Category: Uncategorized

Broadcasting Live from the Library

I love the local library. Just recently I have checked out numerous books on tape to listen to on my drive into work. I have also checked out physical books to read as well.

Just like a stroll through the local book store, I love walking up and down the aisles looking for various titles and authors. Many times, if I don’t want to purchase a book, I will take a picture of it at the book store and then request it from the library.

Many people use the library for computer use, to make copies, or just to relax and read. There are also many other things that happen there, too. Monday, I took the kids to a “story time” session.

Ella loved being able to see other kids around her age and made new friends. Getting her to sit still while the stories are being read is a bit of a challenge though. She loved when they got up and danced along with songs, played with scarves, and played with the small parachute. She really had a blast, even though it doesn’t look like it in this picture.

Story time on my day off happens at a library near Sam’s mom and dad. So I packed up the kids and drove over that way with the kids. There was something that I was really surprised to see, smack dab in the middle of the library – a podcasting booth.

Many people have said that I should do a podcast since I have retired from radio. I have said that I really don’t have the equipment or a place to do it quietly. I suppose with the right portable equipment and the use of this cool booth, a podcast would actually be fun to do.

As surprised as I was to see this in the library, it makes sense. As I mentioned, many folks go to the library to do use computers and such. What a fantastic idea for the local library to offer a space for folks to do podcasts in a world were there are more and more podcasts being created and broadcast.

My brother has worked in a library for over 20 years. I’ve never asked if they have one of these, but he works in a major city and their library has many branches, so I suppose they do. What a great idea.

Anyone who says the world doesn’t needs a library really has no idea just how vital they are.

This Little Piggy Likes to Rock and Roll

When Sam and I started dating, my wardrobe consisted of many “band” shirts. I had shirts from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, and many more. At one point she started wearing my shirts, so I made sure to get her a couple for her birthday. Band shirts has been an inside joke since almost the beginning of our relationship.

Last week, we went to the store to get some clothes for the kids. Ella and Andrew are outgrowing things SO fast. Sam has always been the one who buys clothes and outfits for the kids. She coordinates everything for family photos and more. However, as I was walking through the store, I found the coolest little outfit for Andrew. I held it up and said, “Come on! We have to buy this. It’s his first “band shirt!”

How cool is that?! A band shirt with matching pants!! He pulls it off pretty good.

***

Today, Sam asked me to run up to the store to grab a few things for dinner. Ella went with me. The list consisted of: chicken, potatoes, mac and cheese, and milk. I figured we’d be in and out pretty quickly. I am learning that this is not always the case with Ella.

As we walked through the small, she kept spying things that she wanted. I told her that we were going to do a big shopping trip tomorrow, so we could add the request to mommy’s list. With food items like cookies and fruit, it was no big deal. She was ok with that. Then she saw something at the end of one of the aisles.

There was a big basket of children’s hat/scarf combos that looked like animals. There were wolves, monkeys, bears, and more. She spotted a pig hat and said she wanted to put it on. I began to tell her no, and she looked me in the eyes with the “Oh, please, father. It would make me so very happy if you would purchase this hat that I really don’t need. You are the most wonderful man in the world and I know you wouldn’t want to break your daughter’s heart” look.

I said we couldn’t get it and the tears started. I had to avoid the 2 year old melt down as we hadn’t even gotten half of what we came in for. I let her wear the hat, thinking that I’d be able to get it off her and stash it on a shelf somewhere and she’d forget all about it. Nope. She wore it the rest of the time we were in the store and in the car all the way home.

I am adapting the nursery rhyme ….

This SPOILED little piggy went to market …

On the way out, some woman said, “I like your hat” to her. She responded, “I know! It’s just perfect!”

Not Feeling It

I don’t feel like blogging here today.

Even though I know I really should.

I certainly have a lot of things to say,

It’s just that there’s more bad than there is good.

___

I don’t feel like blogging here today.

There are lots of things that really got me down.

I’m trying to keep my feelings at bay.

Instead of smiles I’m wearing a frown.

___

I don’t feel like blogging here today.

Even though it’s best to get it out.

You’ve already made your mind up, no matter what I say.

Judgment is passed on me without a doubt.

___

I don’t feel like blogging here today.

I’m questioning just what I need to do.

Stare it in the face, or turn and walk away?

Some people believe that gossip is always true.

___

I don’t feel like blogging here today.

