lauren's ark

she loves them
every last one of them

every animal (well most)
leaving insects and snakes out of the discussion
she loves animals
some would say an animal lover

when we saw this elephant in Kunming she turned into a 7 year old
"Stephen there's an Elephant! Can I ride it! Please! Please! Please!
Oh he's so cute! Can I ride it please!!!!"

and then the monkey in Guilin went the same way
"Aw there's a monkey! Can I please get my picture taken with it!
I wanna hold it. aw it's so cute! Please! Please!

I love animals! don't get me wrong.
But my idea of getting my picture taken with one is more like this picture

i ate dog meat one day in Guilin (without lauren)

and found this cute little paw mixed in
I admit though, i felt sick
I wish i never ate that cute little puppy

ni hao

we're back
we're asleep
no we're awake
no we're asleep
no we're awake
no we're...

East Asia

We're off...to a land far far away...where signs have subtitles that make no sense...
Don't forget us!
But don't try and call us!
We're off!

one year ago today

we were celebrating our friend shawna rae stewart's birthday

so i guess that would make it her birthday today
happpy happppy birthday
but now she has a boyfriend so we don't get to see her on her birthday this year
sad face

we were not married
we were not even engaged
we were probably falling asleep talking to each other on the phone
ok that was just me
wishing we didn't have to be apart another night

so what does this have to do with shawna's birthday my wife asks?
nothing i say
nothing

sitting on our bed

so we haven't said anything
lately
we are still here
as all of you know
i'm sure the only people who look at this are the people we actually see
so whoo hoo we're posting
see you tomorrow

i started writing a few
but opted out of actually posting them
one about me and my dad almost meeting our fate in a corvette
and one about my buddy jeffrey and all the things he's taught me about life
actually the one about jeffrey will happen
i liked it
i just got lazy

but here we are
sitting on our bed
geeking out right next to each other
Lauren is trying to pick out what clothes from Heritage i would wear
and I am perusing our friends blogs
laughing and missing my little nephews

the end.

cuba libre

first friday at cuba libre found
the henricks
the lusbys
the mannis
the mcintires
at a table for eight in the back left corner
two families were celebrating birthdays
all families were celebrating life and a night on the town (w/out kids)
we experienced the 15 tastes of cuba
the strongest coffee in the world
the most mouth watering mohitos
scantly clad brazilian dancers
forks that could double as ice picks
a server who earned every bit of his $-- tip
we danced to salsa music (well, tried)
we laughed at the 40yr old couple making out by the window
got sangria confused for grenadine
had chocolate hummus
and had a most colorful time

dirty harry

i don't know where that phrase came from...but that's what i love about my dad. you never know what's gonna happen...but you do know it will be fun! and fun we had tonight.

first stop...sly fox brewery. pasta. beer. catch up on life. and complain about how much cars cost to get fixed. and we're off.

second stop...french creek shooting range. only after stopping at the counter to look at a S&W 500...a pistol that takes bullets about the size of your thumb...and cost $4 per shot. the stylish gentleman behind the counter said he shot it once...and once was enough. told us a story of a guy who blew his thumb off shooting one...not by a bullet...but by the gases that are discharged out the back of the cylinder when fired. http://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php?p=7767070&postcount=54
anyway...then on to the shooting range where we let out some fantasies that had been built up by watching action movies for the past few years...it was very therapeutic.
we went in progression...
22mm target gun
22mm mini shooter
22mm western six-shooter
9mm S&W rapid fire target eater
my favorite moment of the night, besides my dad's facial expression right before the 9mm rapid fire round, was the snake-shot ammo we put in the six-shooter. as the mini pellets reached the target, a beautiful dusting of target shrapnel floated to the ground. a sight to behold.

every son should hear these words from their dad at least once in their lifetime..."son, let's go shoot the guns."

break 100

tuesday night offered many things
$1 Bud Light Drafts (not the highlight)
$2 Bud Light Bottles (i don't get it)
$5 Bud Light Pitchers (definitely not the highlight)
bowling at the palace (highlight)
with my scrumptious wife (bonus!)
with her friend shawna (always fun)
with shawna's boyfriend bram (a first)

we put down our competitive spirits for a night of pool, pizza, budlight, bowling, and my personal fav; bowling shoes. yes we knocked some pins down, yes we watched american idol drowned out by the sounds of a bowling alley on a league night, yes we picked the lightest florescent balls we could find, yes shawna asked if she could wear the high healed bowling shoes behind the counter that we all knew she couldn't but we let her ask anyway and laughed when they said no with a chuckle, but no we did not lose our cool while bowling. we gave high fives. said good job even when only one pin was knocked down. took great bowling action pics (see below). and made it home in time to go to bed before midnight.

tuesdays anyone?

no reason not to

we have been doing alot of nothing
alot of "so, what do you want to do"
and three hours later sitting on the couch
watching american idol
geeking out
watching movie

and it has been wonderful
i've never been so unbusy in my whole life
and felt so good about it

sure we have 2 to-do-lists still to do
but won't we always
plus
there's always tomorrow
or this weekend

so what are we doing right now
project runway finale
and loving it

fun night out

...tonight we drove our little butts down to the city and had a good ol' fashion time like we used to when we were dating...shopping, cheese steaks, and live music/dancing. first we visited the ever famous South Street and took my friend Brett's suggestion for the best chicken cheese steak in town at Ishkabibles. And for the record...it was. Nice juicy hunks of mouthwatering savory chicken breast...melted cheese...ketchup...roll...cheese fries...and people from New Jersey sitting next to us who drove there just to get it. We then walked out and gave the rest of our uneaten meal to a homeless man (we only presumed he was homeless) who when asked if he was hungry said, "what you got?" When we said chicken cheese steak he said "oh yeah man." We then proceeded to Walnut Street for some shopping...H&M and URBN were all we had time for...but it was fun. Then we found our way to the TROC where we stood in line with a bunch of under-dressed, scantly clad high school girls who had just gotten dropped off by their mommies (whom, i might add, added to the mass confusion of exiting the venue by double parking outside to pick them all up). We were waiting in line to see One Republic with special guest Eric Hutchinson and another band that i don't remember the name of...but it's ok because they weren't that memorable. however, One Republic with special guest Eric Hutchinson was very memorable!! Special guest Eric Hutchinson was very down to earth and organically humorous. Both bands were every bit as good live as on their debut albums. One Republic gave a rousing, heart pounding, instrumentally versatile, gold-sparkle drumming, cello singing, crowd singing louder than the band, girls recording every move of the lead singer with their camera phone, cool guys in the back at the bar trying to forget they had to bring their girlfriend to this way lame show (in their mind), me and my lovey loving every second of it, performance. I also forgot to mention that we scored a killer parking spot on the way to the TROC so leaving was a breeze.

We now lay in bed, reminiscing of the night that is now behind us, but will always be in the front of our hearts and minds as the night we saw One Republic with special guest Eric Hutchinson.

the end.