Fickle Obsessor

Great Song

2010-06-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

New Blog

2009-05-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

Check out my other blog. I'm going to be on there more often for the time being.

It is HERE

See ya.

Finally!!!

2009-05-29T00:04:00.000-07:00

I finally got my computer!!! I'll try to be posting more often now that I'm back in business. Hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow.

It's Coming...

2009-05-08T01:31:00.000-07:00

My laptop should be in next week...hopefully.

And, and update from a previous post. If you live in, or near, Chula Vista, you know the tax increase proposition didn't pass. What that means is our city is in DIRE shape and there will be some substantial cuts. I don't know how much it'll affect me but I should get a feel for it in the next couple of weeks.

Let's hope my computer gets here soon so I can start blogging more, and try to catch up with my fantasy baseball team.

Later.

Status

2009-04-16T01:03:00.000-07:00

Having the computer hooked up to the TV monitor sucks!!!

One little item to note: Megan has finally figured out what "Fickle Obsessor" is all about. And she has become one herself!

I'm signing off for a little while but I will be back to posting once my laptop comes in from work (hopefully within the next couple of weeks, but you never know with them).

Until then...see ya!

Tax increase: to vote, or not to vote

2009-04-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Being a government employee in my own city, I often feel torn on voting to increase taxes. This time it's a 1% sales tax increase. If it goes through, I'll be looking at 9.75% sales tax everytime I buy something in Chula Vista! That's ridiculous.

If it doesn't pass, our director's been keeping quiet so I have no idea the impact it will have on our department. I've been told my job's secure but you never really know. I'm fairly certain a few of my co-workers will be laid off. Plus just about all city services will be scaled back tremendously.

On the other hand, is this just a bailout for years of politician's and incompetent city official's mismanagement of funds? I believe the short answer is yes but most if those people are gone. My old neighbor used to be Asst. City Manager and on his way out, he told my boss to prepare for financial collapse in this city. That was over 5 years ago. Apparently this isn't really a new issue but now it's more relevant.

What would you do if you were me?

For you CV residents, how will you vote?

Change

2009-04-05T01:25:00.000-07:00

This is only a temporary change to my template. Found a lot of templates that I liked but a lot of the functionality wasn't there so enjoy the nice side of a house in the meantime.

Food

2009-04-05T00:37:00.001-07:00

I always wanted to believe that sugar and fat were acquired tastes. "My dad used to give me Hershey's bars when I was a kid so that's why I like them today." Or, "Those fries are gross because I never got used to them as a kid."

I always wanted to believe that was the case so I could blame my taste buds on my parents. But all too often, personal accountability shines up on the marquee.

On a similar note, Megan and I were talking about control and how food consumption is something we have control over. All too often we tend to get carried away trying to make up for a lack of control in other areas of our lives by allowing ourselves to eat unhealthy foods. I never thought of it that way but now I can buy into the theory of how self-confidence can affect your weight (I'd think primarily your diet but exercise as well). If you have a high self-worth, you don't worry about being controlled in other aspects of your life and then focus on keeping control of the things you eat. If you change your outlook on what you eat, and take control of wanting to eat healthy, it should be just as easy to pass on that ice cream sandwich as it is to scarf down those cookies.

Granted, we were discussing this over a bowl of fried potato wedges covered in cheese and bacon, followed by fried cheese filled ravioli and a philly cheese steak sandwich. A change of outlook on life doesn't often come over dinner. It generally takes at least a day to kick in.

On a similar note, our son, Noah, has quite a bit of a problem. Noah is not really a big eater...or an eater at all for that matter. He chooses to get his nutrition through liquid formula, and nothing else. He'll occasionally suck down a few spoonfuls of pureed veges or some yogurt but rarely will he get through an entire "meal". Often, we'll give him something "solid" like pureed carrots and the second it hits his tongue, he starts gagging like it's poison. If it wasn't so frustrating, it would be hilarious. He has, in the past, gagged to the point of throwing all his formula up because a baby puff touched his tongue. I think Noah has taken the control issue to a whole new level.

Let's hope in the near future, he'll decide food isn't all bad.

Brain Pain

2009-04-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

For the record, if you didn't already think I was weird...

I don't why, but the other day I started to think about time. What is time really but just something we use to define our life slipping away. It doesn't stick around and wait for us. It doesn't make a comeback when "times" are tough to be "easy".

It's in a never ending perpetual state of motion because if it wasn't...there would be nothing. Everything takes time. It takes me approximately 5.5 seconds to breathe in and breathe out. If time stopped, where would I get my breaths?

My mind is just starting to go crazy...

What really baffles me is God created the heavens and the earth BEFORE time!!! WHAT??? And for non-believers to think that the universe is infinite...just makes my brain hurt. I have a hard time understanding how a little device about 2 inches wide can keep perfect time. How did the people that thought of these ideas come up with this stuff? But to start thinking universally about the expanse of the "timeless" universe makes me want to cry.

I think I'll just try to wrap my head around how a tree can turn into paper. I think I can handle that one.

I've lost my following :(

2009-03-31T00:07:00.000-07:00

You stop blogging for only 5 months and everybody bails on you. Fairweather, I tell you!

It's not like I had a huge following or anything...maybe 3 or 4 people. But it's sad to think they are all gone.

Please come back!!! I did!

March 29th Worship Confessional

2009-03-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

I normally don't account for the days I lead worship, but today was too fun to not to.

We actually make it out of the house on time, if not early, for the first time in probably years. I'm feeling pretty confident in the songs I'm doing plus I have a great drummer and a professional sound man this morning so with the combination of those two, I can fudge a few things here and there and it should go unnoticed.

I show up and start setting everything up. Last time I led worship, we didn't have any drum mics or extra mic cables so we weren't able to mic up the drums. Today, everything was where it needed to be. I even had extra cables.

I'm almost done setting up my gear when I realize there is no sound guy. It's getting close to 8am so I start calling to no avail. In the meantime, I also notice our drummer's not there either. Start calling him too but goes straight to voicemail. Our sound guy confirmed with our Pastor earlier in the week and our drummer confirmed online about a month ago so I thought everything would be fine.

Finally, it's around 8:30 and Megan and Janae, who were singing, were back at the soundboard trying to find channels that weren't broken so we can actually get sound coming out of the speakers. We finally got everything set up (minus a drummer and an actual sound guy) by 8:45 so we had time to run through one song.

Here were the songs we did:

Romans 12:1
Majestic
Hosanna
The Power of Your Name
God of This City
How Great Is Our God

The front end of the set would have been real drum heavy so it took some concentration on my part to get through those songs. For the Power of Your Name, I made a midi piano and drum track to accompany it and it did wonders in filling out the song and keeping us on tempo. By the way, Megan did an OUTSTANDING job during the solo on it. Absolutely beautiful!!!

Luckily, Steve Scott was able to sit in on djembe the second service and that helped us out a lot. Also, during the sermon of the second service, I see the sound guy that was supposed to be here all morning standing outside talking to another guy. I give him credit for showing up knowing he probably felt pretty bad bailing out on us this morning.

I feel, under the circumstances, I did a decent job but was pretty disappointed that I let some things affect the way I led this morning. Being that I only get to lead worship about once every six months or so, I put a lot of stock in my days on the mic so I add more pressure to myself than is already there. Hopefully, in the future, I can use this day as a tool to improve on my abilities.

A little premature excitement

2009-03-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

My last post, I referenced our computer dying. Good news is I had previously acquired a sponsorship from Island's Restaurants for work who gave us a lot more money than I anticipated so now I have money lying around for a work computer. My old boss and I have been harping about the need for me to have a laptop since I'm out in the field quite often and now the time is almost here.

I have to wait for my director to cut me a check and then it's shopping time. Since many people have a key to my office I'd obviously have to bring the computer home every night. Geez... what a burden.

I'm back!!!

2009-03-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

At least for a few posts. Timing would have it that I stopped blogging around the time our computer died. Anyway, a little update on our last post.

Most of you know this but we ended up getting a 42" LCD television and HDTV is glorious but WAY underused. We watch so many things on our old school Tivo that we rarely turn on live HD tv. I try to fit in Sportscenter every now and then so I can get my fix of sports and high quality tv, but not even remotely as much as I need to watch it.

Also, I recently purchased a bmx bike off of craigslist to cruise around like a teenager. It's actually a blast to ride one again and it only cost me $20. I had to replace the freewheel so I'm only out $10 extra bucks. I took it for a ride last Saturday out Proctor Valley Road (dirt road a few miles from our place) and rode through the hills above Upper Otay Lakes and down by the dam, and the up Otay Lakes Road back home. Along the way I met up with a 5 foot snake who didn't like me riding so close to him. He struck at me when I went by him, and then again when I went back because the trail just ended. All in all, a good workout and a great time.

THE END!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-22T07:41:00.000-08:00

Megan went to turn on the television this morning and heard a pop. This is the second TV that we've owned that has "blown up."

Poor Ryan is so used to watching Little Einsteins while drinking his milk in the morning, he's not quite sure what to do.

Good news is I've been wanting to get a flat panel HDTV.

Bad news is we don't have money.

We'll see what news wins.

Life is Short. Have an Affair.

2008-11-22T00:07:00.001-08:00

Now before you jump to any conclusions, let me explain...

I was watching Sportscenter (which I rarely do) and it was right at midnight when a commercial came on. I was pretty disinterested in it so I continued looking at my Fantasy Football dominance (Yahoo sports, Megan). Then all of a sudden, I glance up at the screen and it shows "AshleyMadison.com" with the tag line, "Life is Short. Have an Affair." I had to rewind the Tivo to do a double-take to see if I really saw that. Apparently, it's some social networking website that is made for married people to find cheating partners. This is for real.

