Founder of "Sweet Maries" first Pizza!

This is the first pizza I ever made. I would give it a 6 out of 10 mostly because the crust could have been better and more crispy. In the future I plan to start a pizza restaurant named Sweet Maries. Even though that is about 10 years off I figured I better get started sometime. I need to come up with a recipe for a good whole wheat crust and not this box crap. The cheeses and toppings I used turned out really good. It was ham, sausage, mushroom, and two different kinds of cheeses one white one orange. Anyway Bon appetite! Sorry for the sideways pictures thank Michael for that but also for the clear pictures.

Life is good except for Marie isn't here. Lots of work and no school for the moment. I worked 12 hours yesterday which was saturday at Ramada and 6 1/2 hours today. Saving up so I can enjoy the World Cup abroad this summer while seeing my Marie. There is nothing like experiencing the World Cup in another country it will always be my favorite event and I hope the US comes to play this summer. At the present I'm drinking a glass of French wine (Marie you should be proud) well maybe not French but definitly made in France. I bought a new book from Walmart from my favorite author Jeffrey archer named "Kane and Able ". He also wrote "Paths of Glory" So Marie will tell you once I start a good book life stands still for me until I finish it so she's probably glad she's not here;) I cooked a big meal the other night, homeade mashed potatoes, homade apple sauce, salmon wraps, and black bean and corn salsa with chips. It was all fantastic except for the potatoes were suspect, although they still tasted good. So thats my life for the moment. Working and missing my girl:)

Tinkerbells Birthday!

Today was my my incredible girlfriends birthday. We weren't able to spend it together but I hope she had a good one. She is the loca chiquita on the left in the picture. I couldn't be a luckier guy to have her. Feliz Compleanos y gros bisous chiquita!

Cousins

I had the privilige of playing soccer and baseball with my two little cousins. Tyler and Dylan are both a riot and are currently playing hockey in Minnesota where they live. We ate chinese food played baseball and soccer and these are a few of the soccer pics! "IT WAS AWSOME" (Tyler age 3).

Interesting Dispute

I was in a brief altercation today that intrigued me in several ways. First it ended in my being told that I would never be successful because I was a pessimist when in fact I was just playing devils advocate to a conversation. To this I have to say who defines success. Is it how much money you have, how happy you are, how much fame you acquire, how spiritually rich you are or any number of other things. I don't know the exact answer to this problem but I believe for me it lies between happiness and being spiritually rich. If its one thing I've learned though don't let other people tell you that you won't be successful. Its happened to me more than once and I believe that constructive criticism is really the only good criticism. This is one of my favorite parts of the movie Pursuit of Happyness when the dad tells his son don't ever let anyone tell you you can't do it (to bad this isn't always the case). As a future teacher this is one of my pet peaves because students need to be encouraged not cut down and I've seen plenty of that in schools and sports. Attacking a persons character is a popular fallacy in any argument and is popular in politics because they can get away with it because of the public eye. Those that actually know something about me would know that I'm actually the opposite of a pessimist and more of a dreamer and if you can dream it you can make it happen. Next, the other person in the conversation fails to see a benefit to devils advocate. This technique started with the catholic faith way back in the day in the canonization of saints. Anyway it has been around and is taught in debate classes, business classes, used by extremely successful bussiness men and many different forums as a great way to learn and work through problems. More research on the usefulness of this popular strategy tool can be found online but one site I particularly liked on the subject was www.devilsadvocategroup.com/category/about/ and besides the part on the catholic faith where it received its origins the sound bite at the bottom of the page labeled devils advocate is extremely good. So sorry to bore anyone who read this but if you gained any insight on any of the topics then it was worth it. I am just tired of being fed crap and not saying anything about it. So don't listen to the naysayers, conformists, and live the life you want, as an individual, because thats what we need more of in this society. Remember group think kills, peace!
P.S. If you want an interesting insight into the power of groupthink read the book The Whole Truth by David Baldacci and while its a work of fiction it has some powerful implications.

I have returned from an amazing journey in the north of France. Specifically, I was in Nantes for two days and then Normandy for ten days. It was meet the family time and it couldn't have gone better I don't think. Marie was more than accomodating of me and my bum knee. I was able to see the D-Day beach and some of the history with it like the landing boat, canons, tanks, etc. One of the highlights of the trip was to see my good friend Camille (from the akumal crew) when her and her boyfriend came to visit at the house in Normandy. She is quiet and kind and an amazing friend. Also, she loves cats so everytime me and Marie see a cat we see Camilles spirit. I ate the most I've ever eaten in two weeks and the most new foods also. I loved the snails (escargo) and cheese and bread of course. I knew I was in for a treat when I was in Nantes and my first meal for lunch I order the pork. I thought I was get a couple pieces of meat however, when our food arrived my huge plate had a huge chunk of meat fat, bones and all that looked like it had just been hacked off the pig accompanied by a huge plate of potato squares. I drank a lot of good french wine which I couldn't complain about. I met her grandparents and had lunch and visited a huge basilica with them. I knew my sister would have appreciated that more than me but it was still cool. The second cool thing was Maries family dog Ushea having puppies while I was there. The mother is mostly german shepard and the puppies were german shepard lab I think. Me and Marie are adopting a black girl and calling it Jude from the beatles song hey jude (long story). The picture are from a great pizza place in Nantes. On a little side street that we randomly found and ate a romantic lunch. The trip was amazing and I miss Marie already but its back to reality and I'll live. So till next time peace chau chau and hasta luego!!!

