Just a Quick One

I have always been a fan of zip lines. I’ve seen lines that take you across the rainforest, from building to building and from house to house. I have never seen one that takes you across the ocean. I was so impressed with this, I had to stop my regular morning web surf to post this. Next time I’m in Haiti, I’m definitely doing this.

Let Christmas Begin

The Turkey and Dressing has been thoroughly consumed and the Christmas lights can go up.  We are planning on getting a tree this weekend.  My four year old can’t wait to get it up.  She’s already making her list for Santa and gives me updates every morning on what new items might be included.  Currently, a Princess Throne from the Disney store has caught her eye.  It announces your name when you sit on it which is all my little girl needs to boost her low self-esteem (with slight tone of sarcasm).   For some reason, she is also interested in a pair of binoculars.  This seems like an odd request for a four-year-old, but what do I know?

For the record, I have continued my exercise regimen.  I even “hard-cored” it on Thanksgiving morning by running in 30 degree weather.  There were probably ice crystals in my lungs, but all you nay-sayers can suck it.

Keepin’ it Goin’ & Poor Thanksgiving

I can’t say that it has been easy, but I wanted to let you know that I did workout yesterday and I did run today.  I decided to keep a regular update of my exercising status going in hopes that it would motivate me to actually go exercise on the days that I really don’t feel like doing it.  If I have to write more than a couple of times a week that I did not workout, feel free to flame me in the comments section of this well-written blog.  I will print them out and read them the next time I’m feeling like being lame.

Thanksgiving break is here!  If Thanksgiving were a person, it would be the red-headed adopted stepchild of the holiday season.  (No offense to any red-headed, adopted, or stepchild readers.  If you’re all three at once, sorry, but it does suck to be you.)  Everyone gets so pumped about Halloween.  As soon as the costumes get put up, the Christmas lights come out.  I have a rule in my house…no Christmas lights until Thanksgiving is over.   I even try to avoid stores that look like Santa vomited a cornucopia of Christmas cheer the day after Halloween.  I noticed that Starbucks is catching some flack  for breaking out the Christmas blend so early.  I hope they catch all kinds of hell for blowing off the National Day of Thanks to make a few extra dollars on an already bloated holiday.  On the other side of the coin, there are stores like Nordstrom’s.  They have signs outside the stores telling customers that they don’t plan to decorate before Friday.  They read, “Enjoy the day as we will — with our family and friends. Then, when Friday, November 25 rolls around, feel free to stop by for a bit of good cheer.”  Now there’s a store that deserves my Christmas money.  Too bad I couldn’t afford a package of underwear in there.

Whew!

{Paste obligatory apology for being gone fore so long here}

The busiest part of my year is DONE! I can’t tell you how happy I am. I get to re-introduce myself to the family after some very long days serving the high school football gods. It was a great season for me, but I’m glad it’s over.

In other news, the baby is rolling over and razzing. It’s funny to watch her figure out new sounds. She looks so pleased with herself when something new comes out. The big sister is helping out, too.

I am trying to get back on a healthy eating habit. It’s so hard during football season because time is so short. There is no time to make healthy meals and snacks. I try to be good and eat at the Subway, but there’s only so much of that a guy can take. Jared’s a better man than me I guess. Not only that, finding time to run is not easy. I’ve cut back to running about twice a week, but am planning to amp it back up now that I have my life back. I will post here in my progress with that… it will hopefully keep me motivated.

My brother had his Birthday recently. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO!

Oh, and the new Zune update came out, and it is off the hook! I can now sync wirelessly with my computer. It’s awesome because I record TV shows in my Vista Media Center and they automatically sync to my Zune when I walk in the house. Podcasts also update and sync auotmatically. I am also trying to figure out how to get my ZuneCard posted. It part of the enhanced “Zune Social”. When I get it to work, it will show you what I’ve been listening to.

Until next time!

Saturday Morning

I don’t have time to fill in on everything that’s been going on, so I thought I would leave this with another great memory from my youth.  Saturday morning cartoons with a MONSTER bowl of cereal were a staple of my weekly life as a kid.  Here’s a taste of one of my favorite shows from “back in the day”.

