Winter Approaching Quick

I sometimes forget about this Blog and the things I have written on it. It is nice to go back and see all the little things that I have written over the last few years…almost a time capsule of sorts. The last year has brought some unique challenges and while I have attempted to keep track of them in the cyber world there is a lot that gets missed. Our newest addition, Max is adapting fine to his new world. He is a totally different experience than our first….They are really polar opposites in terms of behavior at this stage. Life has become more routine and not so much of a panic. The one thing that I have learned through the whole process of becoming a parent is to have patience with everything.

Sam has gotten to that pivotal point of losing his shit on a regular occasion and the "time outs" have started with frightening frequency. Since the last update not much has changed in our lives other than we now are getting better sleep…still waking up in the middle of the night but typically that is short lived. I am now to the point that I can officially say that I hate diapers. All types. Sam has started to go on the potty a bit more so things are looking up to some degree.

I have been struggling at work to find the time in the day to get things done. It seems that I am doing a lot of things for free these days….Normally this does not bother me much as you typically are working towards an order but lately it seems we are doing a lot of damage control for projects that have been mis managed or dropped entirely by our project managers or applications people. Our lead time are starting to get drawn out further and further and getting things in a timely manner is usually a major issue today. I guess that this is a good thing as it indicates that the economy is picking up and things are improving.

With the housing market picking itself off the floor in the last 6 months the talk at our house has already started about possible trying to sell again and get into something bigger that makes better since for our family. With the finished lower level it's hopefully going to bring a different set of buyers to the table as we can now sell it as a 3 bedroom. With 1500SQ/Ft of living space it seems that it should be more attractive to potential buyers. Also the builders now in the neighborhood are putting up more and more homes of our size on postage stamp size lots…with cheaper materials and much less quality. That should help us hopefully. We have lots of must haves for the next house and not entirely sure that we will stay in St. Charles. More to come on this topic as the winter winds down.

As far as BBQ is concerned… I have not had much time to get into it with everything that went on this year. It was a pretty busy summer for us and spare time has been at a minimum. I still grill out at least 3 times a week but there is still something special about an all day cooking event….You do need people to eat it however and time to sit back and enjoy it. Something I have noticed is that Lowes and Home Depot tend to not stock charcoal in the winter months which is nuts. For our family there is never an off season of grilling. Rain, Sleet Snow or any other weather event is fair game. I think possibly Christmas Ribs are on the menu this year.

 

 

I put the camper to bed for the winter this week after a much more active Season that I expected. I along with a few other friends went back to KC a few weeks ago to attend the fall race at Kansas Speedway. It was a good time and the drinks were poured heavy. It was nice to do something for myself for a few days…again not much time to do those sorts of things anymore. The racing was a bit more entertaining this race than in April but the night time enterintment was a bit less in the campground this time. Not as much rowdy parties and what not. This could be as the Fall race is more a family oriented event as I learned. We rented scanners to add to the experience and it was well worth it. I anticipate that I will be buying season tickets and the camp spot again next season. I also took the rest of the week off of work and stayed home for the first time ever. Typically when I take vacation time it is to go somewhere and being at home with Sam, Max and Ali was actually up there with one of the better vacations I have had. I was able to spend time with the kids without a schedule or Sunday night approaching as it always does. We went to the Zoo, Bowling and the pumpkin patch along with our final weekend of camping at Cuiver River State Park. I really like that place as its only 45 minutes from home and it feels like a world away. Sam is really getting into it too…it's good to see.

Another year gone, starting over sucks.

Some people find that the holidays are stressful. Others find that tax season sucks and for many every day can be a grind. For me, July and the months following are the worst. This year has been no exception. My work "year" starts over every July and I struggle to come to terms with how I am going to do it all over again. Not to mention that some of the groups that I represent are struggling with their own issues such as mergers and restructuring. I don't lose sleep often due to work but July and August is usually when it happens. I guess it's only natural in this line of work and you never really are comfortable especially when the phone goes for a day without ringing. Even right now, I am sitting here at the office typing seems ironic. I could be calling people and lining up visits for the following week to attempt to curb some of the uncertainty but instead I am wasting time writing this. In a way I guess it's a bit therapeutic to put your thoughts in words….or I am full of shit and screwing off on Friday. Either way it's ok.

A Weekend In The Woods

First off I want to say we had a blast. It was so nice to get away from reality…no cartoons, ipad games, Disney movies, work emails, phone calls and so on. We went to Cuvier River State park about 45 minutes North West of St. Louis. The campsite itself has about 50 full hook up sites and a handful of electric sites and the majority are basic. With the exception of the full hookup sites, most sites are well shaded and spread apart.  Our site #001 was literally right next to the playground…obviously this was a big hit with Sam.  It was also very well shaded and set back a ways from the neighboring sites. The only negative was that the trees were so close….Deploying the awing was not possible.  

