Stay classy San Diego!

Back on TV again today and this time on Fox 5. Fox news is a loose operation but at least they like putting Chris on TV. Check it out.

 

Hello Cleveland!

Last night we stepped into the way back machine and went to Foreigner at the Belly up. I really wasn't sure what to expect so I was completely blown away to see them completely going for it. It had everything you would expect from aging 80's rockers. They poured themselves into tight pants, blew out their hair, and turned up the amp's to 11. We couldn't help but laugh most of the night and spew every Spinal Tap reference we could think of but I'll admit, they rocked. It was a good time and if they head to your town, I'd recommend checking them out. It will not disappoint.

Here's the only picture I got that wasn't blurry, it's from my phone but you get the point.

Say What?

I'm really excited to be making this change, I've gotten a new job, which I'll be starting on Jan 4th. Tomorrow is my last day at my current job. I'm ready for the new challenge, ready to be on the wholesale side of the retail business but what I'm most excited for, a far shorter commute! I mean let's be honest, 60 miles one way was a long way to be commuting every day for the last 13 months. One thing I definitely learned while on the road for all that time, books on tape aren't as easy as they seem. You definitely have to pay attention and listen while also paying attention to the road. Trust me, you'd be amazed at how many times 20 minutes go by before realizing that you haven't heard a word of the book. So I've got the rest of the year off, I'm back to house husbandry for a little while. I already have a list of projects that will be getting started on Saturday and I can wait to get going at the new gig.
On a side note, while thinking about making this change and my start date I realized an interesting and sort of scary fact about myself. As I turn 30 on January 2nd I'll be entering the 4 consecutive decade of life without collecting a paycheck. I'm not sure if that's something to be proud of or terrified by, but either way, I'll be ready for that first one by week 2 of 2010.

You serious Clark?

Since everyone that was here for Thanksgiving left that Saturday, we got after it and went and got our Christmas tree that Sunday. Of course, once it got home it didn't fit in our stand. I'll take any excuse to get out the Sawzall so out it came and I went to town on the trunk. Trimmed it down pretty quick and up the tree went. Luckily when I cut the netting no windows were broken, no furniture broken. There wasn't a ton of sap and we haven't had a squirrel come flying out. All in all, we're nothing like the Griswald's, but I will say, our neighborhood represents when it comes to exterior illumination. The bar has been set and I'm now in the hunt for all ridiculous lighting and Christmas related characters I can find. What out Clark, I'm gunning for you!

You nod your head and I'll hit it!

Since family was in town for the week of Thanksgiving, what would we naturally spend 99.9% of our time doing? House work, that's what. Since our bathroom overhaul we've been without a mirror hanging over the vanity. Luckily the closet in the bathroom is two huge floor to ceiling mirrors. You really don't realize how nice shaving over a sink is until you spend 4 months cleaning shaving cream from out between your toes.
So job #1, get the mirror on the wall. Chris and I got it pre-cut so it would fit better than it used to, then we decided to frame it and glue it on. My dad spent Monday figuring out a good design for the molding and then staining it. Wednesday it was time to get that thing on the wall. Not too tough, some liquid nails on the back, screws and glue on the wood and voila, no more shaving cream on my toes! Check it out, I'd say it looks pretty good!



Job #2, We didn't have any light over the dining room table. This wouldn't be a problem generally but with 10 people eating Thanksgiving, we figured they would like to see what they were eating. It was time to replace that horrible light/fan that didn't work. Lamps plus came through with a great chandelier and up it went. Little does everyone know but it was just under 24 hours before Thanksgiving dinner before we actually had light. What an improvement?!



Oh, just a note on the picture of the light and table. I'm sure you're wondering about why the end of the dining room table is round and lower at the end. Well, we had too many people for our main table so we brought the kiddie table in and Adam and I held that bad boy down all through dinner. Nothing like eating at the kids table at the first Thanksgiving in the first house you own!

Adam with Callie in the background


Packed house!


