An amazing weekend!!!

Thursday night I acted on a post that my wife had posted to FB saying "needs to see the ocean. and soon!" I talked her into letting me book Friday and Saturday nights at a hotel in Morro Bay. After some help from Yelp we chose an awesome hotel on the cheap. This weekend was full of awesome!!! We ate food and we could see where it had been caught, randomly went places and just stopped to enjoy the sun, beach, and amazing views. We walked piers, boardwalks, beaches, and grassy parks along the beach. We went to a farmers market and even drove out to Morro rock to watch the sun set Saturday night. Every time we tried to set a plan we ended up doing something even better. We didn't put much thought or planning into this weekend and I don't think it could of been any better. I think this will be a weekend my 3 valentines will never forget.

New years resolution time.

Now that Man Christmas (The Superbowl) is over it is time to look forward to summer and start to work on my bathing suit figure. I have put together an 18 week challenge for myself starting tomorrow. I would love to do another sprint triathlon this summer or fall but have a lot of training to do before that can happen. Wish me luck and follow along to see how I'm doing. If you would like to join me let me know and I will send you a copy of my spreadsheet. I plan to stay focused and watch my diet until August when I will once again put beer, pizza, and wings back into my diet:)

All most a month now!

I think that it is crazy that it is still January. I feel like we have been in our new place for a while now but it has been less than a month. I'm not sure what that means. Life has been just moving at a slower pace since we moved. I don't work as much and we have a lot more free time then we have in some time so maybe that is the reason. I'm not sure if this will keep up but I'm really enjoying all the free time. I found myself to be bored the other day and it was everything I thought it could be. Our place is starting to really come together and I thing we are starting to get a little more familiar with our surroundings. I have been living in California for almost 3 months and I have now been in Fresno with the family for almost one. Cheers to new beginnings and Friday nights!

In need of the Mitchell's?

Today we went and looked at some of the local hotels in the area for guests to stay at. They are all in a cluster and are less than a mile away. You are always welcome to our futon or air mattresses on the floor. With a 2 bedroom there is little privacy but plenty of floor space in our living room. I will put these in order of what I thought was the nicest from the lobby, reputation, and area.

1. Hampton Inn & Suites The Hampton suites is one of our favorite hotels to stay. It is very nice looking and I would highly recommended it at this point.
2. TownePlace Suites by Marriott These looked very nice and offer a lot if that is what you are looking for.
3. La Quinta Inns & Suites I have never stayed at a La Quinta but it looks very nice and they say it is a new location so I'm guessing the hotel was build recently.
4. Holiday Inn Express This is a very nice hotel and the only reason this is on the bottom of the list is because it is backed up to the 41 freeway. It looks very nice and possible new but if you cant get a room on the front of the building you will here freeway noise.

I'm looking into some close places to stay if you have a summer home on wheels and need a place to stay when you are visiting the Mitchell's.

Any questions please feel free to let me know. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Settling in.

We have been in our new place in Fresno for 3 weeks now and things are going great. Our place is starting to look like a home instead of a maze of boxes and we are getting more familiar with our location. I'm really liking my new job. I pretty much shoot the breeze with people all day long and make money doing it. It is an ideal job for me since I love to talk to people. It has been so long since I had a job that was not extremely high pressure. It has been a very nice change. Not to mention I work 35 - 40 hours a week instead of 50 - 60. Jenna is in School and finally starting to get the hang of it. She is really liking her new school and meeting new friends everyday. Mikayla will not be starting school until August. Kristina is still learning her way around and organizing our place and stuff. Moving from a 4 bedroom over 2,000 to a 2 bedroom 1,400 sq. ft. has been difficult but I think we are finally adjusting. Last weekend we purchased annual Zoo passes and this weekend we purchased an annual park parking pass. We live not very far from a very nice park and went and had a picnic lunch there today. Things are going very well and I'm extremely happy with the way things are going. I will try to post more often to keep you all updated on our California adventure. Love and miss you all very much. Hope you can all visit soon.

