Tuesday, February 28, 2006

find a random picture: Art Sameul

this is a picture of Art Samuel.

i found it here.

i think he is some sort of computer science professor at Stanford. Art is an inspiration to us all. his work in the computer science field is unmatched, as far as i know. three cheers for Art Samuel.

it is not known if Art Sameul has recieved any sort of award for his merit, but i did find this.



i'd like to believe that there is a little bit of Art Samuel in all of us. thank you Art.







CHALLENGE:
find a random picture and post it on your blog and get back to me.



chewy sunday

i like Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chunk Chewy Granola bars.

i just ate one while listening to The Sundays (Can't Be Sure).

why did they have to break up?

aint got nuthin... got nuthin to say

i don't really have words right now.

nothing is comming to mind.

update is not in my vernacular right now.

vernacular probably isn't the right word.

vocabulary. yeah. that's the word.

enjoy Vivaldi.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

how cool is my wife?

so yest. was Valentine's Day. yeah - i hate the fact that Hallmark has the market on this baby, but none the less, that didn't ruin it for me. no. my wife made it so very special.

she did a number of things for me - as we had made a rule this year not to spend money on gifts for each other - but the challenge was to be creative with our gift.

so when i came home for lunch - jen had done a lot of cleaning and had the kids all dressed nice as well as herself. she wouldn't let me get in the fridge though. i thought nothing of it... as a matter of fact, i was a bit slow and didn't even realize that she was trying to keep me out of the fridge. so a few minutes later i spoiled her first surprise. (sorry hon!) the ingedients for my favorite cookies were in the fridge and she didn't want me to see.

when i came home from work, she had made the cookies. you'll have to ask her about how she made them. Micah helped put the sprinkles on, which was very nice. also, she helped Micah make me a valentine's day card.

i went in and relaxed while watching Around the Horn. Jen was working on her computer. she asked me how to burn a CD through iTunes... and i asked her whatfor and then asked if she was making this for one of her friends, Sara. She said 'um, Yes.' again, i was a bit slow and didn't figure it out.

well about 30 min. later, she gave me a gift (or actually a few gifts). she had made me a mix CD... only it wouldn't all fit on one CD so it is a 2 CD mix. if anybody knows me, they would know how special that is to me. i was like 'flippin' sweet!' she made a CD cover and everything. she had also printed off a few pics - one was framed so that i could take it to the office.

then, she made a wonderful dinner. the BBQ ribs were awesome and the baked potatoes were good too.

i have a very special wife and love and adore her. what a wonderful day it was.

fudge fudge call the judge

i feel like i haven't slept in days. i'm so sick and tired of this feeling inside.

it's 1 part exaustion 2 parts sleepy. funny thing is, it's not like i'm so extremely busy and that is what is causing it... it's mainly because i have a hard time going to bed early.

one night it's staying up late watching a movie. another night i'm up late downloading music from iTunes or eMusic.

what the wtf.

i'd love to take some time off to 'catch up' but i can't... don't have time... work to be done... but i can't consentrate because i am exhausted... i thought i got a good amount of sleep last night, btw. went to bed @ 12:30ish... alarm went off at 7... rolled out @ 7:30ish.






oh, and my thumb hurts because i don't type correctly... mrs. rodgers won't be proud of me... she taught me better but i was too busy playing Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego.

say it aint so.

is it splitsville for TomKat?
i didn't see that one coming.

when the split happens, and you know it will, i think Ashton Kutcher is going to come out and tell all of America that we've been Punk'd!

Thursday, February 09, 2006

bottled water

i guess buying and drinking bottled water is bad. oops. that is one thing my family is addicted to. we go the cheap route, though. a flat of 32 bottles of water can be purchased @ Sam;s Club for about $3.50. we might go through 2 flats a month. so we spend $7 a month and $84 a year on bottled water.

why do i drink bottled water?
  • it's handy.
  • Louisville water is filled with lime (and i'm not talking the fruit)
  • it can be taken on the go.
  • did i mention that it's handy?
  • it has a cap so it can't be spilled.
well, i feel little guilt for drinking bottled water... at least i recycle. that is something i am quite proud of... we recycle so take that.

my super bowl t shirt

my wife is cool. she went to 5 or 6 different stores yesturday looking for the official Super Bowl Champion t-shirt.

she is awesome.


i watched my final post-Super Bowl show last night... Inside the NFL on HBO... they did a great job explaining the penalties and why they were called. over all i taped 12 hours of Super Bowl programming relating to the Steelers. before that, i taped probably another 12 hours of Super Bowl related programming (mostly highlighting the past 40 years of the Super Bowl.)

