Beer Thursday @ Yazoo

Yazoo - Beer & Cheese
Originally uploaded by crashmattb

Well, Jill and I are leaving tomorrow for our weekend in Georgia, but me thinks I'll be sticking to the weekly routing and going to Yazoo after work today. As great as the weather has been all week, I could use a lazy evening in the Yazoo Courtyard with a tasty HOP Project in hand.

As for this weekend, we're heading to Georgia mainly for my 10 year high school reunion, which is Saturday. Of course, we've been planning around this for a while now so that we could also have our annual "birthday weekend" get together since my sister (6/14), mom (6/30) and I (6/24) all celebrate our birthdays this month. With Jill showing a bit more and more as the baby continues to grow (peach size at this stage), it should be fun to see everyone for a few hours and catch up. As for the blogging about my 10 year, I'll save that for after because I really have no idea what to expect at this point.

Happy 25th Birthday, Valerie!!

Today, June 14th is my "baby" sister's 25th birthday, and since I've decided to stay up into the wee hours of the night to work on photos and my blog, I figured I should go ahead and post this now. She's had a rough couple of years battling Crohn's Disease, but after a successful surgery a few months back, she's on her way to living a little more comfortable. Happy Birthday, Val! Love you!

Griffin Employee Photos...in 30 Seconds!

Griffin Technology
A few weeks back our staff photographer was tasked with photographing all of the Griffin Technology employees for the soon-to-be-developed "Griffin Directory". Each of us got a chance to be somewhat serious in some photos, while goofing off in the rest. Here is the short 30-second video showing a majority of the people who participated. And look for two of my photos to show up around the 19-second mark. Enjoy!

Weekend Forecast: Rain, Humidity & Lots of Heat

Rain Drops II
Originally uploaded by crashmattb

It's Friday shortly after noon, and the rain is pouring down here in Nashville. Lord knows we need it, so no complaints from me, although those attending Bonnaroo several miles down the road may think otherwise. Of course, what's a weekend music fest in a field without some rain and mud parties. Party on!

Wednesday: Recovery Day

Bleeding for Photography
Originally uploaded by crashmattb

Today, like many other Wednesday over the last couple of weeks, has been my recovery day. You see, I spend my Tuesday evenings reliving my old ballgame glory days by playing softball for 3+ hours for the company team. It all begins with 2 very competitive back to back men's games, followed by a 3rd coed game. By the end of the night I'm not only worn out, but I usually have plenty of scrapes and bruises to show off since I still think sliding and diving is easy to do. My mind says go, but my body definitely reminds me that I'm approaching 30 instead of 20, and even Jill likes to put her 2 cents in about my age. Not that 28 (soon to be) is really old at all, but my body does have a harder time recovering from the Tuesday night punishment I dish out. It's all in fun, though, so I will probably keep this up at least until the season ends in 5 weeks.

BTW, this photo is actually of another incident not involving softball, but in a way it all fits in with my ability to live up to the "Crash" nickname. Later.

UPDATE:

I forgot to mention that I wasn't the only Barnes injured in the softball-palooza yesterday. I actually managed to hit Jill (accidentally, of course) with a softball that I threw from left field. After over-throwing our 3rd baseman, it somehow managed to sneak through the gate and tag Jill on the right leg close to her knee while she was sitting down keeping our score sheet. So, make sure to wish her the best in her recovery when you get a chance because I'll be hearing about it for at least the next 6 months. :-)

First Blog...Here We Go!!

Yes, it's official. I'm actually making an effort to create a blog. I've posted somewhere around 49 blogs on MySpace, and it's done alright, but I'm thinking this version on Blogger will be much easier to share. And since I'm only a few months away from becoming a father for the first time I think this will be a great way to post updates, photos and such. So, stay tuned...all 2 or 3 of you. Wish me luck!