"How Long Has It Been?"

Like two weeks! Usually I'm on top of my weekly post but sometimes life gets in the 2way and I have to take of that first. But this will be maybe my second to last post of the year and a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks:

We got together at Mom's with my sister to celebrate our December birthdays. Sis got me a cool gift:


Eh? What's cool is she has one too and we wore them to Grandma's last night with Dad and co. so we looked like employees fresh off the company picnic.


I have yet to see this movie. At least I have the soundtrack! There's a song by Miranda Cosgrove on it, so I kind of asked for it so Emmy could listen to it too. Who says I never think about my kids? Besides my kids I mean.

Here are a couple of other pix from our Christmas weekend:


(on tv)
Mr. Drummond: "Arnold, did you eat that entire box of powdered donuts?"
Arnold: "Whatchu talkin' 'bout Mr D?"

Me: "Hey guys, can we get back to opening presents?"
Everyone: "SHHHHHH!! We can't hear Gary Coleman."

The moral is: Do not ever celebrate Christmas during a "Different Strokes" marathon on TV Land.


Sharon: "Okay, Zach, what you want to do is roll the balls and try to get them in the holes."
Zach: "Ohh...see, what I do is throw them as wild as I can and sometimes they land in the lane next to me..."
Me: "Yeah, you don't wanna do that...on the bright side, when I play next to you I get about 200-300 points more, so...don't change a thing!"

It's Christmas time! I've already gotten some great gifts, but the best gift I think I have received this year is-no, not an 11 day vacation which begins TODAY ha ha, but to be still employed by a company which used to offer a lot of great little things but now really doesn't. They took away our YMCA reimbursement (among other things) and who knows what's next. But I didn't have to take a pay cut OR work less hours, so...that's something, right?

I tell ya, my kids have some awesome things in store for them tomorrow morning. I hope they know how much we love them.

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

Well what do you know, it's my birthday too yeah! Numero 35 coming around the corner on 12-8-09. Wow, where does it all go, ya know? To be honest, I can't think of a single thing I really want or need that I just have to have. I'm sure Cari would think of lots of things I need ha ha, but they're probably tools or gardening things.

It's gotten cold here this week! For Ft Worth, anything under 55 is downright frigid. Today we went and re-tried to do our Megabuck shopping at Big Lots and it was around 35 degrees! We have this cabinet of stuff and if you do good things at work you get Megabucks and you can save them up. In the past it was a lot of office supplies. YAWN. So we formed the Spirit Team and now we get cool things and seasonal things. So of course we bought lots of Snuggies and candles and winter items. I tell you, ya gotta love a company where they pay you to go shopping.

Emmy's grades have really improved as of late. Her science grade was a 70 last period now it's 84! I'm so proud of her and never miss a chance to tell her. She still gets a little frustrated at herself for not understanding things right away. And man, was I the same way. So knowing she feels like I used to feel helps me be more patient with her. She's still smarter then most kids her age. And yes, that's a biased opinion ha ha.

Going to a Christmas party tonight! Our neighbors have kindly invited us to their home for some treats and games. They're nice people and I feel bad about never having them over, at least as much as we'd like to.

21 days left folks...hope you've been good!

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

Christmas!! Yeah man! Now that Black Friday has come and gone, we can look forward to making this Christmas the best one yet. A few ways I have taken it upon myself to get in the holiday spirit:

I wanted some holiday candles so I went to Target and found...a roasted chestnut candle. It is great! It's not as overpowering as those other pumpkin spice candles. I also found an apple spice candle which accents the other candle perfectly.

I put up the Christmas lights on the house yesterday. Between climbing on the roof and sitting and kneeling in many different positions to get them on the trim, it's a workout! But they all work, so...success!

Watched Planes, Trains And Automobiles yesterday morning. Oh man was that funny. The truth is, don't we all know that someone that wears on our last nerve every day of the year and not just on Thanksgiving? I know most people would say that I am that someone, but I don't care ha ha.

Emmy has her list to Santa all ready:



At first I thought she had really planned the whole thing out, but later I found out she copied the toy catalog from target verbatim to make sure she asked for 10 times the number of toys she really wanted. Greedy? A little. Smart? You betcha!

I thought Christmas last year was perfect. So why mess with what works? But this year will be a little weird with Grandpa not being there. I mean, I know he's always with us and all. How do you say good-bye to someone who's been there since the day you were born? We only get so many Christmases on this Earth, so we have to make them count. Emmy and I discovered this song a while back, and I think it sums up how we feel:

"The Passing Of A Legend..."

