It's always great to have my kids up over the weekend and this weekend was no exception. We went to see the new Star Wars movie, which was good. We had root beer floats. We grilled outside. We did laundry and dishes. We watched a few episides from Season 2 of The Greatest American Hero. We attended church. We played ball tag outside. We played some Uno. It was really fun!
I didn't get to keep the girls an extra day due to Memorial Day, but I did get some overtime at work that day. I have so much fun with my kids. I hope that they are equally having a good time. My roommate Derek did the grilling out for us and Uno followed the game. We have a picnic table that was in our shed and I hosed it off and it has come in handy twice already. The evenings have been wonderful. The girls were even catching and releaseing lightening bugs.
My oldest daughter just shocks me sometimes. She really likes watching The Greatest American Hero! Really! When she found out that I had season 2 she wanted to start watching right away. I think we made it through 3 episodes this weekend. I like doing it a little at a time so that we do plenty of other things.
We have had so much fun playing outdoors. Paige tries to get us to do it more often and sometimes we just run out of time. She has so much energy! Brittany is really getting more and more energy with her weight loss. I bought her some size 14 jeans for her birthday, which was down two sizes and they seemed a tad loose on her this weekend.
My other roommate has a new girlfriend. I make sure that we don't have "guests" over when my kids are here. He's been fairly good about it, but he's had parking issues with letting friends park in the driveway that we pay for and he has tried sneaking girls in and out during the night while my kids are sleeping. This just doesn't fly and it's just not cool when you agree to certain things in your living arrangements. He will get better, though.
This new girlfriend reminds me of Chrissy Snow from Three's Company. She is young, flighty, and funny. The young part of her gets a tad emotional very quick, but she's funny and really tries to put on a good face. There have been a couple of things that have put me off a bit, though. She asked me if I wanted anything when she went to our basement to get something to drink for herself and my roommate. I wasn't sure she was talking to me since I live with two guys and we don't necessarily ask those types of things. I made a joke about it and she half-jokingly replied that it was the reason she should be a roommate. That just hit me the wrong way. I'm glad he finally found someone that he seems pretty serious about, although not totally, but I don't like the way she is coming into our lives.
I mentioned early last weekend when talking to Derek that we should all go bowling again since we had fun the previous week doing that as roommates. When I brought it up, she overheard and said that she thought that was a great idea. Well, I apparently didn't make it clear that I just meant us 3 guys. When we went bowling last week, we were joined by her.
Now don't get me wrong. She's a nice girl and is pretty funny, but it's just weird how she is suddenly becoming a part of my life and Derek's in more a more personal way. I'm used to our other roommate bringing over girls, sometimes 3-4 at a time, but he entertains them in the basement as we are to do and we may only see them a couple of times or less in a month. We don't do anything with them but clown around in the basement and then send them on their way. Of course, the other roommate does a little more with them at various times. I'm just not sure I like this and since she is coming upstairs and staying overnight often, it's bothering me. I'm used to the upstairs being our personal space and I don't like it invaded. We will see how this goes, I guess.
GOOD NEWS!! I finally have my main computer back up and running. It has been down since before Christmas. I had to fight with the company I purchased it from to finally get it replaced. They claimed to do it last time, but their paperwork shows otherwise. Now that the motherboard has finally been replaced I have a running computer!
In case I haven't mentioned it before, my main PC is a monster. I have an Athlon XP 3200+ with 1.5GB RAM, 6 Hard Drives totalling aver 800GB in space, Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum, ATI All-In-Wonder with 128MB RAM and dual monitor support, an ATI PCI 7500 dual monitor card, 4 19" monitors, DVD Dual Layer burner and DVD player, all hooked up to two TV's, two VCR's, an external DVD player, and our cable box. I will also soon have it hooked up to the cable box in a way to record off the DVR stuff onto DVD. I have a digital camera, a live camera, remotes for the AIW and Audigy, and a headset with mic for voice. Oh, and two subwoofers in the speaker setup.
Oh, and I have another computer under that desk. It's an AMD 1900+ with 768MB RAM and over 200GB of hard drive space. It's got 3 19" monitors hooked up to it, but one is part of a KVM setup so that I can work on the small desk that the third monitor is on with another PC if needed. It's pretty intimidating to some people to see 7 - 19" monitors on my desk in a moon shape and then 2 - 27" TV's hanging on the wall above it.
I have most everything loaded, but need to get the USB devices connected and then start on some projects. It's so nice to have this about done.
Not a bad weekend overall, eh?
