On the Sixtieth Day, They Rested

Now the fine folks at Blog365 (you know, the reason I am blogging every day) decided at the beginning of the year, that tomorrow February twenty-ninth (leap day), would be a day of rest. Why sixty days in, as opposed to, one hundred eighty days is beyond me.

I like taking breaks as much as the next guy, but I think that it would do more harm than good. Too me at least. I enjoy doing this, and I feel that I might even be getting a little better, both in content and writing ability. Well, at least I have had lots and lots of practice, right?

Now, I wonder if I can do a floating holiday, of sorts. You know, take July 4 off instead of February 29? Who do I need to talk to about this predicament? Where is your manager? Who am I kidding, by then I'll have one-hundred eighty-seven days in. Do you really think that I'll want to stop then.

I'm already thinking of contingencies to blog daily from Disney World, in DECEMBER!!

Yes, I have been bitten by the blog bug, and it feels good. Maybe I have finally found my drug, eh? I wonder if I can get paid to do this? Probably would have to clean it up a bit, grammatically, but I think I could do that. All I have to do is write the posts out first, then post.

Hmmm.

I should be able to do NaNoWriMo for sure this year. No excuses, except maybe blogging. I've only "tried" to do it for the past three years, with the total number of words equaling less than the number of fingers on one hand, that is being used to pick some 'gold' out of my nose.

Yes, if you are still with me, after that, my word count total for all three years combined is: Zero. I had noble ambitions each and every year, and refuse to "prepare" for the month, thinking that it was cheating. I mean if you write an outline of what you are going to write, then... know what I'm saying?

Plus, I'm not an outline kind of guy anyway.

This will be the last sentence for this entry, how long it is, depends on how long I continue to type without hitting that period key, over there, because I can ramble on, as many of you have noticed if I were to post a comment on your blog, either because I found you witty or deep, or maybe it was deeply witty.

Okay, I lied. :)

Mnemonic vs. Acrostic

Mnemonic (ni mon' ik), adj 1. assisting or intended to assist the memory. 2. pertaining to mnemonics or to memory. - n. 3. something intended to assist the memory, as a verse or formula. 4. a symbol, acronym, or other short form used as a computer code or function, as in programming. -- mnemonically, adv.


Acrostic n. a series of written lines or verses in which the first, last, or other particular letters form a word, phrase, etc.

Aside from still thinking that I could use Acrostic in place of Mnemonic, this all I have for this.

Short, sweet and complete! Ta Da!!

P.S. - Sorry about not giving the phonetic spelling for acrostic. Don't know how to make a schwa with this keyboard. If you are curious, it looks like an upside down 'e.' I can get into it's definition at a later date, if you'd like. :)

My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants.

That's what I said!

Now what does in mean?

Anyone familiar with Roy G. Biv or HOMES?

Roy G. Biv is:Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. In other words the color of a rainbow.

Whereas HOMES is: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. You got it, the Great Lakes.

So that means that:

My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants. Is what?

Any guesses? Okay, I will tell you. It is a Mnemonic for the eleven planets of the solar system; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Eris. I know, I know, you all thought that Pluto was no longer designated as a planet, and you are probably thinking Ceres and Eris, what are those?

Well, fear not, friends I shall tell you. Pluto, Ceres, and Eris are still planets, however they are known officially as Dwarf Planets. I think Ceres should be called Happy,(glad to be finally noticed) and Eris should be Bashful,(it was hard to find) and Pluto should be renamed Grumpy, especially since it wasn't deemed to be worthy of "planet status."

This Mnemonic, I thought it was an Acrostic myself (running to get dictionary - for next post, maybe), was the winner in a contest to come up with such. Have to make learning as easy as we can for the little ones. Forget about us 'old' people that thought there were only nine planets and had our own Mnemonic, remember... My Very Eager Mother Just Sat Upon Nine Planets.

I find it interesting that Neptune is represented by the word 'nine' both times. I guess finding an appropriate 'n' word is hard to do.

So, say goodbye to: My Very Eager Mother Just Sat Upon Nine Planets, and hello to, My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants.

Kind of rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?



*** EDIT: Maryn Smith (10) from Montana won the contest with this entry. Just thought you would like to know. :)

Who Wants to be a Genius, Anyway?

In an attempt to make my posts more palatable I figured that I would post now @7:18, as opposed to later @11:00.

Well, that was fun. Did you enjoy it as much as I did? :)

Just Kidding, sheesh!

Okay, see that little "blog grade level thingy?" Down there on the left side... see it? Okay. Well I thought, hey I've been writing some deep intellectual thoughts of late - not really. Anyway, I thought I would check and see if I graduated High School and moved up in the world. Guess what?

I regressed.

What the hell? Yep, I am now in Junior High School. That makes no sense at all. I know that we, as writers, are supposed to write at an eighth grade level, but to have it thrown in my face like that! Ouch!! (Note: I didn't update it, because my pride is in the way.... no really, pride. You'll see another reason why in a minute or so, just read on).

Okay. After dealing with that blow to my maturity level, or intellectual level. Really it's more of a lack of intellectual maturity, if I want to be honest, and I do. I think.

Being curious, I decided to put the family blog's URL in -- guess what I found out? My family is a bunch of GENIUSES. Yes, it rated as GENIUS. Amazing, but true. I am so proud, yet also well, you know...

No, I didn't post the results there either. No need for their heads to get any bigger than mine, after all. :)

Gibberish Central

Man is a clever animal who behaves like an imbecile. ~ Albert Schweitzer


Does the Doctor have a point? Is he even a Doctor? I can't remember and don't really care, just thought I'd start off with the quote, that's all.

Okay, this is going to be a long post, posting -wise, because my fingers are extraordinarily fat this evening and I can't spell worth a darn right now. Gonna have to rely on Google to help me out there, because I'm just being me and free.

Or something like that.

Cubby still remains a nickname, but I think he wants it to be Cubbie, rather than Cubby, so be it. I just have to change all my tags now... No wait, they are called labels.

Time for another quote...

I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult. ~EB White

Quotes are great for breaking up long and boring monologues, but they can also be used to help move the plot along. Or at least the blog. My blog.

Speaking of blogs, Benjy has joined the ranks of my family blogging, in fact, he even started his own - go figure. Apparently Mr. "Blogging is for losers" has had a change of heart. Anyway, go here to see what he has to offer, if you wish. He spent at least an hour setting up his play list, see what he has to offer - - look I repeated myself.

Let's see... did I finish everything, yep. Am I tired? Yep.

Night-Night!

A Few More Changes

I got called out this evening.

Apparently LHS, doesn't like being called LHS. So I need a new nickname. Also, he doesn't like the nicknames for #2 and #5. So to show that I am quite the compassionate father that I claim - okay, I never really claimed it, but it sounds good, right? Right?

So here come some changes, and not just for #1, formerly LHS. Now, let's work this out together, shall we?

#1 - He is a he. So it has to have a male connotation, otherwise he might get really upset. So names like Suzy Snowflake, are out. Besides Suzy would NEVER call out her father in such a public manner as the former LHS. So, female names are out.

