George Foreman Grill and Water

George My New Best Friend...

So my Mom bought this simple kitchen appliance for Sharkey and me about 2 years ago.



Now I know you know what it is. Unless you've been living under a rock you recognize the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine. When my Mom gave it to us I thought to myself, "What the heck am I going to do with this thing?" So it survived 2 garage sales and it occupied a small corner of the kitchen to be forgotten. Well that was until this past weekend. See Sharkey has requested we eat a bit better. Less fat, lower calorie, etc. So I found a good recipe for a California Panini and decided it was a good start. It has shrimp, avocado, beefsteak tomato, and a Dijon/mayo dressing. See if you didn't know or if you need some reminding I am the cook of the family. So healthy requires a bit of prep, because it typically involves vegetables, but for a panini, you need a sandwich press. So I was thinking how to simulate a sandwich press. I first thought of using my gas grill and then just flipping the thing, but then I knew that the sides really need to be heated simultaneously, so then I started thinking about what else I could use. Hey!!! I have one of those George Foreman grill thingy's I wonder if that would work? Let's fire that baby up and give it a go! So I give you the California Panini:



The little grill worked pretty well. 4 minutes and you have a hot little tasty sandwich. It worked so well in fact that tonight I made grilled strip steak sandwiches with provolone (cheddar for Sharkey) and onion. So the little, forgotten grill has become JP's favorite new kitchen gadget.

That's Some High Quality H2O...

I drink a lot of water at work. Typically, I'll down like 32-48 oz. in a day. But I've had a bit of a problem, because I put ice in my water and that of course makes the container sweat, so when I tilt it to take a sip, I usually end up with many water spots on my shirt and/or on my pants. And let me tell you, nothing says IT Professional like a man who looks like he pissed his pants...

So to remedy this problem I found this water bottle with a built in straw. It's pretty sweet and look Ma, no more wet pants!!!

Horse Play? How About Face Play?

So we were in Minnesota lately to be with the family. And while it was a sad time, it was also a great time to be with the fam' and play with the kids. Sharkey's namesake also had a good time playing with Sharkey's face. See for yourself...

Wired? Oh YEAH!!!

So we are off to Minnesota to attend services for Sharkey's Grandpa who passed away early this morning. I was able to get off of work to help my sweet wife out and I'm glad to do it, and glad my company really supports their employees. I do what I can. And we just finished a 450mi. drive from PA. I'm a bit wired on a Starbucks Grande Mocha no whip, so I figured I'd fire off a quick post then hit the sack. So here I am driving tonight post Starbucks.... Caffine!! It builds a body good!! 2nd 1/2 of the drive tomorrow YEAH!!! JP OUT!!!

Pillow Talk and Singing Dogs

So I have a problem. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who has this disorder, but I have a sleeping issue. I do not talk about it much, but it does exist, I cannot deny it, and I have to face it and it feels darn good to write about it and get it out in the open. See I mangle pillows. I destroy them. Actually I squish them like pancakes. They can be feather pillows or synthetic pillows. They can medium or firm. They can be pretty much any make. It really does not matter. Because as fluffy as they are when I buy them, they all end up flat, like 2" to 3" flat within 2-3 months. I think maybe my head may weigh more than the average person, or maybe it just stays in one position all night. Or perhaps my head has its own gravitational field that crushes all nearby objects. Not sure the reason, but any pillow I have ends up the same way. So I decided to try to get some help from NASA and I'm going to try this baby out, the Tempurpedic Millenium Pillow:



So if viscoelastic polymer cannot do the trick, well, I guess I need to just deal with pancake bedding

OK, on another note, did I ever tell you that I not only have the cutest dog in the world, but she also can sing. True story. Check it out... "Sing Maggie Sing..."

Vacation Stuff... Better Late Than Never

Haven't posted in a while. I've been in one of those, "I have really nothing to say" moods. So I decided to finally take the photos off my little Canon camera and share with you all. So here are some pictures and a video from our vacation to Emerald Isle, NC.

On Sunday (the 2nd day of our excursion), Sharkey and I met up with my old boss and her husband, who are pretty good friends of mine. She a GRIT (girl raised in the south) and we remain good friends even though I do not work for her anymore and they live in NC. Actually, the funnier part is her husband and I talk almost every day via e-mail. We have become pretty good friends and share a lot of the same things in common (i.e. golf, clothes, jobs, etc.). Anyway, we met them for dinner in this quaint little town called Beaufort. It has little shops and some pretty cool restaurants. We decided it was worth taking a day trip back there and walk around during the week we spent at Emerald Isle.

We came across this cool ship building place:



It was pretty neat. You could sign up to build a ship hull with authentic ship building tools:



Pick a hull, any hull...




Here's a nice picture of Sharkey basking in the vacation glory:



We were at this dockside bar overlooking the water. We could see boats coming in and out. The bar was an "interesting" little place. It scared Sharkey's eyes!!! Fortunately we just had drinks there and no food was consumed.

We really enjoyed the beach and we are thinking we will go back again. It may become an annual thing for us. The water was just awesome and we really liked the area, the quiet, and the beaches were very nice too.

And finally I give you Maggie's first time on the beach. Does she like it? Does she hate it? You decide: