The Phenomenal Handclap Band - "Baby"

My boy Reno and I have been sending music back and forth, mostly the funky stuff and I just came across this band and really dig this track. Enjoy.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band "Baby" from friendly fire recordings on Vimeo.

LOST - Two Sides / One Dark One Light

I get pretty bored at work and every now and again I surf the world wide interwebs. Today I was looking at lots of LOST videos and came across this one from the pilot, I find it interesting that the show is circling aroung to the "Two Sides"...

... I wonder what the secret was that Locke asked Walt about... It's been so long since I've seen the first episode I can't even remember. Off to Netflix. If you know and/or remember drop me a comment.

Oh and now I'm starting to think that the show is going to somehow end at the begining and all we've been wathcing was the events that took place while the survivors were trying to "fix" everything. But who really know? I'm LOST.

My 101: Doin It

# 25 Get Healthy (Diet and Exercise)

On March 2nd 2009 I started The P90X workout. And let me just say, dayamn, I was not prepared for the high intensity of this program. The first week was K-I-L-L-E-R! Never in my life have I had to cut short any physical activity due to physical exhaustion but this program nearly brought me to my knees in the first week. I almost lost my lunch, my body was aching and I was getting dizzy. And I enjoyed it, I knew those were signs that my physicality was waining and I needed a swift kick in the ass.

I was also pretty excited about the diet, the program came with a couple of informative books, one of which was a nutritional guide. When people see me and/or hear me talk about dieting they get the misconception that diet means that I am trying to cut calories and lose weight. But that isn't what diet means. I have never officially been on a diet although I've always been aware of what I eat and try to maintain a healthy diet. With the P90X Nutritional guide I was given so much information on what to eat and how much to eat. Now, I didn't follow my plan exactly mostly because it was difficult with my schedule and The Wife's, Friends & Families eating habits. I'm also not calling anyone out or throwing anyone under the bus, but when families have gatherings a feast is bound to happen and I am bound to partake. However, I did eat as good as I could and I was serious about not eating anything bad most of the time. I also rarely drank alcohol, maybe a beer or two or a Bloody Mary but nothing like I was used to.

# 95 Crunches At Least 3 Sets

I did a ridiculous amount of crunches during the P90X program. I don't know the exact number but trust me, it was a lot.

#96 Push Ups At least 3 Sets

... Every other day. This didn't go quite as planned but when I started this list I wasn't aware of The P90x program. I know I was working at this before I started the program but while on the program I knocked out 1,350 in 19 days. That's about 71/day and I'm satisfied with that.

# 97 Buy and USE a Pullup Bar

During the program I did pullups only 18 days, I skipped some days , once because I was sick and another because my left wrist was killing me and I couldn't lift myself. But during those 18 days I did 907, about 50/day.

It's been almost a year since I started the program and I'm really disappointed in myself for not keeping it going. Like Tony Horton says, "Do you best and forget the rest". "Bring It!"

For those of you familiar with the program, yes I do have before and after pictures but the aesthetic results don't really show as much as the way I felt after the program. After the and even during the program I felt stronger and my endurance was better but pictures don't capture that.

The Eyes Don't Lie...

... But with a Green-Screen they don't always know the truth. How much of what you're watching is really real?

Take a look.

My-Tie

I'm stoked about this post... This is the first time I've worn this tie and if you know anything about me you know I like to hit up thrift shops to score new and unique products. Recently though I've been focusing my searches on ties, they're an easy and inexpensive way to mix up your wardrobe.

On one my most recent trips I was lucky enough to find this $2 tie which saved me about $85 than if I had made the purchase elsewhere. Its a Robert Talbott 'British Regimental' Woven Silk Tie. Great score for me.

Music & News (SeaWorld)

In light of what happened yesterday at SeaWorld in Florida I thought the following video was fitting. It's a great track titled People Got a Lotta Nerve by Neko Case.

Things like this are inevitable. As horrific as the events may be an animal doesn't go crazy an animal goes "animal". If you're a "Grizzly Man" living with bears, you're bound to be killed. If you have a pet Chimpanzee, it's probably gonna whoop your ass at some point. It's an animal, a wild animal.

I'm not a big fan of SeaWorld or zoo's at that matter, people think they're doing great services to animals by keeping them in captivity but really how can that be? A dozen Kangaroos in an indoor pin smaller than an apartment is no way for an animal to live.

Sure there are some parks that keep endangered animals and some that adopt animals (Tigers, Monkeys, etc) that some dumb-ass person thought would make a good pet, then realized wasn't a good idea. I am so good with that. I'm not good with the reaction people get when an animal attacks and or kills. It's in there nature. Teddy bears cute, big-ass bear kinda scary.

