Sunday - 22 Words

Peaceful Sundays are always fun, 

When there is lots of sun.

Nothing to worry or fret about

Except maybe Benjy's soccer tryout.

So You Think This Is Easy?

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. 

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. 

English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France . 

Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. 

Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? 

If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is it an odd, or an end?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? 

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? 

Have noses that run and feet that smell? 

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

Furthermore, here are reasons why the English language is so hard to learn:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8)  A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

Oh, and P.S. Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?

Hope you all smiled at that and are enjoying your weekend!

Vida la Love Story

Love this!!



h/t Rose

Bushwackers

Okay, now that I have your attention. This is a cool and refreshing drink that goes down smooth and easy. Some might say a little too easy, so remember to drink responsibly.

Why the name? Who knows? That is just what we called it and not because of a certain former President of the United States either. Although I can see people that didn't like the President drinking these and possibly dreaming of… I won't go there.

Anyway, this is best in the heat of the summer, which is quickly approaching (although it doesn't really seem like it here in the greater Chicagoland area), but I am sure that it is good year round.

Enjoy!

BUSHWACKERS

4 oz. Cream of Coconut

2 oz. Kahlua

1 oz. Bacardi Black Rum

1 oz. Hiram Walker Dark Crème de Cocoa

4 oz. Half and Half

4 Cups of Ice

Blend until smooth. Serves 2.

Again, I will remind everyone to DRINK RESPONSIBLY!! Don't want to lose anyone to stupidity.

Play Time!

What's that you say? I'm too old for play time? I think not.

For example, I have been known to play soccer with my team of U14 boys. Granted most of them can run circles around me, but unfortunately, some can't. I mean think about it, here I am an overweight forty-one and more than a half year old, outplaying young and in shape thirteen and fourteen year olds.

It's not looking good America.

***

Take this blog, as another example. I love to write. I should write more. You would think I would have a book or two published by now, if you just listened to me. Yet, all I seem to be concerned with, writing-wise, is this blog. Let's be honest here, it's not exactly wowing the general public. Oh sure I have my followers, but how many of you go to your other friends and say, "you need to check out Roger's blog, it's freaking awesome!"

Heck, most of you that read this never even comment. Should I take this as a sign? Maybe I should "dirty" it up a bit and use some choice four letter words. That should reel people in, right? Actually, I think that if I can figure out the whole META tag thingy, I can put some killer SEO words in my description, and be able to clear a million by year's end.

Like I said, play time.

***

Watching the Chicago Fire playing Chivas in some intense MLS action. Lots of yellow cards, 6 so far with only 52 minutes played, plus two penalty kicks. So I must leave you now.

Any guesses as to my Latin below? Leave a comment, if you like.

Sing Me Out To The Ballgame

Girl's softball.

My, what a noisy game. I know that there is chatter in baseball of the likes:

"We need a pitcher, not a belly itcher"

or 

"Hey batter batter, swing batter!"

Girls on the other hand, they sing.

They sing goofy songs. "... beat on the ball, beat on the ball, beat beat beat beat on the ball."

They even sing songs that I don't think are very appropriate, but since they are twelve and under, it must be okay, right?

Tonight, I witnessed a completely new facet of the singing.

Smack singing.

You all know what smack is, right? It's basically "trash talking" used to try and intimidate the opposing team.

Yeah, smack singing.

I wish I could remember the words, but it involved Britney Spears and Salt -n- Peppa (what twelve year old today even knows WHO Salt -n- Peppa are?), and shaking booty, and "no you didn't." It also has some "moves" that go along with the words.

Well this song, of which I will have to pay much closer attention to, was sung by our girls first. It was clear that the opposing team hadn't heard this one yet, because when they first tried it, they put in Helen Keller instead of Britney Spears, I think.

Severe mismatch, and they were called out by my daughter's team, who then decided to show them how it was done. Back and forth it went. I just wish I had my video camera, as it quite entertaining - as long as you don't look at it as being poor sportsmanship, or anything.

Jessica did good in the field, never letting a ball get past her, and she even got an RBI, I believe.

Oh, there was even an inside-the-park-home run for Jessie's team.

Granted there were two errors on the play, but hey, the girl that hit the ball, never stopped running. 

The game itself was interesting, with our team being the home team and trailing 21-14 going into the bottom of the sixth, or seventh (yes, I was paying attention, I had three younger ones with me, so shh!). So, the team that rarely scores the maximum allowed runs (five per inning, or you can score up to five more that the opposing team, until the last inning when you can score to your heart's content) down by seven.

