Thankful

It seems a bit overdone to post online what you are thankful about around Thanksgiving. Should we not be thankful throughout the year, and tell those we love about it. Just thank folks a little bit more often than we do now. Sunday should be a day of thanks every week. A time where you should wash away the stress of the week, minimize yourself, and pass thanks along for the things you are thankful for. Too often life's little annoyances can overshadow the good things.

Does it really matter if the dog scratches the table? No.

Clients that apparently have no hobbies, friends or family to spend time with;  annoying, but not life threatening.

Can you survive an internet outage? Shock and horror aside, yes, easily.

Yesterday gave me all I really need to keep going. No work emails. No travelling.  No schedules to hit. No meetings. No stress. Just my family.

I was able to enjoy the Thanksgiving Day at my house, alone with my little family. I worked on converting the office into a bedroom for my daughter. My wife worked on an amazing meal. The day was hard for my wife, since she is eight months pregnant, and it’s getting more uncomfortable to stay on her feet that long. She’s one tough woman. Our daughter is a lot like her. A softhearted girl, that loves to laugh and play, and likes hugs when she takes a tough fall. I cannot wait to meet our little baby, what a blessing. I ended my day sitting at a small bonfire with my wife, just talking about little things. A perfect end, to a perfect day.

The chance to work everyday on my husband and father skills is what I am thankful for today. I am not perfect, but each day with my family I work on myself. Each day I make mistakes, and learn from them and hopefully use the lesson the next day. I am thankful to have people in my life, that make me want to be better.

Browns comments, after 4 weeks

Three things I love:
-Scrappy depleted D, balling against good offenses
-T-Rich get’s my blood pumping every time he touches the ball, more on that in a bit
-Team in general does not quit, last year they quit a lot

Three Things I’m hopeful on:
-Wheeden looks to have the skill set to become a big time QB
-Benjamin looks to be little gamer
-DB’s fighting hard without Haden, could be great with him

Three things I cannot ignore:
-2-1 Interception to TD ratio (bad, even for a rookie)
-Drop-R-Us receiving core, not helping the above comment
-Lackluster “Offensive Guru” head coaching/leadership (more T-Rich por favor)

Comments? Disagreements? Discuss…

Sketch More, Play More

Wow, time is flying by so fast. That statement is a bit cliché, but I don’t know how else to describe. I’m not sure any one thing is the cause, but more likely a confluence of events. Baby, busy work, busy Fraternity schedule, busy schedule with my wife. I know I have not taken enough time to process life, one indication being my absentee blog. I have taken a few small steps to keep myself focused and fresh. I have gotten back into a few good books, started a sketchbook, set time aside to write this and made sure I spend time with my wife. As I write, I have also had work email after email pour into my phone. They customer demand never stops. Our society is really skewed, folk demand 100% attention to their matters 150% of the time. It becomes very difficult to truly unplug and have a life, or an identity, outside your work. I am blessed to have a good job, that provides for my family, but I can see how jobs can wreck families if not properly managed and placed in good context. The best remedy for this is to sit on the floor with my daughter, and dive into some playtime. Nothing exists outside my home when in that place. Emails, wait, calls go unanswered, some chores get skipped, but that is OK, the world somehow continues to spin. Normally, I have more of a theme, but today I just wanted to write about whatever. I intend on writing more, sketching more, hugging my wife more and most of all playing more. Talk again soon.

Catching Up

I have been really behind on any blog posts, February was my last brief writing. Needless to say, life has been busy, and I have too much to talk about to capture everything today. Suffice it ti say I feel blessed with a wealth of family, friends and happiness. More to come here on a regular basis.

JDM

RIP baby JDM, I miss you and wish you were here. Your sis CGM prays for you every night.

Moms...

This morning I had a sick wife and a baby that needed taken care of and I had to get to work. Now, I’m not the cliché Dad…I’m no stranger to diapers, wet and solid, I feed the baby, clean up spit up disasters, put her to bed, and play with her all the time. But to be very truthful, the baby’s Mom, my beautiful wife, takes care of the lion’s share of the work.

I had to do this all myself today, and I would like to apologize to and thank my wife. Every day, you do most of this without panic, and get everyone moving with grace. Even while I was sick all weekend, you kept the house moving and the kid happy and fed. Not sure where you get the ability to do it all, but you are aces in the Mom department. Our baby girl is lucky to have you for a Mom. I am lucky to have you for a wife. I hope I provided a bit of entertainment this morning while you listened in on my late for work, get crying baby ready, walk the dog panic filled morning, you deserve it. I love you.