This is one of the most disheartening things I've ever seen and to have it promoted on national television is despicable. According to their website, they don't encourage cheating or increase cheating, but say that if you want to cheat, this is the place to go.

Please join me in praying for all those who choose infidelity over marital commitment, and for those who choose to run a business aimed at encouraging people to cheat.

Free at last!!!!!!

2008-11-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

One thing we've been struggling with is having Noah in our bed. Our uneasy sleep may be a partial cause to his "rough" nights, plus we have to share a bed with a 6-month old.

Well...not any more. We went out and got a toddler bed for Ryan and converted Ryan's bed back into a crib to put Noah in. Then I had to reorganize the room a bit to get them both situated in there.

Tonight is the first night Noah is in the crib and so far, so good (it's only midnight right now, but all is going well).

We decided to have Ryan stay at Donna's so Noah can get used to his new sleeping arrangements. So, in all actuality, tomorrow night will be the real test.

Here are some pics of the crib with Noah in it and Ryan's new bed.

90 degrees???

2008-11-15T23:45:00.001-08:00

It is November, right?

Today was 90 degrees. Tomorrow, the same.

I'm starting to get sick and tired of this. Bring on Winter.

Shoot, bring on Fall at least.

Moment of Truth and Vulnerability

2008-11-14T22:59:00.001-08:00

Today is November 14th...

2 weeks to the day of Halloween...

Here is our pumpkin...

This image has not been doctored. You are looking at a 100% stock pumpkin.

Please don't judge me as a parent based on this.

Maybe next year we'll actually cut into one!!!

Barona Casino Buffet

2008-11-13T23:54:00.000-08:00

Megan and I went to the Barona Buffet tonight. TOO MUCH FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm stuffed and tired. Good night all.

Chicken & Red Pepper Sandwich

2008-11-10T22:23:00.000-08:00

So here is my recipe for this very flavorful sandwich.

I had some red peppers left over from something we made and wanted to do something with them, so I came up with this simple, yet delicious, recipe for a great sandwich.

Ingredients:
Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast
Cream Cheese (low fat, or if you can find, fat free)
Mrs. Dash seasoning
Garlic Pepper
Garlic Salt
Seasoning salt (Lawry's type)
Red Bell Peppers
Monterey Jack Cheese (block or shredded)
Olive Oil
Wheat French Rolls

Preparation:
First off, you want to season the chicken breast with the garlic pepper, Mrs. Dash, and season salt. I don't really have a particular amount I put on but you want to put on enough to give it some taste. I use a covered stoneware baker and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Then slice the red bell peppers into 2-inch wide strips, coat a frying pan in olive oil and saute the bell peppers until tender (if you have time to fire-roast the peppers, that would taste a little better).

Cut about an 1/8 of the cream cheese block off and put it in a bowl. Add about a half-teaspoon of each of these seasonings: Mrs. Dash, seasoning salt, and garlic salt. Cover and put in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. Mix the cream cheese and seasonings well.

Cut the french rolls lengthwise and spread the cream cheese spread onto the bread.

When the chicken is done, cut into strips and line the bottom piece of bread with chicken. Cover with jack cheese. Line the top piece of bread with the bell pepper and put both pieces open-faced in the toaster oven and toast on medium-high (this is very important to melt the cheese, to meld the flavors together from the spread, to the chicken, to the bell peppers, and to add a little texture to the bread).

When done toasting, put the pieces together and...voila, you have a delicious concoction.

Blogging

2008-11-09T23:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, I've just posted 3 blogs and I haven't had one in months. You say, "What gives?" Well, nothing. I just felt like posting and will try to post at least one thing a day. Regardless of how meaningless it may be.

Tomorrow: Tim teeters the line of heterosexuality and talks about his favorite sandwich creation recipe. Until then...

Son of a...

2008-11-09T23:41:00.000-08:00

Look closely.

Nothing else to say.

Snow in Eastlake???

2008-11-09T23:27:00.000-08:00

Since we've been on a hot streak these last couple weeks (months), today's rainy weather hearkened back to last March when I was going to drop off a bank deposit for work. Take a look at this picture.

Actually, today was nowhere near as cold as that day in March, but it still was a nice change.

Jake Peavy and Pat Green rockin' out

2008-11-06T01:09:00.001-08:00

Denver Trip - Tim's take

2008-09-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

Megan has been doing a great job chronicling our trip to Denver but I figured I'd give my own take on the trip.

When we flew in, and drove to Adam and Amy's, I noticed that the terrain in Denver is not what I anticipated. There are very few trees and it is flat. A little surprising but I wasn't holding it against Colorado. In fact, here is a view from Red Rocks Amphitheater that kind of shows the "plains" view of Denver.

The zoo was pretty fun until Ryan was overly tired and it was a million degrees. We went back to the house and just hung out and cooled off until we stuffed ourself with the extreme amount of sweets that Amy made for Joshua's birthday party.

(Not shown are the lion cookies...and yes, there are 2 cakes!!!)

The church that Adam and Amy go to is pretty amazing. Their worship leader is great and the "secondary" worship leader sounded great too. The music was cranked, too!!! They did play a Coldplay and U2 song during the worship service and I think they probably could've given a little intro to those songs before putting up the lyrics for everybody to sing because they may not be about Jesus, and people may get confused about the message of the song (I was confused about one of the songs and didn't realize it was a Coldplay song until about a month ago). I digress.

We did a few things that is obligatory for a Farmer Family Trip. We went to the local professional sports team stadiums and got our pint glasses. The Rockies trip was fun because we actually got in a game. The seats were absolutely amazing! Here is a point of view shot.

Adam got some free tickets the following Friday night and I took Ryan downtown to meet Adam for a Boys Night Out and the second Rockies game of the week.

We also took a trip to the Broncos stadium. If I would've known then what I know now, I would have prayed over the stadium that whoever would be officiating the game between the Chargers and the Broncos would call a fair game void of any costly mistakes for the visiting team. You know the rest. As far as pictures go, this picture shows how you are greeted while coming into the main entrance to the stadium.

If you can't tell, this is the ass end of the horse sculptures. Very welcoming, huh???

Since it was a work trip, I guess I can give a little insight to my week learning about private recreational offerings...

Nah, you could care less.

New Toys

2008-09-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

After listening to a recording that Steve made of a service, I realized that I wanted to get a Les Paul style guitar to get more of a low end out of my sound. So, I rounded up some equipment to sell and raised enough money to get this Agile guitar.

For a pretty inexpensive guitar, it sounds, feels, and plays great. It's a perfect compliment to my other guitar, my 1977 Strat.

Then after reading Bobby's blog about his triathlon, I decided it was time I start getting back into shape (it's been quite a while) and get ready for me to do a triathlon. My current bike was a Mongoose mountain bike which rides real slow, is real heavy, I can't get the brakes to stop rubbing against the tires, and now can't get the front dérailleur to shift into the second gear (it goes from the 1st gear to the 3rd gear). Needless to say, I felt the need to get a different bike that I could actually put miles on.

I initially wanted to get a hybrid bike (kind of like a mountain bike with skinnier tires for the road). The one I was really looking at was new and was $489. I wanted to get the tri-bars to let me lean over, so that would've been another $30 for a used pair. Even with this one, I wouldn't be speeding real fast on any tracks.

So checking out Craigslist, I found this tri-bike that looked really cool. Most of the tri-bikes on there are around $900+ but this one was listed at $450. It looked a lot different that most bikes I've ever seen so I did a little research on it to see if it was legit. I went to check it out and it was in great shape and came with some extra goodies. It had a computer already on it (I will have to get an in-service training from Bobby about this one), the guy gave me an extra tire, the pedals on it are about $150 (I took them off for now until I get bike shoes), and the spokes on the wheels are aerodynamic. This bike is much more than I need right now, but it will work out perfect for me to train and to start racing (actually I'm hoping to finish, so calling it racing may be a stretch).

Ipod Touch 2.0

2008-08-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about getting the Ipod Touch 2.0 software and today I finally decided on it. My Ipod was saying that it was July 16th today so I figured I had to restore it anyway.

I found a link to get the software update for free and it actually worked. So, I've been browsing around for some cool stuff and ended up getting over 30 applications for free. I haven't put any of them on my Ipod yet but I'll let you know how they all work out.

For those of you that have an Ipod Touch and haven't gotten the 2.0 software, look up "Ipod Touch 2.0 free" on YouTube and you can find it right on top.

Later.

Olympics

2008-08-13T00:40:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here watching the Olympics into the wee hours of the night and then it dawns on me...I'm watching gymnastics.

There's something about the Olympic games where watching gymnastics, and figure skating (Winter obviously), is acceptable and, dare I say, engaging and entertaining. I think the Chargers need to kick off their regular season but in the meantime, let's hope and pray the mighty USA takes as many golds as possible.

Update

2008-07-31T23:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated in quite some time but here is a little update on what's been going on:

1) We went on a little vacation to Santa Cruz to get away and visit Bobby, Rachel and Caleb (their son). It was a great time. I got in a little surfing, played softball (struck out and homered in consecutive at-bats...consistent), went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, lots of laying around, and even more ice cream eatin'. Amazingly enough, I managed to lose 10 pounds while I was there.

2) There is now a BBQ restaurant in our neck of the woods here in Eastlake. It's Smokin' Sams and it's really good!!! Much better than Armadillo Willy's, Rachel. Anyway, we went there this past week and we're hitting it up again Sunday after church with Steve.

