Day Ninety One

Dear Readers,
      Another guest blogger today.  It is... are you ready for it?  Brooke Piliavin, my sis in law.  I am guessing she is going to take this time to get back at me a little bit for all the times I have used her as an example in previous blogs.  Either way, I am sure to be entertained.  Hope you all enjoy.

Dear Readers and Dave,

So of course, Dave asks me to guest blog the day before he wants me to. Actually it wasn’t even official until today and for those who don’t know me, I am a planner… or to use a more honest term, I’m a bit of a “Control Freak”. So, having to do this without much time to think it out kind of freaks me out a little bit. However, being the good sister-in-law that I am, I decided to do it anyway.
    I really do wish I didn’t have to plan out everything as much as I do. Yes, I would say that a lot of women are that way, but I think I take it to a whole other level. Just ask my Husband. The poor man has to deal with this on a regular basis.
    For example if we are planning on going out to dinner at night, but not sure where, then I have the hardest time deciding on what I should make for lunch. You see, I have to figure out what type of food I am going to have for diner so I don’t eat the same type of food for lunch. Insane, I know.
I wish I could say that this is as far as it goes but that is very much not the case. Brandon and I have been talking about starting a family, which you would think, as major as it is, it is still a straight forward idea. You decided you are ready then you start trying. If only it were that simple. Just figuring out when to start trying is a process and a half. You see, if we start on a particular month, am I going to be 9 months pregnant during the summer? If so, I would be miserable! Or, we have to make sure we don’t start trying on a month that would make my due date during Christmas because it is would be sad to make our kid share a birthday month with Jesus.
So we actually came up with a plan at the perfect time for us to try and hopefully get pregnant, but then my sister informed me that she is planning on getting married the month the baby would most likely would be due, at which point the extreme planner surfaces in my mind. Would I rather be 8 months prego driving to Colorado or have a new born? That decision changes our plans on when we should or shouldn’t start trying to have a baby.
 I get to the point that I even start planning plans backups to my original plans in case they don’t work out.  The funny thing is, it has nothing to do with me at all. I could plan till I am blue in the face and have my Plans A, B and C all figured out, but often, God, with His amazing sense of Humor decides go with Plan G which seems to come completely out from left field. (There you go Dave, I threw in a sports reference just for you!). 
I honestly don’t know how Brandon endures my brain sometimes. But that is where we complement each other… or sometimes drive each other crazy. Brandon, unlike me is not much of a planner or better put, is a huge procrastinator! Where I have all my ducks in a row all lined up, Brandon’s ducks are in a ponds somewhere doing belly flops and the backstrokes! To give you a perfect example, sometime while before our wedding, Brandon told me he was going to write a poem to share during the ceremony.  So our wedding day comes, he reads his poem, everyone oohs and awes, only to tell me later that he wrote it like 15 minutes before the ceremony. You wouldn’t have known it, but that is Brandon for you. He is just one of those guys that fly by the seat of his pants. You can see how we could drive each other nuts!!!  I often wondered how he functioned before I came along, but then I realized that I have his sister and Mom to thank for his survival.
     Ideally I wanted to take this opportunity to put Dave on Blast, something that he seems to do so well with everyone else, but to be honest I couldn’t think of anything. Maybe that is why he asked me the day of, so I didn’t have time to plan something out. So instead I decided to beat him to the punch and put another one of my quirks out for all to see, before he could get the chance. With all joking aside, it has been a blast reading your blogs Dave, but for Raina’s sake, I hope your beard gets lice and you have to shave it all off! Love ya Bro in Law!

      Okay, can you all say it with me.  A little crazy if you ask me.  Just kidding.  She is pretty obsessive about having to have a plan.  Which makes it even more fun for me to mess with the plans.  Anyways, love ya too Sis in Law!

This Day In History: 1889
The Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris, France.  At almost 1,000 feet it was the world's tallest man-made structure.  Gustave Eiffel was a French bridge builder who also designed the framework of the Statue of Liberty.

Born This Day: 1943
Christopher Walken - American Actor

"Life is more fun on the fly."

-David Ortega

The guy who did this does not have a beard.  Explains everything.

Day Ninety

Dear Readers,
      It is a sad day.  I didn't win the Mega Millions Lottery.  All that hard work and money invested and nothing.  I had it already spent in my head.  Buy a house, buy Raina a new car, maybe a boat, or a major stake in the Guggenheim investment of the Dodgers.  Maybe I could just buy the parking lots since they are up for bargaining.  A group of guys from work and I pooled our money together to buy seventy five chances at winning.  We made sure we covered all the mega number opportunities, almost twice over.  It seemed like we got all the numbers surrounding, but not the actual numbers.  The math geek inside of me tried to figure out any angle that might help, like the possibility of buying every possible combination.  Figuring out if we bought every combination at a price of one dollar each if the winnings would off set your loss enough to make it worth it.  Initially it looks like a good idea when the payout is $640 million as it was today.  Only problem is you take twenty five percent off the top and then lose more if you take a lump sum.  Then the possibility of having to share it would make it even less.  Then there is the problem of filling out all those tickets.  It would take you a lifetime to fill them all out.  Maybe not that long, but you get the idea.  The drawing would be done before I could get one percent done.
      All this money draws people out of the wood works.  I think I read that the lottery was raking in over a billion dollars just for this drawing.  That is a ton of money.  I have to start my own gambling ring.  That is where the money is at.  Maybe my next business proposal should be a casino.  That is the key.  Anyone want in?
      I was supposed to hang out with Brandon tonight, maybe go see that Acts of Valor movie.  That all changed when Brooke's plans were canceled.  The plan was that Brooke was going out with some friends, so Brandon and I could do something manly.  Well, it ended up being a couples night, with Raina and I and Brooke and Brandon.  We went to have Peruvian food for dinner and promptly made a stop at Target on the way back.  The thought was to pick up a new board game or something.  We found a Scrabble card game to try out.  If you have ever played Monopoly Deal, you might think it was a similar concept.  If you haven't played Monopoly Deal, you should definitely try it out.  It is a blast to play.  The Scrabble game was a little wild, especially with a few of us who tend to bend the rules.  At least as much as allowable.  It became pretty hectic, but made for some great laughs, especially when Brandon started to make up his own words, thinking he could get one past us.  It made Brooke have to focus on watching what Brandon was doing, forcing her to fall behind and not getting to win many of the games.  It seamed to be every ten seconds she was calling Brandon out on something.  If your ever playing a game with Brandon, watch him like a hawk.  He will try to get one over on you any chance he gets. 
      It ended up being a lot of fun hanging with Brooke and Brandon.  We don't get to spend as much time with them as you would think.  So it is great when we get the chance to.

