The weather is silly hot down here in Texas. The car was reading 111F for the outside temperature earlier today. It hasn't rained, either, which has made it worse! So there's your weather...

San Antonio. Where do I start? Considering the Riverwalk was a half-mile away from my hotel, let's start there. The Riverwalk is a nice place to jog through (on the lower end) and hang-out (on the northern end. There are tons of restaurants, bars, and even a Coyote Ugly (albeit it's overrated, it's still there). Tons of tourists walk up and down the Riverwalk and take boat tours. I was busy dodging them much like I dodge the tourists in NYC. Aside from the bars and restaurants, the Riverwalk has tons of bars and lounges for the grown folk to enjoy themselves in. You'll also get the occasional teens (with fake IDs) trolling in having fun. The Riverwalk gets pretty boring after two nights of walking up and down there.

Downtown San Antonio doesn't really have much of a skyline. Most of it's skyline is hotels. There are other cool things to check-out there such as the Alamo. Downtown is lined with tons of shops, eateries, and a big mall - Rivercenter Mall. This is your average mall with the same stores you'll see at your local mall, except this mall has some nice scenery...the river is in the center of it (hence, Rivercenter).

San Antonio was a cool city but I figured I'd check out Austin a few days later. I had a chance to check-out Austin after an eighty-mile ride north from San Antonio. Austin has a very nice skyline and is home to the University of Texas at Austin...the biggest college campus in the nation. The campus was the first place I stepped foot. I parked near the football stadium, where 12,000 seats were being added by the construction crew. This was one of the nicest campuses I've set foot on and really lived up to it's hype. After my own campus tour, I ventured into the heart of Austin - downtown.

Downtown Austin is about ten blocks from the university and is home to various corporations, restaurants, and more noteably, bars. 6th Street is home to 5-6 blocks of bars/pubs. I'd imagine this place is flooded with longhorn fans during the school year. It was pretty filled when I was there for the night. I enjoyed a few Paulaner's while watching the NBA Draft when a few UT students came in to join the discussion at the bar. One immediately asked me, "What are you doing here?". I replied, "Working". The three of them laughed. Hmm, why was I there? Maybe the UConn shirt gave it away...The rest of the story is pretty long.

My previous two trips to Texas pretty much sucked. Both were to Dallas. Dallas is a boring city, in my opinion, with not much to do downtown. All I enjoyed was the food in nearby Mesquite, Texas - just east of Dallas. San Antonio was definitely something different and Austin was beyond awesome, especially the night scene. I'd recommend heading to Austin if you had a city to choose from in Texas. The smoked brisket is awesome.

August 14th, 2007

Last week, I began remodeling my house. The plan was to tear-down the living room and dining room and begin hanging sheetrock. That plan slowly turned into tearing apart two of the three bedrooms on the second floor, too, as well as the wall next to the staircase. I will be insulating every wall facing the exterior.

Here are some before and after pictures of what the basement looked like and it's current state. The ceiling was also sprayed. Floors to come, this weekend. It will be painted slate gray.

Some of the wiring was done. I put a few singles (boxes) under the windows and ran wire there.

I will be installing four 5" recessed lights in the living room and two 3" recessed lights in the walkway leading to the kitchen.

I will be tearing apart the wall next to the staircase tonight so that I can begin insulating this weekend.

August 15, 2007

Today I tore down the hallway and cleaned-up the rest of the plaster upstairs. Minor cleaning left to do and then it's time to insulate the place.

August 16, 2007

Today was more of a clean-up day than anything. I finally got around to taking out the remaining wood strips around the ceiling and the rest of the door trim. Knocking down all of the walls and ceilings and cleaning up took 7 days.

I'll be starting my 6x8' fence tonight and hope to complete the installation! The post-digging should go smoothly, thanks to Jay's tractor. Updates soon!

August 17, 2007

Picked-up the fence, fence posts, and bags of cement this evening. I finally got the idea to rip-out the bushes in the backyard on the property line in the rear. The original idea was to put the fence in front of the bushes, which are on my property, but the decision to rip them out with the tractor was the right one. The backyard looks so much cleaner without the bushes back there and there will be no maintenance, obviously, once the fence goes up.

So far, the holes for the posts on the rear part of the backyard are done and the posts are sitting in there. I will cement those posts tomorrow and begin drilling holes for the side of the backyard, where the other line of fence will go.