What else is there? Let's see he likes to play the drums... and Guitar Hero 1, 2 and 3! He likes the Wii, and loves doing his school work in a timely manner (okay Bug don't go down that path, otherwise we'll just be calling him LHS 2, and he might not like that one either.) He loves his iPod, but I am afraid of Apple suing me for some sort of copyright infringement - I have NO money, so please do not sue me. :-) That leaves the Cubs... can I call him Cubby? Or is that too immature? How about Wrigley? Or will you kind readers think that he is gum? That's weird, right? Hmmm. Maybe by the end of this post I will have it worked out.

#2 - Benjy. I like Benjy. The name fits perfectly, however the son that is now known as formerly LHS (for now), thinks that I am showing favoritism. Give me a break. The kid has been called Benjy from day 1, actually from BEFORE day one. When we came up with names he was initially going to be Nicholas Alexander - in honor of my Russian heritage (or something like that). That was perfect, after all naming a child is a trying task. Just ask ANY parent. So we had a boy name picked out and we were pretty sure that he was going to be a boy, so... The dang neighbor named her son Nicholas.

Panic!!

We can't have the same name now. That is just so wrong. She stole our Nicholas! Okay, so we calmed down after a while and moved on to our second choice. Benjamin Alexander, it doesn't flow as well, but I liked the initials, BAM. Within a week, we were at Jenni's parents having a baby shower, I think. When my Mother in-law (who I get along with really well, praise God) started with saying something along the lines of how is little Bam-Bam? I think you can guess what happened. Yep. "We can't have our son made fun of about Bam-bam." - Yes, dear.

The day finally came and little Benjy (I know, we're okay with that but not Bam-bam) still needed a middle name. For some reason Thomas came into play, and it stuck. Something else that sticks is me calling him Benjamin Thomas Franklin Pierce.

No. I don't know why. Anyway, I like Benjy, and Benjy has been his nickname forever, well at least for the last thirteen and a half years (yes, all the kids call him Benjy and I believe that he is quite proud of his name, although my neighbor keeps calling him Ben for some reason), so Benjy it will remain. Sorry Formerly LHS, it can't be changed and it won't be. My blog after all. :-)

#3 - SPLG and SAPLG - acronym Hades. Especially since I couldn't remember either one. I know, it's pretty sad that I can't even remember my own child's nickname; even when it is one I invented. I would call her princess, but that could lead to problems with my other two princesses. :-)

Lately she has been very fond of her email, but what kind of nickname would that be... exactly! She is doing Irish step dancing, so... Of course what do I do if she quits? This is quite a commitment of time that I have invested here and I don't want to do it again, if I don't have to. She used to be into American Girl dolls... Used to.

Ooh, Jenni just gave me a great idea, and it fits... FTB - Favorite Third Born. Perfect. Also it is way more kinder and gentler than the previous nicknames, well one of them at least.

#4 - Another long-time nickname, Cuddlebug. Why? It's simple, she always cuddles with me. Well, as long as #5 isn't bumping her out of the way. She also loves the princesses at Disney (who doesn't?), and she is getting into Irish Step Dancing, as well. She loves horses, she could be my friend Flicka - no! Besides, I didn't write that title properly, so we'll just move on. I almost feel obligated to fill in more space here, lest she feel slighted by only one paragraph. What can I say though, her name fits.

So it stays.

#5 Magpie. Not really a fan of this name. contrary to what the former LHS thinks. I mean a Magpie is a bird, not a child. Spoiled would work, since everyone (including her) thinks that she is my favorite. Every parent knows that there are no favorites when it comes to child-rearing. Right? Did I mention that everyone thinks she is my favorite, even at church. I hear this so much, that I'm starting to ... I don't know, lash out. It's not fair to her, I mean she is just a very strong-willed little girl who happens to love her daddy very much.

What can I say? :-)

So, what do I call her?I think I will defer to Jenni once again, at least until something better comes along, and call her FFB - yep, Favorite Fifth Born. Or Baby Girl. Now, I am torn... Did you see how my mind quickly countered that offer of FFB? It really did happen as fast as you read it. Amazing. So, like the former LHS, I will have my final decision at the end.

#6 - He was called #6 for a while, and I don't like it. First of all, it shows a lack of creativity on my part, and secondly it just isn't cool sounding. Or something like that. I think.

His was recently changed to 'Monster' and it actually fits very well. I even call him that in person, so I think we have a winner. I should remember to put the quotation marks in, don't want anyone to be confused. :-)

So, what did we decide....

#6 will be 'Monster'
#4 will remain Cuddlebug
#3 will be FTB (Favorite Third Born)
#2 will remain Benjy

So that leaves me with #5 and #1...

#5 will be Baby Girl

and finally.... drum roll please....

#1 will be Cubby!

That's it, I'm done.

Good night.

It's a New Me (Maybe)

"It is an object of vast magnitude that systems of education should be adopted and pursued which may not only diffuse a knowledge of the sciences but may implant in the minds of the American youth the principles of virtue and of liberty and inspire them with just and liberal ideas of government and with an inviolable attachment to their own country."
-- Noah Webster (On Education of Youth in America, 1790)

I wonder what Noah Webster would be thinking, if he were alive today?


"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson (Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 17, 1782)

As you can see, Jefferson's definition of "Church and State" is way different than some so-called experts. What Jefferson and the founders of this great country actually said was that the Government shall not create a church state, like those in Europe, etc.. Or like those countries today that follow Sharia law (I think that's the term). Don't care too much, just know that it isn't a good thing. No matter what people may tell you.

"In a general sense, all contributions imposed by the government upon individuals for the service of the state, are called taxes, by whatever name they may be known, whether by the name of tribute, tythe, tallage, impost, duty, gabel, custom, subsidy, aid, supply, excise, or other name."
-- Joseph Story (Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833)

Taxation without Representation was just as hated then as it is now.

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~ Herm Albright

Ain't that the truth!

Okay, so what should I write about now that I have "borrowed" words from others? Don't know.

This has turned into a rather disturbing trend, in my opinion. That and my leaving several stories "unfinished" is driving readers away! Both of you. :)

So, I have decided, just this second, to come up with a new resolution (which may last as long as my resolution to exercise), and that is to finish what I start. Unless (always a caveat) I am working on a piece of fiction, which wouldn't necessarily be on these pages (unless I really like it, I suppose). Also, I will try to 'annoy' you all with my positive attitude. :)

So, in future editions, (this doesn't count as unfinished business, more of an agenda driven point I am making to myself, you dig?) you will find me discussing things thoroughly and completely. Really. I promise. No crossed fingers. Or toes.

I will still share family stories, and will also keep up with the quirkiness of the one I call me. (See.) I will also show faith stories, and work stories and other general stories. I guess I will become a storyteller. (Yea Me!) I should also describe how this blog will differ from the 'family' blog over there. People may find out that they never knew this side of me, some may even be scared. Then again, maybe I will only scare myself. :) I may even tell you all the true pronunciation of Mylhibug and why I use it, and all that jazz. Oh, and more quotes (of course).

Are you excited yet? Well if you aren't, just stay tuned. I mean that. :)

So You Want to be Confirmed?

Yes we do...

Okay, I already have been - when I was three.

We are having a great year for banner events in the household this year. Cuddle bug receives her first Holy Communion in May, Benjy is confirmed in April along with my God daughter, Jordan. Call Portillo's now for the catering!!

Okay, this part is more for me than anyone else, and this is the best way I can think of, since I normally look here more frequently then I do my email... Bug, check out the website http://www.pnac.org/ to find out more about the Lenten Stational Churches...

