Time for Louis Delmas...

to get healthy and back playing football. I am very tired of not seeing him in the games lately, he has been MIA for over a month. Please show up, man up, suck it up and get in the game. The Playoffs should await!!

Picture from mlive.com/lions

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/08/surgery_is_not_an_option_for_l.html

When your Extreme Couponing...

Makes your supply room full...you must use your supply. So that is what we have been doing. We have used almost all of our dog snacks, and week by week eating a bottle of body wash. But I still have plenty of BBQ sauce!

#extremecouponing

Black Friday Economy

I hate to point this out, but if our economy was truly off the rails, wouldn't there not be lines of people parked out front of big box stores awaiting lowly priced merchandise? Seriously, how many of the people that complain about the economy are now counting down the shear moments for when they can drop some dollars on stuff they or their giftee really don't need. Sure there are a few things that I would like, but yet again do I really need it. Do I want to have 2 new Kayaks in my garage? Why yes, I would. Can I wait until the spring to buy these? Why yes, I can. Good luck to those that are taking to the streets, drive safe.

awesome performance

Quite possibly one of the best performances I have seen online...

Ennio Morricone's Ecstasy of Gold (The Good, The Bad, The Ugly)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNGe7iK1O-4

Happy Birthday to our Oldest Boy!

Our Big Belgian Sheepdog turned FIVE Years old today!!!

My Favorite Podcasts

1. Adam Corolla Podcast
2. B.S. Report with Bill Simmons
3. The Rich Eisen NFL Podcast


Well worth the cost, pure enjoyment, and they are free. If it is free, I will take three, it's for me.

The Detroit Cats not lookin so hot...

The Detroit Tigers get clocked out of the playoffs and a weekend later the Detroit Lions lose their second game in a row. What is going on....

1. The Tigers ran out of gas, after many of their players had bumps, bruises, and injuries that finally took the final death blow to their season.

2. The Lions are getting nailed with injuries and it will take smart play calling and coaching to help fill the void.

It is clear the offensive line is pretty average and can't be thought of near elite in any term. Off-season help will need to address these issues. The must talked about defensive line hasn't really been ringing the bell as of late, I don't know why. Where is Suh, where is KVB? No major plays, nothing. Time for this unit to start earning it during the games.

Redwings looked good until they dropped a 1-7 game vs. the Washington Capitals.... hmm.

-M

Time for a Game 2 Steal

The Detroit Tigers have Max Scherzer hitting the mound tonight against the Texas Rangers. Now down in the series 0-1, the Tigers must get production from the middle of their lineup. As of date, they have been playing a minor role, with their bottom lineup members pulling their own weight. It was good to see Ramon Santiago actually produce a legitimate bunt with a hit. He couldn't bunt in the last series with the Yankees. If Scherzer can get to the 8th inning, I will feel really good about the Tigers, if we see the bullpen early, it will be a disaster. I don't want to see a select few of our middle relievers, as they are not very good.

My prediction:

Tigers win, 4 to 1

Instant Classic UofM-ND

Michigan vs. Notre Dame 9-10-11

First of all, the uniforms by both teams were new throwbacks that were the best in all of NCAA D1.

Michigan defensive line was pushed over for most of the game, but towards the end made some nice stops. Notre Dame have the talent edge at RB and WR, but Michigan has the most electifying player in Denard Robinson. Will he be a NFL prospect? Sure, but at QB, not so sure.

It is pretty clear, when Michigan football is revelant it is best for all of college sports.

Michigan 35 Notre Dame 31

3 Touchdowns in the last minute and a half.

Next week Michigan hosts Eastern Michigan, let's hope they don't have a let down after the highly emotional night game last night.

NFL Prediction Sure to go wrong..

Packers 13-3

Lions 9-7

Bears 5-11

Vikings 4-12

MVP: Tom Brady

Colts will not make playoffs

NFC Division Champs

Packers, Eagles, Rams, Saints

Wild Card: Lions, Giants

AFC Division Champs

Patriots, Texans, Chargers, Ravens

Wild card: Steelers, Dolphins

Super Bowl: Ravens over Eagles

 

Hospital Before Birth Bed Rest: Week 28, Day 3

Day 3 of Hospital Bed Rest. So far, spirits are up and H is doing well. We have brought many things to keep her mind off of the situation. Magazines, Books, Craft Stuff, Art Supplies, I even brought her a scratch off lottery ticket. It hasn't been scratched yet, so maybe we are winners?

