Tropical Rainforest

Its Tuesday – My mind is in a spin again – The last rain dropped a lot of water right into my living room. Into my living room. Sigh. It’s not supposed to rain INSIDE your living room. Worse was that when it came in it hit my ceiling fan and was nicely spread out in a wide area. Forget a bucket to neatly capture a single drip. No, I needed an ice chest and SEVERAL buckets to capture the water in my indoor tropical rainforest. Sheesh. Oh well. I suppose there are worse things to worry about. At least it doesn’t rain often in Arizona and it only caused a stain on my carpeting, no other property damage. (That I know of at this time)


In other news, I have made it to round three in my first online chess tournament! To be honest I never really thought I would make it past round one! I won the first round legitimately but the second round I won because my opponent dropped out halfway through our game. I thought that I would face some serious chess monster in the third round but, as it turns out, I am facing someone who is about 100 points lower than me! Glee! I can’t help but wonder if his opponents dropped out too… Is it mean to think that way? So far I am winning the game but, in chess, things can turn bad with only one blunder so I am cautious but hopeful.

While I was pondering my trials and tribulations this morning I was watching my kids play Lego wars together. They were having SO much fun! It is really hard to stay blue about a leaky roof when you have such angels smiling and laughing next to you. Their joy in so infectious.

Once I found my missing happy voice under the chaise lounge out on the porch.

Slow and meaningful

It’s Friday. FINALLY! It has been an interesting week. The kids had homework all week and I have had to get all the forms filled out that are typical of a new school year. TONS of forms. One form alone took me about a half hour to fill out. I think, without exaggerating, that I must have had to fill out about 15 – 20 forms. Sheesh! But it is done, the week is done and now it is time to play. We have a movie to watch together, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (which I have jokingly called Steven the Storm Stealer all week just to annoy the kids!) which we plan on watching tonight. Probably with junk food! In addition we will probably head to the mall for our weekend tradition of getting a cheap toy at the Lego store and then eating at the food court. This is usually followed by wandering around towards the pet store to watch the playful puppies and then ending at the bookstore which the kids usually try to rush me through. Okay, so I like to browse the bookstore! For hours! Sue me! Actually they are getting better at this since they are getting into reading more and more and they have also picked up a love for blank books and doodling from me. And Barnes and Nobles has a DELICIOUS selection of blank books. A whole WALL of them. GLEE! I have been writing in my journal a lot lately. Jotting down quotes or random thoughts I have. Doodling, pasting in photos or clippings from magazines etc. It is something I really enjoy. Keeping it short today folks.

Have a fun, film filled, fantastic, freaky weekend!

And remember - It’s not worth doing something, unless you are doing something that someone somewhere, would much rather you weren't doing.

Jack, the worlds meanest fish

I haven’t written in awhile and I think it is because my kids have been gone. They are most assuredly my muse and always fill my head with wild imaginings. This is the way it is with kids. They think so freely and without reserve. They revel and joy in life’s simple pleasures and in that wonderful sparkling mirror they bounce that blissful spirit to all of those around them. They come back today and I can’t wait.

In the meantime I think it is time to introduce jack, the world’s meanest fish. We originally got him to teach some other fish I had a lesson. You see, I had two minnows and two goldfish all in the same tank and the minnows proceeded to kill my goldfish. Okay, fine. I happened to have a Siamese fighting fish (betta) as well and promptly put it in the tank with the minnows – and watched in horror as the minnows began to pick away at my betta. I quickly got him out of there (to which he was eternally grateful though a little ashamed) and went back to the pet store. Once there I asked for a new fish that will teach my bad boy minnows a lesson. She led me back to a dark corner of the pet store where no others feared to tread. Alone, in the dark, was a small colorful fish. Maybe two and a half inches long. I laughed and she quickly ushered me away. “Don’t laugh at it” she said fearfully, “it really doesn’t like that.” I glanced back at the tank and it appeared that it was looking at me… and glaring. I really didn’t like how it was looking at me. “What am I doing” I thought “it’s a FISH, and a small one at that.” I told her I would take it. I happened to be there with my mom and my boys but they were busy looking at other fish at the time. I waved them over just as she opened the lid and tried to capture this devil fish in a net. It fought, HARD! It struggled and thrashed and bit at the net. She finally got it in a plastic bag but it fought so hard that my boys didn’t want to hold it. My mom, always the trooper, stepped up and took it since I was driving. On the way home it never stopped struggling and thrashing. It actually punctured the bag trying to get out. We were all a little rattled by the time we got it in the tank. The minnows saw it and started to approach but even they had second thoughts and hid behind a rock. At first the new fish did nothing, but eventually it took out its anger on the minnows and chewed them to little pieces and swallowed the bits. We got more fish, bigger fish and he killed them all and ate the bodies. He was quickly named “Jack” for Jack the ripper. He has now grown to almost five and a half inches long anf very thick.

As a side note I went to clean the tank today and he jumped out and landed on my carpeting. I went to grab him and found out that his fins hide nasty little spikes. He hurt my hand pretty bad when I grabbed him. I had to go get a towel to grab him and throw him back in the tank. You’d think that might shock him but nooooo, he was right there at the front of the tank looking at me like he wanted to go another round - which I wisely declined.

