"Darren Hayes Is What!?"

For those of you who don't know who Darren Hayes is, he is, or was, the lead singer of what may be my favorite groups of all time, Savage Garden. The year was 2000, and I was miserable, and yes it was because of a woman. Or should I say child. I was committed to being in a relationship with her and she had no idea what she wanted. She was married but seperated and was flip-flopping between me and him. Try to imagine being sad every day for about five months and really not knowing why. It was during this time that an old friend turned me on to Savage Garden, and their music really inspired me to believe in myself and to want more for my life and not merely settle for what is given to me. Eventually I pulled away from her and wound up the family man I am today. Every time I hear a song by them, I always reminisce about that time in my life where I experienced just about every emotion in the book lol. Oh, by the way, Mr. Hayes is gay! He was married to a woman for about four years but got divorced. Now he's married again...to a guy! I was shocked. Shocked but not really surprised. With the recent trend of celebrities cracking open the closet door (Lance Bass, Neil Patrick Harris, T.R. Knight, etc.), I expect just about everyone in Hollywood to come out eventually. It's their business though, not mine. Just because it's on "Entertainment Tonight" doesn't mean I need to worry about it.

Had a great Christmas! Emily and Zach got just about everything under the sun under the tree. Emily got a KidTough digital camera just like she wanted. She takes it everywhere with her. In fact, I don't even know where it's at lol. Here's a pic of what ol' Mikey got:


Pretty sweet eh? This one I...may have to open...since there's a challenge here to put both of them together.

Part of me hopes I never have to relive 2000 again. When my diet consisted mainly of Pepto-Bismol for a 6 month period something needed to be changed. However, looking back, I guess it was good for me to get in touch with what I was feeling.

Happy New Year Everyone!! My resolution is to drop 100 lbs. Can I do it? (shrug) But I'll try my best to watch what I eat and work in some exercise here and there. Wish me luck!

"It's Christmas Time...In The City!..."

...at least here in Arlington Texas it is. A lot of strip malls and grocery stores have their lightpole decorations up to further "enhance the mood" of this holiday. I started writing this Saturday morning and now here it is Sunday morning about 7am. To be honest, I wasn't really feeling the Christmas mood and it was kind of bumming me out. And then...it just kind of happened. We went to my grandparent's house last night to exchange gifts with my dad's family since they weren't going to be there Xmas morning. Had a really nice time. As we were driving home Cari and I were talking about great deals we got on presents at the stores, making candy, etc. That's when it all felt really good. The air was crisp but not freezing, the sky was a cloudy grey, almost a light purple...I feel much better now.

We're trying to get together enough gift cards to get a new digital camera. Thanks to Dad, we have a $100 head start!

I hope Cari likes what I-I mean Santa got her. At JCPenney's they have these "Atom Massagers" for $10. They're pretty neat. I told her they were out even though they weren't so I might catch her off-guard. Then we go up there to get some presents and we end up walking right past them. Sigh. Oh well. I still told her I never got her one when in reality it's in her stocking right now. Couldn't find a pic but it's a handheld back/neck massager which lights up in green. Got her Superman Returns, the new one from the Goo Goo Dolls, and a 3-pk of peanuts. She's a fan of the honey-roasted ones ya know. Even got her a Superman action figure to go with the movie. I wrapped them together and she picks it up and she's feeling it and she goes "Well, it's a movie and something else". Ah well, so much for surprise. But she doesn't have a clue about the rest. Let's hope it stays that way.

What do I want for Christmas? You know...just having people around me is all I really need. That should be all you need as well. But, if I HAVE to name something specific...would love a day at the spa =)

P.S. Benson, I'm going to get you those Savage Garden tracks ASAP. Only been...a year...lol. The speed of Mike.

"On The 12th Day Of Christmas..."

Wait...there are only 10 more days until Christmas...so is today the 10th day or the 2nd? So confusing...must not lose anymore sleep over this. I've been thinking of writing a new version of this song for some time. Why, you ask? Well sit down and I'll explain! Now, granted, we all love the classic lyrics and most of us know them by heart. I on the other hand do not. I always get my swans confused with my pipers. But come on, nobody's Christmas involves swans or ladies dancing of geese a-laying (whatever that means). So perhaps now is the time to unveil my own personal wishes for the Twelve Days Of Christmas:

(ma ma ma me me me mi mi mi mo mo mo mu mu mu)

(that was me tuning up FYI)

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
...a red...velvet...cake."

"On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
Two Christmas cookies
And A red...velvet...cake."

"On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
Three shiny ornaments
Two Christmas cookies
And a red...velvet...cake."

"On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
Four cups of egg nog
Three shiny ornaments
Two Christmas cookies
And a red...velvet...cake."

"On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
Five...Dallas Stars!
Four cups of egg nog
Three shiny ornaments
Two Christmas cookies
And a red...velvet...cake."

Okay, by now you get the gist of the song so I'll just throw the remaining seven into one chorus:

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Twelve Transformers transforming
Eleven Cowboys dominating
Ten Marvel Heroes dueling
Nine Rangers winning
Eight ladies dancing (hey, I'm a guy)
Seven movie rentals
Six NFL cheerleaders (again...me...guy)
Five...Dallas Stars!
Four cups of egg nog
Three shiny ornaments
Two Christmas cookies
And a red...velvet...cake!!"

Hey, I like it! Maybe it will catch on at least here in the local Dallas community. See if you can make one yourself! If you send it to me I might publish it in my oft-seen page here. And by oft I mean two...maybe three people a week tops...(sigh)

STILL have not gotten the ornaments on the tree yet. I hate being so busy all the time. I wish I could be a stay at home dad sometimes. With Emmy I would work evenings for the most part and watch her during the day so we didn't have to spend $150 a WEEK on daycare. I wouldn't say I miss those days largely because I would take her somewhere pretty much everyday. But every now and then I wouldn't mind revisiting that time in my life. With Zach I don't get home until 6 or 6:30 at night and sometimes it feels like I'm not doing enough for him. Granted, he's only one so he's not into much but he sure is entertaining. For most dads, they don't feel that parental bond until their kid turns 2 or 3, so I don't worry about it a whole lot. The other day I put his on my shoulders (which he loves) and we were in the front yard. He grabs my head and turns it to see him and he's leaning down trying to look at me and laughing the whole time. Right there was the first time I really connected with him as a dad. Made my whole day. My whole Christmas.

Our goal is to clean the whole house and get everything straightened up so we can go look at lights tomorrow night. I really hate junk mail. We have piles of it all over our house. On the computer desk, on the shelf in the walkway, on the table, in the kitchen, you name it. I hate junk mail!! Okay, anger out of my system...tis the season!

Went to Emmy's school sing-along this morning. Anything to get to go to work late right? Ha ha KIDDING. Wouldn't have missed it for the world! They sang a total of one song while the other grades sang like 3 or 4 each. What a gip! I was taping it and I was sitting on this desk and all of a sudden I hear this snapping sound and the desk buckled for a bit. I got up real fast after I heard (and felt) that! I looked at the desk and one leg was shorter then the others. To quote Steve Urkel: Did I do that? Probably. Ah well. Just a memory. How many memories could you write down if you had to? 50? 75? 100? I bet I could come up with 100. 100 specific things that have happened to me in my life...there's a challenge.

Wanna shout out to sister Keri for one of the best birthday presents I ever got: a 1/24 scale of the AMC Delorean time machine from Back To The Future! It's so neat looking! I will get this photographed soon, I promise! She got it from this site called things you didn't know existed.com but for th elife of me I can't seem to find the site now. Ah well. Also thanks to wifey for getting me National Treasure and Spiderman:2!!

"They Say It's Your Birthday!..."

...well how about that, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOO YEAH! Seriously! Number 32 in about 11 hours. Geez, where does the time go? The countdown to 100 years old continues. Can I make it to 100? Mmm...possibly. My grandfather is 84 and my grandmother on my mom's side will be 79 next January. So living long and prospering seems to run in the genes. Fortunately the pointy ears do not ha ha. (Spock? Star Trek?) The only question is how will I celebrate this joyous occasion? Well, for starters, I'm using vacation time and not going to work, ergo creating a 3 day weekend! I honestly do not know what I want to do. I do know that someone will be watching the kids and I can sleep late on Saturday. I also know that I will get the same damn pair of pants and shirt from Cari's family. Not that I'm not grateful for them mind you but geez, every year it's the same thing. One year I got a Toys R Us gift card from them and boy did it make my day ha ha. Add to that our closet is so full of clothes and I really don't see why they keep getting them for me. My guess is total apathy.

