Hudy A blog about all things Hudy...

Living in Milwaukee for a few years and within 15 miles from their the rest of my life you would think that I would have done this before, but it took 28 years for me to get out and get this one done.

My buddy Paul and I went to the Lakefront Brewery for the tour.  Paul had been there before so he knew it would be a good tour.  For $7 you get about a 45 minute tour, 4 beers and a Lakefront Brewery pint glass, pretty good deal if you ask me.

Our trip was on the Carnival Legend to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Roatan and Belize!

I wasn't quite sure I was going to get this goal accomplished because there are only so many times that we could go, but it actually worked out great and we were able to go this past week.  For anyone contemplating going on a cruise, I would say, "Go for it!"  It was alot of fun and I would definitely go on another one.  One suggestion that I would say is to make sure you get to the city the day before.  We had some troubles trying to get there - our first flight was delayed 2 hours which then we would have missed our connection so we flew into another city and when we were leaving there a stewardess came on the loud speaker and said we didn't have a pilot, which they later found.

There were so many things to do while we were on the ship - Relax, sit at the pool, eat good food, explore the ship, sit in the sun, eat good food, go to the shows, eat good food, did I mention you can visit the buffet whenever you wanted?  They even has a midnight snack buffet for those needing it.

The advice I got from a veteran cruiser on the ship on the first day was, "Ease into the buffet, don't overdo it the first day."  Well, I didn't... I dove right in from the first day and didn't look back and it was well worth the calories :-)

We went on 3 different excursions - a Deluxe Beach Bash, Catamaran ride to a snorkeling location, and a Eco-Park Jungle Kayak trip.  Here are a few pictures from those days.

So I have been working on this goal a bit, which is turning out to be pretty fun - I found a great site that has a 6 week schedule to follow.  It is www.hundredpushups.com

I am currently starting week 4 of 6, hopefully I will make it through and be able to finish them all.  One thing about the above link is that when I finish the 100 push ups I can get to put a little graphic on my blog to say I did it!  Pretty cool, I know.

I had heard from Matt that this race, the Cristie Clinic Illinois Marathon, was a pretty good one, well organized, good swag, decent medal, and plenty of port-o-potties!  And to my amazement each one of those things was right.

Well this came as a complete surprise for me as I was about 2 weeks before my second marathon in 6 weeks (third marathon overall).

Crazylegs, for those of you that don't know, is a 8K (4.97 miles) race in Madison that is held every year. It draws roughly 20,000 runners!! It is an awesome run to be a part of because of all the people and for the great course and finish. You run all through downtown Madison, starting at the Capitol and ending at the 50 yard line at Camp Randall Stadium.

I had ran Crazylegs 2 other times and had not really gotten close to 40 minutes, but I knew it would be possible especially with all the running I had been doing.  Matt, Andrew and I started together at a pretty decent pace (we got to the first mile marker in 7:30) and we were able to keep the pace going throughout the next 4 miles.  I didn't really think it was going to be for sure until I got to the 4th mile and had enough time to even slow down to a 10 minute mile and still come pretty close.

Needless to say I finished under 40 minutes, 38:17 to be exact!  That is going to be a tough one to beat.

We have lived in our house for almost a year now and other than having our house warming party and inviting our neighbors to that, we have not had them over yet.  I guess a good excuse was that we just moved in and then it was winter after that, so everyone pretty much hibernates for that if you are in the northern part of the US like us - that is why we have these.  But now it is the spring so we finally decided to have them over.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to verify this event, but I know that it won't be the first time we have them over, so I can post pictures another time. 
We had a great time hanging out and just catching up with them.  They are our age and have a big fluffy dog named Bernard.  I usually get to see all of them outside a few times a week during the warmer months while we are all doing yard work.  I think this weekend we may even do some tree trimming together.  If we are lucky we will get some pictures of that!

I have wanted to serve at a food pantry type place for a while and always kept putting it off or never really acted on it, so I added it to my goals and that got me more involved... Well, to be honest, Angie told me about a week before we served that we were going to do it, I really had no hand in the planning of it, but I was there none the less.