I am a Super Bowl freak.

post Super Bowl thoughts...

well i rewatched the game on TUESDAY night. let me just say this: all of you Seattle fans and Steeler haters lay off the whole 'we got screwed by the officials' crap. would you like some cheese with your whine? and Mike Holmgren - lots of class there - saying 'we knew we were gonna have to take on teh Steelers - we didn't know we were gonna have to take on the guys in stripes, too.'... oh and even more class here Mike - were was your post game hand shake? i used to think you were a respectible coach... not anymore.

i watched Inside the NFL last night and they explained why some of the penalties were called... turns out the refs got it right... the only big questionable call was when Hasslebeck got flagged for an illegal block after he threw that INT.

Darrell Jackson extended his arm in his 'push off'. even though it was weak... he was right in front of the official when he did it... you can push off with your legs , hips or forearm, just not your hand or an exteneded arm.

oh, and nobody is talking about this but Seattle got lucky on two calls that should have been ruled fumbles but were ruled incomplete (one was J. Stevens, who took three steps and turned after catching a ball before dropping it; another was TE Ryan Hannom... he took two steps and made a 'football move' and then dropped it... it was also called an incomplete pass.)

anyway - it feels great to see my team win the big game... next it has to be the Cleveland Indians. Go Tribe!

Monday, February 06, 2006

SUPER BOWL XL in Pictures








































































































































SUPER BOWL XL GAME CENTER

NFL.com wire reports

DETROIT (Feb. 5, 2006) -- Paint this Super Bowl black and gold. With a whole lot of satisfaction for Jerome Bettis, Bill Cowher and his Pittsburgh Steelers.

The final Bus stop featured a little trickery starring MVP Hines Ward, a bunch of help from the Seattle Seahawks and a huge boost from the Terrible Towels, a handful of football fortune that added up to "One for the Thumb."

The Steelers' 21-10 victory in the Super Bowl was their record-tying fifth, but the first since 1980 and the first ever for Bettis and Cowher.

"It's been an incredible ride," Bettis said.

Moments after the Rolling Stones rocked a Ford Field that could easily have been Heinz Field -- or Hines' field -- Willie Parker broke a record 75-yard touchdown run. The Steelers earned that elusive ring and completed a magic Bus ride that made Bettis' homecoming -- and farewell -- a success.

"I'm a champion. I think the Bus' last stop is here in Detroit," Bettis said. "It's official, like the referee whistle."

On this night, satisfaction was more than Mick Jagger's signature song that closed the halftime show.




It was sweet validation for Cowher with a title in his 14th season as their coach, the longest tenure in the NFL. The tough guy, who lost his only previous Super Bowl 10 years ago to Dallas, teared up as he walked to midfield to embrace Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.

"A lot of people tell you you can't do it, but you know what, it doesn't mean you don't go out and try," Cowher said. "History was not going to determine our fate. Our effort today decided this game and that's what's great.

"It's surreal. I'm going to tell you, this is a special group of coaches, a special group of players. I was one small part of this."

Pittsburgh tied San Francisco and Dallas with its five Super Bowl titles.

After multiple AFC title game appearances and a Super Bowl loss, Bill Cowher has his trophy.
After multiple AFC title game appearances and a Super Bowl loss, Bill Cowher has his trophy.
Perhaps the most special moment for Cowher came when he presented the Vince Lombardi Trophy to 73-year-old owner Dan Rooney.

"I've been waiting a long time to do this," Cowher said. "This is yours, man."

The Steelers certainly got plenty of help from the Seahawks. Seattle was plagued by penalties, drops, poor clock management and a critical fourth-quarter interception of Matt Hasselbeck just when the NFC champions seemed ready to take the lead.

