Welcome (please be gentle)

So, if you've made your way here, you're either a) family b) a friend of mine either for real or on Facebook/Twitter, or c) hopelessly lost. If you're part of the last group, please feel free to stay a while, and come back if you find anything here interesting. Anyway, welcome to my blog, which I'm calling Yummy NOMs.

That title alone should raise a few questions. If you actually do know me on some level, you probably have even more questions, which I will try to answer here, lightning-round style. Here we go:

• Where the *bleep* does the term "Yummy NOMs" come from? I have no earthly idea, and I wish I could take credit for it, but I can't. Over the past few months, my wife and I (along with many of our friends) have taken to using variations on the term to describe tasty meals that we've had, such as, "we're making homemade pizza NOMNOMNOM," or "here come the anniversary NOMs from (insert favorite restaurant here)." Don't understand yet? Don't worry. It'll come. Just ask the cat.
• So, this is gonna be a food blog, right? Yes. And No. This blog is going to be about the good stuff in life. I've found that every good memory I have involves food. Think about it. There's always a meal involved in something fun. Travel, tailgating, seeing old friends, meeting new ones, recovering from a run/ride/race/night out, etc. It's one of those things that brings us all together, and that we can truly share, which is rare in this world. The term "NOM" evokes a very visceral feeling to me, one where your eyes get wide, you jaw drops, you take in a breath and think to yourself "that's goooooooooood." We need more good stuff, and I've found that the more I talk about it, the more I notice the good stuff, as do the people around me. So, this is all about the good stuff. It won't always be happy, but it will be positive.
• I'm totally lost. Seriously, what is this gonna be about? Well, when it comes down to it, anything I want (that's the nice part about blogs). However, if you want a preview ,some of the topics covered here will include, but not be limited to: Food, Travel, Sports (football, cycling, golf, and general ideas around the notion of being a fan), Dogs, Raising money for cancer research, Family (no dirty laundry or specifics unless I get a waiver, just the fun stuff), Business/economics, beer, the wonders of the social network, music, and a partridge in a pear tree. There WILL be a lot about food, and I'm hoping some friends/world travelers will guest post and/or provide pictures of some of the tasty goodness they experience. Otherwise, it'll be a free-for-all, but I promise it WILL make sense to me.
  
• Maybe the better question would be, what this ISN'T gonna be about? Good point. I find lots of different things interesting and have what could only be graciously be called a "wandering mind." That said, NOMs are about coming together and enjoying good times with loved ones, friends, and strangers alike. I love to debate, as my wife well knows/laments, but this is not a space for arguments, flame wars or anything of that like. The best NOMs in the world are fueled from passion, so we're gonna keep the passion productive here.
• Ok, so how about a straight answer: why are you doing this? I have no idea. My wife seems to think that I'm incredibly creative. I tell her that I'm "re-creative" (a term I'll explain in a later post), and that I've never had an original idea in my life, but this is an interesting medium when done well. It seems to me that most bloggers just want to vent and/or are starved for attention. I'm gonna do my best not to be either. There are other bloggers who manage not only to be able to entertain, but also to do an immense amount of good in the world. I have no illusions that I can change the world with this, but if I can have a little fun, maybe entertain a few friends, and make the world a little better in the process, then so be it.
  

Anyway, welcome to Yummy NOMs. I hope you enjoy. My first real post will hopefully be coming soon. Thanks for reading.