Thoughts from my brain

Mikey's gota brand new blog

2009-02-25T20:40:00.001-05:00

MOOOO. BAAAA. yep, i'm falling in line and following Angelle to wordpress:

http://www.g-ratedlife.com/mike

people are still nice (but some are crazy)

2009-02-23T08:27:00.002-05:00

Nice People

So i got to work, found that my 2 drink bottles in my lunch bag had leaked. Not a huge deal, but annoying. Then realized i left my bagel on my counter at home. I brought the butter, cheese, and juice, but no bagel. Then a kind person at work heard me grumbling and offered me one of her bagels! I said, "no, i dont need to eat your food". she said "really its no big deal. i have a whole bag and usually end up throwing away 1 or 2 at the end of the week." so i accepted. so, thanks Danielle!

The crazy people

Visitors to IKEA. OI VEY! seriously, if a store needs traffic cops and attendants directing you to a spot like its Disney World, I probably should not be shopping there. Then you get inside and theres a place to drop your kid off while you shop! kinda cool, but also kinda creepy at the same time. Then you are shepherded around the store on a one way path. MOO. BAAA.

The stuff was kinda neat design-wise, but definitely not worth all the hullabaloo that everyone is making. (good word huh?) I will say it was clean design. not overly ornate, and not Sauder from walmart.

But swimming with Leah yesterday afternoon, definitely made up for the sillyness at IKEA. I took a bunch of pictures of the awesome Swedish words, so those will show up soon.

Leah's new tricks

2009-02-22T19:38:00.002-05:00

I took Leah to the pool today, and shes getting great at swimming when she has her goggles. Its so awesome to see her like the water and not be afraid to go under. She actually swam under my legs today! Also, she stood on the side and jumped in with a life jacket on. Shes never done that on her own. I didnt even ask her to do it. she just got out and did it! then she did it about 5 more times. I know this may not seem like much for all you parents of frogs, but for Leah its a huge step. I was shocked. Shes really a lot of fun to swim with now.

Also, we were playing with Paint on the computer before bed, and i wrote a few 3 letter words, and asked Leah if she could sound them out to see what they said, and she did!! She sounded out Cat, Dog, Hat, Pig, and Frog (with some help). I guess word world is helping! I think she might be reading beginner books by the end of the year! i called angelle in to show her and she was amazed. Yay! I got Leah to do something before her teacher mom. :)

We also had shrimp and corn bisque for dinner. SO delicious! Thanks Gee and Myrn for visiting, cooking, and then leaving us with food!

now another week of hoping its not my last with Wells Fargo/Wachovia. :)

Hope Keith is having fun in Park City. while i'm not there, i still had fun with my girls this weekend.

Comments about SNL last week

2009-02-19T20:47:00.002-05:00

1. The Jonas Brothers are HORRIBLE. Horrible songs, horrible singing, horrible everything. Britney Spears was seriously better. and she wasnt that good. I really hope Megan doesnt like them. They are probably worse for this country than GM, Wamu, and the stimulus bill combined.

2. The Wii Wario skit was pretty good. If you havent seen it, here ya go.

3. The return of Edible Pampers. Still funny! Tasty flavors like Harvest Cheddar! MMM!

4. Sadly, no Shweaty Balls.

5. Seriously, Jonas Brothers = AWFUL. Complete Garbage. Yeah i'm jealous that no talent losers can make money and be famous. Aren't you?!?

RENT was awesome.

2009-01-29T09:03:00.003-05:00

We saw it 8 years ago, but it was SO much better this time. Cast was amazing. Mark and Roger had awesome performances.

Oh yeah, and the Spiedino di Mare at Carrabbas beforehand was also awesome. :)

Forgotten tidbit from Daddy Daughter Daughter weekend

2009-01-28T23:17:00.002-05:00

I forgot to tell y'all, that over the weekend (i think Saturday) we were playing outside and Leah was flailing and jumping (per usual) and almost kicked Erin in the head and almost kicked Chase in the head. I told her to cut it out and go play away from the babies. She took that as "yelling at her" so she starts crying and walks slowly to the house. I let her go but then follow after I realize she went into the house. I came to find her sitting on the floor, holding a framed picture of Angelle, sobbing and saying "I miss Mommy....I miss Mommy...."

It was the cutest, saddest, most dramatic thing I've ever seen. That's my Leah.

To: All my friends.

2009-01-28T08:44:00.003-05:00

You're the best! Around.

Just like this guy:

Angry Lunch

2009-01-27T15:13:00.006-05:00

I don't recall if I blogged about the BK Whopper Sacrifice, but I thought it was hilarious so i tried it.

You sacrifice 10 of your facebook friends and you get mailed a coupon for a free whopper. Sounds awesome right? Just get rid of some peeps who you thought were cool, but after reading their status updates (or lack thereof) realized they are worth less than 1/10th of a whopper.

So I got my coupon a few days ago, and was happy thinking about my free whopper i was going to enjoy today. BUT apparently the Burger King in uptown charlotte does NOT participate in coupon programs. WHAT?!? I know it says participation may vary, but i thought that was legal nonsense. What kinda crap is that? I was so angry, that I took off my yamaka, and flung it at the lady like a frisbee, slicing her head off (oddjob style).

Well okay, that last part wasnt true (i only wear my yamaka on Shabbat), but I was angry. I told her she just lost my business for life. She of course said something in some language that may or may not have been a local dialect of english (i'm not racist, its the troof), and i stormed off.

I ended up getting a couple snack wraps from McD's on my way back to my office.

So, be wary of this coupon! Maybe normal restaurants take it, but Charlotte CATS BK sure doesnt! BOOOOOOOOOOO!

Daddy Daughter Daughter weekend

2009-01-25T07:12:00.002-05:00

Well, its only half over, but so far its going well. If you read my blog, I'm sure you read Angelle's and know she's in Savannah this weekend with Mandi/Stacy for a girls trip. I talked to her last night and sounds like they're having a blast! Food, Pedicures and Ghost Tours oh my!

The kids have been really good, so it has been great. Well, except for mornings...

Saturday Morning

Leah walks in at 6:25 whimpering cuz she had a pee-pee accident in her jammies, in her bed. WHEEE! I clean her up, and we get back in our bed and lay for about a half hour till Erin wakes up.

Sunday Morning

Erin starts talking at 5:25. (what is it with the :25's?). When she does this, typicall we just turn down the monitor some and go back to sleep cuz she often puts herself back to sleep. Well, she didnt. I waited till 7, since she was just talking, and not crying, but finally got her. 7 is my 'wait till' time. I still am surprised (and angry) that she didnt go back to sleep. I was hoping she would fall back asleep at like 6, then sleep till 8. wishful thinking.

Besides the mornings...

Other than the mornings, its been good. We've played with the Maddexes a bunch, and Laurie cooked us dinner Friday night, and made us lunch Saturday. We've also done puzzles, ridden bikes, drew chalk, played chase, rolled around in the grass, played stickers, played at McDonalds playplace, played at Target, played at WalMart, watched Tinkerbell,and eaten pizza. (I bet verb tense changed a few times in there. i dont care. been up for almost 2 hours).

I think I get it now

I always thought it was funny that Angelle blogged so much, but I think i get it. I have been on the computer more this weekend than normal. Even if its just for a few moments, I have gone on facebook or gmail to see if there are other people i can say hi to! You just need some non-kid contact. I guess I don't really HOW valuable that is for me during the day. So blogging and being online is a sort of break from kid-world, even if just for a few moments.

Also, yesterday, I felt the pull of Target!! It's like some weird parenting magnetic force! it was overcast and kinda 'eh' weather-wise all day, so at about 4, I just wanted to get out, and for some reason, the first place i thought of was to just go mess around at Target. YIKES!!! I think there needs to be some other places in Monroe that are non-shopping related. Even if you go to 'mess around' and dont plan on buying anything, its all right there in your face.

So yeah, the 2 thinks that I laugh (or Angelle might say 'harp') about with Angelle being a stay at home mom, I think I sorta get now. And it only took 1.5 days! I'm a fast learner, huh?

Denouement

Its been fun hanging out with the girls, but Angelle, we miss you! At least i've been able to play some adult games with Bryan, Laurie, Tiff, and Brandon.

Random Shout Out: MIN! Wazzup?!

There's No Business like Snow Business!

2009-01-20T11:06:00.007-05:00

SO FRIGGIN AWESOME! thats all I can say. I woke up about 5:45 to pee, and then looked out the window, and saw snow everywhere and of course couldn't go back to sleep. I ran downstairs and opened the door and it was awesome! I was SO anxious for the kids to wake up, and of course they slept until like 7:15.

We probably had about 4 inches from overnight accumulation, and then another inch or so as the morning progressed. Our offices in Charlotte were on a delayed opening till 10am, so that was sweet. I am working from home though, cuz the roads are, i'm sure, a mess.

We finally got to sled on the hill in our backyard! and use the sled we got last year. Andy, Makenna, Porter, Ian, and Chase all came over to play and sled. The kids all had a great time. Erin had a little trouble walking through the snow since it came up to her knees.

We headed inside for a little break of hot cocoa! MMM! well, MMM after i burned my mouth, the put an ice cube in it and marshmallows. I headed back out for a little more fun before work started (10am) with Erin and Ian and Bryan. Bryan ended up heading into work. Poor Brandon left at 6:15 to go to work.

Gotta say, having the option to work from home is SO NICE on days like this! I am sitting in my home office just looking out the window at all the snow blowing! All the trees and houses are covered in snow too. NC is great. :) sorry all you florida peeps. Yay for NC snow days! There is actually more snow here in Union County than there was on Beech mountain new years! Can you tell i'm excited? :)

ITS SNOWING!!

2009-01-20T06:55:00.001-05:00

WOOOHOO!!!

Pics to come later!

Bus Crash

2009-01-16T08:35:00.004-05:00

So, I just got to work, and wouldn't normally be blogging from work, but being that the bus I was just on, got in an accident, it seemed worth blogging about while it was fresh.

So, we're driving along, almost to the city, and WHAM! A car pulled out in front of us, apparently not seeing us, and hit the front right corner of the bus.

Being that the bus is large, heavy, has lots of momentum, inertia prevents us from stopping in time and her car basically gets hit, spins a bit, then gets T-Boned by the bus, then spins back out into Independence (4 lane small highway). Luckily no other cars got hit, and she popped out of her car, so it appeared she wasn't seriously hurt.

It was pretty crazy though, to see the bus pushing a car out of the front windshield.

Here is where it happened (A):

And here is a pic of her car from my spot in the bus:

Hard to tell, but a good part of her front end was smashed and her front bumper came off.

Friday starts off with a BANG!

Some people are ridiculous...

2009-01-12T21:05:00.002-05:00

Utah Lover

Take this guy for instance: Rick Reilly. His latest article on ESPN.com is about how Utah is the College Football National Champions.

Putting aside the fact that I'm obviously a Gator fan, I think this guy's argument is ridiculous. Lets analyze his claim: Utah is the best team in division I college football. He is basing this basically on the fact that they did not get defeated this year.

Before I tear down his argument, I will agree that the current BCS system is ridiculous and we should have playoffs. I've discussed that before and will reiterate later.

Argument Tear Down

Now, his claim. Yes, Utah was undefeated, and did beat Alabama, who held the #1 spot a good part of the year. They looked great in that game. I won't make excuses for Alabama, but obviously Alabama didn't come to play and played a horrible game.

Now, who did Utah really beat during the season? Michigan seems like a quality win, although they won by 2 points and Michigan ended up being HORRIBLE this year.

I suppose Oregon State is a decent win, since they ended up beating USC, although I think this says more about how weak the Pac10 is.

The ranked opponents they beat? TCU and BYU. TCU they beat by 3 points (13-10). How good is TCU? They got creamed by Oklahoma (who Texas and Florida beat) and they beat BYU (who we'll discuss next). Oh yeah. they beat Boise State by a point.

BYU. They didn't really beat anyone this year.

In Summary

So, I honestly believe if you were to put Utah, Boise State, TCU and BYU in either the SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac10 or even the ACC, they they'd all have 2, 3, or 4 losses. Being biased, i'd definitely say thats true in the SEC or Big12 (the best 2 conferences in Div I football).

So Rick Reilly, you can claim that Utah as your own personal champions, but its a pile of horse poo. You probably are rewatching the Sugar Bowl right now while listening to Rick Astley, not only because he is your namesake, but you honestly like his music.

I sort of feel bad picking on Utah, for obvious reasons being Urban Meyer....and i'm not really picking on them, i'm picking on Rick Reilly. All the props in the world to Utah for beating Alabama (ha ha to Keith and Keri).

Anyway, this all boils down to once again, there is controversy, which means we need a playoff. DUH! I'm super amped that Florida is crowned the national champions, but I honestly think they could have beaten Utah, and USC vs Florida would have been another great game. It could have been settled on the field.

Denouement: Reiteration of Playoffs

There are 11 conferences. Give all the winners a chance. But they must have a bonified conference championship so that all teams play the same number of games. Either do away with an extra game for some, or add it for others. If you don't have enough teams, combine some conferences. But lets assume they stay as is (with the exception of the Independents who will have to join one to compete for a national title)

So we take the 11 conference champions, and rank them by win-loss. Since there are playoffs, voting shouldnt matter right? If you think it does, you can still use the current voting system to rank them. I dont think the rankings matter as much since all champions get to play for the title. You take the bottom 6 teams (which more often than not I think will be MAC, WAC, Mtn West, Conf USA, Sun Belt, and Big East):

11 vs 6 = A
10 vs 7 = B
9 vs 8 = C

Then you take those winners and they play the remaining top 5 teams (example shown):

1 vs A = X
2 vs B = Y
3 vs C = Z
4 vs 5 = Q

I think you can do the rest of the Math:

X vs Y = P
Z vs Q = N

N vs P for National Championship.

So thats a 10 game playoff. When do bowls start now? like mid December? You can play the opening 3 games 1 weekend. The next round next weekend, final four new years day (wouldnt that be exciting?!) then Jan 8, national championship.

