Pissed, Pissed, Pissed...... and ramblings of a pregnant lady

Man... I haven't blogged in months and there is honestly nothing that ticks me off more and makes me more angry than when the computer doesn't do exactly what I want it to do!.... GRRRRR! Here me roar!........ I typed out this huge... huge..... blog.... and it didn't post and gave me an error.... Lost the whole flippin thing........ Grr.... The urge to kill.... (Old family saying)



So anyways I get on the phone to Ben and just explode... he calmed me somewhat down and somehow manage to convince to to WRITE THE WHOLE STUPID THING OVER AGAIN!.... I'm still seething.... must be the pregnant hormones....



anyways... the next section of this blog will hopefully contain most of my earlier blog that is lost in I don't know where.....so...... this is how it went.....



By the way this is Sydney,

I know that by now most of you were probably were starting to think that I didn't exsist and the pictures of the kids were also fake....... I am here to set the record straight.... Ben is married... and we have kids..... to verify this statement... read the next section below....



Achoo... achoo..... Sniff sniff... (blowing my nose). This is miserable.... my eyes are all red and sometimes watering, my nose hurts to touch it, my ears feel like they are stuffed with cotton balls and my throat is sore from the green snot running down it. Yuck.... ah.... but Ben still thinks I'm hot.... (Wow I must be really hot if he thinks I am still hot with this cold). I have managed to catch "Bug Bug's" (our youngest) cold and man this bites. I have literally had sick kids everyday since Feb. 28th. We stared off with a fresh batch of Influenza A, which ran about a week and a half for each kiddo, then onto the stomach flu and fever and now onto a cold that has been keeping "Bug Bug" awake at night for the last week. This derange pregnant lady has not had a full night sleep in a full month.... and you wonder why I sounded so ticked earlier.... truely, I am normally mild tempered.... Honest!!!



Oh by the way... side note .... remember I did say rambling pregnant lady....Eddo.....I am sorry to disappoint but I hope that my weak humor will keep you satisfied and if it doesn't this will be the first and final blog of mine you will read.... that's okay.... really.... It is the running joke between Ben and I that I am the humorless person...... So no hard feelings if I am not humorous enough for you. J/k.... I think you will find me hillarious..... (i hope)!!!!!!



To the lady that likes sniffing white out! Will you Share? I sure could use something today! okay maybe not... I do have a baby to think about here.... maybe I just need a vacation... no sickness... no fighting kiddo's.... Peace and quiet!!!! IS there such a place????



Anyways... jumping to another subject... Jake was asking what we are going to have for dinner today and I said turkey.... his response... not agian.... so here's the story behind this.....

When you think you are going to be serving about 20 people on Easter.... You buy a big bird.... a 20 lb bird to be exact.... but when you only have your small family and 1 other person.... that's alot of turkey left....and I think I have about turkeyed my son out.... it was great though.... we had turkey, homemade divine potatoes, homemade rolls, homemade apple crisp, gravy and homemade stuffing..... UMMM... makes your mouth water doesn't it..... so anyways.... if anyone wants to take pity on my son and send a good casserole that calls for turkey I am sure he would appreciate it... the funny thing is I still have a huge bag of it in the freezer.. we are just trying to finish what is left in the fridge!!!!



Anyways.... I should run.... bug bug... is bawling beside me.... and I can't take it much longer.... besides she's wiping green snot on my leg... mmm...I am going to go eat a homemade cinnamon roll that Kenzie and I whipped up. Now if I had a starbuck's turtle mocha with that..... I think it would be even better than having whiteout to sniff!!!!



Signing off

Sydney

P.s. I was able to brush my teeth before 3 this afternoon.... YAAAAAA!!!! you have to appreciate the small things at this stage of parenting!!!

Gleeker.

On a much lighter note... I was watching American Idol last night (and of course you people sent the wrong person home...) but besides that.... Did anybody else see Vonzelle "gleek" when she semi-laughed semi-sighed when she found out that she was safe. It was SO funny. I recorded it on TIVO and Sydney and I rewound it about four times. This was the conversation:

Ben: Did you just see that?
Sydney: See what?
Ben: She just gleeked.
Sydney: What??
Ben: I'm Serious.
Rewind....
Ben: See... riiight.... THERE. See that?
Sydney: You're right!
Ben: HaHaHaHaHa.... She just gleeked on national TV during a close up!
Sydney: *laughing*
Ben: Let's watch it again!
Ben: HaHaHaHaHa... that is funny.

