hmmmmm

“Oh, the places you'll go, oh, the things you'll see.”

“You don't have to hold onto the pain to hold onto the memory.”

Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
~Donald Rumsfeld

??????

seems my last 2 posts didnt work. Wonder if Firefox has something to do with this?

steppin up the discipline a notch

...seems like Rylee and Ian are starting to get a little dose of reality lately. Used to be something like..."Rylee.... put the cup up!"...no movement......."Rylee.... put the cup up!"...a little"umm umph!!"......."Rylee.... put the cup up!"...stomp the floor and look defiant. Then we would have to either give a little pop or do it ourselves.... now, things have had to change.... lets just say that no response the first time leads to some..uh...stinging consequences. Its kinda sad that we have had to advance to this stage....but, alas...its necessary. It has led to a slighter faster response, i must report.

back home

...i have finally returned home from Lexington, where National Convention for the Frat was this year. It was a lot of fun, and was great to renew old aquaintances again. It did make me ponder seriously whether or not i want to run for national office again. That is something I will have to seriously consider in the next couple of months..

So we are now into August. Rylee and ian get signed up for Dance and Soccer, i have a wedding to photograph( i think) and school starts for Jessica and the kids in the Fraternity. I am so ready for fall, even though we only have had a recent stretch of hot weather. Fall is by far the best time of the year. On deck for the fall... must visit Wyatt and his new kid, Brandys wedding and a visit by Kristen down here.

dude...take a log off.....

uh...i think its been summer...i thinks it time for fall. Seriously, dude...tome for Fall...like...NOW!

congrats to Josh!!!

Josh told me that on July 14th, Alicia delivered their child!!!. He says, "We named her Lydia Wren Wyatt. She is 6 pounds, 15 ounces, 20 inches long".

Congrats to Josh and Alicia!!!!

I Corinthians 13:1-13
1: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2: And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3: If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4: Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;
5: it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6: it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
7: Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8: Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
9: For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;
10: but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.
11: When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
12: For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.
13: So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:1-13

sigh.....

wow...

...its just a revolving door of life events...weddings, people about to get married...people about to have kids... now, another engagement.

quote of the day?

"The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self." - Whitney Young

Did i mention that my mother bought Ian a millenium falcon Star Wars toy and Rylee a polly mermaid/fish tank thingy.... this on top of the barbie/whatever else she got them last week. I was supposed to have her pick up the kids tomorrow, but i am going to do it myself, else the twins will start to think its the Holidays/Birthday season in July.

And why is it that I am watching the Braves out in San Francisco and people are wearing jackets, sweaters, etc??? and the temperature here is starting to near Africa hot? Makes me long for Fall to get here, like tomorrow.

"Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration." - Niccolo Machiavelli

Fish sticks and syrup

Seems like there is nothing better than French toast sticks and syrup for Ian and Rylee. of course, it is a little funny to watch them eat "french toast" sticks (i.e, fish sticks) and see Ian kinda taste a stick, and have this look on his face like..."this taste a tad different than what I am used to ". Tonight, he looked at me and said, "this French toast stick has chicken in it". to which I quickly said, "nope, its a french toast stick!" he loked at it again, and resumed eating and dipping in syrup. if you dont know, Ian eats littel to no meat, with exceptions being Bacon, pepperoni and...well, thats it for meat or any type. Oh, and rylee ate the "french toast sticks too....

random

...Finally was able to borrow a 25foot ladder to replace those light bulbs in the back yard that light up near the creek, from Lynn and Trent. I will test that out soon. not sure i am looking forward to clmbing up that thing.

Jessica is in Myrtle Beach for a couple of days on some teacher thingy. So its just me and the twins today, throught Wednesday.

A little over a week till I go to Lexington for a few days for National Convention. It should be fun...

What can run but never walks,
has a mouth but never talks,
has a head but never weeps,
has a bed but never sleeps?

uh, oh...times sneaking up on us...

....suddenly, we have to start making bigtime decisions. Rylee is to start dance in the Fall and Ian will be doing soccer. We also have to think about whether we want to place Ian and Rylee into Blythe Academy in Greenville, a school that has a language immersion program, and then if we do that, do we go Spanish or French? or do we take them out of daycare in Gville and place them in Easley and them place them in Easley schools. or do we place them at Augusta Circle? We are pondering their fate of school, even as they are acting so bad that we are reluctant to have their grandparents keep them without us for any extended period of time...sigh.....

