Functional

Things my kids(2 and 4) really love (and us) -Hibachi style chicken and fried rice (made on blackstone)(big hit) -Salmon and jasmine rice -Cheeseburgers -Baked/grilled/rotisserie/breaded and fried chicken w/ mac n cheese and/or potato croquettes -Pancakes/Waffles/French toast -Eggs with sausage and toast -Meatloaf -Tacos -Grilled cheese -general tso chicken with broccoli and white rice bowls -Lasagna (believe it or not) -Pasta with meatballs and red sauce -sandwiches (turkey, ham, etc.) -philly cheese steaks (I make the mushrooms/onions/peppers separate to add for those who want it) -steak -boneless buffalo wings. We make our own so we can put our own sauces on and the kids basically get home made chicken nuggets. Well make fries with it and either eat the wings as is or make a wrap with lettuce, cheese and ranch. Kids each get a small dish with some sauce to dip if they want to try it. Cant think of much else. My 4 year old is very picky and takes a lot to get her to try new stuff. She's slowly coming around and will at least try new things. My 2 year old is hit or miss. Some days you cant feed him enough of a dish and the next time hell not want a bite of it. He does eat more variety though than his older sister. Never thought some of my biggest struggles with kids so far would be feeding them. EDIT: Forgot these two good ones. -Taco roll: get a pizza dough and stretch it out like a loaf of bread, cook taco meat with diced peppers and onions and spread it out on the dough, spread mozzarella cheese on top of that and roll it up and bake it until the dough is cooked. I make a dipping sauce with ranch and franks red hot mixed. -Chicken roll: Same dough process above but spread grilled/seasoned chicken with spinach and mozzarella cheese and roll it up. Well usually use creamy russian dressing for this as a dipping sauce.

all makes sense to me. If I was confined to a kayak only I'd probably have something similar. If you can use it all and can see it that's all that matters. While a 10" would be nice I feel like with how close you can be in a kayak the 93 size is still plenty....If not you can always get stronger glasses.

This is a good one. I was given a set of these and put them in my muff when hunting. My hands have never been happier.

that is a bass I would not try and lip....

I got sherpa lined sweatpants off amazon this year as a base for hunting and I've never been warmer. Keep in mind i'm static in a tree, if I was hiking around at all it would be way too much. I got a heated vest over an under shirt and put it on 30 minutes before heading into the woods on low and then a thermal quarter zip sweatshirt with my jacket over that. Sock liners also made a huge difference in keeping my feet warm this year. Layers to strip and keep yourself from sweating. Moisture is your enemy.

you can get a 30-36K BTU mini split for like 2k or less. Should be able to get by with a 30amp breaker. If you are limited to 18K BTU or lower the cost is only about 1-1.5k depending on the unit. Youll get AC and heat with this too.

I was wondering why AJ posted up his 5 biggest bass, I had completely missed this thread. The first year I joined this forum I was having knot and line issues, Tom reached out and got my squared away. I've been tying his recommended knot ever since. That act was one of the main reasons I decided to stick around on this particular forum. Really nice guy with a ton of useful information not just on bass but the lake and forage too. Going to miss seeing his replies. Been a tough year for all of us with who we have lost here this year.

if there is a crowd of people I'll go 3-4 flights. Aside from a hospital the buildings I manage are the only 2 in town that have an elevator. I ride both of them all the time to make sure they work. We also have one elevator with a wonky self leveler that people insist will make them drop out of the sky, I ride it specifically so I get less complaints when they see me "risk my life" in it. if there is a crowd of people I'll go 3-4 flights. Aside from a hospital the buildings I manage are the only 2 in town that have an elevator. I ride both of them all the time to make sure they work. We also have one elevator with a wonky self leveler that people insist will make them drop out of the sky, I ride it specifically so I get less complaints when they see me "risk my life" in it.

As someone who manages a facilities and capital projects group, there is few things sweeter and more frustrating than finishing a big project. Getting contractors to punch out a building and getting them back on site if they left is less fun than a root canal. I also know, the first year at least after new construction can keep you just as busy fixing shoddy work that will pop up and doing the "oh man we should have..." work. Hopefully you get some much needed time out. Remember, scheduling a few days or even one for yourself can do more for your job than if you power through. The refresh gives you a clearer perspective coming back. I'm sure your know all this at your level...but sometimes reminders don't hurt in the thick of it! Congrats on the accomplishment!

With Christmas so close you could bring her a plate of cookies and just say as part of your Church you wanted to reach out to neighbors who may need a helping hand this year. Give her your information and see if she takes you up on it. You might end up working and not getting anything other than helping her out but thats probably the least pressing way to get your foot in the door. Only been to Florida once so I cant comment on available water but it sounds like you have a tons of options other than there if it doesnt pan out.

