January and June

My Murtaugh List

I am not going to even pretend that I have seen any films from the Lethal Weapon franchise.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s been on my list, but I just haven’t ever gotten around to it. In fact, the only exposure I have had to Lethal Weapon is through the How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) TV series.  There is one episode (Season 4, Episode 19) that is fully devoted to the Murtaugh List, and based on that one episode, and some of my own internet research, I’ve developed my understanding of what the list is.

For those who don’t know, the Murtaugh List is based on a character in Lethal Weapon (Detective Roger Murtaugh, played by Danny Glover…best known to me as the Angels in the Outfield manager).  Murtaugh (apparently) goes around chasing all these bad guys and doing all sorts of crazy things, to which he almost always responds, “I’m too old for this STUFF” (HIMYM edit here). In HIMYM, it leads Ted and Marshall, and ultimately Barney, to create a list of things that they are too old to do.

Here is my list of things I am too old to do, especially now that I am 30:

1) Scoop the driveway by hand. After a lot of back pain in the past couple years and sore shoulders/arms, a snowblower is on my list to purchase this year. I’m too old for this stuff.

2) Crash on a couch for the night. Barring Jenna kicking me out onto the sofa (which has not yet happened!), I require my own bed. No more sleeping on the floor with a decorative pillow and an old afghan that is just not quite big enough to cover my body. No more air mattresses. No more contorting my body in different positions just to fit on the sleeping space. I require an actual bed (or at least sofa bed) at nights now. I’m TOO old for this stuff.

3) Get a haircut from a chain/franchise. Don’t get me wrong, I love sports and cheap haircuts as much as the next guy, but it gets to a point where I just want the same person to cut my hair each time. Granted, there seems to be less and less of it on top of my head every time I go in, which probably makes it all the more important that I find someone who knows how I like it cut. Scratch that, how Jenna likes it cut. I’m too OLD for this stuff.

4) Keeping up with social media. Snap-what? Insta-who? Let’s be honest, I can’t barely keep my e-mail inbox clean and my text messages responded to. I don’t have time for the Facebook account I currently have, much less the up-and-coming platforms that today’s youth love. I’m TOO OLD for this stuff.

5) Moving without movers. Jenna and I have been in our house for five and a half years now, but when we moved from our apartment in Lincoln to Omaha in May 2012 with a U-Haul I rented, I swore that would be the last time I move myself. Looking at all the things we have accumulated and thinking about the logistical issues of getting things from one place to another gives me chest pains. I will never move houses without first having a moving company lined up. I am too old for this STUFF.

Now, this is just a list I came up with off the top of my head. What other things should be added to my list or are on your list of things that you are too old to do?

Logan

**One thing Isla has decided she is NOT too old to do is to climb through the end table. She will go through one end, climb all the way through, then turn around and come back through the other way. Endless fun for her!

First Time Dad

I am a first time dad. There’s absolutely no beating around the bush on that.  I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert or that I have it all figured out.  In fact, I am your stereotypical first time dad, and if you talk to me about it, I’m sure you’ll hear all sorts of cliches and very few original thoughts come out of my mouth.  With that being said, there is nothing better than being a dad.

The top three questions I get from people when I meet with them (in no particular order):  1) What’s it like? 2) How’s it going? 3) What has the biggest adjustment been?  Again, I have no original thoughts or genius ideas on these, but I am willing to answer these openly and honestly.

For starters, being a dad is amazing. Jenna and I talk about how amazing it is that such a little human can enter your life (in our case at 7lbs 12oz) and make such a profound change.  No longer can we go where we want, when we want. No longer can we solely focus on things WE want/need to get done.  Our entire world revolves around one little baby-girl blessing and doing everything we can to raise her.

Secondly, so far, being a dad is going great. Like anything, some days are better than others.  It was MUCH easier before teeth when she would sleep through the night, but all-in-all, we have a pretty easy baby who is happy just rolling around on the floor or watching her puppies wrestle.  We will soon get to the point where we “baby-proof” our house, and we are already having to keep a close eye on the dogs, mainly because Isla has not quite learned her own strength when grabbing at their fur.

Finally, when it comes to adjustments, without a doubt the biggest relates to priorities.  Before January 21st, I was convinced that Baby Watley would become #1 on my priority list, and then I would fill the rest of the list with running, housework, reading, etc.  What I did NOT account for was the fact that I would have #1 (Isla), and then nothing else! There is one thing that I am focused on, and nearly everything else I do is a matter of helping me accomplish #1.

Anyway, I’m sure if you are reading this and have kids, you might totally disagree with me on many points, and that’s OK! These are just a few of the things I have learned for me personally, and I realize the experiences of others might differ.

Isla is already growing up so fast (maybe too fast), and I am emphatic that I am not going to do anything to miss out on that.

I am a first time dad. And I love it.