Yes, unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, and On Sunday 11-15-09 Grandpa passed away at the age of 87. We got together Sunday night, my family that is, and basically just hung out trying to plan his service and keep Grandma company as best we could. Then Tuesday night we went to the viewing and it was then that the whole thing really kind of hit me. He looked so peaceful and it was a little hard to see him laying down like that. Keri and Dean were great in putting together a slide show of pictures of his life. I watched it a couple of times. Even though there were some embarrasing pictures of me (aren't they all? lol) I saw Grandpa at my age and it was very cool to see more then a little resemblance. Today is the funeral and I am proud to be one of the pallbearers. I don't know how I will react to the service but as long as I'm not blubbering like an idiot I think I will be okay. Anyways...here are some of my favourite pics of Grandpa that I was lucky enough to capture:


My 30th birthday. Emmy was only 3!


Christmas 2004. Nothing better then crossword pajama pants!


The day Zachary was born. You never saw a prouder great-grandpa ever! Knowing that our name will continue to live on was very important to him.


Christmas 2005. This one will always be my favourite.


This was in 2007 for a friend's 90th birthday. I always tried to get as many pictures of all four of us as possible. Four generations is a big deal!


This was his 85th birthday. What better gift for a former Navy man right?


Labour Day 2007. This is one of my all time favourites. All five of the Overall men in one picture.


This was at Canyon's 2nd birthday. How many people could say they had a great-grandson older then their grand-daughter? Funny how life works out sometimes.

To be honest, it was kind of neat putting this post together. Going down Memory Lane is never a bad idea and right now I cannot think of anything better. Rest In Peace Grandpa. We will always miss you and never forget you.

"You're Makin' Me Dizzzzy...!"

I happened upon this while in the Kroger parking lot the other night. This kid...or adult, whoever...played both parts of "Dueling Banjos" on "Guitar Hero" and literally blew me away how fast and accurate he was able to play this! I tried to play "Seek And Destroy" by Metallica one time when we were at Best Buy and even on the easy level I got smoked. I guess this is one game for the younger crowd.

Had a great Halloween! Our neighborhood scored a 0 in participation so we went to Cari's parents' neighborhood. Here they are in their costumes:


Don't know what Zach is trying to be but my guess is: totem pole?

Emmy had to make a pumpkin for her school's pumpkin parade:




I thought she did a great job. Not as gory as I wanted, but it turned out the school isn't a fan of gore so much. Ah well.

And finally, we had a family birthday party for young Zachary at Incredible Pizza! Games, tickets, prizes...how can ya go wrong?:


Yes! Finally! Transformers have made their way into Zach's toy collection!! He now wants to own all of them...muah ha ha...the time is now.

Cari: "Hey Zach, which would you rather play with...that boring old Transformer of this WONDERFUL EXCITING SHIRT?"
Zach: "Is she kidding...?"

It's still not as cold around here as I want it to be. I went to Walmart today and looked at some candles. They have a mulled cider and a cinnamon vanilla. I bet if I lit both of them at the same time...ooh yeah.

"Hurts So...Bad!"

Yes, the usually healthy feeling-good me has been in extreme pain since Sunday morning. I woke up and my right foot was throbbing. I could still walk, but as the day went on it hurt more and more. Finally, by Thursday it hadn't gone away but had in fact gained strength, so I went to the doctor and they took some blood and did an x-ray. The good news is, a girl who sits right next to me had the same thing so they did the same things for her and found out she had strep down there! Weird, wild stuff. Hopefully that is what it is so they can prescribe an anti-biotic and that should do the trick. You never realize how much you need your tootsies until they throb in pain constantly. At least they gave me Vicodin to soothe some of the pain until they know what's going on.

Halloween was great! We started out trick or treating in our neighborhood and found a total of two houses with their porch light on. And no one was even at home at one of them. So we went to Cari's parent's neighborhood and people really went all out decorating their houses and scaring people. A guy in a gorilla costume hid behind a tree and really scared Emmy ha ha.

Here are a few more pix from our trip to the Arboretum. I wanted to put more on here a while back but time keeps on slipping...slipping...into the future...anyways:


I love this shot! Instead of big gigantic sprinklers they use these misters which create a ghostly appearance, even in daylight.

"Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar"

This thing is huge! Wouldn't want this in my yard. I need to take a chain saw to both of my front yard trees. Someday...


Mom: "Do you see all these pumpkins Mike?"
Me: "I sure do! I dare you to pick one up and just walk out with it."
Mom: "But Mike, that's stealing!"
Me: "How can it be stealing if there are hundreds of pumpkins laying around?"
Mom: "Good point. I'll start the car..."


