I will no longer be posting on this blog. Blame the economy. I no longer want to have to pay for my blogging so I have begun using WordPress blogs instead.
The address is www.theplayertobenamedlater.net
September 26, 2010
August 30, 2010
The Petrinovich Brothers at Play
The Petrinovich brothers went on an outing today. Nick and John drove out to my place and we all headed to Forest Lake Golf Course to play 9 holes. I can't remember the last time the three of us did that. It was awesome. John and I have a golf tournament on October so we needed some practice and Nick came along to show off his Big Bertha driver. I can't wait til the next time the Petrinovich Brothers get to hit the links.
August 29, 2010
Petrinovich Balloon Adventure
After John's birthday party yesterday we had lots of stuff leftover. One of the things we had left was a whole bunch of balloons. Our kids freaking love balloons se we stuff at least 2 dozen of them into the back of our car. Instead of letting them sit around the house we decided to let them go and see what happens. We are in the process of tying notes to each ballon and releasing it to see if anyone finds them. If they do we wrote an address on the card for them to email us. We'll see.
Happy Birthday John
Yesterday was a big day for my brother John. We had his birthday party out at Fair Oaks Park. His birthday isn't until September 3rd but apparently my mom knew that August 28th was going to be the perfect day, weather wise, for an outdoor party. Who knew she could predict the future. The day was beautiful, 80 degrees and clear. The actual party was great too. We played games, had a water balloon toss and hit the ol' shuttlecock around. My mom did a great job of planning the whole thing. Here you can see John with part of his haul, a plethora of gift cards, which he loves. Happy Birthday John!
August 28, 2010
SMUD can Kiss My A$$!
If all goes well this picture will be of me standing on my roof toasting the sun for providing us with her money saving rays.
My goal with that title was to try to convey to you the feeling Kristi and I have towards SMUD these days. Over the last few years they have been continually raising their rates and we are ending up paying more per month for power when in actuality we are using less of it. This doesn't work for me. So we are doing our best to "fight the man" with some help from Mother Nature. In a couple of weeks we will be generating our own electricity through the awesome power of the sun. When all is done we will no longer be paying SMUD a dime. In fact if all goes according to plan SMUD will be cutting us a check at the end of every year to buy back the extra power that we generate. It all sounds good. Here's hoping that it actually works that way.
I have to say that getting solar is much more reasonable than I had anticipated. With all the rebates and tax credits available systems are selling for about 50% off and you will be paying less per month for they system then you would for your electricity bill. I will be posting updates on our progress as our solar panels get installed and up and running.
If anyone is interested in getting solar for their house I have a great guy to talk to. He was super cool.
August 22, 2010
To Mosque or Not to Mosque
Photo by James Estrin/The New York Times
Warning: I went a little political here.
I try not to watch the local news on TV. Every time I do watch I become depressed when I see stories about people being murdered, burglarized, and kidnapped. I try to focus more of my attention on national and statewide news which is usually a bit less dramatic and doesn't make me think twice about going for a walk around the neighborhood with the kids without taking a tazer with me. However, lately the national news has been a bit frustrating as well. Many of the stories I have read about recently have centered around the idea that our president is in fact a Muslim which in many people's eyes would explain why he insinuated that he would support a mosque near the Ground Zero spot.
The thing that amazes me the most about this story isn't that a large slice of the country believes Obama is Muslim. What surprises me the most is the fact that to so many people this would even matter. I don't know about anyone else but I wouldn't have cared if John McCain was a sun-worshipping polygamist, who goes to temple on the side. If I thought he could lead the country in the right direction I would want him in office. I do not understand the fascination with the religious background of our president.
And don't even get me started on whether he is actually an american citizen by birth.
As you might have guessed I do not see anything wrong with a mosque near the Ground Zero site. I do not think that it would be like "spitting in the face of all the families who lost loved ones" as some have said. I just don't see it that way. I feel that we live in a country that grants us religious freedom to worship when and where we please. Now whether the builders of the mosque would be willing to put up with the backlash that something like this would surely bring about is anybody's guess.
August 20, 2010
Let's Do 18
August 16, 2010
1st Day of School
As for many of you today was our kids' first day of school. Abe is beginning 2nd grade and Ella is beginning her journey into the public education system in Kindergarten. They both popped right out of be this morning and did a great job getting ready. Abe wasn't too keen on having his picture taken but eventually he relented. I got to spend a few minutes in his class with his new teacher Mrs. Cooper and all I can say is that Abe is very lucky to have such a radical teacher. After that I went over to Ella's Kinder class with Kristi and got to see her in action. Ella was very nervous about school today but after a little while she high-fived us as we left. They both have half days today so we are about to leave to go and pick them up again. Can't wait to start homework. Congrats to all the other parents and grandparents who had their kids starting school today. It's a good day.
I have a few more pics from the first day that I have posted on Facebook.
