First Maple Syrup Tasting of 2011 by the Costantino Girls: 


It's official!  I got a thumbs-down from the 3 year old about the taste of my home made Maple Syrup (which of course really means a thumbs-up in 3 year old language)

The whole family agrees that this stuff is the best.

Just look at these happy goobers chowin' down.  Makes all the late-night boiling worth it!

And long live the sap -


Wacky Dad

10 REASONS I'M NOT MAKING A BLOG POST TONIGHT

1.  I have been up past midnight for a solid month to please the 3 loyal blog readers that I have - My wife, my father, and my dog (the dog is illiterate but tries to please me - man's best friend and all).  I feel like a vampire!

2.  My wife thinks I am cheating on her with 75 mom bloggers that I am following on Twitter and Facebook.  Little does she know they don't even know who the hell I am...Herein lies the problem!

3.  All of my buddies wonder why in the hell I am following 75 mom bloggers on Twitter and Facebook.  How do you answer that question when your buddies all think your a tough guy?

4.  The word blog is just plain dumb.  I should be ashamed to be a part of anything called a blog.  What in the hell does blog mean?  I don't even want to know.  Forget it.  Crap.

5.  I am supposed to be wacky - I don't feel wacky tonight - I feel like someone ran me over with a damned truck.

6.  I'm getting hemorrhoids from sitting in this damned computer chair every night and I am getting fat and I'm already ugly!

7.  I am ashamed to say that I know what Quora is.  Do any of you even know what in the hell Quora is?

8.  I actually caught myself being interested in a mom blog the other day.  Something about the ins and outs of mommy fashion - I might have even signed up for a free bra giveaway.  Oh Crap!  

9.  I am one of two guys on Bloggy Moms.  The other guy was there first though.  I have become a gigolo to promote my blog in any way possible.  No shame no gain I suppose!

10.  I actually know what a hashtag is.  I used to think hashtag was something you rolled in paper...All is lost.  

Ohhhh I just can't resist the "Publish Post" button.  Oops I did it again!

Love,

Wacky Dad

AKA Eric Costantino

Happy Birthday Dad - You're The Best!

Today is my father's birthday.  I never know what to get the guy since he has every toy in the book so I figured I'd write a post about him to honor his birthday.  Leo Costantino (dad) turned 67 today!  Old as dirt.  He isn't like a typical old guy though.  You ought to see him ski!  he looks like an 18 year old!  Check out this video of him skiing the bumps at one of his favorite haunts - Cannon Mountain.

As a kid I needed no idols or role models to look up to.  I had my father.  The damn guy was awesome!  He was the envy of all of my friends.  We did all of the cool stuff together.  We went out and road dirt bikes (motorcycles) together.  I got my first dirt bike when I was 5 years old!  We fished together, we hunted, sailed, skiied.  You name it we did it.  We weren't the type to sit around watching TV.  We were out having our own adventures!  As far as having someone to look up to I aspired to my father's intense zeal to do the best he could do at all of his activities.  My father is intensely competitive, and when he takes on a task, he takes it on to win.  When he raced his sailboat it was never half ass.  Our boat always had the fastest bottom, a highly trained crew, and everything was perfectly tuned for speed.  My father didn't pay someone to do all of this for him.  He faired the whole bottom of his boat with his own hands and sprayed the noxious racing paint on himself.  He wet sanded it until it was baby bottom smooth. Dad trained his crew tirelessly until tacks and jibes were like second nature.  And he did it all while having fun and making friends!

      My father also did a ton of bike riding and racing when I was in my teens.  I watched him kick the ass of guys that were half his age on a regular basis!  He is one tough dude.  I once saw him win a race in Jamestown - when they called him up to get his award he was so beaten up that he could barely climb the stairs to pick up his trophy.  He spent absolutely everything in his body to win that award over guys that probably should have beaten him, but for the pure grit and determination he displayed - a Marine's dogged determination.  I remember watching him proudly as he managed to finish up in the top 3 riders of a large group ride that he rode yearly in RI.  The guy is just like nails and his will to overcome and kick ass has become famous to me and everyone who knows him.  My own personal zeal for riding is a direct result of cycling with my father.  My will to conquer large rides for charities was born from my fathers spirit and tenacity.  I learned by watching and listening that there just isn't anything a man can't do when he set his mind to it.

