Rare occassion

Today I am doing something I have only done once before... I am making a blog post on February 29th... It is Leap Day and my little ole blog has only been around for one other Leap Day, back in 2008... The post I made is here.  I was grumpy that day, and since it is pouring rain this morning, I get the feeling today may be another grump one... we will see... so Happy Leap Day!!  Are you doing anything special??

Oh well...

The Oscars are done.   I was not too overly impressed by anything really.  I stayed up for the whole fucking show.  The only speech that I liked was Octavia's.  There were some cute bits here and there.  Melissa McCarthy doing the shot of Grey Goose... pretty funny... Not to overwhelmed by the winners either.  I have no desire to see The Artist. Meryl, really?  I will say the Cirque Du Soliel segment was pretty cool.  But overall, blech.  I am starting like other award shows more.  I mean, hell, I made it to work this morning... ON TIME!!  That never happens the day after.  Well, the fact that my boss is on vacation and we are limited in Marketing Department, I really needed to drag my ass in today.  Glad I did... I was busier than shit all day... which is good...  sorry if I am a little boring right now, but just feeling a bit blah.  Work is busy.  I am pigging out on food and my clothes are getting tighter... gotta get in to some routine at the gym... House is dirty and I don't feel like cleaning.  I am just going to go build a fire and watch TV with Jeff and the doggies...

It is NOT Spring yet, but flowers and trees are blooming and budding...arghhh... It was in the 80's here on Friday!!  I bet we get some late season ice/snow storm that will kill them all and Spring will be bland... if we do get a storm, please let it be during the week so I can have a snow day... please!

Gay Super Bowl

Well tonight is the night... Oscar will be showing himself... I must say I did see more of the nominated movies this year than before so I am going to give my opinion on the big 6 categories...

Best Picture:  The Artist will win, but The Help should win.  Not to count out Moneyball or Midnight in Paris, but we really know how this is going to roll... I have not seen The Artist, but have seen the others I mentioned.

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin will win for The Artist, but I am going out on a limb here and saying Brad Pitt did a damn good job in Moneyball... and George Clooney should not be overlooked... though I did not see his movie.

Best Actress: Viola Davis will win and should win for The Help, but Oscar favorite Meryl Streep could pull this one out and even Michelle Williams might make an upset here like she did at the Globes...

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer will win for his role in Beginnings, but I really think Jonah Hill should get it for Moneyball... I watched Beginnings last weekend and really did not see his performance as Oscar winning, but the Academy loves him as does everyone else, thus his winning all the awards leading up to tonite. But Jonah really got me in his performance.  He stepped way outside his silly persona and gave a great performance.

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer will win and should.  Just don't eat the pie at the party if she doesn't win.

Best Directing:  The Artist will win, but I think Midnight in Paris should.  I am not a Woody Allen fan, but this movie was really great.  The whole idea of living in the now and meeting the greats from the past... the way he blended the past with the now... I loved it.

So. There are my predictions and we will see how they fall.. now time to get the fire going and get ready for the Red Carpet...

Happy Oscar Night!!

I have your answers...

Well... several of you continue to read my blog and replied to my  Ask Wednesday segment, so here are the questions that were asked... and my answers...

Erik: TP: Over the roll or behind the roll?
I prefer over the roll... and honestly, it really pisses me off when I go to a public bathroom and it is done behind the roll... just one of my pet peeves I guess..

Anne Marie: does jeff do anything that annoys you to distraction?

Yes... when he brushes his teeth, he scrubs his tongue and his gag reflex kicks in and it sounds like he is hocking up a lung... every morning... arghhh!!!  I am sure there are other things too, but that one comes to mind because he was just brushing his teeth..

Jay: Question: How did it go?
This was in regards to my power point presentation... and it went well.  I think the people got the point of why their clients should have life insurance and why they should be the ones to sell it to them and make good money doing so.

UrSpo: Pizza; tell me about your pizza preferences and where you go to get some.
I love me a meat lovers pizza... forget the veggies... just throw pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, ham, bacon.... mmmmm... up until recently, the hamburger pizza from Mary Angelas was my fav,  but then I tried Kitchen 64's personal pizza and with bacon, chorizo sausage, and ham... it is awesome... Xtra's personal pizza is also pretty good... as for a chain pizza, Pizza Hut thin crust of any kind...mmmm.... otherwise I like to take a frozen cheese pizza, add cheddar cheese and do my own toppings at home... you can make a $2 pizza taste like a $20 specialty pizza...