August 18, 2007

Lots was accomplished today. My fence posts are in and cemented! It took me a few hours longer than expected, just because I had some landscaping to do - more like ripping-out bushes, shrubs, and sawing-off tree limbs.

Yard materials:

Here are some shots of what the backyard looked like before:

Here are some after shots - after taking out bushes:

Tractor used to drill the post holes:

Also got the basement floor done. It's currently drying.

An overall good day. I will be installing the fence tomorrow!

August 19, 2007

I installed part of the fence today - way in the back of the yard. I began working late and a storm was coming so I was lucky to get that section out of the way today.

Here are before and after pictures of that section:

August 22, 2007

Spent the evening cleaning-up the second floor and dumping the remaining plaster in the dumpster. The dumpster is on it's way out today, as it has reached it's capacity. Another one is coming in soon, for the bushes/trees that were ripped out from the fence installation.

August 26, 2007

I finished the fence this weekend. All that's left to do is stain it.

Began insulating today for about an hour. I'll need another hour or two to finish-up the rooms upstairs and the small sections.

September 2, 2007

I decided what I'm going to do with the third bedroom on the second floor. It's going to be a living room/computer room. I knocked down some studs on the wall facing the staircase so that there will be no doorway or wall as soon as one walks up to the second floor. It will be one big open area, with a couch, flat-screen mounted on the wall, computer, and desk.

I also decided to take down the sheetrock in one of the other bedrooms. Some of it was in bad shape and I had to get to the electric behind it, so it came down. Here is where I'll be putting a closet for both rooms.

Now for the fence. I picked-out a stain and stained the fence in a little less than two hours.

Next-up will be pictures of the electrical. Everything, and I mean everything, is being ripped-out. I tore-out most of the wiring going up into the attic and ran some of the new wiring up there. I will also be wiring some cat-5 around the house.

September 11, 2007

I had ripped-out the sheetrock in the master bedroom over the weekend and cleaned-up. It was time to put some closets in - accessible from both bedrooms. The framing began tonight for both sides.

September 21, 2007

The electrical upstairs is all done. Recessed lights will be put in soon (6" cans) in two of the three bedrooms.

I ran CAT6 upstairs, too. Each room upstairs has a jack as well as next to the couch in the living room.

Smoke detectors.

Also had new gutters installed.

October 9, 2007

Finally began to install the drywall after hauling a good amount of sheets to the second floor.

Recessed lights are in.

October 13, 2007

Installed the drywall on the ceilings today.

Living room:

Dining room:

Bedroom one:

October 14, 2007

Today I was able to hang 5.5 more sheets of rock. Almost all of the dining room is done. Some of the living room walls are up as well.

October 20, 2007

Got around to hanging some more rock.

Side of staircase:

Bedroom 1:

Bedroom 1 closet (the closet that was framed-out in previous pics):

The bedroom I turned into a computer/game/tv room. Essentially, a lounge. I will be hanging a TV where the wires are poking-out from the wall:

Other side of the lounge, where it meets the staircase:

Lounge ceiling, leads over the staircase:

Bedroom 2 (previously, the third bedroom):

Beginning of November - Beginning of December

Haven't posted in a bit (been lazy with getting the pics up) but here goes some work over the past few weeks.

Drywall is all done. So is the mudding. All of the crown is up throughout the house. I used 4 5/8" downstairs and 3.5" upstairs. There is now pretty nice cover for the bathroom pipe in the corner of the house. Previously, there was a disgusting square thing the previous owner had made. This piece consists of two pieces of plywood. This allowed us to drop it a bit and run crown molding over it.

December 8, 2007

Window-casings are finished upstairs. Lights also went on for the first time. New doors came on Thursday and are finally in.

December 15, 2007 - January 13, 2008

All window-casings are done and in place. I still have a slight bit of caulking to do around the trim but I should be finished with that in a few days. Here are a few pics of the updates and where we stand as of today.

New attic door in place along with new trim around it:

One of the three baseboard heaters pictures here. All are in place and working fine. They heat the place (upstairs) pretty well.

I had a guy come in and patch a few vents in my floors. I also needed him to patch the perimeter of the living and dining rooms, so that there would be no gap near the baseboards and the hardwood flooring. I cut a few spots into the floor for the heat after the two big vents were patched.

Here is the before:

After:

I don't have pictures of the hardwood floor work near the doors on my rear deck but it came out perfect!