We're going to try to put the ornaments on the tree this weekend. We keep putting it off and before we know it it will be Easter. I love Christmas. Always have. We started a new Overall tradition last year when we drove around and looked at Christmas lights and then went to Starbuck's for a hot one. That night was a lot of fun. I know Emmy liked it just because she got her caffiene fix afterwards. I think I'm responsible for her need of coffee-flaored products. I hope she doesn't hold it against me.

Ever wonder how differently you would live your life if you didn't have any family around you? I suppose there are people in this world who simply do not have anyone around them. Sometimes I wonder if they are any different without family influencing your decisions. I would imagine this time of year to be kind of lonely for them. These are the people you see at Denny's or IHOP Christmas Day because they do not have anyone to cook for or cook for them. Kind of bums me out to think about when they're done eating...and they go home...and there's no one there to say hello to. No matter what I got for Christmas growing up, I know that seeing all my cousins and aunts and uncles, etc. is what ultimately made Christmas so much fun.

Here's my wish list if you're in them mood lol:

iPod, 6mp Digital camera, unopened Transformers, and a partridge in a pear tree (for real. Patridge under glass is darn tasty!)

"How Cold Is It?"

...it is so cold that we had a freeze warning! In Texas! What's funny is the afternoon before the cold front came in it was 75 and humid all day. And I should know as I was off that day! So now we have to get out our sweaters and fuzzy mittens and-dare I say it-jackets! You know, I whine and cry all year long for it to get cold and when it does, then I'm all "It's too cold!". It is so hard to please me sometimes.

We put up the Christmas lights last Sunday. Now the big lit tree and the little trees in the front yard are no problem at all. It's the icicle lights around the trim of the house that are a pain. Why, you ask? Well let me tell you. The only way to put them up is for me to get on the roof and lay down on my gut and balance myself hanging them up. It hurts so bad. Plus I have to get down which involves balancing myself on numerous fence posts and all the while hoping I don't fall to my ultimate demise. Happy holidays! But once that's done the rest is pretty fun. We'll do the tree either tonight or Sunday. I asked Emmy if she wanted to use her step stool form the kitchen to do the higher part of the tree and she said "No Daddy, that's too high. You do that and I'll do the lower part." What's funny is that she said it like I didn't make any sense.

She's been getting in trouble lately for things she knows better that to try with us. I asked her why and she says "I don't know". Which, by the way, infuriates me as much as it did my parents when I would say it, but that's neither here nor there. So I asked her if she wanted attention and she said yes, and it all made sense. Now she's not a bad kid unlike the neighbor kids who have no respect for...well, anything. She's a great kid. Sometimes we need to remember that more. It's so hard to make sure she gets what she needs from us and all the while have to raise Zach who requires about 97% of our time right now. Now once he's older the balance should right itself, but for now I make every attempt to talk to her about her life and school and what she wants for Christmas and so on. We who were the first born tend to forget how we felt when the next kid came along. Sometimes it's more then we could handle.

"Ever Wonder..."

...just how many Transformers ol' Mikey has to date? Well, I sure did. And why not...after all, they are mine I guess. Boy, I had some beauties back in my kid days. And then...I just had to see how they worked. Found a screwdriver, one thing led to another and...days later just a handful of plastic parts and no real sense of accomplishment. Ahh, memories...

But I rebounded, and 20 years later I now have an impressive collection. In fact, let's take a look at it:




Took me about an hour last week to get them all together last weekend. Really wanna open them up. But I must be vigilant to keep them all in pristine condition. Also, if I open them all I'll forget who they are just like I did with what's-his-name and whoosits.

Went to the treehouse exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum last weekend as well. Was a good day partly because it was so nice outside. Here's some oohin' and ahhin' pix:




Had a four day weekend this Thanksgiving. I was telling Cari about in 2003 when I went to work at 5am the Friday after and got off at 1 which we had lunch with some friends afterwards. She was all "You can remember that but you can't remember to dress the kids in warm clothes!?" And she's right. Ya have kids, your memory goes to hell. We went Christmas shopping tonight @ good ol' Target. Cari sure knows how to find a deal. And she looks for stuff for my family as well as hers. She's so great. True, she does a few things I wish she wouldn't but that's a 2 way street sometimes. At least this year we have some money to get people things. Last year Zach came along and every dime I made had to go to us first. Was kind of weird telling people sorry, maybe next year you'll get something.

Is Christmas all about presents? Ask a kid, you'll hear "What else is it about?" Ask me, I'll say "Presents are cool, but they fade. If you can be with people you don't hate (i.e. in-laws) then it might be a good time." I like the lights. The brighter, the better.

"Thanksgiving Time!"

Where has this year gone! While recently looking at my Dallas Stars calendar I noticed on of my favorite holidays is coming up in like 6 days. The reason it is my favorite is threefold. One...the lunch. Always the lunch. All my favorites come together like so many E! True Hollywood Stories. Two, talking football with Uncle Tim. He joined our family about 20 years ago and is just a real easygoing person. Plus, we handle his prescription plan! Three, and this is something we haven't done in a while, going to the high school for a game of touch football. I'd enjoy it a lot more if I wasn't so sore and out of breath after about four plays lol. But it's still fun.

Speaking of football, Sunday there is a huge match-up for our beloved Cowboys. Let's meet our warriors:

In this corner, the only undefeated quarterback in the NFL, Peyton Manning!


In this corner, an undrafted rookie quickly becoming a FOB (Friend Of Bill), Tony Romo!

Why is this game big? Well, for one, the Colts are trying to do something only the 1972 Dolphins have ever done...go undefeated for the year. Almost did it last year. Two, the Cowboys need...NEED...to win this to keep their playoff hopes alive. Three, I have Peyton Manning on my Yahoo! fantasy team and I need him to have a huge game plus I have the Colts to win on my ESPN Pigskin Pick'em sheet. I'm not very loyal to the 'Boys, I know. Not personal...just business.

Tonight I'm going to get ALL...MY...TOYS out and catalogue them just to see what I have and all the while checking eBay to see if they might be worth something. Might even stay up until...eleven! Been planning this all week. I even might get everything together for a group shot...promised a co-worker I would do that a while back.

Zach is starting to take a few steps here and there. Honestly, I thought he would have been walking before Halloween but so far he prefers crawling. Which is okay, really. I remember how excited I was when Emmy started walking by herself. Next thing I knew, I had to walk bent over to hold her hand since she was so short. My back and hip were killing me ha ha. Plus, she wanted to run everywhere, which means I had to run everywhere. So maybe it's a good thing the boy doesn't want to walk. But man, is he solid. Takes a real effort to hoist him up sometimes. But that's okay. If someone ever tries to bully someone, they'll pass Zach up 'cuz he'll be comparable in size, and hopefully in height. Is fighting okay? No! Fortunately no one ever thinks about fighting with me. They see me and think I'll pummel them into the ground. The truth is I have no idea how to fight or even throw a punch. My "A" move is grabbing onto someone and squeezing their rib cage until they (maybe) pass out. But I could never be like George McFly in "Back To The Future" and drop someone with one punch. But I have my tricks. Hopefully I will never have to get into something like that. And NO, I am not above kneeing someone in the family jewels. =)

"Babies! Everywhere!"

I'm serious! First I find out our friends are having a boy, then my aunt (47 years old BTW) is having a girl, then we learn Zach's babysitter is going to have one. Here's a little quick math: Add 22 years from the kid's birthday and that is when he/she will be done with college. Now I was 26 when Emmy was born and 30 when Zach was born. I really didn't want to wait that long to have kids but sometimes things happen that way. So I will be 52 when Zach is done with college. Not a bad age to enjoy my twilight years. Assuming I make it to 90 that is almost 40 years. To put things in perspective, my brother in law Jay will be 62 when his youngest graduates, my aunt will be 69 and my dad will be 70. That's nuts. Literally nuts.