It must be tough being told you can't leave a hospital until you give birth. Like the ultimate New Years Ball drop except you are in a hospital and when the drop happens, you can leave the facility. The television is a 46 inch LG , but the definition seems a bit fuzzy. Leave it to a guy to nit pick on the room details such as TV resolution in a birthing facility. It allows you to order your meals, surf the internet, and watch some preselected available movies...Now playing Inception. Certainly looks a hell of a lot better in the Man Cave with BluRay Resolution and nearby popcorn making operations with the bar and wine rack. I guess, dixie cups of juice and bottled water will have to do.

The room has a large mini fridge, which has been good for leftovers and cold beverages. Although a ice machine would be awesome to have, but there is none. Yet again, leave it to a guy to determine the beverage system to be improved. The bathroom has a sink, toliet with handicap rail, and a odd shower unit. The first two nights we forgot to bring shampoo, so we were given Baby Shampoo, go figure...at a birthing center.

There is not a whole lot of babies in the 'hopper', although the most I have seen yet has been 6. This is a special wing of the hospital for women who have special circumstances, most women would deliver next door at the main facility. It kind of feels like a not so spooky movie, roaming the hallways late at night...attempting to figure out how to depart the facility, only to take a wrong turn and having another odd maze to navigate.

Let's talk about the seating. There is the bed, there are two variations, 1 for delivery, and 1 for normal operations. Currently the bed is normal operations, it looks like the delivery bed except it doesn't have metal stirrups at the end. Either way, both look not so comfortable. There is a wooden rocking chair, for obvious reasons. Although, it is hard as a wooden rocking chair. Couldn't they put some cushions on it? The next thing is lazy boy on wheels, although it is not a full blown lazy boy, not too comfy, but if needed you could sleep on it. Lastly, there is this hard looking couch. The couch is meant to fold out to sleep on, but not in the traditional bed-couch formation. This is more like a futon, but the length of the couch is not long, even for me, sub 6 feet would be a struggle.

Although this is such a pain in our butts, we are lucky everyone has been very supportive and helpful. We are just pulling that our insurance takes care of business. I have read estimates of bed rest pre birthing cost, and it is absolutely disastertourious.

-M

hopper, n. -a location where many babies are held and can be viewed from the outside. Also thought to be a fish take or aquarium.

All Star Game MLB

The MLB all star game is my favorite of all -all star games. Why, every team gets a player. It was a big deal watching the craptastic Detroit Tigers have fellows like Robert Fick represent your team in the summer classic. Did they ever get much playing time? Well no, but there was a shot they could come off the bench and be in the spotlight late in the game at the plate.

This year the Detroit Tigers have 5 players! 5 , what a upgrade from the days of the lonely uno.

Plus, seeing the opening lineup and reserve lineups on the field at the same time is very cool. All teams represented, all hands on deck.

Play ball.

Weston State Park Missouri

Weston State Park is located on the upper West side of Missouri, it is aligned on the east side of the Missouri River. The park has about 7 trails to walk on, although it is not clear if any actually make it to the Missouri River. The river is higher than usual, and to be higher once the water from the Dakotas flow south. The dogs enjoyed their time outside, but the humidity takes its toll on everyone. Overall, we would come back and try some of the other trails. The city of Weston is home of Buffalo Bill and many of the downtown buildings are authentically old. We may need to have to visit their downtown in the future without the dogs, although they would enjoy themselves.

Congrats Coach Carlisle!

for winning the 2011 NBA Championship From Detroit Pistons Fans!

Carlisle still earned part of the championship in Detroit in 2004, a year after he was fired. If there will be a film done, Jim Carrey would play the role of Carlisle.

Movie Review; Hangover 2

If you did not like the first movie, you certainly will not enjoy the second. There were many times throughout the movie that equaled awkwardness with the audience. Many times laughs by the audience were half paced and much of the pushing jokes were ill.

Discontinuity error:The sequence where Stu (Ed Helms), is singing a song with a guitar on the boat was out of place. It was almost like the director thought it was just too good to not keep it in the movie. Where did the guitar come from? All the guys seemed in good spirits?...why, the scene before they were not.

The singing by Tyson was terrible, and poorly put together. It would of been a better mastery of writing to include Tyson in the underground seedy Bangkok scene vs. having him paid to sing/rap at the movie end.

While it was fun to see the "gang" back together again, it kinda takes away from originality of the first. The audience did not get a lot of the Bangkok jokes, let alone pin point where it is on a map.

