Way too long since last post

Ok, so my work/life imbalance these past few months has really stifled my interacting with the outside world. However, as this effort at work enters a new phase and the horizon looks like I may have more breathing room, I wanted to check in here and wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Day Trip to Long Beach Island

That's right. On Saturday Max and I took a ride to visit my folks in LBI, who had set up shop there for a week and a day in a BEAUTIFUL oceanfront rental. The two family home (with no renters on the lower level) had a spectacular view of both the ocean and a view of the bay--no doubt some amazing summer evenings could be enjoyed there. Besides seeing my folks, we visited with my Aunt Grace and Uncle Dennis in the morning, who had stayed for two nights, and then my sister Dionne and her husband Bob in the afternoon once they got there.

We didn't have much planned for the afternoon, since we were only staying for a few hours, but we manage to take a short ride to Beach Haven (had to get the family a couple of boxes of Fudge from Country Kettle!). Also, with a change of clothes and shoes for Max in hand just in case, we both trekked down on to the beach to get our sand and ocean fix.



Despite some foul weather that lasted pretty much the whole day, it was nice to soak up the beach atmosphere and spend some time in quite a snazzy house!!

Giants versus Dallas

This past weekend afforded me a rare opportunity to catch a live Giants game. With my dad down in Long Beach Island for a week with my mom, my Uncle Dennis needed a tailgating partner. So, I volunteered (twist my arm, haha). He picked me up around 12:45 for the 4:15 game, and we headed to East Rutherford. Good thing we went when we did. The lots were already clogged with NY and Dallas fans, all cooking, drinking, throwing around footballs, and everything else that goes along with the fun of tailgating. We cooked and ate and caught up on current events. After a while of that, it was time to pack up and head into the stadium.

On a good note, well.....you know how the game turned out!! Sorry all you Dallas fans!!!

Max visits Brooklyn

On the day after Halloween, Max and I found ourselves in our usual Saturday afternoon mode--on the computers, picking up dinner, doing some chores, etc. Towards the night when cabin fever set in, it was evident that getting out of the house was the call to order. So, a relaxing car ride turned into a spontaneous drive into NYC. Despite a bit of traffic heading into the Holland Tunnel, the drive into the city was met with enthusiasm. Max loved all the bright lights, tall buildings, and busy streets. My surprise for him stemmed from an interest he has in the bridges that cross the East River. Not only did we tour areas like Chinatown and Battery Park, but we also took a ride across the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, to do nothing more than just say he was there..we drove for a bit and then banged a Uturn and headed back into NYC. For the rest of the ride, we headed up the FDR to look at the rest of the bridges, and then ultimately came back to New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge.

A waste of gas? Nah. I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of NYC, but there's something about it that makes you think twice when you see the fascination of it all in your son's eyes.

Trick or Treat!

Halloween had a special meaning this year, as Mr. Max (clad in a terrific Superman costume) was slated to participate in Trick or Treating for the first time. While we've taken him out in the past and have outfitted him with various costumes, this year would put him in the position of doing his own candy collecting with Lynn or me at his side (Pictures of Max can be seen to the right).

Lynn took Max out in the afternoon for a while, and I took over when I got home from work. After around 90 minutes or so of venturing around the neighborhood, we paid a visit to my parents so they could get a look at him in his costume. Some pictures were taken, and after a short while, it was evident Max had his fill of the day, as fatigue rapidly set in.

Now the challenge is to gobble down all that candy!

Halloween Party in Long Valley

On October 25, my good friend Anthony hosted a Halloween party for friends and family. About a dozen kids sported costumes ranging from sports figures, faerie tale figures, and Hollywood characters (Max was Eli Manning). The afternoon was filled with food, drink, activites, and visiting with friends. Much of Anthony's extended family were on hand as well as most of the guys that normally get together for our periodic wine tastings.

Despite a very, very rainy and windy day, it was nice to get together and watch the kids enjoy themselves.

Birthday Shout-Out for Max on Wine Library TV!

Hey folks. In keeping up with the tradition of requesting birthday shoutouts for each of us, the latest shout-out was for Mr. Max. If you go to
http://tv.winelibrary.com/2008/10/10/yellow-tail-a-sauvignon-blanc-and-a-dessert-wine-episode-555/ and drag the slider to about the 9:40 mark, the happy birthday wishes start.

