Smoking Ban...

I had this crazy idea the other day, that made absolutely no sense whatsoever, but I just had to share it with you all. Everyone is well aware of the smoking ban, and the fact that none of us smokers are allowed to smoke inside restaurants, bars, casino's, etc.
So, what if we all planned a day to meet in our respective cities at a central Village Inn location and, wait for it, wait for it...........
All lit up a cigarette, inside the restaurant, at the same time. I know we'd all end up getting kicked out of our respective Village Inn's, but it's not like the police are going to come out, and take all that time to give us all tickets. Plus, it would be a nice, happy, simple way of giving the smoking ban and all of it's supporters the finger, if only for a moment.
I know, as I stated above, it makes absolutely no sense. And, you know what ? I'm completely alright with that. Until next time, all my avid readers, I take a bow and let the invisible man with his invisible cane, drag me off the stage...

Inappropriate Behavior

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you behavior is completely inappropriate for the situation your in ? I find as I'm getting older these situations are easier and easier to get into. For example; While in our 7 year old daughters elementary school, we're walking along, and she hands me her weekly behavior report.

A completely ordinary situation, right ? Except for what followed, of course. So, I take the report and look at it, it has a huge red X in one of the square for today, and I look down to see what comment the teacher has left to explain the big red X. It reads, "The student was jumping up on desks and playing tag", and that's when this situation became a moment of inappropriate behavior.

The first thought that hits me is that my wife is going to be pissed and we're going to have to ground our daughter for like a month. I than turn to my daughter, give her a look of complete disapproval, which she sheepishly responds to with her own look of "oh crap", and looking forward one single word escapes my lips. "F*#!"" and I don't say it that simply, it comes out more like " F*#!!!!!!!!!".

Those four simple letters, that just happen to rhyme with duck, and everyone is looking at me like I just took my pants off. I look apologetically at everyone around me, look down at the little kids just waiting to burst in to tears, the parents and the staff who want to kill me on the spot, and at my daughter who's giggling under her breath. This was one of those moments of inappropriate behavior.

Now, I want to hear yours, a time when you made a complete ass out of yourself in public.

Sharing my thoughts through pictures...

Our Scrat the Cat...

June, 2003-November 12, 2008

Goodbye Scrat, we'll miss you...

Sing-A-Long

It is truly amazing how easy it is to get children's songs stuck in your head, and find yourself humming them. My wife and I, because of the fact that we have three children at home right now, are constantly watching, or listening to, cartoons and kids shows on channels like Sprout, Nick J.R., Disney, etc.

And, although at first you can't quite get your head around how corny and weird some of these shows can be, you suddenly find yourself getting into the shows right along with the kids.

There's a show called Yo Gabba Gabba and it has to be one of the strangest kids shows, outside of Spongebob Squarepants, that I've seen. But, to be completely honest, I enjoy watching it almost as much as our 1 and a half year old daughter. I'm glancing from from computer up at the show, and next thing I know, I'm singing along to the songs. I must say, once again honestly, that Yo Gabba Gabba probably has some of the best songs and music out of all the children's programming on T.V. right now.

So, to all you parents out there finding yourself in the often awkward situation of singing along with your kids shows, it's okay, there are a lot more of us than you think.

I'm thinking maybe I'll start a support group for parents addicted to kids shows but for now, just know, you're not alone...

Sex and the Violence

Why is it that almost every movie or television show you see nowadays is full of sex, violence, or both. They've got to throw in some kind of sexual reference, nude scene, blood, gore, or all of the above to get anyone to notice the movie now, that's why.
People no longer enjoy wholesome or cute, they want dirty and disgusting, it's a necessary.
Well, I guess that's just most people, because old television shows and movies still sell on e-bay and have entire television networks related to these things.
But, honestly, how many wholesome movies do you see anymore getting awards or major premieres. Almost everything whole gets released immediately to video or is rated a kids/family film. Even our rating system is way off track in this day n' age. What used to be PG now contains PG-13 material, PG-13 contains R rated stuff, and R rated stuff sometimes goes way into the realm of what used to be soft porn.
Than of course there's the whole cussing oxymoron that we've got going right now. It's okay to say Bi*!*, but if you say F**!, than you're crossing a line. It's okay to cuss up a storm, but to say cocaine(this is especially true with music on the radio), well than you're going to get a bleep or a moment of silence.
We really need to get our ratings system, content, and values back into line and buy the most expensive GPS on the market to find our morals(apparently after the hippies screwed around, and did all the mushrooms they could dig out of a pile of cow crap, it became okay to be completely immoral).

Govermental Joke

This election, out of many past elections, is probably the biggest joke I've seen yet. It's all about men and women and black or white. It's no longer, and I'm pretty sure hasn't ever been, about the war in Iraq, the economy, illegal immigration, or any of the other million and one problems America is facing right now. We, as Americans, should be appalled by this, and doing something to try and change it. But, as us Americans often do, we're ignoring the whole thing and marching on as if nothings wrong. We may have our moments of bravery but we also have quite a few moments of ignorance. And, while ignorance may be bliss, it's getting us deeper and deeper into this hole we started sinking into as soon as 9/11 happened.
Not that all of this wouldn't have happened without 9/11, but the excuse for this war was 9/11, so you can at least say that the war wouldn't have happened for that reason. Than again Bush would have used some other excuse to sucker us into sending thousands of our people over to die, make millions off of our ignorance towards oil, making even more millions from weapons manufacturers, sucking the life out of our economy and destroying any respect other countries may have had for us.
But, that's just me thinking out loud. Somebody is sure to defend Bush, our country, or both. You know, spouting words like brave, right thing to do, honor, and more blah, blah, blah. At the end of the day we all know it's all crap. None of us believe in our country anymore or respect the people who have died to defend it. If we did we'd stop the government from smacking us around and take the power of "the people" back into our hands.
That's all for now, I could ramble for hours about the lack of respect we have for our own country. But, it would all be a waste of time because we're all brainwashed into believing the government is a little screwed up but still doing their job.

Backing Up

I just realized today the importance of backing up the pictures on your computer. My computer crashed and I lost all of my, somewhere around, 2000 pictures. They were pictures that are priceless, pictures of my kids, my wife, and other various UN-re-take-able photos. I had to format my hard drive in order to get my computer running again, and as we speak, I'm running a photo recovery program. I'm crossing my fingers that it can recover those UN-replaceable photos. So, this is an important reminder from little ol' me, to backup all of your important document, pictures, and all other irreplaceable information stored on your computer. Yes, it's a huge hassle to copy all of it onto an external hard drive or CD/DVD. But, it's worth every agonizing moment, so that you can avoid the even more agonizing moments of realizing you've lost those files.

Heavenly Creatures

Why is it that people believe that when you, or someone special to you, dies that you(or they) become an angel? Where in the bible does it say anything about people becoming angels ?

I believe the correct answer to that is NOWHERE. That's right, people do not become angels, no matter how good they are. I mean come on now, even Jesus didn't become an angel.

Angels were created long before we were, and according to the bible, before God flooded the Earth(you know, Noah and the Ark), that humans and angels inter-breeded, creating giants. But, once again according to the bible, they were wiped out in the flood.

I don't know when and how we ended up with this misguided idea that any person ever becomes angel. It's not true, and has never been true.

