Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Potty procrastinator

How would you feel if your four year-old refused to go to the bathroom until she was dancing around like the Tasmanian devil trying to hold it in?

How would you feel if you had just cleaned the bathroom, top to bottom, and the aforementioned four year-old ran in to use the toilet and by the time she got her pants down pooped on the floor instead of the toilet?

And how would you feel if your weimaraner thought the poop was his brunch and gobbled it up while you were dealing with an emotional, screaming child who was both embarrassed and upset that such a thing had just happened to her.

Welcome to Vickey’s day yesterday.

I got an email about it while I was at work. My first thought was gross! My second thought was to wonder what in the world we could do to instill an urgency in our youngin’ to help convince her that if you end up going to the bathroom on the floor because you couldn’t make it to the toilet in time, you’ve waited too long.

Vickey and I are convinced this is an attention ploy (and no, we still haven’t seen the new Pink Panther and his antics and ploys . . . it’s on our list).

Oh, the joys of parenting.

And if you thought this was the first time Tank (our weim) took to the recycled human food, you’d be mistaken. When Ellie was still in diapers she managed to take a soiled one off and smear poop throughout one of our upstairs rooms (we won’t mention which one, so for those of you who don’t know, you won’t be grossed out when you come over to visit). By the time Vickey went in to clean it up, most of it was gone and the dog was lying in the sun, content as could be.

What is it with dogs and eating crap?

Friday, February 17, 2006

American Idol – the final 24

Well, now that the producers have narrowed the field it’s time for the viewing public to start seeing some real talent.

Too bad the talk-a-lot twins weren’t exactly above board. You’ve gotta wonder about people who like to hear themselves talk.

There are a few surprises in the final group, particularly among the guys. But they’ll start dropping each week.

It’s a little early to make too many predictions but I will say I’m looking forward to seeing how the competition shapes up.

Taylor Hicks is cool. Will Makar is from my old stomping grounds. Kevin Covais, bless his heart, won’t be around too long. Gedeon McKinney can really sing! Kellie Pickler is adorable and don’t you just want the absolute best for her? Mandisa can sang! Katharine McPhee is really impressive.

Brenna Gethers needs to go soon – way too full of herself. Becky O’Donohue and Heather Cox have the looks, but what about the vocals? Ayla Brown is an overachiever. Judging from Paula’s reactions, I’m thinking Ace Young will have every girl, young woman and even older woman eating out of the palm of his hand.

And who do I think is the most talented vocally, Paris Bennett. It’s in her blood.

I will say this, as it relates to American Idol and the Olympics, watching the broadcasts in high-definition is quite brilliant. We’re all enjoying HDTV now.

Proud daddy

I just couldn’t resist . . . I had to post a couple more photos from this week’s photo shoot.

Here’s Eliana with her Valentine’s Day teddy bear and Dominic pretending to take a bath.

Have I mentioned how cute these two are?



Thursday, February 16, 2006

New portraits of the kiddies

Just a quick note — between getting home for work, eating dinner and leaving for rehearsal — to post a new portrait Vickey had taken of the kids yesterday.

They tried out a new place and Vickey’s pleased with the result. Me too. Aren’t they cute?

Monday, February 13, 2006

Happy Valentine's Day


Yes, tomorrow's Valentine's Day. Here's wishing you a dynamite day!

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Winter 2006 Olympics begin

For those of you who follow the Olympics — another one of those cultural must-dos, like the Super Bowl — NBC has launched a terrific website to provide news and information.

Check out NBCOlympics.com. There are so many partnerships and Olympics web pages you could spend the majority of the next 15 days (they end on Feb. 26) as an Olympics junkie.

Another cool site, About.com, is blogging about the Olympics.

Friday, February 10, 2006

American Idol – Week Four, Welcome to Hollywood

Now that the fourth weekly installment of American Idol is in, I can see there’s hope for a good singing competition. Vickey and I have already picked out a handful of talented performers we’re sure will be seen in the final group.

Still, you can tell the show’s crafted by producers who choose to include a new-to-singing cowboy and several wacky and weird 20-somethings.

I’m especially looking forward to hearing from a few of the young contestants.

And way to go Kelly Clarkson for receiving two Grammy’s: best female pop vocal performance and best pop vocal album. I’ll bet five years ago she never would have dreamed of that.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Thanksgiving wishes from Scott Adams

Ever wonder what the creator of the cartoon Dilbert is thankful for?

Last Thanksgiving he shared some thoughts on his blog.

How to forgive

We got a sad phone call tonight. Our friend Tracy’s mom, Ms. Judy, was stabbed nine times last night by her drug addict son.

Tracy had begged her mom not to let her addicted brother live with her, but Ms. Judy is one of those kind hearted jewels who goes out of her way to help others, including family, friends and common acquaintances.