Instead, Pittsburgh (15-5) got the clinching score with the kind of trickery that has carried it through an eight-game winning streak.

Versatile wideout Antwaan Randle El, a quarterback in college, took a handoff from Parker, sprinted right and threw perfectly to Ward for a 43-yard TD with 9:04 remaining. It was the first Super Bowl touchdown pass by a receiver.

Bettis, with 43 yards on 14 carries, had a minimal role in what was the final game for the NFL's No. 5 career rusher.

So did quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The most noteworthy play for the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl was a horrid pass that Kelly Herndon of the Seahawks (15-4) returned a record 76 yards.

That set up the Seahawks' only touchdown, a 16-yard pass to Jerramy Stevens -- Joey Porter, his verbal sparring partner all week, was nowhere in sight. Neither was All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu.

But with Parker's burst and Seattle's self-destructive tendencies, the Steelers completed their postseason march through the NFL's top four teams: Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Denver and Seattle, with all the wins coming away from Heinz Field.

"I could've had an even better day," said Ward, who had five receptions for 123 yards and the touchdown.

Seattle, looking nothing like a team that rampaged through its conference, damaged itself all day. It had four penalties for 40 yards in the opening half, one that nullified a touchdown pass.

Game MVP Hines Ward finished with five catches for 123 yards and the final TD.
Game MVP Hines Ward finished with five catches for 123 yards and the final TD.
The second half wasn't much better, and Ike Taylor's 24-yard return with Hasselbeck's poor throw gave Pittsburgh the one last opportunity it needed.

"This is a tough pill to swallow," Holmgren said, "but we accomplished a lot this year. While you don't have a great feeling after a game like this, I want them to remember this feeling, so they can build on it."

The 23-year-old Roethlisberger achieved it more with his legs than his arm. He dived into the end zone from the 1 late in the first half, barely reaching the goal line -- if at all -- according to a replay, and converted enough second-half first downs to wind down the clock.

Usually, that is Bettis' job. But this day, he was just along for his final ride.

What a journey it has been.

The Steelers were 7-5, then won their final four regular-season games to secure the AFC's last playoff spot. They went to Cincinnati and won a wild-card game. They won at Indianapolis, which had the league's best record. And then they handed Denver its first home loss in the AFC Championship Game.

And now they have their "One for the Thumb" -- the first four came in their Steel Curtain days, won by the likes of Mean Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris.

Early on, the noise seemed to unnerve the Steelers, who had two motion penalties on their first offensive series. Of course, none of their active players ever played in a Super Bowl.

Seattle forced another three-and-out on Pittsburgh's next possession, keeping Bettis on the sideline, then took the lead.

Josh Brown made a 47-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the first quarter after the Seahawks lost a touchdown on Darrell Jackson's pass interference in the end zone. Jackson still had 50 yards on five receptions in the quarter.

Bettis made his Super Bowl debut 2:47 into the second quarter with the Pittsburgh offense in dire need of a boost. The Steelers got it, but from an 8-yard completion to Randle El for their initial first down -- 19 minutes into the game.

Ward followed with an 18-yard run on an end-around, but Roethlisberger's ill-advised lob on the next play was picked off by safety Michael Boulware at the Seattle 25.

With Seattle's other safety, Marquand Manuel, sidelined in the second quarter with a right ankle injury, Roethlisberger began finding open receivers. Ward gained 12 yards, Cedrick Wilson got 20 and, moments after Ward dropped a pass in the corner of the end zone, he outwrestled Boulware for a 37-yard completion.

The Bus couldn't roll in on two tries, then the 6-foot-5 Roethlisberger dived left and barely squeezed the ball over the goal line. A replay review upheld the touchdown with 1:55 remaining in the half.

Perhaps unnerved themselves by the ruling, the Seahawks squandered much of that time before Brown missed a 54-yard field goal wide right. Holmgren argued as he walked off the field that the ball never crossed the goal line, but referee Bill Leavy told him it did.

Seattle also could bemoan a holding call on Peter Warrick 's 32-yard punt return to open the second quarter, and a goal-line completion to Jackson on which he barely was out of bounds.

