Try a Little Something Different

My dad used to say, "If your scared, say scared". Generally, that little gem was spoken (or yelled depending on the moment) during a ball game or some other appropriate moment. I will even admit that there was a time or two where I had to say "scared".

I bet he never thought it might apply to my day today.

First, before jumping into this little diddy, I want to say Happy Birthday to my Mom. Today is her .... ummmmm, yeah .... I aint that dumb. Lets just say that she is old enough to enjoy the benefits of discounts at Hardees, KFC, etc. Free cups of coffee or small drinks can be important!!!!!

Apparently I had the year wrong for the photos of Rusty with the family. I guess the Christmas Eve party was at our house last year. We've only been in this house for two Christmas's and I thought it was our first year here that we had the party at our house. Now, I did receive one photo of Rusty chilling with the family. I will include a copy of the picture in a future post. If anyone else has some, please send them to me.

Now back to the adventure.

For Christmas, I received a gift certificate (you too? WOW kinda of unheard of HUH?) to a place a business that I never figured I would go to much less actually partake of the services. Overall I dont have a problem with these businesses; in fact, they generally give me an hour or two of peace and quiet. However, today was the day for me to go.

So, after slaving away in the yard this morning, Big E asked if I wanted to go with her to the nail salon. The what? Oh yeah, my gift certificate. Having nothing better to do (take a nap, have a cold beverage, etc) I agreed to go.

When we arrived at the nail salon, Elizabeth signed us in and she picked out her color. After a minute or two, we were shown to our seats.

Now, I've been told by several men that pedicures are a great experience. In fact, I had a "BIG TOUGH CONSTRUCTION MAN" tell me that he goes at least once a month.

So, feeling comfortable in my manhood and going with my wife, I agreed to have a little fun. I will admit that the experience was rather enjoyable but not something I would want to do on a regular basis.

As we neared the end of the experience, the young lady asked if I wanted some clear polish on my toes (I guess this is typically the case for men). Remembering that we have an office party tonight, I promptly told her "NO, I want the most electric color of blue". After she giggled, the older man handling Elizabeth suggested "Midnight Blue". I think he thought I was kidding.

Anyway, as you can see by the picture, I went with Midnight Blue and I think I wear well. Now before you go thinking that I took a picture of Elizabeths feet, check out those hairy toes, thats me.



Are those feet beautiful or what? We are going to the office party tonight and I am wearing sandals. Thats BRAVE!!! Heck, Ive already gone to Publix with sandals and I will be traveling for the next three weeks.

Secure as I might be, I am hoping that this stuff wears off soon. I really want to try this cool lime green color that I saw on the shelf next time .....

I hope you have a great 4th of July. I think we are going to grill a few hotdogs and hamburgers with some of the guys. Enjoy!!!

A nothing day

Living with three teenage girls, one beautiful wife, way too many todos, and traveling (at least lately) leaves very few days when NOTHING is the most important thing on tap for the day. Today, is my nothing today.

That isnt to say that I havent accomplished anything though. Anyone who no knows me, knows that sitting still and doing nothing is not my style. With that being said, here is my day so far ...

1. Wake up (I actually slept till 8:30 AM)
2. Shower and feed the animals (both are my daily chores)
3. Install new rain drip on the roof, spread the ant and bug killer in the back, and replace the bulbs on the back porch (all were my on items so they dont count as work)
4. Watched a movie (Ocean Thirteen)
5. Got a haircut and bought more animal food
6. Organized the photos and videos on my computer (long overdue)
7. Drank some beer (Sorry mom, but its true) and probably will drink a couple of more
8. Chewed a little of the indian wackie weed (ahhh....Redman is the best)
9. Oh yeah, and Im tickling the keyboard now.
10. I plan on grilling a few steaks later....

That is a fairly relaxing day for me. I needed one.

15 minutes later ...

OK, so I decided that I needed to get to the grocery store and grab the grub for tonight. Here is the list of offerings ...

1. Meat is Ribeye (the best), New York and T-Bone steak
2. Grilled corn on the cob
3. Baked red potatoes with onions, garlic and olive oil
4. Sourdough bread loaf with olive oil and Italian dipping sauce seasonings
5. Angel food cake with strawberries and cool whip in the center and more drizzled aroun the top

Man, my kids eat good. I dont remember eating that good growing up. Now, I ate good, just differently good.

Anyway, the steaks are hanging tight in a mixture of olive oil and special seasonings. They will be ready in the next 20 - 30 minutes, so we better get this show on the road.

Lets cover a few random thoughts ....

1. In 2006, we had the Christmas Eve gathering at our house. There were many pictures taken but the one I am looking for is the family pictures where Rusty decided to join in. He sat in front of the family in several of the pictures but I dont have a copy of any of them. If you have this picture, please send to me (themtgylees@bellsouth.net).

2. Men, how many times have you managed to "scar" your kids? Let me further explain this one. I try to avoid being spotted in my under clothes by anyone other than my lucky bride. However, occassionally I am known to leave the bedroom in nothing more than my whities. Big E refers to this as scarring the children?!?! Being summer and the kids staying up later, the kids have had a string of incidences where they were "scarred" for a variety of reasons.

3. Losing weight is not a topic that I ever thought would be associated with me. I graduated from high school at a whopping 125 lbs at five foot eight (my height today). Somewhere around my late twenties, the drugs (legal, prescribed ones) and age slowed down my metabolism and I plumped up like a water ballon around the mid section. Alright, a few beers may have accumulated around there too?

Anyway, I am particpating in a "weight loss" contest with nine others at work. We have each kicked in thirty dollars for the winner to enjoy at the beach. The competition runs through August 27th (final weigh in). The winner will be determined by the weight lost, inches around the stomach lost, BMI improved, and blood pressure improvement. In reality, I am the second lightest and smallest guy in the competition so I dont stand much of chance BUT I am determined to at least drop ten pounds (down to 165) and most importantly drop 3 - 4 inches off the gut (my only real "fat" problem).

I am going to say this now ... I think the timing of the competition is a conspiracy against me. The reason is that I am traveling constantly and eating out, no place to run, workout, etc. That is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

4. I recently mentioned that we were looking into getting some work done in the girls bathroom. That is scheduled to begin on July 7th. Big E has handled all of this effort!!! I am excited to see what the new tile and door do for the bathroom. Im sure that I will end up painting the bathroom once it is completed too.

5. I dont know how but I almost forgot. Jessica had her senior portrait session on Thursday. I dont know exactly how long it took to take the pictures, but I do know that I made it from Hattiesburg, MS to Montgomery during the photo session. For my senior picture, we took one or two pictures not one or four hours to take the pictures!!! Does that mean I am better looking or have the times changed????????????

Testing a New Blog Entry Process

If you are reading this post, then you are reading a test post.  I am attempting to post directly from an email.  If this works then I should be able to create posts more frequently especially when I am traveling.

A Week Without Hilton

Its been almost a month since the last blog. To be honest, Ive been spending more time with Hilton (Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, etc) than my family this month. Finally, this week I get to stay home. Since I havent been home, I dont really have too much to say about the girls (heck I havent seen them this month till last night).

As a result, here are a couple of pictures from the Disney trip:


I know Mickey was proud to have his picture taken with such a good looking couple.

The twins having a friendly competition of "whack a mole". Jacob and I won and each of the boys got a stuff dinosaur for the effort.

For the annual flower fesitval, Epcot had topiaries of characters everywhere. This is Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

This is one of my favorites. Minnie looking so pretty in her little red dress.

You cant forget Pluto.

I'll try to post a few more pictures later.