3) Back to the vacations...actually, this is not completely a vacation. Work is allowing me to go observe private recreational sports leagues in Denver. Luck has it, our friends, Adam and Amy Haslett, live in the Denver area and we're going to spend some time with them (plenty, since we are staying with them for 7 days) and their family. I'm going to spend just about every night there checking out dodgeball, kickball, softball, basketball, football, and tennis leagues around Denver area. But the rest of the time, I'm planning on spending time with the family going to the Children's Museum, taking a tour of Invesco Field (I may have to spit on the field the Broncos play on), going to see a Rockies game (against the Giants so I'll doubly piss off people there wearing my Padres hat), checking out mountain passes, and taking a drive up to Golden to visit the Coors Brewery and taking a tour there (can you say "Free Beer?").

4) Finally, Noah is growing up soooooo fast. Tonight, we were at a church-wide bible study and before the study started, we were rehearsing the music and Noah was sitting in his car seat. Mikaela, our Pastor John's daughter, started looking into the seat, along with Ryan. Noah just started smiling and laughing. He loves interacting with people and I'm pretty sure he's going to be a big flirt. He'll definitely be fighting with Ryan for the girls later on in life.

That's pretty much it for now (other than the fire in the canyon behind work, or the lady who was part of a dog show that we rent to at work who ran into someone with her car and then told the cops that she had a gun in her car and then got thrown in jail). Other than that, nothing else going on.

Happy Birthday

2008-07-17T00:38:00.001-07:00

I want to wish my beautiful wife a happy birthday and thank her for being such a great wife and wonderful mother.

Life is Fragile

2008-07-05T23:56:00.000-07:00

This past week, I got a call from one of my employees who was working at one of our softball fields. He told me that a player collapsed and there was an ambulance and firefighter trying to revive him. About 30 minutes later, my scorekeeper called me back and told me he didn't make it. The EMTs just covered him up in the middle of the field and waited for the medical examiner to show up.

Megan put it perfect in saying "I'm sure that is not how he expected his day to end up."

The next day I talked with the scorekeeper again and he told me the guy was bragging before the game that he had only missed one game in the past 15 years and that was last week for his daughter's graduation.

It's amazing (actually quite scary and sad) that any minute can be your last. He apparently was a skinny, not so old guy (52 years old) who was active. Yet he appeared to have a massive heart attack. I've been putting off thinking about this, but I think I need to start REALLY living how I want to live my life. I spend way too much time on the computer, way too much time watching TV, and not enough time playing with Ryan, Noah, and Megan. I don't want to be lazy sitting around. I want to work out; run; play sports; travel. I want to tell people about my faith. I want to start up conversations with strangers. I want to teach Noah and Ryan how to throw a spiral. I want to hike with Megan to the top of Mt Whitney. I want to have too many people over at our house just because we have too many friends.

Anyway, sorry for the rant but sometimes, situations put your entire life in perspective.

Leadin' Worship

2008-07-01T00:46:00.001-07:00

This guy, Steve, is our worship leader. Steve gets to take a vacation maybe once a year. That time is now. This is where I step in and try to make sure worship is not horrible. I will be leading worship this weekend at Rancho Vista Church. Please pray for me this week that I can be at least one step above horrible and that I don't detract from the only reason why I am up on stage in the first place.

Thank you for those of you that will!!!

My US Open

2008-06-22T23:32:00.001-07:00

I can't really call it my US Open when 1) I don't finish 18 holes, and 2) I play like garbage. Nonetheless, I played Torrey Pines on Friday and have some pictures that go with. I ended up shooting 20 over through 15 holes, which is terrible but I still had a great time. Here are some pics.

Just Beautiful. $29 for this!!!

Opening hole

Hole 3 - this course would be nice if there was a view :(

John-John's tree - he had a great view about half way up until the cops made him get down

That's what I call ROUGH!!!!

Hole 5 - Johns on TV (see the circle and arrow lower right) - thanks for the pic Linda - Trav and I are right on the ropes probably right behind the golfer. We're there.

Hole 7 - sudden death hole - Tiger shot par, I shot par, too.

Hole 3 across the canyon

Hole 10 - playing on the green carpet...very nice!!!

Hole 10 - I stuck it close here

Hole 12 at sundown

Hole 13 - 615 yards (WAYYYYYYYYYYYY BACK!!!!)

Hole 14

Noah Pics

2008-06-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Del Mar Fair pics

2008-06-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from the Fair.

Sucky Bee Ride

Rope Ladder.

Elastic bands to maneuver through.

The wobbly bridge. Note the slide in front.

Pettin' a cow. That's how us Farmers do it.

More on my Week (and weekend)

2008-06-19T21:04:00.001-07:00

So today was my first FULL day back at work. Not a whole lot of fun but mostly I just talked to my boss (who's retiring in 47 calendar days) and my co-worker Shannon. I did have to drive around and run some errands but all in all, not a very productive day.

Tomorrow, I am working from 9am-2pm, then going to Torrey Pines to play a round of golf at 4pm. I'm soooooo excited. I called the pro shop today to ask about how the course is. The guy said they still had the black tee markers (the very back tees that the pros play) and he said the rough is still brutal. He said it is basically like the conditions when the US Open was played last week. All this for about $25 (Romero, you have to get the resident card).

Also, I forgot to mention that I did get to spend a little bit of time with Rachel and Caleb last Friday. It is so cool to watch those little guys play together. Ryan even taught Caleb how to make Rocket go faster by patting his knees. I didn't get to hang out too long since I was on my lunch break. Later that evening Ryan and Caleb played some more. Caleb bumped his head 5 times in about an hour. I swear his head is proportionately too large for his body so he can't help but hit his head on things. I'm surprised Ryan doesn't hit his cheeks on everything. After dinner, my brother and his wife met up with me to go to the Brad Paisley concert.

Linda, I had a great time visiting with you, John, Travis and John John. It was great to see you guys and I'm looking forward to August in Lawrence Welk (at least until we all start driving each other crazy).

On Wednesday, we went to Del Mar Fair (they call it the San Diego County Fair now, but it will always be the Del Mar Fair to me). We were supposed to go on Tuesday, but by the time I got home from work, and after getting everything together, it was too late. Every year, I get dragged to the fair, but this year I was actually looking forward to it. Ryan is at a great age where he can actually enjoy a lot of stuff at the fair.

We went to the infield area where there were a lot of carnival rides. The second Ryan saw them, he couldn't stop pointing at them. I had to drop $10 on 14 tickets. Each ride costs 3 tickets and I figured every ride would charge me too since I had to ride with Ryan. Fortunately, I got through most of the rides only giving 3 tickets. The bee ride sucked but Ryan kind-of liked it after the power shut off to it and the bees started coasting around in a circle. Initially, he started whining but he flashed a smile as we got going.

The next ride was the carousel. He always likes the carousels. Once I put him up on the bear (the horses are boring) he looked deathly afraid. I calmed him down and once we got going, he was having a blast.

The next "ride" was actually an obstacle course. It looked a bit daunting for Ryan but he was all about it, mainly because it ends with a long slide through a tube. It started with some bags that you have to maneuver through, which he handled well. Then you have to wrap around and climb a rope ladder (kind of like a military course). He never has done this but he was moving up it pretty quickly. Then at the top, you have to duck through some elastic ropes and go to the inflatable slide. We barely fit through it together but got down just fine. Then onto the wobbly bridge. We had to cross two of them to get to our final destination, the tube slide. Ryan jumped in my lap and we flew down. He was cracking up at the bottom.

The final ride was the Goliath Slide!!!! I had to buy one more ticket since they charged me too. We got to the top and Ryan had no problem jumping in my lap. The slide was about 30 feet tall so it was no slouch. We were the only ones to clear the bottom part of the slide and end up on the pavement. Ryan seemed fine but not as excited about is as the obstacle course.

Later on, we went to go check out the animals and Ryan had a great time petting some goats and a cow.

The whole time we were at the fair, Noah did great, too. He was hanging out in the stroller and seemed to be fairly happy. I feel bad that I haven't mentioned him much, but he is still getting adjusted to this whole life outside the womb and there is not much he does that is different. His days are usually highlighted by a good feeding or low lighted by a poor feeding. Once he starts sitting up, making facial expressions, and getting more of a personality, there will be plenty to talk about him.

Before we left, we stopped by one of the booths and I found a great toy I will have to eventually get (for me, Ryan, and Noah). It's called the Wiggle Racer. Look it up. It seems really cool.

That's it for today. There will be pictures posted on Megan's blog in the near future. She doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of time to post on a blog so be patient.

Great Weekend!!!!

2008-06-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend (at least up to this point) has been great. On Friday, I went to the Brad Paisley concert. The show was great and I think he has convinced me he is one of the most entertaining musicians out there. Jewel was also playing and she sounded great, just not my style, but she ended her set with a yodeling session. Yes, yodeling!!! Quite a weird end.

On Saturday, we went to the 3rd round of the US Open. What an amazing day. We set up on holes 1, 4, and 14. We saw many more bogeys than birdies...tough course. As we were walking over to the practice range, we were walking behind Barry Bonds. It was quite amusing that only about 3 people recognized him. I noticed that he was wearing a white MLB hat, so I had to follow him until he turned around. It was a San Francisco hat and it looked like he used a Bedazzler to put on some diamonds along the SF of the hat. We only saw Tiger play two holes, and he bogeyed both of the holes. We didn't get to see his birdie chip-in on 17, or his eagle on 18 but we got to see him nonetheless. As we were sitting in the bleachers on hole 14, some drunk 19-year olds were keeping us entertained. They were a bunch of spoiled white kids that go to USC but pretty hilarious. I also met a golf pro from North Carolina who said he'd "take care of my if I came to his course." He was talking about how he is friends with pros Oliver Wilson and Stuart Appleby. I thought he was probably full of crap but he knew quite a bit about both of them, including pointing out Oliver Wilson's girlfriend and talking about where they lived in North Carolina. After I went home on Saturday, I looked up "his" course in North Carolina and sure enough, he is who he says he is. I saw him on Sunday, too and made sure to say hi (got to keep that connection). I told Travis that one of my goals in life is to get free golf across the US.

