Things Guys Think

Monterey Whale Watching

2010-05-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

JP Fun Run 2007

2008-08-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

We hope to see you at the 4th annual PATT JP Fun Run; this year it's August 31 at Armstrong Park in Carol tream IL.

Christian the Lion

2008-07-22T20:31:00.001-07:00

I saw this video months ago; it's worth a spot here for sure.

Young Millionaire Shares His Secrets

2008-07-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

Couldn't resist sharing another "Big Idea" to get your creative juices flowing. This guy is a millionaire and he' not even 25!

More networking ideas at http://www.NikaBleu.com

An Impressive Interview With P. Diddy

2008-07-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Sean Combs, "Diddy", P Diddy - which ever name he's using, this guy is a true self-made man.

Learn how he was making $600 a week by the age of 13. He did it by delivering newspapers; not just 1, but 3 routes.

Not being old enough to actually have his own route, he convinced a few older guys to sign up, and he did all the work. Plus he GAVE them some of the profits!

Today, he laughs at himself a little bit, thinking back on how the guys scored off his work, but still. Sean Combs was making $600 a week as an entrepreneur!

Rick Butts

2008-05-23T11:14:00.001-07:00

great vid

Webcast by Ustream.TV

Quin, May 2008

2008-05-15T22:06:00.001-07:00

Quin 2008. Happy birthday Quin!

Quin, Keegan and Spring Baseball

2008-05-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

From the proud Mom:

Hi, The baseball season is in full swing. Quinten is thrilled to be on the pitching rotation for his team. He is one of the youngest pitchers. He practices alot. One thing that he seems to do with ease is catcher. He really loves being there. He's made many good plays for his team. Some of the kids on his team are 10. He is very little, we are really proud of him.

Keegan is a whirling dervish on the field. The coach will put him at 2nd, but he will play every position-he's everywhere. They don't even try to stop him at this age. (He gets lots of outs-which is unheard of at his age level).
He gets up to bat-it's coach pitch- the coach can't pitch to him without bursting out laughing. Keegan's game face is something. We even see the 1st base coach laughing (guy from other team). We always have a big smile on our face when we watch Keeg play.

The interesting thing about this season is that the boys sometimes play at the same time??? We take our phones and send updates about each game.

We are enjoying their games. The boys will play until the week before July 4th and will start back again in August.

Here are the boys bball pics.

Did I Mention My Mother?

2007-11-04T18:43:00.000-08:00

My mother. She's given me the best of times, she's given me...alright, I'll leave Dickens out of this. But I know a lot of people can relate to that feeling of "please don't get older and leave me" mixed with "please tell me you didn't just say that!"

When I think of where she has been, what she has experienced, and how she has loved us all in spite of our foibles (does that include anything that involved the law?) I want to erase the blackboard that lists life's 'dids' and 'didn'ts' and make her always proud of her past, and content with her present. Which of course includes her feelings about me. Hey, kids are born selfish and it's never more apparent than around Mom.

Mom was born during World War II and times were tough. Her dear Daddy went off to war and her mother worked in a factory, helping the efforts on the home front. A dear uncle never made it home from that war.

As the years passed things improved: the family was comfortable after much hard work and sacrifice. Nothing was given to them; everything was earned. No one complained.

Next thing she knew, my mother had her own brood, and at a young age. Mom made her own bread, dinner every day, had a garden, canned vegetables, did mountains of laundry with a wringer-style washer, ironed clothes. All of that. After we were all in school she was able to focus on her own desires and went back into the workforce, knowing no one there and having little skills.

Little skills at the beginning, but that changed remarkably. When the other clerks and typists took coffee and lunch breaks, my mother was too curious about the workings of her company and volunteered for anything that would help her learn more.

Her succession in jobs was just that; she was promoted time after time, eventually enjoying a marketing career as a respected mentor in her field.

This is the woman I know, a full-time mother who made her way into the business arena and gave the best she could to her company for decades.

What I am relating is probably considered a simple life by many, maybe even 'un'-remarkable. But I believe these are the very best kinds of people. They show up every day, do what is right, and try to do their best. And they do it over and over.

Tom Brokaw called people like this "The Best Generation". And I am so proud of my mother.

http://www.justperfectgifts.com
http://www.playourplanet.com

Wake Me Up, When September...

2007-09-09T21:21:00.001-07:00

Growing up, I always remembered September as a month of transitions: back to school, football season, plaid skirts, crisp autumn leaves, and the excitement and opportunities of my new life. It was almost a do-over. Wasn't last year so...last year? September is for new clothes, new books, new beginnings, and my friends.

