I'm a wreck.

I came away with 6 stitches but the car wasn't so lucky.

you can't go anywhere...

You'd think one would be safe sneaking off to spend a week with family. But when you have celebrity good looks, the paparazzi always seems to show up.


This photo landed Luke on the cover of The Avalanche. One can only guess how much the photographer was paid.

Yet another fan of Tarkio

While Sarah and I were enjoying the sunny beaches of the Caribbean, Luke traveled north to the very popular destination of Tarkio, Mo.


As one would expect, Luke loved T-town and had a great week with Grandma and Apa. I posted several of the photos from his trip on Flickr today.

Left Sider!!!

WAAYYY Back in 1995 four good friends, "Buddy", two monkeys, an occasional "Gizmo" and I lived in a great little place at 444 Spring Ave. Good ol' 444 certainly had more memories than the structure could physically hold.

One such memory was the 5 of us, and usually a few others, visiting a favorite spot, Legends, for a few rounds of darts on their two side by side electronic machines. During these trips you were either a winner, playing on the right machine and thus a "Right Sider" or a loser on the left machine, "Left Sider." I'm sure my memory is a bit fuzzy but I don't recall spending much time as a Left Sider. Trust me, Right Siders was a great group to be a part of.

Today, with much resistance I rented a car and joined all Cayman drivers as Left Siders. What a sorry bunch! Before pulling onto the road ALWAYS LOOK RIGHT! Left on Red? Are you crazy!?! We survived and wasted the $13 of full insurance coverage.

making friends with the locals

Sarah and I are just about to finish off our first full day in the Cayman Islands. Today, two things didn't go as expected.

1) Although it's much warmer than most of the country, Texas is no place to work on your tan in December and January. Our SPF 4 "sun screen" lost the battle with the sun. Tonight, we are walking lobsters with limited options tomorrow.

2) Looking to pick up a few necessities, I made a short walk down the street to the neighborhood store. Being the only customer at the time I thought I would make nice with the local resident behind the counter. She was quite engaging.

local: "Where are you from?"
me: "Texas"

a little small talk then...

local: "Who are you voting for?"
me: "McCain."

something told me before I even answered that I was stepping on a bomb. now she's not so friendly.

local: "He wants to get rid of all the immigrants"
me: "kind of?"
local: "not good"

I'll be keeping my political opinions to my self for the remainder of the trip.

One Shining Moment

Let's start with the end of the story. You will love this one.

Yesterday, at the end of the day, Sarah stated "I don't remember ever being so proud."

I was in a work meeting for most of the day. As things were finishing up at the office, I received a text from Sarah. It read, "Where is the fuse box?"

Curious, but having a good idea what was up, I texted her back "Outside by the whirlpool."

5 minutes later another text "I FIXED THE HEATER!"

You see, the heater at the house has been on the fritz. As learned when attempting to fix the dishwasher, BFS, our home warranty company, can not be depended upon. Sarah decided to take matters into her own hands, solving our heating problems for good by throwing the breaker.

When I got home today, Sarah asked me "How many people did you tell?" My answer of "No one." thoroughly disappointed her. So here it is for all the world to see.

Sarah fixes heaters!

Q School - World Golf Tour

Several years back I reluctantly accepted the fact that a PGA Tour career was not in my future.

However, about a week ago I was told the dream could still be alive. The news came in the form of an email with a simple little link to the World Golf Tour. I have since passed along the link to numerous others.

In it's current format, you play a 9 hole closest to the pin challenge. You are then ranked against all other competitors in the world. Also, awards are given out for Holes in One, Consecutive Shots inside 20 Feet and Top 100 rankings. A full 18 hole course is rolling out in the near future and you'll be able to play foursomes online with friends.

I haven't cracked the top 500 players in the world, but am doing my best to hold my own here in the Southwest Region. My caddie spot is still open.... any takers? Levings?

dodged the ball, but not the low blow

It happened when I least expected it. I was dominating Savanna in a game of Dodge Ball. She seemed to be enjoying defeat. Laughing hysterically each time she was struck

Turns out she was just waiting to take me out with one big blow to my ego. As I wound up for the last point, Savanna yells to me "BRING IT ON OLD MAN!"

Game, Set, Match.

Savanna - 1
Old Man - Humiliated

BFS vs. BPS

The last few days I've been on a roll, both on the blog and around the house.

Two weeks ago to the date, our dishwasher began to have water standing at the completion of the wash cycle. We phoned our home warranty service, Broward Factory Service better known as BFS, to have the issue repaired.

A few days later a "technician" arrived on site only to tell us we needed a new part. A few more days later he returned to install the part and deem the dishwasher fixed.

That evening water still stood at the bottom of the machine so we called again and was told their "Best Man" would be out tomorrow (which is today) to fix our dishwasher. He did come by, did something and again deemed the dishwasher fixed.

You guessed it. Still water standing. You see when water is left after the cycle, the next cycle doesn't really get clean. Which means you have to re-wash the dishes by hand. As I've been told a time or two.... "if you want something done right, do it yourself".

So I pulled the dishwasher out from under the counter. Took off the two drain covers from within the machine. There appeared to be no blockage. So I next pulled (I use that term loosely) off the back and the water began to drain into the "bucket" I provided. I next blew into the hose and "felt" something dislodge from the hose. I was feeling pretty good. Everything was put back together and pushed back under the counter.

We just finished our first cycle in two weeks with ZERO water standing at the end.

Woo Hoo. BFS' "Best" - 0 BPS - 1.

You might want to second guess that home warranty coverage from BFS.

Boggie Woggie, Woggie!

You can't do without it, It's Electric.

This weekend Sarah and I received a new light for the dining room. There was some concern by my better half, that I wouldn't be able to install this Christmas gift on my own. Given my family history with electricity, I completely understood her concern.

Now I had successfully hung a few ceiling fans in the past and thus didn't expect any issues today. Still I had something to prove. I carefully read the limited instructions. Turned off power to the room. Made SURE Green, White and Black MATCHED Green White and Black. Utilized an electric tester I had purchased in the past. You get the idea, crossed each "t" and dotted each "i".

And surprise, surprise, the install was completed without much trouble at all. No blown light bulbs, microwave, furnace or washing machine.

Next time there's electric trouble in T-town, give me a call. I'll be glad to offer some help.

Bath Time - Mobile Blogging

Luke loves the bath! Sent using Mobile Blogging via my new Motorolla Q9c.

Guilt from Loyalty

This evening Sarah is still at the office working to have one very BIG month. With my free time I went out to the web to see if anyone still visits this site. I was pleasantly surprised to see I have some loyal followers. You know who you are, thanks for always checking in.

Also interesting, I get about 1 hit a week (I'm big time!) via a google search.

From Illinois "no one comes into our house and pushes us around" visited for a few minutes.

Someone in Denver was looking for info on the "kfc bowl" and found it here.

The funniest search finding my site? From NY "1,2,3 to the 4 snoop doggy dog and dr dre at the door" I bet they weren't expecting a kindergarten story.

And my favorite, "Turkeys are done, People are Finished" enjoyed the read so much they came back a few days later.

So my tag line "My feeble attempt to contribute to the wonderful world of the internet." is a success! :-)

No Girls Allowed!

Today, all the girls in the family are baking cookies from sun up to sun down. And, let me tell you, the boys and I are truly enjoying the peace and quite.

Yesterday, was full of nonsense. I'll share with you two examples. Sarah had an out of town customer appointment which required a little over an hour drive each way. About 10am, while I'm in the middle of a conference call with my boss, Sarah dials my phone TWICE. Each call was followed by voicemail messages. I text to her: "on a call"... She replies: "HAAAA HAAAA!!".

Here's one of the messages.

In case you couldn't make out the lyrics, that was I Ain't Missing You - by Joan White. Just splendid.

# 2. While I was unpacking the car, Sarah and Savanna were doing some early preparation for the full day of cooking. This required for them to use room temperate stick butter. As I'm headed to the garage for the last time Sarah says, "Look! Pretty smart huh?" I look and she has two gas burners lit with three sticks of butter walled around them. I gave her a courtesy "Real smart" and headed to the garage. Before I made it back to the house Savanna was yelling "DAD!!! HURRY THE STOVE IS ON FIRE!!!"

Today, the boys and I are the smart ones for staying home. We are NOT missing anyone. Nor will there be any fires to put out. Good luck with the cookies ladies.

10 Years

I finally received my new drivers license in the mail today. As should be expected, items on my driving record prevented the new license from arriving on time.

My old license issued to me on my birthday in 97 was long overdue for a new photo.



So roughly 10 years later (this was in June) I walked into the local DPS office excited to apply for my new license. I suspected their might be some trouble as I had two pending traffic citations I was contesting in our wonderful legal system. I brought with me some documentation to help clear my name.

After a bit of research by their detailed staff, I was told there was nothing to be concerned about and completed the renewal process. I have to admit, leaving the office I was quite jovial. 3 months later instead of a new license, I received notice that my license had been suspended.

After spending several hours on hold and speaking with voice response operators way too long I dropped $90 on "fees" and all was made better. TaaaDa!


I'm good to go for another 5 years! I guess the state feels they need to check in on me more frequently than every 10 years.

we will continue to tell you "You are Happy!" until you know it

What an evening. My throat is sore, my hands hurt and my feet ache.

