Ever since my beloved Sennheiser CX 300 headphones started showing their age a few months ago, I’ve been on the lookout for a nice pair of noise isolating in-ear headphones with iPhone controls to replace them. My CX 300’s were around six years old, and while the sound was still amazing (when both headphones would work), I missed the iPhone controls from my Apple EarPods that came shipped with my iPhone 5.

Bright Blue Headphones

While browsing through my RSS feed (yes I am still using RSS) last week I found a great deal on a pair of Klipsch Image S4i Rugged Headphones for $40 shipped. These have a list price of $100, so it was just the kind of deal I was looking for. They arrived this past Sunday and I have been using them ever since. The noise isolation from the earbuds is definitely on par with the old Sennheiser’s and the sound is just as good if not better. It’s all a matter of finding the right size tip for your ear. If you can find a deal on these headphones, definitely give them a try.

Today for lunch I finally made it over to the non fast food restaurant closest to my office in Mason, Viva Tequila Mexican Restaurant. The outside of the restaurant isn’t very flashy, but they have decent curb appeal with their pretty flower beds and updated outside paint. There is an outside patio on one side of the building, but it was much too hot to fully enjoy today.

Outside

The inside of the restaurant is slightly more drab than the outside, but there are plenty of windows to let in a ton of natural light. Plus there are a variety of live plants separating the booths that add a nice touch. There are multiple dining areas, but it seemed that they were only using the first one on my visit. This room has four rows of booths, providing seating for at least a dozen groups. Half of the tables were occupied during my visit.

Inside

I was greeted immediately upon my entry and shown to a table. Before I could even settle in and open up the menu, complimentary chips and salsa were dropped off to my table and my drink order was taken. An extra basket of chips will cost you $.99 and additional salsa $.60. Both were made fresh and were very good. The salsa had a nice spicy kick to it, which I appreciated. One serving was plenty for my table of one, but it would be worthwhile to order more if necessary.

Chips & Salsa

I ordered the lunch chicken chimichanga served with beans and guacamole salad ($6.49), a standard order for my first time somewhere. I am accustomed to larger chimichangas, but what this one lacked in height, it made up for in taste. I could tell that it was freshly prepared and delivered to my table within minutes of my order. The chicken filling was moist and the cheese sauce that was served on top was outstanding! The refried bean serving size was large and they also tasted good. They were topped with some shredded cheese and took up nearly half of the plate. The guacamole salad was fresh and a nice substitution for the standard Mexican rice.

Lunch Chimichanga

I was very impressed by the food and speedy service at Viva Tequila. The menu is very extensive, so there should be something for everyone, and I look forward to trying other dishes in the future.

After taking a year off, Pig-Fest (the annual pig roast and party at my parents’ house) took place this past weekend. The weather was fantastic and all of our favorite events took place once again. Personally I had a great year in the Wiffle ball tournament, bringing home the trophy for the second time!

I used my GoPro camera to create a timelapse video using roughly 440 images captured over nearly four hours. If the battery wouldn’t have died I could have captured even more. Maybe next time I’ll plug it into a power source to keep the footage rolling.

As she normally does, my mom says this is the last Pig-Fest, but the next one would be the 20th edition, so I think we have to do it again!

Last night was the third Bark in the Park of the Reds season, where fans can bring their dogs to the game. We don’t have a dog of our own, but members of Kim’s family brought two dogs to the game last night.

Paige Not Impressed

The game was special for us as it was Paige’s first time at the ball park. She fell asleep on the walk in but did wake up for the end of the game. We also remembered to get her free commemorative certificate from the Fan Accommodation booth.

Craft Beer!

Our seats were very close to the newly opened craft beer stand near the children’s playground. This is the second craft beer stand in the stadium and there are some great beers available.

Great View

Our seats were out in the dog sections in right field in the “Terrace Line.” I really enjoyed the view from these seats.

Nick Dancing

Kim’s brother Nick always gets on the scoreboard video screens at games. Last night he managed to get on twice!