I love this shot. You may not have noticed, but Cari's favourite colour is...GREEN!! One day I'm going to see an outfit of shirt for her that will be green and she doesn't have it. It's a daunting task as I think she owns every green shirt known to man...or woman.

Thanksgiving is coming up soon!! I really enjoy the four day weekend (don't we all?) plus Cari jumps on the "Black Friday" bandwagon and will get up at the crack of dawn and get our Christmas shopping done in one fell swoop. Meanwhile, yours truly gets to sleep in a little until the kids get up, then no one sleeps. I wonder if there are any kids that are aware that they won't be kids forever and just enjoy each day for what it is. I like to think I did, but at the same time I just wanted to be an adult so I could do more of what I wanted to. So many fun times being a kid. Fortunate for us the bad memories tend to fall to the wayside.

"All Good Things..."

...must come to an end, right? Isn't that what they say? Well, even though Emmy still has three more soccer games, Zach's five-game season has mercifully, finally, concluded. Why do I say mercifully? Well, to put it mildly, Zach wasn't exactly enthused about hitting the field with the other kids. I have roughly one hour of videotape of him holding down the field by standing in one place...or by sitting on his ball. As Lady GaGa would say, Eh Eh...nothing else I can say. He doesn't like to play and I hate to push him into doing it. Here are some high-speed action shots:


The more I look at this picture, the more it looks PhotoShopped. Never happened.


Zach: "Whew! I need a drink! I'm bushed!"
Me: "Bushed!? From kicking the ball one time?"
Zach: "Um, YEAH? Takes a lot out of you!"


When he kicks the ball like that, it looks like he's playing Dance Dance Revolution ha ha.


Zach: "Whew! Time for another drink!"

(sigh)

Maybe he'll like it one day. He tends to think with his head more then other kids. Not that he doesn't make a wrong choice every now and then, but...I know he'll be a great adult. It will be very interesting to see him in kindergarten. I predict he'll be the class brain and class clown simultaneously.

We still need to plan his party. I'm proposing a McDonald's party and seems to have some support. There are two places a kid should get to have a party. I mentioned the first one a few words ago. The second is Chuck E. Cheese! I had a party there when I was 12. Was one of the best times of my life. I remember getting the complete set of Constructicons Transformers from my parents. If I knew then it would be worth some bucks I never would have opened it up. But, being a kid, what did I care right? Now they're all gone, but the memory lives on. Each day of our lives becomes its' own photo album, filed away at the end of the day and never to be re-lived again except by locating it, opening it up, and reminiscing. I swear, my mind lives in the past, present, and future most of the time. Maybe that's why Cari says I never listen ha ha.

We're getting our pumpkins tonight!! We usually get them a week before Halloween, but last weekend was one long blur so we never did. I'm picking Emmy up from her church class then it's across the street to Kroger's! They have the biggest pumpkins and cheap too! Once they have been carved of course they will probably pop up on here. Zach told me he is going to help me carve it. Just what I need, a three-year old with a talent for using little pumpkin cutters!

"An Arboretum Day!"

Yes, the time of year has come along where we saddle up in the ol' car, pick up Mom and head out to the Dallas Arboretum where they had not only the Autumn Harvest for the fall, plus they had these houses erected from different kids' stories throughout history. Pretty cool! Here are a few pix:


Wow, a house made out of sod! I guess when there are no trees or bricks around, you use...sod.


Emmy: "Hey Dad, is it true that people used to live in these things?"
Me: "It sure is! However I didn't see a cable hook-up or phone line."
Zach: "Come on Dad, do you think they had those things in the 19th century?"
Me: "They didn't?"

What do I know anyway, right?

I got a friggin' speeding ticket Friday! And worse, it was in a school zone. For some reason I thought it was 40 so I zoomed for like four seconds. When I realized what I was doing I slowed down, but not before Joe Law saw me and pulled me over. ARGGH!!!

Halloween is coming up!! I used to love going out and walking the streets. In a legal way, of course. Now I get to watch my kids do the same thing. I'm not sure if I want to bring a camera or the camcorder. I took a ton of pics at the Arboretum so I will try to get them all on here. This Friday we're going to the YMCA for their Halloween party. Good times right?

"One Productive Weekend!"

