Long time, no post

Yeah well being thirty was ok, but at 31, I am much more involved in life. I stay busy with work and my new found hobby of running and getting ready for baby #2. He is due just after Halloween.

Might just start using this to track my running progress. We will see, no promises!

day 365

Well, it is here, the last day of my 30th year. I have to say it went by pretty quick. It really doesn't seem that long ago that I was posting the tests posts and the transformers posts. I hate that I did not post more of my year but blogging on a regular basis is just not my thing. I will continue to blog here but it will be random and irregular. Thanks for sticking around and maybe I will come up with some new material.

Tonight I am 30 one more time. Tomorrow, on to 31.

Long time, no blog

Sorry folks, I know I have not been around for ages and I am sure all five of my fans have given up on me but I am here now.

I have been on ebay and some other websites and it got me to reminiscing. About what you ask? Cartoons of course. If you have read anything on here you know about my love to everything transformers and I do have the first two season of cartoons on DVD. What about others?

Do you remember...

M.A.S.K. - Kinda transformer like. I loved that the cars turned into battle stations and planes, helicopters etc. This was an awesome show, unfortunately there are not as many toys available on ebay today. The ones there are over priced, broken or missing key pieces, just as the characters or their masks.

This show was a staple of my week day, after school, line up. I had most of the toys back in the day and would give anything to have some of them back. Thunderhawk with Matt Tracker, ahhh, the memories. The show was awesome and the toys were even more so. The combined my love of cars and transforming toys.

Another afternoon program that held my attention on and off was...


Thundercats! Loved this one too. Not sure why this one appealed to me as much but I think it was because they had cool weapons and cool vehicles. Whatever the case, I watched this one too. Rumor has it that they are trying to bring this one to the big screen. Please, make it not be true! I couldn't imagine seeing some actors painted like cats. Oh well, I guess it worked for the Transformers. Do you think Michael Bay could find enough places to stick explosives?


Finally, in my trip down memory lane I ran across a bonus.


Army Gear! Galoob, former maker of Micro Machines also produced this awesome line of toys. They appeared as "normal" army items, aka grenades, hand guns, canteens, etc but low and behold they were army playsets. I had several and wore them out. These toys are even more rare than the Mask toys. I have found a few on ebay but they are way out of my price range. I would love to have one or two but I can't justify buying a piece of my childhood at such a high price. Oh well, some memories are left just that, memories.

So if you are reading this and have some of these toys and are willing to part with them, contact me.

Halloween

The Season is upon us...stay tuned for some halloween related posts as I prepare my yard for the big night.

new house

Well another milestone down. Finally we are getting settled into life in our new house. I will post some pictures soon!

New House

Well it is almost official. We are just over a week away from signing on the dotted line for a new house. On August the 27th, we will be the proud new owners of a three bed/two bath house on Mary Anne Circle.

This move has been a long time coming. Another sign of becoming older, got to let go of things from my past and move forward. My current house was bought pretty much right out of college and has been home ever since. I came back here after my wedding/honeymoon and brought Lily here after her birth. It will be strange to leave this place behind but we are definitely looking forward to the upgrade.

The new house will feature many creature comforts that this house just cannot provide, at least not without remodeling. The new house will have a remote master suite, which means another bathroom, woo hoo. The house is also about thirty years newer than my current place so it will have better insulation, a fireplace as well as a nice open floor plan.

I am not sure how I will haunt my new house but I am making some plans and hopefully can put something together for this year even if it is small. I am sure it will scare the neighbors.

While I am leaving the the old house, it will not be leaving me as my brother will be the new owner. We have agreed in principle to sell to him at a bit of a discount so he can move out again and start moving forward with his life. I just hope this house is a good to him as it was to us.

I will update the house status with pictures and everything soon.

Barricade

Ok, I know, I know, I am such a post tease. I post and claim that I will post again and then I leave you high and dry. Guess that is better than low and wet, eww! I digress, finally, I am going to share one of the last M&M wrappers from this summer's blockbuster, Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen.

I bring you the last in the series of regular M&M's with Peanut M&M wrapper number 6 in the series. The sixth different bag along with Red, in his Delect-o-Con attire bring us Barricade.



While I remember Barricade being one of the first transformers in the first movie and played a huge roll in recovery of the glasses from Ladiesman24/7, I do not remember him in the second movie. Maybe I missed him, maybe not but for some reason he is predominately featured here on wrapper number 6.

Of all of the decepticons in the first movie, this was one of my favorites, mostly because he was a car. But Barricade was not just any car, he was a Salen edition Mustang cop car. I really like his side pannel that read "To Punish and Enslave", so try of their mindset. Anyway, enough rambling.