Anyway, did anybody else see it?

(By the way, we like Vonzelle... she is a great singer... but she did gleek.)

Failing with an "A"... trust me, it's possible.

I got my test back in Financial Statement Analysis. 90 percent. So I must ask this question: How can you get an "A" on subject material in which you do not understand? (It wasn't even multiple choice people.) Problems... essays.... I somehow fooled someone. I am a little saddened... disillusioned even. I can't fool myself and I know deep down that I don't get it. I could really care less what grade I get... If I don't get it, what good is an "A"? I am bewildered to say the least. Don't get me wrong... I got the right answers... but would somebody tell me how I got them and why they are right? There is nothing more disheartening than doing a problem and getting it right but not knowing what you just did.

Ever been where I am?

Breaking into my own blog...

I have to crawl through the window because the front door is locked... I keep getting this error message from blogger when I try to log in...

Error: We apologize for the inconvenience, but we are unable to process your request at this time. Our engineers have been notified of this problem and will work to resolve it.

So I am entering into my site via my quick edit of an old post and then navigating away from that update page. (Ingenious, I know.)

Today, the blogger engineers at corporate headquarters are chanting: "Crawl through the window monkey, crawl through the window!" (As if dancing isn't funny enough.)

Also... this is not my only post today... Eddie, don't forget to read the one directly below this one. lol.

I'm gonna knock you out...

"...His site hasn't been bursting with hilarity lately, all he's got going for him is a hot wife, amazingly cute kids, a full head of hair, a house in the Hamptons and a great site design... smug little Ben needs to realize the importance of comedy to a successful blog."

Eddo of Postednote
(He was right about all of those things except one...) Anyway...

The gauntlet has been laid down... the challenge has been made...

I must become funny.

Nevermind that my post two days ago included a funny story that happened at good friday service... This same commentor stated (and I Quote)...
"AND... I must say that if I had been at your church I probably would have had to leave cause I would have been laughing so loud that the Lord might have smote me for my lack of control..."

How is it that I go from SO funny that the Lord was about to smite him... to distain for my lack of humor. I see how it is... "Oh Ye of Little Faith..."
The gloves are off! I'm ready to go Posted... (Postal... get it?) Okay, I admit it, that was kind of weak... but you can't knock the guy out with the first punch... you have to get into a rhythm...

(Do you hear LL Cool J in the background Eddie??? .... I'm gonna knock you out... Mamma said knock you out...)

Who needs coffee.

Micker Mackers found her way down to the couch last night... woke up this morning and found her curled up in a ball on the couch with the throw blanket laying on the floor beside her... (must have fallen off...) So I walked over to her, put the blanket back on her, gave her a quick peck on the cheek and softly whispered, "I love you mickers." To which she whispered back in her sleep, "I love you too Dad." Ahhh... warms a Dad's heart. Who needs coffee.

Norman Rockwell here we come...

I had a great weekend...

It started out on Friday going to Good Friday Service... (Never really understood why they call it good friday when it was the death of our Lord and King... should be sad friday or dark friday... or something.) Anyway, I was asked a couple of weeks ago to read Matthew 27: 45- 61. So, as it was my turn to get up and read the verse, I had to reach out to adjust the Microphone because I AM SO SHORT... 5'4" to be exact... and as my hand got close to the Mic, this blue arc bridged the gap between my finger and this cruel, cruel object which ended in a loud CRACK acrossed the sound system. There was a slight chuckle throughout the crowd... and I just had to shake my head... leave it to me to cause laughter at a somber Good Friday Service. I could have done a stand up comedy routine at that point because how do you transition from people laughing at you to serious reflection on Jesus's death... not sure I was successful.

Anyway, Saturday arrived and I got up at about 6 am to work on my paper so I could get that done and spend the rest of the day with Jake and MacKenzie. We had a great day. It was one of those spring days where the temperature was about 65 - 70 degrees. Jake and I jumped on the trampoline for awhile... as the sun set in the late afternoon... and everything was highlighted by each golden ray... we lay there looking up at the sky... just hanging out with each other. Trust me when I tell you everything was right in the world. It is times like those where I understand the importance of spending time with Jake (and Micker Mackers and Leah) because you never know when you are going to have "cool" moments like that. Sydney drove into town and the car started acting up. Might be bad gas because I just filled up the car on Friday night after the church service... (it's at the dealership this morning getting looked at.) But even that set back didn't ruin my day.