I began priming on January 5th. I was able to prime the stairway walls, ceilings, three rooms upstairs, the hallway upstairs, and the three closets upstairs. On January 12th, I primed the living room.

Here are a few color samples I painted onto the walls. I've decided on the leftmost blue for the master bedroom:

The shades browns you see here looked really good before I put them on the wall.

After painting, the colors didn't really do anything for me so I went back to the paint store and grabbed a few more samples.

I picked-up these colors and put them on the walls. I am going to use the beige on the left for the living room, staircase walls, and lounge upstairs. I'll be painting the rightmost yellow onto the walls in the guest bedroom.

I was looking for a nice green for the dining room. The green I ended up painting onto the wall was perfect. Check it out.

January 19 - January 26, 2008

I've been very busy the past week. First thing's first.

A few weeks ago, very cold weather passed through and did some damage; pipe damage. One of the brass water lines running upstairs burst wide open. It had about a 1.5" slit and water began gushing out. No damage was done, because we had shut the water off immediately, but the nice piece in the corner had to come down to get behind there and replace the brass with copper. It's all done now but I have yet to put the plywood/drywall back into place.

Here is the old brass:

Replaced with new copper (now all of the house has copper pipes):

I also got to working on my kitchen so that the plumber can come in and run the gas lines for my dryer, and more importantly, my gas stove. I had to sand everything in the kitchen, including cabinets, and prime. Here's what it looks like at the moment:

Here is some of the prep work done on the smaller part of the cabinets. I've actually gotten farther than what you see here (they're all sanded and primed now), but this is the only picture I have. I'll have to post an update soon.

I will begin painting the kitchen tomorrow.

Before I get to more of the paint, here's the other picture I forgot to add. This is the patching done at the sliding doors near the rear deck. I had to cut-in for the forced-air vent. I'll be putting my covers in once the floors are re-finished. I have them in a closet somewhere!

Ok, now to more of the fun stuff.

I spent most of today doing a second coat of ceiling paint onto every ceiling in the house. I had primed the ceilings and put one coat of paint on them about a week ago. Here's a quick shot of the living room from the staircase with just one coat.

What you see here are some of the colors chosen for the living room, staircase wall, and lounge on the second floor. I went with the fourth color from the left (it's the first brown on the right side wall). The color is called Barely Beige by Benjamin Moore.

Alot was accomplished today aside from a second coat of paint on the ceilings. Colors are finally on the walls!

First was the small bedroom. This color is called Popcorn Kernel by Benjamin Moore. I was thinking of painting the living room, lounge, and staircase wall this color, but didn't because it looked a bit too bright. It was still nice enough that I wanted to use it somewhere in the house, so it was destined for the extra bedroom! Here it goes:

The other bedroom has a color called Polar Sky by Benjamin Moore. This is a light blue, with gray tone. Here it is:

It was getting late, but there was no way I could have an untouched can of paint sit there and not get started on the dining room. This color is Sherwood Green by Benjamin Moore. I really dig it.

Roxy and Rocky love it, too.

January 27, 2008

The kitchen is about 75% done. All that's left is painting the cabinets and caulking the crown. Actually, I'll be adding all new counter-tops and a new double sinks.

I grabbed a gallon of paint for the kitchen today. I was pretty set on painting everything white but saw a gray I liked and left the store with it. I've always been good at buying paint samples because the colors look a bit different once they've been applied to the wall but this time, I didn't really think the gray would look crappy on the walls, so I went with it.

The top can is the kitchen paint and the lower is what I used on the rest of the house (yellow, green, blue). The new kitchen color is called Stonington Gray by Benjamin Moore.

Here's the Stonington Gray in the kitchen:

I began to prime the cabinets and drawers today with Kilz.

I'll be painting the cabinets and drawers tomorrow night with this:

I did some cleaning in the bathroom as well. I ended up removing the existing toilet and buying and installing a brand new one. It looks and works much better!

February 2, 2008

I began the day compounding some holes in the kitchen. A few outlets were moved over and I had to patch the holes. The kitchen now has tons of outlets on three separate circuits. It's great because running downstairs to the basement to flip circuit-breakers won't interrupt me from microwaving my grub. The refrigerator, microwave, and stove will be on their own circuit.

Here's the kitchen after some paint! I painted the cabinets and shelves with two coats. I've been busy painting the cabinet doors and drawers. I'm done painting the drawers but I had to put two more coats of Kilz on the cabinet doors today. I'll be painting them tomorrow with more Impervo.