One of the biggest things I realized….it’s a lot of work. It rained early Sunday morning and due to the current drought while it was welcome it was a huge mess. The dirt had become a fine powder making the otherwise friendly earth into a slip and slide of fine slurry. Everything that was outside became so dirty that it was banned from the inside of the camper and thrown in the back of the truck for cleaning at a later date.  Sam did great during the set up and tear down. This was the time that I was most concerned about… how I would get it done without him melting down. I left him strapped into his seat (Truck running and A/C on of course) and he didn’t make a peep.

I have become a big fan of the Missouri state park system. Every park we have visited has been  very nice and well kept. There are some things that you do need to account for at most of the parks….very few of them have full hookups so water conservation is key.  The website www.mostateparks.com  is very nice and easy to navigate. They even show photos of the actual camp site to get a better feel for what you are after.

All in all we had a great time and I look forward to the next trip.

New Addition to The Family

Yesterday we welcomed our newest addition to the Banner Place Crew....Max William!! Everyone is healthy and doing well. Soon we will get into the groove and I look forward to the future.

The Waiting Game

This week has been completely useless at work....partly because I am tired of all the Bull Shit but mainly because we are at the end of the road of pregnancy and are expecting the new little one to arrive in the coming days. Up until this point I have been very relaxed about everything but now have turned the page to complete anxiety. You tend to forget about the hospital stay, complete loss of control over everything and hoping that everything turns out well for both Mom and child. Those are all thoughts that are coming back to me now....there always is a feeling of uncertainty. I would like fast forward to the moment we close our door to the house and we are a group of four. 

Another Big Year

2012 is almost ½ way over and it seems that it just started.  This is another record breaking year for our household. This month we will add another name to the roster at our house….it really fits our philosophy 100%. Adapt to change and get things get into a standard routine. Once everyone gets moving along at a good pace and finally gets comfortable….give the  screws a few cranks to keep everyone on their toes.

 Sam has really taken the edge off things…..meaning that he has worn us both down to not making such a big deal about everything. When I found out we were going to have our second child I was not as taken back by the idea. Don’t get me wrong….both were planed but Sam had much more of an impact. Even though I knew the ultimate outcome….I still felt surprised.... almost shocked by the news. It might possibly be because you can never fully prepare for being a parent. Fast forward almost 3 years and the news that we would start this all over again with a second kid  didn’t really phase me much. Yea, there were things we had to do to prepare but I was not scared about the idea. In fact it for me was quite the opposite reaction….Excitement!  Is this normal?  Sometimes I think I am short-changing the new child by feeling this way…. who knows.



Sam's "Cheese" smile.



I found myself talking at a conference table last week about having kids to a woman roughly my age during a break from a bout of legal bits for work. She didn’t have kids and was on the fence about the whole issue. My answers to the questions she was asking would have surprised myself just a short time ago. In a nut shell….I fell that being a parent is without doubt the best, most rewarding thing I will ever experience in my life.  It also helps to have a 100% dedicated spouse who without a doubt is the glue that holds us all together.  Without her steering the ship….I don’t know where we would end up.

Here we go again….it’s going to be a fun ride.  

Do you ever think that sometimes things just seem to get away from you? That is my life for the past few months. Time has taken off at a fever pace and I can’t seem to catch up. Since my last posting in January (Wow) a ton of things have transpired.  We finally have finished our basement….almost ….to get some much needed living space and sanity for everyone in our tiny house. It’s going to be real nice after it’s all over…..lots of money and time.  The quality is great because I didn’t do any of it and we hired a professional (Thanks Mike for all your help!). I am so much better at things mechanically than visualizing something and building it. I have a new found appreciation and respect for those people who have the skills to do what a true craftsman can accomplish. I did paint and put the tile down in the bathroom. For me that’s a big deal…..and now feel I should host my own show on DIY network. It turned out good I think.

Work for some reason has been extra frustrating. I don’t know if it is because I am busier than ever or it people all around me are losing their shit. Everyone I deal with lately is having some sort of issues with delivery, quotes, staffing and a general I don’t give a damn attitude. The last few months have been the worst. Everyone at our office is absolutely done with this little time period of frustration. Is it that hard to call someone back? How about paying me? Sick of it. That’s the main reason I am finding the time to do this post….I am done with idiots.

Also since my last post we have purchased and RV! Something that I was/am excited about especially after finding out that we are having another boy next month. It was something that I always wanted to do as a kid and now it makes so much since as I am now a parent.  Even if it gets used only a few times a year…that means it takes us out of the regular weekend modes and forces us to interact. Its going to be great in the coming years.

I have also become a Nascar Fan since my last post…..something I never thought I would ever….ever….ever say. I got in a pool at work and started paying attention to what was going on and now as a RV owner it gave me the prefect reason to get a 6 other drunks together to actually see a race and camp at the track. That is exactly what we did in April at Kansas and we have officially become fans. Going back in October and can’t wait.  This is a topic that deserves its own post in the future.

