Happy New Year

Happy New Year. It has been way too long since I updated this blog.

Alot has been going on and work is constantly up and down. I will become officially a Chase Branch this summer. I had a great New Year's party at my place with a lot of my friends. This week is pretty exciting with the BCS National Championship Game on Thursday night with the Gators playing for all of the marbles. I am hoping to report good news on Friday.

I also confirmed with NBC Sports that I will be working at Super Bowl 43 in Tampa. I will be working for the week and on gameday, I will be in the booth with John Madden and Al Michaels. I am pretty excited for that. Tampa is going to be crazy that week with the game and all the glitz that goes with the celebrations.

I plan to update this blog on a more frequent basis and not wait every 6 months to update.

My Birthday Bonanza Weekend

This was a great weekend full of fun and friends. It started Friday on the 4th at Erica's place for a great get together and watching fireworks. Then on Saturday, we headed to Kim's for a good 'ol BBQ with burgers and dogs. Sunday was definitely the highlight of my weekend- my 31st Birthday party.
This party was a great time and so many of my friends headed to Amy's place for the festivities. I learn something new everyday about Amy. I now know she is a master cake decorator as she hand sketched a Gator on top of my cake. What talent!!! It was also great to have David and Heidi drive from Orlando to help celebrate my birthday. Thanks guys!!
Amy bought me a beautiful bracelet which I love. Thank you so much.

New Glasses and Shorts

Here is a picture of my new glasses and the cool Lander-style Blue/Orange Khaki Shorts

A weekend with Amy and her parents and Grandma

This past weekend Amy's parents came down from New Jersey and her Grandma came up from Boca Raton. Friday night we had a nice Shabbat dinner at Amy's house. I had to work on Saturday so Amy went with her family around Ybor City and Channelside in Tampa. Saturday night we went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner and then relaxed at Amy's house. Sunday afternoon we met again for lunch and then her parents were on their way back to Boca Raton.

The day didn't end there. Amy and I made a trip to the Eyeglass store because I needed some new specs. We found some really nice frames there and I will show them on here as soon as I get them. We meandered to Brandon Town Center for some walking and of course shopping. I think this was the first time in a long time I went shopping with Amy and not buy any new Polo shirts or button down shirts. I did find some much needed new khaki shorts and a pair of Plaid Khaki Shorts- very similar to something Lander would wear. The plaid shorts happen to be Blue and organge and other colors so I can wear them to a game this Fall.

Rays Game

Well over the past 2 weeks I have been to 2 Tampa Bay Rays games against the Chicago White Sox. I am going to one more on Sunday against the Florida Marlins.

The first game I went to was with Todd. I had gotten free tickets from the St Pete Times so we decided to head to the ballpark.

The second game of the week I went with Amy, Joe and Ronit. After the game was a concert from Trace Adkins. Ronit is a huge country fan so we stayed for a few of his songs. The Rays won the game which made it even better.

Trip out West

I know it has been a while since I posted anything on here. I am sure everyone has been asking, what in the world is Parker doing? Well, here is a little update of my times in good 'ole Tampa Bay.

Amy and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on April 21. We decided we wanted to take a trip and headed out west to Phoenix, Sedona, Flagstaff, The Grand Canyon, a stop at the Hoover Dam on the way to Las Vegas from May 10-May 17 . The trip was incredible and we had all sorts of weather from 30 degrees and snow in Flagstaff all the way to 97 degrees and hot in Phoenix. What a difference of about 4000 feet make in the weather forecast.

I know I haven't posted many pictures on here, but if you want to see my album, email me and let me know and I can send all 200 of them to you.

Here are some of our visit:

We woke up one of the mornings in Flagstaff to about 2 -3 inches of snow. It was the latest they had snowfall in about 10 years. I had to go out and clean off the car from the snow with a towel because who knew it was going to snow?

At Arizona State University with the Football Stadium in the background

Amy on the ASU campus in Tempe

We decided to drive to Northern Arizona University while we were in Flagstaff and came across this HUGE lumberjack who in turn is the NAU mascot.

Of course while we were in Phoenix, I had to get my picture taken in front of the US Airways Arena- home of the Phoenix Suns

I think I have been to one of the most beautiful and amazing places in the world: The Grand Canyon was simply breathtaking. We hiked the South Rim (about 8 miles around) and even hiked 1.5 miles down into the canyon and back up.

New WAMu Branch

So last Monday my branch in Clearwater finally closed so I had to find a new home. After 4 months of not really knowing where I was going, I found out I was going to be the new Branch Manager at the New Port Richey Golden Acres Financial Center. My drive in the morning goes from 48 miles to about 28 miles. I save 30 min a trip in travel time and plenty of money on gas. I am really excited to be at my new branch and the staff is really excited for the change. I am hoping to produce some good numbers and stay #1 in Customer Service in my region where I was when my branch closed. Go figure.

