nag...I mean...lovingly suggesting factor. So we'll see where this running takes me...

Separated at Birth?

Some of my fellow UWM Panthers friends/fans can't help but laugh when Boo Davis comes on the TV screen. Comparisons between he and a fruit bat just seem too precise. But I'll let you decide....

Technology

Who says technology is a bad thing. I e-filed my taxes late Monday night and this morning I already got my State return deposited in my account. It's nice to know that it doesn't take forever for everything government does!

Half-Way Point

So we're coming up to NBA All-Star Weekend so I thought it would be interesting to check out the stats of the Milwaukee Bucks #1 draft pick from this year, Andrew Bogut, and see how he stacks up against who the Bucks were "supposed to select" according to the sports "experts" in the area. Me, I was happy with the choice..Bogut had a lot more experience in both college and the international scene where as the #2 overall selection, Marvin Williams, wasn't even a starter in college! Yet, somehow he was supposed to be the #1 pick. Well, let's see....

Andrew Bogut:




Marvin Williams:




Hmmm, Mr. Bogut leads in every major category. Interesting. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but I wish that perhaps once a year or something, so-called sports "experts" would actually go back and review all their gurantees they make during the year and be held accountable (open for ridicule I guess) for their comments.

Busy busy...

Sorry I've been lacking on the posts lately. I've been lacking in pretty much everything except work. It's been crazy...

So last weekend we went up to St. Cloud Minnesota to visit the in-laws. Good times were had but man was it fricken' cold up there. They also still had like 2 feet of snow on the ground so that part wasn't pleasant. BUT it's always good to get up there and spend some time since it's been less frequent since they moved from Merrill to St. Cloud which now makes it a barely tolerable six and a half hour drive.

Hopefully everyone had a nice Valentine's Day. Kirsten and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, Il Mito, pictured above. Food was delicious and the atmosphere great, as always. I made reservations there not only because the entree food is great, but also because they have a great Creme Brule, which Kirsten loves. Have to keep the Mrs. happy!

One Year Later...

Today is the one-year anniversary of the DeGroot family losing our prize Shih-tzu Ernie. We miss you!

Manpower Update #2

Manpower opponent concedes defeat

A city financing package for Manpower Inc.'s proposed $78 million corporate headquarters in downtown Milwaukee will likely win final approval next week from the Common Council, the proposal's chief opponent said today.

"I think this is a done deal," said Craig Peterson, president of Zigman Joseph Stephenson, a lobbying and public relations firm. "I don’t think they have the will to go against Manpower."
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REACT: "..don't have the will to go against Manpower" What?? No will? How about they don't have a REASON to go against Manpower. Craig, I'm sure you're a dedicated reader or this site so all I can say to you is, "relax." Go lobby for things that deserve to have people fighting for or against, like dumping poop in Lake Michigan or the proposed smoking ban in bars or the over population of seagulls and their human head-hunting ways (just for you, Todd).