We're gonna have a party....or try at least

In light of all of the shitty things that have been going on this month: Jessica's grandma and mom passed away and my grandma is expected to pass at any time now, we have decided that it is more important than ever to celebrate something good this month. If you are not aware, my sweet little girl is turning one this Thursday. We've been planning a party for her on this Sunday for months. Rather than cancelling or postponing the event, we feel it is important that we celebrate something happy. Anyone that knows us and reads this post is welcome. The more the merrier is what I feel. We are kicking the party off at 12:00 this Sunday. We'll have food and drink. Come make merry with us.

Thank you to everyone that has kept us in their thoughts during this difficult time. We are doing OK and will make it through this. We have great friends and family. Thanks.

Call your mom. Tell her that you love her.

I'm sure that most of you are unaware, but Thursday morning on her way to work, Jessica's mom, Sue, was killed in a car accident. We are doing as well as is expected, but it is rough going. I don't tell you this because I want sympathy. I tell you all this because it is important that your loved ones know that they are loved. Thankfully, Jess had just talked to her mom Wednesday night and told her that she loved her. Sue was on her way to work when the other driver ran a red light. Your thoughts and prayers are welcome. Please, call you mom, dad, brother, spouse, kids, whatever, and tell them that you love them. You never know when something like this could happen. To all my friends reading this, I love you all.

Things To Look Forward To

there's lots of things for me to look forward to in the next few weeks. This Saturday, I am hosting a poker game (starts at 7:00 if you are interested). I enjoy poker quite a bit. I wish I could play it more often than I do. Maybe now that my bowling league is done, I can get into more games. I'm also taking the weekend off so that I can get my garden started. Sure, that's alot of work, but it's more fun than sitting at my computer all day. Next weekend, We will celebrate Alydia's first birthday. Her actual birthday is Thursday the 25th, but the party will be Sunday the 28th (at noon if you're interested). It should be pretty fun. We're going to have brats, burgers, and Tony Paco's dogs. If you've never had a Paco's dog, you're really missing out. It's a Toledo based resturant. YUM. Of course we'll have cake and other bad for you foods. (We're taking a break from our diet.)

In theaters, there are three movies coming up in the next few weeks. This weekend, The Davinci Code will be in theaters. I've read the book and it was pretty good. It should make a good movie. If you've never read the book, it's got all of the elements to make a good movie: action, intrigue, sexual undertones, and it's got Tom Hanks as the star and Ron Howard as the director. That alone should make the movie worth the time. I'm not sure if we will be able to make it out though. Memorial weekend, X-Men 3 will be coming out. It looks pretty good. All of the original cast is returning in the third installment of the X-Men movie series. I've seen a few commercials, but have not seen the trailer yet. Finally, Cars is going to be out in early June. It is a Disney/Pixar movie about cars that are alive. I've seen a few commercials and think that Gabriel will LOVE it. He likes cars and he lokes cartoons. It's really a sure thing that he will want to see this. I may wait for the DVD for this one too. Gabe's attention span is that of a four year old's. Oh year...he IS four. Makes sense.

I was also thinking of having a just friends cookout/poker/Xbox/whatever party sometime in the near future. I'd like to invite my highschool, college, and work friends. That's alot of people, but I think we have enough room with the new house. The patio will help, just so long as the weather is nice. Of course, all of my faithful readers would be invited. I'm thinking, probably Late June or sometime in July. Of course, it could be hotter than heck by then. We'll see. Maybe I should wait until September..... When could y'all make it?

NetFlix screw up

As you may know, I use NetFlix for my DVD rental needs. Lately, I have been getting Star Trek Voyager DVDs. They generally include four episodes per DVD. That means that I have four hours of background noise while I work. Well, instead of sending the next three Voyager DVDs, as listed on my queue, NetFLEX sent me three cinema movies. They were on my list, but we not at the top of the list. They sent The Devil's Rejects, Hostle, and The Incredibles is on the way. I need to check the web site to see if there is a way I can complain. The problem is, if I get a movie that Jessica wants to see, I need to wait until she watches it before I send it back. I need to send movies back in order to get new movies. Since we've been watching back episodes of the Sopranos together, I've been getting Star Trek DVDs for while I work. Now, I need to hold on to Hostle and The Incredibles until the weekend we that we can all watch them. Oh well. This is the first screw up I can report in regards to NetFlix. I've been thrilled with the service.