...Ah...Lance Armstrong is sticking it to the Frenchies...AGAIN!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!! and that is a dilema with me. I prefer French and that language, but i dont like the people. Spanish is probably better served to the twins for their future, but i hate that language, even though they already know it a little from the lolitas at their daycare.

Ian become quite a stubborn little fellow. I constantly have to keep telling myself "He's 3 and a half...he's 3 and a half....", else i will want him to act like a 18 year old...which he isnt even close to. but i know he is aware of his actions to a point. But I also know that he is still immature enough to not be able to always control his actions. But he is so impetuous at times. i think Jessica might have a cow...

flooding, picture editing and whatnot...

I have decided to make the switch to The GIMP photo editing software.... I am not totally familiar with it, but I have played around with it a little while and think it will be a suitable FREE software alternative to Adobe Photoshop for the moment.

The picture hereto the left shows kinda what the benign little creek flowing through the backyard looks like everytime it comes a huge rainstorm event. It suddenly becomes the Colorado river. This time, the rapids actually broke off part of the huge rocks that are there normally and changed the flow of the creek a little.

A couple of Sundays ago we went to Highlands NC with the twins and they got to do the mountain thing for the first time.

ah...rain...

Oh, so its SouthTrust that Wachovia took over, not Sun Trust...

Big rain for tonight...always have to worry ablout potential flooding.

Braves creeping up on the Nats....

Ok..pencil it in...

...we're going to London for the Olympics in 2012. Should be a fun family trip...hit London, and probably get into Ireland a notch or two.... kids will be 9 and a half then.

ah...4th of july....

When you want it the most there's no easy way out
When you're ready to go and your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is
-Celine Dion

had some killer fireworks yesterday...I mean, the "drop the ball in the cannon, it goes BOOM" kind...

life goes on....

further proof that the best are always taken first...Luther Vandross died today.... wow!

Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
That's why a bear can rest at ease
With just the bare necessities of life

Booh Bah

browsing some links right now while Ian and Rylee watch Boohbah
i still think these swimsuits for the twins would be cool, but they are a tad expensive... i think im going to get Santa to bring them this year... i think the Hip Hop name generator is kinda interesting. But a good place to go for interesting stuff to start the day is Fark.

a hint...

sometimes, words in the post are actualy links... you have to hover over them to see if they are links....

ah...back to the grind...

...looking around on the internet and i think I found a t shirt for Brown, based on the escapades he relates to me about his bachelor life.

Seems like i might have another wedding gig offer for August. That would be sweet... i printed out a preliminary set of business cards last night. i am not sure I will stick with the design, but I have come up with a name for a potential photography business. Ihad to do something because when i printed out some test pictures at walmart, they hassled me about copyright and about who I copied the pictures from, as if they were too professional ( their words)...now, I think they look alright, but I am now saying they are that good...but i feel that I am learning, and I must thank AJ for letting me borrow a monitor that is larger and is giving me a truer picture in regards to color and sharpness.

heres one for Jessica and Brandy...

2 ounces blanco tequila
1 ounce Cointreau
½ ounce fresh lime juice
Stir all the ingredients in a mixing glass and pour into a highball glass packed as high as possible with cracked ice. Garnish with a slice of lime, then "let it lie down" (as Sinatra used to say about his Jack rocks) so the ice waters down the booze. If the drink is too strong, hit it with a dash of agua

I found that in one of my favorite magazines.

life goes on...

I havent posted this in a while, so I thought I'd post the picture to the left again and see if anybody bites on it..

A while ago, a friend called me and wished me good luck. I really appreciated that...

... Brown asked me to burn some labels onto Cds for his little (smirk) non profit he putters around with in his spare time. I have been amused by his work for sometime now, as i think he might get the feeling that I am thinking he be a treehugger or something. And I do get a kick out of his musings online on their blog.... but one of his latest postings got me to thinking recently.... As I look at my kids and see them growing up and getting more and more "aware" everyday, I know that it will come the time when they might be shunned because of what they look like. That will be unfortunate, although I also know that they will reap benefits because of what they look like too... as Brown mused about 1947 and rhetorical questions about our appearances, aesthetics, space and design since then, i wandered off topic and wondered if we had changed since 1947...period. But, back on subject, i dont think he a liberal, whiny, teeth gnashing, Howard Dean flunky. I just hope he can somehow get me a nice polo with the logo for Christmas. Although I am not sure how it is you plan to get Manhattan up to LEEDS specs...

