Today we celebrated 9 years with the twins... I truly am amazed that we are this far into this... and that they will be 18 in under a decade.... it is hard to imagine a life now without them and look forward to continuing the adventures and stuff in the following years to come.... they certainly keep us busy!!!

Today they celebrated by not having school due to ice, playing with their new Tony Hawk Shred Board and Metal Detector and finished dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. Tomorrow night will see 5 of I-Man's friends coming over for a Mexican, Xbox, Wii sleepover... followed by Nanna, Papa and family coming to town midday on Saturday... followed by Ryles having 5 of her friends come over for an American Girl gathering and sleepover Saturday night.

Whew....

amusing...

This was posted on Facebook by someone I know... I found it.. um... amusing....

Jessica and The Twins got this for me on Thanksgiving weekend and i have had it on my desk this Holiday Season....

Linus Van Pelt: after Linus and Charlie Brown discover the little tree "Gee, do they still make wooden Christmas trees?"

Charlie Brown: "This little green one here seems to need a home".

Linus Van Pelt: "I don't know, Charlie Brown. Remember what Lucy said? This doesn't seem to fit the modern spirit".

Charlie Brown: "I don't care. We'll decorate it and it'll be just right for our play. Besides, I think it needs me".

picks up tree; a lot of needles fall off

first of all, it is getting dark at 3:30pm these days.. has the planet toppled over on its axis or something? Everyday i look ut of the office window and its like, oh.. DARK at 5:00 now... did I miss something? I dont remember it being quite this extreme growing up... or even a couple years ago.

then, I think there is one less weekend before Christmas this year.... just seems like we have less time between Turkey Day and Christmas Day to visit with friends.. that, and my crappy work schedule...

a sign of the times?

... we usually have wrapped all our gifts for people and placed them under the tree on Thanksgiving in the past, but this year for some reason i have been paranoid about some loser breaking into the house and stealing the gifts. You hear about this happening every year, but I am worried that the more dire economy will drive more people to desperation. So I have kept the gifts for kids in another secure spot. But, this kinda sux... I think I am going to bring it all out today and tomorrow (it isnt that much, really)... and wrap it up... Santa doesn't have these issues, does he?

it was pandaleerium, i tell ya...

ah... Americana... since we have the Christmas gift/shopping/mall thingy long done weeks ago, we are not stressing the Mall/Shopping/crazy traffic stuff during the holidays. SO this means a carefree family evening of...

First.. a stop at Pizza Inn. (a side note, Ian told me that one of his invites to a Birthday Party had his name spelled INN... i took me a second to see how it might be thought to be spelled that way) This was a madhouse... but I think I had 12 slices of thin crust pepperoni, 1 slice of cheeseburger (still dont like it), 1 slice of Chicken alfredo and 5 glasses of Diet Coke, all while dodging flying pizza slices, breadsticks and chocolate chip pizza and listening to screaming kids chase after each other and redneck women fight over who would sit beside the window.... but it was fun. Far better than sitting at home. Seriously....




Second... we went to some random place on the outskirts of town called.. Tiny Town. It was the place/house/group who had all this.. stuff, in little houses. Museum quality exhibits of... stuff. And a billion lights that Clark Griswald would be envious of. Seriously....

Third... we meandered back toward town and to the Greenville/Pickens Speedway where another slice of Americana was being shown... some sorta Festival of Lights where you would drive thru in your car listening to Christmas music and supposedly oohhhing and aweing... but not quite. There was also a petting zoo, which actually was interesting for the numerous goats, cows, a couple of Alpaca pa's and some sorta genetic Circus interpretation of a Bison. They even has an ice skating rink. People were skating. On plastic. Seriously...

So... I was a great family evening. One which I am sure will be remembered 10 years from now in one of those "Remember Daddy when we rode around looking at Christmas lights, and Momma was getting all annoyed because we paid 10 dollars to drive thru those light?" moments... I am glad we did it even as I look at my wife and kids asleep in my suddenly small King Size bed and resign myself to sleep on a small sliver of mattress...

this cyber thing has me pondering perhaps siphoning off a little cash every month and putting it under my mattress. Serious. All it takes is some crazed fool (or group) to attack the banking system full bore, or attack the power grid and things will get whacky for a while... we might need to have some paper money on hand.. i mean, i virtually NEVER have any actual money in my wallet anymore. Perhaps this is not a good thing...

... just watched Cam Newton's interview on ESPN. He was pretty convincing. But, the telling thing is what he supposedly said off camera after the interview, when he admitted that he has never directly asked his father what he did in regard to his recruitment to either Mississippi State or Auburn. Plausible Deni-ability. seems like a plan to me... kinda how I would play it too... but until it is proven that he was a part of or absolutely knew (and is PROVEN), i say he deserves the Heisman... but if/when they find out he was/is guilty, the fall will be looooonnnng and hard, cause his mugging for the camera last week was borderline pathetic. Oh well, he is the best guy in college, no doubt.

