Happy 2012 everybody!  This has been quite a year for our home: I ran my first marathon, I proposed to Abbe, Bubs played his first ice hockey games, Viv made some amazing art, I turned 40, the kids went camping for the first time ever in a real tent in the woods, Bubs got his first straight A’s report card, I got health insurance, Viv and Van both got baseballs at a Phillies game, Abbe and I were in the newspaper, Abbe, Bill, and I raised over $11,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and we adopted Titan. So 2012, I think you’ve got some great stuff in store for us as well – let’s do this.

Oh and before our 10 mile run (the last big one before next weekend’s Goofy Challenge in Disney World!)… Abbe discussed black toenails that we runners are prone to get… and I react…

And before I forget, here are some pictures from NYE with the Mecks, we had a blast!

Small Business/Tech Links…

• 5 Apps Worth Downloading This Week
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Funny/Interesting Links…

• Austraaaaaalia, Melbourne, kangaroos, didgeridoo, Austraaaaaalia, Olivia Newton John, Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson.
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Here’s a weekend recap… Abbe’s brother Luke, his fiancee Malery, and her sweet little girl, Olivia all came to visit and we had a blast. We took Livie to the Adventure Aquarium for her birthday, got some Five Guys for lunch, watched Bubs’ ice hockey team play a game (and we were surprised with my cousin Alyssa and her husband Phil at the game!), and then topped off the night with some Riv pizza and lots of beers. Sunday Abbe and I did our 15 mile training run at Kelly Drive and then I completed an eating challenge (with some help from Abbe) at Ott’s (Da Banger).

With all of this fun and busyness going on there is a very real need for help… we only have until this Friday (December 16th) to get our donations in to LLS. We are currently only $1000 away from our goal of $10,500. I want to repeat something, if Abbe and I do not hit that number, we will be CHARGED the remainder.

If you have not yet donated, please consider even a small donation – $5, $10 DO help!

To Give: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nj/wdw12/AllForLayna

Small Business/Tech Links…

• Setting a Sale Schedule for the Holiday Season
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Catching up on a few things today…

The tree is up!

And Abbe invented a new drink… Abbe dropped a prune into her wine glass by accident and ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the “Upper Decker”. A new cocktail recipe that is sure to catch fire…

Movie Reviews…

Water for Elephants - this was an OK adaptation of the book (which I thought was good), there were somethings left out that I missed, but overall not a bad movie, but nothing ground-breaking here. Christoph Waltz stole the show.

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• How to Become Panda Proof – Safeguard Your SEO
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Funny/Interesting Links…

• Alec Baldwin Grounded For Bad Behavior, Blames Words With Friends
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• So this isn’t an SNL clip? Holy crap.

The turn-out was great for our Beef N’ Beer last night. We raised a bunch of money towards our goal. Raffle prizes were won and yes, without further adieu…. I got a mohawk…

A big thank you to Leah Allen for keeping all those head shavers between the lines and a huge thank you to the organizations and individuals that were kind enough to donate raffle prizes!

• Performance Health & Chiropractic
• With Heart & Healing Hands
• Battleship New Jersey
• Philadelphia Independence Seaport Museum
• Frankie “The Answer” Edgar
• The Philadelphia Phillies

Tonight, Abbe and I will be heading to Reading, PA for our next fundraiser, Dinner at The Works. If we get 30 people to show up this evening we receive 10% of the entire dining room bill as a donation, otherwise – we get zilch! So this is a big night for us, we think this could very well be our largest fundraiser in terms of dollars raised! That said, the homestretch is looking like it will be very tough. We have until December 19th to reach $11,000 and we are currently sitting at $7506 (the Beef N’ Beer should put us over $8000).

If you would care to donate to LLS and help us in our fight against blood cancers, please do so. If you are unable to give, please consider simply sharing or retweeting this post so others may do so.

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• 10 Questions for New SEO Clients
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Funny/Interesting Links…

• Top 10 Tweets: Herman Cain’s #CainWreck Speech
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• 7 new unintentionally inappropriate test answers from young children.

Abbe and I ran 18 miles yesterday at Kelly Drive. Today, we are holding a Beef N’ Beer Fundraiser for LLS at The Marlton Tavern between 5-8pm. There are some very cool raffle prizes, a seriously great spread of food, lots of excellent cocktails, I will be getting a mohawk, and a very special guest will be joining us. A friend of mine from my softball team is bringing a co-worker and his family, including a 6 year old little girl in remission with her battle against leukemia.

Throughout all the training and worry about raising this money – there still remains the power of seeing those that you are helping. During the marathon last year, Abbe and I ran along with and saw many survivors and families affected by blood cancers. Powerful, powerful stuff.

If you can make it to Marlton today, we would love to see you. Tickets are $30 for adults, $15 for kids. You WILL have a great time. And if you can not attend today and would like to help, please consider making an online donation at our team page. Already, we have exceeded the amount our team raised last year, but at $7,371 – we are still short of our goal of $11,000. The deadline to get donations in is just a few weeks away.

And I want to leave you with one last image… this is one of my proudest moments as a Dad – a sandwich bag that my daughter has had thumbtacked to our kitchen bulletin board for the past 6 months or so. Vivienne has placed most of her 7 year old life savings in this bag for her own donation to LLS. This very sweet 7 year old girl is donating around $10. $5 and $10 donations do mean a lot to this team and to those in the fight of their lives. We need you help. Please consider giving.