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Thorogood in Des Moines, IA
Born To Be Bad, Who Do You Love, The Fixxer... What a start to a great show! This was like a souped up 50's revue. Two guitar attack, a frontman with the attitude of The Fonz, simple tight rhythms, and a sax player who can blow! George led this show with swagger and humor. Favorites like Bad To The Bone, Get A Hair Cut, and Move It On Over had their own feel live in spite of having a similar sound. George was truly the "bad" one.
I am so glad I went to this show. In spite of most of the crowd being a generation older than me, I had a blast! George and the Destroyers sounded so good that I'm sorry I have missed them in the past. You have to see this band!
The opener was Todd Cambrige, I think. He writes for artists like Johnny Winter and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He had some good tunes, but they sounded much the same. This wouldn't be so bad if he were able to give them each their own feel like George did. Todd did play a snare drum and had a guitar player and that was sort of unique. They played well together, but there were times that it felt as though something was missing instrumentally. He was decent and would be great in a hotel bar.
Go see George Thorogood and the Destroyers. You deserve it!
I am so glad I went to this show. In spite of most of the crowd being a generation older than me, I had a blast! George and the Destroyers sounded so good that I'm sorry I have missed them in the past. You have to see this band!
The opener was Todd Cambrige, I think. He writes for artists like Johnny Winter and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He had some good tunes, but they sounded much the same. This wouldn't be so bad if he were able to give them each their own feel like George did. Todd did play a snare drum and had a guitar player and that was sort of unique. They played well together, but there were times that it felt as though something was missing instrumentally. He was decent and would be great in a hotel bar.
Go see George Thorogood and the Destroyers. You deserve it!
Friday, May 27, 2005
We WON!
My church softball team almost got rained out last night. If there were a way I could tell you about my day yesterday, you would understand why I prayed that the rain would go away so that we could play. I prayed hard. God heard me and we played our two games without any rain. There were spots in the field that were wet, but not bad enough to call the games. The sun came out.
I needed last night bad. I had to get some nervousness out of my system and playing softball did the trick. In fact, I only played the first game and umpired the second.
Our first two hitters set up how our night was going to go. Our first baseman started off with a single and her husband followed with a home run. Two batters, first two runs scored. We won that game 8-5. I pitched, scored two runs, caught 3 hits, and threw two runners out at first.
The second game, we won 14-10. We played well defensively in both games and started hitting the ball. Our other pitcher pitches a little different than I do. He claims that opponents are having more trouble hitting me with my pitching style, but he did pitch a good game. I sat out because I wanted our starters to get some playing time and I also needed to rotate in some players to make sure everyone got to play. It's a tough balancing act, but we pulled it off in both games for the win.
I have to admit it was nice that the first night I'm the coach, we won both of our games. That felt very good.
I may post more about yesterday, but you may have to use your imagination. Here is a brief summary, though. I had a computer customer who became a sort of friend. He would call if he needed something, but otherwise I wouldn't hear from him. I was able to get ahold of him a couple of times to borrow a car when mine wasn't running. I also bought a car from him for a few hundred dollars. I haven't seen or heard from this person in over a year, but had heard a couple of rumors about him being in the area and that he did a bad thing. Yesterday I had a visit to my work from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms asking about this person. Well, when a Federal agency is investigating someone, it must be pretty serious. Needless to say, I was a bit freaked out and needed something to do. Softball did the trick. I don't think I should really say more.
I will post my review of the George Thorogood show from Wednesday. It was awesome and sold out. If you have a chance to catch one of his shows, you'd be a fool to miss it. More later!
I needed last night bad. I had to get some nervousness out of my system and playing softball did the trick. In fact, I only played the first game and umpired the second.
Our first two hitters set up how our night was going to go. Our first baseman started off with a single and her husband followed with a home run. Two batters, first two runs scored. We won that game 8-5. I pitched, scored two runs, caught 3 hits, and threw two runners out at first.
The second game, we won 14-10. We played well defensively in both games and started hitting the ball. Our other pitcher pitches a little different than I do. He claims that opponents are having more trouble hitting me with my pitching style, but he did pitch a good game. I sat out because I wanted our starters to get some playing time and I also needed to rotate in some players to make sure everyone got to play. It's a tough balancing act, but we pulled it off in both games for the win.
I have to admit it was nice that the first night I'm the coach, we won both of our games. That felt very good.