We were created by God separately from the angels. Angels are God's messengers, servants, punishers, etc. We are just humans, we choose our path in life and, although we can serve God, we'll never be anywhere near the same "rank" as angels.

But, that's just my opinion, supported by biblical facts, but my opinion none the less. I haven't memorized the bible or ever stood before God and asked whether or not we become angels. So, I could be completely off, but according to everything I know, angels are angels and humans are humans.

DNC Lies

I live in Denver, where the DNC recently took place, and I noticed one big thing about having such a big political campaign in my hometown, politicians are really good at hiding the truth.
I know this is not exactly profound, it's something we've all had varying degree of reality on for most of our lives, politicians are liars.
But, I found myself really taken back by something our governor, Bill Ritter, did for the DNC.
For one week he sent all of the homeless people to hotels and used some of our state budget to not only house them, but to feed them.
To most this would sound like a kind gesture, but the next part of it takes all those pretty, little butterfly thoughts away.
He did it because, simply put, he didn't want the politicians and delegates to have to deal with seeing the homeless of Denver. He didn't want them bugging the delegates or putting a bad taste in their mouths.
In other words, he did it to hide the homeless, so that Denver would appear to be a nicer and cleaner city.
My wife and I watched the news, and saw not only local businesses, but the local government, "prettying up" the city for the DNC.
I'm sorry but I live here, and what the delegates and politicians saw while they were here is not the reality of Denver.
Downtown Denver is full of drug dealers, homeless, gangs, and many things that plague most large cities. We are not a glistening piece of gold, as the DNC coverage and preparations would try to make it appear.
But, it's not the business owners doing the "prettying up" that bothered me. It's the fact that you'd hide a whole group of people, the homeless, because they are a disgrace that shouldn't be seen. To me that seems low, and extremely sad. Homeless or not, they are people, not trash, not some disgusting odor that needs to be blown away.
They have just as much right to be here as any $2000 dollar suit wearing businessman.

A.D.H.D.

A.D.H.D., better known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a growing problem in the United States. Most people don't understand the implications of having this mental disorder, how it can effect your everyday life.
We have a tendency to picture someone who's had too much caffeine, whereas the truth is much scarier than that.
How about the in-ability to keep a stable job, focus on any type of schooling, panic attacks, depression, constantly being late for everything, and the list goes on and on ?
It's a terrible debilitating disorder than can effect everything from your finances to your love life. Also, it has been shown that people with A.D.H.D. are at a higher risk for suicide and a whole gamut of other mood disorders.
My wife and I both have lived with this disorder for most of our lives, and let me tell you firsthand, it can make something as simple as getting the chores around the house done into a gargantuan task.
This is a real disorder, not something to be snickered at or taken lightly, no matter how many cute little bumper stickers they make that state the opposite message.
Mental illness, in general, is something that we, as a society, take too lightly. We joke about it, laugh about it, tell people "Oh yeah, I've got that" just to make them feel sorry for us or even sometimes to "fit in". There are a lot of people across the United States that suffer from this disorder or 100 others that will not, in their lifetime, get the treatment they need. Because, while every one's busy trying to get marijuana legalized(even though it to can lead to panic disorders) and worrying whether or not the next president is going to be black or white, people with these disorder are suffering due to lack of funding(did you know that Medicaid doesn't cover mental health ?).
This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, it's an issue that has been ignored to long.

The Forgotten Generation

My wife and I see this older gentleman go by our house, at least once a week, and he stops about every 6 steps, puts his hands on his knees, and rests.

We've given him rides on various occasions to his apartment, and each time we give him a ride, it's like meeting him for the first time because he doesn't remember us.

It's people like this that really make me feel bad, the kind of people that don't have anyone in their lives, the kind of people that will more than likely die alone.

There are hundreds of people across the United States, across the world, that have in ,one way or another, ended up alone and will be alone for the rest of their lives.

So, what do you do ? You can't possibly visit with each one of them, give them a ride everyday, and, unless you've got a lot of money, you can't find a senior home that would take them without health insurance.

This is the cause I'd like to advocate this week, the cause of helping those around you that are alone in this world.

I'm not saying you have to help every last person you meet, or spend your entire day going from nursing home(or apartment) to the next.

It would just help to give that person you see walking down the street in pain and offering a ride, or if you see an elderly person trying to take out their trash or mow their lawn and offering your assistance or to do it for them.

There are a lot of people in this world that are lonely, helpless, and/or have nobody else in the world. Would it be so bad if each one of us helped these people ? Sometimes all they want is somebody to talk to, somebody to help them carry their grocery's, relatively simple things that are a big deal for them.

Like I said above, you don't have to help all of them, nor could you probably, but just take some time out of your day to help however you can.

Because even though alone we can only accomplish so much by ourselves, together we can change the world.

Wolf and Sheep

Politicians are full of crap, every single last one of them, full of crap. We like to watch the D.N.C. (Democratic National Convention) on the news channels, wear a button proclaiming our support of one party or another, and believe every last one of the lies they spout every time there is a camera around.
You know what kind of a politician I would vote for, a poor one, who's been through a lot of crap, is on an anti-depressant, and has had to use food stamps at least once in their adult life.
It'd be nice to have someone in office who isn't after our wallets, oil, and a nice retirement check.
How about someone that knows what it's like to be in the lower class, and I'm not talking when they were a kid, I'm talking as an adult.
No more lawyers(how many jokes about them do we need before we stop electing them to office), former politicians children, rich kids, or life long politicians. They don't understand what it's like to really be hurting at the gas pump, join the military just so you can have something to go to college with, or what it's like anymore to make the choices that we "normal" people make on a daily basis, just to survive.
Politicians are like hookers; they tell you what you want to hear, make you feel good about yourself for a bit, than screw you out of every last penny you've got on you.
Now I know you're saying "A person without any of that wouldn't have the experience to run the country or even a small county", well I say that's what advisers are for.
The president needs to understand the people to be for the people, not of a whole other class way above the people.
And lets face it, we haven't had a president in or run for office since the very beginning that had any idea of what the people really want. John McCain and Barrack Obama don't know what "real" life is like any more than Tom Cruise or Britney Spears. We've made politicians rich and given them power, let's start making them actually work for us. We are their employers, not their employees.

A.A.D.D.

You're probably wondering what A.A.D.D. is, well it's a new term I've come up with(I'm coining it here and now, don't even think about claiming it as your own).

It stands for American Attention Deficit Disorder, and I'm afraid that almost every last one of us suffers from this affliction.

It's that whole mental part of us Americans that can go from watching a news story about the Russians invading Georgia, than move right on to Paris Hilton wearing no underwear while attending the Emmy's.

We're cold hearted, just admit it, we're a cold hearted country for the most part. We experience tragedy, feel terrible for about 2 months, claim that we're going to change the way we live, change the way we live for about another 2 months, than, BAM, we go right back to giving each other the finger, cussing up a storm, complaining when we can't afford that new flat screen t.v., and the list goes on.

I'm not saying all Americans are like this, as there are those whom do actually change and become better people through reflection. It's just a trend that I don't think anyone can miss in our culture, we can be very cold.

It's this ability to jump from tragedy to being greedy and un-caring that is the biggest symptom of A.A.D.D.

I've watched this back and forth switch with things like 9/11 and the Columbine School Shootings, just to name some of the bigger ones. And, it's scary how quickly we can go from being caring, heartfelt, save the world people to complaining about the most shallow things in the blink of an eye.

