Kanye... I Agree With SP

Steel Panther saying what we all thought.

A Sick This And Thats

It is winter and not as much happens, thus nothing to write.  Plus, now that I have taken a step back from blogging for a bit it does get harder to make myself sit and write.  So, since I may jump around a bit we'll make it a This and Thats post!

• I've accepted my third promotion in about as many years.  Tomorrow I start in my new department, higher in rank and money though not much of either.  Still, this department has a whole lot more potential than the department I was in.  I will have adjustments to make, like I will have a later schedule and I'll be changing buildings again.  I'll be back in the building I first worked in for years, so there will be a lot of familiar faces - whether I like that or not.
• And of course on the eve of my new job I get sick.  After work on Friday, my wife and I went out for bit before coming home and ordering out dinner.  Sometime during the course of the evening the back of my sinuses gave me that feeling and sure enough, when I got up on Saturday I felt terrible and it only got worse the longer I was awake.  I only feel slightly better today, still very ill.  I can only hope for a miraculous recovery for tomorrow morning or it will probably be a difficult week in training.
• For good news, we went out a couple of weeks ago and bought a new bed and it finally got delivered yesterday.  Our old bed had been worn out for quite some time.  Nyquil, Sudafed and a new mattress helped me sleep okay last night.  We also bought a couple new comforters for the new bed and we will also have to buy some more sheets to fit, this bed us much taller than the last.
• My thoughts lately have turned to spring, and taking a week off with nicer weather.  I feel the need for a vacation very soon and I have projects I would like to work on.  But sawing and painting is best done outside in the driveway or garage.  It's way too cold for that these days.  I still have some designing to do but the final design is always just how it ends up, not always the idea I started with.  I like creating as I go so only general plans are usually needed until I start sawing things.
• We still have all the snow from a week ago, piled up everywhere.  Temps the last couple days have started it melting but we know it is not over yet.  At about 27 inches we're about six inches under our average for this date.  There's still plenty of time for mother nature to wallop us again.  I don't know what Jimmy the goundhog - the local celebrity for the holiday - told the mayor of Sun Prairie but he seemed adamant about it.  The local 'hog's bite made news around the world.

Okay, I'm tired.  Back to my lazy boy and blankie.

Snow Daze

by graphica.

Cat Spat

Basil and Hamish playing/fighting about 20 minutes ago.  Hamish, the smaller of the two, seems to have the upper hand this time around.

Badgers Mend Packer Pain

This is for my fellow Green Bay Packers fans, for my heart aches with yours.  This was written today about our Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball team:

"...All of which adds up to this: On Tuesday night, Wisconsin beat a ranked Big Ten team, one without a road loss yet this season, by 32 points. In the process, they committed exactly one turnover. Which came on a shot-clock violation. Thanks to a scorer's table correction. Without their starting point guard..."

Not too shabby having a team like this to root for now.  I'm not saying it takes away the hurt from the Packers overtime loss to end their season, but it is certainly a good distraction.  Go Badgers!

Happy Birthday Mrs Scoakat!

Yes I am still here, thank you.  I realize I have not posted much lately but I have not had much to say and I no longer pressure myself to post even in those droughts.  If you read back, I've been trying to be much more relaxed and manage my time better recently.  That being said, ever forward!

We celebrated my wife Kate's birthday recently.  On Saturday night we had friends over, turned the heat to 80º F, and had a 'tropical' party.  We got some cheap decorations on Amazon and my wife put out a very nice tropical spread, only partially seen here.  We made the best tropical fun out of a January birthday that one can expect (without hefty expenditure) and enjoyed a good time with our friends.

Then last night, her actual birthday, we had reservations for a local bar/restaurant, Dexter's Pub,  that was having their first beer tasting dinner event.  They call it their 'Heritage Series,' and they have them scheduled for almost every month for almost 2 years out.

Each month they bring in a different craft brewery that works with their chef to create different dinner courses that compliment various brews from that brewery.  I'm sure this type of thing has been happening for quite some time now at other places and in other areas, the craft brew market has exploded in the past decade or more.  Seating was limited to the first twenty people, cash up front.  We bought our tickets about a month ago when we were there to have dinner with friends, in fact we were the first two to sign up.

We had such a good time that we would highly consider doing it again - but the next one is all seafood and, well, I just can't do that.  But that's okay, there are many more events scheduled and it will be nice to see if it runs a bit smoother after they have a few of these under their belts.  Also, Dexter's is only probably a 20 minute walk from home so it is very nearby.  Just another reason to love our side of town in this capitol city which we live.

Note to self:  Get Bikes In Spring!