Thanksgiving, A Long Weekend, and Surgery

Hey there.  Hope everyone had a blast this Thanksgiving weekend.  Nothing quite compares to a 4 day weekend!  Especially after eating some turkey and stuffing your face with... well... stuffing.  lol  So let's go to the highlights!

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at my uncle Peter's place.  He's been the go to guy when it comes to holiday madness.  Most of the family gathers at his place and we all have a good time.  Thanksgiving was no different.  Most of the guys were ourside, hanging out, watching football and boxing, while most of the ladies were inside "cackling " (as Psycho Mike would say) and hanging out.  All in all, a very awesome experience.  Food and drinks were in abundance and you know damn well that I had myself more than a few plates of food.  And that's not counting desert!  lol  At the end of the night, the "secret santa" exchange was determined and we were on our way home, stuffed as a bird, a little after midnight.  Here are a few pics of the evening.

Serving salad from a cracked bowl cause that's how we do it.

The ladies enjoying a little bubbly

The young ladies enjoying a drink, like thier mothers.  It better be soda in them cups!

Daaaaaaaaaaam!  That bird looks delicious

So much food, they don't know where to turn!

Long Weekend

Once we semi-recovered from Thanksgiving, Black Friday reared it's ugly head.  Here my thoughts on Black Friday...  I'm not a big fan of it.  Every year, we hear about some people trampling and stomping over people because they just had to have whatever it is they're buying.  I'm more of an online guy.  If I can't find it online then I more than likely will not buy it.  I just hate hearing that a child was killed because a mob of people couldn't control themselves just to save a few bucks.

With that being said, we stated home most of Friday and didn't really do anything.  I avoided stores like the plague and just hung out with the family at home.  My son and I took advantage of the free XBOX Live Weekend (decided to let my membership end until I get my hands on the XBOX Live Family Pack) and played us some Bioshock 2 multiplayer matches.  I've always been a fan of the first person shooters and I like the way Bioshock 2 changes it up just a bit to differentiate it from all other first person shooters.  Anyways, we caught up on some gaming and decided to put up some holiday stuff.  I ended up getting a new tree, since our old tree is somewhere around 5 years old and needed to be replaced.  Also ended up getting some of that long green string type thing that people hang for Christmas, and started decorating the place.  Not bad, if I do say so myself.  I don't have any pics of that yet so I'll get on that as soon as I'm home and there's still daylight.  lol


Monday's Surgery

Monday morning, I'm up at 5:30 am.  My brother was scheduled to have surgery on his shoulder at or around 7 am so I drove to the hospital to meet my brother and mother.  I arrived shortly after 6 am and my brother had already checked in.  The nurse was supposed to let us know when we would be allowed to see my brother before his surgery was to begin and when it was 7 am and still no word from the nurses, I asked her what's going on.  She pretty much said to walk on in and look for him.  lol  We find my brother, in his "purple" mumu strapped into a bed, getting ready for his surgery.  The doc comes in and starts to give us the run down of what is going down.  He grabs a purple marker that surgeons use to mark their patients and notices that it's a little on the small side.  He then makes a comment about how "they" seem to be cutting corners everywhere.  lol  My bro and I chuckle and the doc then shows us where the incision will take place and lets us know that he will be shaving off some of his bone and remove scar tissue.  He seemed like a pretty cool guy.  Once they whisk him away, my mother and I have coffee in the cafeteria while we wait for an update.

Them magic drugs are in full effect. lol

My wife arrived soon after and the three of us waited a bit before the doc came in with some photos of the inside of my brother.  He explained the pictures to us and told us that the surgery was a success.  He also explained how the recovery process will be a long one.  6 months worth of recovery time.  My brother will also need to attend therapy sessions to strengthen his shoulder. 

Once we were allowed to go see him, I asked how he was doing and what not.  Before long, we're watching America's Funniest Home videos and cracking jokes.  I know that it probably wasn't the best of places to mess around in, considering that there were other patients close by that didn't look too happy, but there we were, goofing around.  While the nurse was giving my brother his home care instructions... I interrupt her and say to her, "To give to us straight doc, is he gonna make it?"  lol  My bro and I chuckle and the nurse seemed to find it amusing.  My brother then starts to reference The Office and says that even though he had shoulder surgery, he's probably going to be going home with a limp.  lol 

Once they dismiss him, my mother grabs his clothes to hand to him.  Since he's buck naked under the mumu, I closed the curtain before he started getting dressed.  I stayed with him, just in case he needed help.  He managed to put on his underwear and his sweat pants with what looked like slight discomfort.  That's when I said, "Bro, I love you, but I'm not getting you dressed."  lol  That's when we hear my mother and a few other people outside the curtain laughing.  It's good to know that we both can laugh during something like surgery.