We served at the Hope Center in Waukesha.  I mostly went around pouring drinks and clearing plates and cleaning up the hour and a half I was there, but boy is it a treat to be able to serve in that capacity.  There were probably about 75 or so people of all ages that where there taking part in the dinner.  There were a few I recognized from around town here.  I would highly recommend finding a local pantry or kitchen to serve, it will be just as rewarding for you as it is for them. 

There were some really great people there that would be great to get to know a bit more, some, despite their situations, really seemed to have a love for life and the people in their lives.  It is a good reminder to be thankful for what we have and to not expect things handed to up on a silver platter.

If you want to learn more about the Hope Center in Waukesha you can visit their website to find out more info.

It's hard to think back to May 24th of 2009, it seems so long ago.  That was when I completed my first marathon in Madison.  It was a hard finish but I had alot of support keeping me going, my family, friends, my wife, and a good friend Andrew.  We ran the whole race together, start to finish and when I finally did cross the finish line there was such a sense of accomplishment for me and all the emotions leading up to it that I can actually say I got a little misty eyed.  Despite the great emotions from the race, I decided because I felt so tired and sore and altogether pooped, that I was never going to do another one...  

Fast forward to March 27th and that is when I finished my second marathon and am already signed up for my third - crazy stuff. 

I felt 20x better finishing this one than I did finishing Madison and I had Andrew and Matt as running partners the entire way.  It was alot of fun, albeit not a great race if you are expecting lots of spectators to cheer for you.  I think I saw about 10 - 15 spectators the entire time we were out there.

There are many things that I am learning about owning my first home - #1 Craigslist is one of my best friends, #2 my neighbors can be a close second, and last but not least, #3 anyone that gives us something for free trumps the above two and goes straight to the top of the list, especially if it is an outside tool that can make my life alot easier!!

Angie and I have received a lawn mower from my grandparents, who they got from their neighbor because he we going to get rid of it, so my grandparents thought of us and with a little help from my grandpa and a little TLC, we got it up and running.  The second item, which I nick-named "Red Bull" is pictured above and I think is the best free tool that I have received so far!  We got it from Angie's parents all the way from Lake Crystal, MN and Angie's mom was so very gracious to have it in her trunk for the 6 or so hour drive - Thanks Susan and Jim!!  They gave it us in AS-IS condition, which was, if you can get it running, you can have it.  Unfortunately I waited until after I shoveled 3 days of super heavy wet snow to try to fix old "Red", but it only took a few hours or tinkering and I got it running - I will have to say, I shouted for joy even louder than the snow blower (Angie can attest to that :-).  I was able to get a few good runs in it before the snow stopped and am excited for next years powder - Bring it on old man winter!!!   Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!

Say Cheese!  I don't know how many times I have driven past the Mars Cheese Castle and thought to myself, 'Boy, that would be fun to go to'.  Well, the day finally arrived - Angie and I were headed down to Chicago to pick up my Mom from her friend's house and Angie noticed it and said, "Isn't that on your goals list?"  I was so excited, I swerved across 2 lanes of traffic just to get off the freeway in time. 
So I bet you are wondering - "How was it?" Well, to be honest, think of a cross between Elegeant Farmer and Freeway Quickie Mart and you got it.  They had similar stuff like Elegeant Farmer, but it all seemed to be all 50% off because it was all out dated. 
All in all, it is another goal off the list and another goal closer to the 101.

Thanks for the reminder Angie!!



Here I am signing the official Mars Cheese Castle Guest Book!

To preface this, I really like Pink Floyd and The Wall and the Dark Side of the Moon are great disks in my opinion.

This was another one of those things that I have always heard of but never tried myself - "Watching the Wizard of Oz" while playing Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon".  To be honest it wasn't as cool as I thought it would be although I counted about 7 or 8 times during the movie/disk that the scenes really did seem to go together pretty well, the best being at the very end of the "DSotM" there is a heart beating sound and that is right when Dorothy and the Scare Crow find the Tin Man and he taps on his chest.  (Spoiler alert - He is the one that gets a heart from the Wizard).  Thanks Andrew for getting both the DVD and CD from the library for our enjoyment!

Anyway, it was a fun goal to get done, but I am more looking forward to the other movies on my list, those being "The God Father" movies and the "Star Wars" movies.

