Random Thoughts and Whatnot

May 11, 2010

November 05, 2009

June 30, 2005 See http://www.random-thoughts-and-whatnot.blogspot.com/ for my second incarnation of this blog.

June 25, 2005 Open Letter to the Kansas School Board--(not mine)

June 06, 2005 See http://www.random-thoughts-and-whatnot.blogspot.com/ for my second incarnation of this blog.

June 01, 2005 Oh, hell. Just found a published link to the SWCA: SWCA. And a Merry Christmas to you all.

The wine tasting was a huge success. It seemed that most of the couples left almost as soon as the last bottle was consumed. Besides that, I had a great time & I think the 17 guests did as well. As the party ended we went to the neighbor's to get the kids. They were sleeping over there with our usual baby-sitter, but the neighbors needed help with their kids, since they were invited to the party.

The party was rather informal, except for the occasional presentation of a bottle. Most people were prepared to share something. That was the goal: for each couple to bring one bottle and to have something meaningful to say about it. Most people had something meaningful to say.

The cheese and crackers, fruit and veggies, and small desserts were abundant.

I think this is the first party I've thrown at the house. Even though I did the inviting and even though people thought it was my party, I kinda just sat back and let it happen. Thank god I had people like my wife there to take care of 99.37% of the food preparation. And several guests brought a little something extra for the food table. We'll have to try it again in December. This time it was Pinot Noir and Riesling, next time it'll be something different.

My therapist agreed that this was a good time to stop therapy. I may go back. But at this point, I'm past some of the heavy issues I went in with and I was socially able to organize a party at our house and not have any big anxiety about it. That is a pretty big deal. Can you imagine me trying to do that 3 years ago?!

Found a new band today, Sixpence None The Richer. I'm not sure what the lead singer's name is, but she has a light and airy voice, and performs mostly covers, from what I've heard.

What is this about a Star Wars Christmas Album ? C3P0 is going on like he's performing music for a 60's Christmas cartoon. Have you heard of this malarky? Write me if you want a link to preview (full length) some of the songs. Otherwise, you may preview (30 seconds) here. Then there's the perennial classic, "What Can You Get A Wookie For Christmas (When He Already Owns A Comb?)". I'm not making this up.

The wife and I went and saw Star Wars, Episode III, for our anniversary last week. I was most humored at the end of the movie when things were beginning to come full circle. Was that worth the wait of the 2.5 hours that preceded it?

May 25, 2005 So the wife sprained her ankle or tore tendons in her ankle and she's on crutches for the near future. Again we visited the ER for a couple of hours after the soccer game Saturday night. She was in a ton of pain and the morphine didn't help much. Then they gave her some other drug in the IV that was "ten time as strong" as the morphine and that helped. The only problem then was that she got all scratchy. So then they had to give her another drug. The bottom line, after 3 or 4 hours was that she needed to get on crutches, rest, ice, compression, elevation, and follow up with U of M Sports Medicine. The baby-sitter was great about staying until 2:30 a.m. The next day, the kids and I drove to Whole Foods, but also went to Barnes and Noble next door and got the baby-sitter a little gift certificate. I don't want to take her sacrifices for granted.

The wine tasting "party" is Saturday. I hope it goes well. I still need to come up with a warm appetizer.

H is sick. B doesn't want to be at school. I'm at work and would like to be on vacation. J is going to leave work early because she's in pain.

May 16, 2005 A lot going on and I haven't blogged in a while. B, the three-year-old, is in soccer once again. He has had two practices/games and just loves it. During the scrimmage, he runs around with the biggest grin on his face and is able to dribble the ball down the field. When he gets in position to take a shot on goal, he lets the ball come to a rest, then positions his body behind the ball, then takes his own sweet time to wind up and kick it. By that time, the 3 defenders are on him like glue. But he scored Saturday for the first time.

Friends came up from Chicago yesterday for dinner. The wife and I had to decide whether or not we should go out to dinner. J ended up making dinner at home, so we had some delicious spinach and cheese and tofu lazagnae. After dinner, we went to downtown Ypsilanti to score some ice cream with the kids. Oh, we also got to see pictures of their trip to Thailand. H showed off her scrapbook. For a six-year-old, she has some teriffic views.