He then gets wheeled off to the street where we wait for my mother's car to be brought to us.  We then see a smart car pass by and my brother says to the nurse, "smart car...  there's nothing smart about that car.  Kitt from Knight Rider.... now that's a smart car."  The nurse laughed, I chuckled.  Damn you, The Office....  invading our lives like nothing else can.  lol 

I told them that we would go to my mother's place to make sure my brother was well situated.  I soon after get a text from my brother asking me to go get him FIFA 11 for PS3.  This guy... already trying to use the "woe is me, I'm hurt" thing against me.  When I said, no way, he turned his attention to food.  He asked if I'd bring him some brownies.  lmao!  My wife gets wind of my brother's brownie craving and decides to make the "baby" some brownies. lol  Oh man... good times.  We cap the night off with some Street Fighter IV.  I haven't played Street Fighter since Street Fighter II Turbo for the SNES!  I managed to kick some butt with Blanka (old school favorite) and then gave up the last game to my brother... just so that he can feel better about himself.  lmao!  Now, he's at home not knowing what to do with himself.  6 months is a looooooooooong time.  I'll try to stop by and kick his butt on Street Fighter more often.  lol  Until then, later!

Donkey Kong Pie

Guest post written by Valerie Sanderson

I really love to bake. I could bake all day, every day and I would be fine with it as long as I still got to eat what I made. I'm not that crazy about cooking though, so I try and do a whole lot of meals that include more baking than stove top cooking. But sometimes I just relaly put more of my energy into baking dessert and my son's favorite dessert is coconut cream pie. It's one of my favorites too, so we eat it a lot around my house.

It's so cute. He loves to call it Donky Kong pie because I tell him that Donky Kong would love it. I was talking to my brother about getting together for Thanksgiving this year and sent him an email with my CLEARWIRE saying that I would bring a pie.

I thought though that it would be fun to make something similar, but a little different to our favorite pie for the holiday, so I found a great coconut lemon pie recipe that I'm going to try out.

Dealing with "Funny Daddy"

Hey there.  You know, I like to mess around, I like to have a good time, and if I can bring somewhat of a smile to someone, I'll do try my best to make it happen.  Considering that I'm usually with my family, they're my audience.  Whether I'm in the kitchen slicing tomatoes with a samurai sword, doing the robot at the most inconvenient of places, or just making a funny comment about stuff, I'm always rewarded with smiles, a "you're funny, daddy", and some eye rolling from the wife.  lol  It's all in good nature and in good fun so I don't mind.  But recently, I've come to think if it's a little too much now that the kids are a little older.

This week, yesterday, actually, I walked my oldest daughter (9 yrs) across the street to her school.  In the middle of the street, I yell out, "Let's robot!" and I start doing the robot while crossing the street.  Mind you there were no cars around so it was safe... not like I stopped traffic or anything of that sort.  Anyways, my young one yelled out, "Daddy, NOOOOOOOO!", clearly embarrassed by the episode.  I stopped and once we crossed the street she scurried off with her friend.  lol

It's funny because a few years ago, I would get an "Oh my god, daddy... really?", and the kids would join in or just laugh but yesterday I got a "NOOOOOOOO".  lol  Just last month, she said, "Daddy, not at the store.  Do the robot at home."  lmao!!!  Maybe I'm embarrassing the young one a little too much.  My youngest daughter (5) loves it.  She's do the robot with me if I bust the moves.  I guess a little bit of the quirkiness in me was transferred to her.

*sigh*  The young ones are getting older and I'm not so sure that that quirkiness will keep em smiling.  My oldest boy (11) is hitting the moody stage.  He'll mess around and have fun but only when he feels like it.  My oldest daughter seems to be growing up a little too fast... (some JR High punk was trying to pick up on my baby.  Looks like I'll need make sure my sword is on full display in the living room), my youngest daughter is still loving the goofy side of me, and the baby, well...  he's still a baby and doesn't know how funny I am just yet.  lol  Damn you father time!  You best better not take away my funny dad title and make it into boring dad, or lame dad, or something of the like.  Until I figure out how to keep it forever, I'll just robot the night away.  Later!

Little Metal Head in Training

Hey there. I just received a few pictures of my boy messing with the amp that I have at home. It's a small amp that I borrowed from my compa, since my 2x12 amp is out of commission. I don't want to pay a couple hundred dollars to get it fixed... but I also don't want to throw it out either... sigh. Anyways, it's been some time since I've had more than a few minutes to play. I was trying to get back into the groove of things a few months back, feeling inspired and what not, but that came crashing down in a hurry. Hopefully, my boys will pick it up too.

I gave my very first guitar to my older son for Christmas last year and I've heard him strum it a few times here and there. Reminds me of when I first got it. Not really playing anything, but messing around with the strings. Now, it seems, that they youngest is showing an interest as well. Check out some of the pics I got of him playing around the amp.

It's called bed head.

Oh yeah!  Daddy will never know I play with his toys

Now... how do I turn this thing on...