Leftover snow pics...

I do this thing where I download pics from the camera and then forget they are here until I go to make a post or something... so here are some pics and a video from last weekends snow here in Richmond... nothing exciting, but what the hell... gets them off my desktop...

So I think this was around 9ish Sunday night and we had about 3 inches of wet heavy snow piled up... for Richmond, that is a good amount...

Me hanging on the sofa where Jeff usually sits, but he was in TN visiting Melissa (howdy!!) and I was watching TV shows he usually does not like to watch... and playing on computer...

My car (Jackie-O) in the snow with her eye-lids up so they would not be frozen to windshield on Monday morning... as you can see, the 3 inches piled up a bit more as the roads got covered...

And, the doggies playing in the snow... Crick hit a few of the holes Roxy has been digging, but a little fun had by all...

I did not get a snow day, but was able to have a two hour delay Monday... Jeff ended up staying in TN until Tuesday, but is back safe and sound... other things have gone on this week, and will make a different post on that a bit later... also, don't forget to leave a comment on the Ask Wednesday post.. will be answering this weekend..

Ask Wednesday

That time of the week again.  I know it is actually Ash Wednesday, but that was my play on this weekly post anyway.  I am headed to Reston, VA to give my first power point presentation to a group.  I bit nervous.  I have help set up and write power points before, but never been the one presenting.  Wish me luck that I don't goof it up too much.  Anyway, what's on your mind?  What is your question for me this week?  Think about it.  I will respond sometime this weekend...

Happy Hump Day!!
Good Luck with Lent for those are giving up something...

Thoughts

2012 has started off as a pretty morbid year.  A former coworker passed away at age 42 from a brain tumor... my grandma passed from bladder cancer... found out today one of my producers/clients died of a heart attack over the weekend... then there are the famous like Whitney who are up and gone... Yes, these are four different aspects of death in my life in the last few weeks, from close family, to friend and coworker, to business associate, even to the famous... all of who touched my life and many others in one way or another.  I am not depressed or trying to be morbid, but I think I am trying to grasp the fact that I am getting older... and as we get older those around leave us and the older we get, the more often it happens.  It sucks!  But, I guess we do have to move on.  I watched a movie on demand last night called "Beginners"... the preview is below.  Christopher Plummer is up for an Oscar for his role in the movie, and has already won The Golden Globe for it.  It is a really sweet movie about a father and son and the sons girlfriend... Grab a  tissue or two, but it does make you think about life, and death... and some things I just can't imagine having to deal with just yet... I may be getting older, but death of family and friends is really starting to scare me and make me think...

Again... I am fine, just thinking out loud on the internets... now, time for bed and the Golden Girls... Jeff is still in TN and we are all missing him...but he will be back tomorrow!! YAY!!!

Snow Post

It has started to snow pretty good here in Richmond.  The heavy wet kind.  At this point they have said that we should get about 2 inches, maybe 4... but it is the wet heavy stuff, so trees and power lines may be an issue.  Though tomorrow is President's Day and many folks are off, I do have to go to work....unless, it is just too much snow to go in (doubtful)....

The table out back around 7pm tonight

Starting to pile up on Grove...

I am too cheesy...

Pino and Roxy watching TV with me... very little space on sofa for me...

Enjoy the day off tomorrow if you have it!

Outside/Inside

Not a heavy snow, but wet and cold out...kind of peaceful...

Warm fire inside... I feel a nap coming on... but MILK is on and keeping me awake...

PLEASE let there be a lot of snow tonight (not gonna happen)...

New Chair

So, there was a bit of a shake up at work this week as the person in my same job position resigned.  Though they gave two weeks notice, in my industry, you can't have them sticking around, especially when you know they are going to work for the competition.  And as always, when someone leaves the company, everyone tackles their office to see what they can snag, from staplers to ink pens... well, I snagged the comfy chair above.  I had a nice leather chair, but it was old and really was time for me to have something new.  The one above is just over a year old and has lumbar settings, so I snagged it.  Yay me!