Three Ed Paff’s

I’ve often been asked if I was related to Ed Paff the electrician. It turns out that his dad was cousins with my grandpa (I think that’s what he said). Anyway, he went to school with my father-in-law, who introduced the two of us last night. He thought it was great that Trey was also another Ed Paff and so we got a photo of the three of us. You should have been there, dad!

My family and I recently visited the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. This is a working horse farm and an educational theme park opened in 1978. It is open to the public daily through the summer 9 AM to 5 PM. It costs $16 for adults, $8 for children ages 7-12, and children under 6 are free.

The Kentucky Horse Park has been a retirement home for some of the world’s greatest competition horses. There are also plenty of draft horses on hand and some rarer horses from around the world. The complex is massive (1,224 acres) and a full day can easily be spent seeing all the sights. A horse-drawn tour is a good way to see all the park and then you can visit the areas that seemed most interesting. There are also competition facilities on site, so you may be able to catch a glimpse of some show jumping or other types of events. It’s a short drive from Cincinnati and worthy of a day trip.

After a couple of nights enjoying Ault Park’s summer dance series, I was finally able to sample a few sandwiches from C’est Cheese mobile grilled cheese food truck bus. The bus has been in operation for a little over a year and prepares all the sandwiches fresh to order.

Food Truck

My personal choice on this most recent visit was the PHD, ham, cheddar cheese and brown mustard on Tuscan pane ($6). The mustard added a nice bite to the otherwise fairly standard grilled ham and cheese. The sandwich was filling, though a bag of chips definitely helps round out the meal.

PHD

My personal favorite and the sandwich we have ordered during both visits is the Bee Sting. This sandwich combines mozzarella, pepperoni, basil infused honey with chili flaked butter on Tuscan pane ($6). The mix of sweet flavors from the honey mixes perfectly with the spiciness from the pepperoni and chili flakes. This is my go to sandwich.

Bee Sting

Our son enjoys half of the Cheesy Wonder, which is a blend of four cheeses again on Tuscan pane ($5). Again the sandwiches are pretty large, so  there is no way he can finish the entire sandwich, but I always enjoy the leftovers. This is a fairly standard grilled cheese, but I appreciate the mix of cheeses to give it somewhat of a better taste. Still the specialty sandwiches are where it’s at.

Cheesy Wonder

Overall, I have enjoyed my two stops at C’est Cheese and would gladly order more sandwiches from them in the future. Get the Bee Sting, you will not be disappointed.

Earlier today I had an afternoon appointment downtown and once it was over I took advantage of the situation to get something to eat from one of many newer restaurants in the area. The Silver Ladle isn’t that new, as it opened in March 2012, but it is still new to me and seems like it is still new to many others as well.

Outside

Silver Ladle is located on 6th Street in the ground level “restaurant row” of the ever evolving 580 building. There is a small patio area outside with floor to ceiling windows for those on the inside.

Counter

A menu is posted between the sets of entry doors and another is posted high above the ordering counter. After orders are placed at the register, a number is handed to you, and the restaurant dining space is open seating. Don’t forget to grab some napkins and plastic utensils near the drink machine before taking your seat.

Inside

The inside dining area appears to be very modular, with all tables set for a party of two, but it seems that they are close enough so it would be easy to pull together multiple tables for a larger group. There is plenty of seating and a couple of smaller TV’s on the wall. My 1:30 arrival is likely out of the normal lunch rush that a downtown location would bring, so there were plenty of open tables during my visit.

Fork & Knife Chili

On this visit I decided that I definitely wanted to try their award-winning Cincinnati style chicken chili. For anyone who has been to Nick & Tom’s before, like I have in 2011, and had the chicken chili there, this chili will be very familiar. Silver Ladle owner Tim Lambrinides is the son of Tom of Nick & Tom fame and is the great-grandson of Skyline Chili founder Nicholas Lambrinides. I had a small sample of the chicken chili at Nick & Tom’s and really enjoyed it’s Skyline like flavor. Fortunately the chicken chili at Silver Ladle is equally as good! I had it served over spaghetti with cheddar cheese, diced onion and jalapeño, Cuban black bean soup, and sour cream all on top ($6.99).