So now we have two showers to plan for. Since my aunt made it a couples shower (groan) now I have to go...why do women do that? Then our friend Branda's shower is on Dec 3rd which fortunately I don't have to go to. But the father Jerramy does...as does her son Camron. Man has he gotten obnoxious. He's gonna get pounded one of these days. Probably by me ha ha. It's so funny how her mom is "making" them go...een though it's a baby shower...and they're guys. We were supposed to all hang out in downtown Ft Worth while it was going on but since he won't stand up to her it's just me, Emmy and Zach. Which is cool. We're going to go to the Water Gardens since it will be Zach's first visit. Never seen it? Here's a pic:


This was about 2 years ago. I can't believe how much she's grown since then. We've always loved coming here. For me personally this place was kind of a trip down memory lane. I don't remember when I first came here but it always seemed a part of me. I hope the kiddos will feel the same way.

Cari mentions having another kid every now and then. I keep telling her "I'm done!" Maybe she's just trying to bug me. Mission successful then! I really don't want a 3rd kid. Then you have that Jan Brady middle kid complex that would fall on Zach. I already know my kids are going to be a bit more sensitive then other kids, and knowing that has made me more sensitive to their needs and feelings. In order to connect with your kids you first have to think like one. Cari says I have that down lol. Second you have to pay attention to them and listen to them to see how they react to adversity. Emmy is tough as nails physically but if someone says something a little bit mean to her she has a hard time getting over it. Maybe that's just girls, I don't know...but I wouldn't change a thing about her. Big things like listening and following directions can be taught but the kid has to integrate that into their behaviour. So far she's awesome at it. I think there's two ways to challenge your kids: on your terms and on their terms. My dad definitely pushed me on his terms. Giving an 8-year old kid a weedwacker and getting mad at him for not using it perfectly is not the way to go. I look back on it and laugh but back then it really affected my self-esteem. I always vowed to do a lot of things differently then him. Hopefully I am. When Emmy was 2 she took a bar of soap and starting washing herself in the bath, so I encouraged that. She's been doing it ever since. She could dress herself at 3, and now at 5 she's learning what "matching" means ha ha. With Zach, I'm showing him how to put his arms through his shirt sleeves. Slowly but surely he will get the hang of it. Little things like that are good for kids. One thing kids need in their life is knowing their parents are proud of them in everything they do. But they need to hear it too. I'm still waiting for my dad to tell me he's proud of something I did. Anything. I get the feeling I'll never hear it.

"Volunteer For A Day"

Where did I volunteer you ask? Red Cross? Peace Corps? Well, close. I went up to Emily's kindergarten class to help them with "stations". Stations are different tables that the kids go to make a project. This week we made crayon boxes! Well, more like crayon pouches...but it's all good. Emmy was so happy that I came up there, and that in turn made me happy. This was the first weekday I've had to myself since she started school. Didn't do much. After I left the school I went to the Mr. Jim's pizza place I was working at one night a week and gave them my notice. Two reasons really: one, it took so long to get there after work that it really wasn't profitable anymore, and two, I just didn't like doing it anymore. I drove pizzas around for six years before getting out in October 2002 when I started working at the mall. Ahh, memories...

I think I worry too much. I worry about if I'll have a job next week even though it's mostly unfounded. Ever get that vibe that they'll just show up at your desk and say "Can we talk?". I think I'm very good at what I do and it's nice to find something I'm good at that didn't involve pizza. You know how weird it is when someone asks what you do for a living and you have to make "delivering pizza" sound somewhat professional? It's impossible! Even though I make way less doing what I'm doing now, "prescription benefits administrator" sounds a little more uppity lol.


Bought this at Toys R Us Wednesday. Now this isn't the real picture of what I have (hence the "Seibertron.com" insignia), but since I still don't have a camera I like, this will have to do for now. But man, this is a great first step in the right direction of what they should have done a long time ago. The new Optimus Prime looks awesome and I would have gotten that if they hadn't been sold out! Ah well...my time will come.

I think I want a new job. In fact I know I do...the question is, I have no idea what I would like to do that I wouldn't hate. Need to browse Monster or CareerBuilder or something...(sigh) I'll be okay I guess. Going to my aunt's house for a birthday party for my cousin and uncle (not blood-related). Kind of weird isn't it? No one ever threw a party for, say, me and an aunt. Ah well. Free burgers. Sunday we're going to a housewarming party for some friends who are having a baby. Here's the amusing part: they have no home! I mentioned them a few posts ago. They may read this so I hope I don't ruin any surprise. I hope they get a house or apartment soon. Ah well. Free food. I'm all about the free food this weekend lol

"They Say It's Your Birthday!..."

...it's my birthday too yeah! Okay, so I have to wait till December 8 for my big ol' 32, but Zach will be turning the big 0-1! I am still in shock that the last year has gone by so fast, but it definitely has been interesting having him around as a kind of yang to Emmy's yin. Both of them are very different, but they compliment each other very well. Sometimes I just get this feeling that both of them will like different things and not have much in common. Only time will tell I guess. I know me and my sister Keri had nothing in common. Nothing. Except arguing. We were never shown the importance of working together and being a team during those tumultous teenage years. So we tended not to talk about anything which continues to this day. It just seems like it wouldn't matter to any of us if the other wasn't around. Not that I want anything to happen to her, but say she gets a job opportunity in Europe or something. I'd be like "Okay, have fun" and not be affected by it. And I know she'd be the same way. She's kind of selfish and shallow, but that's how she was raised. She was always the favorite and whatever she wanted, she got. Each time. Every time. Made me feel like crap and it always seemed like no one cared. This will never happen to my kids. Never.

Detroit is down 3-1 in the World Series. Can they win it? Probably not. No one on that team other then Pudge Rodriguez has much postseason experience. But hey, they gave it a shot right? I remember the Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns brought in major leaguers to win his softball game vs. Shelbyville, one of them being Darryl Strawberry. Later, Homer complains that Darryl is "bigger then me, faster then me, and already has more friends around the plant then I do." to which Bart says "You're the one who told me I could do anything if I just put my mind to it!" to which Homer replies "No matter how good you are at something, there's always about a million people better than you." Bart then says "Gotcha, can't win, don't try". That's not a good thing to teach your kids...if it was then nothing would have been accomplished.

Emily: "Daddy, how come all fo our laundry baskets are falling apart?"
Me: "Well...it has something to do with kids climbing in them constantly."
Zach: "I knew he'd blame us for that eventually."

"Cards Win! Cards Win!"

Well, I'm shocked. Literally shocked! From the way the Mets dominated the National League this year who would have thought they would suffer a collapse like that. Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, and none other then Carlos Beltran at the plate against a rookie for the Cardinals no less. Full count, the pitch, and...curveball over the plate strike three call! And Beltran knew it...which is sometimes the worst feeling a hitter can have. During my glory years in Little League (1984-1986), I was always taught one thing: If you have a 3-2 count, you always swing. Always. The pitcher isn't going to try to walk you and knowing that is to the advantage of the hitter. But you have to swing. Here is a list of my Little League accomplishments to date:

1. Hitting a home run on the very first pitch of a game where the coach put me in to bat first for which the reason still baffles me as I was quite terrible.

2. Getting another hit in the same game which got me the game ball (1 of 2)

3. Getting some kind of trophy after my last game and then going to Mr. Gatti's pizza afterwards where we got a big cup with our name on it.

I still have the ball and I still have the cup.

So the Tiger and Cardinals in the World Series...No Yankees, no Mets...no problem. Everyone thinks it's Detroit's destiny to win it all this year. But it isn't. No one ever accomplished anything because they were "supposed to". They did it because they put the time and the work in and when it was all said and done, they could look back and realized that everything they had worked for was worth it.