1 week later and I'm having a Turkey/Stuffing/Cranberry sauce sandwich for dinner. Best part about having dinner at your place......LEFTOVERS!


It was great having everyone out to the house for our 2nd Thanksgiving in California. So much fun, so much work done to the house. I learned a ton about electrical work and plenty about what we should really do when re-doing the kitchen. Thanks for all the help, kitchen advice, food, fun, gardening, The Santa Clause, wine, kitchen advice, gorgonzola crackers, golf, banana bread, snacks from the plane and did I mention kitchen advice?

I'm Ron Burgandy?

Everyone's favorite Mutt employee was recently on the news here in SD. Check her out talking about gifts for you pets for the holidays.

Now that she's been on, that makes two members of the family on the news since moving here. Adam was also interviewed after finishing the marathon. Guess I need to figure out a way on there, maybe I'll streak a Charger game or even a golf tourney at Torrey Pines. You'll all just have to wait and see what I come up with!

More Turkey Day Activities

The weather on Thanksgiving here was amazing, 70 degree's and sunny, another beautiful day in paradise. Since it was so nice and because the waves were small, we decided we'd go out for a surf. Adam lives in NYC and doesn't get out too much, he's still at the beginning stages of learning. He's at that point where he can paddle for the wave, catch it but then the last and most crucial step eludes him, standing up. This is the hardest, so it's not too big a deal. I know the frustration he feels out there just on the verge of riding his first wave. Don't worry, next time you're here, I can guarantee we'll have pictures of you riding.
One other benefit to surfing following up the Turkey Trot is the appetite you work up. I think we both managed to eat enough to kill a horse!

And we're off, water was crystal clear and pretty warm for November


Me headed right


Catching one together, Adam going about to pop


Aaaaannnnd down


Anyone seen a 23 pound turkey we devour?

Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving morning brought around our chance for redemption. If you've been reading this since last fall, you know that Chris and I signed up for the Oceanside Turkey Trot last Thanksgiving but didn't end up running due to one of the 3 rainy days that we've seen since moving to Cali. Well, since my family was heading to town, this year, we signed up again. Hellbent on running, we even suckered Callie and Adam to run with us. 5k really isn't much, it's 3.1 miles, doesn't take too long and running on PCH through Oceanside and then finishing underneath the pier is a great run. What makes this tough, the fact that you're waking up at 5am and out of the house by 6. The thing that I don't understand about all these runs, and I'm talking about any organized run, is that for whatever the reason, they seem to start at dawn. Some sadomasochist, who was involved when organized running was first started much have thought to himself, "hey, we're about to run _ miles, why don't we do it at sunrise?"

Either way, the run was fun, if running can be fun, mostly it was just great to get out and move around a little before gorging ourselves on food for the rest of the day. I think that no matter where we are for next years Thanksgiving, we'll be up at 5am running somewhere, even if it's just to torture ourselves.

Results:
Christian: 20:42
Adam: 21:10
Callie: 23:19
Christine: 25:55

Didn't bring the camera, so these were taken on phones before the race while we're trying to stay warm in the car.

Happy Belated Birthday

I figured that I should wish my Blog a Happy Belated Birthday. It was just over a year ago I started this thing and with the way I've managed to neglect it for the past month, I found it fitting to be late on wishing it a Happy Birthday.

Hopefully everyone has enjoyed the last year of life updates. Some of my personal favorites have been the buying the house story, Mexico surfing trips, our neighbors beer consumption abilities, all the running, the badger 5, Maine jumping the shark, everyone voting for Callie to change her name first, and all the DIY. I have to admit, lately, it seems to be a little DIY heavy, which could be why I've taken so much time off. For whatever reason, in my head, installing toilet paper holders just doesn't seem interesting to me.

So, sorry blog that I've neglected you so much recently. I promise to update you more often, provide more content and find good pictures to fill your pages. I guarantee your 2nd year of existence will come with more fun tales of non-sense and craziness from our lives.

TurkeyZilla!!!