I got a fever... and the only prescription is more OVERDRIVE

Pretty awesome, no?  We also got a call from the his doctor today telling us that he tested positive for some high white blood cell count.  The first thing he asked was whether or not he was sick when we took him in for his blood work.  He was just getting over a sickness so the doc said that the sickness may be the reason for the high count.  He'd like to recheck him this Friday so I'm hoping that all turns out well.  He doesn't like the sting of the needle.  Who does, right?  Until then, later!

Feeling Like Death

Hey there.  I've been sick these past couple of days.  Not just, feeling like crap sick, but sick in the way where it hurt.  I take pride in the fact that I don't get sick very often.  I can go years before I'm actually feeling any kind of sickness coming... and if I do feel something, it's usually gone by the end of the day.  This wasn't the case on Sunday night.

As I was lying down, I had a strong pain in my stomach.  To the point where I'm lying down in a fetal position.  On top of that, chest pain was beginning to settle in.  Once the chest pain came in full swing, it settled in on the left side of my body near the rib cage.  Quite frankly, it sucked.  I took some meds and went to bed, hoping that my body will do what it does best and I'll be back to normal come morning.

Once I got up and started to get dressed, my body felt like it was pummeled as if I've been in some boxing match.  I was extremely sore and it hurt to move.  I fought through it and went to work anyways.  While I'm sitting on my desk, trying to get through the day, my stomach rumbles...  Whoa...  I didn't think much of it cause to be honest with you, it's been rumbling all weekend long.  I'll be sitting in bed or on the couch and the rumble would be soooo loud that the wife and kids could hear it even though they weren't that close to me.  It wasn't hunger, and it didn't hurt, so I brushed it off.  Then, it happened...  I felt the stuff coming up my throat.  I rushed to the bathroom and let it all out in the bathroom.  It sucked...  I guess I was pretty loud cause when I got out of the bathroom, more than a few coworkers were staring at me and a few asked if I'm ok.  I said no and I went to turn the computer off.  I wasn't planning on staying.  That's when the manager sent me home.

I spent most of the day on the couch... It felt weird to lie down so I sat up.  I watched Gunslinger Girl and the movie Gamer.  I also got some Bioshock 2 game time.  Come night time...  I was feeling a lot better.  Not 100% better, but well enough where the pain is gone and all I'm dealing with now is a slight headache.

I did make a huge mistake yesterday though...  I was drinking a powerade, to replenish some of the fluids that I lost, and absentmindedly gave some to my baby boy.  That evening, he started spitting some up.  Oh man... I'm hoping that I didn't pass on whatever I had to him.  I didn't realize at the time that I shouldn't be sharing anything to anyone that I am drinking out of...  Hope that doesn't cause him to get sick.  I'll just have to keep eye on him to make sure.  I'll let you know what happens.  Until then, later!

Lagging It

Hey there.  I've been lagging behind on posts.  I haven't had a ranking post in 2 weeks, I'm letting Funny Friday come and go today.  I'm just dropping a quick post to say that I've been busy... AS IN BUSY!!!  I've been up past midnight working on Mario Bros. decorations for the past month and half and the part is tomorrow and I'm still finishing them up.  I can't wait for Sunday... when there will be no need for cutting, measuring, coloring, pasting, painting, or any of that good stuff.  But you know what... It will be all worth it when it's set up.  If I'm not caught up in the moment, I'll take pics of it all and post them here.  Until then.  Later!

What a Weekend...

Hey there.  Oh man...  What a weekend it has been.  I haven't really had much of a chance to rest during the weekend since I've pretty much dedicated that time to prep for my son's first birthday.  We're going with a Super Mario Bros. theme and since it's difficult (and expensive) to buy licensed Mario stuff, the wife and I have been pretty much created all the decorations ourselves.  We've already spent a lot of hours getting them done and we're in the last week before the party and we're still not done!!!  Here goes the breakdown of our weekend...

SATURDAY

So Saturday rolls around and we're up and ready to go.  We figured that we could avoid traffic and what not if we head on over to downtown LA to check out the vendors there that sell party supplies and piñatas.  We got a tip from my compadre that there is a "party district" there and they have all kinds of stuff.  He was certain that we would find it there.  So 10 am rolls around and we're almost ready to go when I hear children scream, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! OH NOOOOOOOOO!!!!  DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!"

So I get up and run outside, thinking that one of the neighbor kids is hurt or something is wrong.  There is a lot of commotion on their side of the fence so I go around and end up in their yard.  I see my dog, Lucy, and their dog, fighting.  Now...  Lucy is small dog.  She's what you would call a Chihuahua Terrier.  No more than a foot tall.  The neighbor's dog?  Well... she's a Pitbull.  Yup.  Lucy got into it with a pitbull and instead of her saying, "Oh crap this is a monstrous dog, I don't have a chance!", she's up all in the business snapping and biting back.  The neighbor get's his dog's attention long enough for me to yell at Lucy.  Lucy then trots of in my direction, looking like a bloody mess.  I apologize profusely to the neighbor for Lucy getting into his yard and he dismissed it as Lucy just doing what she's born to do. We have this issue where Lucy and Lacy (both chihuahua terriers) dig under the fence and venture into their yard.  They don't mind, since they're good dogs.  They don't destroy anything and they play with the neighbor kids.  The neighbor explained to me that Lucy was trying to get under the fence and when he saw her, he helped her over.  That's when Lucy saw his dog (which was in heat) and they started getting into it with each other.