I figured that Jessica wouldn't want to watch The Devil's Rejects, so I watched it yesterday. It's Rob Zombie's second movie, a sequil to House of 1000 Corpses. We didn't like 1000 Corpses too much, but I had heard that The Devil's Rejects was better. It was, but not too much. Basically, House of 1000 Corpses is about a bass-ackwards, hill-jack family that lifes in BFE Texas, and the capture people and kill them. It was pretty gruesome, but also a bit silly and wierd. The highlight of the film was Zombie's wife, who is hot. She plays one of the crazy psych killers. Picture Jessica Simpson's Daisy Duke, only mean. She's in The Devil's Rejects too. The movie continues the story from the end of 1000 Corpses. There is more plot and action, and less sillyness. It's a pretty gross film and is definately NOT one to watch with the kiddies. I made sure that Alydia was napping and Gabriel was playing in the basement when I watched it. The first hour is good, then it gets a little stupid for about a half hour, but the end is OK, if not predictable. If you are into slasher films, with realistic effects, this is a pretty good film to watch. I was grossed out a few times.

Is 127 good?

I took an IQ test through TickleTest.com (I think that's what the site was called) and I scored a 127. I guess that's about average. Not too sure though. I think anything less than 80 is 'mentally challenged'. It was a free test, but it asked for money after you took the test so that you could get your 'full IQ results'. I didn't pay, but had fun taking the test. It said that I am good with problem solving.

Diet Update....The Incredible Shrinking Eric

It's been a while since I've posted about the diet that I'm on. If you don't remember, I am doing the South Beach Diet. For two weeks, you go carb-free so that your body can flush out the sugars in your system. It rough the first few days, I'm not going to lie, but after that, it gets easier. After the first two weeks, you get to start adding 'good' carbs to your meals. This means whole grains. What you cannot eat is sugar and anything made with white flour. That means pasta, bread, potatoes, and grain alcohol (beer). After a while, you really don't miss those foods too much. What you do eat is alot of protein and fiber. You can have eggs, bacon, any meat, almost any veggies (no corn).... So, I have alot of salads, steaks, chicken, and then throw in some grain rice and such. It's not too bad. There are South Beach foods sold in the stores, including crackers and cookies. Nuts are also fine. For your sweet tooth, you can have sugar free pudding and jello. It's similar to the Adkins diet, but not quite as strict. One thing that is good is that after the first week or so, you drop about five pounds from water retention. Junk food and sugars make your body hold more water, so you pee it all out once you start eating the right foods.

Well, after last week and all of the 'comfort foods' I at while up in Toledo, I went up a few pounds. Due to the added stress of Jessica's grandma's illness,we were also drinking a bit more (hard alcohol is OK. Like vodka and whiskey) which made me eat too many snacks. After hitting the diet again, I am back to losing more weight. I am also getting outside alot more doing yard work. SO, the number you are all waiting for: I am still not low enough to tell everyone how much I actually weigh, but I have lost somewhere between 40 and 50 pounds. It was like I was carrying Gabriel around all the time. It's amazing how much weight you can gain if you don't really pay attention to what you eat. I'm still heavier than my college weight and much higher than my high school weight. My goal is to get back to my high school weight. I know I'll always be big, but I can't be this big.

Sorry, it's been a while.......

Wow, it's been two weeks since my last post. Sorry to my loyal reader. It's been a busy couple of weeks. We were back and forth to my parent's house in Monvlova (near Toledo) because Jessica's grandma was sick and passed away last week. We went the first weekend because she was in the hospital and the outlook was not good. Last weekend we went up for the funeral. It was a sad time. I'm glad that we were able to get up there though. It was a wierd experience for me. We were all in the hospital room and Jessica's grandma took a serious decline (her blood pressure was low and she was having trouble breathing), so everyone sorta started to urge her into the light, if you catch my meaning. It was a little morbid. I won't get into it too much, because it is sort of a personal time for people and I don't think I should broadcast about it on the net any more than I already have. It was just a strange experience for me. Of course, Jessica's grandma lasted several more days. She was a tough lady. Nice too.

Well, enough of that. I was really busy after we got home Saturday evening. I mowed the grass and started some projects out in the yard. Sunday we bought some flowers to plan in the yard. I planted a few bushes and planned where my garden will be. The biggest project was putting down a stone landing at the foot of my patio steps. I put down about 130 square stones. There were about six inches wide, so it's not like I broke my back carrying the things. It looks good though. Oh, my fence is up around my back yard too. It looks really good. I had grand plans about flower beds all over the place, but time and money constraints will limit what all I do.

The worst part about this time of year is that I ALWAYS get poison something (either ivy, oak, or sumac). I just need to touch it once and I get a rash all over. It get into my system and I get rashes all over the place. It's not too bad this year, but it's irritating. I just don't know where I got it from. I guess I have some in my back yard somewhere. Grrrrr..... Remember, leaves of three, leave it be!