Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like cherry flavoring. I recently consumed a fruit smoothie with cherry flavoring and enjoyed it. I've been using a lot of cherry-flavored lip balm recently too. The strange thing is that I'm not a big fan of actual cherries. I don't like their texture.

This week, I love the text-a-complaint system at Jordan-Hare stadium. I just learned about this neat feature the other day. Basically, you can send a text to some Auburn officials regarding misbehaving fans during football games and someone will be on the seen soon to help with the problem. Kinda cowardly, I know. But it will certainly help out with the fans that think rules don't apply to them. I'm going to try out the system the first time Julie lights up one of her smokes.

This week, I don't like the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Actually, I've never appreciated the BCS. True, it does manage to provide a #1 vs. #2 matchup each year to determine a college football national champion. But that's not always the best game. Plus, it's all the confusion and absurd rankings that lead up to that matchup that aggravates everyone. Check out the BCS Twitter site if you want to see a failed public relations tactic. Our chances of ever seeing a playoff system will remain slim as long as the official BCS website is sponsored by a television network. Fox, who does not cover college football all year, does a terrible job with all of the BCS games. And they absolutely butcher the Cotton Bowl each year. If they have the rights to that game this year, I guarantee you that they will stick Pat Summerall in the booth. He did the play-by-play a few years ago when Auburn played Nebraska and it was terrible. I thought Pat Summerall died years ago!

Have a happy Thanksgiving and remember, if you see someone going for that last turkey leg, have some decency and don't pull one of these:

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like the opportunities for fellowship that Julie and I have gained from our Sunday school class at Covenant Presbyterian Church. Our class is made up mostly of newlyweds like us but also has some couples that have entered the world of parenting. Julie and I have really enjoyed getting to meet lots of new friends. I have started meeting with a group of guys from the class on Wednesday mornings and we are getting lots of invitations for dinners and group outings.

This week, I love ESPN's 30 for 30 documentaries. These are short films that highlight unique sports-related events that have occurred over the last 30 years (ESPN turns 30 this year). And each unique film was directed by a unique individual. Check out the official trailer below and see a list of all the films here.



This week, I don't like Coke Zero's slogan. The product's current slogan is "Coca Cola taste with zero calories". I recommend that it be changed to "Diet Coke in a black can". I miss drinking Coke with my popcorn so I asked Julie to buy me some of that there Coke Zero. Wooo doggy that is some yicky tasting stuff.

Like, Love and Don't Like

The item I like this week really goes against my weight loss efforts I've mentioned over the past few weeks but I'll go ahead and say it. I really like Nathan's Famous skinless beef franks. Quite possibly the best hot dogs in the game right now. Nathan's Famous franks are the official hot dogs of the hot dog eating contest held at Coney Island each year on July 4th weekend. These frankfurters are NOT the standard encased floor sweepings that other companies try to pass off as hot dogs. Go buy some today and embrace the goodness. Here's a recap video from the 2009 contest. The winner ate 68 hot dogs in 12 minutes or something like that. Nathan's Famous franks aren't small so I am very impressed with this accomplishment.



This week, I love having a day off from work. I had the day off for Veteran's Day today. When ranking the days which to have off, I'd say there's a tie for #1 between Monday and Friday. Wednesday would have to be #2 because it gives you a nice, clean break in the middle of the week. Tuesday and Thursday are tied at #3 because you have to shut down and start back up and you really don't feel like you've gotten a break. However, let the record show that I feel that ALL days off are great.

This week, I don't like our storage situation. Part of my day off was spent trying to reorganize some closets at home. Julie and I don't have much attic space to work with but we do have a few closets that allow us to tuck away items. Unfortunately, these closets fill up quickly. I'll have to remember what my mother always says: you'll always run out of storage space no matter how big your house is. I bet that's true!

Warehouse Soup

I am really struggling with something to post this week as I don't have any pictures of kids in Halloween costumes to share. Oh well!

Now that the weather is getting cooler I am starting to break out all of my soup recipes. This is a fairly new recipe that I got from e-mealz. It is so easy and has tons of flavor. Hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!

Warehouse Soup

½ lb. Kielbasa Sausage
1 can Cream of Potato Soup
1 can Split Pea with Ham Soup
14 oz. can Italian Diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 soup can of water

1. Cut sausage into cubes and brown over medium high heat in a soup pot.

2. Add all remaining ingredients and heat.

Only makes enough for 3 people so may need to double the recipe.

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like the fact that there are some of you out there that are really helping me with my weight issue. I mentioned that I enjoyed some...ok, a lot...of chicken strips from Zaxby's the other day via Twitter. Our good friend Emily was quick to politely call me out on my relapse. Thank you Emily. This has given me a new outlook on my quest that I voiced to the world last week. And knowing that there are others just like Emily spanning the globe gives me that needed pressure to stay the course. The next time I consider that extra helping, I'll remind myself that there are school children in France that are wondering if I'll ever get back into those pants.

This week, I love knowing that Julie's planning skills will make Christmas shopping much more tolerable. This is my first Christmas as Julie's husband. I didn't put a lot of planning or thought into my shopping efforts during my bachelor days. I'd wait until the last minute and vow every year to start my shopping as early as the following October. That never happened, of course. But now I am a part of a structured team and holiday shopping no longer intimidates me. Julie and I are well on our way to being the tag team champions of Christmas shopping and her intensity is like a elbow drop from the top rope. We've already crossed a lot of items off of our list. At least I know my sister is relieved that someone else has to help me this year!



This week, I don't like driving home from work in the dark. It feels like it's 8:00 when I get home. Plus, it's already tuff to drive around here but dark driving conditions pose even more of a challenge to me because of my less-than-perfect vision. It has been a joy to be reminded this week that Birmingham drivers curiously increase their velocity when conditions worsen. And to think that I used to get mad when I would get caught behind a farmer on his tractor.