This past Saturday night, what had originally started as a complete joke, actually came to fruition. As we've slowly accumulated we've known that we are having Thanksgiving dinner at our place again this year. We bought our dinning room table a long time ago and spent quite a bit of time trying to find a good deal on chairs. I would have never thought that chairs could be so expensive. Chris would constantly say "here are some for only $300" to which I would reply "wow, that's a great price for a set!" I was amazed to hear that was per chair. Thank god for Craigslist because we found a person who had just moved and needed to sell barely used dining room chairs. But Chris' jedi craiglist skills are not the point here. During these conversations she mentioned that we needed to get chairs before Thanksgiving because we aren't going to have anywhere to sit. I suggested that we "just sit on the floor around our coffee table, we could have Thanksgiving sort of like people eat Sushi, screw it, let's make Thanksgiving Sushi." My idea, roll up the usual ingredients for Thanksgiving, stuffing, turkey, mashed potato's, sweet potato's, cranberry sauce, gravy, the whole nine yards. Why go big, when you can go huge?!
It all snowballed from there. We began bringing it up to friends, to which we always got the same reply, "whoa, that sounds awesome." Guess we have to try this. So last Sunday night, we had a test run with some minor stuff to see if it was actually possible. We were stoked to find out not only was it possible, but it was delicious!
Saturday rolled around and we were off, our 15 pound turkey full of stuffing went into the oven at 2. Potato's were cooked, even busted out the wasabi too add to spice it up. There were all kinds of amazing rolls happening and you wouldn't believe it, we actually came up with a drink to replace a Saki Bomb. We invented the Turkey Bomb, which consists of Honey Wild Turkey and Newcastle brown. These are dangerously good, so tread lightly. There were tons of rolls, people rolling their own, we even had Tempura(thank you Brent for bringing up your deep friar). Everyone was excited with how well it came out and the food was amazing. Nice job Chris taking this idea and going way overboard with it!

Carving up the bird


Gobble Gobble


Some appetizers, this time Wilson didn't eat any of the cheese


Godzilla vs. Mothra to set the mood!


Let's Roll!




These guys look delicious


Toughest part is cutting them up, got to have the knife SUPER sharp!



Turkey Bomb anyone? Watch out for this combo!


KABOOM!!!






"Turkey Sushi will be great success"


We've already begun talking about how next year will top this year, so east coasters, book your flights now!

Exile on Main St.

For Halloween this year we were offered an extra special treat. Phish was hosting a three day festival at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio California. Since Indio is a short 2 hour drive from the house, we were all in! We rallied quite a crew, myself, Christine, Muscari, Tom, Kasey, Jeff, Brent, Adam and even Goody made it out. We set off on Friday morning at the speed of turtles. Our plan was leave our house at 9 am sharp but when it was 11 and we were still only at the Subway just down the street grabbing some lunch, you knew that we weren't getting anywhere quickly. Because the drive was so short, we weren't too worried about getting caught in any traffic or how long it would take. So we set off, took the back roads and made it to Indio at 1:30. We were on the grounds by 2 and the camp was set up by 3.
I've been to quite a few festivals but this one was different. The Empire Polo Grounds are amazing! The grass is extremely plush and well manicured. We didn't even need sleeping pads under the sleeping bags the grass was so comfy. We were really excited for the fun weekend of 8 sets of Phish that was ahead of us.
What makes this festival and Halloween with Phish so fun and special? Well first, it was 8 complete sets, 2 on Friday night, 3 on Saturday, an acoustic set at noon on Sunday(the first ever) and then ending with 2 sets on Sunday night. For the 2nd set the band covers another bands album in it's entirety. A couple of months ahead of the show, the band created a site that slowly killed off 99 possible albums until there were only 8 left. Then named each of the 8 campgrounds after one of the 8 left. We were camped in Radiohead's Kid A, which would have been an interesting album to hear, but we had our money on another.
As we walked in on Saturday evening for the cover set, we were handed a playbill with the final album on the cover. This year's Halloween album was The Rolling Stones "Exile on Main St." If you've ever heard this one, it's a great album packed with non-stop fun songs. I highly recommend picking it up if this is the first you've heard of it and like the Stones at all.
Either way, the shows were amazing, it was hot as all hell during the day. The noon acoustic set promised coffee and donuts, but really only delivered blazing desert heat. All that being said, this was an amazing weekend with a great group. My only hope is that they choose to do this again next year and more people can make it out.
Enjoy the pictures!

