Probably Pavel

Finally! Peace and Quiet!

2008-08-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

Relatively speaking, that is...

Whew!!! What an exciting two weeks it has been! Well, "Joseph and the Amazing Techicolour Dreamcoat" was a successs and fun as well. I got to spend some great times with the kids during rehearsals, intermission, cast party, etc... I couldn't ask for more. Just getting to play drums for an event like this is worth it.

Oh, one more thing. Everyone in the show got their pictures taken by a wonderful photgrapher. Great shots! (I got my picture taken as well, but I'll spare you the fright...)

Here's Little Buddy. He almost looks innocent.

Here's Girlie Girl. Pretty (pardon the pun) as a picture.

Last, but not least, here's the Big Buddy.

Well, I gotta try to catch up on a few things I left undone because of these last two weeks, but I hope to visit you folks soon and see what you've been up to...

Go go go Joseph!

2008-07-26T06:45:00.001-07:00

Last night was the grand opening for "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat" and it went very well! I couldn't actually see the show (and my children performing) because I was busy playing drums, but I could hear the audience response and it was awesome! They loved it!

I did get some pics of the warm up and the waiting around before the show. Here's Little Buddy getting ready for his microphone check:

Here's Girly Girl waiting around for something, although I don't know what that thing is:

She was probably waiting around for her friends and it wasn't long before they arrived:

The Big Man does has some small solo parts in the show; he plays the part of the "Lively Lad" and so he ws probably working on his lines:

Finally the Theater Director got them together and started the warm up. Here's about 30 seconds of them warming up. It's really cute to listen to them.

I'd love to get pics of some of the actual live show but I can't. "You know the deal, no pictures or flash photography!"

Logan the Sky Angel

2008-07-24T05:55:00.001-07:00

I'm still running around doing way too much right now, but I did want to pass on this video clip that I received today of a Christian radio station phone where a 13 year old called Logan called in. If you haven't heard this yet, take the time to do so. It's really amazing and inspirational!

It took a bit to load, probably because of the massive amount of hits it's getting, but wait for it.

Guess who was in the Audience..

2008-07-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

... while I was playing "Guys and Dolls?"

Recognize her? Yep, Calista Flockhart. Yep, it made me nervous and yeah, I tried really hard to keep mistakes down to a minimum.

Next weekend is the grand opening to "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" which means I'll have rehearsal all this week after work. I'm looking forward to doing this because I'll be playing drums while all three of my kids will be in the ensemble as the students. How cool is that?!

It's CRAZY around these parts!

2008-07-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say that I've been really busy, which is why you haven't seen me around much these last few days. I have been hired to play the musical "Guys and Dolls" this weekend and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat" the next two weekends so between the practices and the performances, I haven't been able to visit all of you folks these last couple of days.

To top it off, I have a computer certification exam on the last Wednesday in July that I have to find time to study for, so I'm a bit tied up.

I hope you're all doing okay and I promise to visit and see what you're up to soon!

Important Public Service Warning!

2008-07-11T12:49:00.001-07:00

I've been pretty busy since the 4th but I thought I'd take the time to communicate this very important public service announcement.

Never, under any circumstances, ever, EVER, EVER,...

... fart in a wet suit!

Happy 4th of July, y'all!!!

2008-07-05T09:02:00.001-07:00

I know, I'm posting this on the 5th, but Hey; I was busy yesterday!

Actually, no, not really, I didn't have the kids this weekend so I didn't spend the 4th with them, which is just as well. It rained on us over here so it was a washout.

So what did I do? I spent the morning reading Homer's "The Odyssey." I have no idea what possessed me, but you know what? It's one heck of a good story! (I think I read a few chapters back in high school, but I didn't pay attention AT ALL and didn't remember a thing.)

Hope you all did better than me. How did you spend your 4th?

I know, I know...

2008-06-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

... I'm always bragging about my kids, but it's hard not to. (At least it's hard for me - smile)

See, they just did their dance recital and they did so well.

See?

A little bit after this pic, he did a "lift" and it came out perfectly! She was up there, in the air - smiling, and he was doing his darn best to make it seem it was effortless for him. I wish had caught it on camera, but it came out too blurry...

Then the older two did a dance together and the ARMS! THE WONDERFUL PERFECT ARMS!

If you ever took dance (or talked to a dance teacher) you know that it's hard to get the kids to make their arms actually look good and not look like limp noodles, so that's why I was so proud of them.

Then they did their tap numbers so that means a change of costumes and I was particularly impressed at how cute, and HOW LONG my girlie girl looked in this:

Anyways, just thought I'd share those with you folks and see whatchat think. So, whatcha think?

Oh, I almost forgot, all three auditioned for the upcoming Musical around these parts, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat, and all three made it! They've been rehearsing with the cast for a few weeks now and it was funning driving with them in the car this weekend. I put on the "Joseph" cd and there they were, singing in 3 part harmony in the back of the car, along with the cd! They actually sound really good!

Okay, are you done reading about my children yet?

Hop on Pop!

2008-06-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

or "Happy Father's Day!"

My kids are awesome! This is what they gave me for for Father's Day and it was the perfect gift because I used to read this story, "Hop on Pop", to them when we all still lived together and they wanted to let me know how much they remembered and missed this. I'll always remember such a thoughtful gift.

Of course, they're still children, and, it matters, they're still MY children, which means that they aren't just going to hand this to me. Oh, no. They thought it would be more meaningful by "hopping on pop" as a means of waking me up on Sunday morning, and that is what they did!

I'm just lucky to be alive to write about it.

See, the Little guy weighs close to 60 pounds, the Girlie girl stands in at 51 pounds (she's the poster child for Ethiopian famine relief) and the Big Guy is up at 80 pounds. Hoping on Pop without giving pop a chance to "get ready for the assault" could be a deadly proposition.

So, they asked what I wanted to do for Dad's day, as if I would actually get to pick the activity for the day. Before we left the house, they "convinced" me I wanted to Dollywood, so that's what we did. "KidsFest" was going on so it was really fun!

I also took this really cool picture of them, hatching; appropriate for the theme for the day!

That "does" explain a lot, come to think of it!

We had a really great time but it was also insanely hot and so the kids found ways to cool off, but the little guy was the most creative about it:

-----------------------------
I've been a dad for a while now, and while I don't pretend to be an expert at anything, much less children, I have figured out a few things as a dad and from what my kids have shown me...

1. Time really flies... Have fun with your kids (and without them) because soon they'll change and things will change and it's just not the same. Enjoy the time with them.

2. Practice saying no. It won't kill them, (although they'll pout.)

3. Don't miss anything your kids will do, not if you can help it. You'll regret like like nothing else later.

4. If you have more than one kid, try to spend quality time, one on one, with each of them every so often. You'll really appreciate it, and so will they.

5. Don't expect a clean car.

(About number five, can anyone out there tell me how old your kids have to be before you "can" expect a clean car? I really want to know...)

Are you thinking about Buying a House?

2008-06-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

I owned my own home when I was married, but soon after my marriage ended I moved out and the house was sold. I've been renting since then and I like the place; a small townhouse where all I do is pay rent. I don't have to mow, paint, take care of appliances, etc... It's a beautiful thing, really.

Renting does have it's disadvantages when it comes to tax season. Namely, it won't help you at all when its time to do your taxes. I started getting ideas about buying a small home where my kids could have a backyard to play in and I could take advantage of the tax benefits. But buying a house is a bit like buying a car; EVERYBODY in the freakin' world has their hands in your pockets! Sheesh! Lawyers, Real Estate Agents, Appraisers, Fees for just about anything you could imagine...

It was the same when you try to sell a house; everyone thinks they could charge you just about anything. Your buyer, on the other hand, doesn't think your house is worth anything.

Your house:

as seen by you:

As seen by your buyer:

As seen by your lender:

As seen by your tax assessor:

You know what? I'm going to rent for a while...

How about you? Are you fed up with this crazy housing market, or are you just happy owning your place, unaffected by it all?

Do you like art?

2008-06-05T05:21:00.000-07:00

I do too. Art takes on several forms and my two favorite are music and paintings so I wanted to tell you about an artist in each category that I've been enjoying so much as of late.

First is Diana Krall

Okay, this amazing lady was born in 1964 and you can't imagine just how she can play jazz piano the way she does as young as she is. Oh, and then she sings as good as she plays the piano. I got her dvd when she played in Paris with some jazz greats. Here she is playing "Cry me a river."

She finished up the concert with this amazing version of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You."

Amazing, huh? Did I also mention she was pretty easy on the eyes to boot? (smile)

Okay, next subject is this amazing artist from Kentucky and fellow blogger Heather B. Truman and her blog is called Bad Kitty Art Studio. Go visit her blog and view her amazing paintings and other art work. If you have a bit of disposible income and want to beautify your wall, check out her latest work. (I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your pic, Heather; but you're simply too amazing not to share. If you do, let me know, though.)

Is that not just wonderful? I'm afraid my education in painting and its proper terminology is woefully inadequate, but I know what I like, and I like Heather's talent. Go check her out!

Happy Birthday, Little Buddy!!!

2008-06-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my little buddy's birthday! He turned eight and was very proud to do so. I took him to a dinner show over in Pigeon Forge called "Hoot n Holler," at Wonderworks and he had a wonderful time! Here is his waitress singing Happy Birthday to him:

Later on, he was selected to do a part in the show and he had a blast!

He eventually managed to get all three plates spinning in the air. rofl!!!

Happy Birthday, buddy. You'll never know what you mean to everyone around you and especially what you mean to me. I'm proud of you for being you; kind, funny and sweet.

Go have fun! But be careful; look both ways before crossing the street. (You didn't think I would stop being your daddy just 'cause you're eight now, did you?)

If you reading this... Memorial Day

2008-05-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Tim McGraw wrote this fitting song for today and I just wanted to post it.

Thank you for your sacrifice... Words will never be enough for what you have given for us, but just know that we cared and appreciated it.
For those heroes still serving. Thank you and come home safely to your families and friends...

Thinking about God today....

2008-05-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

It's Memorial Day Weekend and I even get Monday off of work and that's cool. Unfortunately, I won't have my kids with me at all during all three days. It's their mom's weekend and Monday is their mom's birthday which means I won't get them half day, which is the norm for a holiday.

So it's Saturday and at first I thought, great - I'll be without my little people, which means I'm going solo, and it was a bit upsetting, and a bit lonely. Sure, I can call some friends and visit hang out, but it's kind of weird. When you're in your mid thirties, most of your friends are married and have kids and it's awkward to visit with them by yourself. I kind of feel out of place since my kids aren't with me and their kids are asking, "where are your kids?"

So here I am in my home alone. First I was a bit lonely, but then I thought about
God. He's with me. No really. He is, and he knows how I feel and I felt better about being alone. After all, when God's with you, you can't possibly have better company, can you?

I often think about God and just how wonderful he is, and why on Earth he'd want to hang with me at all. I mean, God's has EVERYTHING at his disposal, he made it all. Why would he be with me? Why would he love me at all, much less want to be near me?