Final score: 21-22, we win!!!

Hot and Fluffy

A little levity now. (told you)

666

Just noticed that this post is number, 666. (gasp!)

I need some good thoughts for this one, and you can be rest assured that it will immediately be followed by number 667. 

No, I'm not superstitious, I just don't like that number. Period.

Speaking of that number, have you ever ridden down that highway? I believe that it is in Colorado and Utah. I've seen signs for it, but I don't believe that I have ever actually been on the highway. In fact, I had heard that they were going to rename the highway. That is probably being silly, especially since it has been around for a long time.

Here is some more historical data, if you are interested

And Then There Was Doubt

Didn't really want to watch it, but, so far it's not too bad.

I myself am guilty of pre-judgement, I'm afraid. I didn't want to see it, because I really had no interest in the subject matter, but now I am actually enjoying it. I'll let you know more later.

Nuggets are currently leading 61-53, in case you are reading this live - in which case, you really need to get a life. Seriously.

Well, the movie just took an interesting change of pace. Meryl Streep is quite the cynical old sister, now isn't she? Is she right, or is she wrong? Now I have to watch the rest.

See ya!

Graduation Party

Lots of preparation, 

Lots of fun, 

Lots of food

Everyone sees my son.

Exhaustion follows,

Without a doubt,

Twenty two words. 

Out!

What The Heck?!

I got an invite to be friends with a Mayo Payaso on Facebook.

Uh, no thanks.

1) I'm no friend of clowns.

2) I have NO IDEA who the heck you are.

3) Bragging about being EVIL and naming yourself an Evil Clown in Spanish, is also a tops on my list of friends.

So, if you all want to be my friend on Facebook, come on down. But don't try to be witty and especially not evil.

Oh, and if your profile picture is of a clown, be it evil or not, you can pretty much count me out as a friend.

Now I must return to Bejeweled Blitz.

BTW - I'm serious about the whole not liking clowns bit, which is kind of ironic, but you'll have to stay tuned to find out why.

Play(ground) of the Game?

From the Nuggets-Lakers game last night. Taken straight from the playground.

Enjoy

Nope, I Didn't

Jenni called me at work today.

J - How's it going?

R - Okay, just swamped.

J - Hey, California is what time?

R - Pacific, they are two hours behind us.

J - Oh, so your living in California time now?

R - Huh?

J - Well you wrote that you were going to be in to work bt 5AM at the latest.

R - ???

J - Hello?

R -???

J - See what happens when you write stuff in your blog? 

Good Night!

A Liitle Bit Of This

I am really straining for a title, so it's gonna have to be the best I can give you at this late hour.

 

From work, no less.

 

Yes, I am at work here at 11:00PM, and plan on being back by 5:00Am at the latest.

 

Insane.

 

You betcha.

 

At least I get overtime. Whatever!

 

So, you may be asking what exactly I have to say at this point in time, aren't you? What? You aren't asking yourself what Roger is doing up so late (okay, it's not really late for me, just for me to be AT work.), and what words of wisdom he has to share?

 

Too bad, because you're gonna get it  anyway, as long as my fat fingers don't screw this up.

 

I don't really have a hometown, per se, because my Dad was in the Air Force. So being the military way, my Dad would get transferred to various locales around the world (although we kids and my Mom always were stateside - I had to actually join the USAF to see more of the world). I was born in Florida, then moved to NY, CO, CA, CO, TX, CO, TX - so where would you pick for home?

 

If you picked Colorado, you would be correct. (That would be CO for those of you following this in the wee morning hours). I am a HUGE Denver Broncos fan, I loved watching Denver Bears/Zephyrs minor league baseball games and was thrilled when the Rockies came to town in baseball expansion. I must admit to thinking of the Colorado Rockies NHL team when the name came out, but that's just because I am old enough to remember them. I used to go to Denver Nuggets games all the time, because both of my Uncles were season ticket holders, so why wouldn't I? So I would say that I was a huge follower of the Nuggets as well.

 

Guess who's back in the playoffs in a big way?

 

Yep the Nuggets, who from time to time, we would nickname the "No Guts." I actually wanted to be a Nugget and thought that Dan Issel was one of the greatest players ever, along with David Thompson, Alex English, Monty Towe. Who? I'll have to see if I can find a link for him, let's just say that I am taller than he is, by a decent margin and I am only 5'10" - ish. Okay, as you can see if you follow the link, I remember him being a lot shorter than he really was. Sorry Monty.

