Tough times ahead?

I'm getting sick of the "doom-and-gloom" of most people through the media. The media likes to sensationalize anything bad and there are several things that have caused some concern in the economy. Instead of "Oh, no... We can't survive...." we need to start looking at different ways to adapt. This, like every trouble this country has suffered is a phase. We can get out of it but the biggest thing is to NOT PANIC!!!!

Panic makes something mildly bad into a catastrophe. Why? People like to have a knee-jerk reaction to any bad news and then it compounds it. BTW, if you heard of the IndyMac bank failure, this is why it failed... Knee-jerk reaction to an idiot politician.

So, what can we do to not panic? Well, while our lifestyles may change a bit, it only takes a clear head to find direction in uncertain times.

First, pay off bills. Get out of debt as much as possible. The less you owe, the less they take away if you can't make payments. Pay off the credit cards (tear 'em up, destroy them... They are evil.)

Next, make a few changes to your lifestyle. There are certain things you can live without. Decide what those are and make those changes. For example, if you eat out a lot, DON'T. Make dinner at home. Learning to cook can also help fill time while you learn a new skill.

Other things that most people can cut back on is cable television or satellite TV. Prices continue to go up because people pay it. To some, they act as though its a necessity. I usually get movies from Redbox (which is $1 per movie per night) or from the local library. You already pay for library services in your taxes, you may as well use them. It doesn't cost you any more as long as you get the stuff in on time.

Clipping coupons, watching the ads for sales, shopping at discount or "previously owned item" stores, yard sales, etc. Also check into Yahoo Groups for a group called "Freecycle" which is people who have things they don't want/use that are willing to give away for free.

Anyway, I've watched as people panic thinking that the end of the world is here but it isn't. Just some tough times and if we keep our wits, we can survive and come out better on the other side.

Why do they go so fast?

So I am sitting here at 10:50pm, tired as can be waiting to go to bed. I'm making a desert that takes approx. 3 hours to make and I started at 10 to 10 so about one hour down, two to go. I decided that I was going to take the pictures off my camera from our trip up to Storm Mountain picnic area on Friday (the 4th of July). These pictures are just funny.




The story... Tiaree was walking around with her hands on her hips and we noticed that Keighlee was copying her. It was cute. So we told Tiaree to walk back to the little playground they were playing on with her hands on her hips to see if KK would follow. Sure enough, she did. Keighlee is such a copycat it is just funny and so cute.

The title of this blog is two-fold. One is why do these fun weekends go by sooo fast and two, why do our kids grow up so fast. It's crazy. Two years ago we were bringing this little child into our home and now she is walking, talking, and being the best copycat the world has ever seen. Sometimes it would be nice to have a little slowdown.

I went golfing today with my brother and we did nine holes at the Jordan Parkway 3-par course. It took us just about an hour and a half and it felt like less than half of that. It was nice to hang out with my brother talking about our families, life, and old times around Rose Park and on the golf course. Thanks again for the invite B. Well that is all for me tonight.

Its almost the 4th

I really like the 4th of July. While I think that the fireworks are cool, I think I'm more excited about the display of patriotism. I love my country. It is truly the greatest nation on the earth today.

There are those that don't like us and that's OK because, I figure, they are just jealous. While our country isn't perfect, it is awesome to be here.

I hope all of you have a safe and joyous 4th of July. Enjoy the festivities but remember what its about.

Superman

I figured something out today. The Superman theme song inspires inner strength. I was sitting here a little down about some things about this week. I was going through some songs on my computer and found the Superman theme (from the Christopher Reeve Superman era.) It was amazing how much it lifted my spirits.

Anyway, I thought I would share. I've always loved what Superman stood for. I never got into the comics much to find out the darker stuff but have always loved the idea of Superman from the portrayal by Christopher Reeve.

I have other thoughts on Superman. There have been some discussions I've had in my past as to whether he is really courageous. I won't get into that now, but maybe another time.

Hulu Rocks!!

So I was introduced to this website, http://www.hulu.com. hulu is where you can go and watch TV online. It is basically a waste of a day if you get snagged into it, but it has some good shows on it. They have both TV and Movies on there. Well they are doing the hulu Days of Summer and adding something new everyday. Like the other day they added Season 1 of Angel. Today they added one of my favorites from childhood... A.L.F. I watched the first episode. It was great. Anyway if you have some time check it out, it's pretty cool.

Funny Things That Happen

Well life is always full of funny things that happen. These little things are always making people laugh. Sometimes more laughter happens than others. Laughing is always a good thing. The most important thing is to remember them and have a good laugh when times are going a little tough.

Last night Chels and I bought drinks from Walmart to have while we watched a movie with the kids. I opened one and took a couple drinks of it. As we were cleaning up Chels asked where her drink was. I told her that I opened hers and took a few drinks and that mine was still in the bag. I thought I was pretty funny, she was a little confused as to what I was saying, but I got a laugh out of it. Chels says it wasn't funny and that it must have been the sickness that I have talking. I don't care what she says, it was funny.

Anyway, the point I am trying to get across is that we need to commit to memory those funny little things that happen.

Great Times...

We had a nice little get together for Harold tonight. It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people there that I haven't seen for a long time. There was music, food, and friends. We got to watch Jerry do his version of Ice, Ice Baby, and then one of Jerry's friends sang a song he wrote. It was an awesome song, when it's recorded I'll pick it up. There was some hackey and just some great socializing. It was a great night.

Again, welcome home Hess. And thanks again!!

Hail the Conquering Hero

Hess got home today! YAY!! I know that we are all excited to have him home. I know my kids are way excited. I know Tiaree was pretty happy about him coming home. She was in school today and was doing some work. She said that normally she can do the work in her head but today she had to use her sets. I think it has to do with math. Anyway, she was saying that she had to user her sets to do the work because all she could think about was "Uncle Harold coming home". When I walked into the school to pick her up, she saw me and got really excited.

When we got to the airport we had to wait about 20 minutes for his plane to land. As we were waiting B and I walked over to watch for the plane to land. I got really excited as I saw the plane touch down. I walked over and mentioned that the plane had landed and we waited for it to taxi up. As the plane doors opened, and they started to walk down the stairs, it was real. Hess is home!

I personally want to thank him, and all those that are serving in the military to keep my freedoms where and what they are. I am grateful for the thought that some families are losing sons and daughters to keep our country free. There isn't a day when life goes by where we don't get to see the freedoms that they are helping to secure. To all those military men and women that have been sent abroad and those that are stationed in the US, I want to say THANKS!!!

Easily Distracted

I think I must have A.D.D. or something. I was sitting here, you know working on this beautiful Friday afternoon. As I was sitting here, I looked at a clip that is magnetized hanging on my shelf. I pulled it off the shelf and started to wonder how the had put the magnet on the little plastic clip. There is a space molded into the back of the clip where it is obvious the magnet goes. I tried to see what was holding it but it's hard to tell if it's glue or something like double stick tape. Anyway, those are the little thing that make me think that A.D.D. is part of my system. It's sort of crazy.

Howard the Duck

The other day, I was thinking about this movie. It came out when I was about 12 years old and I've seen it a couple times in my youth. I always thought it was a cool show and, after reading some of the reviews, found out it was an actual flop. I don't know why people didn't like it. It was corny and all but I'm not certain how it couldn't be.

They haven't released it on DVD and there are currently no plans to do so which really bums me out a bit. I may have to buy VHS and transfer because this is one I really liked and wouldn't mind adding to my collection. I'm trying to stay away from VHS because you cannot buy a new VHS player. You can get a DVD/VHS but in time, those will disappear also.

The 80's produced quite a few corny movies. We did find one the other day that we got at K-Mart for $5 that was a double DVD. It has Elvira on one side and "Transylvania 6-5000" on the other. That is a hilarious movie.

My daughter (Aurora) got a chance to see "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" in school and thought it was stupid. That's another that I would like to add to the DVD arsenal. Stupid movies are fun and if you accept that they are going to be stupid, have poor acting and props, then its just good fun.

Anyway, thought I'd share my love of corny movies.

Who's killin' the cat?!?

Since we got our stimulus check, we decided to stimulate the economy. We purchased Rockstar for the PS2. This is a lot of fun for the whole family. We played it on Saturday and had a lot of fun.

Basically, you get a guitar, microphone, and drum set. If you add another guitar, you can have up to 4 people play; one on guitar, one on bass, one on drums and a lead singer. Now, I do pretty good at the guitar and bass thanks to my experience with the Guitar Hero series. Drums are a little tough but I can see some improvement as I learn to use them. Singing however, is another story completely.

I can sing along with songs and usually turn up the radio so that you can't hear my voice. I don't do too bad if I have a very limited range to sing and I don't have to do it very loud. On Rockstar or Singstar (which I played at my sisters), I realize that I suck at singing.

So, needless to say, I won't be joining any choirs anytime soon.