Okay, that is going to be it for tonight; I'm tired, and my computer sounds like it is ready for takeoff, so it needs a rest. More tomorrow, I'll be at work, you know. :)

I Have 122 Minutes

to come up with something here, or else I will have failed to Blog 365.

No pressure.


Actually there is, because for the first time in fifty-odd days, my mind is not working. Okay, it is working, but it just doesn't seem to have that pizazz that I like it to have. Jenni says I'm a little wound up, or was it tightly wound? Either way, it is not good for the writing process, especially MY writing process; which entails, just going for it.

I still need a catalyst though.

Nothing.

This sucks, let me tell you. I mean I could understand if I was writing great fiction and had a real deadline - not that Blog 365 isn't a 'real' deadline, but if I don't blog, well I can still eat. You know what I'm saying?

You know what I'm saying? What the HELL does THAT mean? I mean really? I am at a loss for words, actually it's because my head is full of giggles whenever I hear that phrase. Kind of like when I count the number of times the word 'like' is misused in teen aged speak. If you want to have some fun, just listen and start counting. THEN mention it to them, and see what happens. It's marvelous, really it is.

Right now the girls are in bed, well Cuddlebug and Magpie, and so is Monster. The other three are at the HIAL conference with their mother.

Okay, Monster just yelled out "Daddy!" Now he is up to six, seven... Okay, there is a pause... I think that he is going back to sleep... Nope. Let me check on him. His ears must have been burning. :) Or my typing is too loud.

I think it was the "loud" typing, because once I stopped, he stopped. Now I am back, for now.

Need a new train to hop onto though, since the other one left me in it's dust.

LHS got the Cubs tickets. Now I just have to get the money from him; which should be easy considering I'm the only person that can make withdrawals from his account - or if I were in Alabama, Withdrawls :)

My Father in-law went through an official mass to make him an official DIT (Deacon In Training). At least that is the best I could come up with, to describe it. So in three years we will have a Deacon in the family, two if you count his cousin. Both will become Deacons in three years. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Extra space, for no reason at all.

Maybe I should write like Larry King. In bullets. Of course, does he even still write an article? I have no idea, because truth be told, I didn't really care about what he wrote. I just like the short bullets. Kind of like short chapters in books. James Patterson does a great job of that - I know there are others, his name just popped into my head first.

Over at Kalynne's blog you can read what it is like to give birth to nine kids. Some pretty humorous stuff. Especially the twins. Good stuff. If I were to include mine for my six, they would mostly consist of me passing out. Really. I kid you not. One time I had a nurse scare the crap out of me because she was waving one of them ammonia sticks at me. Yes I said AT me, almost like it was a weapon, because I had o leave the room for air. Hey Cuddlebug had arrived safely, I saw that part... I just needed to recuperate, that's all. :) Besides the real fun with her started at out one, the following morning. I'll save that for a future blog... I can tease too, you know. :)

Okay, aren't you glad that I had "nothing?" I must stop, because my oldest children and their mother will be arriving shortly. In fact, LHS just walked through the door.

So goodnight to all, and God Bless!

Marytown and a New Voice in the Blog World

My boys went to Marytown the other day, and it inspired LHS so much, that he actually blogged about it. You know what? He did a great job describeing his experience, and contrary to his brother's admonition, blogging isn't for losers. He's the next person I want to see adding words of wisdom on the Miller Time blog. :)

Maybe it will happen. Maybe.

Jenni has been contributing as well, which I think is awesome. She's the sane one in the family, and I am not kidding there. Plus she is funny and beautiful. God has blessed me with an angel on earth, let me tell you.

I went to the first night of the Here I Am Lord conference with the boys, a friend of Benjy's and my God daughter Jordan. We listened to a couple of talks, one from a Sister Michael Marie Houseman about Theology of the Body, which while being a little dry - and it seemed like she wasn't very comfortable, peaked my interest in the subject. So now what? We'll see what I do, I guess. The second speaker was Jason Evert, and it was a "sex talk." No, not for the adults but for the kids. He has a great message and a great delivery, I just hope and pray that the kids he talks to listen to him and his message about waiting for marriage before engaging in sexual activity. The boys are going throughout the rest of the weekend, and they have some great speakers coming up, so if you are in the area (St. Charles, Illinois) stop by.

That's it for now, work beckons.

I Found the Moon!

Check out these photo's from Jenni's Uncle Alan. They are spectacular, and it was only ten below zero when he took them! What a trooper. As always, whenever I post his stuff, if you like what you see, you should visit his site. It is incredible, especially if you like birds!!

The picture above is his house that he built from the ground up, he has a journal of everything he went through to build it here.


The next picture is of the moon at the peak of the eclipse. If you want to see more detail, I think you should just have to click the pic.

This picture is pretty cool, as it shows the different stages of the eclipse itself. I imagine his toes were frozen by the time it was all over. I would try to set up some sort of remote control so I could stay inside the warm house, myself. :)

Here's an older picture of another eclipse, I believe.

Have a great day!

A Snippet and Where's the Moon?

I wasn't planning on working too late tonight, then the phone rang...

"You're workiing late tonight, right?" - says my lovely bride.

"Um, yeah, maybe a little bit, why?"

"Can you pick up Benjy?"

"Sure."

Benjy was at a play practice for a retreat this weekend. It's the "Here I am Lord" conference/retreat at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in St. Charles.

"At seven."

"Uh, okay."

Now I had some time to kill. Might as well get paid for it, I guess. I was on my way to pick up Benjy, when the phone rand again.

"Hey, Benjy has religious ed tonight also."

"Okay."

"We're PACT parents."

"Oh."

PACT parents are basically a parent that shows up during a religious ed class and helps out, if needed. PACT (Parents and Catechists Together {I think}) is a great program that, in theory, helps parents and their kids "learn" together. Believe me when I tell you this; the kids sometime sknow more than their parents.

So, I pick up Benjy and head to the class - after pickiing up the customary PACT parent snack, cookies and juice boxes. (yum!) We get there halfway through class, Randall Road is always busy and the Jewel was on the craowded side (excuses, excuses) and Benjy didn't get out of play practice until quarter after seven (already fifteen minutes late).

Class goes well, what we witnessed at least. :)

Leaving class, I happened to be looking at the Moon. Whoa! Way cool. I did not know there was supposed to be an eclipse tonight - I LOVE those things!

No, seriously, I do. I remember staying up all night at my grandparents house, sketching a lunar eclipse. Seriously. I might even still have the sketches somewhere, although I doubt they survived the last thirty-odd years.

Another cool thing about the eclipse was that it was blood-red. That's right. Manic's blood drive is over (this year) and the moon decided to honor her achievements. Isn't that cool.

I thought so.

Now go and check out the prize winners - I need to go to bed, I have adoration at 3am!

Guitar Heroes Ruin School Work for Hard-Working Man (Yeah Right)

Oh my!

I only posted a little blurb about changing the template and that was it. The Blog365 people are going to be mad at me. Excuse me for having a tough day....

Worked ten hours, or was it twelve? And this was actual work, not sit around with free moments galore work. I was getting frazzled. Even my lovely bride told me that I should leave and get away - oh and to pick up LHS from work (he's still grounded from driving). Do being the dutiful husband that I am, I came home.

Then I had the tough task of taking control of the Wii for a little more than an hour, playing Guitar Hero III.

Yes I did.

Got myself a couple of five star reviews even.