Logan

Update from Dad – 5.17.17

I actually went back and looked, and I have not posted a blog since January 31st. I had all intentions of posting a “Part Two” of Isla’s birth story, but as any parent can attest, it’s far too easy to somehow just lose minutes in a day; those minutes turn to hours, hours to days, days to weeks and weeks to months and before you know it, it’s May!  Anyway, Isla is nearly four months old now, and I feel like we (Isla and me) are just starting to develop an understanding.  Really, it doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to make the connection that if she’s screaming her head off and it’s been more than an hour since she ate last, she’s probably hungry.  Likewise, if she’s screaming and she DID just eat, then it’s probably a diaper change.  And somewhere in-between, I am able to recognize her heavy eyes that tell me it’s maybe been a little too long since she’s napped.  At the same time, Isla somehow knows when exactly I need to see that silly little toothless grin; usually first thing in the morning when she wakes up or late at night when she’s not quite ready to go to bed.

Somewhere between work and fatherhood, I’ve managed to find some time to increase the amount of time I spend running.  The big difference between running now and running six months ago, though, is that I don’t want to spend nearly as much time running because it takes away from my Isla time.  Even so, Jenna and I both realize that I will go crazy if I just stopped running completely, and having the opportunity to meet up with friends and run is invaluable.  I’m trying to enjoy the age Isla is now (because she will never be this little again), but at the same time, I am looking forward to the day when I can push her in a running stroller. Not only will I be able to combine two things I love, but it will be an opportunity to bond with my baby girl over some one-on-one time.

All of the running I did this spring culminated with the Lincoln Half Marathon on Sunday, May 7th. I had realistic expectations while training up to the race (goal of 1:18), but the three weeks leading up to the race did not go at all as I had planned. I ran total weekly miles of 12, 22 and 26 miles and didn’t do a single workout outside of long runs. Because of this (lack of) training, I considered dropping out of the race completely, but in the end, several friends talked me into running the race just to do it, and I settled on a goal pace of sub 1:22. I could detail how the race unfolded, but the end result was 1:21:21 (6:13/mi pace). I left the race completely happy, knowing that I got more out of the race than the work I felt I had put in. It also served as a motivating tool to return to some type of running routine and reminded me why I like running so much in the first place.

I am definitely looking forward to the summer weather and all the things to come in the next few months:  a weekend trip to KC, Weddings in Columbus and Dallas, Okoboji Trip in July, sprinkled with trips to my parents’ lake house in Ashland. If anything is certain, the summer will go fast, but there are many great things on the horizon, and I cannot wait to continue to “do life” with those close to me.

 


Logan

Pig & Finch Restaurant Review

For those reading this who know me well, I do not like change.  I am very much a creature of habit and am a huge advocate of routines.  However, one area of my life where I like getting out of a routine is eating at new restaurants.  On New Year’s Eve, Jenna and I decided to try a new place, so we made the trip to One Pacific Place and tried out Pig & Finch.

BEFORE

The first thing I would say is that it seemed important to make a reservation in advance (probably depending on the day of the week and time of day).  Since I figured it would be busier with the holiday, I made a reservation on OpenTable, which is a great idea for any dining establishment if you are willing/able to commit to eating at a specific time. When we arrived, I was glad that I did, because the dining area is relatively small, and it was hustling and bustling with NYE traffic.  With that said, we got right in and seated at our table.

APPETIZER

Since this was a little bit of a special occasion (with Baby W on the way, every dinner out just us is a special occasion), we ordered a Shrimp Cocktail as an appetizer. I’m not a big fan of cocktail sauce, but this I think had more of a tomato flavor to it than what you typically think of with shrimp cocktails. In addition, they gave you a bunch of little slices of buttered/toasted bread that you could dip in the sauce.  While I probably would not be inclined to order again (the price and serving size did not seem to match-up, in my opinion), Jenna and I did enjoy both the presentation and taste of our appetizer.  They even brought us extra bread!

MAIN COURSE(S)

Since it was NYE, they had a special menu to order from. For some reason I also feel like I need to order off the “special menu”. I think I justify it because the regular menu will always be there, but you never know when the specials will go away! I am a sucker and fall right into the restaurant’s trap.  FOMO!  Anyway, Jenna ordered a clam fettuccine pasta, and I ordered a steak (to be honest, I can’t remember if it was a New York Strip, Ribeye or what).

From what Jenna and I talked about, both dishes were just “OK”.  I had requested my steak to be cooked medium, and while most of it was cooked at that level, I felt like it was kind of uneven throughout (some parts were medium-well, some were more medium-rare).  My plate came with mashed potatoes and squash, and while I forced myself to eat the vegetables, the potatoes mysteriously disappeared off my plate and into Jenna’s mouth (mashed potatoes have been a HUGE pregnancy craving for her).