Seriously, i think EVERY college football fan would watch every playoff (bowl game) instead of now, where people watch the big 5 (although most people probably only watch about 2 or 3).

Flaw?

The only downside to this are all the other meaningless bowls that are just extra games for the school and the sponsors to make money. I know the world runs on money, so i don't think money is a bad thing, and if they want to continue to have these other 1 off 'bowls' for maybe the conference runner ups (like the basketball NIT) thats fine.

So there you have it. Problem solved. National Champion is crowned on the field, and I would hopefully not have to see flimsy arguments by people named Rick on the homepage of ESPN.com.

Still reading? WOW! You are cooler than I thought. If blogs had a 'handshake' or 'high-five' feature, you would be receiving both right now.

GO GATORS! NATIONAL CHAMPS!

2009-01-09T00:29:00.002-05:00

GO PANTHERS!

2008-12-29T01:47:00.002-05:00

Since all the teams I was rooting for didn't make the playoffs (in the last week) I might as well root for the Panthers! Sure they are rivals of the Bucs, but since the cowboys played like a peewee football team, and the Bucs blew it, i figured i'd root for the Broncos who also could make the playoffs by beating a division rival on the road. While they scored more than the cowboys did, they looked about as bad.

So, one of the crappies football weekends ever for the pro teams i watch.

At least i still have the Gators...ahhhh gators dont let me down!!

Erin is freakin adorable lately. She brought a Gator counting book over to, I think G or Myrn and said "Go Go Go Tebow". :) gotta love it!!

Leah is like totally in love with disney princesses. She loves Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle. Oh and Tinkerbell (she got a figure from Erin for xmas, and the movie from Santa). I guess some girls are just girly girls. Meanwhile i get the impression that Erin is going to be more Xgames or Sports oriented. She seems to have a stockier build and likes things like kicking soccer balls and climbing up things too high/big for her. ANd she likes riding around on bikes more than it seemed like Leah did at her age. I could just be misremembering though.

I hope i'm not influencing Erin by treating her more like a boy. :)

Ah well, off we head to the mountains tomorrow. Pray for cold weather and snow!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-25T12:14:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Birthday, La de da!

Hope everyone had (is having) a great holiday season!

Leah and Erin loved their presents of course. Santa was so nice to them this year! A jumpoline and a train table and games and movies and toys. Oh boy!

We got Wii Rabids and Wii Music. Played them briefly but they are fun so far!

The girls also got a wagon from grammy and Leah got a digital camera of her very own from Grammy.

Lauren, Carly, and Grammy came to visit for the week. Its been fun hanging out with them. Now to relax, clean for G and Mimi, and then Angelle's birthday.

Phew, the season never ends!

Does everyone feel the anticipation building for the National Championship Game?!?!? Go GATORS!

Chocolate News

2008-12-10T22:37:00.002-05:00

I highly recommend you check out "Chocolate News" on Comedy Central. I am watching it now for the first time. Its friggin hilarious! David Alan Grier is the host. Its like a version of The Daily Show, but for white people who like to think they are culturally diverse. And probably some black people watch it too.

The first report was about "Blomicon" which is Black Comicon. Comicon for black comic books, black super heroes, and creators of black super heroes.

Coming up next? A report on the hottest new BET show: "America's next top black preacher"

While this post may appear racist on the surface, its an accurate report of the show and all its hilarity.

I just killed it at the gym

2008-12-10T21:48:00.002-05:00

Domination. thats what it was. at least for me.

Triathlon Training Update #23

Total workout time: 1:28:37 h:m:s

Swim: 550 yards - 13:00 m:s

Transition 1: 5:00 m:s

Bike: 13 miles - 45:34 m:s

Transition 2: 3:00 m:s

Run: 2.1 miles - 22:34 m:s

I would have done the last mile but the gym was closing and they were throwing me out! But i was on pace to do the last mile in about 11 minutes. So i could have done the full triathlon (in the gym of course) in just under 1 hour 40 minutes.

I'm super amped about that, even if its just a gym time! My goal is to complete in under 2 hours, so i definitely feel good about that, especially since i still have over 3 months left to train!

Yeah Boy!

Mom Update #5

Shes home, doing well, walking without the walker, obviously hasnt smoked in like 2 months....WOOHOO! GO MOM!

Erin UPdate #1

Pink Eye. UGGH!

Leah Update #1

Cute and smart as always

Job Update #2

GMAC isn't looking so good as a company. The debate rages...Wellschovia or GMAC...

Thats all folks. For now.

Gators in the Championship Game!!

2008-12-07T21:14:00.007-05:00

So, who wants to meet in Miami January 8th?!? even if we dont get tix, it'll be one HECKUVA tailgate party!

GO GATORS! SEC CHAMPS!!

2008-12-06T20:54:00.003-05:00

WOOOHOO!!! GATORS ARE SEC CHAMPS!!! In your face Keith and Keri! Gators sure ROLLED over the tide! GATOR BAIT!

ALso, mom is home! yay mom!

Here is Tebow's biggest fan:

Happy Thanksgiving Charlie Brown!

2008-11-28T20:59:00.002-05:00

and to the rest of you too! I am thankful for my wonderful wife, my 2 awesome kids, my sister, my nephew, my parents, my great inlaws (all million of them, counting parents, brothers, sisters, cousins and aunts and uncles and what not), my friends, having a great house, the wonderful weather in north carolina, living next door to friends, having a job i like going to...pretty much everything in my life. Not to sound like i'm bragging, but its pretty darn great to be me! :) I'm sure all of you feel the same way.

Anything you're thankful for that you'd like to share?

Having a good time in SoFla. got to see my mom at her rehab place. shes doing A TON better than when i saw her last. Thank you so much everyone for all your prayers. Greatly appreciated are they. We took the girls to visit. they couldnt go in her room, but she has a window that leads to an outdoor patio, so Leah and Erin go to see Nana through the window and say hi. My mom loved it.

Went to the metro zoo today with CHristina, Joe, zack and Caitlyn and Joe's parents and my dad. Good times were had by everyone except angelle who got sick while we were there. Yuck. literally sick in the bushes. we walked away and i left a note that said "This is because we didnt get turkey on thanksgiving. Sincerely, the gorillas"

Thursday was normal. ANgelle cooked awesome food and we ate and watched football and watched Charlie brown thanksgiving. Ever since Great pumpkin charlie brown, Leah is excited about the holidays now. :)

Erin is talking up a storm lately!! its SOOOOOOOOOO friggin adorable. she nods her head yes too, and shakes it no. she says mama, dada, nana, papa, eeeuh (leah), du[ck], pi[g], beep beep, pup pup, ca[t] (not sure why she says so many first sounds of words.) she also gives me the CUTEST looks! and shes shrieks "DADA" when i come home. she loves to play peek (around corners) and she loves to snuggle (except at bedtime ironically). i just love that kid. Its so cool to be able to love 2 kids so differently but so much!! i really was worried about that. Just loving Leah so much, wasnt sure how to love another kid too. but it happens! having kids (plural) ROCKS. i love it. and it makes me excited about the possibility of a third! (i know, i'm crazy)

Heading up to orlando tomorrow to celebrate with Nikki! Happy Birthday Nik!!

Not sure i said it publicly, but big congrats to Britt and Jimmy for passing the Bar! Wait, did i blog about that already? hmm. i dunno. All the turkey and yams has made me a bit loopy in the head.

Its been a great year. i'm thankful for it all, and i cant wait to see what the next year brings! lots of babies, thats for sure! and hopefully a Gator National championship, and a Cowboys super bowl!! (Giants are going down this year Konicks!)

It's been awhile...

2008-11-14T22:57:00.002-05:00

since i wrote in this blog..blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Hmm lets see...the past 3 weeks. Went to Florida to see my mom who was in the hospital for pneumonia. Shes doing much better now. Just needs some physical therapy after being in the hospital 2 weeks. Not gonna post all the details here, but email me if you want to know more. LOVE YOU MOM!!

Training is still going well. I swam 1000 yards the other night (in about 25 minutes) and last night swam 600 yards, biked 8 miles, and jogged 1 mile. that took just about an hour.

Volleyball is also sill fun. playing usually Tuesday and Friday rec pickup games. I might look into an indoor league next spring.

Girls are awesome. They are playing a lot lately. SO freakin cute. If you have one kid, and are considering not having another, my opinion is that its awesome. Yeah sure its more work, but its SO worth it. not only for me, but definitely for Leah.

I guess thats really it. Exciting huh? 3+ weeks and all its been was visiting mom, work, girls, working out, volleyball, tv....

We did take the girls bike riding on some mountain bike trails last weekend. They were very mellow, but still really fun. Through the woods, with leaves everywhere. Really awesome ride.

Currently watching some weird Barbara Walters specials about a guy who had a baby. I dont think its a guy honestly. He/she is a transgender who was born a woman, felt like a man, got her breasts removed, testosterone injected, and got his/her birth certificate changed from female to male. Then he got married to a woman, and she had a hysterectomy previously so she couldnt have a child. So since the guy still had a uterus and other parts, he carried and had the baby. It was his egg, and they got a donor sperm. So they had issues with their child's birth certificate. Who was the mom, who was the dad?

I totally dont have a problem with them having a kid, or a homosexual couple having a kid (men or women). My only issue is with this person (Tracy to Thomas) becoming a "man". To me, male and female refer to biology. How you think or what your actions are define your personality, so if you are a female but you like to play football and drink beer or are a male and like to wear dresses and do ballet (i'm sure i just offended a million people with my gender stereotypes, but have to make the point somehow) to me thats fine. I just dont understand this person who claims she felt like a man, but wanted to keep her uterus, ovaries and all. If she didnt like all the fru-fru stuff, why wouldnt she just be a girl who likes to do 'manly' stuff. Obviously i dont understand, so thats why i'm writing. curious what other people think. This person seemed to not like the gender stereotypes, but wanted to be one. Just not the one she was. Seems odd to me, thats all.

In any case, he/she had a baby, they seem to love it, and ultimately thats all that matters. A MUCH MUCH MUCH better home than tons of homes out there, so more power to them.

Good workout

2008-10-27T22:23:00.002-04:00

Kicked some A tonight. Swam 850 yards, transitioned to bike in about 4 minutes (about a minute faster than last time), biked 6.5 miles (half the tri distance) then jogged 1.5 miles (half the tri distance). So i basically did half the triathlon, but did a longer swim. Woo.

Super happy with it. Now if the markets will only go up, i'll be one happy camper. :) maybe after the election? here's hoping..

home and bored

2008-10-25T20:53:00.002-04:00

ANgelle is in Asheville with her mom at the Biltmore. I just put the girls to bed. And i'm bored. Well, I do have college football to watch, so its not all bad. :)

Triathlon Training update

Had a kick azz workout this morning. Totally did not feel like going to the gym, but Angelle was going, so i did. Did my 500 yard swim in my record time of 12:54. Then had a shorter transition. still 5 minutes, but was 6:30 last time. Then biked 9 miles in 30 minutes. Wanted to try and do some jogging after that, but Angelle had to go so she could leave for Asheville.

Definitely am feeling good about the training. Angelle says i'm doing too much too soon, but I cant hold back. She is probably right, and her training is increasing by little bits each time, but I just want to try and do as much as i can each workout, then increase till i can do the triathlon in my sleep. Then just try and decrease my time. Or do longer legs of each, so the triathlon will seem shorter. Eh, just how i roll. She said she'll be pissed if i get injured by pushing it though.

Want to give a shoutout to the other peeps who are planning on doing it also: Mandi, Barry, Laurie, of course Angelle, and possibly Bryan? He whines that he doesnt have time to go to the gym, but we have the exact same schedule, so....yeah. I think hes just whiny and lazy. I have made the time. :) AND i still play volleyball sometimes twice a week. gotta have fun sometimes, not just workout all the time.

Time with the girls

In Angelle's absence I got to have some quality daddy/daughter time today. Played outside a bit, went to the mall so Leah and ERin could run around the playplace (cuz it was kinda overcast and kept threatening rain although it never did), then got some snacks at the foodcourt. I asked Leah if she wanted a cookie, or a pretzel, or fruit, and she said fruit!! i was shocked and pleased. So i got her a fruit cup from chickfila. but then she also wanted ice cream. so i got her a dollar cone from McD's. I figured, she made a good choice with the fruit so she could have a treat.

Then we went to Toys R Us just to walk around and waste time, and maybe look for some ideas for channukah/christmas. Leah of course wanted everything she saw. A train set, games, jewelry making kit, a newer bigger kitchen, a big car that plays music like Halle has (power wheel), a tinkerbell chair...ummm..i'm sure some other stuff i forgot. [You listening grandparents? :) ] Leah was again good and didnt spend her money! she had $5 but nothing really grabbed her i guess (or everything did) so she decided to save it for next time.

Okay. end of long blog post.

Training update

2008-10-23T14:04:00.002-04:00

Training is going fairly well for the triathlon. nothing hardcore yet. doing some swims and bikes. Can do 600 yard swim without too much trouble. Tried a transition at the gym the other day. Swam then biked. took about 6 minutes to towel off and get my shoes on, then get to the bike. longer than i thought.

BIked 6 miles today in about 25 minutes. a little slower than i'd like, but it was pretty windy today, and i havent gotten street tires yet. but if i can finish the bike in under an hour, i'll be happy. i'm pretty sure i can do the swim in 15 minutes, so that would leave an hour to bike, and an hour to run. i'd really like to finish the whole thing in under 2 hours, but i'd be happy at least finishing at all without collapsing. :)

Its obviously such a difference riding the stationary bike in the gym, vs a real bike in wind with real hills and friction.

glad we still have like 4 months to train!

Heroic Battle

2008-10-20T10:16:00.005-04:00

Here's an awesome video of Jazz vs General Lee. (yeah its nerdy, but its still awesome!)