So I go back into my yard to check up on Lucy.  She's bloody, but I don't see blood pouring out of her.  She does have a 1cm hole in her face.  I could literally see inside her face and that's when I decided that she can't stay outside.  She could get that infected and what not.  I take her inside and start looking up vets.  Considering that it's a Saturday, I wasn't expecting to find any open.  I called a few "emergency vets" and was told that her wound was not considered an emergency since it wasn't life threatening and was given instructions on how to care for her at home.  So I go off into the drugstore and buy a bandage wrap, some gauze, closure strips and some peroxide.  I clean her up as best as I could and get to work.  I cleaned out the wound, closed it, and wrapped it up.  She's looking a little funny, but at least she's on her way to recovery.  Check out the pic I took of her, looking like, well... she just got off a fight with a pitbull.

Lucy... Looking like Rocky Balboa. Hopefully, she'll learn to stop picking fights with pitbulls.

 

I've been addressing her wound and changing the wrap every day.  Last night, the gash finally closed but I do not feel comfortable enough to let her roam around without the wrap.  Hopefully, I can remove it in another day or so because I need to clean her up some more.  She's beginning to smell funky and since she's inside the house, I need to make sure she's as clean as possible.

That incident took up all of our Saturday morning and most of the early afternoon.  We were finally able to venture into this party district to look for what we needed.  We scored on some awesome Mario and Luigi piñatas.  We also got some Mario and Luigi piggy banks and some candy to fill the piñatas with.  Being in the Mario mood, the night was capped off with some Mario Galaxy for the the Wii.

SUNDAY

Football!!!  I told myself that today would be the day where I would just sit in front of the TV and make decorations while watching TV.  I did a lot of decorations, not so much TV.  Football games were on TV, but I didn't really glance up since I got into my creations.  The Raiders lost...  losers!  And I did see Vick get hurt.  Other than that, I got most of my info from ESPN highlights later that evening.  Decoration making didn't end til close to midnight...  and soon after disaster struck...

MONDAY

After making decorations, I took a shower a little after midnight.  I noticed something funny going on while in there.  The water was not going down the drain... hmmm...  I finish up and let the wife know what happened.  She then mentioned to me that there is something up with the toilet, to make sure I take a look at it before I go to bed.  I check it out... and notice right away that it's not flushing.  I pull out the trusty plunger and get to it.  After several unsuccessful tries...  I figure that maybe there's hair stuck in the shower drain and it's stopping the toilet from flushing.  So I start working on that.  No success.... after about 30 mins or so, and it being around 1 am, I decide to go to bed and I'll work on it tomorrow.  Before jumping into the bed, I head to the kitchen to get a midnight snack... cause that's how I roll.  lol  

"SPLASH...  SPLASH... SPLASH..."  What the...  I took one step into the hallway and I step into a pool of water...  Oh man...  there's at least an inch deep of water all over the hallway.  Water EVERYWHERE!!!  I was feeling a dumbfounded and perplexed by what I was seeing and when the wife noticed it as well, she got up and was shocked by the amount of water all over the floor.  I go into the other bathroom thinking that maybe the tub was running or something and it smelled horrible.  But I mean HORRIBLE!!!!  Water was pouring out of the toilet, splashing flooding the bathroom.  The tub was also filling up with the water.  Water then ventured into the hallway and into my son's room and the main bedroom.  S*@T!!!!  The wife and I sit for a second, and then move into action.  

I pulled out my phone and took video of all the water in the bathrooms, tubs, showers, rooms, and hallway.  I figured that I would need evidence for the insurance company.  We pulled out all of the towels and started to soak up the water.  We didn't really know what the problem was so we figured that one of the kids may have flushed something down the toilet.  We didn't really know what the problem was...  So after about an hour or so of soaking up water and draining towels, we got the water to a respectable level...  Then... I made a huge mistake.  I threw in most of the towels into the washer.  Thinking that our problem was inside the house, I figured that we would need clean towels in case there was more leakage.  When the washer got the draining of the dirty water stage... all hell broke loose.  The bathrooms started to flood again.  This time, we only had HALF of the towels to battle what seemed like a never ending flow of water...  The good thing is that we acted fast enough to keep the water in the bathroom and no more spilled over to the hallway.  I then started draining the towels in the bathtub and reusing them to soak up water.

