Family

This morning (2017-09-09), Irma has decided to take a westwardly stroll towards the gulf. This is very good news for South Florida, but less exciting for us here in North Florida. Not good news for Tampa area. For Gainesville, we now have an increased amount of wind expected. Although higher than we’d like, it still is much less than anything the islands would have experienced. The good thing about Gainesville is we have an incredible amount of trees to help break up the wind....

Sometimes a blog post is an easy way of giving a group update… Last night the track for Hurricane Irma places Gainesville, Florida in the path of the storm. This, of course, has some friends and family a little worried— which is a great problem for us to have. It’s an amazing feeling to know people care for you. So, first, let’s discuss Gainesville, Florida. Gainesville (where Yeni and I live) is located in North Central Florida… an area I like to call the armpit of Florida....

Living in Florida allows you to enjoy great beaches, beautiful weather, interesting news, and incredible discounts to Disney World. The discounts make sense— we residents become “ambassadors” to the park and generally buy food, drink, and gifts during our visits. Yeni and I purchase an annual pass each year. We meet family at the parks, hang out with friends, and enjoy days and events for just the two of us. Before Yeni and I visited the parks together, I’d go with my godkids, cousins, family, and friends. Because of these trips, I have some great photos through the years. ...

People Mover in 40 seconds from qxork on Vimeo.

I’ve loved Siracha for some time now… and having built up a decent tolerance over the years, would consume a pretty decent amount. It could be the constant mentions in the news, or the Hipster love, but regardless the reason I seemed to have let my supply of the red sauce go dry… for about 6 months. Last night, my wife surprised me with a new bottle, that I christened on an amazing stir-fry dish we made....

For the last 16 years, I’ve enjoyed Thanksgiving at my parent’s house in beautiful South Florida. Surrounded by family, the festive meal places family on the porch of the house, seated around an incredibly long table, with more food than one should eat in a single sitting. For a few of those years, when I lived in South Florida, it was a quick drive from my place to the dinner table. Most of the years, it involves a drive down from Gainesville. Some years included a trek down from Michigan (snow and all). ...

Who’s in the mood for barbecue?

Each year, I make a Thanksgiving pilgrimage to my parent’s home in South Florida. Since I can remember, Thanksgiving has been the Holiday for my family — and when I say family, I mean the entire family. Cousins, friends, aunts, everything. My family. I’ve been very lucky in life and have a lot to be grateful for; one of which is the continuing of this amazing tradition. Some years, the trip seems too short. It rarely feels too long. This year, Yeni and I were able to take a few days off from the bakery and head down to South Florida for a few extra days. I start thinking about my thanksgiving message around October… mostly just a mental outline of what I want to say. Pointless really. Every year when I sit to write the message, my mental outlines are thrown away. ...

We had the very awesome pleasure of creating a fun retirement cake for our good friend Richard Armstrong. [][1]Dream Day Cakes, Gainesville...

[][1]Chocolate Cake with Ganache Growing up, my mom did something amazing every time the school year ended. On the last day of school, when I walked into the door, a layered cake would greet me. As most normal kids, my usual cake was a single-tiered cake with frosting on top. Special birthdays might have a two-layered cake with the thinest of thin layers of frosting separating them. But this was different. ...