You ever sit and think, holy cow, God knows about what I did, or he saw me doing that or acting that way? I'm ashamed of myself! He knows what I thought in that situation and it wasn't a good thing. But he still loves me?! How?! Sometimes, knowing this, it makes me want to run away from him, knowing I don't deserve to be anywhere near him. I mean, God is perfect and kind, loving and just... He created EVERYTHING including me, and he actually expects that I behave myself and love others like he loves us. Man, I'm so not close to that. But HE still loves me!

No way! There's just no way... I don't deserve him at all.

And yet, he still loves me.

Thank you, Lord...

How long can you hold your breath?

2008-05-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

Have a great weekend, everybody, and enjoy the extra day, for those of you who celebrate Memorial day. Throw an extra hot dog on the grill for me!

Try not to eat too much, or you'll be doing like the girl in the commercial...

The Great Outdoors

2008-05-21T06:12:00.001-07:00

We went to the Smoky Mountains a few weeks ago and really enjoyed walking around by the streams and lakes. Check out the kids "looking for gold!"

They didn't find any but they did find some really cool rocks they were sure they could "sell for millions" on Ebay. Do I have nerdy children, or what?

Girlie was the bravest, going to the center of the river. I think she was going after some insect that she saw.

She's so independent that it worries me. Soon she'll be a teenager and, she's pretty, and, well... You know where I'm going with this, don't you?

Darn, they're growing up too fast!

Spring Break, 2008.

2008-05-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, I didn't tell you a thing about Spring break 2008, because I didn't tell you a thing about ANYTHING for a long time. We had a great time! The kids and I stayed at a great hotel with the warmest indoor pool ever! The water was awesome.

Even girlie, who usually turns blue if the water is anything below 90 degrees, didn't mind staying in the water. I had to wait till 11pm when they closed the pool in order to get them out!

We went to the Black Bear Jamboree for dinner on one of the nights and had an dinner and even a great dinner show. Have you been there? If not, you better go as soon as you get to Pigeon Forge. It's worth it.

Then there was Dollywood, of course. The boys wanted to go on this really cool water roller coaster thing and I got a picture of them looking frightened on the way down.

They're the two in the back:

We also went to Magic Beyond Belief, a great Magic show in Pigeon Forge. This one was also worthwhile.

So, what did you do for Spring Break?

I'm back!!! Oh, Happy Mothers day!

2008-05-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody and Happy Mothers day for all you nice moms out there. Walmart has a great sense of humor about Mothers day, don't you think?

Seriously, though. I think moms should be cherished and loved on Mom's day, and every day, for that matter. Moms rock.

Sorry I've been away for so long, but I had to help a friend and now everything is okay. That, and I've been busy doing stuff... (smile)

How are all you doing? I'm going around a bit later and visiting all you but as for me, I'm doing pretty well.

Let me tell you about tonight! I just got back from seeing Liz Callaway in concert!

It was so awesome! Here is the lady who played Grizabella the Cat in "Cats" on Broadway and she's singing "Memories" about 10 feet from me (I got the front row.) It was very amazing and she was so gracious and funny. If you get a chance to see her, don't miss it!

I'll be back tomorrow but I have missed you folks something terrible. Hope everyone is ok!

April Fools Day, everyone!!!

2008-04-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Happy (Belated) Easter, everybody!

2008-03-25T07:20:00.001-07:00

It has been very busy but very fun around these parts, let me tell you. First of all, there was the Easter fun. The church had an Easter Egg hunt which the kids enjoyed:

Even the girlie, being older and more mature, participated, although she didn't run:

Even the big guy thought it was fun, although he didn't eat any of the candy. If you ask him, he says he's on a sugar diet! sheesh...

All three of them made out pretty good with the candy!

After all the running around, there was food to be eaten, of course. The kids had to decorate their own cupcakes, which wasn't a problem at all...

A few days later, the kids had this cool mini musical at their school and the little guy even had a little "rapping" part. Check him out!

The other two, being older, got to play some instruments.

We've been having a lot of fun these last few weeks and next week is Spring break, so stay tuned. Do you have any plans for Spring break?

Gosh, where did I put my...

2008-03-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

...

I found this commercial for women's panties from Canada and it made me laugh. I just had to share it with you. The girl's expression is priceless!

Tagalongs by Casey Walker
Uploaded by Razorbuzz

An actual letter...

2008-03-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It’s PC Magazine’s 2007 editors’ choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,
I have been a loyal user of your ‘Always’ maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I’d probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing!!, and I’d certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can’t tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there’s a little F-16 in my pants.
Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse’? I’m guessing you haven’t. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I’ll be transformed into what my husband likes to call ‘an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.’ Isn’t the human body amazing?
As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you’ve no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers monthly visits from ‘Aunt Flo’. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it’s a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend’s testicles into a George Foreman Grill justbecause he told her he thought Grey’s Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy!
The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants… Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: ‘Have a Happy Period.’
Are you fucking kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you’re some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything ‘happy’ about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don’t march down to the local Walgreen’s armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.
For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn’t it make more sense to say something that’s actually pertinent, like ‘Put down the Hammer’ or ‘Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong’, or are you just picking on us?
Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bull shit. And that’s a promise I will keep. Always.
Best,Wendi AaronsAustin , TX

The price of Gas...

2008-03-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow!!!

If it gets any higher, I'm buying one of those bikes that seats four. You know, the ones you find at Disney resort hotels and places like that where everyone pedals.

Seriously, though. I really would like to go to Washington DC with the kids, but I'm going to have to recalculate the price of gas into the vacation expenses and see what happens. Already I find myself staying in town instead of driving to Knoxville (about an hour away) because of the price of gas.

Have you changed your vacation plans, or even your daily driving because of gas prices?

The Sun will come out...

2008-03-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

tomorrow (or so song goes.)

Yeah, I know. Over three weeks without posting. Sheesh! I'm such a slacker. I missed all you folks, though, so here I am again. What was I doing, you ask? More of the same, really, and a few new things. Still studying for an exam. I'm also looking forward to playing for a musical production of "Annie" coming up in April.

Then there's the planning for a mini-vacation with the kids for the Spring break. I was thinking Washington D.C. What do you think? Has anyone been there during Spring break? Too crowded? Let me know.

----------------------
On to a different topic; I listened to an NPR report that said that Americans change their religion (or denomination) quite a bit throughout their adult lives. I found this to be very interesting and so I pondered about the reasons for this. I was raised a catholic but now, I attend a protestant denomination. Why? That's a hard question to answer and even harder to answer without disagreeing with someone out there, so the short answer is that I took my religious education a lot more seriouly as an adult and looked for the right answers, or truths, and that led me to where I am today. (There! That's the best I could do to avoid insulting someone.)

How 'bout you? Have your religious views changed some? It's a good question.

On that serious topic, I leave you with a funny someone sent me a few days ago:

FOR CATHOLICS ONLY:

AMEN: The only part of a prayer that everyone knows.
BULLETIN: Your receipt for attending Mass.
CHOIR: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the Parish to lip-sync.
HOLY WATER: A liquid whose chemical formula is H2OLY.
HYMN: A song of praise usually sung in a key three octaves higher than that of the congregation’ s range.
RECESSIONAL HYMN: The last song at Mass often sung a little more quietly, since most of the people have already left.
INCENSE: Holy Smoke!
JESUITS: An order of priests known for their uncanny ability to find colleges with good basketball teams.
JONAH: The original “Jaws” story.
JUSTICE: When kids have kids of their own.
KYRIE ELEISON: The only Greek words that most Catholics can recognize besides gyros and baklava. (For you non-Catholics it means Lord have mercy.)
MAGI: The most famous trio to attend a baby shower.
MANGER: Where Mary gave birth to Jesus because Joseph wasn’t covered by an HMO. (The Bible’s way of showing us that holiday travel has always been rough.)
PEW: A medieval torture device still found in Catholic churches.
PROCESSION: The ceremonial formation at the beginning of Mass consisting of altar servers, the celebrant, and late parishioners looking for seats.
RECESSIONAL: The ceremonial procession at the conclusion of Mass led by parishioners trying to beat the crowd to the parking lot.
RELICS: People who have been going to Mass for so long, they actually know when to sit, kneel, and stand.

Waking up the kids for school...

2008-02-15T05:34:00.001-08:00

... shouldn't be so hard!

Well, it's not hard for all three of them, really. The boys get up and are dressed in ready to go in no time, but that's because they have "stuff" they want to do. The oldest one wants to get up and have enough time to play a round or two on his Playstation, while the little buddy absolutely just LOVES school and can't wait to get there. (He must have a girlfriend or something!) Really, he loves doing all his work and can't wait to show me his test scores. It's like surreal!

It's my girl who is NOT a morning person. That girl will not get out of bed and will lie about being dressed but just being under the covers. Last time, I lifted the bedsheets and there she was, in her pj's with her school clothes under the bedsheets as well. She said she wanted to get dressed under the covers because it was too cold, and I FELL FOR IT!

Sheesh...

Any ideas? What have you done that has worked for you in the past?

---------------------------------------

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day with your sweethearts!

My Kids must Eat the Toilet Paper!

2008-02-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

Some of you know that I have my kids every other weekend from Friday afternoon to Monday. So here's the thing... I always have plenty of toilet paper on Thursday but by Sunday, I inevitably hear a child calling from the bathroom:

"Dad!!!! I need toilet paper!!!!"

So I yell back, "look under the sink!!!"

Then they say, "I did and there's no more!!!

Does this only happen to me or any and every parent out there? Sheesh, there was like a six pack under the sink on Thursday! I've thought of picking between one of the following choices:

1. Assigning them one roll each and telling them that they have to make due with that one roll. (hee hee)

2. Buying much bigger rolls.

What I AM good at...

2008-02-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

I'm good with computers. I just am. Some people are good with Math and others music. Some make millions by being a competent throwing a ball in a hoop. I just have a knack with computers and know how to make them work. What's best is that I really like them. I really like my job as a "computer fixer" as my kids call me.

What does this mean? Well, I'll tell you what it doesn't mean. People actually think that because I'm competent with computers that I can actually fix ANYTHING that runs with electricity. People ask me for help when their VCR's are blinking 12:00 12:00 12:00 and have been doing so since they bought it back in the 90's. Then there's the fax machine. Now that I can sort of understand, kind of.

Cell phones are another thing. My job does require that I configure the more fancy phones that sync up with Outlook and things like that, but I'm asked for help on ANY kind of cell phone. I honestly don't know how to make the alarm work on these things, or how to add a contact on EVERY kind of phone.

I've been asked for everything from a car radios to a toaster ovens and I can honestly say, if I keep this up, I'm might be useful around the house one day.

What are you good at?

PLEASE don't ask me any math questions!!!

2008-01-31T07:47:00.000-08:00

I have NEVER been good at math. Honestly, I've tortured more math teachers during my educational career than probably any other student ever and I'm sure I've caused a few to take the early retirement package.