Pro: Paul Giamatti is such a great actor

Con: The Character of Doug, yet again gets the worst on scene time of the group. If you are going to do a group movie, then include the whole group. Many of the photos that are in the movie credits were distasteful.

Star Rating: 6/10

Extreme Couponing: Operation Gillette

Ok, a few weeks ago there was a MEGA PICK of coupons in the sunday paper. We purchased 8 to 10 papers that weekend, inside was this great coupon: Buy 1 Gillette Body Wash, Get 1 Gillette Deodorant Free. Now at the time, we hit up other operations (such as old spice, nivea, and irish spring) of great deals, which can be seen in our blog. But I knew at some point this coupon would be golden, and when the right deal would show itself, we would strike like a eagle striking a lake trout.

This sundays paper (TODAY), they distributed 2 Gillette Coupons.

Coupon1: Get 2.00 off a Gillette Body Wash

Coupon2: Buy 1 Gillette Deodorant Get 1 Free.

So lookie what we have here, a combo deal of the century. By utilizing my coupons from a few weeks ago and todays golden tickets, we can score something fierce.

Now, the third angle to this triangle is where we score the deal from, and in todays flier from Walgreens stood the answer. The deal was, Buy 3 Gillette Body Wash, for 10 bucks and receive 1000 Bonus Points! Wow, that is great, but what else was Walgreens doing, they had a buy 1 Gillette Deodorant, get 1 half off! Holy Toledo, the Sun, the Earth, TheMoon are in line. Let's take them to the cleaners!

Basically the single deal was this:

1. Buy 3 Body Wash, for 10 bucks, get 1000 bonus points.

2. Use 3 Coupons for 2.00 off each body wash, net cost (4 bucks).

3. Utilize my buy a body wash, get a deodorant coupon (3 free deodorants).

4. Utilize my buy 1 deodorant, get 1 free (use 3 coupons- 4 max per shopping trip) But since I already had a one on my ticket from point (3), my purchase price was half off of 5.50 to 2.75! But my coupon removed the retail price from the bill.

Net cost per cycle it was 7 bucks for 3 body wash, and 9 deodorants. Of course, I had to pay taxes on the entire total, but at these savings I am fine with that!

I did this shopping cycle 3 times today and scored 9 body washes, and scores (26 or 27) of gillette deodorant.

Funny, these deodorants are 5.50 per stick and my normal price point for old spice has always been 2.50-3.25 per stick. So you could say I am living high on the proverbial good smelling hog tonight!

Now getting back to these bonus points, according to my walgreen account, 2000 or 2500 points can be turned in for 5.00 of store credit! So, with these purchases today, I am very close to netting 10 free walgreen bucks! As the now unemployed Charlie Sheen has coined, "Winning, Duh".

Horse Betting Fail: 2011 Kentucky Derby

This was my first kentucky derby to which I had laid some cash down while in Las Vegas. I made a bet, a 3 horse exacta box bet. With Midnight Interlude, Mucho Macho Man and Animal Kingdom....

Well well well, Animal Kingdom came in 1st and Mucho Macho Man came in 3rd. But Midnight Interlude decided not to place. The bet was that if either of my 3 horses came in 1st and 2nd, I would win. As you can see, I missed out on winning about 500 dollars due to Mucho not sticking out his head far enough for a 2nd place victory.

Not bad for my first derby bet~! Although, I would of loved the 500 bucks.

Being at a sportsbook was almost as fun as being at a sporting event. The crowds are cheering, booing, it is a real fun time.

Red Rock Park: Outside of Las Vegas

Here are a sample of the photos I took out at Red Rock Park. It is a gated park that costs 7 dollars a day, or free if you have bought a National Park Passcard. The park follows a circuit of over 15 miles of roadway that is paved and 2 lanes. We went on a hike that took under 2 hours to perform. Once we got to the end of the trail (see bottom photo), we turned around and marched back to the car. It was hot, but not humid. But sunscreen is certainly required, and water, lots of it.

The 200th Post

This is the 200th post. Great deals still to be had at Walgreens: Lysol Kitchen and Anti Bacterial Spray Products, buy one, get one, then use coupon for 1.00 off of 2 products, same for CLR, and Lysol Wipes. Each product clanks out to be about buck a piece!?!?! Yeah, it is true, all of it! Why won't you people get off your hump and clip the coupons? The savings are ready to be had! Get off your duff and clip it!!

They have this awesome promo discount on a 13 dollar razor, with their in store discount it goes down to 9 bucks, then the 4 dollar off coupon in the paper, brings it to 5.89. You pay that amount, then they print you a 5 buck gift certificate on your next purchase, net cost 0.89 CENTS!