 

A day without kids is like a fish without a bicycle - it has no meaning.

Dancing madly backwards on a sea of air

My brain is on fire. Too much cascading through my cerebellum. First I am content and sated – peaceful in my cotton brains of infancy. Then something slams into me and I am in an insane race to solve whatever disaster looms upon me, whatever strangeness I called down. Then it’s over - I take a few deep, gulping breaths and settle back on the warm knowledge that I can once again enjoy life. Trouble is I think I am going mad ricocheting in between. But the music is on full blast and brings out the warrior in me. Strong and sure I face the tribal drums and wait. I never have a problem with decisions and I wield them like a surgeon. Think fast, think sharp. Move with the grace of a dancer and the sureness of a cat.


Tranquil fire
Burns bright and hot
Silky caresses
To a mind
Numbed by overload  

I wish I had taken this but I didn't. 

None of my pictures seem to fit my mood today.  I will have to work on that.

Have a day.

Chaos incarnate

This morning I woke up early, worked out, made my lunch for work, had breakfast and was relaxing on my couch waiting for my golden boys to show up so I could take them to school. Onyx is curled up next to me snoozing while I read my Shutterbug magazine.


Suddenly – BOOM – the door blasts open and my dual Tasmanian devils EXPLODE into my house. Backpacks go flying across the room, shoes eject from their feet to land near the tv and near the couch. I duck for cover and Onyx yelps and bolts for her crate. A lunch bag lands near the stairwell and their booming voices shout out a what I think might have been a primeval war cry (or maybe it was a weird hello – not really sure) as they head for the playroom to grab some toys and flip on video games. Then the cries of FEED ME reverberate through my previously quiet home along with cries of “HEY, THAT’S MY TOY – GIVE IT BACK!” and of course the follow up cries of “IT IS NOT, I GOT THIS FOR MY BIRTHDAY” then, of course the predictable add on of (in stereo) “DAD!!! HE’S BEING MEAN TO ME!!!”

I looked at my watch. Only 20 seconds had passed. I looked around at the destruction of my, previously, clean home. I was stunned. How is this possible? There was no WAY I was like this as a kid! (Mom, you keep out of this!) I sat for a few seconds longer in quiet awe. Then Nicky came around the corner to see why I hadn’t yet catered to his every whim. “DAD” he said, WHY HAVEN’T YOU MADE ME MY MEAL, GOT MY TOY BACK, FOUND MY SHOES, AND… (I still don’t know why kids can’t speak below a dull roar…)

Then he saw the look in my eye. That slow, smoldering feral look that speaks volumes. As they say, beware the wrath of a quiet man. He stopped in his egocentric tirade. He stepped back a few steps. “uh, Dad?” I said nothing. I just looked at him and my face slowly split into a maniacal, evil smile. A little more urgently “UH, DAD? DAD?!” Then he actually came up with a good idea. He ran. He ran screaming at Jimmy. “HIDE JIMMY! DAD’S GONE CRAZY AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHY!!! I came off the couch like a shot. They made it to the kitchen before I got my hands on a nerf gun. I came around the corner with both barrels blazing hot spongy death. They shrieked with laughter and ran for their own nerf guns. Thus started the first, post school, nerf gun war of Aug 2010. It was bloody and ran for some time. But was it worth it? Oh yes my friends, it was. It was.

Kids make life worthwhile!! And here is my golden boy Nicky trying to water ski.

Have a fast, fun and frothy day!

Magic Monday

Well, I took the kids to school today for their first day. It was like 110 degrees out but I knew it was going to be crowded at the school being the first day and all so we decided to walk. What a mistake. By the time we got there we were all dripping in sweat. But then I looked over at the parents trying to find a parking space so they could get their kids to school on time and I could almost smell their frustration. People walking at a snails pace blocking the front of their cars, no parking spots left, one bozo blocking the lanes waiting for someone to leave, five minutes before the bell, etc. They were nice and cool but I was moving unimpeded and I was going to be on time. I figured we were even and maybe I even had the edge so I just laughed and walked on. Until I realized that in all the excitement I had forgotten one thing. Nicky's lunch. Dang. I rushed back home, whipped out a quick lunch and ran back to the school. But the kids were already in class. Double dang. I went to the office and of course it was a total zoo. I had to wait. In a line. A LONG line. With all the parents I had been laughing at when they were stuck in their cars. And somehow they knew. With a quick glance back at me (accompanied by a hidden smirk I am sure) they then proceeded to ask long unimportant questions designed to delay things as long as possible. One lady was even quizzing them on the nutritional value of the school meals and then decided to make NUMEROUS suggestions on how they could serve alternate meals and even offered to coach the school lunch lady. I swear that lady could have turned Mother Teresa into an axe murderer. Finally it’s my turn. I hand the lady Nicky’s lunch bag with a simple request to have it delivered to him prior to lunch. She said sure and then let me know that I could have just handed it to the lady on the far side of the room. The lady with no one near her. With no line. No one. I could have been out of there in like two seconds. I swear I think I blacked out for a second. The lady that was helping me even took an involuntary step back at my expression. I forced a smile and carefully walked out the door. I knew it was going to be a long Monday.

