Happy Birthday to Chatham's Train Station

On June 14th the Chatham Historical Society put together a bunch of events to celebrate the train stations centennial. One of the highlights was the railway museum inside the eastbound station. Comprised of 100 artifacts from the private collection of my father, it was well received by the public, committee officials, local politicians, and even the executive director of NJ Transit. Throughout the day we had people telling us how much they loved the little museum. Most were amazed to find out that this was only a small portion of my fathers collection. One aspect of this exhibit that made me proud was the fact that for the first time my father had an opportunity to show off items that he has collected over the last 40 years on a grand scale. The museum was his and everyone on the centennial committee couldn't stop thanking him. It was a long day for him, my girlfriend, and myself. By the time the day was over we were all exhausted but it was worth it to bring a little piece of railroad history to the citizens of Chatham. Below are some pictures highlighting the exhibit we set up that day.

Best pizza in the whole world

Last night, for the first time in a long time my mother made pizza. Her pizza is the best pizza I have ever eaten and I have several people who will agree with me. She used to make it every Friday when we were growing up but after I went to college and she started working more that stopped. Mom makes the dough from scratch and creates pizzas that are out of this world.

Yesterday she made 4 pies including, plain, pepperoni, cheese fry, and pesto with ricotta cheese and fresh tomatoes. I myself prefer the classics so I only eat the plain and pepperoni but what she creates with the special pies is amazing. Particularly the pesto pie, according to Marlee it tasted amazing and was so delicious. I remember growing up and having homemade pizza every Friday, it was one of the highlights of the week for me because it meant good pizza, maybe watch a movie with the family, it was a good way to start the weekend.

When I was in school, I used to invite friends over to eat my moms pizza, I considered it a special right if you were invited to eat it. Like a secret moms' pizza club. In my mind if you were invited to enjoy her pizza it meant I saw you as a good friend. Not many people get to enjoy her pizza but the ones who do universally agree it's amazing. The one comment I get all the time from people who eat it is,"wow there is cheese in the crust!" it's like the one thing everyone loves. Mom started putting cheese in the crust a long time ago because we asked about it and to this day she still does it.

I always seem to take for granted the fact that my mother cooks for us all the time. A lot of people I know are lucky to get a couple home cooked meals a week. It's something that I grew up with and to me it's something I will miss when I eventually move. If anything it makes me want to learn how to make my own pizza as well as lots of other dishes. I can't rely on her to make dinner forever so I better start learning how to cook now.

One of the dinners Marlee and I have made

Luckily since dating Marlee the two of us have been learning to cook. It's a fun experience to learn with someone who is at the same level as me. We make a couple basic dishes and are always trying new things. It's a great way to learn as well as a great way to spend time together. Nothing is more fun then cooking a nice dinner with her.

Learning to cook is an essential life skill and one that I hope to master. I can't imagine not cooking, it's fun and cooking a meal yourself makes it taste that much better. Maybe one day I'll make pizza from scratch for my mother and let her enjoy it completely like I do every time she makes it.

Finding that missing piece

Goofing around with my love

Finding that one person who is the missing piece of your life is difficult. Many never find that one person, they either settle for something close to perfect or they wander around looking forever. It's been a long time since I have talked about Marlee and the importance of her love in my life. She is that piece I have been looking for. The one person who knows everything about me and what makes me tick. I'm not one to talk a lot about my personal life or myself in general. Anyone who has been friends with me for a long time can tell you it takes a lot for me to open up. It takes a lot for me to express my feelings and thoughts to anyone in person. That comes from years of being picked on and belittled in school, it broke me in many ways. It's only been in the last few years that I have finally started to gain back what was taken from me. Having a group of good friends and blogging more has helped me express myself more then ever before.

The mid-week in review: January 15th 2014

Sitting here in my room, enjoying a nice beer, and thinking about what to write today I find myself not 100% sure what to write about. Maybe I can tell you that the beer I'm drinking is a new rye style brew from Yards. It's got a strong rye taste and a simple name 'Rye.' Maybe I can tell you that I'm doing all of my writing now from my new Macbook Air, after 6 and a half years of using my Macbook Pro I figured it was time to get something new. It's battery is amazing and I love the way the keys feel while I type. I see a lot of writing in this computers future.

A quick Happy Halloween from me to you

Just a quick little bit of cross promotion, ever year my family puts together a Halloween display for the neighborhood. It's grown to be very elaborate and also unique to the area. Since Halloween is tomorrow I figure I'd mention our Halloween website to you today. Check it out to see tons of pictures of our display and keep checking it for pictures of Halloween 2013 in the coming days. Enjoy and Happy Halloween!