I may post more about yesterday, but you may have to use your imagination. Here is a brief summary, though. I had a computer customer who became a sort of friend. He would call if he needed something, but otherwise I wouldn't hear from him. I was able to get ahold of him a couple of times to borrow a car when mine wasn't running. I also bought a car from him for a few hundred dollars. I haven't seen or heard from this person in over a year, but had heard a couple of rumors about him being in the area and that he did a bad thing. Yesterday I had a visit to my work from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms asking about this person. Well, when a Federal agency is investigating someone, it must be pretty serious. Needless to say, I was a bit freaked out and needed something to do. Softball did the trick. I don't think I should really say more.
I will post my review of the George Thorogood show from Wednesday. It was awesome and sold out. If you have a chance to catch one of his shows, you'd be a fool to miss it. More later!
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Softball Record
I just got a call last night from our coach for the church softball team. She asked if I would mind taking over as coach for the remainder of the season due to her schedule and trying to sell her home. Of course, I said YES! I love playing softball and I had secretly hoped that I could have some say in how things went. The other assistant coach and I had some ideas on how we ought to structure the lineup and we want to get these ideas implemented. Now we can. Here is our record so far:
Lost to Carlisle United Methodist 24-1.
Tied with Indianola Christian Union 8-8.
Lost to TRYM 15-1.
Lost to Lighthouse Community 20-6.
That makes us 0-3-1. We definitely were not up to par in the first game and they are a really good team. We probably would have gotten beat at our best. The tie was simply a matter of running out of time, but they were a team we could have beaten if we had a little offense. Todd threw 3 people out to me at home as they tried to score and he threw one to me to tag out at 3rd Base that game. Our defense did a really tight job most of that game, but we just weren't hitting. These two games were our first night out.
The last two teams we played we could have beat if our starters were there. We have 4 big guns that didn't play either game and they weren't really good teams. I think we could have beat them. TRYM did have a couple of really great players and would have given us a good game. I don't think the rest of the team was anywhere in their league.
I have a lineup ready to go and hope that since we should have all 4 big guns there tomorrow evening that we will finally have a couple of wins to chalk up. We shall see!
Lost to Carlisle United Methodist 24-1.
Tied with Indianola Christian Union 8-8.
Lost to TRYM 15-1.
Lost to Lighthouse Community 20-6.
That makes us 0-3-1. We definitely were not up to par in the first game and they are a really good team. We probably would have gotten beat at our best. The tie was simply a matter of running out of time, but they were a team we could have beaten if we had a little offense. Todd threw 3 people out to me at home as they tried to score and he threw one to me to tag out at 3rd Base that game. Our defense did a really tight job most of that game, but we just weren't hitting. These two games were our first night out.
The last two teams we played we could have beat if our starters were there. We have 4 big guns that didn't play either game and they weren't really good teams. I think we could have beat them. TRYM did have a couple of really great players and would have given us a good game. I don't think the rest of the team was anywhere in their league.
I have a lineup ready to go and hope that since we should have all 4 big guns there tomorrow evening that we will finally have a couple of wins to chalk up. We shall see!
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Political Logic 101
I am so tired of lies and distortion in politics. It happens on both sides, but primarily on the Democrat side. (They are the Democrat party. They are not the democratic party. Words mean things.) I watch Fox News Sunday and Meet The Press. I read the Des Moines Register. I listen to Rush Limbaugh. I watch both CNN and Fox News. I occasionally watch CNBC. I do lots of reading online. It's really very simple to get the truth just by listening and doing your own research. You have to be an idiot to take all of your news from one source. You have to be an idiot to be a sheep when it comes to how the world works and how your leaders act. If you don't vote, if you don't take active participation in your community, if you don't do your own research instead of just taking the newspaper or TV reporter's word for it, you are an idiot and you have no right to comment on political and world events. It's that simple.
That doesn't mean you have to agree. I have friends that I disagree with about most everything, but we can agree to disagree and still be friends. It's not hard to do. You just have to understand that you can't change others. You can only change yourself. We can all still find common ground.
There are some very simple things that we can all understand. We elect our leaders. If we lose, we try again at the next election cycle. When we lose, we have to realize that the majority will get their way. There are only so many ways to gum up the works, but it comes down to the majority to lead as they see fit while they are in the majority. We had over 40 years that Democrats were the majority and now they are the minority. Logic dictates that they had their time in the sun and now the people have spoken and want the Republicans to have their day in the sun. Is it an overwhelming majority? No, but it is the majority. If you don't like it, change it in the next election. Take your ideas to others in your community and try to build those ideas from the ground up. Logic 101.