This Day In History: 1981
U.S. president Ronald W. Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by a deranged drifter named John Hinckley Jr.  Reagan, apparently unaware that he had been shot, was shoved into his limousine by a Secret Service agent and rushed to a hospital.

Born This Day: 1853
Vincent Van Gogh - Dutch painter

"Laughter is wine for the soul..."

-Sean O'Casey

I can't believe the winner isn't amongst all those tickets.

Day Eighty Nine

Dear Readers,
      Raina and I had dinner with her dad, his wife, Brandon and Brooke at a restaurant in Brea.  We tried a new restaurant out that we have been wanting to try for quite some time now.  In fact, Brandon and Brooke lived in Brea for a year and we talked about trying it multiple times but never made it there.  Funny how now that they live in Gardena, much further away, we finally go try it.  Taps is the name of the restaurant.  It is a fish house and brewery.  It was a little bit fancier than I expected, meaning I felt under dressed in my shorts and t-shirt.  The food was delicious.  I had a blackened Mahi Mahi that was cooked to perfection.  Raina had some Tilapia that was awesome too.  The Tilapia had an Asian flair to it, considering it had Shitake mushrooms.  For the first time, Raina ate the mushrooms and actually enjoyed them.  She hates mushrooms, so to see her actually try them was huge.  And the fact that she liked them is even bigger.  Taps just had the magic combination of flavor and cooking for the mushrooms.  Maybe now I can buy some for the house and convince her to eat my grilled mushrooms in certain meals, mainly breakfast.  Dinner was delicious and the stories were entertaining.  Great night.
      Speaking of stories, one particular story came up tonight that I need to share with everyone.  It is about Brandon, and I am getting to the point that I can't remember what I talked about in previous blogs.  So there might come a point where I will repeat a story or two.  This is my disclaimer, so I am asking for forgiveness now for future blog mistakes.  Who knows, maybe they will be funnier or written better the second or third time around.  Anyways, back to my Brandon story.  Brandon, Brooke, Raina and I had gone to Palm Springs to visit Raina's family that was vacationing there.  We went out for one night and a couple of meals with the family.  Brandon's story starts while on the way home from that trip.  On our way back home, we made a detour to visit the Bass Pro Shop because we had heard it was a really cool store.  Which it was.  We had dinner there, they had a restaurant.  Spent time looking around at all the cool camping, fishing and hunting stuff.  Upstairs they have a huge variety of guns to look at.  Probably about one hundred shotguns and rifles lined up on a rack that you could pull them off of to get a feel of what it was like to hold one.  Brandon and I were dreaming of what it would be like to own one and picking a few off the rack to hold for our own imaginations sake.  I finished checking out the guns and was heading to where Raina was an aisle down or so.  Then, all of a sudden, there was a loud thump and crash from where I had just come from.  As I turn to see what happened, I can see everyone one else on that floor doing exactly the same thing as me.  Everyone turning and staring at the disturbance.  I look to discover Brandon holding his head in obvious pain and a rifle sitting on the floor.  Come to find out, he hadn't set the rifle on the rack correctly and as he was walking away from it, it wobbled and fell directly on his head and then onto the floor.  Raina, Brooke and I got a real good laugh out of that.  Raina was a little embarrassed at all the attention it brought to us.  And boy did it bring attention to Brandon.  From that point on, it was like we had a shadow of workers from the Bass Pro Shop.  Everywhere we went on that floor we could see one of the workers watching us.  To the point that a few aisles down, Brandon spotted the Crossbows and went to check it out.  One of the workers must have noticed and then made a beeline to Brandon.  He had just picked up the Crossbow, when the worker walks up behind him to ask if he needed help with anything.  We ended up being asked multiple times if we, or Brandon, needed help with anything.  Raina and I were convinced we were being watched from that point on.  Either way, it made for a great story.

This Day In History: 1885
In his Atlanta, Georgia, backyard, Dr. John Pemberton brews up the first batch of his "brain tonic and intellectual beverage," the cocaine-containing Coca-Cola.

Born This Day: 1867
Cy Young - American Hall of Fame baseball player

"The politician who never made a mistake never made a decision."

-John Major

How else do you think he maintained his dictatorship for so long?

Day Eighty Eight

Dear Readers,
      Hallelujah, is all I can say about the Dodgers finally dropping that dead weight of Frank McCourt.  I am so happy to be rid of him.  Only, I can't believe he is going to make out like a bandit after tarnishing the Dodgers legacy the way he did.  Two billion dollars!  That is a ton of money.  Even after paying off all his debt, paying off his wife in the divorce, and after buying back half the parking lot at Dodger stadium, he is taking home something over a billion dollars of his own.  I really hate that guy.  Glad to be rid of him and all the negativity he brought with him.  Now, I can end my boycott of Dodger games.  I can't wait to make it to a few games this year.  Maybe I will even be able to afford getting season tickets again in the next couple of years.  I can dream can't I?  It is a whole new era of Dodger baseball and it is being brought back by a Los Angeles guy.  Glad to be keeping it local, somewhat.  Out of the three finalists bidding for the Dodgers, the Magic Johnson group was the best option.  If there was some way to bring back the O'Malley family, I would have loved that, but I am pleasantly pleased with this second option.  Besides, if someone is going to spend two billion dollars on a team, you know they are going to spend some money on making that team better.  They didn't invest two billion dollars to let it go to waste.  You know they are in it for the long haul, to bring back the dynasty known as the Dodgers.  Imagine, a year where the Lakers and the Dodgers win the championship together.  I love LA.  I am definitely looking forward to seeing how things progress.  I sense big changes coming either this year or next.  Maybe a new general manager.  Hopefully a signing of a big free agent or a blockbuster trade at the deadline.  Only one more week until the season starts and I can't wait.
      Speaking of baseball, sort of, we had another softball game tonight.  It felt good to get out there after missing last week with that throat infection.  It is great that we are actually doing better too.  Yes, we are 2-1 in the last three games.  I think we may have a chance at making a run at winning our league.  We need to keep being smart and keep improving.  Playing our best ball at the end of the season.  Only three games left.  Today was a nail biter though.  We thought the game was over due to time, but there was like one minute left so the umpire called for another inning.  We couldn't believe it and had to go into the bottom of the last inning with a lead of four runs, and almost lost it.  They scored three runs and then had people on second and third with two outs.  Tying run and winning run in scoring position.  The last at bat was a fly ball that our two outfielders almost blew by running into each other.  Luckily they didn't and as the front guy missed catching the ball, the girl behind him reached up to snag it for the win.  The nerves were getting to our pitcher I think, so it was a good thing they got the out there or he might have had a break down.  Update for me, I had a base hit, a fly out, and a force out.  Scored one run and drove another one in.  No missed plays fielding today.  Thankfully. 
      I am going to have to do a Dodger special here pretty soon.  Baseball season is starting and it is my favorite season of the year.  Here comes pitching duels and home runs and manager battles.  Maybe even a pitch at a players head to send a message.  Best of all, here comes that beautiful voice of Vin Scully's.  It's time for Dodger baseball!