By the way, I love this song and have for quite some time... I'm just gald I have an opportunity to share it with you, on topic.

My-Tie

I prefer pictures and/or videos in blogs, hey, I'm a visual person. In an attempt to keep visual aspects in my posts I try to have a picture that complements the subject. With that said, here's My-Tie not to be confused with the fruity umbrella drink... Mmm, it's almost that time of year.

Yeah, I've got a lot goin on here with color and patterns but I think in all it looks good. Not sure about the crease on the vest though. What-a-ya-gonna-do?

My 101: Doin it.

#33. Plant a Tree Anywhere.
After the Christmas of 2008 I took our tree to Zilker Park to be turned into mulch. In turn they gave me a little tree to plant. I was excited about this because I love planting trees and watching them grow, just awesome. I found a nice big pot, got some soil and planted that bad boy. It was doing so good for a few months. I knew the summer heat would beat it down so I kept it near the shadows of my fence to ease the heat. I kept up with the watering but the extreme drought of 2009 took another victim… along with the rest of the plants and flowers in our backyard. All except the few cacti I’ve obtained.

But, The City of Austin gave my Broseph, Joseph, a few trees and he said he’d give me one or two, all I have to do is pick them up. They were potted I just hope the winter freeze didn’t kill’em.

#42. Blog About My Success and/or Failure.
Here I am, proudly inching away at this list. Of all the people I know who started the list I am the only one who’s kept up with it. Although, many of them have actually become more apart of the blogging community than I have.

#43. Grow and Give Away a Plant.
My original intention was to grow a plant from a seed and give it away. So far the seeds I’ve started haven’t made it very far along. They start out promising but for some reason beyond me just stop growing. Actually, I had some seeds start sprouting just before winter which I thought was weird, they were doing surprisingly great. That is, until we got our first freeze.

Anyhow, what I ended up doing was growing an Ivy clipping and gave it to my cuzin (yeah cuzin) Brad. At my last job my desk was perfectly situated in front of a floor to ceiling window so I had a lot of plants in my area. I also drank a lot of green tea, so I decided to conduct an experiment to see which plants would grow better. I had three different clippings; one growing in a cup of water, one in equal parts water and green tea and another in green tea. Of course the one in water grew. The one in equal parts was slightly more vibrant in green with bigger leaves and the third, which was only in green tea grew moldy but with dark green leaves. Other than the mold in the water the ivy itself was, as far as I could tell perfectly fine.

#45. Play in at Least One Poker Tournament.
I played in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas. Nah, no I didn’t, but it would be a lot cooler if I did. I do however, play in a monthly poker game with a few folks and I’m getting my game up to par. In the last two months I have stopped drinking during the games and have walked away with money in my pocket, that’s what I’m talking about.

#52. Go Six Straight Months without Credit Card Use.
I killed it. I started this list in November of 2007 and since then I haven’t used a credit card. Now if I can just pay those motha’s off. Damn my youthful ignorance in borrow-spending.

#57 Work a Full week without Personal Internet.

Never gonna happen. As long as I'm a citizen... Scratch that, victim, of office life I will always use the world wide interwebs.

#60. Win a Contest.
This (2009) football season I play Fantasy Football with MamaWanda & Clonda and their crew. This was my first time ever playing fantasy sports and I really got down on it. Everyone could tell I was a rookie because on draft day my style was way different than everyone else’s. While everyone was using there first picks on Running Back I started off mine with a QB-WR duo in Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald. Then followed those picks with Eli Manning. My Running Backs were sub-par but Ricky Williams kept me in the mix. And at the end of the first part of the season I finished in 2nd place. Making my pockets fat. J Adding to those winnings I started the next half of the season with a win. Can’t wait for next season.

#50. Run in the Next Schlotzsky's Bun Run

Better late than never I suppose. I just recieved an email from The Young Business Men's League of Austin (YMBL), it's that time of year again. Time for all of Austin's 5k's, 10k's and what have you. I say what have you because there are also adventure races and high intensity races in this town. I have only taken part in the Schlotzsky's Bun Run and this year marks the 28th annual race, an Austin tradition since 1982. No. I haven't been running it that long I have only run the race a few times but enjoy myself everytime I have.

This year I doubt I'll be racing, The Wife and I are coming down to the final stretch of her pregnancy. Ha, I say "I" as if I am pregnant. But, Lil Cash will be here at any moment, hopefully right around the time the race is going. While I'm here, I decided I'll post pictures from last season's race, I didn't write up a post then so now seems like a good time.