It is very rare that a weekend comes and goes and I feel like I got the most out of it. It seems like all I ever do is clean, clean, clean and the house still looks like trolls and goats live here. But this weekend was a little different. I managed to get the kitchen floor mopped so that it looks (almost) as good as when we moved in. Plus I got the laundry done. I was bushed! I normally do the laundry because once everything is washed and dried, I sit myself in front of the television set and fold away while watching such sophisticated fare as the Cowboys game or "Friends". I try to do as much as I can around the house because Cari does so much on the other side of the spectrum. She makes sure all the bills are in order and always seems to know what we have money for and what we don't. Plus she picks up the kids everyday and always knows where Emmy is going on an off-day. I try to let her know that we appreciate everything she does. Which is why…

…I have planned a date night for us! Total surprise! We're going to the Dallas Arboretum this Saturday with Mom after Zach's "soccer game". Is it really a game when all Zach does is stand there and watch the other kids play? Then when you try to nudge him towards the other kids he breaks down and cries. As Chris Farley in Tommy Boy would say in his gayest voice, "That's a mystery!" All we can do is let him play when he wants to...whenever that will be. Anyways, we're going to lunch then to the Gardens. But what Cari (or the kids) don't know, is that after we leave and drop Mom off, the kids will be dropped off with her! Big surprise planned here folks! We have a gift card to P.F. Chang's which we have had for almost a year but haven't used it yet. I really haven't surprised her in about 4 years. I had her parents watch Emmy then I took her to dinner. I wanted to take her to see Phantom Of The Opera (the movie) but it was sold out. So we went and saw "Meet The Fockers"…quite a contrast eh?

Truth is, I like doing things for her. Any chance I get I try to make something happen. I know she doesn't always have time to do things she wants. Heck, no parent does. At least no good parent does. Bad parents have all the time in the world, right? I guess what I'm trying to say is…never let moments go un-seized and don't be afraid to wait for the right ones. They're usually closer then you think.

"What's New, Pussycat?"

Whoa..a whoa whoa whoa!!

Okay, enough singing. No one paid to hear THAT.

But now that I can get my pics onto Flickr again, I got to see Cari and Emmy's trip to NASA Space Camp! I guess selling all those cookies was worth it after all. Was wasn't it worth? My waistline! Darn temptations everywhere I look. It's hard enough to not eat thirty of them at a time but when you have boxes of them in your living room at any given time...well...they just call out to you..."Go on Mike...eat them all...no one has to know...it'll be our little secret..." And I deduce that you know what? They're right. No one has to know. MMM. Anyways...(wiping drool away)...here are a few pics of what they got to see:




Man, some of that stuff looks so cool. I will sojourn there at some point, This I vow.

Now that the ol' CPU is back to (semi)full capacity, now I need to get my camcorder software back on there so I can make some DVD again! Just when I get in the ryhtym of it I have to halt the proceedings. Drag.

Won $25 from a guy at work this week! He bet me $20 that the Rangers could win 5 of the final 7 games against the Angels. Of course I took that bet, knowing the Rangers' famous September collapses of yore. They won 2 of them I think. Then he bet me an additional $5 for thinking the Rangers could win 2 of the last 3 against the Angels (they won one). Good times.

"It's Alive!!!"

Yes, our beloved computer, antiqueness notwithstanding, has been resuscitated back from the dead. With some help from Navid AKA our tech support at reasonable prices, we were able to re-install XP! I think we're both agreed that a new computer is in our short-term plans, we need this one to function for at least 3-6 months. I have a Spy-sweeper and Norton on full-blast to prevent whatever got a hold of it last time from happening again. Why do people think creating viruses is fun? Nitwits.

Went to the Ranger game Friday night! We took Mom there for her birthday and what a great game to go to. We hit two home runs, actually pitched well enough to win it, then got to see fireworks afterwards! We stopped by one of our favourite burger joints, Bentley's, beforehand, and since they're a "bar" then they let people smoke. Ugh! I swear I still smell it everywhere. But they make a good burger. Here are a few pics:



Rangers mascot: "Hey kids, wanna see me jump off the railing and land on the third baseman?"

Me: "Um...won't that kill him?"

Rangers mascot: "Your point being?"

Zach: "Eh, he needs to be traded anyway..."


Fireworks!! Love em love em!! Kids like the almost as much as me ha ha.

It is finally cooling down around our fair city, and not a moment too soon! Six months of constant heat and humidity tend to take it out of you. I love this time of year. Let's get it chilly, less humid, the smell of fireplaces in the air, and I am money. One of my most favourite memories growing up was walking around the neighborhood with the family and looking at the Christmas lights that were put up (with love, of course) and it was always just the right coolness outside. I try to pass these things on to my kids whenever I get the chance. Zach is in this zone lately where he wants me to play with him all the time and has become a little…mmm…I have to use the word "clingy" because he really isn't. Sometimes I'm beat and just not up for it. Then I start thinking, "Boy, I'll really regret not spending time with him when he's older and thinks I'm lame" ha ha. So I try to keep that in mind whenever they want me to take them to the park or to 7-11 for a Slurpee.

