Vin's Blog http://vinthomas.com/blog read on as I live this life... Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:52:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4280 Subscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with Live.com Like to BBQ? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/YICDinoRyhc/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/like-to-bbq/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:52:03 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1301 Recently a few friends and I have gotten into a bit of war over twitter debating who makes the best BBQ. One of the guys decided to do something about it and registered http://bbqwar.com. It’s a pretty cool site where we can showcase our creations. Go check it out and vote for your favorite dishes.

Here’s one of my submissions:

]]> http://vinthomas.com/blog/like-to-bbq/feed/ 0 http://vinthomas.com/blog/like-to-bbq/ New Things http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/NWdWXSaP6As/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/new-things/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:51:59 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1299 There are a few new things going on for me. Life has been moving at high-speed so I’ll just list off a few cool things that have been going on.

  1. I’ve lost over 60 lbs. My weight has been a struggle ever since middle school. Earlier this year I was all the way up to 244lbs. That is just incredible. So I decided to do something about it. I went hog wild, and over the last 3 1/2 months I’ve lost just over 60 lbs. I am now about 180 and I feel really good and  healthy (not to mention DEAD SEXY). ;-)
  2. We went to Canada. We had an amazing trip up to Canada a few weeks ago to visit my side of the fam. It was great to see all of the kids playing together. Cohen and her niece Colleen were pretty much attached at the hip. So glad to see them bonding. We went to the Calgary Stampede and had a bunch of fun while we were there. I wish we lived closer.
  3. I started guitar lessons. I have been in a bit of a musical funk for the past few years. I haven’t played much and have gotten pretty rusty. I started lessons last week with a fella up in Portland who pretty much rocks the show. I learned more in 1 lesson from him that I have in the last year. Awesome! I can’t wait to see how I grow as a musician as I continue to develop that skill.
  4. My new job is in full swing. I have been at my new job for over a month now. My boss told me that they want me to go on full time at the end of my 60-day run. So we’ll be starting negotiations soon. Pray for that transition.

Life is crazy. Life is good. God is wonderful.

]]> http://vinthomas.com/blog/new-things/feed/ 3 http://vinthomas.com/blog/new-things/ Too Fast For Me http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/iQONOPc5chs/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/too-fast-for-me/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:00:47 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1294 Life is moving at an incredible pace. I can’t believe my little angel Isla is turning 1yr old TOMORROW! She is such a sweetie, but growing up fast. She’s a crawling monster and is starting to experiment with standing. Soon enough she’ll be running around like her big sister.

Happy Early Birthday to my sweetie-pie Isla!

Sunny Isla

On another note, Kesha and I had a date-night the other day. What she didn’t know as we got in the car is that I had bought tickets to the Dave Barnes acoustic show in Eugene, OR. We had a nice drive down and then spent a couple hours listening to our favorite artist in the whole wide world. I am totally stumped for why this guy is not more popular. I can listen to any song on any of his CDs and love it. His stuff is just great. If you haven’t yet, check him out!

Here are a few pics of our night out.

Dave Barnes BW
Dave Barnes w/ His Two New Best Buds

]]> http://vinthomas.com/blog/too-fast-for-me/feed/ 1 http://vinthomas.com/blog/too-fast-for-me/ Cohen’s Big Girl Bike http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/q3W8hBEkL-I/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/cohens-big-girl-bike/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:52:45 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1290 Cohen got her first “Big Girl Bike” this weekend. She’s already a pro! Check out this cute video of her decked out in her biking gear while singing “By Myself” (from Barney).

By Myself Lyrics

I can do it
There’s nothing to it
I can do it by myself

I asked for help when I was small
Now I’m big, I can do it all

Feeling proud as you can tell
I can do it by myself

]]> http://vinthomas.com/blog/cohens-big-girl-bike/feed/ 3 http://vinthomas.com/blog/cohens-big-girl-bike/ My Last Day http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/S13VR-UE0O4/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/my-last-day/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:57:05 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1285

Today is my last day at the Courthouse Athletic Club. I have been offered a position as an Experience Designer for Waggener Edstrom in Lake Oswego. I am really looking forward to the move. I hope to inspire, be inspired, and grow a ton in my new position.

