Appetizer
If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?

I’d like to be someone that could play an instrument or two. John Mayer or John Legend or someone like that.

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?

I like talking in person a lot. Over the phone…now that I have a Jawbone, it’s much easier. I would say that on the average, I’d rate my PTE (phone talking enjoyment) at about a 6.

Salad
Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).

Most recently, I donated to Heifer International with the help of all of YOU.

Main Course
What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?

Cheeseburgers. That’s why this whole “no red meat until Memorial Day” sucks so much. I like pizza. And Chipotle too.

Dessert
Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?

Alli had it for about a week and I almost got it but my immune system eats flu viruses the same way that I eat Chipotle.

|

Just remember, tomorrow is Burrito Day - the day in which you get to buy a burrito AND donate to a great charity at the same time.

Chipotle will be donating the proceeds in Kansas City tomorrow up to $10,000 to benefit Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics.

So go have an oversized burrito for the kids.

|

If you can’t read the image, it basically says that if you buy a burrito, tacos, salad or bowl at a Chipotle in Kansas City, Chipotle (the King of Burritos) will donate the proceeds up to $10,000 to Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics.

So there’s a good reason to have a burrito this Saturday…

Do it for the kids.

|

I was fortunate enough to be enjoying a tasty burrito after church to have missed the abysmal first quarter-and-a-half of what passes for football in Kansas City these days. But when I got home, I had to endure the rest of a disheartening, embarrassing loss to a bunch of dudes in teal.

The worst part about the whole game was that Jacksonville came in with the EXACT same game plan Herm Edwards has been preaching since he got here — Run the football. Play good defense.

Well, at least Jacksonville got the memo. Edwards forgot the part where you have to have players that will block for your spoiled brat running back and you have to at least have a quarterback who can handle pressure and didn’t spend 95% of his 11-year career holding a clipboard. If you think I’m a bandwagon-jumper, you might be right, but I’ve been saying Huard didn’t deserve it from the very beginning.

But hey, at least we didn’t get shut out.

We might as well have. Maybe then people wouldn’t give Carl Peterson a pass and blame it all on the coaches. While Herm Edwards and Mike Solari certainly bear some amount of responsibility, the biggest thing wrong with the Chiefs is personnel. We have an electric rookie wide receiver and perhaps the greatest receiving tight end in the history of pro football, but no one to throw the ball to them. We have a top 3 running back, but we let him act like a moron and don’t put decent blockers in front of him. We have a pretty stout defense, but forget coverages at a moment’s notice and Still. Cannot. Cover. The. Bootleg.

I’m ready for rebuilding. Just don’t act like you’re going to try and win when you clearly don’t have a quality product on the field. That sort of thinking belongs on the OTHER side of the Truman Sports Complex parking lot.

|

…this is not a trip update. I just haven’t had nearly the time I want to commit to giving a thorough overview of the trip and I’m still fighting with myself to get our pictures up on Flickr. I promise that trip updates are coming soon.

But not today.

We had a great weekend and just wanted to talk quickly about it. We spent Friday night at Community America Ballpark watching the T-Bones (from a suite, no less) as a celebration of Big Mike’s 31st birthday. It was fun hanging with all our friends and playing the “pass the cup” game that makes T-Bones games a lot more interesting. (It’s nothing sinister, I assure you.)

Saturday, I got a lot accomplished. I mowed our lawn for the first time since we got back into the country, which led to a small bout of dehydration. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the summer? It is the most VILE of all seasons. Too HOT. After recovering, I tackled cleaning and scrubbing the kitchen while Alli went to the baby shower for my future niece, Ireland. In 7 short weeks, I’m going to be an uncle…how cool!

After Alli returned from the shower and I finally got IN the shower, we went to the movies for the first time since we saw Shrek the Third in a French theater just off the Champs-Elysées. We caught two movies that I’ve been dying to see - Live Free or Die Hard (AWESOME) and The Bourne Ultimatum (EVEN AWESOMER). We were shocked to see one of the biggest theaters at the Olathe 30 AMC completely packed for the 9:50 PM Bourne, but after seeing the weekend box office numbers (Bourne took in over $70 million), I guess it isn’t all that surprising. That movie ROCKED.