May 13, 2005 Why are you reading this dribble?

May 09, 2005 I don't know what H eats at school. Last night I'm up till 11:50 p.m. getting her lunch ready for the next day. I pack her lunch different than B's. It takes me nearly 1/2 an hour, to help my wife out for the next day. So the lunches go into the fridge and they take them to school and after school, when she gets home on the bus, she always asks if she can have her lunch. Of course, you can, I say. 89% of her lunch is remaining. Then she eats what is left of her lunch--the interesting parts. Then dinner is about 45 minutes later and she has a mild dinner. Today she ate most of her asparagus and forced down some delicious broccoli. Oh, and some fried potatoes.

B on the other hand eats everything in his lunch (I think) and probably has two snacks per day at school. I don't know for sure if he eats everything we pack, but the preschool teachers say that they send home everything the child does not eat. Again, no way to test this.

Myself, on the other hand, eat at my desk at work. I usually eat everything I pack for lunch, except for the times I pack something I don't like.

May 05, 2005 Long time, no post.

I've been on a bit of a roller coaster the past few weeks. One day I'm up. The next day I'm down. Talk about a worn out cliche. Nevertheless, I'm at a good spot today. I ran 5 miles yesterday in preparatoin for the Dexter to Ann Arbor 10K run in June. I ran the 10K a few years ago and it was a nice race. It is peaceful along the Huron River and then it turns towards the downtown where the crowd starts up the last mile or so.

But this roller coaster is also due to domestic turmoil (the bad), and the planning of a wine tasting event (the good) at the Tumbarello estate, later this month. I sent out an invitation Sunday night and almost immediately got a bunch of RSVP's. So when first thought we'd have 8 - 12, now I'm thinking it might be more like 12 - 18. But that's okay. As long as it's under 18.

The other part of the roller coaster is that I had a first interview with the University of Michigan, which was a 1/2 hour phone interview (the good), but then I haven't heard back from the department for a 2nd interview (the bad), and I even wrote the person I interviewed with and her secretary and neither of them have returned my email.

The job at the factory is alright, and there is profit sharing this quarter, so that should be a nice bonus later this month. Then at the same time, I'm looking forward to quitting the job when I get my Education degree. For the time being, I can put up with some of this crap, as I look forward to a better future.

B can use the toilet now (for everything). That is a big relief. H is learning to read huge books. Last week she read a Junie B. book. But we were a day late finishing it, so she might have been given an easier book this time, I'm not sure. It is amazing how advanced they push 1st graders in reading these days. Now when I was in 1st grade, I don't think I was reading much more than Dick and Jane.

Gotta go, but I'll leave you with this page to play around with: http://www.caedes.net/ , a page that calls itself the Desktop Wallpaper and Artist Community.

April 29, 2005 H was on stage today! One of the girls in her 1st grade class had a concept for a play (skit) and H was one of the 5 horses. It was a narrative of the horse family's day and she jumped over a fence, kicked the fence, drank water, danced, and slept. It was a short little skit, but a wonderful experience for her. A year ago, she had a hard time entering the gym for the Friday assembly. Now she's up on stage.

J wanted me to bring the digital camera and bring B to the assembly, but I didn't want any of that. I didn't want to make a big deal out of the audience. I wanted it to be just her and her friends on stage. I didn't want her mind on the audience and I didn't want a little three-year-old running around to concern myself with.

Selfish? Of course. Wrong? Definitely not. I am entitled to an hour or two with H at her school on afternoon of the first time she got on stage. B will have his turn when I go to his ballgame on a cool Friday afternoon. He will have his turn.

I wrote a short 6 minute talk that I am going to give at church (congregation) in a few weeks. I will be one of 5 members who will talk during the sermon. It is a description of 5 or 6 snapshots during my life that show what it is to be a man. You see, the service is going to be put on by my men's group. Can't say more than that--confidentiality, you see.