Since i have gotten XM radio, i have been listening hard to the 60's channel, as well as the 70's channel. I then came across this article in Slate. How true, how true.... i hear so much stuff now that I immediately know has been done before when i listen to 107.3 or 98.1. Its sad really, because there is talent there sometimes

Can anyone guess who this is? And where we are?

Fathers day, a tad late....

since i was out of town for Fathers Day, i didnt get a chance to post this stuff, so i will do it now.... by the way, i got a hedgeclipper and a iron/steamer thingy (really cool) from the twins.

"Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a daddy."
- Anonymous

12 Traits of a Great Father
By Julian Marcus

1- He's a good disciplinarian
A good father loves his children, but he doesn't let them get away with murder. He strongly disapproves of his children's misdeeds, using tough love to prove a point. He does this through the power of his words, not his fists.
Likewise, a father doesn't reward his children for actions that are expected of them, such as helping with house chores or performing well in school. If his child drops out of school, the father demands that he provide for himself, considering the child no longer wants to invest in his own future.

2- He allows his kids to make some mistakes
A good father realizes that his children are human, and that making mistakes is part of growing up. Spending money recklessly, getting into minor car accidents, getting drunk and sick for the first time, even dating questionable women are rites of passage, and a good father recognizes this. However, he makes it clear that repeated irresponsibility won't be tolerated.

3- He's open-minded
A good father understands that times, people and tastes change over the years, and doesn't try to maintain some gold standard of his own time. For instance, he realizes that body piercings are more commonplace than before, that more couples have premarital sex, and that people talk more candidly about personal issues. In other words, he allows his children to be citizens of their day and age.

4- He teaches his children to appreciate things
A good father never lets his children take what they have for granted. From the food on the table to the good education he's paying for, a good father will make his children see the value in everything they have. He'll ask his child to get a job to help pay for a part of his first car, and take the time to illustrate how important a good education is. He doesn't let his kids treat him like an ATM.

5- He accepts that his kids aren't exactly like him
Everyone is different and a father knows this well. He won't expect his kids to live the same kind of life he does, and do the same kind of work. He also respects their values and opinions, as long as they don't harm the family or anyone else.
To use a pop culture example, he's like Martin Crane from Frasier; the everyman blue-collar dad who allowed his pompous sons to steer their lives in a different direction, even if he didn't quite agree with them.

6- He spends quality time with his children
A dad knows how to have fun with his kids too, taking them out to games, movies, and supporting their sports teams by attending their matches. He takes the time to listen to his kids and have a good, easy chat with them. He also makes time to help them with their homework, every night if necessary.

7- He leads by example
A good father is above the old "do as I say, not as I do" credo. He will not smoke if he doesn't want his kids to do it, and definitely won't drink heavily. He teaches them to deal with conflict with a family member and with others by being firm but reasonable at the same time.
A good father also illustrates the importance of affection by professing his love for their mother in front of them. And he won't fight with her in their presence. In all, he adheres to the values he'd like his children to follow.

8- He's supportive & loyal
Although he may be a football fanatic, if his son doesn't share his love for the game, he accepts it. He may be loyal to his alma mater and dream of having his kid follow his legacy, but if his son prefers to study abroad, he'll support his decision to take a different path.
A good father is also his children's public defender, standing up for them when needed. He waits for privacy to administer discipline. A safety net, a good father is also the person his kids turn to when things go wrong.

9- He challenges his kids
A father wants his children to be the best they can be, and gives them challenges that help them grow as human beings. This means giving them some liberty to face setbacks and resolve conflicts on their own. Or it could be a task, such as building something for the house.
If a father wants his children to take over the family business, he teaches them how to keep it flourishing -- provided that's the path they want to take.

10- He teaches his children lessons
A father figure is the prime source of knowledge in the ways of men, and teaches his kids accordingly. From shaving to being courageous, a father molds his kids into well-rounded members of society. He especially instructs them in proper etiquette, on being honest and keeping their word, and on being thankful.
A great father knows he must sacrifice his own comfort for his fatherly duties. For instance, if he comes home from a hard day at work and catches his kids looking at porn on the Net, he'll take the time to address an awkward situation even though he's tired.

11- He protects his family at all costs
As the main provider of security and necessities, a father will do whatever he can for his family. He'll take a second job to provide for them, and he'll put his own safety on the line to keep them out of harm's way. This is how a father instills in his children the importance of personal sacrifice.