I really like this Tigers club though. Plus, they're young enough to really put a dynasty together. Maybe even a late 90's Yankee dynasty. What's funny about the Yanks is when they were winning it all, they didn't need a $200 million payroll. They just had a bunch of guys who meshed very well together and played with heart. I guess their decline started when they signed Mike Mussina to a 6 year, $88 million deal. Now this guy has been one of my favorites ever since he came up with Baltimore back in 1991. He has been nothing short of a rock for them ever since. But they lost to Arizona in 2001. So they go out and get Jason Giambi for $120 million. In the wake of A-Rod's megacontract, they sign Derek Jeter to a $189 million contract. They get Gary Sheffield for $39 million. They get Randy Johnson for $48 million. They trade for Kevin Brown for the balance of his $105 million contract. They sign Jared Wright and Carl Pavano for a combined $80 million. They sign Roger Clemens for $20 million. What's funny is even though they lost the 2001 and 2003 Series, at least they were going. Then A-Rod came along, which apparently means now they don't even go anymore. Three straight years of sweeps at the hands of the Red Sox, Angels and Tigers. Wouldn't it be funny if The Cubs with their new manager Lou Piniella traded for A-Rod? Everyone seems to think reuniting them would put the swagger back in Rodriguez's step. Maybe it will. But everyone knows he doesn't belong in New York. You have to have a thick skin to play there. If you don't, then your performance suffers as a result. They'll chew ya up if you give them a chance. A-Rod needs to go. He needs to be the rock in a lineup, not one of the many rocks.

Why do we like doing things we know we're not supposed to? For me it was stealing. Why did I do it? (shrug) I have no idea. Let's take a look at what I've stolen since I was a kid:

Fishing lure from Sears
-I still have this somewhere, by the way...it just looked neat...great excuse right?

Shiny rock on a keychain from the Grand Canyon
-Again, just looked neat...We were driving home and had driven about 100 miles when my mom saw me playing with it. She was all "Where'd you get that!?" and I told her. They were like "Well, we're sure as heck not turning around now..." and let me keep it.

Some MAD magazines from the local grocery store
-I was really into these and didn't think anyone would miss them.

Some jelly beans from a bulk buy store in Canada
-Now this I didn't get to keep...there was an undercover guard standing outside the store who could see everything. He came up to me as I was leaving and said "You wanna go back in there and pay for that?" About scared the crap out of me.

And the doozie...a video game from a temp job I was working back in 1995
-This was the doozie because I actually went to jail for this one. From 5:30pm-5:30pm in September 1995 in the Carrolton jail I laid there, wondering why I had been cursed. The thing is, when they took me away int he cop car, I had left my car unlocked. When I finally got out of there, I had to go from memory how to get back to get my car. Finally I figured it out after a couple of miles of wrong turns. As I was nearing the warehouse, I thought of something. What if they had had my car towed while I was in there? It was certainly possible. Then I would have walked back there for nothing. So I said to God "If my car isn't there, I think I'm going to kill myself" and I was never more serious. So I make my way back, and...there it was. Untouched. I was so thankful.

We have to not only own up to our mistakes, but also atone for them. It's not enough to say "Oh, I screwed up"...you have to say "Here's what I'm going to do to fix it", whether it be marriage, job, parenting, whatever. I really wish I could go back to my high school graduation and just start over from there. Go to college when it was offered to me. Have more self-confidence in myself and really give some thought to what I wanted to do with my life. But hey, I'll be 32 this year, I have pretty much everything I could ask for. I applied for one of the sales positions here at Pharmacare. It pays double what I make now which means soon I will be able to give my family a much nicer life. I hate to think about how much time I wasted...but as of now I'm turning a corner.

How do you get your kids to understand what it means to steal? I used to work with a cop at the mall and he told his kids if they ever steal then he would take away everything from them. Everything. All they would have is a room...not even a bed. That's a great idea. Kids never think about the consequences of their actions, which frustrates the heck out of parents. Parents are usually "I told them not to do that, but they did it anyway!". Because they don't think about it. Not until they're adults do their brains fully develop. Fortunately for Emmy and Zach, I have not forgotten what it's like to be a kid.

"Radio Fun...?"

...or something much more revealing? This was what I asked myself yesterday as I was driving to work. I had it on the Mix 102.9 (which I raged on big time back in Janurary, but that's neither here nor there. They stopped playing the songs I hate but instead of playing my favorites, they just bring in a new crop of crap. Ever here this song "Sugar We're Going Down Swinging" by Fall Out Boy? Talk about putting something together in 10 minutes. Moving on...). We'll start with "Ellen", the wife/girlfriend of "Toby", who worked with a woman called "Stacy" who was a full out of the closet lesbian with a girlfriend. Now, one day, Ellen found a naked picture of Stacy on Toby's cell phone. When she questioned him about it, Toby said it was just a joke and nothing to worry about since Stacy is a lesbian. Well, that didn't sit too well with Ellen so she decided to get some answers on her own. So she called the Mix and with the help of "Tony and Kappy", the morning DJ's, they set of a fake phone call where they called Toby pretending to be someone from DFWFlowers.net and offering to deliver flowers to anywhere in the US if he would just answer two survey questions. So Toby agrees and they first ask him if he has sent flowers to anyone in the last twelve months. He said yes, three times. Then they asked him what the bouquets consisted of, which he replied roses, a mix and some tulips. Now keep in mind that Ellen is listening to the whole "survey" and getting madder by the minute. Now this is where it could have gotten interesting if Ellen hadn't interrupted everything. Tony and Kappy were about to ask Toby who he had sent the flowers to when Ellen blurts out "Who have you been sending flowers to!?" Well that took Toby by surprise and he's all "Huh? Who is this?" Then Ellen starts grilling him about his and Stacy's "relationship" and boy did Toby get mad. I know I would if I was ambushed like that. So they bickered for a bit then Toby says "F*** you! I never want to see you again!" and hangs up. But man, it would have been so sweet to hear who he was going to send the flowers to...

Going (hopefully) to the After Dark night tonight at the River Legacy Park and Science Museum. What is it you wonder? Well, first you park at the park and go to the museum on a hayride. Then there are crafts, games, treats, and a pumpkin patch too. I know Emmy and Zach will get a big kick out of it. And, I suppose I'll have some fun as well ha ha. I always have fun when the kids have fun.

We're more then likely going to get a new digital camera as our Christmas present. And not a moment too soon! After really finding my creative edge with our old camera, we have been without one ever since we got back from our Disneyworld trip. I've gotten some new toys which I want to post on my site here but just haven't been able to do. And I likes me toys heh heh

Leaving @ 1pm today. Why? No reason, other then I have 30 hours of vacation to use and 2+ months to use it. Why not start the weekend early? Plus I get to pick up my girl from kindergarten today. What will we do afterwards? Mmm, not sure. I think they get to have a donut after school. I never got donuts after school. *pout*

And finally...I have to say soemthing about Dan's Toy Museum. I discovered this site about a year ago. As a fellow toy lover, Dan like me has a vast collection of toys ranging from Transformers to GI Joe. However, he would open them (unlike me lol) and put them in funny situations and give them lines to say and whatnot. Ol' Dan really seemed to live in his own little world, which, hey, more power to ya. I would leave comments on his site, he would leave comments on mine. And then...he stopped responding. Anytime I would say something, he would never respond. So I started wondering if there wasn't something bigger going on here. From what I know about Dan...

1. He is between 25-30 years old.

Nothing okay with that, but lately some of his posts seem to reflect diminished thinking, like someone with a mental handicap.

2. He lives in a rental property that his parents own.

I don't know if he pays rent or not, but if he doesn't, then it sounds like he may be mentally challenged as this might be an attempt by his parents for his to live somewhat independently of them.

3. He works at a grocery store as a jack of all trades (cashier, bagger, stocker, etc...)

Hmm...seeing a pattern here...someone who is MC could certainly make a living doing that...

4. He recently got married.

I saw "The Other Sister" with Juliette Lewis a few years ago. It was about a MC girl who wanted to live on her own and she showed everyone she could and even got married to a MC boy (Giovanni Ribisi). So I guess it can be done.

5. He doesn't ever respond in kind when someone asks him a question either n his site or theirs.

After analyzing this information, I have come to the conclusion that Dan Prange of Boise, Idaho is mentally handicapped. Is this a bad thing? Certainly not! I would never make fun of him or anyone else for that reason alone. It's just...I needed answers as to why he never seemed to answer my questions. Will I still go to his site? Sure, every now and then. Sometimes it's humorous what he has his action figures doing. If he ever reads this, best of luck in everything you do Dan.