So what's this post about? Well, my kids are now attending public school and my oldest is pretty darn bright when it comes to math. He does pre-algebra and he's only 11. That beats me by a long shot; I think my first pre-algebra class was as a freshman in college and even then, I had some tutors to help me pass the class.

The moment I was dreading finally arrived last week when my smart buddy asked for help with his math homework. I thought I would take a look, just to see if I actually could help, but alas, no. I had no idea how to do the problem myself, much less help him with it. So what did I do? I looked at him calmly and said, "Go ask your mother."

It's cold around these parts...

2008-01-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

So what' s the best thing to do when it's freezing and you're hungry? Build a fire and get some marshmellows!

I love Jeff Dunham!

If you haven't seen him yet, try not to drink anything while watching this. It WILL come out your nose...

I was just having a quiet evening when a friend last night and asked if I had seen Jeff Dunham's new character in his act, Achmed the Dead Terrorist. I hadn't so I ran to Youtube and laughed for the next 10 minutes.

Enjoy, but don't enjoy with kids nearby...

Wait! Stop!!! Come Back!!!!

2008-01-21T20:03:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry! I've been so busy for over a week that I forgot I even had a blog. Sheesh. They say the mind in old age is the first thing to go. But you know what brought me back? A while back, blogger friend Christ H. from "Diet Coke Rocks" had this blog entry where her hubby was throwing out ties he no longer wants. I jokingly write and say that I would love the Marvin the Martian tie (second picture, third from left) and so what does she do? She write and asks me for my address so that she could send me the tie! Now is that bloody COOL or what???

So What do I get in the mail on Saturday? The tie!!!

For some reason, I can't any pictures up today. Blogger just doesn't want to cooperate, but take my word for it. I have proof right here (in the form of one very cool tie) that Chris H is a very COOL person from the other side of the world. Thanks!!!

So what have I been doing that would make me forget I blog? Well, work, really, but I had all this additional work thrown my way, including a HUGE translation job from a court case that was several hundred pages long. It gave my brain quite a workout. I'd work on it till the late hours, burning the midnight petroleum and all that.

I will be posting tomorrow and hopefully, with pictures...

See everyone soon! I sure have missed you guys.

For some reason, it allows me to embed something so I want to show this. Has your cat ever done this to you? It made me laugh...

Cooking with what???!!!

2008-01-08T22:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm back at it, trying to learn how to cook some more dishes, but no, I didn't use "this" book. I giggle every time I look at the title. I use my daughter's other cookbook, Osbourne's cookbook for children to learn how to cook.

Hey, we all gotta start somewhere!

But I'm not cooking with Pooh. Nope. Just can't do it.

Who's that knocking on my door?

2008-01-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

I had a knock on my door yesterday morning so I ran downstairs, opened the door, and found myself in front of two well dressed young guys. They had their bikes parked behind them. Instantly I knew that they were of a particular religion and came to talk me about "religious" things.

I guessed "Mormon" and it turns out I was correct, not that it was a difficult guess. The other religion around these parts that send their folks door to door are the Jehovah's witnesses, but they send older people. These two guys looked like about 19 or 20 years old. After spending a few minutes talking, I took a liking to them. Here they were on a Saturday, dressed smartly and going door to door talking to everybody who would open up to them about their religion, not a particular popular one around these parts. (This is East Tennessee and, if I had to guess, Southern Baptists are the majority around here. )

Do I agree with the Mormon doctrines (or the Jehovah's witnesses, for that matter?) Well, no, to be honest, but I do appreciate that these two guys take time to talk to other people about their beliefs. A lot of folks think that today's teens are too self absorbed but those two guys clearly weren't.

I wish them the best of luck and I do hope they find the answers they are looking for, and especially that they won't be stirred the wrong direction.

But hey, you guys? Could you maybe knock a little later next time? Say, after lunch?

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T06:42:00.001-08:00

Wow! What an incredibly busy and fun last couple of days! I hope you all had a wonderful time and that only good things happen this new year. (Hey, one can hope, right?)

Resolutions, anybody? Well, there are those who don't believe resolutions are a very good idea, but some people do. I do, but I try no to set my expectations too high. Not too low either, though.

Let's see: I'm hoping to get my Network + certification before March, which means I need to start studying like crazy, like right now. I'm also trying to decide if I should "resolve" to read a certain number of books before the year is out. I'll have to think about that one. Last time I tried that, I failed miserably and it was always on my mind. "Should I be playing video games or reading up on my book list?" That sort of thing.

One time, I tried to read the Bible in a year, from beginning to end, but that didn't work out so well either. Every time I try that, I fall asleep in "Leviticus."

Anybody have any New Year's Resolutions?

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T18:10:00.000-08:00

or "Happy Holidays"

I hope all of you have had a wonderful time with your friends and family.

I got back from Vacation yesterday afternoon, so let me tell you how it went.

First, I surprised my children about where we were going. They "thought" we were going to the airport in Knoxville to pick up their grandmother who was going on vacation with us, some undisclosed location in Tennessee. I finally told them when we got to the airport that we were actually going to South Florida, by plane, to visit the family down there, where grandma lives. You should have seen the surprise on their faces. Actually, I anticipated it and had the camera ready!

The two oldest ones had actually been on an airplane before, but it was a very long time ago. The little guy had never been on a plane and he was the most surprised.

So how was Christmas in South Florida? Well, it was unreal! The weather was absolutely wonderful!

The kids eventually found the hot tub and boy, I had to use WD40 and a shoehorn to get them out of the thing!

It was day and night!

They eventually found out about the jet skis and, let me tell you, I couldn't imagine they'd be happier or more excited than if I had offered them a year's vacation to Walt Disney World. The little guy conned his uncle (my younger brother) into taking him around.

Even the big guy decided he wanted to try going around with his uncle:

Even at night, they had fun with all their cousins while playing Rock Band.

On the last night they were there, my family was about as cool as they come. I love them for it. They had "Christmas on the 23rd" for my kids where they gave the kids their Christmas presents.

Someone gave my girlie the Hannah Montana stage and she really REALLY appreciated it!

The boys were just as happy and excited with a Monopoly set that they've been asking for for a while:

Overall, it was a wonderful vacation. I have so much to be thankful for. My uncle and aunt. who invited me to his home deserve more than a little praise. Thanks, you two! I also appreciate my mom and brothers who were very kind to my kids. Thanks to all of you.

I'm in LOVE!

2007-12-18T11:35:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm really impressed with Emmy Rossum!

What an angelic voice, and the song is not even her best work! She was Christine Daaé in the latest Phantom of the Opera, and that really show her talent.

An article in wikipedia explains:

At the age of seven, the choir director at Emmy’s school discovered that she had perfect intonation, which led to an audition at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center.[citation needed] Upon singing "Happy Birthday" in 12 different keys,[6] Emmy was welcomed by the director, Elena Doria as a member of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus.[7] Over the course of five years, Emmy sang onstage, and, along with the many other members of the chorus, with the likes of such opera greats as Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. For $5 a night (there was once a horse on stage with her who got $150 a night), Emmy sang in five different languages, in 20 different operas such as La Boheme, Turandot, a Carnegie Hall presentation of The Damnation of Faust and A Midsummer Night's Dream.[8] among others, and worked under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli in Carmen.

Considering she was born in 1986, I can't wait to see what else she sings for us later.

Wow!!!

Oh, it also doesn't hurt that she's very easy on the eyes. (smile)

Pac Man Christmas Tree!!!

2007-12-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

This is pretty darn cool!

I saw this on a Spanish blog and just had to post it because how cool can a Christmas tree get? Well, this cool!

You can find it at some plaza in Madrid, Spain. Here's what it looks like in "real time."

Am I just a geek, or is that not cool?

You wanna laugh?

2007-12-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

or "The world's funniest laugh"

No, really. Do you want to laugh until your sides hurt?

This youtube video has been seen over 8 million times, but no one told me about it until yesterday. I laughed so much, I had tears coming out.

This old man gets chosen at a Comedy Dinner show, and while the comedian is okay, what makes everybody laugh is the old man's way of laughing.

Check it out!

It's actually a viral thing now. Watch this lady watching the video herself. She's almost as funny as the old man!

If you were a little girl in the 70's..

2007-12-11T07:26:00.001-08:00

or "what my children want for Christmas"

Is it me, or are children's toys so much more expensive then they used to be? Sure, I know about adjusting for inflation and all that, but check out this excerpt for a book about toys of the 70's and 80's.

Oh, I almost forgot. Every year, me and my girlie make a gingerbread house but I was a bit sad this year because she did the whole thing herself. She didn't need me at all. (sniff sniff) Actually, the only thing I did was constantly say, "don't eat all the gum drops!"

My girl wants a barbie that also happens to be an Mp3 player, something called an "IM ME" and her own cell phone. I told her the cell phone was out, after all, if she's with me, she can borrow my cell phone. Then we talked about the fact that she already has an mp3 player. "But dad," she said. "It's not the same thing!" She's right. It's not.

Oh, she wants "High School Musical" bedding, and that includes all the "fixings": curtains, lamps, a little matching locker, etc...

Can anybody remember being a girl back in the 70's and the kinds of things you did?

IF YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S...

1. You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked.
2 You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.
3. You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels.
4 You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!)
5. You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.
6. You had either a 'bowl cut' or 'pixie', not to mention the 'Dorothy Hamill'People sometimes thought you were a boy.
7. You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.YEAH!
8. You owned a 'Slip-n-Slide' , on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once.
9. You owned 'Klick-Klacks' and smacked yourself in the face more than once!
10. Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.
11. You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.
12. You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.
13. You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits, or the Sunshine Family.
14. You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze.
15. The swing set tipped over at least once.
16. You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. (Oh yeah!)
17. You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle).
18. You also had a pair of salt-water sandals.
19. You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on thePrairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture;and you despised Nellie Oleson!
20. You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink!PONG! ('video tennis' ) was the most remarkable futuristic game you've ever heard of !
21. Your hairstyle was described as having 'wings' or 'feathers' and you kept it 'pretty'with the comb you kept in your back pocket.When you walked, the 'wings' flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna 'take off'.
21. You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.
22. You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic.It had a thermos inside. Some were glass and broke the first time you dropped them.
23. You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend.
24. YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!
25. It was a big event in your household each year when the 'Wizard of Oz' would come on TV.Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!
26. You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: 'Who will I marry.Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy?
27. You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record albums.
28. You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage,or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom.
29. You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!
30. You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.
31. You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.
32. You thought Olivia Newton John's song 'Physical' was about aerobics. (its not??)

Times change, huh?

I wanna Wii...

2007-12-07T07:02:00.001-08:00

Are there any Wii's out there at all??? You have no idea how many stores I've been to and called looking for one. Did they just make 20 for the entire state of Tennessee or what?

Christmas is Cancelled...

2007-12-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been away for over a week. It has been CRAZY with Christmas preparation and a mini vacation with the kids the week before Christmas.

I'll get back real soon...

