Another Christmas has come and gone and while I'm not as bad as I used to be I'm just not a big fan of Christmas.  Too much commercialism, too much money spent and starting way too early for my taste plus we have too much jammed into too short a time period.  I do enjoy getting together with both our families but now all our kids, neices and nephews have other places to go and it's lost some of it's lustor.
We weren't able to go on our annual Santa Crawl because I wasn't feeling well.  Oh well, the Grinch will return next year.
Another bad thing about the holidays is that I've gained about 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and now :-(.  On a positive note I was able to get our and play a couple rounds of golf for the first time since I had surgery in early November.
The Packers have won five straight and play the lions for the division title on Sunday which a few weeks ago seemed very unlikely.  Go Pack Go!

Sunday is the Packer-bear game which for teams of both teams is always a special occasion.  This is biggest rivalry in the NFL, think Red Devils-terriers, Giants-dodgers, cardinals-cubs, etc..  Most importantly the Packers need a win to keep in the playoff picture however another big reason they need the win is that they will pull even in the all-time series.  The last time the Packers were even with the bears was in the 1930's.  Weather is supposed to be artic like in chicago for the game, good thing the Packers are an outdoor team too. 
This is also a big rivalry within the Roll'em If Ya Got'em Bocce team.  Me and The Glue are big time Packer fans and Herbster and Clutch are bears fans.  This is the reason for the yellow (Packers) converse that me and The Glue wear and the orange (bears) that Herbster and Clutch wear.
Go Pack Go!

Being sick sucks.  I've been fighting a cold all week.  Yuck.  Poor little Otis hasn't had his normal walk and play time which means he gets rambunctious and I don't get much rest.
Cold weather sucks.  It's difficult to do anything outside these days and I've been chomping at the bit to play a little golf.
The cold weather didn't stop me for doing some BBQing over the past weekend though.  On Saturday The Glue went to St. Louis with our daughter so I smoked some beef ribs which I'd only done once a long time ago.  They were good but not where I wanted them, good flavor but a little tough.  On Sunday I did a chunk of bologna to go along with the chicken I grilled.  Both turned out real good.
Something happens to normal people when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle.  Getting ahead of one or two cars isn't worth the risks I see people do almost every day.
Speaking of which, whoever was in the Mercedes behind me wasn't thrilled about me getting in the left lane but I was turning shortly and I saved you a ticket.  Going at least 60 in a 40 isn't real smart with a cop in the right lane.
Packers have made a turn around and are back in the playoff picture, not to mention it's bear week.

Yesterday the MBC lost a long time member and great guy Chuck from the Old Rome Rollers.  He was a well known guy around town and around the BBQ circuits.  He will be missed by a lot of people.