After about a half hour or so and the water level not really coming down... the wife made the comment that maybe I'm making it worse by throwing water into the tub.  She was right.  I should have been draining the towels outside like we first did...  By this time.. it's somewhere close to 3:30 am or 4 am and we're straining water out of towels in the front lawn.  After about another hour or so, we finally got it dry enough where there is no danger of anyone slipping.  I turned off the water valves in the sink and tub, in case the kids get up and turn the water on.  By the time we're satisfied that nothing else is going to down that morning, we go to be.  It was close to 5:45 am... by then, I already told myself I wasn't going to work.  I have a BIG problem that I need to take care of.

I get up at 6:45 and drive the girls to school.  I ask them if they threw anything down the toilet that they weren't supposed to and both said no.  I dropped them off, grabbed some coffee and then got to work.  Still believing that it may be something in our toilets, I looked up getting a plumber's snake.  I picked one up at Lowe's then went to work.  I went into the toilets and nothing.  I tried the sinks and nothing.  Showers?  Still nothing... I then said that I would need to get a pro to do it.  I started looking up plumbers in the area.  I also called my cousin, who does all the plumbing for the building that he is managing and ask for his opinion.  He quickly said that it sounds like the main drainage pipe is clogged.  He asked me to look for a 4 inch pipe outside the house.  I couldn't find it.  I said I would call him once I found it.  I then called Roter Rooter.  They sent a guy out to the house to check it out and give a free quote.  He found the access pipe and said, $200.  i was like, no thanks guy.  I already have someone that's going to get it done.  He leaves and I go at it with my 25 foot long snake.  Nothing... Damn... I needed something longer.  I go to Lowes and looking for a longer snake, but the longer ones are in the hundred...  

I decided to call a local plumber and got it done for a fraction of the cost.  He stuck in a 75 foot power snake and cleared my pipe (sounds funny.  lol)  and found that baby wipes were the culprit.  It was now, close to 2:30 pm and I started to text my insurance peoples to see what's up with that.  The damage is done in the hallway.  The laminate flooring that I installed is starting to warp.  The edges have risen and it's no longer smooth.  The carpet is still damp and I'm worried that mold might start up if I can't dry it up soon.  If it comes down to it, I'm going to need to replace the carpet as well as the flooring.  I'm hearing that my insurance should cover it...  Now I have that battle to look to forward to.  ugh.   Stay dry, friends.  Until then, later!

A Double Shower Head and a Stool

Hey there. It's been so hot here in Southern California that I find taking two showers a day. On the car ride home for lunch, I sweat up a storm and that's with the AC on!!! Today, I was tempted to jump in the shower and then head back... but you know what? The process starts over when I drive back to work, it's that hot. The sweat starts to drip off of me. Yuck!

Today, during lunch, my wife suggested that we take a shower together. Now, I believe that taking a shower with your significant other is a great way to spend some quality time together. We've done it many times before but we end up finding the need for a double shower head. It's better when one of us doesn't have to be out in the cold while the other basks in the warm water.  Having a double shower head would definitely be better than one in this case.  There would no more complaining of being cold while the other bathes.  Now... if only we can tackle the "it's too hot, it's too cold" issue.  Then we'd be all set.

And while we're in the topic of showers, have you ever jumped in the shower, dead tired, and wanted to just stand there?  It's happened to me many times and I just realized that I don't need to stand.  If I had an awesome shower stool I would be able to sit in the shower and take it easy.  Now, I'm just being lazy.  I could stand and take it easy but if I had a seat made for a shower, imagine how much more sweat it would be!  lol  All kidding aside, I'm sure that these were made for the elderly.  They would be the ones to truly benefit from a shower stool.  I would just use it to be a little more lazy than usual.

Now I'm thinking of the bathroom...  The wife wants to change our floral bath towels for some Hello Kitty stuff.  I am not a fan of Hello Kitty.  She claims that she's going to change the theme of our bathroom one of these days, now that's she's at home while I'm at work.  A few weeks ago, I thought she did it too, when she sent me a pic of Hello Kitty bathroom stuffs.  I thought she was showing me things that she bought.  Luckily for me... it was just stuff she saw.  Whew...  Avoided catastrophe there.  Now... to wipe this sweat off of me...  Until it gets cooler.  Later!

Schedule Those Car Check Ups

Hey there.  You know, a friend of mine was recently in Azirona and he found himself needing his 2001 Ford Escort checked out.  Turns out that his water pump needed to be replaced.  Now, I usually do my own car maintenance.  Well, what I consider the small stuff at least.  This guy just doesn't bother with it.  As soon as he "feels" it's time for a check up, he'll get it done sooner or later...  and it's usually later. Luckily for him, he found a Phoenix auto repair shop using his phone.

I like to think that I'm pretty handy when it comes to that.  I've been able to check and change all the common maintenance issues, such as motor oil, transmission fluid, radiator coolant, and the serpentine belts.  Recently, I've been showing my boy how to check it out himself so that he can have the know how to get it done himself.  But the two things that I have not been able to take care of have been the timing belt and the water pump. Unlike my friend, I get those checked every year to avoid such things as being stranded in the desert. 