First of all, give the judges an up or down vote when they reach the Senate floor. If they can't make it out of committee, tough. Once they do make it out of committee, give them a vote. There has never been a filibuster of judges on the Senate floor before. It has been attempted, but defeated. The Constitution charges the Senate to advise and consent. In reality, no vote is needed. The President just needs 51 letters of consent from the Senate and then the judge takes their position. It's really that simple and there isn't anything left to debate about it. I know Howard Dean would like to think that the parties should share power or that there should be some sort of minority rights, but that isn't the way our government is set up. If you want it changed, then get a grassroots effort together and work at changing it. Otherwise, shut up already.
I don't know how anyone can't see that Social Security doesn't need fixing. Since when did it become government's job to provide for our retirement? This isn't a right listed in the Constitution. It's a hand out. It doesn't work like people think. The idea would be that you pay into it, it gains interest, when you retire you get what was set aside plus the interest. If you didn't put anything into it, why should you get anything out of it? If you didn't put much into it, why should you get more out of it than you put into it? If you put a lot into it, shouldn't you get it all back? Oh, I'm sorry. That sounds like it's your money to begin with! Gee, what a concept! You work. You make money. Oh, and then someone else tells you how it needs to be spent or saved. Are we such idiots that we can't figure that out for ourselves? Oh, and if you don't mind and you aren't the idiot, what gives you the right to say others are idiots and have to have it taken from them so someone supposedly smarter can tell them how to spend it? How arrogant! Why don't we make sure we are teaching economics in school instead of how to put a condom on a cucumber and make sure that people are equipped to make their own decisions? Oh, more logic 101.
Since when did America become the bad guy? We go over and liberate Afghanistan and Iraq and then the media portrays us as people that flush pages of the Koran down the toilet or let a woman soldier put an Iraqi man on a leash. I'm sorry that bad things happen in war, but isnt' that what war is? It's a bad thing. It's sometimes a necessary thing. We teach our soldiers to kill people and break things. That is what an army is for. America has spread democracy to more nations than any other. America gives more than any other. Americans give more than others. We are the most charitable nation. We are the only nation with the ability to assist others such as Iraq and Afghanistan. We bring in other nations to assist us in accomplishing these goals. So why are we the bad guy? Why aren't our allies portrayed as bad guys with us? If we are so bad, why are so many people trying to get into our country and enjoy our freedoms? Simply put, we are a great nation and a great country. We are not the bad guy. Those who oppress their own people are bad guys. They must be taken out and their people freed. Logic 101.
I know not everyone agrees and that's ok. It's really ok that we don't all agree. It doesn't mean we can't be friends and find other common ground. I'm glad I enjoy the freedoms I have and I hope that others around the world are able to enjoy freedom. Freedom to speak your mind. Freedom to spend your money how you see fit. Freedom to have ideas and enter them into the realm of ideas. Freedom to worship. Freedom to carry a Bible with you in a school. Freedom to pray at any time anywhere. Freedom to let your communities, instead of some governmental body many states away, decide what is best in your area. Freedom to listen to the music you want. Freedom to own property. Freedom to vote for your leaders. Freedom is a great thing. Pass it on!
That doesn't mean you have to agree. I have friends that I disagree with about most everything, but we can agree to disagree and still be friends. It's not hard to do. You just have to understand that you can't change others. You can only change yourself. We can all still find common ground.
There are some very simple things that we can all understand. We elect our leaders. If we lose, we try again at the next election cycle. When we lose, we have to realize that the majority will get their way. There are only so many ways to gum up the works, but it comes down to the majority to lead as they see fit while they are in the majority. We had over 40 years that Democrats were the majority and now they are the minority. Logic dictates that they had their time in the sun and now the people have spoken and want the Republicans to have their day in the sun. Is it an overwhelming majority? No, but it is the majority. If you don't like it, change it in the next election. Take your ideas to others in your community and try to build those ideas from the ground up. Logic 101.
First of all, give the judges an up or down vote when they reach the Senate floor. If they can't make it out of committee, tough. Once they do make it out of committee, give them a vote. There has never been a filibuster of judges on the Senate floor before. It has been attempted, but defeated. The Constitution charges the Senate to advise and consent. In reality, no vote is needed. The President just needs 51 letters of consent from the Senate and then the judge takes their position. It's really that simple and there isn't anything left to debate about it. I know Howard Dean would like to think that the parties should share power or that there should be some sort of minority rights, but that isn't the way our government is set up. If you want it changed, then get a grassroots effort together and work at changing it. Otherwise, shut up already.
