S.A.H.D. Guy

S.A.H.D. Guy on Pippi Longstocking #2

2010-04-14T10:31:00.002-04:00

As promised, here are some of the pics from Pippi Longstocking. We all really had a great time performing it. This is the entire cast before our final performance. It was a great group of people and I already miss spending time with them every week! We performed in front of 6 different elementary schools over 2 days. The kids were absolutely great! Each audience was unique too. At most of the schools the kids were cheering when the cops (one of them played by me) were getting beat up and tossed around by Pippi. Oh well (sigh). The kids loved the play because it had people getting tossed around by Pippi like they were rag dolls. It had pirates. It had a treasure chest of gold. It had a carnival strongman (who Pippi ends up tossing around). It had suckers at the carnival. It even had a couple of times that some of the kids got to be involved with the production. Audience participation is always a good thing, especially when the audience is kids. The reactions of the kids to different things were often great too! At one school while Pippi was tossing me around (one of my cop scenes) some of the little kids started yelling, "Leave Pippi alone you mean cop!" Hmmmmmmm...I think I was the one being man handled (or is it girl handled?) by her, not the other way around. We had another school where the kids were all cheering when the character was trying to get Pippi away to a children's home ended up getting thrown around by the pirate (Pippi's dad) and his crew. Besides playing one of the cops, I also was one of the old women at the coffee party. I'm pretty sure I can safely say I am one of the ugliest old women I have ever seen! Our director thought it would be funny to have a guy play that part (and a guy with a goatee too -- no, I didn't have to shave it). The kids thought it was pretty funny when I kept stealing and eating the cookies of one of the other ladies at the party. Anyway, it really was a fun time once again. I can't wait to see what we do next!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Pippi Longstocking

2010-03-26T07:13:00.000-04:00

Hey all! I hope you are doing well. The Pippi Longstocking play that I am in is under way. It is going very well! We were at two schools yesterday and will be at three more today! The kids have been great to perform for. The cast has been awesome to hang out with and just sit and chat with. We have 14 of us on the cast, 11 women and 3 guys. They all have been great to work with; this is a very talented group of people! I'm looking forward to working with them again. It's been interesting being on a cast that is mostly female (although I am used to being the minority from my days of teaching -- it was usually mostly females in the schools too). The other 2 guys have been great to work with too. I have to get going to today's performances, but I'll try to get some pics up here soon of the performance!

S.A.H.D. Guy Is Back

2010-02-08T08:39:00.002-05:00

Hey all! Sorry it has been so long since the last posting. I've been busy, but not so busy I couldn't post. I guess I just didn't get around to it. Things are going well. I'm once again in the middle of a production. We're doing the play Pippi Longstocking as a traveling school show. We do this every other year (opposite the big musical production). I am playing two characters. The first is Officer Klang, one of the policemen that come to Pippi's house to arrest her and take her to the children's home. My partner and I end up getting tossed around a bit before we give up and just leave. So far he has been a fun character other than the bruise on my knee from when we were rehearsing and I did one of the tumbles I had to do and whapped my knee on a support beam. The second character I am playing, believe it or not, is Mrs. Granberg. Yes, you read that right, I said Mrs. Granberg. I have to play an old woman at the tea party Pippi crashes. I have to say, I make one of the ugliest old ladies you have ever seen! It will definitely be an interesting production.

Out side of the production, I have been keeping busy with the usual things. My two youngest are involved in dance know so we have practice every Monday. We pick them up from school and head off to dance class. The middle, my daughter, is really enjoying it (although she thinks it is her job to correct everyone at the practices -- we're working on that). My youngest, one of my sons, really is just there to play with one of his little buddies, but he is still enjoying it. The oldest son has definitely hit adolescence. The attitude has kicked in completely, mom and dad are idiots who know absolutely nothing, and school work/homework has become optional. We're trying to be really patient as we deal with the teen years for the first time, but, can anyone tell me where that sweet little guy we took home from the hospital 12 years ago went? We can't seem to find him most days lately.

Work has been busy as usual. We had a really big funeral a couple of weeks ago that was pretty moving. It was for a young mother that had struggled with cancer for about 5 years. She had a husband and 2 kids in elementary school. Church was packed! I had to help set up for the lunch after the funeral, but we couldn't set up until the funeral was going on. Then, of course, since the funeral was going on, we had to set up as quietly as possible. It really was a very nice service, but very sad. That would be one of the parts of my job I don't really enjoy. Since we are a church that is mostly young families, and very few senior citizens, this is what most of the funerals we have are like.

Anyway, that's what has been going on in a nut shell. I'll try to be better at updating this thing more often! I hope you all are having a great 2010 so far.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Moving the Piano

2009-11-05T21:40:00.003-05:00

Okay, I guess I should first give you a little background on this one. The house we are currently living in used to belong to a single woman. Because she was single, when she bought the house and replaced all the carpet in the living room/dining room area, she found this off-white carpet that she loved and had that put in. Fast forward to us buying the house. The off-white carpet is still beautiful...until about 10 seconds after we move. We come to the place with 3 kids at the time and have now added a dog to the equation. The carpet now has dirt stains (we certainly can't take our shoes off when we come in the house), food stains (the oldest emptied a full bottle of chocolate syrup on the floor fairly soon after we moved in), pee stains (remember the dog being added? not house broke when we got her), and a variety of other stains; no longer is it off-white. So, after putting up with this as long as we could, we finally have decided to tear out the carpet and put in laminant flooring (we would love hard wood but who can afford that?). Imagine our surprise when we tear the carpet out and find beautiful hardwood oak floors underneath. As you have probably guessed by now, we are redoing the hardwood.

What, you may be asking, does any of this have to do with moving a piano? I'll tell you. We decided that the piano needed to be in the family room instead of the living room. It just takes up too much space in the living room. The family room is down a short (7) flight of steps. It's a big, old, sturdy, HEAVY, upright piano. This job is going to take some muscle and since I have almost none, I call in the brother in-law with his muscular teen aged boys. When they get here, we decide the first problem is actually getting it around the corner it needs to go around to get down those steps. It won't go around the corner standing upright. What about on it's side? Hmmmmmm...let's try! So together we flip the piano onto its side and begin to again maneuver it around that sharp, tight corner. Whoops! We flipped it onto the wrong side so over the whole thing goes again to get it to the correct side for going around that corner. Since it was now on its side, the correct side, the weight of the piano is on the top lid of the piano. I was just about to suggest that we should maybe unscrew the lid from the piano when it completely tears off the piano...hinges and all. Next, as we're working it around that corner, it still won't go...too tight by about 1/2 an inch. Maybe if we take the baseboards off the wall and the towel bar off the counter that the piano was hitting, and the caster wheel on the piano, we can clear it. Off they come, and nope, it still doesn't clear the corner. Now what? We laugh when one of my nephews says, "It will go if we just let the piano punch a couple of small holes in the drywall." Hahahahahaha...so funny...but...hmmmmmmm. What do you know? He's right! We now have 2 holes in the drywall that are about 1 1/2 inches square. But, the piano is down in the family room! Yes, the lid was ripped off and we have the 2 holes in the wall...but the piano is down there! Woohoo!! Hopefully my dad, who is really good with anything wood, will be able to fix the piano lid. The 2 holes in the drywall are already patched; they just need to be sanded and painted yet. All in all, it was actually a very funny process for anyone who was able to be a fly on the wall! And, we'll also have beautifully redone hardwood oak floors in just a couple of weeks!!

S.A.H.D. Guy on This Year's A.H.D. Convention

2009-10-15T22:11:00.002-04:00

The convention was held in Omaha, Nebraska this year and was a TON of fun. I really had an enjoyable and relaxing time!

2009-08-17T11:03:00.005-04:00

Being the kind, sympa- thetic, and understanding friend that I am, I can't resist posting these 2 cartoons that were lately in our local press. Yes, I am specifically posting these 2 for my friend who wanted to go camping this past weekend with his family but didn't because of rain. Remember, both of these could be you! :P Aren't you glad you didn't go after all? You guys had a truck load of rain and you said it was even cold enough to see your breath (in the middle of summer? Blech!!). We had a much better time playing freerealms anyway. Hehehehehe...