Sunday, Bug Bug was sick... so Sydney stayed home with her as I took the kids to Church. Then after church, I drove in to pick up our international student so she could spend easter with us. (We are a host family for an international student throughout the year. It helps to keep them from being so lonely during the holidays... and allows our family to experience much needed culture so our kids are given the chance to love people no matter what their diverse back ground is.... it doesn't matter if it's Nigeria or "The Lone Star State"... lol.) So, Zi (Zaynab) came out and spent the afternoon with us. After that, Jake and I played a game of "War" with the cards that were in his Easter Basket. Unfortunately, I won. (Which after a long day, caused Jakers to break down in tears.) By that time, it was bed time for the kids... Sydney and I just relaxed for a while and then I "Konked out" by about 9:30.

It truly was a great weekend.

Let me know...

Recently got this comment from Square Slant:

"Ben ... For the last couple of days your site is loading slow or giving my IE an error and locking it up. I wonder if that is why your visitor count is down.To post this comment - I had to hit Stop - things were still downloading to your site. I am not having problems on other blogs - thought you should know."

My count was about 80 + page loads on Thursday... so it seems to be working fine... and it loads for me fine... but you tell me....

Anybody else experiencing the same thing?

Let me know...

Did the Rapture come and I have been left behind?!?

Hello? Is anybody there? Sure is quiet out there today... Yesterday was a flurry of comments by a few Texans and one Minnesotan... now nothing. (There has got to be a joke about that... A few Texans and a Minnesotan walk into a bar...) My statcounter goes from 35 visitors to 4 today.... where'd everybody go?

Hello... Hello... Hello...
Echo... Echo... Echo...

P.S.
(The Punchline to that joke is: The Minnesotan Ducks.) lol.

Her name is Sydney.

Have you ever had...

A best friend that is completely indescribable in a perfect way? A friend who has a special sort of sparkle in his or her eye that indicates a joy deep inside them that somehow makes everything in the world seem alright? Somebody in your life who lights up the room on the gloomiest of days? A friend who you can connect with on so many different levels? Someone who will stand next to you and proudly claim you as a friend even when any normal person would leave you within one.beat.of.a.heart? A friend that looks into your eyes and can read you... maybe not quite knowing what is up, but knows something is up none-the-less? And when he or she reads that something in your eyes, has the insight to understand whether to press the issue or give you space?

Have you ever had...

A best friend you can't live without? Somebody that, if the Good Lord took tomorrow, would cause your secure world to change so drastically, to spin so wildly out of control that it would be hard to regain your equilibrium? And although you eventually would, as a result of this friendship, there would never again... for the rest of your life, be one single day where you did not think of that person? A friend, that if this were to happen, it would be worth taking this chance knowing that for every moment of sadness you would experience, there were 10 moments of joy and laughter that you lived with this person?

Have you ever had...

A special friend that makes you smile? Someone who, at times, makes you mad? But most of the time makes you love? ...love life through the highs... and the lows; whatever-the-case... makes you love living? Somebody that makes you love waking up each morning knowing that life is good... especially with this friend by your side? A friend that has made you a better person from the very first day you met?

I have such a perfect friend.

Her name is Sydney.

I feel a little less intelligent today...

I hate to admit it... but this is the first day that I have actually sat down to blog and I don't have anything to say... no extremely witty comments. Nothing. But I believe that there is a reason for this... lol. Let's just say that I feel like George Castanza from Seinfeld in the episode where he abstained from sex and became really, really smart and then the day before he had to give a presentation on his brilliance he gave in to a hot girl and lost his intelligence. There is some truth to that episode... after a slight drought I will say only this:

...umm ...sorry... I can't remember what I was going to say. ;)

(Thank goodness I finished my take home midterm for Financial Analysis this weekend... WHEW! It's amazing the effect a beautiful woman will have on the intelligence of a man.)

Sydney has been down the past couple of days... but you know... you wouldn't believe how quickly that sparkle in her eye comes back when she is suprised with a bouquet of Gerber Daisies. Love you Syd... Keep smiling.

I will get back to a serious posting tomorrow...

So I walked across campus to a colleague's office to proof a full spread newspaper article that I wrote and upon entering her office, Tone Loc's "funky cold madina" was on... I remember the song... but until now, never really questioned what he was talking about. What is a "funky cold madina"? (I can't say I ever really listened to the song...) Anybody?