Florida trip and Triathlon training

2008-10-15T22:08:00.003-04:00

Florida last week was fun. Drive was okay. House in orlando was awesome. Disney was fun. Saw a ton of friends and the kids, saw my parents, visited casas de Konicki, Erica, and Donalds....Gators kicked some A against LSU. YEAH!!! Played rock band, ate Don's subs, played some sand volleyball...pretty darn good vacay. For pics visit Angelle's Blog or our family site

Wells Fargo won the battle over Wachovia. The Wells Fargo Wagon is a..comin down the street....

Started my Triathlon training today. Ran 2.5 miles at lunch, then this evening at the gym, swam 600 yards in the pool then biked 5 miles. I'm actually not that tired right now too, which is awesome. The actual triathlon is swim 500 yards, bike 13 miles, then run 5k. So not quite there yet but its only the first day. and we have like 4 months to train. so i'm feelin pretty good. cant wait to compete!

great weekend!!

2008-10-05T23:14:00.003-04:00

well, after a super crappy weekend last week, this weekend was Awesome!! Started with some great volleyball thursday.

Friday was pretty crazy with news coming that Wells Fargo put a higher bid in for Wachovia. Still waiting to see what happens, but at this moment, it 'seems' that wells would be a better suitor. more money for shareholders, no consequences to taxpayers, wells is a more stable bank....hopefully it means i work for Wells!

Saturday, ran our 5k for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. finished in 38 minutes which was pretty good since we had to walk for like 10 of it. There were SO many people there. it took awhile to get past the walking crowd so we could actually jog. it was fairly tough too. The route had some really long big hills. not steep, but long. It was awesome to see so many people out running and supporting. Leah and Erin did great in the jogging stroller. Thanks Laurie for the borrow!

Then after that race, headed to freedom park for the DSAC Buddy Walk. That was a great turnout too. Shoutout to Chase! Erin was zonked so she slept in the jogging stroller during the walk. Leah was excited about her italian ice. I got a hug from a girl there. She was super nice. Erin and Leah got to pet a lot of puppies, and of course it seemed like a lot of money was raised for Down Syndrome research.

After that, the Gators won which was great. Then we decided we hadnt had enough exercise with the 5k and 1mile walk, so we jogged another mile, and biked 2 miles. Last evening before Angelle's final weigh in, and she did SOOOO awesome! Lost about 12 lbs in 8 weeks! and she looks AWESOME. hotter than evu. :)

Tried to watch Iron Man later Sat night but fell asleep.

Today Pops came to visit, and we had some GREAT pizza as a reward for all the hard work during biggest loser.

Cowboys won. Yay! Played in a poker tourney tonight too, and placed in the money! it was fun. 15 people total and i lasted long enough. good times!

So there you have it. A great weekend! WOOHOO! and now only 2 work days till we leave for Florida! Double WOOOHOO!!

way to blow gaytors

2008-09-27T20:03:00.002-04:00

UGGH. nothing needs to be said about the piss poor performance today. except that the offense looked horrific for about 55 out of 60 minutes, and the defense was fair, except they let 31 points go on them. oh yeah, and special teams? horrible too obviously.

I did run a 5k at the gym. Didnt stop to walk at all! first time ever i have been able to do that without taking walk breaks in the middle. it felt pretty darn good.

In other news, anyone got open jobs for web/interaction designers? I hope it doesnt happen, but it sure looks like someone's gonna buy Wachovia, and then who knows what will happen. YAY FOR THE ECONOMY!!!!

Congratulations lenders for giving mortgages to people who couldnt afford it! You really screwed America. Now the government has to bail them out, so America doesnt totally collapse, and who gets to pay for it? Us hard workers who actually COULD afford our mortgage. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

all in all, its been a great weekend!

Oh yeah, and to top it all off, Charlotte has been out of gas since like Tuesday. There have been a few random moments when a station or two will get gas, but of course the lines are wrapped around the building. some people have waited 5 hours, others have camped out, others have fought over it. Its ridiculous. not that not having gas for a week, is anywhere near as bad as the poor people who are homeless. But ya know, its an annoyance to me, so I can complain about it. if you think i'm a whiner, dont read my blog!!

so, i'm gasless, potentially jobless, and the gators Suck. but at least i have my health. as do my kids. :)

Race for the Cure Training update

2008-09-24T22:36:00.005-04:00

For all you gracious hearted donors out there who have donated to my Race for the Cure (5k) to support Breast Cancer awareness, here is a training update!

Last week I ran 3 miles in 33:54. I forgot about the extra .12 miles to make it a full 5k.

Today, i ran a full 5k in 33:20! I was SUPER amped. It was with a double jogging stroller too! I really pushed it and kinda felt like i was gonna throw up afterwards, but it still felt good.

My neighborhood is actually pretty good to run in, cuz there's not a lot of cars on the streets, and its got some decent inclines up and down for the mile loop I do.

1 and a half weeks left till the race. Thanks so much to everyone that has contributed. (not trying to make the others feel guilty, just trying to make the contributors feel good :) ) seriously, seriously, no guilt trips. Thats not how i roll (points interweb digital finger at Dad) [(huh? NO! i'm not insinuating anything!! what would make you think that?)]

Anyway, its a great cause, so at least go check it out (if you havent already)

good cereal

2008-09-23T12:43:00.011-04:00

Honey Nut Chex is great!

Can you believe?

2008-09-20T07:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, i ate 4 egg mcmuffins, 3 hashbrowns, 6 baconators, 2 fully loaded potatoes, and 6 slices of meat trio pizza with garlic butter sauce, and then this morning I was 12 pounds lighter!!!

Its so awesome to eat like crazy and lose weight!

This Michael Phelps diet really works!!

What Would Jesus Drive?

In other news, its apparently un-Christian to drive a gas guzzling SUV. Thoughts? Here is some light reading for you:

http://www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org/

http://www.mbforum.ca/topic/1809.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1004283-4,00.html

The next time you go to buy a car, and think about getting one of those safe, spacious, family oriented SUV's, you may want to think about what a man who was born 2000 years ago, in a time when combustion engines were unheard of, and camels were the dominant form of transportation, and science was mostly written off as magic, would drive.

This goes out to all my Biggest Loser friends!

2008-09-11T10:28:00.003-04:00

http://www.andiamnotlying.com/2008/fast-food-frankensteins-the-dessert-edition/

Brainteaser for the day

2008-09-09T14:23:00.003-04:00

A pharaoh is building a pyramid and has contracted a worker to build it over the course of 6 days. The pharaoh has 1 gold bar in which to pay the worker but must pay him equal amounts each day. He only has the means to cut the bar twice. How is this accomplished?

No Games, Just Sports

2008-09-08T08:58:00.000-04:00

1. Go Gators!!! In a battle between Tebow and Hurricane Ike, 1st round, Tebow clobbers Ike and turns it into a little teeny swirly in the middle of the ocean.

2. Wii Fit is pretty fun. Angelle found one yesterday and i hoola hooped and did yoga and ski jumped.

3. Hole in the Wall is the BEST gameshow as of late. SOOOOOO freakin entertaining. Fox. Check it out!

New game!

2008-09-04T15:32:00.003-04:00

I invented a new game today. Its called "Brown Texting". It came about because there's not a whole lot to do in the bathroom at work. They dont have sudoku sitting nearby or magazines (except for the occasional PC weekly, but i dare not touch a magazine sitting in a stall).

So basically, all you have to do is text one of your friends "You just got brown texted!". This is of course assuming you have your cell phone/blackberry/iPhone in your pocket, which, i think, most people always do.

The receiver is conflicted, because, Yes they got a text from their friend, which makes them feel good, but they received it while said friend was dropping a deuce, so do they really want to have been thought about while said event was occurring?

Its a great game! I urge you to try it out. It may not sound like that much fun right off, but just try it once. I guarantee you'll laugh about it, your friend will laugh, and then all future Brown Texts will in turn generator thousands of laughs.

Bleeber (aka Dave) was my first recipient, and I am almost assured of his bemusement, and amusement at being Brown Texted. Yeah Dave!

Cutest video ever!

2008-09-04T10:42:00.003-04:00

biking, football, lack of wisdim, and babies. but not in that order.

2008-09-02T10:04:00.006-04:00

So angelle got her wisdom teeth out Friday. it was interesting playing caregiver all weekend. It actually turned out really good cuz i got quality time with Leah and Erin. All weekend Erin kept saying "Da Da". it was great! i would say "Erin" shed say "Da Da"...Erin..Da Da..Erin..Da Da....we went back and forth a bunch of times. Angelle is fine in case you were wondering.

Gators whooped up on Hawaii. WOO!

Got to ride the trails at National Whitewater Center yesterday. Pretty challenging! very enjoyable though and quite a good workout. we also took the girls so they could check out the manmade river. We did the easy loop around the river with the girls on the bikes. Yes, they had helmets.

Then we picked up Arbys and headed to Matthews to catch the tail end of Matthews Alive. Its an art fest/carnival thing they do in Matthews every labor day weekend. Angelle wanted to go yesterday but was still feeling kinda yuck and we grilled with Maddexes yesterday. So we went today. got there about 5:15, thinking we had about 2 hours till it was over. We get there and they were starting to pack up. We were mildly annoyed that they would start leaving before its officially over, but we walked around anyway. Didnt see much cuz there lots of trucks and decided to just sit at a table and eat our roast beef. Come to find out it had ended at 5. whoops. oh well, theres always next year.

Supporting America's weight loss campaign

2008-09-02T09:11:00.000-04:00

After this morning's busride, i fully support America's weight loss campaign! an hour sitting next to someone who is spilling over into your seat is more than enough! Lets break out those running shoes people! Hop to it!

Goo Stop and horsemen

2008-09-01T21:56:00.002-04:00

First off, good thoughts and prayers go out to our family in Louisiana. Hope all of you are okay, and all your houses and white corvettes are okay.

Second, this guy is 2 things; 1. a man 2. a smart shopper.

Bathroom etiquette?

2008-08-26T09:20:00.003-04:00

Ok. So i'm not a big fan of the social convention of saying "Bless You", "God Bless You", or "Gesundheit" when someone sneezes. Because i dont want to appear like a jerk, i still say it most of the time when someone sneezes. I guess because they expect it, and i dont want to let them down. But I am in NO WAY offended if someone doesnt say it to me. Maybe thats because i sneeze like 10 times in a row, but still. I dont care.

Now, when you're in the bathroom, and someone's in a stall, and they sneeze, whats the proper course of action? Isnt there a "no talking between someone in a stall and someone outside the stall" rule? unless of course its your friend in there and no one else is in the bathroom. But i was washing my hands, someone in a stall sneezed. i didnt know who it was, so i didnt say anything. I was slightly puzzled though if i should have or not. was that person expecting it? were they hoping i wouldnt say anything? Dont people want to be left alone while doing their personal business? I do. i think if i was in their shoes, and someone said "Bless you", i would sort of feel invaded in a way.

what do you think? if you were dropping the Cosby kids off at the pool, and you sneezed, do you want to hear a "bless you" from the person washing their hands? And if you were washing hands, would you offer a "gesundheit" to the person taking the Cleveland browns to the super bowl?

Latest Goings On

2008-08-19T16:19:00.003-04:00

For details on our Michigan trip, read Angelle's blog post

Happy Belated Blog birthday to Erin and Bryan and Brittany! and um, anyone else i forgot. sorry!

Seriously, MIchigan was so awesome! I want to live on a lake, own a boat, have friends next door, and not have a job. And have a steady influx of cash.

For anyone who likes comics, graphic novels, and/or batman (probably aimed at Mandi, Barry, Drew, maybe Min or JasonCL?) i just read two good stories:
Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory. Both written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale.

Got my Hyperlite wakeboard back. I cracked my old one and they replaced with a new one! its pretty sweet. Also my new Gator bindings ROCK. if you wakeboard, i recommend them.

Not tired of avatar creaters? Got time to waste?!?

2008-08-05T09:53:00.007-04:00

Here are some recent ones I came across:

Rasterboy Unique

Hero Creator

Whats your personality?

2008-07-30T08:38:00.001-04:00

I'm an ENFP

Jung/Myers-Briggs Pesonality Test

Idealist Portrait of the Champion (ENFP)

Like the other Idealists, Champions are rather rare, say two or three percent of the population, but even more than the others they consider intense emotional experiences as being vital to a full life. Champions have a wide range and variety of emotions, and a great passion for novelty. They see life as an exciting drama, pregnant with possibilities for both good and evil, and they want to experience all the meaningful events and fascinating people in the world. The most outgoing of the Idealists, Champions often can't wait to tell others of their extraordinary experiences. Champions can be tireless in talking with others, like fountains that bubble and splash, spilling over their own words to get it all out. And usually this is not simple storytelling; Champions often speak (or write) in the hope of revealing some truth about human experience, or of motivating others with their powerful convictions. Their strong drive to speak out on issues and events, along with their boundless enthusiasm and natural talent with language, makes them the most vivacious and inspiring of all the types.

Fiercely individualistic, Champions strive toward a kind of personal authenticity, and this intention always to be themselves is usually quite attractive to others. At the same time, Champions have outstanding intuitive powers and can tell what is going on inside of others, reading hidden emotions and giving special significance to words or actions. In fact, Champions are constantly scanning the social environment, and no intriguing character or silent motive is likely to escape their attention. Far more than the other Idealists, Champions are keen and probing observers of the people around them, and are capable of intense concentration on another individual. Their attention is rarely passive or casual. On the contrary, Champions tend to be extra sensitive and alert, always ready for emergencies, always on the lookout for what's possible.

Champions are good with people and usually have a wide range of personal relationships. They are warm and full of energy with their friends. They are likable and at ease with colleagues, and handle their employees or students with great skill. They are good in public and on the telephone, and are so spontaneous and dramatic that others love to be in their company. Champions are positive, exuberant people, and often their confidence in the goodness of life and of human nature makes good things happen.

wow, 10 days goes by fast...

2008-07-25T22:13:00.004-04:00

Last weekend was awesome. I'm sure you all read Angelle's blog. Brevard, waterfalls, skatepark...good times. Then a long week at work. My first full week in July! pretty crazy. July 4th off. Jully 11th (birthday) off. July 17th/18th (brevard trip) off.

But, just 2 more weeks till Michigan!!

