What I Don’t Need to Change This Year.

I'm a big believer in New Year's Resolutions. I usually make three a year. Some Past resolutions include: learn to pay guitar, read a biography of every president, learn to juggle, finish my game machine project, and finish my book (this one I make about every year). I have met with varying degrees of success. I can juggle. I can play a very slow blues progression on the guitar. I've read up to James Madison's biography and I'm about half way through Team of Rivals. As for my book, well maybe next year. I have never felt like I didn't see one through. While I may have not succeeded completely at all of them I always make an effort.
This year I have decided that I need to not make resolutions. Or more specifically, I want to try and live a life that needs, less resolutions. As I have grown older, and hopefully wiser, I see that life is less about where you go overall, than it is about the little things that you put into that whole. I want to be someone that looks at the book about fixing cars and says I'm going to do that now. I'm going to learn how to play Parcheesi. Or maybe its time to play though The legend of Zelda again. I may not solve world hunger, or finish my book (man I really need to do some work on that), but I will try to be the man that does "The Things", not just someone who says "I always wanted to do that."
In 2009, my resolution is to not have New Year's Resolutions, but rather January resolutions, or Wednesday resolutions; to have resolutions in supply, as needed. Will I succeed? Maybe, but hopefully I will feel like I tried.

P.S. I in no way support Parcheesi and all the dark undertones within.

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This Blog Blast was sponsored by the Parent Bloggers Network and Big Tent.

Lets Try This Again

There I was 1988 Christmas. I was excited because this was going to be the year I would receive the best Christmas present of all time. I was sure it would be there. I would wake up Christmas morning come down stairs and a light from above would shine down on one present. THE PRESENT! The Nintendo Entertainment System. It would not be my first game system. I had an Atari, and a Commodore 64. But this one had the greatest graphics that ever were. Mario looked like a real little man! While this was a great selling point, and I couldn't wait to save the princess, the real reason I was excited was the NES Power Pad. I was going to get in shape. With the Power Pad you could run, jump and exercise your way to a trim body. I was going to use it every day. It would make me stronger, more attractive to the opposite sex. It was the answer to all my woes.
It was not. By New Years I was using my hands on the pad to beat the running times and it got more use as a place for our cats to piss then for anything like a work out. I never got buff, and I didn't get Christine (my grade school crush), but I can beat Super Mario Brothers and The Legend of Zelda with my eyes closed.
However, Wii fit will change me forever. I'm going to use it everyday. I'm going to track my weight loss and watch my little Mii grow smaller and smaller. A trainer (look how
real she looks) is going to push me "your doing great, keep up the good work." I will be able to beat Twilight Princess with my eyes closed, but this time my body will be tone. If Christine could see me now!


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With this post I'm not only pushing the limits of my new body, but attempting to win a Wii Fit to help me on the way. Check out more at Magpie Musing.

The difference between my faimly and a normal one

Being married to my wife for eight years now I have come full circle with understanding the subtle difference between our families. When you arrive at my aunts house you know that you are arriving within 10 minutes of everyone else. Depending on the state of football, or planed shopping spree for the weekend you may get a "hi". At my wives grandparents house they arrive slowly throughout the day, with a warm greeting. "How are you?" "How are things going?" These questions are ask with sincerity, even if you have seen them the night before. At the house of family quickness the food is just enough. My aunts have made an increasing effort and perfected the art of just enough food. Very little leftovers, and just the right amount of seconds. Its' an amazing computation that is performed days before and executed with the skill of a mathematician. There are days and days of left overs at the "normal house." They beg you to take some with you, or eat just a little more of your fourth serving, so everything can fit in the fridge. After lunch/dinner with very little conversation, my family gets together and picks names for Christmas (one person gets one person a gift). Once this is done we began the stare down. This is also began around the same time at the house of family togetherness. While my family is just waiting for the first one to leave, so the others can funnel out quickly and quietly, again within 10 minutes; the Cleavers are just waiting for the first one to put on the "comfys", or pajamas so the others can follow suit within 10 minutes. Continuing the conversation and family time.
Both familys full of triptiphan find them selves full and happy and feeling good about the time spent with eachother as the night comes to an end. I love both and wonder at other familys Thanksgivings and differences we all share with new families.

Confusion!!!

I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and if you know anything about this disease, it sucks. In short when you have an IBS "attack" you need to find a bathroom, quickly or find yourself in the same predicament of a 1 year old who has to go. That is, you just go. So I find myself away from the house and I feel the stiring. Now I need to find a place with a clean bathroom that I can find quickly and access with ease. These pictures show the problem I encounterd. I danced to the counter to find this laying on the desk. I was confussed but figured it out with a little trial and error. The sad part is this was a library.