April 24, 2005 Sometimes I talk with my therapist about things I could be doing instead of working at the factory 9-5 in an office with no window. I tell her that I could be a song writer or a teacher or a professional basketball player. I tell myself that all the time. I could be playing in the NBA playoffs, no problem. Or, I could teach English or Calculus or Coach Cross Country. I'm also convinced that given the right opportunity, I'd make a fantastic song writer--only that I can't play a music instrument with any skill--that's a small barrier. But then she says that shouldn't be a barrier to me writing or even writing songs, provided that I partner with someone who needs a lyricist. I could begin by writing poetry or lyrics and submitting them for publication in the New Yorker or Poetry Magazine.

What makes more sense for me is to do the conservative thing, stay at my day job and wait for someone to come to my door asking for a lyricist or a song writer.

Hold on, I gotta get the door.

April 21, 2005 Had the second of two wine classes tonight. Again, the class was on Michigan wines. We had some very good wines and some that would be better with pork. What I'm saying is that I didn't care so much for one of the drier red wines. Maybe it's called a sophisticated wine or something. I don't care. I like wine, but I like it slightly more accessible, although I do like a degree of acidity in a white wine, sometimes.

So the plan is for wife and I to have a wine tasting in May, then another in December, and the hope is for someone else on the soccer team to host one or two others during the year. The complication is that our "night out" is Saturday night, soccer night. It wouldn't make sense to have a wine tasting any other night during the week. What makes sense is for us to have the tasting after one of our early games (did I write this already?). I'll let you know how it goes.

April 16, 2005 I got just a minute. The mac-n-cheese is cooking on the stove and the kids are going to have dinner after that's done. I just finished a quick sandwitch. We have soccer tonight, so dinner is not as family as usual. I had to build up the dirt underneath one of our wood structures in the back yard. The wood structure is what we use to hold firewood, while it dries. It keeps the wood off the ground. It was slowly leaning towards the middle of the yard and I thought it might need to be taken apart and rebulid, but after I removed all the wood (firewood), I pushed it towards the neighbor's fence and realized that it would straighten out if the bricks beneath the feet were shorn up a bit. So three hours later, I'd have to say that the structure is good as new.

Got soccer tonight, so not much time to write. Time to stir the mac-n-cheese.

April 14, 2005 Had a wine class tonight. Actually it was a wine tasting class. I've taken the class before, but I have everything to gain by taking it again. Actually, this one was on Michigan wines. In the fall, the instructor teaches on the Classical Wine Tradition. I've taken that one before as well. The bottom line is this--try more wine, experiment, try wine varieties that I've never had before. And have a good time trying it.

April 07, 2005 It's like this: if you have no friends, you are going to impose all your hopes and joys and pain and expression upon yourself. If you have one friend, you are going to impose all your wishes and excitement and sorrow and expression upon yourself and your one friend. Naturally, the degree of this expression will be limited by the character of the other person and the nature of the relationship created between you and that other person. So if there are 59 different expressions you want to share, and if you have just one friend and your relationship is just right, you might have the ability to share 13 of them with that friend. That's great. That far exceeds the 5 or 6 expressions you can have with yourself if you were alone, on a desert island, for example.

Now if you have 3 or 4 friends, you might be able to express more of yourself, and possibly even exponentially so. Out of the 29 expressions you might want to get out, with these friends, you might be able to express a whopping 23 dimensions of your personality. Joy, sorrow, humor, excitement, embarrassment, and even ideas, ways of thinking, and ways of knowing yourself.

And when you have 37 friends, you are going to have a plethora of personalities in your life. Some of those friends might contribute a serious element, some might contribute a responsible element, or a project building element, or a playful element, or a danger element, or pain, sorrow, introspection, playfulness, or even interests, like music or dance or art or theater or beer or children or politics and on and on. What these 37 friends gives you is exposure and opportunity. You now have exposure to 37 fellow human beings with varied backgrounds and interests and personalities. What that affords you is the opportunity to bring out dimensions of yourself that you could not have expressed when you just had one or two friends.