Time Warp

I have to complain for a bit. I'm a little on the depressed side today. I'm taking a half day to do something that makes me realize that time passes quickly.

Today, I get to register Jayna for kindergarten. How upsetting is that? Well, since she is the baby, it means that I am getting old and the kids aren't going to be kids forever. I get this way with some milestones in their lives. For example, Aurora will register for High School next year. She will go to the high school that her mother and I went to (along with all of our siblings.) I guess I know how my mom feels now when we registered for high school.... at her old high school.

That will be 3 generations in the same high school, 4 if you consider my grandmother worked there as the secretary. Anyway, just a bunch of trivia to make you feel old.

Pain in the Butt

So I think of my niece, Aurora, on a daily basis. Why you ask, because she is literally a pain in my butt. When I say literally, I mean she caused the pain that I'm still having in my hind end.

A couple weeks ago her dad and I were playing keep away from her with her scrunchy and it was tossed my way and it hit the floor. I hurried and jumped in front of it and bent over to pick it up. At that moment in time he was hurrying to get to it as well and hit me square in the butt and bruised a recently healed bruised tail bone. Well last night, I was running around at Mutual playing kick ball and ball tag and the pain decided to come back with a vengeance. The pain hasn't gone away, and yesterday it just got worse. Stupid pain in my butt. Anyway, thanks Aurora for the pain I'm feeling.

Stupid Videos

Occasionally, when I want to feel smarter, I watch Stupid Videos. It doesn't take long for you to realize that there are a lot of stupid people out there.

I think the worst ones are the people who try to do stunts that they have no business doing. I'm sure that the people that upload to Stupid Videos are aware of the other videos on there. How many people think, "Hey, that guy crashed trying to ride down the busy street on a skateboard without pads. I bet I could do it without crashing." IDIOTS!!!!

After watching that, you will understand why insurance rates are up.

Snot Funny!

So I was thinking of something today as I was walking to the bus stop. Like most things, my mind is just weird so no comments about that because we already know.

As I was walking down the street, I like most people do at one time or another spit up mucus that originated in the nose. Now, I know this sounds gross and most people in polite society don't talk about such things, but I'm not polite and am pretty much a reject of society. It wasn't copious amounts of it, just a little bit, enough to start this internal mind dialog about the habits of humans.

Anyway, most people find it disgusting that someone, anyone, would pick their nose and eat it. I find this habit disgusting as well but started to think about what was the disgusting part. In a certain light, it is all disgusting. I've come up with a couple of possibilities why it is gross. They are:

1. Visually seeing someone eat their own snot
2. The taste of snot
3. The ingestion of snot
4. The conscious effort to eat snot

There may be other issues, but no more came up. Anyway, here is what I thought and I'm not taking these in order. Had I been smarter, I would have put the list in order but I didn't and instead of correcting it, I offer this explanation which took longer than if I just would have changed it but I digress....

First, lets deal with the taste of snot. All of us have tasted it at one point or another and no one has really gagged. Do you doubt that you have tasted it? Anyone who has spit out mucus during a cold has tasted it. Anyone who snorts inwardly to clear the sinus cavity and spit it out has tasted it. Quite honestly, I can think of many other things less desirable tasting than snot.

If its ingestion that it gross, we have all ingested it before as well. Think about the example above where you snort in to clear the sinus cavity but instead of spitting, you swallow it. Anyone who has ever had a cold has ingested mucus from the nose and throat area. So that can't be it.

It could be the conscious effort of removing something from an orifice and eating it. When you consider that you ingest/taste it without it ever leaving your body, this isn't necessarily an issue as air does not change its properties instantaneously making it something very gross. I guess actually seeing it before it goes back in could be it which leads us to the next issue.

Seeing someone pick their nose and eat it is really gross. Why? Not sure. Maybe it has to do with our need to have what other people have. Think about a restaurant. You go in, see food on other tables and say to yourself, "that looks good. Maybe I'll have that." When you think that someone is eating buggers, that thought really never enters your head.

Anyway, I bring this to light because there are certain conversations we don't have and I honestly think its because no one pushes that line. I, for one, think we need to not only cross the line, we should do so at a sprint hurling ourselves beyond that line. The grass is actually greener on the other side of that line mostly because crap exists beyond that line and crap makes a good fertilizer.

Happy Earth Day

So today is Earth day. What that means exactly, I don't know. I think we are supposed to be nice to the earth. Not litter, ride mass transit, don't use hairspray in aerosol cans, you know stuff like that. I think that we should get the day off and that we should all be as still as possible. Think about it, when we walk around, doesn't that hurt the earth. I know if I was walked on all day, I'd be in a lot of pain. I think if we are going to have Earth day, we should do our best not to walk on it, dig holes in it. I don't know maybe I'm being way to sensitive, but hey it's earth and it's the only one we've got.

For my part, I rode the train into work, yeah, I drove to the train station, but at least I didn't drive the extra 19 or so miles into work from where the train station is. Except then I made the train that much heavier and put that much strain on the earth. Ugh...we'll never win.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

New Rug

So the other day I was frustrated that my new rug was taking so long to get here. Well it arrived, or I should say we picked it up yesterday. We laid it down and while Chels is still getting used to it, I really like it. The rug is two shades of green and the couch is a third and when you first look at it, it's kind of weird, but I think it looks good.

The only thing with having the new rug in the house is that it has caused the house to smell like new rug. The kids were complaining about it and as I got up this morning to come to work, I could smell it in my room, upstairs. I'll have to get some pictures.

One frustration has been laid out...hahaha

New Phrase

So, before I tell you my new phrase, I have to tell you the story behind it.

Last night, me and the wife were laying in bed talking. Now she has a cat that I don't really get a long with, in fact, I usually think about kicking him every time I see him. He doesn't think highly of me either so it works out really well.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure this cat has a few mental issues, more than normal for a cat anyway. So last night, as the wife and I were discussing plans for the weekend, he's running around the front room. Aly thought that her cat and my cat were playing around except my cat happened to be laying at my feet.

So, I told her that her cat was chasing his own shadow. Then I realized that the lights were off. So the new phrase, as attributed to my wife's demented, moronic cat is:

Chasing his shadow in the dark.

Anyway, when you think about it, its pretty funny and can explain a lot of people that you know.

Frustration...in general

I'm doing this "in general" because there isn't any one person or thing that I can really blame but I am frustrated. It's really hard to have things so up in the air and unknown sometimes that I just want to pull my hair out.

My frustration stems from not knowing. As well as wanting to be kept up to date. We ordered a rug from Lowe's that we were told would be in around the 10th or 11th. We figured it would come in while we were gone and we could pick it up on Monday. When we got home and there wasn't a message, I called Lowe's and they said that it would be either today, being Monday, or tomorrow, being Tuesday, that we'd have the rug. Now it's Wednesday and no rug. I called and the guy did some checking for me on the phone and said he would have to call me back. I told him I was off to a meeting and that he could call my wife and let her know. He agreed. No call, as of 2 minutes ago. I could be over stressing, but I'm big into good customer service. I work with a team at work that customer service is very important and I'm a big advocate. All I ask is that you keep me posted. If you say today or tomorrow and the next day happens, then at least be a little willing to do what you say you are going to do and call me back.

The rug isn't the only frustrating thing. But right now it's a big one. Our home refi is another. I'm just stressing over that, unneeded stress. Anyway, just wanted to complain and vent a little. I try not to whine but once in a while it does some good, this didn't help much but maybe I'll feel better later.

Worried about Global Warming

So I was just wondering yesterday, as I was standing at the bus stop, on April 15th, in the SNOW where all of our global warming went to? I could have used a bit to stop shivering.

Anyway, just a thought.

Spring is springing

I know I have a one-track mind these days, but I am just so excited about my trees. The cherry tree now has some blossoms on it and the nectarine tree has several pink and white buds ready to bloom. I will get the pictures posted later today.

We got the old washer out. It wasn't fun but we got it out. I wasn't able to pick up a new washer yesterday because they didn't have any in stock but they are getting a shipment in today. So, I will go to Lowe's at lunch and buy a new washer.

Tonight we plan on discussing our Square Foot Garden. I am planning on 2 to start. I will get the wood cut today at work and then take it home with my new washer. I finally found a store that sells vermiculite and will be buying some of that soon also. I am really excited to start working on my garden.

I am planning on starting to compost here soon. There are a few things I need to get but that shouldn't take much. I am going to try a test case and make sure it will be agreeable with the neighbors (basically make sure it doesn't stink so the neighbors complain) and then we can go into bigger production.

Anyway, I'm excited. I will get the pictures posted on MySpace. If you are interested in joining MySpace to see the pictures, do so and send me a friend request. My page is www.myspace.com/bigbmcgee. Enjoy.

