"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.