I always tell my little sister, hard work pays off. This past week her teacher gave her a certificate for perfect attendance. Also she called me and told me she did really well on her interim report card. Since my little sister is doing well in school I decided to treat her to a movie. On Saturday we went to see Beauty And The Beast in 3D. I think I was more excited than she was, but instead of the two of us going to the library to study, I told her since she’s doing well in school she deserves a treat. If you have time I think it’s important tojoin an organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters. It always makes me feel good to know I can put a smile on my little sisters face.

It’s that time again!  For the whole month of February, I will be giving you an up close and personal look at some of your favorite radio personalities in the Glass City.  First up is the host of Hot 97.3′s show  “Gimme My Shine”, Bigg Eddie Bauer.  Make sure you tune in to check him out, and all the other radio celebs on  Wednesdays at 6:30.

Restaurant Week Toledo should be called “Wake Up” week. I am as guilty as the next person hitting up fast food places and places I have been a million times for dinner. What we don’t often do is seek out the small local places that could be diamonds in the rough that we don’t even know about.
Here’s a link to just some of the stories we have done on restaurant week:

http://www.foxtoledo.com/generic/entertainment/restaurant-week-toledo-2012

I think this a great time to wake up and see what great, unique and ummm… great food options Toledo has to offer. So instead of being bummed when local places close, keep them open and your mind.

I just returned from my annual winter getaway to Mexico. This year I stayed further down the coast of the Mayan Riviera at a resort that sat between Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

Unlike most winter sun-seekers, my husband and I don’t just sit on the beach for a week. We both love history and culture, so we prefer to explore ancient Mayans ruins. Coba was among this year’s trek and it was amazing. It dates back to 100 BC!

Coba sits in the jungle and isn’t entirely restored and/or excavated. It also boasts the second largest Mayan pyramid, sitting 12 stories high! My husband climbed it. I chickened out.

We were also enthralled by the large monoliths throughout the ruins. This one in particular discusses the 2012 Mayan Prophecy. I don’t speak Mayan and I can rally read this stone… but our guide told us it describes something major happening on December 21, 2012. Some fear the end of the world. Others say it means the end of an era. Our guide says his people, the modern Maya, believe there will be an eclipse. I guess we’ll have to wait a few months and see.

February is kind of a weird month for a sports-aholic like me. I’m not a big winter sports nut, so pro basketball and hockey don’t get me excited.

But there is the Super Bowl, signaling the end of the football season, National Signing Day, which signals yet another season of college football to look forward to when it comes to your favorite school, and the start of spring training for baseball.

While I will be sad to see another NFL season come and go, the major-league baseball fan in me hopes my beloved Cleveland Indians will solve their first baseman problems long-term or find another nugget of talent in the farm system to round out their roster.

I’m also hoping the Ohio State football team can put their scandal-ridden past behind them once and for all and that new coach Urban Meyer restores a sense of responsibility and pride in the squad. It’s been exciting to follow the large number of verbal commitments he has secured so far, but nothing is guaranteed until recruits sign a national letter of intent.

Of course, on both fronts, “potential” will be the watch-word until the teams actually take the field. But it will be fun to follow the off-season action, as it always leads to an actual season which could prove to be an exciting one—much like last year, when the Tribe hit the ground running with a great record, then lost steam as injuries took their toll.

It’s just fun to be a fan, period.

If anyone knows me at all, they know that I love sugar.  I have a major sweet tooth.  At any rate, I saw this cupcake on Pinterest and thought that it looks very tasty, but also very easy to make.  Enjoy.  All you need is your regular chocolate cake recipe, Oreos, and Reese’s Pieces:

This morning I was browsing my friends’ Facebook posts, and ran across one of a girl I know who is looking into buying a puppy.  She said she had been

looking for weeks and hadn’t been able to find one.  It just made me think back on the experience I had when I adopted my fur child from a shelter last March .

Because my experience was such an enjoyable one, I think that shelter dogs will be the only dogs that I get in the future.  My little boy had been rescued from a puppy mill.  He is a full breed Miniature Schnauzer.  But he was going to be put to sleep by the operators of the mill because he has a little defect with his ear.  The rescuers said they aren’t sure if he was bitten by another dog, or what exactly happened.  But basically, he was almost killed because he wasn’t perfect in the mill operator’s eyes.  They told me that when they rescued my sweet boy, he had an infection and no hair on his ear at all.  But let me tell you, he was and still is GORGEOUS! And he is perfect.  It still makes me upset to think that there are people out there just after money, that have no regard for living creatures.  Apparently, this is something that happens all the time.  So if you get a shelter dog, you could be saving a life.  If that’s not rewarding I don’t know what is.

Needless to say, I gave this whole story to my friend on Facebook.  Hopefully she goes the shelter route when picking out her new best friend.

Throughout the week, I always am thinking to myself about random things. These random things usually turn into things I write short quotes or poems about. Here are a few random thoughts of mine, you can turn into your own.

“We are young, so why are we so concerned with finding our significant other? This person will enter our life when the time is right. Experience your youth, find who you are, make foundation for yourself whether that’s your education, career or location. After all these things have been defined and conquered, you will be ready to give your all to the one who is equally prepared.”

“Standards and being on one’s level are two different things. Standards are levels you set yourself or others to be at. Levels are how many standards you actually qualify for. Set your standards at the level you actually are.  So, when you meet someone – you get in return what you deserve. ”

“I believe there’s 3 sides to every story, yours, mine & the whole truth.”

I do certainly feel for the people who really look to make some serious money in a snowy winter. The guys who bank on snow plowing this time of year are probably not happy with what I am about to say, but I am loving this winter. Mild temperatures, 3 inches of snow maybe at one time and very little use of my shovel make me a happy man.
No blistering cold live shots standing on a highway. No wind piercing through your jacket as you shovel 3 feet of snow. And no throbbing back when you get back inside.
Now as I write this I bet Mother Nature is lining up a storm. But for the time being I am going to enjoy it and look forward to sunscreen weather which does not feel like that far away.

While the mild winter thus far has proved to be an economic bust for snow plowing companies, it sure is saving taxpayers and local governments some big bucks in salt and employee overtime. Those are just a couple of the benefits I can see from having a warmer-than-usual January.

Sorry, I’m not a fan of snow. I grew up in Northeast Ohio and saw my fair share, especially the blizzard of 1977 as a kid. My family lived on a hill. I’ve shoveled tons of the white stuff in my lifetime. I’m tired of it. Done. Finished. So I’m very delighted to only see an inch or two at a time that quickly melts.

Move to Florida or some other warmer climate, you say? Nah, I like Ohio and its people.

Our seasons may be a whole lot shorter compared to other regions, but, like many others, I want to stay close to family and friends. I’m a creature of routine, if you will. My early career took me out-of-state and if I can help it, I’m not going to leave again.

That’s not to say I won’t be the typical Ohioan and complain about the weather. Yes, we always know snow is going to happen, yet we whine and moan about it anyway. I guess it’s in our DNA.

But you won’t hear me complain about this winter to date. In fact, I’ve been able to get out and do some stuff on the weekends I probably wouldn’t do if I was shoveling instead. But I am worried about a possible repeat of what happened a few winters back, when we had a mild January. Old Man Winter buried us in late February and well into March. Spring seemed to take forever to finally arrive. Here’s hoping there’s no reprise this time.