Another Weekend Recap

What a great weekend to head to St. George. I got to leave a lot of stresses behind for a few days. Chels, the kids, and I all headed down to St. George early Friday morning. By early, I mean we left our house at 4:30am. We were going to leave Thursday night, but with the puppy being sick and Chels' mom's graduation, we decided to get up early and leave Friday.

The trip was a lot of fun. On Friday, we got down there only making one stop, to get breakfast at McDonald's. The kids didn't like the Egg McMuffins that we got them. Tiaree ate it all, but she ate it in shifts, first the egg, then the ham, then the McMuffin. Which brings up a question, what is the difference between and McMuffin and a regular muffin. Another thing that pops into mind, speaking of the way McDonald's is taking over the fast food thought process. On Saturday, we went to KFC after a semi-long day at Zion National Park. I tried to order a 16 piece chicken mcnugget bucket with mashed taters, coleslaw, and baked beans. Whoops. Anyway, back to the first day of the trip. We got to St. George and unloaded and decided to head out to Snow Canyon to do a couple hikes. They were fun, the kids had a blast. We were going to hit the sand dunes there, but we decided to hit them last and the wind had picked up so we decided not to hit the sand dunes. That night was dinner at Texas Roadhouse. It was good, I would have only given my steak a C, it wasn't very good.

Saturday, we got up and headed out to Zions. It was pretty fun. The shuttles are running and it took forever to find a spot to park, but we finally got one and we ate and headed up the canyon. We did the Lower Emerald pool hike, starting at Zion Lodge and ending at the Grotto Picnic area. It was a long hike and I ended up carrying Bree the last little bit on my shoulders. The kids were getting really whiney so we decided to finish the day off with the river walk hike, which takes you back to the Narrows. We only got up that trail about 10 minutes before I'd had enough of the whining and we headed back. We were going to get ice cream at the lodge, but the line was long, so we just decided to head back to St. George. It was mid 70's in Zion and it was beautiful. KFC for dinner, like I mentioned earlier, a trip out to Iceberg for shakes and then home to crash.

Sunday we got up and headed out to Gunlock to do some caching. It was a lot of fun, didn't find a whole lot of caches but the area was cool to see. I had some serious sinus issues going on and hiking around finding those caches wasn't much fun. We headed back to IHOP for lunch and then it was about time to hit the road. We stopped in Cedar City to visit Chels' sister and then drove the rest of the way home without stopping. We put a bunch of movies on the iPod and bought the AV cables and the kids had their headphones on and watched like 3 movies on the way home.

All in all it was a great trip. I'll post pictures later.

Weekend Recap

Well, the weekend is over and all it can all be summed up with "Ouch." I'm a bit on the sore side today. It was a pretty good weekend because I got a lot of things done. Mason helped a lot and he has been a real champ through all of the stuff we did. I know he wants to do more but he's still on the smallish size.

I decided to tear out our back fence. There was about a 1 foot gap between our chain link fence and the townhouses behind us. We would get a lot of weed growth and trash behind there and, after tearing it out, I was able to get a bunch of crap out of there. I still have a lot left, but its starting to look really good.

I started placing stakes for my temporary fence for the garden I'm creating. Its a 30' x 30' area and it is really starting to look good. I have it plotted out on graph paper and its nice to see it coming along. There is still a bunch of work to do and I don't think it will be 100% this year, but I do hope to get a few things done and at least a square garden or 2.

Other happenings, my washer died. It was a dramatic death. I went downstairs to get some vegetables for dinner and my basement had a nice layer of smoke throughout. Boy, I scrambled to make sure nothing was on fire and, come to find out, the motor in the washer died. So, its off to finding a new washer today.

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. Tonight is a bit of a relaxation night so I can download some pictures and get some stuff cleaned up in the house.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Gardening

I have been reading my "Square Foot Garden" book and have really enjoyed it. I haven't read too far into it yet but my knowledge is progressing. Since spring is upon us, I feel it is time to expedite my garden making process. That basically is my plan for the weekend. I'm going to start by cleaning up the back yard and start plotting out the areas to do gardens as well as where to put the trampoline.

Also, I'm starting a "survival" group. I've been learning all kinds of things about survivalists and, while that term has negative connotations, the idea is that emergencies happen and it is easier to learn when you can screw up than when you can't.

Gardening and composting are the first subjects I'm learning and as I increase in knowledge, I will share my thoughts, ideas and knowledge with everyone. I will create a different blog for that but wanted to let you all know that you are invited to learn these things. Sometimes survival just means learning to survive the extremely high prices for strawberries (which I am really excited to grow.)

Also, I will post some additional pictures of my trees. They have growth on them that would indicate that they are taking to the soil and yard which is AWESOME!!!! My raspberries still look like sticks but I make sure they get their daily dose of water and hopefully see some indication that they aren't just sticks.

Happy Friday to all and hope your weekend plans go well.

Peeps

I usually don't post 2 times in the same day but I just had to talk about Peeps. Peeps are those little marshmallow bunnies and chicks that you get around easter. I like the bunnies but they have to be "aged." By this, I mean that as soon as I get the packet, I cut a slit down each side to let the air in and then let them harden.

After a month or more, they are nice and crispy and oh so nummy... I just wanted to share because a batch just is dried out enough to eat and I'm just a crunchin' away.

Just wanted to share my happiness with you.

Something to discuss

I know this is supposed to be a fun blog, but I have something very serious to discuss. It is something that is weighing heavily on my mind and I just need to get it off my chest.

Most know that we get season tickets to Lagoon. When I was a kid, it was an awesome and wondrous place. I remember when my dad worked at Serta Mattress and it was the company Lagoon day. Most of the time, we were at our babysitter's house who's husband happened to work for my dad. All of the kids got excited about Lagoon day. It was a historical event that should have been considered a national holiday by our standards.

I remember that we would go out back and play on the swing set the day of and pretend we were on a certain ride. We all did it and it was a lot of fun. When it was finally time to leave, which always seemed to take forever, we would ride in the cars and there were the tell-tale signs that we were getting close, the most significant was the green fence (not exactly sure how to describe it) that lined the left side of the street just before you got there.

It was always a magical time and we loved going. The kids got the run of the park mostly, food and drinks were provided by Serta and it was just childhood fun. We only went that once a year so the fascination was always there.

Lagoon has changed over the years and we have gotten older. This leads me into my dilemma.

I'm not the kid I once was and as such, I'm finding that my tolerance for some of the things that I was able to do when I was younger dwindling. Basically, and in total confidence, I want to tell you something VERY serious....... I can't ride all the rides I used to. It is totally upsetting. I also can't ride as many rides in a row as I used to also. I never used to need Dramamine, but now.....

Its awful. You know you are getting old when your level of excitement for the rides is exchanged for the excitement to see the shows.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a total loser who can't ride any of the rides, I just can't ride the spinning rides. Turn of the Century (or swings as we lovingly referred to it in our youth) is one ride that if I ride it, I'm done for the day. Centennial Screamer, no way. Lets not even discuss the rock-o-planes (or is it roll-o-planes?) Paratroopers, out as well.

I never, in my youth, ever watched a show. I think I saw my first show when I was 18 or 19 and was forced to go because my girlfriend at the time (and her parents) made me. I guess "made" is such a strong word as I just wanted to insure a bit of snuggle time (with the girlfriend, not the parents... Jeez, your sick!!!) Now, we look forward to the shows. The kids like them too (which is odd) but maybe that's because they are still a bit young and don't have the run of the place we did. The older kids do but mostly if they have someone to go with, but I digress....

It is just sad. I want to warn you all. It will happen to you too. Ride the rides before it becomes too late. See the shows but before you get to "old" to put your body through that type of abuse, get out and ride the rides.....

(BTW, day passes are up to $40 so better get the season passes. They are $80 when you buy 4 or more.)

If you read this and aren't in a reasonable distance from Lagoon, find the nearest amusement park and GO. Your continued childhood is at risk.

Song of the Day - April 9, 2008

On Monday we were driving home and there was this song on the radio. It was one of those songs for me that was a buy it when you get home. Well we were listening to 101.9 The End and they it was squished between a couple of songs so they didn't come on and say what the name of the song was. I looked for it a little bit yesterday and then did a little more searching today. It was worth the search.

Today's song is I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. I haven't really heard of this artist but he has a few cd's for sale in iTunes. The song of the day, I'm Yours, is just a catchy up beat song and has some fun melodies in it. If you haven't heard it, go check it out. The only way I found online to hear it is just a partial, so you'll have to buy it or listen to the radio to hear it. Like I said, it's worth buying. There is also an acoustic version of the song, which is really good as well.

Eating Habits

To start, most of this applies to me as anyone else. I just want to premise that I am not above what I am about to say. It is because of this, and the similarities in other people's eating habits that I am writing this.

I just wanted to comment on our lack of nutrition these days. Some people do eat somewhat nutritiously but most do not. We are caught in a world of fast food and sodas and we reach for those when we should reach for something a bit more healthy.