My time wasn't nearly as good as I hoped it would be, but good enough for me. I had only been working out solidldy for 3 months at the time of the race. Before that, I wasn't quite as active as I should have been.

Check out that stride, and that boy rocking the South Austin T. That's how I roll, oh yeah, I remember I had to make a couple of pit stops. My knee was aching so I had to adjust my knee strap and natured called, what-a-ya-gonna-do? Number one.

Photo Credit: Kreutz Photography
Wanna Race?: Schlotzsky's Bun Run

Originally Titled "'New' Shows"

Within the last year or so I’ve put in a lot of TV time. More than I had at any other time in my life. The Wife however enjoys couch time and the “get-away” that television provides her; I guess it was inevitable that I’d end up right there beside her. For the longest time I’ve been proud to say “I don’t watch TV” and I guess that stems from being a pretty active and outdoors type of kid.

As a kid, while other kids were talking about movies and TV shows they were into I was talking about playing football, basketball and riding my bike. I can remember summers, waking up slamming a bowl of cereal then hopping on my bike to round up the neighborhood kids for pick-up games, only coming in to eat. Of course my squad always won, that’s how we do. I actually remember after we lost a football game the other team accused us of letting them win, that’s respect. We didn’t let them win, they handed it to us, but even after attempts I couldn’t convince them that they beat us.

That was then, now you can catch me walking into the house after a day’s grind, asking The Wife “What comes on tonight?” That’s just something I can’t get used to, remembering what night each program shows. Not even the shows that are “mine” alone. Which are few, most shows I watch with her and because of her -Big Brother, The Amazing Race, Project Runway- just to name a few.

My current addition for my viewing pleasure is Project Runway, what can I say, it’s my guilty pleasure. I’ve always had a fondness of clothing design and the imagination it takes to create something out of nothing. And among many other things, as a kid maybe around middle school age I wanted to become a clothing designer. Like many other aspirations that didn’t pan out; due to the fact that I didn’t pursue it, but yeah. This show brings to life in a small dose what it’s like to be a designer, granted for ratings there’s more focus on drama and less on actual construction. But I still enjoy seeing some of the designers ideas come to fruition from a sketch to fabric colors and choices.

Just the other day I was asked what I’d like to do when I grow up… I hope I never grow up and I didn’t really have an answer for that question, but writing this post I think I have a vague idea. Somehow it would have to combine activities and qualities of life that I enjoy, blending imaginative creativity, the outdoors and the opportunity to be active and working with different kinds of people. That’s what all of my favorite shows have in common with my personality from college & pro football to Project Runway, The Amazing Race to Designed to Sell, Modern Family to House Hunters.

Amazing how what was supposed to be a simple post of new shows I’m digging turned into a therapeutic understanding (idea) of what I’d like to be when I “grow up”. I’m a visual person and like blogs with pictures and/or videos, this post didn’t quite go in the direction that I intended it to so I won’t be using the photos I expected, but here’s a very cool video “Lessons From a Tailor”. Enjoy.

Lessons from a Tailor. Directed by Galen Summer from Ed David on Vimeo.

Chromeo "night By Night"

My boy Reno first introduced me to Chromeo with the track "Needy Girl", from there I was hooked. I just came across this track and... Yessir. The song jams and the dance sequences is, how do you say, Baller-Ass. Dig it.

Thanks Reno.

Stephanie, getcho dance on. :) I know you are!

Deftones

One of my favorite Bands, the Deftones is finally releasing a new album in May (18th). Can't wait.

Here is a teaser for the single Rocket Skates. This 29 second clip gives off the vibe that they are going to come harder than they did with their last album Saturday Night Wrist (2006).

This (Busy) Weekend

This weekend started a lot earlier than expected, with a visit to the doctor's office to check on Cash. The Wife's blood pressure was higher than the doc would have liked it to be so we were sent to the hospital. Jump to The Wife's post for more on that. Don't forget to come back here for more on our weekend.

***

Oh hey, you're back...

I am so glad The Wife and Cash are fine and well. We are both excited for our first child but I know she's ready to have him in her arms already. Just a little longer, make it to March before you make your debut Cash. If you don't mind I'm going to move on to the highlights of the weekend.