August 10, 2010
Golf Is Fun
I dig playing golf. Luckily for me so does my brother John. Every once in a while we get to play together. One of those occasions was this weekend when we got to be partners at a tournament at Cameron Park Country Club. We had a really great time. We only got to play nine holes and it took us about four holes to warm up but after that we did really well. Below are a couple of quick videos of John teeing off on some holes. As you can see teeing off was a bit of an adventure for both of us. I'm just glad that nobody had a camera on me as I put more than my share of balls into the water and unforgiving sand traps. No matter though. John and I had an awesome time and we are looking forward to our next tournament in September.
August 08, 2010
Let's Go Giants Let's Go!!
As many of you already know our family are big baseball fans. At least I am. I'm working on the rest of them. My dad was a huge Giants fan and passed that love on to me. Kristi is pretty into it and I think I'm making progress with Abe and Ella. Going to their first Giants game definitely helped. Last Sunday my mom bought us all tickets to the final game of the Giants-Dodgers series (thanks again Mom), as we went for the 3 game sweep. Of course the Giants did not disappoint, winning 2-0. The kids had a blast. It took them a few innings of being overwhelmed by the vast amounts of food which kept coming by our seats. Of course they wanted one of everything. But after their stomachs were full of hot dogs, peanuts, ice cream, churros, and cotton candy, they could finally settle down and enjoy the game. They had a really good time cheering for our beloved Giants, yelling BEAT LA and wearing their new garb pictured above. I hope this experience helps to grow their interest in the greatest sport there is. Or at least they had better get used to it because there will be plenty more games in their future. Below is a short video of the last out of the game and the kids eating (Abe) and cheering (Ella) the Giants on.
July 31, 2010
Dear Twitter Followers
I love Twitter. I really don't use it as a social networking tool. For me it is an awesome way to get the latest news and happenings. It can also be really entertaining. One of my favorite accounts to follow currently is @OldHossRadbourn. He portrays himself as the 19th century Hall of Fame Pitcher Charles Radbourn. His clever musings involve current events in baseball and a yearning for the way things used to be. Here are a few recent favorite tweets:
Obviously S. Strasburg's injury is due to his work as a humble carpenter.
Today's players are soft! Yes, I mean you, H. Street. I took a Reb Minié ball to the twain at Antietam. Twice! I remained steadfast.
All this talk about O. Vizquel and the Hall of Fame. The lad was my short stop in 1890. Hell of an arm. Overcame pleurisy. He's in.
Criminy! Every year there is so much blasted talk of who the Yankees will acquire. In 1865 alone those buggers took the whole damn south.
Like this A. Pettitte, I too once strained my groin. This is what happens when your skinflint owner has 14 comely daughters of age.
If you don't have a Twitter account I recommend getting one. It really is fun to find interesting accounts to follow, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
July 26, 2010
And the P's are down for the count!!!
Well not all of the P's. Friday morning a particularly stubborn flu bug came into our lives and has yet to leave. During it's reign of terror it has gone from Abe to Ella back to Abe and then to Kristi. All 3 of them are home today. I stayed home as well to do what I can. I have yet to experience the troublesome strain and I hope not to. I spent most of the morning scrubbing any surface that I saw any of us touch over the last 72 hours which will hopefully help. Pictured below is what our family has been doing since Friday morning. Not much. Kristi (not pictured) is sleeping in bed. I have watched more Hannah Montana, Zach and Cody, Phineas and Ferb (my favorite), and Witches of Waverly Place than I care to admit. I guess a family who is sick together sticks together. I just made that up. Wish me luck today!
July 12, 2010
Primitive Cookies
Today we made some chocolate chip cookies like the cavemen would have done it. No spoons only hands. Butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, sugar and chocolate chips. All mixed by hand. Literally. Kids dug it.
Camping is fun
This is what we spent most of last week doing, camping. We headed up Highway 50 to Icehouse Reservoir for a 2 night 3 day stay. It was great fun. My mom and two brothers came as well. We spent most of the days playing in the lake, fishing, kayaking, and playing baseball. A little excitement was pumped into the trip a couple days before we left when we found out that two campers were attacked by a bear a few miles up the road. We precautionately put most of the food away at night as to attract a few a visitors as possible. Thankfully our trip was bear free. The most dangerous thing out there were the mosquitoes. They loved Abe. On our first night one bit him right in the middle of the forehead which resulted in a huge bump. We kept telling him he was turning into a unicorn. He looked more like he was turning into a Clingon to me.
July 04, 2010
Happy Birthday America!
Happy 234th birthday America!
July 03, 2010
Le the Tour Begin
It's that time of year again. It's Tour De France Time. The world's most famous bicycle race starts today at 8:30am with the prologue. Im excited to see how Lance does this year. From what I've read he has a really strong team this year. Stronger than most of his rivals. The only bummer about this race is that most of the stages start at 5:30am. I'll do my best to be up and watching as much as possible. Especially for the mountain stages. For anyone interested there is a free iPhone app that looks pretty good.
June 27, 2010
Word Up iPhone peeps!!!
