P-E-A

Check out my new blog for picky eaters (like me). I'm kind of bored of the recipes I've been making lately, so I'm on a quest for new ideas. I'll post the ones I like on the blog so others can benefit from my research. Hope you enjoy it!

http://p-e-a.blogspot.com/

Easter with my Boys

Sometimes I think the only thing I'm really missing out on since I don't have any girls is playing dress up with my kids. Easter dresses, Christmas dresses, and other assorted dresses do seem like a lot of fun. Fortunately, my boys are so handsome that I have a lot of fun dressing them up, too. Take a look at my gentlemen in their Easter best.

Training In Missouri

So I finished my last class for my IRS training. Well that is the last class that will be going over 1040 stuff. Monday-Wednesday we will be learning the program that we do the audit through. It feels so good to be finishing. Not because things have been hard, actually the classes were not hard just a lot of information and long. I know I have not posted for a while but there really has not been much to post about. I can sum the past 3 long weeks up with one work, BORING.

I cannot wait for this weekend to be over so I am that much closer to Thursday. I miss my wife and kids sooooo much. It does suck that I will be stuck out here during Easter but what can you do. While everyone else is having ham, mash potato's, deviled eggs, and what ever else your eating just remember me. I will be in my hotel room watching the NCAA and having burritos.

Nothing Like a Good Old Fashioned Late Night

So, it's 12:30 at night, and I am not yet in bed. If I were still, say, 18 years old, I doubt I would consider this a problem. But at my ripe old age of 26, I'm pretty much dying. I just had a bit of work to do that absolutely has to be done tonight. Thankfully I am very nearly done. Unfortunately, I think my work (recording practice CD's) has woken Alex up. I hear him talking to himself in the next room. If all goes well, 1:00 a.m. will find me fast asleep. Good night!

Where to Buy Your USA-Gas

Okay, so I didn't really do any research to validate this, so read at your own risk, but I think it's a decent idea. If you want to combine this idea with the idea of saving some $$, also check out the Sinclair credit card. There are two types. One has an at-the-pump discount and a $400 limit. The other has a much larger limit (not that you'd use it), and the discount is actually applied as a rebate. Each month, I generally save $9 to $12 on the gas I buy. Is it a ton? No. But for those of us whose budget can be thwarted or saved depending on $9 either way, it sure doesn't hurt.

WHERE TO BUY YOUR USA-GAS
WHERE TO BUY YOUR USA-GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON--Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us!
The Saudis are boycotting American goods.
We should return the favor.
An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.
Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends.
I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.
These companies import Middle Eastern oil:
Shell.......................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco.........144,332,000 barrels
Exxon/Mobil..............130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway..117,740,000 barrels
Amoco..........................62,231,000 barrels

Citgo Gas comes from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans.

Do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (Oil is now $90-$95 a barrel)

Here are some large companies that DO NOT import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco................0 barrels
Conoco................0 barrels
Sinclair ................0 barrels
BP/Phillips..........0 barrels
Hess ....................0 barrels
ARC0...................0 barrels

Also: Pilot, Flying J, Love's, RaceTrac, Valero

All of this information is available from the Department of Energyand each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.

I Got Tagged... Again

Favorite pair of shoes: I have a really cute pair of off-white heels that are covered in a shiny, crinkly, folded fabric. Hard to explain, but they are pretty unique and probably the coolest shoes I have.

New Years Resolution: I don't really do resolutions. Right now, though, I am trying to eat healthier so I look cute in my bridesmaid's dress for Lisa's wedding.

What are you listening to right now: Silence -- amazingly. I am generally surrounded by people who love TV (Kirk, Adam, Skye), so I pretty much always have background noise. But right now, the boys are sleeping and Skye is downstairs (probably making out with Michelle), so the only thing I can hear is the humming of my computer.

If you had $200.00 to spend on yourself what would you buy: hm... probably clothes or jewelry. Maybe a pedicure.

Random Thought: No matter how many times you try to explain to Adam that old isn't the same thing as big, he will still tell you he is big enough to play soccer.

Favorite place to go in the city you live in: While Kirk is gone, my favorite place is the gym. I drop the kids off at day care and actually have an hour to process a few complete thoughts.

Book you are reading: I wish. I'm really trying to keep up with the reading assignments for Sunday School and Relief Society. I really don't have time to read much else.

I tag... anybody who reads this. I look forward to reading about it on your blog.

Dislocated Finger

It's not very often that I get a cool injury story to tell. Most of the time, I play it pretty safe, I guess. But last night, I went to the Classic Family Fun Center (aka Classic Skating) with Michelle & Skye, Lisa & Brett, Chris Kennedy, Zack & Andrea, and a couple of their friends. I really needed a night out after being by myself with the boys all week. Kirk's mom jumped at the chance to get out of her house to come watch my boys.