I just think we should all challenge ourselves in our diets. Most of us think this but we keep it just below the level with which it becomes a priority. Anyway, I hope you think about what you eat and realize why our nation has become the glutenous nation it has.

Anyway, I'm off to drink a bottle of Pepto and I would suggest you stay away from Mexican food in large quantities. You think its good at first, but after a while, you realize your mistake.

Monday...Living up to it's Reputation

So today is that day that everyone hates. I've been pretty good about liking Monday, because it's never really done me wrong. Today, however, has been a Monday full of all the wonderful Monday glory. First off, I woke up to snow on the ground again. AGAIN...ugh. Stupid snow.

Then I took my cute little puppy, which is now becoming my cash hog, to the vet. They shot him up with a bunch of stuff and then gave me some medication to get him better. 311 dollars later he was back in the back yard running around, still not his normal self, but lots better. I get to take him back Wednesday morning and we'll see how that turns out. I was pretty upset by it and thought about ditching him at the vet for another family to find, but I took him home. When I got home he was hanging out in the house and walked by Kelighlee and she like leaned on him as he walked by and I realized that if anything that little girl would be lost without her "Washy".

There has been a couple other things, but I'm need to stop complaining. I know I'm going to just have to bend over and take it, and that may be literally since I have a physical this afternoon. So to this Monday, I'd like to flip it the bird and end this day. Hopefully your day is going better.

Fun weekend

Now that its Monday and I'm sitting at my desk doing everything I can to avoid work, I figured one of the best ways is to blog. It gives me an opportunity to not only avoid work but to share my thoughts. This time, its about reminiscing about my weekend.

This weekend happened to be Lagoon opening weekend. This is a tradition with our family that we have had for the last 3 years. Unfortunately Alythea had to work but we will go on her first available Saturday. It was a lot of fun. My sister-in-law and her family went as well so all of the kids got to scatter for the most part. Aurora and Samantha went off to ride rides and Mason went with Danielle. Sometimes they were together, sometimes they weren't.

Nicki D was finally tall enough to go on the Rocket and Wicked. These rides are a lot of fun for those with strong constitutions and do not fear heights. Nicki D isn't really one of those but she went on the Blast Off portion of Rocket (and hated it) but she loved Wicked.

Anyway, we did get a few pictures and they are posted on my MySpace account.

We also went and did some clean up at my mother-in-law's. We got a couple of hours in around the yard. Most of the kids helped so it worked out well.

Other than that, not much else happened. Rumor has it that this weekend will be considerably warmer so I think we may end up at Lagoon again. Its always a fun place to go.

New Blog

I just wanted to let everyone know that I started a new blog. I'm trying to get into a pictures and video hobby. I'd like to learn how to do things with my cameras and so as I learn I'm going to post things on this new site. It's called Whadda Photos and Videos. Take a look.

Again...Again...

Those are my 2 year olds favorite word. I start playing with Keighlee and once we start we can't stop. She is so cute and her little laugh is contagious. One of the words that she knows and knows well is it's very cute. Just thought I'd share that. Here is a cute picture of the little monkey...thanks B for the picture.

Out of the Ordinary

So today and yesterday has been the General Conference for the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which, if you didn't know, am a member of. On this blog I usually don't do a lot of posts regarding politics or religion, because this blog was meant for fun and those two topics are ones that stir a lot of emotion either for the good or the bad. But I wanted to take a moment and let you all know that I am so grateful for my membership in this church.

For those of you who don't know, conference is a total of 5 sessions, 4 general and 1 priesthood session. The priesthood session is Saturday night and is for the members of the church that are male and hold the priesthood. This meeting isn't much different than the normal sessions, they just talk more to the priesthood holders.

I went down to Rose Park to attend this special meeting with my grandfather. What a great experience. One of the talks that was given was by a member of the Young Men General Presidency, Brother Burgess, I can't remember his first name. Brother Burgess told a story of when he was a deacon, his Bishop asked him if he knew who he was. As he thought about this question, this Bishop answered it form him. He told him that he was his father's son. As I sat there in that meeting next to my grandfather, I thought about the fatherly figures in my life. There have been good times with those figures as well as bad. I've learned a great deal.

During this moment of pondering, I thought about my dad. For those of you who don't know him, he is a great man. He passed away a few years ago and when he passed away we were asked to write down our feelings and thoughts about my dad. I couldn't write this because of the pain I was feeling. Pain of loosing my dad. The other night I was at my sisters and she had the book of these things that were written for my dad. I would read some and have to put it down because I would start crying.

So I want to write a couple of things here now. I can put this on a separate piece of paper for the book, but I wanted to share it with the world.

When I was preparing for my mission, I was trying to figure out how I was going to pay for the month to month things and decided to ask my dad. The conversation went something like this...and I'm paraphrasing "Hi dad. I'm getting ready to go on my mission. It is a big expense and I was wondering if you would be willing to help me out?" This is what his reply was, "You don't agree with what I do and I don't agree with what you do." This hurt me and I have always remembered that. As I got out on my mission, I wrote a couple letters back to him and he was having a hard time with life here at home. In a letter he wrote something that I will always remember. He told me he was proud of me, for having the ability to go and do what I was doing. He didn't agree, but he knew that I was sure I wanted to do it and he was proud of me that I went and did it. That was one of the best moments of my life. There are many already there, but that is one that will always stick with me.

One of the greatest things I love about my knowledge in the church is that I will get to see him again. I will get to talk to him again. I will get to hug him. I don't think that I go through one day in this life not thinking about him. I'm glad that I still have my mom, my brother, my sister, and my wife and kids. Family is so important to me and though we may not all agree on everything, we still love one another and we can still be proud of each other. Thanks for letting me get that out. I'm also grateful for the testimony that I have and knowledge that I will once again get to see him.

Myspace Pictures

I have added more pictures to my MySpace account. If you don't have a MySpace, I think it is a really good place to share pictures, blogs, and just all around communications. You can sign up at www.myspace.com.

If you do have a myspace, or would just like to take a look, go to

http://www.myspace.com/bigbmcgee

Bookmark it because I usually keep up on stuff there. Send me a friend invite if you sign up and would like to be added to my friends list.

Complaint Department... This way...

So I want to lodge a formal complaint. Whomever designed the solitaire game for the computer, more to the point, the Axim, needs to be taken out and shot. Why you ask? Well, I am a pretty good solitaire player and have played the game with cards more times than I care to count. But my odds with real cards are so much better than those assigned by the computer.

Whoever you are, I think you need to redesign the odds to be more consistent with a regular deck of cards.

Jerk.

OK, I feel better.

Video of the Day - April 1st, 2008

I decided last night actually that I wanted to do another Video of the Day. Today's video is Nickelback - Savin' Me.



This is probably one of the coolest videos that I have seen. I really can't put my finger on what exactly it is that I like so much, but it's just cool. The song behind it is pretty cool too. I really like the part in the video when the guy stands behind the pregnant woman and you see her numbers and the numbers of her baby. This video shows how quick life really can come to an end when you least expect it. Life is short and we don't really know when you will be taken, so remember to always live life to the fullest. Oh, and make sure you always tell your loved ones that you love them.

500th Post

So I just noticed that we were up to 499 on the blogging thing. So this is the 500th post. I think that is pretty cool, it's only taken just over 3 years to get here, but hey, we made it.

For the 500th post I want to make an observation. One that I've been looking at for quite some time now. It just amazes me how some of the most memorable moments in life are made in the shortest time periods. I just went to a wedding. The actual ceremony took all of 5 minutes, but that created lasting memories for those involved. Anyway something to think about.

Gardening for the Lazy

One of the things that I have always wanted to do is to grow a garden. Because I'm generally lazy, I don't bother with finding a place in the yard or tilling the soil or anything that really requires work. Because of the price of everything, I've decided that gardening would be a wonderful and useful habit to get into. So, I've been doing some research (which, apparently I'm good at.)

Anyway, a friend of mine forwarded a link (this link to be exact) that took me to a concept called "Square Foot Gardening." I was intrigued and started reading into the details and have decided that this is the coolest thing since the invention of the plow.

So I have now decided that I will be working on this in the near future. It is a simple concept and requires very little investment, if you can find the building material cheap which, if you know anyone that can get a hold of some used pallets or wood products for little cost or free, which, I happen to be one of those individuals.

I will probably document my attempt at this so that everyone can see how wonderful this concept is or how much of an utter failure I can be. Either way, it'll be entertaining.

My next conquest, if this work is composting. Doesn't seem hard so we will have to see. There is a concept called "Humanure" which I'm not totally sold on yet. Not sure I would want to try this unless our entire infrastructure dies and we have to resort to outhouse-living again, in which case I may give it a go. But if the infrastructure is toast, composting human feces would be the least of our worries, I'm sure.

I Love Having Fun...

