Hilarious...

Okay, maybe not 'hilarious', but I thought it was pretty funny... :)

Death In The Family...

Which is why I've not been blogging... Actually, the kids all decided they wanted some fish and half of them died, but it sounds like a good enough excuse to me... :) So they are still learning how to "raise fish", I just keep telling them that the strong will survive...

Yeah, other than that, not much going on. I'd post some pictures, but I haven't taken any in forever, I don't even know where my camera is although I think it is on the back of the piano...

So hopefully I'll get motivated to start taking some pictures soon, I'm running out of movies to watch and am tired of movies anyway. Chance, Tanner and I are thinking of taking a backpacking trip, Carolyn and Taylor are not interested, so we'll see how that works out. I suppose we'll start out with a few hikes and go from there... :)

So I'll let everyone know how that works out... I am signing all the kids up for Taekwondo classes, so they are excited about that. They have a gym for the adults to work out while the classes are going on so I may even amuse myself by doing that while they are in their classes, who knows. I've never worked out in my life though but hey, why not?

I also took all the kids to the dentist today, so that's always fun. Remember that tooth Chance ripped out about a year ago? Then there was the root canal and all the other procedures? Yeah, now it has to come out because it never "took", so we have to go see an oral surgeon to have that done and then he will have to get an implant... I don't think he is looking forward to all that, well, he told me he was a "little nervous" but not too much... Myself? I just can't believe how expensive it is going to the dentist these days, what can you do though...

All I know is I'm excited that January is nearly over because I CAN'T wait until Spring is here, I'm way over being cold!! I'm freezing right now and I'm inside with the heat on?!? I think I've finally figured out that the reason I'm so cold all the time is because I have no body fat, perhaps we should relocate to a warmer climate? At least during the winter anyway... Or perhaps I should just start eating a lot more... :)

Not Sure Why...

But I do not like it when my babies (not that they are babies anymore, but they'll always be mine I suppose :) are gone for 3 or 4 days, particularly when I can't reach them for 2 of those days... Not that I spent all day trying or anything, but called a few times and just got VM, anyway, they are back and they had a great time snowboarding, ice skating, etc. Our neighbor took them to Gatlinburg on Friday and they got back last night. No one took that many pictures as it turns out, but here are a few...

Playing in the snow...

Tanner, obviously, iceskating...

In front of the cabin they stayed at...

Ditto...

Playing pool in the cabin...

They had a great time, and want to know when we are going to go snowboarding again. Does sound like fun, so I suppose we need to plan a trip! I've not been skiing/snowboarding in years, trying to remember and I suppose the last time I went was with Titus and Marci, which must have been 15 or more years ago... So I suppose it's time to go again... :)

100 Things...

Yeah, I stole this from Petra's blog because I really have nothing to say... :)  I was trying to figure out how to change the color of the fonts, but then after reading through the list, I realized that I had actually done everything on the list, so it wasn't necessary... :)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Thought about playing in a band
4. Lived in Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given to charity
7. Been near Disneyland
8. Seen a praying mantis
9. Climbed a mountain
10. Sang a solo
11. Watched people bungee jumping
12. Know people who have visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Have relatives who have adopted children
16. Been out to eat with people who have gotten food poisoning
17. Have siblings who have walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Been to the airport in Guam
20. Slept on a train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a tarantula
26. Gone skinny dipping in a hot tub
27. Run more than 3 miles
28. Have seen pictures of gondolas in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (around the SF Bay)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language but no longer remember much of it
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen a documentary on why the Tower of Pisa actually leans
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen photograph’s of Michelangelo’s David online
41. Sang karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt in a movie
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Wanted to visit Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Marveled at pictures of the Sistine Chapel
50. Wondered why the Eiffel Tower in Paris was actually built
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Watched a documentary about the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited a Russian tea house
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Bought any Girl Scout Cookies
62. Seen any whale watching shows on the Discovery channel
63. Got flowers for no reason (other than being a Dad)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Wondered why people go sky diving
66. Wondered what it was like in Nazi Concentration Camps
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Wondered why quilts are so expensive
73. Wondered what the allure of Times Square was
74. Been to the Everglades
75. Walked off of a job
76. Had any relatives who have seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been passed by a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen pictures of the Grand Canyon
80. Published a book
81. Been fascinated by the Vatican archives
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Ever wanted to walk in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Wanted to visit the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Wondered why you have never been called for jury duty
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (if being the Father counts)
95. Driven through Texas, home of the Alamo
96. Been in Utah, home of the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100.Read an entire book in one day

Ugh!