Friday:

Headed over to MamaWanda's and Clonda's place for Poker night. While were were waiting for the other players we were also anticipating the call from the hospital for good news. Good news being the test results were good and The Wife and I didn't have to head out and stay the night at the hospital. The players started to arrive, we enjoyed conversation and pregame pizza, when Crystal's phone rang. I had just taken my seat at the table and hoped for good news, for the sake of both of us, neither of us wanted to spend the night (weekend) in the hospital and we just aren't ready for Cash yet. Well, We're " ready", but we really planned all of this with his birth-date at some point in March. She hung up the phone and as though she got a "golden ticket" to Hollywood on American Idol, it was good news. Relief. She took her seat to the left of me and "The Pro", yeah he's played in the WSOP. I just threw up a little bit in my mouth, dude talks too F'n much about his glory and triumphs. Whata-ya-gonna-do? He's an alright guy but his (insert anything) is the BEST. We all know'em and we all have them in our lives in one way or another. I'm sorry, I did say I was going to talk about the highlights of the weekend... Fast forward to the end of the night. I started off on a roll and ended up with money in pocket, the same goes for The Wife. Oh and "The Pro" quickly lost and had to re-buy, nice, the downside was listening to him complain about it all night. But I enjoyed my winnings. *Smile*

Saturday:

Take a deep breath... This was a busy day.

-Matinee: Valentine's Day, I liked, liked it a lot. Apparently it got bad reviews but I'm a bit of a sucker for "Chic Flicks" and I really enjoyed it. Really could have done without that surprised face with no live talent Taylor Swift.

-Lunch: Mmmm... I can totally go for some more of this meal. After the movie we headed downtown for our traditional VDay lunch at PF Chang's. I'm just going to post our menu so you can enjoy the mind feast.

-Diego:

Wine

Chang's Lettuce Wraps

Shrimp Sichuan From the Sea

Banana Spring Rolls

-The Wife:

Auntie Chang's Frappe (2)

Chang's Lettuce Wraps

Crispy Honey Chicken

Banana Spring Rolls

Needless to say after lunch we were ready for a nap. True story. But our day was only at intermission at that point.

-Baptism: We carried our full bellies to valet and picked up the car, the car seemed to have noticed cause it drove a little slower. I think we were just in chill mode. With full bodies we made the trek to The CPT(x) in hopes of getting there early enough to nap it out for a minute or two. But we got to my sister's house about the same time everyone else was. Mom, sister and aunt were in the room getting Baby Daney dressed, she looked so cute in her little dress, I just love her. At this point I realized the time and had to suit up. I mean, I am the Godfather, so it is important that I dress suitably for this special occasion. Fast forward through mass... An hour later the Baptism started, by this time The Wife was a little more tired but in good spirits, Jackson was starting to get a little squirmy... That kid is funny, he makes me laugh every time I see him, I love that boy. And Baby Daney, while extremely quiet and good throughout mass started to get a little fussy, she was hungry. The ceremony proceeded and we took pictures. After the baptism we headed over to my sister's house for dinner. The food was great, the company was better. After dinner my sister asked us if we wanted to look though some of Jackson's old clothes, of course we did. WOW, she had a lot of clothes, two huge bins full. We made our picks and I'm excited to see Lil' Cash in some of Jackson's old gear. Thank you very much Erica, we really appreciate it, I am no stranger to second hand clothing and I'm glad that Cash will get to wear some of his cousin's cool clothes.

-Sunday:

Took my brother, Drew Rome shopping. My other sister is getting married in March, so it's my duty to get my brother suited up. We had already gone shopping for a nicely fit Lavender shirt and he chose a purple and black tie, all we needed was a suit to set it off. That took only a matter walking into the store and trying it on... I had already measured him and kinda picked out what I thought would best fit him. Now we just need to find him a belt and he needs to get me his shoes so I can clean them up for him. I also want to try to get him to sport a pocket silk, but he's against it at the moment. Maybe he's just not ready for that kinda flare. But he tried on hist suit, shirt and tie and that boy might just clean up pretty nice. Definitely needs to get his hair game up to par though, haha.

-Monday:

President's Day. Hol-i-day! No work!

This ran longer than expected, hope you stayed with me. But completely understand if you didn't, I actually had thoughts about just aborted this post all together cause the writing was far from entertaining and I just didn't quite feel it.

Happy Valentine's Day Crystal

Happy Valentine's Day.

Alone they are just numbers solely representing themselves but together they are complete in creating unity. September 15th, 2007, a day I will always remember and cherish. A day that at once embodies itself and what is to become. With every passing day I am reminded that an otherwise meaningless number is an opportunity for something memorable.

Here's to us and every moment we have together in creating memories.

I love you,

Diego

Miami Horor - Make you Mine

I'm really feeling this song right now... I know you gonna dig this. I can think of at least one sister that will jam this song like I do and she'll probably bust-a-lil-move. Get after it, its' cold outside, you're snowed in, whatcha got that's betta to do? :) DANCE!


Nothing great about this video but I still can't figure how to upload just music. 