 

I digress.

 

Tonight at work, I found a reason to view/listen to the game via ESPN360.com, and the magic of the Internet. Way cool. Best part? The Nuggets beat the Lakers and now go back to Denver tied up at a game a piece in their best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series.

 

Time for some Denver love I'm thinking.

 

Anyone with me?

 

 

Great Night For A Ballgame

With the weather in the mid-70s, and the mighty Timber Rattlers in town, we went to the ballpark. Not just any ballpark, but Elfstrom Stadium the home of the Kane County Cougars a single A team that is affiliated with the Oakland Athletics. Many a MLB professional has passed through our little ballpark in Geneva, Illinois - a mere five miles from home.

The only downer was the Cougars losing to the Timber Rattlers 7-5.

It was still a great evening though!

Finally!

Little Miss Katie started playing softball this year.

So did a lot of other girls.

Some games can be painful to watch, but it's all about the learning process and mostly about having fun. So we deal with it.

Tonight, they played like twelve-year olds that have been playing the game for three or more years.

Simply put, they rocked!

16-4 was the final, but that didn't matter, because the girls were actually playing the game, and getting good hits. They were also being very patient at the plate.

Compared to that first game, a month or so ago, it has been an awesome transition.

So to the Batavia Heat, U10 girls softball team, I lift my glass of water to you.

Well done!

If You Weren't Afraid Of Flying Before

Then check this out.

 

News 8 has recently revealed serious flaws in the way the FAA licenses mechanics who fix planes.

There is evidence of years of problems in testing these mechanics. There is also evidence that hundreds of mechanics with questionable licenses are working on aircraft in Texas.

Now there is evidence of repair facilities hiring low-wage mechanics who can't read English.

I think I will just take my car, thanks.

You Should See The Other Guy!

He Put A Needle In My Eye

Tooth, and discovered a treasure trove of pus, if there can be such a thing.

All together now... EWWWWWWWWW!!

Then since the tooth was pretty much a piece of fragmented enamel, he got out the channel locks, wiggled it around a bit, and pulled!

Sweet relief!

So, how was your day?

"If he'd had a gun he would have shot me, but it was a banana"

Okay, yes I am sleep-deprived right now, but I heard this story on the way in to work and couldn't resist sharing.

 

A teenager allegedly tried to hold up a convenience store with a banana, but ate the would-be weapon before police arrived.

Forsyth County sheriff's deputies arrested 17-year-old John Szwalla following the attempted robbery of the 109 Biz Center in North Carolina, the Winston-Salem Journal reports.

Szwalla allegedly walked into the store holding something under his shirt and asked for a Mountain Dew, before telling store owner Bobby Ray Mabe he had a gun and demanding money.

Mabe and a customer managed to grab the would-be robber and hold him down in a chair until police arrived.

"If he had a gun he would've shot me," Mr Mabe told the Journal.

"But he had a banana."

While waiting for the local sheriffs, Szwalla ate the banana.

Too bad the police thought to take a picture of the peel.

 

So he couldn't just split.

Ugh!

If there were one word to describe how I feel at the moment, ugh, would be it.

I have a tooth that is throbbing - no I won't go and see a dentist, why do you ask? So I took some extra strength Tylenol to ease the throb. 

Guess what? Not working.

In fact, all it has done has made me have an upset stomach AND a throbbing tooth. No, I still won't go to the dentist, as this to shall pass, thankyouverymuch.

No, I'm not afraid of the dentist, just his bills. I hear all the time how people find these great dentists that don't charge an arm and a leg, I just can't seem to find one. Granted I do not have the ideal mouth, I know this. Apparently I have been blessed with soft teeth, that and the fact that I, for some odd reason, feel that I do not have the time to take care of said teeth. Never mind the fact that I will spend hours on this computer playing the latest buzz game (chain rxn, if you are keeping track - at least for me). I still don't seem to find the time to take a few minutes to pay attention to the pearly whites.

I am a bad example for my kids. 

Actually, I have turned into a great example for my kids, so they will not follow in Daddy's footsteps, or would that be brush strokes. Whatever. 