Isn't that great?! I've been coming out of my shell the last few years. Pretty much been in a shell for half a zillion years, since high school. It's been about a year and a half since I joined soccer and I think since that time, I've come to have expressions with friends that I could not have had with my wife and kids, in my home. Not that there is anything wrong with my marriage or with my satisfaction of the degree and variety of expression at home, but more is better.

Listening to Amplified Heart. Mmmm good music.

April 06, 2005 It's like this: I'm thinking about going back to school to get a degree in Education, Secondary Education, with a Major in Math. Simple enough. I'll be taking almost a 50% pay cut when I get my first job--see this blog in 4 years to confirm or deny this prediction. But.... and here is the big BUT.... But I'll be working 9 months per year, have a spring break, have great hours, have the ability to coach cross country and track, be teaching something that I feel competent to teach, be in front of a class (which I know I can do), and have a desire to go to work each day. Isn't that what we all want? The desire to wake up each morning and look forward to the day, wanting to go to "work". For me, work should not be "work". It should be life. Therefore, I should want to wake up each morning to live & thrive, not to go to "work". I abhor the word "work". It evokes labor and pain. I prefer the word thrive.

In two years, or maybe four years, I'm going to wake up and go to thrive.

April 04, 2005 Played a little baseball in the backyard with the kids this afternoon. It was good getting home at 4:15 and going out back with the plastic bats and plastic balls. J bought a plastic baseball hat for B this afternoon, as well. So he was all decked out. Then came inside to make portabella mushrooms with feta, not over rice though, but over potato. B is getting to be such a big kid. He remembers that it is now Spring and that I said all during the Winter that he & the family could visit my work some time in the Spring. So maybe this weekend we can venture out and see the plant. I have some pictures of my office here somewhere; maybe I'll download them to the blog some time.

March 30, 2005 I just got done dropping H off at camp, since her school is in Spring Break right now, and I'm heading out of Ypsilanti and West towards Dearborn, and I get to thinking about my blog page. Maybe you've seen it. It's that page I have on the internet with all the interesting details about my life, updated not quite weekly. It contains some information that is stimulating and some that is quite pathetic. It even contains the wine jingle. So I'm driving and thinking, thinking and driving. Since I'm going to start a program in Secondary Education in the Fall or next Winter, I'll be in a classroom in a few years and probably coaching track or cross country sometime in the near future as well. And I get to thinking about the ethics of having a personal blog that my students and team can read. Not just the ethics, but the appropriateness. It is as if I'll be exposed as a real 3 dimensional person on these pages and for those who care, and those who bother to stumble on this page, they will read about potty training and the wine jingle and why I struggled in the two mile relay at Regionals.

Will I gain credibility with this or lose credibility? Will I be fired after it is found out or will they never hire me? Will I have free will to continue with it? Will I allow myself to continue to be candid? Will I receive threats or encouragement? These are not trivial questions.

The state of education these days is to protect kids from everything. Earlier today, I was reading about the Maryland legislature needing to pass a law so that kids in school can apply sun screen without a doctor's note. In other words, according to this article in a survey of 24 Maryland schools, 15 of them require a doctor's note or a parent's note. Makes sense, since it is an over-the-counter medicine. Heck, I can buy bottled water at the pharmacy and it does wonders for the body. Why don't we require a doctor's note for that?

The bottom line is this: if a school board wants me out of their district, at any moment they could go to that blog I was talking about earlier, dish up the dirt, and deliver it to the Superintendent, and then I'm gone. Same goes for a student who wants to build a case against me. "You know he talks about potty training and wrote a wine jingle. Let's get him fired!"

Why didn't I start a blog that was less candid. Maybe someday I'll regret writing all this. Maybe someday I'll get credit for writing this. It is so complicated these days.

March 26, 2005 Almost Easter. Almost time to decorate eggs with the kids.

March 21, 2005 Sing Through This Song--if it needs explaining, then you probably aren't 30/40-something.

Or try this search with your favorite movie or book. My first search was Star Wars.