So take this as a public service announcement, make sure to get the car checked up on some sort of schedule.  Especially if you're living in high temperature places.  Cars overheat, tires wear down, water pumps burst, and belts snap.  We rely on our cars more than we should!  Avoid spending a fortune on emergency repairs when you can get those checked out and repair or replace those important parts BEFORE some serious damage takes place.  Later!

Damn This Sickness

Hey there.  I am still sick...  It's odd for me to get sick.  I'm usually the one that the sickness passes by but this time around, it's hitting me... and it's hitting me hard.  I still have a headache, my body aches, my legs feel a little weak, and I've been sneezing and coughing since Monday.  It is now Thursday and this sickness should have long been gone.  The baby and the kids have also been sick this week.  Good thing that our oldest just over his sickness, he started middle school yesterday.  The girls start school on Monday so I'm hoping that they'll get over it by then.  Me?  I'm at work.. sick.  My boss walked in my office this morning and said that he was worried I wouldn't come in today.  I pretty much told him that I can't miss because work piles up and I'll get crap from people.  He basically said, "welcome to real world" and walked into his office.  So much for asking how I'm feeling.  lol

We also started constructing our son's centerpieces for his birthday/baptism party.  It's going to be Super Mario Bros. themed and we're building piranha  plants as the center pieces.  You know, the ones that pop out of pipes and sometimes spit fire at you?  Yeah, those.  lol  But for those are still a little confused or have been living under a rock for the past 25 years or so, I've added a picture of them surrounding Princess Peach.  Enjoy.

We're also making the candy bags and I'm adding a question mark or a coin symbol on them to make them a little unique.  I think I have it on Facebook... let me go get it and post it here.  They are kinda crude and are the first ones but nevertheless, they look pretty cool.  I have about 50 bags to make.  Well... 48 now.  lol  Check these out.  Later!

A Restless 3 Day Weekend

Hey there.  Happy Labor Day to all!  Our labor day weekend has been a restless one.  Our baby stated showing signs on sickness Friday evening and he had a stuffy nose through out the night.  That didn't let him sleep much so we were up most of the night trying to make him comfortable.  Come Saturday, he's in full blown sickness...  coughing, slight fever, and runny nose.  Needless to say, sleep wasn't meant to be for Saturday night.  Sunday... he seemed a little better, but now our daughter and son start with a sore throat and some coughing here and there.  Oh man...  The baby has gotten some of the older kids sick.  Come Sunday night, our son woke up close to midnight and refused to go to sleep.  Before I knew it, it was close to 4 am and we were still up trying to comfort him.

We had plans to go to the LA County Fair but most of the kids are sick, the baby is being fussy, and now I'm beginning to feel a sore throat.  Oh man... so much for an activity filled weekend.  My bro did come over on Saturday and I managed to win a game against him in Madden 11.  Believe it or not, I've never really played much of the Madden series so I'm awful at it... but we made it somewhat exciting and interesting!  lol 

Ugh...  Now I'm sneezing... greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat...  Hope we start feeling better soon.  Until then, later.

I've Been Hacked

Hey there.  This morning, I woke to an Email from my friend Alison telling me that I've been hacked.  Apparently, I sent out some spam Email containing a link to some Canadian pharmacy selling pink viagra.  That was not me, friends.  My account was compromised!  I've already took action and did what I had to do to make sure it doesn't happen again.  So if you received an Email from me with a link in it, I'm sorry, but it wasn't me!  Thanks.

I Should Check Out Top-Rated-Dehumidifiers.com

Hey there. Last night, I was in bed, thinking...  It's summertime and it's bug season.  I hate the fact that ants, spiders, and in some cases mice, will enter your home and it always seems to happen during the summer time.  I don't know the exact reason for the critters entering our home but I'm sure it's to beat the heat and find somewhere that's a little humid as opposed to the dry heat outside.  Because of this, I've been thinking of getting a dehumidifier.

We have a humidifier for the baby.  It sends out moisture into the air to help the baby breathe when he has a stuffy nose, but once it's done, the moisture stays in the air and keeps the house humid.  I'm thinking this may be why insects come in.  A friend referred me to Top-Rated-Dehumidifiers.com to check out some of the top rated dehumidifiers. Now, I'll be honest, I was confusing a dehumidifier for a humidifier.  I thought it was the same thing, but after reading up on the dehumidifiers reviews, I have a better understanding how they work and what people use them for.  And if you're looking to conserve energy, you can sort out energy star rated dehumidifiers and chose the one that's right for you.

I just found out that having a dehumidifier can also reduce the chance of getting mold in your house.  MOLD!  I think I may just end up getting one... I don't want mold in my house...  Especially since I've read that it can cost a fortune to get rid of.  Check it out, friends.  Later!

No TV Day at Home

Hey there. Yesterday was no TV day at home. And by no TV, I mean no TV, no PSP, no DS, no computer, no nothing with images on it. Why? Because 2 nights ago, the kids were playing Wii and didn't bother to go to sleep until 11PM. That's pretty late when their bed time is closer to 9:30 (now that they're on vacation). It was my fault for not keeping tabs of the time... I was online working. By the time I noticed it was pretty late, I told them to turn it off and go to bed and declared the next day, No TV.

I thought the kids would have died... lol They live off of TV and games. The girls can't get enough of the Nickelodeon and Music channels and the boy is either playing Wii, XBOX 360, PS2, or has a handheld game glued to his hands. They needed this time to just go out and play with the dogs or do other activities that do no involve a gaming system. To my surprise, they did fairly well. A lot of reading and a lot of interaction with each other was pleasantly welcomed. I'm wondering if my maybe no TV day should come by more often... Later!

Experiencing Nintendo's Wii's New Super Mario Bros.

Hey there. Hope you all had a great and safe 4th of July weekend. The 4th of July is extra special to me, not only because of the 3 day weekend, but because it's also my daughter's birthday. She's been hinting for month's that she wants her own Nintendo DS. In terms of portable gaming systems... the kids have 2 PSPs and a DS, but she's been wanting her own. So I stroll into Gamestop planning on getting her one, when I see that they have Wiis on sale. Hmmm... the kids have also been asking us for a Wii, but we figured we have too many games at home. Out of curiosity, I ask the guy how much the DS is and how much for the Wii. Wii = $120, DS = $150. What?!?!?! The Wii is cheaper than a DS!!! So I went with the Wii. I also picked up the New Super Mario Bros game which I know she would love since she plays it when we're at Target or Gamestop.

So I venture home, wrap it, and hand it her. She is happy with her Wii! I hook it up and I started setting it up. I did have a difficult time with synching the controllers. I wasn't sure exactly how to do it but since I'm so used to the XBOX 360,I figured that it would work in a similar fashion. Once the game started and I got both controls working, the kids played on.

I'm really liking this New Mario Bros game. It's old school roots are definitely there but the multiplayer mode has a completely new twist: you play simultaneously. Whereas the old game would allow one player to play at a time... this one will place the players (up to 4) all on the screen at once! It makes it that more challenging, and fun, to play with a friend and get through a stage as a team. I also think it's a great tool to subtly hint at teamwork. Especially for young ones that still don't grab the concept of working together for a common goal. It's completely different than the "wait my turn" approach that many of the previous Mario titles thrived on.  It's a fresh idea that makes for a more enjoyable experience.  Especially for those with family members that are willing and ready to take on video game challenges.  lol 

I'm still new to whole thing and am working through the settings to see what I can do with a Wii. I'm under the impression that it is online compatible... but I don't think I've set it up yet and I haven't seen where I can create profiles for myself and the kids... I guess once I start clicking on buttons, I'll find out how. lol So... any suggestions on any bad ass online games? If so, let's hear em. I'm down for some online competition! Until then, later!

Happy Mother's Day (Oh Yeah... and Happy Birthday to Me)

Hey there.  To all you mothers out there, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!  I know it was yesterday, but I didn't have a chance to post and figured I'd do it now.  Yesterday was also my birthday!  Knowing that Mother's Day would overpower any birthday, my wife set up a dinner for us on Saturday night.  We set out to eat with my mother and brother and we caught the Laker game all the while.  One hell of a game, it was.  Afterwards, we headed back to our place where the cake was the talk of the town.

I should've taken a picture of it, but I didn't, so I'll have to wait until they are Emailed to me, but the cake was kinda odd looking.  It was about 5 inches high and seemed more like a block of frosting than a cake.  My bro claimed that he made it and that's why it's funny looking.  Fair enough.  I'll buy that.  After watching a few episodes of The Office, we cut the "cake".  As I was about to slice through it, I noticed some silvery substance sticking out of it.  What the...  So I look closer and it's saran wrap wrapping a box.  No wonder it was funny looking.  It turns out that it was a box containing a Dwight Bobble Head doll.  How bad ass is that!  lol  We all laughed and my bro confessed that he wanted to put the box in jello but that they couldn't find a big enough container.  That would have been classic, but the cake thing is just as good.

Yesterday, my wife and I woke up to our gifts.  Me, for my birthday and her for Mother's Day.  I ended up getting her this one leopard bag from Betsey Johnson that I thought was pretty cool.  Aside from the standard leopard print, it had lightning bolts on it which I thought was pretty awesome.  She loved her purse and then presented me with my gift.  The wrapping was pretty cool.  It was home made by the kids and the paper had all kinds of stuff sprawled across it.  Words like "daddy"  happy birthday" and "Pantera" (lol).  I opened it carefully to void ripping the paper and uncovered Final Fantasy XIII.  Does my babe know me or what?!  lol  I've been wanting it for sometime  but I'm not one to dish out full price for a game unless I really want it (Guitar Hero: Metallica) or it's a collector's item (Final Fantasy XII).  I thanked her for it and reminded her that I'll be missing for awhile.  I'll be there physically, but my mind will be on Final Fantasy.  lol

We then got dressed and we treated my mother and mother in law out to breakfast at Mimi's Cafe.  It's always a good time when we get together and laugh it up.  After we over stuffed ourselves, we took off to the mall and treated my mother in law to a mini shopping spree.  She was able to go to any store and choose out of stuff.  After wards, we intended to go to the park and spend some time with the kids.  That didn't happen.  As soon as we got home after the mall, the wind really picked up and it didn't seem like the best of ideas to take the baby outside.  So my wife and I decided to stay in, order a pizza, and watch Beyond Belief.  Later in the evening, she baked me a cake.  A REAL cake, lol, and my family sang happy birthday to me.  All in all, a great weekend.