In other news, i dont recall if i blogged about it or not, but my birthday boat trip...wakeboard and binding both broke. So now i need to find some cheap replacements for michigan. uggh. anyone got an extra wakeboard with bindings i can borrow? :)

Heres a video from the brevard skatepark:

Played volleyball tonight. Good times! Volleyball is great. Also ate at a great place today. Penguin Diner. It was on that show Driveins, Diners, Dives, Dodge, Duck, Dip and Driveins. It was great! I had a "Falafel" sandwich. It didnt have falafel in it oddly enough. It was a black bean burger with hummus, lettuce, tomato. SOOOO good. their onion rings and pickles were awesome too.

Oh yeah, and Mandi and Barry came to visit. We saw Avenue Q wednesday. It was a great play. Not for kids, but great for adults.

Motorcycle ridin'

2008-07-15T21:46:00.006-04:00

So, i rode my first ever motorcycle yesterday. Bryan just got a Harley sportster and he let me ride it!

Its pretty crazy if you've never ridden one. Its opposite of a car. Clutch is your hand, and gear shift is your foot! And gas is your right hand, but so is your brake. its wild. It was crazy fun though. Might end up getting one someday. Still would rather get a boat first though. Maybe something like this

Life in my 30's...

2008-07-14T09:45:00.003-04:00

Its had its ups and downs.

Start: Thursday.

Went to work - Down
Ate a Sausage McMuffin with egg for breakfast - Up
Found out we have a CEO - Up
Ate chinese for lunch - Up
Ate lunch alone - Down
Tried Throttle COffee energy drink - Up/Down
Left work early - Up
Picked up dad at airport - Up
Stacy and Landon showed up - Up
Ate mini burgers and chipotle chicken strips at Chilis with the fam and maddexes - Up
Ate Funfetti cake - UP UP UP

Friday.

Morning was cloudy and rainy - Down
cleared up by about 11ish - Up
rented a boat on Lake norman (swam, ate subs, tubed, played with leah/landon/erin, wakeboarded) - UP!
broke a wakeboard binding - down
grilled sausage and ate mac 'n cheese for dinner - up
took my binding off and found out my wakeboard is also cracked - DOWN

Saturday.

it was HOT - Down
it was Sunny - Up
made pancakes, some with chocolate chips, some with blueberries, some in the shape of mickey mouse - Up
repaired Leah' swingset after our storm last week - Down
chillin with dad while repairing Leah's swingset - Up
Andy and Kenna's birthday party (inflatable slide) - Up
G & Myrn showed up - Up
built a box to go between my skate ramps - Up
skated the box - Up
didnt land my front flip - Down
Ate Awesome pork chops, green beans, and potatoes - UP
Played Apples to Apples - Up

Sunday.

mowed the lawn - down
chilled with dad while mowing the lawn - Up
Watched Erin crawl after me around the living room - UP UP and away!
played in the sandbox with Leah - UP
sat in the mini pool with Leah and Erin - Up
ate G's sausage and chicken gumbo - UP
played and recorded music - Up
Stacy and Landon and Mom left - Down
made some good margaritas - Up
realized we didnt have our swirly margarita pitcher cuz 'someone' broke it - Down =P
ate some brisket G brought - UP

Monday.

Got up at 6am - DOWN
took dad to airport - Down
came to work - Down
Realized our stock was - DOWN
Ate a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant from Dunkin Donuts - Up

So there you have it! Check g-ratedlife.com for pics or facebook for pics/vids.

Being 30 has its ups and downs, but i think its mostly Ups so far!

Some Jewish Info

2008-07-08T20:48:00.011-04:00

So, I just finished watching Annie Hall, apparently a classic of Woody Allen's, and I now understand my friend John A LOT more. Woody's humor is dry and intelligent and hes very nervous and self deprecating. I also see a lot of Seinfeld/George/Kramer in Woody's character Alvy Singer.

The movie was set in New York, and I definitely thought about a lot of my family up there doing all the New York and Jewy stuff. And also thought of all the Yiddish I used to hear growing up. So in honor of my mom, here is a list of lots of great Yiddish words for you to use to impress your Jewish friends at your next dinner party. I also highly recommend serving gefilte fish and salmon croquettes while using these terms. If you dont read this list, you are meshuggener and I will come over and kick your tuchus you shlamiel! Oy Vey!

Speaking of Oy Vey, we had a bad storm today and it blew Leah's swingset over. Kablam. that should be fun to try and stand back up...

Found this old gem...

2008-07-06T22:24:00.002-04:00

And she can stand..

2008-07-06T20:51:00.002-04:00

So, i put Erin down tonight, heard her cry pretty hard, and went back in to rock her a bit more, and she was standing up in her crib. WHen she saw me she put her arms out...SO CUTE! if you dont have a baby girl, i highly recommend going out and getting yourself one.

(i bet stacy doesnt think its cute when your kid stands up in their crib though. Hi Landon!)

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-06T09:39:00.003-04:00

Interesting weekend so far.

Thursday night - PF Changs and Symphony in the park (Charlotte symphony orchestra and fireworks [PACKED! so many peeps])

Friday - in bed most of the day. YUCK. some kinda stomach bug thats going around. Luckily its only a 24 hr deal. Angelle and leah have had it. and some neighbors.

Friday night - went to a farm that our neighbors (larsens) church owns. It has a little stage and we played music, launched fireworks, and roasted marshmallows. FUN!

Saturday - washed cars, slip 'n slided, worked on my skate rail, went to Sams (got leah a life jacket for boating), tried some samples: Tequila lime wings, baby yogurt, apple pie, key lime bundt cake, cookie..MMM! free is great. Watched Premonition and ate free papa johns! free free free! I wouldnt recommend premonition. Acting was good, i wasnt a fan of the ending.

This morning, we did some wii sports fitness age...i got 24..angelle got.....73!!! ha ha. Now granted, she didnt do any practice games, and she hasnt played in awhile, but it was funny cuz at first the wii psyched me out and told me i got 38, and she made fun of me! then it said 'na, you really got 24'. i didnt know the wii had such a sense of humor. So when angelle got 73, she was hoping to see the wii wit return, but no such luck. the wii thinks shes 73! :) sorry babe! train harder!

Happy birthday America and Happy America to everyone! Quick shout out to everyone that makes this country great: citizens who give their lives so we can drink Starbucks and play wii and be any religion we want...doctors, firefighters, teachers, the guys who wrote the declaration of independence and the constitution...we may complain about the government and taxes and 'high' gas prices...but we dont live in fear of being bombed daily..we worry about who is going on to the next round of Hells Kitchen, So you think you can dance, or Trading Babies. I love the worries we have in this country, and seriously thank you everyone who allows me to not worry about some stuff that other people in the world have to worry about.

Action Packed

2008-06-30T08:27:00.002-04:00

The weekend was.

Friday night: played volleyball with Bryan at the MAFC (Monroe Aquatics and Fitness Center. I wont define that acronym again, so write it down or commit it to memory)

Saturday: Carowinds for rides and Boomerang Bay for waterpark fun! Then Cracker Barrel for dinner. MMM MMM to buttermilk fried shrimp, mac 'n cheese, fried okra, fried apples, biscuits with honey butter, and an Arnold Palmer to wash it down (half sweet tea, half lemonade). And no it isnt Channukah, just was in a fried kinda mood. :)

Sunday: Built a new skate rail, but didnt have time to skate it. yet. Then went to Concord mills with maddexes to watch Wall*E with Bryan, Ian, and Leah. IT was great! i recommend it to any Pixar fans. I feel like it was extra creative the way Monsters Inc was. Then stopped by Sun n Ski sports to check out life jackets for Leah, look at wakeboard stuff, look at snowboard stuff, look at rollerblade stuff, look at bike stuff...that store is great. All except for the one part where Leah was on my shoulders (sitting) and she started dancing or something and the next thing i knew she fell off. yep, backwards. Luckily the floor was carpeted and i think some coats slowed her on the way down and she didnt fall on any sharp racks or anything. Still cried pretty hard, but she got over pretty quick when we went to the broccoli playplace.

Erin is doing awesome standing by the way! She still holds onto your hands or something, but she has strong little tree trunks. She is the cutest thing!

Then ate at Olive Garden since it was nearby and hadnt been there in awhile. Salad and bread are good! so are the muschroom ravioli and stuffed chicken marsala.

Then got home, put kids to bed, and took out my new skate rail. Its about 20ish feet long (jason? flashback to highschool?) and angled, but it was built out of stuff i had at home (besides the rail which i found) and while it wasnt total crap, it wasnt the most sturdy piece of skate equipment i've ever built. Also the rail was just too thin and too small diameter. SO yeah, back to the drawing board. I'll try to get a pic up soon. Angelle, can you take one today for me? :)

Told you. Action Packed!

Funny Leah

2008-06-29T10:27:00.004-04:00

This morning at breakfast, i made some scrambled eggs and asked Leah if she wanted some. I said "Leah, want some eggs? They have lots of protein." Leah, "no, i dont like protein". :)

Oh yeah, and SORRY Stace for not mentioning your visit. Stace is coming Stace is coming Stace is coming Stace is coming. That will just make July super ultra complete and awesome. Shes the best sister in the world. Shes coming for my birthday. She rocks. SHes awesome. Shes rad. Tubular. Gnarly. Bombastic. Shagtastic. Wait, scratch that last one. Far out. Out of site. Out of mind. Mind over matter. Nothing matters. matter anatomy. Grey's anatomy. Grey's sports almanac. ALmanac of the stars. Stars hockey. Hockey Lockey. Loch ness monster. Monsters of the deep. Deep impact. Armageddon. Ben Affleck.

THere you have it. 15 degrees of Ben Affleck. it CAN be done! =P

Weekend recap

2008-06-23T09:52:00.002-04:00

So the weekend was good. Went to the Sweet Tea Jubilee on Saturday in South Park. Good free event and was for a good cause (Levine Childrens Hospital). Big bouncy things for kids to play on, and we got to climb a rock wall. Then just walked the mall to cool off. But then went to the playground to get sweaty again.

Sunday i took a ride with leah (bike seats are great) to the grocery store to get a "special treat". Leah was hilarious when we got there. (heads toward produce) I said, "so what should we get? lets see...how about some fruit like a banana?" Leah: "yeah! Bananas!" (looks left at candy aisle) Me: "or we could get a chocolate bar?" Leah: "OH! YEAH! Chocolate!" (turn down the snack aisle) Me: "well lets look around and see all our choices before deciding. We could get a granola bar.." Leah: "Mmm, yeah! Granola bar!" Me: "..or rice krispy treats..." Leah: "{claps} Yeah! Yeah! Rice Krispy treats!" Me: "...ok, maybe, but we need to keep looking to see everything Then well decide" Leah: "ok" (head towards bakery) Me: "we could get a muffin..." Leah: "yeah! Muffins! I like muffins. lets get plain" Me: "well, they have banana, blueberry, or chocolate chip" Leah "lets get a plain muffin" Me: " we can get banana, blueberry or chocolate chip." Leah; "hmm chocolate chip". (i finally decide to just get the muffins, cuz A.) Leah would be happy with ANYTHING we picked,and we could be at this all day and B.) cuz there were 4 mini muffins in the pack so we could each have 2.

Shes hilarious. I love that kid. :)

Then i got to play some music for a few hours (hopefully iBlog is coming soon! got drums/bass recorded) while Angelle went to the grocery store. Then leah and i played hopscotch, then we all rested, then i went to the waterpark with Leah and Erin for a daddy/daughter/daughter date. Then a delicious dinner (crockpot chicken with olives and mandarin oranges - i know, sounds odd, but Really good), then enjoyed the cool breeze before the storm (on the front porch), then heard leah crying so we let her come down and sit on the back porch with us and enjoy the breeze and look for fireflies. Then we headed to bed and another weekend ended..

Only a week and a half till July starts and the fun ensues! Grammy visits, fireworks, Nana/Papa visit, my birthday, G/Mimi visit, trip to Asheville...July is gonna kick arse!

For some light reading, check out the critical info in this news article:
http://www.charlotte.com/741/story/682057.html

A lot can change in 5 years

2008-06-21T22:43:00.004-04:00

This probably would have been a good post to do on our anniversary, but i just thought of it tonight, after looking at the signature picture from our wedding. So here are all the things I could think of that have changed with us and the people that signed our picture at our wedding:

- We've had 2 kids (Leah and Erin, Duh!)
- We've bought 2 houses and sold 1
- We've moved to a different state
- I've changed jobs 3 times
- Angelle has taught at 3 different schools
- My grandpa died
- My Uncle Barry died
- Nikki and Jason had 2 kids
- Audra and Joe had a kid
- Christina and Joe had 2 kids (1 a surprise)
- Stacy and Will got married (twice), then had a kid
- Hurricane Katrina destroyed a bunch of our family's homes
- Nicole and Min got married
- Bryce and Megan got married
- Mandi got married
- Eisings had another kid
- Katie and Kenny got married and had a kid
- Brit started and graduated law school
- Some people have gotten divorced
- Jill and Jeremy had 2 kids
- Mulberry Landing went out of business
- The Patriots won a bunch of super bowls
- Carly moved to Europe (and moved back)
- Jerry lost an eye
- Lauren graduated college
- Allen and Marisa had 2 kids
- Gary and Orit had another kid
- Tracy and Dustin had another kid
- Erica moved to Melbourne
- Meredith and Clint got married (after getting engaged at our wedding)
- Bryan and Laurie had 2 kids (and bought and sold houses, moved to NC, etc)
- Became friends with Keith/Keri and Dave/Rhi

thats a lot, huh! What has happened to you in the past 5 years? (that I havent already mentioned)

good deed?

2008-06-12T21:29:00.003-04:00

So i gave a stranger a ride home today. I was driving home from skating after work, and stopped at a CVS to grab a gatorade. On my way back to my car, this girl (seemed to be mid 20's) asked me for a ride home. She said she'd been waiting for a few hours for her ride. I asked her how far she lived, and if she had any guns or knives in her purse. After she said no, i decided to believe her, and let her in my car. I figured, best case, i help someone. worst case, she steals my car, i get a new one. Well, i guess worst worst case is she lied about not having a gun, pulls out a gun, and in a fit of crazy rage shoots me...but with my lightning fast reflexes, i figured i could either dodge, jump out of the car, talk her down, or punch the gun out of her hand.