Russian Roulette

Every one's been ignoring Russia since this whole war in Iraq started, and I guess now we're going to regret it. We should have learned from history that the Russians like to sneak in and use their military might while no one is looking. It happened in WW2, when they were on Germany's side, than Germany turned on them, so they were supposed to help stop Germany, and, next thing you know, they didn't want to give any of the territory's they'd helped free back.
Of course things haven't changed over time, Putin is a believer in the old KGB view of Russian power and might. They're not going to pull out of Georgia and just say "sorry about that", they've put too much force into taking the territory's they've taken, plus their are parts of Georgia that have expressed interest in having Russia "free them" from Georgian rule.
And, of course, America, the self styled world police, are going to stick their noses into the whole thing. It's because of those poor innocent Georgians, right ? Wrong, it's because there is a major oil line involved, that Russia could potentially gain control over.
That's all for my return post, we'll see how it plays out I guess, but I don't think things are going to go down the yellow brick road with this whole Russian power play.

Picking on Myself...

Why do we pick on ourselves so much ? It's a simple question, with many answers.
Some say it's the media that makes us feel un-easy about the way we look, act, and feel.
While there are whole groups of phychologist's, with piles of research, pointing towards bad parenting.
But, even with all of these answers, the in-ability to accept ourselves for who we are mentally, physically, and emotionally is a tough concept to grasp for the majority of us. It's that fine line between a big, nasty, overbearing ego and an overly sensitive, put yourself down every chance you get, I hate the way I am way of living.
The hard thing is knowing where to draw that line, when jobs, family, friends, and even our own minds are constantly fighting against us to be something that we're not.
Society requires us, on a regular basis, to often be the exact opposite of who we really are. The world revolves around giving people what they want, telling them what they want to hear, and being who they want you to be.
It's a struggle, a struggle between the truth and the reality that comes with truth, and the need and instinct to survive and adapt.
I personally don't have any more answers for the question of why we pick on ourselves so much, or how to fix it.
I would love to know the "cure" for this problem just as much as the next guy, but I struggle with it just as much as the next guy.

"Side Effects May Include... "

We live in a country where losing weight has actually become more of a fad, than a healthy choice. Because of our obsessive compulsive nature, we see something on t.v., read about it in a magazine, or see an article in the newspaper about a health concern, and suddenly everyone in America has that health problem. I think we've become so used to the subliminal use of commercials for things like fast food and medications, that we see anything on t.v. and automatically we've got that disease, disorder, health problem, mental disorder, etc.
We don't know how to really look at ourselves anymore without some image of somebody with a better body, whiter teeth, more money, etc, popping into our sub-conscious and effecting the way we see ourselves.
This is something that drug companies, weight loss programs, and their advertisers count on. That automatic CLICK, "You know, maybe that's what I have, I need that pill", way of thinking that we've adopted.
Those companies don't really want everyone to lose weight or get healthier, otherwise their out of business. They show you people that have never had weight loss problems, libido problems, or the health problem they are advertising for saying things like, "I've used this program and look at me" or "I took this pill and my wife is so much happier in the bedroom".
And, 99 percent of those companies are full of crap. They just want to fill their pockets and bank accounts with your hard earned money.
If you want to lose weight, for the most part, exercise and diet are the only things that are going to save you.
If you're having problems in the bedroom, their is probably an underlying problem within your body or mind, and you need to fix that problem, not start taking a pill that will help you every once and a while.
If you've got insomnia, once again their is probably an underlying physical or mental health problem that you need to attend to, not take a pill.
Pills and programs aren't going to fix everything, if you want to be healthy you have to work at it. "Miracle" pills, drugs, and cures have been around for thousands of years. The people who produce them just have a bigger media market, more research, and more funding now.
Don't be a pawn to the drug companies, weight loss program owners, and "miracle" cure makers. If you have a problem, figure out where it's stemming from and, if possible, fix that underlying problem. You're never going to get anywhere just treating the symptoms, you've got to go after the disease.
I'm not saying that if you have a legitimate reason to take medication that your should stop, I'm just saying that a lot of people are suffering from illnesses, mental disorders, and other problems that they create inside their own heads. Don't take my advice as medical advice, I'm not a doctor or a phychologist, I'm just someone that has faced some of these demons.

The Calling...

So, I found this guy on bloggeries.com who has a fundraiser going to get him through seminary school. I encourage all my reader to check it out, and if you can, to contribute.
This is an awesome use for a blog, and I believe anyone who has a calling, whether you be Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc., you should follow your calling. This is something not all of us are capable of, and I that we need more religion, especially in America. So, Christian or not, I encourage you, once again, to check this out and help put him through seminary.
Schooling is expensive, I think almost everyone knows that, so lets help each other.Because, Let's face it the government isn't going to... We have to count on each other.

HERE is the link to his blog

Is that a fig leaf in your pocket ?

I know this is probably going to make a lot of you think I have a few screws loose and a bag full of extra nuts and bolts. But, I had this thought pop into my head at random and now I must share it. Has anyone ever really thought in detail about the story of Adam and Eve, our biblical first couple? In every painting I think I’ve ever seen, you see their privates covered by a fig leaf, never for the entire world to see (even though no shame of nudity was supposed to have existed). But the point I’d like to make here is the very idea that Adam and Eve would even have genitals. They wouldn’t have needed genitals because with the fruit of everlasting life, they would live forever. No point in reproduction if there is any need to create future generations. To put it bluntly, no need for reproduction if you don’t need to make more of your species. Everyone knows that the whole point behind fornication (sex) is to reproduce. The survival of your species depends on it. And they wouldn’t have needed their genitals for pleasurable purposes, because biblically, that would be a sin. So, maybe there wasn’t anything to hide beneath those fig leaves. And continuing on with this thought; we were provided our reproductive organs once we were banished from paradise because, no more eternal life= need to produce children. And I even took this a step further. Maybe it’s just really weird of me to think. But, if you look at a woman’s genitals, it has a close resemblance to an open wound. And women do bleed for 7 days (sometimes longer). A man’s genitals look like a sword. So symbolically speaking, the woman’s genitals could be perceived as the open wound that is continually stabbed with the male genitals. Maybe it is symbolic of Adam’s long running revenge for Eve’s enticement, one that ultimately caused them to fall from Paradise.

White Trash

What is so wrong with being, what is commonly referred to as, "White Trash"?
By all standards I would be considered "white trash", because my family has a very low income, lives pay check to pay check, shops at thrift stores, and use government assistance programs to get by. That doesn't make me or my family "bad people", but for some reason we're viewed as being weak minded, un-educated, almost worth nothing, peons...
That's never made sense to me, I've lived my whole life in this situation or something close to it.
But, I'm just as smart as anybody with loads of money and I know my way around opera, well written literature, I know how to dress nicely, and I take care of my family.
Being poor doesn't make me weak minded or "trash", so why does the world view the poor in this way? I'm a firm believer in the "everyone is equal" way of thinking, and I don't understand how a society that's supposed to be clear of a hierarchy, has in a weird sort of way, created one composed of upper class, middle class, and lower class.
Any who, that's all for tonight, just wanted to throw this out there. It's something I've never really understood, it's existence only makes some people feel high and might, while others feel worthless and small.

Wow, that's really a pretty dress Bob...

How many of us get a smile on our faces picturing a "manly-man" wearing a dress ?