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Fun Night Out With the Guys

2009-07-31T01:17:00.004-04:00

It was Dad's Night Out (DNO) for my Stay-At-Home Dad's Group tonight. That meant something fun with just the dads. No children and no wives, just the guys. Oh, did I mention no children? As usual, it was actually just more fun to hang out and b.s. with the other dads than anything we did. It's really a good group of guys. Sorry for the video and audio not matching perfectly, but I'm having more video card issues. Hopefully these will be solved soon!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Computer Woes

2009-06-15T22:04:00.002-04:00

Technology has been going crazy at our house lately! I'll start with my desktop. I had 2 monitors hooked up to it; it was awesome! You could have all kinds of things going on at once. Well, lately I've been getting green stripes across the screen that 2 different computer guys that are friends of mine said it is most likely my motherboard going out. I figured it was going to be an issue someday just because of some other things it had been doing too, but was hoping it would last a long time. So, anyway, I got a new motherboard but couldn't find one as good as was in it and ended up with one that isn't as good. I took it to the computer friend that lived the closest to me and he helped me replace the motherboard (I say he helped me, but really, I just sat there watching and chatting with him while he did all of the work). When we were taking the internal fan and processor out, the processor fell off and many of those little gold wires ended up bent so we had to re-straighten them before we could put it back in. We got the new motherboard in and then went to attach the power supply but my power supply had to many connectors so we ended up having to go to a computer store out there and getting a new power supply. Ok, now that is in and we put in the hard drive. Should go easily now, right? Nope. Because the motherboard isn't as powerful as the one i had, my hard drive was more than it could handle. He got it put in and it wouldn't boot. I had to go down to a smaller hard drive. Finally it's all in and running and I took it home where I ended up having to reformate the hard drive completely. Is that it? Nope. I just finished the reformate and my video card decided to blow. Now I'm back to only having one monitor (which stinks!). A different computer friend said he would take a look at the video card and see if it could be fixed so I sent it to him. He did a few things and couldn't get it to work so was going to try a final possible fixit solution, baking it in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes to reattach some of the connectors. The problem with this is that he decided that since he was grilling, he would just try this on his grill instead of in the oven. He totally fried the whole card. I guess that card is history. LOL! He and I actaully had a good laugh over that one.
Now wouldn't you think that was all enough? Oh no; I'm not finished yet. I have a hand held computer that I use as a calendar, read ebooks on, keep my contact list on, and many other things. It decided to reset itself all of a sudden and I lost all of the info that I had on it. I did have an old saved backup of it, but I hadn't done a backup in a long time so it was missing a bunch of my stuff.
Finally, my wireless router wouldn't alow me to go into it so my internet was having issues. This also wouldn't allow me to have my network set up or find an open port when I needed one. I did have another wireless router that my computer friend remoted into and set it all up for me so that's now all working too.
It has been crazy getting this all done. Who knows if it's over now or not? I guess we'll just have to see.

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Mid-week Get Away

2009-05-21T21:34:00.003-04:00

I love Rollar Coasters!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Winning...WooHoo!!

2009-05-01T10:20:00.004-04:00

I finally had a few minutes to make another blog, so here it is. Here is the winning pic too. It turned out really nice.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Staying Home Alone

2009-04-12T19:04:00.004-04:00

Happy Easter everyone! Here's just a quick video blog about my week of being home all alone while the family was off visiting other family.

S.A.H.D. Guy in South Pacific

2009-03-28T10:14:00.004-04:00

I am currently in the musical South Pacific as the character Stewpot. One of the songs that is the most fun is the song "Bloody Mary." This is me (and the rest of the seabees) in that song. It's not quite all of it, but it's most of it. I had an absolute blast doing it!

S.A.H.D. Guy on a New Photo Entry and the Upcoming Week

2009-03-22T16:39:00.013-04:00

The current challenge for the photography site (http://photozo.com -- go and sign up and then vote for my picture :P) is portraits. I asked a new friend of mine to be my model (or is it my victim?). He agreed to do it so we met for lunch one day this past week and I took all of the pictures. It was a beautiful day which allowed us to take them outside. I had a guitar to use as a prop, figuring since this was really just for the photography challenge, nobody would ever know that he didn't really play the guitar. However, he shocked me. After I had the first picture all set up ready to go and handed him the guitar, before I could get back to my camera, he actually started playing the one I had handed him. He really plays the guitar! I knew his wife was a musician, but I never knew he was! I actually got a bunch of nice shots of him but this one was one that I took when he wasn't even aware that I was going to take it. He was engrossed in playing the guitar when I snapped the picture. I think it turned out really nicely and I have to say, I'm pretty proud of it.

Next, on a completely dif- ferent note, this week is the week for South Pacific. We had tech rehearsal on Saturday. I had to be there at 8 in the morning and I didn't get to leave until 4 in the afternoon. It went really well, but it was a very long day. I play Stewpot, one of the sailors. My daughter is in it with me...she plays one of the 2 kids that's in it. We also have dress rehearsal this Thursday and then performances on Friday and Saturday. I am really looking forward to it; we've been having a riot rehearsing. The best part of it though, is the people you end up meeting. I've really gotten to like spending time with the guy who is playing our Lt. Joe Cable and the woman who is playing our Nellie Forbush. They both are just fun people who like to laugh and have fun. The are also very easy to talk to. Besides them, one of my best friends from church is in it. It has been great to be able to hang out with him as much as I've been able to since he and I are almost always togehter in the scenes we're in (and I play one of his sidekicks). I'm ready for performance day to get here after all the work we've been doing on it. I know I'll be sad when the performance is over! The picture is of me (the one on the left) and one of the other guys I've gotten to know and enjoy while working on the production.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Photo Challenges

2009-03-13T22:56:00.005-04:00

I love taking pictures. I always have. I'm even involved in a photography group on line (http://photozo.com). One of the things I do with them is their bi-weekly challenge. Every two weeks there is a new challenge for taking a photograph. This picture is the one I entered for the challenge called "Nature's Curves." I'm pretty proud of it. I think it turned out really nice. I even have it on my computer as my wallpaper right now. It's in second place, which is pretty cool. It's the first time I've had a picture in that spot. I have to admit, I don't really understand why the first place one is actually winning. It's not that great of a picture. A lot of it is out of focus and just not good. I guess to each his own, but I still don't understand why it's winning! The new challenge is "Portraits." This one might be a challenge since I really want to do it outside but it's still kind of cold around here. I have a friend of mine who's agreed to be my subject (thanks Josh!). Hopefully I'll get a really good shot of him that for the challenge. What can I say? I really want to win one of these stupid challenges! Hopefully I'll get closer with this new challenge.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Pets

2009-02-18T09:27:00.004-05:00

We have taken the plunge into pet ownership. The kids have wanted a dog for years; I've wanted a dog for a while (I grew up with dogs). The wife finally decided a dog might be a good idea. So the search began. We had decided we were going to get a dog from one of the rescue centers. We looked at all kinds of dogs, but couldn't agree on one. The one dog we agreed on (and the kids had their heart set on) turn out couldn't go to a family with kids (they hadn't listed that on his info sheet). The kids were heart broken when we told them we couldn't adopt that one. But the search continued until we found this one. We actually had gone to look at a different dog when we saw this one. The kids immediately fell in love with her, the wife liked her, and I pretty much love any dog, so this was the one. She's been with us for about a week now and doing pretty well. She's a Papion and is about 1 year old. She was a stray that was brought in and not claimed at the rescue center. We named her Lily (after going through the names Sasha, Daisy, Lexi, Rudy, and about 10 others). Today she is at the vets to be spayed since we don't want any puppies. Needless to say, life has changed a bit for the kids now that they have a dog to take care of.

S.A.H.D. Guy's Posting For Alex

2009-01-31T15:55:00.002-05:00

This one is just for you, Alex! :P

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Neti Pot

2009-01-24T22:23:00.003-05:00

This was a really unique experience!

S.A.H.D. Guy on the New Year

2009-01-17T10:19:00.004-05:00

Hey all! Happy New Year! I don't know about you, but I'm excited to see what 2009 brings. I know for some of you 2008 was not a good year and I'm sorry for that. It was okay for me. Some good things happened, some not so good things, but over all it was okay. I'm hoping this year will be a great year. I have some plans for this year that I hope come to fruition. I guess we'll see.

I've been getting into photography so I'd really like to find someone to do photo trips with. There's one dad from my dad's group that I've done a trip with and I'd like to do more but I kind of get the feeling he's not really interested in doing that with me when we talk about it. There are a couple of other possibilities though, so maybe this year I'll finally find someone to do photo trips with. That would be so cool!

I'm also hoping to be able to meet a friend that I've talked to a lot on line but we've never actually met face to face. We're thinking of meeting sometime this spring or summer. He's into photography too so it would be fun to meet and do a photo trip with him. Too bad he lives so stinking far away!

In church this spring we're going to be doing the musical "South Pacific" and my daughter and I are both in it. She's playing one of the kids and I'm playing Stewpot, one of the sailors. So far the rehearsals have really been fun; yes, a lot of work, but fun. I can't wait to see how it comes together in March when we perform it.

As a family we're hoping to get in a couple of good vacations this spring/summer. The kids would like to get out to Iowa to see their goat on Grandpa's and Grandma's farm (yes, they have a goat out there on the farm). I would like to get in a trip to New York with just the wife and I (we've been invited out by a fellow S.A.H.D. so it really would be nice to get out there).