ANyways, in the car she asked to use my cell phone. Twice. She didnt say please, but she did say thank you. She was an odd sort. WHile she was on my phone i heard "hey is naomi there? naomi. NAOMI. what? where is she? that b!t#h has my cell phone!" click. conversation two consisted of "hey [some weird name]. I'll be home in a few. No, some guy. I dont know where he is. bye."

So i drop her off, she says thanks, and i continue to head home.

Life is pretty interesting sometimes.

THen i got to play with Leah and Erin on the playground a little cuz my board meeting (aka wakeboarding) was cancelled tonight. poop.

Heard a funny joke on the radio today. Father's day is a holiday, but its not as important as Mother's day. Its not as good as Mothers day, but better than Arbor day. but way closer to Arbor day. There's a reason Father's day is the only holiday in June. Its cuz all dad wants is a month without holidays! Just one month were we dont have to buy someone a card.

Unless of course your friends' parents were inconsiderate enough to conceive your friends 9 months before June. Those jerks. (love ya Erica and Megan and Elena and umm...anyone else born in June? Chris?)

PeAcE

Got this from Angelle who got this from Erica

2008-06-09T19:53:00.003-04:00

COUNTRY WESTERN SINGER NAME: (mother & father’s middle names)
Scott Francine

NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother’s dad, father’s dad)
Herb Manny

STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Galmi

DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Blue Dog (shout out to Ian)

SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Howard Austin

FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Mirs

GANGSTA NAME: ( fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
strawberry oreo

ROCK STAR NAME: (current pets name, current street name)
Al Lexington

STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)
Chrome Musketeer

PORN NAME: (1st pet, 1st Car)
Russell MR2

AMERICAN GLADIATOR NAME (model name of your current car)
Grand Cherokee (Corolla sounds lame)

Funny comment and cheesy songs

2008-06-05T11:38:00.004-04:00

First off, Angelle made a hilarious comment the other night:

"I dont know what i like better about our bedroom, the plastic bin of wrapping paper, or the 6 ft ladder"

Yeah, i know, we need to tidy up our bedroom.

Second off, on the radio this morning, they were talking about the cheesiest songs of all time,so to contrast the AWESOME albums i've been posting, I'm curious what you think are super cheese songs.

Here are a few to start:
Nelson - "I Cant Live Without your Love and Affection"
Spice Girls - "If ya wannabe my lover"
The Darkness - "I believe in a thing called love"
Anything by Ratt
Anything by Poison

Leah Skating, More Music, and Demetri

2008-05-30T21:29:00.008-04:00

First off, here is Leah grinding the practice rail and skating the halfpipe at the skatepark:

Second, Megan, my iPod spans many time periods between the years of 1996 and 1999.

Speaking of which, how could i forget these gems?

1. Weezer - Weezer
2. The Hippos - Heads are Gonna Roll
3. Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
4. Liberator - This is Liberator
5. The Know How - HappyFunRobotKillTime
6. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine

If you do not have these on your iPod, or have not heard them, go buy them, download them, borrow your friend's iPod, whatever you have to. Another 6 all around great albums. If you want to know the top 10 Mariah Carey albums of all time, see Megan's blog or just talk to her on the phone. I'm sure she'll mention them at some point or another in conversation.

If you have not heard or seen the comedian Demetri Martin, do so immediately. He's hilarious. Hes kind of a one-liner, which i normally dont like, but his delivery and timing is really good. Demetri on wikipedia. Here is a sampling of some of his jokes (paraphrased):

- Swimming is an interesting sport. You can do it for fun, or to not die. They only way to tell the difference is by what you're wearing. Pants? Uh oh. Bathing suit? okay. naked? we'll see.

- I know someone who said I love kids. Thats like saying i like people for a little while. And you have to be general about something like that. You can say 'i like kids', but you cant say 'i like 12 year olds'

- A dream catcher really works. If your dream is to be gay.

- I think an eating contest is really just the beginning of a pooping contest.

There you have it. Skating, music, and jokes. what more could you ask for from 1 blog post?! I know right!

PeAcE

Worst Sandwich Ever

2008-05-21T21:16:00.004-04:00

first read this:
http://keriland.blogspot.com/2008/05/worst-sandwich-ever.html

Now stop laughing. Now stop wondering how Keith is able to tie his shoes in the morning, drive a car, and code thousands of lines of Java to create software that thousands of people use, yet not able to evenly spread peanut butter and jelly on bread, all the while keeping the bread in its normal square shape.

Seriously, here is a challenge. Everyone see if you can get your children to make a PB&J, then take pictures of it, and we will have a contest and judge to see if any kids (or how many) can make one better than Keith!

Keith, you know i like you. You are mad fun to rock out with. You are fun to talk nerdy shop with. You are a great ski trip partner. I'm just glad we ate out. :)

Alright, enough Keith shenanigans.

If you work for a big company, and have a corporate directory on your company's corporate intranet, i highly recommend you take a few minutes and do some searches for names of people that work there. This might work best for a place like Harris, or a hospital. Search for names like 'Wang' or the slang for 'Richard'. I know its childish, but i guarantee you'll find yourself amazed that some of these peoples' parents actually named their children! I'm not going to post them here, but if you are curious about some of the good ones, email me. :)

Also, with blogging and social networking being so popular today, i'd be curious to hear if anyone has opinions on how to use things like blogs and wikis in a corporate environment to add value to peoples' jobs or to the company. We're currently implementing these tools at Wachovia, and I'd like to know what all you think about having a blog at work, or having a work wiki. I know i have tons of ideas about how we're hoping they get used, but what do y'all think? Also, how do we have successful adoption for the Baby Boomers and Traditionalists who aren't as close to technology as GenX/GenYers.

If you're not familiar with those terms, they're categories of generations. Check it out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation#External_links

They call the Traditionalists "Silent". but I went to a diversity event today at work talking about the differences in the Generations. pretty interesting. Some stuff you sort of think as obvious, but i dont think a lot of people consciously think about the differences when dealing with people at work (or anywhere really). People often treat others as they want to be treated. Older generations value hard work, loyalty to the company, conformity. Younger generations are more self focused, show loyalty to people rather than the company, and are likely to change jobs and careers many times. I recommend learning about the generations, its pretty interesting. Obviously not every person born in the years listed will have all the characteristics but they are documented trends.

This is not only true about age, but also gender. I think men and women often give what they need, instead of giving what the other person needs. Whether its at home or at work, and age or gender, try to just ask the other person what they need. If its your boss or your employee or your spouse or parent, instead of just giving them support or help in the way YOU want or need it, really think about that person. It is easy to give what you know, but thats not always the most effective thing for the other person.

Is that like the longest blog post ever? I try to keep them short cuz i know everyone's attention spans are like 3 sentences, but i was in a writey sorta mood. You get a gold star and an A+ if you are still reading.

1 more day till Indiana Jones! WOOHOO!

3 years old...

2008-05-19T10:17:00.002-04:00

Wow. Leah is 3. So crazy! I wont write the whole recap here. You can read it on Angelle's Blog.

But it was a fun weekend and a great party. Thanks to everyone who came! Thanks to Stacy, Landon, Nana and Papa for travelling!

The Luau was a success. Good food, good games, good cake...good job Angelle!

Leah loved her bike and skates. I think angelle got a video of her grinding the rail on her skates. My little skater chick. We also went to the park yesterday and rode our bikes on the path around the whole thing. Shes great!

Love you Leah!

Top Albums in my iPod

2008-05-15T22:04:00.003-04:00

Was listening to my iPod on the busride home today (havent listened to it in awhile) and thought I'd post the top albums in my iPod. Not many bands produce albums that are good front to back, so these i would rate at least 75% of the album is hot.

1. 311 - Music
2. Reel Big Fish - Turn the Radio Off
3. Blink182 - Dude Ranch
4. Tenacious D - Tenacious D
5. Goldfinger - Stomping Grounds
6. Sum41 - Does this Look Infected
7. 311 - 311
8. Stars of David - Shofar So Good
9. Pietasters - Strapped Live
10. Bad Religion - Stranger Than Fiction

There you have it. You many not agree, but i dont care! this is MY blog! so there. Make your own list. You can still comment on this one of course.

i cant believe its 2 days till Leah's 3 year birthday! SO insane that my baby is gonna be 3. Was just looking at pics of her i think from 2 years old, and i remember thinking how grown up she looked in that pic, but now she looks like a baby in those! so wild to watch your kids grow up. it used to be days and weeks flying by, now its months and years! I hope Erin grows up slower. Although i imagine it wont be that way. {sigh}

In other news, I recommend you checking out Google Docs. its hot hot hot.

What else...work is good. Tiring and busy, but good. Redesigning the entire corporate intranet is no easy task!

Alright. time for bed.

Top Cereals in our house

2008-04-26T08:30:00.003-04:00

After this morning's breakfast, have to list the Top cereals in our house at the moment.

Coming in a RESOUNDING #1 is.....

1. Basic 4

It just heads and shoulders and knees and toes above the rest that I probably will skip a few spots to allow for its awesomeness. It has different textures, puffed rice, flakes, cranberries, yogurt raisins...so much goodness in one little box! So yeah, eat it. right now, everyday.

5. Reeses Puffs
6. Kix
7. Fruity Cheerios
8. Frosted Mini Wheats (i wish we had maple/brown sugar, cuz those are good! thanks for the sample Konickis)
9. Dino Smores Pebbles
10. Cheerios

There you have it. Whether you're a kid or an adult, you most likely like cereal. Whats not to like? you get to put it in a bowl (who likes those pesky plate things), eat it with a spoon (forks are dangerous! 3 or 4 sharp prongs sticking into your mouth? 80% of all household accidents in the US are caused by forks), you get to pour milk in it (strong bones, healthy body!), AND you get to drink the sweetened milk at the end by sipping the bowl like its a GIGANTIC spoon. If a spoon is good, pretending your cereal bowl is a GIGANTIC spoon is great!

Alrighty, time to pack and head off to the Triangle of Research and go to Landon's birthday party. Happy Birth(thurs)day Landon!!

PeAcE

better late than never

2008-04-23T22:04:00.003-04:00

So i finally got on facebook, as i'm sure some of you know since you got friend requests from me. I just never really had time to sign up for it, but with ANgelle and the girls being away i actually do have time to just sit around and do nothing. But it turns out its awesome cuz it is WAY easier to find people on it than on myspace. Gotta say myspace SUX. most pages i've seen are designed horribly (no offense to all of you who love your myspace pages, but not everyone is a web designer. :) ).

Facebook is just so much more clean and uniform. Its a good thing when there is that much going on.

But yeah found some old friends from Jr High hebrew school back in like 92. how crazy?!

In other news, is anyone else under the impression that Obama and Hillary are trying to create a more socialist society? I havent' really watched much since my ski trip with Keith when all he watched was political stuff, but talking to my friend John today, hes making it sound like Obama and Hillary want everyone in america to be equal, and want to make the gap between 'Rich' and 'poor' much much smaller. I dont know about you, but I like America's capitalistic society. I think the thing that makes America great is freedom. Freedom to be rich OR poor. Why does everyone have to be equal? Nature isnt about equality, its about balance. I'm sure a lot of people would say i only have this opinion because i'm well off with finances, and maybe thats true, but i definitely dont think i'm 'Rich'. I was definitely VERY fortunate to have been born to parents with good jobs and could take care of me, and allow me to get educated and then get my own job...but I just as easily could have stayed in The Know How (college band) and/or dropped out of college to pursue Music and not have had corporate jobs making money. I chose this path. I know not everyone gets to choose their path since some people are forced to work 3 jobs...but i dont know. I dont think i like a society where everyone is forced to be equal. I dont think equality means better. The more you limit what people can do, the less free you become, and i think our Declaration of Independence mostly talks about freedom, not being equal to England.

Anyway, maybe its just a rant, and i definitely need to research the candidates more this year, but i hear all these commercials about 'young' people talking about how Obama 'gets them' and 'knows their problems'. What problems? They got a bmw for their 16th birthday instead or a Porsche? i'm not saying i know all about him. I dont know what he did a senator, but i'm also not saying i like him cuz hes charismatic and charming. As i get older and slightly wiser i'm beginning to see how democracy is just a popularity contest, just like Prom King and Queen. And obviously media and money and who you know. But such is life, and I dont have a better answer right now for it. Maybe tomorrow i will.

back in MNC

2008-04-20T20:41:00.004-04:00

i'm back. home that is. Angelle and the girls are still in FLA. they went over to the west coast to visit with family and other friends. I miss my bear and peah! and angelle too of course! :)

flight back was fine. no real issues, no real excitement. I do love Charlotte long term parking. 3 bucks per day!!! tampa was like 10 per day or something crazy.

Thank you so much to Nikki, Jason, Halle, Biscuit, Erica, Big boy, Daisy (?), Sean, Keri, Keith, Annabelle, Corgan and Macy to opening up their homes for sleeping, fun, partying, eating and all that jazz. it was an awesome trip to Melbourne. Erica also took a ton of pics of all the kids so hopefully some came out good and angelle will post them soon.

Tiffany is awesome too. i got home at like 5 and she comes to greet me and ask if i have dinner and i say no so she invites me to dinner. It was awesome too! Roasted chicken with potatoes and salad. MMMM. Her kids were very entertaining too. :) Luv ya Tiff!

