Fly home, little birdie!

This is just some of the funny I have plucked from the interwebs. Like an injured baby birdie I nursed back to health*, I now send them back out into the wild.

*I've never nursed a baby birdie back to health. I have shot a few with a bb gun though. It was a long time ago, so PETA can't come after me anymore.

I think I will now do a meme post in the near future. Philosoraptor inspired me.

Naively Optimistic for a Better 2012

I know, I know...I'm a few days late for a new years blog post. I'm a bit of a lazy blogger. I have also yet to write down any definitive resolutions.

I just hope, at this point, that 2012 doesn't hurt as much as 2011. Not just for me and my family, but for a lot of people. It seems to have been a horrible year for most people I know.

My 2011, in review:

• Had a good paying job, hated it but needed it.
• Wife gets extremely sick and has to have expensive surgeries.
• Got fired for not making sales quotas. I'm not a salesman, btw.
• Was denied unemployment so wracked up more survival debt.
• Got a new job that I like but pays very little and has crappy hours.
• Wife has more health problems.
• Got another new job, slightly better pay and hours than the other, but since I have to work both to make ends meet, it still sucks. I love this job, btw.
• Continue to work 2 jobs, for about 15 hours of work per day.
• To tired all the time to care about anything. I stop exercising. I start eating more to stay awake. And I get addicted to caffeine.
• I get fat again.
• 'Cougar Town' got cancelled.
• Still can't survive to we have to file bankruptcy. Everyone thinks we are doing just to be ass-holes. But we had no other options. Really.
• Brother-in-Law dies.

Now, I have to say that there have been some good things this year. I do have a job I love, where I get to play around with computers all day long. My kids are relatively healthy and happy. And they're doing well in school. A sister-in-law got engaged (not the same one that lost her husband). We have had a great holiday with lots of family time.

Now, in the spirit of blogging on the fly, I will now set my New Year's Resolutions as I write them. How's that for effective goal setting?

So, without further ado, and without any fore-thought whatsoever, I present you with:

Ben's New Year's Resolutions 2012

1. Lose weight. Again.
2. Break caffeine addiction.
3. Get into a house, with a yard.
4. Make enough money for Tauni to be a stay-at-home mom again.
5. Learn to play guitar. For reals.
6. Run a marathon and qualify for the Boston Marathon.
7. Write a novel. (my 2013 resolution will be to get it published)
8. Spend more quality time with my wife and kids.
9. Repair damaged relationships with certain extended family members.
10. 100% Home Teaching.

There are probably a few more things I should add to that list. Maybe I'll do some mid year resolutions to round it out a bit.

Life, as opposed to...

A Love Tap | Break.com

The above video is just awesome. And a little inspiring on the same thread as the rest of this post.

I spent a good chunk of today at a funeral. Someone close to me, and close to people close to me, died recently in tragic fashion. As I sat there, isolated from everyone I knew as loved one after loved one got up to talk about this person, I got to thinking. Selfishly, it wasn't about the man for whom I was there to pay homage, but about myself. I know, add it to the list.

Well, I realized something: I want to live a spectacular life. What do I want people to say about me when I pass? I want them to say "That guy really lived!" And maybe, if I'm lucky, they'll then shake their heads and add, "And what a way to go!"

You see, I'm no activist. I don't need to change the whole world. I don't feel particularly driven to right the wrongs of society or champion the underdog. My only legacy, at least the only one that matters to me, is in the few dozen loved ones that will miss me when I'm gone. Okay, a 'few dozen might' be a little generous. I don't want to be the guy that was always working and always tired. I don't want my kids to say I yelled to much or didn't play with them enough. I don't want my wife to say that I wasn't there for her, attentive enough, or loving enough. I want to revel in the successes of those around me as much or more than my own. I want to risk much and enjoy the failure as much as the win. I want to really learn how to play the guitar.

The man who we honored to day was a man who excelled at living. He had some demons that overcame him, which is what led us to today. But while he was alive, that man lived. I wish I had taken notes, or a lesson or two, when I had the chance.