Finally, I would really like to get to the Dad Convention this year since I ended up not getting to go to the one in 2008. This year's will be in Omaha, Nebraska. One of my good friends is part of the group that is planning it. It's my goal to get a bunch of the dads from my group here to go finally. They talk about going every year but don't.

Anyway...I have more to say but have to get my day started. Have a great new year!

S.A.H.D. Guy's Christmas Greetings

2008-12-24T20:59:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas!

S.A.H.D. Guy on the Holidays

2008-12-12T21:41:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again, time for Christmas. Happy holidays and merry Christmas all!

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Hilarious Laugh

2008-11-28T22:26:00.001-05:00

I found this on youtube and couldn't stop laughing. I don't have any idea who these people are, but the guy in the middle is hysterical!

S.A.H.D. Guy's Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T22:06:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Another Busy Week

2008-11-19T23:08:00.004-05:00

I had a great weekend and last few days. They were almost insanely busy, but they were good for the most part. Hopefully the things that weren't too good won't be too bad in the long run.

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Sore Thumb

2008-11-06T21:22:00.002-05:00

Today, I did something stupid at work. I was asked to fix these pieces of material that we have hanging up front in the sanctuary. The tops of a couple of them weren't high enough so I had to put them higher. For one of them, in order to do this, I had to nail it down. The thing is, the tops of the material were high enough up that I had to use a step ladder and was on the second from the top step. It was a stretch to nail them in. If you haven't figured this out yet, I hit my thumb with the hammer on the last nail I had to put in. It really hurt! But then to make matters worse, I also had to put a lounge chair away that we had used in a drama and when I picked it up I ended up getting my thumb, the same thumb as before, stuck between two of the legs and pinching it. Once again...ouch! LOL! I know, I'm lame, but it hurt.

S.A.H.D. Guy on a New Friend

2008-10-30T21:04:00.002-04:00

I had a really good day so I thought I would tell you about it. It's really cool to make new friends that share the same interests as you have.

2008-10-28T13:32:00.002-04:00

Not the best blog ever. Yesterday I had all these great things I wanted to blog about but didn't have time. Today when I ended up with time...couldn't think of any of them. Oh well!

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Couple of Insanely Busy Weeks

2008-10-18T22:23:00.002-04:00

It's been so crazy the last few weeks! Sometimes I felt like I could hardly catch my breath. Finally it's settling down again. Thank goodness! I figured it was time for another blog entry since it has been awhile again.

S.A.H.D. Guy Back on Cam

2008-10-03T21:18:00.004-04:00

WooHoo! I'm back, Baby! LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy Ramblings

2008-09-29T09:09:00.003-04:00

Rambling #1: Once again I'm posting by typing. I was hoping I could do a video blog since it's been awhile. With the help of a friend I've reformatted my computer and now my web cam is working right again for the most part. Yeah, for the most part. When I make a video in Movie Maker, the voice and the speed of the movie don't match up. The voice goes at normal speed but the picture of the movie is slow so the two things don't match. It's a huge pain! I could use my digital camera again, and probably will for the next blog if I don't get the problem fixed, but I really don't want to have to do that.

Rambling #2: I have all of my reservations made for the At-Home-Dad Convention in November. It's in Sacramento, California this year. I was really looking forward to going to it again and seeing a couple of friends again but recently, they both said they can't make it. I'm pretty bummed about that. I'm pretty sure I know why they aren't going and it makes me sad when I think about it. I know the convention will be a lot of fun but, anyone who really knows me, knows that I don't like having to put myself out there to meet people. Yes, I'm very shy (believe it or not). I almost didn't go again just because it was so hard to have to put myself out there last year and meet all these strangers. I know it will be fun, but still...I wish my friends where going.

Rambling #3: School has started and we are supposed to be less busy, right? Heck no! We haven't been able to sit down together as a family during the week for dinner in quite awhile. Every night someone has to be somewhere: soccer, church activities, scouting, work things, etc... I can't wait for soccer to be over so we can actually sit down together as a family and talk again.

Rambling #4: I was asked to take some photo's for the current worship theme at church that would be blown up into poster size and hung up front. It's really pretty cool to see my work hanging up there for everyone to see. What's really fun is to hear people make comments about them when they don't know I'm the one that took them. I'm really pleased with how they came out.

Rambling #5: I played racquetball with a new friend a couple of weeks ago. We really had a great time. It's funny how much fun it is to chase a little ball around in order to hit it off the wall. The guy is someone that I"ve worked with in drama quite a bit. I've always thought he was a great guy but, being the shy guy (see above) I didn't really ever ask him to do anything outside of drama. At the encouragement of another friend, I did finally get up the guts to ask him to play racquetball and we had a great time! We're even going to hang out again this week, and I'm looking forward to that.

So, that's it. Those are the things on my mind; the ramblings of my heart. I hope you are all having a great week! Later.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Underwear

2008-09-07T20:15:00.004-04:00

Okay, I know, it's a weird subject for me to choose to blog about, but...it's still what I am going to blog about. Underwear. Yep, that's what I said, underwear. This past weekend I ran to WalMart to pick up a new package of underwear. I like their George brand. It fits how I like it...it's comfortable...it wears well. All of that being said, that is not why I'm writing about underwear. Hmmmmmm...what could it be then? It's the package. No, not that package (get your mind out of the gutter!). The package the underwear comes in. Have you ever notice that the package of men's underwear always has some really well built stud on it? And that this stud looks really good in the underwear? That bugs the crap out of me! Do you look that good in your underwear? I know I don't. I put them on and I don't look anywhere near as good as those guys. I know, I know...sex sells and who would buy them if it was some middle aged guy with a spare tire, but I hope you get my point. Why can't we just put a picture of the underwear with nobody in them? That way us average guys wouldn't have to be reminded of how average we actually are. I don't know. I suppose I could spend some more time at the gym in the hopes that I actually will look like this someday. Hmmmmmmmm...you think? Nah! Much easier to just blog about it on here. LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy in a Suite

2008-09-05T23:46:00.003-04:00

This was a first for me. I've never before watched a baseball game from a suite...until now! And it was really cool!!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Labor Day Weekend

2008-08-30T08:22:00.002-04:00

I know it's a boring one, but it's what I was thinking about. Have a great long weekend!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Days 3-5 of Vacation

2008-08-23T10:43:00.003-04:00

Here are days 3-5 of our vacation to Mackinac as promised. You almost didn't get to see them because as I was finishing it up late last night, the computer froze and I ended up having to shut it off to unfreeze it. And you just know that I hadn't bothered to save it. Thank goodness for recovering documents (and movies)!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Days 1 & 2 of Vacation

2008-08-22T15:05:00.002-04:00

We took our family vacation this year to Mackinac City and Mackinac Island in Michigan. We had so much fun, we didn't want to go home! Here is day 1 & 2 of our vacation.

S.A.H.D. Guy on 4-Year-Olds Packing For Vacation

2008-08-14T22:03:00.003-04:00

I had a really good laugh yesterday over packing for vacation. We are heading out for a long weekend tomorrow. We have to go for a friends wedding so we're making it a long weekend since this will be our vacation for the summer. Yesterday I asked the kids to start packing their suitcases so we don't have that crazy scramble at the end to get it all done. I told them to get clots that is comfortable and that the place we are going to be staying has a pool. The older two went up and began packing all the things you would expect...shorts, shirts, socks, underwear, tooth brush, etc. After about 20 minutes of them doing this, the youngest, our 4-year-old, came down carrying his zipped shut suitcase. He had a huge smile on his face as he announce, "I done packing my suitcase, daddy." I asked him if I could look in his suitcase and see what he decided he should pack. He said I could, so I took a look. When I did, it was all I could do to restrain from laughing out loud. He was so proud that he had packed it by himself, with no help. He also told me as I was opening the case that he had packed everything important that he will need. In his suitcase he had packed his swimming suit, his pillow from his bed, and his 2 favorite stuffed animals. That's it. No tooth brush. No extra clothes. It was incredibly cute and funny that those are the things that he said where his most important things. It's been a great start to the trip with this little bit of humor so I'm looking forward to a relaxing, but fun time together as a family.

S.A.H.D. Guy on 2 Weeks of Crazyness

2008-08-08T09:46:00.005-04:00

It has been a couple of crazy weeks! But, it's now over. We've had the garage sale for 2 weekends, the in-laws visiting from out of town over one of the weekends, and me teaching a cooking class to kids at arts camp for 2 weeks. Crazy! It was fun, but I'm glad it's over.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Having a Garage Sale

2008-08-01T13:30:00.003-04:00

I haven't been able to do a video blog in awhile because of problems with my web cam, but I decided to do one using my digital camera, so here is the latest from me.