Friends who, if not new, certainly looked different. I always felt a thrill of excitement that was neck-and-neck with uncertainty. A girl who had always been chubby somehow returns from a summer hiatus BAM! a Babe! and is drawing stares from...everywhere. The geeky guy we used to take turns tripping as he did his best to dash out of the locker room after gym class today pulls into the parking lot to start his senior year. He is in a cherry Mustang convertible. With a cheerleader. And he has a five o'clock shadow at 8:00 a.m. Will it ever be my turn?

I told myself, anything is possible.

Fast forward: I continued to grow up reasonably OK, with no more or less pain or angst than any of my friends or the guys in the next cubicle. The years pile up, the years go by. But there have always been the moments that have caught me off guard, both surprising me with their insistent pulls on my heart, and startling me with the swift powers that take me back...to that guy I didn't think I was, and thought I did not want to be, but who is in me always.

What makes for this emotional display? Nothing. Or anything. Our minds hold fast to life-marking events that our conscious self suppresses. It can be a song, a smell, a picture...shoot, it can be crisp autumn leaves.

We all have these memories. I guess they are known as 'bittersweet' memories. After we are grown, they mock us, yet sustain us, I believe.

There is a class in Carol Stream Illinois that graduated this year, in 2007. They are the friends of my nephew, Jonathan D. Petit. Jon sparks countless memories of a perpetual smile, a ready friend, an honorable teammate.

Jon actually experienced his own transition. In some minds he may have been the guy they would like to be after he slimmed down and buffed up in a big way. Forever I will happy for Jon for that. His efforts spanned years. It was profound to me, and was (excuse the cliche) an inspiration that a kid could and did:
A. Drag himself out of bed before dawn
B. Jog and jog and jog, eventually adding ankle weights
C. Develop his own eating habits
D. Become an inspiration to his friends in GBN High's "House of Pain".

Jon left us unexpectedly, on a warm June night. There will always be our lives viewed as before and after Jon Petit. We were never ready to say good-bye.

And, I do believe this class of 2007 will always remember Jon Petit. They will be 30, 45, 70 years on this planet, yet...a song, a flash of a smile, a scent, a comment. Jon will be there.

Jon's birthday is September 2, 2007. He would be 19. And Green Day was one of Jon's favorite bands. So, wake me up, when September ends.

K Petit

www.squidoo.com/PATT

www.playourplanet.com

www.justperfectgifts.com

Exclusive: Leopard on a Night Hunt in South Africa

2007-06-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

Cal Ripken Day

2007-06-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Guy Loses Girl; Guy Gets Guitar: Guy Gets Gigs

2007-06-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

I have been playing acoustic guitar for years but just picked out my first acoustic electric guitar. For a long time I only picked up my guitar off and on and wasn't serious about it. Since I found myself single again I've at least improved my playing with all the spare time on my hands. I actually have been getting paying gigs. When I played for fun I didn't need an acoustic electric guitar. An electric acoustic guitar is just like a normal acoustic except for one very important difference: right, the amplification. The electric version has a built in pickup. This means that you do not add an extra pickup to it to amplify it. Plug and play.

When I was just playing by myself, I had no need for an acoustic electric guitar. If you're not playing with a band, why would you need one? Normal acoustic guitars produce plenty of volume by themselves; no need for acoustic electric guitar amplification. If you want to play in a band it's a different thing. It's worth the expense to upgrade and the electrics tend to have very high quality pickups, and the pickups are well mounted. I don't have to keep tweaking its position or worry about losing it, or forgetting the thing.

Hands down the best feature is having the volume controls right in the body of the guitar. That rocks.It saves so much time to be able to make the sound adjustments straight up instead of crossing the room (or stage) to mess with he amplifier. Wouldn't get me as much work either; the rest of the band would be waiting for me to get my act together. Not cool.

The acoustic electric guitar represents a new era in my playing. I really like everything about being in a band, and all the practice was worth it. There are even some fine looking ladies in the audience. I have to thank what's-her-name for helping me turn my life around!

Best,

K. Petit

Get Up, Get Out

2007-05-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

I have been into adventure sports for a long time. For me, I need some excitement if I am going to stay physically fit. I used to be very sedentary. I couldn't think of anything less interesting than biking around the neighborhood, jogging, or working on one of those exercise machines. Since I got into outdoor adventure sports, however, I have been much more fit. I have been happier too, since I get to go extreme mountain biking every weekend.

If you are a risk taker, adventure sports might just be for you. There are many different kinds of adventure sport. There is hang gliding, adventure rock climbing, downhill skiing, and many more. Some of the adventure sports actually get kind of silly and exotic. There is even one adventure sports company that specializes in sending people downhill in a giant inflatable sphere! To me, this sounds likes sure idiocy. I am sure that it is quite thrilling, but it is also ridiculous.

