Swimming in the fish bowl

Dear Rory,

Yes, I know, it's been a long time. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about you, which I am sure you know, but recently I haven’t taken much time to talk to you directly. Part of that has been intentional and part of that has not.

I have been hearing the trains at home a lot more than normal lately. Is that coincidental considering the trees have dropped their leaves? Probably, but I still entertain the idea that you have something to do with that.

Why haven’t I been talking to you? Most of all I think it’s because I don’t miss you anymore, at least not in the conventional sense. Selfishly I still miss you dearly but the last two years has given me a lot of time to rationalize the emotional struggles I have in regards to you.

While I still know that I am never going to be OK with your choice, with your suicide, I am not saddened thinking about the fact that you are no longer here with us physically.

I’ve spend a lot of time trying to understand what you dealt with at the core of your being. The pain and hurt you felt on a daily basis (mentally and emotionally) I wouldn’t wish on anyone, especially not on you.

You are in a better place, I know that. My faith is as strong as ever and I am at ease knowing where you are instead.

Boat Drinks,

Bri

2009 MLB playoff predictions

Last night was a great game. It wasn't a well played game but for anyone who doesn't think baseball is capable of being exciting, that game could be used as example A to disprove them.

That being said, as much as I love the Twins and were pulling for them to win last night it was the Tigers, who are the more complete team, that would have had a better shot at beating the Yankees in a short series. I do think that both Pettite and Burnett are beatable though so if the Twins could somehow steal one tonight from C.C. they'd have a pretty decent chance to take this series.

I hope I am wrong, but here are my annual MLB playoff predictions:

Award predictions:

AL MVP – Joe Mauer and it won’t be close. He had it pretty easily either way but last night’s win cemented it.

NL MVP – Albert Pujols will win easily too. There were some great seasons by NL first basemen but he was definitely the cream of the crop.

AL Cy Young – Zack Greinke but I am not sure why no one cares that the Cy comes from a losing team when it’s such a big deal for the MVP too. Then again, I don’t believe in pitchers winning MVPs so that is probably the difference. Greinke was the best pitcher in the AL and deserves the award based on the logic that the voters use.

NL Cy Young – Chris Carpenter had a bigger impact on his squad than anyone else in the NL from a pitching perspective and that’s why he’s going to win.

AL Rookie of the Year – Andrew Bailey

NL Rookie of the Year – Chris Coghlan

AL Manager of the Year – Mike Scioscia (Gardy will finish second)

NL Manager of the Year – Jim Tracy

The Fall Lineup

With Molly moving out this weekend, it's very probable that our days of having cable are coming to an end soon. While there are things I will miss (mainly the Twins and shows like Deadliest Catch, Paranormal State, Dirty Jobs, How It's Made, Mythbusters and Good Eats that we would catch here and there during the year), I've never been addicted to the TV so it's not that big if a deal to me. Surprisingly though, I do have six shows on primetime that I will at least try and keep up on this season (a much higher number than normal).

Much of this stuff below is new to me (as of this summer) so many of you probably have already developed your opinions on them. If you haven't, however, I suggest tuning in if you get a chance.

The must: The Big Bang Theory

Holy balls this show is good. It's worth watching for Sheldon alone (best character on TV) but add in Howard and the rest of the crew into the mix and you have the best show on television...it's not even close. Add in the fact that I'm a geek at heart and I'm quite drawn to this show. Thank you Jason/Crystal for borrowing us the first season this summer.

The nice to haves: How I Met Your Mother and The Mentalist

How I Met Your Mother is a very good show. Episode after episode I find myself being entertained (though we are still watching season one and have a lot of catching up to do). It's no Big Bang Theory but Neil Patrick Harris is amazing as Barney (second best character on TV). Marshall is great too.

The Mentalist is quality entertainment as well. Simon Baker's portrayal of Patrick is a lot of fun to watch (third best character on TV) and the cast as a whole is pretty solid. I also like Kimball a lot.

The here and there's: Glee, So You Think You Can Dance and The Office

Glee looks like fun but I am not sure I will get into or not yet. Gina will be watching it for sure though. It will likely be a show that if I don't have something pressing going on I will sit down and watch with her.

So You Think You Can Dance should not be on this fall. It's hard enough keeping up with it in the summer when we are watching nothing else. I am not pleased with any show that is on multiple nights each week. I want to at least know what is going on with it but I am not going to go out of my way by any means to keep up on things.