Maybe I should move up to Medium, eh?

Or not. After all, I have a goal of getting at least four star reviews before moving on to the next song, much to the annoyance of my family that has to listen to 'My Name is Jonas' by Weezer, six times in a row. Okay, maybe not for THAT song, but there have been songs that I play over and over and... I think I am at level five now, after just besting the "European Invasion" section.

Hey go over and check out Manic's site later today. She is hosting an awards show for all of the blood donor's in Manic's First Annual Blood Drive. There were thirty-three donors in all, that is ninety-nine lives saved. How awesome is that? Yea Manic!!

Back to my 'tough' day.

I then watched my kids play GH III, after all the family that plays Guitar Hero together stays together. :)

The rest of the eveing is a blur... I remember looking at my school work that is due, then I came up with excuse that because I didn't have a three-hole punch I just couldn't concentrate. That and Metallica's "One" on Guitar Hero might of had something to do with it. Can't wait until we get that second guitar!

Then there was the half-hearted attempt at making something to eat, my five-year old little Magpie decided that throwing away the rest of the dinner that was prepared for all, was necessary. Of course, this also happened while I was playing the game. I think. So I took some radiotore (sic) pasta, some corn, some tuna, some cheddar from Vermont (thanks again for the gift Mom and Dad!), some pepper, garlic salt and mayo. Mix it all together and you have, something. Tasted alright to me, although the cheddar was a tad bit sharper than I was expecting. Magpie said it smelled, Monster kept saying "some, some" until he tried it and made that sucking on a lemon face, Cuddlebug said she liked it. Those were the only comments I remember from it, if the other four people in my house said anything about it I don't recall it.

Last thing I remember was watching Benjy playing "Anarchy in the U.K." while I was lying on the coach.

You guessed it. At 4:17am my alarm went off and I was still on the coach. So restful. Not.

Now I am back at work, trying to make amends for yesterday, BEFORE the work begins. I love my job. Really, I do.

I think.

***Extra Note -- before anyone gets the misguided idea that all we do is play video games, I must point out that the boys could not play until they had all of their school work done, the girls were busy "cleaning" their rooms. Rooms that looked really good AFTER mom went through the inspection process (i.e. cleaning up after the cleaning). So there. Besides, isn't Tuesday night game night in your households?

Have a great day!

Throwing a Changeup

That's right!

I was having a harder than usual time reading my own blog, so guess what I did? Well, it's quite obvious, unless you are new here. If you are new, stop and leave a comment, I won't bite (too hard). Anyway, I am hoping that this will make it easier for you all, and myself, to read. Besides I always did like this template. Until I don't, I guess. :)

C - Ya!

Teenaged Angst and Blood

The joy of teenagers!

One minute they are all smiles and happy and helpful.

The next, spawns of the Devil!

What the heck gives? I mean we have gone through all of this before with LHS. Now, it's Benjy's turn. Testing the limits of his mother and myself. I am trying to not do the same mistakes that I made with LHS. But, you know, sometimes you just want to smack them around a little bit.

Next up... three teenaged girls. (Lord give me the strength...)

On a completely different subject, Manic and her blood drive were a resounding success! 33 donors - that's 99 lives saved by one little blog in the great big blog universe. If anyone read about it here and went on to donate, thanks! I wish I had half the traffic Manic did to have made it a bigger splash in the world of blood donations. Don't forget, even though the blood drive is over, there is still a need for more so go and visit a blood center near you.

The weather got extra chilly again, lest we forget that it is still winter. Just thought I would mention it. :-)

Tomorrow should be an interesting day at work. Not one, but two, performance reviews. In fact, I need to come up with a performance plan for one person. I have most of it done, so I will start off the day with that.

Yea! I can hardly wait.

Good Night.

The Boys and I Went on a Little Trip

So the boys and I decided to cash in my Christmas present today and went to the Blackhawks vs. Avalanche game at the United Center. We arrived at 10:59 and it was 46 degrees Fahrenheit - in case the picture didn't tell those words. :-)

As you can see the weather was overcast, but the temperature wasn't bad, at all. Remember we have been experiencing a lot colder weather recently, so 46 feels like summer... almost. This is how we park our cars in Chicago at sporting events. Unless you pay an additional seven dollars for "easy out" parking. Newsflash for anyone that wants to spend that extra cash - you will still have to wait in the same traffic, so why not relax and save some money.As I said earlier the clouds were everywhere, and low. That building in the middle is about half of the Sears Tower. The rest is up there, somewhere. The weather didn't keep the fans away though, as they sold out all 21,715 seats. The public address announcer stated that it was the first time sine the Hawks moved to the United Center, in 1994-95, that this has happened. See boys, we were a part of history. Way Cool!!The front Marquee. Technically it's the back of the building, but that's okay. This is the entrance we used.Here is a picture of the boys in front of the Chicago Bulls emblem - could have walked a hundred feet further east and taken the picture in front of the Chicago Blackhawks emblem, but no. That would have made too much sense.The United Center is the house that Michael built. Michael Jordan that is. That's his statue down there...Here is the view from our seats. Not bad for $10. Benjy mentioned that they had to pay for a convenience fee when they got the tickets, of $5.25. What's up with that, I ask? I mean really, what is the convenience that I am receiving afterall? Gotta love Ticketmaster.Our seats and free shirts. Pretty cool. I gave mine to someone that didn't get one, they looked like they really wanted it, so what the heck. Besides it would have fit me, maybe once, before it got washed and shrunk. They did appreciate it though.Some of the storied history of the Blackhawks. Unfortunately they haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1961, but who is counting anyway, right? It didn't seem to bother the 21,715 people in attendance at today's game.This is who we came to see...My new car! Okay, not really, but wouldn't that be fun to drive? Come on admit it, you want to do it now, don't you. While I am thinking about this, they actually had a winner at today's game of some tickets on United Airlines. First time I have ever seen it in all the games I have been to. What they do is pick a young kid, around 6-10 years old, then they pick some guy (always gets booed), then they have an attractive young lady, that naturally gets cheered. Today they even had a bonus contestant playing for the Blackhawks charity.

Anyway, the kid almost made it, the young lady hooked (to the left) all three of her shots (still got cheered), the celebrity shooter (I think he works at a local radio station, never heard of him, but he was playing for the Blackhawks charity) came literally four inches from winning. The dude, that everyone boos, actually made it on his third and final shot. Finally we cheered!

I should explain what it is they are shooting at, I guess. Each contestant shoots at a goal that has a board on it with an opening wide enough for, maybe two pucks, right in the middle of the goal. It really isn't an easy shot, especially for the adults who have to shoot from the red line first, then halfway between the red and blue line, and finally from the blue line. The kid shoots his/her first from the blue line and then gets closer on his second and third shot.

Whew! That was a lot more than I thought I was going to write. Did I mention that I wanted a Zamboni?!?Warming up on the cold ice. And no one ever runs into each other, such talent. :-)What you should NEVER do during game play. You can't see the game when people are standing up in front of you. Bad, bad people.

Face Off! Colorado dominated on the faceoffs, and that was about it. In fact at the beginning of the second period, with Chicago leading 1-0, the Avalanche had an great opportunity with nearly a whole minute of 5 on 5 play. No goal. To make matters worse, Chicago scored a minute after the power play. 2-0 Chicago. The result....