We ate WAY TOO MUCH...

2007-11-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

... but unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but take my word for it. It was too much food, as I'm sure it was the same at your home.

The entire weekend was fun, though. First, the kids played outside with the leaves:

Then we went to a popular theme park around here and we took the prerequisite picture near the big Christmas Tree:

Two of my monkeys found a couple of Santa's reindeer and they agreed to take pictures with them:

Then we saw the most amazing and spectacular Christmas show named, "Babes in Toyland." It was awesome!

Later, at night, it got real cold and girlie girl almost froze!

She eventually came out long enough to take a picture with one of Santa's helpers. At least that's what he claimed to be:

The fun had to end eventually, and end it did. Sunday night I had to return them to their mom, but I'm betting they'll remember the fun they had Thanksgiving weekend 2007. I know I will.

How was your weekend, folks?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!

2007-11-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry about going AWOL for a bit, but between the Thanksgiving Decorations and Christmas around the corner, I'm not home very much.

I do hope that you folks have a wonderful time with your family and friends and share some good times, make memories. I'm grateful (and thankful) for my kids and my friends (both real ones and online ones!) and for the Lord who is way too good to me, more than I deserve and I know it. Please consider others out there and lend a hand if you can. There are many who don't have enough to eat, let alone a computer to blog with, and Internet service; something else to be grateful.

Also, some folks out there are going to have a Thanksgiving without a cherished member of their family. The kind and wonderful blogger friend, G, won't have her mom with her this year. She passed away very recently. Please keep her and her family in your prayers, in whatever form they may take, because Thanksgiving without mom isn't quite as special. (I know some of you don't know G, but take my word for it; she's as good as they come and, besides, you don't have to "know" someone to pray for them. In G's case, you can't go wrong either way. As they say around here in Tennesse, she's "good people.")

Take care, everyone, love to all - and see you after Thanksgiving. Please take lots of pictures to share with me!

Pavel

Differences

2007-11-15T05:40:00.000-08:00

We're all different, aren't we?

Some of you know that I'm in the middle of a divorce and have been living by myself for over a year. I'm not alone when my kids are here and I'm never more than two days without seeing them, and that's great. I'm fairly certain any more than two days without them and I'd be depressed.

I live in a townhouse complex and two of my new neighbors are women and, this being East Tennessee, it's not uncommon to actually "talk" to your neighbors. But here's the thing; I think I actually forgot just how "different" it is to really talk and listen to women, as opposed to men.
Don't get me wrong; I didn't just stop talking, cold turkey, to women after I moved out, as if I placed all women on some list of things to be avoided. It's not like that. I work with lots of women and talk to just about anyone I'm near.

I'm "talking" about when you spend more than a few passing moments talking to someone. You know; when you get past talking about the weather and what you did over the weekend. When my new neighbors come around on a regular basis and talk about their personal lives and such and I try to remember the details to stay up to date on their lives. Stuff like that. When I talk to these women, it feels more like reading a rich and detailed historical fiction, as opposed to talking to guys. On the average, those conversations sound more like technical manuals.

I'm not trying to generalize or anything. Some women, I find, sound like technical manuals and some men write the best historical fiction you can find out there. It's just an observation I've noticed recently, probably due to my being single.

It's nice to have variety, though. Sometimes it's good to put the technical manual down and pick up a good story.

What if Jack Bauer had to save the world...

2007-11-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

...back in 1994 using the technology of the time? It would look something like this:

Nothing like a dot matrix printer and constant aol disconnects... Those were the days!

Johann Lipowitz rocks!

2007-11-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

A long while back I blogged about Johann Lipowitz doing his mime thing to Natalie Imbruglia's song "Torn." It was absolutely awesome and if you haven't already seen it , click on the link. I try to keep up with this guy so I was delighted when I saw him again performing "'Wherever I Lay My Hat That's My Home."

Check him out!

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I did it! I did it!

2007-11-05T11:55:00.001-08:00

Nothing like setting a goal...

Woohoo! I studied and took my two Comptia A+ Certification tests, and I passed! I am now A+ certified!

Okay, for those people who have absolutely NO REASON WHATSOEVER to know what this is, it's a computer technician certification. I'm just happy to get it done since I wanted to make sure I had it before the end of the year and it was getting pretty close.

Talking about Goals, my little buddy has a few goals of his own. He was trying to learn all the words to a particular song so he went to the car, bringing his cd player along, and practiced, right there in the parking lot.

Do you remember not caring about how you sang or if anyone heard you? That's my little buddy. Singing like he's in Broadway for all to hear.

Not me, oh no. I don't even sing loud in my car when I'm all alone, for fear that someone will park next to me and hear me singing. I'm not shy or anything; I perform in front of a lot of folks often. As a matter of fact, I'm currently playing percussion for a stage show of Shenandoah and I'm really not embarrassed playing in front of any size crowds. But I'm also not one of those folks who just don't care what others think, like this crazy dog:

Sorry about the expletive, it was just kind of funny, and it's in REALLY LITTLE LETTERS so I hope no one gets offended...

So how was Halloween?

2007-10-31T20:13:00.000-07:00

We had a great time! Let's see. There was a pirate, a ninja, and a mime. Now how cool is that?

First they prepared for the evening:

Grandma helped out the mime while the pirate (Girlie Girl) helped out the ninja so after Girlie Girl was done, she had to fix herself up:

Grandma did such a good job on the mime that he insisted he pose for me for posterity! Marcel Marceau would have been proud.

Just before heading off, the kids had a great time in the parking lot going at each other. The mime looks like he trying his "mime-ish" Jackie Chan pose, don't you think?

Then, it was off for the door to door trick or treating! I'd take pictures of their treat bags, but no; I'd be embarrassed. The thing is, a lot of folks know them and so they'd give them more than one or two so by the time we went to a few doors, then headed off to the church "Fall Festival" function, they had more candy than you can shake a candy bar at!

By the end of the night, the kids were exhausted and so they went to the church choir room where there was a very cute and funny puppet show. They just sat around and watch and laughed while eating their loot.

So, tell me. How was your Halloween with your little ones? If you don't have little ones, did you have fun with other adults? If you post some links in your comments, I'll be glad to visit and see costumes, especially of kids. I saw this incredibly adorable four year old little blonde girl dressed as a UPS delivery worker!

Did you ever locked yourself out of your house?

2007-10-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

I did last week and it was 11:30pm to boot! I'm glad my mom is still here visiting but I did have to wake her up by knocking loudly.

At least something like "THIS" never happened to me:

A Tale of Dancing Children...

2007-10-29T08:24:00.001-07:00

Two of my monkeys had to dance in front of a crowd at a local festival this weekend and they were pretty darn cute.

I was waiting out in the audience when I caught the little Guy warming up backstage. I had to zoom in quite a bit to catch him when he finally looked up and noticed me:

Of course, they had to wait a while before it was their turn to go up and dance so what do children do when they have to wait? They play and laugh and have a good time!

It was almost time for them to do their dance when I caught the Little Guy waiting by the side of the stage, looking out to see if he could spot his dad:

Finally it was time and they got up their and did a very good modern dance piece to the tune of "Colors of the Wind."

Overall, I thought they did a wonderful job. Considering it was their first modern dance piece, the stage was very small and it was pretty cold, they stuck it out and didn't panic about the size of the stage or anything. Normally, if you want to freak out beginning students, change their surroundings, but no. They completed the whole song and were very graceful about it.

I offered them ice cream after they were done, but they decided I was crazy, that they would rather get some kettle corn that was being made at the festival, all hot!

Animaniacs and Mel Blanc

2007-10-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

I recently joined Netflix and the first thing I did was order all the "Animaniacs" shows so that I can introduce them to my kids. They were my favorite cartoons and I think I was already a teenager when they came out. It was a hit! You should hear my children laughing to no end! They all seem to favor different characters. Little buddy seems to love the actual Animaniacs (Yakko, Wacko, and Dot) while Girlie Girl loves Slappy the Squirrel. The Big Guy loves Pinky and the Brain and can do a great imitation of Pinky.

Here's one of my personal favorites, "The Nations of the World" brought to you by Yakko:

I love watching cartoons with my kids. Wait, let me rephrase that. I like watching "good" cartoons with my kids. There is some really terrible stuff that passes for kids cartoons nowadays and I won't watch that. Most of the time, I end up going to the past. Here's this awesome clip of Mel Blanc being interviewed by David Letterman that is very entertaining! It's amazing to hear all those great voices (Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, etc...) coming out of this man!

Better be nice to me...

2007-10-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

I've got a Ninja and I'm not afraid to use him!

I even have a gun toting sheriff so you better watch out!

Okay, if that's not enough, I have a honey eating bear just sitting around waiting for you to get close!

Not enough to scare you? Well, see what happened to this once fearless victim that was attacked by a killer cow!

Let that be a lesson to her.
Actually, we went to Dollywood where we played at the Fair and she won all sorts of stuffed animals. You would NOT believe how hard it was to fit that cow in the Van.

The girl's good! Girlie girl and Little Buddy love playing those games and get along well going from place to place, supporting each other, cheering each other on.

Even little Buddy made out okay at one of the games and ended up winning a stuffed monkey.

The Big Guy likes to go on the rides more, though, so he tried this crazy contraption that takes you up and down like a Yo-Yo. Going up!!!

I was able to get a decent picture of him on the downturn which made me think, "darn, that is a good looking kid." I know, I'm biased...

I know it's a bit early...

2007-10-17T06:07:00.000-07:00

... but if anyone wants to know, this bed is what I want for Christmas. Watch the 30 second clip to see why.

So, whatcha think? You want one too, don't you? (smile)

How is everybody? I haven't been anywhere in the blog world in over a week because of events in the "real" world but it finally let up a bit so I do hope to go visit all you wonderful, funny, and very real blog buddies and catch up, laugh, etc...

See you in a bit!

Happy Birthday, Big Man!

2007-10-09T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought I'd be posting pictures of sleeping children, but those will have to wait a while because I had one CRAZY weekend. Why? Because my oldest boy turned 11 on Saturday and we celebrated and did so much that very little sleeping was done.

Did I mention that my mom is in town? She almost always comes for the kids birthday and this time she came in on Thursday and we gone non stop since.

Here's a picture of the Birthday boy and I tried to get him to smile, but to no avail:

My mom got him a Guitar Hero 2 for the Playstation and he played it for a while. Then the other two tried it and decided they would do better together:

Next, he wanted to go to the Dixie Stampede to see the show and have a great dinner. He has been asking for this since June so I couldn't say no. On the way there, in Pigeon Forge, I saw this amazing Scarecrow!

We finally made it to the Dixie Stampede and the kids got very excited. First there was a pre show where you could drink some slushies and eat peanuts:

Then we were moved to the main room which was sort of a rodeo type place and we were fed a wonderful dinner while watching an even more wonderful exciting show!

The thing was half the audience sat on the "North" side while the other sat on the "South" side. The show was really a set of competitions, North against South. We were sitting on the North side. There was even an ostrich race!

