"It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...."

mmm, something, right? Now that Texas has caught up with the rest of the hemisphere and the temperature has dipped below 60, now I can start getting excited about this, our holiest of holidays, Christmas! People have started putting their lights up on their houses and the air smells like fireplaces and ovens baking my favourite treats. I really am a big kid sometimes. Lately though I have tried to be more responsible with some of the adult things that I need to put first. Namely parenting. For example...

Emily's room is usually a mess. Now I'm all for respecting people's personal space because that's how I like to be treated. But her room lately has been the scene of several spot tornadoes. As soon as we get it all picked up, BAM! It's a disaster again. So we tell her she cannot come out until it is cleaned up. And...an hour goes by...so I go in there and:

1)the room is no closer to being picked up then it was when she sent in there
2)Zach has marker all over the back of his neck
3)the WALL has marker all over it! Did the marker match the colour of the paint? Nope.

Then when we asked her how it happened she lied and said it was an accident. You know...it's days like that when I just take a step back and say to myself "Am I doing any of this right?" I know I'm no foremost expert on raising kids like other people, but I pride myself on listening to my kids when they have something to say. Gotta keep those channels open ya know. One bad day does not a kid make. I must remember this.

A while back I mentioned my top five favourite toys. Since I haven't put up my tree yet, thus I don't have any pics of it yet, here are my choices for six-ten:

#10. Sideswipe Machine Wars


I bought this guy in 1994 because, quite frankly, it was one of the only ones I could find. What seperates him from the other molds is that he is made out of metal, not plastic. And yes, those are real rubber tires lol.

#9. Star Wars Destroyer Droid


It was very hard to find this in the store. I think I got it at StarWars.com. One heck of a security system. Force fields plus one trick after another = awesome.

#8. Superman 8"


Nothing more classic then the Man Of Steel preserved perfectly. And I don't mean unopened. I mean the build, the face, the colour scheme...don't change a thing!

#7. Thundercracker from Transformers the Movie


What's cool about this guy is he was upposed to be in the movie (along with a host of other characters) and for some reason wasn't. Sure, it's the exact same mold as Starscream but the colours are much cooler and he may be a must-have for someone down the road.

#6. Neo from The Matrix


Watched this Saturday as it was raining plus 40 degrees plus I had four kids to hang onto. Forgot how truly groundbreaking this was. Could watch it over and over if I had to. But, I don't. Probably for the best.

When I get my tree (with all my wicked cool ornaments) up I will post again. Now that I have a better camera I can really capture its magic. I'm working on a wish list but I'm not sure what I would add to it. Sure I'll think of something though.
What do YOU want for Christmas?

"It's Thanksgiving!"

...and if some of you have been wondering where I have been lately, it hasn't been in the kitchen cooking! I will make something today though: green bean casserole. Two of them actually. Apparently we make it so good that it's all anyone requests us to bring anymore. Or maybe because it's so easy to make I can't possibly screw it up ha ha. No, the truth is, ever since Yahoo! moved all my photos to Flickr, I have been getting them organized in semi-annual sets and all-encompassing collections. And man, what a trip down memory lane it has been! But now I believe I am finished with all of that. Organizing the pictures I mean, not going down memory lane. I'll never stop doing that ha ha.

103.7 Lite FM here in Dallas started playing Christmas music about three weeks ago. Now for the last three weeks it has been about 80 degrees. Plus...Christmas was 2 months away! Very strange. But today, the high is 57 degrees and people are firing up their fireplaces, so now when you go outside it feels like Christmas. And Thanksgiving. All at the same time.

Today we are going to my grandmother's house since everyone in the family has decided to not be around this weekend for one reason or another. It's bad enough that although we all live like 30 minutes from each other we only get together three times a year. It could be more. It should be more.

So here are a few flashbacks to see where we have been and where we're going:

Zach new to the world


Zach now


Emily in 2004


Emily today


My, how they grow.

What are you thankful for?

For me, I'm very thankful this job I have started is finally out of the training phase and now we can start to feel productive. If I can make this a success it just might do something for my ego. Not that it needed to get any bigger mind you, but there's something about being in a company that is beyond generous. Pharmacare could have been like that, but they chose to skimp and cheapskate their way through life. I'm also thankful I don't have to worry about anything or anyone from there ever again.

And, I'm thankful for my family. Big surprise right? ha ha. When people...complete strangers, mind you...make a point of coming up to us and telling us how adorable our kids are, it really is neat. Now I already knew they were cute. But it's nice to have some reiteration every now and then.

"Turning A Corner..."

