tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25153639151953083882024-03-13T14:47:36.787-07:00Dates in Austin - Ideas, Events, and Things to Do on a DateI have lived and dated in Austin for 15+ years now and find myself routinely planning and going on the same date over the years with just different women. Well, this summer I was lucky enough to find an amazing bride and now am challenged to come up with new ideas. Over the years I have had some successes and some failures in the dating department. Hopefully this blog will detail the success and help anyone reading along to learn from my mistakes or reap the rewards.Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-58051671862581370332010-11-14T20:21:00.000-08:002010-11-14T20:22:47.288-08:00Wine BarsJen is a huge fan of wine bars and we go to wine bars often on dates. Below are some of the bars we have visited and my personal 2 cents.<br />
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<a href="http://www.uncorkedtastingroom.com/">Uncorked</a> Great bar that overlooks downtown. 1 block east of I-35. They often have live music and events. $$$<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mulberryaustin.com/">Mulberry</a> - in the bottom of the 360 condos downtown. Jen and I sat in the corner of the bar and had a great view of the chefs preparing food. Kind of like a live version of Top Chef. Really small and quaint. May only fit 25 people in it. $$<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vinovinotx.com/">Vino Vino</a> nice wine bar on Guadalupe. Have very reasonably priced bottles and a couple appetizers. Every time I have been it has been really crowded. $
<br />
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<a href="http://www.housewineaustin.com/">House Wine</a> Next to P Terry's on Lamar. Wine bar that use to be a house. Intimate setting. They also always have pitchers of white and red sangria available. Think of original Kerby Lane atmosphere. Plus they have a tasting class on Tuesdays. $$<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.apothecaryaustin.com/">Apothecary</a> Off Burnet Rd. We went there on a night it snowed in Austin (which is rare). Basically had the place to ourselves. The wine was good and they had comfortable chairs to sit at. $$
<br />
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<a href="http://www.grovewinebar.com/">The Grove</a> In Westlake blocks from Jen's work. She goes there almost weekly. They have great Pizzas and nice outdoor Patio with huge tree. $$$<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fionwinepub.com/">Fion</a> Wine bar in Steiner Ranch. A cross between gas station and elegant wine bar. Plus they have a huge cigar selection. $$$<br />
<br />
<a href="http://whipin.com/">Whip-In</a> Very Austin wine bar. Right off I-35 and pulling up you would think it is a gas station/Planet K store. Inside there are tables, a wide assortment of wines & beer, and a bar. $Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-26190349744305794582010-08-04T14:07:00.001-07:002010-08-04T14:07:46.993-07:001 Year Anniversary Date<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"></meta><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMark%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMark%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMark%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><style>
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Obviously this is gonna have to be bigger and better than a
typical date night. I opted for a weekend getaway in central Texas. As discussed on previous blogs my wife is a
huge wine fan. Also, we have a trip planned to Europe later this year so I
wanted to do something to help lead into that.</div>
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It started out Saturday morning with a nice drive through
the hill country and we had lunch at <a href="http://www.trattorialisina.com/">http://www.trattorialisina.com/</a>.
For those that have not been. This is a Tuscan style restaurant at the Mandola
Vineyard. We went before on a wine tour and always thought it was neat. For
reference the restaurant is about a minute drive from the Salt Lick. </div>
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After lunch we headed to <a href="http://www.texasoliveoil.com/">Bella Vista Ranch</a>. This is Texas’
first olive oil company. It is about a 30 minute drive from the restaurant. They
offer 3 different olive oil tours a week.
Sat. 10 & 1 and Sun 12 (noon). The owner gives the tour and more information
about olives than you could ever imagine. I always find it fascinating to hear
someone talk about subject matter that they are an expert on and passionate
about. To be honest I never really gave olive oil much thought before the tour.
