Surrey's Cafe and Juice Bar was my second stop. When we were in Louisiana for our Filleo Project I found it necessary to go to down town New Orleans and locate a triple D Guy place. I wanted to go to this amazing smoke house with smoked ribs, pork, and they make their own smoked salad dressing. But, they were closed on Sundays. So, we went to Surrey's. I am a huge breakfast guy. It is my favorite meal. So, Surrey's stood out to me with it being mainly a breakfast joint.
They are known for their home made bagels. Bagels are a must have for breakfast I think. I literally almost eat them every single day for breakfast. I especially love them with eggs and cream cheese. I always have to order what a triple D restaurant is known for.
But, Surrey's is known for especially their locks and bagels. They rub their salmon the morning before they serve it. They let it soak in a brown sugar rub that smells amazing. I have never had locks before but I figured it was salmon and should be good. I received my food and honestly was kind of bummed because the slice of salmon they put on the bagel was very thin and not too much. Well, you know me the amount is half the battle. So, my experience was a 6 out of 10. Just the 6 alone was because the home made bagel was extremely good. Ohhh I loved that bagel. The locks tasted good, but not amazing, maybe because I did not have enough.
All in all, it was another good adventure and I look forward to the next. I have a picture of us inside, but not outside, bummer.
Alright alright just to start off saying I had a great idea. Save $55 for grooming and make Maddie "pretty" with Katie.
Well, I wish I could end there and say cutting Maddie's hair was all good and something everyone should do. Fail Fail Fail Fail... Yes, I completely failed at this one.
For one, it kept raining for two weeks and I could not get the right weather and time down to get it done. Two, well it ended up being a travesty. I used people hair clippers from Meijer that kept on sticking in her poodle-like hair. Just to, somewhat, buzz one side of her took 45 minutes. So, I took some scissors and started grabbing chunks of hair and cutting it off. That was going well until I realized on some parts of her body I was going too short. She was a champ through this whole process. She never cried or whimpered and stayed in one spot for mommy and daddy. Hair was going everywhere outside and the sun was giving me a sunburn. We used a shop vac to get the hair off the deck.
I stopped cutting her hair about one hour and a half in when I accidentally was using the scissors and cut Maddie's skin. You would not realize how sad and hurt I was that. I was so sad that I did that. After all that hard work we still did not trim her stomach and her feet. Right now she looks like she has big furry slippers on. I decided that I could spend $55 every 4 months for grooming. It was sooooo hard. I advise no one to ever try it at home. A good groomer is the way to go. Katie and I at least learned that there are things that we should just pay for and not try to be frugal on. As of right now Maddie looks like I took a lawn mower to her and she came out with furry slippers, s short haired face, a very hairy neck, and all kinds of uneveness. We are taking her to the groomers on Wednesday to get fixed up. We waited to take her because her daddy was so clumsy as to cut her and it needs to heal first. I check her 10 times a day to clean it out and make sure she is alright. Gosh it was a bad idea...Here are some pics of her long hair, then her bad hairdo, and then what it should look like from a groomers hands, with a bow.
On planes I see a great opportunity to get to know some one next to me. Now, I feel out the situation to see if the person wants to sleep, read a book, listen to music, or just not want to be bothered. I do not like to be a nuisance, but more of a friend.
Well, since we do take so many flights I like to utilize this time to come to know others. My first story of Living to Love was our trip last year to San Francisco to play San Jose before Barcelona. Walking onto the plane I realized I was going to sit next to a blind man. Well, this was quite the experience should I say.
His name was Robert Powers and lived in an assisted living house hold. He did some things on the side in order to make the little money that he had. Robert was a very alert man. I was curious to ask him questions about being blind as I have never had a conversation with a blind man before. With the first question I said, after opening introductions, "Is one of your senses heightened?"
Robert said yes he can hear and feel movement even at the slightest. He could tell me when the wheels were coming off the runway for take-off, when the rudders were moving, and when we were turning even the smallest degree. It was actually pretty amazing. I then asked him, "How about with people, can he see what people are really like on the inside?"
He said oh yes that is the biggest one. He can tell if someone is timid, genuine, scared, nervous, etc... just by either a hand shake or the tone of their voice. He can tell who someone really is beneath all those clothes, flesh, and fake-ness. I asked him if it discouraged him to see others for who they really are.
He said No. At first it makes you very mad because of how people treat others just because the color of their skin, they talk different, or from another country. He said I found myself often with those that were mistreated or looked down upon. Not only because I was one of them, but because I could not "see" what others saw. He grew up in Minnesota and joined a black church singing in the choir. Robert is a white man by the way. He told me of how sad he grew from being mad at others to being sad for them. He was sad that they looked and saw others through their physical eyes so much. He wished for others to not look so much with their eyes, but with their heart. He said, " Most people are good Jed, they just see too much"...I started laughing because that had to have been the greatest quote I have ever heard.
The last question I had for him was if he wished he could see again?
Robert replied, "No I do not wish, it would be fun to see God's creation of nature and humans with my physical eyes, but I see so much already I do not know what I would do with eyes" Talk about a wise man, right?
Robert and I had so much fun for 4 hours. I let him listen to my ipod and he especially loved a song by T-pain called "Buy you a drank". I laughed so hard because he asked me to turn it on, I counted, at least 9 times. He started singing it by the end of the flight. He probably had 3 beers the whole flight and got a little tipsy. He had all one's in his wallet, because obviously he could not get scammed. Adam Moffat sat in front of us and myself and Adam helped Robert walk down to baggage claim to meet his brother with whom he was staying with for a week. I laughed so much and learned so much from a man sitting next to me on a plane.