S.A.H.D. Guy on

2008-07-18T10:14:00.003-04:00

It's time for a new blog. I know, I know, it's been awhile. I guess it was my turn to procrastinate. But, I'm posting now. I should do this with my new web cam to see how it does on here. My old one was totally screwing up my computer so I ended up having to get a new one. I'll do that next time. This time, you'll just have to read. While I'm typing this, I have a plumber here. For awhile now our upstairs bathroom sink has had a leak inside the fixture. It was just a slow drip (no, new gaskets wouldn't take care of it). The faucet needed to be replaced so I decided to tackle this about 3 weeks ago. The new faucet said it was easy to install so I decided to do it myself. Yeah...not such a good idea. The hot water closed with no problem. But because of the slow drip that had been going for awhile, the cold wouldn't turn off. I ended up having to really crank on it to get it to go. No big deal, right? Wrong. Cranking on it did indeed make it move so I could shut it off but it also made it leak really badly when it was open. I had my dad look at it since he's built almost every house I've lived in growing up and can fix anything. He couldn't do it...said I needed a plumber. So now I have a plumber here...and it required sawing off of old pipes and soldering on of new ones. Something I would never have been able to do (no...I wouldn't...I know you can and keep saying I can do these things too, but this is one I know I would not have been able to do). The sink is now fixed and usable again (WOOHOO!!!!) and he's now changing the kitchen faucet. I figure since I have him here he might as well change that one too. The wife has always wanted one of those faucets in the kitchen that the spigot comes right out of the fixture so you can use it like a sprayer instead of that little side one. For the time being at least we are going to be all set on our plumbing needs; at least I hope we are. So there you have it...that's our plumbing saga. I could make this even longer and go into what's going on with my computers but I'll save that for another blog. Anyway...have a great day! Later!!

S.A.H.D. Guy on 4th of July

2008-07-04T15:50:00.002-04:00

Happy 4th of July to all my American friends!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Canada Day

2008-07-01T07:34:00.003-04:00

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends!

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Busy Couple of Weeks

2008-06-27T21:08:00.002-04:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Sorry I haven't been able to post lately, but here is the latest in my life. Hopefully I'll be back on track now and will get back to posting...who knows! Anyway...enjoy!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Taking a Photo Trip

2008-06-13T21:35:00.003-04:00

Today was the day of the photo trip with my fellow S.A.H.D. We had a really great time! Hopefully we'll be able to do it again sometime. I'll put some of my best pictures on here when I'm finished editing them.

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Photo Trip

2008-06-10T22:24:00.004-04:00

I can't wait until Friday! A buddy and I are going on a photo trip for the day. We're heading out to the lake shore and to some of the back roads to see what cool things we can find to take pictures of. He has a new camera and mine is still fairly new so we're going to see what we can find. I have someone coming to stay with my kids here and he only has one of his kids right now (the oldest is visiting Grandma and Grandpa). He's picking me up at 8:00 Friday morning and we're heading out. I'm hoping for some really cool pictures. I promise I'll post some if I come up with any. We are just going to drive and see what we come up with. Sometime around noon we'll stop for lunch somewhere and then out again to take more pics. I really am excited about doing this. The guy I'm going with is a fellow S.A.H.D. and I've really been enjoying getting to know him and his kids. Conversation always seems to flow pretty easily when we're together and we seem to have a bunch in common. Add all this with us both enjoying taking pictures and I think we're in for a fun day. Hopefully it will be a nice one...rain could suck! Anyway...I can't wait until Friday! Did I already mention that? LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Graduation Trip

2008-05-31T15:52:00.004-04:00

Hey! I've been gone for about a week on a trip to Iowa (NW corner) for the high school graduation of our oldest niece. Did you miss me? Today's blog is actually only about that a little bit. What it's mostly about is the flights to and from there and all of the adventures we had while on those flights.

S.A.H.D. Guy on My Youngest Son

2008-05-20T09:21:00.005-04:00

I was hoping to do this as a video blog but can't because my webcam and mic are packed away for a trip to visit the in-laws. Our oldest niece is graduating high school this week. I really wanted to do a video blog too...I have a new webcam that is really clear, and I mean REALLY clear when I chat with it on-line. I'm hoping it's just as good when I use it to video blog. Anyway, since I had to get everything packed and ready for our flight...I can't use it right now. Maybe I'll try to use it from my laptop while I'm out there. Hmmmmmmm..... I just wanted to share this picture of my youngest son. My wife and I don't really drink alcohol that much and never beer. I really don't like beer so we just don't have any other than for friends who come over that like it. I'm also not a big fan of Mexican food but since my wife loves it, I will do it for her every once in awhile. Now, what do these 2 things have to do with this picture? I'll tell you. We have found a local Mexican restaurant that we all love, including me. I have a couple of things on the menu that I really like so we go there a lot. In going there so often, we have really gotten to know some of the staff, in particular one of the waiters. We always ask for his section when we go there. He's a great waiter and a nice guy. He even is getting our youngest a pair of cowboy boots from Mexico (he's originally from Mexico and still has family living there). When we went in recently they had all these plastic beer bottle blow up things around because of Cinco de Mayo. The boy saw them and wanted one. The last couple times we went in he asked our waiter friend if he could have one. Believe it or not, our friend actually gave the boy one the last time we were in. My son was in his glory. He's been walking around the house with it all week. He even wanted to sleep with it the first night! LOL! I snapped this picture of him with it yesterday. He's a great kid and I love the innocence of that age. Anyway...just thought I'd share it with you.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Windows Movie Maker

2008-05-14T08:40:00.004-04:00

AAAARRRGGGHHHHHHH!! See? Added a big chunk of frozen video at the end that I had to edit out. This program is driving me nuts lately! Suggestions anyone?

S.A.H.D. Guy on Taking a Photo Trip

2008-05-10T08:47:00.003-04:00

Sometimes it really stinks when you're friends live so far away you can't just run over and hang out. I've really been feeling that lately because I'd love to take a photo taking trip with one of my friends who is an awesome photographer but lives way to far away to do that. The 2 of us actually had a conversation on yahoo chat last night about that. Sigh.....oh well, maybe someday we'll be able to do that.

S.A.H.D. Guy Quicky

2008-05-06T20:15:00.003-04:00

Hehehehehehehehe! Doesn't he look great? Thanks again guy. You are awesome! I can't wait to work on the computer stuff soon. And hopefully I'll have another bigger blog soon, but just wanted to get this in tonight.

S.A.H.D. Guy "Thank You"

2008-05-02T23:03:00.004-04:00

This is a great song and I hope you all enjoy it, but that's not actually why it's here. I just want to say "Thank you" to someone for everything that this person does for me. I know that this person doesn't think it's a big deal at all, but from my point of view I can't say "Thank you" enough. You are always there for me even when I get into the bad moods and when I'm just depressed about life. You are always trying to build me up. Just like the song says, when I'm down, when I'm weary, when I'm troubled, and when my heart is burdened I know you will come and just sit with me and help make it all better. I wish there was a better way for me to say it because this just isn't enough. But I just need to say "Thank you" again. You are so awesome!

S.A.H.D. Guy On Daddy/Daughter Dance

2008-04-26T15:51:00.002-04:00

Every year the school my kids attend do a Mother/Son event (a carnival, go to a baseball game, a dance...something like that) and a Daddy/Daughter dance. Last night was the Daddy/Daughter dance. It always has a theme to go with it that usually you dress in character for. For instance, last year was a rodeo so everyone was dressed cowboyish. The year before was a tropical paradise so everyone was in Hawaiian garb. This year's theme was "Over the Rainbow" (a Wizard of Oz theme). The two of us had planned out exactly what we were going to be going as (ok, my daughter had it planned out). She was going to be Glenda the good witch and I was going to be the scarecrow. We even had her dress completely ready except for the crown. Then we got the note from school saying this year was a no costume year...come dressed in casual wear. My daughter was heart broken after we (ok, really I) had spent so much time finding and getting her costume ready. Well, any of you who are daddy's out there understand how much you hate to see your kids upset like that so I decided she could just go ahead and wear the dress anyway (and she was absolutely beautiful in it). Of course, since it was so fancy, I had to put on the suit; I couldn't just go in my casual clothes (I clean up pretty well, don't I?). Anyway...we went to the dance and my daughter had the time of her life. She looked beautiful. She felt like a princess. It really was a very special night. We ate all the snacks and munchies they had there. We took pictures with all of the Wizard of Oz characters that were on hand. We danced when we had time (and she spent the whole time wanting me to spin her and trying to take the lead in the dance -- some guy someday is never going to lead when it comes to dancing with her -- LOL). It was a really fun, really awesome, and for her, really magical evening. The hard part of the night were those slow dances with the songs about daddy's little girl growing up. I just hate to see her growing up. She's supposed to always be my little princess.

