Guinness Pictures of the Week - 30 September 2012

I know I have posted a lot of Guinness pictures in the last few years but seriously these may be my most favorite ever!!

As some of you may know Guinness really enjoys the Dog Whips from Starbuck (really just a bunch of whipped cream in a cup). Last night we decided to make Irish Coffee which happens to have whipped cream on the top of it. Guinness really really wanted some!

And I did let him take a little lick off of the whipped cream..... (I LOVE this next picture!)

But it was once the Irish Coffee was pretty much gone and all that was left was remnant of the whipped cream in the glass that was truly what produced the funniest pictures. Some of these pictures we laughed about so hard that we cried!!! They are priceless! (What's funny is prior to getting these next ones I thought this picture above was the "best" picture I've ever snapped of Guinness... now I'm not sure which one takes that prize...)

  Wait for it....

  Wait for it....

 Wait for it....

Wait for it..... Now these are HILARIOUS! I've seen them a dozen times at least since I took them but I still laugh so hard every time I look at them!!

Hope you needed a laugh! :) Share this with friends of yours who need a laugh too!

It's National Drink Beer Day - Raise a Toast My Friends!

It's National Drink Beer Day - who knew?!! Well now you all know! What a great day!

I encourage you all to go out and grab a quality beer and toast to your friends and good times!

We are lucky enough to have some great friends visiting us this weekend (and they came with beer in hand - bonus!) and I am certain we will be celebrating National Drink Beer Day.... Oh wait some of us already are! We went to McGarvey's for lunch and had an Aviator Ale (Amber Ale).


If you need some suggestions of some good beers to hoist for toasting lemme know and I am sure I can help you out with that :)

Need some help with a toast or just how to say "Cheers?" Well here are some suggestions....
Russian: Hа здоровье! (And in Russia the 3rd toast is always to the women!!)
German: Prost!
Irish: Slainte!

Beer Drinking at Troegs

And as far as I'm concerned the Irish have some of the best toasts including the following....

There are good ships,
and there are wood ships,
The ships that sail the sea.
But the best ships, are friendships,
And may they always be.

First Trip to the Guinness Mecca

May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!


Here's to women's kisses,
and to whiskey, amber clear;
Not as sweet as a woman's kiss,
but a darn sight more sincere!

My friends are the best friends
Loyal, willing and able.
Now let’s get to drinking!
All glasses off the table!

2nd Trip to the Guinness Mecca

May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.

Drinking Odell's Brewery

Great American Beer Fest 2011

And then there's the completely politically incorrect one we used to say in college....

Here's to the men that we love

Here's to the men that love us...

If the men that we love

Don't love us...

Then $%K the men

And here's to us!!

So raise a drinks and toast with me.... CHEERS! (In any language you choose!)

chelle on Scotland Tonight

In case you wanted to check and see if I made a total fool of myself on Scottish National TV - here's a link to the interview :)

By the way - have I mentioned anyone how painful it is for me to watch myself on video?!?!

In case you missed it be sure to also check out the link to the 29 Studios Event video!!

An Out of This World Evening Event Page

Guinness Pictures of the Week - 23 September 2012

Guinness has discovered that he really likes to "sit/stand watch" from the stairs in the front foyer...

Endeavour - My Personal Homage....

One of the greatest things about having spent 10 years at NASA is that I got the chance to become "close" to many great people but also to great "things" - what do I mean by that? Let me explain. I feel like I have a "relationship" with each of the space shuttle Orbiters... I have memories that tie to each of them in a variety of ways so to me that's a relationship. With Endeavour making her last journey in the air I've been reminiscing about these memories and thought I would share them with you...

I remember when the contest was out for students to name this orbiter which was to replace Challenger.  Sadly I remember the Challenger disaster all too well.  Endeavour was the only Orbiter to be built during a time that I can actually remember so that starts off my relationship with her. (And yes for anyone who is confused ships are referred to in the female form.)

I of course watched many of Endeavour's launches but when she really became special to me was a very "up close and personal" encounter I got to have with her. As part of the STS-123 training team several of us went to the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) in Florida to see the module that our flight was delivering.