#24. Keep Family Tree Up-To-Date

Maintaining the Family Tree is extremely important to me, I only know who I am and where I personally come from. But when it comes to the bigger picture I know absolutely nothing. I decided a few years ago that I’d start a tree on Ancestry.com in hopes of finding out more about my family as well as extended members. I also hoped for more involvement or input from other members. But, I started this project and I should own up to it.

Fortunately for me, my current job affords me the opportunity to verify certain information from records that directly influences my tree. Unfortunately, I have found discrepancies that make this project’s maintenance a little more difficult. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy and I look forward to the many challenges and changes as our family continues to grow.

I don’t know much about where I come from and may not know where we are going, but I am thankful to be apart of it. I encourage you to take a look at the bigger picture of you and your family, you never know what you’ll learn.

#23. Get a Bike (Haro) and Ride it

Well this hasn’t happened yet and it probably wont happen any time soon. As some of you know The Wife and I are expecting our first child. We’re actually rounding the final stretch of things and (She’s) hoping for an early March arrival. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Even though Cash hasn’t made his much anticipated debut I’m still looking ahead to things to come. Biking is definitely on the list of things to do. I remember good times riding bikes with my brother and friends at The Pit. This place was AWESOME -I wonder if it’s still there. We lived in the hood and the pit was actually some abandoned undeveloped piece of land where kids would rally and dirt bikes would growl & fly by. It was a sweet spot for boys who loved riding; we’d take our bikes on sweet jumps, ride along the walls of the pit and race through creeks and trails. Good times. Writing this brings it all back, I really miss riding. I might have to take a trip to the old hood to see if this place still exists, I don’t have a bike but I’ll take some pictures if I can. The No Trespassing sign never stopped me/us before.

Some of my friends had mountain bikes while others had BMX's but I had a Chrome Schwinn frame. Which in it’s day was probably a killer ride, but for me it was just a frame hand-me-down. Did that stop me, NO and it never will. I hooked that beast up with a regular size black tire in the back and a kids-size red tire on the front. Yeah, that’s how I roll, well how I rolled. You best believe I got down with the best of them.

While I really didn’t have a problem with that bike, I fully intend on getting my son a sweet bike that he can proudly roll around the neighborhood on. I’ve wanted a specific type of bike for a while and why not try to find cash one too. Check the pics below for some sweet bikes.

Cash Options:

-Haro Z10 - A perfect bike for the begining rider. Has a parental grip on the back of the seat for training.

My Options:

-Haro Forum Pro Lite - Out of my price range (now) but maybe when it comes time to purchasing one I can get down on it.

-Haro Flightline 20 - A more rugged and affordable setup.

Mad Men Style

I don’t currently watch Mad Men, but as soon as I finally finish The Sopranos I plan on getting into it. Yeah, I’m barely watching The Sopranos. I’m not a big sit-down and watch TV kind of guy. Please no spoilers; I HATE that, although I do know pretty much how it ends. ‘Nuf ‘bout that… As I was saying, I don’t watch Mad Men but I certainly do dig that era and style.

There’s just something about a dapper gentleman that in the back of my mind I have always aspired to be. Not long ago I was reminiscing about a time when I was young and remember thinking that “some day I was going to be a boss and wear suits”. I remember watching old movies with my mom from different era’s in time and telling her that I was born in the wrong time. My youthful mind would run wild imagining myself if different decades, wondering who’d I be and what I’d do.

I’m no Marty McFly and I don’t know Doc Brown so I won’t traveling back in time and/or back to future anytime soon, as awesome as that would be. I can only create my style by taking note of better dressed men of now and then with my own personal spin. Last Fall Brooks Brothers announced that they would be selling a limited edition “Mad Men” suit endorsed by the hit AMC drama, with the assistance of the show’s costume designer, Janie Bryant. The suit was on sale from Oct. 19th through Nov 8th and retailed for $998. Where's Doc Brown when I need him?

Photo Credit: Brooks Brothers

My 101... Doin' it. Or not.

#5. Change Light Bubls.

New and awesome energy saving bulbs cost a watt of money... Haha get it a watt... a lot... Uhh, okay. Yeah. I'll just wait until my current bulbs fade away, they've lasted for the most part a little over 3 years now so it just seems wastefull to toss out what's good and working.

#6 Sign a Hobo.

Probably never going to happen, I never stop, plus I don't have a camera to capture the moment.

#7. Finally Go on Honeymoon.
What’s this honeymoon you speak of? Seriously, it’s been nearly three years and The Wifey and I have yet to take a honeymoon much less a holiday. Life happens and currently trips aren’t in the plans. Someday.

