"One Fruitful Christmas!!"

And man, did my kids get a haul! A basketball hoop, 63 cans of Play-D, and everything in between! Well, maybe not 63 cans. But a lot. And I better not see any of it on the ground! Ha ha...well, I won't get too mad if it's just a little bit.



Emmy got something she had been hoping for pretty much all year:


I'm glad Santa picked one up for her...now it's up to us to make sure we get to play too ha ha. Plus, ol' Mikey got a little something too. Hint: I'm the one wearing #9:


That "Friends" episode with Brad Pitt is on right now. This is definitely one of the top five faves in my book. It's a shame that Jen and him couldn't last longer then five years, but in Hollywood that's an eternity right? Heck, me and Cari will be six years strong next April. I can't imagine what 40 years will feel like. Six seems to have come and gone pretty quick but at the same time it seems like it has taken a long time to get here. I really don't feel like my life was anything interesting until I met her. Now there are so many things to look forward to. Can't wait.

Somehow, I got my computer up and running!! It had crashed (or so I thought) so I kept at it and got it to come back to life. Very proud of myself. Hey, I'll take what I can get. And now I can play my fave game. Here's a hint:


I don't know what it is about Roller Coaster Tycoon, but it really brings out something creative in me. If I had a dollar for every hour I have spent on this in my life...well...could probably buy a Kia.

Going to have a New Years' Eve party here tomorrow night! Pizzas, poker, and maybe a Smirnoff Pomegranite Twister for me ha ha. Good to have friends in this world. Got four coming over for a pajama party! Just might break out the ol' camcorder. Never know what will happen. Wish I had a connector kit so I could upload them on here. Then we'd have some fun. Maybe I will get one one day. Christmas 2013 maybe? Eh, maybe sooner. I love those new hard drive camcorders they have now. As soon as I start working somewhere...anywhere...hopefully I can get one.

I think we had a great Christmas. Can't wait until Zach is a little older. I think boys enjoy presents more then girls. We're so me me me all the time. Wish we weren't, but some things are hard to change sometimes. We must always improve ourselves a little each day.

"I've Got To Admit...It's Getting Better..."

A little better...all the time...can't get much worse. One of my favourite Beatles' songs just might apply here. Finally, after much ballyhooing and grandstanding, the state approved my unemployment claim. What is it with these people that they have to do this at Christmas time? I'm just thankful beyond belief that I didn't get screwed over (again). I guess when prayer is basically all you have, you really see what God can do for you. During this whole time I just kept wondering why me? Why did this happen to me? This will be priority one when I get to Heaven. Not that I'm being presumptious, mind you. I have to get there first right? That's my plan anyway. I just hate not knowing why lousy things happen to (somewhat) decent people. I'd really like some insight into that. One day.

Took the kids to the "flower gardens" Thursday. One plus of not working is being able to spend some time with them during the holidays. This was starting to be like the worst Christmas ever but now that we won't be broke it just might be great. We got to look at some groovy lights too.


I like this shot due to the waterfall picking up the flash from the camera.


This one I just love. Everytime I see it I will always wonder what they were thinking.

Christmas is three days away! Still hard to believe. I did pick up some egg nog the other day. It's just not Christmas without it.

"Merry Christmas?"

Well right now I really don't know if this is going to be a Christmas I look back on with too much good memory right now. The state is hemming and hawing about approving my unemployment which means we still don't have the money we might need to finish shopping much yet make sure our bills are paid. You know...sometimes it really feels like I'm being punished...but for what? All I do these days is try and go back to something truly awful that I did to have my life end up like this and I come up empty. Plus, the position I wanted at Cari's company decided I can't do it because we'd have the same supervisor. So now every department has my resume and is trying to get me in there since they seem to think I'd be a great fit. But who knows when this will happen, so I had better look elsewhere for the time being. Still praying daily and hoping God's will be done...in any capacity.

Okay, enough depressing talk. Tis the season right?

Emily found something she really wants this Christmas. And that something is:


Now, granted, she has been very good this year in school and at home, so why shouldn't Santa bring it to her right? Now I've mentioned to her that it had better not interfere with school and keeping her room clean. If it does...outtahere! Then of course I would get hooked on it. I already know what game I would get:


I'm not sure which mode of playing is harder...with real people or with computer folks. Hard to see if computer is bluffing but then again it's harder for them to see me bluff. Sometimes beginners can really clean up since they don't know how to bluff, then the rest of the table doesn't know what they have.

Here's a game Cari might like:


We all love this show. It's amazing how people let greed cloud their judgement when they think they have a lot of money in their little case. If I ever made it onto this show (and how exactly do ya get on there anyway? Do you have to live in New York or California or something? Arggh), I already have a target amount to settle for: $250,000. I've seen people with offers more then that turn it down thinking there's more to be had only to leave with about 25% of their offer. Greed. It's a wonderful thing ya know. There's a reason it's one of the seven deadly sins people.