12- He shows unconditional love
This is the greatest quality of a good father. Even though he gets upset at his children's faults and may lament that they did not attain what he hoped for them, a father loves his children no less for it.

of course

Rylee is all excited about doing the Dance thing. Ask Ian if he wants to do it and he says NO!!! "I wanna do SPORTS!!!!" hmmmm... they are always reminding me how different they are, even though they are twins

tidying up....

looks like Rylee will be starting dance lessons this August. Not sure about Ian though...although I am considering it, as it is a useful concept for him, i.e., they have a chance to socialize with others, and also learn to take commands (authority lessons) from someone other than daycare and/or me and jessica. Kinda funny...they will be doing their lessons from Cheryl Hosler, Dr. Hoslers wife and their studio. I had a long conversation with her during lunch and setup lessons for the Fall.

...now why cant a GARBAGE truck driving along the road stop and pick up a random piece of garbage that is sitting in the middle of the road and is causing traffic to have to swerve to miss it?

tryin to do some touch-ups of some photos i took 2 weeks ago. It is amazing what a airbrush can do!!!!

whew!!!!

...finally home from the weekend and "training" i had to go to in Greensboro on Monday and Tuesday.

upcoming weekend

...think we are heading down to see Jessica's parents this weekend and go out on the "family" pontoon boat. Actually, the boat belongs to Jessica's father and there has been humorous discussion as to his bolting a grill onto the front of the boat. The womenz are all up in arms...I'm like.."its his damn boat. he can do whatever he wants to it."...which seems to be the attitude he is taking. Good for him, I say.

Going to take the camera and try to get some photos of Nanna and Papa with the twins.

Jessica and Brandy are discussing a quick trip to the beach next month or so. That would be fun. I havent been to the beach with friends in several years.... more on this soon.

Its easy to root for yer team when they are awesome...and I also think its easy to pull for your team when they are pathetic. But what I am finding it hard to deal with is when your team was supposed to be good, and suddenly sucks really bad. It is just dissapointing... kinda hard to watch on TV and read about them. I am hoping they will snap out of it and contend, but the injuries and the players they have had to call up......and i know Brown is dealing with the same thing up with the Yankees, except their expectations are far greater.

Did ya know

It is impossible to lick your elbow.


By the way...tee heee!!!.... Michael Jackson "Beat It!"

Well they say the sky's the limit
And to me that's really true
But my friend you have seen nothin'
Just wait 'til I get through...
Chorus:
Because I'm bad, I'm bad - come on
(Bad bad - really, really bad)
You know I'm bad, I'm bad - come on, you know
(Bad bad - really, really bad)
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
Who's bad...
- Michael Jackson

Did You Know.......

Over 75% of peple who read this will try to lick their elbow.

Here is where a toast is made, and they say "To the open road!"... it took me a while to figure this one out but now i know where the twins are getting this stuff...

Hmmm...experimenting with B/W and color editing...kinda a raw photo but i think I got the idea

musings

Last night, Rylee and Ian went through the entire checklist of booboos, monsters, washing hands, etc. once they were in bed. Probably took them an hour and a half before they finally went to sleep.

Aunt Ellen is coming to town tonight. She is supposed to be going with Jessica to see Riverdance tomorrow night. I have to clean the playroom this evening before she gets here.

I think Harwood purchased tickets to the Daytona 500. So...i will be able to take one track off my must see list come February. I will have gone to Charlotte, Darlington, Atlanta and will be able to add Daytona. Then i will have Bristol and Talledega on my list of tracks to go to. i thinki I may target Bristol for next year...at least get to the Busch race, which you can see the busch race and Nextel practice too

Looks like the Michael Jackson case is going to be coming to and end tomorrow (a guess). my guess is that he will be found innocent. But...the guy is whacked...somebody needs to tell the man that sleeping with the kiddies isnt well thought of....

Another Quote:
"You know it's going to hell when the best rapper out there is white and the best golfer is black."
-Charles Barkley

tinkering with some snappys... this is a recent graduate of Clemson.

Hmmm, the things you find out.

Amaging how much better your ceiling fan will work if you wipe the dust off of it.

Quote of the Day!
"These are my new shoes. They're good shoes. They won't make you rich like me, they won't make you rebound like me, they definitely won't make you handsome like me. They'll only make you have shoes like me. That's it."
-Charles Barkley

Here ya go, Brandy. Ah, the miracles of Paint Shop...

Pictures

I was going to post another picture, but I will wait till tomorrow.

rylee has a new thing now where she goes through a "checklist" of things that are hurting her before she will finally go to sleep. And ian has to have a drink of water.