"Fall Of An Empire"

Well, almost an empire. Although, at $207 million, the New York Yankees are by far the most overwhelming team in the game today. When they come into town the other team automatically goes into defensive mode. "If we can just hold them to minimal damage, maybe we can avoid being swept." Right there, the psychological damage has been done. No team can beliee in themselves when they've already conceded defeat. And with good reason. When your number nine hitter (Robinson Canoe, who will be a future AL MVP) winds up 3rd in the batting race, you know you've got firepower. A while back I listed the salaries of the 2005 Yankee lineup plus their starting pitching. Their rotation is more then some people's entire payroll. And it was shaky all year. But they muddled through and wound up with the most wins in the AL. And Mr. Steinbrenner wouldn't have it any other way. It was never "Are we going to make the playoffs?" but "When do we receive our World Series rings?". When the owner expects that from day one it puts a lot of pressure on the other players. Most of them have stepped up and thrived in the role, including team captain Derek Jeter. But there's one player who just cannot seem to come through in RBI situations. And we all know who he is. Number 252.

Alex Rodriguez...is he the greatest player in the game today? Numbers wise he just might be. Everyone expects Barry Bonds to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 dingers but Rodriguez will most certainly surpass Aaron sometime in the next 7 or 8 years, barring unforseen injuries. And he won't even be 40! Every year he has a great year...on paper. But he just can't drive em in when it counts. Only when the game isn't on the line does he deliver. And this just doesn't fly in the Bronx. Currently he is 1 for 11 in the series against Detroit who are up 2-1 and need just one win to shut down the Yanks and go on to Oakland, who just swept Minnesota and what had to be the surprise of the year. If the Yankees lose this series (and a chance at the World Series for the 3rd straight year), expect A-Rod to be with another team by the winter. Expect it. Combine his awful post-season numbers with his constant remarks about his teammates making him feel bad (gaw, grow a pair already) and that spells out da door.


Found these guys at Big Lots about a year ago. Was going to use them in my live action comic book which some day I will get off the ground. $2.99! A bargain! Maybe Zach will get more use out of them then I will. But I will open them one day.


Zach: "Dad, can I go into the garage and start opening your irreplacable toy collection?"
Dad: "I...HAVE...NO...SON..."

Just kidding brutha man! You and your sister will never wonder if your mom and dad love you. Ever.

Me and Emmy had a great day off yesterday. Once we got the errands out of the way, we went to the mall and walked around for a bit. Had some lunch at Wendy's, which, by the way, why is Northeast Mall the only one that has a Wendy's? Although, Hulen Mall is the only one around that has a Corn Dog On a Stick and an Orange Julius, but that's neither here nor there. Then we went to Toys "R" Us and checked out the toys. She's so funny when we go there. She makes a beeline for the bikes and finds one and rides it around while I chase her. Then she sneaks upon me and plows right into me! My knee still hurts lol. Got her some scribble pads so there's not piles of loose paper all over the house. I hate to stifle her creativity so I let her do it but it sure does get messy fast! Then we went to Petco and checked out the...you know, pets. They had three ferrets in a glass enclosure and all they did while we were there was wrestle. One of them I think just wanted to be left alone but kept getting sucked into the "melee". Came home and chilled until it was time to pick up Zach. We never got a Starbucks, or "coffee Slurpee" as Emmy calls them lol. But we will...soon...

"Time For A T.O"

...and by that I mean we need a break from our own drama queen, Terrell Owens. In case you haven't heard (which is impossible due to the circus he creates), Owens was taken to the hosptial for an "allergic reaction" to some pain meds which turned into a possible suicide attempt which turned into an "accidental overdose" which turned into...nothing...nothing at all. He was back on the field practicing that afternoon! Hey, we all had fun following this opera, didn't we? $10 million we're giving this nut and for what? For this? His actions were supposed to be on the field and so far I haven't seen him do anything that would suggest he can bring a Super Bowl ring to Dallas. Nothing. And now he has a broken hand or finger or soemthing that will keep him out for a month. I can imagine what Jerry Jones must have looked like when he found out Owens was a free agent. You ever see a kid walk by a toy store and look in the window and see something he really wanted? Same thing.

This is who the 'Boys should have signed ha ha. Thor would have torn every NFL team a new one, but I think his hammer would hae been something along the lines of "illegal contact".

Going out to grandma and grandpa's house tomorrow for lunch. Sister Keri is bringing the main course(lasagna), we're bringing the bread and they are making the salad and dessert...angel food cake w/strawberries! I don't know how Grandma makes it so good...old family recipe I guess. And no one's older then they are lol. I thought about asking Dad and his brood if they wanted to come too...make it a birthday kind of thing. But I didn't. Still think about things sometimes. Things that I will someday look back on as what will make me a great dad but which I won't understand why I had to be a part of them growing up.

Thor is a pretty decent role model eh? His actions always spoke louder then his words if the lore is true...and if the lore isn't true, then we're all doomed.

(end scene)
(fade to black)

"Missed Opportunities"

Okay, so maybe what happened this week isn't exactly a soap opera, but it was important enough to make the newspaper. There was this house in east Arlington that had been issued over 50 citations for code enforcement...or rather, lack of. This house was so dilapitated the neighbors actually broke open champagne and toasted its demolition. If I had a scanner I'd post a picture of just how bad it was. Sometimes change is good, sometimes it is negative...in this case I would agree with the neighbors and give them my "30 and counting..." mug I got for my 30th birthday and have them top it off with some bubbly.

Now comes the thought-provoking part. Its owner, James Trivitt, died Sunday at 61 of heart disease. Maybe it was best he didn't see the last of his life bulldozed away into oblivion. For those of us that are homeowners, we all know that this is investment number one and have to take care of them as much as we can. There's taxes, insurance, plus ye olde mortgage that just never seems to go away. The good thing is if we're late on it by a week or so they don't freak out and kick you out the way they do at apartments or rental properties. And on that note, I would like to congratulate our friend Jerramy. He got divorced recently. No, I'm not congratulating him on that. Although, if you knew his ex, it may sound that way. He was tied to his house to the tune of $680 a month which they have been trying to sell for the last YEAR. Well, they finally did it this week! Now he and our other friend Branda can get a house/apt for their impending bundle of joy. We were at Cheesecake Factory (so good!) discussing names when I came up with the perfect gem: Clive. There's a horror writer named Clive Barker and since it's going to be a boy, they simply cannot let this opportunity pass us-I mean them by. They're kicking it around...(fingers crossed)


This I picked up at Walmart while I was getting my oil changed earlier this year. They had model from the 40's to the 80's. Should have gotten them all when I had the chance...

Now that James has died and his house bulldozed, will he simply be forgotten? Probably. Heck, we all will at some point. Unless you were one of the lucky few to either break some kind of record or explore some kind of new territory, more then likely this will be your destiny. Now don't feel bad, this is the path most of us are following this very moment. Some people may feel like there's no point to life since all we do is die anyway. I say not doing anything is no kind of life. Find something to get excited about. Find something to leave behind to your friends or family. If I manage to keep all my toys unopened and not sell them in 2025 (my tentative plan) I will leave them to Emmy and Zach...or whoever wants them. May be one, may be the other. We might just keep them in the family...and each member of my family adds to it as the years pass by...can you imagine in say 100 years what this would look like? I'm impressed just thinking about it ha ha.

The point I've been trying to make is...you can't sit back and wait for live to live you. We are lucky to live on a planet with a huge array of experiences and we were not put here to feel sorry for ourselves. Sure, everyone has regrets. And it's okay to have them. Just don't spend all your time trying to change them. It just isn't worth it.

P.S. The answer to last week's trivia question is; Led Zeppelin!!

"Cari is 30 Today!!"

...and you should see her desk!! Confetti, balloons, streamers, and of course, the piece d'resistance...flowers from me!! Found them at Walmart for the low low price of...wait, better not reveal that magician's secret! Tomorrow night we're going to the mighty Cheesecake Factory for a binging extraordinare not to be matched anytime soon! The last time we went there was during a weekend so fun I posted about it last year ha ha. Tonight we're goint to Tai Pan for her free birthday dinner. What is Tai Pan? Only the best chinese buffet in the land (S. Arlington)! I love how they boast 10 different kinds of chicken but it's all the same...just different sauces...real creativity abounding there. They do have this pineapple chicken which is so addicting...are they lacing it with meth or something? I hope not...