There is only one real downside to this all. Even though I will be working the same hours as I am now, I will have 2 hours worth of driving each day that I won’t be able to be with my girls. As it stands now I only get to see Isla for 1.5 hours before she goes to bed on the days I work. Now it will be less than an hour. We’re trying to push her bedtime back a bit so that it’s not so bad. I already miss her.

That being said, I’m still very excited for this new adventure and all the opportunities it opens for me and my family.

]]> http://vinthomas.com/blog/my-last-day/feed/ 4 http://vinthomas.com/blog/my-last-day/ Tweeting it Up With Other Salem Folk http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/ld9MydOu-jA/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/tweeting-it-up-with-other-salem-folk/#comments Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:33:44 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1281 Salem Tweetup

Yesterday was the first official Tweetup I’ve been to. Thanks to my friend Rob Mcguire who organized the event, we had over 20 folks show up at Venti’s Cafe yesterday for a great time of food, drinks, and fun.

It was nice to socialize with some folks that I only know virtually. Can’t wait until the next Salem Tweetup!

PS. If you don’t follow me on Twitter, you can find me at @vinthomas

]]> http://vinthomas.com/blog/tweeting-it-up-with-other-salem-folk/feed/ 0 http://vinthomas.com/blog/tweeting-it-up-with-other-salem-folk/ Road Trip With The Boys http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/uO5hYSOf-0E/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/road-trip-with-the-boys/#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 14:25:56 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1277

I hit the road from Salem on Sunday morning with Chad and Randy and we arrived in Denver last night. We are in town for a Church planting conference. We had a blast on the drive up. We spent yesterday night with some old friends in Boise, ID – which was a huge treat. I love the Norris Family!

Anyway, all three of us forgot to bring any sort of camera other than those on our phones, so don’t expect any great pictures. But we will certainly create a lot of fun memories, and hopefully be inspired by the conference.

We have a free day today before the conference starts. So we’re hitting the town and are going to try to find some fun things to do.

If anyone knows of fun things to do in Denver, be sure to leave a comment.

]]> http://vinthomas.com/blog/road-trip-with-the-boys/feed/ 1 http://vinthomas.com/blog/road-trip-with-the-boys/ Yesh… http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/1134d1nQh3g/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/yesh/#comments Sat, 22 May 2010 13:58:51 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1275 I don’t know why, but I think this is one of the funniest clips ever. I LOVE the Office.

]]> http://vinthomas.com/blog/yesh/feed/ 1 http://vinthomas.com/blog/yesh/ Exciting News for My Design Biz http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/8IWcrftd-Ps/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/exciting-news-for-my-design-biz/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 05:29:09 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1268 Check out the new VINTOM.com Website Design
I have been plugging away at my design business (vintom.com) for quite some time now and there have been a few really cool things happening. For starters, last week VINTOM.com was voted Best of the Mid Valley for the Web Design category in the Statesman Journal. Thanks to all of you who voted for me!

Also, I just redesigned vintom.com and it is quite a step up from the last site. My portfolio is a little more bulky (although I hope to beef it up even more in the next couple months) and I was able to integrate a few more features. So go check it out!

I have a blog over there too where I discuss all sorts of random geek stuff. So if you’re into that, maybe you’d find that interesting too.

Ok, that’s enough shameless self-promotion for one blog post…

]]> http://vinthomas.com/blog/exciting-news-for-my-design-biz/feed/ 5 http://vinthomas.com/blog/exciting-news-for-my-design-biz/ Kesha’s Going to Hawaii Tomorrow! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vin-thomas/~3/REBIfabzWY8/ http://vinthomas.com/blog/keshas-going-to-hawaii-tomorrow/#comments Sat, 01 May 2010 03:54:02 +0000 Vin Thomas http://vinthomas.com/blog/?p=1266 Yep, you read that right. Kesha and her friend Jessica booked a trip to Hawaii a couple days ago on a whim. They will be gone for the next 5 days and yours truly will be here with the girls. I am so thankful for my Mom-In-Law who agreed to come watch the girls for a couple days while I work.

Kesha really needs this vacation. She is such a great mom and wife. She takes care of us all, and she deserves a nice relaxing trip.

I’m gonna miss you babe :)

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