This past weekend I completed in the second annual Instep Icebreaker Indoor Marathon and Half Marathon - I did the half marathon.  Matt told me about the race last year and I told him he was nuts for doing it and that I would never want to do it, well I ate those words.  It was actually a great race and a well managed event.  You can't beat having water stations and bath rooms at every quarter mile, plus the weather is a perfect 55 degrees!  You can see my Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel debut here.

Here are a few other pictures from the race as well.

Have you ever stopped and thought about how faithful God has been to you?

I know I have shot past the idea or thought about it for a minute or two and thought, "Wow, God is Faithful!"  and then went along with my day.  Not saying that is bad or anything, I think it is good to realize His faithfulness, but it is even better to really ponder it and grasp how faithful He is.

What really got me thinking about this was this past Sunday's sermon at Crossroads Church, "Making Moving Memorials", which you can actually listen to here.  At any event, Pastor Steve got me thinking and he had a call to action to come up with a list (you know I like lists ;-) of times or events when God was faithful and He made a difference in my life.

Here are a few that come to my mind (not exhaustive, or in any particular order)

1.  Meeting and then marrying my wife Angie - I met her at a Bible Camp that I was invited to serve at by another friend of mine, the rest is history :-)







2.  Fixing computer/programming problems - this may seem odd but I can't tell you how many times I have struggled with a problem at work on the computer and I prayed to God about it and miraculously He fixes it or gives me some sort of knowledge to solve the problem - may sound crazy, but it's true!

3.  Giving me my job - So many things just fell into place for me to get the job where I am now, even while I was still in school, I could say more, but will bear you the details.

4.  Meeting the great group of friends I have now - in fact it really all started for me on 9/11, we had a group of folks at the place I was working at at the time have a prayer time during lunch and that is when I met Paul, who later became my best man in my wedding and who introduced me to some other awesome guys.


The list can go on and on.  The point is God IS Faithful - we need to remember that and we need to share that with others as well.

How has God been faithful to you?

This past week went by in quite a blur but there were a few exciting parts about it, one being that Angie and I got invited to go out with my sister and brother-in-law for a Buffalo Wild Wings/Nintendo Wii double date.  Angie had been wanting to go to BW3's for a while so this worked out great!  I got the Mango Habanero wings - perfect mix of sweet and spicy.

Afterward, we went to their house and played Super Mario for Wii - that was AWESOME!  It brought me back to the good old days!  They really did a good job of combining the good things of each game.  We had a fun time and I will admit there was high fiving going on when we beat the first Koopa Castle.

photo by Peter Kaminski

I decided to create this list of goals after hearing about a friend of mine, Matt, told me that he had created a list for himself.  After a few months of saying, "Yeah, I am going to do it, I finally got my act together and came up with my own list.  You may see a few similar items between our list, but that is just because he has such great goals.  Andrew, another one of my buddies, also decided to create a list for himself as well, and you can find that  list here.

Feel free to leave a comment, joke, or otherwise communicate about these goals - I am really looking forward to these next 1001 days!

I will be posting as I get the goals complete - in fact just starting this blog again, helps me with #59, my first completed goal.

Disclaimer: All goals are subject to change and can be modified/replaced at my discretion.

Home/Tasks
1. paint the block on the outside of the house
2. patch the ceiling in the kitchen
3. paint our hallway
4. plant a tree or bushes
5. add shelves/shelving to the garage
6. install a new door in the basement
7. paint our second bedroom - COMPLETED 4/8/2010 ✓
8. learn how to sweat copper
9. fix the leak in the fridge - COMPLETED 9/29/2010 ✓
10. fix the snow blower - COMPLETED 2/11/2010 ✓
11. get life insurance
12. stain the deck- COMPLETED 7/3/2010 ✓
13. trench the downspout in the back yard
14. install a check valve for the sump pump