Bought some toys while I was at WallyWorld...how could I not? Got a new Batman and Superman figure for $10 each. Pricey I know! Could I have helped it? Of course...NOT! I'm hooked on them...and soon Zach will be too. Emmy just isn't into toys as much as she is into using her imagination to make artistic things and work on her words and reading. She is really taking off with the books she has! Was I worried about it taking longer? Nah! Well, maybe for a bit.


Here is a class photo of the action figure community currently residing in my garage in boxes and such. I can't wait till Zach gets older and wants to goof around with this stuff. The house rule is "As long as it has been opened feel free to play with it".


Emily: "This is the last time I let you look up directions."
Ethan: "Why are we driving in a restaraunt anyways!?"

"Rain, Rain, What Can I Do...?"

"...I got a woman...she love me too, yeah..."

Okay, karaoke is officially over for today.

Anyone know what song that is? Sure I ad-libbed "Rain Rain" for "Hey Hey" because lo and behold our big and equally dry city of Arlington got rain last weekend! The huge pressure area that had built up over the DFW metroplex has now dissipated and the rain came into town...in fact it rained the whole weekend we were out of town! What a convienence eh? We got back Monday night and it was lightly raining the whole trip home. How we needed this too. I've been feeling guilty about using water period since we had gone so long...who knows when we'd get any more? But we did. Now my grass is way overgrown but at least it's green!


Anyone know who this guy is? It's...Venom! Spiderman's arch-enemy with a lot of neat tricks. If memory serves his suit can come alive and envelop anyone and imprison them. I guess...I dunno.


Zach: "Hello. I'm Zach Overall. You may remember me from such pictures as "Bath time" and "Sleeping In My Toy Basket". When I'm not on busy eating, sleeping or "dropping a deuce", I enjoy 'Crystal Palace' macaroni and cheese! Or, rather, I enjoy smearing it on the table, the plate, my hands and face! It's oh so yummy and a great art medium! Pick some up today!"

Not a lot going on this week...haven't been taking pictures lately. Our camera broke and even though Cari's parents let us use their old one it's just not the same. I really liked the one I had...knew it inside and out. I'd like to get a new one for Christmas. Wifey seems to be thinking the same thing.

The answer to last week's trivia question was: Sam Malone in "Cheers"

P.S. Hey Benson, something's not letting me post on your site. Why I haven't. I read 'em all though!

"Scrubs"

Anyone watch this show? Of course they do. In fact, there is such a devoted fanbase that NBC brings it back year after year despite less then stellar ratings. And let's face it...the only way to judge a show is by the ratings, right? If that were the case, shows like Seinfeld would never have gotten off the ground. And then where would we be? Those water coolers would have a lot less activity I bet.

I mention this show this week because it truly is one of my favorites. These days I don't really have a lot of them. I do enjoy "The Office" and "My Name Is Earl" though...and the new season of "ER" looks promising too. Anyways...I was watching it Wednesday night and Turk and J.D. were decorating the nursery for Turk and Carla's soon to be born kid and she walks in and says "Why is he shooting the crib" Turns out the "he" was none other then Optimus Prime:



It was pretty cool. They had a huge picture of him "protecting" the baby, according to the guys. Made me crack up. Then, that night, I had a dream I was in a huge toy store and on the top of one of the displays was-you guessed it-the same picture as on tv. Didn't put it together until last night when I was at Mr. Jim's shuttling pizzas around my one night of the week. Always mind-blowing when you realize a dream you had can be traced back to something earlier.

Leaving at 12:30 today!! Gonna go to Toys R Us and see if they have anything worthy of my hard-earned money from the Sunday I helped my mom move. Only $22 of that left! Which, if I recall, is just enough for a Transformers Alternator! There's a bunch I wanna get but the stores only carry the same 3 or 4...and those I have. Hopefully the one close to work will have a better selection today.

Ordered a movie off Amazon yesterday. "Kid" starring C. Thomas Howell and a very young Brian Austin Green. If ya haven't seen it go to the imdb.com link on the left and run a search on it. It is one of my very favorite movies. Really takes me back to when I was 15 or so and had no worries, no cares...and like a fool I thought it would always be that way. But it doesn't. Changes are inevitable...and nothing lasts forever. So cherish every moment like it was your last because in many ways...it is.

When I was in Disneyworld I got seperated from the rest of Cari's family so I stood right where I was and waited for someone to find me. Good rule to know eh? As I was waiting I saw hundreds of people whizzing around...and wondered if I had ever met any of them at a previous time in my life. I could have.

"I Have A Dream..."

...and what a dream it was! Rarely if ever do I have a perfect one but this one came as close to it as possible. Apparently...and I'm going from memory on this...I was recruited by none other then G.I. Joe to combat the evil forces of Cobra! For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about click here. Anyhoo...we infiltrated their secret enemy camp but...we couldn't find anyone! So we explored the living quarters, the offices...and we made our way to the locker room. Yes, Cobra had a locker room. Unfortunately we didn't see anyone there either! So Duke, the head honcho, said "Well, maybe they're not here..." and as soon as he said that they popped out of their lockers! Then Destro shouted "Attack!" and everyone started fighting everyone. I had a gun but I didn't fire it at anyone...that would have been very un-Joe like. So I turned it around and used it as a club. Then Duke pointed out that the Baroness was getting away so I chased after her and started hitting her with my gun. It was so exhilarating but in hindsight, I feel kind of bad hitting a woman. But she was a bad guy...does that justify it?



I posted these guys a while back but after...the dream...I figured they deserved some time in the spotlight.

We had parent teacher night last night. Whoever made hard little chairs and thought parents would be comfortable sitting on them for an hour and six minutes was...I don't know the technical term for it but they must have been a little scooters. Anyone know what classic TV show that line if from? The answer a little later. Her name is Mrs. Caudill and she is one straight shooter. She doesn't take any crap from the kids and treats them the way she wants to be treated. Emily hasn't said a lot about her good or bad so maybe that's a good thing. She loves school though. I will always stress that school needs to be priority one in her life. She may not always agree with me...esp. when she gets a car or something lol...but I hope she will always devote the right amount of time to her studies.

My mom finally got out of her tiny apartment and got back into a house last Sunday! My cousin Josh and me "got to" help her...for 10 hours...in the 100 degree heat. Oh the good times we had. Was nice to see him again though. I have posted about him a few times in the past as well. We're certainly going down memory lane today aren't we! I do like the house though...got a really good vibe from it. After we had finished moving everything, which by the way, everything she owns weighs at least 100 lbs...gets old after a while...I said, very nicely, "Mom, do me a favor....die in this house." I didn't mean it morbidly or anything, but man, we've had to move that stuff THREE times in the last seven years...let's let them enjoy their new home for a while!

Figure out what the answer to the previous question was?

"Last Week...on 'DisneyQuest'..."

Epcot Center

Me: "So this is Epcot...yeah...that ball's pretty big...I guess..."


Man #1: "Is the ball going to crush us?"
Woman #1: "We're all going to die!"
Man #2: "What's keeping it up? Why isn't it rolling away?"
Me: "Oh for the love of...it hasn't gone anywhere in 40 years and it ain't about to now! Get a grip folks."


Paul: "Who wants to hear 'I Wanna Hold Your Money?' "
John: "What about 'She Loves Your Money Yeah Yeah Yeah'? "
George: "How about 'And I Love Her Money'? "
Ringo: "Guys...we've changed. Didn't it used to be about the music?"
Paul: "Yeah, but then we came here and...now it's about the pounds...(sigh)"


Me: "So this is the Tower Of Terror eh? What's so terrorizing about it?"
Bystander: "Oh it's dreadfully scary! You sit in an elevator and go up up up then down down down! Over and over until you toss your cookies!"
Me: "Um, yeah, I want to ride that...?"


Me: "Is it just me or is that guitar hideously oversized?"
Steven Tyler: "It might just be you...but it does appear to be kind of big..."
Joe Perry: "No, it might just be the way he's looking at it..."
Me: "Hey! I didn't ask for public opinion!"
Steven and Joe: "Well EXCU-U-USE US!" (runs off crying)
Me: "Aw man...I made Aerosmith cry..."

To be honest, there are lots more pictures I want to showcase here but the picture loader is being an absolute pain to use right now. And no, it's not me. I haven't changed anything I'm doing. Ah well. I will really try to get them on here.