The headache comes the moment I get dressed..

I found it best to have nothing to say.

Then that way, I’m not so stressed.

___

I guess I felt like blogging here today.

The words I wrote are all over the place.

I’ll make it through, I’ve got to find a way.

I’m working hard to put a smile back on my face.

Stress Relief

I would not consider myself a “gamer.” I know plenty of them. They have special headphones with microphones so they can talk to other people in the game that they are playing. Sam’s brothers are often playing games and we can hear the other players talking to them often. My older sons also play a lot of games, and connect with players on them as well.

When I sit down in front of the Xbox One, I usually grab the golf game that I play. I can play a round of golf in like 20 minutes. I usually play a round after the kids are asleep. Sometimes, I will play two rounds. I have yet to be on a real course this year, and this in a way makes me feel like I am golfing.

I rarely get more than 20-45 minutes before I am ready to head to bed. This week, however, the stress of things mentioned in previous blogs had me to the point where I was not tired enough to go to sleep. The golf game was not going to be something that eased the stress, so I looked through the games the boys have at my house. I found one that would certainly allow me to release some stress.

Forza Horizon 5 is a racing game. My sons have 3, 4 and 5 at my house. In the game, you can challenge other drivers to head to head races, you can participate in racing events, find old cars in barns located throughout the country (FH5 takes place in Mexico), and test your driving skills in various road conditions.

What I love about it is that you can crash up your car in hundreds of ways and it still runs! You can side swipe cars, hit them head on, flip your car, fall of bridges, and more – and the car will always go when you accelerate. Even better, no matter how many accidents you have, your insurance doesn’t go up (rimshot)!

Throughout the game you can win new cars, find old cars and fix them up, people can gift you new cars, and your garage continuously grows. There are plenty of opportunities to win money with the events you race in, and by earning spins on a prize wheel. Since I started fresh, I only have a few cars. My favorite is an old Ford Bronco which is great for driving off road.

The weather can change throughout the game as well. One of the events is driving through this ridiculous huge storm. Lightning can strike trees as you drive by and more. Obviously, the cars handle differently on wet roads, too. Since this game takes place in Mexico, there are also races through sand storms!

As silly as it sounds, this dumb game is a fantastic stress reliever. It is fun to just drive around with the various cars and see how each one handles. Most of the time, I really suck at driving. I swerve and fishtail A LOT! I’ve gotten pretty good at doing 180’s and 360’s, and at times I feel like I’m one of the Duke boys driving the General Lee!

As much as it relieves stress, it also makes me laugh. Recently I watched as I accidently drove off a cliff and the car rolled and flipped downward. That car must have hit every boulder on the side of the cliff on the way down. Yet, when it hit the ground, I just kept on driving. With each flip I found myself chuckling louder and louder. It was so crazy!

Sometimes, there is a rare occasion where your car will get stuck. Ever find yourself saying, “I wish life had a rewind button?” Guess what. This game has one. You can actually rewind the action to avoid an accident or your speed. That is usually how I get out of those “stuck” moments.

There are various “skill” points you can earn throughout the game, too. They have Speed Traps, where the idea is to get to the highest speed you can between two points. My favorite thing is called “Danger Signs.” These are usually where you have a point where you jump off a ramp or a cliff. I think you get points for how high you jump and how long you are in the air. Again, it’s like the Dukes of Hazzard!

Am I a gamer? No. I just use them for stress relief…..

The only thing missing is the “Yeeeeeeeee- hawwww!”

Friday Photo Flashback

It’s another Friday Photo Flashback! Here is today’s photo:

I am unsure of the year on this photo, but I’m going to guess I am 6 and my brother is 4. We are in pajamas, so I am guessing that we are at our house, possibly in our kitchen. I guess that because of the flooring. I know we had paneling in our basement, but before they painted I thought there was paneling in the kitchen, too.

Outside of the terrible paneling, the first thing that jumps out at me is the extremely cheesy smile on my brother’s face. As a matter of fact, that’s why I chose this picture. I chuckled out loud when I saw it. The laughter was brought on partly by his grin and partly by the fact that we are dressed as cowboys in PJ’s!

I love that my brother is wearing sleeper “footie” pajamas! It seems to me that I am wearing some socks that don’t match as part of my ensemble. I’m truly a hodgepodge of whatever was available to wear it seems. I would think that my brother’s hat would match my outfit better, but it must have been too small.