I Said Pa!

Hey there.  This week marks the first week that my wife is now a stay at home mom.  We have the resources where she can now stay at home and spend more time with the kids and not worry much of finances.  One of the first things we noticed is that our baby was all smiles and very animated.  Almost as if he knows he'll be spending more time with her.  Today, however, he was clearly in daddy mode.  Check out the video of my wife trying to get our son to say "ma" when he clearly has "pa" on his mind.  lol  Later!

A Problem with Snoring

Hey there.  Recently, my wife and I have been getting less sleep.  No, not entirely because of the baby (he has yet to sleep through the night but we feel he's getting there!) but because it turns out that I have developed a habit of snoring.  Yup...  turns out that I now snore.  I don't think that I snored before.  If I did, I would have heard from the wife, but now...  she lets me know.  And it's usually in the middle of the night...  A good kick in the shin...  a tossing of the pillow... an elbow to my side... and just recently found out that she covered my face with a pillow!  It was in jest and was only a sec (or so she claims...  lmao)

Anyways...  I'm trying to get rid of it.  My wife has noticed that if I sleep with pillows the snoring stops or at least diminishes.  My problem with that is that I'm extremely uncomfortable sleeping with pillows.  Yeah, I'm a weird one.  I just can't find my groove and sleep when I'm on pillows...  let alone be semi propped up to stop this snoring monster that I have become.  My mother in law suggested that this may have been because I've put on some weight. I don't know if there is truth to that but I have gained weight.  I finally topped the 180 lbs mark this week (I'm 5'8) and I feel a little heavier but I don't feel lethargic or anything of that sort.

So what do you think?  Any old wives tales that will fix me or some well known stuffs to do/take that will help stop the snoring?  I really don't want to get a kick to the shin again.  The wife is getting stronger (all them gym work outs are starting to pay off for her) and I don't know if my shin can take it.  lol  Until then...  Later!

Checking Out Stainless Steel Sinks

Hey there.  My wife is none too happy with our kitchen.  When we first bought the house, we figured that the kitchen would be the least of our problems but now it's a different story.  We're none too happy with the cabinets and we're not too happy with the blue sink.  Yup...  A blue sink...  Check it out. 

It doesn't seem to go with the stainless steel faucet that I recently got.  That's why we are looking at stainless steel sinks to purchase. I have mainly been doing the searching and I'm thinking that I may go with this placed called MR Direct. They have low prices and are BBB accredited so at least I know that they're not going to rip me off. My wife has been wanting a stainless steel sink ever since we decided that the blue is no longer going to work for us. Hopefully, I'll be able to find something at MR Direct that will make us happy. Until then. Later

New Neighbors and Religion

Hey there.  About a week or so ago, we got to meet our new neighbors.  The family that lived there before moved out and it turns out that they are renting out their home.  It turns out the the neighbors are good people.  They seem friendly and they have kids that seem to get along great with our kids.  They call each other over, which seems like every day, and they hang out and have a good time.  Which is great, because the kids didn't really play as much with the previous neighbor kids even though we would push them to go play so it's a good thing that they hit it off right away with the new neighbor kids.  On Saturday, though, they came home from being next door and asked if they could go to church with the neighbors on Sunday morning...

Now...  we're not really church going individuals.  I strongly believe that people can worship however they see fit and if going to a church every Sunday is their thing, then go on, my friend.  But us, we're not those kind of individuals.  My wife and I are also not one to block our kids from what we don't do so they expressed interest in going to church.  Which is fine... but considering that the neighbors have only been there about a week or so seems too recent to allow them to take off with our kids.  I don't know... I don't feel comfortable with that idea.  Knowing that our kids are not exactly early birds... we told them that if they got up, got dressed, and cleaned their rooms by 8:30 the next morning, they can go.  Of course, they slept right through the morning and got up closer to 10 am without a mention of church.

The question I pose to you, dear readers, is how do you feel with the notion of allowing your young ones to accompany a neighbor to their family outing?  Something doesn't feel right about allowing your kids to go with a neighbor... I mean, unless, they are extremely close with the family and are like best friends for life.  Since we've only known the family for a little over a week, are they out of place by asking the kids if they want to join them?  I don't know.  The whole thing seems a little odd and uncomfortable so I'm wondering how others have dealt with similar situations.  Until then... Later.