I absolutely love Guy Fieri's show "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. "I love those unknown restaurants that have amazing food. I have a few hobbies that I adore. The first is disc golf/ frisbee golf/ or frolf. I love going out in the woods and throwing a disc around. It is way shorter to play only being an hour and a half most of the time compared to real golf being at least a few hours. The second is my non profit which I love to do so much. I am blessed to be able to do many things I love: be a husband, play disc golf, spend my time working on my non profit Filleo, play with my dog Maddie, etc...
But, this one is up there and that is traveling around visiting the same restaurants Guy visited on his show. The first one I ever did was In early December of last year and it was to O'Rourke's Diner. This place actually burnt to the ground a few years ago and it was so good that the city helped raise funds to rebuild it. Brian O'rourke was taught to cook by his father and it is an on going legacy. It is in Middletown, Connecticut and is quite amazing. Check out the website http://www.orourkesdiner.com/
We visited last December and walked in and were seated pretty quickly, thank God because it is freezing in December in CT. We sat at the counter and Brian walked over to me and introduces himself and I ask him how he knows me. He says, "I know everything that goes on in my house." I then heard my step dad telling another waiter who I was.
I ordered this amazing eggs florentine with corn beef hash. They are known for their corn beef hash which they make everyday and let soak in the amazing juices for the next day. This corn beef hash, which I have never had before, was sooo good. I thoroughly enjoyed this food so much. A lot of my experiences at restaurants has to do with food quantity since I burn so many calories. Well, the plate was a great size-more than enough to fill me up.
The best part was how Brian would just sneak by unannounced and place a homemade scone in front of us. He not only did it to us, but for a lot of others. The service was amazing, the hospitality was exquisite, and the food just as expected, awesome. I give this experience a 9 out of 10. Here are a couple pics.
"Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters."
-John Wooden
This quote struck me very much, not because I am a follower of Jesus so much, but that John Wooden is not necessarily an out spoken believer in Jesus. For a man that probably achieved more of his goals than most of the people out there he says something amazing.
My friend keeps a secret list of people. These people are not his heroes, idols, or even people he looks up to. He keeps a list of men who have achieved great success, but have made huge character mistakes. His list is compiled of preachers, athletes, presidents, etc... Anyone who has accomplished so much, been such a huge role model for so many kids, a leader for so many, and looked up to by just about everyone. But, also that they made a huge error in judgement and destroyed their reputation almost forever. He looks at this list every so often to remind himself what it costs people that make huge character mistakes and how they are remembered. So he does not become one of them.
My coach once said growing up that the best player's in the world are not the one's that do not make mistakes. No, the best player's in the world are the one's that make "good" mistakes. Now, we are all human and WILL make mistakes in our respective sports and lives. Knowing that tidbit of information helped me be the player I am today. But, I like to use what my coach said for life more. Because, as we have seen with Tiger Woods is that no matter what he has done on the golf course he will always be remembered by the countless acts of adultery. Is this forgivable? Oh yes it is very forgivable, but is it forgettable? No, and that is the power of a huge error that so many like Tiger have made. The things these men and women have done are not forgettable. Their errors will live on in their storybooks as a title to their lives.
My friend and I keep a close watch on each other so that we do not come near any sort of "bad" mistake. Now, remember we will make mistakes, but choose not to make that "bad" mistake. Your reputation, your legacy, and all that you are will be written down with a big asterisk for what you have done. If you have already done something then spend the rest of your life making up for it and maybe it will be forgotten by your ongoing good deeds.
As coaches, we have kids, adults, and player's constantly looking to us for advice and leadership. Focus on the training's, the games, and growing those kids. But, focus more on your life, your family, and how you will be remembered and thought of as to the Lord. Because even those things unseen will come to light. Be that man or woman that held true their morals, values, and integrity. There is not much more I would give then to be known for a man that loves Jesus, but also that lived out his words and did not make that list of people that made a "bad" mistake.
So, my boy Jared Montz who helped sponsor a trip to his city asked me to do some training videos for his online soccer academy, www.jmsoccer10.com.
Now, we first did this training video, but after a long day's work of community service with Filleo I was in an extra goofy mood. If you know me at all and I say I am in an extra goofy mood that means it is sooooo goofy. We also did a skillzzzz and tricks video underneath his back porch roof. It was very fun. Props to my boy Jared who was the videographer the whole time, he is sick wit it. Here are the links to the videos on his blog. www.jmsoccer10.com/blog
I posted the Online Soccer Academy bloopers clip with Jed. Check it out here Bloopers
Also if you haven't seen it yet the Skillz video is here Skillzzzz
You guys are so great. Thank you to everyone for all the help in posting the auction on message boards and telling others about it. We were able to raise over $1700 for our first annual Filleo auction. Yes, we will do it again next year. But, now that I know how great it can be to raise funds for children in need I am already getting some amazing things for the auction. Some things I am almost sure I can get:
-Schelotto signed jersey
-Jim Tressel signed football
-Other OSU player signatures on an OSU jersey
-other notable MLS player's jersey's and signatures
Those are just a few and I know there will be many more. This August we are doing a "Filleo Project" in Columbus and I so look forward to being able to use these funds on some great kids. Know that if you contributed in anyway with money or time that your efforts are helping to create not only a culture of giving but cultivating a better life for at least one child. Filleo has a board meeting coming up and after that I will be able to reveal many other things we are planning for anyone interested.
Right now I am resting and preparing for our game against Seattle. It is a little chilly with it being 50 degrees, but it will feel great when we are playing. I hope we have at least a few of you out there supporting us tonight even though it will be pretty late. It is good to be back with the team hanging out, catching up with good friends, and most importantly playing Settler's of Catan. Adam and I are doing pretty well online. Seattle is a great city that is yuppy, european esque, and pretty "Green" oriented. Better city than Columbus? No, come on...haha...
Well, off to rest a little bit and then to the game. Cheer us on.
