What we couldn't do by just standing up and walking to the DVD/VCR was control the VCR, namely programming it to record shows. We still very much live in the dark ages and without DVR we rely on the VCR to record shows that we miss. The summer wasn't a big deal with all re-runs, but with Heroes coming back tonight it was time to act. 

Emily and I won't be home before 9pm tonight so we'll miss the premier event at 8:00, plus the beginning of the season premier. I stopped by Target on my way home, bought two universal remotes and hoped that one would allow me to access the menu section of the VCR. The Phillips SRU6061 came through just in time. I was able to get it to work with both the DVD and VCR and even access the VCR menu (even though it's the closed caption button that does that). Not to worry, we'll be able to record the season premier of Heroes tonight. 

While we are on the topic of season premiers, I can't wait until Thursday for The Office. Those are the two shows we watch religiously. Life just hasn't been the same without them this summer

It's been a while since I've felt this refreshed and energized. Great weekend. More to come…

This weekend  Emily and I are headed to Madison, Indiana (not Wisconsin) for our 2 year anniversay. Thanks to some generous friends we have the use of a nice house on the river for free all weekend. Can't wait to get out of town.

Here are a few pictures

Emily is really into her book 

I was playing around with manual focus on this one

First day of college football season…checkout the Hawkeyes from head to toe

Breakfast, by the way, was fantastic. Floridian French Toast, which is french toast, sprinkled with wheat germ and powdered sugar and covered with fresh banana, kiwi and strawberries. Great start to the morning and totally free! 

Last night we met over at Mark's with the other youth Grace group leaders for the year. Emily and I will each be co-leading a Grace group (small group for those of you not at Grace Church Powell). We are pretty pumped for the chance to impact some kids lives this year. 

A few weeks ago we went out to Indiana for my buddy Kipsey's wedding. You have to check out what we saw while we were out there!  

Here's a few pictures from the weekend

Happy Birthday, Emily!

Lunch at Taj Mahal

We ate fabulous dinner at Tony's Italian Ristorante (you know it's good when they spell it that way) and used a buy get one free coupon and an American Express gift card. That gave us a great deal on some amazing dishes:  Veal Saltimbocca (Veal filets stuffed with prosciutto ham, mozzarella cheese and sage, sauteed with mushrooms and Marsala wine sauce.) and Tony's Own Fettuccini (Our homemade pasta is topped with shrimp, scallops and surami crab blended in a rich cream sauce.) 

After dinner we headed up the street to the Westin. I was really glad that to have gotten the Westin (with Hotwire you don't know which hotel you get until after you book) because I have a relationship with the General Manager through work. My program assists with staffing for their hotel, and right now we have two of our clients working there. As we were checking in, I mentioned to him that it was Emily's birthday. Later on, we went out for a walk and when we came back we had two glasses of champagne, a dessert and a card from the front desk staff. That was characteristic of our entire stay. The staff was remarkable and the hotel was amazing. Built in 1897 it was the first hotel in Columbus to have electricity. We got a personal tour, including the ball room. If you like history and architecture, then you would love this place. 

We ate some snacks while we watched the Olympics on a sweet HD flat screen. This morning we got a late checkout at 1pm, ate lunch at P.S. Thai Tai and came home. Not quite 24 hrs away, but a wonderful getaway.  

A few pictures:

Dinner at Tony's

Emily Being Cute 

The Westin

Attached is the Southern Theatre

I always make myself look fat in these pictures 

After my inaugural run, Lance Armstrong congratulated me and told me it was my longest workout to date. Thanks Lance! 

Expect more running posts now, complete with links to my Nike+ page so you check out cool graphs and run data (Greg, you need to get this so we can race each other remotely!) 

   

I got home, set everything up and for whatever reason the receiver couldn't detect the sensor in my shoe. I tried all kinds of different things, but nothing worked. Guess I'm headed to the Apple Store tomorrow to see if I can figure it out.  

Tonight we hosted our International Dinner Club at our place and had an asado with 13 people. Emily is a great hostess and I am loving my parrilla. Check out the pictures here. Unfortunately, no pictures of the meat on the grill. It was eaten too quickly!