Since this blog was intended to be about BBQ…..I would like to at least add a bit on this topic to this post. Because of many factors….up until recently I have not been able to do much Q’in. We use the Kettle all the time for dinners. Steaks, chops and veggies are a regular fare off this grill. Please take a note of the word “Grill”….While I use the grill almost as much as we use the oven it’s not BBQ.

Here are some photos of the grill in action.

By my Definition BBQ is only when you have the combination of long cook times, hardwood and temperatures of 250F or lower. Now that we have cleared that little issue….last weekend for Ali’s B-day she requested Ribs. I pulled the Smoker out of the Garage and gave it a dusting and fired it up. Typically when I cook I like to be regimented in the process….stick to strict timelines and techniques. I always….always…always use fresh un frozen meats and at minimum try to maintain the temp in the smoker within 5-10 degrees. This cook was a bit different because I completely went against the grain. We used two spare rib slabs that had been in the freezer since March….. Set the vents to what I thought was alright. Threw an umbrella over the cooker and sat down and had a drink or two or three. I did make my own rub…It turned out pretty good and is a variation of the famous Memphis rub found at Charlie Virgo’s. Instead of keeping a running time sheet vs temp I just took a few looks at the meat and it looked good….foiled it….added some beer and threw them back on. Then when I was getting hungry took them off and sauced them. A quick bit of heat from the “Grill” and on the table they went. Guess what? By far one of the best tasting ribs I have ever done.  Don’t know why other than I have done it enough to know what looks good by sight. I kept a rough account for the time but didn’t let it rule things. In the end it was what BBQ should be. The whole experience was laid back and relaxing and the result was excellent.

KC BBQ

Got to make a trip to KC last week for work and sample some BBQ in the very home of BBQ (Depends on who you ask) Normally I am by myself, but I had people in for a meeting the following day so we went out for some food. This is the second time I have been to this particular location in Overland Park KS and my expectations were set a bit high…..

Jack Stack’s BBQ…..a more upscale kind of place with a triple fold menu of varying tastes. I had the opportunity to hit the original location in Lenexa KS a few years ago and was blown away by the flavor and quality….This time not so much. I tried a few things….the burnt ends. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. Defiantly a mass produced kind of feel to it. I often wonder why some places don’t adopt the mentality of “When it’s gone, your too late” and just put a good product out for people to fight over. Also had a slab of the Baby Backs…..again felt mass produced. Missed a lot of the Smokey flavor I am used to and the sauce was so so.  The best thing on my plate that night was the Coleslaw.

Mr. Stack…you have let me down.

Yea We Do That!

The life of an Industrial Sales Rep has its ups and downs. To try and attempt to explain what it is that I do for a living to someone is rather cumbersome. Most of the time I either use “Sales” or “Engineering” to describe my craft.....that usually ends the discussion as most people can identify with those terms rather than “Authorized Manufactures Representative** for Thermal Oxidizers, Flare Gas Recovery, Electrostatic Preceptors and other oddly named industrial Equipment”. 

Outside of the bothersome explanation of what it is I do day to day....Truth is I love my Job.....and not most people really mean that when they say it. A big part of it is who I work with and the other smaller part is the structure or lack of structure that makes up the life of a Rep. 

Part of this post is because I am sitting in my office with my mind wondering. With the New Year comes new challenges and goals….concern of where the next order will come from or if I did everything I could do to save the one we lost.  Last year I installed a white board in my office to keep me motivated and aware of all the things I have going on…..I figured that it would be useful for drawing funny things to show people in the building but  honestly use it as intended and update it every Monday (or as close as possible).

One thing is for sure…..there are perks to being in my situation. Unlimited vacation, come and go as I please, no real start time, long lunches, make my own schedule and lots of cardinals games. That’s the thing that others around me see as my job….what they don’t know is all the nervousness and anxiety you have to go through to get to that point and even then nothing is guaranteed.  



**Manufacturer's representative or rep, manufacturer's broker and manufacturer's agent are all terms used to describe independent sales agents who work on commission. You don't pay them a salary, just a percentage of what they sell. Manufacturer's reps offer a practical, cost-effective alternative to a direct sales force for many growing companies. There are more than half a million reps in North America, most selling to targeted markets in select geographic regions. Reps know their markets well because they call on local buyers regularly and have established sound working relationships with them.
Using manufacturer's reps can provide you with many of the benefits of having a satellite office in the location--including knowledge of local markets and rapid access to large accounts--without your incurring large fixed costs. With reps, sales costs are always a fixed percentage of sales. The downside is that reps typically handle many different products. Some may be complementary to yours; others may compete. A typical manufacturer's rep earns a 5-percent commission on sales, although that amount varies widely depending on the product, market and sales volume