Chara is the best

Chara just made me the best root beer freeze ever. Its like a root beer float, but all blended together like a milkshake. yummy

This after the longest day ever of pulling the engine out of my car.

Big thanks to Trevor for coming down to help with that thing. He laughed at me for trying to do it in my driveway. He was right. That thing was a big pain in the ass to pull, but we got it.

so tired now.

Ben

REI Sale(s) = Success

We hit not one, but TWO REI used gear sales today. Yes we are that hardcore. And we got some good stuff. Actually i got a lot of good stuff. Chara didn't find as many treasures as i did. But it was still good times to be had by all.

Here is a pic of Chara nd Kevyn sporting his new North Face jacket he scored

We have our booty and are checking out

Way too much stuff but such good deals. Thinking about hitting the REI on the way home too. We are crazy.

And so it begins

We are in line at 6:30 for the big REI sale. Chara is pissed at me for driving farther to the bigger REI but its just a better. More updates to come.

Explain to me what this is in my fridge

Its like an upside down icicle but round. I'm perplexed.

The best day ever

I should not be as excited about this as i am, but this Saturday is the big REI used gear sale at REI.

and you know i'll be there bright and early in the morning to camp out in line to get the good deals on gear i probably don't need, but will someday use.

I missed the last two of these due to traveling for work so i think thats why i'm so excited. I have all this pent up shopping spree inside of me that is screaming to get out and spend that REI dividend check.

Check back on Saturday for all the updates from the sale.

Ben...

if you use craigslist, you need this

I'm way too addicted to craigslist lately, but its just awesome

I've been giving away stuff like crazy, and find parts for my new project car as well. its just awesome

anyway, found this little firefox extension that shows you the images of the item without having to click on it.

super cool

check it out if you use cragslist.

Ben...

Chara REALLY loves me now

Chara wasn't all that pleased when i got my new project car because that meant she could no longer park in the garage because it would be taken up with the new car and me working on it.

Now she REALLY loves me for getting yet another car for said car project. This one lives on the side yard, another thing she is not really happy with.

Pretty soon it will look like this, and be up on blocks and i'll be tearing it apart. All things that make a wife really really happy.

The next car goes in the front yard on blocks directly so we can jump straight to redneck status.

I got this car for the engine. It will be used in my Bugeye. So hopefully it won't be on our side yard for that long. Maybe only a couple years.

easter part I

for easter we all headed over to my brother and loans -
my sister called me before and said she wasnt feeling up to a family get together - her whole family had gotten sick, and she finally succumbed to it on easter.. so i decided that since we had gotten all the easter baskets together, and were prepared for an easter egg hunt, and had all the stuff for dying eggs - that even if my sister couldn't make it - the kids needed to.. so ben (very reluctantly) and i assumed responsibility for deborah and isaiah - and played pretend parents on easter..
we had a great time.. the food was a amazing, and the family time was great..
it was a nice relaxing sunday - many thanks to trevor and loan who worked over time to make this a great easter.. thank you guys for the food, the family, and the fun.. you guys truly outdid yourselves..


just chilling
 

getting our egg dying on
 

on the hunt
 

easter part II

deborah an her mad art skills
 

puzzles make for some awesome teamwork
 

isaiah, sarai, and deborah - showing off their loot
 

as pretend parents we did so good.. only had one breakdown.. deborah walked right into isaiah's head..
you can see me trying my best to be comforting - and loan comforting isaiah - who didn't need much comforting.. such a boy..
 

Some really cool HDR photos of graffiti

This guy has some great HDR photos of graffiti. Check them out.

oh happy day.

we had a great easter with my fam.. -
but for now - we are exhausted and off to bed..
more pictures to come later..

isaiah and his easter egg - yummy
 

Happy early Easter

Ok just wanted to post something positive instead of all this sickness nonsense that i'm getting over. I better be done being sick for the year. I've put in more than my fare share of sick time.