It was especially poignant when Tracy posed the question: “How do you forgive your brother, drug addict or not, for stabbing your mother nine times?”

I can’t even begin to empathize with how Tracy and her siblings must feel.

Although as of this writing she’s still in intensive care, Ms. Judy had a priesthood blessing and has recovered pretty well from surgery. Her abdomen, chest and back were all punctured at 3 a.m. this morning when Tracy’s brother came home to their Lancaster, California home with a knife and on a high. Ms. Judy was life-flighted to a nearby hospital.

It looks like Tracy will need to care for her 6 year-old niece now. She and her other brother will be preparing Ms. Judy’s house to sell on the market and Ms. Judy will most likely end up living with her pro-football player son in the L.A. area until she recovers.

Unfortunately, the druggie managed to run away after the incident and the police haven’t yet found him. He’s certainly dangerous to himself and others.

Our most sincere sympathies go out to Tracy’s family. We’ll be praying for a speedy recover for Ms. Judy. We love you!

Monday, February 06, 2006

Alma the Younger: show set for 7pm March 23-25

For those of you loyal blog followers, you’ll remember that a couple weeks ago I posted a story about my role as Alma the Younger in our stake’s upcoming musical production of Into the Light.

This is a sneak peak at the poster that has been created for the production (it may not be the final version). The designer told me I looked silly in all the photos and he did the best he could with the material he had to work with. (He and I go back several years and are good friends.)

Hey, I’m just an actor. Although I did land quite a few paying gigs in my 20s, and enjoyed six months at The Venetian as a gondolier a few years ago, now it’s really more of a hobby than a professional pursuit. You could say I’m just a former wannabe Broadway star.

So as for the poster, I say responsibility for producing the desired photo lies solely on the director of the photo shoot, not the actors pictured.

I will, however, admit that seeing this poster does make me chuckle. How! (That's the Native American expression that comes to mind.)

Like I told my friend Mark the other day, I’m in a weird place right now — where I was just another stake/ward member (those are geographic areas in our church) and now am suddenly set-up like a celebrity … all in a very weird sort of Mormon culture-esq sort of way.

I’m just an average guy who enjoys singing and making a fool of himself on stage.

So, like I said before, be sure to schedule your entertainment fix for March 23, 24 or 25. I’m sure you’ll hear more about it in the weeks ahead.

We’ll see you there. And yes, it’s okay to bring me a red rose — one of those longstanding theater traditions — I’ll just bring it home and convince my wife it’s for her!

Super Bowl Ads

Okay, I admit it. I’m a Super Bowl junkie.

Not because I follow pro football teams all year, or because my happiness is dependent upon who wins the game (although I am happy the Steelers were victorious last night).

But more so because it’s part of our culture and I’d feel too left-out if I didn’t participate in the annual tradition.

And, I do enjoy a good football game. And the occasional half-time show is quite entertaining as well. Although yesterday’s didn’t do it for me.

Another good reason to watch the big game — to see the ads. And if you missed them, you can view them online on AOL Sports.

I liked the FedEx and the Budweiser streaker ads.

Friday, February 03, 2006

Red Rock Outing

Today we took the crew, our family and Brian’s family, all 9 of us, to Red Rock for an excursion. The three cousins had a great time exploring. Of course Tank led the way the entire time — he’s crashed now for the night. And Dominic and AJ enjoyed the trip in snugglies. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone pack you around everywhere all day?

We ended the day with a large meal at The Cheesecake Factory. We tried a couple of their new cheesecake flavors and I have to say the coconut cream cheesecake is my new favorite. Wow, it was good!

Vickey’s got a full month with Pampered Chef. She’s off working a bridal Pampered Chef show while we watched Zoro — good movie. What a cute li’l punkin workin’ so hard.

In other news, my sister, who’s 16 weeks pregnant, has launched her family blog. We’re excited for her and Vinny to be parents and looking forward to the announcement of whether the baby’s a boy or a girl. Keep us posted, blogging Vermonsters.

American Idol – Week Three

I have to say I’ve been unimpressed with the past few AI episodes.

It’s obvious the producers are sending through mediocre to non-existing talent. When they send through 11 contestants from the Vegas audition and only show 2 of them, it’s apparent they feel it’s more important to show the outrageous and untalented as opposed to real singers.

I suppose that’s what ratings are all about. And speaking of ratings, they’ve been doing amazing this season.

And for those of you who can’t get enough of those AI judges, several months ago it was announced that Paula Abdul would be playing a role in entertainment direction in Las Vegas. See what ContactMusic.com has to say about it.

For now, I look forward to the Hollywood show where I can actually be entertained by good singers doing their best to make the cut instead of turned-off by producers’ antics to show the worst singers in the country.