So some idiot knocked out my phone line yesterday and I was without a phone or internet access for a while, of course AT&T said it would be "fixed by Tuesday", fortunately they came out and fixed it this AM! I hate being without internet access though, I'd almost rather be without electricity... :) I know some people would get all pissed off at AT&T and start demanding that someone come out, I feel the same way, but I also realize that AT&T is a massive company and could really give a shit about one person being without phone or internet access, so other than the initial call to report the problem, I'm NOT going to rant and rave and spend hours on the phone because I also know that doing that gets you bumped to the end of the list anyway... Kind of like complaining in a restaurant, why? Bitch about something that I am going to eat so the people who are actually preparing it 'behind closed doors' can 'fix it up right' for me?? Yeah, no thanks! I've worked in enough restaurants thank you. Anyway...

Yeah, I haven't felt much like blogging lately, I actually don't feel like doing much of anything when it's cold out, and winter has really just started here... I am about movied out though, so who knows, there are still about 12 weeks or so until Spring gets here... I suppose I could work on some of the many "loose ends" around here like painting trim, caulking trim where it needs it, etc... I have LOTS of work left to do outside, but I won't be doing any of that until it gets warmer, I just can't do it for some reason, I HATE being cold! Actually, the more I work on this house, the more I don't much care for it. That would be we actually! I think I just need to build a house, a house that is just the way we want it and one that needs absolutely nothing done to it!! We might just do that, of course we would wait until the economy is not in the toilet and our projects around here are completed, so who knows, we might do that in a few years... Actually, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea!

On another topic - TAKE MORE PICTURES MATT!! For some reason, I've taken almost no pictures in the past six months or so, not sure why, just haven't... I do frequently think, "That would make a good picture" or "I should go get my camera", but by the time I would go get it, the 'moment' would likely be over, so I haven't lately... I'll have to work on that... :)

Chance and Tanner are going snow boarding this weekend, so they are looking forward to that. Me? Not so much. Well, I'm happy they are going and I know they'll have a good time, but Carolyn and I have been running around trying to find them "ski" clothes to take and it really seems kind of silly to spend the $$ on skiing outfits that they will likely wear JUST this weekend and that won't fit them the next time they go... What can you do though? Can't let them freeze to death while they are on the slopes... :) So I might have some photos later. Our neighbor is taking them and she is GREAT about taking pictures and giving us copies of them all. Now Taylor wants to know what we are going to do while the boys are "having SO much fun"! She already has a 'list' of things that she wants us to do this weekend, so far the 'list' includes: going to a movie, going to the park, going ice skating and something else that escapes me right now, I'm sure she will be reminding me though... :)

What else is going on? Yeah, other than work, not much! Chance has to get braces, of course we knew that, but wow! Who knew they were so expensive these days. I seem to recall them being around $2K, hah! I wish! $5,400 is what they are, perhaps I should call around for a 2nd or 3rd 'opinion', not on whether or not he needs them, because I know he does, but on how much other people actually charge for them! And I'm not sure about other people's dental insurance, but mine doesn't cover a single freaking penny for braces, nice! Oh well, what can you do?? Not have kids I suppose... I happen to like mine though... :)

Who knows, perhaps I'll get around to actually taking some pictures to put on here this week, time will tell. :)

Is It Just Me?

Yeah, lame post I know, but whatever...  Our next President and Congress are getting practically giddy though with the prospect of spending trillions of dollars here in the next session...  Ultimately though, the taxpayers will have to pay it back, and the taxpayers are tapped out.  But lets go ahead and create a bunch more government jobs to help the economy!  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for doing something, but wow!  I suppose they are about to print some money, because China and anyone else who still actually buy our debts are balking at buying any more...  What's killing me is all the people who are getting excited at the prospect of more government, do these people not even look at the basic facts??  Take Madoff for instance, swindled people for nearly 50 billion dollars, hell, the government is one of the biggest swindlers of all, take a look at Social Security.  It was supposed to be a trust fund, but Congress has taken the money, never saved it, replaced it with IOU's and I'm sure you know the rest of that story...  Ah well, I could go on and on about this subject, but I won't...  Should be interesting to watch this saga unfold though...

