mike utech dot com

Thanks Rick
1. What are your five favorite Christmas songs?
Carol of the Bells
O Holy Night - (especially fond of the South Park version)
Little Drummer Boy (I’m a drummer what can I say) (Bing and Bowie’s version rocks!)
most any song by Mannheim Steamroller
The 12 days of Christmas (the 12 pains is good, but Bob and Doug McKenzie’s version is the best! Hoser!)

2. Five foods you look forward to at Christmastime?
Turkey
Eggnog (esp the diluted kind)
Cranberry Sauce shaped like a can
Fruit Cake (my MIL’s original recipe)
My mother’s Christmas Bread [Kuchen] (already have the real butter in the fridge waiting for it to arrive)

3. Five favorite presents of all time?
I love the things that my kids get me from the ’santa shop’ at school each year. One year our oldest got my wife a little nativity scene of Mary, Joe and baby Jesus in the manger with a cross in the background. It wasn’t for me but it is still one of my favorites.
Can’t remember the year but one year I got a little 3 piece screwdriver set that I still have and use regularly.
Christmas 2002 my wife got me a car stereo that was knock my socks off good (still have it and use it everyday).
Christmas 2005 my wife got me a mini fridge that is on my desk at work. (keeps my fruit and yogurt cold and nearby).
(can’t think of another one off hand)

4. What are your five favorite holiday TV specials?
Charlie Brown Christmas
Original Grinch
Mickey’s Christmas Carol
WKRP in Cincinnati “Turkeys Away”
When the Packers play the Lions on Thanksgiving!

5. Top five holiday-themed films?
A Christmas Story
A Miracle on 34th Street
White Christmas
A Christmas Carol (George C Scott version)

I have never seen “It’s A Wonderful Life” and don’t plan to. And I have never seen “Christmas Vacation” but we bought it this past year so I will be watching it this weekend and it will probably be added to this list.

It is amazing how true the old saying about real estate is - location location location.
Not that I have any land for sale or anything, but a couple of days ago I was surfing the net and happened to find the county auditor website for the county I grew up in. I looked up my grandparents farm and it looks like the property was broken up as it now only shows 40 acres when I know it was over 500. Still the 40 acres that have the buildings have a total valuation of 350K. Heck there are areas around me now that you can’t even buy 40 acres of bare land for 350K.

Now that Thanksgiving is over I need to get back on board and be more responsible in what I ingest. While it would be great to find some Miracle burn pill or some other sort of miracle drug to shed some pounds. I need to do it the right way - focusing on eating the right things and exercising. It really doesn’t sound like any fun but I remember back when I was working out and eating right and I do remember feeling a lot better. Why did I let that slip away?

tonight on the way home with the kids. my girls were discussing dating.
I asked what the purpose of dating is.
The oldest said - “To see if you are compatible”
to which my other daughter replied, “no that’s math”

My dad forwarded the following email to me - if you are from Wisconsin then you know how funny this is… and how dangerous it would be.

Due to the popularity of the “Survivor” shows, Wisconsin is planning to do its own, entitled “Survivor - Wisconsin Style”…

The contestants will start in Milwaukee, travel up to Sheboygan and on to Manitowoc and Green Bay. Then they will head over to Wausau and up to Rhinelander and Minocqua. From there they will proceed up to Ashland and Superior. Then back down through Hayward, Rice Lake, Balsam Lake, Chetek, over to Eau Claire and all the way down to Madison and back over to Milwaukee.

Each contestant will be driving a pink Volvo with Minnesota license plates and a large bumper sticker that reads:
Brett Favre is Gay.
Hillary in 2008.
Deer hunting is murder.
Go Vikings!

The first one that makes it back to Milwaukee alive wins.

Yeah, good luck on that one.