Answers...

A few of  you have asked... so now I will answer...

From Cubby: A fair number of people believe strawberry pie can be better than sex. How do you fall on this controversial issue? 

Me: My love of strawberries is great, even in a pie with whipped cream, but I don't know if it is better than sex.  But things that could decide that are, who made the pie and who the sex it with...

From Vuboq: My question is why did google reader stop showing your updates? I think I've fixed it, but, OMG, I've missed so much. *BIG HUGZ* 

Me: In my transition to blogger, I actually rerouted my domain back to GoDaddy for a bit to try something that did not work.  This caused something to screw up, but hopefully it is fixed...


From Anonymous: Do you ever wish that you were uncut or cut?


Me: Well, since I am cut I have thought of what it would be like to be uncut, but have not really put a lot of thought into it.

From Annie Marie in Philly: what lessons did your grandma teach you through the years? do they still apply to 21st century life?

Me:  I think the thing I take away from her is that no matter what beliefs you may have, they do not trump love for your children or family.  She was very much a church woman who believed greatly in God.  But anytime any of her children or grandchildren were in trouble or did something she did not agree with, she still loved them from the bottom of her heart.  I think that has passed to my mother and to me.  My lifestyle may not be the one that my mom or grandma wants be to be living, but they love me and let me live it...  I think if the rest of the world would do the same thing, it would be a much better place.

From UrSpo: what to you hope to be in 5 years?

Me: ALIVE!!  but also I hope to be successful in my home life and my career.  I think Jeff and I are successful thus far and will continue on the home front, but as for work, I would like to maybe take it up a notch.  I have already planned to venture out more on getting a client base and doing more personal production in selling life and long term care insurance.  I think if I could get enough income from that, I would eventually step away from the brokerage side of things, but not until I felt comfortable in doing so.  Hopefully 5 years from now, that would be an option.

Well that wraps that up for this week... tune in next time to see what will be asked and what will be answered... thank you for reading and thanks to those who asked questions... hopefully more of you will have things to ask next week...

Random Pics on Camera

If you read the blog, you know the last week or so has been long... not many pictures, but not really trying either...but here are some pics found on camera tonite (one taken tonite)...just random from the last week or so...

I think this was Cricket Friday night while we watched TV... she and the other two like having the big doggie pillow in living room, even though they still spend most of time on sofa's and in chair... the doggie bed gives us two daddies a bit of room of sofa in the evenings to relax...

Saturday we headed out for brunch and to run errands and out of no where, we had a mini blizzard here in Richmond...huge ass snowflakes and the wind whipping...lasted less than 30 minutes, but was pretty cool to see and actually have a layer of white on ground, if for only an hour or so...

Saturday night was visitor night at the AnderStern household, including other pets... Bubba on the far left is Chris's sisters dog he was watching for the weekend,  then Pino, Roxy and Cricket... and then little Bailey (Stace's doggie) in the green vest... the guys in the jeans are Chris and his man Derek after arriving...they had doggie treats in hand, thus the attention...

Ultra Art in a hotel room... Jeff and I had to head to Lynchburg for my Grandma's viewing on Sunday afternoon, then stay the night for Monday's funeral (all very nice)... Sunday night we stayed in the hotel room, 5th floor, all to ourselves and blasted the Grammy's, and had a few beers (and some wine)...there is a microwave behind those cans...

Tonight when dragging in the recycle bins, I noticed the buttercups were blooming... in February... what the heck??? now they will not be up in the spring... I dunno... I wish we would get just one good snowstorm this winter in Richmond... I want a snowday by the fire (and my internet and cable to still work too).

That is random pics for the night...now off to bed... interesting day at work tomorrow is to be had... I want to be on my P's and Q's... I guess... later taters!

Ask Wednesday

Ask away... do you have a question on your mind about me?  I know, sounds narsacistic, but what the fuck... ask me any question in the comment section and I will answer it (as long is does not get me implicated in a crime or possibly jeopordize my job, those I can answer in private email)...SO...have at it!  What do you have for Ask Wednesday?