The rivalry was serious business. Even in the bathroom you had to be careful:

The North eventually won by a slim majority and the kids went wild!!! Of course, my little buddy went to all the pretty girls to get their autographs.

You ever hear those news stories about some 2nd grader who was caught under the stairs kissing a 5th grader? I'm hoping I don't get that phone call from the principle.

Anyways, it was a very exciting and wonderful birthday which ended with my big 11 year old boy giving me a great big hug and saying, "this was the best birthday I've ever had dad. Thanks!" You know, you can't pay enough money for something like that.

Oh, I almost forgot. On the way out of the Dixie Stampede, Dolly Parton said goodbye.

Man, we had fun!!!

2007-10-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

I know. I know. I've heard some folks say that all I ever do is have fun with my kids, but it's not true. I just don't blog about the boring times.

That said, I did have a terrific weekend! Guess where I went with the little guys?

First was buying the tokens. Then my daughter, whom I think has a serious career as an accountant, separated the tokens:

Then it was time to Wack the Moles!!!

I actually like that game myself. Then there was flying around and playing in tunnels:

Afterwards we had to go back to a friend's house because I'm dog sitting for him until he comes back from Disney with his family. It was actually fun playing with the dog:

My little buddy is the one on the left, just in case you're not sure. The next door neighbor's kids were outside so my kids quickly made friends with them and then got on the trampoline and had a blast for over an hour:

So that was my fun weekend. Well, I guess this post does little to dispel the notion that all I ever do is have fun with the kids. My I'll post about when the kids are sleeping. There, that's not so fun, is it?

What does a seven year old sound like...

2007-10-02T05:10:00.001-07:00

... when he sings the National Anthem? Well, I guess it depends which seven year old is singing it. I love hearing/watching talented kids perform. Listen to this little guy!

Friendly Neighborhood Spider Man

2007-09-27T04:30:00.001-07:00

My house was a very safe place to be last weekend, thanks to Spiderman who spent time protecting everyone in the neighborhood!

So folks, what do your little ones want to do for Halloween?

Holy Cow!

2007-09-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

Has it really been over 9 days since I've posted anything on my blog??? I have been slacking big time!

Well, to tell you the truth, it has been very busy and also a very frustrating week and the hard stuff had made it difficult to blog even when I did have a little time. There are some very difficult things going on right now and I can't talk about it, not yet anyways, but I am trying to provide a good and meaningful life to my kids when they're with me because they're going through a difficult time. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, ok? Thanks.

Last weekend we went to Knoxville again and lucked out because there was this very cool event going on!

It was part of this Bikerfest event and it was a lot of fun because there was an "overboard" competition, I think it was called. The kids sat around and waited patiently for the event to start:

Of course, if you're going to be near water, you can't help but stick your feet in the water!

Here is one of the competitors ready to go:

So what did the competition look like when it finally started? Actually, it was very cool! A few guys did wipe out in the worst way, but lots of them actually did some very cool stunts in order to get more points. Here's one guy who made it.

Pretty cool, huh? Afterwards, we walked around and had the best frozen lemonades I've tasted in a long time. My girlie then saw something she loves to do, and that's climb a wall!

So, as you can see, a gool time was had by all. That's it for now. See you folks in a bit when I go visit you after all these days while I was out.

Of "Power Teams" and crazy park happenings...

2007-09-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't believe how much fun I had today with the kids. Wednesdays are sort of crazy days. I have the kids from 5:15pm till 9:15pm and in that time, this is what we did.

First we went to Fazolli's and ate all the Italian/American food we could. Then we went to the park and the kids played until 6:45pm. My kids are physically incapable of using the playground the way it's supposed to be used.

That was girlie girl. Little Buddy thought that was way too cool and so he did it as well:

As an aside, you know how they say you shouldn't hit your kids? I found this and thought it was sort of funny, sort of not funny:

Isn't that something? I thinks it's crazy how kids shoot each other for some dumb argument. When I was in school, if you had a problem with a guy, you waited until after school, beat the tar out of each other, and by the end of the week you were friends again.

But, I've digressed so back to today.

Do you want to see something entertainingly funny? Well, the little buddy is really a trip. He's the funniest little man you'll ever see. Watch what he did on the swing!

We then had to leave the park because my Church was having a special event and the kids were all excited about seeing this. The "Power Team" will be performing at 7pm.
These guys are world class athletes who break bricks, bend horse shoes, etc...
These guys are incredible, but even more, they are a Christian organization who use their talent to tell people about the Lord.

The little buddy was especially impressed with the physical strength feats. Watch this:

After it was over, I took them back to their mom at 9:15 and I was sad to let them go. Divorce sucks.

I love those little guys to no end.

A Cure for the Monday Blues

2007-09-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

There can't be anything better or more uplifting than the sound of a laughing baby. Really! Watch this!

Okay, so just in case the laughing baby thing doesn't do a thing for you, there this next video. Don't you hate those anti piracy announcements at the beginning of movies? I do, because as far I'm concerned, aren't they preaching to the choir? I bought the movie and yet, they're subjecting me to this anti-piracy message. Oh well, no big deal. But this "different version" of the anti-piracy message is funny!

Thank you, Pavarotti.

2007-09-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

I admired Pavarotti very much because he was one of those gifts that God gave the world. You know the kind I'm talking about; people who are simply amazing with their talent. He was a complicated man with both good and bad things about him, like the rest of us, but he was undeniably an amazing singer with so much passion. I only wish I could do any one thing with the passion and the talent that he had when he sang.

Take care, Maestro, and "Grazie."

Had a good weekend?

2007-09-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

I did! We had a good 'ol time in Tennessee!

We did a number of things which included going over to a friend's house and playing with their cute dog:

I love little dogs that have attitude. This little puppy named Smoky acts like he's as big as a Pit Bull:

Later on we went to Dollywood and to my surprise, it wasn't completely full like I thought it would be, because of the Labor Day weekend:

Of course, you can't go there without going on one of those rides that will get you completely wet! Here we are waiting in line at the Water Raft ride:

Now we're waiting for the ride to start.

I had to put the camera away at that point and, man, did I get wet! Don't you hate walking around a park with wet underwear? I know I do...

Fun on Wednesdays...

2007-08-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Church night and the kids love their Church activities. The program their in combines a mixture of physical activities, study, prayer, and just plain fun to learn Bible truths and the kids just LOVE it. They want to come early, stay until the last possible moment, memorize their verses, etc...

The little guy's class went to the local park's splash pad for an hour of great fun with his classmates! They were given these little sponges so that they can soak them with water and spray each other.

I did notice my little buddy standing next to the same little girl A LOT! Hmmm...

At least the girl's parents know the my little man is a churchgoing guy. (smile)

I don't know about this. I don't think I'm ready to give the "birds and the bees" lecture yet.

A little too late.

2007-08-29T05:57:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody. I don't have much time this morning but I got this picture emailed and I wanted to share it. Perhaps making millions throwing a ball around the field doesn't generate enough excitement for some and they have to resort to hurting animals.

What a deplorable thing to do to a dog.

Of course, you can go too far the other way with animals. Some people just have no sense.

Bad news and Cool news...

2007-08-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

... of broken cameras and motorcycles!

Well, the bad news is that my new camera suddenly stopped working this past weekend and I have no idea why. I didn't drop it or anything; it just stop having the ability to focus, so I took it back to Officemax where I bought it and they agreed to exchange it for a new one since I haven't had it for more than 15 days.
Phew!!!
Unfortunately, they didn't have my model in today but thought they'd be getting a bunch of new ones before the end of the week.

The good news now. I did have a very fun weekend with the kids and some friends of mine who also have kids. Fortunately, the camera worked for the first part of the day and we got to see this Amazing motorcycle rally! The Indianapolis motorcycle drill team was there and they had an amazing array of motorcycles!

The kids were amazed!

Check it out from the front:

Of course, the day was insanely hot so the kids ended up splashing in the water!

If Coffee could kiss...

2007-08-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

... and other incredible amazing things!

I love coffee! I probably drink two or three cups a day usually with some hazelnut or chocolate flavored cream. Yum...

A friend of mine sent me this and I wish I could find out where I could get one. Don't you think it's an awesome piece of art that would go wonderful on say a coffee table?

You want to see an incredible amazing feat of coordination and creativity. Then watch this!

I know, the quality is terrible, but I was telling a family member about this and she wanted to see it so that's why I'm posting it. He's so cute at the end!

The kid's Wednesday night Church program started yesterday and they were excited from the moment I picked them up. It's this exciting and very cool program called "AWANA." The thing is, my oldest child Jaron is autistic and normally he sort of stays to himself somewhat but last night he was right in there, having a wonderful time, participating in all the activities and and answering questions.

I was just so happy seeing him acting and being just like all the kids there and just before we left the Church some girl that was in his class walked by him and said, "bye Jaron, see you next Wednesday!"

That's my boy!

I have a new Camera and I'm not afraid to use it!

2007-08-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

I broke down and got a new one after my other one broke. I thought I could do without it but I was wrong, I tell ya. So here's what went down this weekend. I got the kids at around 2pm and we had a great time just lounging around at home watching "High School Musical 2" which they had been anticipating for a couple of weeks. Then we went to Knoxville because I had heard that they opened up the Sun Sphere a couple of months ago after having closed it for years:

We got on the elevator and saw a spectacular sight of a LOT of Knoxville:

The little guy was particularly excited with the view!

Afterwards we walked down to World's Fair Park:

There are these great fountains at that park where people go and splash around and have a great time, and that's just what they did! The water pressure starts small:

I like that picture and thought I should have put a label like "I'm going in!" or something. Anyways, they kicked up the water a notch or two:

Girlie girl thought that the water was too cold and wanted to stand in the middle to stay as dry as possible but she left just in time because then they REALLY turned up the water!!!

Goodness!!! I thought I was going to lose a child or two when they did that! The little buddy was thrown up in the air twenty feet, but I caught him on the way down. (Just kidding!)

Take 5...

2007-08-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

I bow to you, Joe Morello!

Who's Joe Morello, you ask? He's one of the most accomplished jazz drummers ever and you don't even have to like jazz to appreciate this guy, he's that good. So when I found this clip on Youtube of the Dave Brubeck quartet playing the well known jazz great, Take 5, I just had to share it. I've played this a number of times with some pretty good people, but it's awesome to watch these jazz greats play this.

Watch...

If you want to hear a better quality version of the song, listen! I'm not sure which I like more, the video recording where they play it fast, or the audio recording where they play it slow; the slow one has an awesome drum solo, but the video does too! I'm a drummer and I appreciate this guy's amazing sense of rhythm and style!

I remember being in Jr. High, just starting out on the drums and listening to Joe's amazing mastery of playing in odd time signatures. If you have a bit more spare time, watch the following clip. He's even more amazing, if that were possible!

Hi there! Boy, it's hot!

2007-08-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

How are you folks doing? It's so hot right now, all I want to do is sit in an air conditioned room, wearing nothing but boxer shorts and drink ice tea until the sun goes down.