This Day In History: 72
Masada, the natural rock fortress in Israel, falls to the Roman army after its defenders take their own lives rather than be sold into slavery.

Born This Day: 1899
August Anheuser Busch Jr. - American beer baron

"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

Beard, reason why he won 11 championships.  

Day Eighty Seven

Dear Readers,
      I'm returning to the days of high school or even younger with my subject tonight.  I have this certain friend, whom I promised not to name.  She is younger, so her actions can be somewhat explained.  There happens to be this boy who is very interested in her, and she knows it.  Now the other half, she actually likes him back, but refuses to let it be known to him.  So instead of giving this particular guy hints or signs, she goes the extreme opposite.  She treats him badly, she ignores him, she is violent to him.  Yes, she actually hit him one time.  It is so bad, that there was a time that she would walk out of the room as soon as he entered.  Yet, somehow, this guy befriends her.  He must have a lot of patience and must really like and care about her to put up with all her strange quirks.  If that is what you can call what she is doing to him.  I don't understand it, and I have made it clear that I don't understand what she is doing.  Part of me really feels bad for this guy.  Why would he go through all the torture and pain and not even know his feelings are reciprocated.  Imagine liking a girl, or guy, and getting nothing but the cold shoulder in return.  I think I would eventually give up, with my pride crushed into millions of tiny little pieces.  For some reason, this guy is still hanging around.  Let me know if I am in the wrong about this.  Is she doing the right thing?
      This situation reminds me of a much younger time, when liking a girl was a huge deal.  Back when you used to ask by passing a note that stated to check a box in response to the question "Do you like me?".  There were usually three options.  Yes.  No.  Maybe.  Is "maybe" really an answer.  I guess back then it was.  Isn't amazing how our concept of dating and liking girls and asking them out changes so drastically.  What were we thinking back then.  I guess it was just little kid impulses.  We had to do something, and that something seems so much more foolish now then it did back then.  It is amazing that it doesn't change from generation to generation.  Each generation goes through the same goofy period of having a "girlfriend/boyfriend", when we don't even understand what that really means.  Life really changes us.  It seems so confusing to us that we did that back then.  It was just normal though, and it was how things were done.  Can you imagine a world where that doesn't change as we age?  Imagine working in your office and getting a note passed to you asking the same questions we were asked as elementary school kids.  That picture makes me laugh.  Maybe maturing isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Seems silly, but it would be funny to try.  Maybe I can convince one of you single person's out there to try it as an experiment.  Let me know if any of you get some boldness and decide to try it out.  For science sake. 

This Day In History: 1912
Two Japanese cherry trees are planted along the Potomac in Washington, D.C., the first of 3,020 given by Japan to the United States.  After World War II, cuttings from Washington's cherry trees were sent back to Japan to restore the Tokyo collection that was decimated by American bombing attacks during the war.

Born This Day: 1863
Sir Henry Royce - English automobile magnate

"Whatever is rightly done--however humble--is noble."

-Sir Henry Royce

This is how I want to be when I get old.

Day Eighty Six

Dear Readers,
      Finally went back to work today.  It actually felt good to be back at work.  Even though I only really worked half day.  The second half of my day was spent in a meeting for negotiations with our union and city hall.  Yes, I am a union board member and we happen to be going through some contract negotiations for cost cutting measures due to the city losing out on redevelopment money.  Redevelopment money that was taken away by the state.  It is all somewhat complicated, and you probably don't really care that much.  Just know that I was in there for negotiations for almost four hours in the second half of my day.  Welcome back to work, huh.  It is not over either, we go back again next week for another round.  This whole negotiating thing lasts much longer than I thought it would and is a lot more delicate than I think it should be.  It is all just politics.  Have to love politics.  Oh well.
      Raina and I spent our evening at my parents house.  We had dinner and talked for quite a few hours.  It was really nice.  I haven't had much of a chance to see my parents lately.  It made it really nice getting to spend some one on one time with them.  Instead of having the whole family there.  Not having to worry about what the rowdy nephews are doing.  Wondering if they are going to break something or get knocked into some kind of furniture that would hurt them.  It was peaceful.
      Being out of work made some rumors spread around work and left plenty of room for jokes to come out about me.  I had one guy text me over the weekend, asking if I was going to die.  Another guy at work was spreading a rumor around that I was hired somewhere else and just abandoned everybody.  I am sure throughout the week, there were about twenty different stories about what I was doing.  Let the rumored stories roll in.

This Day In History: 1997
Near San Diego, California, police discover 39 victims of mass suicide--members of the "Heaven's Gate" cult, who believed that suicide would allow them to leave their bodily "containers" and enter an alien spacecraft hidden behind the Hale-Bopp comet.

Born This Day: 1874
Robert Frost - American Poet

"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."

-Erica Jong

Even wise old Papa Smurf had one.