The Office is definitely good. But, I mainly watched it because Molly was addicted to it. I'll catch episodes now and then but only when it's conventient. It is a huge season for me with where the show goes though. I could easily get bored after a couple of episodes and not watch anymore. If they do something creative with the plot line though, I could get reeled back in. And, well, Dwight is delightful (fourth best character on TV).

Enjoying some hardball

Click on the picture to take a closer look. Check out the guys circled with Morneau and Pujols from our recent trip to STL and KC to follow the Twins.

Cousins Plus (2009)

Here is a picture after Sunday night's softball games. A few of my cousins weren't there but I'd have to say we are a good lookin' bunch.

A river runs through it

Here is a picture of the route we took and some other pics from an enjoyable trip on the Cannon River (from Cannon Falls to Welch) we took with Amy and Joe a couple of weekends ago.

I wanted to see how far we canoed (11.37 mi) so I ended up using mapmyrun.com because we couldn't figure out another way to do it.

Thank you Betty Crocker

Here is the link talking about the products as well.

A Praise Chorus

Before I begin, for perspective, I just want to state that a decade ago I was listening to bands like Modest Mouse and Death Cab For Cutie. Their music has always been very good but it didn't have the refinement then that it does now, which makes some of what they release these days contain a certain radio friendly feel to them.

It's no secret that the music I love most generally does not make it to the radio.

Which leads me to why I am posting. I've been working (slowly) on a couple of compilation CDs recently. One is for Molly, which I still don't even have a direction for yet and the other is for Nick.

Nick and I have some different tastes in music. I do like a decent amount of what he listens to but we just place a different value on what the music means to us. Don't get me wrong, I think he very much enjoys listening, but the two of us never end up in any sort of deep meaningful conversation about a song (or songs) as I am capable of with many other people in my life (especially people like Messer and Jason these days)...which is just fine by me.

I told him that I want to try to put a CD together of things I'd like him to hear that would be good for, tempo wise at a minimum, something like working out.

I have targeted a handful of white male angst type songs already. I think he'll enjoy them. But, I also wanted to make sure I put a few songs on there of music that I appreciate because of how the songs are structured musically.

The absolute best song for this is Jimmy Eat World's A Praise Chorus. I've decided that if I had only one song to explain the beauty of the Indie music sound with, it's the song I'd pick. It did had a short radio stint because it has a certain level of radio sound but it didn't take off like a song like The Middle did.

But, it has everything that makes the Indie sound so incredible.

What makes this song the quintessential Indie song to me?

A lot of high hat, a catchy drum beat that drives the song, a faster pace, solid lyrics, blending the verses with the chorus, a portion of the song that changes structure and leans itself towards nostalgia and sing-a-long status and emotional vocals which you wouldn't necessarily define as crisp/clean. Listen for yourself:

We've got boys in the family?

I have some time (and am surprisingly motivated to do this) so I wanted to add some updates about the family (particularly the children) since I have been M.I.A. for so long from Vox.

Mack and Brody

As most of you know, we have two new nephews.  Mack was born on the 13th of May (Sarah and Chris) and Brody on the 16th of May (Beth and Luke).  Both of them are wonderful and Gina and I are ecstatic.  Brody (6lbs 11oz) is a peanut and Mack (8lb 11oz) is a truck.

An item of note with Brody is that Beth and Luke have carried on the date significance tradition we have going with Gina's side of the family.  Some of you know this already but for those that don't try to comprehend the odds of all this happening.  I use to think Gina was the link but now I am thinking it may be Amy.  It's crazy.

~ I was born on the same day (July 18th) as Ed (Gina's uncle / Amy's father)

~ Gina was born on the same day that Ed passed away (February 1)

~ Gina and I share Ed and Mary Jo's wedding anniversary (July 26)

~ Sarah and Chris share Grandma and Grandpa S's wedding anniversary (June 28th)

~ Natalie was born on Gina and Amy's Grandpa S's birthday (May 31)

~ Macie was born on Gina and Amy's Grandma S's birthday (February 7)

~ Chloe (Beth and Luke's daughter) was born on Amy's birthday (January 19)

~ Brody was born on Joe's birthday (May 16)

Natalie

Here are some quick notes on Natalie from recent events:

~ On Wednesday, she completed her first year of pre-school.  She loves school, which we are very happy about.

