Day 7 - HELP! There are BEATLES in my house!

The Beatles are considered one the greatest rock bands ever; and I think I may have to agree. Not only were the Beatles one my parents' favorite bands in the 60's, I listened to a lot of their music during the 80's, and now my kids (especially Rachel) love listening to the Beatles as well. In fact my daughter loves them so much, she has them on her I-Pod and she looked up their movies to watch on Netflix and on YouTube. We have the Beatles album, ONE, in my car and I am forced to listen to it over and over again with my kids. I didn't realize how many of the Beatles songs I actually could sing by memory. (If I couldn't before I can now!) I also didn't realize that just under half the #1 songs on the album debuted after I was born. I was born in the middle of Beatlemania; Dang, I'm old. On a closing note, I think John Lennon sounds a little like Wakko Warner from the Animaniacs!

Day 6 - First Movie of the Year, It was an "elementary" choice.

I have decided to keep up with all the movies I have seen for the first time (either on DVD/Blue-Ray, Television or at the Theaters) this year. Recently, my wife asked me, "What was your favorite movie you've seen all of last year? I started thinking, does this include movies at the theater only? If so then the answer would be a three way tie between Courageous, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II. Of all the movies I saw for the first time through Netflix or DVD/Blue-Ray purchase none compared to the three above; neither did any movie I saw for the first time on television. The question did get me to thinking; how many movies did I watch, for the first time, last year? I keep up with the books I read, but how many hours do I sit watching movies? So, I'm keeping track.

This afternoon I watched my first "new" movie of the year. It was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Although a very good movie; it was not quite as good as the first Sherlock Holmes move. Still I enjoyed the show, as well as my two children. Some how I don't think this the end of the Sherlock Holmes movies.

Just to let you know I will probably not post every new movie I see this year!

Day 5 - Eating Frogs & Journal Writing

This morning my wife told me about a way to help your day go a bit smoother. She told me to "eat my frog first, then the rest of the day will move along smoother." Eat a frog? Turns out that your "frog" is the one thing that you need to do that day that you really don't want to do. If you do that one horrible, hard, time consuming thing first, then your day should be easier to deal with because the hard part it already done. So "Eat your Frog" first!

In the spirit of "frog eating", I started to put together a set of chest of drawers for my son. I have had them in the garage since late September. I figured it was about time to get that out of the way. Shortly after getting started, I realized that an important piece was missing from the materials in the box. I called the company and they are shipping me a new part, which should arrive in a few days. So, I guess I will eat this frog in pieces.

I also decided today that I will resume my journal writing. Not only will it help me write down my goals and steps to meet them; but it will also help me evaluate certain feelings and actions that I have been struggling with recently. I also plan to resume my Bible reading/studies. I also need to re-connect with my Creator. Pray for me!

Day 4 - It's Officially Presidential Election Time (Dang it!)

It's that time again where every 4th year we endure month after month of annoying advertisements from politicians with aspirations of becoming the next President of the United States. As an American I love the fact that we can freely choose who the next leaders of our nation will be, I just hate the "politics" we have to endure to do it. I also wish we had at least one more, or two less, political parties to choose from. Until then I will try to stay informed as possible about the current candidates who are running.

1st the Democratic Party -- Since the current President of the United States is a Democrat, there are no other Democrats challenging his re-election. In case you live in a hole in the ground, our current President, Barack Obama is seeking reelection.

Now, the Republican Party -- At first candidates were joining the race as fast as flies find road kill, (sorry for the sappy choice of words) now they are dropping one by one, until only one remains to challenge the President. With Rep. Michele Bachmann ending her candidacy today, there are currently there are seven well known candidates to choose from (although at least two of them really have no chance at all). In alphabetical order here they are:

1. Former Speaker of the House and U.S. Representative from Georgia -- Newt Gingrich.

2. Former U.S. Ambassador to China and Former Governor of Utah -- John Huntsman, Jr.

3. Current U.S. Representative from Texas - Ron Paul.

4. Current Governor of Texas -- Rick Perry.

5. Former Governor of Louisiana -- Buddy Roemer.

6. Former Governor of Massachusetts -- Mitt Romney.

7. Former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania -- Rick Santorum.

Stay informed and choose wisely!

2012 - Day 3 - It's a Smallville After All

Day 3 of 2012 begins with me filling out a job application to become a sub and a Math tutor for Mansfield ISD. Once again, I am looking for a new job. Don't really wish to discuss how/why I need to do this, just back job hunting mode again. I am also going to be working at Starbucks again, hopefully for at least 20 + hours a week, so I can get insurance for me and the kids.

I have also started watching Smallville on DVD. My kids started watching it with their cousins over the holidays and now they want to get it through Netflix. So I borrow Season 1 from my sister-in-law and I am trying to catch up to the kids, so we can watch the rest of it together.

I am also trying to help my kiddos do a little catch up work with their home-schooling so they will be ready to re-enter public schools next year.

Sorry about the corny pun in the title! :)

2012 - Day 2 -- Please Approach the Elephant, Your Adventure is About to Begin

Today my family and I took a trip to visit Jamie's aunt in Lewisville. (We actually went to seen her new cats). After a short visit, we went to the Grapevine Mills Mall, where Rachel used her Books-A-Million gift card and we ate lunch at The Rainforest Cafe. While waiting almost 40 minutes to be seated, I purchased a stuffed King Penguin at their Build-a-Bear Workshop. I named the penguin "Nero" mistakenly thinking I got an "emperor" penguin. The guacamole hamburger I got was so big I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to bite it. As a result, a lot of the fixins fell out of the back onto my plate; it was sort of like eating a burger and a salad.

Despite the delicious food, the cost of the experience was a little pricey, which is probably why we don't visit there very often. It was fun though. I think I want to spend the rest of the afternoon, just sleeping off the burger, before heading out to do a little grocery shopping for the rest of the week.

2012 - Day 1

Happy New Year 2012!

It's another year and it's time to...time to...well...let's see...eat more healthy, try to exercise more, read more, and try to spend more quality time with the family. Seem's like I've heard or resolved all of this before. So, I try again!

Today, I started reading my first new book of the year. I am reading Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. I am also reading Bloom County Babylon: Five Years of Basic Naughtiness by Berke Breathed. I know Bloom County may not be considered literature by some people; however, it is classic reading.

My family and I tried a new place to eat today as well. We tried Babe's Chicken. We have been hearing for a while how great this place is; so, today we tried it. The food was good (I got Catfish, Jamie got Hickory Smoked Chicken, Caleb got a huge Chicken Fried Steak and Rachel got some Pork Ribs) and our waitress was fantastic. Overall the taste of the food couldn't outweigh the price of the food. Considering the price we paid, we would have expected our meal to be some of the best food we have ever eaten. Like I said, the food was good, but it was not great! It was a little disappointing.

So 2012 starts. I hope this year fairs better than 2011.