On Sunday, I was a heathen and missed church to go watch the Open again. Since we were a little sore and a little done with trying to fight through crowds to get a good position along the ropes, we decided to go straight to hole 14 and sit in the bleachers to watch the players "go for it" on the short par 4. There were a lot of birdies and pars, but there were some BAD shots. We saw someone hit his ball into the bunker off the tee, then the next shot went in the canyon. A couple of people hit the bleachers off the tee. Only a few players hit the green off the tee (Jesper Parnevik was the only one we saw score an eagle). We waited until Phil Mickelson came through. He shot a birdie on 14, then we watched him tee of on 15 (where he birdied). We then went to watch Tiger. We went down to hole 5 and set up on a hill above the fairway to get a decent view and to rest a bit. We were about an hour ahead of Tiger so it was still easy to get a good front rope view. We saw some great players come through. As Tiger was approaching, the crowds got so ridiculous that you couldn't see any grass all the way up the hill. After Tiger came through, we went over to the merchandise tent so John could get some stuff for all his family. Then we went back to 14 to try to get a bleacher seat...no such luck. We found a little hill right behind the tee box for hole 15 where we could also see players hit their tee shot on hole 14. We waited for the masses to arrive and knew Tiger was coming through. By this time, Tiger was tied for the lead. He made a par on hole 14 when all the others made birdie. The last shot we saw was Tiger hit his drive on hole 15 more right than I'd ever hit. We thought the tournament was over. After we got back to the car, we turned on the radio and heard he was putting for a tie on hole 18. Of course, he made it.

On Monday, I watched most of the playoff round before going to lunch with my sister-in-law and grandma, along with Megan and the kids. Then I had to leave to go pick up John and head off to Sycuan to go play some free golf. I didn't play great, but the price was just right.

Today (Tuesday), we were supposed to go to the fair but I didn't get back from work until a little after 12 noon. We decided I'd take another day off from work and we'd go to the fair tomorrow.

So that's pretty much it until now. We'll see how the rest of the week goes. Shoot, maybe I'll even throw another post up about it.

Computer Upgrade

2008-05-18T23:54:00.000-07:00

Megan and I have been bouncing the idea around of getting a new computer (a Macbook to be precise). Since we don't really "need" it, I decided to upgrade the memory in our current laptop. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!!

Before, it would take around 4 or 5 minutes to load Itunes. Yes, it would really take that long. If we tried to open more than one program, you can count on at least 5 minutes to load. Programs would freeze quite often as well. Now, I can open Itunes and the internet at the same time and both come up in under 30 seconds. Since our laptop only cost us $300, I think a $50 upgrade was worth it.

Noah Timothy Farmer

2008-05-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

He's here!!!!!!!!

If you haven't heard, we have an 8 lb 6 oz bundle of joy, Noah Timothy. We're at home now and everything is starting to normalize (at least our new normal). Here are some pics.

Here's Ryan giving his little brother a kiss.

Help for Songs

2008-05-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

I'm looking to get back into songwriting so I'm looking for some songs ideas. Seriously, I'm looking for ANY ideas. Even crazy ones from you, Linda.

I might even post up some songs if I get anything good written.

Give me your ideas!!!!!

Things heard 'round our house

2008-05-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Having a toddler around the house really changes the landscape of conversation. Here are some things said today.

"We don't bite the dog's head."
"Please don't lick the phones."
"Paintings are meant to looked at only."
"He sure smells like pee."

Follow up

2008-05-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I ranted a little yesterday regarding technological communication, etc. Then today as I was watching Ryan I felt like I had to blog about him. So yesterday might have been a little overboard.

Be on the watch for some blogs from me.

By the way, I'm posting this on my Ipod. How cool!!!

Sociological Rant

2008-05-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

This has been some time coming.

Myspace...Facebook...blogs...Twitter...

Today's world of "multi-media" (more like single-form media) has changed the way people communicate, changed the way people think of themselves, and changed the landscape and makeup of "friendship". Everything has become impersonal, self promotion.

Myspace...spam has changed from random emails about mortgage refinance to friends that want you to add them. Your friends are your actual friends, and many others you'll never talk with outside of Myspace.

Facebook...I still don't know what this is but guessing it is a more legitimate version of Myspace.

Blogs...can be useful to family members out of town to catch up on family matters, but many times are used to rant uselessly about unnecessary things (like this post).

Twitter is the worst. Random thoughts quickly sent out to cyperspace for all the world to see. You can write about what you're thinking while sitting on the pot. Is nothing sacred or internal anymore? Everything has to be immediate, and generally, 90% of what's put up on Myspace, or Twitter, or blogs has to do with whoever is writing it. This blog is about my thoughts. If I had a Twitter, I'd twitter about blogging about Twitter. Then I'd send my Myspace friend a message to check out my blog about twittering about blogging about twitter.

Rant over.

Toys!!!!

2008-04-21T23:19:00.000-07:00

I got my Ipod Touch and new phone (LG Envy) all within 2 days. Too much fun!!!

My First TV Gig

2008-02-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, it wasn't really a TV "gig", especially since they don't show my face, but I'm that strapping man with the blue shirt walking up to the tee box when the video first starts. I'm also the one who says, "Good morning...HEY!!!" I'm so lame! The young guy they show at the beginning was the only sucker that didn't get a free driver. At least he got his face shown.

Anyway, here is the commercial that should start airing pretty soon on the Golf Channel. They're also paying me for this, too. Sweet!!!!

I also didn't realize this until the Buick Invitational, but Bones (Phil's caddy) was there. I think I was still in awe for a good week or so afterward.

By the way, since there are copyright laws that I'm probably breaking, this video may only be active for a few days.

Later.

Thank You!

2008-02-14T23:32:00.001-08:00

While it's still Valentine's Day, I want to take this short opportunity to thank my loving and wonderful wife, Megan, for everything she is to me. Being the terrible husband I am, I had a meeting tonight so I was working until 9pm. Luckily, my meeting finished early and got home around 8:30pm to find Megan had completely cleaned the house, the dishes (which there were a lot from dinner tonight), vacuumed, and was sitting on the floor making me an amazing Valentine's Day card. She had been spending just about every waking minute the last couple of days taking care of our poor, sick son, Ryan, so for her to do all this was awesome.

Thank you, baby, and I love you forever.

Work

2008-02-02T01:06:00.000-08:00

So today, I finally went to pay off the winner of our fantasy football league (he actually drafted 3 defenses and still won the league...argh!!!) Anyway, I got over there about 10:30am and he still was in his pajamas and working on his laptop. Apparently, he had been working all morning before he was going in to his office later on to work all night. Randomly he asked me if I wanted a job working for him, and said I could easily make $100,000 a year. Quickly, his girlfriend (pretty close to being common-law wife) said, "Yeah, you just have to work 20 hour days like Blake!"

That whole conversation this morning, and the fact that I've been working fairly long hours recently got me thinking that I am definitely in the right job. Granted, these long hours are tough on me, Megan, and our family, but these times are very short lived. I go through spurts of a couple weeks getting slammed about every 4 months. I can live with that (heck, I'm even going to be getting a little overtime and comp time, yeah!!!). But talking to people in the corporate world and private sector, much of their life is devoted to work. Not a whole lot of time for family.

And lately, I've been complaining about work getting too political and the new management bringing changes that make no sense, but I have to realize that I am in a great situation and should be thankful for being blessed with the job that I do have. There are a whole lot of perks. I get to set my own schedule. I get to adjust my start time as needed based on...I'll leave that out. I get to work outside a lot. I get recognized a lot in the community (don't know if this is good or bad). I get good benefits. I work 9/10 of a mile from where I live.

You get the hint. I think this post was just for me to try and be more grateful in life.

Golf!!!

2008-01-30T23:30:00.000-08:00

After reading Travis' blog about the US Open coming to Torrey Pines, and going to the Buick Invitational last weekend, I've got the itch to get out and start playing more golf. I haven't played since I got waxed by my buddy Snider on New Years Eve so I probably need to practice a little, too!

Fortunately, I have a couple of opportunities for free golf (apparently weekly at the San Diego Country Club, basically anytime at Chula Vista Golf Course, and a free round coming at Riverwalk...also occasionally free at the Auld), plus I have a resident card for Torrey Pines so I like to play there a lot, too (Travis, hit me up before you come into San Diego next time and I can let you know how to get a resident card!!!)

Anyway, watching the pros hit made me think about what I need to work on in my game. On the first hole of the South Course, I watched 15 pros tee off (including Mickelson's group), and more than half of them hit into the fairway bunker. Only about 3 or 4 pros hit the fairway. But where they make their money is around the green. Watching even the no name pros, they all seem to hit the ball right at the hole! Unfortunately, I would be in the bunker, plus not hit it anywhere near the hole so I got some work to go. But...I will be there someday. I just got to start playing some golf!!!

Speaking of girls who rock

2008-01-22T23:22:00.001-08:00

Instead of watching an episode of "According to Jim" that was TiVo'd in Spanish, I am surfing YouTube for some good videos.

I remember about 8 months ago I read an article in Guitar World about a new band called Paramore. The picture was fronted with this tiny girl in red dyed hair and I figured it was some new-age, Coldplay-type band with no teeth. Then I heard this song...

One of my favorite songs for now!!! This girl rocks!

Oh, Tony Romo...you picked wrong

2008-01-22T23:11:00.000-08:00

Not only is she an amazing country singer, she is rocking Skid Row, too??? Now Tony Romo is dating Joe Simpson's daughter. Big mistake.