It didn't get a lot better in the second half for Seattle, and Holmgren failed to become the first coach to win Super Bowls with two franchises. In 1997, his Green Bay Packers beat New England.

But his Seahawks didn't give themselves much of a chance. By the end, the crowd was singing "Here We Go Steelers, Here We Go."

Who knows, maybe Jagger was singing along.

Super Bowl victory!




PITTSBURGH STEELERS 21 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 10

PLAY BY PLAY
DRIVE CHARTS
GAME BOOK
GAME STATS

PLAYER STATISTICS
SEA.gif Seahawks ( 15-4-0 )
PIT.gif Steelers ( 15-5-0 )
PASSING

CP/ATYDSTDINT
M. Hasselbeck26/4927311

PASSING

CP/ATYDSTDINT
B. Roethlisberger9/2112302
A. Randle El1/14310

RUSHING

ATTYDSTDLG
S. Alexander2095021
M. Hasselbeck335018
M. Strong2707

RUSHING

ATTYDSTDLG
W. Parker1093175
J. Bettis1443012
B. Roethlisberger725110
H. Ward118018
V. Haynes1202

RECEIVING

RECYDSTDLG
J. Jurevicius593035
B. Engram670021
D. Jackson550020
J. Stevens325116
M. Strong215013
R. Hannam21209
M. Morris1606
S. Alexander2204

RECEIVING

RECYDSTDLG
H. Ward5123143
A. Randle El32208
C. Wilson120020
W. Parker1101

FUMBLES

FUMLOSTRECYDS

FUMBLES

FUMLOSTRECYDS
T. Polamalu0017

KICKING

FGLGXPPTS
J. Brown1/3471/14

KICKING

FGLGXPPTS
J. Reed0/003/33

PUNTING

NOAVGI20LG
T. Rouen247.000

PUNTING

NOAVGI20LG
C. Gardocki648.7160

KICKOFF RETURNS

NOAVGTDLG
M. Morris116.0016
J. Scobey318.3025

KICKOFF RETURNS

NOAVGTDLG
R. Colclough221.5022
I. Taylor1 0.000

PUNT RETURNS

NOAVGTDLG
P. Warrick4 6.8015

PUNT RETURNS

NOAVGTDLG
A. Randle El216.0020

DEFENSE

T-ASCKINTFF
L. Hill7-1 0.000
L. Tatupu6-3 0.000
E. Pruitt4-0 0.000
M. Trufant3-0 0.000
J. Babineaux2-0 0.000
R. Bernard2-0 0.000
M. Boulware2-3 0.010
D. Lewis2-2 0.000
M. Tubbs2-0 0.000
G. Wistrom2-0 1.000
C. Darby1-0 0.000
A. Dyson1-0 0.000
M. Manuel1-0 0.000
K. Herndon0-1 0.010

DEFENSE

T-ASCKINTFF
I. Taylor6-1 0.010
C. Haggans5-0 1.000
D. Townsend5-1 1.000
J. Farrior4-2 0.000
L. Foote4-1 0.000
C. Hampton4-0 1.000
T. Polamalu4-1 0.000
J. Porter3-0 0.000
A. Smith3-1 0.000
T. Carter2-1 0.000
B. Keisel2-0 0.000
K. von Oelhoffen2-0 0.000
C. Hoke1-0 0.000
C. Hope1-2 0.000
B. McFadden1-0 0.000


Sunday, February 05, 2006

the best day of the year













STEELERS vs. SEAHAWKS
SUPER BOWL XL




it's Super Bowl Sunday.

before the game i thought it'd be wise to remember this day - as it is truly a special day in the life...


FEB. 5, 2006
-------------------------------------------------
#1 Movie in America: WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, the top-grossing movie released on a Super Bowl weekend.

#1 Song in America (BILLBOARD): Beyonce featuring Slim Thug - Check On It

#1 Album: Il Divo - Ancora (who the heck are they?)