All 3 of you that read this blog know me pretty well. I'm a pretty good person to be around, I think anyway. (No smart ass comments please) Yesterday my wife let me know that I'm a ham and stuff like that when we get around people. I don't like to be the center of attention, but can get to that point pretty quick. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, but if I annoy you...deal with it. HAHA. Just kidding, just ignore me like you have up until this point.

Anyway, one of the funnest things I like doing is messing with my wife's head. You know playing jokes on her, getting her all worked up. She gets frustrated with me because she has a hard time getting me to fall for her antics when she is always falling for mine. Well hunnee, I just wanted to tell you that I have plans set in motion for your 30th birthday present already. I'm so excited for it and it will be a good one. The nice part about telling you this now, is that it will eat at you until the end of July when you get to that big 30.

Again, having fun can go multiple ways, either being a ham in groups of people or messing with peoples heads, having fun is the way to go.

Catching up a little...

I just wanted to touch base and fill you all in on the past few things have happened that I had talked about that I would blog on. The first is my poor puppy. This is Wash the day of or the day after his surgery. We had him wear this for about 7 days where we didn't take it off. One night it rained and I went out to get him out of the rain and he had found a way to get into the dog house. It was kind of funny. He's a good dog. This coming Wednesday, he is graduating from his beginning dog training.

There are some other things that I was going to blog about, but I'm tired and I have a huge headache, so I am going to go to bed. Keighlee is being mean to everyone so I'm going to go put her to sleep and fall asleep myself.

Helpin' Mother Nature

So we have started to improve our home by planting some trees. I planted 2 trees in the yard last night. I have some raspberry bushes to plant as well but have to finish getting the area cleaned up and fenced off so the kids and dogs will stay out. Haven't fully figured everything out but will probably have the bushes planted in the next few days with any luck.

The two trees are fruit trees. One is nectarines, which I really like a lot, and the other is cherry. The one thing about cherry trees is that you need another cherry tree to pollinate but this tree is different. It has 4 different trees grafted together and is therefore self-pollinating. If it weren't a tree, I'd be worried. Anyway, I'll get some pictures up to show you but I got them planted and then moved on to other things.

Last night was Nicki D's b-day so we had some pizza and watched a movie. It was a lot of fun. Other than that, not a whole lot going on.

Movie Review - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

So I've decided that I'm not going to take the advice of the 101.9 The End movie critic guy. I've seen a couple shows now that he gave bad review and I can tell you they are pretty cool. I was hesitant to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium because of this guys review. As a matter of fact, we went and saw Enchanted in the theaters instead of this movie because of that review. I think that if he gives it a bad review, I'll go see it because he's been wrong for me a couple of times. Of course it is all according to yourself.

Anyway, Mr. Magorium's is a magical movie. I think I smiled through most of it because of how cool it was. I was really tired and expected to fall asleep through it, but stayed awake because I was just drawn in. The hardest part of watching this movie was seeing Natalie Portman with short hair. Some girls can pull of short hair, but this was too much. Her hair was shorter than Jason Bateman, who played a great part. They called him mutant. Dustin Hoffman did a great job as Mr. Magorium. He was mysterious and strange, kind of reminded me of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Just that off the wall kind of character that seems to be everywhere and thinking everything at once. It was a good show. I'm going to grade it a B+, based on Natalie Portman's haircut and her conducting, that was annoying to watch. It was a very entertaining show.

War

War is never a fun subject. Especially when it is accompanied by video. The effects of war have been felt here. Check out this video to see.

Stick with what you know....

I know that there are some people or organizations out there that think they can improve on a good thing or that can combine two different ideas to create a bigger and better idea but I'm here to tell you, not always is that the case.

For those of you that don't know, I like candy. Maybe not as much as Fez but close. I like chocolate the most usually when it encompasses some nuts, nugget, or cookie of some sort. I also like other things that are not chocolate like Mike and Ike's or Skittles. These do not necessarily go together well.

I purchased a "NEW!" Chocolate Mix of Skittles. I just have to say that I'm not impressed. I like Skittles a lot but I don' think I would buy these ever again. Anyway, just wanted to offer a candy review and to tell the MARS company, let's not screw up a good thing by trying to improve what doesn't need to be improved, OK?

Movie Review - I Am Legend

This movie is based off a novel by Richard Matheson. This is the 3rd remake of this story line. The first was "The Last Man on Earth (1964)" starring Vincent Price and the second was "The Omega Man (1971)" starring Charlton Heston. Each takes a different spin off the original story but each holds true to certain aspects of the story.

I really liked "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville. It is an interesting take on one man's struggle with being what he feels is the last healthy person in the entire world. The other living creatures have been modified by a virus of some sort that creates something different but humanoid in some aspects.

There are actually two versions of this movie. There is the original theater ending and, if you get the deluxe DVD set, they also have the alternative ending. I won't give away any secrets, but the alternative ending is more enjoyable. BTW, the daughter of Robert Neville is the real-life daughter of Will Smith (just a bit of trivia.)

Anyway, as this movie circulates more and more people become familiar with the alternative ending, I may post more of my thoughts on this show comparing it with the other movies and the original book as well.

I do recommend Richard Matheson as a writer as he has written several novels that most may be familiar with but are unaware as to the origins. The link to his name takes you to his IMDB profile of which you can see a list of his other works that have been turned into movies as well.

Movie Review - Bee Movie

Last night we watched "Bee Movie". I was kind of excited to watch this show because it looked like it was done well. We wanted to take the kids while the movie was in theaters, but we just never did. So we put it on the Netflix list as soon as we could and got it earlier this week.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I'm looking at it from the standpoint of would the kids like it and was it entertaining. Yes, it covered those well. There were some things that had me laughing out loud, including one line that made Chels and I chuckle but the kids were like...huh? A little bit of adult humor. Overall the animation was pretty good, there were a couple of times the female cartoon lead in the movie looked cross-eyed and a lot of the vehicles were square for the most part. But the overall entertainment value of the movie was good.

Now the story line was very unclear in the beginning, but progressed fairly well. There were a couple of parts that were kind of draggy, but they moved well through different aspects of the story. Like what happens when a bee stings someone and such. The story also show the importance of a bee's work. They are hear to make things more beautiful and though I don't think that it would be as drastic as it shows in the movie if bees weren't on the earth things could be a lot less colorful.

Anyway, overall the movie was good and I would give it a B grade, no pun intended.

Things that make you go "hmmmm."

So, recently, I had a few moments that I really didn't know how to respond to my own questions. They are very philosophical in nature and, because of recent events, have decided to put them out to you, the Whadda Blog fans.

1. I was thinking about restaurants the other day. I remember some ads for restaurants stating that it was "like home". I understand the concept of the cooking being like homemade, but I got to thinking a little bit more about this. If these restaurants are "like home", does the waitress come and make you stay at the table until you have finished everything on your plate? Do they not offer you desert if you don't eat all your vegetables? What about if you have your elbows on the table? Do you have to bus your own table and load them in the dishwasher? Anyway....


2. The other thing I was thinking about is swearing. I think I posted on that subject before but not quite like this. I know I don't have the cleanest speech but my daughter has picked up quite the potty mouth. I blame school or at least the other kids at school because I know that some of the word she uses, I don't. Anyway, I was thinking about swearing and punishments for such. When we were kids, and I've used this on my kids, when you swore you got your mouth washed out with soap. It made me wonder about two categories that are not discussed with this type of punishment. What about deaf children and swearing in blogs, IM, etc. Do you make them wash their hands with soap?

I'm sure there are a lot more "hmmmm" moments and as I approach them, I will try and share. There are a lot out there that I have seen in e-mail or have been told by others. Some of them are fun and make you laugh. Others make you take a step back and actually think about them.

Video of the Day - March 20th

So the winner for the first video of the day is Brad Paisley - Letter To Me



The reason I picked this video is because with the changes of seasons happening today, it always takes me back to times in my life. Whenever I hear this song I think if I could really do this, what would the letter say. I know that would be messing with the time space continuum but, it could be worth it. I think that I'd write this letter and never send it because I'd get done and realize that though I've had some things in my past that I'd like to remove, I think I've gone through all of them for a purpose...to make me, me.

So as spring starts today and you start all the major cleaning with the windows open, think of the times that you've had and think of the times that are still to come.

New Feature...

So I've been thinking of ways to make Whadda Blog more fun. One way is to introduce new features every once in a while. So, I was thinking about that the other day and came to the conclusion that I'll try to do something new on a regular basis. The question for the new feature is does it become regular or a returning favorite, like the McRib at McDonald's. So today, I'm going to introduce a new feature but I'm still working on finding something that will be great. The new feature is going to be a cousin to the Song of the Day, Video of the ...(don't know yet).

I listen to music throughout the day and since I work on computers, I like to take a break here and there and watch a music video on Launch. So I'm currently looking for a video that will be a good fit for the day and will introduce this new segment with a bang. So until I find the video that I am looking for, enjoy reading B's post Giving Away America which can be found on Whadda Blog as well as Thoughts from the Clan, which is where the link goes, on WordPress.