Here's what's been going on upstairs.

The second coat of paint was applied to the yellow bedroom today.

The second coat was also applied to the blue bedroom.

The trim has yet to be painted.

I got around to painting the closets. I used mid-grade white paint by Benjamin Moore.

Closet poles:

Bathroom switch installed today. The unit I have has heat. It's a first for me - pretty cool.

February 3, 2008

Ah yes, Super Bowl Sunday. My favorite. Too bad I spent most of it fitting this piece back into place and taping it. I got around to re-attaching this piece after the water pipes bursted last month. First coat of compound went on.

I painted a second coat of Satin Impervo on the kitchen cabinets.

February 5, 2008

This evening I began with a second coat of compound on the beautiful corner piece. What a pain in the ass this is. More work now = less pain in the future. But let me tell you, it's stressful.

The first coat of paint went on the trim and doors in the guest room.

I mounted the hardware on a few cabinets doors, just to see how they'd look. Also put two doors up.

A few plates are finally on, in the bedrooms that were fully-painted.

February 7, 2008

I sanded the second coat on the corner piece and patched a few small spots. It looks pretty good. A bit more sanding to touch-up and it's ready for primer. Here's a quick before and after of the corner.

Cabinet doors are installed. The kitchen looks alot cleaner than before. The counters will be replaced soon. Here are the before and after pics of what I've done so far.

February 9, 2008

I was hauling-ass in the bad weather today before the electric supply closed. Luckily, I was five minutes early. I picked-up my Lightolier cans. Fourteen 5" cans and four 3.5" cans. Let me tell you - these things are not cheap. I also bought the fixtures and lamps for the insides of the closets. The closet lights aren't installed yet but we were able to get a few of the cans up to see how they look for the first time!

Here's the corner I finished taping and sanding. I got around to priming it today. It looks swell, if I say so myself.

And finally, the counter-tops are off (the tile sucked) and I have the measurements for my new counter-tops! I have to go to the kitchen place tomorrow and put-in the order. The counter-tops should be available to me in about a week, so I'm hoping to install them next weekend.

I also did a few other things, which took me a significant amount of time. I sanded the staircase, bannister, and ballisters. I am going with a 26" (standard) runner up the stairs, which leaves me with about 4-5 inches on either side that I have to paint, along with the bannister and ballisters.

Some spots on certain walls needed an additional coat of primer, so I applied primer for about an hour or so.

February 10, 2008

Today was a very hectic one. After visiting two Home Depot's and a kitchen place, I've decided to go with the kitchen place for my counters, as their prices are lower for the same exact counters I want. I found out that the counters will take 2-3 weeks to arrive. I remember speaking to a gentleman at the kitchen place about a month ago and he told me he could have my counters in within a week. So, that's what I've been planning around until today, when I received the word that they would take longer. Oh well. By the time I finished shopping at Home Depot, the kitchen place was closed, so I will have to head there tomorrow and have them deal with me.

Now to the purchases of the day. I came home with a new 19-gauge stainless steel double sink, a stainless steel faucet and sprayer, a ceiling fan for the bedroom, and a stainless steel range hood. The only thing I got around to installing was the ceiling fan. It looks good, but I didn't buy the bulbs yet. I'll throw-up some pictures when I put the bulbs in this week.

The kitchen is pretty much on it's way to receiving the new counter-tops. There was sheetrock behind the laminate backsplash, so that got torn down. While that was down, insulation went in and back to Home Depot we went for a sheet of 3/8" drywall so that the new backsplash would look like a flat against it. Here's what it currently looks like:

I also caulked the trim in the kitchen. It looks alot better.

February 12, 2008

Painted the second coat of green in the dining room.

February 14, 2008

I began painting the crown molding in the kitchen tonight. It looks pretty fresh now.

Here's a shot of the ceiling fan we put up over the weekend:

Installed the cans in the lounge:

As you can see, I still haven't purchased any smoke detectors. Add a carbon-monoxide detector to the list, as well.

Bathroom unit installed:

TV plug installed in the lounge:

February 15, 2008

I picked-up the paint for the lounge, staircase walls, and living room tonight. Also scooped-up some paint for the stairs, mainly what the runner (carpet) won't be covering. Should be an exciting weekend.

Oh, how could I forget. We picked-up some sweet carpets today on sale. Pictures will come once they're actually in the living room.