Not much new today. I was going to see The Ring II at 9:10 p.m. at Showcase Cinemas, but with B coughing and J on 1/2 energy, I decided to not go out tonight. I was rocking B at the time I intended to leave. The Ring II can wait a day or two. I just don't want to see all the commercials and advertisements.

The new news is that I'm thinking about going back to school. I'll let you know how that turns out in about 4 years.

Where I work, at the steel factory, there might be money in the budget this year for a raise. I guess that means that if I get a raise this year, I only have to wait until 2011 to get my second one.

What are the odds
That the animal gods
Really lived then,
And stood in a row?

So I typed those words into a google search and came up with the text and art of one of my favorite children's books. For the entire book, click here, then click First Painting, A, at the bottom, then continue with the links to the Next Painting until you get to Z. Or don't click through. I don't care. Like it or Not, I don't care.

March 20, 2005 Soccer is not like the game of life. Now that I think about it, life is not a game anyway, but more like a long journey. Life is not fought, but conquered, step-by-step. So soccer is not like life. Injured my big toe 8 days ago in the indoor arena that I play at. I'm not sure how I injured it, but either a tendon or ligament on top of the big toe tore. So I was hurting most of the week, wearing my soft running shoes, soft on top to protect my aching toe. Then before the game last night I did some research online, at www.a9.com, a nifty tool put out by Amazon that allows you to search inside books. And I found an appropriate taping method for my toe injury. So I taped it up good, and warmed up minimally for the game. 30 seconds into the game I got body slammed to the ground by one of their defenders and I swore at him like the best, as much as I can get into 4 seconds as I returned to my feet. The ref called him on the foul and I was so livid I went off the field to cool off, slamming the door as I entered, somewhat out of control, somewhat livid. So the rest of the game went well. We played good as a team. I spoke to their defenders when the challenged me apprpriately, and I scored once. With 3 minutes left in the game, I get my injured toe stepped on. Uggg. I limped around the field for a minute, then it felt slightly better. Soccer is not like life because injured toes should not get stepped on in real life. Is that a syllogistic proof or what?

March 13, 2005 So the wife breaks a bone in her hand playing a pickup basketball game Friday, which causes her to go to the doctor and get a cast on Saturday, there-by preventing her from playing in soccer on Saturday, which resulted in us going to the E.R. Saturday night after drinks, which was after the soccer game, which was before returning home from the E.R. and before paying the baby-sitter, so that she could sleep the night and not have numb fingers, in order to get a new cast which afforded her greater feeling and better circulation and improved protection, and after sleeping the night in comfort, we were able to resume somewhat normal lives today, albeit with a cast and sometimes sling attached to her right hand.

March 10, 2005 This time, I'm dreaming about being a zombie. But I wasn't your average zombie, I was a zombie who had this circular disk, about the size of a CD, where my mouth should be. It was as if this CD was glued to my lips. I knew I was a zombie, but I also knew that I was in a zombie movie, of sorts, that took place in this forest resort area. I also knew that I was an actor, but I was keenly aware that once you become a zombie, even if it is for a role in a movie, you are a zombie for life. Doesn't everybody know that? So when I got out of my zombie role and out of the movie set, I'd still be a walking talking zombie, who'd have to try to eat cereal every morning with a CD pasted on my lips. Now for those of you who've never seen a zombie, it's like this: a creature with two legs, two arms, dirty denim shirt and pants, messy hair, pale pale complexion and eyes that appear sunken a tad, sunken like they've been touched up by a make-up artist. Now that's a real zombie.

At first, I didn't want to talk. I don't think I even knew that I could talk. Then after a while, I thought my dream needed a little more verbal interaction, so this zombie started to talk with other people in the resort area. Somewhere along the line, my mom picked me up in her station wagon (the real Tumbarello mom doesn't own a station wagon any more, but remember, this is a movie), and we drove up the hill and around the corner and towards her cabin. I talked! It was very exciting to talk because if I was going to be a zombie with a CD taped to his lips for the rest of my life, it would benefit me to be able to communicate with my former fellow human beings. So I told my station wagon movie mom about me being a zombie and the messy hair. She reassured me that it would be alright. I don't remember much more about this dream except that before we went for the ride, I was coming to terms with being a zombie for the rest of my life. That was weird. So we arrived at her cabin, set back in the trees a bit and she went inside. I decided to stay in the station wagon a bit and contemplate myself.