I would guess that millions of people would find the idea of this just plain hilarious.

So, why is it okay for a woman to wear a man's suit ? Nobody really bawks at the idea of that, or even gives it a second thought.

In general, there are quite a few things that a woman can do, that a man wouldn't get caught dead doing. It's considered alternative for a man to wear nail polish, get his eye-brows waxed, shave his legs, etc. But, it's perfectly okay for a woman to have male characteristics. In fact, it's smiled upon as women taking their place in a "man's world".

How many things can any of you think of that are "just for men" in this day n' age ? I would guess, and I'm just guessing here, that there aren't too many things you can think of.

Almost everything once associated purely with the male gender, are now considered for the most part uni-sex.

Why is it so funny to see Bob in his pretty dress, but Gina looks great in her suit ?

I myself get a smirk on my face at the idea of a man wearing a dress, but I myself, don't understand why this is such a funny idea.

My fiancee has borrowed my deodorant without a second thought, has a few ties of her own, has worn men's shoes because she found some to be more comfortable, and wouldn't think twice about wearing a suit and tie. But, if I walked out of our bedroom wearing one of her dresses, with a nice pair of high-heels on, and smelling like flowers, I don't think she's let me leave the house.

I want to, yet again, hear from all of you on this; how you feel about it, why you think it's okay for a man to wear a dress, and why it's not, etc. Anything you have to say on the subject, I want to hear your opinion on the matter.

I don't know, what do you want ?

My fiancee and I have this re-occurring problem with trying to decide what to eat. And, it's not just dinner or lunch, it's lunch, dinner, breakfast, heck even snacking in-between. We can never seem to decide what to eat.

It even comes down to the point sometimes where we end up having to ask our daughter what she wants, or having to call my mother for her suggestions. It's that bad.

We just can't seem to decide on one thing that really sounds good. Fast food, well we're burnt out on all the fast food joints. Restaurant, we've got four kids and taking a trip inside to eat can become quite a task. How about what we've got here at home? Nope we're hungry now and everything we've got takes forever to cook. So, usually we end up at the grocery store searching for stuff that's quick and easy, but sounds good.

I think it's a kind of epidemic that is faces by most Americans in this day n' age. The in-ability to make up our minds on anything, at least in a somewhat timely manner. And, it's probably because we have too many darn things to choose from.

You can get food from any country, just about anytime of the day, at just about the same prices, and that's just one choice on the list involved in what you want to eat.

Next comes the most important one, what do I want from that type of cooking choice.

Than you move on to the next step, do we both want that type of food for dinner ?

Will our daughter eat that? Is that really what we want? what about that new place on 6th? Do we have the money for that place? You know I really don't want that now that I think about it, but how about this ?

And on and on the list goes, until you're exhausted from trying to decide, your stomach hurts because it just wants sustenance, and you feel like screaming because this should be such a simple choice.

But hey, maybe this is just us, maybe we're just extremely in-decisive and need to seek therapy. I don't think that's the truth though, I think whether it's these choices or a zillion other choices, once again, us Americans have to darn many.

We, unless on the brink of starvation(and even than this problem still persists sometimes), can't just eat whatever because we're hungry, we're too flipping picky.

If you are suffering from this problem, I can't help you, I don't have any list's of suggestions for this one. We're in too tight a bind ourselves making this decision too offer any sage advice on what to do.

Well, I'm off now, to a far away place, a place that hopefully has something that sounds good to eat and fills our stomachs.

Superstitions Contest

Superstitions, both an integral part of society and a danger to the people around us. They have been around since the beginning of man, and many of those original superstitions still exist in updated form. My fiancee and I buried a mirror this last Friday because she knocked over a large mirror in our home and it shattered on impact. Everyone know the old superstition about breaking mirrors and 7 years of bad luck, if not you can check out an explanation HERE. She immediately hopped online and found a site that stated, plain and simple, she had to bury the mirror to counter-act the bad luck associated with it breaking.

I myself am a fairly religious person, and have a very strict superstition about wearing any kind of hat in a church. I figure that if I have to take off my hat for the American flag, I can at least do the same when in a place of God.

I got in trouble with my fiancee because I called her silly when she said we had to bury the mirror, and after looking at my own superstitions, I understood her frustration with me.

I ended up with shovel in hand, in the backyard, helping her dig the hole.

This got me to thinking about people and superstitions, so that's what I want to explore with you readers. What kind of superstitions do you believe in ? Do you swerve out of the path of a black cat ? Do you pray for your life when you walk underneath a ladder ? I want to hear your superstitions. Come on people, lets get some good ones going here. We'll even make it a contest, a contest for the best submitted superstition. I'll work on the prize and you work on typing up your oddest superstition. E-mail them to me at jnsmith83@gmail.com, and you may find yourself with a Joseph's World prize.

The Contest will run from July 27, 2008 to August 3, 2008...

Please Excuse the Mess...

It is absolutely mind boggling how much it costs to "fix up" your house. It's a fee here, a labor cost there, throw in a bit of tax, and their cut, next thing you know, you've just payed a company well over a grand just for some carpeting. "Oh, it looks great", that's what almost everyone says, but I'm thinking maybe I'll start charging an admission fee to see my carpet if it looks so great to everyone else, because it cost us up the wazoo.

So, we said to ourselves "We'll just do this part ourselves", as we approached the task of painting the whole house. Not too bad of a job, a bit tiring but it "looks great", and it's cheaper than paying a painter. Well, at least cheaper in the labor department. We arrive at the local Lowe's and suddenly that D-I-Y job is costing us another couple hundred in paint, primer, brushes(and you'll need every different kind of these, those corners just aren't going to work with a roller), etc.

Now, we've pulled the trim off and, WHAM!!!, we're wondering how in the heck they even got the trim on with all those gaps in the drywall. Off on another wonderful journey to Lowe's, couple hundred more later on new trim, drywall putty, and some drywall to patch the bigger holes, and wow you have something else that "looks great".

Standing back I'm like "Wow, we did it, it looks....", but I'm interrupted by my fiancee saying "Not yet, we've still got this, this, this and that to do". And, I feel my shoulders slumping, my heart fall down to my knees, and the urge to just go to sleep for a couple days.

It's a never ending struggle to "work on" your house, and there is no short supply of men and women willing to swindle you out of what little money you have, after paying all the bills that also go with a house, for a half ass job.

And, that's just the inside of the house that I've been ranting about, you've still got a lawn to make nice enough for the city not to give you a ticket(they'll ticket you for just about anything, make sure your trash cans are out of site), a roof to check for leaks, make sure those gutters are cleaned out, and, Oh no, those darn weeds are sprouting up again.

Yep, this is the life, owning a home is the greatest thing in the whole wide world. Tsk, Tsk, if only everyone knew the joy of this, uh huh.

Though I must admit, I've lived in a lot of apartments and the strange noise at 2am, the drug deal going on next door, and the tiny little side lawn( 4 kids and a tiny lawn, if you want any sanity left, this is near impossible), nope don't miss any of those things.

The yin and the yang I guess, grass is always greener on everyone else's side(yeah right, take a closer look at that grass, is that spray paint ?).

Well, I am off, off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of..... Sorry about that, we've had the kids all summer(time for school to start again, thank you God), I'm off to continue the wonderful, exciting, sometimes overwhelming, very expensive task of taking care of our house.