Top Downloaded single on iTunes: James Blunt - You're Beautiful

#1 Rated TV Show: American Idol

-------------------------------------------------

PREGAME THOUGHTS:

it's a windy day today... 26 degrees... blowing snow, although not much is accumulating... my biggest fear thus far is that the power will go out.

i am wearing the exact same outfit that i have worn for all of the Steelers' playoff victories this season... khakis... long sleeve white tee, brown and white polo... this outfit has nothing to do with the Steelers and what not... it has been washed and i know that my wearing it or not has no effect on the game. i know that. if i were supersticious i wouldn't have got my hair cut last night... jen used a #1... it's short. i just have this feeling this year... the same feeling i had on Jan. 3, 2003 - the night the Ohio State Buckeyes won the National Championship in football.

i am listening to The Verve and it is relaxing me.


---


i feel like i am playing in the game. i am anxious enough, that is for sure. i need some sort of pre-game ritual... something to pass the time before i head over to the church for the annual Super Bowl Party. i'd like to take a nap but i don't think i can.

i am very excited right now. i hope my nerves remain calm during the game. two weeks ago, all i could do was pace from one side of the room to the other... waiting for the Steelers game vs. the Broncos to finish.

i remember 10 years ago, at Jason Seamands house, me and my college buddies were gathered for our annual super bowl party. i was a senior at Asbury. The Steelers were in the Super Bowl that year and i was just as nervous. then Steeler QB Neil O'Donnell litterally threw the game away... two of his passes were thrown directly to Cowboy defensive back Larry Brown... the last was on a potential game winning drive for the Steelers. I remember getting into a small arguement with this guy at the party over the play... that game breaks my heart to this day... the Steelers dominated the game in the second half...



When i was a kid, i used to send away for autographs from pro athletes... here is the one that Terry Bradshaw sent me... Bradshaw is a 4 time Super Bowl champion - 2 time MVP... he QB'd the Steelers from 1970-1983.

It's time for Big Ben Roethlisberger to start the new dynasty.

PREDICTION:
like Bradshaw of old, Big Ben leads the Steelers to a 31-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks tonight. my MVP prediction is
Antwaan Randel El... he'll return a punt for a TD or something spectacular like that.


GET YOUR GAME FACE ON.




Here we go Steelers, Here we go!!!

Thursday, February 02, 2006

02|02|06

7:21 am: i hate my alarm clock.

7:35 am: i am at war with it this morning.

7:51am: that noise is horrifying

8:16am: o.k. i'm up. i hope your happy.

8:01am it's a good thing my alarm clock is set 15 minutes ahead.

8:02am mmmmmm.... hot shower. me likey. me wakey.

8:17am what to wear... i think i've gotta go with my favorite Pittsburgh Steelers t-shirt. is that appropriate to wear to the office? who cares. i'm wearing it. i could wear it with dress shoes... that'll make it o.k.

8:26am i should be getting ready to go to the office - so as to arrive there by 8:30am - but i am in no hurry today... it's my birthday.

8:30am i am glad i recorded Conan O'Brien on my DVR last night. it is his annual State of the Show address. this show is so stupid at times, but it is that good kind of stupid. he is a genious, that Conan is. Oh good. He made reference to himself looking like Finnish President Tarja Halonen . I think he helped her get elected. Conan - you just might rewrite Finnish history!

Jeff Probst, host of Survivor is on. I love Surviror... can't wait for it to start tonight! Wow, Conan is huge... he is towering over Probst. ha
ha. Jeff is telling a story about how he peed on an electric fence. ouch.

Now Jim Gaffigan is on tonight. He is the main reason i taped Conan. Gaffigan is probably my favorite comedian right now.

9:01am off to work. i can't believe Jen has me eating Yogurt every morning. I've found that Vanilla Yogurt with Kix sprinkled on top is pretty good.

9:15am a quick check of the news tells me that
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow - which means 6 more weeks of Winter.

9:34am i'm working now. yeah. this is fun. Johnny Cash is playing on my iPod. it's a good day. i am reading parts of David Crowder's Praise Habit this morning. I like to start every morning at work with some sort of study. I am also reading 12 Days with Jesus by Tony Jones. i really like that book... very enlightening. I heard a podcast interview with Tony Jones the other day. The interviewer was ripping him a new one.

10:19am A Boy Named Sue is playing. Johnny Cash... what a story teller...

