Go, Lobos, Go!

Alright, Lobo fans!! If you get the AJC, check out the huge pic of my brother in today's Gwinnett section...#55, you can't miss him. If not, check him out on Saturday when the Lobos kick off the season against UTEP...it's coming on CSTV (ch. 610 on Directv) at like 10:00 p.m. Saturday night. Sweet.

Anyway, good luck Teeler! Know that we love you and we'll be cheering for you, and maybe even doing that little Lobo sign with our hand!

Movin' On Up...

Okay...I don't even know where to start.

Harris got new shoes last Sunday. Not that he can walk yet, but at least his little feet will be protected as soon as he takes his first steps. Mom and I took him to Stride Rite because they have that sign out front that says they "custom fit" babies' feet and all that jazz...yeah, they just stuck his little foot on one of those foot-measuring things (the same thing they used on my foot last time I got sized for shoes, which was like a decade ag0) and declared him a 4 1/2 wide (although his foot is a lot more fat than it is wide), and that was it. And then I almost had a heart attack when I picked up a cute shoe and saw the $48 price tag on the heel...seriously, even if Mom's buying, that's a little pricey for a shoe he'll outgrow in four months. So, we left. And went to JC Penny. And bought two pairs for the price of one at Stride Rite...and one of them is a Stride Rite brand shoe. The others are Nikes. And they're both really cute. Unfortunately, we put a pair on him the other day and after about 10 minutes, the poor kid looked like he'd taken a bath. He obviously got his sweat genes from me.

So then on Monday, Pop (aka Dad, aka Ronnie) came and took me, James, Harris, Cassidy, Jay, and Cody to Macaroni Grill for a birthday celebration. Now, this would be perfectly reasonable considering my birthday was Thursday, except for the fact that we were celebrating not only my birthday, but also Cassidy's (which was in February), Cody's (which, of course, was in July), and I guess Jay's,too (which is also in July, but I don't think Dad knows that). Anyway, it was a very nice meal, minus the fact that Dad told the waitress her breath didn't smell so great. I didn't exactly hear what was said, but I know that when I turned to face them, Dad was whispering and she was popping a mint in her mouth. Now, this may be my Dad's way of flirting...or maybe he really is socially inept...but it was at this point when James made sure to clarify that the rest of us didn't notice her breath at all, so she needed to make sure she knew which entree was Dad's before she spit. I unfortunately left my camera at home, so all pictures of the fam in front of Macaroni Grill were taken on Cassidy's.

But the best outing of all was tonight. James and I were bored, so we decided to take Harris to Chuck E. Cheese. Have you been to that place lately? We were there for about ten minutes and I think Harris left with ADD. Seriously, it was crazy. And all Harry could do was stare. At everything. The good news is that they had a very small toddler area with some rides geared toward little kids...and all rides/games/etc. only cost one token, so for a buck Harris got to ride four things. Actually, he rode the Barney truck twice. I'm not sure he knew what was going on. I don't think he knows who Barney is, either, because he was not taking his eyes off that dinosaur. We bathed him in Purell upon leaving. That place is insanity.

And so there are the highlights of my week.

Harris' Balls: Fun for Everyone

I've spent the past couple of days thinking up that title. Your tax dollars at work, folks...what else can I say? I've realized that since I've gone back to work, I haven't taken nearly as many pictures of Harry as I did all summer long. I probably took ten of him every day while I was at home (he's just so stinkin' cute); and I probably have ten total pics for the whole month of August. Oh well. The incessant picture taking had to end sometime. Maybe now that he's not constantly blinded by a flash he'll be able to see and enjoy the world around him. I love that little guy.

Here are some of the most recent pics I have. These were taken last weekend, when Harris' good friend Quinn came over to play for a little bit. Grantee bought Harris some of his very own Chuck-E-Cheese balls (I would have killed for my own Chuck-E-Cheese balls when I was a kid), and he absolutely loves them! "Ball" is one of the few words he actually knows how to say (it sounds like "bah"), so that makes them even better. His friend Raven gave him this awesome little play area that actually houses all the balls for his birthday, but James and I have been too lazy to blow it up, so we just threw all of them in the pack and play for now. One of these days we'll get that thing full of hot air and then Chuck-E-Cheese better watch its back! Our dog Woody is almost big enough to pass for Chuck E. himself. We could totally pull that off.

And here's your bonus pic of the week: Harris and Quinn playing on Harry's super favorite slide. And just in case you're wondering, she is not pregnant with his child, even though it looks as if she is wearing a maternity dress. Love ya, Quinnie! And oh yeah...we're still kickin' the builder finish in this part of Harris' playroom (a.k.a. the formal living room). It's on tap to be painted "Iron Gray" or something like that.

Research

I've been doing some research this weekend. I thought I'd share a little of what I discovered with the world. Now, let me first and foremost mention that my primary (and only) source for this research was copyrighted in 2004, so the material may not be the most up-to-date, but it is intriguing just the same. So as not to overwhelm my audience, I think the best course of action might be to share a little tidbit every now and then; perhaps when I feel the need to post and have absolutely nothing interesting to write about.