Bedtime Stories

So my knees screwed and I'm getting lots of bedtime. This isn't all bad because it gives me time to do my homework. Anyway not much going on I leave for France in 6 days to see Marie but who knows if I'll survive the trip since I can't even walk or sit for an hour much less travel across the world and sit on a plane for 8 hours. Oh well you have to try everything at least once. So not much to say but bonjour!!! and buenos noches!!!!

Work and plans for the near future!

Been working alot at Ramada which is fun enough for the meantime. I think my baby bro michael will start working thier this week hopefully. Going to grad school which is okay. Excitement is on the horizon though as I am going to Normandy to visit Marie for 12 days 2 traveling. I'm flying to Paris then either she will pick me up or I will figure out how to take the train. Then after a few days at her school in Nantes we will head back to her parents place in the country for some rest and relaxation. Oh yeah I will need it because I will have knee surgery September 11th which will be no fun at all. I am in the beginning stages of planning a biking trip from Effingham IL to Eagle Colorado to see my brother. I read the trip journals of two guys who did longer trips but passed through the route I would like to take across Missouri and Kansas and it seems doable. This might be next summer after I get back from Europe at the earliest but we will see since we plan to travel quite a bit in Europe too. I think Marie will be coming with me and I'm sure whenever the trip takes place it will be interesting because I don't ride bike that much. Actually I don't even have a road bike but hey thats just details right. I figure the trip will take around 20 days and is hopefully cheaper than flying. I am yet to get used to this living at home thing and living according to someone elses schedule. Its quite draining and I think I actually get less done after the stress and being tired but hey its saving some money. By the way if you haven't been paying attention the World Cup is less than a year away which is crazy exciting. Soccer is one of my passions and the world cup is the pinnacle of soccer tournaments! so go USA I'll be representing in Europe since its cheaper than South Africa. Oh and the random pics are from California on family vacation and thats right a store named HEY JUDE!!! shot out to the Akumal Familia! Peace!!!

So after getting hassled around the casa for a week about work I finally worked a 13 hour shift at Ramada Convention Center. I just got done in fact, and I forgot how awesome it was to work thier and it brought back alot of good memories. I worked hard kicked ass and had a good time doing it. I worked with my younger hermano's friend Jordan which was pretty awesome. I am now an owner of a brand new 2009 Toyota Corolla which I absolutely love. It get insane gas mileage and drives so smooth and quiet. Its kind of surreal I never thought I would own a new cars so it is way cool dude. Muchos gracias tu mi padre por helping me out!!! Oh and cudos to my brother he has been playing some kick ass soccer! keep it up baby bro!!! My knee surgery is coming up soon so thats going to be a major brummer bummer but what can you do at least when I heal I can be ready to dominate indoor soccer this winter! I miss my girlfriend shes absolutely incredible and I can't wait to see her again even though it won't be soon but hey good things come to those who wait right! Its two in the morning and I'm Cash Johnsoned so peace, love, and prosperity!!! Buenos Noches

Post Mexico

So I didn't blog while I was in Akumal because the internet was not that available. However my trip was a blast and is sure to be one of the best summers of my life. I met a french girl named Marie who is now my girlfriend. Also I saw many sites like the Mayan ruins at Coba and Tulum. Cenotes (Freshwater under caves) included Dos Ojos, one at Coba, one at Xhcacel or however you spell it. Partying in playa, lots of dancing, camping at Tulum, playing pool at La Cueva, Snorkeling at Akumal bay, doing the turtle walk in the night time and hanging out with some amazing people. I picked up a good starting point for learning spanish and hope to continue in this pursuit. Then I spent 11 wonderful days in California (Stanford, San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz) and then I met Marie in St. Louis and spent 5 days with her and my family at our lakehouse. It was amazing to see her after 11 days away. Then she left back to france and now will be the tough time of being away from her for an extended period. I am currently looking for some kind of income peace!!!!

Hostel Queztal

I made it to Cancun after the shuttle driver couldn´t find it and we took a bunch of side allies. However thing got much better when I arrived the two guys my age that work here are very nice and I even got my own room since the other part was under construction. My room is nice with my own bathroom. Anyway first night in Cancun Mexico and I´m still kicking. This hostel thing is pretty cool too except you have to go off the beaten path to find them. Tommorow I have a 10 min walk to the bus to take to Akumal. I think I will be blogging this who trip so if anyone wants to keep updated just check on here.... Viva la Mexico!