11:04am it's 41 degrees. do you know where your children are?

11:05am there comes a time in one's life where one mask ask oneself one of two questions:
QUESTION ONE - How will you respond when a childhood hero turns to drugs? Today, at this moment, my birthday took a tragic turn. Friends, Jody Sweetin, the cute little Stephanie Tanner from tv's Full House has turned to drugs. The dark jungle of addiction has overtaken one our America's most celebrated heroes. The lod addage goes like this: Just Say No. I always thought it was saying no to drugs. Apparently it should be 'just say no to being a child actor.'

QUESTION TWO: What Would Britney do? duh... these questions, i ponder every day.

12:04pm you know, the Steelers are playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday, right? well here is today's STEELERS FACT. (courtesy of my wife).

12:15pm as Johnny Cash sang about pickin cotton in the fields with mother and brother (today has been deemed by me a Johnny Cash day of music) i read DAY 9 of 12 Days with Jesus. LUKE 9:23-27 is a bit of a paradox. Jesus has a way with speaking in paradoxical ways. "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it..."
How can I lay down my life? How can I lose it? What do I stand to gain in return? I've been thinin' 'bout that for a few minutes now...

12:35pm I came home for lunch... gave Micah a bath so that Jen could go to the grocery store. my leftovers from yesturday's meal @ Friday's was tasty. Cold Pizza played on the Tele... they talked about the Super Bowl. Woody Paige & Skip Bayless got all mixed up talking about the greatest Super Bowl teams ever. they needed me to correct there mistakes... i don't like to brag but... ahem... there aint to many folks who could top me in a super bowl trivia challenge... ahem..

1:32pm walking back to work i noticed some sort of girls leotard laying in the parking lot.

1:52pm am i writing this blog in first person, past or present tense? i don't think i know.
Present Tense. a song by Pearl Jam.

3:15pm song number 86 of 104 Johnny Cash songs is played. i'm playing his 4 disc box set.

4:14pm up in the youth lounge area me and some of the guys watched Judge Judy. you would never wanna mess with her... she is viscious. some people are idiots, too... the lies they tell... she can see right through 'em. She's like a superhero or something.

4:41pm While loading the pop machine, i find something taht i told my wife had been missing or lost. it was a bunch of scrapbooking supplies that the girls in the youth group use when my wife leads scrapbooking activities. last Nov. she needed the supplies, as some of the girls were going to be making cards or something pretty or whatever it is that they make. she had to root through her own stuff and even go out and buy new supplies because i couldn't find the other stuff. We'll today i found it, behind a bunch of 12 packs of Vanilla Coke. opps. I just told her about it... she called me a DORK but i told her i get a free pass because it's my birthday.

4:51pm while typing the last comment, i realized how sad i am because they will no longer be making Vanilla Coke. i love the stuff. i actually have now come up with my own home recipe for Vanilla Cola. so i guess it's not that bad. except for the guy who loves Vanilla Coke but doesn't know how to make a home recipe. to bad for him.

4:53pm hey, if you ever fall off the top of a really tall building, try to remain real limp because then maybe someone on the ground will look up and see you. they might think you are a dummy and then try and catch you... because hey, free dummy.

5:20pm before starting our youth Bible study lesson on Genesis ch. 10 & 11, i challenged the youth attending to stump me on trivia relating to the Super Bowl. earlier, a friend of mine (Fritz) asked me if a QB had ever won a Super Bowl with a beard. of course, this year, Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger has been sporting a beard. i knew of at least two QB's who had a full beard and lead their team to victory in the Super Bowl... one was Steeler Terry Bradshaw (a childhood hero of mine) and another was Ken Stabler (who quarterbacked the Oakland Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XI).


So my youth were given a challenge: give me 10 questions - if i don't get 8 of them correct, you'll all get a prize of your choice. So the questions came and went... only one stumped me... what date was the date of Super Bowl IV... i know now it was Jan. 11, 1970. So they knew my weekness and started asking me the actual dates of certain Super Bowls... i still got them right. Someone asked when was Super Bowl XX played. i remembered that it took place 2 days prior to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - which was on Jan. 28th, 1986... we honored the 20th anniversary of that tragedy... so i then knew that Super Bowl XX took place on Jan. 26th, 1986. Yeah, i know Super Bowl trivia like other 'normal' people know math... but hey, that's what calculators are for.