Yes, I plan to try a few of his other series to see if I like them. My cousin got me hooked on the Netflix adaptation and I decided to read the books. Books are much better by FAR. Working through "Fry The Brain: The Art of Urban Sniping and its Role in Modern Guerrilla Warfare" right now. When I'm done with that, one of BC's other books is next.

I kind of like it. I could listen to this while working on something for sure. Found this song in a Youtube music rotation. Not sure I like anything else of his but I do like his voice for this one.

Last series I read was The Saxon Tales (The Last Kingdom). Other than that its military themed books mostly, one on building rifles. Still re-read the Carlos Hathcock books. Tried reading Lord of the Rings a while back but couldnt get into them. Might have to give them a try again.

This list could be long but here are some top ones -Long range tactical shooting matches (PRS) (large bore and 22lr). Been doing this for about a decade now, accumulated quite a few trophies but have since done it more for enjoyment than chasing titles. -Reloading. With the PRS matches I got into it to squeeze every bit of accuracy I could and at this point its just cheaper and something I can do while my wife is doing her sewing or crafts in the same room. -Building rifles (machining barrels, etc) (particularly clones of military sniper rifles). I build all of my match rifles, taking blank barrels and chambering and fitting them to each action. My cloning of rifles is fun, you have to hunt down period correct parts or even returned military parts that hold provenance. My two nicest clones are a MK13 Mod 5 built off a return stock kit from Seal Team 2 and a Unertl 10x return scope that was used in Vietnam and the very early stages of GWOT. In total I've owned or built 6 bolt action rifles, 4 ARs and 1 pistol, all clones with and without return parts. It's like recreating history. -RC Car racing. Havent done this one in a bit but still have 2 cars set up for indoor dirt track racing. -Gaming, recently built a gaming computer and got back into this. Mainly an hour or 2 before bed after the kids have gone to sleep, my wife is doing her crafts and I dont have a match to reload for. Winter is more often when there is less to do and shorter days. In the next year or 2 I'll be adding a project car to this list. Keep floating between a Factory Five Type65 Coupe kit, Lotus Elise/Exige or a RX7 FD (rotary engines fascinate me).

always happens when you don't order for yourself 😂

My Grandfather fought in the Italian Army in WWII. He didnt say much, claimed he never fired his rifle but said hardly any of them wanted to be in the war. Often times they would be bombed by their own allies to push back opposing forces and used as a buffer/fodder between the opposing side and their allied side. Would have loved to learn more but anytime it was brought up the angry Italian words came out about his country at the time.

Easy now...its a goal lol. Even typing that out I had a nag in the back of my head that says " youll need it right after you throw it out" as it echoes through the cavern of my head.

Predators aren't dumb, it found a easy feeding space and I'd be surprised if it never came back without a deterrent. Are you allowed to, as Dave Chappelle would say, "pepper him up nicely"? More of a deterrent than trying to kill it (if you cant kill it). Incredible sighting despite the circumstances and new problem.

1) Get out more than last year 2) Take my daughter out more this year 3) Hit spring/pre spawn hard 4) Hunt a DD 5) Really work through all of my tackle and cull the stuff I dont like or dont really see myself using. I have all my storage areas packed and I still end up with the same 5 or so lures on deck all the time. I either need to use it or get rid of it.

I like her and have been following her progression for quite a few years now. To say she's obsessive about fishing would probably be an understatement. I think it will just take her a little time to adapt to a boat. She's learned some hard lessons from "friends" coming up through the kayak tournament scene which I think will put her in a better spot than some just starting in BASS, but what do I know. I believe she dabbled in 1 or 2 boat tournaments at the end of 24 and started on her own boat in 25? hitting some more. I'd be surprised if she isn't at least mid pack in rankings. She really makes me want to take a musky trip though...

I didnt get out much this year but enough to know I only had 2 that produced well above the others. 1) Megabass Jerkbaits 2) SCUM Trophy Frog

Tried Angels Envy cask strength over Thanksgiving....not a fan. Reminded me a lot of Belvenie Doublewood. I'd love to give some review for anything about it but I'd probably enjoy drinking rubbing alcohol more. Tried letting it breath, tried it with an ice cube, tried it cut with water and it was always the same.

Some of the people here refer to Striped Bass as Rock Bass or Rock Fish...you might confuse some of us 😂. I thought there was a whole new species I got to fish when I moved down here.

This was a lot of fun to follow along with! I hope to see this again next year, and maybe get to participate better! Also, way to go NC holding down two of the top 3 spots!

I will be one of the 81.8 million. We typically travel for the larger holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas) due to our family's locations. We have learned that traveling at night is usually better and we take an extra day off work if needed to travel during a week day rather than a weekend, or leave a day earlier like Saturday. It helps but people are crazy and you have to know everything will take longer.