I have one more bag to present as well as an interesting flavor. Details soon...I hope.

Sometimes it is the little things...

that make me happy!

Today I was in the downtown Blanchard, you know, at the Blanchard mall, aka Dollar General. I was looking for some sweet treats after dinner and low and behold, I ran into something that made me happy. Sometimes it does not take much and this time was no exception.


I found these, Fright Bites! I know Halloween is still three months away but there they were, right in the middle of the shelf. Of course, I love Halloween, so I had to pick up a bag. I thought I would share with you, so here they are.

The bag only held about 12 candies, not nearly enough for the little beggars on the big night, but at a buck a bag, I guess you could buy quite a few bags.

Well Fright Bites are chocolate with a fudge bite, yeah sure. More like generic chocolate with generic chocolate inside. Outside of the plain old chocolate taste the do come brightly wrapped in a Dracula themed foil wrapper. Each individual bite is about the size a silver dollar.


I know it is not Halloween yet, or even close but I pulled one out of the bites out, nibbled on it while watching Halloween III, Season of the Witch. Halloween will be here before we know it!

Coming soon

Coming soon, the wrap up articles for the Transformer/M&M's promotion for revenge of the fallen and possiblly some entries detailing some of my toy purchases associated with this latest movie. Don't hold me to it though!

Starscream

Starscream...you disappoint me! Classic line from the transformers series.

Megatron utters this often to Starscream both in the original cartoons and the most recent movies. This being said, have no fear, this bag does not disappoint. How could peanut M&M's disappoint anyone? Bag #5 in the Revenge of the Fallen/M&M team up features the power hungry Starscream teamed up with Yellow from the Delectocon team. Really if you think about it, this is an odd pairing. Starscream is all diabolical and Yellow is so laid back and unassuming, maybe that is why they were put together. Starscream wanted to be in charge. Hmm...regardless this was a tasty bag and the revamping of Starscream in the movies was awesome!

Megatron

Well I am back by popular demand, well my one fan requested that I do something here. He was even kind enough to send me the link to my own blog in case I had forgotten it's location.

So without further ado, I bring you M&M bag #4, Megatron. Megatron, leader of the Decepticons teams up with the Blue delectocon for this delicious bag of peanut treats. I love the peanut M&M's, I mean who doesn't, but add Megatron and you do not have to twist my arm to hard to drop sixty five cents on this bag.

Going back a bit, my memories of Megatron were bittersweet. I liked the guy, I mean he was bad and all but his transformed mode was a gun, how cool was that. Boys love guns and I was no exception back in the day. I loved guns, nerf, water, etc. but Megatron was a Transformer gun. Only issue with that was he was HARD to find. The few time I did run across him, I was cash poor and never able to coax my mother into dropping the necessary green on yet another toy. Oh well, maybe ebay will somehow come to my rescue one day.

Ironhide

The weapons specialist, Ironhide graces the third and final plain M&M’s bag. Bag number 3 features the most recent and I would say, the best version of Ironhide in the entire series. Ironhide is portrayed as a GMC topkick pickup. To call him a pickup is a bit of a misnomer as this truck is more like a small semi than a Silverado.

The orginal G1 Ironhide was some Japanese van, red in color and not very strong looking. Not the case now, Ironhide has the “transformed mode” to match his attitude, tough and ready to battle.

These round out the first three in the series of seven packages, up next, the peanut M&M packages.

Wrapper #2, Bumblebee

Package number two in my line up of M&M’s wrappers features the humble bumblebee. Once a yellow Volkswagen in the original, Bay has given him a makeover as a stunning 2009 Chevy camero. If I had a camero like that, it would be yellow with the black racing stripes and I am sure I would put the autobot logo somewhere on the car. Sorry, that is the kid in me talking!

Shown here in his bumblebee gear is Yellow together with Bumblebee striking a pose. And yes this is a “tear and share” package and I did share. My daughter Lily loves M&M’s and had to have a few.

VIctory for LSU

Congratulation to the 2009 LSU Baseball team on the sixth college series championship. Watched the game start to finish and it was awesome.

I felt a little bit of sympathy for Texas but hey, they still have a good team and can try again next year.

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

M&M’s Chocl - o - bots

In my effort to cover all things transformers this summer, I stumbled upon M&M’s. Ok, I would be lying if I said I do not eat M&M’s on the regular but not as often as I did for this series of blogs. I added at least a pound eating these dang things and burned up some gas finding all the packages.