The best place to start is to pick up an adventure sports magazine. If you are not sure that you are quite up to the risk, it might be good to read about it. There are descriptions of all of the adventures sports enthusiasts can go on in the great outdoors, explanations of what to expect, and pictures showing all the fun that the reviewers had to trying them. Although it can downplay some of the dangers of these activities, it can still help you to get a good idea of what they are all about.

Nonetheless, eventually you will have to try it yourself. Everyone should at least try one adventure sport in their life. I am not saying that adventure sports are for everyone, because they are not. Many people just do not have the desire to be scared. They would rather do something more tame, such as basketball or jogging. Still, it is worth at least having that adrenaline rush once. You never feel so alive as when you are scared out of your mind!

The best way to get into adventure sports is to look and see what is around you. One of the easiest adventure sports to get into is mountain biking. Almost every area has some mountain somewhere nearby. If you don't, you might at least have a good river for kayaking, or perhaps a company that specializes in para gliding somewhere nearby.

K. Petit http://www.playourplanet.com
http://www.squidoo.com/safari/

The Man With Sixteen Balls

2007-04-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

When I visited my dad we always fell into the same routine; face to face at the dining room table spending time catching up, getting nostalgic over family photos, playing board games, and sharing family meals. This was what was always in my mind's eye when I envisioned my visits home. But after being on his own for awhile, my father had gradually become more of a "bachelor" and realized somehow, without consulting me, that he could and would live his life to his liking, 'dadnabit!'. It was never more apparent to me than the day I realized he had traded in his dining room table for a billiards table.

I think a part of me was sure my visits home were pretty much the highlights of Dad's existence and I didn't always notice the familiarity of my old home. It's always been the way it was when I moved away. Dad and I were standing in the kitchen talking, or I was talking about myself, when I passed through the dining room, dropping my duffel bag on the table in passing. I was still walking and talking when I heard the bag thud on the floor, having toppled off the table. I lifted up the edge of the tablecloth and found it was covering a billiards table, and I had unknowingly let my bag drop on the siderail. I looked up from the green felt to my Dad's sort of defiant look, a lot like I probably looked when Dad caught me doing stupid stuff as a kid. The tablecloth was probably there only for the table's protection, not to hide it. Right?

Once I realized what had happened, I asked my dad where he had gotten the billiards table. Dad has always enjoyed his games; over the years the basement has turned into a combination card room/party central for Dad and his buddies, getting together to play poker or watch sports tournaments. Maybe that is why I was not expecting to find a billiards table in his dining room. It seems Dad had filled up the basement with my nephews' video games and consoles and he had to find a place to put it. To Dad it wasn't a question of getting a billiards table, you see; the dilemma was where to put said table.

I was only temporarily stymied at the idea that Dad would remove our meeting spot, my home inside the old home. I realized while my life came and went out of that house, Dad was there every day, all day. If he wanted a billiard table in his dining room I could adapt.

It's funny now. I pop in for my visit and Dad and I still sit face to face in the same room spending time catching up, looking at pictures, sharing our meals. The billiards table is just fine with a piece of plywood and tablecloth over it, and most of the time I don't even think about it being there.

It's always good to see things a new way. I think Dad is onto something here. Though I can’t imagine I will have a billiards table in my dining room today, I hope that like my Dad, I will have a few surprises left. And lots of balls.

Best,

KPetit

http://www.playourplanet.com

Don't Let PlayStation3 Cost an Arm and a Leg

2007-03-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

XBOX 360 games

I remember when a video game was a video game. There was only one type of game system that I had, and I didn’t know of any others. Now there are countless systems from which to choose, and you can’t buy just any game to go with any system. If you have an XBOX 360, you have to get the games to go with that system or they won’t work. There are many different XBOX 360 games out there, and there are even some that you can only get on that game platform.

The video game industry is very competitive. If you go into a game store, you will see separate aisles or displays for each of the different types of games. The XBOX 360 games all come in the same color container; green, right? There are so many now. I do know that if you buy XBOX 360 games you will not be able to use them in any other game systems. Games are made specifically to go in one game system. Not only are there different games for games systems, there are some made just for the computer, so they won't work on TV.

I have a feeling I'm going to become very familiar with XBOX 360 games soon. My son has expressed a desire to get a PlayStation 3. He was talking about buying an XBOX just the other day. While I don’t mind spending the money to get the new system, I do not look forward to the expense of getting a bunch of new XBOX 360 games.

