Where Have I Been and What Am I Thinking?

The “3 to Read” series took a little bit of a break the last two months, but we are back in business with 3 new books to enjoy this October. The last couple of months have been a pretty hectic time in our life. Who knew planning a transatlantic move, with pets, in the middle of a global pandemic would be such a logistical nightmare? Luckily, at the time of writing this post, most fires have been put out, and our move is looking like it will happen as smoothly as you could expect in today’s current environment. Beyond planning for this crazy move, we have managed to take two much needed getaways to Portugal (post coming soon!) and Paris. Laying on a beach in the Algarve and sipping wine and eating a baguette in the park in front of the Eifel Tower can have a therapeutic effect on a person. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances that accompany this pandemic, it looks like our European adventures have come to a close. Thankfully, it will take years for me to run out of places, countries, and trips that we have taken before I run out of things to write about. So, fear not, you can continue to live vicariously through my travels on this website for years to come. (Continue Reading)

This is a particularly difficult post to write, but it is one that I know my dad would be happy and so excited that I did. In May of this year my dad passed away. I’m writing this in September, and I can say it has four of the most difficult months of my life. He didn’t even get to see all the work that I put into this website, and the finished product; it’s something I know he would’ve been very proud of me for. Now, this post isn’t entirely about that, that is an entire post in itself, but this post is about one of my favorite memories that I have of my dad. Every year since I can remember my dad usually fired up the crockpot and made this dip for the opening weekend of the NFL, and usually the Super Bowl. When my brother or I think of football, our minds usually drifts to this dip. The NFL kicks off this weekend, so I thought I would honor my dad and share the recipe of this dip that means so much to my brother and me.(Continue Reading)

This previous Spring, I had the idea to start my own fantasy football brand. I’m confident in my social media knowhow to springboard a brand from nothing to something that people seek out. I’m also extremely confident in my knowledge of the NFL to give sound advice that people can trust. While some personal events got in the way of my desire and motivation to start that up this spring and summer, it is still in my future plans of something I would like to do. I have had quite a high level of success in fantasy football over the 15 or so years that I have been playing, and I want to share some of the knowledge with people that want to get better. Drafting preparation season is upon us, so I thought it would be a good time to drop my rankings. This is hobby of mine that I like to take on in the fall, so in lieu of starting my own fantasy football website this summer there may be some blog posts on here instead. Always feel free to reach out if you ever have any questions or requests. (Continue Reading)

Living with a vegetarian has turned me into more of omnivore than I figured I would ever be in life. Truth be told, my diet has turned to about 80% vegetarian (65% higher than I ever imagined it would). While I now consume more tofu and black beans, taco night is a night that I like to include some meat. Thankfully, I have found a recipe that satisfies both the vegetarian in my wife, and the meat eater in me. In addition to the taco recipe, I wanted to share my salsa recipe that has always gotten rave reviews. I usually do things in this order: (Continue Reading)

On July 22, 2017 my wife and I were standing on a beach in St. Joseph, Michigan saying “I do.” Fast forward exactly three years, and we found ourselves giddily exploring our way around the Swiss Alps. I am going to do a slight humble brag here and mention that we have now officially seen the Alps in every one of the eight countries that they stretch through. I can tell you right now that they take your breath away no matter what country you are looking at them in. This was our second trip into Switzerland. The first trip was in January of 2019, when we visited the other side of the Swiss Alps in Zermatt to see the Matterhorn. We saw Switzerland when it was a giant snow globe of magic, but this time we wanted to see Switzerland with the cow bells clanging and grass as green as Tiger Woods’ Masters jackets. Luckily for us, the weather decided to cooperate for the majority of the trip. While we got soaked once or twice in torrential downpours, overall the sunny weather added to the backdrop of mountains that absolutely needed zero help being beautiful. This sunny weather may have also contributed to rather uncomfortable sunburns on our legs, but that is neither here nor there. (Continue Reading)

As Hall of Famer Bill Veeck Jr. once said, "There are only two seasons: winter and baseball,” and we have been stuck in winter for three extra months too long. By God’s good grace, baseball is returning, in addition to the NBA, MLS, and possibly the NHL by the end of July. When you zoom out and look at the big picture of COVID-19, losing sports is the most miniscule, unimportant, and inconsequential thing. That being said, the excitement for getting back my childhood love back is palpable. There are very few things in this life that take me to a happier place than sitting down, having a beer, and watching a Cubs game. (Continue Reading)