~ She's a human highlight reel at this point in her life.  So much of what she says is hilarious.  

For example:

     ~ "My foot is sprinkling" (when referring to her foot falling asleep)

     ~ "We don't eat crabs because they do this" (as she pinches both thumbs and pointer fingers together)...however we didn't tell her that there are ways to deal with the claws.

     ~ "I already have a castle...it's in my playroom" (in reference to hearing Molly tell a random story about how cool it would be to own a castle as she was explaining what any good castle needs to have).

Macie

~ On March 23, we had a lump removed from the side of Macie head that had been there since just after she was born.  It was lima bean shaped, though not quite as big as one.  None of the doctor's were to worried about it but we had it taken out, in part, because they believed it would continue to grow as she did.  It was hard seeing her put under but everything went well.  We had the lump biopsied and it came back as a benign cyst which is obviously good news.

~ Her speech has taken off lately.  It's been fun to see (and hear I suppose).  However, she still has some work as you will see by the next story.  Last night, on the way home from picking them up from daycare I told the girls we were going to go make dinner for Beth, Luke, Chloe and Brody.  I then said to Mace, "can you say Bro-dee?"  Her response was "Rory."  That caught me off guard.  I composed myself and tried it again, "No, Broooo-deee."  To which she once again responded, "Rory."  At first it was a little weird but by the end of the night we were asking her to say it just because it was kinda cute.  She clearly needs some work on the "b" sound but we'll probably let her say Rory as long as she wants.

A video I am not proud of

I blame Gina and Molly for this.  At least they changed the lyrics for the girls to "oh hot ham, this is my jam."

Miscellaneous Items

~ Unfortunately, while waiting for Macie to return from surgery on the 23rd my mom informed me that my godmother Diane had had a heart attack the night before and passed away.  I was so sad.  She was an incredible person and had been one of my mom's best friends since early in high school.  She was also friends with my dad before my parents met and was one of the main reasons they were introduced.  So, I owe a lot to her on a couple of different fronts.  She will be greatly missed, especially by my mom's side of the family which had adopted her in as one of their own.  Another thing, which I just love, is that my mom received a letter from Diane on the 24th.  Sometime on the 22nd Diane had put a letter in the mailbox that basically told my mom what a great friend she has been to her over the years.  How cool is that for my mom to always have as a keepsake?

~ We tried to refinance, it didn't go well.  Our house appraised $80k less then we paid for it three years ago.  Grrrr.

~ Check out this book, it's fantastic.  If you're willing to read a non-threatening book about religion that will make you think a little bit but will also keep you laughing from cover to cover, you'll love it.

Walking for Causes

In the last two weeks we've done two walks: 

~ On the 10th, we did the Race for the Cure in honor of JoAnn, who has now been cancer free for over three years!  Attendees: Molly, Jackie, Gina, Natalie, Macie, JoAnn, Theresa, Meghan and myself.

~ On the 16th, we did the Celiac Walk for Natalie.  Well, we sort of did.  We raised a bunch of money, got there early and checked out all of the booths they had.  We very much enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot.  In the end we decided not to walk with two children who were not 100% healthy with outside temps in the upper 30s and winds that could blow over an ox.  We did go to the Mall of America, however, and enjoyed ourselves at Nickelodeon Universe.  Attendees: Morgan, Molly, Gina, Natalie, Macie, Rick, Al, Jeanine, Amy, Joe and myself.

Using only one word

OK Shannon, I'm giving it a try (I actually filled this out yesterday but forgot to post it)...

 Where is your cell phone?  belt
 Your significant other?  teaching
 Your hair?  thinning
 Your mother?  cooking
 Your father?  supervising
 Your favorite things?  hugs
 Your dream last night?  unknown
 Your favorite drink?  dew
 Your dream/goal?  happiness
 What room are you in?  cube
 Your hobby?  reading
 Your fear?  loss
 Where do you want to be in 6 years?  sane
 Where were you last night?  neighbor's
 Something that you aren't?  funny
 Muffins?  pumpkin
 Wish list item?  patio
 Last thing you did?  shreadsheet
 Your pets?  barkingtortoise
 Friends?  blessed
 Your life?  grateful
 Your mood?  cautious
 Missing someone?  always
 Drinking?  water
 Smoking?  yuck
 Your car?  trooper
 Something you're not wearing?  hat
 Your favorite store?  Half-price
 Your favorite color?  green
 When is the last time you cried?  3/23
 Where do you go to over and over?  busstop
 Five people who email me regularly?  strato
 My favorite place to eat?  Manny's (Tortas)
 Favorite place I'd like to be at right now?  ballpark

 Now you try...

