Thursday Random Thoughts - No subject needed

So I forgot my Wednesday Wisdom post yesterday...so sue me, I was busy, forgot, had better things to do. What do you expect from someone who is used to blogging whenever the mood struck. This trying to post 5 days a week thing is tough, but today is a new day and time for some random thoughts.

What Now?

No real subject today, so let's get real random:

The sun is out today, and I can't tell you how happy that makes me feel. The last few days have been cloudy, foggy, cold and down right depressing. Just give me a little sunlight and you can bet my mood will be cheery.

Am I the only one sick of hearing about the Olympics and they haven't even started yet? The US Figure Skating Championships were held in Spokane last week, and because I get their television channels I have heard about the damn things for over a year solid. Now you can't watch 3o seconds of any NBC show without them telling you to tune into the Olympics. Enough already..I get it! The Olympics are coming soon, you are going to broadcast 10 million freaking hours of coverage, the only place to see the action is on your station....FRACK! Just get the damn things over with so my brain doesn't implode.

What is the deal with members of congress sitting down and standing up like a Catholic mass during the President's State of the Union address? Is it really necessary? Can't they just clap? And if they insist on standing why do the members of the opposite party just sit there like a pile of monkey shit? For some reason I just can't believe either political party is very interested in working with the other, even if it means making our country better.

I would shoot myself if I was Heidi Montag's father. How messed up can a person be? I feel like shooting myself right now because I actually have an opinion on Heidi "freaking" !Montag!

What does making a boat load of money for their athletic ability do to the brains of professional athletes? Do you really need to bring a gun and point it at a teammate after practice, or take naked photos of yourself and your HUGE friend, and does being the best at your sport give you reason to do whatever it is you feel like, regardless of how it will affect the people closest to you? The bigger question is why do we all still pay our hard earned money and cheer for these losers?

So far this post has been a little negative, so let me end on a positive. After work I am going to the store and buying a 6-pack of my favorite beer. I know what I said at New Years, but damn it I love the taste of beer...and I'm not ashamed to admit that. So, if you feel the same way...grab a cold one and let's have a toast...to beer, and to life, and to trying to enjoy each and every second we have of it!

Take care and peace out!

Thursdays random thoughts - Politics

What Now?

There are certain subjects I rarely discuss with family and friends such as sex, religion and politics. I have carried that credo over to my blog posts as well, except for the occasional post on sex but since you people don't know me personally I feel pretty safe on that topic. Well, today I am going to talk a little about politics, which I realize could ruffle a few feathers...but then again, you don't know me personally so we should be just fine.

The reason I even bring up this subject is because it's gotten a lot of play in my own house recently. My wife and I are pretty much on the same thought pattern when it comes to politics. We would not call ourselves Republican or Democrat, because we don't blindly follow just one belief system (like my grandparents used too. My Mom would often say "If Mickey Mouse was running as a republican my parents would vote for him"). We try to vote for the candidate that we believe will do the best possible job for the people he/she represents, and not the party they belong too.

Last November we both voted for Obama because between the two candidates we had to choose from we felt he would so better job for our country than McCain would (and honestly, Sarah Palin for VP...what where they thinking?) I can honestly admit now that during the campaign I believed the hype. I drank the Kool-Aid. I honestly thought that what I was hearing would come to pass and the greatest country in the world would become even greater. And, I'm still waiting for that. I didn't expect all the problems that faced this administration to be solved within weeks of Obama taking office, but I did expect to see at least an thought or idea as to how those problems would be solved, right? I know it can't be an easy job for Obama, and the mess he was left with was pretty huge...but I feel like nothing has changed since this time last year, and for my wife and I that is very frustrating. I was reading a comment from a Democrat on some political blog and he said "if I wanted a Republican as President I would have voted for McCain."

Well, I think after the special election in Massachusetts I am not the only one that feels this way. While I didn't have a dog in that fight, I am very happy that the voters made their voices heard and let those people in Washington know that they should be listening to their constituents more and their party leaders less. And, hopefully now, there will be more work between both parties to help the American people and those people around the world to count on our help as well, instead of pushing one agenda no matter who it helps and/or hurts.

I now step off my soapbox and return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

PEACE OUT!

Hair today, gone tomorrow

What Now?