Lucked out and while in the SSPF ran into our STS-123 pilot Greg "Box" Johnson. While there we got to not just see Endeavour (which was going to deliver our crew and module to ISS) from the outside, we were treated to an experience that was an absolute dream... we got to go inside Endeavour while she was in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) for flight preparation. I was beside myself with excitement! To climb around we had to don bunny suits because it's a clean room environment. Fine with me! I just thought it added to the fun of it all!

It wasn't like we just stepped in side and got a half a second to look around... we got to crawl all around.... check out the robotics area....

climb into the pilot's seat.....

Truly this experience was BEYOND amazing!!! I had to pinch myself several times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. The experience was further elevated by a few things... the STS-123 crew was my favorite space shuttle crew to work with (shhhhhh - don't tell the STS-124 crew!) in part because we had such an awesome training team,  including the best Station Training Lead (STL), and I wasn't just their Daily Operations Group Instructor I was also the Crew Monitor who worked very closely with them through every single simulation in just about every aspect of the simulation so I felt very close to this crew. Another thing that elevated this experience was the fact that I got to experience this incredibly cool time with one of my closest friends - I have definitely learned that it's not so much about what you experience in life, it's more about who you experience things in life with. Great friends make everything  so much more amazing! And with that I have to say that we had a great training team and some great people at this adventure in Florida too! The last bit that made this experience even cooler was that Ken had been assigned to his first flight (STS-124) so it was awesome to get to be inside one of the amazing machines that would take him to space. 

Speaking of the STS-123 crew... here I am with them for our pre-flight "Team" shots.... They had a great mission and Endeavour did everything we could have asked of her for the mission.

Another space shuttle crew I had the pleasure of training (and had a lot of fun with them along the way too!) was STS-130 and they too made their journey on Endeavour. I didn't get to go crawl around in the Orbiter for that flight like I did for STS-123 but I already felt a kinship with Endeavour and I knew she would take great care of this crew too.

I have other memories of Endeavour such as launches and seeing her sitting on the pad but the memories that mean the most to me are those that are associated with amazing people who are my friends. Like I said... In life it's not as much about the experiences as it is the people you get to experience things with..... To quote the T-shirt Company.... Life is Good!

Endeavour is an amazing creation and I am sad to see her moving into her final resting place but I do hope to get to go visit her there and say "Hi" at least one more time....

Guinness Pictures of the Week - 16 September 2012

Some people have the stone lions flanking their house... Guinness apparently thinks he is similar to those :)

Don't Be a Hater....

This post likely isn't what you think it might be based on the title... but I thought it was quite appropriate..... Here's why...

I've had this happen to me more than once and when it happened again yesterday I started composing this blog in my head and hoped that I could remember all I was thinking to write down....

When out running, while stopped to let Guinness "take care of his business" a couple gals walking past wanted to pet Guinness which was just fine. (He is always so happy to have more attention.) We made idle chit chat for a moment and then one of them uttered words I have heard before in some shape form or fashion... "Must be nice to be thin." Okay let's begin with I am not THAT thin, I am not saying I am fat or anything but it's not like I am teeny tiny either. Let's move onto why this annoys me so much....
I AM NOT FIT NATURALLY PEOPLE!!! If I am a bit fit (and I will be honest I wish I was a bit more fit than I am) it's because I WORK AT IT! It doesn't come naturally. It's not like my height. If your want to say "Oh must be nice to be 5'6" then I can accept that. Yes it is nice to be 5'6" and I had no choice in that matter - I am lucky to be the height I am. I was born this way I am glad i accept it. When it comes to fitness - I WAS NOT BORN THIS WAY! Honestly almost no one is. People who are fit generally work at it! And let's be honest as I get older I have to work at it harder. I was much more fit with much less effort 10 years ago and even 5 years ago it was easier than it is today. Bottom line is I have decided that being fit is important to me so I make the effort. Is it easy? HELLO NO! Do you think I actually really enjoy running? Ummmmm Negative Ghostrider.... I run so I can live the lifestyle I enjoy. I like beer, cheese, chocolate, wine, cupcakes and honestly food in general (what can I say I am a foodie?!?!) If I was willing to give up all those things then I could definitely be lazier but I don't want to give those things up so you will see me at the gym lifting, you will see me cycling and you sill see me out running with Guinness (who by the way can run for forever!) and while I do enjoy these things a little sometimes... generally I am doing it because it needs to be done not because I think "Oh I can't wait to go and workout it's just so much fun."