This is Brandy and Aj. They are getting married in a few months...I was goofing around with some pictures that i took. i just wanted to see what this looked like on the web through my laptop. Comments?

wierd

This morning, I fixed the twins french toast sticks. As they sat down, they both picked up their cups and, together in unison, said "To the open road!!!!" Now, i have No idea where that came from.

on the docket...

...defragging the 60 gig, researching Browns October airfare (he gave me a link for $240.00, pretty good), hoping the new background comes today, getting a check, seeing Jessica off the Kansas City, gettingkids fed, getting kids bathed, getting kids to bed... clean up den and downstairs bathroom...hope to get Brandy/Aj engagement photo done...setup Graduation photo shoot...

...back in South Carolina

...wow...it was a haul, but got back in decent time....managed to spend only about 45 minutes outside the car today and 10 and a half hours inside it...rain on the NC/Sc end slowed me down considerably. As usual, great to see Brown and Kristen....look forward to seeing them again in the Fall... Jessica bolting to see Kari on friday. Should be fun dealing with the kids by myself for several days

"Don't want to leave, but we both know sometimes it's better to go. Somehow I know we'll meet again, not sure quite where and I don't know just when you're in my heart, so until then, smile, don't want to cry saying goodbye." -The Muppets

oh, and this too.....
"I get by with a little help from my friends." - John Lennon

Empire State Building

Brown in his spacious den.

Kristen and her son

...hello from New Jersey

...Saw Brown on Sunday and Monday...got to Kristens last night and have been here today. Bolting here as soon as possible tomorrow. Probably 10 hours on the road tomorrow..thank god for XM radio.

I was able to get some good stock photos ( i think) and I am pretty confident of some photos of Kristen's son. I might post one of them late Wednesday night.

There are WAYYYYYYYYY too many people up here. Traffic is just out of control...rubbernecking constantly. A drive that should take 5 minutes can take an hour. Ridiculous.

Well... gotta go...

Hitting the road soon

...heading to New York City on Sunday to see Brown and see some sites... then back to Jersey to see Kristen and her 8 month old son Harrison.... so, long haul in the car on Sunday mixing it up with all the memorial day traffic...at least the Jetta can make it there on one tank of gas.

Should be able to get a couple of px of some stuff there on Monday. And i am sure Brown with have some ideas... Then back home on Wednesday...Jessica is off to Kansas City to see Kari on Friday and she will be gone till Wednesday.

I have a photo gig with Aj's sister at some point. I am looking forward to that and getting some good "portrait" shots and other poses with my light setup. That should be good.

???

Ok..so..Ive am about halfway there on the porfolio thing...I have different photos of landscapes, things, people outside, etc...I now am working on getting some good portrait shots of different people. I one gig set up with the sister of a friends fiancee. i am looking to do one more of a different person. I have a white guy, black girl, my twins...will have 2 different types of white girls at some point and I might try to drive up and see Brown in a couple of weeks. If I see Kristen on that trip, i bet i could take some photos of her and her son and some pix of NYC. Then i could get Brown to take look at the photos i will use... I just need to see if that will be a good time and if we can free up 50 dollars for gas for me to drive up there and back. Also, i think Jessica might be flying out to Kansas City to see Kari, so I might have to wait till later...I guess we shall see... I want to have a diverse set of photos in my portfolio.

sigh....just got back

...just got back from Charlotte. It was a fun weekend. Saw Star Wars and the Races on Saturday. kinda tired so I heading to bed here soon. Of course, the #20 took out my guy by knocking the #01 into the #29. So...no..it wasnt a bummer that Steard wrecked. it was a bummer that he took out Harvick. Plain and Simple...still had fun though...wrecks right in front of us...direct view of Pamela Anderson. Going to get the same tickets next year...

Off to Charlotte

...back to Charlotte today. dropping the twins off in Columbia to stay with the grandparents for the weekend, then heading up I77 to Charlotte, meeting up with Brandy, AJ, Harwood, Jessica and Ellen for dinner, then a 9:45 showing of Star Wars. To the track saturday midday, tailgating then to the race Saturday night. Then back to pick up the kids Sunday afternoon, then back home. Should be a fun weekend...I am going to try to get a picture of Pamela Anderson. And I might even get to see some Pam Anderson wannabes during the weekend too...

food for thought

..a while ago, I was listening to some radio station online and there was an discussion concerning reparations to African Americans, etc.... the question came up that was posed like this..."If you were offered the ability to go back to Africa, would you go?"...kinda funny because I was sitting here thinking to myself "Hell No!"...when a caller calls in, obviously a black man..and he says "I got 2 words for you on the question..."HELLLLLL NO!!!!!" "He went on to say that he will take his Fried Chicken and Collard Greens and stay right where he is at than go to Africa and have to fight off Mosquitos and Lions. I am with you brother...lock step.

ramblings...