Change can be good

I know I should not talk about work on my blog, so I am going to limit what I say.  Work has been very stressfull for many reasons, some personal, but much to do with the economy.   Today though some of my (personal)  stress was lifted, but I am sure I will soon be weighted down with a different kind of stress.  At this point I really do welcome the change.  Now is the time for me to shine and hopefully prove to coworkers and clients that I am up for the task.  Wish me luck as the year rolls on.  Let's see where it goes and hope it is for the best.  Wish me luck (to keep my head on straight and not fuck anything up).

Fun for a Cause... well, several Causes

The annual Fun for a Cause event has been scheduled and tickets are on sale... so if you can make it, please join in the FUN!!  Go to the website http://funforacause.com/ and see what it is all about... then I want to see you there!!

Thank You!

I want to thank everyone who sent well wishes and prayers to me and my family over the last few days, I really do appreciate every one of them.  Today was the service and it was only for family.  My grandma did not want a big church service with a long procession to gravesite, she just wanted it simple.  She wanted to be dressed in pink or lavender and she did not want some big ordeal to be made over her.  She raised 10 of her own children and 2 of my cousins (after my aunt passed away).  She left this world with 8 surviving children, 21 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.  I would say she left her mark.  Today's service was short with her preacher speaking, a couple of her favorite songs sung by a church member and a lot of hugging and memories shared.  Now, I am sure my grandma would tells all to hush up and move on, knowing she is watching over us all.  So, with that said, I am going to do just that...but, like a kid I would like to get in the last word... I love you grandma and it is going to be hard imagining a Christmas Eve not spent with you at your house. 

Thank you to my uncles, aunts and cousins who were there to take care of her in her final years.  I know she was hard headed, but isn't the whole family?

Now, on with this thing called life... Grandma, please watch me and help me make good decisions.

Now here is one of her favorite songs and this version sung by Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill...

With a gentle touch...

...I said I love you to my grandma for the last time, running my thumb lightly across her forehead with tears in my eyes.  My brother and I drove down to Lynchburg to spend a couple of hours with grandma, my mom, and moms twin brother in from Utah.

Before I could even get into the second sentence of writing this blog post, my mom called.  Grandma has passed.  Arrangements will be made tomorrow.

June Royer Leach Davidson

June 7, 1926 - February 10, 2011

We are going to miss you Grandma!

Rest in Peace

Thoughts

Been a very weird week.  Was off on Monday, spent the day with Jeff hanging out, running a few errands and watching TV... Tuesday it was back to the grind at work... found out Grandma is not doing very well at all.  They have her on pain meds and she is sleeping a lot.  Out of state family has come in today, mainly my mom's twin brother... throw on top of that more stress at work... I think I am doing pretty well... Grandma as of early this evening was steady with sleep and pain meds.  Body is shutting down. No food or liquids, everything minimal through IV... body can't handle it... every time the phone beeps or rings, you just don't know.  Speaking with mom this morning, she was not very optimistic.  Grandma is surrounded by a ton of family right now... all 8 of her surviving children are near her... many of the 50+ grandchildren and great grandchildren are too.. She is a fighter. Hopefully I will get one more chance to see her...trying to work things out now with brother to make the trip... hope we are not too late...

Commercial Break

I will admit we did not watch much of the game yesterday... actually, thanks to modern technology and the DVR, we were able to fast forward to the commercial breaks...  This year I thought there were some pretty darn good commercials... I must say I was a bit disappointed with Budweiser this year... but others stepped up to the plate.. below are a few of my favorites...

This M&M commercial cracked me the fuck up and I thought it was one of the best of the night... 

I always LOVE the ETrade baby commercials, but this one is one of my favs now... speed dating!! Fucking hilarious!!!

Moonwalking across the finish line...CLASSIC... loved it...

My voice is up here... I love this commercial... Betty White can apparently do no wrong... though I am not a fan of the show, this commercial is a good one...maybe I will tune in... who knows...

If you are a dog lover, this one is tooo cute... and funny... I can see our Roxy doing the same thing with a cat, rat, possum, etc...

Nice...

I have to say Hyundai did bring it to the table with their sponsorship and some nice commercials... The Chevy truck with Twinkies was nice and Chrysler Jeep with Clint was a nice feel good spot. TaxAct peeing in the pool was funndy and the VW doggie dropping weight to chase a care was cool...John Stamos getting head-butted was also pretty good... and I have to say this commercial pretty much nailed today's society...