That's my story. Now it's time for me to polish my CD and soil my denim jacket. Excuse me, please.

March 07, 2005 I turned over at 5:15 a.m. this morning and saw the clock and then went back to sleep. I was in the mood for sleep and no 3-year-old was going to stop me from my mission. Next thing I know, I'm project manager in the Apprentice, given the task to compete against the other team and construct a house in about 36 hours, a day and a half. So next thing you know, I see that the plot of land the other team is going to use is full of water, it has been raining, you see. Ours has some water standing on the mud and clay, but not as much as them. So I get the idea that this house is not going to need a simple foundation, but it's going to have to be a house built on stilts--and in 36 hours, this is a lofty task. I start delegating, then I start planning what materials we need from Lowe's. Then I think that we might need some contractors to do some work with us. I have discussions with others on my team and embarrass myself by forgetting their names, on camera of course, when I try to address them. So we need to dig holes, pour cement, put in posts that the house will sit upon, build the floor, then the walls. Now somewhere in here I also remind our group that we will need to get inspections, one for rough framing and one for general electrical--my basement exercise of 2000 comes in handy. So who's going to contact the city? Who's going to run to Lowe's? What kind of truck are we going to use to haul the material back from Lowe's? How are we going to keep the stilts thing secret from the other team 50 feet away from us? How are we going to finish this project in 24 hours, now that it's down to one day away? Are we going to hire contractors for framing and electrical? What's the budget? So I call over the budget people and ask them if we have a budget? Nope, no budget. (What does that mean? I ask myself. Very suspicious.) So I ask again, do we have a credit card for this project. Oh, a credit card, she says, yes we have a credit card. And I ask what the limit on the card is and ... Dave, you gonna get up? Dave ... I bridge myself on my elbows and breath into my pillow. The house will never get finished now.

March 04, 2005 Just when you think you've got the world figured out, there's this.

And then there's this.

March 03, 2005 My wife says I don't update my web page any more.

So there!

March 01, 2005 Got back two weeks ago from our first family vacation in a million years. We took the kids to Tampa and had a great time visiting with my brother and parents, who are vacationing out there for the winter. The weather was great and we did just about every tourist thing we could pack into 4 days. I think the highlight of the trip for me was riding a few roller coasters at Busch Gardens. We went to Busch Gardens the first full day there and spent the whole day there. We were fortunate because J & I didn't plan on going to Busch Gardens because of the high cost. But my brother was able to get 3 family members in because he is in the military. So we only paid an enterance fee for B. We've got about a zillion pictures and have a lot of great memories.

The kids are home because of a snow day today. I had to take the day off of work to watch the kids. B and I went to the library and I found a couple of CDs and two movies. It's weird, but libraries used to be about books--now, for me, they are about media. I guess it's not weird. I just like getting something for nothing.

February 08, 2005 Just in the final stages of a cold. Now it appears that I passed it on to J and H. H took the day off from school, which was hard for her, because the deal was that if she went to school today, she could go to horseback riding in the afternoon. She was feeling sick in the early morning but then played healthy when she realized that horseback riding was in the mix, but in the final minute before heading out for the bus she decided she really was sick enough to stay home. Hope all goes well, because to of the greatest people in the world are home sick. And we leave for Florida in 5 days.

January 29, 2005 Today is the first day of swim class with B, our 3-year-old. And H has gymnastics around the same time. So tonight we are going to drop the kids off at our in-laws so that J & I can go to soccer at 11:20 p.m. The only drawback is that we need to get to the in-laws by 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to pick up the kids. Either that or they will have to go to church--not that it's a bad thing, to go to church. But, it will make life easier for everyone if we can get them in the morning.

Watched Pulp Fiction last night. First time I saw the movie. I guess I don't see why it is considered a comedy. I guess if I watched it in a movie theater, there might be some chuckles, but I didn't have any when watching it alone.