Is that what I'm doing? Man, I sure hope so. By this time next week we will be absolutely fantastic in the finance department. We have my 2 week check, Cari's 2 week check plus her severance check all coming in that day. Which means hopefully we can get off of this paycheck-to-paycheck "schedule" we've been on and start to move ahead. Why is this so important? Because for the last seven years we haven't been able to keep ahead of the demand for bills with the incomes we have made. Not once have we had an extra paycheck from either one of us and said "Hmm...what to spend it on...hmm". It always went towards a bill. Now we've always managed to stay on top of our bills, but just once I'd like to go to our bank website and see a savings account in the 5 figures. We had it up to 4 figures at one point but as what always happens, life comes at you and you have to do what it takes. I saw on TV a long time ago you need to have six months' worth of your monthly bills saved up at all times, just in case something were to happen. I never lost sight of that being one of the major goals in my life. So this shall be a project for us. Can we do it? Well, time will tell. One problem I always had was anytime I'd start a new job, for some reason I'd start thinking about what I can get away with. Come in late? Leave early? Do this? Do that? And man, has it made for some uncomfortable "sit-downs" with bosses over the years. But with Aegon, it's different. It has to be. No more of that. Because it's not just me who has to worry about working here. Now there is a family, a mortgage, a car payment, etc. that depend on me. Is it scary? Maybe just a bit. But the benefits far outweigh anything else. Instead of going somwehere ordinary for our vacation, now we have options! Now what those ae I don't know lol. Would love to go see New York with my own eyes instead of what tv has to offer. I must stay on the right path if I want to retire with them. And I think I do!

Okay, enough work talk. Now as some people know, I am a collector of action figures, toys, etc. But what are my five favourite? It's tough to narrow them all down to a list that short. Maybe that's what is so much fun about it ha ha. So here we go:

Number five:


The BMW Z4 (or is it Z3) my mom got me for Christmas about 10 years ago. It's very detailed, and man is it big! My camera really picked up the lines and curves. My mom has given me a lot over my life. Which means if she needs anything, all she has to do is ask. Unless it's helping her move. She can call movers for that ha ha.

Number four:


Now surely we all know what this is! My sister got me this for my birthday last year. Does she know me or what? My favourite movie (or rather one of my faves) and now I have the car to go with it.

Number three:


Oh yeah! Now we're getting into my fave faves! I absolutely love the detail on this guy. Even down to the GMC logo on his grill, if I were to open one of my items, I'd start with him. I'm very glad I got him when I did because he is nowhere to be found in stores. I might could get him online if I really wanted to. It's just there is no feeling like discovering something that everybody else missed. If I get it online, there's no real adventure. Now if it were something I had to have, that would be a different story.

Number two:


I think I knew all along if I ever saw this version of Bumblebee I would snatch it up in a heartbeat. Wasn't really a fan of the old Camaro but this one definitely caught my eye. It's a 2008 Chevolet Camaro concept car!

And the number one favourite collectible is...

(drum roll)


Speed Racer!! Hey, was there ever any doubt? I wish I knew how much this thing was worth. I know there are collectors of this guy who wouldn't mind having this. Butthat doesn't mean I'd be willing to part with it anytime soon. Plus, there's a live action movie on the way which I wouldn't mind seeing.

I might have to create a number 6-10 list in the near future as well. Believe me, it wasn't easy narrowing these down. But it sure was fun.

One more week of training, then I actually have to work. Looking forward to it though. Lately I'm not one who wants to sit idly by while life goes on. I plan to look back on my years with fondness, not regret. Too often people find themselves 80 years old and wondering if they did enough. Now I know I can't stop getting older, but I can make sure every day is something special. We only get about 30,000 of them.

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

...well it's my birthday too yeah! Well, not mine just yet...but Zach sure had one to remember! We had his party last Saturday plus we had our Halloween block party last Wednesday! Let's go to the highlights:


Emmy: "Dad, can we go on the hayride?"

Me: "Sure! I just need $5 for gas...and some hay...and a truck..."

Zach: "Man, what a rip off..."


Me: "So Zach, how do you like the t-shirt I gave you?"

Zach: "What does this say? 'I Get My Good Looks From My Dad'? I thought you said lying was a bad thing Pop!"

Me: "Well...I didn't really think it was a lie...excuse me..." (goes off and cries)


Emmy: "Ooh, this outfit will look just smashing on you Zach!...Zach? Where are you?"

Zach: "Can't...talk...drowning...in...own...presents..."

Well, there are a few highlights of our week. Zach is now officially two and now we can start having a little fun with something called: potty training! He was really getting into it a while back and then he discovered it was more fun to keep playing and let the underwear do the work...aye carumba. He'll get there though.

Finished my 4th week of training at Aegon. Now it's all starting to make sense now that we are going through all the motions instead of just sitting there taking notes and feeling drained at 5pm each day. Everyone seems to think I'll be really good at it. That's enough for me lol.

One of my favourite movies is The Breakup with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. Cari keeps asking why I like watching how our marriage is lol. Personally I don't think I'm as bad as Gary (Vaughn). The clincher was at the beginning when the dishes needed to be done and Gary finds himself on the couch playing Grand Theft Auto which ultimately leads to them going their own ways. For a kid who was literally obsessed with Atari 2600 back in the 80's, I find myself very afraid of having any kind of game system for fear of having two kids who don't want to play outside anymore because hey, why should we when we can sit on our butts and stare blindly at pixels? Right now they love being outside doing whatever and I hope that never changes. Maybe one reason I enjoy this movie as much as I do is because I hope I never find myself as thoughtless and inconsiderate as Gary. Sometimes I feel like I am though. Always a work in progress I am.