BG Sales Presentation (opening) (Comments Welcome)

Hello everybody. My name is Stephen Mitchell and I work for Elbert Distributing a BG Products wholesaler. I have been with the company for about 2 months now.

Before becoming a BG sales rep I was a Salesman for Budweiser in Phoenix, Arizona for 11 years. I had been looking for a change in my line of work and wanted to sale a product that was not only the best on the market but that I could also be very passionate about. It need to not only be a product I would want to use personally but that I would highly recommend it to my friends and family. After doing some research and meeting people in the automotive field I discovered BG had a product line that was just that. It took me about 2 years after learning about BG and there products to be able to go and work for them.

BG and I not only provide you, your shop, and your customers with the best products on the market, we also provide the best service in the market. I don't just use the BG products in all of my vehicles because I work for the company. I use them because I know how amazing they are and that they will dramatically increase the life of my vehicles. BG products are not designed to be fix it in a can. They will fix drive ability problems, but there main purpose is to keep you engine, clean, well lubricated, and running like the day you purchased it. BG also backs this up with there Lifetime Protection Plan. If you start using BG products at 100,000 miles we will not be able to restore your car back to like new performance, but I do predict that we will have it back to running better than you can remember.

Now I would like to do some demonstrations so that you don't have to take my word for it that I have the best products on the market. I'm willing to prove it to you.

- MOA friction test

- MOA oxidation protection test

Reality is almost here!

Tomorrow I will fly out to Phoenix gather all of my stuff, my family, and move it all to California. Just typing this is starting to make me freak out. So many things to do and so many things to get back to. I have not had to be a father or husband everyday for months. I'm guessing it is like riding a bike. I'm feeling a lot of pressure to succeed and I'm sure I will but it is all riding on me to be successful. I have made this leap because it felt right. Now I just want for things to be better for me and my family. There is going to be an adjustment to balance family and work again. I have a lot of hard work ahead of me to make this move work but I thing everything will be coming together in the coming months.

I already closed my eyes and jumped but now I'm pulling my family over the edge with me. Hope we all land safely because I'm leading the way.

What I need for Christmas

This holiday season has been the hardest for me ever. My family and I have decided to start a new adventure and move to California. We decided that I would go ahead and start November 1st and they would follow on January 1st. The last 2 months have been very hard on us not being together. So for this Christmas I have list like no other:

1. I want to wake up and see my beautiful wife laying next to me.
2. I want my 3 year old to wake me up at 6am to tell me she wants to eat.
3. I want my 7 year old to put her cold feet on me to warm them up.
4. I want to hear my daughters start to scream "daddy's home" on the other side of the door when they hear my key in it.
5. I want a little girl to crawl into my bed in the middle of the night because of a bad dream.
6. I want my home to smell like my wife when she is not even home.
7. I want all of the little things I took for granted before I left.

I don't want the newest and latest gadget or electronic. I don't want the materials I once thought made me happy. I want my family and there love everyday and I will be more than satisfied this Christmas. Can't wait to see them on Wednesday night and have them with me for good starting 1-1-11.

The first day of our new adventure together.

I know this sounds all lame and sad, but this is what is going on in Mitchell's Brain. This time of year is for giving what is inside of you instead of what you buy at a store.

Merry Christmas to all of my family and friends. I know I can't wait to get what I want for Christmas and I hope you get all of the love and happiness you deserve this holiday season.

No ID, no Sin.

This weekend I decided to meet my girls in Vegas. We got a great rate on a room and it was a great halfway point between Fresno and Phoenix. So Friday after work I got home, changed, and grabbed the bag I had packed the night before. I had filled up with gas the night before so I was on the road and out of town in no time. After about 4 hours of driving I stopped in Baker, Nevada about 80 miles from Las Vegas. I was in need of gas because I was almost out and wanted a quick bite to eat. I got off at the baker exit and passed a road to go to death valley, a little trailer park, a restaurant that had a flying saucer stuck in, and the worlds largest thermometer before getting to the gas station. This was a town you would never want to get stuck in because it looked pretty creepy. I figured I would be in and out until I reached in my back pocket to get out my card and pay for my gas. I discovered no wallet! Yes I left my wallet at home 4 hours behind me. I'm in a scary ass town, with no gas, no money, and still 80 miles from Vegas.

