Put on my blue suede shoes... and I boarded a plane...

Touch down in the land of the delta blue... in the middle of the poorin' rain...

I love this song. I have never walked in Memphis...

But it is funny how a song will bring back a flood of memories...

Everytime I hear this song, I am suddenly transported back to the summer after my senior year in high school.

18 years old...
Experiencing my first adventure...
Living with friends in a small central Minnesota tourist town...
Delivering pizza's in my boss's white geo or my friend's parents' red chrystler station wagon... Pizzas in the back warmer...
Heading to some unknown destination to deliver pizza...
Hoping for big tips...
Song comes on the radio....
It's a summer night...
Sun is setting...
Dating my first love...
Thinking that she could be "the one."

She wasn't.

Which is COMPLETELY fine...

Sydney is perfect for me.

Amazing what a song will do. I don't even really get the song... but I like it none-the-less.

Happy Anzac Day!

What is ANZAC Day?

ANZAC Day - 25 April - is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.

Why is this day so special to Australians?

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only fourteen years. The new national government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the allied navies. The plan was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
Though the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking Turkey out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand troops' actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity of both nations. This shaped the ways they viewed both their past and their future.

I am not Australian or New Zealand... but it was on my Dilbert Calendar... so...

Have a good Anzac Day.

Wheeeee....

That's right, we purchased one and it is a lot of fun...

Wii's are hard to come by... When we were up at Sydney's brother's place for their kids' birthday party on Easter weekend, I was exposed to this brilliant machine. Jay purchased one and I had a Fantastic time playing his Nintendo Wii. I had told Sydney several weeks before that I had no interest in the Nintendo Wii and that it didn't even sound fun...

BUT!

...that was before I played the game.

Good times...

So after experiencing such bliss... I thought to myself, "I should by a Nintendo Wii!" The next week, I went to purchase one and guess what? Sold out. Everywhere. I was oblivious to this cultural phenomenon that was occuring whereby you couldn't go out an purchase something you wanted. The first store I stopped by... I looked around and couldn't find the Wii and so this guy came up and asked... "Can I help you?" I said, "Yes, I am looking to purchase a Nintendo Wii."

Sales guy: "Are you serious?"

Me: "Yes."

Sales guy: "You do know that you can't find one anywhere don't you?"

Me: "Um... no. "

Sales guy: "We get a shipment in every Tuesday... but get here early because they are gone as soon as we get them."

Me: "Thanks."

I then proceeded to check Kmart and Walmart and other electronic stores... Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Something happens to the mind when you want something and you can't get it... kind of like dangling that unattainable carrot out in front of you... try as you might... your efforts are futile.

That is until I went to Cananada.

I walk up to a counter and there is a Wii for sale... and I say, "Cool. A Wii. I'll buy it."

Cashier: "Sorry. That one is reserved. We are all sold out."

"BUT!

...we have a store about 10 minutes away that just got 7 in and they have 5 left... do you want me to call them and reserve one for you?" (At that moment... I think I recall hearing music coming from the heavenly realms.)

*Trying to contain my giddiness* I nonchalantly responded: "Sure. If it's not too much trouble."

So, after much effort I got my Wii. Jake was pumped and MacKenzie is FINALLY good at a video game. AND... most importantly... Sydney likes playing it too.

End of my Wii story.

Commence Wii-ing.

Land of Canucks.

That's where I was... and just so you know... canucks is not a derogatory name because the canadians have a hockey team called the Vancouver Canucks.

Glad I am back home though... I did purchase a Wii up in Cananada... So the trip wasn't fruitless. Although I will say that I am sick of hearing about Hockey and how great they are compared to the US... and how their women's junior national hockey team just kicked our butts. We have a women's junior national hockey team? And they played Cananada?

Okay.

And you say you beat us? Hm.

Good job I guess. *shrug*

Did I tell you that I am glad to be back?

Benji's Girl... It could have been a popular 80's song.