Giving Away America - Edited

I have decided to remove the context of this post as it isn't in the fun spirit of this blog. It is available on Thoughts from the Clan. I continue to update that sight with more thought-provoking, argument-provoking posts so bookmark it and visit.

I know I have been MIA for a little while and for that, I am truly sorry. It has been an interesting couple of days and so I'm not entirely sure what to blog about. I could tell you all of the fun and excitement over the past little bit but I don't think you all want to hear about the crappy time I've been having so I will focus on the most difficult bit over the last little bit.

I guess in the broader category, I am indecisive. I like having options available to me and by making a choice, you eliminate the other possibility. Therefore, if you don't make a choice, both options are available but time goes on and the indecisiveness creates havoc and makes me look like a wishy-washy type person. I have several decisions that I have had to make over the last little bit and each has pros and cons. I like the no-brainer type decisions (all pros, no cons) that make decision making easy.

Anyway, here are a few of the decisions I am currently faced with:

• Buying my house - Right now we are renting from my mother-in-law. If we buy, the $$ go up every month because we don't have all the other additional costs associated with a house. On the other hand, it is ours. It is definitely a "fixer-upper" but I haven't let that discourage me as anything in our price range would be just that, a "fixer-upper". I like the idea of staying in the house because the yard is big enough but I need to fix the deck, some of the electrical, and finish the basement. The yard needs some work but because of the neighborhood we live in, as long as its not full of trash no one really cares.

• Fix my car vs. UTA - My car is having problems but I really can't be upset. It lasted 2 years longer than I originally planned so I am pretty happy with it. Right now, it has over 190k miles on it and the gears are struggling a bit. The biggest problem I have is that the radiator needs to be replaced and that, with all of the parts and chemicals will cost about $250ish and that's if I do the labor myself. The labor wouldn't be too hard but I would hate to spend the $$ and then have the gears go out. I don't want to replace it yet as Alythea's van registration is due this month so I would like to wait a few months. This way we can spread out the costs associated with cars. I have checked bus routes and it looks like they made a few changes that would make it a lot easier for me to get to and from work so I'm thinking this might be an excellent option.

Anyway, I think the indecision comes when I start to look at the long term or the other possibilities. I guess I would hate to make the wrong decision and have things go completely wrong. I'm not one that likes surprises so I like to know what is going to happen but a lot of these problems you really can't "know" for certain. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do whether it be right or wrong but I think it needs to be a family decision. So, I will consult the wife and get back to you.

Very Unhelpful Sign

So yesterday a few of us from work went to lunch and on our way we had to stop at a floral shop. When we parked I noticed this sign. The first time I read it, I thought, "Hmmmm, something seems to be missing".

As I did a double take to make sure I was reading it right, I started laughing and showed the sign to those I was with. I wanted to make sure that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. We went into the flower shop and came out and I read the sign again, climbed in the car to leave and then decided that I needed a picture of this sign. This is a fill-in the blank sign and just leaves you wondering...

Song of the Day - March 17th, 2008

Happy St. Patty's Day first off. Believe it or not, I don't have a ton of Irish music, even after living there for a couple years. There is a lot of good Irish music out there though including Chrisy Moore (see blog entry). I was thinking about picking one of his songs again, but none really fit the mood. Part of the Song of the Day is for a good pick me up.

So what is the Song of the Day you ask. Well it comes from a newer artist and it is sort of cheesy to pick but it is by an artist named Taylor Swift. She is a new country singer and she has some catchy songs. The song I'm going to choose is "Teardrops on my Guitar". Don't knock it till you listen to it. It's a pretty good song, good harmonies and a catchy tune. Not real upbeat but, again, catchy.

I'm pretty open in my love for music. I like artists from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to Anthrax, Tim McGraw to Will Smith, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince to Queen. (Did you catch that, hehe) If you want me to listen to something, let me know and I will be glad to give it a listen.

Good Morning

So I had a long night with the dog. He hit his normal un-drugged around 3am. Which means all he did was pace. The dog has so much energy that he has to constatnly be moving, even after playing fetch for like 2 hours one day, he didn't crash like Zoey did. He's a crazy dog.

Speaking of crazy, on a totally different note, my wife is. She is in love with this twilight series of books. I think love is the wrong word for it, it's on a level with serious obsession. The saddest part about this whole thing is that she's not the only woman in her age that are infatuated with this series, she says there are 1560 of these "stalking fans" on this one website. I've read the book, the first one, and I wasn't all that impressed, I was waiting for more action. For a forbidden love story with vampires in it, there isn't much action. Even when Bella, the main character is in trouble, you don't get much action. Like a climax in the book, the story talks about her passing out rather than what they did to the bad guy, you know the good old fight scene. Anyway, she's not dumb, she's just found something to really get into and like, that a lot of other women have enjoyed too.

Part of the Family

So this morning I took my puppy, Wash, into the vet to get neutered. Now he's laying on the floor of the bedroom floor still trying to get over the anesthetics.

When I took him to the Vet this morning, I was given all the forms to sign and it reminded me a lot of when you have to go into a doctor appointment as a human. They give you the form saying that they aren't responsible if he dies and stuff like that. As I was signing all the forms and listening to the lady talk about what they were going to do to Wash and all that stuff, I realized I was getting more and more worried about leaving him. I knew that he was in good hands and that they weren't going to just let him die, but I was still worried. I was kind of in shock that I was that worried about it.

He has really become a part of the family, even Chels is coming around to liking him. She went out and kicked the ball and he'd chase it and drop it at her feet and then she'd kick it again. Now, for those of you who don't know, when Chels and I got married, having a dog was out of the question. As time wore on, she grew accustomed to the idea, knowing that he'd be an outside dog. We were thinking of getting a Jack Russel when KK got a little older then Nic and Rick bread Zoey and we fell in love with little Wash. When we brought him home, Chels wasn't exactly excited, but she tolerated it because I was happy.

Over the last about 8 months that we've had him, he's getting better and being a good dog and not an annoying puppy. He still has a lot of the annoying puppy things going on, but not as much. Last Saturday we were out cleaning the back yard and Bree was running around the yard and he would just run next to her as she ran. Before he would have been knocking her down trying to eat her hair and stuff. Now he seems to be willing to just play without having all the little annoying things.

Another thing that I think has really helped is that we've gone through 4 weeks of beginning dog training. He is getting a lot of the concepts down, but still has a lot to learn. We have 4 weeks left and hopefully he'll be at a good point in his training. I am thinking about enrolling him in the Intermediate training as well. We are doing all our training through PetSmart.

Well the family movie is over and as usual the family is asleep. I've been up getting stuff ready for our caching day tomorrow. I'm excited to go out. We have a pretty good system, I drive, look for the caches, and manage the older kids and Chels gets to read her book in the car and manage KK. At least that was the way it worked last time. Anyway, I'm gonig to go to bed. I don't think I've blogged longer than B, but it is pretty close.

Working for the Weekend!!!!

I usually post my blogs first thing in the morning. Gives me an opportunity to get the gears rolling a bit and to find out which fire I have to deal with that day at work. Today just started weird and has pretty much stayed that way.

I had barely walked in the door when I had to deal with the first item for the day. We are having some employee issues, or more to the point, issues with one employee. The last couple of days have been major discussions about how to handle this particular situation so it has not made life fun.

One of the things that I hate most about being a manager or supervisor in any capacity is to deal with other people. When you have to oversee someone else that creates problems. Not only are you responsible for the stuff they are doing but you also have to deal with that person’s entire life. Anyone who says they seperate their work and personal lives is full of crap. Everyone drags different aspects of their personal life into their work and vice versa. Your attitude and mood because of something that happens at home can distract you from your job or problems at your job can distract you from your personal life.

I know there are times when I have such a hard day at work that I go home and just want to sit and watch tv. Sometimes dealing with the kids becomes a hassle because I just need peace and quite. While I am not doing work at home or thinking about work, the effects of the day have spilled over into my personal life and dealing with the kids.

Anyone who is a parent has had to stay up late with a sick kid and that also spills over to the next day when you are tired and groggy at work. You may not discuss your home problems at work or even really think about it, but the effects of what happens at home invade your professional life.

So dealing with employees becomes more than just about work, it becomes about life altogether. We walk around and carry the weight of our world upon us regardless of where we are and what we are doing. We can put it away for a while when we are on vacation or something but it is always there. Our lives then become intertwined in other people’s lives and then you struggle with what is going on in their lives. To accomplish a work task, you have to almost change a complete attitude or solve a personal problem so the focus can be on that task.

Anyway, this week has been especially draining because of various things like this. Not only do I have employee issues, I have issues with other co-workers that have definitely added to the stress of this week. I am really glad it is over and hope that I can take a couple of days to download all of the pent up frustration and have a little fun.