How hot is it where you are? Over here it's bad! I drove by the bank and just had to pull over and take a picture!

Last time when it was this hot, I had to put the kids on ice, and this time they put on their bathing suits and had the most awesome water balloon fights! I'm sorry I don't have pictures of them going at it but I have to decide to take the plunge and buy a new decent digital camera. All I have right now is the camera on the cell phone.

See you later and stay cool!

Harry Potter

2007-08-14T05:44:00.000-07:00

I went by the library yesterday to pick up the unabridged audio cd of the latest Harry Potter book. I'm pretty excited about this because I "heard" the first two books and thought the reader, Jim Dale, was amazing the way he brought the book to life, giving each character a distinctive voice building up excitement, etc...

I got into listening to books when I used to work an hour away, in Knoxville. For five years I drove two hours a day, and in that time I listened to almost every thing the library had to offer. Many of the readers were good, some not so good, and I had my favorites that I would pick from, which I think is funny in retrospect. Picking a book to listen to based on the reader instead of the author!

I know a lot of you folks have read it already so don't spoil it!

Anybody else like audio books?

Throwback Thursdays #1...

2007-08-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

Fellow blogger Chrissy does this thing on her blog called "Throwback Thursdays" where she puts up pictures of her and her family when they were kids. It's actually kinda neat since you see a fellow blogger, cute as can be, as a little tike, and to see the VERY HIP clothing styles of way back then. I've thought about doing the same thing but I hadn't yet for two reasons:

1. I can't imagine why anyone would want to see what I looked like as a six year old.

2. I don't have very many pictures of me as a little boy so it wouldn't last very long. (Of course, I could call mom and see what she's got...)

Anyways, my digital camera broke last week and I'm not too happy because, as all you know, I take a lot of pics of my little guys and post them and now I don't have a decent digital camera. So it occurred to me; now is as good a time as any to institute my own Throwback Thursdays for lack of new pics of my kids to post! (smile) It may take me a bit before I can buy a new one.

Check out the shirt I'm wearing!

I was a very big Star Wars fan back when the real first Star Wars Movie came out I even had my own Millenium Falcon to fly around the house...

Then there was the time when I went Roller Skating (Roller Blading wasn't around back then) with the family:

We were styling with our John McKenroe shirts, huh? (If you have to ask who John McKenroe was, then never mind.) I think it was cold that night and we were all wearing our Members Only jackets but soon took them off when we started skating! If you listen very closely, you could hear Donna Summers singing "On the Radio!"

How 'bout a joke?

2007-08-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

A man was driving down the road and ran out of gas. Just at that moment, a bee flew in his window.

The bee said, "What seems to be the problem?""

I'm out of gas," the man replied.

The bee told the man to wait right there and flew away. Minutes later, the man watched as an entire swarm of bees flew to his car and into his gas tank. After a few minutes, the bees flew out.

"Try it now," said one bee.

The man turned the ignition key and the car started right up.

"Wow!" the man exclaimed, "what did you put in my gas tank"?

The bee answered,

"BP!"

Things NOT to do at a water park...

2007-08-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

and TAG REDUX...

Last time I was at Dollywood's Splash Country, my children decided to "act out" something they saw on TV. At first, not knowing what it was, I was excited about the idea. "Cool" I thought. They're always acting out all kinds of things. After all, they've been in various Musicals such as "Children of Eden", "Beauty and the Beast" and Cats, and I'm used to them wanting me to watch them do things like that.

So here we were at the wave pool when my daughter and my little guy decide they would play "drowning boy and lifeguard."

Now, do you see where this might be a problem at the water theme park? It wasn't very long before a lifeguard showed up, concerned about what he was seeing. I had to explain that it's not what he thought it was, they were just pretending. He actually laughed but then said I needed to stop them from doing that. I should have known better than to let them start doing this, but, seriously, I'm used to them acting out all sorts of parts.

Yes, I told them to stop and I told them why. They laughed like I told them the funniest joke in the world.
------------------
Susan from "Susan's Musings" tagged me to cough up eight random things about me. I'm glad she limited to eight because I'm pretty random...

1. I LOVE Pringles Cheese Ums. You have no idea how many I've eaten in my lifetime, but the number must be huge.

2. I am very easily entertained and hardly find myself bored. Maybe it's more of a "I can't stand still" kind of thing, but I need to keep myself busy doing/learning/playing something almost constantly. I read, play on the computer, play with my kids, work, study, you name it, all the time.

3. I HATE almost all vegetables. The only ones I'll eat are carrots, peas, and corn.

4. I love my kids so much and miss them the instant they leave my side.

5. I love my job as a computer technician and feel very lucky to do exactly what I enjoy doing for a living. I've worked at jobs doing other things (waiter, cashier, etc...) and it has taught me to be greatful and treasure my job now.

6. I like meeting new people and making friends.

7. I lived and went to college in Chicago during the Chicago Bulls/Michael Jordan victory years and it was a very exciting time in my life. I was a Music Major at the time and met lots of interesting people (like Dizzie Gillespie) and saw lots of great things and would like to go and visit again someday.

8. I'm terrible at responding to tags...

UPDATE: I'd like to take a moment to let you folks know about a favorite blogger of mine named Dorky Dad. Please take a moment to stop by his blog, if you can. He and his wife have suffered a difficult loss, as well as being in Minnesota and came close to being on that bridge that collapsed. He's a good man, a great father, and a very funny blogger. DD, I'm real sorry, man. I hope God blesses you with another child...

Of Tags and Marriage

2007-07-31T12:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, someone sent me this amusing internatonal symbol for marriage that I wanted to share:
Of course, I don't hink there's any truth to that, but it "is" funny. (smile)

Okay, now for the "Tag" part of this post. Actually, I was "tagged" twice; once by a very sweet and kind lady from the Philippines called Louann and she has the cutest kids! Her tag is to name 10 things about your mom, I think. But here's the thing, Louann. I am TERRIBLE at tags! I never know what to say or how to expand my list, so I'll just tell you about my mom.

I think very highly about my mom. To me, she's fearless; she'll hop on an airplane and fly all the way to see me, even though I know she doesn't really like flying and her English skills are limited, just to see me and the grandkids. She's also kind. She often puts her self last so that she can be as helpful as she can manage. Brave is another word I can add to her character; she left Cuba in her twenties with me and my brother and we were just babies, spent five years there until she was able to obtain visas for us to enter the US. Personally, I think that's awesome. I remember being scared out of my wits when I first went to college in Chicago. It took a lot for me not to jump back on the airplane and head back to Miami.

How's that, Louann? I can go on for a long time about her, I suppose, but I think this is enough. I love her and am glad that I have her in my life.

I like Louann's blog, btw, for a few reason: the name of her blog is "3 Boys and a Lady" and she's talking about her hubby and her two sons. She's also very "real" and by that I mean she lays it all out for you and tells you how she's feeling. Go visit her, especially if you're a mom and can relate.

That's it for now. Tomorrow I write about the other tag I received from a very neat person called Susan from "A Slice of Life." If you go visit her, you won't regret it because she's a great blogger and very amusing, especially when recounting the History of Spam.

You're not going to believe this!

2007-07-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

I went to the Musical Cats today where I finally got to see my kids in full outfits, makeup and hair included.

I was amazed at the transformation!

That's it for now. I have the kids this weekend and it's late so I had to make this a quick post. Aren't they REALLY cute? Unfortunately I had to take the pics AFTER the show and it shows in their makeup and, besides, this was the second show of the day (a matinee and an evening show) so they look a bit tired.

(ps: Some very cool folks have tagged me and I'm not ignoring it. I love taking part in those but I won't be able to until Monday, so see you then!)

Wanna see my new pet?

2007-07-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

That's my girlie girl getting ready for her Tech Rehearsal for Cats. She came out of the changing room and said, "quick Daddy! Take a picture of me!" She grabbed her fluffy tail and smiled.

Wait until you see her with her Cat makeup and hair!

Girl, this is thriller, thriller night!

2007-07-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

If you want to read a great summertime vignette about the restlessness and excitement of youth, go here. Blogger buddy G has a classy writing style and is sophisticated and funny so if you have time, be sure to visit her and read this gem.

Me, on the other hand, I'm too practical to be a good storyteller. I'm too quick getting to the point to take a reader by the hand and slowly introduce characters and plots where the reader can savor each passing moment and possibility.

G's post did remind me of this hilarious video I saw yesterday. If you were a prision warden over in the Philippines, what would you do with several 100 convicted felons to combat loneliness or boredom, or perhaps to inflict more punishment for their crimes? You make them re-enact Michael Jackson's "Thriller," complete with a a guy in a pony tail and a pink halter top playing Jackon's date. You HAVE TO watch this! It's amazing:

Actually, I thought they were pretty good!

This actually is done occasionally with different songs. Check this one out where they dance to "I will follow him" from the movie, "Sister Act."

Mom has left the building...

2007-07-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

As a matter of fact, she has left Tennessee. (sniff sniff) She wants to stay but she has some "things" to tidy up. See, she's the nanny for her sister's triplet boys and has basically raised them since they were born. Without getting into too much detail, she hasn't been treated well or compensated adequately for a while. Hopefully things will change because they'll have learned to appreciate her while she was away for two weeks, visiting me. We'll see.

You'd like my mom. She's very cool, funny, and will bend over backwards to be helpful. She just spent two weeks with me and we got along just fine, watching movies together and watching her have fun with my kids. Of course, she's still a mom and so she does "mom" things like remind me to dress the kids this way or that so that the kids will be safe. I have three kids and I haven't manage to put them in danger yet. (smile) Then she's mother's me on occasion. "You drink too much coffee," she says. "Yes mom, as a matter of fact, Juan Valdez recently named his donkey after me." At least she doesn't like vegetables either so she doesn't hound me to eat them (smile.)

We had SO MUCH FUN while she was here, though. We went and played mini golf over in Pigeon Forge, TN with friends and I took a picture of her with the boys:

My girlie girl had such a good time playing with her friend. I LOVE to see her smile and laugh out loud. AS a matter of fact, if you tickle her long enough, her laugh will get higher and higher pitch until you can no longer hear it. It's really quite funny to see her mouth open in a "laughing" formation, but nothing come out.
Of course, I have noticed that the neighborhood dogs start howling:

Then we went to Dollywood's Splash Country. They had this really pretty waterfall and beautifully painted horse and my daughter said she wanted to get a picture taken with Grandma and the horse:

Of course, the water was frozen and my girlie turned blue!

After a while, everybody got hungry so I got them all some chili dogs.

So have you ever seen a seven year old eat a chili dog WITHOUT getting messy? I know, neither have I, so even he decides he's too messy after eating the hot dog, so what does he do?

Watch:

Anyways, I gotta run out and take care of stuff. Later on I'll swing by and see what you've all been up to!

I'll be back in a few hours!