I'm not quite sure I am getting this one...

What's up with Hootie singing for Burger King...? Hootie singing about a bacon swiss cheddar ranch burger does not make me want to go out and buy one... also, while it may be hard to dispute the point, I don't quite understand where the "girls with the nice caboose" play into the whole advertisement... Am I alone in this?

We interupt your regularly scheduled "Married in Minnesota" post to bring to you: The NCAA Basketball Tournament. Be back Monday. Hope you're winning your office pool! :) 

Seriously. We live in a Vacuum.

So last night I discovered we live in this Void called rural Minnesota. Of course the first thought that crosses your mind is: "You just discovered this last night?" My response is: Well... I suspected it... but last night my suspisions were confirmed. We get Satellite TV and internet so I thought... "we must be a long way from the edge..." Wrong. I got a couple of cell phones for Sydney and myself yesterday thinking that we could call each other for free since it is long distance from our house to where I work... but I soon discovered upon entering our impenetrable steel box in which we reside in that we don't even get one "tick" in terms of a signal from a tower that is only 7 miles away... of course Mr. "Skeezy cell phone Senior Retail Sales Representative" says I should have great reception for at least 11 miles from a tower... why then do we only get one "tick" in our driveway? Really Mr. SCPSRSR, if you don't get good reception in a certain area, then don't sell phones to those people... The phone call last night from our car in the driveway to our house phone went something like... "Sydney, Can... You. Hear.... (static)... still there? ....what? I said, Can.... You. Hea... (static)..." ... nothing. Looked down. Cell phone read, "Lost Caller."

"Really."

Anyway, at least there is a 15 day money back guarantee if we aren't completely satisfied. It's the hassle of the whole thing that bothers me I guess... We are going to check with a couple other companies and see if the coverage is better for them.

What's that saying that people who live in the middle of nowhere use? Oh yeah... "Don't bet the farm on it."

I won't.

Ben

Stranded.

Had a meeting in the Twin Cities yesterday... so I wasn't able to blog... Before I left the cities, I did get a chance to eat at Baja Sol for the first time. Let me just say that the food was as good as it looks in the picture. Good.Stuff. So anyway, as I was making good time on the way home... I pulled up to a stop sign and then when I went to accelerate, the throttle cable broke. (For the people [women] ;) out there that don't know what a throttle cable is... it is the cable that is connected to the pedal so that when you push the pedal the car actually moves.) So, I sat on the side of this back road for about a half an hour because not only do I take the short cut from the Cities home... I don't have a cell phone. So finally someone drives by and I wave them down... then it takes another half an hour for the tow truck to get there... and then I call Sydney once I get to the next closest town... (did I tell you I don't have a cell phone?) It then took Sydney about an hour to get from our house to where I was... so I got home at about 7:15 pm last night... which really isn't too bad... but definately a hassle. Today's Agenda: Look for Cell Phones for Sydney and myself.

It always seems like the retreat goes too quickly... BUT what a great time...

Sydney and I had a great weekend... definately had a super time making some memories. As we walked back into my folks' house to pick up Jake, Micker Mackers and Bug Bug... My dad asked, "So, are you good for another 100,000 miles?" Which is a great analogy. We are tuned up and ready to go... athough, we are tired after the weekend... you think it is going to be restfull, but it never seems like you are rested. It was fun though. We had a Jacuzzi bathtub in our bedroom that fit probably 3 or 4 people... Sydney and I "sprawled out" our naked bodies in that thing a few times... (definately wouldn't mind having one of those at home.) Anyway, as I mentioned last week, Sydney and I needed a talent for the talent show... Well, Sydney and I were on our 2 & 1/2 hour trek from my folks' place to the resort trying to come up with something that we could do for a talent... Suddenly, Sydney came up with a truly brilliant idea... since we were going to a couples' retreat... what if... we did... COUPLES' FEAR FACTOR? Suddenly an evil grin spread acrossed my face... Fantastic. Idea. It was a hit. We actually stopped by a dollar store and picked up a bunch of cheap supplies such as bowls, containers, towels, gummy worms... plastic bugs.... and metal handcuffs (which we may use for other things at a later time...lol ) So when it was our turn to display our talent, we first got some volunteers... we said that we needed 3 couples to help us with our talent... and sure enough... these poor unsuspecting couples volunteered. We then explained to the audience that Sydney and I combined our talents of watching TV (me) and thinking up "devious" things (Sydney) to come up with... "COUPLES' FEAR FACTOR!" You should have seen our contestants eyes get really big... it was great. Our contestants consisted of:

Christine (Chris) and Jeremy (Jer)
age: early 20's

Robin and Jimmy
age: early 30's; and

Kevin and Karla
age: Early to Mid 40's.