So, here's the first installment of "research..."

In French folklore, dreaming about poop is an omen that good fortune is on the way (Bathroom Readers' Institute, 2004).

Was anyone aware of that? Has anyone, in fact, ever had a dream about poop? I've dreamed many, many crazy things in my life (most recently that I was having a "restaurant affair" with my boss from college, in which we would eat out for every single meal, go back to the office, relieve ourselves, and then make out...hey, I guess that does involve poop!), but I don't particularly recall dreams in which poop is the explicit focus. Poop does play quite a large role during my waking hours...I change Harris' diaper (and see colors and textures I had no idea could be produced by the human body), pick up poop belonging to Norm and/or Woody while walking, and even spend a fair amount of time on the porcelain king myself, but the good fortune of having poop in my dreams always seems to escape me. Maybe I'll get lucky tonight.

And just in case you're wondering, Uncle John's Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader is a great source not only for research, but also for pure entertainment.

No Complaints

Who knew work could be so draining? I love my job (really, I do)...but lately it's been tough. And by "lately," I mean the last two days, because of course I've only been at work for two days. I just didn't want to sound like a huge whiner by writing "two days." "Lately" makes this post seem so much more reasonable. Anyway, enough with the rhetoric. Bottom line is I'm tired.

Today I was given a purple Live Strong-type bracelet with the words "A Complaint Free World" imprinted on the band. Evidently some dude is pushing this no complaining crap on Oprah and The Today Show and other shows of the like, and people all over the place are flocking to this idea. The basic premise is this: You put the bracelet on the wrist of your choice. If you complain, the bracelet is moved to the opposite wrist. The goal is to have the bracelet stay on the same wrist for 21 days (or to not complain for three straight weeks). Sounds pretty good in theory. Too bad sarcasm counts as complaining.

It's actually a neat idea. I will work to choose a positive attitude and be selective of the words I put into the world (I really do need to work on my vocabulary for Harris' sake), but my anal retentive personality just doesn't work with the bracelet idea. All it would take is one little slip of a complaint and I would say to myself, "Well, today's ruined...mine as well as make the most of it and start fresh tomorrow." I just don't think that's what the Complaint Free World guy envisoned.


And besides, this little guy is really all the inspiration I need. Whoa; I just filled my sap quota for the entire year.
















Harris loves his Nemo hat. He's wearing it indoors because I don't let him wear it in public.

What up Tyler D!

Here's a little blurb about my baby brother from the University of New Mexico website. You can totally link to his profile if you want to. It's cool. Just wanted to give him a shout out. This is why he never returns my comments on MySpace anymore...he's just too stinkin' busy playing football. We love you, Tyler!

"Senior end Tyler Donaldson (Lawrenceville, Ga.) established himself as one of the quickest and most active linemen in the Mountain West en route to second team all-conference honors in his first year as a starter in 2006. A bit undersized at 6-4, 226, Donaldson nevertheless wreaked havoc at the line of scrimmage with 5.0 sacks, 9.0 tackles for loss, a safety, five quarterback hurries and three pass break-ups to go along with his 49 tackles."

Who needs a babysitter...and Happy Birthday CoCo!

Who needs a babysitter...when you've got an old dog kennel? Totally kidding...I should probably write that in huge letters before I get turned over to DFACS. If you'd like their number, I unfortunately know it by heart...that's one of the things being a counselor will get ya. Harris just crawled in last night and played for quite a while before his LIFE group friends showed up...and to think you people are willing to leave your kids at my place. Just thought the pic was funny.

On another note...

Happy Birthday CoCo! Tonight we celebrated Cody's twentieth birthday by going to dinner at Longhorn's. Don't be confused by the fact that Cody was actually born on July 2. We're a little bit behind...but who cares, as long as there's a free meal involved. I live for the free meal, remember? And could it get much better than a free meal at Longhorn, where I ordered the Flo's Filet/Salmon combo and justified it by saying I was sharing with Harry? I don't think so. Especially when Harris ended up eating more of James' chicken fingers than anything off of my plate. Thanks for dinner, Mom.

I really don't know why we're taking pictures outside of Longhorn. We see each other almost every day. It's not even like it's a Longhorn in another state, or even county for that matter. It's just the old school Longhorn by the movie theater. I can't explain or justify the pics in any way. It's not even Cody's real birthday. I also have no idea why James insisted on taking these pictures rather than being a part of them. Like he didn't want to claim us as family or something. But then, he redeemed himself and guaranteed us another free meal sometime in the near future by allowing me to snap a shot including him.

And this one below is just thrown in for fun. Poor Cassidy was so worried about the pony that lives on Fence Road. Evidently, she was planning on throwing him some carrots out her car window today, but he wasn't in his pasture (otherwise known as his owner's front yard). She was worried. But don't fear, good ol' Freddie Mercury (as she named earlier in the week) is alive and kickin'. James and I saw him tonight. So have your carrots ready next time you're out his way.