I don't take it too seriously - I will never be the person who is invited out for a beer and says "Oh I can't go because I have to go work-out" - my priorities are such that I will always hang out with my friends first but I do make time for my work-outs wherever they fit so I can always accept that beer invitation!

So next time you see someone who is fit or thin don't be a hater. Remember that this person didn't magically get that way. Remember that the person you are hating on had to work at it. Channel that energy you have of "hating" and ask the person - "Hey do you have any tips for me?" if you wish you were more fit. I don't have a magic solution - far from it in fact - and everyone is different in regards to what works for them. I personally don't do well in groups such as running groups because like to workout on my time not on someone else's defined schedule. I do enjoy running with my friends at events (Gotta love doing Half 2 Run with some of my besties), I've really enjoyed cycling with my friends, Ken and I enjoy working out together and of course the best running pal ever is Guinness.... so that works for me. But I know some people who need the structure of a group so it's great that that works for them. Any which way if you ask a person for some tips they may give you some ideas that you hadn't previously thought of for yourself. Maybe they will work, maybe they won't but either way asking for tips is a most effective use of your energy than "hating" on the fit person.

I know I am missing some good thoughts that I had while running yesterday about this topic but apparently they have left my head... if I think of them I'll write a follow-up I guess... til then I have plans for an amazing steak dinner tonight and some beers with friends here in Houston.... guess that means there's more working out in my future too :)

And hey I invite all of you to come and run with us at events.... we have fun with it.....

Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon

New Orleans Rock & Roll Half Marathon

Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon

Guinness Picture of the Week - 9 Sept 2012

So many pictures to choose from... I may need to start posting twice a week at the rate I take pictures of Guinness!

When Guinness would stay at our friends' the Van Dyke's house while we were on travel, they included him in their weekend ritual of giving their dog Aggie an egg for breakfast. Since one of Ken's specialties is the omelet we decided to continue this trend when we had eggs for breakfast on the weekend at our house. Guinness generally gets a scrambled egg or 2. (Don't worry folks there is no concern of him getting fat. This dog runs so much he burns LOADS of calories.) Recently Ken decided to give him an omelet instead which was entertaining to watch him try to figure out how to eat.

Yep Just a Bit More Political Commentary

I figure it's easier to post a bunch here on a periodic basis than deal with my entire Facebook page being taken over..

This one is so beyond awesome I had to led with it. Warning his language is very crass but he does it with the intention (at least that's what I think) of being shocking to get his point across. Bottom line is he just tells it like it is and I applaud him for it!
Football player response to Gay Marriage Issue

This one I LOVE! It dovetails nicely with a motto I have - "Never trust a man who doesn't drink." If you think I am kidding about that one you are mistaken. Honestly I think if everyone would sit down and have a beer or 2 together we could sort a lot of the world's problems out. I am not saying get obliterated but just a beer or 2 to chill everyone out and loosen everyone up.
The Wrath of Grapes

This is a great read for all in my opinion....
What you mean I am supposed to be able to scientifically back up beliefs instead of just regurgitating words?

Here's a great perspective on marriage for all....
http://evolequals.com/2012/09/03/defriended-2/

And this definitely should strike a chord with many... this man served our country in War.... how many people have done that who we are denying their rights to?
Romney put on the spot

I am going to call this the "Are you Fucking Kidding Me?" section of links....

Paul Ryan on Rape & Abortion

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/21/missouri-republican-official-god-chose-to-bless-women-with-pregnancies-from-rape/

Guinness Picture of the Week - 2 September 2012

Okay so I am "over the pond" but I have no shortage of Guinness pictures to entertain you with :) These are all the pictures from Mutt Monday at the Baysox Game