We all love our Vampires....

I hope your Super Bowl Holiday was as grand as mine... Cheers!!!

It's a little chili...

 

It's Super Sunday and that means I have to break out the chili... above are some of the ingredients... also, there is some lean hamburger and spicy sausage added into the mix... 

MMMMMM... it smells so good simmering right now... should be just right come game time...

The pot on the left is Jeff's chili, a white chili with lamb... in sneaking a taste, it is pretty darn good.. mine is on the right and I am scared to taste it... maybe in a few...

Happy Super Sunday!! Go Madonna!!! I mean Patriots!!

Hey

I couldn't think of a good headline, so, just Hey!  Last week was a long week at work and I am so glad the weekend go here... I have taken Monday off, so I will have a three day weekend in the end, which is always nice.  Friday was a rough day at work as a big case I have been working on may end up going somewhere else and my company (and me) gets screwed...arghhh!!!  Again, I am throwing it out there... if you live in Virginia let me look at your life insurance and long term care insurance needs... I go three dogs and a husband to feed... I also have a lifestyle that requires some attention too...hehehe... So after our long workweeks, Jeff and I did head out to Mulligan's for some dinner and pool shooting... Saturday, we rolled out of bed and out the the far West End of Richmond to Kohl's for picture frames... let's just say with 15% off coupon and markdowns, we saved over $270... we had a lot of pictures to frame... after that it was lunch at Tripps then the debacle they call Kroger in Carytown.  This grocery store is beautiful and huge and has everything you could want, except parking.  I don't know what happened during the remodel, but it seems they shrunk the parking lot.  On any given weekend or weekday evening, you pretty much have to circle the lot until someone leaves... maybe they should consider a parking deck or something... after that, we came home... Jeff framed all the pictures (will figure where to hang them today I guess) and I vacuumed and dusted in preps for today.

After that we headed out dinner with Chris, Derek and Chris's sister and her new man Tim... Terrant's was delicious as always... three cheese ravioli...mmmm and a cosmo or two.... after that, we headed over to Avalon and one of our favs, Betsy was working the bar... we all had a few drinks, Jeff and I came home.  He "crashed" and I fell asleep watching SNL... all in all a good weekend thus far.  I am getting ready to start my chili for the Super Bowl and do a little more cleaning before the game.  Some folks are coming over to watch.   Looking forward to seeing Madonna and all the commercials.  Speaking of Madonna, am I the only gay man in America with a blog and Facebook page who has not posted her new video/song?  You would think it was the second coming... jeeeeeze... but I will admit.. it is kinda catchy... what? you haven't seen it?

Well... I guess I am not the only gay now... oh well... Go Patriots!!

Hole in one...

Life is strange.  Friday night I found out a person I worked with, partied with and thought was a really great person passed away.  From my Snowshoe days, Rob Mahan, ski instructor like no other and golfer like no other, passed away from a brain tumor.  Though I would not say Rob and I were close friends, we were friends and coworkers and he was just a good guy.  So many folks from Snowshoe, past and present are sad at this moment, but they are also remembering all the good times with such a good person.  Outside of the memories of shooting video of him skiing or playing golf... my best memory is of a employee golf scramble (which we had every Wednesday during the summer)... I was in Rob's foursome and we were all having fun...
We came up on Hole 6. Par 3. Flag in the back of the green. We all hit. Then Rob hits. Ball is up over the ravine and on the green at the pin, but the green dipped in the back and we thought he hit too hard... we got in our carts to drive over to the green... we see three balls and thinking the fourth was in the back rough... searching and searching, and another team waiting for us to get off the green, Roy goes to pull the pin and there was Rob's ball... Hole in One... I have a picture of him pulling it out the hole, but have no clue where to look for it right now... Rob touched so many lives and his passing is just, well, sad.  My prayers go out to his family, his friends and especially his Snowshoe Family... Rob you will be missed... and here is a little reminder of your hole in one... the video of Hole 6 at The Raven... RIP.

http://media.intrawest.com/snowshoe/raven/hole6.html

Grandma...