Day Eighty Five

Dear Readers,
      Went to Murrietta today to visit the birthday girl, Sara Wheeler.  She goes to the bible college out there and rarely has time for us.  She managed to save a block of time for us today between 12:30PM and 5:00PM.  Naturally we took advantage of it and headed out there to have lunch with her.  We brought along her best friend, Alicia Ortega.  Same last name, but no actual relation.  Both of these girls were in the high school group we used to help out with at a church in Long Beach quite a few years back.  We have watched them grow up and mature, and are now a part of our lives as friends.  Maybe it is because we feel they still need some guidance in their life and that is why we stick around.  You know they need it sometimes. 
      We had a great drive up, barely noticed the time tick by.  It was great drilling Alicia about all the info of her new boyfriend, whom we barely met today as we dropped her off afterward.  I think the actual best part about giving her the fifth degree is the way she gets embarrassed and acts like she doesn't want to talk about it.  It naturally became a "pick on Alicia day", to the point that Sara even got in on the action when we met up with her.  Not that there wasn't a little to pick on Sara about.  Including the fact that as we walked through the mall together today, Sara pointed out how she liked the "fanny packs" that were displayed in the Tilly's we had walked into.  Who likes fanny packs?  That was amazing.  I didn't even know they were making a come back.  Literally, designer fanny packs for sale.  Not cheap either.  I guess everything comes back sooner or later.  Now is the time of the fanny pack.  Another great story about Sara, who was doing some shopping for some Banquet  she is going to, is how clumsy she can be.  I turned my head for one second and heard a "whoosh" and crash sound.  I turned back and there is Sara standing next to a pile of pants that had fallen to the ground.  The interesting thing was, they weren't stacked on one another.  They were hanging on hangers.  She managed to knock down about ten pairs of pants, right out of their hanger.  I don't know how she did it.  I did get a picture of it and will share it with you. 
      Beard update.  As we went through the guards entrance to the college to pick up Sara, I did get a beard compliment.  Yes, he yelled to me "Great beard" as we drove through the gate. The compliments are starting.  Even though I am in that awkward stage where it is not long enough to forgive the fact that it is really shabby right now.  A little out of control.  A little longer and that just becomes the facade.  Like it is supposed to be shabby on purpose.  The reality is that it just grows that way and I can't control it.  Let the compliments roll in.

This Day In History: 1616
English playwright William Shakespeare shakily signs his will, which turned over his property to the male heirs of his elder daughter and bequeathed to his wife his "second best bed".

Born This Day: 1920
Howerd Cosell - American sports announcer

"A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines."
- Frank Lloyd Wright

Here are the actual fanny packs from the Tilly's.  Yes, Tilly's.

Here is Sara, with her pants on the ground.  Looking like a fool with her pants on the ground.

Day Eighty Four

Dear Readers,
      Last night, Raina and I went out with Jacob and Shawna again.  We went somewhere completely new.  We went to Stacked.  If you haven't been there, the food is really good.  You get exactly what you want.  Since you are the one putting in the order.  At every table, instead of a waiter or waitress taking your order, there is an iPad that you use to place all your orders.  It makes getting your drinks and refills really easy and really quick.  Instead of having to wait for your server to get your drink, which can take forever sometimes, you can place it as soon as you get to the table.  Raina and I timed it once, and we had a water refill brought to our table in about twenty seconds after entering it into the iPad.  I guess this is a possibility of what our future at restaurants are.  Imagine, every table at every restaurant with a computer on it.  Eventually, you will have to get up and get your own food when it is ready.  Just get rid of waiters and waitresses all together.  What is this world coming to?  It is another way of getting rid of social skills.  Just another way to enable those people who are anti-social.  I can see a possible future of everyone keeping to themselves and going through life without having to use almost any social skill.  All in all, it was a great time with great food and if your order is wrong, you can only blame yourself. 
      Tonight, we went to church.  Raina and I visited Calvary Chapel East Anaheim.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to hear the head pastor tonight.  It was still really cool, but our purpose was to see what a normal service would be like.  Instead, we were blessed with Ray Comfort and his 180 video.  I have only heard a little bit about it to this point.  Tonight was the first time I actually watched it.  If you haven't seen it, you really need to.  It is done really well and is really insightful.  Easy to find on youtube.  Ray really puts the concept of abortion into perspective and relates it really well to the holocaust.  It can really make you think and give good evidence to the evils of abortion.  I was really amazed during the video, seeing all those people who have no idea who Adolf Hitler was.  How far has education fallen?  It completely dumbfounds me.  These aren't people in the sticks either, these are people at Huntington Beach and Cerritos College.  In college for goodness sakes.  How far the education system has fallen.  That is why they need to hurry up and hire Raina, to get some good quality teachers out there.
      By the way, Ray Comfort had a beard tonight.  It was pretty awesome to see him with a face full of hair.  I had to point that out to Raina right away.  I am proud to consider him as a Brother Beard wearer.

This Day In History: 1942
American admiral Chester Nimitz is appointed commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific theater during World War II.  On the same day, the German Nazis start deporting Slovak Jews to the Auschwitz extermination camp in Poland.

Born This Day: 1930
Steve McQueen - American actor (The Great Escape, Bullitt)

"My brain is the key that sets me free."

-Harry Houdini

Here is the video I watched tonight.  Take some time and watch and share.

I don't think I will get it this long.  I wish though.

Day Eighty Three

Dear Readers,
      We made it out alive.  Last night we went to see the Hunger Games at midnight with all them crazy teenagers and older nerds.  There were actually people dressed up as the main character, Katniss.  I didn't realize how much of a following this book had.  It was like going to see the Lord of the Rings movies with all them crazy people dressed up as characters based on the movie.  The only movie I can see doing that for is Star Wars.  I mean, who doesn't want to dress up as Boba Fett?  I didn't think it was going to be as big a deal as it was.  We went to the Krikorian Theaters in Buena Park, which is normally a low key theater.  Not last night.  They had a line wrapped around the whole building.  They ended up having to play the movie on every one of their screens to accommodate all the people.  Driving up, I thought it was going to be less crowded, based on the empty parking lot.  I was fooled, because I later realized that a vast majority of the people there were under the driving age and had to be dropped off by their parents.  Which explains why the parking lot was empty, but the lines were packed with people.
      I won't give away anything about the movie for all of you who plan on seeing it and haven't done so yet.  I will just say that it was entertaining and followed fairly closely to the book.  I only had one disappointment about the movie that if you really want to discuss with me, you are more than welcome to send a message via Facebook or comment and I will email back.  Reading the book beforehand, didn't leave much to surprise, but I still very much enjoyed watching the movie.  There is something interesting about watching how other people interpret what certain things look like and how different they can be from how you imagined them while reading the book.  Some characters were almost exactly as I pictured them, while others were way off.  Not wrong, just different.
      Raina got one over on me this morning.  We took Micah Vargas to see the movie and he stayed the night at our house.  He had to make it to school the next morning.  Raina was going to take him, until she was called to substitute teach today.  So, I took over the duties of taking Micah to school in the morning.  Well, Raina was so tired from the movie and being sick this week, that she ended up calling in and canceling the substitute teaching job.  Somehow, I still ended up having to take Micah in the morning, while Raina got to sleep in.  She did me a little dirty.  That is okay though, I didn't mind.  It got me out of the house for a little while.  I came home and let Raina sleep in.  I think it is the latest she has slept in, in a very long time.  She needed it.  She didn't get to stay home while being sick like me.  She doesn't have the same luxuries that I do with my job.  I still think it is a little funny how it went down though. 
      One little thing about going to see that movie last night.  We were in a theater with a bunch of people who have seeing one too many movies at that Krikorian.  Right before the movie starts, there is this little preview of all these great movies in history with a song playing in the background.  It is filmed like being on a roller coaster and passing all these scenes of great movies in history.  The tune is a little upbeat, and there is a part where about twenty people started to do a double clap to the beat of the music.  Then as the song progressed, more people got into the double clap.  It was pretty strange.  Those people must be Krikorian homees.  Weirdos.  They were so un-wizard.

