Kicking off 2012 with a bang

When I said 2012 was going to be my year, I wasn't kidding around! It's only January, and I already have big news to share...

On week from Monday -- on Feb. 6 -- I start a new job as Director of Social Media at a KC-based agency that provides digital marketing communications services to pharmaceutical companies. I am beyond thrilled about the opportunity. I'm ready for a new challenge, and I'm ready to dip my toes into the exciting world of management. The company I'm headed to has a ridiculously bright future, and the people are fantastic.

So today I borrowed a friend's SUV and picked up my (totally out of place in a cubicle) chair from work, along with a few other items I brought when I began my job in 2007.

Stay tuned because I have another big announcement coming in early February! What?! Seriously.

Whatup, readers!

One of my 2012 resolutions is to get back into blogging. It takes significantly more time and brainpower than a Facebook post, which is why I've been slacking. But I really do enjoy it -- even more so when I get comments... Hint, hint! So my "ask" of you, dear readers, is to put a comment on this post with ideas of what I could write about.

Regardless, this toooootally counts as fulfilling that resolution. I also went to the gym today and started a new book, so 2012 is looking pretty good so far! Now all I need to do is take my daily vitamins, floss and wash my face before bed. There are a few more resolutions, but a) those are the only ones I can really start today being that it is Sunday as well as a holiday, and b) I'm keeping the full list close to the vest so that I am not publicly shamed if and when I fail. As evidence, see the list of my 2009 goals. It went down in flames. You'll just have to keep on top of this blog to read about all the great things I have in store for 2012.

I kicked off 2012 last night at New Year's Eve at the Temple, which is self-described as "the craziest party in the Midwest" put on by 95.7 The Vibe. I'm typically not attracted to these types of douchey parties, but I won two free tickets on Twitter last week and recruited my open-minded friend Ruth to join me.


The first thing that made me go "hmm" was the fact that GPS showed the location as directly between Troost and the Paseo. Whatevs! Ruth ain't scared o' nobody! Not only is she in law enforcement, but she also is a black belt and carries pepper spray. In any case, we made it without incident.

So we walk in and see massive crowds of people. Imagine a huge building with a gigantic auditorium and lots of hallways leading to small, multi-purpose side rooms. Then turn off the lights and add 2,000 people waving glowsticks as they dance to crazy loud techno music. And the party? In every nook and cranny you could find. That was the Temple. Being more of a low-key, hang-out-with-friends-at-a-neighborhood-bar type person, I was a little overwhelmed.

"At least our tickets get us free drinks," I thought as I walked to a bar. Yeeeeah, about that... The drinks were free, but you're going to be drinking the cheapest booze they could get their hands on. Think Viaka. For $75 a pop, I expected better. I nursed my one drink the entire time as we watched a sea of drunk 25-year-olds dance to songs I've never heard. You would have thought this was the best night of the lives. I mean I'm not that much older!!! What the heck? This is fun? The six years that separated me from the median age in that room made me feel like a member of AARP.

The countdown to 2012 was the most uneventful I have ever witnessed. In the middle of spinning his club music, the DJ turned it down a little and said, "9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy New Year!" and then promptly turned the music back up. No confetti, no champagne, no party blowers, no "Auld Lang Syne." Strange indeed.

We stayed until about 1:00 and decided to call it a night. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth or anything because it was an interesting experience and the tickets were free, but I do not think we'll be returning in the future.

Kitchen adventures: How to make cake pops

This weekend was my kickball team's last game of the season, and I wanted to do something to celebrate. Cake? Too messy. Cupcakes? Too expected. Instead I decided to try my hand at making cake pops, which are basically cupcake balls on a stick. And in case you've ever been interested, here's how you do it...

First, buy the following:

• Cake mix (and ingredients listed on the box)
• Frosting
• Two bags of chocolate candy melts (from Michael's)
• A styrofoam ring (from Michael's)
• Cookie sticks (from Michael's)
  
• Foil
• Pam
• Crisco
  

And it always helps to have a kitchen helper... Even if only there for moral support :-)


Line a cake pan with foil and spray Pam everywhere.


Prepare the cake mix and pour it into the pan. The chunks in this one were just something that came in the cake mix I bought.


When the cake is baked, let it cool. Then put it into a bowl and smash it up. Add half the container of frosting to the smashed cake, and mix it up. The frosting acts like glue to hold the little cake balls together. I think I went overboard. I might do a little less than half the frosting container next time...


Now the fun (messy) part. Make little balls. I made them pretty big, and I got 24 balls out of one cake mix.


Now melt the two bags of candy melts in the microwave. Make sure you don't burn them! I put it on like power 3 or 4. When it's melted pretty smooth, add a big spoonful of Crisco to make it even smoother.


Now get your cookie sticks. Dip them about 1 inch into the chocolate, then stick it into the cake balls. Lesson here: Don't stick them all the way in so they touch the counter or else they'll be more likely to slide down when you pick them up.