Gonna be 35 this year. My my how time does fly. I know the saying goes "You're only as old as you feel", but at some point in our lives we get too old to enjoy the things we do while we're younger. Driving, walking, even sleeping become more of a challenge. Now I'm okay with living till 85 or 90, but why do our motor skills and cognizance have to deteriorate to the point that we're nearly useless to everyone? I see old people walking around, esp. at Walmart, and it just looks like so much work to even get around. I tell myself to stay in some kind of shape so that when I get to be in my old age I won't be using a cane or walker or God forbid an oxygen tank. You ever see those things? I'm sure they weigh like 30 pounds and you have to have it with you ALL THE TIME. The last time I had trouble breathing was when I tried to use our vacuum cleaner (which doesn't work at all) and it was releasing dust in the back and I was just breathing it in and breathing it in. I had to go to the doctor and get an inhaler! Now I only use our Shark vacuum which is lighter and seems to get up more dirt. The point is, I have to really pay attention to how I function and my health now because if I put it off until I'm 50 or 60 it could be too late to really do anything about it.

I told Grandpa that I predicted he would live to 100. He responded "Oh boy, I hope I don't live that long." After seeing him in the hospital, I see what he meant by that.

"That's Gotta Hurt."

What hurts, Mike?

Well, calm down and I will tell you. My beloved grandpa, all 87+ years of him, was involved in a bit of a fender bender last week and had to be air-lifted to the hospital! He was in the ICU for a couple of days but eventually was stabilized and moved to his own room. We went and visited him Sunday and boy, it wasn't pretty. He had wires connected to him and was kind of bandaged up. Plus, he didn't look like he was having the best time. Then again, who would, right? He kept his spirits up though. I thought it was just going to be the four of us and my sister. Then my aunt showed up. Then my uncle and my grandma showed up! Kind of a family reunion of sorts. But it was a real nice time all things considered. Zach and Emmy were really good. They looked out the window since we were on the 6th floor and looked for "banana cars" which is their new word for yellow cars. I don't have a lot of memories of Grandpa that are really specific to just me, which is kind of a shame. He was never one to share his feelings much, which I guess was the style back then. There was one day, though.

It was in May 2007, and I had a day off because I had to work that Saturday. Since I was kind of in his neighborhood, I decided to stop by and visit. Now, bear in mind, it seems like every time I tried to pay an unexpected visit, no one was home. There were like three or four visits in a row where I would leave a note and go back home. But, being the eternal optimist that I am, I kept going back and trying. Well this time, his car was actually there! Grandma was visiting her family in Venezuela so I knew she wouldn't be there. So I go and knock on the door…no answer. I knock again…no answer. The feelings of dejection start to creep back in again. Then, I see him come out of his garage and go to the mailbox. So I'm standing there, waiting, watching him go through the mail. About seven minutes pass, as now he is looking at the new phone book he got. Then, miraculously, he glances over and sees my car, then starts looking around. I'm just standing over there watching him look for me, and started laughing. Then he hears me THEN he finally sees me. We talked about different things and I learned some things about his life that I had no idea about. Nothing bad, mind you. Maybe I'll share it someday.

It rained HARD last weekend! It started Friday and did not end until Monday! I know we had to have set some kind of record. I always feel bad for the people who own homes along some kind of creek or riverbank because their backyard ends up crumbling and washing away. There is this one woman whose house always shows up on the news because her backyard ends up sinking a lot during these rainfests. She has this black iron fence that on sturdier ground would be very tough to get past but the ground collapsing literally has pulled the fence and it looks like a bunch of toothpicks connected by a string. The city did end up building a retaining wall along that creek so hopefully nothing bad happened this time. But it sure isn't fun being at the mercy of Mother Nature.

We could see rivers coming from people's yards PLUS it rained more on Wednesday! Hopefully this isn't God's way of cleansing the earth just like he did with that Noah fella.

"Here Comes The Sun..."

By sun, I mean that Beatles: Rockband is about to make its presence very known across the universe when it is released on 9-9-09. If your girlfriend gives this to you as a present, take it on good faith the she loves you. I remember my first girlfriend. I saw her standing there and knew she was the one for me. If I ever get back in the U.S.S.R. I will look her up. I gave her all my loving and I love her still. Tomorrow never knows what the future will bring and a day in the life is just the beginning.