Today has been especially difficult because today was blood donation day. I donate every 2 months (usually) and after getting drained today, I have not felt the best. There’s always a physical drain as your body adjusts to the loss of blood but today it was a little more severe. I’m pretty sure it had to do with being a bit tired and the stress of the events of today but.....

I am looking forward to going home, hanging out with the kids and finding something fun to do. Not 100% on what that will be but whatever it is, I’m sure we will all have fun.

I am also looking forward to some fun tomorrow. I am going geocaching with my brother and, if the weather turns bad, Guitar Hero and Rockstar. After that, BBQ.

BTW, for those of you interested, Clark Planetarium starts their U2 laser show today!!!! Next month, they are starting a new show about mummys.... Get your passes quick because it is a lot of fun.

Bravery

I was listening to a book (I listen to book-on-tape in my MP3 player) and in the story I was listening to, one of the characters who is a great warrior had felt fear on one occasion. It was a unique experience for him causing him to doubt his manhood. He has, on more than one occasion, brought up that he should leave the party because he never knows when the fear will strike again and he feels that fear is a sign of not being a man. He feels that fear is the opposite of being brave and that is something he is struggling with.

It has led me to think about bravery and what it truly is. A few years ago, when I was in school, I was taking an English class for general education credit. Most of the assignment involved a series of articles written by various authors presenting pros and cons on a specific subject and each section the subject would change. One of which that I found very interesting was about Superman and bravery. If I remember nothing else about that class, I will remember these articles because they were very profound.

The one that I remember the most stated that Superman was not brave because he knew that he could not be hurt. Bravery, in this article, was defined as standing up to a situation not knowing whether or not you would survive. Bravery was more of the battle against the fear to do what was necessary. Superman, knowing that the bullets, knives, fists, etc. would not hurt him did not fear them. He has no fear of heights because he can fly and even if he falls a great distance, he can not be hurt. A large boulder could fall on him and it really wouldn't hurt him. Therefore, according to this article, he was not brave because he did not need to fear.

At first, I did not like this article because Superman was one of those characters you looked up to. In this light, he wasn't as brave as we thought him to be. After the initial "hero-bashing" wore off, I began to think about it and it made a lot of sense.

Bravery was measured by how we deal with fear. What do we do when we are afraid? This is what defines our bravery. When things get tough and we fear that we are making the wrong choices, do we shirk from our duties or do we press on hoping things will turn out? What do we do with the fears that surround us? Do we let them rule our lives or do we take precautions and move on?

There is a lot of bad out there. There is a lot of good also but its not the good you have to worry about. Things that are even neutral can be causes for fear. Heights, outdoors, dogs, etc. are all fears that the subject of fear is not good or bad but our perception of them and what can happen to us is what feeds those fears. There are a lot of words that end in -phobia that deal explain our fears. Those that let the fears rule their lives generally do not exhibit bravery or mastery over those fears.

Most of the time fears are of general black-and-white type things; fear of heights, fear of spiders, fear of being mugged, fear of death, etc. The fears that are more common but little well known or associated with bravery deal with being a father or mother, being a role model, working at a job, or anything we face on a day-to-day basis. Think about all the decisions you make during the day and whether you worry about making the right decision.

I suffer a lot of fears. It is not that we fear that makes us weak or cowardly, it is how we deal with those fears that defines us as brave or as cowardly. It is by pressing on each and every day in spite of the fear that helps us to be brave. It is by not hiding behind our fear and our self-pity of that fear that defines us as brave.

Song of the Day - March 13, 2008

I've decided that if I miss a day, instead of going back and choosing the Song of the Day a day late, I'm just going to skip it. I'm sorry there will be songless days, but sometimes life just gets in the way. I'll writing the Song of the Day in the morning before the work day gets into full swing and I get so tied up in things that I can barely breath.

For the song today I'm going to pick one of the many great songs by the group Peter, Paul, and Mary. This is a group that for some reason reminds me of summer afternoons growing up. My mom would clean the house in the morning on Saturdays with Whitney Houston blaring, which for a teenage boy is a very wrong way to wake up. But after the Whitney albums were over, we'd pull out some of this better music. Groups like The Alan Parsons Project, Eddie Rabbit, and Peter, Paul, and Mary to name a few.

Today's song is "Lemon Tree". This song is just well written. Other songs on this album include Puff the Magic Dragon, Stewball, Leaving on a Jet Plane, and If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song) all of which could have been the song of the day. Enjoy.

Song Of The Day - March 11, 2008 (A day late)

I know today is March 12th which makes this Song of the Day a Song of the Day a day late.

So the song that I had picked out for the Song of the Day yesterday and just didn't take the time to blog it was off the new Maroon 5 album, "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". The song..."Won't Go Home Without You". If you haven't heard it, you should. I'll get to today's song of the day a little later.

Honesty... Not just a word in the dictionary

I have not always been an honest person. I have told my share of lies through my life. This is not to say that I am perfect now or that I have ever had periods where I was a total scum bag and lied about everything but I have told a few lies.

I don't think that at any point in my life that I set out to outright lie about something. Usually something would happen inadvertently and I would lie to save my own skin but I don't think I ever did anything and thought that I would do something and lie about it, it was never premeditated I guess is the phrase I'm looking for.

I don't know if it is a conscience that keeps me from doing this or the morals my mother brought me up with or just a desire to be an honest citizen. I don't think I won't ever lie again. There are just some questions that you can't help but lie to (usually referred to as white lies.) I try not to because I believe in being honest and it has gotten me into trouble a few times. I guess the reason is because I can be brutally honest.

As with most of my blogs, there is an event that sparks the fire that becomes the outpouring that becomes my ramblings. The one event opens the gateway to all the memories of events that are similar to or have something in common with the event that sparked the "gotta-get-it-off-my-chest" blog.

This incident involved a freight claim at work. We has a shipment of 8 packages come in that showed signs of damage or missing items. The person who was supposed to check the shipment did not at the time and when it was time for those items to go out, there was a scramble because 2 parts were missing.

Several people had stated that they did extensive searches for these items but to no avail. Therefore, logic states that we make a claim with the freight company for those missing items. Not more than 5 minutes of filing that claim did the missing items turn up. (So much for extensive search.) So, making sure that I cover all my bases, I asked a particular person (no mention of names) whether all was well with that particular order so I could cancel the claim.

Now, the correct response was that everything was fine. The response I got was something different. That particular order was fine but we had lost money one a couple of other shipping problems that we just corrected and didn't bother to make claim against so we should leave the claim to collect on all the other times where we should have but didn't file a claim.

This wasn't a hard decision for me and took very little time to recognize this as dishonest. If there were reasonable claims in the past and we just pushed through them and corrected the error without bothering to file claim paperwork, apparently it wasn't worth enough to worry about. This isn't about accumulation and finding one claim with which to "get even" for past events.

I started to think about all the other events in life where dishonesty reared its ugly head. I'm not talking about the little lie when someone asks about their hair or makeup but the big lies that can cause loss and problems. The one's where you have to keep up the lies. You make up stories to save your own skin or keep out of trouble or to get something in which you are not entitled.

Movies and books have been written about it. Aesop wrote fables about it. I think this fits into the category of the "Mean People Suck" blog. It is so sad because there is good in everyone. It is possible for people to be honest but they just find it "entertaining" to lie, cheat, and steal.

I find it troublesome that people would not take responsibility for themselves enough to be honest with their fellow man. I, myself, find it difficult to understand why people would want to continue to lie when the truth is so much easier. I guess for the same reason why people want to be hurtful towards others.

So many things could be avoided by just being honest. I can see that there are some benefits in the short run with lies but they are mostly superficial and, in the long run, you lose a lot more than you gain.

There are some "lies" I still perpetuate (just so that someone doesn't bring them up.) Certain childhood characters that benefit children in one way or another are something that I really do enjoy fulfilling the role of. I'm not sure if these are counted as lies or just a displacement of credit to a fictional character. You decide for yourself but I don't necessarily count these in the "lie" category.

Too harsh?

Most of the people that know me know I am always wanting to improve something. What that something is depends upon my mood or what I can see at the time. A lot of times I want to do something with my house or yard. There are a few things that stop my progression. First, money. To do much of anything you need money. Second, more pressing chores. How can you work on the yard when you need to wash clothes or dishes? Third, a lot of the clutter around the house has nothing to do with me and if I decide to just get rid of it, I would end up divorced or at least separated.

Last night I did spend a couple of hours raking the front yard. I do not have a single tree in my yard but since neighbors on both sides have multiple trees, my yard gets a lot of leaves. So, I spent the evening listening to a book on tape raking, sweeping, and piling in the garbage. Between my front yard, the little strip close to the curb, the gutter and the sidewalk, I filled a trash can (one of the big ones the garbage man dumps every week.)