Here is a shot of 'Sweet Home Chicago,' it's sktline would have shown up better without that brown building there. As you can see the skies cleared up after the Hawks won. The drive home was only about an hour, which is maybe fifteen minutes longer than normal. Oh and I was able to pull right out of my parking space. The easy out people had to wait for traffic to lighten up before pulling out. Probably the only time that happens. :-)Overall, me and the boys had a great time and even though the Avalanche lost, it was still fun. Thanks again boys, it was a great Christmas present. Now I have to work on getting some Bears vs. Eagles tickets. I still have a couple of months to figure that one out.

Just Call Me...

Your Rockstar Name Is...

Angus Chaos

What's" Your Rockstar Name?

An Examination of a Sub-Conscious Mind --- Sort of.

"Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer." ~ Charles Caleb Colton



Hi, How are you?

Me, I'm good.

So what's new?

Nothing much, how about you?

Makes you want to leave doesn't it? So, I will stop. Assuming that you have made it this far, of course.

Ever have one of those days when you do a lot, yet get absolutely nothing accomplished? That was my day in a nutshell. I had great plans for what I was going to get doe today, and only got one of the fourteen things planned done.

Why is that, you ask?

Well, we have a new employee that isn't in the system yet, so I had to enter all of his work for him, then my computer did some weird stuff that completely messed me up. Then, after getting that fixed, I realized I was running late for getting home. So...

Here I am. With a whole lot of stuff in my head, and nowhere to go.

Tomorrow is the Blackhawks game against the Avalanche of Colorado. Woo Hoo! Go Lanche! I think that is how the yell goes. Anyway, if I remember to bring the camera I'll snap a few pix of me and the boys enjoying the hockey game, from section 312. We get the added excitement of coming home in an ice storm, maybe. It all depends on when the front comes through the greater Chicago land area. Can hardly wait.

Did I mention that we now sing on the Wii, as well as play guitar? You got it dude. We have High School Musical Sing It now for the Wii. The boys were rolling their eyes when I got it. Guess who played it until midnight? Yep. Those same boys, which made the girls a little upset because we wouldn't let them stay up.

Such mean parents we are.

LHS is out tonight. Yes, his probation is about through, so we are giving him little bits of rope, only to tug back at the slightest hint of stupidity. Of course, we have noticed Benjy starting to become quite the, well, teenager for lack of a better term. At least LHS is mostly through it, and there isn't a whole lot to get in trouble with (knock on wood).

Our friend's son that goes to NIU is okay. He knew one of the guys that got killed. Apparently he jumped in front of his girlfriend, died instantly from the gun shot, and pretty much saved her life. She is still in the hospital, in critical condition I think (last I heard), but will survive at least.

Seems like this guy just quit taking his medication - not good. I know this from personal experience, trust me. If you are prescribed something, follow the instructions and your Doctor's orders. They may know more about what is going on in your head/body than you do.

I got the latest Stephen King novel Duma Key. I'll let you know what I think of it, when I get a chance to read it.

I predict that Jeff Gordon will win the Daytona 500 tomorrow. And that all four Hendrick cars will finish in the top ten. Unless they get caught up in the "Big One" of course, then anything can happen.

"You take my mind and you cheat it,
You take my body and heat it,
Then you take my heart and you beat it." --- Beat of Love by the Voice of the Beehive

I LOVE this song! It came out in 1988 from the Let it Bee album, which is also pretty awesome, if I say so myself and I do.

"Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy." ~George Carlin

World Series Prediction!!

Time for some early prognostication (really early, since pitchers and catchers are just now reporting)

I'm seeing the Cardinals coming up strong this year and re-capturing the National League crown.

I also see a strong showing, in the American League, by the Blue Jays!

It will be a tough battle between the two teams in the World Series! With the Blue Jays coming out on top.
Unless, of course, the Orioles have a late-season surge. Then I can see the Cardinals beating the Orioles.

Many thanks to Alan over at his bird showcase, for allowing me to use his great photos.

Oh, and I really have no idea who will be in the World Series, I would have chosen the Rockies and Red Sox to repeat their appearance from last year, but I don't have photo props to help. :-) Besides, it was time to show off Alan's talent again.

"Take me out to the ballgame..."

Adventures in Drunkiness, Kindness and Assorted Other Niceties!

Dawn over at Because I Said So! had this as a night away from thinking, or something like that, and the Kalynne of at The Philosopher-Mom had it as well. So naturally, I "borrowed" it as well. I also debated on saving this for my March challenge , but decided against using it there. I could have saved this for a rainy day also, but I have a few minutes to "kill" so here it is... (by the way, the missing numbers were missing when I copied it, so if there aren't any missing numbers, I filled it with my own questions and it will seem flawless, and this statement pointless.)

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?

That would be lesson plans for my Kindergarten Sunday School class, trash, my school work for Ministry Formation, trash, a tent from a camping trip in October that I am too lazy to put away, trash, a bottle of bleach that I was too lazy to bring into the house, a wind chime that was a gift from one of my Kindergartners two years ago, some more trash, and some Cup O' Noodles that I am too lazy to bring in for my lunches at work figuring that when I get hungry enough I will get off my fat behind and get them, oh and some trash.

2. When was the last time you threw up?
Outside a club in Abilene, Texas in 1990, I tried a drink called a 'White Spider' which has a shot of vodka, peppermint Schnapps and something else. I asked if I just "shoot" it and was told, yes. Okay, here is a tip for any of you young people out there that may or may not have tried this, or if you have the inclination to do so in the future. DON'T. First off, it was at least three shots of alcohol, and it was served in a brandy glass. That should have been my first hint, don't you think? Besides I had a really, really bad experience with some Strawberry Schnapps at a Christmas Party in 1987 and just the smell of the Schnapps family of alcoholic beverages makes my knees quake. Ugh!

3. What's your favorite curse word?
Frack! Yes, I like Battlestar Galactica.

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today?

Jenni, Andy, Benjy, Jessie, Katie, Maggie and Danny ( I cannot count, sorry.)

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Getting prepared for a meeting at work.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?

Surfing the Net. Working.

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?

Enjoying spending time with my family, I hope.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?

Yes, a long time ago we killed the boredom of Abilene, Texas with the boredom of a strip club call Deja Vu. I mostly played pool and drank really bad beer, then tried in vain, to stop my buddy from bringing a stripper home with us. Yeah, that was fun. Hope he is still enjoying his STD!

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?
"What?!"

10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
Pralines and Cream

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Diet Coke.

12. What are you wearing right now?
Clothing. Steel-toed boots, white socks, blue jeans, black boxer-briefs, black t-shirt, and a black windbreaker/golfer jacket something. I probably got that all wrong, but they are just clothes to me, so I really don't know what it is called.

13. What was the last thing you ate?
Dill Pickle flavored Sunflower Seeds by David. I also had an orange right before that, an interesting mix you all should try.

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
Nope.

15. When was the last time you ran?

LOL. When I was in the military, maybe. Actually, I used to walk/run about three years ago. Probably should start up again if I want to lose this 'baby fat.'

16. What's the last sporting event you watched?

Super Bowl XLII

17. What are you reading right now?

This questionnaire, oh and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and I just picked up Duma Key by Stephen King, which I technically haven't started just yet.

18. Who is the last person you emailed?

Someone that needed an update from work.