Hey all you iPhoners out there I have a cool game for you. Some of you may have heard of it but I just discovered it. It's called Words with Friends. I use the free version. As you may have guessed it is a crossword game. I like it because you can challenge other people, but it doesn't require that you be logged on and playing all the time. You can play a word and then turn your phone off. When the other person plays it will send you a pop up message and you can take your turn whenever you feel like it. Kristi and I just finished a game today that we started on Thursday afternoon. Plus you can' beat FREE!
If any of you feel so inclined to download and challenge me, feel free. My user name is laloosh76. Bring it!
Here is the link if you want to check it out.
June 26, 2010
VOY Ceremony
Last night was the Volunteer of the Year ceremony at the Special Olympics Summer Games in Davis. At the opening ceremonies we accepted the VOY Award for my dad. It was very cool. We got to go for a VIP gathering beforehand and had seats down on the field during the ceremony at UCD. We felt very important. After my dad won the award I went to the podium and said a few words thanking everyone for all that they had done and for recognizing my dad's efforts in Special Olympics. It was harder than I thought. The crowd gave us a standing ovation that kind of surprised me and choked me up. It was a great honor.
This picture is of the 4 of us on the field before the ceremony began.
June 17, 2010
Luck of the "Kristi"
For dinner we headed out to Red Robbin for some burgers and fries. It ended up being a 20 minute wait so we had sone time to kill. While we were waiting Abe played the grabber claw game and got a prize on the first try. Ella proceeded to try and failed twice. Abe then took over and won her a pink bear on his next turn. Kristi's mom said that Abe was lucky like Kristi who was also very good at these games as a kid. Nice job Abe.
June 07, 2010
Don't forget to Vote!
Today I subbed at my school. Our VP is on vacation so I got to fill in as an administrator. Not too exciting a day but after work is when the fun started. We set up our polling station that I will be working tomorrow. It was cool to set up the machines, voting booths and registration tables. I will be back here at 6am tomorrow morning for my day-long shift. Can't wait.
June 06, 2010
Birthdays Rule!
Abe had a great time at his birthday party. Swimming during the day, presents, and The Habit for dinner. Here are a couple of videos from the party including Abe getting his new guitar and his Razor Sparkthrowing Scooter. Both are very fun. He also loved all of the birthday wishes from everyone. Thanks so much.
June 05, 2010
Happy Birthday Abe
Today is Abe's birthday. It should be a fun day for him. It started with a trip to the donut shop for breakfast where he go to pick out his favorites. Later today my mom and brothers will be here to swim and celebrate. We asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner. We listed off a bunch of meals that he really likes thinking he would choose one. However when given a choice our now 7 year old will always choose to eat out. So we will be going to The Habit for a burger and some fries for dinner. Should be a fun day. Happy Birthday Abraham!
June 03, 2010
Dentist Book
Abe and I went to the dentist this morning. Abe had to go in to have a tooth worked on. We have a ritual when we go in for a dentist appointment. As soon as we get there Abe heads to the book basket and pulls this book out for us to read. Usually we aren't able to get to the end of it but today we did. If only the actual dental procedure was as simple as reading a book.
June 01, 2010
May 31, 2010
That's a big hole
I jumped over to CNN a few minutes ago and was flabbergasted at this photo. It is a sinkhole that opened up in Guatemala after tropical storm Agatha came ashore. So far the storm has killed 115 people. According to CNN:
"In the northern part of Guatemala City, the downpour created a giant sinkhole that swallowed up a space larger than the area of a street intersection. Residents told CNN that a three-story building and a house fell into the hole. A local newspaper reported that a private security guard was killed when the sinkhole opened up, but authorities had not confirmed the fatality. Residents said that a poor sewage drainage system underground was to blame for the sinkhole. A similar hole opened up nearby last year, they said."
May 30, 2010
Last Meal
Abe, Ella and I have been hanging out for the past few days. Kristi has been away visiting some friends down south. We've had a great time. We have especially liked eating things that Kristi doesn't necessarily like eating. Our last meal together, soup, cranberry sauce, and cut greenbeans. Our favorites. We are very excited for her to come home.
May 29, 2010
Bust it Buster!
Today is the day. The Giants have finally called up their most prized possession, Buster Posey. He is on his way to join the club, hopefully in time for tonight's game. The Giants had been holding off bringing him up as long as they could but the team is just gasping for runs these days. I need to get me a Buster Posey jersey.
May 28, 2010
Flower Garden Take 2
This is our second go-round with Abe's flower garden. We planted one a few weeks ago but the cat decided that it would make a really nice litter box so the seeds really didn't have much of a chance to grow. So today we went out to OSH and bought some new soil and some new seeds for the new and improved cat-proof flower garden. I'm not sure if it will work but hey, its worth a shot.
On a similar note the Topsy Turvy upside-down tomato plant growing device is working great. The plant is growing well and small flowers are beginning to pop up which is a great sign. We'll see how the actual tomato growing goes.
May 26, 2010
May 25, 2010
1 more day!
Here is what we spent much of our day doing today. The last few days actually. PE, if you want to call it that. Mostly we stood around outside and watched the kids play 4 square and cheered kindergartners on during their jog-a-thon. It was a beautiful morning. Glad we got out before it all turned rainy. Last day tomorrow.
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