S.A.H.D. Guy On a Beautiful Spring Day

2008-04-20T13:57:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was absolutely a beautiful day. Finally Spring is here (sorry about the snow you guys in Western Canada)! Of course that means we start all the business that goes with it. Soccer has started back up...deck furniture to get out and clean...lawn to start working on...all that stuff. But in the middle of that, things happen that just make you laugh. This was one of those things. :)

S.A.H.D. Guy on Racket Ball

2008-04-18T08:58:00.003-04:00

My plans for today...nothing big, but still should be fun!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Being Unforgettable

2008-04-06T21:57:00.005-04:00

This is one of my favorite songs of all times. Isn't this exactly what we all want to be to somebody? I know I do. Let the people you love know that this is what you think of them. It will absolutely make someone's day.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Spring Break

2008-04-04T15:39:00.003-04:00

It's the first day of Spring Break and they are already driving me nuts! Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly, but they are driving me nuts. The 3 year old is competing for attention all the time. Usually he's home with just Dad, but not for the next week. He's punching, yelling, and just being obnoxious. The 7 year old is little miss drama queen and everything has been a big huge production and she is always the victim in this production. She is convinced that her brothers are both out to get her (which, who knows, they might be) and that dad and mom are always so unfair to her in everything we do. The 10 year old thinks it is his job to be the parent to the other 2, which, of course, doesn't go over well with either of them. We keep reminding him that he is NOT the parent. He also gets great joy out of antagonizing his sister and seeing just how far he can push her before she goes all drama queenish (and that isn't far at all!). Thankfully, right now I am actually getting a break from them all. Mom has to be out of her office everyday by 2:00 because of Spring Break so we had lunch together and then both went to run separate errands. They all wanted to go with Mom! She wanted some to go with me, of course, but they all threw fits when she asked who wanted to go with Dad. I'm good with them all being with her right now. Anyway...hopefully Spring Break will be fairly uneventful. Talk to you later!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Dad's Night Out

2008-03-28T22:04:00.004-04:00

I had such a great night last night that I wanted to tell you about it and a few other things that are going on around here.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Just So Stories

2008-03-19T08:36:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was crazy busy. It was a pretty good weekend, but I'm glad it's over. Now things can return to normal until the next time.

S.A.H.D. Guy Thank You

2008-03-03T09:45:00.005-05:00

I got a package in the mail the other day, an awesome package! What was so awesome about it? Sure, part of it was the cool stuff that was in it, but really what made it so awesome was that it was from a good friend. This blog is really about the awesome stuff that was in it, but, like I said, that wasn't the part I liked best. It really was cool to get a package from someone who just wanted to make your day a little better. Oh, by the way, it worked! LOL! So now...what was in the package? The first was some coffee supplies. There was a great coffee scoop which I actually needed since I've been using a cheap plastic one (this one is metal and very sturdy). There were 2 separte packages of coffee beans from Starbucks. A package of their Christmas blend (which I just opened this morning -- yes, it's good!) and a package of my favorite, the Ethiopia Sadamo. I'm set for coffee for quite awhile since I'm the only one who actually drinks coffee in my house. The second thing in it was a bunch of snack size packages of sunflower seeds. These, of course, are delicious (although I still haven't figured out how my friend can put the whole package in his mouth and then shell the things in his mouth)! There was a package of pumpkin seeds (which I like better than the sunflower seeds). And then some really cool things. He sent me a Dell Pocket PC. This thing is great! It has games on it, e-books, a schedule keeper that reminds you of appointments, and just a ton of other stuff. I've already been using it all the time. He had 2 and thought I would like one since he didn't need 2 (for the record, he was right -- I love it!). He also sent me a copy of one of his favorite books. We've been sharing books that we like back and forth so it was nice to get a book that he likes. It's called The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. I can't wait to finish the one I'm reading and read this one! And the final thing, which made my day and made me laugh was this Snoopy toy. I love Snoopy, always have, probably always will, and he knows this. So it really meant a lot to me that he went out and found this Snoopy thing for me to add to my collection of Snoopy stuff. Dude, you are awesome! So that's what it all was. I loved all of it! Thank you so much for all of it, guy. You're a terrific friend! Like I said at the beginning, all of the stuff in the package was great, but the best part was just getting a package from a good friend. When I send someone a package, it's my way of telling them I like them; that I think they are awesome. That's how I take a package that I get too.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Acting

2008-02-26T21:39:00.008-05:00

I love acting. I have always loved acting. Funny thing is, I did very little acting when I was young because I was too embarrassed to get up in front of people to do the acting. Now, however, it's a different story. I LOVE being on the stage. I especially love doing musicals because it involves both acting and singing, two things I am very passionate about. It also involves dance, which I'm not so good at but have begun to also enjoy. So, here are the musicals I have acted in over the past few years.

This was the musical Rock Nativity. It is the musical version of the Christmas story. This was my first role on the stage with the drama team I am involved with. I played the Preacher (this was actually a narrator kind of role). It was a small role and a great way to get my feet wet after not doing drama much.

This was my second role. I ended up with the lead in the musical All On A Christmas Day. This musical is the story of Ruffus Miller's life and his discovery of how important love and family are. In this musical I played Ruffus Miller from age 21 to senior citizen (other's played him as a boy). It was a HUGE challenge to play that many ages. This picture is part of my elder years, meeting my first grandchild as I begin to figure out how important my family actually is.

From playing a senior citizen I moved on to playing a 10 year old boy in the musical How To Eat Like a Child. I spent my time teasing my sister, playing, and just having a good time remembering what it was like to be young. This picture is when I teased my sister with a jelly dough nut in the song "How To Torture Your Sister."

This was one of my favorite roles in one of my favorite musicals. In Scrooge (the musical version of A Christmas Carol) I played Bob Cratchit. Although the costuming was quite hot (dressing like it was bitter cold winter when you are actually on stage under bright, hot lights) I really loved this role. The songs in this one were also a lot of fun. This picture is Bob Cratchit shopping for Christmas dinner with one of his daughter's and Tiny Tim (not in the picture) on Christmas Eve.

This was the last role I had. We did the musical Guys and Dolls. This is the story about a bunch of gamblers trying to find the perfect place for their biggest crap game. I played Benny Southstreet one of the gamblers. I sang the song "Guys and Dolls" with the man that played Nicely Nicely Johnson and at the end of the song he had to jump into my arms. It was pretty humorous. I hope to actually post a couple of the songs from that one on here soon. Anyway, there you have it, my roles on the stage. What made me decide to post this? I'm currently getting ready to play one of the animals in Just So Stories and I've been looking through the pictures from the others and just decided to share it. What will be after this? Who knows, but it will be fun to find out!

S.A.H.D. Guy on My Laptop Computer

2008-02-20T16:18:00.003-05:00

I have a new laptop computer...at least it's new to me. It's pretty exciting to me so I just wanted to share how I got it, which is also pretty exciting to me.

S.A.H.D Guy on Music Video

2008-02-17T22:02:00.003-05:00

This is one of my favorite music videos. The song is really good and the video makes me laugh. So for anyone who's having a bad day, enjoy Daniel Powter's Bad Day; I know I do when I'm having a bad day.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Winter

2008-02-11T15:58:00.000-05:00

I hate winter. I hate snow; I hate ice; I hate cold; I hate winter. I would be perfectly happy with warm weather all year long. Hawaii would be my idea of ideal weather. I would love to be sitting there enjoying a nice trade wind right now. But no, I'm here in the bitter cold of winter. Did I mention I hate winter?

S.A.H.D. Guy Tragedy

2008-02-07T20:34:00.000-05:00

A terrible tragedy has occurred. I'm not sure I can survive it, but I know I have to go on. Life will never be the same after this horrible tragedy. Maybe somewhere, somehow, I'll find the strength to go on. I know it will take all of your help, but with your help I will get through this. LOL! Shoot, I almost made it through this with a straight face. :P

S.A.H.D. Guy on Working Out

2008-02-05T22:47:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I just have to laugh at people. Anyone who knows me, knows that I enjoy going to the YMCA and working out. I'm doing this to try and get in better shape and just look better. But I have to admit, my favorite part of the workout is sitting in the hot tub after it's all over :P. The other day, something happened in the locker room that just made me laugh. After I was finished with the work out, the hot tub, and the shower, I went back to my locker to get dressed. It was busy so there were quite a few other guys in there. As I'm drying off, I'm talking to a couple of the guys I usually talk to while working out and we notice a twenty something guy who is finished with his stuff and getting ready to go...only, he's actually doing everything he can to have all the other guys in the locker room notice him. Normally, I wouldn't even have noticed him myself, but he was flexing every muscle in his body to get us all to look at him. He put lotion on his legs...flexed them. Put lotion on his arms...flexed the muscles. Put deodorant on...flexed again. Putting the boxers on...flexed the legs again and the backside. Chest...flexed. Back...flexed. Every part he could flex, he flexed. It honestly made most of us just laugh at the guy. Could he be anymore obvious? Sometimes people are just funny! Like I said, I just laughed.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Michigan Turns