Unfortunately, some of my kids have my problem (soft teeth), and it shows in their semi-annual visits. That would be #2 and #5 for those keeping track at home. Poor kids. At least they do spend the few minutes a day to attend to the enamel, hopefully it will last their lifetime.

Or maybe they will grow up to become, or marry a dentist. In which case, I will be first in line.

Mary May

The month of May, as all of us Catholics now, is the month of Mary. I've seen this video on a few of the blogs I read, so I figured that since it was still May, I could share this really cool video. The payoff is great!

Out Of The Blue

Yes, I admit it, I was a fan of Debbie Gibson, (she's now Deborah)I mean she actually has talent, as opposed to her "rival" Tiffany, so I was surprised to see that she has made an action-adventure movie who's trailer is a viral hit. Why not join the fun?



Gotta at least rent it, right?

Green House

Here we have a story about the benefits of going green.

It was supposed to be a shining example of the green movement -- a completely independent solar-powered house with no gas or electrical hookups.

Seven months ago, officials gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the $900,000 house owned by the city of Troy that was to be used as an educational tool and meeting spot.

But it never opened to the public. And it remains closed.

Did you see the price for that thing? If you go to the link you can even see a picture of this amazing house. I had a friend whose double-wide trailer looked nicer, and cost a lot less. Yet this will one day save the planet, so we shouldn't complain I guess.

***

These Librarian movies starring Noah Wyle is, campy? Yes. But it is actually kind of fun to watch, as long as you don't take it too seriously. It is no Lost though, that's for sure.

***

I shall now write a series of nonsensical nonsense to see if anyone can decipher the secret message hidden inside. Like what exactly is the Language of the birds? Is there such a thing as this language? Can anyone tell me? I mean does it sound like Latin? Also did you know that two weeks ago it didn't rain on Friday and the weather was AWESOME on Saturday, yet they canceled the soccer games for Saturday. Today it has been raining all day, and it's been raining off and on all night. I bet we play our games tomorrow. Funny system, I tell ya, because I believe the fields will suffer much more tomorrow, if we play, than if we had played two weeks ago. Oh, just so you know, there is no secret message hidden in this paragraph, I was just messing with you. Back to sanity.

***

That's it kids!

Good night and God Bless!

So I Quit Twitter

Didn't really see the point anymore, especially since I'm rarely there anyway. Besides, you can't contain me to a mere 140 characters, right?

****

Danny came in from outside today, his pants were wet, and his shoes covered with sand.

Mommy - Danny, what happened?

Danny - Um, my pants are wet.

M - I know honey, and your shoes...

D - They're dirty

M - How did that happen?

D - Quigley made me do it.

For those of you keeping track at home; Quigley is our dog.

M - Quigley did that?

D - Yep. He chasing me, and said to stop.

M - Oh. (To Quigley) Bad dog.

D - Yeah, bad dog!

***

Wasn't Lost just the most awesome thing on television last night? Oh and the fact that Danny (not my Danny) got kicked off of American Idol a week too late was okay, but nothing compared to Lost. Jacob and Esau revisited maybe? Anyone? Bueller, Bueller... This kind of blows my whole "dream theory" away, but it could happen. You never know.

**

Holy smokes - I have a high school graduate and another starting high school. Oh, and come September, I will have four, count them, four kids in double-digits age-wise! Yet I still feel like I'm twenty-five.

*

Chunky has finally started to lose some weight. He's now at 292, and glad that the weight has finally started to leave his massive body. He was getting concerned that all that work would be for naught. But now that he's started to limit his intake, as well as exercise, the weight has started to drop. Yay!!

Bonus!!

My younger brother made Master sergeant in the USAF, no word yet from the youngest. So Michael, congratulations on making it to the senior NCO grade. Does this mean that you have to leave your Hawaiian paradise?

Good night and God Bless!

Anyone Ready For January?

Because that's when Lost comes back.

 

What an awesome way to end the season - answered a few questions, and left a few hanging as well. I actually had a really long post about tonight's season finale, but if you don't watch the show, you would just be bored. Maybe I'll do a season five retrospective at some point - more for my sake, than yours. Trust me.

 

So now I have nothing to watch, series-wise, that interests me. Bring on baseball, NASCAR, and even the NHL playoffs. I should be excited about the NBA as well, especially since the team from my hometown (or at least where I grew up), the Denver Nuggets are in the Western Conference Finals. For the first time since I graduated high school - 24 years ago.

 

I can always go back to watching Stargate SG-1 episodes.