February 16, 2008

More progress was made today. Two coats of Barely Beige, by Benjamin Moore, were painted throughout the house (lounge, staircase, living room). It looks pretty good. Love the color. The painting is done, for the most part. Most of the trim has yet to be painted, so that stuff is next on the list. For now, enjoy today's pictures...

Living room:

Lounge:

Dining room:

and some of the before and after shots:

Kitchen corner before and after:

Corner of living room before and after:

Upstairs before and after:

Dining room before and after:

Living room before and after:

Bedroom one:

Bedroom two:

February 18, 2008

Painted some more trim in the dining room and cleaned-up the staircase. Here are some pictures of the doors I painted upstairs:

Pics of how the staircase currently looks:

February 23, 2008

The trim in the dining room and living room is done. A second coat was all it needed.

Switches and plates went up today. Here's a shot of the dimmer for the living room lights. It has a little light built into it so you can see it when it's pitch dark out.

February 24, 2008

After sanding and wiping-down the stairs, they were ready for their first coat of paint.

The side of the staircase got it's first coat. It looks alot better and cleaner with that first coat.

Both sides of the stairs are currently painted white. All that's seen in this second picture is the right side. Snapped the picture too early. Oh well.

After the second coat of white goes on, I'll be hitting the stairs with the black oil-based Benjamin Moore paint. Then comes the runner!

February 26, 2008

The ballisters have their first coat of paint. Painting them wasn't very fun.

All of the closet lights went in tonight. They light-up the closet pretty darn well. I dig the look.

February 29, 2008

Painted the first coat onto the ballisters:

Still needs a second coat.

March 2, 2008

The fresh black paint has yet to fully dry. Still, it looks way better than what the previous owner had on there.

My counter-tops came in this week and I was finally able to pick them up. They look pretty good.

I bought door handles during the week and finally got around to installing a few of them today. The handle in the foreground has a lock on the opposite side of the door. These are the types I picked-up for the bedrooms and bathroom:

The types I picked-up for the closets are of the same design, just without a lock cylinder.

I bought an awesome chisel today. It's sharp as hell, almost razor-like. I was chiseling each door so that the cylinder fit flush with the side of the door. I was able to chisel out most of the wood in the doors without tapping the chisel with a hammer. On the second closet door I worked on today, I had my finger in the door hole and tapped the chisel with my hammer. Oops. Chisel, meet finger. Doesn't look too bad here, but I was able to open the cut. Possibly needing stitches, but oh well, college basketball on TV is more important.

March 3, 2008

Good news. The counter-tops have been installed! Before I get to the pictures, I'll explain what has to be done. I have to throw some compound to bring out the wall in a few spots so that the backsplash is perfectly flat against the wall. A few coats of compound and this should be all set in a few days. Then I can put the backsplash on. Originally, I was going to put the white laminent on the wall where the sink is but decided compounding and painting the wall would look alot better. In addition, it would also be alot less stressful than having to cut the laminent and have it crack. Also, once the contact cement touches, there's no going back. Basically, I would have to cut the laminent super-perfect for it to go up without any flaws. Once the laminent touches the wall, with both having contact cement, I won't be able to manuever the thing and shift it where I want, so that idea is off the table.

Here are the pics, without the small backsplash permanently installed. The sink isn't permanently installed either. We just cut the countertop to see how the sink would fit. It fits perfect - no movement whatsoever. I will put the faucet on the sink and then mount it onto the counter in one shot.

Here's the electrical panel that has been changed. Alot more room for additional breakers. It's almost done.

March 9, 2008

Not many picture updates, although lots of stuff has been getting done.

I bought the cups for the sink and installed them today.

Also installed the faucet and sprayer on the sink.

I painted the insides of the exterior doors today with two coats of the semi-gloss. I had to patch a few holes in the wall behind the kitchen counter because we ran wire for the three under-the-cabinet lights that are now installed. As a result, I couldn't paint the part of the wall. I'll get to this next time, though.

March 11, 2008

The wall behind the kitchen counter was painted. There were a few spots I had to throw some more compound on, so the painting isn't all done yet, but most of it is.

The under-the-counter lights are fully-wired and are now working!

I installed the cabinet locks on all of the cabinets in the kitchen as well as the cabinet hardware.

March 16, 2008

The sink will be going in permanently, this week, once the PL400 dries on the backsplash.