Jenna’s plate was pretty standard, and while she enjoyed it, I think she also wished they had gone a little lighter on the sauce. Also, since the clams came in shells, it was a very “active” dinner for her. I think we both left wishing we had ordered something different (maybe just two giant plates of mashed potatoes).

ATMOSPHERE

Now onto other “non-food” related things, the atmosphere at Pig & Finch was really pretty cool. It almost had an old-English pub feel to it. It wasn’t too loud, and although some of the tables were pretty close together, I never felt like I was dining with other people.

SERVICE

The other important thing for us was that the service was outstanding. Along with the extra bread mentioned above, our sever checked on us just the right amount (not too little and not too much). She was very pleasant and was patient as we asked different questions about the menu.

CONCLUSION

Overall, we had a good experience at Pig & Finch on NYE. While I’m sure the experience would be different during Happy Hour (M-F 3:30-6 and weekends 2:30-6), I don’t think Jenna and I feel an inclination to go back. We both seemed to think it was a little overpriced for the experience, but maybe your trip there would be different! Overall grade: B-

Logan

Winter Soups

I am not a fan of winter.  It’s cold, windy, cold AND windy at the same time, and being that we live in Nebraska instead of Texas, we are more prone to snow/ice.  There are only a handful of things I like about winter, and most revolve around Christmas (i.e., cookies, lights, carols, etc.).  The one non-Christmas item that I always look forward to in the winter is soup. It’s just not the same to pour yourself a hot bowl of soup when it’s 90 degrees outside and you’re sitting with the air conditioning on high. As a rule of thumb, soup should always be warmer than the outside temperature.

Soups are also great because you can put them in a crockpot and let them cook all day, or you can put on a stove top, do other things while it cooks, and an hour later you can eat!  I love the idea of a soup cooking all day, but truth-be-told, I usually am not on top of my game enough to do anything that cook on a stove top an hour or two before we eat dinner.  Even so, I feel like I’ve honed in on a couple different soup recipes that have been winners in the Watley household.

1) Plain old, regular Chili – Come on, there are really no rules with this type of soup! You can make it vegetarian without meat or you can pack the thing full of it (my brother Grant used to cook chili with beef, ground sausage, sausage links AND bacon). I don’t have an actual recipe for this, but I know all the basics that I use.

*Mrs. Grimes Original Chili Beans

*Tomato Sauce

*Hamburger

*Johnsonville Sausages (cooked separately and cut up into bite size pieces)

*Ground Pork

*Chili Powder (usually I put in enough to cover the top of the soup in the pot).

*Other Options I’ve Used – diced habanero, kidney beans, cannellini beans

2) Cheesy Ham and Potato – I don’t think I had a soup like this until one Christmas Eve while I was in high school (soup is a Christmas Eve tradition in the Watley household). I’ve made it numerous times since, and haven’t had a bad batch yet (fingers crossed!).

*32 oz. of chicken broth/stock (honestly, I don’t really know the difference)

*1 bag of frozen hash brown potatoes

*1 bag of shredded cheese (I’ve done cheddar and colby jack before)

*1 package of diced ham (real ham is better)

*White Sauce (butter/flour/milk)

Anyway, looking at the 10 day forecast, it seems like there are some good soup days coming up, so feel free to take a stab at these two. If I can make it, you definitely can! There are probably two other soup recipes that I have in my arsenal, but I would say the above are staples when I’m in-charge of dinner (easy, quick and delicious).

Logan

My nephew Jaxson, who I’m told looks quite a bit like me, on Christmas Eve (before eating soup, of course).

My Week in Review

For me, this last week has been an un-welcomed blur.  For those who don’t know, my brothers and I own a running retail store (605 Running Company) located in downtown Sioux Falls.  About 200 hours ago (10:30am on Friday, December 2nd), I got a text from our assistant manager that she had felt the building shake, and a policeman came in and told her to evacuate immediately. As it turns out, a business ON OUR BLOCK had collapsed.

Photo: Argus Leader

Now if you aren’t from Sioux Falls, or haven’t visited our store, our block is made up of four buildings that are separate but connected.  First National Bank is the furthest north, followed by our building (made up of a bakery, then us, then a home decor shop). Just south of us (but again, still connected) was a bar, and then on the very south part of our block, another bar that was being renovated into a Lewis Drug (think local Walgreens/CVS). Above each of these main floor businesses were additional floors housing a rental company, a lawyer or personal apartments.

While information was not quick to disseminate, we eventually learned that two individuals had been trapped in the collapsed building furthest south:  the former bar that was having renovation work done.  Thankfully three hours later, a young woman was rescued, however, around 6pm on Friday night, the second individual, a construction worker, did not make it.