People! What a deal!

It's Grrrrreat.

Extreme Couponing: The Big One!

Total Retail: Around or at least 378.00

Paid: 109

Savings: 269: 71.2%

Total Paid Percent: 28.8%

Extreme Couponing: Right Guard Stick (Walgreens)

Right Guard was on sale for 3.00, but I also used a Buy One Get One Free!

Savings: Huge!!

Extreme Couponing: Irish Spring

Irish Spring Body Wash, 5 bucks Regular, it was buy 1 get one free at Walgreens. I also had a .50 cent coupon I utilized on the bottles. Savings: Huge!

Extreme Couponing: Old Spice Body Wash (Walgreens)

It was Buy 1, get 1 at Half Price at Walgreens. I had a Buy 1 get 1 Free Coupon. I also utilized a coupon that for every 2 Old Spice it was a 1.00 discount! It was a hell of a deal! I bought 20 Old Spice Body Washes!!!

Each Body Wash Regular was 5.00

Extreme Couponing: Gatoraide (walgreens)

Normal Price, 1.67 per bottle

Internal Walgreen Discount, buy 5 for $5., Utilized a Buy One, Get One Coupon, bought 10, 10 free!

Someone wants my Gatorade!

Extreme Couponing: Protein Bar!

8 Protein Bars, Buy 2 Save 1.00, each bar was a buck/ Savings 4.00!

These are also great breakfast runners!

Extreme Couponing: Power Bars!

I had 6 coupons that were buy 1 get 1 power bar free! Each bar was about a dollar!

These are delicious as a breakfast item while running off to the office!

Savings: Over 6 bucks!

Extreme Couponing: Candy Bars...

I found a .50 cent coupon when you buy 2 Nestle Coupons, took that coupon the the local grocery store, and they doubled, So wammo, a .65 cent candy bar now costed me .15 cents.

I will take that deal all day long, even if I don't like candy bars!

.15 x 12 = 1.80 for 12 candy bars!

Normal Cost .65 x 12=7.80

Saved 6 bucks!

Extreme Couponing: Finish Colgate -Target CVS

The Dishwasher tablets were on sale at 2.79, we had a 1.75 coupon for each, so total 1.04 per box.

The Colgate was purchased at CVS, purchase each toothpaste for 2.79, used a .75 coupon for each box, so net cost was 2.09, but CVS then printed a new coupon to be used as a gift certificate for 2.79 of each box you bought on your next purchase. So, we made 1.50 on these two tooth paste boxes!!

Saved: (1.75 x 2, + .75 x 2 + 2.79x2)

WIN WIN WIN

Extreme Couponing: Dog Food (Target)

The Mighty Dog was 6.07, (-2.00 coupon)= 4.07
,
Alpo Cans, 0.60 per can, used buy 1 get 1 BOGO coupon (buy one get one).

The beggin Strips are normally about 5 bucks a pack, they were on steep discount for 2.25 each. We used a coupon that was (save 1.00 for 2 packets), 1.75 per pack.

The Pedigree Good Bites were bought at Petsmart, they were on sale a buck, and my coupon was another buck, so 2 bucks off of orignal 4 bucks.

Saved: 27.73!, Spent 20 bucks!

Over Half Off! Woofers eatin' good this week!!!

Extreme Couponing: Operation CVS

Our trip to CVS ended up with a in-store discount of 2 for 6 bucks, with a .75 cent coupon on each, net cost was 2.25 per box. Our Colgate was onsale from 3.50 to 1.99, we had 4 coupons of 1.00 off Colgate, so each box was a buck.

We keep loading up our supply cabinet!

Do it yourself, put up a light

Here is a bright idea, switch out your old funky light with something new. I was able to score a new light from Home Depot on the internet for 20 bucks from 80 a few weekends ago. Once it arrived, I was not sure how hard or easy it would be to install. It turned out rather simple, the main thing is to turn off the power breaker, if you ignore that, it could be a rather shocking situation. I think it turned out pretty good!

Our not so Extreme Couponing Target Trip

Our not so extreme couponing continued at Target, by utilizing both Target Coupons (printed at home from online) and Manufactuer Coupons. Target allows the use of both coupons on an item, double word score. We Spent 26, and our savings were 27, so we had a savings percent of over 50 percent~!

Included, a free stick of Degree, Bertolli Pasta Sauce for a buck a piece, Aveeno Soap Bar for 79 cts each, Salad Dressing for 75 cts each, and the Hybrid Woofers best, a bunch of cheap treats!