2008-02-02T21:44:00.000-05:00

Okay, for those who haven't figured it out yet, I'm from Michigan in the United States. I was making a video of my town to show a friend when I realized something about our driving here. Now, don't get me wrong, I've always known we had these crazy things called Michigan Turns in our driving, but never realized how odd they actually are until I was doing the video. So, here they are. Weird. LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy on the First Pics From the New Camera

2008-01-25T08:52:00.000-05:00

I love my new digital camera! It's been fun starting to figure it out. There are so many things to learn about and so many things to do with it. Hopefully I'll actually figure the thing out one of these days! So far I'm just using the built in automatic settings, but I'm hoping to learn how to use the manual settings soon. I'm actually going to be going to a class on taking better digital pictures in February that I'm hoping will help me with all of this. The class is being taught by a guy I've worked with before on some video stuff. Is it wrong of me to hope not a lot of people sign up for the class so that I get a lot of personal attention? LOL! It sure will be cool to be able to use more of the camera, and understand how to use it. I do have the manual for it, but often the manual is confusing. I also have a couple of good friends who I can ask for help about using it, but honestly, I probably won't. I know my questions probably are dumb questions that anyone who knows anything about technology or digital cameras would know, but I don't know the answers...that's why I ask the questions! They already think I'm a total idiot about pretty much everything. Anyway, what are these two pictures? They are the first pictures I actually took with the new camera. The snowman was the very first pic. It has no special meaning or anything. Everyone was in bed when I started playing with the camera for the first time so it's what I took a picture of. LOL! Lame, I know, but it's still the first. The other is the second picture I took. Again, I was just playing around, but this time I had a much better target, my youngest son. It really has been so much fun doing this! I really can't wait to discover all the things this camera can do!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Savings #2

2008-01-18T16:10:00.000-05:00

I really am so thrilled about how my wife did with this whole savingsangel.com thing that I just want to share the savings she got for us. We needed dishwasher soap and the Electrasol Dishwaser Soap tablets were on sale for $2.99. The store was out of the boxes they were suppose to use so they substituted the big box was which was supposed to be $4.49. She bought them with a coupon which brought $2.25 off. The total should have been $8.97 but the coupons brought it down to $6.75. Then with the store rebate it brings the price down to $0.72 for the 3 boxes. That's $0.24 a box! How cool is that?! She also ended up with 5 boxes of Kleenex for free after the coupons and rebates. The store was also running a promotion that if you transfered a perscription you got a $30 gift certificate to the store so she did that. And finally, after the rebates and coupons, she paid $.50 a bottle for an expensive brand of shampoo. That really is so cool! Have I said how proud of her I am?

S.A.H.D. Guy on Saving Money

2008-01-18T09:16:00.000-05:00

I am so proud of my wife right now. She has been into a new site called savingsangel.com lately. We were running out of a few things that I was just going to go and pick up today at Walmart. She decided to go to the site and see what we could get cheap, and where we could get it. She ended up having to go to 2 different stores to get all the things we needed, but she got it all WAY cheaper than what we would have at Walmart using the coupons and discounts and refunds they have. We got a bunch of stuff free doing this, and even got paid...yes PAID...to take some of it because the refunds and the coupons in combination were for more than the price of the product. How cool it that?! Now, I know some of you will say, "Yeah, that's great, but you have to remember to save the receipts and send in the refunds." This, of course, is true. And I have to admit if I was in charge of that part we would never get them sent in. I just don't remember to do that stuff. My wife, however, is really good at remembering to do that so this works out well for us! What can I say? I love the fact that she's helping us save a bunch of money on things we need/use everyday! Great job, honey!

S.A.H.D. Guy on New Digital Camera

2008-01-13T15:42:00.000-05:00

I'm planning on getting some really great pics! Just realize, there are a few of you I will be asking for help as I learn. LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Christmas Vacation

2008-01-07T09:04:00.000-05:00

Hey! I'm home again. Did you miss me? Okay, don't answer that, since I'm pretty sure that nobody did...sigh. So, like you saw in a post a couple weeks ago, I was in Iowa at the in-laws for Christmas, and I have to admit it wasn't too bad. We had a good time out there. The only disappointment I had was not being able to see a friend that lives in Omaha. We just weren't able to coordinate schedules to do this. Otherwise we had fun. I took a laptop with me so I was able to play some computer games (and the in-laws had gotten a new one already). We did the whole gift exchange thing and just had a great time with the family. New Years eve was a riot. The sister in-law and brother in-law and their families had a party with a couple of other friends and we went to that. We did fondue for the food and played games. It was a riot! We played Scene It and Fact or Crap. Both games were fun and the couples that we played with were a lot of fun too. We also decided to go to the big mall out there on New Years day to do some shopping but didn't realize the mall closed at 5 that day. We only got to be in one store for about 10 minutes. Oh well! After our 10 minute romp in the mall mom and dad in-law took us all to Chucky Cheese to celebrate all of the grandkids' birthdays since our kids aren't usually there for their birthdays. The kids had a great time playing all the games and being goofy. So like I said, the trip was actually pretty good. The only negative about the trip actually happened on the way home. We ended up stranded on the expressway for about 2.5 hours with a flat tire, the front passenger tire was toast. Somewhere along the past month or so apparently my spare time fell off from the bottom of the van. What a great way to find out it's gone by getting a flat on the expressway. We also had almost no time left on the cell phones (we have pre-paid minutes) and were in roaming. The police came and called a repair place for us, but like I said, it took 2.5 hours to finally get it all done. After spending the night at a hotel we decided we had better have the other tires checked. Good thing we did because the front driver tire probably wouldn't have made it home! We ended up not being able to get back on the road until about 1:30 that afternoon! It was a pain, but we are glad that everything turned out okay. It all could have been a lot worse, and, of course, it's really good to be back home.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Christmas

2007-12-25T17:07:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! I hope you are all having a great Christmas! Mine is turning out okay. We are enjoying the in-laws and the kids had a riout opening gifts. My favorite gift is a big beach towel with Snoopy on it (and no, I'm not obsessed). I just came on here for a short, quick blog to say Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope God has been good.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Christmas Vacation In Iowa

2007-12-20T23:21:00.000-05:00

I'm really not looking forward to Christmas vacation. Aren't you supposed to look forward to it? Isn't it supposed to be a time of relaxing with the family and enjoying each others company? Hopefully it will be, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. There is one possible highlight to the trip I forgot to mention in the video, I'm going to be maybe having lunch with a really cool fellow S.A.H.D. one of the days we are there if it works for him. Please let it work!

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Beautiful Voice

2007-12-15T00:38:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine recently introduced me to this singer. Her name is Eva Cassidy and she has such a beautiful voice. I've actually only heard a few of her songs by going to YouTube, but the ones I've heard are really good. This one is so good it almost brings tears to my eyes listening to her. She has such a soothing voice! I just wanted to share it with you on here!

S.A.H.D. Guy on New Computer For Christmas

2007-12-12T09:31:00.000-05:00

The kids get a great gift this year that we are really looking forward to giving them, and we got it free! Christmas should be awesome for the kids!!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Snoopy Vs. Obsession

2007-12-02T21:49:00.000-05:00

READ THIS FIRST!!!

Alex, this blog is specifically for you. I don't care if others see it too, that's why it's here, but it was made just for you Alex. You said the other day I was obsessed with Snoopy. According to the dictionary, obsess is defined as: to fill the mind of; to keep the attention of. I am so not obsessed with Snoopy! How could you even think such a thing? To prove it, I made this video just for you. I'm sure you'll agree after seeing it that I absolutely am not obsessed. So, take a moment to watch it and then I will willing accept your admission that you are wrong. LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy on a Cool Music Video

2007-12-01T23:09:00.000-05:00

I recently discovered this video from Amanda Marshall. I had never heard of her but a friend of mine in Canada sent me some of her stuff, and I really like her. This video is of her song I Believe In You. It is definitely my favorite song from her. To me, the song says exactly what we are all longing for, to have someone say they believe in you. I know for me, I have always wanted this. There have been times I would have given almost anything to have someone just tell me they believe in me. I guess now, as a dad of 3 little ones, this is something I'm hoping to really do with them and also with the people I care about. It really is important to tell people you believe in them!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Stonefinger

2007-11-28T20:08:00.001-05:00

The other day a so called friend told me that he thought I looked a lot like Stonefinger from the Flintstones. Now I haven't decided yet if I should be offended by this comment or not. He even made the comment that since I am adopted that maybe he is my long lost brother. I look nothing like this guy. I mean really now. He is bald...me not so much. He has a unibrow...I don't. He has little black eyes...mine are blue. His facial hair goes all the way up to his nose...I only have the goatee on my chin. His fashion sense is some kind of blue animal skin...mine 100% cotton. He is not wearing pants...I usually do. He has a big nasty finger...I have a bandaged finger. He looks mean...I don't (shut up!). He lived in cavemen days...I live in the present. He is a cartoon character...I am real. So there you have it. This is definitely not my long lost brother. We have nothing in common. So there you have it. Obviously my friend is very mistaken and dare I say it? Wrong! LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy on My Finger