I met with Doctor Robert (after making an appointment with his secretary Michelle) and he said it won't be long until my baby's in black if I didn't take better care of myself. "I'll follow the sun if it gets to that" I said. I left the doctor's office thinking I'm a loser; but it won't be long until I'm better then the night before yesterday. "You're going to lose that girl" I kept telling myself. I knew I needed help. I decided to drive my car to see a special girl. If I needed someone it was her.



What goes on from here in my life I would wish for no one. I want to tell you so bad…and yet…you won't see me if I do. Your mother should know that all you need is love. I went to visit the fool on the hill via the long and winding road. Once I was on the hill I could see strawberry fields forever. It reminded me of Penny Lane when I was a child. The fool said good morning good morning how can I help you? I mentioned this girl who meant so much to me and what the future holds for us. She said things would be getting better and if she's leaving home then it was her loss.



Well, I felt like this long long day would be turning into a good night. I arrived home and found her there. "I want us to come together on some things" she said. She said "You never give me your money, so give me money; that's what I want." I said "Because…?" She said "Because Her Majesty insists! You always get to carry that weight and now it's my turn." She is something, isn't she? I knew then what she really wanted from me. So I let it be. But I've got a feeling I haven't seen the last of her.



Okay, if you haven't figured out yet, the preceding story is a lot of nonsense. However, there are a total of-count 'em-39 Beatles songs listed in this little spiel. Can you find them all? Be sure to look everywhere (including the title of this post!). I am reading about the release of Beatles: Rockband right now and it is truly mind-blowing. Now I'm not a big fan of the Rockband games. I tried to play a Metallica song at Best Buy one day and even though it was set on easy, I stunk! Plus, my hands and wrists were throbbing so much! I was like "Gee Wally, what's the point of all that?"

Emmy has actually really gotten into the drums part of the game. She begged me to download Eye Of The Tiger on my iPod Touch, and when she asks me for something (which surprisingly isn't that often), I try to be at my most accommodating. So I did. Now when we go somewhere, that's all I hear ha ha. But I don't mind. She is starting to learn that being in 3rd grade means a lot more responsibility. They make them carry these huge binders that separate all their work from the day plus a section for homework. Plus, they have different teachers for a few things. We've kept her up until like 9:30 or 10pm at night finishing things that should have gotten finished at her friend Amanda's house but didn't because they have something in the backyard that is the end-all-be-all of human existence: a trampoline! Hopefully she will condition herself to do these things first and play later. Can you imagine any kid wanting to play first instead of doing all their homework? It's unheard of. My sister and I always did our homework at 5pm. And why did we do it at that exact time? Because The Brady Bunch came on at 4:30 and our mom, nice as she could be, let us watch it first. Good quality values every day at 4:30.

I have been a huge Beatles fan ever since I was 9. My mom had the blue set and red set of cassette tapes (anyone remember those?) which were the Best of 1966-1970 and 1962-1966 respectively) sets that the Beatles released. To this day it is still hard to believe that only four people (plus George Martin-yes he deserves props) came up with that many songs and with only a couple of exceptions, they all have their own distinct sound and feel. There are two connections that me (or my family) have to them as well. On December 9, 1972 (the day my parents got married) Paul McCartney went on Good Morning America and announced that the Beatles would never perform together again. Ha! See how well that turned out with the Anthology series that came out in 1995? The 2nd is I was born on December 8, 1974, and six years later to the day, John Lennon died. That…didn't work out so well. The world really lost a little that day. So far I have the 4-disc Capitol Records set that came out, the Anthology hardback book (it's huge!), and 300+ tracks in MP3 format that I ripped off the discs that I owned at one point but sold. I used to be sad about that until I found out theu are re-issuing each album in a box format which I will acquire, believe you me. Love me some Beatles!

"Too Cool For School?"

Not Emmy!

She started back this week and was actually looking forward to it. How do I know? Because on the first day of school she woke up at 6am, that's how I know! Cari had to actually tell her to go lay back down, but Emmy was already in auto-drive. I wanted to take some pictures of her first day, but unfortunately our camera has gone a-missin'! Driving me crazy where it could be. We've looked everywhere. Hopefully it will turn up. But what is good about this year is that she actually has some friends in her class this year. She has had the worst luck the last few years of getting more of her friends in her class. And, to make it better, most of her friends are at her table! There are like 10 desks all pushed together to form this group and she gets to hang out with them a little more. But not too much more. She still has a job to do yes?