 

Time to go and relax my brain now.

Just A Dream

That's my call for Lost when it's all said and done.

 

You heard me. Well you read me at least.

 

A dream, and I am proposing that it's John Locke that is having this vivid dream, as he is recovering from a mental breakdown, whilst in a mental institution. Know what else?

 

No, what?

 

All the characters in Lost, are fellow patients at the hospital.

 

Now I must head home to watch the finale... maybe more later, depends on if my brain survives tonight.

 

Bye bye!

Think You Are Having A Bad Day?

Change places with the owner of this vehicle! HOT!

Mondays Suck

Creative title, no?

 

Mondays suck.

 

Mondays suck worse when you had a whole lot of broccoli on Sunday, for dinner.

 

Mondays really, really suck when you realize that broccoli seems to have certain qualities about it, and the fact that you ate so much may just be hazardous to something.

 

Mondays really, really, really suck when you have read several chapters in your book, which you only read in one room.

 

A small room, with two closets and poor lighting at that.

 

Shall I go on?

 

Now back your lunch.

22 Word Sundays

An attempt to start something that may have already been started, but my brain is fried because it is Sunday, wanna play?

A Day In My Life (well a Saturday at least)

Today was a blur, to say the least.

Wake up at 8:30 (I know, right?!)

Leave for soccer game at 9:15 - after a few panicked moments because I forgot where the waivers were, Ugh! (Sorry Jenni)

Soccer game at 10:00 - we tied 2-2 (bummer)

Jessica has a softball game at 11:30 - unfortunately, she was the odd person  out and no one saw her play.

Drive home to change into referee gear - 11:15

Leave for referee duties - 12:15

Referee game - 1:00 (Burgundy team wins 4-0, but it was 1-0 until about five minutes left, when there were three quick scores)

Katie has a softball game at 2:00 --- Andy also has the Prom to go to, we'll see him tomorrow after the after-prom around 5 AM! Think he'll be up in time for Mass at 8? 

Leave referee duties and head to Katie's softball game, in another town(far, far away (7 miles))

Get to Katie's game around 2:30

Game ends at 4:00 (right on time!)

Home at 4:30 - time to watch Maggie and her new two-wheel skills, and help Danny improve his four-wheel ability

Start thinking about dinner at 5:15

Start making spaghetti and meatballs at 5:20 - Jessie and Benjy leave for the store to get Mother's Day gift, Jenni goes to Wal-Mart for other stuff... delay making dinner until 6:00, because no one would be home to enjoy it.

Get a call from friend at 6:02 asking if Benjy and I would like to go to the Fire game tonight. Benjy and Jessie still not back from trip downtown, so I had to call Benjy to find out a) where he is, and b) if he wanted to go to the game. 

Call friend at 6:05 saying that we'll be over in fifteen minutes.

Ask Jenni if that is okay. (oops!)

Discover what my Mother's Day gift to Jenni is (finish cleaning the basement)

Pickup Benjy and Jessie at 6:12

Leave for Fire game at 6:20

Arrive at Fire game at 7:10 - yes we were flying! 

Watch Fire game 1-1 tie. They are now 2-0-6, still undefeated but not really satisfying with six ties.

Home at 10:30, blog post at 11:00.

Bed... Now!

Good Night and God Bless!!

For The Love Of A Game

The sky was what they call around here as mostly cloudy, yet it appeared to me to be all-cloudy, with no blue peeking through. The temperature was in the mid-fifties with a slight breeze coming from the west that made it feel closer to fifty.

 

Girls were chatting and giggling in between the ting of a bat as the coaches were yelling instructions and reminding the girls that they were to be "fielding not talking." The eleven and twelve-year old girls dutifully ignored the coaches complaints. This was softball, which was a time for sharing and playing and giggling. Definitely not for something as boring as fielding. Besides it had been at least three hours since they saw each other last.

 

Six o'clock came and the game was supposed to start, there are no lights on this field so the fading sunlight, which was already being filtered through the layers of clouds. The rain, may prove to be a factor as well.

 

The first of many trains could be heard in the distance, blowing it's horn and the clacking of the train wheels on the track could also be clearly heard, as the wind carried the sound waves across the field to where we were seated.

 

The game started at 6:10, only ten minutes late.

