American Idol

I have never made it a point to watch American Idol and probably never will, however last night the kids wanted to watch and I didn't feel like driving home so I sat there.  I'll be honest I can see why so many people watch the show.  It's fun to watch the judges belittle the wanna-be's, making a tough as nail appearance rocker cry, priceless. 

It really did amaze me with the actual talent that was found at the Phoenix, AZ audition.  One girl belted out Etta James' "At Last" and I was speachless, she looked nothing like her voice.  I just wish I had the talent and courage to put myself through the craziness that is American Idol.  

Just to say, the girl who sang "At Last" is my favorite to win...probably won't care enough to watch.

Holy Cornhole!

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The 2009 Cornhole league started last night at Seamus McDaniels and after one game we weren't looking too hot. Our competition, I cornholed your mom, seemed to be professional cornholers. In their two games last night they only allowed 14 points total.

So here are some of the rules to Cornhole for those who think I've made up a game:

Cornhole Court
Layout: The court consists of two cornhole platforms placed 17 feet apart, with a foul line on either side of the platforms.
Platforms: Each platform is a 48” x 24” rectangle made of plywood. The hole in the cornhole platform is six inches in diameter and centered nine inches from the top and 12 inches from each side of the cornhole platform edges.
Foul Lines: Designated lines that the thrower must stand behind during their toss.

Games
A game consists of three individual matches between the three co-ed pairs of one team, against the three co-ed pairs of the opposing team.
Each match has a 20 minute time limit
Wins: To record a win, a team must win at least 2 of the matches in a game. If a team wins all three matches, they will be given credit for 1.5 wins.

Game Play
Player Positioning: One player from each team is positioned at each cornhole platform.
At the start of the game, the home team has the option to throw first or second.
Throwing the bag: Players may deliver the bean bag from either the left or right foul line as long as they stay behind the foul line during their throw.
Game play begins with the first side of opponents alternating bean bag throws until they have thrown all four bean bags. The score is calculated then the players on the opposite platform alternate throws in the same manner, and again, the score is calculated. This complete round of throws is called an inning.
Throw Rotation During The Game: The team that scored in the preceding inning should throw first in the next inning. If neither team scores, the team that threw first in the preceding inning shall throw first in the next inning.

Teams
Before the start of the game, each team is divided into 3 pairs, with one male and one female per pair. The three co-ed pairs from one team will play the three co-ed pairs from the opposing team.  Teams may change their co-ed pairs from game to game, but not during a match.

Scoring
“ In the hole” : is a when a bean bag is thrown through the hole in the cornhole platform or otherwise comes to rest inside the cornhole platform (knocked in by another player, etc).
“In the Hole” is worth three points.
“On the Board” : is when a bean bag lands with any portion of the bag on the cornhole platform.
“On the Board” is worth one point
Cancellation Scoring: Bean bags “In the Hole” and bean bags “On the Board” thrown by opponents cancel each other out.
Only non cancelled bean bags count towards the score.
“Bad Bag”: is worth zero points and occur when:
A player crosses the foul line before releasing the bean bag.
A bean bag contacts the ground before landing on the cornhole platform.
** Bean bag(s) already “On the Board” that are knocked off the platform or into the hole by a "bad bag" must be returned to their original scoring position.**

The first team that reaches or exceeds 21 points, or the team leading after the 20 minute time limit, at the completion of an inning wins the match. The winning team does not need to win by two or more points.
Matches can never end in the middle of an inning. If a team that throws first reaches or exceeds 21 points, the game can not end until the other side is allowed to throw all of their bean bags and the inning is completed.
If the match is tied at 21 or more at the end of an inning, play continues until one team has a higher score at the end of an inning

So our team learned the rules as the game was played. After our game we were able to just goof around and practice a bit while the other teams finished up. Besides a few bags losing their beans it was a successful outing.

Go team Medium Nasty Hoosiers!