Now put them upright and stick them into the styrofoam ring.


Let them harden a little bit in the freezer or refrigerator. Fortunately, Patrick's supply of food is nonexistent and there was plenty of space in the freezer ~ next to the only things in there: two Gladware containers of lentils and a bag of ice.


After the cake pops have some time to harden, reheat the chocolate and start dipping! Through experience, I learned that spooning chocolate over the cake balls works better than dipping.


My cake pops were green because that's our team color. If you choose to go a colorful route, be ready for a stained tongue :-) Totally worth it!


And if you're wondering if we won our game, of course we did! Goooo, STIYJB!!!

TVIP at Trezo Vino

Last month my friend Ruth turned 31. I experience life four months ahead of her, so I take it upon myself to hand down my wisdom from time to time :-) Ya know, like "man with one chopstick go hungry." The important stuff.

As her birthday present, I promised Ruth that I would take her to the July TVIP wine tasting event at Trezo Vino in Leawood's Park Place, the mecca of all things clean and suburban. Although I had been to Trezo Vino, I had never been to the TVIP wine tasting ~ and we do love wine. So tonight we headed to the event, which is the second Tuesday of each month.


As part of the wine tasting we each got six small glasses of wine -- three white and three red -- and six food pairings. Note: The term "food pairings" is obviously interpreted loosely because it totaled maaaaaybe 10 bites... But they were 10 delicious, fancy bites! Here are a few of the so-called "food pairings."

Squid and fennel spiedinis with pepperinade:
Besola with lemon and tomato:
Tomato roasted clams with red wine pork:
Flank steak with zucchini sformato:
While others around us (all within the 60-80 age range) may have been simply killing time, we took our wine tasting very seriously... As evidenced by my notes.

That's right. One wine gave me breath like a dragon. And another made my taste buds salsa dance. Who wants to hire me?

And after the wine tasting, we went across the street to Ingredient. I love Ingredient mostly because it has cheap fondue with four types of chocolate dipping sauces. But apparently the cheap fondue is only in the Lawrence store.

First I was shocked and appalled.

Then I was angry.

And finally I was sad.
It was like I experienced the stages of grief all at once. But then we ate artichoke spin dip pizza, so all was right in the world once again.

Lastly, we went for gelato at Paciugo.

And it made us so happy we danced in the rain. I did the flamenco.

Ruth was staying alive.


It was a good night.

Unstoppable

I know it's unbecoming to brag, but I've just gotta tell you guys how awesome STIYJB is doing in the kickball arena!

Last year must have just been our warm-up because we are so rocking the City of Lawrence league this time. Our record is 4-1, and the first game (our only loss) was a fluke. As soon as we got our stuff together and focused on holding the ball instead of trying to make double plays, we became unstoppable. Only one team has a better record (5-0, undefeated) and we play them on July 10. Or shall I say the $&*#!s go down on July 10?

The only downside is how sore I am after this past Sunday's double header. It's a little ridiculous and makes me feel old, but soooo worth it...


For the past two summers, we've been playing in the City of Lawrence league, but our real goal is to get into the Kaw Valley league. There, our skills can really shine ~ plus it's more fun, the season is longer and the games are at night instead of in the afternoon. After we close out this season, I think we might get drafted from the farm league :-)

The Nest on Ninth

Bars in college towns are a dime a dozen. They're almost as plentiful as hipsters, hippies and Redbox machines! But everyone has a few that are close to their heart. In Lawrence, my favorite has always been the Sandbar (evidence here). The fish. The hurricane. The jukebox. The fruity drinks. The Key West vibe. What's not to love?

Well the Sandbar is still close to my heart, but I do believe I have a new favorite: The Nest on Ninth! I hate to even use the term "bar" because this a classier joint. It's the type of place you would go to have a couple glasses of wine and unwind.

The Nest on Ninth is a rooftop bar on the ninth (top) floor of the Oread Hotel, which is just off campus. The views are unbeatable. And should you find yourself in Lawrence, I highly recommend you stop by.

Gourmet strawberries

Last week I saw a banner ad for chocolate-dipped strawberries. They looked a-ma-zing, but they were $43. FORTY-THREE DOLLARS! For six strawberries. How lazy does one have to be to make that purchase? How can the buyer not have a reality check at any point during the checkout process? And what are these strawberries -- dipped in gold? I don't think so!

(Insert Z snap.)

But they sure looked good. So I made my own... for less than $10 and in 10 minutes!

#fail

Every eight months or so, I get motivated to start running. I set goals. I make a plan. I buy cute new clothes and shoes to keep me going...

Well as evidenced by the sweet new Nike Free Run + 2 shoes in that picture, the running bug hit me again last week. It may or may not have been related to weighing myself for the first time in six weeks. Or the Vegas vacation Patrick and I booked for September.

Anyhoo, the bug hit me again last week so I set about planning. And yes, planning takes a week -- a week during which I must devote all my time to psyching myself up (vs. running). As part of my training preparation, I googled running groups in Kansas City. Several popped up, but one looked especially appealing: Run Kansas City. Personalized training programs, group runs, beginners welcome? Sign me up! I was pumped.

Tonight was the free, try-us-out run to see if you want to commit the time and money. I put on my best running clothes (gotta look the part) and drove to Shawnee Mission East. When I got there, I met the coach, who proceeded to ask me how far I typically run. Typically? He assumes I typically run? Is this not for newbies? But I wanted to sound cool, so I replied "I usually do about a 5k." I was thinking that not only is this a respectable distance, but using runner's terminology scored me some extra street cred. Wrong. Coach Man then informed me that this was going to be a 6-mile run.

Insert record scratch here... Six. Miles.

What do I do at that point? I mean know I can't physically run six miles, but I can't leeeeave. So I do what any respectable person would do: I act like I'm going to run the entire thing, work my way to the back of the group around 1.5 miles and ditch 'em when they're not looking. In my defense, I was going to give it the old college try until they decided to run fast up a one-mile hill.

I am still going to give myself props though. I did, after all, drive 25 minutes over to the high school and run/walk three miles -- which is 1.5 miles more than my Hal Higdon training schedule calls for. Not a total loss!

STIYBJ

I'm not really a sporty person. When it comes to watching, I've always enjoyed the social aspect more than the actual game. And when it comes to playing... Let's just say I sat bench playing JV softball my junior year of high school. Yeah. I've never been particularly good at any sport.

Is this where you think I'm going to say but now I found my niche? Wrong-o!

I still suck at sports, but I finally found a sport where my suckage isn't bad enough to sideline me: Kickball. That's right. Kickball. Just like you played in fifth grade. One level up from red rover. Well it turns out kickball is an adult sport, and there are *leagues* devoted to it!

So last year my friend Becky pulled together a team to play in the City of Lawrence's kickball league each Sunday afternoon: Stick That In Your Juice Box & Suck It (STIYJB). And I was a valued member of the team. More than being a part of the team -- usually interpreted as getting a t-shirt -- I actually played! Which is probably a pretty good segue to our 2010 record, in which we won exactly one game because the other team didn't show up. It was over 100 degrees. They were wusses. If nothing else, we had heart and we deserved that $*#@ win.

Fast forward to the 2011 season opener. We were like *thisclose* to winning last week, and we were ahead by 7 runs at one point! But then we started getting cocky. No, no. But we did start trying to throw the ball way too much. We were all about the double and triple plays. The problem was with execution. So STIYJB lost :-(

On the positive side, only our egos were bruised. During last year's season opener, it was much worse. Not only were we behind the entire game, but one by one we all went down like flies. Don't laugh. When is the last time you pull all your strength into kicking a ball and then sprinting 60 feet? By the end of that game, we could barely limp to the bar.

Now -- this past Sunday's game. Game two. The other team was a bunch of cheaters with more guys than girls on the field, plus they had 10 years on us. But we executed! AND WE WON!!! It was our first real win, and it felt fabulous. Even better, someone overheard the other team say "That team is really good."

These are old pictures of our team (circa 2010), but they'll have to do until I remember to take some new ones. Pay no attention to the ginormous crowd gathered around the bleachers. :-)

PS Keep checking back, and you'll get to see our spanking new green shirts for this year!

Buzz Under the Stars

I don't want to jinx anything, but I think it's safe for me to say summer is finally here! Not only do I get to shed my coat for the next four months, but the season of sun brings with it some of my favorite things: patio dining, grilling out, long dog walks, outdoor happy hours, shaved ice and concerts.

This weekend I kicked off summer concert season with Buzz Under the Stars. Let's call it BUTS for short... hehe. BUTS is a concert put on every year by a local radio station, 96.5 the Buzz. I like the music the Buzz plays, but I really don't enjoy the attitude of the station or radio personalities. I could go on, but I'm trying not to let this blog turn into one big rant ;-)

Anyhoo, this year's BUTS headliners were Cake and Mumford & Sons, two bands I really like. So me, Patrick, Angie, Dave, Becky and CJ headed down to City Market for some fun on Friday night after all scoring tickets in April before they sold out (in around 20 minutes).

When it's not being used for concerts, City Market is just that. It's a farmer's market of sorts -- meaning there's no assigned seating. No seating at all, actually. It's all general admission and all standing room only. That means if you want a primo spot, you have to get there when the gates open, listen to no-name bands and forgo trotting around the area looking for drinks and bathrooms. This is not something I'm willing to do.

Here's what the concert crowd looked like:


Seriously. Who wants to fight that? Instead, we all met up in a nearby parking lot to catch up and tailgate for about 90 minutes before heading in for the main acts. Oh, and kudos to Angie and Dave for spotting an awesome hidden gem of City Market parking lots with free and available spaces at all hours.

Our "seats" (standing area?) was a little further back. Um, a lot.



But we still had fun!