Several things happened last night that I wonder about my own mood and motives on some things. My youngest decided to take her shoes off outside, which isn't a great problem but I asked her and her older sister to find them and get them in the house. They played, and I told them again. This happened repetitively for quite some time. Then I asked them to go get my wife to help them find the shoes before it got dark. They did make it in to tell her that I wanted her but she assumed I just wanted to show her the yard so she blew me off. (Not a super huge surprise since most people blow me off anyway.)

I was a bit upset when I got in for a couple of reasons. I was happy with the way the yard looked and the work I did though. First, I only found one of the shoes and it was getting to dark to look around. When I went in, everyone had had something to eat (it was fend-for-yourself night) and not one single person bothered to put their dishes away let alone load them in the dishwasher and run it and the recycling bin was full. Needless to say, I was upset that no one bothered to do anything.

This is only one example in a series of events through my life that this has happened. I struggle to understand why people can live in a mess or not care enough to clean up after themselves. My family isn't the only one, I see or hear about similar stories all over the place. It is difficult to understand and I wonder if I should be upset about it or if that is the norm and I am just an abnormality when it comes to that type of stuff.

It is hard to care when everyone around you doesn't. Not just at home but at work as well. It is hard to keep up with all of the things that need to be accomplished when everyone around you seems to work against you. It definitely is a struggle. One day I may figure it out.

Song Of The Day - March 9, 2008

How do you pick the Song of the Day? That is a question that I can hear you all asking yourself, but are afraid to ask because you think it is a stupid question. No, not necessarily a stupid question, more like a stupid response. I really don't have any real reasons behind it, a lot of times it is just saying in five clicks on random in iTunes, that will be the Song of the Day. So today, because I've been sick in bed all day, I'm going to do the three click on random and the third song will be the Song of the Day.

Today's Song of the Day, randomly picked, is called "Delirium Tremens" by an Irish singer named Chrisy Moore. This song isn't in iTunes to buy. I bought this album while on my LDS mission there about 10 plus years ago. This whole album is good and if you know me and would like to hear more, please let me know.

Looking Back

So I'm going through some of the pictures that I have on my external hard drive and came across one that is cute and brought back a bunch of memories. Knowing Bree now and seeing this, we should have seen the signs of the trouble to come.



This picture was taken after a trip to Mirror Lake in the Uinta's. We decided to walk a little bit around the lake and the kids got really close and we told them to stay away. The two older ones did a good job at it, the younger one, Bree at the time, didn't. She fell into the lake and got soaked. We put Jarik's sweatshirt on her to keep her warm. She is mischievous and the smirk on her face shows that she had a lot planned for the future.

I'm First!!!!

Driving is so much fun. You get to see how stupid people really are. Truly, they are morons. I'm not saying I'm a perfect driver, far from it, but I do realize that I'm not the only one on the road and that I may own a small part of it through my taxes, but I'm not the only one.

I've been thinking about drivers and blogging about them for quite some time. There are so many different aspects of driving that I could touch on in the way of "this really bugs me". I could probably write an entire book on it, maybe entitle it something like "Stupid Human Tricks - The Driver's Edition."

I can't say I haven't done some really stupid things driving, mostly from not paying as close attention to the road as I should but I don't blatantly do idiotic things. Anyway, post any examples of things that really bug you about other drivers.

One of my favorites is the people who, knowing a lane is going to end, try to get as far ahead as possible. They will push ahead just one more car as if that will make all of the difference in the world in their travel time if they just get ahead of that one more person.

Another one that I like are the people that speed up as you are coming onto the freeway. They ride the right lane and even though, at current proper speeds, you will come out ahead of them, decide that they want to go from 65mph to 100mph just to make sure that you are behind them. Instead of moving over or allowing you just to merge, they get to the point where they almost force you off the road because you ran out of lane and they are right in the way.

Idiots!!! Anyway, what is your favorite "quirk" about drivers?

Song Of The Day - March 8, 2008

Well it's Saturday and I haven't been listening to a lot of music so it was hard to pick the song for the day. So as we were driving home from getting some dinner, which means we were lazy today, I realized what I was going to pick for the Song of the Day.

Today's Song of the Day is the theme song for the hit NBC comedy show, The Office. Chels and I watched the first 3 seasons of The Office on Netflix, the part where you can watch the shows on your PC. They have really annoying commercials on the radio for it. So we finished up season 3 today and started watching season 4 on NBC.com. We are somewhat new fans to the show and can't wait for the show to continue on April 10th. So as lame as that may be, that is my pick for the Song of the Day.

Song Of The Day - March 7, 2008

This was one of my favorite things to do when I wrote in this blog regularly. I'm going to start it up again...just for kicks. The song of the day is one that is put together just to give you a good song that may describe the kind of day I'm having or a song that just sounded good to me in my iTunes library. I have just under 3100 songs in my library and they are all pretty good, except for most of the Neil Diamond, that was bought for my wife.

So today's song is by Rascal Flatts. Reasons why, I wish I was going to their concert, except I'm too cheap to buy tickets. It's a good song for the weekend. The song is "Life Is a Highway" from Cars. In the iTunes store this is listed as their top selling song and is a good one.

That is the song of the day...take it or leave it.

Looks Like Fun

Once in a while, when I get bored of my music, I go to Launch and find different music videos that I want to watch. It's pretty cool. I was a big fan of MTV when it was actually music videos and not the stupid shows that are there now. I did like watching the Osbourne's every once in a while. Anyway, back to Launch...

I've always thought it would be a lot of fun to be a singer and/or someone involved in making these videos. Some videos that come to mind from way back when are "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard and "Parents Just Don't Understand" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. During the summer we'd watch the top 5 or ten videos of the day and these two were on it when we watched it. Some of the videos I watch now a days for kicks include some of the newer songs on the radio..."Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne, "White & Nerdy" by Weird Al, although that song hits way to close to home, and others. Launch has a lot of "Fans Only" videos where the fans have taken the song and made a video, you know singing and dancing in their element. I have seen a video of "These Boots Were Made for Walking" that would make the video maker very jealous, but it is hilarious. Anyway, videos do a great job of curing winter blues, especially if they are a fun summer song or a Kenny Chesney video, they are almost always on a beach somewhere tropic.

Something for a little fun...I heard Donny Osmond on the radio with the 101.9 guys this morning and this video came up. Here is the Donny cut that everyone needs to see.

Revocable Living Trust

I spent some time last night learning about revocable living trusts. I had a friend suggest it because, apparently, a will doesn't do what we all think it does. Here is what I have learned.

Wills are a document that give the directives you would like to have completed at your death. What is listed may not be what actually happens and the state and greedy lawyers get to have their hands in the pot as well. It could take up to 1 year to settle your affairs as well. Wills have to go through probate which means they are a matter of public record. Everyone gets to know your business. Lawyers get a fee for dealing with a bunch of nothing really and your relatives get taken to the cleaners.

A revocable living trust basically makes it so none of that happens. This is one of those things that they have 2 laws, one for the uninformed (which gets very expensive) and one for the informed (which saves your estate a ton of $$.)

The US is one of the only countries that still deals with probate and the main reason why it is still enforce here is that it is a very lucrative business venture for lawyers.

Anyway, I'm not going to go too indepth here but I would suggest everyone look into getting (or borrowing from the library) a book on living trusts and setting up estates. Its not just for the rich and shameless anymore and could save your hard earned moola and property for the people you want to have it.

If I had a million dollars.....

This is a statement commonly used with kids in junior high or high school. If you had a million dollars or were independently wealthy, what would you do with your life? The answer to that question would be what you should go into for your work or employment. It would be the "ideal" job for you.

I'm not sure if anyone that reads this has been asked that question or has ever thought about it. We all have our dream jobs in one way or another. This question is meant to get you to think about life. What you would do for a career, not just Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm, but what career would be part of your being.

I've asked myself that question many times through my life and each time the answer varies a bit but there is one answer that has popped up more than once in different forms. Of course, I've had my periods where I wanted to be a police officer or a soldier or some other type of "hero" position. There is one answer that really made me think enough to form a goal. I've talked about it before but have never been really serious about it until just recently.

The last time I asked myself that question, my answer was to stay at home with the kids and home school them. To be a part of their academic lives, take them on field trips, teach them, show them all of the stuff I feel that they are lacking. I've joked with Aurora many times about getting my teaching degree and getting hired on in whatever school she was in. She scoffed at it as though she would be totally embarrassed to be a teacher's child but every once in a while she would make mention of it.

So, I've decided that I need to get my teaching degree. Not sure how long it will take or when I will start but since I officially made the decision today, I'm sure I will take the time to figure it out. I'm not sure which subject(s) I will teach, but I'm sure it is something that I would really like to do. I love all subjects and just need to get started.

I've thought about this before but by making a public declaration, I am one step closer to that goal. I will figure out how to do it and make a living at it even if it kills me. Anyway, I wanted to share so that those of you that know me beyond the computer can kick me in the butt to make it happen.