After the tour there is olive oil tasting. I warn you they just put olive oil
into small shot glasses and then have you shoot them. I was hesitant at first,
but after all the other people in our class (12 or so) I followed suit. Another nice benefit is that Bella Vista is a
vineyard and produces wine also. They have typical Cabs and Syrah wines and
also a Blackberry wine. </div>
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Following our olive oil tour we headed to our main
destination <a href="http://www.thelakehousebb.com/">The Lake House Bed &
Breakfast at Canyon Lake</a>. It is a small house on canyon lake. The owner
actually was raised there and now resides down the street and rents out his
home to lucky guests. There are 4 rooms available and for weekends they require
2 night stays. I called in advance and he told me if there was availability a
week out he would book it for the 1 night. Luckily 1 room was open and I jumped
on it. Some of the amenities – lake front property, pool, hot tub, breakfast, …
We barely saw anyone the entire time we were there. We spent the afternoon
enjoying a nice bottle of wine by the pool. </div>
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We headed to dinner at <a href="http://www.luckysailoroysterbar.net/">Lucky Sailor</a>, Canyon lake’s
only restaurant on the lake. Think a small scale carlos n’ charlies. We enjoyed
some live music and drinks at sunset. </div>
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Heading back we to our lake house we spent the rest of the
evening eating frozen wedding cake, sitting in the hot tub, and finishing the
bottle of wine from earlier. Breakfast
the next morning was included and quite elegant. You could tell the chef made
the same menu week after week and made it well. We headed to church in Canyon
Lake and then headed home. All-in-all a great weekend and hopefully one Jen
will cherish for a while. </div>
Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-65267971538551350292010-07-29T16:38:00.000-07:002010-07-29T16:38:21.645-07:00Frugal Dating<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"></meta><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMark%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMark%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMark%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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This is a quick little tidbit on going on a good date without breaking the
bank. When I was younger and single I never wanted to use coupons or discounts
in front of my date because she might think I was cheap. That being said now that
I'm married it's always nice to save a buck or 2.<o:p></o:p><br />
In Austin there are quite a few ways to get more bang for your buck.<o:p></o:p><br />
<a href="http://www.restaurant.com/"><span>www.restaurant.com</span></a>
This is a good place for high end restaurants. Typically pay $10 for a $25 off
coupon on purchases over $35. Right now use the coupon code PLATE and get 80%
off. That's $25 off a $35 meal for a $2 coupon. I have used coupons from there
for Paggi House, True Grits, Cafe Bleu, Austin Land n Cattle, and more<o:p></o:p><br />
<a href="http://www.groupbuy.com/austin"><span>www.groupbuy.com/austin</span></a> Deal
a day websites. This one has all the sites that offer deals a day. For instance
$20 for a $40 coupon for a restaurant. groupon.com , adealio.com,
morgansdeals.com, and others <o:p></o:p><br />
<a href="http://www.entertainment.com/discount/home.shtml"><span>Entertainment
passport book</span></a> - This use to be an awesome resource for buy 1 meal
get 1 free coupons. Still <span>some good deals, just more get $25 a $75
meal. </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span>For
you cedar park folk </span><a href="http://www.cedarparkfun.com/joomla/component/option,com_sobi2/sobi2Task,sobi2Details/catid,6/sobi2Id,33/Itemid,75/">coupons</a><o:p></o:p><br />
Also, no need to go somewhere and pay for a drink when a lot of times on a
date you just need to be with the other person. There is not much better than
taking a nice bottle of wine, 2 glasses (don't forget cork screw and bug spray)
and sit by the lake. There are parks all over Austin. <o:p></o:p><br />
Some of my personal favorite spots are the Aboretum, Emma Long Park, Sandy
Creek Park, 360 Bridge Park.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-82033369376363433522010-04-30T10:57:00.000-07:002010-04-30T10:57:29.127-07:00Austin Wine Class<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.austinwineclasses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Bottle-sketch1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="95" src="http://www.austinwineclasses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Bottle-sketch1.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