Fitness/Health
15. run a second half marathon - COMPLETED 1/23/2010 ✓
16. run a second full marathon - COMPLETED 3/27/2010 ✓
17. run a sub 40 minute Crazy Legs 8K - COMPLETED 4/24/2010 ✓
18. run a third marathon - COMPLETED 5/1/2010 ✓
19. do 100 consecutive push-ups
20. do 100 sit-ups
21. go on a 50 mile bike ride
22. ride from Milwaukee to La Crosse (@ 215 miles)
23. do a biathlon
24. go on a back packing trip
25. ride the "Race the Lake" bike race - COMPLETED 8/22/2010 ✓
26. go mountain biking 3 times
27. get up water skiing on one ski
28. go without Fast Food for 3 months
29. go canoeing with Jon
30. ride my bike to church
31. go X-Country skiing at Lapham Peak
32. drink 64oz of water a day for a week
33. run a half marathon with my mom

Spiritual
34. memorize the 60 topical memory verses
35. read all 66 Books of the Bible
36. read 3 Spiritual books COMPLETED 9/15/10 ✓
37. Go to the "No Regrets" Conference - COMPLETED 2/6/10 ✓
38. Invite someone to church
39. go on a 24 hour fast
40. make a list of 101 things I am thankful for

Places to Go/Visit
41. go to a Packers game
42. go to the Milwaukee Art Museum
43. skate at the Petit Center
44. take a trip to Paris to see Tina and Bruno
45. go on a cruise with Angie - COMPLETED 6/13/10 ✓
46. go to a Brewers game
47. go to 4 new Restaurants
       1) Mr B's - awesome steak and potatoes 7/24/10
       2) Ryan Braun's - great appetizers and bread 10/12/10
       3) Cempazuches - good authentic mexican food, great salsa, rice and bean 10/29/10
       4) Generations at 5 Points - awesome tapas restaurant, recommend the Baked Brie 3/12/11
48. go on a Brewery Tour - COMPLETED 6/4/10 ✓
49. go to Mars Cheese Castle - COMPLETED 2/27/10 ✓
50. go on 6 camping trips
       1) Lake Wissota - 8/13/10
51. go to Milwaukee Public Market
52. visit the Creation museum
53. visit 6 different custard stands/restaurants
54. go to Noah's Ark
55. go on a day trip to Devil's Lake
56. visit Angie's aunt and uncle in St. Louis
57. go for a walk in Whitnall park
58. go to Lake Geneva
59. ride the train to Chicago

Personal
60. resume my blog - COMPLETED 1/11/10 ✓ 
61. read 6 books
62. learn 3 songs on guitar
63. Relearn the State Capitals
64. Ride my bike to work at least once - COMPLETED 7/20/10 ✓
65. Don't listen to morning talk shows on my way to work for a week straight - COMPLETED 10/22/2010 ✓
66. connect with someone from grade school (Star of Bethlehem)
67. cut my own hair 3 times - COMPLETED 7/1/2010 ✓
68. go fishing
69. build something with wood - COMPLETED 11/13/2010 ✓
70. write a letter/email to a political figure
71. get up 1/2 hour early before work for a week

Professional
72. go to a work related seminar/class -COMPLETED 2/3/10  ✓
73. learn a new technology

For Fun
74. Learn 5 fun facts about Waukesha and share them with someone
75. Watch Matt Weis eat a whole jug of goldfish
76. build a 1000 piece puzzle
77. have a pizza delivered - COMPLETED 3/27/2010 ✓
78. watch the Godfather movies
79. watch The Wizard of Oz along with Dark Side of the Moon - COMPLETED 2/19/10 ✓
80. rent a Paddle boat on the Fox River
81. watch the Star Wars Movies
82. beat Super Mario Bros. (for the second time)
83. Host a "Guys' Night" - COMPLETED 11/6/10 ✓
84. get a Decemberists CD from the library
85. go sledding

Relationships
86. Take Angie to a play/musical
87. edit our wedding video together
88. make 15 dinners for Angie
89. visit my grandparents in New Berlin not around a holiday
90. buy Angie 5 surprise gifts
91. wake up early and make breakfast for Angie
92. take my niece and nephew out for ice cream
93. have my niece and nephew over for a sleepover
94. watch my sister and brother-in-laws kids for them for an evening
95. interview my grandparents 
96. invite our neighbors over - COMPLETED 4/17/2010 ✓
97. serve at a Food Pantry/Soup Kitchen - COMPLETED 4/9/2010 ✓
98. help a friend with a home project
99. do 5 dates nights with Angie
100. go out with my Brother-in-Law

Because I Can
101. Celebrate finishing goals