Hope everyone has a great 2010!

I’m really not a comedy fan. But it’s good to push yourself to do things you wouldn’t normally once in a while. Right?

Friday night, our friends M. and K. invited us out to see M.’s cousin do stand up. Jon Ueberroth is originally from the East Side so his routine was very Toledo-centric. Several funny cheap shots were tossed towards the East Side, of course.

More friends joined us, like R. and M. — who happened to have gone to high school with one of the opening comics, Andy Peters. Andy was very amusing, especially when the question had arisen of whether there was a Potbelly sandwich shop in Toledo.

There there were plenty of laughs, cheap drinks, and outside the outbursts of what we called “the stoned table” it was a pretty great time.

Connxtions Comedy Club | 5319 Heatherdowns Blvd. | (419) 867-9041?

It is crazy freezing outside, so in the efforts of keeping warm we invited a few friends over for a make-your-own-pizza-dinner on Tuesday. That means we stayed in! And invited J. and A. (thanks, A. for the photos), T. and A., and M.

The pie crusts and fixings came from Sofo Foods on Monroe. I picked up a bunch of nicely sized pre-made crusts, sauce, a bunch of cheeses, fresh veggies (roma tomatos, olives, peppers, mushrooms, etc), fresh basil, garlic…

… and anchovies–not my thing, but it was a hit.

Sofo Foods is perfect for pizza parties–everything is packaged ready to go. And pizza parties are great for spending time with friends; where everyone gets to have their little pies how they like. Thanks to our guests for bringing appetizers and wine.

We ended the night with that great game called Uno (I hadn’t played in more years than I care to admit). And guess who didn’t win a single round… moi.

Keep warm, have fun, love your friends, and do it in Toledo.

Sofo Foods | 5400 Monroe Street | (419) 882-8555

We visited the Toledo Zoo a couple weeks ago. My favorite animal is the polar bear…

He played with a large plastic trash bin for a while.

And there was much more to see. The colubus monkeys (above) were very Alexander McQueen.

This fish was acting curious.

I made some new friends and it was all around an enjoyable afternoon. We plan on going back soon for The Lights Before Christmas, which runs through December 31st.

First I saw the white bear, then I saw the black;
Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his back;
Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw;
Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw;
Then I saw the elephant a-waving of his trunk;
Then I saw the monkeys—mercy, how unpleasantly they smelt!

–William Makepeace Thackeray

The Toledo Zoo | 2700 Broadway Street | (419) 385-4040