"Jesse is a friend...
You know he has been a good friend of mine...
But lately somethin’s changed, it ain’t hard to define...
Jesse’s got himself a girl and I want to make her mine. "

I don’t know why I like this song so much... I have no friend named Jesse; so if he has himself a girl, I wouldn’t know it... and if I did know Jesse, I wouldn’t want his girl because I have my own. In all likelyhood, Jesse would forget all about his girl and he would want my girl. The fact of the matter is, Jesse would be singing:

"And she's watching him with those eyes
And she's lovin' him with that body, I just know it
Yeah and he's holding her in his arms late, late at night

You know, I wish that I had Benji’s girl,
I wish that I had Benji’s girl
Where can I find a woman like that

I play along with the charade,
there doesn't seem to be a reason to change
You know, I feel so dirty when they start talking cute
I wanna tell her that I love her, but the point is probably mute

Cause she's watching him with those eyes
And she's lovin' him with that body, I just know it
And he's holding her in his arms late, late at night

You know, I wish that I had Benji’s girl,
I wish that I had Benji’s girl
Where can I find a woman like that

Like Benji’s girl, I wish that I had Benji’s girl
Where can I find a woman, where can I find a woman like that

And I'm lookin' in the mirror all the time,
wondering what she don't see in me
I've been funny, I've been cool with the lines
Ain't that the way love supposed to be

Tell me, where can I find a woman like that
You know, I wish that I had Benji’s girl, I wish that I had Benji’s girl
I want Benji’s girl, where can I find a woman like that,
like Benji’s girl, I wish that I had Benji’s girl,
I want, I want Benji’s girl "

Cause really, who WOULDN’T want Benji’s girl? Yes internet... Sydney is that beautiful. Without question, Jesse would most definitely want Sydney. And his girl would be all mad because she heard him singing about Sydney. I can't believe that Jesse would treat her like that... idiot.

Anyway... that was just the thought that passed through my mind as I was listening to that song. Crazy, I know.

Still like the song though.

Little things in life...

I will say that life would not be the same without Bug... (or any of my kids for that matter, but today I am focusing on Bug.) I had to run some paystub information down to Sydney as she was waiting in the van. As I approach the window, from the depths of the van comes a: "Hey Day-ad!" Bug has this southern drawl for some reason... not sure where she gets it and if she didn't look so much like her mother... we would begin to wonder if she was ours. Ha! The thought just crossed my mind that... maybe I need to start wondering if she is mine. (The Schwan's Delivery man has a southern drawl come to think of it.)

Anyway... life just would not be the same with out Leah... she is a bright spot to a cloudy day... unless she is a crabapple. Then look out. But today... she's got nothing but love for her "Day-ad."

I am a blessed man. Hot wife and cute kids. Still don't know how I won that lottery.

I'll take it though.

Bleeding from the nipples is never a good thing...

This weekend, I learned something new. Nipples can bleed.

I don't know why this thought has never crossed my mind before... (maybe it's because my nipples have never bled before.) ...but boy is it ever apparent right now. I feel like a mother whose nipples have been gnawed and sucked on by a set of quadruplets... to get that last drop. (At least in my mind, this is what it MUST feel like.)

Anyway, yesterday I discovered that marathon runners have different ailments that they suffer from... one of which is chaffing of the nipples against your shirt. You don't even feel it until, suddenly, they are bleeding. After I got done running 15 miles with a friend who is training with me... He said, "Are you bleeding?" I looked down and my shirt was red where my right nipple is located. My immediate response was, "Hm. I guess I am... wonder why that is?" My friend Mark informed me that during the marathon, there are runners that come in that have red streaks of blood all the way down their shirts... So he told me about something that will help that called body glide... so I guess I will check into that.

In the mean time... my nipples sting like they have never stung before.

For whatever reason, Sydney did not offer me an ounce of sympathy... She just said, "You haven't experienced anything in terms of pain until your children have sucked on you until your nipples bleed and then you get a plugged milk duct."

I will leave you with that mental picture for chew on...

Whatever the case... my nipples hurt.