Then yesterday, we had an early Priesthood meeting and a great church service in which we got to sit with our buddy Reece, which is always fun. He and I had a good time playing motorcycle while I tried to pay attention to his dad’s sermon.

After church, we grabbed some Chipotle with Mom (an obvious Sunday lunch choice…and every other day for that matter), then headed home for a quick nap and then back out to Lee’s Summit to hang with Jake and Kelly. Watched Stomp the Yard (pretty good), some Iron Chef America and Entourage before heading home with the 7th Harry Potter book in hand (boy, do I love my future sister-in-law for hooking me up!). I read until about 2 A.M., getting through around 300 pages. I’m determined to finish in the next couple of days so I can finally start reading all about it on the interweb. Fortunately, I’ve been able to avoid spoilers up to this point. Needless to say, it was difficult waking up this morning.

Keep an eye out…I promise a trip update soon.

P.S. If there are any generous reader-types out there, I’m totally wanting this Harry Potter set that is going to come out in a month. I only have one of the 7 books and I want the whole set. If someone out there is interested in making this boy’s day…I’m just saying.

|

I’ve written before about my struggles with my weight and stuff I’ve tried to do to take action. There are plenty of reasons why I’ve failed miserably at this task on numerous occasions:

• I get busy with other things and “don’t have time” to work out - I’m sick of that excuse for myself.
• I can’t find a program that works for me - Truth is, I can’t work on a program long enough to MAKE it work for me.
• My incessant Chipotle craving - Let’s face it…I don’t see this one ending anytime soon. I’ll have to just work harder I guess.
• I like to sleep in, thus cutting down on the time it takes to prepare healthy meals - I guess I need to get up earlier then.
• I can’t seem to find the motivation - Living longer should be motivation enough.

I could go on, but that’s not the point. The point is that last week, I started back on the Power 90 program, a Beach Body, Inc., program that we bought a long time ago that promised to re-shape your body in 90 days. Considering that our departure date for Italy is about 90 days away, I finally found some motivation. And with the pending nuptials of my little brother and his beautiful fiancee (likely on some island), I need to get control of my weight…and FAST.

I’ve worked out every weekday for the last two weeks, doing the Sweat! cardio tape on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and doing the Sculpt! lifting tape on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I haven’t yet worked out on a Saturday, but the plan is to either go to the gym or just figure out something active to do on the weekend, then rest on Sundays.

So far, so good. I’ve lost 3 pounds, but I’m still a really long way from my goal weight. I don’t like being this heavy and I don’t like my clothes not fitting. I’ve been better with my eating habits, but I still need to work on portion control, and if I’m going to have Chipotle, I need to steer clear of the guacamole (so good!) and any other extras like chips that would just add on more calories to my already scale-tipping burrito bol. If you want to find out what your burrito, check out this awesome Chipotle fan site. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Anyway, wish me luck. I’m going to need it to keep on my path to healthier living.

|

This is, quite possibly, the greatest day in the history of southern Olathe. It will only be eclipsed by the day that this location opens.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS? This Chipotle is being built less than 5 minutes from our house!

This is huge.

|

Alli and I have a relatively recent tradition of just getting Chipotle and watching a movie at home for Valentine’s Day. This year was certainly no exception. Last year, we watched The Notebook, which was really good. We thought about making that movie a part of the tradition, but instead opted for the new movie I bought Alli this week with my reward points from HarrisPollOnline (if you’re interested in signing up, I’ll send you an invite, just let me know…that way I get more points). I bought her Just Like Heaven, with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. It was a bit predictable at times, but I liked it for a romantic comedy of sorts.

It was a good day. I got a great surprise in the morning and Alli and I had a great evening. I know it sounds corny and very boring to a lot of people, but some of my favorite times in the world are those when Alli and I are just sitting around our house with the dog, hanging out and just being together. I think that is what life is all about…those in-between moments…not the daily hustle and bustle. If you can find happiness in those moments, you’re probably going to be OK. I know that I am.

|

Volume 6

Today, I’m thankful for burritos. And not really just any burritos, but Chipotle burritos.

I (heart) Chipotle. I’ve made this fact well known here on this little blog and I’m proud to say that I am a Chipotle-holic. What’s not to love about Chipotle? Good, cheap grub. It doesn’t get much better.

|