Don't Panic...

My mind starts drifting, the room starts to feel unreal, ahh crap, breath, breath, I have to sit down, ok, ok, still feeling light headed but I'm breathing. Oh no, now my stomach's making strange noises, I feel like I'm going to puke, get home, hurry, hurry, oh God I'm going to get sick, no I have to control it, I can't control it, my hearts going to pound out of my chest.

Home at last, need to lay down, my head is swirling, my whole body is shaking, I'm so cold, ughhh my stomach, curl up on the couch, put my head against the back of it, try to relax, I'm freaking out, this is never going to stop, I'm going to get sick and I'm just going to keep getting sick, need to sleep, it'll go away if I sleep....

This was a very common scenario when I first started having my panic attacks 8 years ago, and it was always a grueling experience that drained me emotionally, physically, and mentally.

But, the doctors couldn't really help me and they still can't really treat me for it, they just don't understand enough about what causes panic attacks.

I took classes and even ended up on bi-polar medication to try and help treat the symptoms, but none of these things really helped. I ended up having to basically treat myself, make my own way through the terrible experience of panic attacks.

Unless you've experienced a true panic attack, you can't truly understand the experience. It's like nothing else I've ever been through in my life, and nobody can really help you, but you.

You see commercials all the time with treatments for panic disorder and anxiety disorder, but when it all comes down to it, you've got to be able to treat yourself.

I've found the thing that helps me the most is talking myself through my panic attacks and mentally "pushing" them away from myself, which I now know is called "bio-feedback".

It sounds complicated and it takes some time to get a grasp on, but it helps. You have to picture the panic attack in your mind, imagine where in it in your brain, and see yourself pushing it from that spot in your brain and out the back of your head. It may sound silly if you've never experienced panic attacks, but suffering from panic attacks teaches you very quickly to try anything. I still suffer from panic attacks now and again, as I'm sure I will for the rest of my life, it's just not something that goes away in most people( no matter what a phychiatrist tells you, they're just trying to help). But, it does get easier as time goes on to control them, as long as you're willing to make your way through it.

Here are some things that I've done to ease my way through my panic attacks over the years that might help you:

• Just relax. I know it may sound hard, especially in the middle of a panic attack. But, just letting the panic attack "pass through" can be the quickest route to it's end.


• Instead of counting on a comfort zone(most people who suffer from panic attacks have a "comfort zone", a place where they feel most comfortable when suffering from an attack), find a comfort object. This is something you can take with you, like a lucky coin, necklace, or, if you're into piercings, a comfort labret ring or eyebrow ring.


• Remember to breath. A lot of people, when in the middle of a panic attack, get so hyped up during one that they forget to just breath normally. Hyper-ventilation can also occur, so just focus on getting your breathing under control.


• Learn to "belly breath". Breathing from your stomach up to your chest, you can find plenty of books on it(especially yoga books). It gets more oxygen to your blood, without all the work.


• Find a focus. Find an object, a person, a building, whatever you can find. And focus on that thing. This can help you "pull away" from your mind, a sort of day-dream technique, and helps you through panic.


• Do not let yourself become a recluse( agoraphobia is a big problem for people with panic disorder). Remember, whether you leave the house to go out with your friends, visit your family, etc, or not, if you suffer from panic disorder it can happen anywhere at anytime. Sitting at home is not going to make them go away, it's only going to make you hate yourself for not being strong enough to leave. If you're going to have a panic attack, you're going to have one. Locking yourself away is not going to stop that, so go out and enjoy yourself for at least a little while.

And remember, panic attacks and anxiety attacks are two completely different things. They're in the same general mental disorder category, think of anxiety attacks as being the son of Panic disorder. But, the symptoms are much heavier in cases of panic, and anxiety can usually be treated with medication. I'm no phychiatrist or doctor, I've just suffered through panic attacks for 8 years of my life. If you think you may have panic disorder or anxiety disorder, I encourage you to see a doctor. A lot of what people perceive as one of the above disorders can actually be caused by problems with your thyroid, heart problems, and a wagon full of other things. Get checked by a doctor, don't just assume, it could mean your life.

I hope this has helped some of you out there suffering from this terrible disorder, as I wish I could have found more information like this when I first started suffering from it.

Here are some useful links for you to find out more about panic and anxiety disorders:

Wikipedia.com- A wonderful site for finding information on all of the topics I mentioned above.

The Mayo Clinic- The Mental Health section of their site has all sorts of information.

MedicineNet.com- This site offers a fairly good catalogue of information on both anxiety and panic disorder.

PanicAttackSpace.com- A great blog, chock full of information and statistics on panic disorder and panic attacks.

Anxiety Attack- A great blog for finding more information about anxiety attacks. It's well written by a sufferer of anxiety disorder.

The Interview

You're sitting across the table from a guy who acne seems to be winning the war, keeps playing with he peach fuzz like that's going to make it grow, and just can't seem to stop tapping his pen against the table. He scribbles down notes as you're talking(let's face it he's doodling, not listening to a word you say), and staring at you like you just stole his lunch money.

Welcome to the twilight zone, better known as a job interview.

"So why should we hire you ? What sets you aside from our other applicants ?", He asks both questions without stopping for a breath, while he picks that pimple that's definitely going to scar. "I don't know, I applied for this job and I'm perfectly capable of performing the duties expected without any problem whatsoever", the answer sits on the tip of your tongue.

Why do they always ask you questions like that ? What ever happened to filling out an application, them interviewing you with questions like "How many hours can you work ?", instead of what getting a job has turned into; filling out an application, making your way through a personality exam, and getting asked questions like "Why do you deserve this job ?".

Let's face it, most companies in this day and age want only a couple of things; for you to be able to speak Spanish, work 60 hours with almost no pay, and for you to be smiling the whole time.

So, why all the ritual torture ?

Than you have one more wonderful thing about getting a job today, the millions of managers that can't seem to tell you they just aren't going to hire you. Instead they say they'll be calling you(which half the time they never do), they've got a few more applicants to interview before they make a decision, etc. Which, in the end, means only one thing, they aren't going to hire you. Just tell me your not going to hire me, don't lead me on just because you don't have the ability to be honest with me and save me the time of waiting for your call.

That's it, sorry, just need to rant sometimes.

Calling in sick...

Hello, all of my readers. I just wanted to leave this post for all of you to let you know why I wont be posting for a couple of days. Right now I've got some sort of stomach bug and need to get some rest so I can get rid of it.
Thank you in advance for being understanding of my absence.

It's a Wonderful Life...

First and foremost, I don't care if it's Christmas or not, everyone should watch this movie at least once. It's one of those movies that you have to go into with your whole heart, or you'll miss the entire moral of the story. I won't give the entire premise of the story away, but the general idea is that you should appreciate your life and realize the things you do, and have done, can change every one's lives(whether you know them or not).

It's amazing how that works in life, how everybody is inter-connected, linked together, and how we can help or hinder each other without even knowing.

But, I guess it can be pretty scary too, not knowing what things you may have caused to happen, once again without realizing it. It's bad enough sometimes knowing that you caused one thing or another, it's a whole other thing thinking about all the things you don't know you caused.

Every time you choose to go to the dairy department before the meat department at the grocery store, decide to buy a pair of jeans instead of going and looking at the movies, every little decision can change the whole world.