Resolutions

I've decided this is the year I will finally get ahead financially so I can take advantage of horrible housing market. I definitely want to move back into the City. There are so many houses available and I want to be apart of it.

I took a look at my budget today and there is room for improvement on my spending habits. It's just a matter of time that I stop paying for my trainer and get an extra $300 back. Only time will tell to see if I can make this goal a reality.

Here's to hoping!

Hopping End to 2008

As I reflect over the past year there were definitely some highs and lows. The biggest high of all was finally moving back to St. Louis. I cannot stress how happy I have been since leaving San Antonio.

I spent New Years Eve celebrating with Liz, my friend from grade school. We had planned on going to one bar and staying there all night but things quickly changed. We arrived at Schlafly's Bottleworks for dinner to find out that all the tickets for the Crown Room had been sold out. We were not aware you could buy tickets in advance. So now our plans were completely up in the air.

After dinner we headed to the Chocolate Bar...by far the coolest place ever! After a couple Coffee Ice Cream Martini's we were off to ring in the new year at McGurk's. Since I had never been I didn't know what to expect. We got to McGurk's and ran into a fellow former San Antonian and grade school friend. We chatted with him and his girlfriend until it was time to ring in the new year. On the way home I stopped at Ben & Ellen's to say Happy New Year to them and the kids.

All in all, it was a pretty good NYE, especially since we had to through our plans out the window and make it up as we went.

San Antonio…revisited

I made my first trip back to San Antonio since my move...it hasn't changed at all. I've never been happier with my decision to leave.

Bands, Hockey & Bars

I went to see a St. Louis band on Friday night. I had ties to the band as the guitar player went to grade school with me. The band, Flash Cassidy, surprised me. I had no idea what I was going to hear when I got to Cruisin' Route 66. The first band that I heard just sounded like a lot of screaming and had me nervous. A little rock and alternative music is what Flash Cassidy brought to the table and I wasn't disappointed to say the least.

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The St. Louis Blues haven't been playing the best hockey lately but I still wanted to check out a game. We were able to get free tickets to see the Blues take on the Minnesota Wild. The seats were great and the Blues even won ending a 2 game losing streak. Hockey is one sport I missed watching while I lived in Texas.

 

After the hockey game, I finally got to experience Washington Ave. It's a new trendy street in downtown St. Louis full of bars and new Loft apartments. The crowd is a little more dressed but and more young professionals mingling. Over all it was a fun evening to be out and about, anything is better than the below freezing temperatures.

 

Along with the night life I managed to get Reily involved in the holiday fun. I spent a little time at the Birch House on Sunday and took a great picture of Reily. As you can see from the picture she is extactic to be in the picture.

Somewhere in the Middle America…Omaha

Ahh, it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a drive to Omaha. I'm finally feeling like things are getting back to normal. On the busiest travel day of the year I drove to Fariway, KS to meet my cousin and family and continued the drive up to Omaha with them. I was amazed as to how small KC looked. I remember trips to Omaha and my dad saying no stopping until we are through KC. KC is nothing compared to the Dallas or Houston metro areas. Needless to say I was in Kansas in no time.

 

 

The drive to Omaha brought back a lot of memories, like the truck stop in Kingdom City, MO what we stopped at for breakfast every trip and of course Winchell's in St. Joe, MO. I couldn't be happier to be back in the Midwest!

 

The Sheldon family tradition is to meet the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at Johnny Sotino's Pizza for drinks and gossip. This place has not changed in the 11 years since my last visit, except there is no smoking! The video game area still had The Simpson's game, but missing was Mortal Kombat. After beer and pizza, those who could drink moved out to downtown Elkhorn, NE to Clancy's bar.

 

A new Thanksgiving tradition is the Wii. My aunt bought a new Wii so the boys could have things to do. Every other year we fought over the pinball table or air hockey table, this year 4 people could play and then those not watching were entertained. Here are a couple pictures of my cousins having fun!

 

The Wii games!