"My Kingdom for a Tooth!"

Yes, after many months of "How come I can't lose a tooth?" and "How come other kids lost a tooth already?", Emmy has finally lost her first tooth!! It had been loose for literally six months and finally it just popped out! The tooth fairy even came by and left her ten dollars! Now correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't it used to be a quarter? And even when I did get a quarter, there was always a note "advising" me what to do with it. Like saving it. Drag right? Kids will never learn how to save money until they are shown not only how to do it but why it is so important to get in the habit of doing it regularly. Emmy actually owes us like $13 from a library book she lost and then we found only after we had to buy it from the library for $8. Then I gave her $7 to give to the lunch room for her lunches and somehow that came up missing. However, I did tell her I would give her $1 each time she cleaned her room really well or put away the clothes from her laundry basket. So far that's...twice lol. But she's learning. I think it's amazing how kids can be so smart in certain areas and so apathetic in others. Zach on the other hand has to have things picked up most of the time. We used to think he liked doing it but I think he needs to know things are picked up. Every house can use a Monica I guess lol.

Finished my third week for HealthMarkets and now I'm finally starting to get the hang of all this stuff. Do you have any idea how hard it is to act like you know what's going on when most of it doesn't make any sense? But now I've been on kind of a roll. There are always games and stuff to keep it lively and lately I've been winning points for our team because I've started doing something I should have started doing years ago: stop making things harder then they are. That's been my life story up until this point. I always seem to put myself in a position where I have to be kind of on edge and hope I don't get fired instead of excelling in what I do and being an asset and not a liability. This shall be my mission.

Zach got his first Build-A-Bear last week! That meant trading something in that had been an important part of his life: his pacifier. Or as he called it, his "pappy" ha ha. I have one too but I never know what to get for him.


Zach: "Hey Dad, what should I name my bear?"
Me: "Oh, I don't know...I couldn't bear to name him ha ha."
Zach: "Oh man was that bad."
Me: "Well, you'll just have to grin and bearit ha ha. Just a cross you'll have to bear."

(groans from...well, everyone)

"Valentine's Presents!"

And we got what everyone else seems to have: an MP3 player! They're 2GB which holds about 500 songs so it will take a while for us to go through all of them. The first 25 songs came from this CD:


Bought this at Virgin megastore and I have to say it might be the best $19 I ever spent. Well, maybe not THE best $19...but I am really enjoying listening to the latest work from one of my favourite singers ever. What's funny is the guy who turned me on to him kind of lost interest and hasn't kept up on his life events. And man what a crooked road it's been. I mentioned about 2 years ago how he finally accepted his sexuality (yep, he's out) and moved from Australia to the United Kingdom just so he could get married to some guy. Didn't know who that was exactly until I bought this CD but it's some guy named Richard. And man does Darren gush about him lol. I guess when you find what they have you want the world to know. One of the songs is called "Sing To Me" and it is just beautiful. Here are the lyrics:

You step behind a curtain/In a moment you were gone
Nothing's ever certain/And it's hard to carry on

This is not what we planned/And I know its hard to understand
But if this isn't what you want then
If this isn't what you need pry my fingers from your hand

And maybe it's just meant to be
Maybe you'll find a way to haunt me
Come back and sing a melody to me

Maybe we're just lost at sea
Maybe I'm holding on to driftwood
And I'll be alright if you could
Sing to me
Sing to me

You step beneath the landslide/Nothing feels right when you're wrong
And try to find an upside/Try to sing without a song

This is not what we planned
And I know its hard to understand
But if this isn't what you want then

And maybe it's just meant to be
Maybe you'll find a way to haunt me
Come back and sing a melody to me

Maybe we're just lost at sea
Maybe I'm holding on to driftwood
And I'll be alright if you could
Sing to me
Sing to me

I keep seeing flashes of your hands/When I close my eyes
And I don't know why/And I don't know why

Help me make sense of what I don't understand/'Cause I've gotta know why
I've gotta know why
Tell me why do you sing to me?

And maybe it's just meant to be
That you would sing to me
Maybe we're just lost at sea
Could you come sing for me?

And maybe it's just meant to be
Maybe we're just lost at sea
Would you come sing for me?
Sing for me

The music is perfect for the words too. I wish I could put something like this together. Of course then I'd have to go on tour and never get to see my family, so...maybe I'll leave it up to the pros.

We had our 401K party last night at the Arlington Convention Center. Despite the fact I only knew like 15 people (there were over 1,000 there) I had a pretty good time. They put money in little plush animals and threw them to us. I managed to get two of them and won $15. Plus, I missed winning $1,000 by one number on my raffle ticket...ah well. Win some, lose some. But hey, when you get to leave work at 1pm just to go to it, can ya really complain?

Last week I posted some pics from my super RCT park "Garden State" which a few people were impressed with. So then I went to YouTube and typed in "RCT". Quite a few came up but this one was really fun to watch:


My computer is just slow enough that it can't play the 3rd RCT where you can ride the rides. Hopefully me and Navid can build the ultimate system one day and I can get it.

Also on YouTube (really dwelling on that today lol) are a lot of Transformers stop-motion videos from people who were actually foolish enough to open their items. Here's a recreation of the scene from the movie where Bumblebee is chasing Sam to protect him and Barricade is chasing everyone:


Too funny. Will get more of them on here at some point.

Back to Darren for a bit. He was married for a while but I guess he was living a lie too. I've seen too many times on Oprah and Dr Phil where someone was in that same situation and were so afraid that their parents would disown them that they kept it to themselves which led to them being miserable. I would rather my kids know that if this is who they are then they can come and tell me and know that I will never shun them or make them feel like they aren't welcome in my home. Because without them there is no family. Dear Abby posted a letter about a mom whose son came out to her and she ended up distancing herself from him for years. Only when she had become ill and couldn't take care of herself did things change. Her son invited her to move out to...Arizona I think...wherever he was...and stay with him and his partner. She accepted reluctantly and moved and was cared for lovingly by them. She regretted every single day she kept to herself and hoped her letter would inspire other parents not to be so single-minded toward their kids. Is there anything so bad that a parent would stop loving their child? Ehh...probably. But being true to oneself can't be one of them.