Poor Chargers :(

2008-01-20T22:23:00.000-08:00

Well, the run finally came to an end. This was such an up-and-down season that I didn't know if I could take anymore. Anyway, congrats on a fun season (second half at least) and next year, we shouldn't have to deal with a 18-0 Patriots team.

I'm Back!!!

2008-01-15T22:48:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in quite a while but here we go...

I got nothing!!! Sorry :(

Today...is a great day!!!

2007-12-20T21:14:00.000-08:00

For the past 12 years or so, I have been on the contact list for a research group that finds people for focus groups. In the past, I've been on studies for Klondike bars, gatorade gum, and cell phones.

So, earlier this week, I get this email from Flagship Research looking for people to participate in a golf study for $50. There are 2 focus groups that I have been dying to get on: a Beer focus group and a Golf focus group. This one is like the holy grail of focus groups.

I didn't know what I'd be doing at this group but it didn't matter because it was free golf at a country club. And they'd be paying me a $50 cash incentive for my time.

So, I show up early and check in. They give me a free Titleist hat and 2 sleeves of golf balls that they insist I use for my round (at about $4 a ball, the value of my "incentives" started adding up). They say we will be getting filmed answering questions about our equipment and golf in general.

The first group goes out around 9:45am. There were a lot of no shows so they put me in the second group. We waited for about an hour to tee off and they still wouldn't let us off. They said they wanted to leave at least 2 holes in between groups. Not a problem. I was still going to play golf for free AND get $50 for it. I didn't quite understand why they needed so much room in between groups.

So we go through the first 2 holes playing terrible and then get to the third hole. As we were walking up to the tee box, a cart pulls up. Who's driving, you ask? None other than Phil Mickelson, the #2 golfer in the world. He gets out and says, "Hey guys, I'm here to help out your game!"

As he's walking up, we go through the introductions, shake his hand and then he calls down his cameraman, Ron. We look behind us and some guy in camouflage comes out of the bushes on the hill (pretty cool!) Anyway, we hit a drive with our driver and he has us hit one with a new Callaway driver. The first guy hits his ball great and then screws up his shot with the Callaway. Mickelson takes the driver back and says, "We can't help you out today."

My turn. I hit my drive pretty well but in a bunker. I then hit the Callaway pretty good but it hits the trees overhanging the fairway. The next two guys are older guys who hit the Callaway driver much better than their own. As they were walking back to the cart, Mickelson hands each of them a driver and says, "You try this out for the rest of the round, and if you like it, keep it." Me and the other guy were a pretty bummed we blew it.

We drove up to our second shot, and realized there were about 10 people there hiding behind trees (producers, ball spotters, GPS distance markers, etc.) They tell us our balls would be waiting for us when we came back down the next hole. Mickelson comes up behind us and asks me and the other sap who didn't get a club to try out this other club. He says he thinks it will help better than the one he had us hit before. I hit mine perfectly down the fairway. The other guy screws up his shot again. As I walk back to the cart, I was told the same wonderful words, "You try this out for the rest of the round, and if you like it, keep it." YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only do I get to play at a country club for free, I get paid $50 for it, get a free hat, $25 in free golf balls, get to meet Phil Mickelson, and get a $425 driver FREE...from Phil Mickelson.

To top it off, before my boss went home for the night, he offered to buy me breakfast tomorrow at the Family House of Pancakes. Today was great!!!!!!!!

Perhaps...the best food ever

2007-12-11T21:36:00.001-08:00

Megan made a chicken broccoli braid tonight that she has made in the past, but tonight I think I realized it is one of my favorite dishes EVER!!!!

Drop her a line if you want the recipe.

Fantasy Christmas List

2007-12-10T22:41:00.001-08:00

Here's a Christmas list for those of you with boatloads of cash to spare on ME.

GUITAR STUFF
Dr. Z Maz 18 1x12 red combo amp w/reverb
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Freakshow Brown Rabbit distortion pedal
Xotic Effects RC booster pedal
Line 6 DL4 delay modeler pedal
Line 6 MM4 modulation modeler pedal
MXR Dynacomp compressor pedal
Ernie Ball Volume pedal
Jettergear Gain Stage Red overdrive pedal

OTHER STUFF
Trip to Nashville
Keith Urban w/Carrie Underwood concert tickets
A new job for Megan in Chula Vista that appreciates her

Monday, December 17th

2007-12-10T22:40:00.000-08:00

My mother's birthday...

My friend, Mark's, birthday...

My friend, Darren's, birthday...

THE DAY WE FIND OUT THE SEX OF BABY #2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Weekend

2007-12-09T22:36:00.001-08:00

This weekend was well overdo. Megan and I had a great time on Saturday. We started off the day by going to the zoo at noon (that's as early as we can get out of the house these days). We hung out for a few hours and it was by far the best time I've had at the zoo. Ryan is old enough now that he sees the animals and will try to interact with them. It is so great. Anyway, we rode the skyfari, ate a churro, watched an elephant poop, you know, normal zoo stuff.

Afterward, we went to "December Nights." Megan insists on calling it "Christmas on the Prado" which was its previous moniker, but I insist on calling it "December Nights", especially in light of one of the attractions that were performing that night...The Gay Men Chorus of San Diego!!! I'm pretty sure that group would probably be discouraged from performing at a Christian festival. We did have a great time for the couple of hours that we spent there. It was kind of cold and a little rainy, but it just made the atmosphere more festive. We ate a lot of little stuff and checked out the San Diego Hall of Champions. By the time we left, it was only about 6pm and Ryan was beat.

When we got home, we decided to go out to the movies. Ryan was asleep so we figured he'd be fine on his own...just kidding. Donna was kind enough to watch him. We saw "Enchanted." It was a pretty good movie and I'd recommend it to just about anybody but some high school boys. Speaking of...there were 3 guys, looked to be around 17, in the theater and they only lasted about 5 minutes after the animated Giselle started singing a song about cleaning up the house. All in the all, the movie was really corny but very appropriately corny. Also, there was an older guy sitting at the end of our row who was asleep when the movie started, woke up for about 2 or 3 minutes in the middle, then fell asleep until the end.

After the movie, I obliged to Megan's desire to go to Macy's and look for a certain pair of shoes. Unfortunately, they weren't there but we ended up with a new pillow (SCORE!!!)

We finished off the night going to get ice cream, and ending up getting Jamba Juice smoothies. At least I know there is a minuscule amount of self restraint in there!

On Sunday, we went to go get a tree after church. I had the Chargers game Tivo'd so I made sure nobody at church would give me any updates. Much to my dismay, Megan watched the start of the game, listened to the game in the car on the way to church, and on the way home, then opened up the laptop and got updates on the game until the end (of regulation). She hinted at the goings of the game and basically just spoiled the experience of watching the game. Since Ryan wouldn't go down for a nap, we went to Home Depot to get a tree. Megan spilled the beans on the way and said the game was tied at the end of the game. I was a little mad but at least didn't know the final score. As we were paying for the tree, the radio happened to be on. As we walked up, I hear "The Chargers pull to 8-5 and the Titans drop to 7-6." RUINED!!!

At least I got to go home and watch the game without getting a heart attack during the 4th quarter. I made my super-hot chili that turned out to be mildly hot. After I cut up the habanero chili, I must have rubbed my nose or something because I have never felt that much pain on my upper lip/nose in my life. I didn't know what to do. I tried rinsing it off, but it just spread the pain. I read up on what to do about the pain and some suggestions said milk or bleach. I tried soaking a towel in milk and holding it on my lip. That didn't help. I skipped the bleach idea, but tried putting canola oil on my lip and in my nose (in most circumstances, I wouldn't try this but if you ever get habanero chili oil anywhere on your body, drench yourself in some kind of vegetable oil). I smelled really bad and felt funny but did the trick. I celebrated the relief from pain by having a few beers.

To top off the weekend, I strung some lights on the tree and was told that the tree wasn't covered well. I took all the lights off and added another strand to the mix. When I was done, the lights didn't come on. I gave up for the night. I jumped on the computer before I went to bed just in time for the tree to fall on me. Luckily Home Depot opened up early this morning so I could get another stand.

That's all. If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading.

Ipod :(

2007-12-09T22:33:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, last week I misplaced my Ipod. I'm about 80% sure it was stolen from my office but I may have left it somewhere. If anybody happens to run across a white 30GB Ipod (since everybody finds those on the street corners) hit me up.

Yeah!!!

2007-11-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

Family's back!!!! I swear Ryan is so much older now.

Home Alone

2007-11-02T01:19:00.000-07:00

Megan and Ryan are in Philly while Badger and I are living the life of bachelorhood. Tonight I played a little basketball, went down to Chad and Kylie's for some lasagna, then went with Chad and David to watch a horror flick, 30 Days of Night (by the way, read Phillipians 4:8 . . . these movies are bad for me and you). We also had a little rum and coke at the theater (they'll let you take anything into the movies now).

Anyway, tomorrow will be a little different. In the morning, I'm going to hit the driving range, then it's back to the house to start cleaning. Then I work until 10pm and have to take over for one of my staff who allegedly is suffering from asthma and his doctor told him he couldn't work. He has had more excuses than anyone in the history of our department, and that is saying A LOT!!!! Needless to say, I don't trust him or believe him but I'm working tomorrow anyway.

Saturday, a little more cleaning, then some afternoon golf at Torrey Pines (I love cheap golf at great courses). I may go up to Barona to watch one of our church drummers play in the casino but unless I find somebody to cruise up with me, I'll probably just go home and watch a DVD or something.

Sunday, a little church then a lot of football. Chargers - Vikings, Colts - Patriots, Cowboys - Eagles!!!! That's a fun lineup.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...work :(

Wednesday night, my beautiful wife and wonderful son come home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a Roll!!!!!