But just so they knew that we weren't setting them up to look like fools... (which in reality we were... but to keep them from being mad at us...) the couple who won would receive a 2 disc romantic CD set along with a $20 gift card to Applebee's so they could enjoy a romantic evening together. Once they heard this... the competition was on. The first stunt consisted of one of the two dunking their head into a bowl of water and sucking up gummi worms with their mouths and then running over to the blender to spit them in... then they had to suck up milk chocolate whoppers (malted milk balls) into their mouths and then spit them into the blender... finally, they had to run back to the table take big swigs of Sprite into their mouths and spit that into the blender and keep doing this until they had emptied the glass... they then had to blend up the contents and their spouse had to guzzle it down. The first couple to attempt this stunt was Chris and Jer and wouldn't you know it... Jer started gagging and spitting the drink back into his cup... It was so funny... Sydney felt bad... my response was: "That is flippin hilarious... who gags on gummi worms, whoppers and sprite? ... Besides that, how can you have 'Fear Factor' without some one gaging and spewing all over the place?!?" Tell me readers, am I not right? :) Anyway the other two couples made it through without a hitch. (Although, we did have a hard time not laughing as Jer ended up over the toilet in the bathroom with dry heaves...) LOL . Too Funny. We didn't stop the show for him though because, after all, this was a cut-throat competition... a romantic dinner was on the line... ;) (For all you sympathetic readers out there... Jer was quite the competitor and came out after a few minutes with a big smile on his face... He could see the humor in it as well.) Anyway, the first round was a non-elimination round. If they completed it successfully, they got to keep their Fear Factor shirts we gave them (Yellow T-shirts that we stenciled "Fear Factor" on them in permanent ink.) However, the combination of times both on the first and second event were used to determine who would make it into the final stunt. But before we get to that... the second stunt consisted of our "contestants" searching through a container of chocolate pudding and "bugs" with their mouths to find a set of keys that would unlock three pairs of hand cuffs... meanwhile, their spouse was handcuffed to a chair across the room. Once they found the keys, they had to run over and un-cuff their spouse from the chair and then they both had to search the rooms to find two fear factor flags and then run and attach them to the front door. After completing the first two rounds, Kevin and Karla had to take "the walk of shame." So that left Chris and Jer and Robin and Jimmy. The final "stunt" consisted of the couples being duct taped back to back in a couple of kitchen chairs along with their wrists and legs being duck taped... while being pelted with nerf balls that were shot from nerf sling shots by their opponents... after getting out of the duct tape, they had to run across to a pile of balloons and pop the balloons together with their teeth until they found the flag with "Fear Factor" written on in and then run over and hand it to Sydney... Chris and Jer went first and finished with a time of 24 seconds... (We know... pretty quick for getting out of duct tape... never buy duct tape from a dollar store... pretty weak.) Robin and Jimmy went last and finished with a time of.......
27 seconds.
Chris and Jer: "Apparently Fear is not a Factor, for you!"
To top the whole event off... Sydney and I won a prize for the most creative talent... which is pretty cool. Ultimately, it was a big hit for a couples' marriage retreat. And Sydney, You are the best when it comes to ideas... ;)

In short, fun was had by all this weekend... we learned alot from our speakers... we were challenged in areas of our marriage and family life... we ate alot of food... had some fun times individually as couples... ordered in Famous Dave's Barbeque for one of our meals... ultimately, we just enjoyed the weekend.

It always seems like the retreat goes too quickly... but what a great time...

Stumbling onto our blog...

Someone found our site by google-ing "Mankato Prom Queen"... It's funny how some people stumble on "M in M". A few days ago it was "Overhaulin Tax refunds..." and another day it was "Married Sex Minnesota." Yeah. Now that's what I am talking about... Married Sex. lol.
Sydney? ;)

Ben

The Pressure!