We skated for a while but then decided to spending an hour "bouncing." This costs $3 extra, but it was SO worth it. We did tricks down the huge blow up slide and then moved on to racing through the various obstacle courses. My first race was against Chris, and it really came down to the wire. The winner would be the first person back out the entrance tunnel. He and I could both see that it would be a photo finish, and -- not wanting to lose -- we both dove for it. I'm not sure whether my finger hit Chris or just part of the obstacle course, but I felt instant pain. The pain distracted me from my graceful exit from the course and I ended up just falling out and hitting my head really hard on the floor. The pain in my head provided only a brief distraction from the idea that I may have broken my finger. I was clutching my entire right hand in my left when I announced my fears regarding my finger. Instantly, Lisa was standing over me, asking which finger. I extended my right hand for her to examine, and as I saw the damage for the first time, I was easily able to indicate which finger needed attention. "The crooked one," I explained.

I wish SO badly that someone had thought to take a picture. I would have gladly endured 30 seconds more of the pain in order to have documentation, but I didn't think of it until about 5 minutes later. The top half of my pinky was bent back at about a 30 degree angle past straight. I closed my eyes immediately after seeing it. Lisa calmly explained that it was just dislocated, and that if I could handle it, she could pop it back in. I nodded and braced myself. She wasn't quite brave enough to get it in the first time, but then she braced herself and went for it. I felt the strangest sensation as my finger clicked back into place. Brett got me some ice, and we finished out our fun-filled night. I even tried a few more obstacle courses.

Today, however, I needed to play the piano for Christopher Vassel to sing. I knew that either he or I could find a replacement, but I had practiced with him, and I really wanted to be the one to play for him. So I didn't tell him about my injury, knowing he wouldn't let me play. I iced my finger until it was pretty much numb and just went for it. Christopher did a great job, and apparently the congregation loved it.

Having gotten through this, I decided it was now maybe time to go see a doctor. I now have the finger in a splint (no more piano for this week, but I'll be playing for Christopher again next Sunday) and it is buddy-taped to my ring finger. The pain has decreased significantly since wrapping it up. The doc says I should heal just fine. I theoretically just stretched out some tendons, but we won't be able to tell for sure whether any tendons have actually torn until next weekend. Wish me luck as I play the piano at school with only 8 functional fingers this week. Should be fun.

One Week Down

So I have now completed one week of training. The training itself was not bad at all. Pretty easy stuff so far. It is kind of nice because from day one the instructors, there are three of them, decided that I know electronics. So now if there is any question about PDF or something else in the classroom that has to do with electronics they immediately turn to me for the answer. That is definitely different than in Phoenix when I tried to help with a program and was completely ignored.

I went to the local ward today for church. It was a really small ward, in fact I think it was on the edge of being a branch. The think I thought was really cool is the amount of black people that were in the ward. I really wish when I went to church at home that I saw more blacks in the ward. I love to see that kind of diversity in a ward. I realize that is hard to do given the demographics I live in but you get the idea. I was talking to a recent convert, he was baptized in 2003, and he was telling me that the ward is going to the visitors center in Independence. He asked if I would like to go. I told him I would love to go cause I really wanted to go see some of the church history that is out there. So next weekend should be a lot more entertaining for me. Other than that not a whole lot to update everyone one.

I miss and love my family a lot.

Family or School?

So I am faced with a very difficult decision. I just found out that my graduation is on May 3rd. The problem with that is that Michelle is getting married on that day as well. So I am now faced with a decision. Do I miss walking in the graduation ceremony or miss the wedding? I really do view Michelle as a sister and Sky as a brother so I really want to be at the wedding. At the same time I have worked hard for years to get my education. It feels good to know that after this I am done. Walking will give me such a feeling of accomplishment and that I have actually succeeded at something. I really wish I didn't have to make this decision.

On a side note the Blaze play that night as well.

Boys on the Stairs

A lot of my posts in the next few weeks will probably be mostly for Kirk's benefit. This is one of those. If you have a minute, though, here's about 60 seconds of my boys playing on the stairs.

Street View by Google

Thanks, Mark, for letting me in on the whole "street view" thing. It's pretty cool. If you're not sure what this is, check out my friend Mark's blog. http://markrebecca.wordpress.com/2008/02/24/interactive-drive-by-of-our-apartment/#respond

If you're already in the know, do a little search for your house. It's kind of fun.

Alex at the Park

I took the boys to the park last Friday. This was Alex's first time going down the slide. A nice girl at the park was kind enough to take this video. The picture quality's not great, but I just love to listen to Alex's happy squeals.

Remodeling Part II

Here's the updated bathroom pics. The whole room is now plumbed, wired, and sheetrocked. It's now Skye's turn to do some work. He'll mud and tape, and then Michelle and I are going to paint.



This part was Kirk's awesome idea. This is a recessed part of the wall where all my implements of hair torture (blow dryer, curling iron, straightener, etc) will live. Cool, huh!

I took a bath in my new tub. It literally used all the hot water, but it was really nice. It was almost like swimming.

For My REAL Friends

Anybody who really considers themself to be my friend must be the type of person who would enjoy this link. Click the "Manic Mode" button for a more realistic experience.

http://www.therightfoot.net/mystuff/whatever/swf/bubblewrap.swf