M&M’s stepped up the Transformers 2 promotion with seven new packages and one new flavor. The first cover shows Red in his transformer attire with Optimus Prime and the official logos from the latest movie, including the weird symbols that I have yet to understand, probably because I have not seen the movie. Optimus Prime, being the leader of the heroic autobots gets top billing in this series as made official by placing him on package number one. I am partial to this one of all the package mostly because I am a prime fan and love the big red semi, have since a kid. I actually own several versions of the big guy and cannot wait to see him in the next movie and the cooresponding toys.

While the package is cool and definitely increased my M&M’s intake, it really does nothing for the overall flavor. They are still the same chocolate candies and still melt in your mouth as well as your hand in this heat.

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

Yes, it is finally here. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen aka Transformers 2 is out! I cannot wait to see it! Probably going on Friday with my wife and some friends. I will be sure to post my thoughts.

Also I will be covering some of the promotional materials and toys associated with the first blockbuster of the summer. Stay tuned!

Quick Laugh

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, just not much going on.

Quick laugh for the day. I was downstairs in my building, downtown and say this little old man with the strangest shirt. Not strange in the that it was an odd color, or anything. The shirt on the man just seemed out of place.

This guy had to have been in his 70s or older and was hunched over and walking with a cane. The funniest thing was that he was wearing a brown shirt with the neck of an electric guitar printed on it and the words, "I LIKE TO PARTY". I had to turn my head to keep from laughing out loud. Just altogether amusing. I thought I would share.

BBQ Enchiladas and Lime Mints Part Three

After making it to Turtle Rock Retreat and settling in for a nice night, we awoke to grey skies and cooler temperatures. During the night, a cold front passed through and brought us rain and clouds. No problem, the river is wet, we might get wet, and we pressed on.

Back down the five mile bumpy road and up the valley to Jasper we went. We had reserved our canoes and transportation through Gordon’s Motel and Canoe Rental. We did not pay attention the previous afternoon to Gordon’s and I am glad I did not, that would have been a long night of worries.

Gordon’s motel included about five or six spacious rooms and I am sure they were really nice and they claimed to have color television. They also claimed to have a pool, which we found out was empty. Now Ms. Gordon, as we called her, was nice enough, she willingly accepted our payment for our rental and arranged for some bubbas to take us to our drop off point. Wow, these people suffer from limited gene pool disorder!

As we loaded up our paddles and “life jackets” we piled into the van and away we went. Bubba number one tried really hard to crack jokes as we scurried us up hills and around the curves and at a nail biting 65 mph. Bubba number two was along for the ride and was actually funnier than bubba number one as he was holding his seat belt in place since the buckle was missing. He said it made him feel safe. Oh well we should all be safe then, right?

To the drop off point we went and upon arrival, we unloaded and set up for our day of floating down the Buffalo. The river was beautiful, and since it was rainy and cool we had it to ourselves for the most part. We sent the day paddling, fishing and relaxing on the beaches along the way. And I was very proud of my wife and myself as we did not flip over at all the entire trip. We had a great time.

It was amazing to see the river as we did; high cliffs, waterfalls and lots of wildlife! We had a few trouble spots where the water was low or we had to cross under fallen trees but overall the river was awesome. Our four mile float took up the greater part of the day as we slowing paddled down and made frequent stops for refreshments, lunch and restroom stops.

Once we made the pickup spot and traveled back to our vehicle, we trekked back to TRR and had a huge steak and potato dinner. Then we went back to the pond for fishing, hot tub for relaxing and the bonfire for s’ mores.

Sunday was more of the same but with more sun, colder temperatures and a longer float. We opted for the six mile float. The day was great, until Gordon’s nearly left us at the pickup point. That is a story for another day!

Overall the experience was a good one, the canoeing, the cabin, friends and quiet time with my wife made the trip memorable. I will post some pictures once I get them in so you can see just how beautiful the trip was.

BBQ Enchiladas and Lime Mints Part Two

Well after the funny faces, spiting of lime mints and cursing La Hacienda, we loaded up for our final run to the mountains and Jasper/Murray Valley, Arkansas.

Four hours or so of driving through scenic Arkansas and one long and winding road later, we made it to the huge metropolis of Jasper, Arkansas. And let’s just say that Jasper is simple. Not simple in a bad way, but the sign stated that the population was 495 not including us.

Once we reached Jasper the real journey began as we turned south and headed into the valley. We traveled through little villages with names like Parthenon, Wayton and eventually Murray. Finally, after driving most of the day, suffering bad Mexican food and being leery of our surroundings, we found our turn off to our cabin. Our directions said turn off the paved road. Again, strike up a chorus of Dueling banjos.