6:25pm Heading home... work is done. ready for a nice b-day meal and some yellow cake with choc. icing. num num!

7:15pm mmmm. food. dinner = gooood. i love rice. i could eat it every day.

7:33pm micah helped me blow out the candles. we had to blwo them out twice so that we could make sure we got a good picture of it. if it were up to micah - we would have been able to blow 'em out many more times.

the cake was yummy, by the way.

8:00pm Survivor is coming on. it's the new season premiere. Survivor is a guity pleasure. not ashmaned. i watch American Idol, too so booyah. anybody remember the band Survivor? they sang that Eye of the tiger song. What would Rocky be without that song?

8:44pm my eyes are sleepy. it's my birthday and i'm getting sleepy at 8:44. i must be getting old.

9:30pm micah is up to bed... wonderful stories will be told. i think i inhereted the ability to make up good stories. my dad was very gifted in that area.

9:54pm i am not sure - but i think i am a horrible speller. deal with it. it's my birthday... i get a pass.

9:55pm i think this will be my last blog entry of today, my birthday, number 32 and counting. Sigur Ros is now playing... it is bliss... Jen got me a few things for my birthday...

Vegas Movie Studio video editing software... i have so many projects i can't wait to begin editing!

a couple of Ohio State Buckeyes football DVD's.

a shirt

a framed picture of the kids for my office



i love my wife and my family so much... i am thankful for them and for all that they did for me. Addie is a doll and is so prescious. Micah is a gem... he lights up the room that is for sure... Jen is a total hottie who is so special to me... she completes me... she is me... i love her so much. thank you all for making my birthday special.

word.

32 candles

i'm not a fan of candles. actually, when it comes to candles i'm a bit indifferent. candles are fine until they burn something. regardless, i suppose today is a day in which candles could play a role in my daily activity.

jen is making a yellow cake with chocolate icing. my fav.

so i am excited. later, my plan is this: come home after leading Youth Bible Study, eat some Brocalli, Chicken & Rice, followed by a night of must-see-tv: Survivor, My Name is Earl, The Office & then ER.

I plan on posting my b-day exploits later.

---

so briefly let me explain, like instructions to a game, the events that took place yesturday - in which the afternoon was spent celebrating my b-day.

my parents gave me a wonderful present: an afternoon of babysitting. so jen and i went to Friday's and ordered enough food for four, aparently. we brought home 4 containers full, including cheescake. i love me some new york cheesecake - even though the Friday's cheesecake looks & tastes exactly like a thinly sliced piece of Sara Lee's New York style cheesecake. Yet, Friday's charges me a 5 spot for it and i'm dumb enough to shell it out. but it was mighty good.

we went to Movies 10 to see Walk the Line after that. it was a great movie. i'm a big Johnny Cash fan. Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix did a wonderful job. they did all their own vocals and they sounded good. About halfway through the movie, i dropped my smuggled in bottle of water... it began to roll doen the slanted floor... it hit this guy in front of me who was older and had a cane. he must of kicked it around and used his cane, it looked, to fight it off. his wife, who i believe was hard of hearing - since she was constantly saying "what'd they say?", payed no mind to the racket her husband was having with my water bottle on the sticky floor of the movie theater. After the movie, i found the bottle resting right in front of the woman.

after rescuing the bottle (why is it that i'd care so much for a bottle of water? well it was nearly full...) we headed home to my mom & dad's for supper... then i had to hurry home to go to a meeting i had at the church.

when i got home finally around 10pm, i put micah to bed, telling him the story of Zacchaeus
and Jesus. i love reading and telling Micah bible stories. He likes to add his own things into the story. last week, Jesus not only fed the 5000, he made sure to feed the birds. oh, and Dora was there with a red baloon. Jesus likes red baloons.

after that, i began to watch The Thin Red Line which is slow at parts (my tired eyes were droopy at times) but is cinematically beautiful. i got about halfway through the film then had to go to bed.

it was a good day.