Emily knows she wants the DS, but as to what game she wants, I don't know if even she knows. She'd probably enjoy this one though:


She loves these movies, which is cool because I enjoy them as well. So many little things you really have to watch close for and she doesn't miss them at all.

And finally, let's not forget the boy. Zach I think his name is ha ha. What game would he want? Well, since he won't tell me, I would say this one would suit him:


Kidding.

What about this one though?


This one I wouldn't mind playing with him. We'd need two DS's though. Maybe one day.

Hopefully by the end of next week I'll have some resolution on this whole unemployment thing. But I really shouldn't let these things spoil what is usually the happiest time of the year for me. Nobody should. This is the time of year of thinking about others and trying to help those less fortunate then us. And there is always someone less fortunate if you really think about it. I'm trying to think about it a little more ya know?

"They Say It's Your Birthday!"

Well it's my birthday too yeah! 33 years old today. Up until yesterday I was still feeling quite down about the events that had unfolded the last week. And then...I got the best present I could have imagined. Cari's office called me and set me up for an interview next Wednesday at CorpHealth in Fort Worth. And the best part is, it's a job that (hopefully) won't be too much time on the phone. After what happened at lousy Aegon, I'm not too big of a fan of customer service jobs. I'm slowly moving past the grave injustice that has been thrust upon me. And if you know anything about me, you would agree it was an injustice.



Found this from Dr Smoov the other day and never have I laughed so hard. What's unfortunate is that as against swearing as I am, it's the swearing that makes this so funny.

So what do I want for this, my 33rd birthday? Mmm, to be honest with you I don't really know. I've asked for gift cards to a few places, but that's about it. We're going out tonight for a little bowling plus my free birthday meal at Taipan, can't forget about that. Then tomorrow we're going to my mom's house since mine and Keri's birthdays are so close together we'll do the two-for-one special ha ha. I hope she likes what we got her. Actually what Cari got her. I love her. She really goes out of her way to really get a great present for someone. If it were up to me I'd get everyone gift cards and call it a day ha ha. Actually, in 1999 everyone got Circuit City gift cards which I ordered online. I'm just so bad at getting everyone a specific present just for them but Cari never seems to have that problem. I try to tell her how much she means to me as much as I can but it never feels like enough.


Zach: "Dad, are we living the High Life?"
Me: "Oh we sure are! Although I am a little worried about the guy in the boat behind you."

Took Zach to the park Wednesday. It was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G!! Zach didn't mind though.
It's been really cool spending time with just him this week. Not that I don't want Emmy with me as well. He just seems a little calmer when he's not being chased or being asked to chase someone else ha ha. He is so entertaining. And I can sense he will be compassionate and sharing to other people one of these days. Once he can talk a little better there will be no stopping him.

Wish me luck next Wednesday. If I get this then it will be just a little clearer why what happened happened.

"Ups And Downs"

Often, we find that life is about ups and downs. Sometimes we're on top of the world. Other times you just wonder if God has a personal grudge against you. Unfortunately, this week I'm feeling like the latter. Aegon decided to fire me last Friday for, now get this: using profanity while I was on the phone. Is that not the craziest bunch of crap you ever heard in your whole life? Another employee was sitting with me my first day on my own and, after muting the caller, said some choice words when he had to actually do something and help me. Well, some supervisors listened to the call and made up their mind that it was me that said those things and when I wouldn't say that it was me that said it, they decided to let me go. I don't cry very much but I did this day. It still feels like some awful dream. I still cannot believe that something I had worked so hard for and actually feel like I deserved is gone. I guess that's life eh? I can't let it ruin my holiday though. I really hope this is some part of God's path for me. He knows I would never jeopardize my job for a stupid reason like that. But He doesn't have to worry about money, does He? At least I don't think He does.

Saturday we went to Emily's Girl Scout Birdfeeder party at one of my favourite places, the botanical gardens. Here's what happened:


Emmy: "Hey Dad, why are there penguins at a birdfeeder party? Don't they eat fish?"
Me: "Well...yeah...hmm..."
Zach: "Gee Dad, the answers don't come very fast when you're dealing with penguins do they?"
Me: "Oh Zach, penguins love to eat little boys."
Zach: "I'll be good."


Me: "Hey Cari, um...we're not supposed to eat those."
Cari: "But Mike, this apple has peanut butter and birdseed all over it! It's so yummy!"
Me: "Lemme get a fork."


Zach: "Stop throwing leaves on me! My allergies! Where's my Singulair? My Allegra? My Astelin nasal spray?"
Me: "Gee man, how many allergy meds are you on?"

Good times.

Then we put up our tree yesterday.



Here are some of our prize-winning* ornaments:







Good times.

And finally, what pre-holiday period would be complete without Emmy's letter to Santa. Let's see what she asked for:


Will she get any of that? Well, we'll just have to wait and see I guess.

I'm not as bummed out right now as I was last week. Hopefully if I do enough looking and searching, something really great will present itself. I can always get the house cleaned up really nice. Might as well be useful in any capacity I can right?