Happy Birthday, Max!

A Tale of Two Races

Ok, so this past weekend had me put my running prowess once again to the test, but with a twist--for the first time ever, I dared to run hard races on back to back days--while I originally had only planned to run on Sunday, October 12, a work colleague told me about a short 3 mile run right across the river (Rutherford) on October 11.

There's a side story to share about Saturday's run. During the summer my Aunt Margaret and I had been talking about running in a race together again (mind you our last run together in any kind of race dated back to 1988). Well, when this opportunity surfaced in Rutherford, home to more relatives of mine (the Waller family), I thought I'd encourage my aunt to run in it. She had built up to that distance already, so the biggest concern she could possibly have that day were stomach butterflies! As a bonus, my cousin Anna would also take part in the race (I warned her since she was so young she'd better be WAY ahead of us).

The Rutherford race was a 3 mile run (the "Pumpkin Run"). The course weaved through town, starting and ending in the park just off Washington Street. As was expected, Anna placed ahead of my aunt and I, somewhere around 27 minutes. I came in at a respectable 30:15, and my aunt a bit over 32 minutes (I can't seem to find official results on the internet). After the race I unfortunately couldn't really relish too much in my performance, because I had my normal Saturday afternoon errands to run and work to do at the house, and then finally rest up for a much longer run the next morning.

Okay, so I woke up Sunday morning slightly sore from the Rutherford race, but knew what I had to do. I got myself ready and headed up to the Oval in Nutley. I did my normal warmups and played the waiting game. Again my work colleague Aaron and his wife and brother in law were in this race. I caught up with them just before the race to shoot the breeze and help kill time.

Then the officials began to do the start cadence. At that instant in time the worst possible thing happened--my Zune froze on me and I couldn't restart it! I tried everything to get it to once again play music but it had shut down and showed no signs of life. Then the pistol sounded and the race began. So, I began running with the group, but tried like heck to breathe some life into my media player, otherwise it would be a long, long run without tunes. After a few minutes of trying, I gave up the struggle, and refocused on the task at hand, despite the time it was going to take me!

Carrying my seemingly dead mp3 player, I took the beginning of my run up a notch to clear myself from the back of the pack to someplace a bit more well--not near last. I gained a lot of ground and passed a number of runners between the first and second miles of running. One of the race coordinators snapped this picture of me and emailed it--



At around the 3 mile mark of the race was the first time I thought I had a chance to at least match, if not surpass, my time of 54:23 last year. I tried on the straightaways of Washington Avenue and Center Street to gain more ground by picking up speed. When I hit Franklin Ave at the 50 minute mark, I knew I had at a personal best in the bag, it was just a question of how much faster. Well, I ended at a 53:33, almost a minute faster!!

As long as my legs, hips, knees, ankles, and all parts in between keep letting me, rest assured you'll see more stories like this in the years to come! I only hope I'll have more success stories to share...until next time!

Return to Wine Library

Hey folks. In a last minute decision, I decided after my morning activities to drag my son down to Wine Library in Springfield, N.J. to take advantage of some heavily advertised sales today that I've seen on Wine Library TV over the past several weeks. In particular, 2005 Bordeaux was an offering discussed (see http://tv.winelibrary.com/2008/09/29/secret-pack-tasting-after-a-jets-offensive-explosion-episode-548/) that was available in vast quantities. So, I thought I'd take a look and see if I could find something at a decent price that I could pick up or even sample.

Before starting my shopping, of course Max wanted to poke around and see the place. He found the huge aquarium on the 2nd Level not too far from the Wine Tasting tables. Well, call it good timing or call it whatever else you like, but right when we were there looking at the fish (and dodging the folks browsing all the sampling stations) an employee from the Wine Library came out stating that Gary Vaynerchuk would be doing a taping of Wine Library right where we were at the tasting table in a few minutes. As that was said, Mr. Mott appeared carrying his camera and tripod ("Mott", as Gary refers to him on Wine Library TV). Soon enough he and his guest(I think he said his name was 'Joe') came out and began talking to a few folks nearby as well as ready their set. I took an opportunity to introduce myself to "Mott", and he seemed appreciative for my acknowledging me being a regular viewer of the show. Afterward, Gary took a look over and saw Max staring at him (since he's seen him enough times on the computer while I watched shows) and said 'hello', to which Max quickly responded back with a hearty 'hi'. I waved to Gary figuring he had recognized me previously at Costco, but he went right into the start of his show--oh well.