It may seem funny to think about, you can say "My life doesn't really matter", but when you start looking at all the little dots connecting every second of the day, the whole idea of any one life not being important is ludicrous.

I think it's this web of lives, decision, ideas, and different paths that make up what we think of as fate.

Think about this next time you decide to walk over to the canned food section of the grocery store, instead of the frozen food section. It's that kind of choice, the kind that we make constantly, that may decide if you live happily ever after or get hit by a truck.

Follow up on "Once a Firefighter, Always a Firefighter..."

My fiancee found this just a bit ago, which was perfect, because is coincided with my Firefighter post. It's a petition to set aside a national holiday for Police Officer's and Fire fighter's, a national thank you to all that they do for us. I encourage everyone to check it out, and if it sounds like something you would like to do, sign the petition.
I just had to share this with everyone, I can't believe we don't already have a day set aside for this.
You can find the petition HERE, give me your feedback on if you think this is a good idea or not and why. Such a great idea...

Once a Firefighter always a Firefighter...

A lot of people, even though we are supposed to be a politically correct society, still can't fathom the idea of the words "Woman" and "Firefighter" in the same sentence.

Why is it that these two words are so hard for many of us to comprehend, even though it's been proven time and time again that women are just as capable in these kinds of positions?

In fact, some studies have shown, because women are often more empathetic, that women are better candidates for these types of careers(Firefighter, Emergency Medical Technicians, etc.).

My fiancee was a volunteer Firefighter for a local Colorado station, and she often found people giving her looks of dis-belief and even scorn when she's wear her uniform. And, not only her but her grandparents, had a very hard time finding "memorabilia"(things like those memorial statues, awards, etc.) that pertained to female Firefighters.

By now, in the world we live in today, it should be a recognized fact that all of us, male and female alike, are capable of anything, it's all a matter of drive and determination.

Why is it that we, human beings, are such talented nit pickers, able to find a reason to sneer at someone for something that half of us wouldn't have the courage to do?

Personally, if I'm drowning, caught in a burning building, choking, having a heart attack, etc, I don't care if it's a man or a woman saving my life. I, again personally, am just happy to know that their are still people out there willing to jump in and save lives.

My fiance's credo on being a Firefighter really helps me believe in the goodness that still exists in some people, "I don't do it for the pay, I do it because I love to help other people". And, for her, this was something that rang true because she was an un-paid volunteer.

Doing something because you want to help others, plain and simple, just isn't something you hear truthfully very often anymore.

I want to hear from you, my readers, on this subject. Whether you agree or dis-agree, I want to hear your opinion on this matter.

One little drop in the ocean....

To the Internet that's what us blogger's are, a tiny drop. So, what happens when blogger's cause a wave. It's already being proven that people are starting to trust blogs more for their information than their own news channels. Why is that?

I think it's fairly simple, one people are tired of hearing the same thing night after night(shooting here, hit and run there, oh and it's going to be a crazy presidential election), and two, because people don't trust the news stations anymore. They only show so much of what's really going on, and I understand that, you can only cover so much news without being on 24 hours.

But, blogger's have the advantage here, we're everywhere. All across the world there are blogger's typing up posts on everything from how to cook a chicken to wars going on in places most of us have never heard of. A lot of us are bringing light to issues that most didn't know existed, and helping us cope with the things that strike us right where we live.

Us, the blogger's, are out-sourcing not only news stations, but newspapers and magazines too. And, we will continue to as time drawls on, because we have an edge over those organization's. We can cover every topic that people want to hear about and give them options as far as which topic they want to hear that hour or day, we give them multiple sources for that information, and we can give them first hand experience.

We are not perfect reporters either though, we are opinionated(can be a good or bad thing), some of us are rude and crude, and some of us are only copyright cases waiting to happen. We must all decide as blogger's to be either hero or villain, but we must also decide whether we're going to take this seriously or take the easy route.

Blogger's are the future of the information "super highway", we are the journalist's, editors, writers, poets, news anchors, and artists of the new age.

The Other Side of the Scale...

I'm a fairly skinny person, just recently weighing in at around 111 lbs. I know, most of you are going "WHAT?", but that's been about the norm for me. I've always been a skinny person, and probably always will be unless I really work at it. The most I've ever been able to get up to is around 125, and that's when my fiancee was pregnant and I was gaining sympathy weight.

And, I know a lot of you are saying "What's your secret? Tell me how", all I've got to say to that is "METABOLISM". I get that being over weight sucks, I know plenty of people who have dealt with it, but being skinny like I am is just as hard. I found an online calorie calculator recently and found out I'd have to take in around 3,600 calories a day to gain weight. To put it in perspective I have to eat what most people eat on Thanksgiving every day.

So, I've decided to do this post for all the other people out there who are tired of being skinny. I'm not trying to help make you a body builder or anything like that, just trying to help others like me feel somewhat normal about themselves. Being as skinny as I am is hard on my self esteem, and I know it must be on others who have the same problem.

To get on with the show, here is a small list of foods that will help you in your fight against being under weight:

• White Bread


• Pasta


• Avocado


• Beans


• Cheese and Whole Milk


• Salad Dressing


• Peanut Butter

The key to using these things, and others, to gain weight is maximizing the things you eat by adding, adding, adding:

• Instead of water, use milk in you oatmeal and soups.


• Add an avocado to your sandwich, or salad dressing(even fat free dressings add calories).


• Casseroles are a great weight gainer; mix those meats, pasta, beans and cheese.


• Use you left-overs as snack time foods.

Remember, you can't gain weight sticking to the "3-square meals" model, you've got to add some substantial snacking to your plan. And, another thing, gain weight in a healthy way, don't add a bunch of fast food to your diet, even if you're skinny "bad fat" is still "bad fat" and can still put you at risk for heart problems.

I'll be continuing my fight to gain weight series in further posts, I'm not done yet. Keep reading for more tips, and if you want to know more now, I've added some links below that will give you some more info on the subject. Thank you for reading Joseph's World and have a great afternoon.

*If you want to read more tips from a great site HERE's the one I found a lot of my answers.

*I know the website is called "Free dieting: the weight loss guide", you can find a great calorie calculator for both men and women HERE

*And, if your okay with PDF reading, here's a great PDF file you can either view online or download, with more great healthy ways to gain weight click HERE

*I don't claim any ownership or copyright ownership on any of the above links or any material they contain, information on their site belongs to their site. And, I am not a doctor, nor do I have a doctorate in medicine or a degree in nutrition.

Thanks

I would just like to take a moment to thank everyone who has commented on my blog so far, you don't know how much your comments mean to me. I enjoy reading everything everyone has said. I would also like to thank all of you over at bloggeries.com, your blog reviews and commentary have helped immensely. I wouldn't be excited everyday to check my e-mail for "you have recieved a comment" if it wasn't for all of you.

