I'm Out!

Everyone hold in your tears, it's time to be strong together. It's over. This blog is done. I know how much I thrill you all with my posts once every three months, but it's done now.

Thanks for the fun, it was....well, fun.

Peace out.

Interviews Make Me Nervous

Whoorl had a great post yesterday answering 5 interview questions from another blogger and offering to pass along interview questions to commenters on her post. Of course this meant I had to comment and ask to be interviewed right away. I mean, c'mon, everyone else was doing it! Baaaa.

So, Whoorl, here's your answers:

1. Bright blue or bright green?
Bright? Really? Why anything would have to be bright blue or bright green I do not know. Cause unless it's a light, it need not be bright. Hey, that was good. That was like OJ aquittal type stuff.

Anyway, if I had to choose, I would choose bright blue, because there is really no good place for bright green.

2. What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
Usually I cuddle up to my wife and try to get a little somethin'-somethin'. And when that doesn't pan out I go downstairs and have a coffee because without coffee there is no day.
I love my coffee. I get excited the night before when I'm preparing the coffee maker and setting the timer because I know just how awesome it's going to be to wake up the next morning and not even have to wait for it to brew.
So after my coffee I'm not usually too upset about the failure of the first part of my morning.

3. What is your favorite candy bar?
First, do you seriously call them candy bars? That's a US thing, right? Like referring to pop as soda? So cool. It's straight out of a movie or something, and since I still hold on to the belief that life really can be just like a Hollywood movie, that kind of thing makes my world a better place.

But to answer your question, Snickers. It's true what they say, it really satifies.

4. What is your favorite childhood memory?
This is a tough one. See, I don't have a lot of memories. Seriously, ask my wife about this. I still believe it's some undiagnosed medical condition but it is almost impossible for me to have clear long-term memories. I don't forget things altogether but anything past 6 months starts to become blurry and much more general.
For instance, my family and I went to Germany for 4 weeks when I was in grade 12. Grade 12, not grade 2. I remember going and everything but I don't have any real 'pictures in my mind' from it or anything. It really sucks ass, because I want to remember things properly, I really want to. I just can't do it.

So, as for childhood memory, let's say it was the time that my family and I went to the beach and spent the whole day playing in the water and eating ice cream together.

We lived near a lake so I'm sure we must have done something like that at least once.

5. Do you believe in past lives?
Nope. I'm a Christian man and that just does not fit in. Plus, I'm a scientific man, and to my brain, past lives doesn't even come close to making sense.

Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed your little trip down my Too Much Information highway. Take a little something to help you sleep tonight, it'll help avoid the nightmares.

If you would like to join in on the eau de chain-letter bonanza, follow these directions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Tuesdays with Kayla

Tuesday afternoon, I'm at work.

Ring.Ring.

"Hello?" Silence. "Who's this?"

"Hi"

"Hi Kayla, how are you?"

"Was Mommy the first one you gave the ring to? Her diamond ring."

"Yes, sweetie, Mommy was the first one, she's the only one I wanted."

"She was? Was she the most beautiful you had ever seen?"

"Yes, and she still is the most beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. And she liked the ring? She wanted to have it?"

"Yes, she did like it."

"That's why she said Yes to marry you? She wanted the ring?"

"I guess so, sweetheart, why don't you ask Mommy about that."

Real Dads

Vicki just got tagged by Angella for a post called "Real Moms". I decided to do my own similar thing to represent the men.


Real Dads get their kids to do their work for them while convincing them it's a privelage.


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I Want To Go To Disneyland

I swear, by May, everyone I have ever known or will ever know will have gone to Disneyland!

What the heck, people, since when is a trip to Disneyland not such a big thing!? According to my childhood it was the biggest, most expensive, once-in-a-lifetime thing that you could only dream of, and now everyone and there dog is jetting off for another cup of tea with Mickey!

Not.Fair.

And trust me, I am the king of the "Life's not fair, no one said it would be, suck it up" attitude. I always figure, if you don't like something, don't complain, change it. But Disneyland is my exception, my Mulligan.

I want to go to Disneyland, and it's not fair that everyone else gets to go!!

I'm going to go pout.

Southern California

I want to move there. I am so sick of the weather around here. We had rain on the weekend as though God himself decided to remind us of just what He could do.
So, I think to myself, we're young, we're smart(well, Vicki's smart). We have the world at our feet, so why are we living somewhere we don't want to be, somewhere with weather like this? Let's pack up our shit and move to Southern California! Sure we wouldn't know a single person there, but the sunny weather would surely make up for that.

As in turns out, you're not really allowed to just 'move to Southern California'. You need a working visa (mine works fine, it's just maxed out(hee hee)) and oh yeah, a job. And apparently it's not the cheapest place on earth to live either. Plus, the entire vision in my head of our life there is a complete fantasy since I only know what I've learned about it from the movies.

So, I guess we'll stay put for now, it's sunny today anyway.

Happy Birthday Vicki!