Zach has really started to grow up a little lately. He still likes to come in our room about four or five times and try to sleep with us. I know I'll miss it like crazy one day, but when I'm ready to go to bed, I do not want any interruptions. None. Nada. Zip zilch zap. However, he has started to get himself dressed by himself in the morning which helps me out a ton. He even made oatmeal one morning (with Emmy's help)! Shocked the heck out of me. Even made chocolate milk by himself! I still make sure he knows who's in charge, but it sure is cool to see your kids mature and know deep down they will be really great adults one day.

Our computer has really taken a turn for the worst. Somehow, something has attached itself to it and really screws around with our Internet connection. It will connect for a while, then just forgets how to until you re-boot. What kind of crazy %$#@ is that!? Pardon my language, but now we have no choice but to do a re-install of XP which I'm all for but Cari wants to wait and see if this Norton program we bought will fix it. So far, I haven't noticed anything has changed. Nothing would please me more then to go get a new system with the dual-core quad processors or whatever it's called and catch up with the rest of the world. Or at least the zip code. Maybe one day. Expenses seem to be mounting every day! The last thing you want to do is add more expenses if you don't have to. And I don't. I really don’t. As Al Bundy said when forced to choose between going to the nudie bar or staying home to eat a chocolate cake that Peg made:



"Decisions, decisions…well, I guess that's what comes from being an adult."

You said it Al.

"The Frustration Mounts..."

But Mike, you're never frustrated...or worried...or remorseful.

Well, true.

But something has changed, and it's got me all kinds of bugged.

My computer...all nine years of it...which was letting me make some great DVDs with the super-bargains I got on a DVD burner internal drive and a 1TB hard drive, now, all of a sudden, has decided that an error message should pop up right in the middle of making a DVD and...Windows Media Player has also decided that I can hear the movies I have, but not see them. Keeps saying a codec is missing. Literally all of a sudden! Now I'm not about to throw myself off a cliff because of all this, mind you. Not by my choice, but because there literally are no cliffs in Arlington. It's all flat! But man, it really irks me that I have everything I need to make some great memories for all of us and I'm like stuck in the road and am powerless. I went to Best Buy today to price DVD recording software because that may be the problem, but of course, everything they had had much higher system requirements then what I have. There's a slim chance it would work, but if it doesn't, I can't return it if it's opened. I'm hoping download.com will have something I can use. At the very least, I can still edit movies together to make what I want and then save the actual file on a DVD. I tried that and that works no problem. But man...the frustration mounts, ya know?

Emmy starts school next Monday. I dare say, she is looking forward to it! I know we are. This is one of those times where I really wish one of us could stay home with her and Zach during the summer. There are all of these great things that the city does like movie camp and summer reading club just to name a few, and she can't do any of them. Not that she was miserable this summer, mind you. We had a great vacation, plus she got to hang out with her cuz and go to a couple of really great YMCA camps, plus, she gets to go to space camp in about a month plus she is having her birthday slumber party next weekend. Man, her birthday this year seemed to be pretty time-consuming! Who does she think she is, me? :)

Wish me luck as I attempt to figure out the happy medium for my computer. I know I can figure out how to do everything I want. Even if I have to re-install XP again. Don't really wanna do that, but...sometimes, the hard choices have to be made, right?

"What Were You Doing...?"

Five years ago?

Ten years ago?

I got to thinking about this a while back. Can our lives really change that much over the course of five years? I don't know about the rest of you, but for me it seems like my life has completely revamped itself. Maybe that's a good hting, maybe it's not, who knows for sure. But one thing I do know is that a lot of what we do in life simply does not matter in the long run. What we wear, what we do...it will all be forgotten at some point. Just the way things are. But anyways, let's see how much I can recall about these half-decade points in my life:

Five years ago (8-14-2004):

I had just completed two months at McGraw-Hill and thought this was just the best job in the world. They would pay me to sit in a comfy chair and answer calls from schools who wanted to order books and check on orders. Didn't pay very much but I had just come from the worst job ever which was security at the Parks Mall. It's a real shame when you realize you're a million times smarter then the people who are supposedly "in charge".

Ten years ago (8-14-1999):

I was working at the Pizza Hut store in Grand Prairie. Although I was making pretty good money, I knew I didn't want to do it forever. My plan was to make enough money to pay everyone off and move up to Maryland where some friends of mine were. I never felt like I had many here that I wasn't related to. I almost achieved doing this too but I left that store to go to a worse one, and the rest is history.

Fifteen years ago (8-14-1994):

I had just been fired from a job I really enjoyed. Looking back, it wasn't that great of a job. Putting together movie and music orders for Sam's and Walmart 10 hours a night for $7 an hour. But I enjoyed it. So after all that I discovered: unemployment checks! Who knew anything could be so great? But everything has a price.