Once again, thanks, all of you,

Joseph

Waste not, Want not

Let’s talk about W.I.C. and Food Stamps, the two biggest government programs that were put in place to help struggling families. Yet, as I’ve been involved with both programs I see major errors in both. Starting with W.I.C., my fiancée and I recently had an appointment with them concerning our 1 year old daughter. She has always had problems gaining weight, so we have to keep her on formula for longer than usual (doctor ordered). This is not a usual occurrence with children I guess, because we have to get a prescription from our daughters pediatrician for the “Next Step” formula. We ran into one big snag with W.I.C. though, the only “Next Step” formula they offered was a soy formula. Most children, our daughter included of course, drink a milk based formula. Our daughter, once again doctor ordered, is not supposed to switch over to soy formula as she is not milk intolerant, and the soy formula doesn’t contain the vitamins and minerals she needs. Even our W.I.C. case worker was confused when she looked this particular problem up on her computer, but she couldn't do anything about it because it was W.I.C. policy. The other thing I find odd about the W.I.C. program is how much milk they provide you with. 4 and a half gallons just for my fiancée and another 4 for our daughter, and that’s every month! I’m sorry, but who drinks that much milk in a month? You should have the option of picking something else from a list of products they can provide, as it would prevent the waste of milk that goes bad because we can’t drink it fast enough.
Now, onto food stamps, the most disorganized program second only to the D.M.V. (Department of Motor Vehicles). It can take months to receive your food stamp benefits and, if they lose anything you turned in, you have to go back, wait in line for at least 45 minutes, and turn in your paperwork again. That second issue wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t happen two or three times each time you turned something in. Some of the paperwork they require is hard to come up with and the time spent at the food stamp office is time away from your job. But, that’s not all my friends, that’s not all. If these things weren’t hard enough to stomach, the Food Stamp office has a very strict rule against using your food stamps for toilet paper, trash bags, and other things of this nature. I can buy an entire case of Arizona brand sweet tea, but I can’t buy one roll of toilet paper. Now I understand why you can’t buy things like beer, wine, or other alcoholic products with food stamps, which would be a step in the wrong direction for anyone trying to get back on their feet.
The government is supposes to take care of its citizens, but through government programs I see only disorganization and lack of thinking things through. It seems to me sometimes that it’s easier for illegal immigrants to receive benefits from the government than it is the people who were born and raised here. How can we stand behind and believe in a government that takes care of another country’s citizens before its own? And, how can we put our lives into a system that can’t even keep enough staff on to keep their offices at least somewhat organized?

By the way, the newest thing on the goverments agenda, cutting there work week down to 4 days, an effort to "save money".

No, I'm driving...

You know, I have to admit something that I recently caught myself doing. Now, don't attack me right off the bat, I'm not sexist or anything, I just caught myself having a semi-sexist thought.

My fiancee and I were picking up an item we purchased from craigslist.com, and as we were getting ready to leave we play fought over who would drive home. I said I would drive, she said "No, I'll drive", and we went back and forth with this for about 15 seconds. She ended up winning this "play fight", and ended up in the drivers seat.

I felt embarrassed and a little angry, I felt like these people, whose house we were leaving, were probably laughing at this "man" being dominated by his "woman".

I felt my manhood threatened, a feeling that I've never really had in this regard before.

The pouting set in and next thing I know my fiancee is really upset that she'd hurt my feelings, and the guilt set in on me because of the guilt I had caused her.

This wasn't something she should have felt guilty for, she had driven to their house and I hadn't had a problem with that. It wasn't until we were leaving and she said those words "No, I'm driving", that switched me over into "man" mode.

She had said the words playfully, as I had originally stated my want to drive, and it wasn't fair to make her feel guilty for something that was my problem.

As time goes on I find myself observing these "man" and "woman" moments in myself and others, and it's kind of a scary thing that these things still exist.

The "who gets to hold the remote", "who can get a job being a firefighter(or equivalent), etc. All of these things still have a very sexist center once you really start observing people in situations where they come up.

There are still plenty of men that feel threatened, for example, when a woman drives a large truck , makes more money than them, etc.

I think I'll be doing more posts on the subject of sexism, and how it still thrives in a country that's supposedly "politically correct" on this subject.

Don't think these sexism posts will only be about men, women have quite a few "sexist" assumptions going on inside their heads too, this will be a look at both sides of the coin.

And, I will be doing posts on other subjects in-between, this is Joseph's World after all, and I don't want to become a one topic blogger here.

"He went to Jared's..."

Mouths, hands, sit down, have a seat, thank you for your time, do you want to pay in cash or credit ? We've just spent another pile of cash, but the tents will be there, they're ours. How many will be attending? How much do you need? Do you want this deal or that one? Okay, more cash on the table, but we've got the food. The list is getting checked off, the money's adding up. That special day, the day of the wedding is being built from the ground up. Everyone always says "Oh weddings can be so expensive", but we forget that the reception can be a bigger bill. You keep telling yourself, "The cost doesn't matter, it's our special day", but how much is too much. I'm excited, she's excited, I'm stressed, she's stressed, we agree to just enjoy the day. It's so hard in this day and age to really plan a wedding without a lot of stress involved. Not only do you have to consider the enormous cost of it all, you've got to send out invitation and hope everyone shows(because you're paying for all that food and seating), you've got to make sure that the ceremony is well planned enough that everyone is where they're supposed to be, figure out what, how much, and who's doing what with the music, write up those vows(or at least figure out which ones you're going to use, there are a million different variations now), and this to-do-list goes on and on, without end in site.

The thing is though, it's all worth it, there is no higher step in a relationship than marriage. But, don't let the details ruin it for you, as many people do. They get so into the planning of it all, they forget why they're getting married and by the time it's all over they're just staring at each other, wondering what just happened.

Marriage is a sacred thing, no matter what religion you belong to(or don't belong to). It's that day when you become one with your partner for life, the day you lock your two souls together forever.

So, if you find yourself making the wedding planning more important than the wedding itself, STOP, take a deep breath, and think about why you wanted to get married in the first place. Most of us would say that we're getting married because we're in love with our significant other, so make that special day about that, not about how much money you spent or how elaborate of a cake you ordered.

The work involved in getting it all together should be an important bonding experience for you and your other, it should teach you to work together, make decisions together, and believe in each other. True love, like the planning of your marriage, is going to sometimes be stressful, a lot of work, and you're going to have to learn to work together through life. There will be times that you feel like you hate you're love, but true love is making the choice to love that person even if you don't feel like it all the time. Love isn't supposed to be easy all the time, the trials that are faced in a relationship that holds true love are all a part of spending the rest of your life with that one.

All in all, I think the very fact that you've found true love is worth all the work, stress and money. True love is invaluable, and if you really love that person deep down, all the trials should be worth it for you too.

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I want to hear from you...

Come on people, form a straight line, girls on one side, boy's on the other(oh, if only my blog was that popular, "sigh...."). What do YOU want to hear about ? I want to hear what you want, what topics you need help with, things you want to hear my thoughts on, subjects you think deserve attention, etc. The readers are the most important part of a successful blog(well, besides the ability to write and being able to relax enough to write), and I'm officially declaring this "Reader Demand Day" on Joseph's World. So, come on people, show me what you've got, tell me what you think, DEMAND a topic.

Brooms and Dustpans for all...

I had a special request from one of my readers to do a post on men and their view on house work. Does flushing the toilet count ? Just kidding, I'm a firm believer in men doing their share of the house work. My fiancee and I weren't even dating yet and I was already helping with the laundry and doing the dishes.

Once we became a couple the only thing that changed was that we started officially living together. And, I believe that entitled me to do more around the house.

I actually enjoy doing the dishes and mowing the yard, they can actually be very relaxing activities. I'm not big on laundry, but I don't know any man or woman who is, and I'm not about to watch my fiancee work her ass off while I sit on mine.