19. Ever go camping?
Yes.

20. Do you have a tan?
It's February in Chicago land, what do you think?

21. What is your favorite television show?

Current would probably be "House" but I have also enjoyed, in no particular order: Stargate Sg-1, Stargate Atlantis, Farscape, Firefly, Lost and Journeyman. A touch of the science fiction bug, I guess.

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
If I have one, sure. Otherwise I just drink it from a cup, can or bottle.

25. What did your last IM say?
I don't do that, so...

26. Are you some one's best friend?
I believe that I am my wife's best friend, even though I don't always deserve to be.

27. What are you doing tomorrow?
Believe it or not, working.

28. Where is your mom right now?

Last I heard she was in Nevada with my dad, however she could be in Montana at their house during the summer, or in Arizona with my Nana.

29. Look to your left, what do you see?

A wall with a fiscal calendar, two pictures of my kids, a couple of lists of people I need to contact for work, some CD art of mine (basically I scratched the heck out of a CD and call it art), five rubber bands, a McDonald's toy from Cars (it's Ramon {the painter}, I think), some business cards, a couple of "Shoe" comics about writing, some silly string (3 cans worth), a Tic-Tack-Toe game, a Jr. Slinky, some Quaker Rice Cakes, my phone, a printer, a white board, and some magnets and markers. Whew!

30. What color is your watch?

Does anybody really know what time it is? Don't have one, can't wear them and don't like them.

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia ?

Kangaroos, Foster's and Crocodiles.

32. Would you consider plastic surgery?
Nope.

33. What is your birthstone?
I have two!! Opal and Pink Tourmaline.

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru?
I'm shy, drive-thru for me, please.

35.How many kids do you want?

I always wanted SIX daughters (Samantha, Tabitha, Jessica, Rebecca, Veronica, and Jennifer). I am VERY happy with the three that God has blessed me with, however. Oh and the three boys as well.

36. Do you have a dog?

Two. A Golden Retriever who is turning eleven and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - possibly the dumbest dog I have EVER had. They both bring great joy and friendship to me and the kids.

37. Last person you talked to on the phone?

That would be my darling wife.

38. Have you met anyone famous?
Famous in their minds or others? If I have I don't recall, but then again I don't make a big deal out of that whole celebrity thing.

39. Any plans today?
Go home and spend some time with the kids, so they will remember who I am.

40. How many states have you lived in?
Six; Florida, New York, Colorado, California, Texas, and Illinois. I have also lived in the U.K.

41. Ever go to college?
To pick up chicks. Okay, I kid. Yes, I have some college, but not enough to make me "smart" yet.

42. Where are you right now?
Work.

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
Work.

44. Last song listened to?
I remember You by Skid Row is playing right now.

46. Are you allergic to anything?

Can I say Work?

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Don't know if they are my favorite, but I do wear them all the time, my steel-toed boots.

48. Are you jealous of anyone?
Not worth it to be.

50. Is anyone jealous of you?

If they are, they should get over it, real quick.

51. What time is it?

7:25 pm CST

52. Do any of your friends have children?

Pretty much all of them. It goes hand in hand with having children of your own.

53. Do you eat healthy?
If you consider oranges and sunflower seed healthy, then yes. Trying to do better, I promise.

54. What do you usually do during the day?
That would be work.

55. Do you hate anyone right now?

No. Hate is a very strong word, and like jealousy it really isn't worth it, in my opinion.

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
I try to.

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
Forty-One.

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Yes. In Texas, Missouri and Illinois. Elitches changed over to a Six Flags after I stopped living in Colorado, so I can't count that one. Same goes for the one in California.

60. How did you get one of your scars?
My wife didn't like the "spider" crawling on my arm. A mole with some hair growing out of it. I tell people I was shot during the first Iraqi War - they seem to be impressed by that more.

Now I must go home and be with my family.

God Bless!

NaBloPoMo Anyone?

You all know how much I love these kind of things, right?

Anyway.

I do.

So, starting on March 1, there will be a NEW NaBloPoMo for every month - with themes!!! For instance, March's theme is Lists. So I will have to come up with thirty-one unique lists, I am assuming that they need to be unique; otherwise what is the point, right?

Feel free to give me some list ideas. Otherwise there might be lists about ten ways to drink Diet Coke - okay, that would be an easy one, but you understand.

On top of the monthly committment I am making, I still have my annual one, for Blog365. Yes, I am insane, but still doing okay after forty-six days. Wow, has it been that many already? Cool.

Bye-bye

History Repeated?

Not a good history at that.

Another school shooting at a university, Northern Illinois University, in DeKalb, Illinois. Roughly 40 miles from where I sit at this moment. This is a really bad trend that is happening lately at schools at all levels, unfortunately.

What can be done about it? I don't know, but I wish there was something that could be done to make these kids feel safer. Better yet, I wish there was a way to tell if someone was about to try something like this and get them help. I'm sure all of our politicians will come out with new ideas for newer and stronger laws; laws that will inevitably take away freedoms from law-abiding people and give criminals a little more courage to break them.

Okay, no time for soapboxes.

Please keep everyone at NIU in your prayers, including the families of those affected by this tragic event.

Hail Mary...

Heroes and Disney Meet the White Dress!

This is going to be a boring post because I have to get up in a little over five hours and I am tired, so...

I played my first "Hard" level on Guitar Hero 3 tonight. Uh, it was hard! Go figure, right?

Monster is cute when he talks now. It's amazing how much he can say with one word, over and over again. :-)

Cuddlebug got herfirst Holy Communion dress tonight. Her first choice. She said it was the best that they saw all night.

Okay, I'm tapped, seriously. I need to get a few hours of sleep, before I spend my hour with Jesus in the morning. I'll just have to do more tomorrow, I guess.

Or later, when I can't fall asleep because I am listening to all the "Guitar Heroes" in my house.

I guess Monster will be playing 'Jack Sparrow' for Halloween, some year. Just can't pass a deal up, I guess.

Poor Monster is crying because he saw a mimi(Mickey) bag. As in the mouse.

Okay, it's all nonsense now, and I will look back on this someday and wonder what the heck was going on. The only concrete thing I've written is the state of my fatigue.

So, Good Night and God Bless.

Desktop Tower Defense

I am completely addicted to this inane game, and I highly reommend that you try it.

What do you get when you mix a sheet of ice and a large man carrying boxes of Girl Scout Cookies?

CRASH!!!

And a little bit of pain.

"What You Have Is Enough" by the Voice of the Beehive is a song that reminds me of walking through the park below Edinburgh Castle. Probably because their "Let It Bee" album was one of my favorite cassettes at the time. Yes, I said cassette. Hard to believe that was only 22 years ago, eh?

Wait a minute. That was 22 years ago?!? Where did the time go? Why haven't I been back? What am I going to do with my life?

Exercise for you to try the next time you want to express your feelings...

I feel (insert "I" statement here, preferably a feeling)
when (insert a descriptive)
because (why do you feel the way you are feeling?)
I wish/want (what do you want the result of this conversation to be)

Next...

Looks like it's going to be Obama versus McCain for the next president of the USA. How do I feel about that? Not sure. As I have stated several times before, no one really excites me in this race. Too bad Sarkozy is French, I guess. :-)

I have ideas for future posts, I only hope that I will remember them when it comes time to do such...

Did that sound right? Oh well, if I'm questioning myself, it must be bedtime.

Night-night all!!