2007-11-23T14:17:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and around 10:00 in the morning the index finger of my left hand started hurting. I wasn't sure why and I really didn't think much of it. As the day went on it began to hurt more and more until I could even feel my heart beating in it. Finally around 5:00 in the evening, it was really bothering me and it started swelling. The end of my finger around my nail started turning purple. And now it was throbbing. I really didn't want to go to have it looked at, after all, I'm a guy and this seemed pretty stupid. Finally around 9:30 that night, it hurt so much I could hardly talk, the end was a deep purple, and the entire finger had swelled so much I couldn't bend it. That's when my wife stepped in and pretty much made me go to the urgent care center (kind of like the emergency room at the hospital but for not as serious things). They looked at it and said it was a good thing I came in. The doctor first pushed on it to see if he could just get it to pop. OUCH! It didn't. Then he took a little blade and when I wasn't looking, jabbed the blade in. That hurt, but he wasn't finished because he then pushed on it again to get all the blood and puss out. That hurt like hell! Finally, the nurse came in and put some antibacterial cream on it and wrapped it in the gauze. It really hurt to have all the pushing and prodding, but I think it was for the best. The way the finger was swelling, I don't think it would have been a very good night. Now, it's over and feeling much better. I just need to get the gauze off now.

S.A.H.D. Guy on My Little Drummer

2007-11-22T19:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! Happy belated Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends. The in-laws are here from Iowa and gave the youngest an early Christmas present...a drum set. He loves it! We loved watching him open it and play it. He loves drumming on anything so this was great to him. After I shut the camera off, he really went to town. LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Car Trouble 2

2007-11-21T15:29:00.000-05:00

Just an update on where my car is.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Car Trouble

2007-11-19T10:29:00.000-05:00

I'm so frustrated! Car trouble, again!! Arrrrgggghhhhhh!!!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Singing

2007-11-16T10:05:00.000-05:00

I came across a recording of me that was made about 4 or 5 years ago at a concert I was involved with. The concert had a whole bunch of different people performing and I was asked to do the song "Hide Me In Your Heart" for it. The recording isn't great, but I do think I sound really good in it (I'm the lead vocalist). The song really fits my voice. I just figured I would put it on here since one of my friends had asked me to sing something in blogger so he could hear me sing. I don't know why, I don't mind posting this but I would be too embarrassed to make a live video of me singing (stupid I know, but that's how I feel). I also put in pictures of myself and my kids so you have something to do other than laugh. Anyway, enjoy!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Dads' Convention #3 -- Some Pics

2007-11-14T08:56:00.000-05:00

I thought you might like to see some of the pictures I took at the Dads' Convention in Kansas City, Missouri last week. It really was so much fun! It was great to meet and spend time with other guys who know what it's like to be home all day with the kids and to not be doing the traditional male thing as far as work. My only regret as far as the convention is one of my good friends not being able to make it this year -- hopefully he will next year!

This picture is of me and my friend Eric. He's a SAHD from Champaign, Illinois (you can see his blog by clicking on the link over on the side). He was in the same boat as me, nervous about going to the convention since he wouldn't know anyone, but still wanting to take the risk just to meet some great guys and learn some things to help him be a better dad. I spent a lot of the weekend hanging out with Eric. Thanks Eric, you're a great guy!

This was taken at the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle plant. Don't I look tough? On Friday morning a bunch of us went on a tour of the plant. I don't really like motorcycles all that well, but I love seeing how things are put together and made so that's why I went on this tour. It was really interesting to see all the work going on at the factory.

This was at the Meet & Greet dinner on Friday night. We headed out to Boulevard Brewery for beer and fajitas, course, since I don't like beer all that well, I pretty much stuck with root beer. Don't worry, I did at least try some of their beers. This picture is with the 3 guys I spent the most time with at the convention. In the picture is Charlie, Eric, me, and Nate. Charlie and Nate are really cool guys too. I enjoyed talking with them. And who would have thought, but Nate actually had a lot of the same interests as me. Hmmmmm...maybe there are other guys like me out there! LOL!

On Saturday after the convention classes were over, we were all off for dinner to have some famous Kansas City Barbecue. We piled onto a school bus and headed out. The bus pulled up to a little hole in the wall place that we all thought couldn't possibly be the place. It was, but damn was it good Barbecue! I don't think I've ever had better. The place was called Smokin' Guns Barbecue.

This was another of my on-line buddies that I finally got to meet at the convention. Mike is a really cool SAHD from Nebraska. Mike also was one of the presenters at the convention -- and Mike, I really enjoyed your class! So, there are some of my pictures. I have a bunch more but just didn't put them all on here. I really had a good, relaxing time and look forward to going again next year.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Bumper Bowling With My 3-Year-Old

2007-11-12T21:06:00.000-05:00

Bumper Bowling was an absolute blast! Connor absolutely loved it. He was mad when it wasn't his turn anymore. We played 2 games against other S.A.H.D.s and their kids, with 3 or 4 people playing per lane. Here is Mr. Big Shot sending the ball down to "crash into those pins."

The bowling alley we were at was very nice. It even had automatic bumpers that came up only when it was one of the kids. If it was an adult, they went back down....hmmmmm....who told the computer that was keeping score that I was one of the adults? LOL! I could have gotten a much better score! Other than the bowling, Connor's favorite thing there was his shoes. He thought they were really cool. I hope he gets over that one! :p

The final score was nothing to be shouting from the rafters, but we still had a great time. I'm still trying to decide if I should be proud that I beat a 3 year-old and a 2 year-old who were using bumpers, course since my score is only 104, probably not! Oh, and who put my name in as Dave? I hate being called Dave. Oh well, Connor had a great time and that is what was important!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Bowling

2007-11-12T08:53:00.000-05:00

My 3 year old is getting his first taste of bowling today. The dad's group we are a part of is going bumper bowling. I can't wait! He is going to have so much fun.

S.A.H.D. Guy Apologies

2007-11-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

I have to own up and make a huge apology to someone. Last night I'm ashamed to admit I totally went overboard and blew up at a good friend. Through no fault of his own, I let him have it while we were talking on the telephone. It was merely because of my insecurities about friendship that I did this. He was simply trying to be happy for me about something and I exploded at him and hurt him. And the dumb thing was I made it seem like I was angry about what he was telling me, while in reality I was angry and hurt by something that was going on in another friendship. He had innocently earlier in the conversation made a comment that I didn't like and instead of just telling him this, I stewed and blew up when I couldn't hold it in any more. I knew/know this was wrong and all I can do is beg his forgiveness. I hope he reads this so I can say to him I'm very sorry, please forgive me!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Passports

2007-11-09T05:11:00.000-05:00

I couldn't sleep very well tonight because of something unrelated to this blog going on so I decided to post another video blog. I've applied for a passport but can't believe some of the red tape you need to jump through in order to get one. Who knew that being adopted could cause trouble with a passport?

S.A.H.D. Guy on Convention #2

2007-11-05T14:53:00.000-05:00

Wow! The convention was so great; if you are a S.A.H.D. you have to go next year.

S.A.H.D. Guy at the Convention

2007-11-03T00:24:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's really me and I'm blogging from the 12th annual At-Home Dads Convention. I am having a blast! It really has been cool to meet this group of great guys and get to know some of them. I've even met one that is alot like me! Who would have thought? LOL! I also got to meet Eric (one of the dads who's blog link is on here) for the first time. He turned out to be a really cool guy and I enjoyed spending time with him. It really has been great meeting all these S.A.H.D.s.

Anyway, what did I do? I spent the morning at the Harley-Davidson plant. I know it will shock you to know this, but I'm not really a motorcycle kind of guy. So why, you may ask, would I want to spend my time there? I really love seeing how things are made and put together. It really was fascinating to see all that goes in to putting together one of those big choppers. I even have a picture of me on one that I'll post here later. LOL! Then this evening we went to The Boulavard Brewery. They loaded all of us dads on a big old school bus and carted us over to the brewery where we had beer and fajitas. Okay, I had rootbeer and fajitas since I don't actually like beer. Hey, I did try the beer. Asked the bar tender which of the beers they had that someone who doesn't normally like beer would maybe like. He gave me one that had a coffee flavor. I liked the coffee flavor but not the beer flavor that followed quickly behind it. But, hey, at least I gave it a try! After the beer and fajitas it was back on the bus for the trip back to the hotel. So far I have really had a great time. Tomorrow is the actual classes/seminars of the convention. Those should be really fun too. Anyway, it's late and I'm tired so I'm going to bed. I'll post more when I get home, including some pictures. Have a good one!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Dads' Convention

2007-10-31T09:07:00.000-04:00

Did I mention I can't wait to go? LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Fun

2007-10-28T09:26:00.000-04:00

I came across this on a friends blog and thought it would be fun to put on here. Enjoy! Oh, and feel free to do yours in my comments or at your own blog.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Gena Silhouette

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Moose Tracks Chocolate Chip (How is that gansta-y? I have no idea!)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
D-Kre

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Blue Dog (heeheehee)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Paul Grand Rapids

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Kre-Da

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Green Pepsi Twist

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
George William

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Drakkar Noir Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (that's a long one)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (father’s & mother’s middle names )
William Louise

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Liesman Lansing

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Christmas Daisy

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Pear Boxery

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Coffee Spruce (seriously - who has a favorite treet?)