I don't know how anyone can't see that Social Security doesn't need fixing. Since when did it become government's job to provide for our retirement? This isn't a right listed in the Constitution. It's a hand out. It doesn't work like people think. The idea would be that you pay into it, it gains interest, when you retire you get what was set aside plus the interest. If you didn't put anything into it, why should you get anything out of it? If you didn't put much into it, why should you get more out of it than you put into it? If you put a lot into it, shouldn't you get it all back? Oh, I'm sorry. That sounds like it's your money to begin with! Gee, what a concept! You work. You make money. Oh, and then someone else tells you how it needs to be spent or saved. Are we such idiots that we can't figure that out for ourselves? Oh, and if you don't mind and you aren't the idiot, what gives you the right to say others are idiots and have to have it taken from them so someone supposedly smarter can tell them how to spend it? How arrogant! Why don't we make sure we are teaching economics in school instead of how to put a condom on a cucumber and make sure that people are equipped to make their own decisions? Oh, more logic 101.
Since when did America become the bad guy? We go over and liberate Afghanistan and Iraq and then the media portrays us as people that flush pages of the Koran down the toilet or let a woman soldier put an Iraqi man on a leash. I'm sorry that bad things happen in war, but isnt' that what war is? It's a bad thing. It's sometimes a necessary thing. We teach our soldiers to kill people and break things. That is what an army is for. America has spread democracy to more nations than any other. America gives more than any other. Americans give more than others. We are the most charitable nation. We are the only nation with the ability to assist others such as Iraq and Afghanistan. We bring in other nations to assist us in accomplishing these goals. So why are we the bad guy? Why aren't our allies portrayed as bad guys with us? If we are so bad, why are so many people trying to get into our country and enjoy our freedoms? Simply put, we are a great nation and a great country. We are not the bad guy. Those who oppress their own people are bad guys. They must be taken out and their people freed. Logic 101.
I know not everyone agrees and that's ok. It's really ok that we don't all agree. It doesn't mean we can't be friends and find other common ground. I'm glad I enjoy the freedoms I have and I hope that others around the world are able to enjoy freedom. Freedom to speak your mind. Freedom to spend your money how you see fit. Freedom to have ideas and enter them into the realm of ideas. Freedom to worship. Freedom to carry a Bible with you in a school. Freedom to pray at any time anywhere. Freedom to let your communities, instead of some governmental body many states away, decide what is best in your area. Freedom to listen to the music you want. Freedom to own property. Freedom to vote for your leaders. Freedom is a great thing. Pass it on!
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Brittany's Birthday
Today is my oldest daughter's birthday. I'm not able to share it with her today. I did get to do that last week. When her mother was pregnant with her, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to raise a child. I was terrified, excited, and hoping we'd have a boy. When Brittany was born, my world changed, as does everyone's when a child comes into the world. I was faced with raising a daughter and I was even more terrified and excited. I suddenly forgot what life was like without her. It wasn't an easy transition due to how scared I was, but I never wished that she didn't exist. She became my world.
When Brittany was born, she came out head first with a little help. She was our coneheaded baby for a while. She had a head full of hair. We were finally able to take her home, only to have to bring her right back to the hospital due to some jaundice. It wasn't anything major, but to first time parents, it's really hard to have to take your child right back. I worked nights at the donut shop and slept the day in the hospital until we were able to take her home the second time.
Brittany was a real crier. It seemed to me that she cried constantly. I had to leave the room sometimes after doing everything I knew how to do and I would end up crying, too, sometimes. At first, I mostly got angry. I couldn't figure out why this little girl was crying so much. When you aren't used to the sound, it's maddening. It truly is the most annoying sound in the world.
I have a confession to make. One day I got so angry that I lightly shook her car seat/carrier. It wasn't violent, but I did feel as though my head was going to explode and it took great self restraint to make it a light shake. My wife spoke to me in the harshest tone I had ever heard from her and told me to cut it out. Something in my head went calm when she spoke and I never did it again. I had never done it before. It freaked me out that I could have suddenly become "that guy". I hated myself for it. I hated the crying. It's one thing when you know how to stop it, but I didn't. It terrified me. I really wasn't as ready as I hoped I'd be.
Brittany doesn't cry so much anymore. She is still very sensitive and I have grown to love that about her, even if I have to tell her not to get carried away by it. In many ways, we share that same sensitive spirit. There are days I still cry, too.
I love Brittany so much. I remember her first birthday in her little pink swimsuit and how we had her eat her cake while wearing it in her high chair. She had her own little white cake with frosting and made such a wonderful mess of it. I remember her first day of school, too. She was a bit nervous about it, but did very well. She excelled in school and during pre-school got a "computer license". As a computer technician, I am so proud of that. Brittany has grown into such a wonderful young lady over the last 10 years.