This Day In History: 1775
Speaking to the second Virginia Convention, American revolutionary Patrick Henry declares his feelings about independence: "I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

Born This Day: 1908
Joan Crawford - American actress

"We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming."

-Wernher Von Braun (German born American rocket scientist)

I can actually feel my brain growing.

Day Eighty Two

Dear Readers,
     I finally feel mostly like normal and finally slept through the night.  I was feeling so good that I wanted to get out of the house and go somewhere.  Only problem is that I didn't have anyone to go with.  It is kind of a bummer being home from work while everyone else is busy at work.  Oh well, it is probably better that I rested a little more anyways.  Still a slight cough and every so often I go into an actual coughing fit that I can't stop.  It got so bad at dinner that it almost caused me to hurl my dinner.  Thankfully it stayed down.  I think if I had, Raina would have let her's go too.  So I am really thankful.
      Tonight, we have Micah staying with us.  Not our nephew Micah though.  This is Raina's godson.  We have known his parents since we were kids.  They were our youth leaders at the church we went to as children.  We can remember when Micah was born back in 96.  Now he is a teenager and we are watching him.  He has been talking about seeing the Hunger Games movie and convinced Raina to take him to the midnight showing tonight.  So here we are having him over and doing the jobs that most cool aunts and uncles do and take him to go see the midnight show.  The one condition he was given by his parents, was that he had to go to school the next day.  It's okay, we enjoy doing stuff like this.  I really wanted to see this movie anyways.  Both Raina and I have read the Hunger Games series of books and really enjoyed them.  If you haven't yet, don't read this next few lines.  If you have, we enjoyed them all except the way it ended.  What was up with that?  They really held my interest throughout and then they drop a bomb and don't finish it out strong.  Oh well, maybe this will be one of those rare times where the movie is better and finishes it right.  Probably not though.  That never happens.  The book is almost always better than the movie.  In fact, I can't think of one time where the movie was better than the book.  That is, if it is a movie based on a book and not the other way around.  When they write a book adaptation of a movie, it is usually just a carbon copy that doesn't take any liberties.  If anybody can think of one movie that was better than the book I would love to hear about it.  Either I can't remember it, or I haven't seen the movie or read the book.  Looking forward to see some responses from you guys. 
      Well, we are off to go wait in line for about three hours.  Hopefully it won't be too crowded and we won't have to sit in the front row.  I don't feel like straining my neck the entire time, along with straining my eyes.  Wish us luck and pray for us.  We go to a place filled with crazed teenagers and older geeks such as myself.  Not sure I can deal with the crazed teenagers anymore though.  Another sign of getting older, I used to be on of those crazy teenagers.  Again, getting older sucks.
      Also want to take a moment and wish a Happy Birthday to another dear friend of Raina and mine, Sara "Lulu" Wheeler.  Hope everyone starts to use your nickname from now on and this next year is the best year yet.  Lulu is so wizard!

This Day In History: 1907
Taximeters are installed in cabs in London, England, to indicate the distance traveled and the payment due.  Derived from words meaning "price" and "measure", the name of the devices when shortened came to apply to the vehicles: taxis.

Born This Day: 1948
Andrew Lloyd Webber - English songwriter and Broadway producer(Phantom of the Opera)
1991 - Sara "Lulu" Wheeler

"Never get a mime talking. He won't stop."

-Marcel Marceau

I am so jealous of this guys beard

Day Eighty One

Dear Readers,
      I made it over to see a doctor about my throat today.  No big surprise, they told me it was a throat infection.  Can you believe it, my throat hurting meant it was a throat infection.  Who would have thunk?  They told me to stay home from work until Friday, wrote me a prescription for antibiotics and ibuprofen, then sent me on my merry way.  Well either I just happened to be getting over it today or the antibiotics really helped.  I am not gonna say it was the antibiotics that quickly, but who knows.  I still have a cough and my voice is still rough, but most of the pain has subsided.  Maybe it is the ibuprofen tricking my mind into thinking it is all better, but it is just really masking the pain.  Either way,  I feel about fifty times better than I did this morning. 
      The doctor told me to stay home from work until Friday, but I didn't want to go to work for one day this week.  So, I called my boss, explained the situation and asked if I could have Friday off and start fresh on Monday.  Thankfully my boss agreed and here I am taking the whole week off of work.  Not my ideal way to take a whole week off work, but at least the last couple days will be somewhat pleasant.
      I got a message from my sister in law, Brooke, today.  She apparently lost my phone number, so she sent it to Raina and Raina passed it on to me.  She wanted me to make sure that I heard about my brother in law, Brandon, locking his keys in the car again.  If you have been reading on a daily basis, you might remember not too long ago, me talking about Brandon locking his keys in the car fairly recently.  Again, why doesn't he just get a new battery for his alarm button and that would prevent him from forgetting his keys in the car and locking them in.  Brandon is kind of a forgetful person.  One thing you can count on Brandon doing fairly regularly, is leaving his keys, wallet or cell phone at the table of a restaurant we have just eaten at.  There has been numerous times where he has gotten up and left the table with any combination of those three items and either Raina or I will grab them without telling him.  Just for him to realize much later and start to worry and scramble to find them.  It has happened so many times, in fact, that when he realizes now, he just asks which one of us has them.  Knowing that we grabbed them and didn't tell him we did.  Brandon's memory is always good for a laugh.  I am taking a pool on when the next time he locks his keys in the car will be.  Let's hurry up and get it filled out before he does it again.  I have a spot saved for you Brandon.