2007-07-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

I missed you guys over the weekend (I was too busy to get my daily fix of blog reading and finding out what cool things you've done over the weekend) but I had my kids and my mom with me and so I have a lot to tell and some good pics to boot.

I'm driving mom to the airport now but I'll be back in a few. Gotta go to Knoxville!

Procrastination...

2007-07-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

Just kidding! Sorry about not posting in a few days. You all know mom's in town and I feel kinda rude sitting in front of a computer while she's there. So see! I haven't been procrastinating! I really just wanted a reason to put that "Motivational" picture up. (smile) I only have a few minutes for a quick post, though, so here I go...

I saw this somewhere on the Internet and it reminded me of my kids! Wouldn't it be nice if you could just say, "no drowning" or "don't break anything" and they'd actually do it, just because you told them to?

So, about my kids! No they're not in any sort of trouble other than the medical kind. My little guy was at a dance competition/workshop and on Monday he fell and cut his chin open and now has five stitches. Do your kids constantly try to kill themselves or is it just mine?

Oh, one more thing! One very important and awesome thing. A very very very cool blogger named Chrissy awarded me a Blogger reflection award. I have never won any awards for my blogging before so I'm very excited! I also get the warm and fuzzies knowing that such a kind and considerate and wonderful blogger like her takes the time to read my blog. Really, going to her blog is like going to a place where you feel welcome. You've ever met someone who's so genuine and so nice that when you leave that person you start thinking of ways to be as kind or nice as that person? That's how Chrissy is so her awarding me this makes it that much more special. I'm honored!

Thanks Chrissy!

You have GOT to try this thing!

2007-07-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Does your Mall have one of those Bungee things where they tie you up and you jump on a trampoline and you get to do all kinds of neat things in the air? If it does, you really ought to shell out the money,

and go on it, or at least put your kids on it because it's a hoot!

Exactly how much fun is it? Well, take a look for yourself:

I do hope you all had a fun weekend. I'm still hanging out with mom and we're having a pretty decent time. My mom is having a wonderful time with the kids. She's one of them good grandmother types that the grandchildren actually like.

We went to a local production of "High School Musical" and it was actually pretty darn fun and exciting and the actors did a phenomenal job.

Well, that's it for now. Oh no, wait! I almost forgot. I recently went to a friend's house and he made me the WORLD'S BIGGEST HAMBURGER! Seriously, this thing could have fed a small African village for a week!

See? Oh, just in case you get confused, I'm the one on the right:

Dam!!!

2007-07-13T05:07:00.000-07:00

No, really! See?

I took my mom to see Cherokee Dam yesterday after work and she was amazed. I don't think she has ever seen a dam up close. Actually, it's pretty impressive (6,760 feet long, 175 feet high) but the scenery from the top is even more impressive.

You decide:

Afterwards, we were both pretty hungry (the walk from the parking lot to the dam is about 1/2 mile each way) so we went to eat at this Italian restaurant that just opened up called Gino's. Is that a surprise or what? An Italian restaurant named Ginos!

I ate the most delicious and the biggest Calzone in the planet!

People, if you come around here, remind me to take you to Gino's. You won't regret, especially if you like a Calzone stuffed with pepperoni and cheeze. This thing was the size of Jay Leno's head. Actually, it may have been bigger than Jay Leno's head, I'm not sure. I'll have to research it.

Well, I gotta go to work, but I'm going to post one more pic of the kids that I meant to post on yesterday's post, but I forgot. It has to do with the Dollywood trip we took. We walked over to see this Roller Coaster called "The Thunderhead" a massive wooden roller coaster. The kids decided not to go on it when they saw it because it's massive, fast, and it didn't help when they heard the people on the coaster screaming like little girls. So instead, they posed near the roller coaster, claiming that this is what would happen if they got on the ride!

Mom's in the House!

2007-07-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

My mom flew in from Miami yesterday! Woohoo! You have no idea how delicious her Cuban cooking is so I'm probably going to gain 30 pounds in the next two weeks, which is how long she's staying. I especially love her black beans and rice and those fried bananas!

Yes, while she's here we'll HAVE to take her to Dollywood and even Dollywood's Splash Country. Maybe I'll make her go down a big water slide or something and try some of the local food like country fried chicken and biscuits and gravy. Good stuff, I tell ya...

Last time I went to Dollywood, I think it was back in May, the kids had a blast, and not just because of the rides. They were having their annual International Festival and there was food and entertainment from all over the world. So what did the kids eventually eat? Hot dogs, fries, and a soda! Let's not try anything new, shall we?

The rides were a lot of fun too, though. They have this "Memory Lane" 50's cars type ride where the kids drive around. Here's good advice, don't let a six year old drive!

On another note, I'll be in Baltimore Maryland the 23rd through the 25th of August for a work related thing! I'm really excited because I've never been anywhere Northeast. I've done all most all of the Midwest thing and even went North all the way to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, but Nary a Northeastern state. So what is there to do in Baltimore, or even Washington DC which seems to be a short ride away? (Okay people, before you start thinking just how dumb I am for asking what there is to in Washington DC, I mean I only have two evenings to spend visiting stuff since I actually HAVE to go to the conference and attend workshops.)

Any suggestions? Any regular blogger live around those parts? Maybe we could have some coffee or something. Actually, forget coffee! It's too hot for that... Any cool restaurants or historical things in Baltimore that I should cover in my short time there?

It was so hot that...

2007-07-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

...I had to put the children on ice!

Well, that's not exactly what happened, but it was hot today so we went to Dollywood's Splash Country and had the greatest time you could imagine! Here we were, going from the Lazy River where the little guy was showing me how well he could swim under the water while my girl wanted to squirt me with this squirty thing I was dumb enough to buy her, to one of their new attractions called The Cascades where all three of them kept pushing me in the waterfalls. It's amazing how three of them can muster up a good amount of strength!

I personally like their Bear Mountain Fire Tower because it features this HUMONGOUS bucket that fills up completely every 3 or 4 minutes, then drops the entire contents down on you! That's where I got my revenge, setting them up under the bucket and making them wait their doom! (Okay, they knew it was coming and they gladly welcomed it.) The brochure says it's 1,000 gallons of water so the little guy was almost knocked down!

Somewhere near the end of the day, it hit me: Here I am, just me and my three kids, having a rockin' time together in a water theme park, going down slides, eating chili dogs when we got hungry, and watching the little guy take the ketchup out of his hair (how it got there is beyond me) by standing underneath the huge bucket and waiting for the water to drench him clean, etc... I haven't seen this coming, I haven't been this happy and remembered the feeling of family like I did today.

It reminded me of the first song of the Musical Rent:

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love.
Jonathan Larson

Measure in Love indeed...

Of course, my version would include ketchup in hair, children singing in three part harmony in the back of my car, and driving back to town in a hurry so they could get back in time to go back with mom, not exactly as melodic as Jonathan Larson's version, but hey, this is my story and I like it. I like it a lot.

So what's the deal with the picture above? I had emptied my cooler and he decided to stand on the ice to show me how tough he is. Then I went to the front yard and found my VERY BEAUTIFUL GIRL listening to Cd's, looking as pretty as can be, singing a song from the musical Cats, which she's in and in rehearsals right now. I wished I could have recorded her voice...

No, it's not always fun and games and stuff. They're pretty good kids, but they ARE kids. There was the occasional, "put your sister down" and "don't make me turn this car around!" or my favorite, "STOP SCREAMING!!!!" There was even the "for heaven's sake, your brother can only hold his breath for so long! Pull him up before the lifeguard comes!" (just kidding) But even that is part of the family experience.

We're together, going through it all and it's good...

Did you have fun?

2007-07-05T05:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Belated Fourth of July!!!

Did you really have fun? We did. First the kids and I went back to the Apartment and had some fun playing outside. This included bike races where my daughter beat me every time. I didn't think those little thin legs could move so fast!

I pedaled behind her on my bike while using the camera on my cell phone, which, in retrospect, was a dumb idea! I almost ran over her and I could have dropped the phone, but hey, it was fun!

Then we went to the movies and saw Ratatouille, which I have to say was a very cool movie.

I asked my kids if they liked it as soon as we walked out of the theater because it wasn't exactly full of action like Toy Story or something, and it was also rather long, but they said they loved it and wanted to see it again soon. I loved it, probably because the idea of rats cooking gourmet french food was too funny to pass up.

So finally we went to the local park and saw the fireworks!

Of Birthdays and Crack Cakes!

2007-07-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday! Yep, I'm 38 now and I feel good (I knew that I would.)

As luck would have it, today is Sunday which means it's the weekend, which also means my kids were with me and I "got woken" up at 6:30 am and was sung "Happy Birthday" to me And many more on channel 4; and scooby doo on channel 2; Frankenstein on channel 9; Stairway to Heaven on channel 11; big fat lady on channel 80 and all sorts of additions to the birthday song that I had never heard.

It was delightful, though I gotta admit, it would have been more delightful at, say 9:30 am.

Birthday cakes? Well yes, as a matter of fact! I got two of them. The first one was from my friends at work who got this lady at the office that makes THE WORLD'S BEST CAKE! I kid you not. We folks at work call it Crack Cake because as soon as you eat a piece, you just KNOW it's got crack in it. You're like, "hey buddy, can I have some more?" I'm not sure what it has in it, besides crack, though there are chopped up nuts, chopped up hersey bars, cream cheese, etc...

It's looks like this:

Just pretend there was a lot more of it... Trust me, it was good!

Then my kids saved up money and bought me the cutest little two cupcake cake.

See?

I count myself lucky for a number of things: from my children to the Lord himself, from having a profession that I LOVE to having a few very good people I call friends. Now I can add something else. Some very nice bloggers remembered my birthday and added some Happy Birthday entries in my previous post. I wish I knew of an easy way to move their birthday wishes over to this post, but no matter! You have no idea how much it meant to me to have these people from all these different places wish me a happy birthday!

May I always be this blessed!

Went Fishing...

2007-06-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

Well, not exactly...

Being Wednesday, I had the kids and I took them down to feed the fish at one of the lakes. Someone had told me about this a few days ago and said, "go to 'such and such' dock and bring the kids with you. They'll love to feed the fish!"

At the time, I thought, "that sounds cool. We'll probably get a handful of fish food and throw them in the water and see an occasional fish pop his or her little head up and eat it." Boy, was I wrong!

First off, there was thousands of fish the side of small boats sitting around waiting to be fed and man, they were agressive! I kept holding on to my children because I thought that if they accidently fell in, the fish would eat them!

Here they are at the dock, about to feed the fish:

Here's a close up of the little guy feed the fish. I think I took the picture just in case he fell in and was eaten, I would at least have a picture of his last moments. I'm telling you, these fish were mean! There were some ducks nearby who were trying to grab a little grub as well, but the fish kept smaking them upside the head!

Here's the girlie, being all girlie like while feeding the fish:

Overall, it was a lot of fun but next time I think I'll bring rope to tie around their waists.

They're in the Musical "Cats"

2007-06-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Ah, first a funny!

Okay, now for the real stuff...