Today is Friday for me; Sydney and I are headed "up north." We are going to our marriage retreat this weekend... should be alot of fun. This is our 8th year of getting together with friends and focusing on our marriage. When I tell some people that we are going on a "Marriage retreat", inevitably someone always asks: "What's wrong with your marriage?" Nothing is wrong with our marriage... It is actually pretty great. (Although it seems like every year I am challenged about how I can make more of an effort in certain areas... which I would argue is not a bad thing.) But I believe that our marriage has remained strong partly because we get to focus on issues before they are ignored and we get too far apart. Focusing on your marriage once a year tends to keep you centered and helps you to focus on what you can do to improve your relationship. At least it has for us. We actually rent cabins up at Breezy Point Resort and we hire our own speakers to come in and teach us something... normaly, it has a Christain message/focus as Sydney and I think that it is important to have Christ as the foundation of our marriage... (not that I am arguing that all Christian marriages are great or that marriages that are not founded on Christ are not healthy... look at Ed and Sue...) But for Sydney and I, we feel it is important. Anyway, should be a nice romantic weekend. We have about 15 couples that we hang out with throughout the year and we all chip in about $75 dollars for the weekend and each plan a meal and bring snacks... it is always a great time. Last year we had our first annual talent show... Sydney and I still need to figure out a talent for this year... Our talent last year consited of blowing pieces of popcorn into each other's mouths from halfway across the room... needless to say, we got a standing ovation. Now we have pressure to top last year's performance... not sure what we are going to do... The Pressure! Any Ideas?

Anyway, Bug Bug seems to be doing alright... she is no longer throwing up with the stomach flu and Jake and Micker Mackers seem fine... (they haven't gotten sick at least... however being the optimistic person that I am, I am sure that one of them will get sick when we are walking out the door as we leave them at Grandpa and Grandma's place.) Bug Bug is still a little lethargic... so Sydney is taking her in for a checkup this morning just to make sure that the influenza A virus that she had did not turn into a secondary infection such as an ear infection or that it moved to her lungs. We want to make sure she has a clean bill of health before we leave her at Grandpa and Grandma's place because they are really funny that way... not that I am arguing that their love is conditional... but they would rather not have their sick Grand Kids "spewing germs" all over the place getting them sick. (Okay maybe their love is slightly conditional.) lol. Anyway, we will see what happens... looks like there is a snow storm coming through as well... So, we may be leaving tomorrow morning rather than tonight...

Have a good weekend all!

Ben

Forecast For Tomorrow...

Am I ever tired this morning. Don't even know why... didn't stay up late to watch TV... no late night sex... nothing. Just woke up this morning and my feet were dragging. Woke up a little late... Jumped in the shower and the shower head is not working right... it hasn't been for the last few days... not sure what the deal is, but I need to take it apart so I get more than a "trickle" coming out of that thing... must be the well water that is plugging it up... Anyway, Sydney helped Jake get ready for school today and then he went out to play with Buddy for a bit. By the time I got out there and we got to the end of the drive way in the car, he was complaining that his hands were cold because Mom didn't put his warm mittens on. So I left him in the car and ran up to the house to find his mittens... as I ran up to the house I stumbled over/kicked Buddy as he thought I was back to play... so he went off yelping and then after asking (hollering at) Sydney where Jake's mittens were... I scoured the van for his mittens. FINALLY found them and then, ran back out to the car at the end of the driveway. So I get that squared away and Jake gets on the bus... then I get all the way down the road and I forget the $300.00 I was going to drop into the bank, so I turn around.... Just a morning of mass chaos. But I made it to work... 10 minutes early even.

Anyway, our washer and dryer are both on the blink... so Sydney hasn't been able to do clothes for the last few days and I am out of T-shirts and underwear... (don't worry... wearing the last clean pair of both.) So last night I went out and bought Sydney a new washer and dryer... While I went a little bit overboard, I figured the following:

1. Sydney would appreciate it.

2. I was raised that you get what you pay for... Case in point: the $350.00 Maytag we bought 2 years ago has already brokendown twice... no longer on warranty and the part costs $300.00. (Don't even get me started on this issue.)

3. Normally when it comes to my stuff, I buy the best... why shouldn't I do the same for Sydney?

4. With these bad boys, Sydney shouldn't have to waste as much time doing laundry, because the tub won't fit enough or she has to run the dryer twice to dry the clothes because it is not drying right.... and the list goes on....

5. But for the most part, I bought the "Grand Daddies" of all washing machines and dryers because I love my wife and Sydney deserves the best.