January 23, 2005 Saw a mediocre episode of Charmed on TV tonight. Then a re-run of CSI from a few years ago. I enjoyed the writing and the plot twist far better than the later CSI episodes. So it looks like Tom Brady and the New England Patiots are returning to the Superbowl to take on Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles. I got to watch a little of the Philadelphia game and some of the New England game during commercials of my prime time shows. No that I am a big advocate of TV watching. I'm not. I just had a lot of free time today. I did want to watch one of the games end-to-end, but I didn't have a strong desire to watch either one. So I watch too much TV. I guess I have a lot of decompressing time. Maybe I have a lot to decompress from. (BTW, decompress is a word I heard at the birthday party yesterday, when talking with another parent about computer games, like Rollercoaster Tycoon & Zoo Tycoon.) So decompress we must. Some people go running or do yoga, but not me. I just advocate sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of chips on my fat stomach watching hours of endless TV, sucking on beer after beer until I run out ("Honey, can you run out to Kroger and buy another case of Busch Beer?"). Oh, I get my exercise when I have to run to the potty. That's the best, when I puke so much that I barely have enough energy to make it back to the couch, sit on my ass, and swish my mouth with another swig of Bass Ale. Nothing like that Bass Ale to clear the pipes. So after the game finishes, I try to help with dinner. I open another bag of chips and pour them in a bowl. Just in time for the second game to start. So instead of making a mess in two rooms, I take the bowl of chips to the living room to keep me company, and keep the mess localized. See, I'm thinking about the "big picture". Then to whet my pallate, I take another gulp of Zima. Nothing like Zima. Zima is my favorite. Right behind orange juice, chocalate milkshakes, and blended bugs as seen on the popular TV show Fear Factor. So pass me another glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Thanks. Love that Cabernet. Goes well with chips and ice cream. Mmmm.

Time for a picture:

January 20, 2005 Blog blog blog.

I'm not in the mood to blog. So I joined this men's group that is affiliated with the UU church, and I'm probably going to lead the meeting after next. I haven't had my turn and there's only two of us who haven't led yet. I already have in mind what I want to accomplish with the group and have an activity sketched out. It should go well, I hope.

Forgot to put B to bed last night with a diaper. So J & I are downstairs starting to watch Lost when B comes downstairs to poop in his diaper and then get a diaper change. We've tried to get him to sit on the potty enough times, now it is up to him to get comfortable with the idea. So he's hanging out by the bookshelf, near the bathroom, doing his thing. Then a minute or two later he comes into the living room next to the couch and says, "Dad, can you pick up the poop that is on the floor?" I bet he was as shocked as I was that he was without a diaper. So my wife cleaned him up and put on a new diaper and I went into the hallway, laminate flooring thank god, and picked up the firm piece on the floor by the bookshelf. Brought back the spray bottle and cleaned up the area. Not much damage at all. I just have to remember to put him in a diaper next time.

January 15, 2005 So the kids are playing Lincoln Logs and Dora with some kind of exploring & purchasing element to it. The thing about the Lincoln Logs is that there are 2 generations of logs on the floor. There are about 100 or more pieces from when I was a kid and about 100 or more pieces from a new generation of logs, that we picked up at some garage sale a few years back.

The plan tonight is to bring the kids to our soccer game & have the baby-sitter hang out with them for a short while, then after the game we'll come home and let the baby-sitter have a night life. Usually we've been going out after games & the kids have had a baby-sitter put them to bed on those Saturdays. So this is a little different. Last week, the baby-sitter forgot about coming over at 5:30, so we finally got in contact with her a bit late & ended up meeting her at the indoor arena. It all worked out good, except we lost the game.

B is a bit sick. H is showing him how to tie up horses with a jump rope.

J is at work. She has hours to make up from a few snow days during the past week. I have hours to make up as well, but

This old blogging software is FRUSTRATING!!

How can I write about fixing slinkies if I can't blog them at blogger.com ?

January 09, 2005 test 2005

Lion's Journal

2005 Random Thoughts and Whatnot