2007-10-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

How 'bout them Chargers??? Another butt-whoopin' to get them over .500 on the season. Let's face it...Houston is terrible but a convincing win like this is good for the team morale. The only bright spot for Houston came when Joel Dreessen (cousin of our friend, Angi Velasquez) caught a touchdown pass on garbage time in the 4th quarter.

As we were watching the game, Angi's husband, David, says, "I didn't know they were playing in San Diego. I would've called Joel and he could have probably got us tickets." David calls Joel during the game and leaves him a message letting him know he is watching him on TV and that he didn't know he was in town. After the game, Joel sends David a text saying he thought David was in Texas and if he knew he was in town, he would've gotten him tickets...

Yes, we could've got tickets for FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, well. The nice leather seats and HD television at Chad's house worked just fine.

So, Minnesota next week (an NFC team that we should walk all over) then time to take on Indy. I'm hoping Indy wins against New England so the talk about them going 16-0 (including me) stops. The attention will shift over to Indy and hopefully they can come in here and get their first loss.

We'll see.

Good News

2007-10-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

Ryan today is finally walking more than just a few steps. He is now walking back and forth between Megan on the couch, and me on the chair. He is just loving it and so are we.

Fire Update

2007-10-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

Once we heard that our neighboring community was under mandatory evacuation last night, we decided that we should pack up some stuff. Initially, I told Megan she should go to her mom's house but we decided that we'd wait until there was more immediate danger.

I ended up having to go into work at around 9pm to help run a shelter across town and when I was leaving, I drove about a mile towards where the fire was coming from. All across the hillside directly east of us, the flames were jutting above the houses. Since there were quite a few houses between where the flames were and our house, I felt fairly safe leaving Megan and Ryan.

At the shelter I was working at, there was a TV on with coverage of the fire and they mentioned that the fire was coming from Sweetwater Reservoir up to Chula Vista. The thing about our place is that directly across the street, there is a hillside that goes right down to Sweetwater Reservoir. I decided it was time to go pick up Megan.

For some reason, there weren't mandatory evacuations for this area but the flames were directly across the street. Before I picked up Megan, I drove all around the mountain that had the fire to see how far from our place it was. It was probably less than 100 yards so I thought it necessary to grab the family and take them to Donna's.

I went back to the shelter and a lot of the people who were evacuated from Bonita and Sunnyside started coming in so we had to set up another shelter. I got back around 1am and was off at 4am so I wasn't gone too long. On the way home, I drove by our place again and the flames were closer but were definitely spreading away from us. It was eerie watching the flames whip up and spread along the top of the mountain.

I finally got to bed around 5:30am but didn't sleep too well. I woke up tons of times needing water but too lazy to get some, plus a few phone calls didn't help. When I woke around 11:00am, Rolling Hills Ranch (north side of Proctor Valley Road) was under mandatory evacuation. Basically, right across the street from us was being ordered out. The flames seemed to be MUCH further away from the homes this time but I think because they were flying the helicopters with the fire retardant, plus the wind was starting to blow back towards us, they wanted to be on the safe side....

Actually, watching the news right now, they said they were on the ground in Rolling Hills Ranch and the flames were very close to the homes. They showed coverage where there were flames just southwest of the Auld Golf Course (basically a few hundred feet from our pastor's home - he's evacuated). So, apparently, I was a little too optimistic about the situation but they did say it seems to be heading away from Chula Vista. Yeah!!!

We decided to head back to our place around 1pm. We just needed the comfort of our own home. Everybody on our side of the complex seems to be gone. It's like a ghost town here. The flames still seem well out of reach but all of our stuff is still packed just in case.

I got to get some rest right now. I go back into work tonight from 8pm-4am. I'll try to keep updated.

Somebody help....

2007-10-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

my wife!!!!

She has cried three days in a row while watching her soap opera. I'm not sure if I should be completely worried yet about her emotional state, but I'm awfully close to calling a shrink.

If someone could give her a call and invite her over for anything other than watching soaps, I'd greatly appreciate it. Or, even better yet, come over to our house and delete all 4 soaps that are recorded each day. Yes, FOUR STINKING SOAPS A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On second thought, somebody help ME.

It's About Time!!!!!!!

2007-10-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

41 Chargers - 3 Broncos

I'm still a little nervous about this team. There were so many defensive breakdowns that resulted in big plays it's a little scary. And the offensive line was inconsistent. Fortunately, we don't have a real tough schedule for the next month so we can work out the kinks and become the team we should be. Come November 11th, we got Indy at the Q. The only saving grace is Indy has to play New England the week before.

Let's hope we win against da Raiders, Texans, and Vikings and bring on the Colts at 5-3. We'll see. Until then........

GO CHARGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. The Toreros won big again. Catch the fever.

Chargers losing....on purpose???

2007-09-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

Here's my theory (the only plausible one considering the talent on this team):

The Spanos' family has been fooling the community of San Diego, Chula Vista, and Oceanside into believing there is a possibility that the Chargers can work something out and stay in this county. They have showcased Mark Fabiani, Special Counsel for the Chargers, around to city council meetings, special events, and radio appearances trying to convince everyone that the Chargers are doing everything they can to stay in town; however, the Spanos family knows there is a lot of money to be had in bigger markets and they want their take.

I was actually buying into what they were selling until recently, when a key piece in their puzzle of deception has been glaringly obvious in trying to change the mindset of the Chargers' fans. That piece is Norv Turner. And unfortunately for him, I don't think he even knows what his purpose is for.

Norv was brought into San Diego to change the momentum of this team from stellar to pretty good over the course of a few years. Much to the dismay of the Spanos family, Norv has brought this team to its knees over the course of a few weeks.

Since the Chargers have all their home games sold out this year, the Spanos' still get the big payout. If the Chargers were to barely miss the playoffs, or get to the playoffs and lose before the AFC Championship game, the fans would still snatch up tickets like crazy next year buying some time for good-ol' Dean and Alex to find an alternate site for the Chargers (say, Los Angeles or Anaheim???) Granted, fans would be upset, but come next season, would forget about it until Norv started tearing down the team some more. Say this goes on for 3 years. Norv becomes the scapegoat for a team who is loaded with talent and nobody to coach them, but in reality, the Chargers organization gets what they want in the long-run: fair weather fans turning on the beloved Chargers, making it much easier to move out of town.

This brings me to this year. A record of 1-3 puts the Chargers below the Raiders in the division standings (I'm on suicide watch for the next week). The NFL's MVP last year is finally getting room to run, and the team changes its play calling in the second half basically eliminating Tomlinson's effectiveness. The defense can do two things: get burned and/or miss a tackle. Norv was supposed to take this team's ability down a notch or so, but no one, especially the Spanos', suspected he would tear apart this team so quickly. Now, they have a choice to make. Do they axe Norv for another sub-par coach that can lose the close games, but still win a few? Do they ride out the next few seasons with Norv hoping the players can overcome the coaching idiocy to become an average team? Time will only tell...

So, even though the Chargers are losing in terrible ways, I should enjoy watching the Chargers while they are still in San Diego.

Go Toreros!!!!!

2007-09-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

Since the Chargers are sucking it up...

And the Padres are sucking it up...

And the Aztecs are sucking it up...

I'm now all about the USD Torero Football team!!!! They are 4-0 and are beating opponents by an average of 28.5 points per game. Their QB is likely a first day pick in next year's draft. And to top it off, I went to that school!!!! Even though it was only for a year, I'm still paying for it so I might as well claim them as my own.

Nothing beats hitching your wagon to a Division 1AA football team but it beats the alternatives these days.

Thoughts of the day (actually night)

2007-09-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

I was looking at the picture collage on Megan's blog for Ryan's birthday and it got me thinking about a lot of things.

I've been so fortunate to be able to spend every morning with Ryan, watching him grow and become the amazing child he is. So fortunate because that is a time in his life that I will never get back. There has been so much change that I have been able to see first hand what a lot of fathers don't get to see. It's sad because I don't get to see Megan nearly as much as I would like but I'm sure there are plenty of sick days to be spent on family time!!!

This brings me to my first real uneasiness about our second child on the way. . . how can I love a child as much as I love Ryan? Now, don't freak out!!! This is a just a thought for the day and by no means will this be the case when #2 arrives. I'm just wondering how to balance the love and attention for a 1 year old as well as love and care for a newborn.

And, now that Ryan's first year is over, will I become more sentimentally attached to every little thing that the second baby does because I know how much I'll miss that time when he/she gets older?

It seems too complicated having multiple children. Oh, by the way, I'm also very uneasy about our space situation: 2 bedrooms + 1 1/2 baths + 3 stories + 2 adults + 2 babies + 1 dog = mayhem??? We'll see shortly, won't we???

Ryan and his new axe!!!!!

Quiz Update

2007-09-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

I have to change some answers to my quiz...

1) I think steak is my favorite food, and

2) I finally saw Alice In Chains in concert.

1st Worship Confessional (text)

2007-09-17T00:14:00.000-07:00

Steve took a well deserved week of vacation so I stepped in and took over worship leading duties. I was pretty stressed out all week not having a chance to rehearse with the band (thanks Bobby for taking our babysitter all week!!!) but everything worked out great. We had everybody show up, and for the most part, on time. Unfortunately, I was running around all morning and we didn't get started until 8:30am. Service starts at 9:00am!!!!!

We get through most of the songs pretty smoothly and then go into our "special music" song and then everything seems to fall apart. The song is very straightforward with the exception of 1 part that has 2 stops. For some reason, we had the hardest time coming together and hitting those stops. We spent about 5 minutes working on one line in the song while the singers didn't even get a chance to practice the song. By the time we worked out the song, we had to start. Two songs we didn't even get to in rehearsal. But...