Anyway, the washer and dryer will be delivered and set up at three o'clock today. Forecast for tomorrow: Clean underwear. (Whew, just in time...)

Ben

A Conversation With Jake.

So anyone who lives in the country understands the process of burning garbage and that you can't burn everything... so you have to start planning how you get rid of your unburnable garbage. One thing that you start is a "slop container" that contains anything from uneaten food to eggshells to banana peels... you name it. (Once Buddy gets older our "slop" will be less, but right now we generate about an icecream bucket of slop per week.) If you're thinking right now: "nasty..." my response is: without question, but stick with me on this one...
Now that Jake is 6, we have assigned him a few chores like taking the pop cans down stairs to be crushed, cleaning his room and taking the slop container outside to dump.... (we walk to the other side of our property and dump it so the "varmints" stay on the outskirts of our property.) Anyway, here is a conversation I had with Jakers this morning on the phone:

Jake: Hi dad! Guess What?
Dad: I don't know bud, what?
Jake: I accidently barfed yesterday...
Dad: What? How did you accidently barf yesterday?
Jake: I was outside.
Dad: What where you doing outside that caused you to accidently barf?
Jake: I was emptying the slop container.
Dad: Really.
Jake: Yeah, I was like... Please don't barf, please don't barf. But then I looked at the pizza and the meat and... I barfed.
Dad: That's not good.
Jake: No. (As he laughed under his breath.) Here's mom.

He's all boy. lol.

Ben

I almost forgot... We got a new Puppy on Thursday afternoon... This is what "Buddy" looks like... he is a good dog and Jake and Mack are loving him. Seems to be a pretty mellow dog... but I am sure time will tell. Anyway, welcome to the family Buddy!

Update: picture can be found on our photo page.

Monday already.

So, the weekend came and went. Blinked and it was gone. Started out by working on a case study for Graduate School until 11 pm on Friday night. You know it is going to be a bad weekend when you spend your friday night working on homework. Then I came in on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. We worked until about 10 a.m. finishing up the project from the night before. Then I spent until 5 p.m. starting my case study for the other class that I have. Sunday consisted of going to Church, coming home resting for about an hour and then coming in for work to help with a program for the students I work with. Then at 5 p.m. our group met to finish up the case study I started on the day before. We were done by about 9:30. Two group presentations in the same week. I present tonight and then Wednesday night. But I get a couple of projects out of the way so I can't complain. (Well, I can, but I wont.) Anyway, that was my weekend. Don't you want to be me?

I forgot to mention that Bug Bug got the stomach flu and was throwing up throughout the night... While Sydney covered most of the shifts, I was up from 4:05 until 5:04 rocking her. Anyway, we have our marriage retreat this weekend so we are hoping that Jakers and Micker Mackers either don't get sick or get sick right away. It's the one weekend that we look forward to every year with a group of our friends... it's going to bite if we can't go.

Ben

The Oscars.... wait. no. I mean the Wally's

Hey! Look at that... I won a Wally! Ever heard of a Wally? Me niether... but I am sure it means that I am cool... I am sure of it. After a little clarification from the judges committee... the Wally (Friday, March 4th post) was given to the right Ben! lol. Thanks Lee!

Ben

Quick question:

Does anybody else get belly button lint out there or am I the only one?

(Just to reassure everyone... those are snowflakes floating around the page and NOT little pieces of belly button lint.)


Ben

So I'm a regular guy...

So I'm a regular guy... no really, I mean I am a "regular" guy. Every day at about 8:30 am I have to go have my "Man Time..." (read his whole entry when you get a chance... very funny.) So I normally go to the bathroom across the hall in my building... but because our custodian decided to clean the bathroom today during my "regularly" scheduled break, I had to take the flight of stairs up to the men's room directly above my normal break room. So I sit down on the john and on the side of the stall, scratched with a key, was "Fat Shit." I thought to myself... wonder if he meant "Phat Shit". (Funny how bathroom stall graffiti will get you thinking.) Then I noticed the swastikas... then it hit me... OH... you mean EAT shit. It figures that a swastika scratching loser can't spell.

Ben

Man to Man...