I am really looking forward to meeting Amy's sister Lori tomorrow. She is going to spend the first 2 nights of Passover with my family in Orlando. Amy and I are approaching our 1 year anniversary on April 21 and I am looking forward to our vacation in about 3 weeks to Phoenix, Sedona, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. It should be a fabulous time and we have some fun stuff planned. We have had an incredible year and only looking forward to what the future brings.

An update without pictures

I know when I update my blog, I usually update with pictures. Well today I decided to update so certain people who check my blog everyday, would be able to see something on it. I really enjoy updating this and had all intentions to do so but never got around to it. The pictures will come eventually. Here is a little update of what has gone on since my last post:

Amy and I made the mistake of trying to go to Sea World on December 30. We managed to get to the park early enough that we would be able to ride the roller coaster and see some animals but we had all intentions of meeting my mom for lunch. It turned out that her normal 25 min drive from her house to the park took her almost 2 hours. We left the park early and met my mom for lunch and she had a bag lunch packed for Amy and I. It was a nice touch and typically Penny style.

I thought the New Year would start off pretty well after a fun filled New Year's Eve Party at my friend Monica and Eddie's house. We were with alot of our closest friends and it was so much fun. I really enjoyed playing Monopoly with debit cards. Kinda cool but how can kids learn how to cound money without the cash. But.......

The next day was a dark day for the Gators. On New Years Day the Gators lost the Capital One Bowl to the Michigan Wolverines. I lost a wager to my close friend Marc, who went to Michigan for law school and he has bragging rights until the next time these teams play each other.

The first weekend in January, Amy and I took another trip to one of our favorite places, Magic Kingdom to meet her cousin and her husband who were in Orlando from Israel via San Diego. We had a blast exploring the Magical place and the weather was perfect.

The one nice perk of working for Washington Mutual, is that the annual Manager meeting for the entire company is in Seattle. I made the trip out there in the middle of January. I think the high for the 4 days was 35 so it was a lot colder than what I was used to. I had never been to Seattle and a few other managers flew in a couple days early to explore the city. We took a trip up the Space Needle, explored the Pikes Fish Market and walked around the city. That was a fun time.

Amy and I will celebrate 10 months together on February 21. This was the first time in a few years that I had a valentine to celebrate that day with. We decided to make dinner together and get each other a nice gift. We made salmon marinated in teryaki sauce and grilled veggies. Another fantastic meal grilled. The best part of the night was to see the gifts. I gave Amy her gift, which was a relaxation massage. She loved that and certainly deserves to be pampered. Amy's gift to me was nothing I could have ever expected. She spent the last few weeks gathering pictures and creating an amazing scrapbook. The book had a certain Magical theme. It had all the pictures in it from our first date, April 21 at the Magic Kingdom to our last trip there with her cousins. That book had pages left to continue to experience more magical times together. Amy is the sweetest and kindest and most caring person I have ever met. She makes me so happy and I look forward to getting home from work each day where I can call her or see her. She meas everything to me. I love Amy so much.

I hope you enjoyed my blog update. When I get the chance, I will add some pictures.

Major Blog Update

I know it has been a while but here are some updates. Enjoy the festivities of Amy's 25th birthday weekend, the UF vs Vermont Basketball Game, a visit to Seaworld and a Chanukah Build-a-Bear surprise for Amy. Enjoy!!!

Amy's Birthday Weekend

Amy blowing out her candles.

Amy surprised after getting a dessert for her birthday at Ballyhoo's Restaurant.

UF vs Vermont Basketball Game

Parker, Becky, Todd, Dana and Josh at the UF - Vermont Basketball game at the St Pete Times Forum.




This is for Lander. A pick of his favorite Gator (Nick Calathes) shooting a free throw. As we all know, Lander used to play against Nick at the JCC - who knew he would be this good.


Seaworld with Amy, Mason, Mom and Dad

Outside Shamu Stadium waiting to see Shamu perform. What a great site to see this powerful whale.

Having a good time with Mason and Dad before the Shamu show.

Chanukah at Build-A-Bear at International Plaza

I surprised Amy and brought her to the store so she can create her own bear. Welcome to the world- Parker Bear. Amy bought me really cool Gator Boxers. Very cool as she turns more into a Gator fan.

Parker Bear

Sunny Marco Island

My relationship with Amy has grown so much and I really love her. This past weekend we made the 3 hour drive West and made it to Marco Island to stay with her Aunt and Uncle. This was a spectacular weekend and they were so accommodating. We had wonderful meals, including the Salmon dishes, took 2 great and sunny walks around Marco Island and along the beach and made a visit to a local fishing village and had yummy grouper sandwiches. We also made a trip to Naples on Saturday afternoon to walk around see what the life is like on the West Coast of Florida. I am so happy to start to meet Amy's family and look forward to next week when my parents get to meet her parents at Thanksgiving.


Amy's Aunt and Uncle also had a beautiful boat and we took some great pictures at the helm of the boat.