But in the end I still have my golden boys so all is good with the world. He is a picture of my Jimmy Bear taken this weekend.

Swim free, little squirrel!

Somber Sunday - school starts tomorrow

So, this is it.  School starts tomorrow.  This is the end of summer my friends.  The kids are in a blue, somber mood.  I was worried.  I didn't know what to do.  We had gamed, we had eaten junk food, we had watched movies, we had wild nerf gun wars, we had stayed up till all hours.  The summer was a smashing success.  Yes there was still the looming darkness of homework hanging over their heads.  What to do, what to do.  Then it hit me.  The final solution.  The power...  I had to hit them up with one last massive sugar blast to insure their elation would ride them through the rest of the final day.  Ahhhhh Skittles, what would we do without you!

Endless Summer

Onyx - my little black rocket!

I feel remiss in my duties.  Here I have this shiny new blog and no post about the princess of the family - Onyx.  She is a bundle of raw energy which she uses to greet us each and every time we enter the house.  It does not matter if we have been gone for 5 minutes or 5 hours.  She greets us like we are the greatest thing ever to grace her life.  She frantically wags her little stub of a tail, she madly wiggles her sleek body, she licks, she paws, she smiles, she yelps and all in a frenzied way designed to garner the highest degree of attention possible.  She is our little black rocket!

Have a furry, fun and friendly day!

Last days of summer gaming!

As the last few lazy, hazy days of summer were coming to a close my golden boys were itching for some serious gaming.  So we called up our good friends, the McCarthys, and set up a game night.  Tonight we had bad jokes, good munchies and hair raising, pants wetting adventure in the caverns of ultra perilous stinky doom.  The fearless adventurers battled, fire imps, lava lizards, critical failures, bad dice rolls and, of course, the most dangerous predator of all - their fellow team members.  They rallied to cries like "I got tagged, I'm out of here" or "Wait, shouldn't you be attacking him instead?!" and of course "Where's the cleric!  I lost TWO hit points!"  Wild fun was had by all.

And now, without further ado and brough to you by Urgent Haircut Productions is a rare photo of the intrepid souls who braved that merciless night.

May all your hits be crits!

New blank books!

This week has been a flurry of back to school activites which can be fun but draining.  We got paper, pens, highlighters, yarn (no idea but it was on the list) post it notes, protractors, rulers, etc.  Pretty basic.  But the highlights are that there are always great sales on stuff.  Target had composition books on sale, in assorted colors, for 25 cents each.  For a writer like me that was awesome!  I only got 4 but it only cost me a dollar!  Glee!  I also found some new blank books with cool designs.  Each had my favorite elastic closure device and all but the Micky Mouse one had a pocket in the back for misc stuff.  And I got all 3 for under 15 dollars.  The one with the Apple sticker on it is my current beloved Moleskine.  I just added it to the photograph because I really like it.  It goes everywhere with me.

I hope everyone is having a safe and sane back to school season!

Creative chaos

As many of you know I am really into creativity.  I love to doodle, draw, cartoon, create, photograph, write, dream, meander cerebrally, uh...  Okay, you get the picture.  So last night, when the boys and I were getting ready for bed, I pull out one of my old sketch books while waiting for the kids to finish getting ready and Nicky sees it.  His remark?  "Wow Dad, you used to be a good artist!"  I looked at him for a long moment with one eyebrow raised.  Smart kid that he is he immediately backpedaled and added that I am still really good but must have practiced more back then.  LOL  I chuckled and and told him he was right.  (I always tell them that if they want to be good at something they need to practice, he promptly threw that right back at me - like I said, smart kid.)  Then Jimmy came in and saw it and really liked it too.  Needless to say we abandoned reading last night for drawing.  We all gathered in my bed with a simple blue pen and a large biggie sketch pad and all happily drew until it was time for bed.  Glee!

The following picture is of my creative spot in my loft.

Have a great and creative day everyone!

Kids back to school

My kids start school next week so this week we had orientation.  WOW.  They actually gave me HOMEWORK!  What is up with that!  I thought the homework is all for the kids.  Yeesh!  I have to write a paper and hand it in to Nicky's language arts teacher.  The sins of the father?  Is she going to judge Nicky based on what I write...?  Or could it be something more sinister...!  Clearly the illuminati is involved!!!  I must be cautious!

And here are my golden boys!

My first follower!!!!

Thanks Ted!!  You are AWESOME!

Here is an old photo of some of my gaming buddies.  We used to game together all the time but now, since we are so far from each other we either just talk or we play World or Warcraft.  But I tell you this, those were some seriously fun times!!!

See you all later!

Welcome to Rusted Pipes

Hi all!

Since I know someone will ask...  the title, Rusted Pipes, comes from my cartoon strip which never really took off.  I wrote several strips but they sit in my journals gathering dust.  LOL  I have always been good a creating but horrible at publishing/executing.  Oh well.  I have always believed creating is the fun part anyway!

Here is a pic of the author-

Have a good one everyone!