They passed this 'memorandum' at work yesterday about internet and e-mail policies. Without going into specifics, I think it means we can go anywhere we want as long as it isn't these specific sites...and I think you know which ones I mean. So we shall see. I can't believe they need to explain their explanation. It was about as clear as a windshield on a road trip.

Emmy started kindergarten this week!! She is getting to be so big. What are we gonna do with her? Apparently there was some kind of stamp pad incident where the teacher had to sign her folder but Emmy has assured me she will be a better listener in the future. Good enough for me I say!

Zach is about 70% ready to start walking. We had to lower his crib since he like towers over the railing when he stands up in there. He's getting big too! In like 2 months he'll be off formula which for all the parents out there you know that's reason to celebrate!

We're going on a trip for Labor Day! Down to San Antonio to see Cari's cousin. After the Disneyworld trip I need a trip to unwind!

Nothing spiritmoving to say this week, other then always take advantage of the right moment and never be afraid to jump in the deep end. Sometimes you find loose change down there.

"Looks Like We Made It..."

...home that is!! I don't think I've ever gone longer then a week without posting so I definitely have some lost time to make up for! If you hadn't been around for a while, our family took a well-deserved vacation to Disneyworld! The final picture count comes to...260. Geez...doesn't that seem like a lot? Probably. But a picture is worth...a lot of words, so let's let the pictures tell the story:


Me: "This is Disneyworld!? It doesn't look nearly as big as I...what? That's just the playground of the resort? Ohh...gotta say I'm a bit relieved."


Zach: "Oh, do I seem unhappy? Maybe it's because I won't remember any of this unless I scroll through hundreds of Dad's pictures-there's a pool? Behind us!? Can I swim? No? Oh that's just GREAT!"


Me: "I thought the animals were herded INSIDE the park?"


Emily: "Dad, who the heck IS this guy anyway?"
Me: "Heck if I know...but he's wearing a hot suit so my hat is off to him!"


T-Rex: "Ya wanna know how I became extinct? By waiting in line here!"

To be continued...

"The Twilight Zone"

We have this TV station down here in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex called KSTAR. It was created about five years ago and they've always had some good shows on like Married With Children and Family Matters and Saved By The Bell. Yes, I was a fan. And no, I did not name my son after Zach Morris so you can stop it right there. Now at 10:30pm they've decided to start airing each black and white episode of Rod Serling's mind-bending series. I watched it last night and of all the episodes they made this one really appealed to me. It was about a man who was in his 30's who had spent his whole life working and not having fun. Until one day...he was able to go back in time and watch himself as a boy. Now I didn't see all of it mind you so I'm going from memory. But he saw himself on a merry go round and started chasing him trying to instill in him to enjoy his youth and not waste it. As he is chasing himself he causes his younger self to fall off the carousel and hurt his leg. He manages to talk to himself as they are taking him to the hospital. Later, he goes into a soda shoppe and notices he has a limp. Then he finds out from the soda jerk they tore the carousel down after some kid had an accident years ago. He drives out to a deserted field where it used to be and just sits in his car and ponders what used to be. Now I'm not about to go into a depression about wasted youth. I wasted more time then anyone else I'm sure and I'm okay with that. But I do think about things I did as a kid now more then ever now that I have kids myself. I want them to appreciate being kids without having to appreciate being kids...make sense? Anyways...was a great show.



This guy I bought at Toys R Us sometime last year...or this year...he's pretty new. Just never got around to featuring him until now. I needed a topic that was just creepy enough to coincide with this guy. I think I succeeded ha ha.



Zach: "Hey...how'd I get in this basket of toys?"

What TV shows inspire you? Comedy? Sci-fi? Soap opera? Please don't say soap opera. Seriously.

"USA = A OK!"

Could it be that time of year again? I think it is! I'm at work right now and I've dealt with three-count em-THREE people who were born on July 4th! That's too eerie!

There's a virtual statewide ban on fireworks this year. The reason why? We were short 27 inches of rain in 2005 which resulted in innumerable (always wanted to use that word lol) wildfires, one of which I could see on my way home one evening. Even with the windows closed and the AC on my car still got smoky. Moving on...now we are short about 9 inches this year and no one is taking any chances with a spark launching a thousand flames. So...what do we do now? (shrug)

"Superman Returns" came out this weekend. Funny how something as American as the Man Of Steel coming back to the big screen coincided with the 4th of July! It's like...they planned for that to happen or something...very strange.


Now I kind of ragged on this guy a while back. The truth is we criticize those we envy. I think about flying all the time. When I'm standing in my front yard at night and the moon comes into view I want to just take off and see everything from high above. One of those "pipe dreams" that barring some unforseen miracle will never happen...but sure is fun to think about.

Not sure what's going on this weekend. There MAY be a swim party at my aunt's house but so far no one seems to know when it is. Plus my wife's cousin is in town for an undisclosed period of time. She's funny. She uses sarcasm and ironic statements when she's mad at her daughter. Things like "Oh no, you sit there and watch TV! You're 12 so you should be able to relax. Let me put the laundry up!" I didn't want to laugh but it was hard not to. Now I would never say that to my kids. Part of being a good dad is realizing when "less is more' in terms of discipline. Kids never have a problem finding something to feel bad about. Why should I add to the problem ya know?

Any pipe dreams ya care to share?

"The End Of The Innoence"

Okay, so maybe our beloved Mavericks aren't so innocent i.e. Jerry Stackhouse's ownership foul of Shaq in Game 4, but the playoffs are over. We are left with a few memories and no NBA championship to hoist. Who takes the blame? The easy direction is Dirk Nowitzki. While Dwayne Wade decided this was his to win or lose, Dirk decided "Eh, somebody else will handle it." Jason Terry didn't handle it. Erick Dampier didn't handle it. Dirk needed to step up and do what was needed and he did neither. Always next year, right? Better get used to saying that Mavs.

Roger Clemens made his return to baseball last night. Lost to the 2006 Rookie Of The Year Francisco Liriano 4-2 unfortunately. Will be a sad day when he hangs up the spikes for good. Was such a thrill to see him pitch against another Texas legend, Nolan Ryan. You talk about power vs. power. There it was.



I bought this a week after the Super Bowl. Won $6.50 from newphew Jack on that game. "Seahawks will win Uncle Mike...just wait." Well, I waited...wanna know what I saw? I saw the mighty Steelahs (with the help of the referees of course) steamroll their way to victory. So I went to Big Lots and bought this guy.

Going to Disneyworld in Orlando FL in exactly 3 weeks and 6 days. Am SO excited!! Haven't been on a vacation since April of 2002 for my honeymoon. And to be honest...the 4 1/2 years leading up to it have left me feeling kind of burned out. In the words of Jeremy Gray in "Wedding Crashers", I need to shut down my engines and get myself back into neutral. Will need lots of rechargable batteries for my camera and assorted handheld devices for the drive down there. Looking at 17 hours and change to get there. Now I see why I remember every tv show and movie I watch! Like having Comcast On-Demand in my head ha ha.

Where would you like to be right now?

"Father's Day"

Finally...my day has come!! I can't remember which president put forth the bill to honor the pops of the country...Coolidge I wanna say...maybe one of the Roosevelts...but whoever it was, appreciate it! I just found out I may be in the running for a gift of some sort come Sunday. I wish it was what I saw at Barnes & Noble on Wednesday...



Someday...someday...moving on.

These guys right here have made me one happy dad. Everyone wants "good kids". The eternal question is...HOW!? I think a big part of making sure your kids become productive adults is to show them how to make decisions for themselves. Will they always make the right decision? Of course not. No one does.




I bought my dad a card at Party City the other day. Does he deserve it? Probably not. Posted about something back on Jan 20. Don't feel like talking about it right now. My job to keep the peace with him though. Bad fathers can create magnificent fathers sometimes *wink*. If your dad gives a damn let him know. Me and Emmy spent Wednesday together. In eight hours we went to:

Starbucks
Toys 'R' Us
Cici's (took Cari out to lunch...big $pender I know)
Back to Toys 'R' Us to return something
Downtown Ft Worth
Barnes N Noble
Kroger's for some dinner necessities
Zach's babysitter to pick him him
Home

Man! I got in bed that night and was sore! Was totally worth it Thursday morning when Emmy said "I had fun with you yesterday Daddy!" Good times.