I know that the divorce was very hard on Brittany. After Paige was born, Brittany and I probably grew a bit apart. There was a new baby that needed attention and I honestly didn't have a lot of patience for many of the things kids do. Since I was the one home during the day, I'm sure Brittany grew to see me as the discipline dad. She didn't need a lot of it, but when you have little sleep and there is a new baby in the house on a schedule, it can make you a bit short. Patience has never been one of my strong points, but it is something I have learned over recent years.
When the divorce was going on, I saw the girls about as often as I do now; every other week. We had a lot of fun on our weekends, but when I took them to the sitter's house for their mother to pick them up the next morning, it was very difficult. Brittany, Paige, and I would cry like babies. I tried not to, but it was hard. It would have been easier if I was able to take them directly to their mother, but her schedule was not a good one then. After the divorce was final, I had a friend that would make the ride with me and she would make sure to let me get things out of my system most of the hour and a half ride back. I used that time to cry like a baby some more and spent a lot of time in prayer. I hate only being able to see my kids every other weekend.
It's hard when you don't get to be there through the day to day things. It's hard to miss all the little things that my parents were there for me through. I just want to get better seats in watching them grow up and I want to have more influence.
I can't imagine life without my children. I love Brittany and Paige and they are the reason I live. Brittany is a decade old and Paige turns lucky number 7 next month. As long as I have their love, I have all I need.
When Brittany was born, she came out head first with a little help. She was our coneheaded baby for a while. She had a head full of hair. We were finally able to take her home, only to have to bring her right back to the hospital due to some jaundice. It wasn't anything major, but to first time parents, it's really hard to have to take your child right back. I worked nights at the donut shop and slept the day in the hospital until we were able to take her home the second time.
Brittany was a real crier. It seemed to me that she cried constantly. I had to leave the room sometimes after doing everything I knew how to do and I would end up crying, too, sometimes. At first, I mostly got angry. I couldn't figure out why this little girl was crying so much. When you aren't used to the sound, it's maddening. It truly is the most annoying sound in the world.
I have a confession to make. One day I got so angry that I lightly shook her car seat/carrier. It wasn't violent, but I did feel as though my head was going to explode and it took great self restraint to make it a light shake. My wife spoke to me in the harshest tone I had ever heard from her and told me to cut it out. Something in my head went calm when she spoke and I never did it again. I had never done it before. It freaked me out that I could have suddenly become "that guy". I hated myself for it. I hated the crying. It's one thing when you know how to stop it, but I didn't. It terrified me. I really wasn't as ready as I hoped I'd be.
Brittany doesn't cry so much anymore. She is still very sensitive and I have grown to love that about her, even if I have to tell her not to get carried away by it. In many ways, we share that same sensitive spirit. There are days I still cry, too.
I love Brittany so much. I remember her first birthday in her little pink swimsuit and how we had her eat her cake while wearing it in her high chair. She had her own little white cake with frosting and made such a wonderful mess of it. I remember her first day of school, too. She was a bit nervous about it, but did very well. She excelled in school and during pre-school got a "computer license". As a computer technician, I am so proud of that. Brittany has grown into such a wonderful young lady over the last 10 years.
I know that the divorce was very hard on Brittany. After Paige was born, Brittany and I probably grew a bit apart. There was a new baby that needed attention and I honestly didn't have a lot of patience for many of the things kids do. Since I was the one home during the day, I'm sure Brittany grew to see me as the discipline dad. She didn't need a lot of it, but when you have little sleep and there is a new baby in the house on a schedule, it can make you a bit short. Patience has never been one of my strong points, but it is something I have learned over recent years.
When the divorce was going on, I saw the girls about as often as I do now; every other week. We had a lot of fun on our weekends, but when I took them to the sitter's house for their mother to pick them up the next morning, it was very difficult. Brittany, Paige, and I would cry like babies. I tried not to, but it was hard. It would have been easier if I was able to take them directly to their mother, but her schedule was not a good one then. After the divorce was final, I had a friend that would make the ride with me and she would make sure to let me get things out of my system most of the hour and a half ride back. I used that time to cry like a baby some more and spent a lot of time in prayer. I hate only being able to see my kids every other weekend.
It's hard when you don't get to be there through the day to day things. It's hard to miss all the little things that my parents were there for me through. I just want to get better seats in watching them grow up and I want to have more influence.