I am almost 100% sure that the guns we are holding were made of metal. These would have been smaller than the ones I would play with when I was 11 or 12, but metal none the less. I have to crack up at the ridiculous looking belts with holsters. I am sure that they made of cheap plastic and probably ripped from the belt after a few times of placing the guns in them.

I don’t recall if these were a Christmas or Easter gift, but I’m sure that they were received on one of the two holidays. I wish I knew more of the story surrounding this photo.

57 Years Ago … Dean

“The Dean Martin Show” debuted on September 16, 1965. For most of its run, Dean’s variety hour was a fixture on the NBC Thursday night lineup. Martin was initially reluctant to do the show, partially because he did not want to turn down movie and nightclub performances.

His terms were deliberately unrealistic: as author Lee Hale recalled, “He presented [NBC] with a list of demands he thought it would be impossible to fill. He asked for an outrageous amount of money, of course, but there was more. He only wanted to work one day a week, and that day had to be Sunday. He didn’t want to do anything but announce the acts. He didn’t even want to sing if he didn’t feel like it… But surprisingly NBC agreed to each of his demands. ‘They should have thrown them in my face,’ Dean said later, ‘but they agreed to it all. So what the hell, I had to show up!'”

As his daughter, Deana Martin, recalled, after meeting the network and making his demands, Martin returned home and announced to his family, “They went for it. So now I have to do it.”

At first Dean had no regular supporting cast other than his accompanist, pianist Ken Lane. Guest stars were featured each week in comedy skits and songs, both alone and with Dean (who never rehearsed). Some of the young talent (including The Golddiggers and The Ding-a-Ling Sisters) also starred in Dean’s summer replacement series. The last show aired on May 24, 1974, but his “Celebrity Roasts” continued on NBC as a series of occasional specials.

57 years later, I can still watch clips of the show on YouTube and laugh like crazy! If you want to read a fantastic book about the show, find yourself a copy of “Back Stage At The Dean Martin Show” by Lee Hale. It’s a joy to read!

One Liner Wednesday

So I guess today is “One Liner Wednesday.” Many of the blogs I follow were posting quotes today. I actually posted this quote on my Facebook this week and it is a quote that sums up the week for me.

There is another quote, which I believe came from the movie Scarface: “Never beg anyone. Never trust anyone. Never expect anything from anyone.” I have heard the quote “Trust no one” before, and I guess they really are the same thing. However, this takes it a step further and fits perfectly.

It is sad that even those people who you thought you could trust, you can’t. The hard part is trying to figure out who was the “turncoat” or “traitor.” In the end, does it matter? Not really.

I’ve always been the kind of person who is open and wears my heart on my sleeve. I suppose it is a weakness to trust everyone. It’s like the quote from the Godfather: “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.” But how do you really know who the friends are and who the enemies are? I suppose you don’t – so bottom line: Trust No One.

My circle just became a whole lot smaller.

Christmas in September

To say that the past few days have been stressful is an understatement. There have been some very good moments and I tried to just take them all in. However, something was on my mind all weekend.

I’m not going to get into detail on that. I could, but I won’t. Let me just state that it is stress related to things outside of my home life. Read into that however you wish.

At any rate, after a particularly emotional and crappy Monday that was the culmination of all the things on my mind, I needed something – anything! My Monday evening walk with the kids helped. I was out in the neighborhood, counting squirrels, saying hello to our “puppy friends” and listening to AJ babble and Ella sing.

Sam knew the weekend and Monday had taken a toll on me. She never said it was her plan, but she suggested taking a trip to Bronner’s in Frankenmuth to look for our annual “ornament hunt.” Bronner’s is “The World’s Largest Christmas Store” and I have blogged about it before. You can read about that here:

“Christmastown”

We packed the family up in the car after Sam got home and we made the short drive there. It was the perfect day to go. Tuesday morning in September. Sure, there were people there, but not the normal crowd that is there. The sounds of Christmas music were playing through the outside speakers as we walked in.

(Johnny Mathis’ version of Marshmallow World was playing as I walked in. I found myself thinking that the Dean Martin version is FAR superior to this version. As a bonus, Dean’s version played before we left!)

I hadn’t thought about it but this was Andrew’s first trip to Bronner’s. He was in awe of all the lights and him and Ella were anxious to touch everything!!