Erin LOVED the beach this weekend! she liked playing in the sand, and the wind and the sun..she didnt really love the cold water splashing her, but she loved the sand. :) Leah was sitting in her castle that Papa (my dad) built her so she could be safe from the waves. They're such wusses! They must take after their mom. :) although my parents tell me i didnt like anything as a kid either, but i remember playing in creeks and climbing cliffs and being in the woods, so i couldnt have been too fraidy cat. Oh another small highlight from the beach, we took a small potty seat that Nikki gave us, so the kids wouldnt have to use gross public restrooms, and i took leah into this bunch of trees so she could use the seat, and then i realized i didnt bring any wipes or napkins, and i could just leave her there sitting on the seat and go get some, so i looked around and used what we had...no not my shirt, a leaf off a tree. It wasnt a crinkly oak though. it was one of those nice big green soft leaves. Leah seemed to like it. :)

Oh, and my parents drove up. Fun to see them of course. They went to the beach with us since everyone else wussed out.

Played poker for the first time in like months. Came in 2nd! I got crappy cards all night and just ended up outlasting Keri and Nikki. Jason won. not cuz hes good, cuz hes lucky.

thats the weekend in a nutshell. Beach, golf, eating, drinking, kids, poker. fun times...

Hope the girls are having fun in clearwater! miss y'all!!

FLA post

2008-04-18T08:00:00.003-04:00

well, we made it to Florida. Melbourne to be exact. Well, West Melbourne to be exact exact.

Trip was pretty good. ANgelle and I had different rows on the plane, so i got both girls and she got to read! yay! flight was shorter than i thought so it wasnt horrible. Erin napped on me for a bit. Leah and i were sharing sandwich and dropping crumbs on Erin's head. it was funny. to me and Leah anyway.

Keri was awesome to pick us up from the Airport. Thanks Ker!! And the Konickis were nice enough to host us. Halle has a mustang power wheel similar to Jason's mustang, and Leah was driving Halle and Annabelle around the culdesac. So cute! had flash forwards though to 12 years from now and Leah driving a real car! oi vey.

SO after much researching (and by much i mean none) here is my latest top list.

Top mulches to use in your yard:

1. Pine mulch
2. Pine bark mini nuggets
3. Red cedar mulch
4. Cypress mulch
5. Pine bark nuggets (regular size)

Since that one was short here's another one.

Top uses for a spoon, other than the obvious:

1. Back scratcher
2. Egg launcher
3. Mashed potato flinger
4. Instrument (when coupled with a 2nd spoon)
5. Matrix reference (well really a lack of a spoon applies, but you get the point)
6. The Tick reference
7. Cat whacker

Thanks again and tune in next time for another exciting blog post! We'll be discussing politics, psychology, the law, and the current state of the ozone. Or not.

-GHM

Theres a first time for everything

2008-04-12T20:26:00.002-04:00

Today, it was yoga. Been having some lower back pain, so figured I'd try it. Its really just stretching and breathing. I dunno. Angelle likes it a lot, and i can see how it could relax you if you can really stop thinking about all the things you're stressing about, but to me, it just felt like group stretching.

Also, since its hip to do, I'm going to do some "Top" lists. First up, top tv shows on right now:

1. Milf Island (see #3 if you're doubting this one)
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. 30 Rock
4. The Office
5. Robot Chicken
6. Family Guy
7. Seinfeld Reruns
8. Americas Funniest Home Videos
9. My Dad is better than Your Dad
10. Johnny and the Sprites

Okay, so 9 and 10 are jokes, but TV pretty much is 98% lame. Hells Kitchen is mildly amusing, but i wouldnt watch it if Angelle didnt. I still watch Smallville, but i wouldnt really say its good, and I havent seen the latest Scrubs, but it will probably join the list after I view it. Other than that, you can see my previous blog for all the lame shows on. You may be questioning #8, but seeing dads get hit in the crotch with t-balls and watching babies fall asleep while eating still cracks me up. Even with youtube, AFV still makes me laugh more than most shows.

Tune in next issue when I list the top 10 yoga positions. Here is a sample:

1. Downward Dog
2. Ultimate Warrior (or was he a wrestler?)
3. Crane to Butterfly to Tree (seriously, who names this stuff??)
.........

PeAcE

New laptop

2008-04-07T21:55:00.004-04:00

well, i'm blogging from our new laptop. its sweet. Widescreen, dvd burner, 2 gigs of memory. woot.

Angelle is drooling over my shoulder, but i wont let her have it yet.

I would apologize for not blogging in awhile, but hey, life is busy, and if you care that much, call me! You probably dont, thats why you havent called me. Nice friend you are! Thanks jerk. sheesh.

Anyways, life is good, the girls are good. Everything except my car is good. The busted old corolla. I want a new car, but i just dont want to spend the money on it. Especially since i really only use it to drive to the bus station, and on the weekends, we usually drive the van. But still, i want a car that i like. That i didnt inherit. I'm thinking about a used nissan xterra. I want some more space than the corolla, and the xterra has space, but i can probably get one from carmax for under 13k and under 50k miles. anyone have opinions? i wouldnt mind an Escape hybrid, but again, dont want to spend the cash.

Also, did anyone else lose a ton in their IRA 1st quarter??! i know the market was supposedly bad (although i dont really think we're in a recession. State of fear...state of fear...) but 10% seems like a huge loss to me. Shouldnt Al Gore swoop in and stop global warming from ruining my IRA? Or maybe thats Batman. In any case, if you dont know what an IRA is, erase this paragraph from your memory.

As an update to my post from a long time ago about free CMS's, Drupal is the bomb. I've set up two sites so far using it: charlotte-ux.org and theriotcrew.net

To anyone needing a free, easy to set up website tool with built in blogging, user admin, themes, forums, polls, and more, check out drupal.org

Just for fun, I talked to a realtor to do a house search for homes closer to the city and the lake. Saw some interesting stuff...if i knew we could sell this monroe house, i think we'd move. Assuming we could get our friends to move with us.

In other news, i'm totally in love with the library. I got a library card for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg libraries (the county where i work, not where i live so i unfortunately had to spend $45) but there is a branch by my office, so i just reserve stuff online, and go pick it up! its awesome. i've been reading all kindsa spider-man lately. Bus time isnt all that bad. And neither is couch time and bed time. Angelle is kinda sick of seeing spider-man comics now though. Oh well, i'm tired of seeing: Biggest Loser, Newlyweds, Bachelors, Biggest WInner, Littlest Groom, Biggest Bride, My big fat greek houseguest, bachelorette, rachel ray vs bobby flay: celebrity food showdown, jon and kate plus 8, bobby and whitney plus crack, and many more interestling awful shows that Angelle watches. I still love her, but i dont have to love the shows she watches.

time for oreos. bye.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T08:47:00.005-04:00

I know. weird coming from a (pseudo) Jew right? Well, Jesus was Jewish at one point in time, so, ya know.

G, Myrn and Brittany came to visit. They made the long trek and we are super glad to have them. On top of entertaining the girls, G and Myrn always cook us outstanding food that is easily better than a bunch of restaurants.

Went paintballing yesterday with the guys. It was mad fun. I got Brandon good twice in the back. He has a welt as rememberance. Good times. Bryan got me in the head though. Had paint in my hair. To anyone in Monroe/Charlotte looking for a good paintball course, Glory Road paintball on Rocky River. Cool refs, VERY reasonably priced. Its run by church people so they stress no swearing, no fighting (other than paintball games). Except for the dirt, grime, paint, and tactical warfare, its good clean fun!

Then made a return trip to Maggianos. MMMMMMM. that place is so good everytime. Going for lunch is awesome cuz its cheaper! a few less choices, but if you bat your eyes at the waiter, they can maybe check to see if the kitchen will make something not on the menu. G got italian pot roast which he loves. We tried shrimp and crab canelloni which was outstanding. Their rigatoni D is always good, and of course the Maggianos salad. Also had pound cake and bailey's cheesecake for dessert...sooo good. While the appetizers are good, i recommend skipping them (which you can do at lunch) so you can focus on the pastas, entrees, and desserts. Also will save you $3 per person.

Last night played a rousing round of scattergories with Ang and Britt. Ang won because of her superior intellect. Or becuase Britt and I had been drinking. you be the judge.

Leah and Erin were SUPER excited to see that the Easter bunny had visited last night and left them baskets of treats! Apparently the Easter Bunny and Santa both went to the same school, because they both employ the treat delivery method of nocturnal distribution. Are they afraid of the sun? Or did they learn magical powers that let them stop time only at night? Who knows, but deductive logic tells me that they are in cahoots. Or at least were at one point. Or maybe Easter Bunny found Santa's "Present Distribution" white paper on Google. In any case, it makes for fun surprises for the kids in the morning.

Thats all for now. Counting down the days till we scrub our plates of bread particles, and visit the "ethnic" aisle at Harris Teeter scrounging for matzah and matzah ball soup.

"Spring is here, winter gone, lets put shorts and t-shirts on!"

Here's a quick video of my attempts at a misty flip (front flip 180 or a bio (sideways) 540):

News headline of the day

2008-03-18T14:08:00.001-04:00

CNN.com reports that:

"Horse outruns tornado"

i heart weekends

2008-03-16T20:03:00.003-04:00

seriously, so good. yesterday was rainy, so we just did some errands and watched movies. but i also went to the gym and fixed a toilet paper holder in our downstairs bathroom. oh, and got the cars inspected. one lame thing about NC.

Oh! my freakin corolla failed cuz of the tint!! so annoying. apparently NC doesnt allow tint as dark as florida did. the ridic part is my car passed last year at the same place!!! apparently Jesus (the guy who inspected it last year) wasnt very diligent. Now, i'm not trying to slam my Christian friends, but if he cant even inspect my car properly, i'm a little worried you guys have put so much faith in him. (jk. but not really.)

Today was GORGEOUS. an awesome NC day. sunny, a bit cool. in the 60's all day. we played outside pretty much all day. skated, rode bikes, jumped ramps, played in bubbles, mowed the lawn (leah hugged me while we were riding the tractor and said 'Daddy i love to mow the lawn with you'. i love that kid!) Erin was just happy and smily as always. when she wasnt cranky from lack of naps that is. Then we had some cake for Porter (our neighbors) birthday. it was AWESOME chocolate cake. Good job Tiff! then we bathed and now i'm waiting to go kiss Leah good night. She is so exhausted. Oh we also had awesome pizza for lunch. New place called Johnny B's in Monroe. SO good. i'm glad Cicis was closed cuz we were heading there.

What else...i'm sure a ton of stuff, but i'm too tired to think of it all. Oh, i did jump a garbage camp off my ramp today. that was fun. Mimi and Pawpaw are comin on friday, so Leah is excited. (me too of course, but not as excited as Leah. :) )

THen we head to florida in april...life is so full of stuff. i love it! Kids and family and friends just make life worth living. To all of you who have stayed in my life and made it worth living, Thanks! It wouldnt be that great without all of you.

Kay, that was my mushy moment. Its like when scrubs is all happy and silly for 27 minutes, then in the last 2 its always some life lesson or tearjerker.

Till next week...

no time to post

2008-03-11T20:17:00.003-04:00

work, kids, who has the time to blog? But angelle wanted me to post this interesting tidbit: I just posted a comment on Mandi's blog, and my Word Verification word was: BIMPS!

i like it.

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACE!

Also, my General Lee RC car from WalMart rocks. it was 10 bucks and we've had hours of fun driving it around the cul-de-sac.

Also, everyone go Wachovia and open a checking account, and tell them that I referred you. You will get $25 and I will get $25. Its Win Win Win! Seriously do it. I want free money. If you are a Random reading this, my name is Mike Gallers. If you are not a Random, and you just forgot my name, thats kinda funny. Are you drunk? or just a moron?

I hear Leah singing from her bedroom right now. She often talks or sings herself to sleep. Its cute and funny. I had to take splinters out of her hand tonight though. that was NOT cute or funny. SHe got them from playing on my skate ramps last weekend. They were so small that i had to take my contacts out to get my microscope vision.

Oh, and I missed TY's birthday, so happy birthday to Ty! big 2 oh. minus the oh.

Alright, enough jibber jabber. laterz

Good Free CMS?

2008-02-25T19:55:00.003-05:00

TO any techies reading this blog, do you know of or have you used a free Content Management system to set up a website? I have looked at Joomla but am not super impressed. We are setting up a website for our Charlotte User Experience group. I would love to use Sharepoint, but alas, its not free.

In other news, well theres not a whole lot of news. In training this week which is kinda neat. Its for Sharepoint Designer, which is basically the new MS FrontPage but with added features.

We got a bed for Leah over the weekend. A twin size daybed with trundle. wont be in till April though.

Leah said something funny at dinner. She said I had little dumpies. And ERin had dumpies too. We finally realized she meant 'dimples'. Apparently angelle had said Erin and I had small dimples but leah and her didnt. pretty funny.

Also, has anyone had a 7 layer burrito from Taco Bell lately? I remembered them being better than they are. Crunchwrap supremes are still really good. They're good to go.

In other food news, Honey Chipotle boneless chicken wings from Chilis are AWESOME. SO are their new mini burgers. What is it with small things? Small humans (aka babies)? Cute. Puppies? Cute. Kittens? Cute. Mini burgers? well, not cute, but tasty. The only thing that i've noticed tastes better bigger than smaller, is cookies. Cookie cakes are far superior to their normal sized (small) counterparts.

Can anyone recommend some good movies to get from Netflix? Our Queue is getting small. Comedies, adventure, suspense, anything?

Wow, i guess i had more news that i thought. Sometimes when you start babbling about nothing, a whole lotta nothing comes out.

My First Lego Animation

2008-02-18T11:00:00.002-05:00

Its pretty awful. But watch it anyway.

How do families get better?

2008-02-18T10:39:00.003-05:00

Seriously, we keep passing around this cold/flu thing. Angelle had Strep, and Erin had a cough. Then I get the flu and am sick for a week. Now Angelle is achy and coughy, leah is a snotball (coughing/sneezing/stuffy), and of course erin is a little stuffy. I'm finally getting a little better and hoping i dont get it again! UGGH!! i think i'll live in a bubble for a few weeks.

In other news, happy valentines day last week! and happy birthday to Belle and Halle! 2 yrs old. crazy. cant wait to see them in april!

We're mulching under leah's swingset finally. Hopefully it wont be as muddy after it rains. the clay is nasty for like a week after it rains.

Thas about it i guess. 3 day weekend. YAY!