A pretty funny commercial

Have you seen this?  Obviously, I enjoy it because it's a commercial about Pedroia but the bantering in it is great, especially the last line.

Bison baseball

With NDSU making the NCAA tournamnet, it got me thinking that I should finally post a baseball picture I have from my playing days there.

A new vox header was needed #2

New Header:

Old Header:

I've been waiting a long time for this

I had always hoped I could say that my alma mater was playing in the NCAA basketball tournament.  When I decided to go to a Division II school (knowing at the time they had Division I aspirations) I didn't know if the day would every come.

I'm going to guess that they'll be a 14 seed but that doesn't matter because NDSU made it to the dance this year!

I hope that you see

It was not that long ago that I was thinking I've probably made it through the worst of everything with Rory.  It's been over a year now and I've been mourning his loss on certain levels far longer then he has been gone. 

I definitely still think that is true, but believing that the past couple of weeks has been surprisingly difficult.
Each time I go through a long period of peace with him, as I did from late December to late February, I think I let my guard down.  I tell myself that the worst is over and I don't take the steps that I normally do to make sure I'm dealing with Rory's suicide and how it has (and will continue) to affect my life in the way that I should.

A few things could have caused my recent lapse:
1. On President's Day, I had my batman tattoo touched up when Gina got a new one
2. It is baseball/strato season, which always reminds me very much of him
3. I've been getting more into music again

What have I been going through lately?  Mainly, I just haven't felt right. I've also been having moments where I feel like he is either with me or is trying to communicate with me somehow again.  I wish I could do some sort of justice explaining how it feels but I just don't know how to.  It's not as intense as it was last year but it's still unnerving on some levels.

I need to keep reminding myself that Rory's decision with forever affect my life.  I also must continue to learn fundamentally different ways of how to accept the way it makes me feel.

Earlier this week I was listening to the new All-American Rejects CD when I ran across a song of theirs called Believe that has put a lot of what I have been feeling recently into perspective. 

I feel like finding the song may be what I need to get back on track again.  I hope that I am right and things start to calm down again.

If you have a moment or two, here's the song if you are interested in checking it out.

There are other things about Rory that I need to continue to remind myself about too that this song helps portray lyrically.  Below are some of the lyrics and a short note for each portion explaining how I have interpreted them with all that I have been feeling lately.

"Your innocence is not forgotten
I hope you know that where you are I wish you well"

~ Long story short, I still think of all of this as Rory's disease winning and not as him giving up...and as much as I get frustrated with him and the choice he made at times, deep down I sincerely hope he is in a better place right now.

"I don't ever wanna believe
I don't ever wanna believe
That when we die
We all leave"

~ Considering I feel as if I have been able to sense his presence at points over the last six months, this one has definitely tested my faith because I have never had to deal with this type of emotion before.  Ultimately, I believe he is with us, but not because he is in purgatory.  To me, I believe it is because he chooses to be here right now.

"There's a part of you that's left inside of me"

~ I think that I thought I could basically let him go and only call on the memories I have of him when I wanted to, but I'm learning more and more every day that is not the case.  I am ultimately going to need to embrace this at some point in order to be at peace with it.

"Yesterday just took me hostage"

~ I won't always have control of what reminds me of Rory or when I am affected by it.  The last two weeks prove that. 

"I try to push you away
But you never push back"

~ Even as recently as earlier this week, I told him I am not ready for how I feel with his presence around me.  Maybe, and I sincerely hope the day comes, I will become more comfortable with it.  There has not been a time since he left us where I have asked him to seek me out or to spend time with me, yet.

"You made a mess out of me"

~ Clearly, his suicide shook our household to the core.  It's been a long road back but we are going to win this battle.  On so many levels, we already have.  I hate that his actions have had this much affect on us...but I am also OK with it at the same time because it implies that his life had meaning within the context of ours.  How wrong he was about being capable of that.

The girls being absolutely ridiculous

Akmed the Dead Terrorist

If for some reason you've never heard/seen Jeff Dunham before, check this out.  He's hilarious.  There's all sorts of stuff on YouTube to check out of you would like to.

