Pinocchio's 34, Ricky's III 30

Silly me, I forgot to mention two birthdays from October 21:

Happy Birthday, Randy! - Picture here
Happy Birthday, Jeri!

Last night was the first game of the city league basketball season. Though only six players were available for the Pinocchio's team, we managed to squeeze out a victory over Ricky's III. I didn't score any points, but I did have a couple of rebounds.

Our next opponent is Ricky's I. Is "I" better than "III"? We'll find out on November 4.

Ring it up... er, down

Would you like to try the BEN weight loss plan? Here's what you do. Exercise a little more. Eat a little less. That's it.

I've noticed that I'm losing weight in various parts of my body. Since January, I've lost roughly 40 pounds. My waist size has dropped from nearly 40 to 34-35. But here's one I didn't expect -- my wedding ring doesn't fit anymore.

So, yesterday evening, I went in to Rasmussen Jewelers to get my ring re-sized. You know how jewelry store folks like to make positive comments about you and encourage you to buy something? Well, jewelers must love it when a guy walks in and needs his ring sized down. Assuming correctly that I must have lost weight, the compliments rained down -- stronger than the light drizzle outside. Being the only person in the store, every employee managed to get one in.
The person helping me out: "You look fabulous."
The person sitting at a computer updating something-or-other: "Wow! How did you do it?"
The person in the back on the phone: "You're looking great! Nice work!" (He must have been on hold -- otherwise, he really confused the person on the other line)

Anyway, my ring size was 9 when the ring was purchased in early 2003. I'm now a size 7.5. Those finger aerobics really pay off.

The Power of a Complaint

Jenelle here...

When I was growing up, I would often go to the grocery store with my mom. Every single time, without fail, she would complain about the grotesque mold growing under the handles of the shopping carts. It was quite grotesque. She would often complain to anyone that would listen about the perils of germs.

Well, mom, someone out there heard you. Today at Jewel I noticed free disinfecting wipes to sanitize your cart should you wish to keep your fresh fruit and meat e coli free. So, while your gripe may have been with a Safeway store 1700 miles away, someone at a Jewel in Racine, Wisconsin heard you. Guess you'll just have to move here.

Badgers 24, Wildcats 12

Well, Northwestern fans aren't happy, but the whole state of Wisconsin has no depression whatsoever, which makes me smile. :)

The flowers that were previously displayed on the webcam (now available for viewing here) were purchased at Pick N' Save.

And, as you can see from the latest webcam picture, our butter knife indeed does have a notch. The picture was taken to answer a question from one of the many readers of this log. Thanks for asking!

24 reasons to smile

The flowers currently displayed on the BenCam were purchased on Friday. I hadn't originally intended them to be a Sweetest Day present, but that's what they turned out to be. My general rule is that if you can't remember the last time you bought flowers for your special someone, it's time to make a new memory. :)

Lucky for me, the "holiday" of Sweetest Day, which both Jenelle and me tend to ignore, allowed me to take advantage of quite a sale. Two dozen roses for less than $15. Can you guess from what store I acquired the beautiful bouquet? Feel free to use the comments section to post your guess. The answer will be revealed in the next few days or so.

Celebrity B-Ball

I've decided to play city league basketball on my uncle's team this year (Pinocchio's Restaurant at 31 & 20). We've had two practices so far, which consist mainly of scrimmage games with whoever else happens to be around.

One of the people who we happened to be playing against last night just happened to be 1994 Rose Bowl MVP Brent Moss, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in playing for Wisconsin in 1993. He was certainly the strongest player on the other team, but I wouldn't call his presence dominating. :)

And that's my latest celebrity encounter.

Those of you who have been paying attention to the History Page realize that there were a couple of milestones on October 12 that are worth mentioning here:
Happy Anniversary, Ed & Yolie!
Happy Birthday, Laura!

Is it Autumn yet?

Another exciting weekend for us -- we were at Grandma & Grandpa's house when we watched Northwestern triumph over Indiana in overtime. Today was especially exciting because we watched Sarah, Jenelle's former roommate and maid of honor, run in the Chicago Marathon. We saw her at about mile 25, and she still had plenty of energy left. She finished with no trouble at all. Congratulations, Sarah!

For those who have been waiting for a while, here are the pictures from Hunter's 3rd birthday party.

On Monday, October 4, I forgot to say: Happy Birthday, Aunt Lisa!

Cyberspace Mountain

Thanks to my webspace getting increased from 100 megabytes to over 230 megabytes, I am able to present this 7.5 megabyte movie of our visit to DisneyQuest's Cyberspace Mountain, a very neat roller coaster simulator. It's also accessible via a link from our Disney journal. Enjoy!

Hail to the Chief, part 2

Jenelle here..

Here are some pictures of the Bush rally in Racine. The picture with me in it also has some of my coworkers -- Petrell, Margie and Diane.

#1 #2 #3 #4

Birthdays a plenty

The end of September and beginning of October are busy times for birthdays. Nine months after New Years... hmmm.


Happy Birthday Josie!
Happy Birthday Hunter!
Happy Birthday Grandma!
Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!
Happy Birthday Lucas!