Also available at Silver Ladle are a variety of stuffed burgers, hot and cold sandwiches, salads, and a dozen or so soups and chili. The very kind employee who took my order recommended a few different sandwiches, but there was no way I couldn’t try their chicken chili again. On another visit I might order a pick two combo with the chicken chili and half a sandwich with drink included ($8.29).  I will definitely try to get back for more, but without any weekend hours it may be a little hard for me to do. If you work downtown and have not given it a try, you should definitely give it a go tomorrow for lunch.

Last week Jackie O’s Brewery out of Athens, Ohio began distribution in Cincinnati with Cavalier. I was shocked to find both of their initial offerings, Firefly Amber and Chomo-lung-ma (honey nut brown), at my local deli last night. I couldn’t decide between the two so I decided to buy them both.

Beer Cans

The beers are in canned six packs and have a very eye-catching design. My wife and I both sampled each beer last night, starting with the Firefly Amber. I found this amber to be a bit hoppier than a traditional amber ale, but not so much that my wife (a non-IPA fan) didn’t enjoy it. In fact she said she preferred Firefly over Chomo-lung-ma, which is sweeter with the addition of wildflower honey. I found the subtle sweetness from the honey to be wonderful and preferred this beer over the Firefly.

According to Jackie O’s comment on my Instagram photo, their Mystic Mama IPA will be hitting shelves next week. I will definitely be on the lookout for that one. Additional details of Jackie O’s and reviews of these two beers are available on Queen City Drinks.

While at the Bunbury Music Festival last month, I won a GoPro HERO3 video camera thanks to Education at Work. EAW  is a non-profit organization helping to address the unemployment crisis in the U.S. They provide entry-level service positions that teach “foundational” job skills like time management, communication, collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking. Please visit their website for additional information.

Back to the GoPro, I finally found some time this weekend to give it a try. We spent the majority of the weekend down at Williamstown Lake. My first video is a quick tour of part of the lake from the pontoon boat. As it was my first attempt, please forgive my fingers that are blocking part of the view.

The second video shows a human sized gerbil ball. Since the camera has a waterproof housing I took this video while floating in the lake. I took my turn in the gerbil ball but did not take the camera inside as I was afraid of dropping of it.

I’m in the process of buying more accessories for the GoPro, starting with a floating tether to keep it floating in the water should I accidentally let go of it. I think some kind of mount would be cool too, but I haven’t made any purchases yet.

I have had multiple meals from Jason’s Deli in the past, but I recently visited the new location in Cincinnati and decided to give it a review. This is the chains first location in Cincinnati and fourth in Ohio. Today, Jason’s Deli boasts more than 240 locations across 28 states.

Outside

The Cincinnati location is in the newly opened Rookwood Exchange, in the same strip as Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, Ambiance Nail Salon & Spa, and Fraise Frozen Yogurt & Smoothies.

Inside

The ordering counter is at the other end of the restaurant space from the main entry doors. Printed menus are available near the counter so you can make a decision before stepping up to a register. The menu is very lengthy with tons of sandwiches, muffalettas, soups, pastas, and a massive salad bar.

Salad Bar

After your order is placed, a number is handed to you, and you can take a seat at any available table. The food is brought out to you in a few minutes along with napkins and a fork. If you choose to eat from the salad bar, a plate is given to you right away for your convenience.

Santa Fé Chicken Sandwich

On this visit I ordered the Santa Fé chicken sandwich served with potato chips ($6.99). Grilled chicken breast is combined with bacon, Swiss, guacamole, tomato, and Russian dressing, served on grilled whole grain wheat bread. I really enjoyed the sweet flavor of the dressing combined with the smokey bacon and always tasty guacamole. It was a great sandwich. The handful of chips were average salty potato chips, definitely the low point of the meal. I wish there were more options for a side dish.

Free Ice Cream

For dessert I had a small cup of complimentary ice cream from the soft serve machine. No toppings are available (other than a dark chocolate sauce) but it is free and tasty! It was a great finish to an overall good meal. I’ll be sure to add Jason’s Deli to my rotating list of quick sandwich spots.