Shakin' our tailfeathers

Natalie and I attended the annual daddy/daughter dance tonight put on by our community education program here in town.  We had friends (Brielle and Justin) who went as well, which was nice.  There were around 25 different groups of daddy/daughter's who attended. 
It took a while for Nattie to warm up to things but once she did we had a great time.  We were able to dance together quite a bit and she also did a lot of dancing on her own.  Here are a couple of pics (and a cute video of Nattie showing off her ballerina skills) from the event.

Look-a-likes?

I've been told that I look like a handful of celebrities over the years.  Outside of Joe Nathan who I can definitely see similarities too, I don't really see it with any of the others but I will let you decide for yourself.  In the picture from left to right there is Joe Nathan (closer of the Minnesota Twins), Ben Affleck (actor), Jakob Dylan (lead singer of the Wallflowers) and Ed Robertson (singer/guitarist of the Barenaked Ladies).

Twenty Five Random Facts About Me

1 I love thunderstorms
2 I have a hole-in-one on my golf resume
3 I firmly believe that “The Truth Is Out There”
4 My favorite cereal is Honey Nut Chex
5 I always wanted a dog named Casey
6 When I stopped bowling, I had a 190 average
7 I went to college knowing absolutely no one there
8 I could live on pasta, good chinese and ice cream
9 I love to crank up the volume and sing in the car
10 I'm honored to have been the best man in three weddings
11 My head is filled with a ton of useless baseball knowledge
12 I chose a wife that is very sarcastic and absolutely hilarious
13 I've owned a tortoise since 1996 and am fascinated by it
14 I'm a glass half full kind of guy
15 If the number 26 is taken, my next choice is either 18 or 62
16 I did most of the planning for my wedding
17 Gina and I knew we'd get married after our first date
18 I'm a big fan of gum
19 I grew up on 2.5 acres of land
20 The greatest video game ever is Super Tecmo Bowl for the NES
21 The country I most want to visit is Italy
22 I wear a necklace in honor of Jim Morrison
23 Growing up, I always wanted to be an architect
24 I currently have one tattoo, on the top of my left foot
25 I like, but don't love, the name Brian

Cannon Fodder

Alright K8, here's my fifteen long-winded facts about me.  For the record, this was not easy to do.

1. I wanted to be a drummer growing up but when I tried out for band in fourth grade they suggested I try a different instrument.  I wasn’t very good keeping two different beats at the same time (I still struggle with that to tell you the truth).  After that day, I never considered playing in school band again. 
2. Later in life I wanted to be a lead guitarist in a band but eventually decided that the rock ‘n' roll lifestyle was not for me.  My friend Tristan, who would have been the lead singer of our band, ultimately went on to get signed by Headtrap Records and recently released a CD in San Diego.  He and I don’t keep in contact anymore but searching on YouTube this week I found some of his stuff.  Here is his rendition of Neil Diamond's Cracklin’ Rosie.  It’s decent.  I also think he’s the lead singer of a band called Country Rockin’ Rebels.  Man in Blue makes me think of the hours and hours him and I spent listening to many of the people he is singing about.
   
3. Growing up, I always wanted Cannon Fodder to be the name of the band that I was in.  I am not sure why but I love it.  The funny thing is that no one I have ever mentioned it to has liked it that I can recall.
4. I never learned how to play the guitar though I have dabbled with it quite a bit over the years.  It's still on my list of goals in life to accomplish but I'm guessing that I won't have time to try again until after the kids are much older.  When that time comes it wouldn't shock me if I decide that I am more interested in learning the piano instead.
5. One of my goals in college was to get at least one person each year to buy Soul Coughing's Ruby Vroom because I had "shown them the light" (I have issues, that's for another blog).  I know that I was able to accomplish that feat in the first three years of school but I don't recall if I got anyone else to after that.
6. There was a couple of years in college where really thought I'd move to Boston for the summer of 2000.  I wanted to graduate college, find a simple 9-5 job there and then spend every opportunity I could at Fenway Park before I finally accepted my assimilation into the real world.  It never happened though.
   
7. I was given the nickname "Ice" by my ninth grade basketball coach because I was a good free throw shooter.  The nickname never caught on with anyone else but the couple of times I have run into him over the years he still called me that and not Brian.  I have to admit, I kind of liked that.
   
