Book Review: Strategy For You

Strategy For You by Rich Horwath is a book about setting goals and achieving them. It takes it's processes from the business and tries to apply them, somewhat successfully, to personal life. If you're a hardcore left brained logical thinker then this may be the book you're looking for to take you're life to the next level. For me personally, it was interesting and got me thinking about goals but was ultimately hit-or-miss. I love my life and do want to try to get more out of it, but I'm not sure making charts, graphs, and maps is the way to get me there. This is my personal take on it and your results may differ.

The Avengers

I saw the Avengers yesterday and one word comes to mind... Awesome! I have seen all of the films leading up to this one and must say that they handled this film really well. There is very little recap and the story just starts assuming that you know what is happening. This is one of the movies strengths to me. I totally geeked out at the large scale comic book action fight sequence toward the end that really capped off the movie well. It was a sight to behold and definitely the best comic book movie I have ever seen. This is saying a lot when compared to The Dark Knight, which is one of the best movies ever made.

If you haven't see the movies leading up to The Avengers, rent them first on DVD to catch up. The movies are:

- Iron Man

- Iron Man 2

- Thor

- Captain America

- The Avengers

This is the order they were released in and I left out the good movie The Incredible Hulk because they recast him with a different actor. If you want to see that one too, it came out between Iron Man and Iron Man 2.

If you're not a comic book fan, I still recommend giving the series a try. The intertwining of the plots is something not seen before in action movies and is really enjoyable. If you're a geek like me, then you've probably already seen it and trying to decide if you're going to see it again.

Book Review: Extra Lives

Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter
by Tom Bissell

I recently had a chance to fit in some reading between work and classes and wanted to give my impressions from the book. First, I found the title to be a bit misleading. While many aspects of video games and the experiences they give to gamers are discussed, the book never really dives in to societal relevance of these game experiences.

I did find the book fascinating in it's coverage of storytelling within games and the different impacts that the different forms of narrative give to the player. This is not a book for the average person, it's a book for game lovers.

The coverage of games range from older games, such as a gripping take on the first Resident Evil, to newer powerhouses like Mass Effect, to indie games like Braid. Each take is interesting and gives insight in to the game and how they reach people.

This is not a textbook approach to how video games have a affected society or whether video games have enhanced or ruined our lives. Rather it is a deeply personal and reflective trip through one man's video game life and how they have personally affected him. If you consider yourself a gamer or know someone who is and want to understand them more then you may find interest in this book, otherwise you may want to pass.

Buy it here:

Food and Wine Finds

As those of you that know us probably are already aware. We love food. We love to try new food and we love to try out local vendors. Here are some recent things I have tried and really liked that I suggest:

Round Rock Farmers Market at St. Richard's Episcopal Church
- Tiki Masala and Potato Lentil Parantha from Royal Foods: Some great indian food that's creamy and a little spicy. I love it for lunch at work.
- Smoked Gouda Pizza from Kim's Pizza: Great taste and great size for a personal pizza. Rich and tasty.
- Granola Bars from Granola Mama: Great variety, love the one with dark chocolate coated bottom.
- Round Rock Honey: Great sweet and bold taste from a local vendor.

Austin Farmers Market
- Pesto, Roasted Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese torte: Oh so good. I love goat cheese and roasted red peppers.

Central Market
- Mushroom and Goat Cheese Quesadilla: Cheesy and delicious. Great flavor combo.
- Citterio Salami: A little spicy and bold with great pop of flavor. Christian loves this as well.
- Russian Brioche: Sweet bread with a little custard and raisins in it. De-lish.

Wine
- Valmorena Barbera d'Asti - Bold and fruity red that does well with anything.
- Banfi Le Rime - Smooth and light white, mix of chardonnay and pinot grigio.

Hope this helps y'all try new things and enjoy eating as much as we do!

A General Update On Life

School - Matt going to school is going extremely well so far. All A's (and one B that's going to be an A soon).

Work - Erin had a great interview on Friday that will hopefully turn in to an offer soon. Please pray for her and keep her in your thoughts.

Adoption - We're meeting with the adoption place on Monday to get the ball rolling on the next step and ask any questions we can think of to ask.

Christian - He is doing extremely well. He's learning to read and is super polite and kind. We're still working on some potty training issues, but it's mostly under control.

Please let us know if you have any questions or thoughts and keep us in your prayers. Life is going well and we're really happy. I can't wait to see what the next few years bring us.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with us.

Adopting

Erin and I have decided to embark on a journey to adopt a daughter from, most likely, Bulgaria. We are excited and nervous about this and can't wait to meet this little girl in person. We are just beginning our journey but plan to post as much info as we can about the process and what we're going through here. Thank you for reading our blog!

Back to School

I just finished week 4 of my classes and have started week 5. So far, I am enjoying classes and have high A's. Going to school online is very different than going to school in person: the due dates are more flexible online and the assignments are more paper writing and reading intensive.