I can't imagine life without my children. I love Brittany and Paige and they are the reason I live. Brittany is a decade old and Paige turns lucky number 7 next month. As long as I have their love, I have all I need.
Off To A Great Start...NOT!
I had hoped to have this weekend free to get a lot of things done. I guess I still will, but with less time to be lazy. I had volunteered to work a Saturday shift a couple weeks ago and totally forgot it was today until about 45 minutes after I was to be there. I got there an hour late with some real hustle. What a way to start a weekend!
I had a great night last night. Anne called and said there was an extra ticket to the Iowa Cubs game against the Fresno Grizzlies. I was originally going to see Kip Winger, then was asked to go to Bike Night in Indianola, and then this came along. You know, it's always great to go to a ballpark, enjoy a game, have some hot dogs, and even see fireworks. Anne had a friend there who brought her daughter. That little girl was a real character and we had a great time goofing off. At the end of the game, one of the Grizzlie players tossed me a baseball to give to her. That was awfully nice and she was showing it off to a friend as we left the ballpark. It was a better evening than either of the other two plans, considering I've already seen Kip solo. I need to get out to the ballgames more often. I need to go see the Royals when the Yankees are in town, too!
I have more to post and will do so tonight. There are so many things I want to rant and rave about...
I had a great night last night. Anne called and said there was an extra ticket to the Iowa Cubs game against the Fresno Grizzlies. I was originally going to see Kip Winger, then was asked to go to Bike Night in Indianola, and then this came along. You know, it's always great to go to a ballpark, enjoy a game, have some hot dogs, and even see fireworks. Anne had a friend there who brought her daughter. That little girl was a real character and we had a great time goofing off. At the end of the game, one of the Grizzlie players tossed me a baseball to give to her. That was awfully nice and she was showing it off to a friend as we left the ballpark. It was a better evening than either of the other two plans, considering I've already seen Kip solo. I need to get out to the ballgames more often. I need to go see the Royals when the Yankees are in town, too!
I have more to post and will do so tonight. There are so many things I want to rant and rave about...
Thursday, May 19, 2005
So far...
Well, what do you think of this design so far? There is tons that I would like to have up on here like the MSN site. http://spaces.msn.com/members/sonofapreacher I've been able to get the picture in the profile, but it's not the picture I will have there eventually.
Steph has done a great job getting the posts and a couple portions of links put up on here. She's wonderful at this type of thing. I do hope to eventually have everything put over here and I hope it gets easier to do once it's in shape. If you haven't seen her site, please check out the link to it on the left. She's the best!
Lex, flickr was the place to go to get the picture in for the profile. I also used that to upload some photos of my kids so my parents were able to view them. Lex, I do hope you grow your hair back out, too! You look so good with long hair. Doesn't everyone?
I have the coming weekend open to try to get a few more things on here. There is so much to rant about lately that there may be several posts made at once, so please take your time to peruse them and comment. There will be more about softball since I'm playing again tonight. You will hear about my first love who I thought I was going to marry. I have some rants about politics. I may even go off about my ex-wife, but I will have to be careful about that one. Enjoy and provide your feedback!
Steph has done a great job getting the posts and a couple portions of links put up on here. She's wonderful at this type of thing. I do hope to eventually have everything put over here and I hope it gets easier to do once it's in shape. If you haven't seen her site, please check out the link to it on the left. She's the best!
Lex, flickr was the place to go to get the picture in for the profile. I also used that to upload some photos of my kids so my parents were able to view them. Lex, I do hope you grow your hair back out, too! You look so good with long hair. Doesn't everyone?
I have the coming weekend open to try to get a few more things on here. There is so much to rant about lately that there may be several posts made at once, so please take your time to peruse them and comment. There will be more about softball since I'm playing again tonight. You will hear about my first love who I thought I was going to marry. I have some rants about politics. I may even go off about my ex-wife, but I will have to be careful about that one. Enjoy and provide your feedback!
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Petra
My favorite Christian rock band is retiring at the end of this year. They better hit Des Moines before they shut this band down! Petra means rock. Petra is rock. I grew up with this band. I used to strut around my neighborhood and on my paper route with a mono tape deck that I cranked as loud as I could.
More Power To Ya was the first tape I ever heard and it blew me away. Second Wind, Run For The Prize, Stand Up. Those songs just captured me and rocked me. Three days later I grabbed their previous tape, Never Say Die. Soon I caught them live near St. Louis on the Not Of This World tour. The band September opened and then Petra came out with small chest plates that had little red lights on them in the shape of a sword. This was just too much! I was sitting down front and couldn't believe that Christians could get away with playing loud music like this.