It all started with a trip to the grocery store. We were confident it would be a successful journey. Luke had eaten, gone for a walk and was in a fresh diaper. Sarah and I, with Luke riding along, made it through (every isle of) the store, pushing the cart to capacity, without any major issues. In fact, Luke was the perfect little boy and as a result, received several compliments from other store shoppers.

We were so pleased with his behavior that after unloading the cart we decided to run another errand. This one was easy. It simply required a short 15 minute trip to my in-law's house. Luke didn't even need to get out of the car.

We arrived. Jumped out of the car and opened the door for Luke so he could still hear us or maybe us hear him. Before we even had the house door open Luke began SCREAMING! We couldn't stop him. We both tried.... he had lost it. Quickly we jumped back in the car and headed home. More SCREAMING. I'm serious. This wasn't crying, he was mad and wanted to be sure we knew it. I attempted to calm him by holding his "pacy" in his mouth. He ripped it way and threw it to the floor.

Suddenly! Like the sun breaking through the recently ever present Dallas clouds, Sarah began to sing. If.... YOU'RE...... Happy and you know it CLAP YOUR HANDS! me: CLAP, CLAP...... you know how it goes. STOMP, STOMP..... ALL THREE!

Luke stopped screaming. He wasn't Happy, but he did quit yelling at us. We sang the song clear through I'm guessing 3 times. Then Sarah switched to a different song, BINGO or something like that.... The screaming quickly returned. Back to Happy and You Know it. I bet we sang it 10 times before finally making it home.

Forced happiness. Good times.

Red River Rivalry

How does this OU Football fan find himself in a Texas "t"?


No I'm not riding the bandwagon. Instead, I'm sleeping with the enemy.


My apologies to both schools and their fans. I doubt either are pleased.

Legendary

About a week ago or so this "bird" (said in Mary Lou's best voice - emphasize the B! - hold the r) came strolling through our front yard.

What kind of "bird" is it, you ask? My thoughts exactly. My first guess was.... the friendly blue bird of happiness. Not quite. After doing some research on Google and Wikipedia I determined it was a little blue heron, often found near swamps and creeks. Although we have no creeks or ponds to speak of in the area, neighbors informed Sarah and me that it's nest was just a block over on Hall. For no identifiable reason I took this "bird" sighting as a good sign.

Fast Forward to this past Friday. I had the pleasure of hosting 3 of my oldest friends, Eric, Darin and Danny, at the house for my birthday weekend. We ate much good food. Nearly (I use the term loosely) set the all time high score on a punching bag machine at the local dive. Mastered Wii Sports. Witnessed, from the 7th row, a rare Texas Rangers victory. Competed in 18 holes of demanding miniature golf. And played several serious games of pool basketball. In the end, Eric deemed himself champion of the most events and crowned himself King. Here's a photo for the Tarkio trophy case.

I think it is no coincidence that this birthday, my 33rd, is the jersey number of my favorite basketball player and coach, Larry "Bird". I expect this to be one legendary year.

a little too big.... for his britches

Folks meet Elmo. Join his "circle of trust" and you can call him Mo.


Although his legs are small, Mo lives quite large. Each night he is tucked in on goose down bedding. Check his water dish? No that isn't tap water.... it's Ozarka. Yea it's a bit ridiculous.

However, this past week Mo took it to all new levels. You see at the last Vet visit Mo was told he needed to drop a few pounds. The best way to accomplish the task was to substitute one scoop of food with green beans.

Initially, this change was eagerly accepted. We used up the two cans of French Cut Green Beans in the pantry and Mo loved them. Without giving it much thought we picked up 8 cans of Wal-Mart green beans during out next trip to the neighborhood grocery store.

Surprise... Surprise... Mo won't eat cheap green beans. He kicks his bowl. He spreads them all over the kitchen. Worst of all... he strolls around this place thinking he's Paulie Walnuts.

Bursting at the Seams

T-Town, better know as Tarkio, Mo was bursting at the seems this past Memorial Day weekend. We had the whole family together for the first time since Luke joined the team. That along with everyone else back for the annual Alumni Dinner/Dance had the town in a vivacious state.

For more pics check my Flickr site.

not your typical guys night

This weekend Sarah went on a little business trip leaving the house to me and the boys. Knowing the kind of trouble an 11 year old dog and a 7 month baby can find on a Saturday, she was hesitant to leave the three of us alone.

Luckily for her our evening more closely resembled a date night than a guys night.


Bowl of Dog Food + Jar of applesauce + 6 oz of formula + Baby Einstein = Dinner, Drinks and a movie. I've got some work to do with these guys.