Movie Review...

Yeah, I actually am putting this up for you Petra, since you asked if I had any recommendations... :) I actually can't believe we have watched this many freaking movies in the past month or so, but we have... So anyway, here are my movie reviews. A lot of these are old movies, but when we get bored, we go buy the movies in the $5 bin at Walmart... Yeah, I don't get motivated to do much when it is cold out, but hey, it WAS the holidays!! :)

• Surfer, Dude: 2008 – I actually CAN’T believe I sat through this stupid movie, but I did…

• Eagle Eye: 2008 – good movie

• Burn After Reading: 2008 – kind of stupid, but we liked it for some unknown reason

• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: 2008 – yeah, DIDN’T finish this one… Of course I’m not sure why exactly, considering some of the others that we DID sit through… :)

• Traitor: 2008 – I liked this one, Carolyn didn’t

• The Dark Knight: 2008 – I could have passed on this one, not sure exactly what all the fuss was about to be honest, I think if Ledger was still alive it would have flopped, I could be wrong though… :)

• Rise of the Footsoldier: 2007 – unwatchable, although I did manage to sit through about 45 minutes of it before turning it off

• Wanted: 2008 – um, yeah, we did watch it, but…

• Wisegal: 2008 – it was okay

• X-Files: I Want to Believe: 2008 – didn’t finish this one, but I’ve never been a fan of the show either…

• Hancock: 2008 – ridiculous film, although we did sit through it, the kids liked it…

• Mark of Cain: 2007 – turned this one off 20 minutes in…

• War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave: 2008 – stupid

• 100 Million B.C.: 2008 – stupid

• 20 Years After: 2008 – could have been a good film if the directing was better

• Transsiberian: 2008 – I actually liked this one, not exactly sure why to be honest…

• Kansas: 1988 – mildly entertaining if you have absolutely nothing else to do

• The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb: 2005 – did not finish it as it was unwatchable

• Sleuth: 2007 – did not finish it, but we might if we ever have a night when there is nothing else on TV, i.e.: the satellite is out

• Firestorm: 1998 – okay, barely…

• Quicksand: 2002 – we DID finish it, but…

• Wicker Park: 2004 – I actually liked this one :)

• Raw Heat: 1991 – we finished it, but it was kind of stupid

• 15 Minutes: 2001 – I liked it, but then I like most movies with DeNiro in them…

• Archangel: 2005 – Um, yeah…

• Fear: 1996 – kind of a teeny bopper flick, but we enjoyed it actually

• The Watcher: 2000 – mildly entertaining (yeah, we watched a LOT of movies that were just ‘mildly entertaining’ :)

• A Kiss Before Dying: 1991 – okay

• The Fountain: 2006 – kind of a weird flick, but I liked it, of course I was the only one actually watching it after about 3 minutes… :)

• The Final Cut: 2004 – I liked it

• Exorcist II: 1977 – not sure why I had never seen this before, but it was unwatchable, and I normally like movies that deal with this sort of topic…

• Power of Attorney: 1995 – um, I watched it, everyone else gave up on it shortly after it started, so…

• UnFaithful: 2002 – good movie

• The Burbs: 1989 – I watched this one because Petra and Andrea recommended it… Actually bought it on Ebay because I couldn’t find it in any stores… Um, yeah… There were a few funny lines… :)

• The Money Pit: 1986 – I’d seen this before, but it came with The Burbs in a 3-pack of Tom Hanks flicks so I watched it again with Carolyn who had not seen it before, it wasn’t as funny or as good as I had remembered…

• Dog Watch: 1996 – bearable, but ONLY if there is nothing else to do, and when I say nothing, I mean NOTHING!