#8. Visit Mom.
This one is much harder to do than one would think. As cliché as it sounds The Wifey and I are usually pretty busy, we are habitual planners. And the way our work schedule is we try to make as much time for each other as possible, so our calendar tends to be booked at least a month in advance. Add to the fact that my mom champs it up with 2 gigs, her time is pretty much locked up too. That lady works far too hard… But I do get over there as much as possible, even if it is just sitting on the couch watching cop chases and catching up. Love you mom.

#9. Visit Grandma and Grandpa.
Unfortunately I missed too many opportunities to visit with Grandma, I love you and miss you everyday. And as much as I hate to think about it, just typing it out sucks that much more, that I don’t spend any time with Grandpa. I just need to make time for Grandpa.

#11. Vacuum at Least Once a Month.
Okay I’m sure you’re reading this and imagining my house as some dust-filled dungeon. NO. I am a rabid vacuumer -Yeah that’s a word- and I do vacuum at least once a week sometimes every two weeks. What I mean with my once-a-month vacuuming is a detailed cleaning. When I pull that dust sucking machine out I get down and dirty getting the house dust free. That includes dusting, cleaning glass, wiping, moving furniture, removing couch cushions & pillows sweeping and banging the dust out of rugs. I get so detailed with this that it nearly takes all day and I’m sore by the end of it all. And I usually hate myself for being so detailed when I’m finished.

#12. Paint (Interior of House).
I wasn’t much a part of this goal but it got done. The Wifey’s mom and aunt came over to the house some time after Christmas to help paint Cash’s room and his bathroom. I wasn’t much assistance because I was so shittily ill, I painted a bit then sat down on the couch. At some point I faded out, got up and woke in my bed, to a completely painted nursery. Nice job ladies.

#17. Learn a Full Song on Guitar.
Pfft. I don’t have the patience to learn or teach myself a full song. I can learn intro’s or bits but never seem to put a whole piece together. At least I can do that much; that beats the “Rock Band Hero” on expert any day in my book.

#19. Maintain my Yard (I want it to be the BEST).
The Wifey and I put many a day of work into our yard. But that somehow isn’t ever enough. Should’ve gotten a Condo! With the high Texas heat and drought scorching sun we’d have to make more money for the “vanity” of watering our yard and flower beds on a daily. We try, we really do try. Spring always look the best.

#20. Write Again (Journal, Blog).
Here I am. :)

"...you'll have to totally do Jerry."

A blog-post or so ago I put together an outfit for my sister which proved to be a lot more difficult than I had expected. Color choice and style was a big factor in her ensemble and the choice of color made for her was what gave me the most problems. With that said I was able to put something together that I liked. Her comments assured me I did a solid job and she showed her interest to see what I have in store for her husband.

I decided that my next challenge would be Jerry and knew I'd have a lot of fun with his get-up. Being a big baseball fan and also quite active I already had a few ideas for him. He's a Boston Red Sox fan so I already had it in mind that I'd create his gear around a classic cap. Another important factor is comfort and it had to stand up to his active lifestyle.

The clothing had to be loose but not baggy durable but not rough. While deciding on his pieces I found a couple of items I just couldn't commit to, I liked them both so I had to throw them into the mix. Below is the final product or products.

Option 1:

-Boston Red Sox 1946 Era

-Eckley Thermal Henley

-Volcom X Factor Plaid Shirt Gray

-Woolrich Wool Town Coat

-Patagonia Continental Pants

-Carhartt Vintage Leather Belt

-Navy Paisley Handkerchief

-Darn Tough Vermont Boot Sock

-Danner Slusher Thrasher







Option 2:

-Boston Red Sox 1934 Era

-Dickies Grey Thermal Top

-Volcom X Factor Plaid Shirt

-Woolrich Wool Town Coat Navy

-Darn Tough Vermont Wool Sock

-Danner Slusher Thrasher

I'm not a Boston fan or much of a baseball fan actually but I would totally rock this with or without a tweak of the cap.

Who's next...

The Adidas Originals Star Wars Collection

My boy Reno just tipped me off to a new collection of Star Wars gear coming out this year thanks to Lucasfilm and Adidas. Inspired by the legendary films you know these kicks are going to be one of the hottest products this year.

The collection for the first season is split into three packs -- The Characters Pack, the Vehicles Pack and the Direct Pack. You can get down on the Characters pack now but you're gonna have to wait until march for the Vehicles Pack.

Want more? You can also find shirts, hoodies and other apparel within the line. Visit starwars.com.

Whether you're a 'Star Wars' fan, a pop culture aficionado or a sneaker freak, I know you gonna dig this.