Jake's going to the dentist today... so of course I had to have a Man to Man talk with him in the car at the end of the driveway as we waited for the bus to come. Jake is in Kindergarten and so on the days he goes to school (because it is freezing up here)... we get to have some father son time talking about life... goofing around... doing the things that fathers and sons do. So anyway, to preface this story, this last summer Jake was jumping on the trampoline and he landed on his face and knocked a tooth out... scratch that... snapped a tooth off... of course I saw the whole thing and I was like... "Shake it off... you're okay... everybody knocks a tooth out when they are a kid... You're NOT dying... quit crying..." (Typical "be tough" father son moment... forget the compassion or that he is six years old... I know... I'm a great dad, but I am trying.) After further examination a few days later, he still has a little stump remaining in his mouth. So we called the dentist to see if we should be concerned and he said that the tooth coming in behind it would probably push the remaining portion out; No Dice. Now, due to our delay at getting him into the dentist, his front tooth is coming in at a 90 degree angle... (okay, not 90 degrees... but 45 degrees for sure.) Bites... *slight chuckle* Hopefully, he isn't scarred for life by being labeled "snaggle-tooth" when he hits the third grade... but only time will tell.

ANYWAY, back to my story... I decided to prepare himself for the visit today and encourage him to "be tough" when the dentist gives him Novocain to reduce the pain. My "little man" had a few tears run down his face as he assured his dad that he would be tough.

He is tougher than I am... he can show his emotions.

Ben

UPDATE:

Jake went to the dentist and he got his tooth pulled. The shot of novocain hurt so bad that he chose to have his tooth pulled without novocain... WHAT?!? Who does that?!? Besides that... as a dentist, why would you let a six year old make that decision. But he lived with his decision and get this: He thanked the dentist for pulling his tooth on the way out the door. Now that's flippin tough. Aaaahh... enough to make a dad proud. Also, it wasn't a tooth that snapped off; it was a 3rd tooth growing in. Must have been that recessive gene coming from Sydney's side of the family. Right Sydney? ;)

Now for the comforter...

Today we bought a new comforter for the bed we just recently purchased... (we purchased the high dresser and piedmont mirror as well.) Can't wait to try it out... lol. Bed works just fine... Right Syd? ;)

Just another failed service announcement cartoon commercial...

Do you remember watching Saturday morning cartoons and there would be commercials... well, not really commercials but for lack of a better term...service announcement cartoon commercials pertaining to health? Do you remember the one singing about not drowning your food? There were all these vegetables being drowned by salad dressing and there was this little guy rescuing them with a little life preserver and then giving the potato or carrot a towel to wipe all the salad dressing off... as they finish singing "don't drown your food." Hmmm... well, I was eating my round abouts with my hamburger and I was dunking them in ranch dressing... and suddenly: flashback. Needless to say, I dunked it twice just for good measure. Just another failed service anouncement cartoon commercial... did they think that would really work anyway? While I am on the subject.... do you remember the yellow guy that looked like an egg walking on stilts with an umbrella talking about making popsicles in an ice tray with tooth picks in it? What was that guy about?

(Sydney, I know you won't remember any of these 'cause you lived in that vacuum/bubble) ;)

Ben

Vote Us Off... We don't Care.

So Sydney and I are reality TV fans... Maybe me more so then her... but we watch American Idol, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, American Chopper, American Casino, The Apprentice, Overhaulin'... pretty much any show that has real people in it... not that we don't like other shows... for example I have mentioned that our favorite show is Alias... great plot. It amazes me that a TV show can have the plot of a movie. By far the best show we have seen. But we also watch CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, According to Jim (one of my personal favorites.) and a few others that I can't think of right now... but the point is, the reality shows out weigh the other shows. I got to thinking about this and I think that is why I like to blog and read others blogs... it is kind of like following a reality tv show... except it is interactive.... and you get to watch them daily. Really; there are a lot of similarities. Ultimately, people who blog are all just a bunch of reality tv stars... hoping that people like what they write so they aren't "voted off..." Not that anyone can actually vote you off, but you understand my point. Some may say that, "they could care less what people think..." and it might be true when they start thier blog; however, as they begin to have regulars stopping by, one can argue that you tend to post according to what you feel will get the most reaction... you voluntary cater to their tastes to keep them coming back (not all the time, but every now and then, everyone does it). Because deep down inside all of us is a certain amount of desire to be accepted... even by strangers. (It may vary depending on your personality... but it is there to some extent in each of us. ) Would you agree? Interesting thought... Although in our case... we could care less what you think... leave if you want.... Vote us off.... We don't care. lol. ;)

Ben