Guitar Hero 3 Must Die!!

Okay, maybe I am being a bit extreme here, but this stupid video game is turning my kids into evil and violent little brats!

Well, one at least.

No, not Monster (note: new nickname, in case you missed from previous episode).

I'm talking about Cuddlebug. Such venom, such anger, such another word that means the same thing. I hate when I do that! Anyway, the girls, CB and SAPLG came home from Irish Dance classes. I said that they could play the game for the next 30 minutes, then it was prayer time. (we're trying to pray a Rosary every night - we'll get it sometime) SAPLG was up first and played her tune. Now it was CB's turn.

CB: Okay SAPLG, it's my turn.
SAPLG: Just a minute, I need to finish.
CB: Dad! She won't let me play.
Me: SAPLG you need to finish up and let CB have her turn.
SAPLG: Okay, but I was just finishing up here.
Me: Okay. CB, when she finishes you will get your turn.

The next thing I hear is one of the worst shreaks I have ever heard, from both of them.

Me: That's it! Both of you get your jammies on and go to bed!
CB: But Dad!
Me: Now, young lady.
CB: But Dad!

SAPLG actually did what she was told and got her jammies on and went to bed. Meanwhile...

CB: No, Dad!
CB: But Dad!
CB: No!
CB: No!
Me: 1, 2, ...

Then CB did something that I am still kind of in shock over. She put the guitar (from the game) over her head and went to turn on the television, and the game.

Me: ALL THREE NAMES!!! Get your butt in bed, right now!

That did the trick. Of course she whimpered in bed for another thirty minutes, before falling asleep. I couldn't believe that she would do that. That she would even think about it. That makes four of my six fighting hard for their independence. I guess I'm getting old.

***Note: Benjy is looking over my shoulder and just said "All three names?" So, I figured if he didn't get it, maybe I should explain it. ALL THREE NAMES, is in place of her first, middle and last name - the dreaded whammy, when you knew that you had crossed the line. And since I am paranoid, I guess, I just did that instead of saying Louisa May Alcott! Got it? Good, I hope. Note ends here***

GIRL SCOUT COOKIES: Are in! We loaded up cars and everyone should be expecting to get their wallets out to pay for these diet breakers, maybe I'll share my experiences with the frozen world of Batavia later, let's put it this way, I'm still thawing out.

Good Night All!

Let's go Out to Eat, part one

So there I was working hard on a homework assignment, watching the kids, playing video games. When the phone rings...

Me: "Hey."

Mrs. "Hey, Church is going to run long tomorrow, we're just now getting out. (it's 5:45 and Mass started at 4:15 - yep, it was a little longer than normal). So, what are we doing for dinner?"

Me: "I don't know, not really hungry and the kids (I had #6, Cuddlebug, Magpie and LHS at home with me) haven't asked for anything, yet."

Mrs. "Well, what are you making?"

Me: "Nothing."

Mrs. "We'll be home in a few minutes, you can get the kids ready then."

Me: "For what?"

**** Editorial note - I'm not putting in quotations from this point until I do, okay? So, no complaining. :-)

Mrs. So we can go and get something then, it's almost six and I know that I am hungry.

Me: I don't want to go out.

Mrs. I thought that...

Me: Let's just order a pizza

Mrs. I don't want pizza

Me: Well I don't feel like going out and I'm not dressed for it.

Mrs. What, are you in your shorts? Just put on some pants and we can go when I get home.

Me: Don't really feel like going anywhere.

Mrs. Fine, you better start making something for dinner then.

Me: Like what?

Mrs. I don't know, just not pizza.

Me: Okay, sure. Bye. (Clearly distracted at this point, because the creeps in the game I am playing are making it through my last defense. I HATE THAT!)

Mrs. Bye.

Ten minutes later the Mrs. is home and dinner is made, dinner is started, I completely forgot everything from the above conversation.

Mrs. What are we having for dinner.

Me: What are you making?

Mrs. Are you serious? You could have had the kids ready to go at least, instead you are sitting there in your stupid fat shorts.

Me: They aren't stupid

Mrs. Yes they are.

Me: I said that we could order a pizza, because I didn't want to go out.

Mrs. I thought we were going to get something to eat.

Me: We can eat pizza, you know.

Mrs. Fine, whatever. You eat what ever it is you want to order, I don't want pizza. I wanted chicken, or something like that.

Me: We can order from KFC then.

Benjy: Yea, I would love some chicken.

LHS: No chicken

Magpie: I want chicken

Me: See.

Mrs. See what?

Me: Order chicken from KFC, and since you are already dressed and still have your jacket on, you can pick it up. (smiling)

Mrs. No. I don't want KFC.

Me: Then it's pizza.

Mrs. Goodbye. (Leaves in a huff and closes the door a little harder than necessary)

SAPLG: Dad, where's mom going?

Me: I don't know. I think she was going to go out to eat, and then go to Target.

Magpie: I want to go to Target!

Cuddlebug (CB): Me too!

LHS: Me too, I want to get a new game for the Wii.

Me: What game?

LHS: Rayman

Me: Is that the one with the crazy bunnies, or something?

LHS: Yes.

The door opens and back walks in the Mrs.

Mrs. What are we doing?

Me: I don't know.

Mrs. Just put on some pants and let's go.

Me: I don't want to.

Magpie: Daddy put on some pants, please.

Me: No I'm quite comfortable, thank you

Magpie: But Daddy, I want to go out to eat. (This goes back and forth for a little while, but eventually I relent)

Me: Fine.

The Mrs. had left again while we were all discussing this, the next thing I know is that SAPLG is talking to the Mrs. and trying to convince her to come back and get us. (She never left the driveway, by the way. It is part of the 'game' we play. You know of what I speak. She wants to do something, I don't and state that fact, she huffs a little, I puff a little more, she leaves, I wonder if she is actually leaving while acting like I don't care, yada yada yada)

SAPLG: No Mommy, Daddy has his pants on. Really. Okay. You are? Um, okay, bye.

SAPLG: She's in the driveway waiting.

Me: Okay kids lets go.

LHS: (Playing Mario Olympics) I don't want to go.

CB: I don't want to go

Magpie: Daddy can you tie my shoe.

#6: Noooooo, noooo, nooooo ( We're trying to put his shoes on, at this point. Followed by more Noooo's when we try to get his jacket on.)

Okay, so everyone is loaded into the van (yea!), Benjy has the "shotgun" seat, because he called it. So I get settled in the third row of the van seats. Not bad, could use more leg room, but then again, how often am I sitting there? Not much, I tell you.

LHS: Mom, #6 - Monster, (he just got a new nickname because Benjy, who also wants a new nickname so I will have to think of something appropriate, didn't like his baby brother being called #6, I asked him what should it be, and he said "Monster." So when "Monster" grows up with that name he will have Benjy to thank. Isn't stream-of-consciousness writing cool?) smells.

Mrs. Did he poop?

LHS: Smells like it.

Me: I just changed his diaper, he's not poopy.

Mrs. Are you sure?

LHS: Smells like it to me.

Me: Fine, but he isn't poopy, I tell you.

Five minutes and a clean diaper later (I know) we're off!

Mrs. Where do you want to go?

Me: You're asking me? I don't care, in fact, I'm not even hungry.

Mrs. Well pick something.

CB: Olive Garden.

SAPLG: Chili's!

Magpie: Yeah, Chili's!!