Everything seemed to come together. It always does. The congregation last week was pretty lifeless but this week, it seemed a little more upbeat. Maybe they all had their Starbucks. Anyway, here are the songs we did:

Salvation is Here
Majestic
Your Love Oh Lord
You Are The One
My Desire
Everlasting God
Your Grace Is Enough

Peace. Check out Steve's blog next week for his confessional (he has video...oooohhhh!!!!)

Ouch!!!

2007-09-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

38 Pats - 14 Chargers

I swear they cheated

14-3 and still no respect

2007-09-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

I really dislike the football commentator "team" of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Every time these two clowns come to San Diego to do a Charger's game, they always talk up the other team like they should be playing in the Super Bowl right now. No mention of the Chargers at all, unless there is close no-call against the Chargers and the commentators won't shut up about how the Chargers got away with one. I don't like it, or them for that matter.

I guess it doesn't matter in the end....

14-3

CHARGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

The season is on!!! Let's hope they stomp the Bears.

Full to the brim

2007-09-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

We went to Barona's buffet today for brunch. I ate too much. I hate food.

...and eat a buttload a food.

Rock'd to sleep

2007-09-01T01:13:00.000-07:00

I was cruising YouTube after the marathon of watching Bobby's blog posts today and came across this video. I like Pillar quite a bit but Megan not so much. Anyway, we were at a concert where Pillar was playing and Megan actually fell asleep on the asphalt during this song. The ground was shaking from the kick drum and bass which she thinks soothed her to sleep. So if you're having trouble sleeping, pump this video as loud as you can and you should be snoozing in no time!!!

Quiz Bandwagon

2007-08-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've jumped on the quiz bandwagon. Obviously, Megan has the best advantage here but I think it'll be difficult for anyone to get 100%. You have been officially challenged.

Take My Quiz on
QuizYourFriends.com

Washington Trip

2007-08-31T01:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, my brother and I went up to Washington to visit my mom and spend a little time fishing and hiking. Here are some pictures of the fun.

This was the biggest guy I caught (I know...HUGE!!!!!!)

Caught a few here.

Church and guns...are we in Alabama???

My mom's house on the lake (P.S., hardwood floors and no beds. Not ideal sleep conditions)

nath

You might be a redneck if you use a lawnmower to pull your family around like a Disney ride.

All in all, I had a great time. It's good to spend a little time with my brother, mom, and Steve. Oh, the best part about the trip...fresh blackberry pie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mmmmm
Here I am picking blackberries.

Borat

2007-08-10T22:52:00.001-07:00

I'm fairly behind the times but...

Borat sucks. It is crude, non-nonsensical, and mostly just crude. There are a few funny parts but that's about it.

Definitely not recommended.

Tainted

2007-08-08T00:38:00.000-07:00

756*

Wet Willy

2007-08-07T22:39:00.001-07:00

Ryan gave me his first wet willy on Sunday. Perfect form...finger in his mouth straight to my ear. He even laughed about it.

Just my random post to keep the masses (hah!!!) happy.

Booooo for Baroid Bonds!!!!

2007-08-04T21:41:00.001-07:00

I don't like this guy. I keep telling Megan they should bean him every time he's up to bat. Apparently, the Padres would rather walk him or serve him up #755.

Ryan and his walker

2007-07-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

Ryan seems to be more interested in spinning the toy on top of the walker than actually walking.

Behind Bars

2007-07-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

Ryan's First Day at the Park

2007-07-21T23:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Tiffany's birthday, we got tickets to the Padres game tonight against the Phillies (have I told you I hate Philadelphia?) We decided we would take Ryan for the first time and let him enjoy the game. For the most part, he did absolutely great. He normally goes to bed around 7:00 or 7:30pm so we didn't keep him out too late (end of 5th inning, to be exact). It was ok, because the Phillies were smacking David Wells out of the park...12-4 final :(

Tonight was also the celebration for Tony Gwynn's Hall of Fame Induction next week. With everybody around him clapping, Ryan thought it was fitting for him to clap, too. So every time people would clap, Ryan would clap. It was the cutest thing.

Megan tried to put Ryan to sleep around the middle of the 3rd inning but he wasn't having it. All in all, it was really cool to be able to take Ryan to the game. It made me excited for when Ryan is about 3 or 4 and I could take a day off of work and take him to a game. A good boys day out. Here are a few pics of the night.

Ryan's New Toy

2007-07-10T13:40:00.001-07:00

4th of July

2007-07-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

This is out of order but I'm posting anyway.

On the 4th, we won't over to Donna's to hang out for a while. I made some really tasty BBQ baked beans that I got a recipe online for (it has raisins in it...weird). Then we won't over to Chad and Kylie's house for a BBQ. As always, Chad had about 10 pounds too much meat. We ate and ate and ate and then he said, "Ok, now it's time to cook up the rest of the chicken." Needless to say, there were leftovers. Once it hit about 7:00pm, everybody started to leave to get ready to see fireworks. We were all going out to Eastlake to check out fireworks where Dave and Angi live. Apparently, it was supposed to be a great place to see the show. Before we leave, Chad convinces me and his buddy to go surfing real quick. Since he lives in IB, it only takes him 2 or 3 minutes to get to the beach. We strap the boards to his truck and head down there. I haven't been surfing in about 2 years, and I just worked out my triceps that morning. I paddled out past the breakers and then just sat there. There were a few waves I tried to catch but for the most part, I couldn't even paddle with the wave. I was dead tired. I almost caught a wave before heading in but once I popped, the wave was closing out and Chad's buddy John was right below me with the look of terror that I was going to spear him right in the chest. I pulled out. Since I expended all my energy trying to catch that wave, I just rode the next waves white wash into shore.

So we pick up Donna and head over to the park in Eastlake. Dave brings glowsticks and we start playing catch with them. We realize it's 9pm and start looking for the fireworks. The sky above the houses behind the park starts to change colors and, along with the hundreds of people at the park, realize that we aren't seeing the fireworks from where we're at. Another 4th of July without a complete fireworks show. I think next year, I'm going to try to convince Megan that we need to hang out at the 3rd green at Torrey Pines golf course. It overlooks La Jolla Cove where they shoot fireworks every year. We'll see.

Palm Desert

2007-07-09T23:14:00.000-07:00

I think I'm stupid. Megan and I went with our friends Chad and Kylie (and their 9-month old Tyler) to spend a few days in Palm Desert for a golf trip. Not only is going on an unlimited golf vacation in 115 degree weather stupid, Palm Desert is only really good for golf and Megan and Kylie don't golf. I also decided that we would share a room to cut on the costs. So there are 2 couples, with 2 pack-n-plays in a hotel room. A little crowded. I won't even get into detail about Tyler and Kylie getting sick. Anyway, I'm feeling pretty guilty and I think I need to get a second job to pay for a trip to Hawaii for Megan.

To start the trip, I woke up at 3:45am on Thursday to go pick up Chad and head out to Palm Desert. We started the weekend at the Classic Club, a course where the PGA Tour plays. We got an unlimited golf deal and started at 7:00am. When we got there, it was only about 95 degrees. Pretty nice, huh? We played the first round in about 4 hours and 30 minutes. I was hoping to get finished earlier. We then jumped back on to play another round and got backed up a bit. We jumped over a few groups of people and noticed we wouldn't get away from everybody so after hole #9, we jumped back onto hole #1. This time there was nobody in front of us and we started moving along pretty well. We would have been moving a lot faster if I could actually hit a fairway. I hit at least 15 sand traps in that round. I also hit 7 balls into water. It was a terrible round and very tiresome considering by now, it was 118 degrees. We finished again and tried to go out for one more round. By hole #4, I had a terrible headache and couldn't hit the ball worth a darn, so we hung it up for the day.

The cool thing about the Classic Club is they give out unlimited bottles of water, apples, and granola bars. Chad and I each had over 60 bottles of water, 6 apples, and a lot of granola bars. I took 7 over the course of the day, and Chad took 12. I think the course lost money on us.

I played like crap every round except for the 9 hole round where we didn't even keep official score. I was only 4 over during that round. At least I can watch the PGA guys play on TV and see how they play the holes. All in all, it was a good time.

On Friday morning, we were at the hotel and played our first round. I shot an 85 and my golf game started to feel pretty good. I was extremely sore from working out a few days earlier and from the day before, so I could barely swing a golf club. I think being sore held me from swinging as hard as I can (my usual golf swing) and helped me out. Afterwards, Megan was supposed to get a massage with Kylie but Tyler was feeling really sick so Kylie and Chad took Tyler to the emergency room. Megan canceled her massage and hung out with me and Ryan by the pool and then went down to the exercise room to run and lift weights. Chad and Kylie got back while Megan was gone so Chad and I made our 4:30 tee time. I actually felt a lot looser than the morning, but played a lot worse.

Saturday morning, I decided that it would be my last round. I was feeling pretty loose again so of course, I didn't play very well. I had a lot of chances to score really low but couldn't make any putts. Once we got to hole #18, we had arrived to our 100th hole of golf on the weekend and there was not one birdie made between the two of us. I hit my ball left and was just on the edge of the lake but in ground under repair. I dropped my ball and hit my second shot over the lake into the sand right in front of the green. Then for my last shot of the weekend, I chipped the ball out of the sand right into the hole for the only birdie.

I think I'm going to take a little break from golf. My hands still hurt :(

Linda's Blog

2007-06-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know Linda as the "commentor" only, she is now a blogger. Please frequent her site often and comment that she isn't posting enough if a day goes by without a new one.

Linda's blog

Welcome Linda!!!

Today, We Rock!!!

2007-06-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today was quite a day. We had the Surfari's come play at our church. If you're wondering who the Surfari's are, they wrote Wipeout. I'm sure they did a few other songs too but it's 60's surf music, so they're pretty cool.