After a few minutes Max had his fill of watching the taping of the show as well as watching the fish, so we had to take a walk and began our search for something to buy. We headed back downstairs and looked at the numerous opened cases of French wines available. I came across a small tasting station and began reading about a wine on sale for $14.98 (http://winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?item=42146). The fellow at the station had me try a small shotglass sized cup of this wine (it had been decanting for a few hours). The nose was very fruity, mostly a dark berries type of aroma--a very nice start! The body was medium- heavy and fruit filled, high in tanins, and very complex. It also had earthy, almost vegetal, overtones to it. What I really enjoyed was the tremendous length across my entire pallete. Nice wine. So, with that experience, I thought a bit, and after thinking back to my experiences with previous medium to medium-heavy reds like this, they really mixed nicely with hard cheeses and cream-based pasta dishes (such as my Tri-Color Tortellini Alfredo). This compelled me to pick up not one, but two of them--I also visited the gourmet foods part of the store, and decided upon a wedge of California Monterrey Jack cheese (I did originally have my heart set on picking up a package of Cowgirl cheese-any variety, but for $28, I had to pass on that).

I didn't get a chance to chat with Gary this time around, but I think Max got a kick out of being acknowledged by him!

Half Marathon Man

(see pictures accompanying this post below or at http://picasaweb.google.com/jplenczuk/HalfMarathonMan#)

After nearly 5 weeks of training, I put my mettle to the test this past Sunday, September 28, by participating in the Newport Liberty Waterfront Half Marathon in Jersey City. This is by far the LONGEST of any of the organized runs I've done. I participated in this event in 2006, and though I finished, it was a tough day because of the unseasonably high temperatures (the last few miles became a combination of walking and running). So, with a few LONG runs under my belt during the past few weeks on my own, I thought I had the tools to finish the race with a somewhat better showing than the 3 hours+ time I turned in two years earlier (and carrying much less weight).

Upon arrival and registering for the race, I was a bit concerned, because Sunday morning was VERY humid. Because of this, I knew that I had to be extra careful with hydration during the race, as my internal "furnace" heats up very quickly in those conditions.

So, off we go. The first 6 or 7 miles go okay, but I am clearly soaked from head to toe, and despite a handful of stops to fuel up on water and gatorade, the first warning signs of cramping made themselves known by what I call 'quasicramps'. This is when one calf or another muscle group begins to flutter, where I can feel if I flex it, it will be a full blown cramp. For this reason, I found myself favoring one leg, then the next. This continued for another couple of miles, where it gradually increased in frequency, and became full fledged cramps. By the time I had reached the 10 mile mark, my pace had dramatically slowed (mind you I'm not breaking speed records as it is), and I had no choice at this point but to convert the rest of my run to a deliberate walk, the only way I had left to travel without perpetual cramping. I tried many times between the 10 mile and 12 mile mark to begin a slight jog again, but immediately, both hamstrings and calves threw fits, and even felt my hip flexors reject the idea. Somewhat dejected, I continued at a fast walk, pumping my arms and adjusting my breathing to the pace. I made one last effort around the 13 mile mark to get even the slowest of jogs underway, because I really wanted to run across the finish line. Same outcome. Thus, with the encouragement of onlookers, I walked across the finish with a grimace and though while still over three hours (in fact, worse than two years ago), I managed to pull off a ballsy effort in some considerable pain. My wife, son, and parents came to support me, and I was immensely thankful I had that.

I'll be honest--I was disappointed. Despite being reminded by family that the very fact I finished was enormous, I can't help but to think of my practice runs and the success I had in completing the same distance but in more favorable weather conditions (I seem to thrive in cool /cold and dry conditions, as I'm sure others do). One year I will catch this race on a good day, or I may even explore seeking out another half marathon closer to winter, where I can put my tolerance for cold to the test. I guess we'll see!

