The Children Are No Longer Animals… But I Could Use Some Help Anyway

In February I told you about a horrifying experience I had in a classroom full of rabid, blood thirsty first graders.  I am happy to say that I fully recovered from my physical and emotional injuries and have continued to teach the Math Superstars lesson to Ivan’s class every other week since that horrible day.

In the aftermath of this event I made some changes to my teaching style as well as my expectations of the angry mob, I mean, class.  As a result, teaching Math Superstars has become one of the most fulfilling parts of my week.  I have enjoyed getting to know Ivan’s classmates and am continually amazed at how their minds work as they continue to figure out the world around them.

The Winter Sounds and A FEST-A-VUUULLLL

Oddly Enough, Most People Slept Through The 8 AM Sunday Performer

There was a time in our lives when live music was a staple of our existence.  Living in Broad Ripple in Indianapolis without the responsibility of a child made it easy to satisfy my musical appetite.  It was common for me to walk to shows three or four nights a week and after a few years I almost took it for granted.  Likewise, Chris spent the bulk of her life in Houston where she took full advantage of a great big city music scene right in her own backyard.  These days we have to (gasp) drive to concerts if and when our busy schedules allow it.  As a result, the opportunities to see quality live music are fewer and further between.

This past week we were afforded the chance to capitalize on some great shows right here in the Upstate and we loved every minute of it.  

Spring Skunk 2.0

Four years ago this week my wife and I ventured to Hot Springs for the French Broad Music Festival.  We had been dating about four months and somewhere between the music, fun, and a bottle of whiskey, I used a certain four letter word that starts with “L” with her for the first time.  That festival is now an anniversary-type event for us and we have marked our calendar for the festival every year since.

Not this year, though. We have something better to do way closer to home. 

This weekend we will keep our fun in the Upstate as we spend the weekend at the Skunk Farm for the Albino Skunk Music Festival’s second annual Spring Skunk Fest.  If you live in The Upstate and do not call the underside of a rock your home, then surely you have heard of it. Heck, just by nature of visiting this website you should already know about Skunk Fest if you pay any attention to the sidebar on the right.

Chili Cook-Off Results...

So, we participated in the South Carolina Chili Cook-Off championship last week and I am finally ready to talk about it. It is with great pain and sadness that I have to announce that Chris's most amazing chili did not win the People's Choice Award.

There, I said it.

I am tempted to go on a rant about how the loss was an injustice of epic proportions.  I could also go on for days about how "popular" opinion often overlooks true quality in nearly every aspect the world around us.*  That would be bitter and a tad immature so I will save my sour grapes for some homemade wine and focus on good parts of the story. 

SC Chili Cook-Off Championship

Life is funny in the way that new discoveries and opportunities often present themselves out of nowhere.  In this case, what started as a simple trip to UPS opened the door to an adventure this Saturday that we are totally stoked about.

A couple of months ago I stopped by our local UPS store to get prices on shipping a bunch of Big Daddy’s hot sauce to us from Texas.  Our intent was to procure enough sauce to sell to our friends and neighbors in order to share an amazing Texas flavor with our Upstate community.  As luck would have it, however, the manager of the store is a hot sauce aficionado and committee member for the SC Chili Cook-Off Championship.  Thirty minutes and a bottle of High On Fire later and he invited us to set up shop at the event in Belton on April 14^th.

Let’s Catch Up…

By my math it has been over month since we last posted on this website.  Surely you have spent the majority of this time impatiently refreshing the page, losing sleep, and probably not even leaving your house for fear that you might miss the next tale from The Upstate Under Your Nose.  This is an unhealthy way to live and we sincerely apologize for your suffering.

What can we do to make it up to you?

I suppose we will start with an explanation… we were abducted by aliens.  Seriously, Chris and I were on a hike minding our own business and all of a sudden there was a huge flash of light and we were sucked into a strange alien space craft.  We were surrounded by little green men that do not look anything like the sketches people in trailer parks describe when they get abducted.  These guys looked more or less like us but with extra thumbs and less hair. Call it evolution, if you will.

12 in 2012

One of the best things about my “jobs” is the variety of people I meet.  Customers in the construction industry are always unique, the staff and clientele at Summa Joe’s are beyond amazing and my Mr. Mom adventures always lead me to something new and different. 

Enter Daniel McCord.

I met Daniel at The Community Tap where he is a part time beer slinger.  He loves good beer just a bit more than most anyone you know and he is tailor made for this position. Like myself though, he cannot be defined by his part time job regardless of how cool it is.  He is a former Michelin engineer turned language teacher, beer connoisseur, blogger, kickass t-shirt maker and most importantly – artist.