My refrigerator came and it was scratched-up, so I had them take it out of the house. They will have to deliver one without scratches. My washer also came and it was cracked beyond belief, so that one went back, too. My stove and dryer were in good shape, so I accepted delivery on those. I'll have washer/dryer pics after I'm done building the platform in the basement.

March 19, 2008

I began to build the platform for my washer and dryer. Didn't take too long to build. I have a few more pieces of wood to cut for reinforcement and that's pretty much it.

March 26, 2008

The floors were sanded and stained this morning. I went with a stain a bit darker than the one to the far left. The other stains were a bit too dark for my tastes.

After sanding:

Before and after shots:

Three coats of oil poly will go on over the next three days.

March 27, 2008

The stain dried nicely. I'm content with the result.

First coat of poly went on today.

Two more coats to come.

March 30, 2008

Here are the final shots of the floors. One from the staircase and one from the deck side. I dig the finished product.

The gas line was started today. I need this to run my three gas appliances.

The 40-gal tank.

April 1, 2008

I installed the drapery hardware downstairs this evening.

Also going in this evening was the dining room fixture.

April 2, 2008

Another day of installing the window hardware.

Here go the curtain-types for the three rooms upstairs.

The gas lines are all done. I now have hot water. My dryer works. And more importantly, my stove works.

April 9, 2008

Things have been getting done here and there. Lots of cleaning, touching-up on the baseboards after the floors were done, new outdoor lights, and terminating the ends of the CAT6 cable. I managed to get the ends done tonight, both the female ends and the RJ-45 ends. Tested them and they all work!

Proof:

New furniture arrived yesterday. I grabbed some furniture this weekend for the lounge upstairs. I'll get pics of that later. Next stop is mounting the TV in the living room - hopefully next week.

April 11, 2008

The rugs were installed today on the second floor as well as the stairs.

Here are a few before shots of how the floor looked when I bought the house. Notice the studs in this picture. There was a wall here, until I demolished it. Here they are:

The floor and notice the wall in the background:

The wall after some demo:

I tore down that wall to open-up the space. The final product:

This is a before picture of the staircase:

After shot:

And the last before-and-afters of the staircase from the second floor:

I tested the network yesterday. I have sufficient wireless coverage and will be adding another AP in the garage during the summer for coverage throughout the entire yard. Other than that, I'm pretty much done! Only a few thing left to do inside. Here's the list:

• Shelves for the closet have to be cut.
• Shoe molding had to be cut and nailed on the first floor.
• Curtains have to be put into place.
• Install the bracket for my plasma.
• Terminate RJ-11 for the phone line. (cable/phone comes this week)

Then comes moving the new furniture onto the second floor - but that's next weekend's project. I still have to do the electrical in the garage, stain the deck, and clean-up around the yard some more. At least I'll get a chance to use my new grill soon!

April 12, 2008

I terminated the four phone lines (two pairs for each) into the RGYB (phone) block. The other four stayed in the RJ-45s, which are currently in my switch. Also wired the RJ-11 jacks for each room plus the kitchen. Wall plates are in.

Moved some of the chairs upstairs today. I'll move the bulk of the furniture in next week.

April 13, 2008

A couple of more things got done today.

First off, new shelves got built and put into place:

Installed the fan switch:

I cut, notched, and stained these pieces of wood. They cover the gap between the tile floor and wood floors in the living and dining rooms. I forgot to snap pics of them after I installed them. Those will come later.

Curtains are in, permanently...well, unless they need to be hemmed. I have yet to install the hooks to use as tie-backs for the curtains. I'll doing that this week.

They're feeling at home now!

What can I say? The biggest win in school history! What a great game!

Prior to the start of the game, I was expecting a low-scoring, turnover-fest (moreso fumbles). Many others at the tailgate had the same outlook on the game. Many of the fans, including myself, were praying for heavier rain. We all knew it would favor the Huskies because it would slow down USF's passing attack. The only problem with that is, Grothe ( USF's QB ) is a beast running the ball. Either way, if we could limit him to just having his yards on the ground, the Huskies would have a chance at coming away with the victory.

UConn started the game playing very well, behind Dixon's running. He had a great game (over 180yds on the ground). I was expecting him to cough-up the ball but he did a great job of holding onto it, despite the conditions. USF, on the other hand, missed two FGs in the first half. It was quite funny that the rain began to come down very hard just before USF's snap to the holder and kick. One kick went wide right, the other, wide left. The stadium was rocking.