It's Vicki's birthday today, so stop by her blog and leave her a comment!

And it is also my Dad's birthday today too! Happy Birthday Dad!

A Post for the Sake of Posting

Wow, it has been forever since I posted. And yet, I still have nothing worth posting. I've been thinking about shutting this down and just guest-posting on Vicki's blog from time to time. Maybe I'll do that. Hmmm, lemme think. Stream of conciousness posting is fun. Vicki makes good apple bran muffins. Hmmm, nah, I'll keep this thing for now, why not. I'm actually just too lazy to figure out how to get rid of it. Vicki's birthday is coming up, I should plan something. Sweet, it's Tuesday, House is on tonight. I should eat some lunch, I'm hungry. Ow, I just burnt my lip on my coffee, dammit. I don't feel like working and the internet is boring. Maybe I'll play online ping-pong, that's fun.

Uncle Andy

Vicki has a post and a great picture of her Uncle Andy. He passed away suddenly this week and we're going to the Okanagan today to remember him.
Uncle Andy was amazing. He had an amazing amount of knowledge about so many things, and he always had something interesting to talk about. I met Uncle Andy for the first time at Vicki's grandmother's house on Christmas Eve 1993 and he has held a special place in my heart ever since. I will miss his stories and his smiles and his ability to always make me smile.

Goodbye Uncle Andy, we love you very much and we will miss you.

Thrown Under The Bus

4:20am - Alarm goes off.
Vicki - "I'll hit snooze, we can cuddle"
Me - "No, just turn it off, I'm up"
6:00am - I wake up again. Cuddling always puts me sleep.(TMI?)
6:20am - Ready to leave. I feel like I'm forgetting something....aww, screw it, I'm late.
7:30am - Phone call at work, it's Vicki. Reminds me what I forgot, I didn't re-set the alarm.

She slept in. The kids slept in. Not good. Well, coffee will help her get through it. Oops, forgot to make coffee. At least I prepped a bottle for the baby to make it easier if she needs it. Oh yeah, I used that bottle and left it dirty by the sink. So she's running late, so just give the kids some cereal for breakfast, that'll save time. Hang on, I finished the cereal, I hope we have more.

Well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? This morning will be good for building character.

I wonder what color roses she'd like?

Our Little Artist

Here's a drawing Kayla did last week. I was surprised at how well she did, that's a kickass crab!

To My Adoring Fans

If you want to read a post for today, all 3 of you can go over to Vicki's site to read my guest-post.

Enjoy!

You Can Stop Dialing Child Welfare

We do actually give our children coats when we go outside.

I'm referring of course to the picture on our Christmas card this year.

Exhibit #1 - Child Welfare Services v. Rogall

The five of us all look happy and healthy, but Megan and Kayla are noticeably 'sans veste'. So, here are a few quick facts that you need to know before you lose any sleep over the well being of our older children:

Fact #1.
Their nice, warm, winter jackets were about 3 feet away, just out of frame.
Fact #2.
They were only without their coats for the few seconds it took to snap the pic.
Fact #3.
Although we look happy and bright, this picture was the culmination of two hours of pose changes, venue changes, yelling, empty threats, and ultimately bribery. We got the shot, everyone looked good, and when we realized that the picture was going to be Exhibit #1 in the case for Child Welfare taking away our children, I refused to try to recreate that 'magic' with the jackets on, or everyone's jackets off, or whatever else it would've taken.

So, there you have it, the true meaning of Christmas. Hiding the truth about how tough life really is and how much extra, unnecessary stress this season adds, with a 4x6 glossy Christmas card your family almost killed each other to make.

Merry Christmas.

Bring on the eggnog.

I'm Calling It

Borrowing this phrase from my beautiful wife, her and I were talking while we were out Christmas shopping last night and I thought of something that I'll bet you will see in the next 5 years, so, I'm calling it now. It will be the next big self-indulgence for the rich people out there.

The drug-induced coma.

Stay with me here. I'm not a doctor and my knowledge on this amounts to simply imagining what it must be like, but it makes sense. It will be like the most restful vacation you could ever get. Instead of going to Fiji or something, people will go to the clinic and be put into a coma for a week or two. Think about it. How rested would you be if you could sleep for a week, literally! I would sign up in a second! That would rock.

Yup, this is definitely going to be the next big thing.

And I definitely need to get more sleep.

Don't Get Your Hopes Up Kids

"It doesn't ever snow here."

Fast-Forward 20mins, it's snowing.

"Alright, so sometimes it will snow, but it doesn't stick, it just makes the roads wet, like rain."
"There is almost no chance you will ever get to make a snowman here, sorry kids."

Fast-Forward two hours, it's sticking.
Fast-Forward to the next day, today. We made a snowman.

Thanks to Mother Nature's ironic sense of humor, I'm now a complete liar.

Yup, that's about right.

P.S. I love the first two pictures. They look so different, yet they were taken at the same time, one with flash and one without. Photography is cool. I should learn about it sometime. And check out how deep in the snow the stroller is, you can even see the wheels.