Anyway, just wanted to say a Happy Easter to all friends and family. I hope you get a chance to spend this weekend with friends and family and loved ones.

We miss all our great friends that we don't get to see enough

We are going to be up in the OC hanging with Chara's family on Sunday so that should be fun. I'm just looking forward to a weekend where i'm not sick.

Happy Friday to you all, and what a Good Friday it is.

Ben...

currently listening to Matt Nathanson. He's really good, check him out.

sick of being sick

my body is going on strike. Its tired of being sick. Its had enough. Its walking off the job unless i get better.

it has made its demands

and i'm giving in to them.

time to get better.

Ben...

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..

this makes my heart and tummy happy.. i love this time of year..

Homeward bound

Asleep by 4am
Awake at 6am
Off to airport

I'm going home!!!!

And I made it into the LA Times...with the hat

Include "Fashion Icon" into my ever-growing list of titles

I made the LA Times Web Scout Blog for my phenomenal fashion sense at SXSW



Sorry Chara, you can't argue with a major news outlet like that.

Best. Food. Ever.

Period

Shrimp corndogs

Hells yeah.

So good.

Moonshine

Eating lunch with fiends at moonshine. Good Cajun food and popcorn on the table. Yum

So i didn't think i could top last night

Last night i was picked up from rockclimbing with a bunch of geeks by a party RV loaded with drinks and nachos and we cruised around Austin all night, ending up in an enchanted forest where i saw a really cool band and got the coolest hat ever. it was an amazing evening and set the bar pretty high for SXSW.

i wasn't expecting to top that, but check out who i ran into tonight




Thats right, the man himself, Neil Patrick Harris. Saw him and Kal Penn in a hotel and then went and saw their new film Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay. Freaking hilarious.

Then went to a wine party with Gary V. Good times.

Hello. I'm the moron bowl

quote of the day

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
- Abraham Lincoln

Coolest hat ever

And yes its reversable.

I'm in an RV somewhere in Austin....

and everyone is singing along to ramstein and one hit is wearing rollerblades. .     

A tribute to Bodhi

In pumpkin form...










my friend actually knows the guy who carved this.

Wow

Here is a blurry pic of a lady walking her dog on a seguay. So technically she is not walking. Wow

devastation

i had hopped it wasn't true.. but wednesay it was confirmed that patrick swayze has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.. i however am remaining optimistic - and think we should all say a big group prayer for the man - and hope for the best..

How convenient

My hotel has a radio with an iPod dock. That's nice. Its not nice that they screwed up my reservation but I got that fixed.

I'm in Austin

And its raining. That blows. And I'm stupid for leaving my light rain coat at home. But hopefully the weather will get better and sxsw will be fun.

You Know You're A Redneck If...

Your Wife Is Quoted In The Local Paper Saying...




Wow....just wow.

who likes to rock the party

today was our friend kyle's birthday.. he was turning the big 1-4.. so we all headed out to dinner to celebrate..

kyle and tom - hanging tuff...
 

kyle with his new cell phone - big thanks to mom and dad evans..
 

me with the birthday boy..
 

so a great big happy birthday to my 'little D' - thanks for letting us be a part of your special day..

it's half past four and I'm shifting gear

once all the morning drama was done - the boys spent the day shopping for car parts and such..
we had an awesome day hanging with the hobby's - and then headed over to the best bbq in town - phils..

the boys and their wagons..
 

ben finding some treasure..
 

jimmy inspecting a lathe.. a must have item..
 

Here is what I know

Part 2 of this saga

So we waited on the side of the road to get in. When they opened it up we went to start the truck to go and....nothing.  Dead battery. And no one stopped to help us. You know they all had jumper cables too. Now we wait some more for AAA. More good times.

Hurry up to wait

So we get up at the crack of dawn to get to the big swapmery early only to have them tell us they aren't opening til 8. Nice. So now there is a crazy line of cars parked on the road waiting to get in.  Great idea guys.