Mediation took a long time but the results were awesome! I get the kids every weekend and every Wednesday, plus three seven day holidays a year. That rocks!!!

My kids are ecstatic about it as well. I will never be away from my kids for more than two days. I've spent the last two weekends with my kids and we've had a wonderful time together, playing and going places, including the movies where we went to see Evan Almighty and laughed a lot. (We even did the dance after the movie was over: if you don't know what I'm talking about, you haven't seen the movie! hee hee)

We also went to see Surf's Up!

Yesterday, I bought them a tag game with these pistols that have Velcro on the ends, a Velcro vest and protection glasses, and they played outside with this for a long time. They finally called me outside to tell me that they got the little guy, so this is what I find when I get outside:

I think they take their acting classes a bit too seriously... Talking about acting, the two older ones got parts in the upcoming productions of the Musical "Cats." (The little guy was too small.) I can't wait to see them in their Cat suits, running around the stage and singing! Don't worry, I'll have pictures!

Okay, you Ebay fans!

2007-06-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Do you know anyone who's addicted to Ebay? I do; I know this lady who lives, eats, and breathes Ebay. The funny thing is, she's on dial up and you should hear her complain about losing a bid because her internet connection is slow and she gets outbidded by people on broadband connection! So it's only fitting that Weird Al write a song just for people like her.

Here's Weird Al's Ebay song! Common! Sing along...

"C" isn't always the right answer...

2007-06-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

Have you ever taken a test where the answer is either true or false? It's hard to fail a test like this since you have pretty good odds of getting the answer right. A little intuition, a little common sense, and you're bound to guess correctly.

Right? Well, not really, apparently...

If the correct answer is either A (true) or B (false), picking C is not going to do it for you:

Here's what his instructor had to say:

Dear Michael,

Every year I attempt to boost my students' final grades by giving them this relatively simple exam consisting of 100 True/False questions from only 3 chapters of material. For the past 20 years that I have taught Intro Communications 101 at this institution I have never once seen someone score below a 65 on this exam. Consequently, your score of a zero is the first in history and ultimately brought the entire class average down a whole 8 points. There were two possible answer choices: A (True) and B (False). You chose C for all 100 questions in an obvious attempt to get lucky with a least a quarter of the answers. It's as if you didn't look at a single question. Unfortunately, this brings your final grade in this class to failing. See you next year!May God have mercy on your soul.

Sincerely,

Professor William Turner

P.S. If all else fails, go with B from now on. B is the new C

Putting my ducks in a row...

2007-06-07T05:18:00.000-07:00

Well, after nine months of STUFF, I finally have a date set for divorce mediation. I'm not sure if it's the same everywhere, but here in Tennessee, you HAVE to go to mediation and work out a parental plan and the finance stuff. If we don't agree, then we go to divorce court and have the judge agree for us. I've been busy trying to work things out on paper, making sure that the children's situation is the best that it can be, but I find it ironic that two people who had a hard time agreeing on much (which is the reason for the divorce) are now mandated to sit and discuss things in order to agree on how assets and time with the kids are to be divided.

Anybody have any advice about this? Perhaps if you've been through this before and want to share the experience, I'd be greatful.

I spent four hours with the kids yesterday and we had a pretty good time; we went to church and then went back to my house and ate, had pillow fights, played outside, etc... Still, I had this uneasy feeling that the divorce was weighing heavily on their minds. The deadline is always looming, "how much more time do we have?", and when it's almost time, they makes comments or their attitudes change and their spirits aren't as high as it was. I'll hear them saying, "maybe mom will be late and we can stay longer."

I didn't see my father until I was 11. We left Cuba when I was less than a year old, but he didn't come with us because he was in the armed forces and couln't leave at the time. He served his country for several years but then it took several more years for him to apply and be allowed to come to the US. I didn't really miss him at the time because he wasn't in my life, but looking back and having kids of my own, I wish I could have had him in my life growing up.

I have always been a part of my children's lives and I want them to know that their dad is always there for them. Maybe that is what makes things more difficult; having to divide my time with them. I would like to ask for your prayers and/or good wishes and thoughts so that good decisions are made next week in mediation, that the children benefit the most from the decisions that are made.

Happy Birthday, Little Buddy!

2007-06-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

You turned seven yesterday, my little buddy, and I simply cannot believe what an impact you have had on my life, and everyone else's, for that matter. You are so special and mean so much to me that when you leave my side, I instantly miss you and wonder what you're up to, hoping that you're having fun and enjoying life and learning from everything around you.

Know, little buddy, that your daddy will always be there, no matter what, to celebrate your birthdays, to make sure you're okay and to show you things, and to play with you and love you.

Dad...
----------------------

I have a friend who owns a boat and he was kind enough to invite me and the children over so that we could celebrate little buddy's birthday and it was so much fun! First, there was jumping off the dock into the lake:

Of course, you HAVE to push a friend into the lake with you or it wouldn't be any fun:

Then there was a VERY BIG EVENT for him; catching his very first fish! He was so proud of this that people watching had tears in their eyes.

Finally, it was birthday cake time with the friends:

My goal was that he have a memorable and fun seventh birthday and swimming in the lake with his friends was fun (he told me so) and catching his first fish was very memorable, at least for all of us watching him, but had you seen his excited face and his little voice yelling out for all to hear of his wonderful feat, you'd have to believe he'll remember that as well.

LMAO...

2007-05-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

or "Birthday presents for the geek in your life"

----------------------------------------------------------------

I found a place that sells Geek T Shirts. I particularly like this one:

Of course, the one I really REALLY liked was this one:

Then there are t shirts for folks who just like to Blog:

Not that I'm mentioning any names, but there are some people who would probably love to own this one, considering how they blog about blogging. At least he's aware of the problem and that's the first step to recovery.

Did I mention my birthday is coming up?

A Rough Couple of Weeks...

2007-05-30T05:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been around anywhere in the blogosphere lately, folks. I've missed all of you; your insightful, funny, crazy posts and funny caption contests like you wouldn't believe.

What happened? Well, unfortunately I can't go into detail but I can say that it has to do with my upcoming divorce. It took a terrible turn for the worse about 15 days ago and a few days ago it took another turn, but for the MUCH better. Until a few days ago, I was too upset to think about much and wouldn't have been able to compose a blog entry if my life depended on it.

Things are much better now and hopefully, when all is said and done, I'll be able to share with you the experience.

Now I'm off to visit you guys!

Oh, I almost forgot! You all know how much I love my kids and how I think the world of them. I'm not baised or anything (well, maybe a little) but I happen to think they're very talented and intelligent. Well, I started looking around on Youtube for other talented and intelligent little people out there and WOW!!!

This first one is only 4 years old!

What do they look like just a little bit older? This little guy is 12:

Check out this 9 year pianist:

So what do you think of Windows Vista?.

2007-05-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

Who has been using it for a while? Do you like it?

I confess that I don't have it on any of my machines, but I do have to sit in front of Vista boxes pretty regularly since I get MANY calls from friends who need some help with it.

Overall, I like Vista. It's visually very appealing and it has many features that people will find useful, as soon as they can find them. That's my problem with it right now, and it's mostly an education problem. I don't know where everything is RIGHT AWAY and I'm used to XP where I know where almost everything is and I know of a number of ways how to get there. Now I'm looking around; where is the printer menu? Heck, where's the Device Manager?

I'll get used to it soon enough, I'm sure.

Here's a screen shot of a very interesting and priceless Vista error message:

So is this a good thing or a bad thing? Hmm.....

My Children can Sing!!!

2007-04-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

They had their end of the year Children's Choir Concert and they sang very well, if I do say so myself.

Listen!

(It may take a moment to load, but turn up the volume an count to 10.)

Watcha think?

Very Cool Pepsi Commercial from India!

2007-04-21T09:54:00.001-07:00

Usually, when I open a can of soda, about the only thing that happens is that my kids start asking me for a zip. By the time they're done, I have a little bit of backwash pepsi in the bottom of the can. It's one of those joys of parenthood things... (smile)

Nothing THIS cool ever happens when I open a soda can!

They're in Heaven now.

2007-04-20T06:34:00.000-07:00

On the VT student newspaper website there is the following: It is an email from Professor Bryan Cloyd to his students. His daughter, Austin, died Monday.

"If we don't meet again, your final assignment from me is perhaps the most important lesson you will learn in life. Go to your mother, father, brothers and sisters and tell them with all your heart how much you love them. And tell them that you know how much they love you too. Go out of your way to make good memories...At some point these memories may be all you have left. May God bless you, Bryan"

I don't know you personally, Professor Cloyd, but I do want to say that I am deeply sorry for your loss. No one should go through this. Thank you for showing us what's truly important in life.

Again, I am so sorry...

-------------------------

If you haven't already visited, stop by the VTU website to see a respectful, caring, and unfortunately very sad tribute. As soon as I click on the link and reached the site, my eyes teared up. I thought about the parents sadness and the lives cut short; beautiful people who deserved a full life. Some of them could have discovered cures, or saved a drowning child, or perhaps some could have developed and run a community project to help the poor. Maybe they would have just lived long but ordinary lives, but it was their lives to live.

I wish my kids were with me right now; I'd hug them and tell them I love them, just like Professor Cloyd's final assignment.

Finally: Bye Bye Sanjaya!

2007-04-19T05:14:00.000-07:00

They finally kicked Sanjaya off of American Idol!

I must confess; this is my first season of watching American Idol. I never could watch it before because of scheduling conflicts (and no, I don't have Tivo) but I always wanted to see what the big deal was about. Watching Sanjaya stay in the show for so long was pretty disappointing because he clearly wasn't a very good singer. He wasn't horrible, mind you. He had some talent, but in the sense that most of us have some talent, but he wasn't better than some that were voted off earlier.

I started losing interest in the show because it clearly became a popularity contest rather than a singing/talent contest and didn't even see last night's show, so imagine my surprise when I went to the web this morning and saw what clearly should have happened a long time ago.

I do hope he gets other avenues to pursue his dreams. A few more singing lessons and a hair stylist wouldn't hurt either.

Here's the clip of last night's show where he gets to go home.

Road Trip! or "I better get in shape!"

2007-04-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

Also, the voice of Bart Simpson!

Wanna plan an overseas trip?

1. go to http://www.google.com/
2. click on "maps"
3. click on "get directions"
4. type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)
5. type "London" in the second box (the "to" box)
6. scroll down to step #23

I thought this was really cool since I like the Simpsons.

A moment...

2007-04-17T04:23:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to say how sad I am and shocked at the deaths of so many people at Virginia Tech yesterday. I can't imagine the horror the parents of those students are going through.

I work with a lady whose son graduated from Virginia Tech last year and she was so grateful that her son was no longer there, but we who have kids can easily imagine our own at their day care or schools/colleges and imagine scenarios of phone calls received during times like that.

Let us all pray for those folks who are in any way tied to those students. In a sense, we are all tied to those people; any one of them could easily have been our friends/neighbors/family, but at the very least we know that as people, they didn't deserve this.