We took the back way to Indio, way longer, but way prettier


Where's the traffic? I've waited up to 24 hours for past festivals, 20 minutes was a little weird


YES!


Radiohead


Tent City


The view was terrible


Ladderball killed a lot of time!




Got to keep those beers cold somehow!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!


Phishbill

(Wo)Men at Work

Two weeks ago Dr. and Mrs. Liashek came to town to take some time away from the amazing east coast fall weather. Generally you would think that coming to San Diego for a few days would be a nice break, you can relax in the amazing weather, maybe hit the beach, eat plenty of good food, pretty much do anything. None of these things were on tap for those few days. From almost the second they walked through the door, we were working. I'll make it easy on everyone reading, here's a list of things accomplished in just 4 days.

-Shower fixtures installed
-Weeds and unwanted bushes removed and trimmed
-Pictures hung
-Mirrors hung
-Garage organized
-Surf rack built
-Peg board for the work bench cut and installed
-Peg board for gardening tools installed
-House vacuumed over 10 times
-Two dump runs
-7 trips to home depot

We managed to get all of this done and somehow find time to eat and sleep. We did so much in that short amount of time, that we actually did nothing the following weekend because it was time for a break. Don't worry though, we've been at it again these last two days and now have 3 more unfinished projects. We were excited to have the help and appreciate everything Dr. and Mrs. Liashek did while here. We can't say "thank you" enough and next time, I promise, we won't have to share a shower!

Garage-we finally know where anything is


Surfboard rack


Thank you so much for making our patio look great!


First dinner on the new furniture

The men are here to move the toilets!

During our master bathroom gutting, we got the bright idea to do the same to the downstairs bathroom. We were feeling good about finally getting the plumbing connected upstairs and the success we had with the toilet install. The only thing that I felt like could give us a headache was the laminate flooring. Turns out, that stuff is the easiest thing to go do. The only hurdle to get over was cutting the first board, then they just pop together after that. Just like Legos, they were very easy. It took me about an hour to get the entire bathroom floor down, then, it was onto the baseboards. They went in really quickly and we got the toilet installed in about 30 minutes. We decided to finish it on that next day, and it took no time. Plumbing was easy, vanity installation was easy, toilet was easy, floor was easy, it was all easy. Thank god it was easy, I don't think I could have taken another round of what we've got going on in our master bath. Here's a nice before and after.

Before


After

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me be the first to introduce

Mrs. Christine Liashek Castellani.....Sorry, Callie and those who voted for her, looks like Christine won. In a surprising turn of events last monday, Chris decided it was time to head over to the social security office. She braved a line and paperwork in order to make this momentous change. Well, I guess we can hardly call it momentous, she basically added Castellani and moved her last name over to the left. Either way, the easy part is done. Next up.....the California DMV!

On another note, I'd like to apologize to anyone who purchased us a wedding gift that was monogrammed "CAC." Looks like whatever the item, applies to just me now, so I guess I should really be saying "Thanks," it's like Christmas in October!