TV From My Childhood

I got so excited that I actually found this, I had to post it.

It’s hard for me to believe that I actually remember this “Hour of Kid-Joy” that apparently was on for only six months. If anyone has an info on DVD’s I would love to get my hands on them.

They just don’t make shows like this anymore….

Bubblemania For My Four Year Old

I’ve blogged before on birthdays so you can relive history if you have recently joined me.

Yesterday was my oldest daughter’s birthday party. It was pretty cool. We had a “Bubblemania” party. Basically, there were buckets of bubble soap and bubble machines everywhere for the little ones to play with. We also had Aria’s little pool set up as well as her “Bouncy House.” Everything else was the usual little kid party fare…cake, candles, presents, and breaking up 4-year-old fights.

All the mom’s came to this party. One other dad came. Anyone else notice this trend? I can’t complain because I can always find an excuse to miss another kid party. (Grass needs mowing, work to catch up on, hair needs to be washed…)

I can’t believe how fast these four years have gone by. My little girl is now the big girl and getting bigger everyday. She knows she’s getting bigger too….she reminds me everyday.

Big Tech Day Ahead

Tomorrow is a big day in the technology world. Apple has a big press announcement. Many are guessing that they are going to announce the next generation Ipod. We’ll see. I personally don’t care, because as many of you know, I am not an Apple fan. I am excited, however, that Zune has announced a price cut in advance of this latest Apple announcement. You can now get a brand new 30gb Zune for $199.

These are exciting times in the “PMP” wars. The IPhone has everyone’s hopes up that the next gen Ipods will be the same but without phone functionality. Could be, but this would definitely make the Ipods more expensive as Apple already loses $200 per IPhone: a loss subsidized by AT&T (a.k.a:Apple’s Newest Bitch). The problem for Apple is that expensive touchscreen technology that everyone is so “gaa-gaa” over on the Iphone. I personally think it’s fun to look at, but not very functional. I can walk down the street with a Zune in my pocket, change the tune, playlist, volume, and settings without even looking at it. Try doing that with an Ipod. Ever tried scrolling through a playlist on an Ipod? The finger goes ’round and ’round and ’round and ’round and ’round….you get the idea.

I could go on, but I’m tired and ready for bed. Go buy a Zune for $199. You’ll wonder why you ever owned an Ipod. JOIN THE SOCIAL.

Five Hours for Nothing

Our first game turned out to be a wash, literally. We took an hour and a half bus ride to the opposing teams stadium to be greeted by a pretty serious lightning storm. We sat on a bus for two hours while the water rose in the parking lot to just inches below the bottom step of the entrance to our school bus. The lightning knocks out a transformer that supplies power to the stadium. Finally, the call is made that we can go home…an hour and a half back. As we are leaving, we learn that the drill team’s chartered bus has lost a/c and defrosters so the driver can’t see. As a result, we pack all of our kids in like sardines so that we can get the drill team home. I think the team stayed to play the game when the lightning finally cleared. I heard we lost by a couple of touchdowns.

At least the bus drivers get paid by the hour. They weren’t complaining.

I’ve Survived

They should make a reality show about summer band and a week of teacher inservice. It would be pure entertainment. The good news is, I’ve survived one of the busiest weeks of the year…with some speed bumps along the way.

What’s been going on with me, you ask? Well, about 15 hour work days for the last week and a half is all I’ve been doing. I’m exhausted, I miss my family, and I still have work to do this weekend to be ready for school. ARRGHHHH!

I have about 30 hours of shows to watch on my TIVO. I have a lawn that is about two feet tall. My car is a biohazard. One of the TV’s in the house needs new cable. I haven’t run in a week. My oldest daughter wants to play and go swimming with me. My youngest daughter probably doesn’t even know who I am. But, I’m not complaining.

So, here’s to the first day of school, and all the joys that accompany it. How many days ’til summer ’08?