Every year, we get an ornament that marks some big event that happened in the past year. We have an engagement ornament, a marriage ornament, a mother-to-be ornament, and two “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments. So what big event could we commemorate this year?

Neither one of us changed jobs. We didn’t get a new house or new car. Now that I think about it, the only big thing that happened this year was my vasectomy! I doubt they had an ornament for that, but then again, they have thousands of ornaments for just about every thing! They probably DO have something for that!!! Maybe I will call and ask …

Instead of an ornament, we got a snowman family plaque. You have probably seen what I am talking about. It has mom, dad, and snow-kids.

The one above is not the one we got, but it is similar. So we had them put our family name on it and then each of the snow kids had their name written on them. It came out really cute and we’ll either put it on the mantel or hang it on the main entry door.

Next year, Sam has said that she wants the kids to go and each pick out their own ornaments. I think that is a great idea and a good way to make it a tradition. We want them to have that experience and then every year when the holiday rolls around, they can look back on the ornaments and relive memories.

The kids were both getting a bit antsy, so as soon as the plaque was personalized, we headed out. We stopped for photo ops and walked outside. As we exited the building, there was a huge Santa Claus. Andrew saw it and began to point to it. It was a perfect (and frame worthy) photo.

It was just want I needed to get my mind off all that transpired over the past few days. A welcome distraction with those that I love.

One thing is for sure. Despite all the feelings that are churning around inside me, especially as I think about things, I think on the reasons why I keep going. The people who mean the most to me. I think of my wife and her never ending support and love. I think of my two older sons, and of course, the two little blessings who accompanied me on our trip to “Christmas in September” …

THEY are why I continue to do what I do. THEY are the reason I need to focus on getting healthy. THEY are the reason I am happy.

Lordy, Lordy, I’m Down 40!

Today, I began my 16th week on Weight Watchers. When I weighed in this morning, I was happy to see that I had hit a major milestone. This week I lost a whopping 5 pounds taking my total weight loss to 41 pounds!

I hope to eventually get past some of the stress related things thrown at me this week and celebrate. Thanks to all those who have supported me in my weight loss journey. There is still a long way to go, and I will get there.

Where Am I Going?!

Yesterday I took the kids to a birthday party for a co-worker’s daughter. She lives about 40-45 minutes from me. I punched the address into the GPS and it told me where to go.

My co-worker sent me a text saying to look for the pink and purple balloons on the mailbox on the side of the road. As we got closer, I saw a sign with “Summer’s Birthday” at the side of the road. This was not my co-worker’s daughters name, so I ignored it.

Immediately after the sign, I saw a mailbox with pink and purple balloons. I looked at the GPS and it said I still had a 1/4 mile before I’d reach her house. I kept driving. When I got to where the GPS said the house was….there were no balloons and the address was way off.

I turned around and sure enough the pink and purple balloons were her house. And the other party? It was next door. My co-worker and I laughed about the GPS and she said in some cases, when you get to the wrong destination, the GPS shows a picture of an ATM!

Ella and AJ had a blast at the party and made new friends. Sam had asked to for us to be home before she left for work so she could see them. As I walked to the car, it started to pour rain. I rushed the kids to the car and strapped them in their car seats as the rain soaked me to the bone.

Once inside, I wiped the rain off my face and punched in the home address into the GPS. As I drove, the rain was so hard I had the wipers on high. I could barely see where I was going.

I called Sam, who had texted to see how things were, and told her we’d be there before she left because of the ETA on the GPS. I hung up and tried to see the on ramp to the expressway.

I followed the GPS instructions and when I got on the expressway the GPS lost signal. Bad area, obviously. So I kept driving. When the GPS kicked back in it kept telling me it was rerouting. The ETA also changed. I figured maybe an accident was causing us to get home later.

I texted Sam and said that’s a GPS was now saying I would be home much later than it did originally and for her not to wait for us. I continued driving and the GPS continued to reroute.

Finally, about 30 minutes later I was looking at the exit signs and thought, “What road is this?!” “Where am I?!” It was then that I noticed the Interstate sign said I was going East instead of West!

I had literally driven 40-50 miles in the wrong direction! What an idiot!!!

I should have been home by 5:30, but didn’t pull in the driveway until 6:40! Every time that GPS told me to turn around, I should have listened. I was sure it was wrong…

That’s what I get for being so stubborn.