Poetry

Here is a poem I wrote in 3rd grade, when I was nine.  It's a limerick.

There once was a basketball player

who put up every shot with a prayer.

One day he shot

it hit a young tot

As you see, he is no Jeff Grayer.

How many Iowa Hawkeyes can you spot in this picture?

Ok, first off I know that the picture is way to small and messy - that's the joke.

Having trouble figuring this puzzle out?  Here is the answer key:

1)  Nile Kinnick - See the picture in the upper left, next to the car? There is a picture of a guy in a red shirt.  That is me with my Grandpa, Charlie Smith, holding a picture of Nile Kinnick.  My Grandpa has a picture of Nile Kinnick, and an associated photo album of people holding the picture of Nile Kinnick.

2) Alex Karras - If you move right you will see an autographed black and white photo of 1957 Outland trophy winner Alex Karras.  Karras was also the star of the hit 80s comedy, Webster, and played Mongo in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles.  Another Iowa Hawkeye was also in that movie, Gene Wilder.

3) Mark Bortz - below Alex Karras is a photo of the 'Fridge', William Perry, scoring a touchdown for the Bears in Superbowl XX in 1986.  At the bottom of the pile is Mark Bortz.  People remember Mark Bortz playing on that great O-Line for the Bears, but he actually played D-Line for the Hawks.

4) Roy Marble - Roy Marble was a great Hawkeye.  With his son, Roy Devyn Marble, now on the team he is getting some mentions as Iowa's all time leading scorer in basketball with 2,116.  Roy Sr. was sometimes known as the next Jordan.  In the lower right hand corner of my Iowa Hawkeye mirror is an original press photo from the Long Beach times in 1986.  It is a picture of Marble dunking in a game against UC Irvine. Remember these awesome shoes?

let me know

If you would like I can send you an LP, while supplies last. There have been a few songs that have been on repeat for a few months.  Some examples of that stuff would  be Night Ranger, Willie Nelson, Macgruber soundtrack songs, some catholic favorites and some new stuff.

Let me know if you would like a copy of this soundtrack I am talking about.  I am serious.  I will send it.

Marg recipe

I had forgotten that in the summer I become frozen margarita-tv-cop.  I have a secret family recipe that is easy, flexible, and delicious.  They taste like a slurpee or a jumbo Mr. freeze pop, but with just a little kick.

Combine in a blender:

1 cup silver tequila

1 healthy shot of triple sec

1 half can of frozen lemonade

½ small bag frozen strawberries, mangos, or combo of both as I prefer

Fill blender the rest of the way with ice, with a little ice  going over top of blender

Blend ingredients together, stirring all the while with spoon so you get the chunks of ice crushed.  You might need to add a little water to smooth out the consistency.  Enjoy.  The other good part is you can store any extras in a plastic cup or tumbler in the freezer.  Just set out when you get home from work and 30 minutes later you can enjoy a frozen margarita.

As I said, this is a fool proof recipe that you can mix and match any way you prefer. 

anybody want a green love seat?

Do you need a sofa for your man-cave?  I have available for a limited time, a perfect sofa for a man-cave.  In fact, I would use it for mine if I had one, but I only have a man living room.

This loveseat is perfect, yes its a loveseat.  It looks great, and it's only been used for a couple of years.  The problem is, I've been the one sitting on it and I'm 6'3" 325.

 So, it looks perfect, and functions great.  But when I sit in it, its starting to feel like it's been shot at with an AK47 then thrown out of a train along the side of the road and then reappolstered, just kidding.  I do, though,  feel like if I keep it for another 6 months I will go to sit on it one day and it will just fall apart.  

So, anyway it's only available for a few days otherwise my wife is going to post it on Craigslist.  So if you want it for a  "man-cave" then hit me up.

cabbage soup recipe

People ask me how I keep such a lean, svelte physique - yeah right.  I tell them it is because all I eat is cabbage soup.  Seriously though, a few weeks ago I tried to change up my diet.  I started by trying a cabbage soup diet; consisting of fruits, vegetables, some lean meat and cabbage soup.  It is a weeklong diet, and it was a great experience.  After the first few days, in which I consumed less than 1000 calories each day, I realized I hadn’t consumed so few calories in almost 30 years.  I also realized I have never deprived myself of anything.  It was tough, but made it through the week.  I am back to enjoying some of the foods I love.  I just don’t eat pizza and nachos every day anymore.  Also, I did find that I really liked the cabbage soup. 

What you will need:

2 med to large onions

2 small cans diced tomatoes, any kind (I like the special ones roasted/roasted garlic n onion/ jalepenos, etc)

1 bunch of celery

1 large green pepper

1 head of cabbage

1 pack of onion soup mix

Garlic

Heat some olive oil in pot.  Rough chop onion and throw in some garlic.  Mix up garlic and onion a little bit to get the good onion and garlic smell going.  You just want to cook these up a little.

Rough chop the celery, green pepper, and cabbage and toss in pot.  Throw in the two cans of tomatoes and stir in onion soup mix. 

You will want to cover all the vegetables with liquid.  I will put in about a cup of chicken broth, and fill it up the rest of the way with water.

The vegetables should be covered with liquid.  Bring to a boil, then turn down heat, cover and let simmer for 2-1/2-3 hours.

This soup comes out chunky.  I am not a huge fan of vegetables consistency, so I prefer to blend it so it will come out more of a tomato soup consistency.  It’s nice this way to drink out of a coffee cup.  You can throw a little parmesan cheese on it for some extra flavor.

This soup is supposed to burn more calories to digest, than what you take in. 

Springsteen Tix

After I won, I called my wife and said, "I just won Springsteen tickets!!"  My wife replied, "why would you want Springsteen tickets?"  I told her that was fine if she didn't want to go because I didn't think I was going to have a hard time finding someone to go with me.  I called my Mom, who is a big Springsteen fan and said, 'Mom!, I just won Springsteen tickets!"  She mentioned she saw he was going on tour again, but the
closest place he'd be to Iowa City, Iowa was Kansas City.  I asked if she wanted to go.  She said "Would I ever, and I even have frequent flyer miles".

The rest, as they say, is history.  What a great weekend it turned out to be with My wife, my mom and me.  We had a blast.  On Thursday, when her flight got in, we had dinner at Strizis.  Strizis has turned out to be a place where we always go when my mom is in town - she says they have great Pinot Grigio wine among other things! 

Friday night at Oracle arena was the concert. I think my mom new more words to the Springsteen songs than I did.

Saturday we watched the young Iowa Hawkeyes beat Michigan state in OT in football.  Then we went wine tasting.

Sunday my mom made us bacon and eggs for breakfast while I watched some NFL.  Since my mom always wanted to go to Sausalito, on Sunday we made the short trek up there for the  afternoon.  Luckily, she took pity on me after a while and didn't insist I walk in and out of the shops.  My mom offered me an escape by suggesting I just go to a sports bar and watch football.  I remember thanking them for the offer, did not ask "are you sure?"and was gone so fast I left tire tracks on the pavement. 

I think that night we watched an old musical - probably Seven  Brides for Seven Brothers or South Pacific -
two of my mom's favorites. Not sure which. In the morning we got up early to take my mom to the airport.
What a great trip and a great week-end all from winning those Springsteen tickets.  Thanks Murph and Mac and KNBR!