 

Fast-pitch softball at this age group is mostly dependent upon how strong your pitching is, and how strong your catcher is, both in fielding and throwing. Otherwise, it quickly turns into a walk, steal, score-fest of epic proportions. Which can make for some long innings, really long innings. luckily they limit the runs to five per inning, or until the team that is down scores five more runs than their opponents.

 

There are occasional moments of glory, at the plate, but they are few and far between. Mostly it's walk, steal second, steal third, steal home. Sometimes it's dropped third strike, steal second, steal third, steal home. Rarely is it good contact on the ball, for a hit. Rarer still is it a great play in the field as the girls really are just learning the ropes. So it comes down to pitching and catching.

 

Just like the nine and ten-year old boys in baseball.

 

Jessie's first at-bat was a success, well in the sense that she made contact with the ball and ran safely to first base, unfortunately, the pitcher threw the ball home and made the force out.

 

Bummer.

 

She did however, steal second, steal third and score on a passed ball. So it was all good.

 

Then came the rain, which is where I had to stop my "live blogging" of the game, because the laptop was getting wet. I will tell you that the next three innings were lots of fun, with the other team scoring eight to our five, we then scored five more and they scored three, so going into the third inning - an hour and a half later, the score was 10-11, with our team being down a run. We then score six more, unfortunately they scored six in their half of the inning, so the score after four innings was 16-17. On to the fifth inning, as the darkness quickly descended upon us.

 

We score four runs with our first four batters, but you can tell that we are quickly running out of time, and sure enough after Jessie walks to first base, the umpire calls over the coaches and they decide to suspend the game, as if the fifth inning never started. So, at some future date, the girls will replay the fifth inning and then play the sixth and seventh innings to decide it.

 

Tomorrow Benjy has a ten o'clock soccer game, Jessie an eleven thirty softball game, Benjy and I then ref a game at one and Katie has a two thirty game. Busy, busy day.

 

This is my life, and I wouldn't change it for anything.

 

Good night and God Bless! 

Look Familiar

This is an editorial cartoon from 1934.

Space Is Disease And Danger, Wrapped Up In Darkness And Silence

It starts tomorrow, at Midnight. Will you be there?

 

Me either, too old, I'm not a big fan of crowds, oh, and I would have a hard time keeping up I think.

 

Now go and wash your hands!

I'll Have a Shot of Illuminati

 Recently, At a Hollywood Starbucks . . .

Third Time's The Charm

It started two years ago. Maggie wanted to learn how to ride her bike WITHOUT training wheels. Granted, she was only four at the time, but Benjy and Katie picked it up at four pretty easily, so it was worth a shot.

I think we went all of half a house before she cried out, "Daddy can we put the training wheels back on?"

She never asked again, for the rest of the year. Maggie was quite content riding her "Dora" bike, with the four wheels and so were we. I mean we didn't want her to grow up too soon, right?

The following year, her "Dora" bike no longer fit, so we moved up to a "princess" bike, with the promise of taking her training wheels off soon. 

Soon turned into two months later, when she begged me to take them off. 

I complied.

Maggie actually made a good try and I think that if she didn't fall... well, you know what came nest. "Daddy, can we put the training wheels back on?"

Then she went to Disney World with her grandparents, and I don't think she asked again until November. However, I being the smart Dad that I am realized that the seventy degree day we were currently enjoying, would soon be a thirty degree blustery day, so I deflected her desires. I was a mean Daddy then.

That brings us to this weekend, when Maggie wanted to start riding her bike, sans training wheels, immediately.

Good girl.

At least that was my initial thoughts, until she was struck by the fear of falling. Several laps up and down the block led to a frustrated Daddy, and an upset Maggie. We were saved by the sun going down, and the promise of Monday.

Monday came and went. I had to work late, so we never got around to trying again.

Until today.

She started off slow and I could feel the tension creeping into my neck, but then she had a breakthrough. You see, I start off behind her and give her lots of encouragement; "There you go Maggie... keep it going... nice and steady... you are doing great!" Before she knew it, I was running beside her, then in front of her. 

The smile was priceless.

Then she tried to turn. 

We'll have to work on that, I guess.

After we wash our hands. Oink, oink!

Urgo, We Hardly Knew Ya!

Only true Stargate SG-1 afficienadoes will appreciate that title.

 

Another great comic genius, yes I will call him a comic genius, has passed.

 

Rest In Peace Dom!

Need A Boost?

H/T The Deacon's Bench

Happy Star Wars Day

May the Fourth be with you!!