8. I was published once, sort of.  I don't do much with the site anymore but I belong to a Red Sox forum called Sons of Sam Horn (SoSH).  After the Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004, some of us on the site posted why it meant so much to us.  The book was called "Win it for...." and my blog post was one of the many chosen to be put into the book.
9. I didn't make the NDSU baseball team my freshmen year.  I was recruited by them and had a good tryout but it wasn't enough I guess.  The team was laden with upperclassmen and ended up something like 35-11 for the season so I somewhat understood.  After briefly considering retirement I decided that my focus for the next year was to have such a great tryout the following season that they'd have no choice but to keep me the second time around (which, I did by the way).  In the media guide they considered me to be redshirted the year prior which I found kind of funny.  I still had some very good players in front of me at first base and only ended up with one start and seven plate appearances that year.  The coach wanted me to be a power hitter (which I wasn't) and during that summer, after the season had completed, I sent a letter to my coach letting him know that I appreciated all that he had done for me but that I was walking away from baseball on my terms.  I always knew I could play with the Outlaws in the St. Paul Amatuer league until I wanted to hang up the cleats.  Ironically, the Outlaws folded that winter and I decided that I didn't want to find a new team so I never played baseball again.  To this day, I wish I was playing still but life works in funny ways sometimes.  At the same time, I have absolutely no gripes with where life has taken me instead.
10. I have been to a handful of baseball stadiums in my life (other then the Metrodome).  My list includes: Fenway Park (five games), Coors Field (three games), Wrigley Field (two games), Jack Murphy Stadium and Miller Park.  I am excited to be adding the New Busch Stadium (two games) and Kauffman Stadium to the list this summer as well.
11. I'm currently the godfather for two people, my cousin K8 who is a college student at UWEC and my niece Hailey who is two years old.  I'm very honored in regards to both situations.  I already know that K8 has grown up to be an amazing person and over the years I'm excited to watch Hailey do the same thing.
12. Mess, Ann, Gina and I were in Florida at the end of September, 2004.  We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and one of the days we were there they shut down all the parks (refunding us our hopper passes) and put a virtual lock down on the lodge because Hurricane Jeanne happened to be in town that day.  Where we were at it wasn't too crazy but it was interesting to look outside that day and see how strange (and strong) the wind was blowing.
13. I am a fairly decent juggler.  I've never really tried any of the offbeat items but I can, for example, juggle three different size balls without too much issue.  I am also capable of juggling three tennis balls for very long periods of time.
14. Growing up, I had to get stitches twice in my life (both on the right side of my chin).  Most people do not know that because my chin scratch covers it up.  I also broke two bones, my right big toe and my left ankle.  I am not sure when I broke my ankle.  During the x-rays of one of my many ankle sprains (this one in college) the doctors thought I had broken my ankle at that time but then realized that the bone chips floating in my ankle were rounded so it had actually happened sometime in the past.
15. I'm red-green color blind.  It's hard to explain to someone what that means.  I still see all colors just fine but there are times when the combination of those two shades made it difficult to see both colors together.  For example, if I use a red tee while golfing it can be very hard at times to find it on the ground.  Once the tee is pointed out to me, I can refocus my eyes and see both colors just fine but if I scan the ground I they blend together.  You wouldn't guess it but dark orange and a darker shade of green is the hardest combination for me to decipher.  Here is a sample of one of the color blindness tests.  What number do you see?  If it's 8, you're normal.  If it's 3, you might be red-green color blind.  I've taken these tests enough that I am able to tell that there is orange on the page which completes the picture to make the 8 but what I really see at a quick glance is a 3.

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

A couple of caveats to my next couple of musical blog posts that I will be doing over the next week or so:

A. They are inspired by friends of ours (Crystal and Jason) who have got me thinking more about what it is about music that I love lately then I have in quite a while.

B. The entire list below doesn't necessarily represent my favorite music in all cases.  It is simply stating who I have seen in concert.  Some concerts I attended because I was able to get into them for free (like Shania Twain with Mess) and some are on here because the band opened for another band that I really wanted to see, etc.
C. The last concert I attended was sadly way back in 2005 when Gina and I saw Ben Lee and Rufus Wainwright outdoors in Chicago but had to leave before Ben Folds took the stage because Natalie was with us and was only two months old.
D. This list will grow over time.  It is simply a one time brain dump and I know it is not a comprehensive list.  If you can think of a concert you attended with me that I did not include, please let me know.

