
"As far as I'm concerned, a dip in the pool counts as my shower for the day."




How can this be true? I'm scared just looking at the picture. You can read the rest of the story here.



On the way to work the other day I heard the song "I'm So Excited" by the Pointer Sisters. In an instant I was transported back to the summer of 1984. It was the summer of the Olympics and Mary Lou Retton would make history becoming the first American woman ever to win a gold medal in gymnastics. With her perfect 10's she captured the imagination of Americans everywhere... but more importantly she stole my heart.

I don't know when it happened or how it happened... but I am now a "nose-breather". That's right, I like to breathe through my nose. I swore that I would never be one of those people. You know, the kind that stand right next to you, taking big sweeping breaths through their honker; the air whistling as it goes in an out.

I had the weirdest experience happen to me yesterday. On my way to the DMV to renew my tags, a red car pulled up beside me with two male teenagers in it. I looked to my left and the kid on the passenger side is mouthing the words, "F_ _ K You." Again and again, "F_ _K You." I thought, did I cut this guy off or something? But I didn't think so. In fact, he wasn't ever in my lane. So I mouthed the words back "why?" And with a smile he flipped me off.
I saw the following story on "Inside Edition" about a Rare Medical Disorder.
This was the response of my 5 year old son, Austin after watching "The Year Without A Santa Claus." We borrowed it from the library today. I asked him what the movie was about and he said it was about Santa taking the year off because people lost their Christmas spirit. I asked him what that meant and he said they stopped believing in Santa. Then with a shaking of his head he said, "That's sick."
How can it be that in the history of the United States we have never had a black President...
Ignoring my admonishments, he got his finger stuck in the handle of a frying pan! So I did what any caring compassionate father would do... I took pictures of it. Enjoy!
I just finished reading a book called "Yes Man" by Danny Wallace. It is a hilarious true story of the time the author decided to say "yes" to every favor, request, suggestion, and invitation for 6 months. You can imagine what kinds of adventures this gets Danny into.I love this book because it has so much inspiration in it. Inspiration to say "yes" more so you won't miss out on life's opportunities. It also holds the cautionary tale of saying "yes" to everything, because saying "yes" to something often means saying "no" to something else. Boy, if I was a preacher I could preach this.
One of the gifts that I have really enjoyed receiving this Christmas is a cookbook called "A Man, A Can, A Plan." It's produced by Men's Health Magazine. The premise is... simply made meals from ingredients primarily consisting of canned foods, and all reasonably healthy, too.
Sometime early in my marriage my wife and I were given two aprons, one red and one blue. For 10 years they have sat in a cupboard above our stove. Well, this year after getting tired of getting wet when I wash the dishes or grease on my clothes when cooking bacon, I finally broke out one of the aprons and have never turned back. I love these things! They are ingenious. I feel like I'm wearing a coat of armor that protects me from all kitchen invaders. So with pride and glory I will shout it from the mountain tops, "I'm a man, and I wear an apron!!!"Now that's one to grow on."Another way of classifying newborns involves whether they are preterm or small for date. Preterm infants are those born three weeks or more before the pregnancy has reached its full term-in other words, 35 or fewer weeks after conception. A short gestation period does not necessarily harm an infant. The neurological development of the preterm baby continues after birth on approximately the same timetable as if the infant were still in the womb."
I was in a public restroom the other day and was using a urinal much like the one in this picture. I was using the one on the right and after I was in mid-stream someone came in and started using the one in the middle. What happened next could only be described as incredibly awkward.
A lucid and fascinating treatment of the modern obsession with work and self-improvement, this book will strike a chord with its diagnosis of the self-help trap and with its suggestions for how we can address the alienating conditions of modern work and family life.
I have never heard this before. To me it's a pretty radical statement that goes against everything I've ever been taught. That's why school is so much fun, though. I love it when universally accepted ideas are challenged causing you to really think about what you believe and why. I'm still thinking on this one.

P.S. I used to hate this kid.

#4 They are still sooo darn cute!!!
I hate going to get my haircut. Every time I go I get a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. It says I may be leaving this place looking like a complete idiot. I don't understand why it's so hard to get a good haircut today. I've tried Great Clips and they screwed up my hair. I've tried Sports Clips (the place with T.V.'s everywhere playing sports and stylists dressed as referees) and they jacked up my hair.
"I don't care if I get my haircut in a pink room with the stereo blasting Barry Manilow's greatest hits, I just want to look better going out then when I came in."
So today I tried Fantastic Sams. I knew I was in for some problems when I saw three hairstylists, two dressed very hip and trendy, and one that looked like the spokesmodel for Wicca and Fairy Digest. Guess which stylist I got? Yeah, the warlock Goddess with a tattoo on her lower back that spanned the width of her love handles. Now I'm not saying any of this makes her a bad stylist. I just wasn't sure if she was going to be the one to give me the haircut I desired.

Unfortunately I was getting this haircut because I'm starting a new job on Monday and I wanted to look fresh, clean and ready for business casual. I called my friend Jeremy to tell him my dilemma and he laughed at me for going to Fantastic Sams. "Their known for screwing up people's hair," was his quote. Then he told me that he goes to this place called the Hair Saloon. He said it was professional and he loved it. You pay a little more, $20. But most importantly you leave looking GOOD, and not like you're auditioning for Dumb and Dumber.
"So to the Hair Saloon I went, hoping against hope they could fix my hair. Here is that experience."
When, I entered they offered me a free bottled beverage; Pepsi, Coke, they even had O'Doul's non-alcoholic beer. I tried an O'Doul's. My stylist, Bobbie, was confident she could fix my hair. She handled the clippers with style and grace. It was beautiful. I never ONCE had an uneasy feeling in my stomach. She was a pro. When she was done, she made sure I liked it. Then she added just the right amount of product, and styled it perfectly. Then, get this, she offered me a hot towel for my face. It felt wonderful. And it had a light smell of spearmint. I was then given a coupon for a complimentary scalp massage for my next visit. If Fantastic Sams was Hell, this place was Heaven. I will definitely be back. Thanks Hair Saloon for saving my hair! 



Well, my wife was on Picasa and looking for the pictures we had uploaded from last month. There were a couple of pictures she especially wanted to find and see how they turned out. She found one of them and noticed that it was a great picture except for the red eyes on our youngest son. So she started to go to the edit function to remove the red eyes when my four year son says...
SON- "No mom let me do it!" (in an almost bossy tone)
ME- "What are you talking about?"
SON- "Here give me the mouse."
WIFE "How would he know how to do that?" (my wife and I looking at each other eerily)
ME- "I have no idea. I didn't teach him."
He then proceeds to go directly to where the redeye remove function is. Selects it. Then uses the mouse to outline the eyes (not an easy task, mind you, for a small four year olds shaky hands). Clicks "apply" and it's done. (cue theme song from the Twilight zOne)
O.K. So here is what I'm thinking. Either (a) my son is an idiot savant (b) he's taking computer night classes at the local community college when the rest of the family is sleeping or (c) he's the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates (Please Lord let it be choice C!)