• Bobby: 2006 – we started watching this one, but fell asleep… I’ve got it on the stack to ‘finish later’ whenever there is absolutely nothing else to do…

• 10.5 Apocalypse: 2006 – I liked this one, but then I kind of like ‘disaster’ movies, not exactly sure why…

• Category 7: 2005 – ditto above

So yeah, we've been "real busy" lately... We actually have watched more than this, the Survivor series for instance, we got seasons 8 and 10 on DVD, so that provides hours of entertainment... I don't recall all of the movies that we might have watched that were rented, so yeah... :)

Hmm... Perhaps it's time to actually do something constructive, but then I really don't LIKE doing anything when it's cold outside, and there are about 10 - 12 more weeks of winter here, so who knows, I'm not sure though that there are THAT many movies left that I even want to sit through, we'll see though... :)

2009...

Here it is, 2009, my resolutions are working out GREAT too, well, #1 is anyway... :)

Not too much going on, but there never really is around here this time of year. There is practically nothing going on where I work from mid-December until mid-January most years and I rarely do work on home projects either this time of year, although I am usually trying to finish up something right before Christmas... :) We were going somewhere yesterday and I mentioned that I was just going to relax this weekend and Tanner was like, "You haven't done anything but relax all winter Dad!" lol! He IS right though, other than putting slate in the office and Cory's room, I don't suppose I have done too much, but, whatever...

Then I was going to put up pictures from the past year, and I was looking back through my digital pics and I CAN'T believe how few pictures I took over the past year... :( I'll blame that on the fact that my camera sucks and I need a new one, or maybe I should just read the manual for the one I have? Who knows... Yeah, I don't plan on doing much this weekend either, and actually the only reason I'm even posting anything at all is because I am tired of seeing that New Year's eve post... :)

I do think it is going to be a great year though!

New Year's Eve...

Out with the old, in with the new... For most people, all over the world, party preparations will be ongoing and many will be penning New Year's resolutions... Something, I might add, that I never did quite understand myself...

"He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool." ~ F.M. Knowles

The success rate of "resolutions" is so poor, it's almost stunning. Be it to lose weight, stop smoking, save more money, get out of debt, drink less, etc, many people are failures when it comes to their resolutions before the hangover has completely subsided... It's not that I don't think about resolutions, I just don't make any. I suppose there are things I could change, but why wait until the 'New Year' to make said changes if they are indeed something that should be done or changed?? Yeah, I don't get it... So many people make them though that I have decided to make two of them myself:

1.) To just be myself

2.) To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time (I'd claim this as my own, but kind of hard to do with the Internet and all... by James Agate :)

So when the clock strikes twelve and your 'slate is clean', here's wishing you the best in 2009!!

Biased Outrage...

It's so blatant, it's amazing... All you see on the news is talk about all the "poor" people in Gaza, why don't we hear or see any news about missiles being fired FROM Gaza into Israel?? Which is WHY Israel is fighting back. Name me one other sovereign nation that WOULDN'T retaliate...

"Death to Israel", on a wall in Gaza...

If Canada had been firing missiles into Maine for the past three weeks, or if Mexico had been firing missiles into Arizona for the past three weeks, I can assure you that we would annihilate them... So yeah, the media bias is stunning... Well, not really...

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable day with family and friends!! The presents are all unwrapped, stockings emptied and now just tidying the house up for company later... :)

We started the day off with me reading the Christmas Story... The kids insisted on having a cake for Jesus as well. Not sure if anyone actually tried the cake though, it was a bit early in the AM for cake... The kids all look like they are still asleep... :)

Stockings first!

Ditto!

Now everyone is entertaining themselves with their "loot" while Carolyn and I straighten the house back up... We have company coming over later, and Cory of course will be by sometime. Can't wait for Christmas dinner actually, and of course then we can kick back and watch some of the many new movies we now have... :)

Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Hope everyone is having a great day, I'm sure everyone is as excited as my kids are about tomorrow! It's SO exciting just seeing how excited they get! Me? Yeah, I am about to grout that slate I just put down... Seems like I am always doing stuff like that on Christmas Eve, oh well... :)

Santa looked a lot like Daddy...

Or Daddy looked a lot like him. It's not the way I had him pictured, Santa was much too thin...

I always liked that song for some reason: Brad Paisley...