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Photography Sunshine Tour

S.A.H.D. Guy on Saturday Morning

2007-10-27T07:30:00.000-04:00

It's early on Saturday morning, one of two days that the wife and I get to sleep in and I am up early. Way to early! So what do you do when you get woken up way to early on a weekend? You blog about it. LOL! So here it is.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Yesterday's Blog

2007-10-26T10:41:00.000-04:00

Just my ramblings about today and an apology about yesterday's blog.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Being Lonely

2007-10-25T21:07:00.000-04:00

I made this earlier when I was in a kind of pissy mood. I debated whether to post it or not and decided I would just because it shows a part of who I am.

S.A.H.D. Guy on the Past

2007-10-21T15:07:00.000-04:00

LOL! I just thought I would give you a little blast from the past. The other day a friend and I were chatting on line and showing off pictures of our kids to each other, and he asked if I had any pictures of myself from when I was younger. I really didn't so I decided to scan some of the pictures I had of me from years past to show him. Wow, have I changed! After showing these pictures to him I thought maybe some of you might get a kick out of seeing what I looked like when I was still young and naive about the ways of love and the world. It's funny how some of my outlooks on things have drastically changed since some of these were taken and some of them have remained exactly the same. So, what are these pictures of? Well, the first one (the one above) is of me today. That is how I look in all my glory (or not) at the ripe old age of 42. I know weigh about 167 pounds and work out at the YMCA to keep it that way. I have 3 wonderful children, a beautiful wife, and I love being a stay-at-home-dad (SAHD). The next one is my senior picture from high school as a strapping young 18 year old. I weighed about 125 pounds. I remember I thought I knew so much about everything back then. There was nothing you could tell me that I didn't already know. LOL! Talk about naive. Of course back then I didn't have a clue about women (and still don't today :-P ). Sex was just an exciting fantasy to think about someday doing. Being married for 15 years and having 3 kids was beyond the realm of what I could imagine. All I wanted to do then was graduate high school and start college. I knew I was going to be the best thing the educational world had ever seen. There wasn't going to be a better teacher out there than me. Facial hair wasn't even a possibility then since I could barely grow any. Towards the end of my college career, I met the woman of my dreams and we decided to get married. After being engaged for almost 2 years (she wanted to be out of college before we got married) we did indeed get married. Not quite as naive anymore, I was now 26 years old. It was 1991 and the in hair style was the mullet, which, as you can see, I wore with pride (ok, laugh if you want but to this day, I think I looked pretty good with my mullet -- don't worry, I'm not going to grow it back). The top was spiked and the back was long and curly. Totally HOT! LOL! I weighed about 135 pounds and could fit in a boys size 18 pants. Facial hair was more doable now, but honestly, I couldn't grow anything decent on my chin until my 30's. So then, here is the next picture. This is me about 10 years later. I am around 36 or 37 years old and sporting the full goatee and mustache. Of course, by now the kids have started showing up and life has changed drastically from what it was like 10 years ago when I said "I do." I weigh about 190 pounds (thank goodness I've lost a lot of that!). I'm now teaching 5th grade and not as starry eyed about the whole educational field as I was. I've seen the politics that go into it and some of the crap that is allowed to happen in it. Life is still fairly good, but I'm not to naive anymore, and unfortunately, I've become pretty cynical about many things, especially things like friendship. People have way to willingly come and gone out of my life without caring what emotions were played with and how it would affect me. Friendship just isn't something I easily accept or give anymore (don't worry, I'm working on this one, but it is still hard sometimes). The love of my life is now the mother of my oldest 2 children (she's the mom of all 3 but at this point the youngest isn't here yet) and I am even more in love with her than before. So there you have it. LOL! That's what I have looked like over the past few decades. Hope you've enjoyed going down memory lane with me!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Football

2007-10-20T23:42:00.000-04:00

For anyone who knows me, this may seem like an odd topic for me to choose to blog on. Football. What in the world would I have to say about football? I mean come on now, me. The guy who publicly professes to not liking the game. What could I possibly have to say on the topic? Well, not much. LOL! But today I was cleaning out my t-shirt drawer since that really does need to be done once in awhile and I discovered I had three, count them, three different football jerseys! What in the world am I doing with three different football jerseys? To be honest with you, I have no idea. The first one (that's the one with the number 78 on it) I've actually even had for over 20 years. I got it while working as a camp counselor during the summer while I was in college (yes, it still fits me). It's so incredibly comfortable that I wear it almost every weekend in the winter. The other two I don't even remember how or where I got them, but there they were in the bottom of my drawer, just waiting to be worn. Now I again have to ask, why in the world would a guy who doesn't like football have three different jerseys? All I know is that all three are so incredibly comfortable that I love wearing them on the weekend when I'm just hanging out. And if I'm honest, yes I like wearing them because they make me feel a little more masculine, like I really am one of the regular guys. I know, lame. LOL! But it's the truth, so what can I say? Who knows, maybe I have three football jerseys because somewhere buried deep down inside of me (and I'm talking way down, not visible with a microscope deep) there is a closeted football fan. Maybe someday soon I will just have to come out of the closet and admit to the world my undying love for the game of football! Yes, that must be it! I will someday soon have to throw open that closet door and publicly proclaim how there is nothing I would rather be doing that watching the old pig skin being tossed around. I will have to admit to all of you that I truly live to someday visit every NFL and CFL football stadium. Yes, that has to be it!! But then again, maybe not. LOL!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Pumpkin Carving

2007-10-19T22:09:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again when the witches, ghosts, and goblins all start to show up. Outside of Christmas, Halloween is my favorite time for decorating the house. We have a ton of decorations from scary to weird to just plain cute. But my absolute favorite part of Halloween is carving the Jack-o-lantern and this year the torch has been passed on to the oldest. Yeap, my oldest wanted to carve the pumpkin this year because his cub scout pack was having a carving contest. He was totally excited about doing this, so we got out the carving tools and the newspaper and he went to work! He first spent time just looking through a book of carving designs we have, trying to choose his favorite. Once he had done that, he traced it on the pumpkin and the carving began. Of course, he loved sticking his hand inside the pumpkin and pulling out all that goo (what guy doesn't?). Once that was done, the carving of the face began in earnest. The eyes, the mouth, and some scars were carefully planned and executed. He was pretty proud of what he did, but was disappointed when he realized that the way the pumpkin was, the nose of the face he was carving just wouldn't fit. By distracting him to add a few more scars, he completely forgot about the nose and his pumpkin turned out pretty nicely. When it was all carved we, of course, had to put in the candle and turn off all the lights to see just how cool it actually was (and it really did look pretty cool -- check out the picture on the bottom of this entry, I think it's pretty cool looking!). The big scout contest was tonight at the pack meeting (it was supposed to be last night but ended up being canceled and moved to tonight because of bad weather last night). My oldest was pretty proud that his pumpkin won 2nd place for his den. We just didn't have the heart to point out to him that there were only 3 pumpkins that made it from his den. Over all, he had a pretty successful and fun time of carving his jack-o-lantern. When the pack meeting was over, unfortunately we had to throw the pumpkin out because it was already getting moldy (he carved it on Tuesday night). I figure it was going so fast because of the incredibly warm weather we are having for this time of year. But at that point he really didn't care because he had carved the pumpkin and had won 2nd place. To him, life was good and, after all, that's what really matters!

S.A.H.D. Guy on Masculinity

2007-10-19T11:15:00.000-04:00

Just my views on masculinity.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Cleaning

2007-10-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

My ramblings about going to the dentist, cleaning, and birthdays.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Stupid Internet Providers

2007-10-15T09:29:00.000-04:00

Am I the only one with problems like this? LOL! Sometimes I feel like I've chosen the stupidest provider for our internet service I could find. Maybe it's like baseball, strike 3 and they're out...this would make it strike 2.

S.A.H.D. Guy on Coffee

2007-10-12T09:10:00.000-04:00

Just my ramblings about coffee, Starbucks, and my glasses.