I'm lucky in the respect that he does not play very often, so he’s happy to have just one or two good games at a time. This will save a lot of money when he is shopping for XBOX 360 games. He's not afraid to resell the ones he has done 1000 times, and he doesn’t mind buying used games opposed to new ones. My brother likes to have a brand new games, but my son is fine with used goods. It’s too bad we don’t live close to my brother any longer, or we’d have a great time exchanging XBOX 360 games, and saving a lot of money in the process. I'm tired already thinking about all these games! Pacman, where are U?

Best,

K. Petit

How To Love Your Workouts

2007-03-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

Petits5 for sports, music, videos, wireless

Exercise!

This is a necessity of life whether or not you truly prefer it. There is one simple reason for this. IMAGE! Ha! You thought I was going to say health, didn't you? No sir; I believe that most people force themselves to exercise solely for vanity reasons. They want to look smashing; being in better health is just a fringe benefit. Wow, do you think we need to get our priorities straight? Anyway, there's a trick to exercise and fitness. You don't have to dread your routine trips to the gym. You don't have to despise your workout equipment with every cell in your body. You simply need to make your workout program fun. This means finding something you enjoy doing. Maybe you would even do it if you didn't have to exercise at all. I make sure my workout is like this. All I typically make use of is a weight bench, punching bag, free weights and exercise resistance bands.

There are plenty of routes to choose. Working out is not restricted to running on a track and using an out of date recumbent bike. Say hello to options and machines and sports galore. Surely there are a few that could get you going. My favorite workout for the last few years has been using exercise resistance bands. These are very simple fitness tools. I'll even bet you've seen them on television before. When I first mentioned I was getting some to my girlfriend she said, "You mean those rubber bands that fitness women use on those exercise shows?" Uh, yeah, I guess that pretty much sums it up. However, exercise resistance bands are not made exclusively for women. They're for anyone who wishes to give them a shot or add them to their fitness regimen. Contemporary exercise resistance bands come with varying pounds of resistance. While a woman may prefer 5 or 10 pounds, a man may prefer 20. You can perform numerous exercises with these innovative exercise resistance bands. Workout any part of your lower and upper body. I would recommend picking up an inexpensive DVD or book that demonstrates the many exercises you can do with your band.

Okay, why would someone prefer exercise resistance bands over weights, etc? Well, that's pretty simple. With light-weight, compact exercise resistance bands, you can carry them anywhere, anytime. I have to travel frequently so I take them on a business trip, or even to the office for a quick lunchtime workout. And no matter how tired I think I am, I feel better after my workouts. You'll love how simple those bands can make your daily exercise routines.

Best,

K.Petit

Where to Put Your Big Screen TV

2007-01-25T03:30:00.001-08:00

A few years ago, all entertainment centers were more or less the same. TVs had not gotten as big as they are now so it was easy to come up with a design that could fit all of them. All of that has changed, and as a result, people need to buy new furniture every time they upgrade their digital equipment. Big screen TV entertainment centers have to be specifically designed to fit the TV. It makes a big difference if the TV is a projection model, which has depth in size, compared to a flat screen TV, which is gaining in popularity as they become more affordable. And there needs to be room for all the components: the receiver, DVD player, etc.

Recently, we bought a home theater screen. We measured the big screen TV entertainment center from our most recent TV – the one we replacing. It was a plasma TV, and it was of a similar size and shape. We thought we would be able to fit the new TV, but we were wrong. Every entertainment center for big screen TVs is different. In this case, the footprint was off. The thing was just a little bit too deep from the front to back to fit in the TV entertainment center we had. It almost did, and I spent an hour trying to find a way to negotiate the last few inches. After all, the difference between fitting and not fitting – although it was only 2 or 3 inches – could cost us another 600 dollars. In the end, we had to cough up the dough. I recommend measuring twice.

It is just amazing how expensive big screen TV entertainment centers have become. I wouldn't think that they would cost as much as they do. After all, they are nothing but a simple cabinet. Most of them are not even made out of wood anymore. They are certainly not handcrafted, so what is the cause for the expense? Whatever the reason, big screen TV entertainment centers cost a fortune. It wouldn't have been so bad if we had been budgeting for it, but we haven't. We spent all the money that we wanted to spend on the television screen. The big screen TV entertainment centers were an additional expense that we had not anticipated. And honestly, most of the styles I have seen do not work with the rest of our furnishings.

In the end, we had to temporarily give up the idea of big screen TV entertainment centers. Instead, we simply put the TV on a heavily reinforced table. We just could not find anything that fit the TV that we had! It was that overwhelmingly massive! I figure that in another six months, I will look at big screen TV entertainment centers again and try to find something that works.