UConn went into the half up 16-0. I knew the game was far from over because of USFs potent offense.

Both teams come out fired-up for the second half and USF gets on the board quick with a blocked punt that went for a safety. They scored a TD soon after and the score was 16-9, UConn. I was sure USF was going to knot the game, but that never happened. Grothe continued to run all over the Huskie defense - QB draw after QB draw. It was almost Tebow-like. As far as passing, that didn't go so well. USF receivers dropped quite a few passes, but this was expected because of the rain.

The 4th quarter comes and UConn is up 29-15, after USF kicked a couple of FGs. USF gets the ball with about five minutes left in the game and drives down the field, after UConn hits another FG to increase their lead 22-15. USF now has 2nd and goal from the UConn two yard line! Why not give the ball to Grothe three times? I mean, what are the chances he's not going to score if he rushes three times up the middle? I didn't want to think about it at the moment. Well, USF runs the ball and gets stopped on 2nd down. 3rd down comes and I see they're lined-up in a wishbone formation. I'm thinking power to the right...Nope! Grothe fakes the power to the right and breaks left, on the naked boot. Three UConn defenders are right there waiting for him, and down Grothe at the UConn 12! 4th and 12...the Rent is going nuts! Grothe drops back and hails a pass to the right corner of the end zone - overthrown. There were three Huskies there to begin with, so chances were the pass was going to be incomplete anyhow.

So, there's a minute left in the game and Lorenzen kneels the ball to seal the deal. I can't explain it. This was the loudest and craziest the Rent has been. I loved it. After time expired, the state troopers couldn't stop everyone from rushing the field...and the rest is history.

I purchased a TEC Char-Broil infrared grill over the weekend and man, this thing looks sick. I'm eager to use it and see how the steaks sear and taste.

This grill has an infrared burner on 1/3rd of it. The rest of the grill has standard gas burners. With the infrared, temps will get to ~1600F...perfect to sear meats and keep the juices in-tact.

I will give an update when I fire it up for the first time. I think I'll try a hamburger on the infrared before I burn a filet mignon.

Here's an article with the grill I purchased: http://bbq.about.com/od/gasgrillreviews/gr/aapr031907a.htm

Let me first say, I love this place. Initially, I thought it was going to be like every other city out west, and totally suck. I was totally surprised for the better. Although the MTV-ish atmosphere can get kind of annoying at times, there's nothing like partying on the beach with people my age all over the place.

Riverside sucks. It's too hot and there's nothing to do there. San Diego definitely has it beat.

As far as Los Angeles goes, it was a cool city, but doesn't live up to the hype, in my opinion. I didn't go downtown because from what the guys in Hollywood had told me, downtown LA sucks. Most of the cool shops are just outside of LA, in Hollywood and such. That's where I spent most of my time shopping.

While in Hollywood, I stopped by the Walk of Fame, the Hollywood sign, and a great steak spot on Sunset Boulevard. I then traveled to Beverly Hills to see what it was all about. It really does live up to the hype, both property-wise and car-wise. My next stop was the LA Coloseum and USC. The Coloseum was pretty cool, considering it's history. The USC campus was just around the block, so I headed there and checked it out for about 45 minutes. There were tons of students on campus. Some were playing sports, working out, and swimming. There were others there simply touring the campus. After that walk, I cruised down Crenshaw Boulevard and grabbed some pictures. Very ghetto, but nothing like the South Bronx.

Overall, California was pretty cool. If you're thinking about visiting, definitely head down to San Diego and it's surrounding areas (Del Mar, Old Town, La Jolla). You will not be dissapointed. The scene out there is very different from the scene in NYC. I'm definitely heading back there soon.

Yes, my car passed. Going into it, there was no doubt in my mind it was going to fail. But, by some miracle, it passed. It was great. That is all.

Top List of healthiest vegetables for your diet:

Onions
The Power: Quercetin is one of the most powerful flavonoids (natural plant antioxidants). Studies show it helps protect against cancer. A cup (chopped) has 61 calories, 0 fat and 3 grams of fiber. Chop onions for the maximum phyto-nutrient boost, or if you hate to cry, roast them with a little olive oil and serve with rice or other vegetables.