Soon I had the whole tape collection and knew most every song by heart. I followed the band with every tape and CD and was able to catch them opening night of the This Means War tour in Jefferson City, MO. The band Xara opened and we had a meet and greet at a local arcade afterwards where I got all of their autographs. I saw them several more times over the years and even met John Schlitt before a show asking him if they would do Bema Seat, which was one of their most rockin' tunes. He said to just watch and see because they had a surprise. They did a medley of many of the old tunes. I was on the front row and he just smiled and nodded at me when they started up. I gave him a big thumbs up.
I was visiting Illinois for my Grandma Sites' birthday and my Uncle Jerry came and sat near me. He asked me about this Petra poster on the church wall and asked who one of the guys was. I said that it was John Schlitt. He said that he thought he looked familiar because the Schlitt kids and other neighborhood kids came to his house when they were young and played around his big oak tree that had a swing on it. My jaw dropped. All this time my Uncle knew who the Schlitt family was? WOW! I didn't grow up around my uncle so this was huge news and was probably the longest conversation we ever had.
Bob Hartman is really the guy who started Petra and defined Petra. They started as a four piece in Indiana in the early 70's and then hired a guy named Greg X. Volz who turned down REO Speedwagon. Greg quickly became the voice of Petra and recorded several albums with them before he went solo. Instead of breaking up the band in the 80's, Bob got ahold of John Schlitt who used to sing for Head East. Remember Never Been Any Reason? That's John! This band has been through more changes than any band I've ever heard of, but they have always had a core and have always sounded like Petra. They have a distinct sound and I just love them.
I'm sorry to see them go after over 30 years, but that's life. I hope they hit Des Moines this year as I have to see them one more time. If you get a chance, pick up their last release, Jekyll & Hyde. It's a return to the rock sound that grabbed me when I was a pre-teen. Petra rocks!
More Power To Ya was the first tape I ever heard and it blew me away. Second Wind, Run For The Prize, Stand Up. Those songs just captured me and rocked me. Three days later I grabbed their previous tape, Never Say Die. Soon I caught them live near St. Louis on the Not Of This World tour. The band September opened and then Petra came out with small chest plates that had little red lights on them in the shape of a sword. This was just too much! I was sitting down front and couldn't believe that Christians could get away with playing loud music like this.
Soon I had the whole tape collection and knew most every song by heart. I followed the band with every tape and CD and was able to catch them opening night of the This Means War tour in Jefferson City, MO. The band Xara opened and we had a meet and greet at a local arcade afterwards where I got all of their autographs. I saw them several more times over the years and even met John Schlitt before a show asking him if they would do Bema Seat, which was one of their most rockin' tunes. He said to just watch and see because they had a surprise. They did a medley of many of the old tunes. I was on the front row and he just smiled and nodded at me when they started up. I gave him a big thumbs up.
I was visiting Illinois for my Grandma Sites' birthday and my Uncle Jerry came and sat near me. He asked me about this Petra poster on the church wall and asked who one of the guys was. I said that it was John Schlitt. He said that he thought he looked familiar because the Schlitt kids and other neighborhood kids came to his house when they were young and played around his big oak tree that had a swing on it. My jaw dropped. All this time my Uncle knew who the Schlitt family was? WOW! I didn't grow up around my uncle so this was huge news and was probably the longest conversation we ever had.
Bob Hartman is really the guy who started Petra and defined Petra. They started as a four piece in Indiana in the early 70's and then hired a guy named Greg X. Volz who turned down REO Speedwagon. Greg quickly became the voice of Petra and recorded several albums with them before he went solo. Instead of breaking up the band in the 80's, Bob got ahold of John Schlitt who used to sing for Head East. Remember Never Been Any Reason? That's John! This band has been through more changes than any band I've ever heard of, but they have always had a core and have always sounded like Petra. They have a distinct sound and I just love them.
I'm sorry to see them go after over 30 years, but that's life. I hope they hit Des Moines this year as I have to see them one more time. If you get a chance, pick up their last release, Jekyll & Hyde. It's a return to the rock sound that grabbed me when I was a pre-teen. Petra rocks!
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Trying this out in comparison to MSN Spaces!
I've been keeping a blog at http://spaces.msn.com/members/sonofapreacher and have heard that I ought to consider moving over here. I will be looking into this and try to set it up as best as possible here so that it may be easier to comment. In the meantime, please view the other site and get an MSN passport so that you can comment there, too.
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