Solo artists/bands that I have seen in concert (with times seen in parentheses):
Brenda Weiler (~8), Mason Jennings (~5), Soul Coughing (~5), Mike Doughty (~5), No Doubt (3), Bush (2), Counting Crows (2), Dan Wilson (2), Ellis (2), Goo Goo Dolls (2), Tenacious D (2), Rage Against the Machine (2), Tonic (2), Goldfinger (2), Pearl Jam, Astronaut Wife, Beck, Ben Lee, Better Then Ezra, Cowboy Mouth, Semisonic, Jack Johnson, Kid Dakota, Sting, Tracy Chapman, Matchbox 20, The Verve Pipe, Old 97s, Our Lady Peace, Rhett Miller, Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Indigo Girls, Sponge, Collective Soul, Shania Twain, Gravity Kills, Tripmaster Monkey, The Suburbs, Material Issue, Henry Rollins Band, Bloodhound Gang, Wallflowers, Live, The Ramones, Republica, Rufus Wainwright, Prince, Sounds of Urchin, Frank Black, Unified Theory, G Love and Special Sauce, Reverend Horton Heat, Gavin Rossdale, Five For Fighting, Spearhead, Linda Perry, Martin Zellar's Neil Diamond show, The Violent Femmes, The Jayhawks, Polara, Flipp, Boys Against Girls, Stanford Prison Experiment, Garbage, Poe, Pyscho Billy Cadillac, Contraband and Korn

Top ten solo artists/bands I'd still like to see sometime in the future (in no particular order):
The All-American Rejects, Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Get Up Kids, Modest Mouse, Death Cab For Cutie, Bright Eyes, The Killers, Jason Mraz and Fall Out Boy

Another cool gluten free site

The World's Gluten-Free Search Engine: Gluten Free Fox

What a difference a year makes

It was a year ago today that Gina received the call saying that the bloodwork done on Natalie strongly suggested that she had celiac disease (which was confirmed a few weeks later with an endoscopy).

Since that phone call, Nattie has been gluten free.  As you all know, life has changed for us in many ways because of that.

What I want to say with all this though is how blessed both Gina and I feel at this point.

Nattie has gone from surviving to thriving.  The joy she had for life returned shortly after the diet change and she has grown so much that by the time May comes around she will likely be taller then the average four year old. 

Considering she barely grew for an entire year and actually lost weight in 2007...that alone leaves me speechless.

One for the ages

As always, as an independent I struggled with my decision for president in this year's election.  That being said, I have a certain level of pride tonight that I have not experienced too many times in my life before.

Godspeed Mr. President.

Spin cycle

A woman who lives just down the way from us (who we don't know) did this to our yard on Saturday afternoon.  Keep in mind that she did not run a stop sign to do this.  She just simply decided that it was not important to drive a reasonable speed on snow/ice while trying to take the turn just before our house.  She barreled across the intersection and up onto our snowbank (taking out our stop sign but fortunately not our light post).  The STOP portion now faces our house.

Nick saw what had happened and came over to help her get out.  The SUV was stuck on the embankment and by spinning her tires in an attempt to get out she compounded the issue.  While he is digging, she's talking on her cell phone the whole time occasionally saying things like accidents happen, etc.  When he finally gets her dug out (which took some time) she mumbles some version of thank you for his kind deed and took off right away.

She never even considered letting us know what she had done.

Now, I get to call the city to have it fixed.  When they tell me that it's not their issue I'll need to call the state (or MNDOT or wherever they send me).  Then that group will tell me that they'll be out sometime in August to take care of it.  I can already see exactly how it's going to go.  My guess is Nick and I will be the ones fixing it sometime after the snow melts.

Thanks lady.

Juice Box Heroes

I would like to officially endorse the Imagination Movers as my favorite Disney show.  You can catch them every morning at 9am on Playhouse Disney.  Just in case you were wondering, the episode when Scott has a bad hair day is the favorite of this household. 

We will also be purchasing their new CD, Juice Box Heroes, in the near future.
Will it be primarily for the girls?  Absolutely.  Will I enjoy listening to it as well?  Yep, pretty much.  I'm a 31 year old father of two, I feel that I am able to admit that.

Even though I prefer Caribou, this is pretty cool

Starbucks New Idea