I have no excuse for mediocrity. I wasn't born for it, but I have never really forsaken it. There is a certain comfortableness in being average, in the middle ground. It's almost as though it's where we ought to be, as most people are. But...It's not for me. I want to learn to hate those words: Average. Mediocre. Normal. I want to be described as amazing, extraordinary, or spectacular. No longer will I mill about in the dismal ranks of the many. I shall push forward to the high ground, where footing isn't as firm, but the view is magnificent.

Come with me, if you dare.

Venn Zen

Here's some Venn Diagrams to lighten up your Friday afternoon:

11.11.11

Ahhh....Friday...except that I still have to work tomorrow. It still sort of feels like the launch of a weekend. Then Saturday comes and I realize I was deluded and the circle continues.

Anyway, I stumbled on this trailer today:




My first thought was that I'm glad that they didn't make Snow White out to be the weak stereotype princess of Disney fame. They made her a warrior chick. It's a similar treatment to the one the new Alice in Wonderland received. Other than that, you can't really tell much about the plot. Though, it's probably safe to assume the general plot is the same:
Narcissistic queen tries to kill pretty girl.
Pretty girl shacks up with some short guys in the woods.
Narcissistic queen finds pretty girl and kills her.
Prince guy kills queen.
Prince guy brings her back to life with magic kisses.
Pretty zombie girl and prince guy get married.

In an unrelated note, I learned today that the number 11 is mathematically awesome. for example:
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
11 x 11 x 11 = 1331
111 x 111 x 111 = 1367631
11 x 111 x 1111 = 1356531
11 x 111111111 = 1222222221

Seriously. How awesome is that? Eleven (or similar numbers comprised solely of 1s) always makes a palindrome when multiplied by itself. Always.

Oh yeah, and today has something to do with military people too. Armistice Day or Veterans day, I think.

Thanks, Vets!

Spay and neuter your pets and weird relatives.

One More Thing...

I've decided I am definitely too busy and too tired to accomplish my NaNoWriMo goal. I guess there's always next year. I should have known better than to get all ambitious and life-changey. Lesson learned.

I'm not depressed, so if that last paragraph led you to think that, then I'm sorry. And here's a little song to cheer you up, unless you're not a geek, in which case it will probably depress you:

I spent the last few evenings building shelves for my wife. Technically, I guess, they're for my in-laws. Sure glad that is over though. Usually I really like building things, but at this point in my life, anything above what I absolutely have to do is daunting. Like writing somewhat regularly, for example.

Also, this:

And this:

The Best 10 Years

I have been married for <==== that long. Today is Tauni's and my 10 year anniversary. Double digits, baby!

It's kind of interesting to look back over the last 10 years. 2010 was the worst we'd had. 2011 started out just as bad but has gotten better. We had some rough spots, on occasion, but the overwhelming majority of our life together has been wonderful. We, through inspiration, were able to squeeze two wonderful girls into this world before infertility problems hit us. If's we'd done as the world suggests and waited "until we were ready", we'd be kid-less right now.

Ben and Tauni in their naively idealistic youth. 

Tauni, you are the love of my life. After ten years of being with you, I love more than ever. I still look at you sometimes and think "How did I get such a wonderful wife?" I'm convinced I tricked you into marrying me and you're just to lazy to leave me now. :-) You are beautiful, kind, loving, and honest. You always put others first, especially the kids and I. You inspire me to be better. Thank you, for loving me (I almost broke into a Bryan Adams song right there, but I resisted).



Anyway. the time at the top of this post will keep counting up. I hope we never have to stop it.

Here's a bunch of random pics from the last 10 years, most of them are from the last 3...but oh well...

Proof that our girls were once much, much cuter. Why'd they have to grow up?

Me, giving in to my zombie tendencies. Yup, that's a human brain.

I used to fly airplanes. Don't ask me about it, it's kind of a touchy subject.

Here we are at the highest point in Oklahoma.