This Day In History: 1963
Alcatraz Prison, the notoriously harsh, maximum-security facility in California's San Francisco Bay, ceases operation.

Born This Day: 1906
John D. Rockefeller III - American billionaire industrialist and philanthropist.

"I can think of nothing less pleasurable than a life devoted to pleasure."

-John D. Rockefeller III

Even the already fearsome Hulk looks more fearsome with a beard.

Day Eighty

Dear Readers,
      Still sick, still miserable.  Why can't I just get better?  If this isn't gone by tomorrow morning, then I have to make a trip to the hospital.  I don't think I could handle a whole day more of this.  It ruined my sleep last night.  The pain would wake me up about every hour.  I tried all kinds of remedies today and nothing helped very much.  I tried the throat spray, it just made me gag and cough more.  It also made my tongue numb, but not my throat.  Maybe I wasn't getting it all the way in the back of my throat.  All I know is that I tried it about four different times with little results.  I tried some new extra strength cough drops that are supposed to sooth a sore throat.  They were nasty and didn't help at all.  It just made me have to swallow all that many more times, bringing the pain more frequently.  I tried some Emergen-C to help it heal faster.  Who knows if that did anything.  I almost bought some cough syrup to see if it would coat and sooth my throat for a little while.  I didn't though, I had already spent enough money on "medicine".  None of it really helped much.  I think the one thing I did that really helped was to drink some hot tea with honey this morning.  I was doing pretty good for a little bit.  Then it wore off and was as painful as ever.  Maybe I have strep throat.  I don't know, but I hope it is gone or at least mitigated by tomorrow morning.  I don't want to have to go to the hospital for a check up.  I really hate going to the hospital.  I will have to have a cup of hot tea and honey before I go to bed.  Hopefully it will help me sleep better tonight.
      One big reason I need to get better quick is that I need to get back into training mode.  Being on call twice in the last three to four weeks has already hurt my work out schedule and I need to get back on the horse.  That Spartan race isn't going to go easy on me because I didn't have time to get in shape.  I just have to do it.  So I need to hurry up and kick this thing.  Besides, I think it is hindering the growth on the beard too.  I really don't want that to happen.  I need maximum length because this is a one time deal.

This Day In History: 1815
French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte returns to Paris from exile on the island of Elba and begins his Hundred Days' reign.

Born This Day: 1928
Fred "Mister" Rogers - American children's show host

"The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do."

=B.F. Skinner

This is the mug I need to drink my tea out of to heal my sore throat.

Day Seventy Nine

Dear Readers,
      Yup, I woke up still completely sick.  The worst part is my throat.  It really hurts to swallow, which really puts a damper on me being able to eat all day.  And you know how much I love to eat.  Even when I am drinking water, it hurts.  It has really been miserable.  I was sick enough that I had to give up being on stand by for work.  Normally it wouldn't end until Wednesday, but I went in to work this morning and let someone else take it over.  Then I came home.  Isn't it amazing how on any normal day, you feel like nothing can get in your way, that nothing can hurt you.  Then, something as simple as possible being out in the cold too long can take you out of commission for a few days or a week.  You can't even see it coming, then it just knocks you out.  I would trade my broken foot from a few years ago in place of perfect health for a year.  I could deal with a broken foot once a year if I could never be sick again.  Being sick is just so miserable.  I am just thankful it wasn't something that made me nauseous all day and make me throw up.  Which brings me to another point, I am so thankful that I don't ever have to go through pregnancy.  That just seems like misery to me sometimes.  Johnna, I can't imagine what you are going through, I am just glad it is not me.  I know the outcome is worth it.  Again, I am just thankful I don't have to go through it directly. 
      Since I brought up my broken foot, let me tell you the story of how it happened.  It happened in an intense and brutal game of......golf.  Yes, I can hear the snickering as I write this.  Lesson to everyone, listen to the warnings on the cart about keeping your hands and arms inside the cart at all times.  I was golfing in a tournament with Brandon, Raina's brother.  We were heading down a hill and over a bridge that had metal railings on either side of the bridge.  Before getting to the bridge though, we had to veer off a little to pick up Brandon's ball.  I wasn't driving too crazy or anything, at least not anymore than normal.  So I turned off the cart path to pick up the ball and made a quick U turn to get back on and across the bridge.  Unfortunately the grass was wet and didn't allow good traction for the cart.  So as I come out of the U turn I need to readjust.  The cart then slides across the wet grass a little ways before responding to my steering.  It was too late by then.  The driver side of the cart nailed the railing on the bridge, along with my foot that was sticking out of the side of the cart.  It was more shock than pain at that moment, but trying to walk on it afterwards was killing me.  Of course, I still finished the golf tournament.  I just thought I just sprained my foot and I would be fine the next day.  It wasn't fine and I had to go to the hospital.  The x-rays were a joy to stare at.  Imagine the bones for my toe looking like an ice cream cone with a single scoop.  That was the healthy looking one.  The damaged one was more like someone taking that same delicate looking ice cream cone, flipping it upside down and smashing it into the ground with all their might.  Now you get the idea of what the x-ray of my foot looked like.  There was nothing they could really do for it except to tell me to stay off of it.  They gave me a special shoe for it to help keep the pressure a normal shoe would put on it lessened.  If you look closely at the pictures of me proposing to Raina, you can see that I am wearing that special shoe.  Again, keep your arms and legs inside the cart at all times.

This Day In History: 1831
English immigrant Edward Smith robs the City Bank in downtown New York City, marking America's first daylight bank robbery.  Smith made off with $245,000 but was caught and sentenced to five years in Sing Sing Prison.

Born This Day: 1848
Wyatt Earp - U.S. marshal

"The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress."

-Philip Roth

This is my goal.  Here I come.