OSHA is conducting an investigation that I feel will be heavily relied upon as we try to determine exactly what happened, and I’m not planning on expounding in this forum all the things I’ve heard or read about the incident. What I can say is that this tragic event also had an effect on our business; closed for seven business days during the holiday season.  We were initially evacuated on Friday as gas and power lines were cut to our block while damage was assessed. We were then told all the buildings on the block were safe to occupy. Then overnight Saturday (12/3), a hole developed in the bar just south of our building. While the city assured us that our building was safe on Sunday, our landlords told us the city had indicated the building was not safe and should not be occupied until Wednesday (12/7). Then on Tuesday (12/6), we were alerted that we would not be allowed to re-enter the building for safety reasons until at least Monday (12/12). Then finally, in one bizarre turn, we were e-mailed Thursday (12/8) that the building had been certified as safe by a structural engineer and we could return immediately.

Photo: Argus Leader

In the meantime, since we had been notified Tuesday (12/6) we could not occupy the building until Monday (12/12), we decided to set-up a “pop-up shop” on Wednesday (12/7) to be open as long as needed. Of course we spent a lot of time setting-up inventory to sell, only to be told we would be able to move it all back and be open on Friday (12/9).  If you are getting confused looking at all these dates and shifts in information, imagine how difficult it was for us to actually discern what was going on!

Regardless, we are in our building that has been certified as safe, and happy that we can make an attempt for things to be “normal” again. This was an extremely difficult time for us as owners, our employees and really the Sioux Falls community. It’s always tough when a life is lost, and I’m looking forward to hearing ideas from our employees on how we can continue to build community through this time.

Meanwhile, if you are in need of shoes, apparel or any other running related items (or gifts), please do not hesitate to let me know. I know a good place to get some of that stuff.

FYI – there are lots of news outlets to read about what happened. Here is just one.

Logan

The Spirit of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has got to be on of my top three holidays during the year.  Thanksgiving, Christmas and 4th of July, in some order. Since Jenna and I got married in 2011 (and maybe even a year or two before), we spend every 4th of July in Okoboji, IA. We are always running around like crazy, trying to get in complete days full of mini-golf, nutty bars and the pool, of course.  We spend Christmas split between my family on Christmas Eve and the Davies on Christmas Day. It’s great to see both families over the time, but travelling can be a little hectic.  The reason Thanksgiving is near the top of my list is because it is a time where I can just relax. Whether we are spending time in Columbus or with my family in Lincoln/Ashland/Sioux Falls, I know that my expectations for activity are very low on Thanksgiving Day, and really the whole weekend.

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With that being said, I broke my own rule this year. Rather than enjoy the extra 2.5 days off, we spent Thursday at my parents’ new house in Ashland, Friday with Jenna’s family in Omaha, and then I flew to Dallas on Saturday to visit my brother Paul. One of my college roommates, Jarryd Widhalm, flew up from Mexico City to meet us both and celebrate his 30th birthday and my upcoming one.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving weekend, we ate better (more) than I think we probably should have. On Saturday, we ate at Grub Burger Bar and watched the beginning of the Ohio State/Michigan football game.  We got some Luau Fries, which were basically skinny fries covered in cheese and pork with jalapenos and BBQ sauce on the side. Those got devoured pretty quickly when we ordered our actual meal:  Paul the Guacapotle burger, Jarryd the Mac ‘N Cheeseburger and me the Jive Turkey.  I can’t speak for the other two, but the turkey burger I ate was one of the best (right up there with one from The Cheesecake Factory).  I didn’t even mind the avocado right on top, which is usually a big “no-no” for me.  That night, we were too full to really think about food until about 9:15pm when we ordered a bacon calzone crust “The Original” from Picasso’s. Jarryd said that pizza doesn’t quite taste the same in Mexico City, so he slathered on the marinara, ranch and garlic butter before devouring about six slices of pizza.

The next day, Sunday, we planned to go to a BBQ joint in Deep Ellum that would only be open from 11am-3pm. We got there at 10:45am and already were 45 minutes deep in the line.  Even so, it was totally worth it to stop at the Pecan Lodge. Between the three of us, we got sides of mac ‘n cheese and individual dinner rolls, and then were able to try pork ribs, sausage, pulled pork and the beef brisket.  This place was highly rated both in Dallas and nationally, and we did not leave disappointed (or hungry).  However, we did manage to find just enough room for a piece of “Smooth Operator” (think French Silk with a pretzel crust) at Emporium Pies, which was conveniently located next door.

That night we attended a Mavericks basketball game against Anthony Davis (whoops, I mean the New Orelans Pelicans…after 36 points, it felt like “the Brow” was taking them all on my himself), and Jarryd was such a big fan of Picasso’s that we stopped there again after the game (just plain hamburger this time).

All-in-all, it was a great trip, and as I’m sure you can tell, we all left with new exercise, nutrition and weight-loss goals.  If you ever find yourself in Dallas for any reason, I’d have no problem recommending any of the food places we visit. Well worth the trip!

Logan

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