"Aliens"

No, I'm not talking about the thousands of illegal ones that pour into my state every year. There's enough news stations and politicians doing that for me. For me personally, it doesn't really matter if they want to come work here. Just do it by the book. There's a reason we make green cards for ya. We want you to be able to live here without constant threat of "la policia" dragging you back to Mexico at any given time. Hmm, maybe I AM talking about illegal aliens. Must move on!



Rented the special edition of "Aliens" last Saturday. After many short viewings I have finally finished the whole thing! If you're not familiar with the storyline, go to IMDB.com and search Alien. The special edition shed some light on a few things but didn't have as much action as I was hoping for. There were some cool deleted scenes where they set up sentry guns that shot at anything outside of their "perimeter". Don't know why James Cameron left it out, but ah well.



Can you believe these Mavericks!? Normally I wouldn't be discussing them due to the fact that they never figured out how to get to the Finals! But here they are, up 1-0 against the Heat...who after game one may need to be called the Lukewarm. They were terrible! Apparently the league strategy is simple: Put Shaq at the free throw line. He shot ONE of 9 from the line and they lost by 10. Let's see...a little quick math...gee, maybe if Shaq had made a few more of those, the Heat might have won. Did I oversimplify things? Good!

Mavs in five...making a prediction right now!

"How 'Bout Them Mavericks!!"

I cannot believe they got past Pheonix! I don't know what Avery Johnson is making the guys drink before each game but he could be a millionare by selling it. The last time I posted about the Mavs it was last year and they were on the verge of getting past Houston to play San Antonio...which they promptly played their way out of. But not this year. Now we have a chance to win it all. Against Miami of all teams!? They're old, inconsistent, and never could dominate the way other championship teams have in the past. I guess they didn't need to though since they're in the same boat as we are. Exact same boat. Except that our side is more polished, not as old, and easier to maneuver. Hey, I should be writing for ESPN eh?



Took Emmy and her cousin Ethan to the flower gardens Saturday morning. It has been so long since we've gotten up early and done that. Something about having a new baby around will keep ya from doing that ya know. But I digress. They always have fun when they get to go there together. I just want them to have some kind of place they can think about and go to to remind them that they were little kids at one point.



Went out to Campbell, TX on Memorial Sunday. This is where my great-grandparents are buried so once a year isn't too much to ask to make the drive (about an hour). Plus I know it means a lot to the family that I go out there. Wanted to take Zach with me and Emmy but general opinion stated he was a little too young. So maybe next year. We had a really nice time. Very rare the whole family give or take gets together. Too rare it seems these days. It's weird, I never gave a thought to my own mortality until I hit the big 3-0. Then all of a sudden it occured to me that I may not be here forever. But I got some good years left...right? Sure hope so.



Grandpa is going to be 84 this year. I've kind of prepared myself for when he isn't with us anymore. It's too bad it took me having his great-grandkids including a boy to carry on our name for us to have something to talk about. But I'm glad he got to see Zach with his own eyes. Always get a picture of them together when I get a chance. But now I see a lot of me in him and vice-versa.

"Emily's Graduation!"

Graduation!? Already? No, not from college...from pre-k! Although I'm pretty sure she could ad-lib her way in a higher education setting if we let her ha ha. Seems like just yesterday we were taking her up to her classroom and now here she is, an old pro. Sure, we had our ups and downs. I remember how nervous she was waiting in the cafeteria until the teacher came to get her. She wanted me to wait with her for the first four days or so. Then one day I told her they wouldn't let me in the cafeteria because I wasn't a kid. She shocked me when she said "Okay, bye Daddy" in a calm voice. Man was that hard. Each day after that was a little bittersweet for me simply because she had taken a huge step in learning what she was made of (which is a lot). It was then I knew she would be okay even if I wasn't there.



Would ya believe Emily won the "Best Speller" award??!! I was so proud of her! They had all kinds of awards to give out such as "Best Smile" and "Most Improved Behavior" which if she had won those I would have demanded a recount. But Best Speller is big, at least in the pre-k world. They also sang some hilarious songs which I had just enough videotape for lol. Afterwards we took her to Olive Garden for some (you guessed it) macaroni and cheese. We didn't care. She earned it. One thing I want her to always remember is things worth having in this world must be earned. Never expect anything from anyone. Hold on a sec, I need to watch them draw this week's lottery numbers...

( 1 minute later)

Ahh! I had 2 of 6, which wins me...a big box of JACK SQUAT!

We went to Simply Fondue last night. Was SOOO good! I would never have believed that kind of gluttony existed if I hadn't seen (and done) it with my own eyes (and gut). Because there were 4 of us we got to choose twice as many selections. Needless to say I really can't eat anything right now...and it's been 12 hours! Check out the link above to see exactly what they serve. It really is too much to list.

Afterwards we went to the dive called Scuder's where they have karaoke Saturday nights. My friend Jerramy was suprisingly good at songs such as "Desperado" and "Ramblin' Man". And yes, I even went up there and sang "Until I fall Away" by the Gin Blossoms. People said I did really good which made me feel good until I saw how many empty beer bottles I saw at their tables. Ah well. Drunk love is love just the same.

Big changes going down at work lately. The big one is they took away our internet. All of it. Not even on a break or lunch. Why you ask? Well, Mr. Nosy, a certain domain...call it MySpace...has been used by dozens of co-workers and some of the material has been considered...ribald? Randy? NAUGHTY. So because of them the only reason to work there has been taken away from us. Plus, the phones have slowed down to a friggin' standstill so most of the day we read newspapers/books, do puzzles...I think someone even brought up their needlework project. Cannot wait until my vacation in July so that when I come back I can start to find something where I'm paid handsomely for my experience and knowledge of many things...such as toys! Oh man, that would be sweet if I could get on with some toy company. One day Mikey...one day.

So if my posts become a bit...sporadic, let's say, now ya know why. They're supposed to give us back our internet hopefully sometime this week. In the meantime, I'm bringing my tv/vcr combo and all my camcorder tapes and am going to do some serious editing. I have 4 hours of tape I have to go through and transfer to VHS in chronological order. And what better way to do it then to get paid for doing it? =)

"Grey's Anatomy"

Now something I don't mind admitting to is enjoying a show that may or may not be award-winning. I'm reminded of "Melrose Place" in its prime for starters. Yes, I watched this show religiously! It was so out there and far-fetched yet I was compelled to watch...always wanting more. More of Jane and Michael...of Billy and Allison...and certainly more of a certain Heather Locklear. Can you believe all the hoopla surrounding the love polygon that is Heather/Richie/Denise/Charlie? It's just a sad place to be in when they have to lie and cheat and their kids get caught in the middle. Maybe one day they will learn to put the kids first and themselves second. But enough about that.

This show I started watching for one reason: Patrick Dempsey. No, I don't have a crush on him. Honest. But he was in one of my favorite movies of all time: LOVERBOY!! If ya haven't seen it you can click here to learn more about it. In a nutshell, Randy Bodek (Dempsey) delivers pizza to save up for tuition so he can make it back to school to patch things up with his girlfriend. However, one day a woman orders some anchovy pizzas and turns Randy into a delivery gigolo. It is so entertaining to me personally because for 6 years I delivered pizzas but unfortunately never got invited in.

(cries over what could have been)

Okay, I'm better. SO when I heard he was going to be in GA, I watched. But I continued to watch because the show got better...a lot better...and as overdramatic as it is I made it a priority to be in bed by 9 on Sundays. And now they're moving it to Thursdays! I'll have to watch either GA or ER and tape the other one...ack!



Went out and scored a couple of toys last weekend. Big surprise I know. I am just nuts about these Transformers Alternators! There's about 20 or so out there...hate to think about collecting all of them...but some of them are spectacular:



The Man Of Steel! Now wasn't I just ragging on Superman in my earlier post? I sure was! But this one right here was just begging to be bought. Old school and all. Now why can't they make a Captain America like this? He deserves it!



Now see what happens when kids are left to their own devices? I have a feeling his sister brought her Build-A-Bear she made on her 4th birthday in and set it down next to him. Call it a fifth sense, women's intuition, but I think that's what happened.



Zach: "What are you lookin' at, butthead?"