Day Seventy Eight

Dear Readers,
      I feel awful today.  Not only am I on call for work and have been in and out of the house all day, but now I am sick on top of it.  My head hurts, my throat hurts, I am aching all over, I am getting chills and I have also lost my appetite.  I really hate being sick.  The work today is just adding to it.  The rain yesterday made all the ground soft under trees and now the wind is kicking them over.  I had three trees fall down and a "Stop" sign, all because of the wind.  I need sleep. 
      Raina is sick too.  She tells me that of course I have to be sick too.  She can never be the sick one alone and I take care of her.  I tell her that she gets me sick every time, even if we have two completely different symptoms.  My poor wife is all stuffed up and congested.  Her nose is dripping like a faucet and she can't get it to stop.  Funny story though this morning.  We went to breakfast with Raina's dad and his wife and afterwards, Raina started to drip from her nose.  No tissue or napkins in site.  I kept telling her that we would be home in just a few minutes.  She couldn't wait though.  I keep a fleece blanket in the back seat of my truck for Raina to sit on at my softball games.  Well, today she used it as her personal handkerchief.  It is a Dodger's blanket with Fernando Valenzuela on it.  As soon as I saw her reach for it, I yelled "Fernando forever unclean".  We now have an official boogie blanket.  So if you ever have the pleasure of visiting our humble home, stay away from the boogie blanket.

This Day In History: 1965
Russian cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov pulls himself through an air lock and becomes the first man to walk, or rather float, outside an orbiting spacecraft.

Born This Day: 1837
Grover S. Cleveland - 22nd and 24th U.S. president

"Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them."

-John Updike

Day Seventy Seven

Dear Readers,
      I was able to sleep in today.  It was a great nights sleep after the last two I had, but I did wake up missing Micah.  That is okay, because I got my fill of nephews tonight.  The family came over for dinner tonight for another birthday celebration for Matt.  I think he had as many birthday celebrations as times he proposed to my sister.  Hahaha, here I am again picking on poor Matt.  Well, I am not picking on him tonight.  I am picking on my nephews.  They are rowdy when they get together.  Three young boys all hopped up on sugar. 
      As I sit here writing this, Micah is still here screaming and being loud in general.  It was fantastic that what I taught him yesterday has evolved.  Instead of copying me saying "winning" or "duh", he now responds.  When I say "winning" he responds with "duh".  It is even better than I could have imagined.  Every time I do it I get the evil eye from my sister.  Another reason why I know I am probably going to get paid back ten fold when we Raina and I have kids of our own.  Another great thing about Micah tonight, is he was running around all night with his pants sliding down so he had a plumber's crack showing all night.  Fantastic.  My nephew the old dirty plumber. 
      I was able to keep the other two kids calm for a little while by playing one of my superhero cartoons.  They were locked in for about an hour.  Then it all came unraveling.  They all love playing on the stairs.  Up and down, up and down, up and down.  I think there has been an incident of a child tumbling down the stairs, but not tonight thankfully.  Then, there is the ever present fear of one of the kids throwing something over the ledge of our loft.  Which they have done.  Thankfully again it was only blankets tonight.  There was also a toy that revs up on it's own and drives off on it's own.  So Micah set it on the ledge and watched it drive over the edge and almost hit Joshua on the head.  Close call.  There was also an incident of Micah's shoe going over the ledge and hitting Joshua on the head who was playing on the steps.  Wild children.  Then there was the moment where everyone was upstairs watching Matt open presents.  So the kids had to stay up there because of the lack of adult supervision downstairs.  Of course, since they weren't allowed downstairs, that is all they wanted to do.  That's when the rowdiness came out of all of them.  Running and spinning and pouncing on one another.  Micah could not be stopped from running into Joseph or Joshua as if he was a football tackler.  I was just waiting for the moment of a kid getting pushed and falling onto something hard.  Then the crying and tears.  Fortunately, we were spared from that.  All in all, another fun night for me to provoke my nephews and rile them up before sending them home. 
      Micah would like to say something to everyone.  He says "lhujuyfggfggggggh".  That was actually him typing.  I think it means "I am a wild child and I do what I want". 

This Day In History: 1862
The U.S. Treasury introduces paper money, "greenbacks", to help finance the American Civil War.

Born This Day: 1919
Nat "King" Cole - American Singer

"Critics don't buy records; they get 'em free."

-Nat "King" Cole

Yes I already have.

Day Seventy Six

Dear Readers,
      I really hoped you enjoyed Matt's story of fiction.  I am pretty sure he could win some kind of writers award with his fanciful words.  Nah, I am just kidding.  Most of what he says is true about me.  I can't deny what I am.  Yes I do snore.  Yes I do poop.  Yes, Matt and Yoli did steal my thunder at my graduation party.  Seriously, who announces their own engagement at a party celebrating somebody else.  The nerve of people who do stuff like that.  I know as soon as Raina and I are ready to announce that we are finally pregnant, they are going to come out and announce they are doing something else, like they are buying a house or something.  I know they will think of something.  Remember, Matt and Yoli are the same people who ate my saved Cheesecake from a restaurant and then blamed my niece Kailee for it.  We had gotten it specifically to take home and eat at a later time.  When we were ready to eat it the next day, it was missing.  Then came the blaming of my poor niece who was only about three or four years old at the time.  What kind of parents do something like that?  Hehehe.  Then they tried to make it all better and wash it under the bridge by writing a check out of anger that we were actually upset about it.  Yeah, a check is gonna make it all better.  I never cashed it.  I joke around.  The story is true, but it was a long time ago and I forgave them a long time ago.  Hehehe.
      Yes, Raina and I also spent the last two days watching Micah for them.  Again filling in for the parental duties.  Again, kidding around.  We agreed to have Micah while they went on a nice little trip, just the two of them.  I didn't get to spend as much time with my nephew as I had hoped.  I ended up having to work more than expected.  I am on call this week and happened to be called out quite a bit.  What little time we did have was a complete blast.  The fact that he is at that stage where he repeats everything is phenomenal.  We actually got him to go around saying "Winning, duh!".  It was quite comical.  I am hoping he just randomly says it in front of his parents to completely surprise them.  There was only one problem with having Micah over for two nights.  The sleeping situation.  Matt and Yoli brought a bed over for him to sleep on.  We set it up in our room and he went to sleep just fine both nights, but in the middle of the night he would wake up and crawl into bed with us.  Not a problem, I sleep through anything.  Anything, that is, until Micah starts to move in his sleep and starts kicking me in the head as it seems like he is running from something.  He spins and crawls and kicks.  So much that it seemed like he was trying to climb over me feet first to get out of bed.  Nope, he was sleeping still.  He ending up pushing his way completely onto my pillow so I had no where to lay my head.  He woke me up about four times last night, so I finally just got out of bed and went to the couch.  I was tired this morning.  I was supposed to go into work, but was planning on calling in to sleep some more.  Then I got called in by the Police Dept on an emergency situation.  Big leak.  It was great.  I didn't get my sleep and then had to pretty much go work all day.  Oh well, I can't fully complain about overtime.  Here is to getting some sleep tonight.