In order of personal preference, the top 3 are my favorites...

Adidas Yoda

Star Wars ZX700 Yoda Boat shoe mixes earthy colors with textured details.

Adidas Skywalker
"The Adidas S.W. Luke Skywalker is a tribute to both the Skywalker 80s shoe, as well as the Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker. Built from a mix of leather and textile, this piece is modeled after Luke's orange X-wing flightsuit."

Adidas At At - Vehicle Package drops in March.

Like the machine itself these shoes are some big stomping show stoppers.

Adidas TIE Fighter - Vehicle Package drops in March.
Clean, simple and most definitely Star Wars inspired.

Princess Leia

I'm not one to rock vibrant shoes but these are sweet, I know some folks that can pull these.
"Inspired by the metal bikini Leia had to wear while Jaba's captive, the adidas Star Wars Princess Leia Game Mid is a spicy swirl of gold, silver, the signature maroon of the Lashaa silk used in that outfit."

Adidas X Wing - Vehicle Package drops in March.

Adidas Millennium Falcon - Vehicle Package drops in March.

#14. Finish Several Books I've Started - Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

Synopsis:
Victor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants.

This 304 page book took me far longer than it really should have. My brother lent me the book and said he read through it quickly so I thought I'd do the same. When I first opened it I read page after page after page, from the very beginning the author's style had my attention. I never thought I'd put it down but of course distraction and pure laziness took it's choke hold on me.

When I finally picked it up again I killed it in two day's (during lunch) at work. While not as exciting as Fight Club, for me, Choke still has all the twists and turns you expect from Chuck Palahniuk. Upon finishing the book I Netflixed the movie to get the cinematic point of view, all in all, book and film they were alright.

V-Dub

Everyday on my way home, I drive past a Ferrari dealer & service shop and lose my nuts and bolts imagining myself rolling in one of those fine machines. It doesn't take long for me to snap back to reality, I mean who really slides around in one of those anyway?


Then I get to thinking about the many finely crafted vehicles I've dreamt about in my life and how if I were ridiculously loaded I'd have a different vehicle for just about every occasion. From road trips to camping trips or looking fly on my way to the grind to the suaveness of a date-night ride. And no matter how I spin it the vehicle that I find functional yet smoothly cool enough for each and every voyage has to be a Volkswagen Bus. Ever since I can remember I've dug VW's, from the Bug to the Bus. Just something about them caught my eye.


Those classic adds are awesome! And for the record, picture me rolling in any of the Bus's above, cause I totally would.

"...and can you dress me please?"

Ask and you shall receive. Well maybe not actually receive but you get the idea. In my Sharp Dressed Man post my sister left a comment to which I am "attempting" to reply to here.

Q: "What holiday were you talking about..."
A: If I remember correctly the specific time I'm thinking of was before Christmas, a long while back.

Q: "...and can you dress me please?"
A: I can at least try.

First I'll lay them out so you can play them out and give specific reasons for these particular pieces. Let me also add -for those who may not know my sister- she is a loving SAHM (That's a Stay At Home Mom) with two awesome children. One of which enjoys all things about being a little boy and terrorizing his mommy. It is my hope that this ensemble addresses her style and is functional enough to keep up with the chi-ren.

~Coco Brown Pea Coat - Everyone does the black, why not change it up a bit. Plus it's been chilly out these days.

~Columbia Nubby Full Zip Sweater - I like the the fact that it's still in the brown family but contrasts and has a full neck that will show when the Pea Coat is buttoned. Plus when you're inside you might still want the warmth of a sweater and the option of zipping. Or maybe you forgot monsta-twuck in the car and need to run out to grab it. :)

~Lavender 3/4 Sleeve Thermal Henley - Just because the skies are gray and gloomy doesn't mean you shouldn't have a pop of color. And the 3/4 sleeves still leave you free to the many hand washes or dish washings without having to worry about rolling them up.

~Purple Plaid Scarf - Again gotta have a pop of color.

~Flower Print Belt - Wishing for Spring.

~Pure Dark Artist Jeans - Nothing beats a good pair of jeans and the dark color is good when a little someone wipes there hands on you. Is that Cheetos dust? :)

~Plum Plaid Cashmere Blend Socks - They just look comfy.

~Sketchers Gaucho Spring Form - Chasing kids isn't always easy but with these kicks at least it'll be comfortable.

Well that's that... My goal from the beginning was to use brown and Lavender as my palette but I didn't realize how hard it would be to find Lavender women's clothing that I actually liked and worked with this outfit. Hope you enjoy the get-up as much I do. Any thoughts, ideas? Anything you'd change, add or keep? The hardest piece to find was a shirt, I'm still not totally into the shirt I chose but like I said.. This was difficult.