I wanted to help out Steve and get there as early as possible. But since we stayed out until 1:00am last night, I made it by 6:30am. The Surfari's played outside in the pavilion so there was a lot of setting up to do. I tried to help out Steve as much as I could but I was fairly worthless. I basically ended up looking for extension cords and finding out how many outlets we can plug into. I was also a little worried about where I would plug my stuff into and where I would set up but everything worked out great.

One thing about having a concert is it's LOUD. Since their set was loud, we got to play a lot louder than normal, too!!! I finally got to turn my amp up past "2" and hit "3". I'm hoping we can continue this trend for next week. Everything sounded great. I also had to sing this morning and being out late, while having a few beers, didn't help my voice. That coupled with not having any stage monitors made it a little difficult but it was all about just worshipping and rockin' out!!!

Anyway, it was fun. Here were the songs that we did this morning.

Majestic
Love The Lord
Everyday

I know this isn't much of an interesting post, but I'm not really that interesting.

Worship Guitarist Confessional - June 10

2007-06-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not a worship leader, and this is not going to be a video confessional, but I wanted to give a little insight into my gear each week, as well as my thoughts on how the service went.

First off, I was a little late (as always), and noticed that our drummer wasn't there yet, either. I get everything set up (which is a lot of stuff this week), take a look at my phone to check the time, and realize it is 8:15am. We should be rehearsing by now and the drummer still isn't here. Steve tries to call him a few times and can't get a hold of him. Steve even spoke with him yesterday and confirmed that he'd be there. I tried to call him as well and just got voicemail. Another week without drums and without Steve getting advanced notice to program drums on his keyboard.

As we start playing, I realize that the bass guitar is slightly off the beat. He forgot to bring his headphones so he is trying to listen to the beat coming from the mains (pointing away from him) and seems to be picking up the slap back sound coming from the back of the room. Steve was playing with his new electric guitar and was excited to play it for the first time in service, but figured that his acoustic would be better for everyone to pick up the rhythm, so he changed guitars.

First service comes and goes, and we play pretty good and energetic considering the lack of drums. The second service gets ready to start and Steve picks up his acoustic guitar and nothing comes from it. His guitar is silent through the mixing board. So he puts on his electric and strums it once and realizes it is slightly out of tune. He doesn't have time to tune it so we just all come in together. Luckily, there were only 2 songs before the announcements so Steve had time to swap out batteries in his guitar and it worked the rest of the service.

So, if you were wondering why Steve didn't post his worship confessional this week, it probably was he just needed to let this week go (for good reason). Pray for Steve a lot. It seems like he has had a rough couple of months with Sunday morning worship and he needs to be lifted up. Pray for the drummer that has missed multiple times without notice that he can find what it is he is looking for in life, and in music. And finally, pray that more drummers find their way to our church.

Now onto my rig...

This week, I changed out my pickups in my Stratocaster. I got the Tex Mex pickup set and they sound great. So here is my chain:

Stratocaster (guitar) - Boss SD-1 Overdrive - HAO Rust Driver Distortion - Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Overdrive - Fender Tuner to 2 separate outs (1 out to PODxt Live direct to board; 1 out to Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp - speaker out to isolation cabinet with 1x12" speaker - mic'ed to mixing board)

I use the Boss SD-1 primarily as a boost for leads since I have the distortion level turned way down but it works well for some very slight overdrive sound. The HAO Rust Driver is a great high gain pedal that I used for Your Grace is Enough. The Fulldrive 2 is just about the perfect overdrive to keep on all the time.

Here was our setlist:

Love The Lord (With All My Heart)
King of Majesty
Only You
Before You
Only Grace
How Great is Our God
Your Grace is Enough

Next week, we have our fill-in drummer coming to play so that will be fun. Also, another guitarist who plays with us once a month will be playing, too. It's going to be a good time!!! I will try to take a picture of my rig next month so you can see how many power cords and cables there are. It's pretty impressive.

Fort Ryan

2007-06-03T23:35:00.000-07:00

I love this guy!!!

Ryan, fetch me my beer

2007-06-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, he's not quite fetching me beers yet, but...he can now climb up onto the Lovesac ottoman and get me a movie. I have him on video getting me Caddyshack off the DVD rack. Unfortunately, as you will read below as well, I have no clue how to put the footage on my computer. I think I may need to do a little research this week to show off this cool kid.

Here are few pics.

Ryan the Rock Star

2007-06-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I were hanging out on Friday when he decides that he wants to start a KISS cover band.

I have him on video cruising through our living room and when I'd say to him "Ryan, show me your Gene Simmons" he would stop and drop the tongue like he's been rocking for years. Unfortunately, I'm too stupid to figure out how to get the video onto our computer.

I've been bumming lately because it seems like every kid around his age is doing tricks except for him BUT now, he is impersonating Gene Simmons on command, and showing off his intelligence (see post above!!!)

New Guitar

2007-06-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

**WARNING** Technical talk advisory. For those of you quick to comment as "boring", this post may be uninteresting to you.

So, I wrote a while back that I had to send my new guitar back for a refund. I was pretty bummed since it looked so sweet and sounded fairly nice. My sadness is no more. I was at Guitar Center checking out the Epiphone Les Paul Juniors and realized I just had to have one. This is basically the most inexpensive guitar in the entire store, but there are a lot of positives about the guitar.

One, the quality of the body is pretty good. It is a laminated body (kind of like a firmer plywood - which is not ideal) but it is still really solid and has a great finish to it. Two, there is only 1 pickup. To some, that may be a negative, but when you're replacing the stock pickup with one that costs almost as much as the guitar, it's better to just have one. Also, the style I got this guitar for is for that one sound - ROCKIN'!!!!!! Besides, once I get my Strat all fixed up, this guitar will be the backup. Three, it's cheap.

So, after buying the guitar, putting in a new pickup, and changing out all the electronics, it came out to be cheaper than the previous guitar I bought (which I wasn't completely satisfied with the sound anyway). So here are some pics of my new baby.

Now, my only project left is changing out all the electronics in my Strat (new pickups should be in any day now).

I'm also working on another idea. I'm really starting to dig the sound of my POD running stereo without an amp in front of it, but there is still something to be said about a cranked tube amp and how it sounds. So, my next idea is running 3 inputs into the mixer (if Steve will let me - at least sometimes). 2 will be coming from my POD (stereo) and 1 will be coming from a mic in my speaker isolation cabinet with a tube amp cranked in front of it. Since my Fender amp weighs a ton and would be a pain bringing back and forth, I think I can sell off enough stuff to buy a Valve Junior Tube Amp Head. But before I get ahead of myself, I will see what it sounds like with my Fender for at least one week. Anyway, if you've read this far, thanks Steve and Bobby!!!

Blog Posting

2007-05-14T23:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, I haven't posted in a while but I have a good excuse. Actually, I have no excuse. But seriously, you need to get your own blog Linda and Donna. You'd be amazed at how many people would read your blog.

Update on Food Control

2007-05-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

I am a miserable failure. Trying to write down a diet, purchase the food, and get to cooking seems easy enough. Well, not for me. I had the first 3 days down perfectly. Megan ignored one of my items (ok, she doesn't like oatmeal...I'll find a substitute) but we stuck to the menu very well. Then Monday came. Monday's are always the killers. You get your momentum going on the weekend and then, slam....Monday happens.

So, we will begin again. Once I finish this post, I will be off to Microsoft Word-land writing out our menu starting on Tuesday afternoon (I can't get up at 5:30 with Megan...she's on her own tomorrow morning). We'll see how it goes from here.

One Month

2007-05-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

I have been given one month CONTROL over the food that Megan and I consume. With that said, I need everybody's support in helping us eat what we set out to eat, and nothing more. I should be able to post about a week's worth of food starting on Saturday or Sunday.

Our goal is for Megan to lose a minimum of 7 lbs and for me to lose a minimum of 15 lbs. This, by June 4th. The official weigh-in is tomorrow...right before we go to dinner. I already have our meals picked out (shhh, don't tell Megan).

I will keep you posted.

Happy Anniversary

2007-05-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

This posting is for my wonderful and beautiful wife!!! Thank you for putting up with me for the last 4 years and I thank God everyday for your love.

Happy Anniversary!!!

New Toy!!!

2007-05-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Badger has now decided that he needs a new bed. How do we know this? By ripping apart his old bed. So, for now, his bed is his favorite toy.
Surprise!!!!

Check out the damage!

No more chopping from this axe

2007-04-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

I have to send back my Epi Les Paul. I went to play it real quick last night and the neck pickup stopped working. I couldn't believe it only lasted through one service. I had everything set up for church with the Les Paul and I had to tweak every setting so it would work with my Strat. It's not like I spent $50 for this guitar. It should have lasted MUCH longer than this. Anyway, I'm sending it back tomorrow or Tuesday.

So, now I'm onto finding a replacement for my backup. Steve is also looking for an electric guitar so hopefully I can help him find a good one through my mistakes. My top two choices are a Squier Telecaster or an Epiphone Les Paul Junior. They're both pretty cheap and I'd have to swap out the electronics and change the tuners. This way, at least I know what's inside of them when I do that. This guitar would primarily be a backup and also add a little different flavor.

I'm really digging on the Les Paul Junior. It's real simple (one pickup, one volume knob, one tone knob) but since I run through the PODxt, I have plenty of sound options. I've always wanted a guitar with a P90 pickup. Great snarl on them suckers. With this guitar, I could put one in since I have to junk the stock pickup. Just an option for me.

The Telecaster would be a little more expensive to buy, and to fix up. There are two pickups (maybe I wouldn't have to replace them) but the tuners have to be changed. They also look a little cheap...almost like Pine wood. You can get more sound variety out of them, but I think it is running in second place. Now, it's like what Steve said..."I need to get out and start playing some guitars."

I will keep you posted on my search.