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Christmas Eve
The long holiday weekend is over. Mine started on Christmas eve. Paula had to work and I was off until Monday. Had to take a personal day on Friday, because it was a work day. I cooked omelet's for the boys. Dylan and I had a ham and cheese. Darrell's was a portobello mushroom and cheese. I've pretty well figured out how to make a good omelet. First thing is a six inch non-stick pan with a pat of butter. I saute the main item of the omelet and then add two eggs. Keep the pan moving so the eggs cook and slide in the pan, until they are done enough for the flip. Add some cheese and fold and they're done.

Dylan and I went out to General Bragg's HQ's to gather some kindling for the fire for the Fat Ass 50k on New year'S day. We emptied the fire pit container and stacked enough fire wood to have some that would be dry. Also did a little exploring down the railroad tracks. The wind was howling something fierce. We took Lance with us. He really enjoys getting out.

I took the boys out to mom's for a couple hours. We left murfreesboro around 1:00 and hit torrential rain around harding place. Saw one wreck from a car which had hydroplaned in the downpour. Visited with mom and my sister. Mom showed us a bunch of the genealogy stuff she's been working on. Pretty cool stuff. Really interesting story behind the Mormon testament given by a couple from Utah.

Christmas Day
Dylan was up at 4 am, but we didn't get up until 5:30 am. Usual busy christmas, seems like every year they come and go quicker. We opened ours presents at home and then went over to Granny and Pop's. Did the christmas breakfast and ate way to much. We had quite a spread, regular pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, country ham, bacon, biscuits, hash brown casserole, sausage balls, and sausage links in croissants. All the adults were cooking except for Paula and her sister. The boys were playing.

Went back home to rest for awhile. I took the day off from running, so I raked the leaves in the yard and piled them up in the street and smoked a cigar with a beer. Really nice day. Later in the afternoon we went over to Paula's sister for a late snack fest. Lots more food. Ate way to much again. Watched Will Smith in "the pursuit of happyness". (don't know if that's how they spelled the title, but it's a big premise of the movie) The movie was a yawner for me. The kids played Rock Band.

Friday
The boys slept in and Paula and I went shopping. Didn't really buy anything, just checked out all of the different stores to see if any bargains were to be had. Did stop by Total Beverages on Thompson lane. I went into the liquor side of the store to check out their high ABV beer selection. Wow, just as many, maybe more than Barleycorns. No need to go to Nashville for the high octane beer. I picked up a 6 pack of Old Rasputian, a russian imperial stout. (edit: I missed the singles rack)

The Old Rasputian is the best of the different beers I tried this weekend. Followed very closely by the Arrogant Bastard Ale. The Fat Tire I had tuesday evening is a really good beer that would qualify as a session beer. Same as the Flying Dog Old Scratch. The 4 pack of Flying Dog Horn Dog is gone, it was very good. Different style beer than I'm used to drinking. The big disappointment was the Duvel. Just don't see the big deal about that beer. I'd rather drink 3-4 of the Yuengling Black and Tan's. That's a decent beer for the price.


Saturday
Got a easy 6 mile run in the mud on the new section of the trail on the Murfreesboro Greenway. Darrell went to Florida for 2 weeks with Granny and Pop. We bummed around the rest of the day. Picked up some movies and Mario Kart for the WII at Hastings. We'd been trying to buy that game for the last several weeks, but can never find a copy. Dylan and I played mario kart and watched the "Dark Knight". That's one of the better Batman movies. Pretty scary portrayal of the joker. Even scarier to think the world really has monsters like that character.

Sunday
Took down most of the Christmas decorations. Only thing left up is the tree. We should be able to get it all put away in the next couple of days. Watched the Titan's game, what a pitiful game. Titan's looked ragged and the Colt's looked hungry and strong. Don't think they'll have enough for the Chargers next week. Just hope the Titans show up to play in 2 weeks and don't get knocked out. Glad to see Vince play. He's a lot more exciting to watch than Collins. Went to the theater to see "Marly and me". Pretty good movie for anyone who is a dog lover. Everyone who has owned a dog can relate to this movie.

Progression?

Announcement to the staff yesterday regarding the sale of the City Paper to SouthComm. I've known for a week. Hate to keep it from PJ, we've been down this road twice already. Lost my job in both of those transactions. This would be the first time the announcement was over burgers and beer. It all sounds very promising. But now, you know the revelance of my "where's the cheese" entry last week. That was the day I found out about the deal.

This mornings run kinda evolved. I've never done a progression run, maybe that's what I did this morning. My allergies are going full bore. Woke up with a killer headache and a head full of snot. Started out reeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaal slow. 10:48 for the first mile and almost the same for mile 2. Bet I go faster than that in the final miles of a really bad marathon. Gradually picked up the pace until the 5 mile turnaround and then picked it up another notch. Last mile was a 7:44. My heart rate graphed out on a great upward slope.






Turkey call, add that to the list of strange stuff found on the side of the road. Ran by it and wondered what the heck it was and doubled back to confirm it. Course I picked it up to show the boys. Stopped at the sister-in-laws and stood in their garage and made the call do its thing. Surprised no one came out, but as I went in the house PJ was coming out to see about the noise.