Artichokes
The Power: These odd-looking vegetables contain silymarin, an antioxidant that helps prevent skin cancer, plus fiber to help control cholesterol. One medium artichoke has 60 calories, 0 fat and 7 grams of fiber. Steam over boiling water for 30 to 40 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice on top, then pluck the leaves off with your fingers and use your teeth to scrape off the rich-tasting skin. When you get to the heart, you have found the best part!

Ginger
The Power: Gingerols may help reduce queasiness; other compounds may help ward off migraines and arthritis pain by blocking inflammation-causing prostaglandins. A teaspoon of fresh gingerroot has only 1 calorie, 0 fat and 0 fiber. Peel the tough brown skin and slice or grate into a stir-fry.

Broccoli
The Power: Indole-3-carbinol and sulforaphane, which help protect against breast cancer. Broccoli also has lots of vitamin C and beta-carotene. One cup (chopped) has 25 calories, 0 fat and 3 grams of fiber. Don't overcook broccoli - instead, microwave or steam lightly to preserve phytonutrients. Squeeze fresh lemon on top for a zesty and taste, added nutrients and some vitamin C.

Spinach
The Power: Lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids that help fend off macular degeneration, a major cause of blindness in older people. Plus, studies show this green fountain of youth may help reverse some signs of aging. One cup has 7 calories, 0 fat and 1 gram of fiber. Add raw leaves to a salad or sauté with a little olive oil and garlic.

Bok Choy (Chinese cabbage)
The Power: Brassinin, which some research suggests may help prevent breast tumors, plus indoles and isothiocyanates, which lower levels of estrogen, make this vegetable a double-barreled weapon against breast cancer. A cup will also give you 158mg of calcium (16 percent of your daily recommended requirement) to help beat osteoporosis. A cup (cooked) has 20 calories, 0 fat and 3 grams of fiber. Find it in your grocer's produce section or an Asian market. Slice the greens and juicy white stalks, then sauté like spinach or toss into a stir-fry just before serving.

Squash (Butternut, Pumpkin, Acorn)
The Power: Winter squash has huge amounts of vitamin C and beta-carotene, which may help protect against endometrial cancer. One cup (cooked) has 80 calories, 1 gram of fat and 6 grams of fiber. Cut on in half, scoop out the seeds and bake or microwave until soft, then dust with cinnamon.

Watercress and Arugula
The Power: Phenethyl isothiocyanate, which, along with beta-carotene and vitamins C and E, may help keep cancer cells at bay. One cup has around 4 calories, 0 fat and 1 gram of fiber. Do not cook these leafy greens; instead, use them to garnish a sandwich or add a pungent, peppery taste to salad.

Garlic
The Power: The sulfur compounds that give garlic its pungent flavor can also lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol, lower blood pressure and even reduce your risk of stomach and colon cancer. A clove has 4 calories, 0 fat and 0 fiber. Bake a whole head for 15 to 20 minutes, until soft and sweet and spread on bread instead of butter.

Integra wiping out:

http://www.youtube.com/v/xNlNRY_i6rA

I was recording this video from Los' car about 5-6 years ago. My hard drive crashed a few years back, so I lost the video, but I knew it had been all over the internet because I've seen it on Kazaa while I was in college. Anyhow, Los found it and sent me the link.

Enjoy.

Dougie and I are trying a new routine, from Westside. It's basically a 10-set routine that focuses on 2-3 reps. One focuses on the same muscle group twice/week. One day is called a maximum effort (ME) day. On this day, one must go with enough weight for just one rep. On the second day of the week, for that muscle group, one focuses on a 10-set routine.

Chest day went well yesterday, following this routine. It was odd doing 10 sets of 3 reps. It's a mental thing for me, at the moment. After bench pressing, we did standing barbell military presses for 3 sets of 10 reps. We followed with side lateral raises, which killed, and finished-up with front raises. This workout rocked.

Today was squat day. We went for 2 reps @ 185lbs. These were below-parallel box squats. You're supposed to use 60% of your 1-rep max but I felt I could've went with some more weight. The trick to doing a somewhat easier amount of weight is to explode out of the squat as quickly as possible. Coming out of the bottom of the squat with that explosive burst is critical for gaining strength - doh. The weight we used was just fine for this. Going down very slow into the squatting position is also key, so don't rush the rep.

The Westside approach has alot to do with physics. So if you think 10 sets of 2-3 reps is weird, there's an explanation for it. This is very different from many of the other programs out there. We're just wondering what the results will look like in a few weeks.