This Day In History: 1945
U.S. Marines secure the Pacific island of Iwo Jima after weeks of bitter World War II fighting against an entrenched Japanese force of 21,000.  More than 6,000 Marines had been killed in the struggle, along with almost all the Japanese.

Born This Day: 1926
Jerry Lewis - American comedian and actor

"I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up-they have no holidays."

-Henny Youngman

This is what I got called out to this morning.  That is a ton of water flowing out of there.  I was wondering if I was going to find a body in there with the slippers floating at the top.

How do you get a better pirate bead than the great Blackbeard himself?

A couple pictures of Mischievous Micah.

He is in my spot on the bed

He must be hungry.

Yup, the first one wasn't enough.

Day Seventy Five

Dear Readers,
     Guest blogger tonight.  My brother in law Matt will try to use this opportunity to get back at me for airing a little of his dirty laundry to the public.  I don't know about all this spiteful revenge he wants.  I will let him have his moment.  This blog is unedited by myself, it is all Matt's words.  Enjoy.

Hello, Beard Blog Readers!
       This is my opportunity to finally get Dave back for all he's written about me. Yes, this is the official "Mimi's Farter" writing to you. I'm also the father of Dave's "Strong Willed" nephew who has been seen playing in the toilet on occasion.
       First, since this is a beard blog, I must write to you as a person who can not actually grow a beard. I'm sure many can relate. So when I read Dave indicating that having a beard is "manly", I can only frown on the fact that Dave segregates those who are not like him. I have to say though, if growing a beard like Dave means that I have to have a forest on my back like he does, I'll take not having a beard.
       When I think of Dave only 3 names come to mind. "Mute", "Chain-Saw", and "Playdoh Factory". Allow me to explain. First, let's chat about the "Mute". It's been over 12 years since I began dating my beautiful wife Yoli, who is Dave's sister. This is when I first met Dave. But as most of you know, Dave doesn't speak. So I guess I can't say I've really "Known" him for 12 years. He's just kind of been there. But on to my story. Dave's the type of person who sits back and observes. Some may call him a gentle bearded giant, but we all know the truth. Dave is more like a gentle Chipmunk storing up information in his cheeks from all he sees and hears, only to release it in some "Beard Blog" later. I think many of us can agree that though we've "known" Dave for years, through this blog we're really only now getting to know who he is, how mean he can be, and how he can care less about peoples feelings. Do you still like him?  I didn't think so. I feel sorry for Brandon and Brooke who have been the target of Dave's blog more than I have. I actually wouldn't be surprised if Dave lost friends over this blog. I'm sure it's okay since  he spends more time being affectionate to the beard than he does with Raina. I'm guessing  the beard is all he needs to be happy. You go Dave!
       "Chain-saw" is a name that's fitting. Last summer Dave and Raina, along with my family and my parents took a vacation to Virginia. We decided to share a room for 2 nights in Washington DC before heading to Williamsburg. What a mistake! Poor Micah would fall asleep only to be awakened by snore after snore after snore as Dave slept peacefully and all of us tossed and turned.  I spent more time trying to get Micah back to sleep for those 2 nights than anything else. I told myself, "never again". But oh how quickly we forget. In January we flew to Seattle for Yoli's birthday. I was actually going up for work, and decided to bring Dave, Raina and Yoli along for the trip. I had a hotel room already, so it made things convenient. As I layed down, the heavy breathing from across the room grew louder and louder, and then, it happened. Loud snoring that made my eyes water traveled from one end of the room to the other all night long. "What the heck?!!!!" I had to work the next day and sit in a meeting, and there I was, laying there and realizing that I once again did it to myself. I guess I wont sleep. Walls shake and glass clatters when Dave sleeps. It's like a chain-saw. Good luck Raina!
       Finally, "Playdoh Factory". As a kid I used to always see the commercial for the "Playdoh Factory".  Basically you'd take your Playdoh, put it into this plastic factory thing, crank a little shaft, and that would  turn it into a long star or some funny shape. I remember I finally got one, and was greatly disapointed. It was all fun until I wanted to change the color without mixing the Playdoh. There were only 2 ways to actually get the Playdoh that was in the factory out. Either use a  long stick or something, or put more Playdoh in so that it would push the other color out, still  mixing the 2 colors. It was frustrating. Well, Dave reminds me of this, because for anyone who knows Dave, nearly 15 minutes after eating a meal you'll find Dave in the restroom for the next 30 minutes. By Dave's own admission, if he eats dinner, that food will push lunch out. If he eats lunch, the lunch will push breakfast out. Dave is a human "Playdoh Factory". Within minutes of eating a meal, you'll find Dave, the hairy, mute, chain-saw Playdoh Factory man in the restroom taking care of business, leaving behind the remnants of his "Playdoh", and the aroma seeping under the door and through the house.
       Now that I know Dave, I like the guy. I spent my first few months knowing him by taking the  opportunity to steal the spot light from a couple of his "Special Days". For example, when Raina and Dave were at his parent's house to take pictures for their prom, Yoli and I walked in showing everyone the engagement ring I purchased her. And when Dave graduated High School, we took the opportunity to announce to her entire family that Yoli and I were getting married at hisgraduation party.....during the "Congratulations Dave" toast. I think Dave held a grudge for awhile. He claimes we "stole his thunder". I thought we were passed it. But by the look of Dave's recent blog posts, I can see he's still bitter. Please keep Dave in prayer for a forgiving heart. Only God can crack that nut.  Love ya Dave!

Matt

P.S.   Dave is watching Micah for Yoli and I while we spend the evening in Santa Barbara. For the record, I'm not ditching Micah or Kailee and letting someone else do my job. So if Dave goes into this again, don't buy it. Dave is a great uncle and loves the opportunity of watching his niece and nephew, and they love him.

(My response will come tomorrow.  Muwahaha.)

This Day In History: 44 B.C.
Gaius Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is stabbed to death in the Roman Senate by 60 conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus.

Born This Day: 1767
Andrew Jackson - Seventh U.S. president

"Fear not, the people may be deluded for a moment, but cannot be corrupted."

-Andrew Jackson

A beard even makes an assassin better at his job