Best Seller?

I don't know if it will make the best sellers list or not, but half truths and mild tales Version 2007 is now available through Blurb. I have to say that I love this company. I've made 5 books now with Blurb and the quality is great! It takes a few hours to put together, but what do you expect for a 280 page book. Check out the preview of our latest book. If you want a copy (I won't hold my breath) send me a message and we'll make a deal.

Austin the Actor

Last Saturday night, a few of my family members headed down south to Payson to catch a play ("The Truth about Cinderella) that my nephew, Austin, was in. Can I just say this kid is so dang cute. He wasn't a main character this time like the last play he was in, (he was the genie in Aladdin) but he still got the most laughs. I had to include one of his scenes on the blog.

Click To Play

Kennedy seemed to like the play, but it was a bit long and by the end, she was pretty tired. I'm not sure Jess liked it as much, but at least we were entertained by Kennedy standing up every so often to scratch her bum in front of the entire crowd. She had an itch, so she scratched it.


After the play was over, Kennedy was so excited to see Austin and give him the little treat and card that we all brought him. As I said, Austin is just a great kid. He's got such a cute personality and sense of humor. We just might see him on SNL someday.

Talking Politics

I've heard from several people that the blog has been far too political this month and that I should simply focus on the kids or other funny stories about our Utopian, suburban life. While I agree that all of those things are important, I also want this blog to reflect all the things that make me who I am. I can't write about my life, without including my thoughts on the world, including politics.

Why? Where did this fascination with opinion polls and policy begin? I'm not entirely sure. I remember when I was 18 if someone had asked me what was my "dream job" I honestly would have replied President of the United States. I was hooked on the 92' Election and Bill Clinton was my guy.

Still, my interest in politics didn't isolate me in high school. Most of my friends were actively interested in the same things. Even if we were on separate sides of the issues, we loved to talk about what was happening in the country. While other teens talked about movies, music, and tv - my friends and I talked about foreign policy, poverty, and the economy. Sounds nerdy I know, but this was one of the things that made my group of friends so important to me. We had higher ideas and loftier goals that simply going out on a date (perhaps this is why I didn't go on many dates?).

So, now - 15 years later, the most important election I can remember has come along and guess what - I want to talk about it. Maybe I miss the days around the lunch table in the Colt Cafe, or maybe I still want to believe that we can make a difference.

Dede and the Dentist

It's only taken us a year longer than we had planned, but Kennedy finally visited the dentist this week. We found a dentist who focuses on children and knew that it was time. Kennedy did pretty well. For most of the appointment she was willing to cooperate, still a few tears were shed when the Doc checked her teeth. Oh well, all's well that ends well - Dede ended up with a T-shirt, a balloon, and a new toothbrush. Not bad for a trip to the dentist.

All Nighter

I did something yesterday that I haven't done in years. Nope, nothing illegal, nothing immoral, nothing expensive. Just something stupid. I stayed up all night with my friends. Chappo was in town this week for work and we got together last night. Now, we've stayed up late playing monopoly in the past, but this time the wii was added to the mix. Here's a breakdown of our night:

9:00 - 10:00 pm : Chappo, Jason, and Ian show up at our home. It was time to introduce Chappo to Guitar Hero. Surprisingly, Chappo made it through his first few songs, including Evenflow on Medium. We knew it was time to quit when Tara came down and played a song on expert.

10:15 - 12:00 am : Monopoly games that drag on too long with Ian dominated the contests. I think I made it around the board a couple of times before I was bankrupt. Too bad, I had some good properties. Still, we could tell the game was going nowhere when people were more interested in watch the late night movie on TBS, the 1989 Batman, than rolling the dice. It was time for a change.

12:00 - 2:00 am : We headed down to the basement for some wii Sports action. The game of the night was golf. We played a couple rounds with our foursome, until Jason decided to go home at 2. What a wuss! Come, on we were just getting our second wind. At this point we had to make a decision, do we call it a night or do we push through until I had to leave for Baptisms for the Dead at 5 am? Since I wasn't going to get any sleep regardless, my vote was to continue playing. Chappo and Ian didn't really have any other plans, so the all nighter was set.

2:00 - 4:45 am : We played three more games of golf, with Chappo setting a high score of -7. I managed to get a new career high of -3 and Ian came in with a strong win with a negative score as well. About 4:40 I went upstairs to brush my teeth and put on a tie. I can't believe I stayed up all night.

5:00 am : Everyone left and I headed over to the church to meet the Youth. I managed to stay awake through our session and my all nighter was complete as the clock moved past 7am.

I don't know if I'll ever stay up this long again. My body was out of whack through Sunday night and I wasn't much good around the house. Still, it was fun to spend time with Chappo, while he was in town - maybe we'll get an earlier start next time?