In the past week my girls and their two little friends have said very, very funny things about their parents and our hairyness (I know hairyness is not a word, but it works here). These are not the first hair conversations they have had, and I am guessing they won't be their last either. When it comes to their parents the only thing kids seem more interested in talking about besides how hairy they are is the shape, size and downright odd nature of their private parts. Maybe because besides the amount of hair and the difference in private parts both kids and parents are pretty much the same. Whatever the reason is I love it because it gives us such gems as these:

Conversation #1 - I took all four kids to the local pool on a very hot day last week. I usually let the older girls loose to have their fun on the slides and diving board while I hand out in the shallow pool with the younger kids. My normal routine is to stand there and continually say "yes" every time one of the little ones asked if I will watch them do something ("WND, will you watch me while I duck my head under water....PLEASE!!!"). On this particular day I was just standing there and I notice the other parents little one staring at me. I ask her if she would like me to watch he do something and she replies "no, but you know what?" "What?" I ask. "My dad is really, really hairy!" This is funny for two reasons. 1) I am about as hairless as lizard. Besides all the normal spots I don't have much hair to speak of at all. When I do let the old beard go it resembles Cliff Clavin from the Cheers episode where all the guys have a beard growing contest (if you don't remember that show just think of dabbing your face with glue dots, then rolling around the floor of a barber shop...that is me with a beard. 2) Her dad is hairy, and I mean Sasquatch hairy. I am pretty convinced if you saw him 50 yards away you couldn't tell if he was shirtless or wearing a sweet black sweater he got for Christmas.

Conversation #2 - This comes from our friends who watch all four girls the other half of the day. The mom sent me an email saying "I won't go into how this conversation between the two little ones started, but it ended with your little girl saying her dad has really hairy armpits" So where I lack hair just about everywhere else on my body I more than make up for under my arms, at least according to my little girl. This one is not as funny as #1 until I heard the first part of the conversation. The mom said her little girl, out of the clear blue sky, tells my little girl that her mom had really hairy....now, I was half expecting her to say armpits, which in itself would be funny and a little embarrassing for the mom. Instead the word VAGINA followed that sentence. Hmmmmm, awkward, ya think? My first thought is I've got nothing to follow that, no a joke, not a pun, not a personal experience I can share...nothing. My next thought was what in the hell were the girls talking about to lead them to that sharing session? What did come of out my mouth was something to the effect of "girls, let's get your stuff and go...please........now."

PEACE OUT DADS!

More random Monday thoughts

WHAT NOW?

I really have no central theme for my post today, but I do have many very random thoughts...here they are:

a) Last fall we had a bit of a mouse invasion...6 little buggers to be more precise. After spending a small fortune on traps and several hours of deep cleaning we took care of the problem, we thought. I did keep some traps in our mechanical room just in case. This is a room my kids are not supposed to go in, so when my oldest told me she went into the room my moment of unhappiness with her only lasted until she told me we caught another mouse....SON OF A BITCH!!!

b) After almost a week with this mouth torture device (also known as braces) on I am almost comfortable with it. Too bad a good friend of ours told me I look 14 with them on. Just bring on the acne and bad teenage mustache and I am back in 1984.

c) After spending a few minutes cleaning up in the basement, also known as the kids tornado zone, my oldest raced upstairs saying that she had to go to her room. I asked her why and she said she was in big trouble. I asked why she was in trouble and she replied "because I lost your mullet wig!" That is a sentence I never thought I would hear from a 7 year-old.

d) Every so often my dog lets loose a cough that sounds like an alien hatching from the chest of a human host...I'm just saying.

e) My blog may take some time off from Wednesday to Sunday of this week. I am taking my wife to Boise, Idaho so she can compete in the Ironman 70.3 triathlon. That's right, my wife is a bad ass. She is going to rip up that race during the day and have some beers to celebrate that night. God I love that woman.

PEACE OUT DADS!!!

Random Thoughts

1. There is nothing that takes the excitement of an Easter Egg Hunt away faster than cold rain, but it does give you a good reason to hit Starbucks afterwards.

2. I don't think I have ever seen my wife more excited about something than she is about wii fit. I must film her playing because there is nothing I find more entertaining than that.

3. Going on field trips with your child's class could be one of the most enjoyable parts of being a parent.

4. While watching an infomercial for some 70's love song music collection, hosted by Tony Orlando and some lesser known female, my wife made the comment that Tony Orlando had died several years back and then wondered why Tony Basil (of 80's "Oh Micky" Fame) was hosting it. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that woman's head.

5. Loosing your spring vacation tan is sad.

6. When you think you can't go on, or can't finish a project, or can't run say...16 miles, you need to dig deep and push forward. You can't duplicate the feeling of reaching the end.

7. When you are trying to sleep with a stuffed up nose, there is no replacement for nasal spray.

8. I think our memories get worse as we age. My 5 year old remembered a phone number she heard on the radio two weeks ago.....what?!?!?

9. The NBC show Heroes is losing me. I have loved it since my wife got me hooked on it after season one. If last night's show is any indication of what is to come I'll be looking for new entertainment on Monday nights.

10. I have the opportunity to spend a ton of time with my family this summer, go on business trips with my wife, and basically keep my part-time-stay-at-home Dad status, or get a 9-5 like everybody else. Should I even be thinking about that option?

PEACE OUT DADS!!!