It Barack Obama... No wait....

In school Monday morning I was sitting in my Community College and was treated to Barack Obama making a speech about the importance of voting. No...wait.... he was at the local ball park, and that's not till Thursday. That's not Barack Obama!! That's the academy award winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. of Snow Dogs. I waited (kind of excitedly with a just came out of my moving picture box kind of feeling) to see him come down the stairs and give a very surprisingly inspired speech about voting. He than rallied the students to come with him across the street to the county building to vote (you can vote early in Ohio). I watched as about 300 students followed him out and across the street to vote. This may sound cheesy but it made me feel good about America, and gave me a little more hope that we can still make a difference. Me and Copper (my school/work cohort) discussed briefly of slapping Cuba as he passed us telling him "that was for Boat Trip, and you know you deserved it" but he had bodyguards and a academy award that no matter how much shower motivated best director acceptance speeches (I'd like to thank all the girls I've loved before) that will never have one. Well maybe not.

Annie, Flight of the Concords and my bleeding ears

We have two songs that are sung around our house at any given time of the day. I find myself typing up some school work, or watching the "steal you life away box" (T.V.) or even trying to sleep at 5:30 in the morning to be suddenly serenade by my three year old daughter with a rousing rendition of Tomorrow from Annie. It is not enough to be sung, but it is accompanied by theatrical stances and just a little bit of Jazz hands. She has also become convinced that "Bet you bottom dollar" is really a hidden political message. Talking on the phone with my current cell phone provider (I hate my phone), the customer service woman was secretly pushed to vote democratic. My daughter ended the room, stage right, singing/yelling "Tomorrow, Tomorrow! Bet Barak Obama ya! I love you Tomorrow!" These out bursts are only subdued by requests to play the theme song to the 70's TV show Wonder Woman. "Wonder Woman to the RESCUE!" But that's another story.
No to be out done by my daughter my wife and I often become a part of the Annie revival. But this is not the song we have always sung. I am a fan of the HBO show Flight of the Concords. If you haven't seen this show, your missing the new Monkeys of our generation. A favorite of ours is a song called Business Time ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN0oDnoc3-c ). To put in a family friendly way, Business Time is the kind of time that led me to have a daughter to write blogs about. Now, a three year old has a balder the size of a tennis ball, but can evidently hold 30 gallons of liquid before the need to "pee pee' is actually needed. Don't ask me it science. So to curd the 30 gallons of juice, milk, water and what ever secret "treats" grandma has in put her tummy, for ending up in you vehicle you need to have you daughter pee pee before you leave the house. To encourage this activity my and my lovely wife can be found dancing around the living room, with a little bit of Jazz Hands, singing "It's Potty, It's Potty time. You know what you got to do, its potty, that's why its potty time."
When our daughter prances from room to room singing Tomorrow, we watch and smile and think about how wonderful she is. When we sing Potty Time our daughter looks at us like we are imbeciles. I think were both right.
This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as an entry for a contest sponsored by Bush’s Beans. Mmmm beans!!! Check it out at http://www.beanchant.com and http://blog.parentbloggers.com.

Weight Management

I'm tired a lot, I eat too much, I don't have a lot of time, and I complain to much. I have a beautiful wife and daughter, who bring me light every day. I have a job that is relatively easy, and pays well, enough to let my wife stay home with Violet (with some pinching). I am doing well in school so far and have a Playstation 3 and friends. I like the PS3 a little better sometimes. It's hard to focus on the good sometimes, even when the good out ways that bad. Sometimes I feel like the bad is so pronounced because the good is as well. The Ying to my Yang. The weight of my body, and the things I have to do pushed on me like a bolder. My weights are quickly moving from the category of 'things I should do' to 'things I need to do'. My wife looks at me worriedly as I look at my weight loathingly in the mirror. She looks at me worriedly when I have problems getting out of the chair because of my back, or when I can't get up the stairs without pain in my knee making it give out. I don't know what to do. When I see people that need to drive scooters around Wal-Mart to by their Ho-Hos, I think to myself 'Stop eating'. This is easier said than done. Of course I don't eat Ho-Hos everyday either. Sometimes answers are not just sitting their obvious, sometimes they take time and effort and work. Sometimes we don't like the answers, like medication or a CPAP machine. Maybe the answer is to stop complaining.