So I called the wife and told her she might need to come to me from Vegas but she was 2 hours from getting to me. So I decided to be the crazy guy at the gas station trying to sell CD's with a good story that nobody believed. I finally got the cashier to believe me and sold him $180 in CD's for $15. It was enough for me to get 4 gallons of gas in this one hours town but that was enough to get me to the hotel. I figured it wasn't a major loss since I had them all on my Ipod.

In the end I had a great weekend with my girls but when you have no ID in Vegas you can't gamble, drink, or Sin. So I had very non-sin weekend in sin-city.

"Warrior's Way" movie review

Warrior's way was a great movie that I seen the other night. Let me warn you that if you enter the theater with high expectations you will be disappointed. This move has all the makings of a great movie. Awesome ninja fight scene, ninja tribes trying to kill each other off, betrayal against the tribe, the old west, gun battles, drunks, circus freaks, a beautiful fair madden tomboy country girl that wants to be a Ninja, an old west gang that raids towns and women, an old west sniper, dynamite, an exploding ferrous wheel, a last stand gun battle between a circus freak old west town and the old west gang, interrupter by a ninja gang that drops out of the sky, and I love story. Confused? You should be. The plot in this movie is very confusing but with all of the above in one movie it how could it be bad. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time wondering what could be next? Then wow they would take things to a new level of awesome. If you want to see a good movie that doesn't make you think just entertains and makes you laugh in disbelief at what they just did you will love this movie.

7 years ago today.

7 years ago today I woke and took my wife to the hospital to have our first child. Since the day she was born she has filled my heart and brought me great joy. She is an amazing little lady. I love her so much and miss her greatly as we transition into our new life. We are apart for now but things will come together in the next month and I hope to never have to miss another birthday of my little girl. I love you baby girl and I will see you soon.

The hunt

I have been on the hunt to find a place to live for me and my family and it is not easy. I have some leads but nothing solid right now. I want to find a place to move into by January 1st. I plan to move the family out then so that would be perfect. I'm hunting almost everyday and can't wait to find the perfect place that just works out great. It's a little early to panic but I'm getting nervous about finding a good place. I'm sure when the time is right it will just happen.

Wondering through

My life is a little disorganized and confusing right now. I'm living in a temporary place without my family. I have started a new job that requires me to learn an entire new business in an area that I have never been. On the other side it has been very exciting to have something new to look forward to at every turn of my day. I'm getting ready to start week 5 of the new job and I will be on my own all next week for the first time. My life is exciting, crazy, and all new. Change is a good thing but I'm looking forward to some normalcy next year. I'm not really sure what normal is but I just want to have my family with me in my own place. 2011 will be a great year but right now it is a challenge without my best friend and amazing daughters at my side. Miss you girls so much and can't wait until we are together again.

Week 1 is done

It was a long week of learning everything there is to know about BG products this week. I'm very excited about what this could be for me in the future. I'm glad I get to have a mental brake for 2 days but will be ready to consume more knowledge on Monday. It very exciting to learn new things and a new industry for me. I think my previous experience will be bringing a lot to this company, but not before I learn more about the products.

Guns, drugs, beer, and now lube.

I have only had 3 jobs in my life but now it is time to move on and have a 4th.
First I was a trap and skeet puller at a shooting range for 2 years. Then I worked at Osco drugs as a Pharmacy-tech for 5 years. Now for the last 11 years I have been the Budweiser man. My new adventure will be taking me to central California were I will be selling BG professional grade car lubricants. This will be a wild adventure but it is a move that can prove to be very good for me and my family. I will fill you all in more in the weeks to come. Right now I have a lot of things to take care of.