Yesterday, all over the lace on TV and radio... it was John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, Monday Night FootBall.... John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... Monday Night Football... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... John Lennon this, John Lennon that.... but... the day before, on December 7th you heard a few mentions in the press/media of what happenedon that day and the significance on WORLD HISTORY that event had. Why was this? you mean to tell me that Lennon's unfortunate murder is far more important than the events of December 7th, 1941? 2,402 personnel were killed and 1,282 were wounded. The US was launched into the world conflicts overtly and the financial impact on the country was profound... yet John Lennon gets more play? dont get me wrong, any of you that know me know the importance of the ARTS and most important, MUSIC in my life. But I cant see the curious things of the past two days as being right...

last weekend, I-Man had a birthday party of a classmate that he was invited to... he went to it and it actually turned into a sleepover. Ryles had a conniption fit and had to be consoled the entire time he was gone because she perceived that she had not been invited to a couple of birthday parties that girls had in her classroom. Of course, she doesn't know what type of restrictions those girls might have had for their invites (how many, how long, family, etc.) and hat it may have simply been a numbers game because our experience is that they want to invite 20 people... but I could only think to myself that this isnt the last time she wont get invited to a party, for whatever reason. Some lessons in life really suck. And it makes me sad when I see these play out with my kids because I really would like for everything to be perfect for my kids. Unfortunately, I know that this is unrealistic and not in the best interests for them. Sometimes, someone will call them a name. Somewhere along the line, they will fall and get a big knot on their head. Eventually, a boyfriend or girlfriend will breakup with one of them... one day one of them will make a "c" in school or fail an audition... it's going to happen. No matter how much we try to shield them, at some point the "negative" parts of life will happen to them. I guess my part in this is to guide them thru it, or prepare them for it....

Lebron James sent this out via twitter today. I have read this before but was glad he sent it out. A good statement...


"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat". - Theodore Roosevelt

AWESOME!!!

last night, I waited in line and went and saw Harrison Flowerpot, Quest for the Dandelion at 3AM in IMAX... it was everything I thought a movie could, would and should be.... the ending where Flowerpot, a 42nd level Mage, cast a burning bush spell upon himself was surprising, but I hear that there is yet ANOTHER book in the works by some random writer from Belgium...

do they know it's.....

98.9 has wound up the Xmas songs fulltime, a full week ahead of Turkey Day... and the 24/7 list of songs doesnt apply until you hear "Do They Know It's Christmas Time at All"? at least three times, which I have 3 times within a 4 hour period.....

But I have been reflecting on Christmas this year and the Holidays in general... seems that the "adults" in my family and friends have opted to only do gifts for the children in our circle, which is cool. But I do want to make a concerted effort to at least get together with people for dinner, or gatherings, during the holidays.

...that being said, Santa has been done with "toy making" for almost a month now... I do hope to stress the meaning of Thanksgiving and Cristmas more with the twins this year as I think they are a bit more able to understand the true underlying meaning of the actual holidays, and see past the Gift -O- Rama that this time seems to be for them, especially with their birthday being wrapped into the season too...

Unless UNC or (gulp) Clemson has an awesome season in basketball, I might have to just skip the season and wait for NASCAR and Baseball come March, because it is looking like all ESPN is going to do is hype Duke 24/7 all season... its already in full swing... and unfortunately, they will actually be good (for college level) and therefore the hype will be in full effect....

Per Lou Holtz, everyone needs 4 things in life:

* First, you have to have something to do. Stories of healthy individuals who die within a few years of retiring are too numerous to list. It’s also true that prisoners serving life sentences sleep for 12-14 hours a day because they have nothing in their lives that compels them to get out of bed.

* The second thing you have to have is someone to love. We are put on earth to love other people. Those who don’t have anyone exist without happiness.

* Third, you have to have something to believe in. I’ve always said that not believing in a god is not an option for humans. You might not believe in the Heavenly Father, as I do, but everyone has a god. It might be the quest for power or material gains; it might be a cause–environmentalism, conservationism, global socialism, or one of countless other isms, or it might be the search for peace–but everyone has a god.

* Finally, you have to have something to look forward to. In his famous book Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, made some interesting clinical observations in the midst of the horrors of Auschwitz. Dr. Frankl noticed that prisoners who had nothing to live for and nothing to look forward to died quickly of starvation, fatigue, or abuse at the hands of their captors. But those who survived shared one thing in common: They all had something to look forward to. Often the survivors lived for the thought of rejoining a relative, or escaping to another country. Sometimes they hung on in the hopes of exacting revenge on the Nazis. But whatever the reason, those who survived the greatest atrocity in history were those who had something to look forward to.

dude... its bad when your staunchest supporters bail...

..but they are making a case that theoretically makes sense. I am not sure that it would play out exactly as these guys would hope....

Had quick jaunt down to Monticello and got to go to the FSU/Clemson game with John... great seats and a great view... it was unseasonably cold... but a great time... also got to grab lunch with Billy McGee during the week and we are going to have to get together with our families... still no Julie though....

What it takes to be number one

Winning is not a sometimes thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. you've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.

Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.

And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.

Vince Lombardi

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes". - Charles Swindoll

last weekend saw Halloween and all the candy that comes with it.. finally had to hide the candy buckets after a couple days of piles of candy wrappers all over the place... also spent time with Brandy and Aj and the kids all did the trick or treat thingy together... hit up Skytop orchard too...