For those unaware my wife is a huge wine fan. This past week we went to our first <a href="http://www.austinwineclasses.com/">Austin Wine Class</a>. The classes are very affordable - ranging from $10-$25 (ours was $15) based on what wines you are drinking. Our class was held at <a href="http://www.whipin.com/">Whip In Parlous & Cafe</a> (cross between gas station/bar/bistro). It is a neat Austin original location. <br />
<br />
Our class had 8 people and our instructor Ray. She went over the wines, general wine info, and answered any questions we had. Some tidbits I learned:<br />
<br />
Difference between Old Vine (Vine over 50 yrs old) and Ancient Vine (Wine over 75 yrs old).<br />
California locale and how the weather affects the wines.<br />
<br />
We had a glass each of all 4 wines being sampled. Our class was from 7-8:30. All around a lot of fun. We followed that up by a quick dinner at Eddie V's downtown and headed home.Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-34090105842103778562010-03-02T09:38:00.000-08:002010-03-02T09:38:33.153-08:00Valentine's SurpriseValentine's this year we decided to split the day in half - I would be responsible for the 1st half of the day and she would plan the second half. Valentine's day landing on a Sunday allowed me to let her sleep in while I started the day off with breakfast in bed. <br />
<br />
Not being a Chef by any sense of the word I found a simple recipe for Crepes style pancakes online, bought fresh fruit, nutella, and made coffee. Served to her directly in bed. <br />
<br />
After that we went to church and headed to my main event which is a called <a href="http://www.paintingwithatwist.com/">Painting with a Twist</a>.They have pre-designed artwork that professional artists help you recreate. For Valentine's day there were two painting - One with a heart and key lock and the the other with a Key. The twist part is that you can bring in your favorite snack and beverage. I brought in a bottle of red wine, dried sausage, sharp cheddar cheese, and dark chocolates. All being Jen's favorites.<br />
<br />
This was not the painting by numbers project I had hoped for. You actually paint everything from a blank canvas and a palette of paint. The Heart design with key lock (Jen's) the instructor said was a simpler design and key had several more components (Mine). With the instructors giving hints and suggestions were painted some wonderful master pieces. You can adjust the picture in anyway you want and many people tried to have it match the color scheme in their house.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.paintingwithatwist.com/album/13/KeytoMyHeart02-14_small.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.paintingwithatwist.com/album/13/KeytoMyHeart02-14_small.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jen and I are the top two on the left. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They have a calendar on their website with paintings and prices for artwork. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Range from $35-$45.</div> Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-55625088816839511972010-03-02T09:24:00.001-08:002010-03-02T09:24:52.219-08:00Texas Hockey Date<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.nhl.com/stars/images/upload/2008/06/txstarslogo200.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.nhl.com/stars/images/upload/2008/06/txstarslogo200.gif" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For those unaware Cedar Park, Texas is the home to the Texas Stars. You have probably heard of the Dallas Stars NHL team - the Texas Stars are there minor league team. Being from Texas my closest exposure to hockey was the Austin Ice Bats. The Ice Bats resembled more of Ice Boxing than hockey with melting ice, fights, and obnoxious fans. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Texas Stars were a pleasant surprise. They play at the Cedar Park Event Center - a state of the art building. The players are mostly NHL quality players with quite a few having been placed on the Texas Stars following injury or are prospects still awaiting a chance to be promoted to the Dallas Stars. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There are constant promotions going on their website <a href="http://www.texasstarshockey.com/">http://www.texasstarshockey.com/</a>. We went on bring in an HEB canned food product and get half off ticket price. Most concessions are your typical peanuts, hot dogs, and beer options, but there is also a full bar in the front corner of the event center that serves any mixed drink. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This was the first hockey match Jen had ever been to and had a great time. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ticket Price: Lots of promotions - anyware from $5-$50</div><div class="MsoNormal">Food Price: $10-$20 for hotdog and beer</div><div class="MsoNormal">Additional Charges: Parking $10</div>Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-57825699923324812732009-12-30T15:41:00.000-08:002009-12-30T15:41:51.145-08:00Cheap, Easy, and FunSpec's Monthly Wine Tasting Event. For those unaware - Spec's is a grocery store sized liquor store with several locations all around Austin. All locations have a once a month Wine Tasting Event. The Brodie Lane location has there the first Tuesday of every month which Jen and I attended.<br />
<br />
For only $10 you get a Riedel wine glass and a ticket for tastings of 20 different wines. You get a punch card and head around the store to 10 different locations designated with number, balloons, and kiosk with wine distributor. They give you quick info on the wines and pour you a wine tasting. Also, throughout the store there are several food/snack kiosks setup for samples. I remember a salsa kiosk, pecan pie kiosk, several cheese stations, and even sweet leaf tea. It lasts from 5:30-8:00 and they stop promptly at 8:00. We got there right at 7:00 and were just able to get through all the stations.Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-2978349604941384992009-12-21T16:02:00.000-08:002009-12-21T16:02:33.042-08:00Dinner Cruise on Town LakeJen takes the credit for planning this date.<br />
<br />
For those unaware Austin has the largest urban bat population and its quite impressive to see them take over from under Congress bridge on Town Lake. On any given day there are anywhere from 20-200 spectators lined up to see the infamous Austin Bats. Whether from on the bridge, on a grassy knoll next to the bridge, or on a boat you see millions of bats take off in a stream.<br />
<br />
Well, Jen found an awesome way to experience this Austin event. <a href="http://www.capitalcruises.com/bat-watching/">http://www.capitalcruises.com/bat-watching/</a><br />
Capital Cruises has a large boat that takes tons of people and a small private boat for a more romantic and intimate time on the lake. Jen booked us for a dinner cruise and it was tons of fun.<br />
<br />
You meet at the Hyatt hotel and get free parking with drink purchase at the bar. Capital cruises then will setup the boat and bring you dinner and drinks for the cruise. You have 2 hours and we spent a relaxing time cruising on the lake. You can watch the bats or just cruise around. We got the fajitas and enjoyed a nice bottle of wine.Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-40970486819642450492009-12-16T17:09:00.000-08:002009-12-16T17:09:11.761-08:00Date at the DomainThis was a date we went on a couple of months ago and was a blast.<br />
<br />
Dinner - <a href="http://www.chefs.edu/austin/restaurant.asp">La Ventana</a> This is the restaurant for the Texas Culinary Academy. Essentially a bunch of culinary students guided by Cordon Bleu Chef run a restaurant right behind the Domain. They have a <a href="http://www.chefs.edu/austin/ventana_menu.pdf">simple menu</a> with appetizers, salads, main courses, and rotating deserts. 2 courses for $15 or 3 for $20.<br />
<br />
One meal/desert is available to be cooked table side which was a lot of fun. They even let me order 2 main courses. The restaurant is run by students and tipping is not expected (but greatly appreciated).<br />
<br />
After dinner we headed over to a <a href="http://www.austin360.com/food_drink/restaurants/129786/DetailedList.jspd?activity=129786">Viva Chocolato!</a> It is a choclate/wine bar/dessert cafe in the Domain. We got a glass of wine and a chocolate truffle. Plus they have a back room that is rather isolated and great for a date. We did our bible study for the week there and just enjoyed listening to the Jazz music.<br />
<br />
My alternative was to go to the <a href="http://thesteepingroom.com/">Steeping Room</a> for Tea/Coffee, also located in the Domain. They closed a little too early for us so the Viva Chocolato worked well.Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-31267289888799672992009-12-15T22:37:00.000-08:002009-12-15T22:37:47.635-08:00Paella DowntownFor those of you looking for a happening date on a Tuesday take a look at <a href="http://www.malagatapasbar.com/">Malagra's Tapas and Bar</a> on 2nd Street. This is a unique fun experience that includes food and wine for only $20 a person.<br />
<br />