My mother raised me to be kind, respectful, and to get up off my butt and be a part of the house hold by doing my share of the chores. No allowance for house chores, as a member of the house hold, it was just as much my duty as every one else in the house.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of days where I've slacked on getting things done around the house. But, I'm not the type to make a habit out of it, and usually it's one of those days when my fiancee and I both just "veg out", and try to relax(well, as much as you can relax with 4 children).

But, I don't see how any man can watch his mother, wife, girlfriend, etc, doing all the work around the house while he pulls the "it's a woman's job" card. You would think by now that this card would have been thrown in the garbage with all the other bullsh*t "Boy's will be boy's" philosophy. Strangely enough though it hasn't, many men still believe a woman's place is in the kitchen, doing laundry, giving the kids their baths, etc, and won't lift a finger to help.

I'm not saying all men are like this, there are plenty who do their part in the battle against an unclean home. Obviously, I know I'm not the only one who helps out, there are plenty of "good" men still out there.

The whole point of all of this is simple, it's just as much a man's job to do the chores as it is a woman's. There should be no dividing line between male and female on this subject, to live in a happy and healthy home everyone has to do their part.

To all the "I'm a man, I worked all day, I don't have to do anything but wait for my dinner" kind of guys, you're not only an a-hole, you're also lazy, stupid, and don't deserve any woman.

And, to all you men out their who do the dishes, the laundry(that includes folding it), make dinner, mop the floor and give your kids their baths, I raise my glass to you(my glass of iced tea), give you a great big thumbs up, and say "Thank you for everything that you do, your significant other appreciates it more than you know".

Here are some fun links that are about men doing chores and helping with the kids:

MSNBC:Gals make passes at guys who wash glasses

Amazon.com: "Porn for Women"

Amazon.com: "Porn for New Moms"

Artistic Soul

I believe an artist exists in all of us, a little guy/girl with a paintbrush in hand, complete with french accent. The problem is that throughout our lives we come across people who look at our

artistic works(writing, sculpting, drawings, painting, singing, and every other form of art under the sun) and criticize us and SPLAT, our ego's or lack there of get the better of us and we quit.

The way I see it is very simple, you really shouldn't care what others think of your artistic ability, as long as it makes you feel good. Art, like counseling or journals, can be a form of therapy for many of us. I've heard before that kids can be happy with their art, whether it be a finger painting or doodling, as long as they haven't hit that stage where other people's opinions start interfering.

If you like to draw, draw, if you like to paint, paint, if you like making little people out of straws, make those little people. Unless you're trying to sell your art to a prestigious gallery(which of course your not trying to do, right ?), it doesn't matter what other's think about it, It's YOURS. And, heck, even if you are trying to sell it, different people like different art, they might love your work. My uncle David was fabulous at drawing and painting, but the first piece he ever sold was to a guy who saw him carrying a "off the top of his head" painting of a brick wall, nothing special just a brick wall. The guy loved it, and bought it from him right there on the sidewalk in front of my uncle's apartment.

Art should be about you, it should be about what you feel, the things that make you laugh, cry, love, hate, and believe in.

That's it, that's the only requirement I believe should exist for being an artist, the ability to just be you.

Things it means to be a DAD...

"Being a dad means putting your

hand on your child's chest at night to

make sure she's still breathing"

-From the book "1001 Things it Means to be a Dad" by Harry. H Harrison Jr.

Isn't that the truth, I can't count the times my fiancee and I have taken turns checking on our two little baby's just to see if they're still breathing. It's especially fun when you've laid them down for bed and it's dark in the room, you squint and squint, but in the end you put your hand on their chest just to be sure. And, even when you can see their chest rising, their lips moving, heck they can be sucking on a bottle(clear evidence that they are in fact breathing), but you still have to touch them. Being a parent is a stretch on your sanity, but brings more warmth to your heart than anything else. I don't think either my fiancee or I would give it up for the world.

The chaos, the sleepless nights, the obsessive compulsive need to check their breathing by touch(trust me, you can't do it any other way, unless of course you want to be back in the room 2 seconds later to do the touch test). It's all a part of being a parent, but there are even greater things.

• The first smile.



• The first giggle.



• How it feels when they say "Mommy" or "Daddy" for the first time.



• That first day of school, which you dread more than your child does.



• Watching them pull themselves up for the first time.



• Hearing them say "Mommy" and "Daddy" compulsively for everything, because it's the only word they know.



• Watching them learn how to write, from scribbles up to cursive.

I could write this list forever, in fact I could fill my entire blog with reason why kids are a gift. But, I'm sure you've got other places to visit, dinner to eat, etc. And, I wouldn't want to keep you from that, especially if that other thing is keeping you from experiencing any of the things I listed above or a bazillion more.

Huh ? What'd you say ?

Communication, we supposedly live in the age of it. We have the Internet, cell phones, pda's, notebook computers, wireless internet, high-speed internet, text messaging, instant messaging, blogs, e-mail and I'm sure there are a few things I'm forgetting.

But, one thing I've noticed missing from our great age of communication is one very important thing, the ability to listen. We live in a world of one-sided chatter. While people are texting and sending instant messages they're not really thinking about what the other person just said, they're thinking about what they're going to say. You see people all the time, even while talking face to face, that are reacting emotionally, verbally and physically to what a person hasn't even finished saying yet.

True communication requires not only hearing what is said but taking the time to consider and truly understand what is being said. Even if you have to ask seemingly "dumb questions" to reach that understanding. People now just react to what I like to call "trigger words". Word's like Republican, Democrat, abortion, gay, tattoo/piercing and other word's mainly used for stereotyping. A person starts to say, "You know I think abortion is...", and before they've completed the sentence the person they're talking to has already prepared their response according to their "belief system". They don't take the time to find out if the end of the sentence is going to be, "is evil" or "is the greatest thing ever".

People just react to how they've been raised, the latest thing they saw on the news, what their religion says about it and on and on. We live in a world where the guns are being fired without war being declared.

Next time you're having a "conversation" with someone, do me a favor, listen and take the time to understand what's being said, even if you don't agree, try to hold your fire.

In conclusion, how about we let communication be what it's supposed to be, communicating.

Pierced and Proud...

Listening to: Billy's Joel's "It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me"


My wife and I got piercings this evening, I got a vertical "Labret" piercing and she got a "Horizontal lip" piercing (a very rare piercing, try doing an Internet search for it). The piercer was fast about it and did an awesome job, and it only cost us $95.00 for both piercings, that included jewelry. We went to Bonaroo Tattoo for our piercings, you can find their website HERE, I would definitely suggest them for anyone looking for a good piercing job. We went to the one in Parker, Colorado and our piercer's name was Jessi.
I think piercing really can be a great form of self-expression, as it lets you express yourself with the ability to remove it if you find that getting it done was only a phase(unlike tattoo's, which can only be removed for a lot of money and scarring). The only time that statement is not true of course is in the case of stretched piercings, which after a certain gauge, can turn into a lifetime piercing. Of course, I always welcome people to correct me on this, as their are plenty of piercings I've never seen and plenty I never will.
Getting pierced is something that's been around for a long time, and I don't think it's going anywhere, anytime soon. So, if getting a piercing done is something your interested in, remember, you can always take it out later, the pain of getting piercing is a fact but it is only temporary(unless of course you let it get infected), and it can be hard as hell to find a job with any facial piercings. But, if the idea strikes your fancy even after considering these things, go for it, you only live once.