Another day, another birthday.... got some cool shoes, "Bleachers" by John Grisham, a couple of accesories for my camera stuff, some 1/64 diecast cars and some sugar free candy (like M$Ms)....

...looks like I might have an opportunity to do a graduation shoot sometime soon. I need to get in touch with people here real soon like... I think I am going to try to do it on location at their place... but we shall see.

...its so cool to see your kids be able to go to the ice maker and get their own ice and water. Kinda funny watching them too... they are so matter of fact about it.

Yep... XM satellite for now. They have Nascar (until 2007) and Baseball, as well as all the other stuff... research shows XM being the stronger company while Sirius is way outspending for stuff in order to try to lure listeners. I suspect the future will see XM absorbing Sirius....

...may try to see Star Wars on Friday night in Charlotte

How true...

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
-George Bernard Shaw

A great time this weekend

We went up to Charlotte for a quick visit with Kim, Jeremy and Brandon and Brandon's 2nd birthday celebration. It was a nice time, and I got to renew my aquaintance with Kim's father, Hiram...about as funny a man I have ever met. Itwas a nice time. I also have decided that I am going to go for XM satelitte whenever I get around to getting that. they have Nascar and Baseball, which are my 2 favorite things.

This should be an interesting week.... Taking the twins to the grandparents on Friday afternoon, then heading to Charlotte for a fun weekend, I hope. Harwood and his wife Jessica, Brandy and AJ, Ellen and others out for dinner Friday night...then doing the race on Saturday, then picking up the twins Sunday afternoon....

After that...the "events" are over for now. I have a tentative plan to visit Josh and Kristen this summer, but that is on hold for now. I also plan to go to National Convention in late July....then later is the Smith/Ford wedding in October. No other big plans at the moment...

Ok...take a look below...

...Those are the last pics of the twins I plan to post for a while. I will post pics of other people, things for a while.

Ian goofing off while I test lighting...a little better now, i think. need a fill for under the chin....

Rylee sitting for portrait lighting test. A little over exposed, i think. But I fixed it later....

Me and Rover Dawg have a meeting

Yesterday, me and the rambling rover dawg finally had a meeting of the minds. After noticing him in our back yard yesterday, and him running off when i came outside, I saw that he had decided to set up camp/watch/lick himself/whatever next to our mailbox out front. So...i went and got the "Dealmaker"...a small Daisy BB gun I purchased not too long ago. I went to a window and since we have the windows open in the house, all I had to do was raise the screen an inch. Doing so, i could see his ears poke up..he's like "wha?... wha wuz that?"...looking around and stuff... I silently snicker and load a BB into the "Dealmaker" and place rover dawg squarely in the sight...had to sight through the picket fence, but that added to the experience. I wait patiently. (if you know me, you know that one thing I have is patience) The "Dealmaker" waits at the ready. rover dawg calms down and starts eating a piece of grass or something. I squeeze the trigger. "TANG!!!!!!!" .."WHAP!!!" .. rover dawg takes off like a bolt of lightening back to his house.

... havent seen rover dawg since.

...the "Dealmaker" is back unloaded in its hiding place in the garage. ... and Mocha is somewhere chillin

I always try to feed the children something good and all that. But its nice when they are still at the age where you can drop cottage cheese, a Bojangles biscuit, 5 ritz crackers and a slice of Turkey in front of them, and they are jumping up and down. sigh... I know that there will come a time when that will no longer be up to speed.... sigh....

but of course,...

...these people picking up the trash is far cooler than having to figure out a way to get rid of the trash every week. i remember when we had to do that. that did notwork out too well....

trash

the trash people here are such idiots. They wont take anything not in a trashbag. And the recycling people only take certain recycling, and we keep getting things left behind because they rift through the recycling and simply leave what is "illegal". WHY????..oh, why cant they just toss the "illegal" stuff into a "illegal" bin and chunk it once they get back to trash central, where ever that is? so...they are forcing me to just toss EVERTHING into the trash bags and say "screw recycing!"

Mother's Day... the twins salute Mama

kinda weird....