Owner/Chef Alejandro basically starts cooking at 6:00 in the back of the restaurant on a massive skillet. There is space available for 10 people and reservations are strongly recommended. I called at 11:00am day of and got the last 2 spots. According to the Chef he has over 200 different Paella recipes and cooks a different one each week. For those uninformed Paella is a spanish dish close to a dry jumbalaya. On our date night the main protein was chicken and chorizo. In previous Tuesdays he made lamb, scallops/seafood mixture, vegetarian, ...<br />
<br />
With Austin traffic we got there at 6:30 and missed the beginning of the cooking experience. The chef had already got the skillet out and started the mixture. They provide recipes on the tables in case you want to cook it at home. During the cooking time the chef explained what he was doing and told some humorous stories. Very laid back atmosphere. I would describe the decor of Malagra as an upscale wine bar.<br />
<br />
Cooking the Paella takes roughly an 1.5 hours so we still had close to an hour to enjoy the show. We chose to snack on some calamari and order a glass of wine. When the meal was finally finished you get a huge bowl of paella and a wine pairing picked by Chef Alejandro.<br />
<br />
The Paella came out great. You can always tell a good meal and dinner by when everyone at our table had paid no one left for 30 minutes. The chef ate a bowl at the table with us and shook our hands before heading back to the kitchen. <br />
<br />
All in all I thought it was a rather successful date night. I had originally planned on following it up with going to Central Market for some hot chocolate and looking at Christmas lights on 38th street, but the weather got cold plus Jen had recorded a movie a couple days earlier.Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-38766081405084941922009-12-01T13:04:00.001-08:002009-12-01T13:38:57.715-08:00Great Date for Valentine's DayPrice: $100<br />Occassion: Valentine's Day<br /><br />We'll ignore the flowers and details of Valentine's Day and just focus on the date itself.<br /><br />I picked her up and headed to <a href="http://cerami4.fatcow.com/ceramiclodge/">Ceramic Lodge</a>. It's right off I-35 / 620 in Roundrock, Tx. Ceramic Lodge is a store that allows you to decorate and paint various ceramic items. My wife, Jen, is a huge wine fan and I found out they have wine goblets there. I called ahead and asked for a reserved table and if it was possible to bring in a bottle of wine. They said it was a great idea and could provide wine openers and glasses if needed. They also suggested I could bring a candle and gift earlier in the day and set it all up (I never found time, but thought it could be a nice touch).<br /><br />Jen had pretty much no idea where we were going even we we parked the car. I was pleased to see that we were the only ones there except the owner. We sat at our reserved table and the owner gave us a quick run through of our options. Basically you could put stickers on a regular goblet, paint names on a goblet, or use textured paint and create a more rugged glass. We opted for the textured paint.<br /><br />It took roughly an hour to paint our wine glasses while we polished off a bottle of wine. Once done painting they do all the clean up and you turn in your artwork to be glazed and fired. It is available a week later for pickup.<br /><br />After painting we headed down to <a href="http://www.coolrivercafe.com/">Cool River</a> for Dinner. They had a Valentine's Day special for 3 course meal. Having already drank a bottle of wine we saved skipped on drinks for dinner. Cool River has great food and a very romantic atmosphere.<br /><br />After dinner we just went across the street to <a href="http://www.opaldivines.com/">Opal Devine's</a> for an after dinner drink. They have a great dried tomato infused vodka Bloody Mary. We sat and talk for an hour and then headed home.Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515363915195308388.post-47958396486673028062009-12-01T12:50:00.000-08:002009-12-01T13:03:43.294-08:00Austin Date NightI have lived and dated in Austin for 15+ years now and find myself routinely planning and going on the same date over the years with just different women. Well, this summer I was lucky enough to find an amazing bride and now am challenged to come up with new ideas. Over the years I have had some successes and some failures in the dating department. Hopefully this blog will detail the success and help anyone reading along to learn from my mistakes or reap the rewards of a successfully planned date.Mark Crowleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057122987333199395noreply@blogger.com0