Jump Around

Happy to get an extra day this year. Wishing everyone a HAPPY LEAP DAY!!!

To Eat healthy or Eat Happy?

Give up Bread? Meat? Pasta? To eat healthy or to eat happy... That is the question. I love to eat.
I love to eat GREAT food, and a lot of the times they are not always the same.

Ever since my DRs appointment / Yearly check-up last October, I’ve been trying to do better. Less sugar.
Less carbs. Less meat. Overall I’m happy and healthier as far as weight – 10 Lbs lighter!! Waiting for
my results on my last round of blood work to see how my cholesterol and sugar levels are doing.

Throw in my regiment of exercise and I think I’m doing pretty GREAT for a 41 year old guy.
I like the way my body is looking.

I do splurge and like my dirty Mexican whenever I can get away with it!! At least I realize it’s all about
moderation and making sure I don’t fall down that slippery slope (and not be able to get up because I’m too fat!!).

Running to Stand Still (Palm Springs)

With a long weekend approaching, we decided to get out of town. A few places had been talked about,
but the best idea was to get away to Palm Springs. To eat some great food, lay by the pool, and have
some drinks… All of which sound awesome!!!

With a hotel (by priceline) booked, the car gased up, and a small bag (or FOUR!) packed, we were off.
Living in San Diego, I haven never been out to the desert. Which is weird since I actually love the
idea of the desert and there is a LOT to do out there... More than I even imagined!

Our hotel, a recently renovated Holiday Inn, now named The Saguaro, is a brightly painted and fun
place to stay, decorated like a Pantone book full of colors. We were on the first level with a sliding
glass door leading directly to the pool area. Did I mention the bar poolside? And food delivery to
the pool as well? Well, we took advantage of both! I wish it was warmer while we were there (only
the low 70’s) but we still sat out poolside and used the hot tub each night too.



We had dinner at Trio, an upper scale American restaurant, that had a relaxed ambience and a romantic feel.
It was packed and we didn’t have reservations so we had a wait about 40 minutes. Even the bar was packed
but I discovered why… cheap drinks!! The food and service was spectacular. Tasia had the Sea Bass and I
had the 5-Cheese Mac & Cheese (both were GREAT!!). We even splurged for desert! Definitely worth the wait
LINK

The next morning we had breakfast at Cheekys, a fun monkey-themed breakfast & brunch restaurant.
The food was good but pricey. LINK

Afterwards we drove out to the tram and took it to the Aerial Tram from the desert floor, up 8500+ feet
to the mountain lodge. From 75 degrees to 32 degrees in 10 minutes. Snow and ice covered everything
and the cold, COLD wind was blowing through! Still fun and an overall great experience. LINK



Afterwards was a full day at the pool. The next day we drove back through the mountains and had a blast!!
The High-Desert is GORGEOUS and very serene. Like another world! A great get-away and road trip,
providing a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend in every way.

Pictures HERE

Who Cares What I'm Interested In…???

So, a good friend of mine bugged and bugged me to join Pinterest and I was like
“Why should I?” and “Who cares what I’m interested in?”, but I finally caved
and accepted the invite.

Not that I am on there everyday, but it’s interesting to see what people post on there.
I have a lot of friends that are designers and I like to see what cool designs, great
advertising, and fun art they want to share with the world wide web. Add in great
photography, food, architecture, animals and pretty much ANYTHING that you
can think of, and you have Pinterest.

And what makes me think my pins are interesting or anyone would care what I put
on there? I don’t care and I have fun doing it, so put a pin in it.

If you wanna know what I think is cool CLICK HERE

Reviews & Rewinds

As the month of January flew by and I sit here looking into February and the upcoming months, working on
updating my life (socially, creatively, mentally), I cannot grasp how quickly it all goes by and if you don't
slow down and enjoy it, you may miss out or regret things you didn't do. I know I have said that I never want
to regret NOT doing something, instead happy I tried it or did it, even if I was tired the next day or
hated doing it (after the fact).