...ever notice this Cinco de Maya or whatever thing seems to pop up about the same time every year? kinda strange....

Kristen, during her "hair" days

Me...I am messing around with my Portrait setup and some lighting setups.... just a different look

Rylee. Everytime Kevin Harvick comes on TV, she point to it and says..."Jamie!"

Ian fishing down at the creek. As long as he's at the water, things aref ine. But he has this penchant for trying to cast at bad places.....

On deck...

Twins got invited to a friend's 2nd birthday party. They have decided to go. Guess that means Jessica and I will have to take them...

Darlington up this Friday and Saturday. Hoping it don't rain.

Still working on all the scans...its a slow process... scanners are not fast.

Does anybody want to volunteer to be in my portfolio, i.e. be a model for a couple of hours?

scanning pictures....

Time it was,
And what a time it was,
It was. . .
A time of innocence,
A time of confidences.
Long ago. . . it must be. . . .
I have a photograph
Preserve your memories;
They're all that's left you.
-Paul Simon

This is a cow. It is a different sorta cow, however. It is a French Cow. i took this pic in the countryside of France almost 11 years ago. Wow, has time gone by....

I just got a scanner....

...getting ready to start scanning in all my old prints. Bought a scanner today for 29.00 from Staples. the honorary first pic scanned in is below. I am not sure when this was taken. i am not sure what was going on. But..one can imagine.

Ah...those late night cloves..... or whatever the hell that is....

seasons of change

...its kinda sad.... having to evolve as a parent...no longer can it always be able to be the good guy. The twins have gotten to they "bad" stage somewhat, where they want to do whatever it is you say for them NOT to do. Of course, this results in lots of discipline, and the accompanying crying (more fake than anything) and tantrums on the floor. And I guess it gets a little old after a while for me and Jessica. You dont want to constantly be yelling "NO!" to your kids, but we are in that stage right now. At least they seem to be getting a whole lot better with the potty training. Still some accidents, but I can deal with the accidents as long as the effort is there. So there is progress there, albeit later than most kids. But supposedly, twins develop that facility later than singles. Also, the entire "bad" thing is made higher by the fact that they egg each other on, and instigate things with each other. It is awesome to actually see them interacting with each other and essentially coniving to do something, but of course, ...we can't have that now, can we?

The Spring events list is moving on to the Darlington race weekend next weekend. We are heading to Florence on Friday next week, and I will get to go to the race on Friday night and the race on saturday night in Darlington. I might try to get a pitpass from my mother as a birthday present. We shall see.

I am starting today as a contract photographer for this company in Greenville. It is fulltime/part-time, so I am still looking for a more secure means of work. but this will allow me to work on my portfolio (photography). I am pondering getting into the whole freelance/portrait/wedding photography gig. Not sure yet, though... like I said, I need to work on my "book" as Erik might put it. My mother did say that she was willing to help me purchase some items I need for the portait side of things, like a background, etc. more on all of this later...

here ya go, Lisa!!!!!! TJ and Lisa Keasler

Tj and Trace

Lisa and Trace

a nice weekend, i think....

Well, the Formal and anniversary celebration is over. I think everything went well... although I havent received much feedback. I guess i can assume that no complaints is good. I think that people were happy to renew friendships with each other, etc... I must admit that i personally did truly miss Josh, Kim and Erik. it wasnt the same for me without you guys there, and when we do this again in 5 years, you BETTER be there.

I posted some pictures below. I have some more that i wil try to post tomorrow.

getting ready to head to Jamie Killingsworth funeral in Abbeville. He was a member of the Zeta class, and he passed away on Thursday.

76 degrees today...supposed to be 80-84 degrees tomorrow. Whoa now...lets not get carried away with this warm weather, sun thingy deal...not supposed to be getting to the high 80s till the end of may, at least. dont want to get ahead of ourselves, do we?

Brian and Jessica Harwood

Kevin and Hollie Marsh

Cheryl Miller and Gresham Barker

Alumni Breakfast!!! Actives and alumni....

Tarik Pierce and Trace Keasler

James Clemons

Annabeth and Andrea

Danny Goldrick

Claire Compton

Matt and Janet Zeilke

Susan Lark Kelly and Brooke

Lisa (Moore) Keasler and Trace...with Jamie Clemons and Andrea Randolph Albertson in background

Brent White

Stephen Crowell and Jenny (New) Bradford

TAX DAY!!! and Formal weekend!!!

