Merry Christmas!

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!

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!!!

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?

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..

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...

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...

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...

... 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!!!

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

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...

...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!

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!

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?

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?

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...

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

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...

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...

... 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!

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.