Winner, Winner, Winning!

Our Not- Extreme Couponing : Operation Charmin

Now I have some shame, but tonight I bought a few...packs of 12 Mega Rolls of Charmin Toliet Paper for 4.99, without a coupon. But hey, 4.99, you can't beat that with a stick, 2 cans and a old vhs machine. Well maybe you could with the vhs machine. Now, this was a One day sale at a regional supermaket. I tried, and tried to find a coupon, but none to be found.

Next time...I will be prepared.

Redwings Sweep Coyotes

And all is fine in Hockeytown until the next series.

Say good night to the Phoenix Coyotes, they will probably be sent packing by a new owner up to Canada. Hockey in the desert never seemed like it was right. Although, it doesn't seem right in Florida, Nashville, Anaheim...ect.

(our) not so extreme couponing: "small potatoes"

It is pretty interesting, in a week time, the amount of coupons we have added to our arsenal.

Some other items that we saved on that were not extreme was,

Iams Dog Food, (3 bucks)- the dogs were pumped about that purchase

Einstein Egg Bagel (2.80 off), for 2 bucks total. -the dogs would of been really pumped if they saw me eating that bagel yesterday.

Now if there was only a coupon off gasoline, that would make my day.

Our (extreme) couponing: Walgreens Operation Old Spice

Our attempt at not so "extreme" couponing continues...

Recently I purchased some coupons via clipping service. The "Mega-Pick" of the clipping service coupons was the Old Spice.

The Coupon: Buy 1 Old Spice Deodorant get 1 Old Spice Body Wash Free. The Old Spice Deodorant had to be their premium products (matterhorn, fuji, denali), which is not cheap.

The Deal: Walgreens, buy 1 Old Spice Deodorant at full price, get another for Half Off.

So bingo, I used 4 coupons, and bought 2 Old Spice Deodorant's at full price (5.49), and 2 at half price (2.25), and scored 4 free Body Wash (4.99).

Walgreen Savings: 4.50

Manufacturer Savings: 20.00

Net Retail: 42-45 bucks

Total Paid: 15.50

By utilizing the Walgreens card, the body wash cost fell to 4.99, which I believe it might be closer to 6 bucks.

Our Extreme Couponing: Walgreens Operation Nivea

This morning we purchased a sunday paper, reviewed the coupons and found that it was really worth buying two more.

With these coupons in hand, I reviewed the local ads and the best deal (for something that we use), was Nivea Body Wash. This stuff retails from 4.99 to 5.99 per bottle.

Being a Walgreen Member, the card discounted the bottles to 3.79. In the sunday paper, there was a coupon for $3 dollars off! So bam, each bottle was .79 cents. Heck, I think I may buy a few. The coupon flier had both a coupon for men and woman's. So with 3 papers, that is 6 bottles.

I also had a coupon for the Maalox for a buck off. The Walgreens reward card brought the retail bottle of 7.99 to 4.99, and with a coupon it was only 3.99. I originally thought the bottle would be 2.99, but it was 3.99. My barrier cost changes depending on the item, but generally I don't like paying more than 3 bucks for an item on sale, but Maalox is good until Feb of 2014, so bottle up!

Walgreen Reward Coupons: 13.20

News Paper MFG Coupons: 19.00

Total Cost Paid: 8.73 wo tax.

Total Percent Paid: 8.73/32.20= 27.1%

Discount Percent: 100-27.1= 72.9%

Was the 6 bucks paid for the sunday paper(s) worth it? Indeed.

There has been few times I was actually laughing while leaving the store, this time the house didn't win!

Our not so Extreme Couponing trip!

If you haven't seen TLC's Extreme Couponing show on Wednesday 9 PM Eastern, 8 PM Central, it is certainly entertaining.

We collected some coupons and headed out to the stores here is how we did. We only had coupons from the last Sunday Local Paper.

1st Stop Walgreens

We picked up a customer vip card, or reward card, or whatever they call it. With our two manufacturer coupons, we scored 2 boxes of Hefty Zip Bags and 2 All Laundry Detergent.

The store promotion with their vip card was buy 1 get 1 free. With our manufacturer coupons for a buck off each, we saved 10.28 instore vip card, and 2.00 from our coupons, grand total of 12.28 off!

Hefty Bag 3.29 per box, All 6.99 per Bottle

Net Cost to us: 8.28, savings: 12. 28, we saved 60 percent ~!

Our next stop was the local Grocery Store. They have a VIP card too, which we have been members, and net over the last couple of years saved over 200-300 bucks.