Trying to make some plans for the upcoming year - long term, that is. Obviously, fiscally it's expensive here
in SD (as we all know now that Chuckles is leaving his home and moving to Michigan) and I, like most wish I was
making more money. I work on brining in freelance work to supplement my income. Actually, I work EXTREMELY
hard to promote my company visualHYPE (www.vhype.com) through networking, other designers & companies,
and online. Speaking of which, I’m almost done with the re-design of my website. It’s been 6 year since the debut
of it. I felt it needed a fresh face applied to it and I am EXTREMLY happy with the way it is shaping up. Throw in
my new business cards & collateral, and I am a self-marketing machine!

My plan to be more creative has gotten off to a slow start. I have been drawing in my journal but art projects
& photos have been slow coming. Must make more of an effort… starting NOW!

Next month (March) will be a year in the new place. It’s weird to think of how much has changed in that year too.
The house is coming along nicely, with the new furniture set that was purchased at the end of December, we were
able to get rid of a bunch of stuff in the garage. This will now allow me to set up my art workshop out there.

The weather has been good. We have had a very mild winter, which is a bummer since I like my winters wet
(and my summers hot). It will be great to get back to Daylight Savings (March 11) with the longer days coming.
I always feel like I get more out of my day, especially with work getting busier and going to the gym after work.
I want to get out and ride my bike some more too!

Speaking of exercise, I broke my toe back in January but felt I healed quickly. I’m almost out of the 6-8 week
fully healed time period. Not that my toe slowed me down much. I still work hard at working out, and have been
eating better. I’ve lost weight since my yearly check-up in October… Almost 10 pounds!! I have another check
up I need to schedule to see how everything is going with my cholesterol and sugar.

Excited about these upcoming things / plans for the year:
• Trip to Disneyland
• Trip to the Wild Animal Park (or whatever it is called now)
• Trip to Palm Springs
• Trip to San Francisco
• Trip to Costa Rica
• Return of the Memorial Day BBQ
• Return of Mad Men & Game of Thrones
• More Foo Fighters shows
• And other concerts too!
• Cirque du Soleil
• 4th of July party
• Comic-Con
• Staying Healthy
• Art, Art, and more Art
• Photos too!!
• Loving & Living Life

End over End

I can't believe it's over… The 2011-2012 NFL season that is. Actually MY season ended back in December
when the Chargers belly-flopped and didn't make the playoffs. BUT as always, I rally and get excited for the
playoffs. My 2 picks were the San Francisco 49ers (sorry Jim) and the New England Patriots. So the Pats
made it and faced the Giants, and underperformed in a way that I still cannot describe. I have a little more
respect for ELI after his 2nd ring (which means I can his name without saying FUCKING in front of it).
I tip my cap to the New York Football Giants and a job well done.

As anyone that knows me though… knows it's all about the commercials. This year I thought there was a lot
of great commercial which is nice for a change.Being an Ad Man, it's the time of the year that spotlights my
profession and brings out the Best (and Worst) in TV ads.

So I present you with my TOP 10 Super Bowl Ads of 2012:

10. Career Builder - 2012
They brought back the guy from the Original CB commercial & the chimps of course.

09. Budweiser - Eternal Optimism
I liked it and was stoked to hear The Cult / Flo Rider mash up.

08. Chevrolet - Happy Grad / Chevy Silverado - 2012
Chevy received a Cease and Desist letter from Ford over the 2012 commercial
Read Here

07. Doritos - Man's Best Friend
Funny. Very Funny… "You Didn't See Nuthin"

06. Chrysler - Halftime in America
Sure, it was a little preachy and sounded like a Republican Ad but I like Clint doing the VO and
the message was on target.

05. Samsung Tab - Thing Called Love
Sure, it's a stab at my beloved Apple but I have to call it like I see it. A great commercial that rocks!
Read About it HERE

04. Avengers - Movie Trailer
"I have an Army. We have a Hulk"… Classic!

03. Acura - Transactions
Jerry still has it. And IT is funny!!!!

02. Bud Light - Rescue Dog
Here We Go!!!

01. Kia Optima - A Dream Car. For Real Life.
I saw this commercial and knew it would be hard to beat. The Car companies drop a LOT of cash for these but
a simple, cerebral, soul-felt commercial gets you overtime…. Plus it had Motley Crue so there you go!

See all the Commercial HERE