Introducing the Pillow Pet

Hulk, Ultimate Warrior, and The Million Dollar Man, Oh yeaaaaah!

Hey there.  I know these things have been hanging around for quite some time but I've never really jumped on the craze.  Turns out that pillow pets are pillows in the shape of animals.  I guess the pillow pets of my era where the WWF (or WWE now a days...) Pillow Buddies.  Those were pretty cool.  They were pillows that looked like your favorite wrestlers and well... you would wrestle with them.  I guess kids these days would prefer hugable pillows instead of bear hugable pillows.  lol

Family Movie Night: Who is Simon Miller? on NBC August 6th

Hey there.  I love Family Movie Night on NBC.  Not only the movies kid friendly, but they offer the opportunity to watch a film with a strong, moral life lesson that you can elaborate on with the kids once the movie is over.  It makes that "talk" with the kids much more easier since the movie provides a common point of reference.  This week's film is Who is Simon Miller? 

Spending a Day at the San Gabriel River

Hey there friends.  You know what the tough part of having a birthday on a holiday is?  It has to be better than just a regular birthday.  My daughter's birthday is July 4th, the same as America's birthday, and every year we try to make it just a little more interesting for her.  This year, we decided to take her and the kids to the San Gabriel River.  Just a short drive away from downtown Los Angeles, the San Gabriel River runs though the Los Angeles Forest.  The wife and I both went there as kids and thought that it would be great to go and take the kids to a spot that we visited back in the day.

Babies, Babies Everywhere! Time to Stock up on Awesome Baby Gear!

Rockin' the skulls and the mummy

Hey there.  You know, when the wife and I found out that we were having a little one a few years back, one of the first things we decided to do is look for awesome baby hats and baby beanies.  You need to keep your baby warm and we didn't want to settle on a blah looking hat for our son.  Why mention this?  Well, because a few of our friends recently had babies and I'm hoping that they managed to grab some awesome cool baby hats!  For our son, we manage to find a black and red stripped hat and a black one with a skull on it.  They were definitely out of the norm but the hats were an extension of my wife's and I's personality and if you had great hats like that, it would definitely make your baby look cool!  Just take a look at my boy and I dare you to tell me he doesn't look awesome.  lol

Wouldn't it be Great to Live in Hawaii

Hey there. I'm jealous of my cousin.  Through hard work and perseverance, he has managed to land residency in the island state of Hawaii.  Yup, the place that many call paradise.  I've seen some of the pictures that have been posted on his Facebook page and the scenery is just breathtaking.  I'm a sucker for good scenery and from the stories that I have heard, Hawaii is the place to go.  Especially when you hear that the sunsets are to die for.  I still owe my wife a honeymoon (married 7 years now) and I want to take her there to make it up to her.  Who knows, maybe we'll love it so much that we'll start looking to take residence there too.  I'm sure that real estate in Hawaii is prime real estate and be tough to land, but a guy can dream, no?

Join the Zacapa Society and Taste a Little Bit of Heaven with Zacapa Premium Rum

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Diageo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there.  Every social gathering has a memorable experience, every memorable experience happens over a drink, and every drink has a story.  How many times have you gone out with your friends or hung out with your family and just had a few drinks?  And it's not just any drink, it's the family's preferred drink.  Whether it be a classic whiskey or an old fashioned tequila, drinks with family and friends are always a welcomed experience when you can all have a good laugh and a good time.  For example, I would have friends and family over for Rockband nights.  We would have drinks and play games.  It was always a good time and as a matter of fact, we are planning on having another gaming session very soon.  But as you can see, having the right drink for the occasion is essential for having a good time and Zacapa premium rum has the story that you are looking for.

The Local Baseball Team DTK (Down to Strikeout)

Hey there.  So it's happening...  I'm on a local baseball team.  I'm still not 100% how it happened but I'm glad it did.  I've been feeling a little slow lately since I really haven't been exercising much, but since I've committed to the team, I've picked it up a bit.  I've been hitting the batting cages with my son and bro, working on that eye hand coordination, and even tossed a ball a bit to work on glove mechanics (or whatever the baseball lingo is).

The Rise of American Soccer in the United States

Hey there. I love sports. I'm also Mexican American. So when both countries end up going against each other, who should I root for? It's a common dilemma for many Mexican Americans out there. My parents were born in Mexico and I in the US.  I'm a first gen American in our family.  You want to root for both countries. You want to go show pride and acknowledge your roots but you also want to show pride for the country of opportunity. Why the question? Soccer. Yup. Soccer. lol

Great Father's Day Gift Ideas at Walmart

Hey there.  Father's Day is near!  What have you picked up for your pops?  Nothing?  Oh man... No worries, I'm about to show you some pretty awesome stuff that you can pick up at your local Walmart for your dad!  But before getting into that, let me tell you of a time before iPad 2's and Blackberry tablets.  I'm talking about the 80's where a VCR was the main tech attraction.  You see, I was born in 1982 and I only had my dad for 9 short years before it was time for him to move on from this life.  I didn't get the chance to shower him with some of the awesome technology we have today.  Most of my gifts for dad included hand drawn cards and pasta encrusted creations.  Sincere, loving, and always from the heart.  It would have been cool to grab my dad a GPS navigator (we got lost a few times... I know that for a fact) or an awesome big screen TV for the big fight or game.  Even though he's no longer here, this Father's Day, I will be getting my pops a gift, it just won't be of the tech variety.  And kids... I know you're reading this.  Use this post as the "Unofficial Daddy's Wishlist".  lol

My New Mesh Polo Shirt from Lands' End and Giveaway

Hey!  I look good in blue!

Hey there.  You know what's great about an awesome polo shirt?  Besides the colors...  lol  It's the fact that they have this boyish charm that also conveys class.  You can go to a formal and nonformal event in a polo shirt and no one will think twice about it.  They're nice enough to wear at an evening party and they're good enough to wear during your stroll through the park.  You really can't go wrong with wearing a polo shirt!  But you can't go around wearing any old crummy polo shirt.  You definitely need to try on one the new mesh polo shirts from Lands' End.

Taking Up a New Hobby

And it's gone!

Hey there.  I am in need of a hobby.  Not just something where I can lounge around at home and do, but something that will get me outdoors and move around some.  I am still on a mission to be more fit, but I'll be honest and my workouts have been sporadic.  There is no routine, no consistency, and quite frankly, little to no motivation.  But you wanna know something that does motivate me?  COMPETITION!

P&G Family Movie Night! Field of Vision on NBC This Saturday, June 11

Hey there.  One the best things that you can do is sit and watch a movie with your family.  I've done it many times.  Where it be a feel good, heart warming movie or a history based flick.  It's a great way to start up a conversation with your kids and take in their thoughts on the situations in the film.  Don't pass up the next opportunity to talk to your kids.  P&G Family movie night is this Saturday, June 11th on NBC at 8pmET/7pmCT!  The film is Field of Vision and I've been fortunate enough to get a sneak peak!  Trust me, it's one that you definitely want to watch and discuss with your kids, especially since it confronts the problem of bullying.  There's been enough press on bullying that this movie is premiering at the right time to make an impact on our youth.

Nintendo Drops the Ball with Their New Console: Wii U

Hey there. I just wanted to get my initial reaction down before going in depth.  Nintendo really dropped the ball here.  Their new console, the Wii U, is meant for the more hard core gamers while retaining their youthful fans.  Most third party devolpers will provide games that are already available on PS3 and Xbox 360 for the Wii U but I cannot see how it will appeal to hardcore gamers.  Nintendo has the reputation of "child's play" and it will be difficult to shed that and if this was their asnwer for the hard core gamers, it is an epic fail.

Experience Buying a Home

Hey there guys.  You know, we've been in our home for about 4 years now and a question that we get asked a lot is how difficult is it to get a home?  I usually answer that it's a different expereince for everyone.  People with an awful credit score and no money will have a more difficult time securing a home than those with an awesome score and lots of cash on hand.  Our experience wasn't a bad one, but it wasn't so smooth either.  I didn't have the best of credit and becuase of that, it took awhile to get pre-approved.  We needed to show that we were more than able to pay for the mortgage.  And on top of that, we had money in the bank to show that we had some cash saved for a rainy day.  All in all, I'm sure that if I were to have had a better credit score, the process would have been easier and we would have saved a lot more money in interest.

Family Trip to SeaWorld

Hey there.  I haven't had a chance to catch up with you guys over what went down this Memorial Day weekend.  I decided long ago that we were not going to stay home this weekend and we were going to have ourselves a good time.  I toyed with the idea of taking the family to Las Vegas, Disneyland, and LegoLand, among many other places but due to high entry prices and/or road trip time, I crossed many of those places out.  In the end, I managed to grab a great deal (buy 1 get 1 free) on SeaWorld admission.  BAM!  We were soooo there.

Marlins Fan Drops Daughter for Foul Ball... and Drops That Too

Hey there.  Wow...  have you guys heard about this?  A dad, at a Florida Marlin's baseball game, dropped his daughter in an attempt to catch a foul ball.  Wow...  The dad is saying that his daughter is ok but that's besides the point.  It makes me feel as if this man would protect himself over protecting his daughter.  If I were to see a projectile coming towards me, such as a baseball, I think I would have turned around, having the ball bounce off my back, while protecting my young one.  That's fatherly instincts... I don't know about this whole dropping the kid to free your hands for yourself.  If I was the wife/GF here...  I don't think I'd allow that guy to hold my kid.  lmao  What do you think? Check out the vid.

My Experience with an Online School

Hey there. You know, many years ago, I attempted to complete my degree in business with an online school. I figured that I wouldn't have time to go to a brick and mortar building for school so online studies would be perfect. Especially since I'm a night owl and I stay up late anyways. Win-win situation for me, right?  In theory, yes.  In practicality, no...  My problem was that I didn't have the drive to finish school.  Not at that time, at least. I always told myself that I would go back to school when I am good and ready.  To not only get that degree but to set an example to the kids that higher learning can be achieved at any age.  Now, I believe that I am ready.

A Place to Find Cheap Seats

Hey there.  Things are finally starting to look up.  The economy is crawling in an upward trend and I have decided that I want to treat the family out to an event.  The problem that I'm having is finding tickets at a resonable price.  Hey...  just because things are looking better doesn't mean I want to spend an arm and a leg to entertain my family.  lol

Vote for the World's Greatest TV Dad

Hey there.  Father's Day is about a month away and Man of the House is doing this great campaign to find out who will reign supreme out of 32 popular TV Dads.  That's right, it's a World's Greatest TV Dad Contest!  How awesome is that?  There have been wonderful father figures in our favorite TV shows and it's about time that we find out who the people believe to be the best.  From memorable fathers such as Cliff Huxtable to new comers such as Michael Kyle, a bracket of 32 dads has been composed to find out who will earn the title, World's Greatest Dad!

CDC Recommends We Prepare for a Zombie Invasion

Hey there. At first, I thought this was a joke... but it's not. Yahoo News has posted up an article from the CDC (Center of Disease Control) that states that we should prepare for all natural disasters... INCLUDING ZOMBIES! That's right, The CDC is saying that zombies are a possibility and that we should prepare in case it happens. Can you imagine that? A world, not unlike that of Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising, Resident Evil... and many other kill em up zombie games. I don't know if I should be scared or excited. lol