Tick tock... Four days to go, the kids are getting quite excited, as I'm sure all kids are all over! They decorated their rooms yesterday, our neighbor was "getting rid" of a bunch of stuff and unloaded it all on them... Ugh! The last time that happened, it took me nearly a month to "get rid" of it all myself... Oh well, they have a blast with it all, so who cares.

Well, I'm off for the rest of the year (pretty much), I am on call still until Monday morning at 8 so hopefully nothing else happens. I ended up working Friday night and Saturday morning until about 5:30, then got called again at 7:56AM on Saturday and worked until nearly 6PM correcting a disastrous mistake made by another "IT person", using that term quite loosely I might add! I'm about to start laying slate in Cory's room, which is the last room in the house that hasn't had a new floor put down since we got this place, so we'll see how that works out...

Hope everyone is enjoying the last few days as the countdown to Christmas continues... :)

I'll Have A Blue Christmas...

without you. I'll be so blue thinking about you...

I love that song! There was a group that sang it on Imus yesterday and it was beautifully done, but I can't for the life of me remember who they were... I doubt I'll lose any sleep over it though... :)

Taylor at her school Christmas party...

I did make it to Taylor's Christmas party at school, but could only stay about 5 minutes... Carolyn and Chance were there the whole time though, so she was happy! Tanner and Taylor are both ecstatic that the "winter break" has officially started! Of course I'm off until the end of the year myself, so it should be nice and relaxing... Of course I suppose that depends on your definition of relaxing... :)

Silver bells, silver bells...

It's Christmas time in the city...

Of course I suppose it's Christmas everywhere and not just in the city... I just love Christmas songs, well, some of them anyway... :)

Hope everyone is having a great holiday thus far! I missed Tanner's party at school today because I had to go down South to a power plant this morning to try to fix someone else's screw up... Turns out it's going to be a 2 or 3 day fix, luckily I brought a remote board with me so now I can fix it from anywhere rather than having to go back to the middle of nowhere again... I'm always amazed why they let some people even touch equipment, oh well... Carolyn and Chance went to Tanner's party without me, and hopefully I'll be able to make it to Taylor's party which is tomorrow...

The kids start Christmas break (or as they call it, the holiday break) Monday and I'm pretty much off the rest of the year myself, so who knows what we'll get into. Don't really have too much planned for next week, I'll probably tackle the slate in Cory's room and get that out of the way, Carolyn's sister and her husband are coming down Christmas day and that's really about it... I STILL haven't mailed out my Christmas cards, but at least I have them in front of me now so I'll hopefully get them out tomorrow... :)

I'm Dreaming...

Of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know...

Well, I'm not really, but the kids are... They are likely out of luck though as it should be 67 today. Which is FINE with me I might add! :)



Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays with friends and family! I've kind of been slacking this year for some reason, I haven't even mailed cards out yet, there's still time though I suppose... :) We did make the mistake of going to the mall the other day, WOW! It's actually kind of amusing going to the mall, people watching and all... Actually stunning is a better word than amusing I suppose... Not much else going on here, perhaps I'll attempt to post some photos later, of course I have to actually TAKE some first, which I haven't been doing lately...

Congratulations Carolyn!!

Carolyn finished school today, or rather is taking her final right now... :)

Tis The Season...

For everyone to relax... So many people get so uptight and stressed this time of year, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why... Oh well, better them than me I suppose. We finally got around to trying to take some pictures for our 'card', this is about how it went...


I think we finally ended up with 1 out of the 50 we took that will have to do... Yeah, those will be in the mail 'soon'! :) Other than that, just enjoying the holidays. Hope everyone else is as well!

Hmm...

Do You Believe?

"Four billion people say they believe in God, but few genuinely believe..." Do you like to think? Are you capable of thought, or are you just some mindless, empty carcass walking about waiting on something? Interesting stuff... :)

I like to think, and don't consider any topic to be off limits. It's funny conversing with people though, so many do have topics that are off limits, others get annoyed when other topics are broached and refuse to participate... I always found that rather stunning myself, but then I like to think, at least I think I do... :)

Anyway, what prompted this line of thinking? A book I started reading online, and I kind of got sucked in and before I knew it I was through with it... Interesting... It's free too...

God's Debris...