Gators Game

Amy had heard so many times how great the Gators game is to attend live. Well, she finally had the chance to attend her first game for homecoming and got to experience what an amazing experience to watch football at the Swamp. Lander flew down from DC to see the Gators play as well. Amy also got her first piece of Gator clothing as she bought a great Gators T-Shirt.

Maroon 5 Concert

Amy and I went to the Maroon 5 concert on Sunday night. We celebrated 6 wonderful months together. I couldn't imagine anything better than my relationship with Amy. She is wonderful, sweet and so funny. We mentioned a few weeks back that we wanted to go to the concert but never pursued it but Amy mentioned again and I went on Craigslist. I found 2 tickets in the lower level and we jumped right on it. The show was awesome and they played all of their current hits. It was a great way to celebrate.

This weekend we are going to see the play, Jewtopia. It is supposed to be very funny and I am very excited to go see it. Part of the ticket, because it is a YAD Program, we get to meet the cast after the show.

Disney with Amy and the Fam

This past Sunday, Amy and I went with the Gold crew (B,P,H,F,M,R,T,J,M) to MGM Studios for another Magical day. The weather was perfect and we had so much. We were able to see some shows that we hadn't seen before and my favorite was the Car Stunt Show. We ended the day with a little ping pong battle after the walk on the boardwalk.

Amy and I getting on the boat to head to MGM

Playing on a big bug in Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground

Hiding out in the big stems of the flowers

Amy, Marin and I heading to MGM on the boat

A Sunday with Amy

This past Sunday, Amy and I spent a wonderful day together. We drove to South Tampa and rode down Bayshore Blvd and found a nice little park at the south end of Bayshore Blvd. It was called the Interbay Park. There was a boat dock and a playground but also a long fishing pier. The weather was perfect and it was so beautiful outside. We saw Pelicans and all sorts of birds.

After walking around the pier, we continued our day at Citrus Park Mall. We both wanted some things and Amy got a nice sweater and I got more polos. Just like I need, more polos. :)

It turned out to be a great day because I spent it with Amy.

Amy in New Jersey

This past week has been hard for me with Amy in New Jersey. We are in a different point of our relationship than where we were when I went to Israel and Amy went on her vacation to NJ and San Diego back in June. It is hard to be apart but this past week has realized how much Amy means to me and how much she is to be an important part of my life. Amy comes back on Saturday night and I get to see her again. I am so excited. :) She starts her new job this Monday at Lakeland Regional Medical Center as a Dietician and then back to Orlando next Wednesday night to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with the family. I am also happy that Lander finally gets to meet Amy as well.

One Month Done

I finished my first month as a WAMU Branch Manager with a bang. I knew coming into the position, it will be a challenge. So after the first month complete, I finished up on top of the region. There are 17 branches in my region that I have my numbers compared against. I actually tied for the best region in production with my old branch, Collier Commons. As my Regional Manager says, "The student keeps up with the teacher!" John (Collier Commons Manager) and I keep a friendly competition going so we are both on top of our games. This is the best this branch has done and we will go up from here. Not a bad way to start my first month!!!

Animal Kingdom and MGM Studios

Amy and I made another trip to Orlando to visit Animal Kingdom and MGM Studios on Sunday. It was Amy's first trip to Animal Kingdom and we had such a great time.

Amy in front of the main entrance to Animal Kingdom.

A new tradition was started during our first visit to the Magic Kingdom. Amy tries on different Mickey ears. I personally like the Leopard ears on the right.

To show that we did make it to MGM, here is a picture of me in front of Mickey's hat.

Kitchen Table

One more cool addition to my house was the purchase of a new kitchen table.

Contacts

After wearing glasses for 20 years I finally broke down and got a pair of contacts. I spent a few hours bargaining with the Regional Manager at Lenscrafters trying to find a pair of sports goggles that would fit my extremely strong prescription. After a day of the manager calling many different stores around the state as well as call Rec Specs directly, I had no choice. I had to get contacts. So on Saturday, I went to the eyeglass store and got my first pair of contacts. They definitely will need to get used to but it will help with sports and playing basketball with no goggles.

Vacation Fun

Last weekend Amy and I spent a wonderful weekend in Orlando. I got us hooked up with some really cool passes to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We went to a fabulous dinner that evening at Season's 52. Thanks mom and dad! Sunday, we went to Mason's first birthday party and ended the afternoon at the Bucs Training Camp at Wide World of Sports with Tampa YAD and Orlando Or Hadash. The time I spend with Amy is incredible and I am so glad that all of you have been able to meet her. Lander, you need to make a trip down here :)

In Front of the Universal Globe

Enjoying the Seussacel!!

Who is the real Grinch?

Amy with the Master of Ceremonies, The Cat in the Hat

About to ride the Hulk. One of my favorite rollercoasters.

Another picture in Hats- Thing 1 and Thing 2

What an adorable one year old, Mason!! We had such a fun time at his party and the cake eating was a fun highlight!