Sister and Brother-In-Law visit Lake Adventure

Hey everyone. This past Saturday saw my sister, her husband, Max, and I take an afternoon drive to Lake Adventure. Needless to say, the weather made the trip little more than a 'meet and greet' of the new Park Home. Having been their first visit to Lake Adventure since 2001, Dionne and Bob were somewhat surprised at how much development had taken place in the areas we typically pass through on our way to the site. They were thrilled to finally have a chance to see the new place and shed, as well as spend time with Max and I (we don't do that enough given everyone's opposite schedules). After the visit to the site was an informal tradition I've adopted this summer of having dinner at Yetter's Diner on 206 (in Augusta).

Despite a brief visit and the dreary weather conditions, it was nice to get back up to the mountains again and get a chance to catch the leaves begin their transformation from the various shades of greens to the various orange, brown, and red colors we're so accustom to when these months of the year roll around.

Christening in Vernon

This past Sunday saw the Christening of Thomas Patrick Kimball, son to Pat and Theresa Kimball (the best man and maid of honor at my wedding). Lynn and godparents Anthony and Jocelyn Nelson participated in the baptism with Pat and Theresa's family. Meeting up with everyone afterward was Steven, Eric, Max, and me. After the ceremony was a nice luncheon held at Milano's restaurant nearby. The food was terrific, and it was nice catching up with everyone again.

Apple Picking!

Max and I took a nice drive out to west Jersey to pick apples in an orchard we haven't visited previously. Windy Brow orchards in Newton is nestled just off route 519 overlooking Springdale and route 206.





We picked up a couple of bags and took a walk into the orchards.

After some time searching out some varieties, we were somewhat disappointed in the amounts of trees that had already been raided by apple pickers before us. There were still plenty of apples to go around, but lacking in the variety we had hoped (I was looking for some Granny Smiths, a favorite of mine for cooking). In any event, we did manage around 30 lbs. worth of apples, so I guess the mission was accomplished!

Christening Reception in East Hanover

Lynn's long time friend Donna and partner in crime Mike hosted an incredible party celebrating the Christening of their adoptive child Christopher Ryan in East Hanover today. The party was nothing less than spectacular, with a hall and extras (open bar, huge buffet bar, lavish dessert spread, DJ, etc.) rivaling a wedding reception. Many of Lynn's friends and spouses/significant others and kids were on hand, giving everyone a chance to catch up on current events, and of course, have a few laughs in the process. Though Max's mood was a bit lukewarm for the first part of the day, he eventually opened up and made his way to the dance floor to cut some rug, giving Lynn and me of course a chance to follow suit. After a generous four hour time frame, the party came to an end, and everyone said their goodbyes, all looking forward to the next function (likely Max's birthday next month). More to come on that!

Closing on the Park Home--3 months later??

So today Lynn, Max, and I headed up to Sussex to close on our Park Home, though we've had the unit already for nearly 3 months. In any event, the day was cloudy and cool (my type of weather is in the air, I can feel it!), and the drive was long, but at least we got this effort out of the way. Getting something off your back is a nice way to start an extended weekend. That's all for now!

Labor Day Weekend Recap

So, the proverbial end of the summer has come and is just about to end. Besides the normal rigors of the weekends (errands, chores, etc.), there were three nice activities that made the weekend enjoyable. My mom's birthday party on Saturday over at their house was nice, where we had a full day of catching up on current events, food, and birthday cake. The visit was also a prelude to my mom's travel today for an extended stay in Kansas to care for my grandmother after her knee surgery (I didn't hear yet whether her flight was affected by the hurricane). The second activity of note was our last chance to swim at Lake Adventure yesterday--the weather was in our favor for this final day of swimming, and the pool, while crowded, was still enjoyable. After a swim, Lynn, Max, and I took our usual detour on the way home for some dinner for Max (at McDonalds) and for Lynn and me at Yetter's Diner (yum). The last, and most meaningful note to me, is today Lynn and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary by having lunch out--Eric even came out with the three of us! Of course, I ate more than I needed, so between that and the hard yardwork I did this AM, I am now shot for the rest of the day, but plan to coast anyway, as I have a return to my non-summer hours at work--yuck.