We picked up Brownie Mix, Honey Mustard, A1-Grill Marinade, Folgers Coffee, and Yellow Squash.

VIP card savings brought the Squash from $1.99 to .89 cts per lb.

VIP card savings saved .90 off the brownie mix, .76 off the mustard, .30 off the coffee.

We had manufacturer coupons for the Brownie Mix: .50 off X 2 (double coupon savings up to .50), net savings 1.00, Mustard: .50 off X 2 (double saving), net savings 1.00, 1.00 coupon off A-1 marinade, and 1.00 off the Folgers.

Manufacturer Coupon Savings: 4.00

Grand Savings: 6.84

Net Savings: 53% off

Overall:

Paid: 14.30 from a total bill of 33.42, Savings Percent:57.2

To enhance our future trips, we ordered coupons directly from a Coupon Clipping Service. The service allows us to order the quantity or selection of a particular coupon that we want. So if we find a soup coupon that is really good, and that we would use, I will order the coupon in quantity and hammer out the savings at the store. This is pretty much what the extreme couponers do, but they are way over the top than me. At least at this point in time!

Especially with Gas being almost 4 bucks a gallon, these savings should off set the cost of fuel!!!

M&H

Detroit Tigers (3-7)

It is not panic time yet in the Motor, but the Tigers need to get better overall. The hitting, the pitching, the fielding. Everything needs to get better. When the bottom of the order is getting on base, the top of the order is not hitting. When the few times the 1-3 hitters are on base, the middle of the order is not clicking. When the middle is mashing the ball, no one is one base. We need to get Magglio Ordonez hitting again, I figured he was a .295-.310 hitter this year, and so far .208.

Miguel Cabrera is leading in average, homerun, rbi, obs, and hits. Let's hope he stays sober!

Currently the Detroit Tigers are 5 games back of the Division Leading (scoff!) Cleveland Indians!

Spring.

It is believed that this weekend will finally keep spring in our 2011. It shall hit 80 this weekend, and baseball has started at the K. Time to get the backyard in working order. If we spent 40 hours collectively, another 80 could still be spent in cleaning up the mess!

M

MSU losing to UCLA

It was pretty evident after the first 8 minutes that things were not going to look good for the men in green.

Reality Check Adrian Peterson

I knew there was a reason I didn't like Adrian Peterson, other than him being a Running Back for the Minnesota Vikings, he likes to make statements that are ignorant. (Ref. 1 & 2)

AP: It's modern-day slavery, you know? People kind of laugh at that, but there are people working at regular jobs who get treated the same way, too. With all the money … the owners are trying to get a different percentage, and bring in more money. I understand that; these are business-minded people. Of course this is what they are going to want to do. I understand that; it's how they got to where they are now. But as players, we have to stand our ground and say, 'Hey — without us, there's no football.' There are so many different perspectives from different players, and obviously we're not all on the same page — I don't know. I don't really see this going to where we'll be without football for a long time; there's too much money lost for the owners. Eventually, I feel that we'll get something done.

1. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Adrian-Peterson-expresses-frustration-on-labor-i?urn=nfl-wp206

2. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Ryan-Grant-Heath-Evans-take-issue-with-Peterson?urn=nfl-wp241

Modern Day Slavery?!?!?!?!?!?! Are you kidding me? (Ref. 3) Adrian Peterson has a maximum value of $40.5 million and including $17 million in guarantees. Modern Day Slavery?! It is my opinion that AP would be insulting this heritage with such ignorance. No one is keeping Peterson from walking away from the game of football. He could retire at any point, and still have potential millions in the bank.

Plus he is a Minnesota Viking, enough already. With gasoline being 3.50 a gallon, I think few normal working class people are going to be feeling bad for Adrian Peterson and his labor union woes.

3.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2953541

Exercised by the Flu

It has been an interesting month of working out.

It started strong, then the flu bug hit the house. It sidelined us for a week. Now we are back at it again. Hopefully a better month of March, with better weather!

M&H

Bad GroupOn Ad

The GroupOn -Tibet "big game" commercial was in poor taste. I thought it was a serious human cause ad, but I was certainly fooled.

-M

M: 5

H: 3

Blizzard!

Blizzard has hit. Here is how someone is coping...

House Cleaning

It is that time of year again, time to change your house air filter. You should change it every 3 months. Ours was pretty dirty, certainly worth the investment to buy the best filter available. Next scheduled time to change filter: May 29th.

We did some major cleaning this weekend.