     I remember one day when I was a young kid we were at an event at the local sailing club.  One of the older staff gave a woman who was pregnant a hard time for no good reason.  I remember peeking around the corner as my father took this guy (who happened to be a good guy having a bad day) into another room and chewed his ass so hard he was pale and shaking when he walked out of there. There wasn't a soul within a mile that didn't hear him!  Most of the time you couldn't make my father mad but disrespect was something he would not tolerate from anyone, especially not disrespect toward a pregnant woman!  God bless you if you gave him the bird in the car!  Madman!  I learned that certain things are black and white from dad.  There aren't shades of gray when it comes to right and wrong.
   I could go on for days about my father's exploits but that isn't really what this post is about.  It is about my fathers inherent toughness.  It's about his will to kick ass and take names against even the steepest odds.  I am looking forward to watching my father face aging.  I know sometimes the fact that he isn't 18 anymore gets to him.  I'm sure it gets to everyone as they climb up in years.  I know my father will have the determination and tenacity to fight on as he always has.  I know even old age will shrink from his indomitable spirit and his can-do, kick ass mentality.  I can see father doom getting dressed down by my old man and walking away pale and shaking just like the guy at the club that day when I was a kid.  Dad you will always be my idol, my mentor, and my best friend.  No matter how old you are, you will always kick ass in my book!  Happy Birthday you old shit!


Love and Semper Fidelis!


Eric (aka Wacky Dad)    



By the way if you like this post please visit please visit http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/daddy-blogs to vote for me and help me get recognized as one of the top 25 Dad Bloggers on the web!

Wacky Dad On Wine!

Would you let this guy pick out your next wine purchase?

I am not exactly a sophisticated connoiseur of wine.  I don't know what in the hell bouquet, dry, sweet, and all of that other fancy-dancy stuff means.  But I am here to tell you - if there is a fairly cheap wine, and it tastes good, I can sniff it out.  I love to sample lots of different bottles.  I start at the low-mid range of the pay scale and try all of them.  Surprisingly I have found many wines that I enjoyed that were relatively inexpensive.  In some cases, in a newly discovered brand, I would notice that over time as the brand caught on the prices would rise.  When this happens I move on to another search.  I find this to be a highly enjoyable way to sample many different brands and varieties of wine.  One of my first
wines that I fell in love with is Torresella Pinot Griot.  Again I don't know all of the names but I found this to be a really good bottle of wine for the money.  I drank quite a few bottles of this but noticed the price start to rise a bit as it caught on.  The search was on again!  Mommy's Time Out.  This was a nice tasting Pinot Grigiot wine and I believe I started buying it at 2 for $12.  Damn good wine for the money.  Eventually it went up a bit but it is still a great bottle of wine for the money and your wife will get a kick out of the name.  I like to bring it home when I know Cathy has had an exceptionally bad day.  Time for a time out!  Also a favorite of mine is Cellar No. 8 Merlot.  Very nice for the money.  Don't look for fancy terms from me - if your too cheap to take a chance on a $7 bottle of wine go read another blog!
     Next I got intrigued by the whole box wine phenomena.  It was first recommended  to me by my old buddy Billy.  If anyone knows his cheap booze it's Billy.  Anyway I went out and bought a box of Black Box Merlot.  I was skeptical at first but was soon won over by it's solid taste and consistency.  There was no bad aftertaste, no hangover, no "Ripple" or "Boone's" hangovers.  Just good product at a fair price.  Black box is about $19 for the equivalent of 3 bottles of wine.  Then I took a little turn to the dark side.


One night my 93 year old grandfather shows up with a box of "Almaden Mountain Burgundy".  This is like $12.50 for the equivalent of 5 bottles.  Definitely some bang for your buck!  My grandfather after testing out the black box and the new "Mountain Burgundy"  declared "I myself find this a more satisfying wine than the Black Box".  Keep in mind that this guy grew up in the depression with bathtub wine.  Well somehow I got hooked on the stuff and the price.  I always had a box on the top of the fridge and turned the handy little knob whenever I wanted a glass.  Heck it lasts forever when it's a five bottle equivalent!  Then one day I had a bottle of Cellar No. 8 and forgot what I was missing.  The Almaden actually wasn't all that satisfying!  Sorry Papa!  The problem was though, that I got accustomed to paying for the cheap box and not the bottle.  The search was on again for the "perfect box wine" - and this time I have delivered for all of my blog readers out there!  This stuff is hands down the best box wine I have had to date, and I stand by it 100%!  It is called Bodegas Osborne Seven, a Spanish Varietal.  At $16.99 a box and a 4 bottle equivalent this stuff is hands down the best box wine I have had and honestly trumps most bottle wines in its class as well.  I have to say that the octagonal box was what captured my imagination, but the wine inside is delicious!  I am extremely happy with this wine and will continue to buy it until the price starts to rise!  Once it hits $19 the search begins again!  What a way for a cheap skate to sample all kinds of fun wines and have a great time with it!  Drink up and please comment on your experiences with my favorites!


Cheers!


Wacky Dad     
     
P.S.  This is about as sophisticated as my dumb ass gets - don't expect it again any time soon!


By the way if you like this post please visit please visit http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/daddy-blogs to vote for me and help me get recognized as one of the top 25 Dad Bloggers on the web!  I would be eternally grateful and will say a cheer to you next time I crack open a new box!