Breck Video

2008-02-18T10:36:00.004-05:00

Just realized i never posted the breckenridge video. Here ya go if you havent seen it!

A Tale of Three Brothers

2008-02-06T13:58:00.001-05:00

Seriously, what do you do when you are 1 of three children, the oldest at that, and your two younger brothers have super bowl rings and super bowl MVPs to boot? Talk about inferiority complex. I know it was hard for my sister growing up with someone as awesome and amazing as me...I can only imagine what it was like for her living in my long casted shadow {you know i'm kidding Stace :) }, but oh, to be Cooper Manning. I thought Eli was going to have to live in Peyton's shadow for awhile, but it only took a year. How sick is that?? 2 super bowl MVPs for the Mannings in 2 years.

Oh well, gotta hand it to the G men. Awesome friggin game. I really thought it would be the Cowboys taking down the Pats in a rematch, but the G defense was just SICK in the playoffs. Glad Konickis is happy.

In other news, the rest of the Breckenridge trip was just as awesome as the first day. It snowed every day, and there was so much powder....just insane. I OBVIOUSLY missed Angelle, Leah and Erin, but dang the mountain was awesome. Hopefully i'll get the pics/vids on the computer soon. Keith was hardcore. Dont know why everyone was so worried I would get him into trouble. He was better at the tree runs that I was. He even nailed a box slide! I'm still sorta in a daze after being gone almost a week, but here I sit at work, trying to improve our employee portal. WHEEE!!

Leah seemed so much older than i remembered! it was just a week, but dang i feel like she was taller and talking more than a week ago. Next year, i think a family ski trip out west will be in order. That way it'll be the best of both worlds! Any other families in?

Oh, and if you ever go on vacation with Keith, dont do it during election season. Its all he watches!!! he couldnt get enough of CNN and the political debates and all that. Yeah i guess its important, but there was snow everywhere! :) just playin keith. you were a kickarse ski buddy. except for when you knocked me over, then hit me in the goggles with your ski pole. But it was funny watching you fall off the lift the last day. THen watching you fly over me as you tripped over my snowboard in the woods. too bad that wasnt on video.

Snap back to reality.....

BRECKENRIDGE ROCKS!!!!

2008-02-01T22:15:00.000-05:00

it has been snowing all day. the slopes were AMAZING. powder everywhere. its supposed to snow all weekend. Colorado is THE BOMB. me and keith were tearin up the slopes. Posting from an internet cafe and some older ladies are asking about the oxygen and talking about a doctor from columbus Ohio, and i said stay away from things from columbus.

Time is almost up, so short post this time. But seriously Breckenridge is so freakin awesome. everyone should come here.

My Cat's Breath Smells Like Cat Food

2008-01-23T20:18:00.000-05:00

Recovery

2008-01-22T20:52:00.000-05:00

I love work. work work work. Work is so much better than staying home all the time with the kids. :) I know thats horrible to say, but seriously, work is awesome. Adult conversation, lunch, busrides...yeah, good times.

SO its now tuesday evening. Angelle is off playing Bunko. I remember the days that Nicole's mom used to play. I walked in once and had to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge a flying stuffed animal. I know there was dice involved, but i dunno. Seemed kinda fruity. Like the New York Giants, only they are way fruitier.

Saturday was okay. It snowed half the day so that was fun. Got to play outside with Leah in the snow. Didnt get to go to West Virginia. Angelle just wasnt feeling up to it, and i dont blame her. Would have been fun, but the colorado trip is next week, so i guess i'll have to wait for that.

Hmm, sunday..sunday...just watched football really. Watched two really lame teams win. The superbowl is gonna be so boring. I bet no one watches it this year.

Monday played with the maddexes then took Ian and Leah roller skating! it was so cute! the kids were awesome. It felt like middle school. It was christian music night, so i did feel mildly spiritual, but it also might have been the bean burrito from taco bell.

I just heard Heath Ledger died?!?! Thats sad. I guess we'll never see "A Knight's Tale 2" or "20 things I hate about you"

I'm glad you all think I'm so funny. Or maybe just Stacy. You should write me in as winner for Last Comic Standing-Blog Division.

PEACE

Sick Fems

2008-01-19T06:31:00.000-05:00

Well, its 6:30am on a Saturday, what else is there to do but blog?

So the weather guy is calling for some snow today. 90% chance. that means its about a 25% chance probably. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my hopes up though.

Yesterday was absolutely FABULOUS. I stayed home from work cuz Angelle felt horrible. Took her to the doctor at 10. turns out she most likely has some weird strain of Strep. Not even sure what Strep is, but it sounds bad. Although it sorta just sounds like Step which is kinda cool. Stomp the Yard!!

While Ang is at the Dr, i take leah to the mcdonalds playplace cuz its fairly chilly outside and thats the only indoor playplace in Monroe. We play, eat some chicken nuggets, then go back and get angelle, drop off an Rx, grab some soup, head home, feed Angelle, feed Leah, feed Erin, realize its too late to put Erin down cuz she has a Dr appointment at 2, which we have to leave by 1:15 for, so i decide to put the girls in the car and hope they'll nap on the way. Leah falls asleep about 10 min away from the dr, but we arrived 30 min early so i drove around matthews for 25 minutes so she could continue napping. Of course Erin falls asleep right when we get to the Dr's office. she napped for about 10minutes.

Dr saw Erin. No ear infection. Probably not Strep (main test came back negative, have to wait for the culture). Chest congestion. Hopefully just a cold. Dr checked Leah's ears too just to be sure. Shes clear.

So we head back home, stopping on the way to pick up donuts for Angelle. Get home, deliver donuts, make leah toast with jelly (cuz of course, why in the world would she want a donut?) Get Erin to nap (i think Angelle actually did this part, but the day is a little hazy at this point). Play with Leah for awhile, go to Laurie's so Leah can play with Ian. Go home to get Erin when she wakes up. Go back to Lauries for dinner. Go back home to get erin's dinner. Go back to Lauries. Go back home to get Leah's milk and give angelle food. Go back to Lauries. Eat, take Erin home to let her nurse. Go back to Lauries. Gather up Leah, and come home again. If you missed that, it was 10 trips betweens our house and the Maddexes. WHEEEEEEEEEE!

Finally Leah goes down, Erin is down, and its time to drink a beer. I enjoyed a nice Japanese beer from my "beers of the world" collection. Thanks Zac! It was quite tasty. Asahi or something like that. Then Dennis and Brandon came over to help me unwind and play some Wii.

Then i fell asleep on the couch cuz our bedroom is a quarantined zone till today at 3pm at which the antibiotic should start working and ANgelle should no longer be contagious. T minus 8 hours 16 minutes and 23 seconds.

Erin slept great though! Went to sleep around 7:30 and woke up around 5:30!! yay! i think thats the longest stretch yet. ANd its 6:45 and Leah is still asleep. ALthough Erin is fussing, but hey, at least its not 2am.

Hopefully we'll get snow today, angelle will get better, we'll be able to go to West Virginia tomorrow, I'll get to snowboard, and the weekend will be peachy. Oh, and hopefully the Packers stomp the Giants like 48-0.

To anyone questioning getting married and having kids....today was tiresome and annoying but I got to spend a lot of time with Erin and Leah and it was awesome. So even the bad days have great parts and great parts definitely outweigh those tiring annoying times. Well, the nights of the first few months of the baby are pretty annoying, but you kinda forget all that when your toddler starts walking, saying Dada, I love you, and !Ayudeme! :)

Thank you Mr Martin Luther King Jr, not only for naming the road that serves as an entrance to my neighborhood, but also for being such a great guy that the banks close in honor of you! 3 day weekend! WOOHOO! and boy do i need it.

PEACE

Catching up on recent events

2008-01-15T09:28:00.001-05:00

So where to begin...lets go back to Friday night when I planned on blogging, but then Leah actually fell asleep.

So you probably read Angelle's blog about her crazy day with Leah coughing, so i got to have fun friday night with it. Leah was coughing around bedtime at 8:30ish and made herself throw up. WHEEE! after cleaning her up, and getting her back to sleep, she woke up about 1am coughing and Angelle sat with her for about an hour, but then it was my turn, so i was up with her from 2:30 to like 4:30ish. I took her downstairs to the couch and we watched a dora, and she was hungry cuz she kept barfing when she would cough. I made her some toast, but she said it was yucky. Finally around 4:30ish she fell asleep on the couch and i fell asleep on the other couch. She started coughing again at 6:20, so i went upstairs to trade with Angelle so i could get the bed. I got to sleep till 9 so that was decent.

Saturday was pretty good. Had a good gym work out. Went to Ray's Splash Planet which is this big indoor pool/waterpark in Charlotte. Leah had been invited to a birthday party of one of her preschool mates. We had fun swimming with her and Erin. It was Erin's first pool outing! i think she liked it. AFter swimming hard, we ate cake and headed home, grabbing wendys on the way. Leah and erin both passed out in the car.

Leah slept great saturday night, i guess the medicine she got worked good enough. They think its some kind of asthma. Weird. she can breath alright, but apparently there's a cough related asthma.

Saturday night, Angelle just wanted to read so i went to Dennis's with Bryan/Brandon and we watched the patriot game and just hung out. I passed out on his couch. But then went home.

Sunday didnt do a whole lot. Played with Leah a bunch. We made a huge hopscotch court in our culdesac. Then made a bunch of snacks for the cowboy/giant game which was great in the first half, but HORRIBLE in the second half. Screw you Jason. Cowboys just were so flat. the defense letting the giants score with under 50 seconds in the first half was bad enough, but then the offense totally sputtered in the 2nd half. I think romo needs to keep his mind off Pop sensations and in the game more. I dont hear about Tom Brady dating Christina Aguilera. Its ridiculous.

After that heated game, tried to cool off by playing mario (Super Mario Galaxy for Wii is AWESOME) then watched Evan Almighty which was pretty funny.

Then it was Monday. Had to visit winston salem for work. Then had a new years thing for work when i got back to charlotte. Played pool and darts and met our dept head. she was cool.

Last night Leah wakes up at like 4:30am crying and i go in to see whats wrong and she tells me i cant leave cuz if i do, the ghosts are going to come into her room. I tried to convince her that we bought a ghost-free house, but she wasnt buying it, and agreed to come sleep in our bed. She rarely comes into our bed, but she seemed scared, so i let her. Where did she learn about ghosts? Who is feeding my child these ridiculous stories? Is it the Berenstein Bears?

In other news, a UFO was sighted in Texas. It was apparently a mile long and half a mile wide. Everything is bigger in Texas. here's the news story if you're interested:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/14/ufo.sightings.ap/index.html

Thats all for now. The rest of the football season means nothing, and I can focus on snowboarding.

PEACE

NCAA football playoffs

2008-01-09T23:31:00.000-05:00

Okay, with all the talk coming out of Georgia, the SEC and ACC, I figured I'd throw in my suggestion for College Football playoffs.

There are 11 conferences. Only conference winners should advance into the playoffs. I dont care if you are Georgia and you claim to be better than Tennessee or LSU, if you dont win your conference, you dont advance. College football is too large for there to be wild cards like in NFL.

1 conference most likely will be too scared to compete. Possibly a few more. But lets assume its just 1 (Mountain West?)

So, you take your 10 conference winners. 4 of them will have the plus 1 games to get into the playoffs. this will eliminate 2 teams, leaving 8. 8 teams divide nicely into the four main bowls. 2 bowls in the eastern US (Orange/Sugar) and 2 bowls in the western US (Fiesta/Rose). The winners of those bowls will play each other to have an Eastern Champ and WEstern champ who will play for the National Championship a week later. In this system, I suggest keeping the bowl tie ins, since they are semi regional anyway. I'd keep the SEC champ in the Sugar, and ACC and Big East champs in the Orange. Pac 10 and Big 10 champs in the Rose. Big 12 champ in the Fiesta. That leaves 2 open spots for the 2 play in teams. Since usually the other conferences aren't on par with the major conferences, this will still give 2 of them a chance each year to get teams in. So the MAC, WAC, ConfUSA and SunBelt (or Mountain West) will compete for the 2 remaining spots in the Sugar Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.

This way, voting doesnt matter!! Its all on the field, its all about your play through the year (which will get you to your conference championship) and then your play in the playoffs. I mean, how subjective is voting?? Football is not gymnastics. Its not ice skating. It shouldnt be judged. If Div 2 and 3 football, and college baseball, and college hockey all have playoffs, Div 1 should. We know it, the players know it, the coaches know it, most school presidents know it. The only people who dont care, are the tv networks who make money off the great sport. I know its naive of me to think that money shouldnt decide which 2 teams get into the championship game, just as its naive of me to think gas companies will roll over for hybrid cars or ethanol, or water powered, or whatever. But this is my blog and I do what i want!

Seriously. Playoffs. Its not a new concept.

Love, Peace, and canes' chicken grease.

PS. just read this from 2000:
http://www.slate.com/id/91886/

Great minds think alike.

I said I'd root for them...Geaux Tigers!

2008-01-08T06:29:00.001-05:00

I know, sounds odd coming from a die hard Florida fan, but when an SEC team takes on Ohio State, and a team that a good portion of my family roots for, ya gotta fall in line a little.

If Florida had just won, it would have been a regular Big Ten stomp down..

Big ups to John Kuchler for getting on tv! I saw you on the screen before the game started!

Off to the bus...

wow, slackin

2008-01-06T21:41:00.001-05:00

I just realized I havent posted this year yet!! Why didnt anyone yell at me? oh yeah, cuz its only a blog.

So HAPPY NEW YEAR! Stupid Michigan won the Citrus Bowl against UF. I thought maybe, just maybe that UF would have gotten their defense into shape. i mean they had what, a month? looked as crappy as ever. HOpefully Urban can shape them up for next year. Tebow can only do so much.

Has been a pretty good year so far. Leah and Erin are cute as ever. I am going snowboarding at the end of this month for 5 days (WOOHOO!) to Breckenridge, and Angelle is workin out, lookin hot, and taking care of the house. Thanks babe!

Hope everyone else is having a good year so far.