Gimme the pipe......dope

If you've talked to me at all in the last week then you know what I've been struggling with. The vanity that we purchased has been giving me nightmares. Yeah, we got it upstairs and that was great and all but we still needed to get everything hooked up. Well it seemed easy enough, plumbing at that point was merely plug and play. But wait, what happens when the bottom of the sink isn't a perfect circle. That meant the rubber flange that was provided with the nice new sink hardware wasn't going to fit properly. Well it fit great on the first sink, turned out it was a good circle but not on the second. After fighting that second sink for about 5 hours one day, I needed a break. The next day I woke up with a new plan, how I was going to make it work, just needed a new drain body and a different flange. I went to Lowe's picked everything up, got it installed, turned on the water and guess what....there was still a drip. Urgh! Took it apart again, reassembled and turned on the water and what happened.....drip, drip. "What the hell?!" It was still dripping. I needed some time away from this stupid thing to figure it out. I wasn't about to pay a plumber 200 bucks to come in and fix it in 5 minutes. There had to be a way.

So I let it go for about a week. Googled every possible drain issue, came up with a couple of different possible solutions. Last night was the night, I went back in there, crawled under that stupid sink and filled the puppy with plumbers putty. Generally you would only use the putty on the top portion of the drain but this time I added it the bottom. Once everything was tightened up, I turned on the water and what happened?

NO DRIP.....that's right....no drip. What a sigh of relief. I couldn't believe that it had actually worked. So I'll be caulking the bottom just for safety but as of right now, the sinks are operational.

Oh ye of little faith

Well the voting in our latest poll ended recently and I'd say that everyone made it clear who they felt would change their name first. This was more of a mandate than the most recent presidential election where we voted overwhelmingly to keep Palin out of Washington. From what I've seen of late, I'd say that you could all be wrong. Chris has to renew her drivers license soon as do I, but with Callie and Adam's inability to finalize their wedding date it feels like the tide may be swinging. So stay tuned because something tells me that there may be a huge "I told you so" headed the blog readers way!

Some DIS-assembly required

Sunday we tackled what could have been the most difficult thing we've done yet. Such and undertaking that none of the guys doing the work on the house thought it possible. Nobody thought that just Chris, Greg and I would be all that it took to move our 300 pound vanity up stairs and into place. Luckily Chris ordered one that came in one complete piece. I've always hated assembling things and moving them around with ease. Every piece of furniture we own that came "some assembly required" I've cursed. "Who uses allen key's this much?" "Why couldn't this just come in one piece, I could move it." Well, luckily we were able to get something that needed to go up stairs and turn the corner at the landing. Something that was too heavy to turn because we couldn't get it up over our heads. Something that almost knocked me onto the boxes of crystal and then landed on top of me. Finally, something that didn't require assembly.
This giant vanity actually required DIS-assembly. Dis-assembly of the house, well, really just all the railing and banisters running up the stairs. This could be the first time that the lack of house remodeling worked in our favor because those railings from the late 80's just require a socket wrench and some elbow grease. About a 1/2 hour is all it took, and the railing came off. Then, we pretty much went straight up.....to the landing. 10 total steps, till it was standing on it's side with the 3 of us just staring at it in amazement. That's when I said to Chris "I'd say it's still a 50/50 chance this thing is getting upstairs." There were really 3 options we were faced with, sell it, install it in the living room and just run the plumbing out there so our master bath was on the first floor, or get some towels to protect the wood and just go straight up. Option 3 is what we went with. So Greg and I got on the bottom of it, Chris up top, and we just tilted and slid it up and then swung it over so the whole thing was now upside down balancing on the spot that the banister usually is attached. We quickly ran upstairs, slid it to the floor, and off we went into the bathroom. I don't think that any of could believe that it would actually get up there. It's been over 24 hours and I'm still amazed that nobody died getting it up there. We owe Greg big time, so we volunteered to just go over to his place and move furniture around for fun just to make up for it. In between stages, we managed to get some pictures, I wish we had a 4th person to document it in action.

First railing off, as you can see on the wall, we're a little indecisive about wall paint colors


Second railing coming off


Got it to the landing, this was the point that just stared at it in silent amazement. As you can see Greg has his arm up on the spot that we would eventually drape towels over and slide the entire thing onto


Now we're cooking with gas! This puppy is in, I firmly believe it's jobs like this that spawned Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. Those beers tasted so good once this was done!