On another note, obviously this week means the return to school--I'm sure this will be noteworthy (or at least humorous watching some folks in this house try to change their internal time clocks to 6:30-7am from the ungodly times they've been waking up this summer--nightowls!)

Back At Lake Adventure For Some Swimming!

A few visits have been made to Lake Adventure since we've brought in our new Park Home, but with Max's apprehension with staying over night, our visits this summer will be limited to day trips--hardly a big deal. While the weather holds up, we're going to pound the pool as our primary source of entertainment. Yesterday was a great pool day for Lynn, Max, and me. While it's nothing different for Max to don the inner tube while putzing around in the water, he did exhibit for the first time interest in 'jumping' into the pool, as well as going underwater, two activities I was eager to help him with (since I never lost my love for swimming). So, a few leaps into the water he took, and I made sure that while I was close enough to practically catch him, I did give him enough room to get the experience of 'splashing in' (so to speak) so he could get the sensation of being underwater, albeit briefly. He LOVED it. In typical Max fashion, he wanted more, more, more. Luckily, the pool for him isn't something he needs to be in for too long, so for the 75 minutes or so we were there, he was more than satisfied--no doubt more days like that will be on the horizon (look for the web album at the right for images of the day).

Another nice detail about our visit to the camper stemmed from a customized sign Lynn had made while down at Great Adventure this past Wednesday. Though initially intended to hang outside near the camper, she decided for now to leave it on the windowsill just above the lot numbers I pasted to the front. In the web album to the right, you'll see pictures of Max holding this sign on his lap as well as it's current address in the window. I think it adds a nice touch to our place! Kudos to my wife!

Take Her to the Zoo

This past Thursday was a picture-perfect day weatherwise for a return to Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange. Lynn and Max had been up there a handful of times already this season, but this day was my first time back this year. Making this trip intriguing was the opening of a couple of new exhibits--a walk-through aviary, and a kangaroo, wallaby, and emu pen. While much of what was seen Thursday was not much different than previous visits, Max was a bit more amicable this time to try a couple of new things--one was spending more time near the barns housing the livestock, as well as his first attempt at feeding birds, separating himself from them using only a small stick smeared with a mix of seed and a honey-type glaze purchased from the keeper (See the web photo album at the below-right of this page to catch a glimpse of his new-found bravery).

A very nice time was had by all! Fortunately, we got out of there within an hour of rain.

Visit to LBI

What an amazing day for a trip to the shore (I know some of you say 'beach', but I'm from New Jersey). Lynn, Max, and I packed up for a day of visiting with family at a beautiful beach house in Long Beach Island, co-rented by the Weisbrod's, People's, and Pepitone's. My mom, dad, sister Dionne, and brother-in-law Bob also visited for the day (my mom and dad were also celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary). It was Max's first extended visit to the beach this summer (not including a Sandy Hook lunch and sight-seeing trip earlier in the season), and Brayden's first time to play with Max on the beach. Well, the water was cool but bearable, and we remained at the beach for nearly 3 hours. After some time to clean up, Lynn, Max, and I headed back to the beach house and just visited for the remainder of the afternoon with everyone who also ventured back out of the sun (it was at this point I noticed I got A LOT of color, some would call it 'burn', I call it 'less pale'). When it neared Max's limit with visiting (and we always get warning signs from him), we headed out, but not before taking a few pictures (see album below).

A special thank you to Uncle Dennis, Aunt Grace, Theresa, Bruce, Brayden, Mike, and Laurie for inviting us down for the afternoon! And special congratulations to my mom and dad for another anniversary in the books!

Better Late than Never

A number of weeks ago I published a post on how my wife got a shout-out from Gary Vaynerchuk (Director of Operations, Wine Library, and star of the video Blog "Wine Library TV" aka "The Thunder Show") at http://lot829.blogspot.com/2008/07/birthday-shout-out-for-lynn-4-seconds.html . I thought I'd follow up with the news that my shout-out can now be heard on http://tv.winelibrary.com/2008/08/11/a-3-country-pinot-noir-challenge-episode-516/ .