A Few Pics

Let's see what the cell phone gives me today - I have to remember to bring the camera along more often, at least the quality will improve.

Here's Katie, ready to play some softball.

Here she is, at bat - first game.


Today was our Loyalty Day Parade. Here are the kids waiting for the parade to start.

Getting impatient, waiting for the parade to start...


Still waiting...

Unfortunately, that is all the pictures I took - pretty boring parade. Except for the candy that the kids got, of course. I mean they were almost out of Easter candy.

Yay Loyalty Day.

One last thing...

Wash your hands!!

The Most Surreal Thing I Have Seen

Here I am, flipping through the channels when I come across a Mexican League Soccer game.

So I stop to watch.

It's in Spanish.

I don't speak Spanish.

Don't need to, it's Soccer!

That was not the surreal thing, I do it all the time, just ask my family. I almost always stop for a soccer game, the only time I don't is if a) Jenni won't let me. b) The kids won't let me. or c) Stargate is on.

Yes, I'm serious.

Back to the surreal images...

There is NO ONE in the stands. Not one person. Period. Nada. Nyet. Zip. Zero.

What is cool though is being able to hear EVERYTHING that goes on, during the game. Still can't understand it, but it's cool just the same.

So why were the stands empty, you ask. I'm sure that you know already... I'll give you three guesses, but the first two don't count. (Does anyone know the origin of this statement? I really have never gotten it, maybe someone can enlighten me). So do you give up? Okay, I'll tell you, because I like you.

Stupid Swine H1N1 influenza.

Now, go wash your hands!

Beaker Does Beethoven

A little classical music - Muppet Style!

Enjoy!

Crazy Eights

My friend Laura, has honored me with a tag. At least I believe it is an honor, I guess we'll see when I complete it, right?

So here goes...

Eight Things I Am Looking Forward To:

1) Sleep - I love to sleep, whenever my head allows me to.
2) Losing fifty pounds - Not just for the Kindle, but for me and my family, I would rather not die in my forties, or fifties, or sixties, seventies and eighties. Okay, maybe sometime in my eighties will be good, say Eighty-Six. Of course, that is not up to me, now is it?
3) Reading - ANYTHING! It would be really cool if it were on a Kindle.
4) Softball and Soccer Games - Nothing brings joy to my heart quite like watching my kids play and enjoy playing these sports.
5) Heaven - Although I would like to wait for another 45 odd years, if possible.
6) Cubs winning a World Series - Sure I might have to wait those 45 years for it to happen, but I still think it would be neat to see.
7) Andy going off to college - Such a great achievement for him, and I hope and pray that it will work out.
8) Star Trek - Yeah, I know, not nearly as philosophical as the previous seven - but it sure looks cool, don't you think?



Eight Things I Did Yesterday:


1) Woke Up - Praise Jesus!
2) Went to work
3) Listened to mass hysteria about a bug
4) Cancelled Soccer Practice - Lots of rain.
5) Went for a walk
6) Wrote two blog entries - did anyone notice? I've actually had a couple of days where I have written more than one a day. Crazy, aren't I?
7) Read lots of blogs - I have to keep up with my reader, otherwise it will become a major pain or I will be blowing off several of my reads, which would make me feel guilty.
8) Fell in love again with my wife and children - happens every day. They are AWESOME!




Eight Things I Wish I Could Do:

1) Write a best-selling novel
2) Go to Disney World, annually.
3) Visit all of the Disney Parks - They have one in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Anaheim, Orlando (my fav!), and Paris. Just one long road trip.
4) Have seven children... oh wait, already getting that.
5) Go to a World Cup
6) Go to the Moon
7) Become a Supreme Court Justice - have always wanted to do this, just never followed up on it - too lazy I believe.
8) See Jesus and Mary in person.

Eight Shows I Watch:

1) LOST - Oh yeah baby! One of the best shows EVER!!
2) Stargate SG-1 - Yeah, I know it's not on anymore, but I have ALL the DVD's, so I can watch it ANYTIME! Like right now.
3) Firefly - See #2
4) Eureka - I love this show, but don't get the Sci-Fi channel, so... I only watch it, when I think about it, online.
5) Stargate Atlantis
6) NCIS - Way cool!
7) Law and Order SVU
8) House

Eight Tags:

1) You
2) You
3) You
4) You
5) You
6) You
7) And
8) You

You, now have your mission, do you choose to accept? Let me know, if you do.