Not only did the directions say turn off the paved road, they also directed us to travel three miles to the fork in the road and continue another two miles. For you who cannot add, that is FIVE MILES folks! Five miles of us driving into the woods, down a dusty and muddy, bumpy road. We drove so far off the road we were afraid we would not come back.

Up and down the hills, across the washed out spots and under the peering eyes of the natives, we made it to the Turtle Rock Retreat, at last. We rounded that final curve and their lay paradise. The property was amazing. TRR as we would later refer to it, had land, horses, a creek, a pond and one awesome cabin complete with hot tub, fire pits and all of the creature comforts one is seeking when hoping to relax. The pictures in the brochure did not do the place justice. The cabin was amazing! The front was covered with large open windows and a wrap around deck. The inside was very nice with three bedrooms, large tubs, a cozy den with fireplace and a very spacious kitchen and dining area. This was the place for us!

We immediately settled in, chose our rooms and unpacked our stuff. The girls quickly rested their drive weary bodies in the hot tub while the guys fished the pond. We caught fish, they relaxed. After a bit of unwinding, we started dinner and explored the cabin and land around us.

See part three…TO BE CONTINUED AGAIN

BBQ Enchiladas and Lime Mints!

What in the world you say? This was the beginning of our brief weekend getaway to Murray, Arkansas and what would be a brief stay in paradise.

A little back story is due, as it is needed to set up this entry. A few months ago, some friends of ours suggested we take a vacation together. They always go up to Northwest Arkansas to go canoeing on the Buffalo River and wanted us to join them. We had missed their previous invite because Lily was too young to leave with anyone for an extended period of time. So, being the outdoors type of people we are not, we agreed to three days of “roughing” it in Arkansas.

At that time we got online and found a cabin for our stay as well as the canoe rental arrangements. The Turtle Rock Retreat was slated as a nice little place in Murray Valley, Arkansas. We had no idea where it was and only a few pictures online but decided it was the place for us while on vacation.

So with all the child care arrangements made, suitcases packed and final preparations made we loaded up on Friday and headed north. After a brief stop in Camden, Arkansas at my sister in laws to drop of Lily, we were on our way. Eight hours in a truck into what we referred to as “deliverance country”, insert your own version of dueling banjos here.

The stop in Camden put us a little behind schedule on lunch and we tried to make it up by stopping at the first Mexican restaurant we saw in Benton, Arkansas. Why Mexican you ask? We had a pregnant woman on board and nothing else would do. She was bent on having Mexican and they knew of the restaurant from previous trips through the area.

Our “Mexican” restaurant was the La Hacienda in the big town of Benton. Wow, um, interesting. I should have known right away it would be bad when all they had was instant tea, but things got worse as the salsa was not hot but sweet. That is just altogether wrong! Strike one!

We reviewed the lunch menu and selected something safe, enchiladas and tostados. Pretty basic, meat, cheese, lettuce, onions, tomatoes and sauce, boy was I wrong. Our plates arrived, piled high with lettuce, tomatoes and onions, none of which I am just thrilled about, but that was the least of my worries. Once I unearthed the food from the fluff, there sat one sad little enchilada with some brownish-red sauce. Ok, I thought chili sauce, not so bad, let me try it out. Instantly as the food hit my tongue, my nose and taste buds screamed STOP! What I thought was chili sauce tasted strangely like a sweet honey BBQ sauce. Not that there is anything wrong with BBQ sauce, just not on my Mexican food. Unfortunately, my wife suffered the same fate as she ordered them too.

The pregnant woman though we were just being difficult because she picked the restaurant but we let her try the food and with one bite she was on board with us. She knew it was wrong too. Thankfully her and her husband had ordered other foods and was ok but we were left to pick through our food and eat what we could. Ok so with two strikes! I paid my bill and hoped for a better dinner, La Hacienda would not be a future choice for any of my Mexican needs. On our way out of the place, the establishment suffered its third strike and was immediately thrown out!

As we walked out, with the taste of BBQ sauce in my mouth, I grabbed a “mint” from the basket. In most restaurants they provide after dinner mints, peppermints or something similar to mask the breath you obtained while dinning in their establishment. Well this place was not different; they had a basket of red mints and a basket of green mints. I opted for green thinking, wintergreen or spearmint. This is where I suffered my second assault on my taste buds in thirty minutes as the wintergreen mint was LIME! Immediately upon this discovery, I made a funny face, or so they say, and spat the revolting candy from my mouth. WHY, WHY, WHY would anyone want a lime mint after eating! Gross, La Hacienda you fail on so many levels.

TO BE CONTINUED…