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Saving Money All Over The Place

Ok so, my wife rocks. Seriously, in so many ways. But tonight she rocked it again in one of my favorite ways. No. Not that. Get your mind out of the gutter. She went shopping.

And how can that be great for me you ask? I'll tell you. Half the time she goes shopping, she makes us money.

First, a little background. Vicki loves to shop. Loves to shop. LOVES IT. Ok, you get the picture. And most of the time that kind of obsession would be very detremental to our pocketbook(does anyone still have a 'pocketbook'), but once again I say, I am a lucky man. And this may be the only time I can make this statement safely. . .

My wife is cheap.

Totally cheap. So cheap it actually frustrates me sometimes. We'll be out shopping and the trip will take 3 times as long because she finds what she wants but refuses to buy it because it's not on sale and she wants to check around at other places. Seriously, she'll go to six different stores just to get it cheaper. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy when she finds it cheaper, but I don't enjoy shopping, so the price I put on my time during shopping is a lot higher than her time price. Thats how much she loves shopping. She can easily go out for a couple hours, buy nothing at all, and come home happy as a pig in shit. I do not understand. When I have to shop for something I go to the store, find the item, bring it to the cashier and pay for it. I don't even look at the price most of the time. If I need it and I came all the way to store for it I obviously know approximately how much it is and what do I care about the details, that would just make it take longer. Get in, get what you came for, get out. That's my way.

So anyway, where was I on all this? Oh yeah, she rocks. As much as I don't understand her in this area, I get to reap all the benefits. I can quite safely send her out for a 'shopping spree' on the weekend and tell her, "Spend whatever you want, have fun, it's your day!" and she'll come home four hours later feeling guilty over the $65 she spent on 3 pairs of pants, 4 tops, a pair of shoes, a couple things for the kids, and lunch.

No word of a lie, a couple weeks ago she went to Old Navy for almost an hour and came out with 5 or 6 solid items for a grand total of $32. She told me to go in and look at a couple nice things they had for me, so I did. I spent 10 mins and bought two shirts for $50. I was stoked at the great deal I got, and she was aghast at how I overspent! She kills me.

Ok, to recap, my wife loves to shop and she's the absolute best and finding deals because she's so cheap. I love her to death. And finally we get to the part where she makes us money shopping.

Even after she's gotten great deals on things, she can always improve her record with her other great talent, keeping receipts forever. And that's what she did tonight. She went out shopping, didn't buy anything new, but found that two previous purchases she made had now gone on sale and proceeded to go through whatever effort necessary to get back the difference.

So, on two items, she came back from shopping $25 richer than when she went out.

Like I said, she rocks, and I am a lucky man.
Did I also mention that she's a total hottie? She is.

Apparently I'm Broken

My neck. Ow. I'm seriously considering that it might be partially broken. See, that's the benefit of knowing the bare minimum about things. I don't know if my neck can actually be partially broken so I have the ability to believe that it can and thereby put a solid, dramatic label on my pain.

I have a broken neck. Cool.

It's been hurting since the weekend when I twisted it wrong in the shower and no matter how I twist it, snap it, or crack it, it won't go away. It was much better today and I thought I was on the road to good times, but 20 mins ago I sat down wrong in my chair or looked up too quick or something, and now it's worse than ever.

Being broken sucks.

Maybe a chocolate bar will help. I'll try that.

Meh*

*used with permission.Copyright 2002 Jeremy Freeman.

'Meh' is how I'm feeling lately. I have negligable energy or drive to do anything and my attitude is basically, 'Whatever'.
This is not good. I don't know if it's the weather or the season or what. Even typing the entry is hard, cause what's the point.
So, I've been self-medicating with junk food and not only has that made me feel worse but it is also adding to my muffin top.
My list of things-to-do is getting longer and more urgent by the day. I can't even wrap my head around all that is on the list.
Meh.
Needless to say, I am not a lot of fun to be around lately. My girls have already realized that "Maybe later" is Daddy's way of being too lazy and they've started to call me on it. That hurts. When you're 6 year-old calls you on the fact that your just putting her off with empty words, and she's right. That hurts.
Meh.
From what I hear though, eating healthy, exercising and getting proper sleep could help. Maybe I'll try one or two of those things.
Til then, Your Welcome for this wonderful, absolutely free, burst of sunshine in your day.

Meh.

In Case You Didn't Know

Oh Yeah! Bring it on!

Happy Birthday Kayla!

Today, my little sweet pea turns 4. It's so hard to believe. You can see a couple great pictures of her over on Vicki's site.

So, Happy Birthday sweetheart, we love you very much.
You are funny. You are silly. You never fail to surprise and amaze me.
You love to color. You love to sing and dance. You love to have things your way.
You are energetic. You are strong-willed. You have the biggest heart in the world.
You are beautiful and you are amazing Kayla, and we are so proud to be your Mom and Dad.
We love you.

Happy Birthday!