Leah has definitely been saying some hilarious stuff lately, but its just nonstop, so i can hardly keep up with her. We were reading a book today and she was doing some simple math with me (Cookie monster had 4 cookies, and gave 1 to elmo, how many does he have left? ((see bottom of blog for answer)) )

Sorry to all you Suite 5 fans who so dedicatedly are patiently awaiting "iBlog". I apologize for not finishing it yet but if you're a parent, you know how time goes. Fast and there's very little of it.

We got paint today for our living room. Hopefully it'll get painted this year.

I built a small storage bin for the grill today. I had gotten a plastic deck shed but it was like 2inches too small. Lame. I know, they make grill covers. We had one, but the wind kept blowing it off and the grill was starting to show some small rust spots, so i wanted to keep it in a dryer place so it lasts longer.

Alright, Angelle is unpausing Desperate Housewives now. (she went upstairs to check on Erin)

Answer to above math problem: 3

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

the camp

2007-12-29T00:33:00.000-05:00

so i'm currently sitting in a 'camp' which is really an awesome house but its on the water far away from your normal house so its called a camp. its pretty freakin sweet. It belongs to Angelle's paran (godfather) and its definitely pimped out. Nicer than some houses i've been in. We're staying here cuz we visited some other family tonight and John (paran) offerred it to us so we could stay here instead of driving back to Houma. We were gonna leave to go back to NC tomorrow, but we might leave Sunday cuz Aunt Audrey and Anna Claire and Ella came to stay, and the camp is awesome, so we can spend more time with Mimi and Pawpaw. Also paran has a jeep that I want to cruise in.

Its been a crazy fun week. Girls have been awesome considering all the family they've met and all the crazy nap/bedtime schedules. but they've been troopers and super cute most of the time. Leah loves playing with all her cousins.

Oh, and since i havent pimped Suite 5 in awhile, go check out my old sites and have a laugh or two!

http://www.maddex.cc/suite5
http://www.purevolume.com/suite5
http://www.myspace.com/suite5

As soon as we get back i'm gonna finish 'iBlog' and send it to the commenters. promise. (although those of you with kids know that a promise to do something isnt worth squat, but i'll try my best :) )

Hope everyone had a great xmas, channukah, kwanzaa, yom kippur, tim tebow day, labor day, arbor day, Friday, and birthday!

PEACE

Quick video from the Theriot Xmas party

2007-12-26T12:17:00.000-05:00

the calm after the storm

2007-12-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

Holy Cow. Christmas at the Theriots. Its wild and crazy and fun. We were at G and Myrn's this year so we didnt have to travel with the kids to New Orleans. It was a blast. Leah played with all her cousins and ate oranges. I showed off my Heelys. Wrapping paper was flying, food was awesome (thanks to all who brought it!). It stinks we dont get to see this family but once a year, cuz its so fun hangin out with all of them. Got a good picture of G in his LSU jersey and helmet. Big ups to Diana for dating a Florida fan. Shes finally seeing the light!

Hope everyone had a great christmas, and hope all the Jews had some good chinese food!

National Treasure 2 was great. go see it!

Hopin to go to the zoo if Myrn gets better. Ick.

Now recovery begins....

I'm hungry

2007-12-19T22:31:00.000-05:00

Laurie did feed me tonight. Chicken enchiladas which were really good. But now its a few hours later and i'm thinking about Angelle and Cathy eating awesome food at Maggianos. I hope they get home soon! i'm waiting for leftovers! i'm gonna fall asleep soon though... If you havent been, i highly recommend it.

I also recomend seeing Hot Rod. Overall not super hilarious, but it has a lot of great parts. Andy Samberg is pretty darn funny.

I also highly recommend Netflix. with the writers strike, and me riding the bus almost every day, it has been fun watching a bunch of movies lately, especially since we hardly EVER go to the movies anymore. Although bryan and i did get to see "I am Legend" last weekend. It was a pretty good movie. Not as horror as i thought which was good.

Big ups to Cathy for getting me my Gators and Cowboys mini helmets that i've been wanting for like 5 years.

Also big ups to leah for making us a 'snowglobe' at preschool. It was actually a water bottle, filled with blue liquid and some sprinkly things inside, but still supercute that our child is making us stuff at school!

OH! i also got to play music last weekend! I did my first draft recording of Suite 5's latest song "iBlog". its an instant classic. and many other oxymorons. I doubt i'll get time to re-record (or actually, time to practice, so that a re-recording would sound better) so maybe i'll put the crappy version up. It can be your special holiday present, just for you blog readers. Actually, heres a better idea, post a comment and tell me if you want to hear it, and i'll send it to you. That way only the cool people get to hear it.

Where is angelle?! i'm gonna have to go eat some Everything Matzah soon...while it is tasty and nutricious, it isnt Rigatoni D.

Anyone want to come over and play wii with me till i fall asleep?

whats the deal with webkinz?

2007-12-15T23:01:00.000-05:00

anyone? anyone know the answer? Fry? Fry? Bueller? Something 'D' 'O' 'O' economics. Webkinz Economics.

I dunno, apparently its like tamagotchie (which I never understand that either) but its online but you also have a stuffed animal. i think the stuffed animal is just so that parents will pay money, cuz if a kid said "mom, can i have 12 bucks to sign up for an online pet thing" they wouldnt have as much business. You know you're getting old when you hear yourself say "whats the deal with this crazy online thing the kids are doing, i dont get it". Oh well. I still like myself, and kids are lame.

How are you?

TEBOW WINS HE15MAN!

2007-12-08T21:24:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Tebow! Even though he is a tad on the Jesus side for my tastes, but i'll let it slide since he's such a bada$$.

WAY TO GO! First freshman/sophomore to ever win!

Sweet.

HAPPY CHANNUKAH!

2007-12-05T11:15:00.001-05:00

May all your candles glow brightly, and may all your slacks be pressed so nicely.

Spin your dreidels and eat your gelt, open your presents that are heartfelt.

Channukah comes but once a year, good thing it lasts 8 days, give a cheer!

Happy Channukah!

Bowls

2007-12-03T09:28:00.001-05:00

The most ridiculous bowl game name of the year award goes to....wait for it....

"San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl"

Congratulations!! 2nd place goes to:

"Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl"

3rd place goes to:

"Papjohns.com bowl" (although you have tasty pizza and great dipping sauce, come up with a better name for your bowl!)

Anyone got tix to the Capital One bowl? Florida vs Michigan in case you havent been following. How exciting was the BCS selection show last night? The drama! the tears! It was great. Kinda silly that the "top 2" were once again "chosen" by people instead of a playoff (that somehow basketball, baseball, volleyball, and hockey all see to do).

Oh well, all we can hope for is that Ohio State once again gets taken down by an SEC team! I never thought i'd say it, but for all my family in Louisiana, Geaux Tigers!

Against my better Jewish judgement, i hung christmas lights on our house. Angelle likes it. I kid, i kid. I like the lights too. We call them holiday lights. We also took a walk around the neighborhood last night to look at holiday lights. Ian and Leah were cute in the wagon staying warm under the blanket. Erin was in the wrap on Angelle's chest, and she seemed to like it.

Cant wait till the holidays...

TEBOW FOR HE15MAN! (these arent new, but they're dang funny)

2007-11-30T00:48:00.000-05:00

If you spell Tim Tebow in Scrabble, you win. Forever.

Tim Tebow can blow bubbles with beef jerky.

When Tim Tebow was born, the only person who cried was the doctor. Never slap Tim Tebow.

In the beginning there was nothing. then Tim Tebow stiff armed that nothing in the head and said Get a job. That is the story of the universe.

Superman wears Tim Tebow pajamas.

Tim Tebow counted to infinity - twice.

People with amnesia still remember Tim Tebow.

When you open a can of whoop-ass, Tim Tebow jumps out.

When Google can’t find something, it asks Tim Tebow for help.

Tim Tebow can get McDonald’s breakfast after 10:30.

When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Tim Tebow.

Tim Tebow’s hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.

When taking the SAT, write ‘Tim Tebow’ for every answer. You will score more than 1600.

Tim Tebow gets called for roughing the tackler.

Monday funnies

2007-11-26T09:58:00.001-05:00

If you don't enjoy Dave Barry, you probably don't enjoy my blog either, so go read some trash!

===============================

TODAY'S BUSINESS WRITING TIP

In writing proposals to prospective clients, be sure to clearly state the benefits they will receive:

WRONG: "I sincerely believe that it is to your advantage to accept this proposal."

RIGHT: "I have photographs of you naked with a squirrel."

===============================

Thanks Dave! Also more big ups to Tebow for his crazy performance this year. Gators cracked the top10 in the BCS.

Channukah starts next week, hope you have your candles waxed and your menorah shined!

GO GATORS! and 3rd cousins

2007-11-24T21:23:00.000-05:00

First, big ups to Tim Tebow and the Gators for stomping the 'Noles at home to finish the season. They may not be going to the SEC title game, but neither is Georgia. And LSU is out of the national game! (most likely). Sorry other family, but that makes me smile a little. Hopefully Tebow will win the heisman, but if not, he can come back next year and try for it. I'd like to see 2 national titles in a 3 year span.

Leah met her 3rd cousin Leah today. Kinda funny. Havent known any Leah's and now she has one in her class, and her 3rd cousin is named Leah. Took a trip up to Huntersville where my 2nd cousin lives. I hadnt met them before but her parents and my dad (1st cousins if you havent been following) were both in town and wanted to get a little family thing together. It was fun. The kids got along great and Debbie and Reid (not sure of spelling) were cool. Nice to have family this close. David and Carol (David is my dads cousin) gave me a swiss army knife for my bar mitzvah that I still have. Just thought you'd like to know that.

I'm super wiped today. Played paintball yesterday with the guys, and it was SO much fun. its nice to play in cool weather vs florida's warm nasty weather. I'm crazy sore today though. all the diving behind barrels and crawling through the woods...i miss my 20 year old body.

Oh, and if you're ever in town, i recommend the shrimp with mixed vegetables from New China (its by Food Lion). Its so good.

And to all you faithful blog readers out there, hopefully tomorrow i'll get to record a song, just for you. Its mostly written, but havent had time to record it.

Pass me a halls, my throat hurts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T20:13:00.001-05:00

Hope everyone has had a great year, is thankful for their life, and is happy! Except dave. No, but seriously, yeah.

Things i am thankful for: angelle, leah, erin, family, friends, my job, the cowboys being 10-1, rollerblades, boats, wakeboards, large houses, blogs, nice weather, mountains, bikes, computers, innovation, intelligence, love, ummm, oh yeah, and cab sav, which probably is the reason for this silly blog!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

What else? Football, kids and dave barry

2007-11-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

It was another great football weekend. Gators killed FAU, and Cowboys won a good one at home against rival Redskins. Shout out to Dennis, Gordon, and Chick McGee from the Bob and Tom morning show.

Also got to play with Leah and Erin a bunch which is always great. Saturday ran an exciting 2k on the treadmill, then played some racquetball with Bryan where he proceeded to kick my butt. I blame it on the fact that I was winded from my strenuous 2k.

Hit up Cheesecake factory saturday night (what were we thinking? Cheescake factory is at a really nice mall, and it was Saturday night during the holidays). SO we did what any impatient hungry family with kids would do in this situation, ordered it to go, then ate it in the food court! Great plan for anyone else wishing to eat at Cheescake factory and not wait for a table AND not have to tip. :) is that jewy? yeah so what! Also Dave was in town so that was cool to see him. Not overly cool, but sorta cool. =D

Stacy's comin in tonight with my mom and landon. Yay!

Also in honor of Thanksgiving, and the feast at the fancy table, here is a commentary by my good friend from Florida, Dave Barry:

"Today's Etiquette Topic is: Proper Table Manners. Table manners have had a large impact on my career. When I invite news sources out to lunch, I impress them by showing that I know the 'DOs' and 'DONTS' of dining etiquette, such as:

- DO shout your guest's order into the drive-thru speaker before shouting your own.

- DO ask your gest to please steer the car while you aply ketchup to your hamburger.

- DON'T snatch fallen french fries from between your thighs and eat them without first distracting the news source by shouting, 'HEY, LOOK OVER THERE!'

====================================

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving week!

Bladin' in the 'sac

2007-11-15T23:07:00.000-05:00

Good times off of work for Veterens Day. Click the photo to see the animation.

Back on campus

2007-11-11T20:53:00.000-05:00

Last night freakin rocked. I went down to Columbia, SC with a friend from BofA to watch the Florida/South Carolina game. It was SO much fun. 4 of us tailgated and then watched a kickass game. We got awesome seats, in the gator section right behind the florida band, and right behind the endzone the gators were scoring in for the 4th quarter. It was awesome to see the gators live again. I definitely will be going to this game every 2 years. Anyone who wants to go, lets do it! I'm crazy tired though. got back about 2am. Cold and tired and with a sore throat from all the yelling. It was fun heckling the gamecock fans and getting heckled by them, cuz i had the last laugh. In case you didnt see it (although, why the heck didnt you see it?) score was 51-31 gators. Grilling hotdogs and drinking guiness before a big SEC game is just awesome.

And although i did love Laurie's chocolate chip pancakes, i would have definitely liked to sleep in today. So now as i write this, i'm just so tired and of course now feel the pain of our children when they're overtired and cant fall asleep. uggh.

Today was mostly chill. Hung around, tried to excavate rocks from my backyard. Gave up after about a half hour. Tried to nap, but of course, we have kids, so that doesnt work. Then grilled hot dogs (yeah i know, again) at the Maddexes. Also watched an awesome Cowboys/Giants game. Word up to my main Giants fan JK. 31-20 in favor of the 'boys. Lookin strong.

Glad tomorrow is a day off. Thank you to all the Veterans out there who have fought or are fighting for our country. the USA is definitely the best country in the world to live in, and i gotta give mad props to people willing to risk their lives so i can watch college football and write in blogs. Speaking of blogs, the next Suite5 song is in the works. S'gonna be a doozy. If i ever get time to actually play through my amp and record. Which is doubtful. Maybe when Erin is 2.

aight. all for now.