I had an email exchange between Gary and Gary's assistant, Matt at the end of July. I was told by Matt that my shoutout WAS in fact slated for Episode 500 (the live webcast at CrushPad on July 10), but Gary obviously did not remember to do shout-outs that day. Since Gary was about to travel abroad, he asked that it be penciled in at the first taping of WineLibrary TV when he got back to the states.

Thank you, Gary! See you at the next event at the Wine Libary!

Saturday Night with Lynn's Entourage

Saturday night saw a nice night out with my son and my wife as we visited Lynn's friend's housing complex in Clifton (very snazzy, I must say!)


Cambridge Heights of Clifton, NJ (a nice looking site just off the northbound side of the GSP around exit 155) has a phenomenal clubhouse usable by it's residents for parties, gatherings, etc. Lynn's friends Cathy and Cheryl hosted a shindig for all friends, spouses, and kids there this past Saturday Night. Visiting were all of Lynn's dearest friends and their spouses (Lauren and Kevin, Donna and Mike, Mike. Jr., Lauren's dad and "Hutch", Lisa, etc.) and all the kids (Max, Matthew, Karlie, Conner, and Christopher). Two LARGE rooms afforded everyone a chance to enjoy each other's company, eat (oh man, by the way, amazing food), and let the kids run themselves ragged. The featured attraction was a surprise game of "Hotseat", a game I never heard of as a board game. Basically, questions get asked of everyone about others participating in the game, some questions of which were rather personal (which of course made it all the more amusing!).

All in all, it was a very nice evening, and I was glad my wife had a chance to unwind with friends with which she's shared a LOT of history!

A Sort of Homecoming

(First things first--no, this isn't a write up about U2)

Today was the first time in 10+ years that my parents (or Paul and Bernice or Uncle Paul and Aunt Bernice, whatever you call them) took a ride to Pennsylvania to visit Lake Adventure. I have been eager to show them the place, and with good weather and an eager little swimmer in Max packed into the car, a nice afternoon was anticipated. Along with the walk-through of our new place would a long afternoon up at the pool. They were very impressed with the new place, and were looking forward to having more family come check it out! After the walk-through of the place, it was time for swimming! Once settled in at the pool (which was busy today given the nice weather), my folks shared how being at the site once again brought back tons of fond memories --memories not only of the times they had with family up there, but times with the good people that also had properties adjacent ours going back as far as I could remember. Ironically one of those good folks happened to be there this afternoon at their property when we returned to ours from swimming. My folks spoke with him for a while to catch up on current events while Max and I took a short walk. When we returned and it was evident that it was the right time to head back home, I saw an opportunity for a photo-op:



The day was a walk down memory lane for my mom and dad, and hopefully a springboard for paying their old site, and the old friends they made, another visit.

Birthday Shout-Out for Lynn! 4 Seconds Of Fame

You might be aware that I've gotten a bit into learning about wine over the past few years, but this year has been one where I've really moved up the learning curve, spending more time reading and following a daily wine blog called Wine Library TV. The host of the program, Gary Vaynerchuk, has a daily video blog on the subject, and has made numerous television appearances to date. I have had the chance to meet him on two different occasions, and have kept in touch via e-mail.

Since part of his video blog involves acknowledging his viewing audience with "shout-outs" for things like anniversaries, birthdays, etc., I had the idea of requesting he do a shout-out for Lynn and me for our birthdays. Well, as irony would have it, the shout-out to Lynn got on the air, while mine is still a work in progress, it seems. Check this out, and go to the 20:04 mark:

http://tv.winelibrary.com/2008/07/21/gigondasrhones-little-secret-episode-505/

Enjoy!

Connected!

Hey everyone! Here's a way we can hopefully leverage Web 2.0 to our advantage to keep in touch, when phone calls, texting, e-mails, and (for those of us that still use U.S. Mail) snail-mail just aren't do-able for whatever reason.

With plenty of time left in the summer, and surely a lot going on in all our worlds before the school year or fall or whatever else the post Labor Day timeframe means to you, what do you think of sharing your experiences in this manner?

Any thoughts would be great--the more, the merrier!