Hope you feel better soon!

My Review of Van Halen, A Different Kind Of Truth

My thoughts and opinions on the new album:

1 Tattoo - I just don't get it as a lead off track/single, lyrics are not as good as the music. Song is mixed way better on the album than the questionable YouTube video they put out. Not everyone is good off the tee box at #1, I'll give them a mulligan after the last 14 tumultuous years off.
2 She's The Woman - 1970's demo track redone, classic VH sounds, cool chugging rhythm section, decent solo.
3 You And Your Blues - I'm not a fan of songs singing about other songs, I get the song, the chorus is catchy, but it's just OK. Missing Mike Anthony backing vocals (tear in eye). Classic VH outro is a nice finish.
4 China Town - Wow. Welcome back Mr. Edward Van Halen, the reports of your demise have been greatly exaggerated. Punch in the face right off the bat. Love the song, love it. Could sit comfortably next to songs like Mean Street or Get Up and not blink. Crushing most of current rock songs.
5 Blood And Fire - Look at all the people here tonight! Another 1980's VH sounding track. Funny DLR talking middle section, tip of cap to long time fans. Really great solo, for realz.
6 Bullethead - 1970's demo track redone. Fast, grinding, fun. I'm fine with the redux of these 70's demos, they kick ace in 2012 too.
7 As Is - Al had to have a drum intro song, come on it's a VH album! Ed rips the sh!t out of this song. Wow, he has some electric licks on this. Wolfgang keeps the low end fine on this speed racer. Solo gave me goose bumps, just really classic VH kung fu.
8 Honeybabysweetiedoll - Cool modern intro leads into great rhythm riffs. VH sounds really fresh and 2012 relevant here. One of the best on the album!
9 The Trouble With Never - Sixth straight great track in a row. Band is in the flow now, Ed is giving lessons to rock guitarists. Wolfgang has been practicing, a lot. Maybe I don't hate DLR for what he did to the band anymore...just don't ride an inflatable mic on stage again.
10 Outta Space - 1970's demo track redone. I should be riding in a 1974 Camaro, openly drinking Schlitz pull top cans for this one. I'm still a bit shocked at this point how much I like the album.
11 Stay Frosty - Really going to be a fun live song. Song is the grandson of Ice Cream Man, just a fun rocker, great Eddie solo.
12 Big River - 1970's demo track redone. Cool intro, sounds like it's from Diver Down era, classic DLR-VH stuff. Great groove, fun to sing along and drive to. Another perfect solo fitting the song.
13 Beats Workin' - 1970's demo track redone, sounds like like 1970's VH, in a good way. Should be sitting in a van with a circle back window, interior carpet and a keg. Add cowbell, 'nuff said.

Stand out tracks:
China Town
As Is
Honeybabysweetiedoll
Trouble With Never
Outta Space
Stay Frosty

Final thought:
I am really surprised at how great this album sounds. All VH drama aside, they have done a phenomenal job here. Ed is alive and well on this recording. I thought he lost his famous brown tone after VH III, but he found his sound. The band is tight, and DLRs chops are fun and surprisingly sing-along-able, I forgot the DLR BS while listening, and just enjoyed the ride. I cannot wait to see some of these live in Pittsburgh. I went into my little review with low expectations, expecting to be very critical. I came out loving the album. Tracks, 4, 6-13 are VH at the top of their game. No real duds on the album, Tattoo should not have been the first single, nor had the awful hand camera video, it's not to shabby here. Definitely worth the purchase, the deluxe version has a 4 song acoustic set, it was worth the couple extra bucks for the fan.

Bread

There is a little piece of pumpkin bread sleeping in her crib right now. She doesn't know anything about our work day, or the mortgage, or folks we have to deal with or any of that stuff. She knows a few things though.

I like to be dry
I like to be fed
I love the two crazy people that do these things for me
I can stare at my puppy and laugh for hours
Bath time is fun so far
My neck is super ticklish
I jump-a-roo with the best of them
Oh, and did I mention, I'm wet again, please make me dry

It is a bit cliché, but the simple things make a person happy. Adults need to try to peel back the layers of broken friendships, hurt feelings, tough bosses, money, ego and so many other learned problems to enjoy more of the simple pleasures life provides for us.

I know I could use a little more patience, take a little more time to think of a laugh, a giggle, a smile or any of the multitudes of things my baby girl does. I need to deal with all the adult things all day, but keep the dear moments a little more present. In the end, we all just need a little pumpkin bread in our lives.