..Tenth Anniversary weekend is here....lots of friends coming to town. And some we wish were coming but are not due to conflicts, distance, etc... we will miss you, and make sure to talk lots of gossip about you (that's you, Erik!)

Party at my house tonight.... house is straigtened up ( at least until the kids get home from Daycare) and we are looking forward to hanging out.... gotta go put my shirt in the dry cleaners... print out the programs and awards... and we are set. look for pictures late Sunday afternoon.

a quote for now....

This is a quote from something that is fiction, but i find it profound.... on so many levels.

"Life has a melody, Gaius. A rhythm of notes that become your existence once played in harmony with God's plan. It's time to do your part and realise your destiny."

Now, no..I'm not getting all Bob Jones on anyone...but I do find myself getting more and more contemplative as I get older. And i realised today, that the person i once was...lets say, back in 1985, 88...1994 and 94, or even 1998..I am not that person anymore. Oh, parts of me are still there. A lot of me is still there. But my perspective on things has changed. Dont know if this is good or bad. Maybe it was getting married. maybe it was having children and seeing the future in front of me. I dont thinks its bad...but all i know is that...well..i dont know.

I talked to Kristen today. She said we should move to New Jersey. Of course, she is there with her family, as well as Brown an hour away...Dont think the in-laws and my mother would like that too much, though. Not sure Jessica would like that either. Sigh...but I am reminded of her birthday, and of Lynn's...and once again...mine.

Going to start looking seriously at Charlotte and Atlanta next week. but i would prefer to stay in the Upstate. And i have a couple of promising leads...i just have to be patient.

YES network and MLB

So...cable has had this free MLB baseball thingy all week. i have gotten to see the Yankees, Redsox, Mets, Phillies, Nats, etc...on their actual broadcasts. I am actually considering getting this package, although it would be because i would be pulling for those teams, really...it would be to see them lose...probably not a good idea, then...i guess.... but I kinda have always had this begrudging admiration for the Yankees...i will refuse to pull for them, but... there is something about them that attracts me....

Still undecided if I am going to wear a tux or suit to Formal. Initially, i was going to trot out the tux, but... I am anticipating an evening of actual conversation with friends this time, so it might be a longer evening that it normally is for me at these events, so i might just go suit so I can hang out a little more comfortably at the event....

Kids growing

Wow...the kids are starting to grow again. I can see a noticable difference in how Ian looks now. Nothing bad, just growing and changing a little bit.

The next few weeks are shaping up.... Friends and Frat coming to town next weekend for a celebration. Couple of weekends later, to Darlington for Nascar race.... then a couple of weekends after that, to Charlotte for Allstar Nascar race. Looking forward to seeing Lisa, TJ, Kim, Jeremy, and a whole bunch of others over the next few weeks. It will be good to see everyone....

Finally...part 2

...growing up, The Tar heels were my first team i pulled for, before the Celtics or the braves...or Clemson. they were he only people on TV back then. Tonight, they climbed to the top.... oh, and my man in NASCAR won AGAIN today in Bristol. I've got a mini streak going....

this sun thing

...not too sure I agree with this Daylight savings time deal... its almost 6 oclock and it feels whacked...and I know this is going to be tough for the kids to understand why they have to go to bed, and its still all light outside and stuff. yeah, i know...billions of people have had to deal with this before, and Rylee and Ian with be just fine... but i can already hear the protests when we put them to bed, and the sun hasnt set yet. plus..it was above 80 degrees today. Cant we have some 70 degree days a while before we go to 80?

wonder what this means......

FINALLY!!!!

...my guy wins a race. Harvick wins the NASCAR race in Bristol. Perhaps this bodes well for this new cycle of sports seasons.

Pondering going into photography full bore.... getting a new camera rig, with a light kit...all the neccesities. Need to build my portfolio once I get my equipment.

Frat meeting last night ended up far more interesting than I thought it would be. I just hope that lessons can be learned before its too late. people gotta talk to each other....

Ian and Rylee are having to bear down and eat what we fix them. this isnt going over too well at the moment. But it will go over. They dont have a choice. The days of just eating cheese sandwiches and and peanut butter for dinner are over, i think. And ian just is so funny as he tries to hold out for that cheese sandwich.....

Newbies

...tonight, the FRAT initiated 13 new bruhs.... as always, i always feel a little strange after they cross... its so refreshing to see them so excited... only to know that some of them will be gone within a year, and some of them will do great things. And i can look at them now and have a good idea who will go which way.

Tar Heels to the finals.... Braves open up as favorites on Tuesday.