And although this was more difficult than I had imagined I had a good time putting this together and choosing clothes that I see "fit" you and your life-style. I look forward to doing this for other people in my life.

... Who's next?

Clothes to Yoakum

In the past I've gone on and on about how I want a nice pair of boots, something I can be proud of that only get better with age. The Wife hates the look of boots and and especially hates it when I decide to wear them. According to her there is only one person that can pull off the look, but yeah I don't care. I want some and I'd rock them every chance I had.

And this weekend's trip would have been an opportune time to rock some Lucchese's. Yessir, some snip toes. If I had it my way, and the cash flow this would have been my attire for the Yoakum trip. I mean, this is Texas.

Olive Green & Brown Brimmed Beanie - Gotta keep the dome warm.

Green Plaid Western Style Shirt - Preferably with Pearl Buttons.

Walnut Sandstone Sierra Sherpa Lined Jacket - Carhartt.

Low Rise Boot / Medium Original Indigo - AE Outfitters.

Goodhew Southampton Socks - Merino Wool

Lucchese® 1883 Snip Toe Boots - Chocolate Mad Dog.

Austin to Yoakum and Back Again + #37. Travel to a Small Texas Town

Another gray sky day, the temperatures balanced between 32 – 35 degrees as we traveled from Southwest Austin to Yoakum, Texas. Early Sunday morning Crystal’s mom, aunt and I along with Maggie, their dog, loaded up and headed out to the Leather Capital of Texas so they could meet the new dog they planned on adopting.

The trip was long, probably not as long as it seemed because we traveled along untouched Texas land. Living in a city where construction is endless with new buildings piercing the sky everyday and endless roads running every which way. It’s hard to believe that there are actually parts of Texas that are virtually untouched as far as the eye can see. A reminder of why I am grateful to have been born and live in this great state. The reminders were not far and between on our way… Just when the open land merged with a small town we came up on a Trail Ride, a scene that being from Texas you would have imagined I’d seen before but, nope, not once. It was very cool to see so many people riding horses and so many different kinds of horses pulling carriages. I tried to take pictures but the shit-ass camera on my HTC MyTouch is less than sub-par (But that’s a subject for another rant). The coolest sight I saw several times on our way were horses, Cows, Calves and Longhorns running wild on open land. Just witnessing that was amazing to me. I’m a big Nat-Geo, Discovery fan so for me watching those animals run free was like being apart of Planet Earth. Very cool!

We finally made our way into Yoakum and as we pulled up to the house there was a life size steel horse roped up in the front yard. My initial thought was, “I came all this way and I feel like I’m in South Austin”. We were greeted by Mr. Scott and walked into his home, it looked small and had that nostalgic old wooden smell I can only remember from my Great Grandmothers house. He escorted us back, from one room to another and I quickly realized that this house that looked small from the outside was as endless as Texas skies. The inside of his house had relic antique furniture, paintings on the wall and all sorts of antique figurines and phones. We were finally seated in his living room, oh and he had flat screen televisions everywhere. What does one man need with so many televisions? Anyhow we were finally seated in his living room I had no idea what seats were made for sitting and which were just decoration (There were about 13 pieces of furniture in his living room), but as I was about to sit down I was quickly told to jump into another seat. Haha. The seat that he pointed out for me was a big comfortable recliner, so big that I had to jump into it cause my feet couldn’t reach the ground.


Mr. Scott discussed with us the history and training of Skunky, the soon to be adopted Border Collie and you could tell how much he loved her. His choice of words made it hard for me knowing that he would soon be without her. He referred to her as darling and you could sense that he often spoke to her in baby-talk. He then stood up and asked us outside so we could all meet Skunky, I jumped off of the couch and landed safely on the wood floors and walked out back. There she was, this well trained excited Skunky. He called her and instructed her to sit, lay, then rollover and she listened. His next command “Get in the truck” and she leaped up and scaled the closed gate of his pick up and seated her self calmly in the bed of his truck. “Out the truck” he said and again she obliged. “In you chair” and she raced and jumped into what is obviously her designated lawn chair. I knew instantly that Wanda and Clonda had already made up their mind that she would be a new member of their household.

The decision was made and Mr. Scott gave his last goodbyes assuring Skunky that she was going to be happy in her new home and instructing her to listen to her new family. He walked us out and saw her into the vehicle and bid her farewell. From Yoakum to Austin this small town dog is moving to the “big city”, her new home.

*The photos are from Google Search... Remember my camera phone is a "piece".