-Garage was swept

-Cob webs were removed from ceiling corners

-Home Office was reorganized and cleaned.

-Some more windows were weatherized.

-House was vacuumed

-Ton of Laundry was done

-Gym workouts were done

-Dogs got walked on each day

-And we only ate out once this weekend. For us that is a big win. Weekends are our fail zone.

Whew, we are tired.

*****

M: 18

H: 10

State of the Union...of Detroit Sports

The Tigers: The offseason continues to show great promise to the spring and summer ahead. Let's hope such great effort will produce post season baseball in the fall.

The Redwings: Great regular season so far, but injuries have taken its grip on the team again. Hopefully they can super glue their team until the playoffs come near and then turn on the jets to fuel a Stanley Cup push.

The Lions: Terrible injuries, great promise of rookies has brought some self-esteem to Lions nation. The 4 game winning streak at the end of the season really brought some much needed light in our stormy 2010 season.

The Pistons: What can you say, they are terrrrible. This team is dysfunctional and are absolutely no fun to watch. The team is under a ownership change, and hopefully it will include a broom to their management as well. I hate to write it, but it is so hard to watch this team 8 to 12 games under .500. Especially playing ball in the NBA Eastern Conference. You add in the mismanagement of Richard Hamilton to the mix and this situation is disgusting. So Sad, So Sad, maybe the Pistons will win the NBA lottery.

Great Photo from the Detroit News that illustrates the Dwindling Piston Support : http://multimedia.detnews.com/pix/11/f5/15/ca/30/f3/20091030223709_2009-1030-dm-pistons9.jpg

*****

M: 15

H: 7

Happy Birthday Labradoodle!

Somebody turned 3 years old yesterday! What better way to celebrate than a takeout order from McDonalds. A classic hamburger dry, with nothing on it except meat. It was topped with 3 french fries to represent his three years.

Look at him licking his lips!

The Belgian also got to have a burger, but without the "candles".

Snow Schedule

Snow. It is inevitable. Unfortunately when it hits, it pours. And when it pours it freezes. And when it freezes, it messes with your daily schedule. For instance, the big storm that hit us earlier in the week, it messed with our schedules for the entire week. You put off workouts, put off normal week events, shopping, chores etc. So week 3 was not very good, but it did give us some time to recuperate.

Bring on the spring!

*****

W3

M: 8

H:8

**

W4, M: 2

NFC North Grudge Match

The biggest NFC North matchup in maybe ever is next week in Chicago. The Bears host the Packers with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. This is actually great news for Detroit and Minneapolis fans. By winning, this guarantees that both of these teams will be drafting in the last 4 slots in each round. The best part will be when the Bears or Packers lose to either the Jets or Steelers in the Super Bowl.

I am sure sports radio is a buzz along Southern and Western Lake Michigan.

*****

M: 5

H: 4

Snoozin Saturday

Today is Saturday, and the dogs are sleepy! A Snoozin' Saturday!

******

M: W2, 17

H: W2, 9

Hoke: Michigan Man

Meet the new "Michigan Man", Brady Hoke who will be named Michigan Head Football Coach on 1/12 in Ann Arbor. Hoke, once a defensive line assistant under Lloyd Carr, has florished two underperforming programs Ball State University & San Diego State University. He was not necessarily the first choice, but he may be the right choice.

Hoke will enter and walk into a broken down defensive unit and will need every bit of push to turn their esteem and talent around. Under Rich Rodriguez, the Wolverines had been become pushovers defensively, and only had a chance to win by spreading the ball across the field in hopes of a shootout. Hoke will need and receive the support staff to recruit to bring in top talent. I am assuming many of the former "michigan men" may be pulled into and sent to help in the recruiting. This may could happen due to U of M being so far behind in recruiting schedules. The likes of Woodson, Brady, and Edwards would be such positives to a recruit if they answered a call from these Blue Legends.

Hoke may be pointing Michigan back in the right direction.

***********

M:12

H: 7

The Art of Trip Planning

Vacation planning might be one of the worst parts of going on a vacation. The process is usually broken in 3 portions. The Idea, The Research, and The Juggle.

1. The Idea, this is the time spent thinking of what/where/when to go. This usually contains the locations that you would want to visit, but other factors come into play and by process of simple elimination, you end up with one solution.

2. The Research, this is the time spent reviewing where to stay, what to do, what to see. This process could be the most time intensive portion, next to the vacation itself. Should I do this? Maybe we shouldn't do that, that is too expensive...maybe we can do this instead.

The process never ends.