Me and my Grandma at Christmas 2011

Well, my other worry of the day was my Grandma.  She is 86 years old, been a bit frail lately and had to have surgery today.  Among other things, she has bladder cancer and they were hoping to go in and remove most of it, but surgery today revealed it was too extensive to do and they also could not remove the bladder due to her weak health.  On top of that, they can't do chemo or radiation because her health will not permit it. They are just trying to keep the pain away and make her feel as comfortable as possible.  She is a tough one, and apparently fiesty too, as she has smacked an uncle and kicked a cousin who were trying to help her.  She is strong minded and is going to do and say what she wants.  But now, she is going to be a bit more limited since the surgery today and we will find out more tomorrow as to what plans will be for her care.  She gave birth to 10 children and has over 50 grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren.  Even though I am a couple hours away, all those in Lynchburg were there all day at the hospital watching and waiting.  Even the doctors could not believe all the people in the waiting room were for one person.  I have to give it to my uncles, aunts, cousins and my mom for all taking care of her over the last few years and especially the last few weeks... I hope and pray that she fights back like she always does and heals from this surgery and moves on in this life for as many more years as possible.  She is what really ties the family together.  With that said, I am going to finish my drink and head to bed. Love you Grandma...

Nothing like a visit to the Doc to brighten your day...

To say today has been interesting would be an understatement.  I mean, I had a lot on my plate today and I think I am in some kind of surreal world in my calmness.  First I had to fast for 12 hours in prep for my doctors appointment this morning.  Ummm... so when checking in at the doc's office and was asked "how are you today?"... I said, "I have not eaten in 12 hours, I am hungry, and have not had anything but water... can we hurry this up."  Seriously... I am cranky in the morning anyway, but no coffee or diet coke and no food... GROWL!!!... actually, I was not that bad... Xanex before bed last night helped calm the nerves.  So, went in for my follow-up on the acne face and other things... I am now cut back on antibiotics, once a day now...YAY!!  In discussion with Doc, I was a bit concerned about my weight.  I have all but cut out all my soda's and juices, minus my one little Diet Coke in the morning and have been going to the gym 3 to 4 times a week for over a month and have actually gained weight and not the muscle kind.  After a bit of discussion on diet and looking back at my charts to when I was about 20lbs lighter, we figured something out.  During diet discussion, he kept mentioning adding protein and watching carbs (along with cutting back on alcohol, so do say it)... then I thought... hey, when I was 20lbs lighter I was....

Grillin's steaks about 3 nights a week and ordering them when ever we went out... Protein... and I asked Doc about it and he agreed that it probably helped...along with exercise, blah, blah, blah... so tonite on the way home from work, I stopped and got Jeff and I a couple of steaks and some asparagus and grilled out (see pic above)... I mean, shit, it was 60 degrees outside in February, why the hell not.  And I am afraid, we will continue to grill out steaks often no matter the temp.  But not so much as to over do it... just need to add more meat to the diet that is more than chicken or turkey...

Jist of the visit was to also draw blood and pee in a cup.  I am 41 and it is time to start checking things out.  My blood pressure has been good the last few visits, as opposed to the last round of visits over a year and half ago... Doc was happy about that.  The adult acne clearing up very nicely was good for him too.  Now we wait for the results of the blood and urine stuff.  Due to family history, we decided to do the more intensive blood work.  Kind of a preventative type deal where they look deeper into cholesterol, glucose and other levels to see if there is anything starting to peak that may be able to be controlled before it really peaks... I can tell you now, in a week or two I will be on here crying the blues because my cholesterol will likely be bad... obviously the liver functions will be horrible and Lord knows what else will be out of whack.  So in the meantime, I am going to make changes to my diet. Continue to go to gym (though physical therapist was prescriped by the Doc for my lower back pain, insurance will not cover it until I cover my deductible, which I am no where near, so that will have to wait in hopes of continued exercise will chip away at the pain like it already has). Also, cut back on the drinking. I know I have said it before, but I really do need to watch it.  And since I have found the lovely MIO water additives, I am loving it.  It is all I drank this week and it was fine.  SOOOO enough about me... I will blog about something else in another post after this one that is more dear to me and adding to a bit of anxiety for me...

Is this thing working?

Seem my blogger is broken... are you reading me... says I only have 9 hits today... that is not good... and way off my typical numbers... give me a sign...