Twenty years ago (8-14-1989):

I was starting 9th grade in Toronto, Canada (or "Grade 9" as they call it). I think this was one of the better years of my life. L'Amoreaux School or whatever it was called only had 4 classes a day plus I got to go home for lunch. It was really cool when Grandma and Papaw would visit and bring their Nintendo ha ha. Who knew how much fun Paperboy could be?

Twenty-five years ago (8-14-1984):

Just starting 4th grade. Um...not a whole lot happened that I can recall. I remember taking a history test that, for some reason, I thought it was okay to pull out the book and find the answers. F!

I'd go back farther, but I don't remeber a whole heck of a lot when I was 4 lol.

"One Cool Week!"

What made this week so great?

Well...

I'm driving to work Monday and I have just enough time to pull into my Employee Of The Month parking space when the North Richland Hills police dept pulls me over! Well, he stopped me because my left tail light was out, which you never know it until someone actually tells you, right? Well, then he sees my expired inpection (which I was going to have done but now I guess I can't until this tail light is fixed. Ah well.) then asks for my insurance (which is active but the card said 'Good thru 5-19-09'). Aye carumba! And, despite all of that, he lets me go with a warning! That SOOO never happens to me. Someone was looking out for me that day.

THEN...Cari's parents announce they want to take Zach and Emmy on a weeklong trip! Now, don't get me wrong, I love my kids as much as any one does, but a week apart is especially sweet because I'm the one who gets them ready each and every morning. From 6:30am to 7:45am it's one big goose chase to get everything together. So it was not too bad to have that kind of time in the morning to relax, make CDs, watch Dark Knight again, etc.

THEN...I'm at Best Buy during my lunch break Thursday and they have a DVD burner for the PC like half price due to a little tear in the box. Now this is really cool because my computer is a little...ancient...and finding a DVD burner compatible has been a month-long strain-and-search. But they had one, and I got it, and it works. I finished my first DVD sometime around 1:17am. I was asleep, but that is the time it says on the disc. I am catching up to, oh, around 2005 I think?

Here's a few pix from New Mexico that were kind of cute:





I have like 300 of them, so...you may see them pop up fom time to time.

We went to Atlanta Bread Company for dinner last night. Was really good. A great way to end a great week. We don't get them too often so when we do, we really need to appreciate them.

"We're Home!"

Yes, after being gone a week in sunny Alberquerque, we have finally made it back to our home sweet home! I think I took like 280 pictures but they were all really great ha ha. Here are a few of the great great ones:

Alberquerque Zoo:


Parrot: "Bwak! Don't come any closer or I'll cut this fence and then cut you next!"
Me: "Wow, a talking parrot! If you come with me we'll make a fortune."
Parrot: "I'll cut you in for 20%."
Me: "It's a deal!"


Eagle: "Hey bub, did you know that I'm one of the only bald eagles on Earth left?"
Me: "Oh yeah? I wonder why people hunt you so much..."
Eagle: "Well, it's because when you cook me in just the right blend of eleven herbs and spices, I'M DELICIOUS!"
Me: "Um...yes...delicious..." (drooling)
Eagle: "Now wait a minute chief...you have that look in your eyes again...and YES, people will notice I'm gone!"


Now that's just a great shot, I don't care who you are.

Hiking...somewhere...


Emmy: "Hey Dad, what is this little pond called?"
Me: "Let's see...this is the 'Canine Urination Chamber'..."
Zach: "You mean...dogs pee in where we're sitting?"
Me: "Isn't nature great?"


Emmy: "Um..Dad...what's 12 feet long and slithers?"
Me: "Why that's an easy one...it's an Anaconda! Why do you ask?"
Emmy: "Because I think I felt one slither past me! Help me!!"
Me: "OH MY GOSH!! Everyone run and save yourselves! Emmy's a goner!"
Emmy: "Your devotion to your family is to be commended..."


Now that's just a great shot, I don't care who you are.

At Olde Towne:


This one cracked me up! I really should have bought a bottle to bring home to my sister, but...I guess I was too pooped...listless...rundown...however the rest of that Lucy commercial goes ha ha


Nothing is cuter then my kids...asleep...next to an oversized bear...or asleep anywhere. It sure is hard to make noise when you're asleep!

Cattleman's Ranch & Steakhouse


This is a map of what the ranch used to look like.


This was a boat that the owner made from scratch!


There were turkeys...


Sheep...


And even a lizard.

So that in a nutshell was our trip. As much as we planned for it, I can't believe how quickly it went by. But a week off is always needed when you work in the fast-paced world of health insurance eh?