3. The Juggle, the time spent taking all portions of the equation and coming to a final answer. This would include the timeline, the cash budget, the itinerary, and the major must do.

The Major Must Do, is the one activity that must be done for the trip to be labeled a success.

For example, heading to a mountainous region, the must-do might be a good several hours hiking. Heading to Vegas, the must-do might include hitting up a uber-buffet or seeing a prime show.

In any event, Trip/Vacation planning is timely and cumbersome. One day it may be fun, to take a week off, and jump on a random flight to discover some new city.

*******

M: 10

H: 7

Playoffs?

Playoff Football

NYJETS surprised the Colts on Saturday Night. As well as the Seahawks upended the defending champion New Orleans Saints.

Now the Chiefs host the Ravens. So far, the Chiefs are running the ball with purpose. But turnovers and quick 3 and outs is not helpful for your teams cause.

The warm Fancave is more enjoyable watching than standing at Arrowhead. No offense, it is just too darn cold out there.

************

M: 6

H: 5

Movie Review: Due Date

We finally went to the theater today and saw Due Date. It has Robert Downey Jr. and Zac Galifianakis.

Of course watching a movie in an empty theater for a comedy really shows you whether you find something funny on your own without the influence of the other patrons. There was 1 other person who was watching, but never laughed. So either they hated it or were incapable of laughing or talking.

The movie runs 95 minutes and is not too long or makes a big push on your bladder. Although, I downed some coffee before we went in, and was counting down the final 15 minutes. This movie is not one of these dopey boiler plate comedies, although it has almost made 100 million at the theater.

If you are a fan of either of these Actors, then this movie is a must.

There is a scene where Robert wears his collar up and looks like Sherlock Holmes. Also, we can't wait for the sequel for Holmes, not sure if they will make one for one. If they did, they could plausibly do it, based on how they ended the movie.

Movie Star Rating: 9.2/10.0

*****************

M: 3

H: 4

NFL Playoffs Start

NFL Playoffs Start TODAY, Although the first game Saints vs. Seahawks will not be watched in our household. ZZzzzzzz...Seahawks...eh. The Worst Team in history of the NFL to be in the playoffs, based on statistical breakdowns and team metrics.

M: 21

H: 11

Detroit 1-8-7

This TV show shown on Tuesdays on ABC, and it is worth the watch. It is a Police-Crime show without the gore and it is set and shot in Detroit. The actors actually versus reading lines. And it is set in Detroit, worth watching!

**********************

M: 18

H: 10

Sour Michigan Sugar Bowl

Watching the game there are 2 points that go right to the steps of Michigan Football....

1. Ryan Mallett, QB Arkansas, was a Michigan QB under Lloyd Carr, but then transferred once Rich Rodriguez was hired as coach.

2. Terrell Pryor, QB Ohio State, was a major Michigan QB Recruit under Rich Rodriguez, but he then visited Ohio State and chose to wear the Scarlett and Gray.

In regards to Rich Rodriguez , was reportedly fired today at Michigan, but reports were not confirmed by the University of Michigan.

*****

Jogging Log:

M: 13

H: 7

Home of the Chiefs

We went to Game 10, Raiders at Chiefs.

It was pretty neat and cold. Actually really cold. We had to breakout the thermal underwear for this endeavor. One other thing, the crowd actually stands the entire game, so it was pretty worthless to sit on the plastic expensive seat for 3 hours. 1. you couldn't see if you sat down, and 2. the seat was super cold. Not sure how I felt about that, I mean you pay to go to the game, but you have to stand. We liked to stand in college, but at that point I didn't drop that kind of coin for those season tickets that equaled my 1 day game ticket. Anyway, it was cold while the Chiefs laid a steamer as they lost 10-31 to the Oakland Raiders. Not great offensive-line blocking effort today. Matt Cassel was leveled several times and was vulnerable on the roll out by the cornerback blitz.

Chiefs host the Ravens next weekend, and I will be watching from the mancave!

Jogging

M: 7

H: 3

New Years Resolutions? Seriously?

I dunno, lets see the previous ones from years past...

No Cola, No Pizza, No (anything tasty that is bad for you).

This year, we are doing a reverse resolution... more vegetables!

Yeah, sounds crazy. But we will try to eat more veggies each day. I will attempt to use our Wok at least once a week. We are big fans of Stir Fry, so hopefully we can eat more rice and veggies to a healthier 2011.

Challenge yourself this year.

Jogging o Meter

M: 3MI

H: 1 MI

I hope we can hit 2000 Miles this year!