"One Fun Night Coming Up!"

And it's about time! It's been a while since Cari and I had a night out sans kids. Their grandma Mary is hanging onto them tonight and we are going to a lovely dinner...somewhere. I proposed Cheesecake Factory since we have a $50 gift card plus everything they have there rocks. Too bad I get the same thing all the time ha ha. Well, not tonight. I'm going to try my darndest to get something I've never gotten before. Of course I say that and then I get the tons 'o' fun burger. But man, it's so good! Maybe see a movie too. I think I got a good night's sleep last night so I should be up for it.

Man what a Super Bowl! If I was a betting man I would have lost a bundle. Good thing I never ever bet on sports lol. I think it's obvious the better team won Sunday. Who wants it more? Who's willing to push themselves a little harder to achieve their goals? This is what it comes to not just in the NFL, but in life. Which is why I am looking forward to seeing what I can do at HealthMarkets. Now granted, it's only been a week and we've only started learning about a few things, but everyone there seems to enjoy what they do. I'm not looking forward to being on the phone all day, but I can transfer out of that sometime around August 4th. But I may not get the bonuses and incentives this job has if I switch. Ah well. Long time down the road.

My plan was to design an amusement park to trump the other one I made. Kind of took some heat from the wife for spending so much time working on it, but now that it's finished I don't think I have the energy to make another one. And now, let me reveal...Garden State!:


Here is the entrance. I decided to make the first 25% completely surrounded in flowers and trees, plus I made some water rides rivers themselves and put bridges over them.


Once you leave the garden, you come across the subwat station where you can take the train to another part of the park. I put food courts on top of both sides of the loading station and added some skyscrapers to create an urban atmosphere kind of different from what the customers just left.

Here is my fruit candy island. One of them is called Starburst and the other is called Skittles. In the background you can see my winter go-kart island.


This is one of my favourite attractions. Two river rapids run next to each other for a while then split off in their own direction. I added waterfalls in and out of the walls and had rapids run underneath the waiting lines.

Time well spent? Nah. But sometimes the left brain needs a little stimulation right?

Dr. Phil had a show on last night where a 16-year old girl was pregnant and her parents had no idea until the high school principal called them and told them. Isn't that a great way to find that out? We usually only hear about the girls who wind up pregnant before they reach 18 and not about the ones that don't. Which might be a good thing since it sounds like for the most part most girls don't. In my opinion the number one reason this happens is due to one thing: ignorance. Parents simply do not talk about the risks and responsibility of sex with their kids until it's too late. I know no one talked to me about it. If I hadn't been so shy and awkward around girls when I was in high school (yes, it's true) I probably would have had sex with any girl who asked. Which probably would have led to me being a parent at 16 or 17 or whenever. Which would have led to my parents not wanting me around. One thing I try and teach my kids is that one choice leads to another and another. Life is never "pass the test and relax". Each day something new may pop up and you have to have the resources to handle it. Now granted I have been fortunate to have people in my life that have been there for me and I will never underestimate the power of a support circle. But it's also important to know that sometimes...it's just you...

"Super Bowl Sunday!"

Well, almost. In three days the country, and dare I say the world will be watching quite eagerly to see if ye olde New England Patriots can go 19-0 and do what only the 1972 Dolphins have done. Perfection. Can they do it? Well, if they don't, then the season will seem like such a huge disappointment won't it? 18-1 and a Super Bowl loss. But does anyone really see that happening? Nah, and here's why: they get to play the New York Giants, who managed to Slip-N-Slide their way into the big show by beating the Buccaneers (probable), our beloved Cowboys (highly unlikely), and the Green Bay Packers (impossible). When all is said and done, this may go down in the record books as one of the biggest mis-matches ever. Time will tell I guess. But this day is not just about who wins and who loses. There are other, just as important reason why we must gather to stare at the tv:

1. The commercials

These just get better and better each year. Here's one I really enjoyed:


This is the one with the Clydesdales playing football and the zebra comes in after the play to see if they got the first down. Definitely one for the ages.

2. The squares

You may know what this is about. Everyone buys a square on a 10 x 10 grid and if your numbers match up with the score after each quarter you can win some cool cash! So far I have won...$0. But that number could rise any minute!

3. The food

I have heard rumours there will be a brisket available at my brother-in-law's house which has my taste buds coming alive with pleasure...but in a good way, ya know? Plus some other goodies will be there as well, including what we're bringing...which may be...a cake? Who knows. But it definitely adds to the enjoyment.

New job starts Monday. Really anxious to have my own paycheck coming in and not the state's. My wish list for now includes a new camcorder and some printer ink cartridges. Soon...soon. Not that I was ever into believing the more things you have, the happier you are. Of course I said that when I was poor which helped ease the pain lol. Plus a new car wouldn't be so bad. I only say that because my 1997 Sentra is now 11 years old and what once was a mighty athlete is now a third stringer hanging on by a thread. But this is the life of an athlete. What he worked so hard for gets harder to hang onto year after year. Hopefully there's enough fight in the ol' war wagon for a couple more years. That's been a great car though. Only now is it kind of costing me some money to take care of it which is remarkable considering the previous high I had a car was three years, and I've had this one for seven. Still...I've never owned a brand new car before, except for the one we have now, plus we'd get a minivan when we do get a new one. A van that has DVD players and screens and all kinds of gadgets hopefully. Soon...soon.