Me: I don't want Chili's

Me: How about KFC?

Magpie: No! I want Chili's!

CB: Olive Garden

LHS: On the Border, or TGI Fridays

Benjy: KFC!

Clearly, this was a bad idea.

Continued later... Maybe

Guitar Hero!!

Oh yeah baby, we are a rockin' the house now.

After years and years (okay, maybe just a couple of months), we finally had the stars align themselves just right, so that; 1) Target had it in stock, 2) We were at Target when it had it in stock, and most importantly, 3) We had money while we were at Target and it was in stock.

Amazing isn't it? What am I talking about? Why Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii, of course!

Mylhibug are there pictures of the Guitar Heroes in action? Yes, but the house is messy where the picture was taken so all I have is this:

and this

and this (told you it was messy)

Now, it should be noted that #6 is "playing" on a PS2 Guitar Hero 2 guitar, Benjy in the background actually has the Wii guitar. That sounds funny when I read it out loud. Try it. You know you want to. :-) (Side Note: Benjy says that he hopes Philosopher-Mom will play Fantasy Baseball with us - I guess he reads the blog as well.)

#6 finally got bored with Rockin' the House. Coloring was more his style anyway, since he can handle the crayons better. :-)

Have a nice evening. I have a feeling the boys are going to be up until the Wii hours of the morning playing guitar. Hope that they remember we have to leave for Mass at 7:20, Benjy is serving and LHS is an EM and I am commentating. I hope I can pronounce all the names this week.

Good night and God Bless.

Pitchers and Catchers Report!

Soon!

Can hardly wait. I already have my league set up for fantasy baseball, which has come to be a fun thing to do for me and our little group. In fact, we have added a couple of new players and are more than willing to accept anyone else. At least until the twenty slots are filled.

What that boring paragraph was really trying to say was, if you would like to join my fantasy baseball league, let me know and I will send you an invite. It is totally free and for us that play it, fun.

As a bonus, you tend to pay more attention to other teams, along with your favorites, because your players come from all the teams in Major League Baseball.

One last baseball note for you all. LHS has started already listing hi "wish-list" of games he would like to attend (i.e. Dad, can you buy me some tickets).

His choices are: April 2 against Milwaukee - Okay, let's think about this, it is in early April, in Chicago, on a Wednesday afternoon. Cold, not winter-like cold (high of 2 tomorrow, can't wait), but pretty cold to be watching a baseball game, especially a game that will have a fair share of errors due to it being the beginning of the season. (Ed: That was an extremely long sentence there buddy, gonna lose some readers if you keep that up) Did I mention that it will be cold? Then it falls on a Wednesday, now LHS and all my kids are homeschooled so there won't be a problem with the truancy officer, unless school work isn't done of course. Considering LHS's history, you make that call. Oh, and it will be COLD!

May 29 against Colorado (the National League Champion Colorado Rockies) - The only thing that I can complain about here is that Colorado tickets might be harder to come by. However, not nearly as hard to get as,

June 29 at the Chicago White Sox. Okay, this series, as well as theseries in Wrigley sell out almost before they actually go on sale. That will not be an easy ticket to get, plus it will be very crowded - and I don't like crowds, well the traffic after being with the crowds. Plus, there is so much vitriol involved with these games that my tender little ears will just be blushing all afternoon. :-)

Finally, and I can't remember the date (if I got the three other dates correct, it'll be remarkable) is against the St. Louis Cardinals. If there is a bigger rivalry than the White Sox, it would be the Cardinals.

Like I said, a "wish-list."

In other news... Apparently, the bottom is about to drop, temperature-wise. Like I mention earlier, our HIGH tomorrow will be 2 degrees Fahrenheit. Oh and windy as well, so we are talking wind chills in the 25 to 30 below zero, so we get to snuggle up in the house and stay warm. We even cancelled our pryer group for tomorrow because of the weather.

Saw my first 'Global Cooling' article yesterday. Seriously. I just wish I could find it again, so you all wouldn't think I was making it up. All I have to say is, this is a great big planet, with lots and lots of room, and I find it hard to believe that we, as in the human race, are responsible for the heating and cooling of the planet. Consider that when Mt. St. Helens exploded (I use this, only because I cannot think of anothe volcano), it left a larger 'carbon footprint' than all of the motor vehicle in the USA, today. Running. At the same time.

Don't worry about "Big Blue," when she's had enough she'll do something about it. Just ask the dinosaurs.

Okay, I'm done... For now. :-)

No Meat Fridays

Which means my boss wants to treat me to lunch. At Portillo's.

For those of you not from the area, it is a hot dog stand, gone big. Really big. Like 20 stores big. Oh, and they sell hot dogs there.

So what's a good Catholic boy like myself doing in a restaurant that specializes in hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches? Well, I could get the pepper and egg sandwich - they do make a good one. I could get a hot dog and pray that God will understand - they make really good hot dogs as well.

Nope. I had me some zesty minestrone and a side salad with some creamy Italian dressing. Guess how much?

If you guessed $4, you would be way low, if you guessed $14 you would be way high. If you guessed $9.65, you are good. It's no wonder that Portillo's has so many restaurants, with prices like that.

McDonald's doesn't ha a $.99 Filet O' Fish do they?

Another Long Day

means another short post. Maybe.

What is up with Apple? I mean I went and spend all that money getting my 16GB iPod Touch, because it had the largest memory and I need that, because I keep forgetting things, and now they are coming out with a 32GB iPod Touch. I swear they probably just have a master switch somewhere that they just turn the extra memory on with.

Kind of like cable. You know how they make you sit around from 8am until 2pm, so the cable guy can "install" your new channels. Let's be serious folks, they just want to see what illegal channels you have. Okay, I'm probably way off base there. But. I. Don't. Think. So.

Took the middle three, okay numbers 2, 3 and 4 to choir practice. Actually number 2 was there for some study time with a group of friends that are studying the Acts of the Apostles. I think that it is more of a social gathering than anything else, but they say that they are learning, something.

While they were doing that, I was hanging out by the local coffee shop - they have free Wi-Fi, and I can get it from the parking lot, to check my email. Hey, the church doesn't have Wi-Fi, yet. They are still building the school.

I got up at 2:30 this morning, to get to Adoration by 3am. Truth be told, I was awake at 12:30, and I had three choices; blog (didn't do that), go to Adoration early, or try to sleep. I did the latter, which made 2:30 a really hard time to wake up. Why was I up at 12:30? Probably has something to do with the great pain in my mouth. I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to oral hygiene, I am not the best example. Let me put it this way, when the kids balk at doing the brushings of their pearly whites, I show them my mouth and they commence with such vigor, that you would think their lives depended on it. Maybe they do.

Anyway, I had some work done a while back, maybe a decade or so ago, and it seems like something got underneath it and... Well it's not supposed to have stuff go underneath it. I keep calling it an "it," but it really isn't a crown or an implant.

Did I mention that I had a rough night sleeping last night, and have been up since 2:30 this morning.

Okay, just heard this... Benjy and his friend Dominic had to come up with their own amendment to the Constitution, so Benjy comes up with "Every American citizen should become Mexican citizens, because their food is better."

Maybe homeschooling wasn't such a good idea, afterall.

Okay, I'm spent. I aoplogize for this being everywhere and nowhere. I promise to do better tomorrow. Because...

"The Sun will come out tomorrow..."