Food Update

Wow, one can really eat a lot of burgers when you don't update for a month. It is almost embarrassing. For me anyways. For Jess, well, she was celebrating her birthday so all the ice cream she ate was more than acceptable. As always, we'll start with me.


These two burgers I barbecued a few weeks ago. I smothered them in bleu cheese and bacon and topped it off with Pepper Plant BBQ sauce, a specific sauce we get from the central coast that is to die for! I am going to try to stock up on bottles when we go back to the coast in a couple of weeks.



This burger was also barbecued, but there was nothing special about it. I mean, it was yummy, but it was leftover patty from when I barbecued the above burgers.


This next burger is from the oh so delicious In n Out. Got to love that sauce!





A double western from Carl's!





You are not seeing things, this is ANOTHER double western!



Umm....I THINK this is a burger from Wendy's. Yeah, I am almost certain of it.



Finally, this is a burger that I ate when we went out to Red Robin last weekend. It was AWESOME! I was so sad when it was done. :-(

That brings me to.......17 burgers. Yowza!

Jess had a lot of ice cream as she celebrated her birthday for a while. First, here is the "birthday cake" we had at her birthday party. We had ice cream and a ton of toppings!

With all that ice cream, there was of course leftovers for other nights...

...and leftovers....

...and more leftovers. This had crumbled up wafer cookies. It was so good!

They know she loves ice cream at her work too, so they bought her an ice cream cake.

There was enough for her to have some the following day as well...

Finally, here is some ice cream she had at her mom's house. Her mom always has tubs of ice cream in the house!

This brings Jess up to 15 ice cream treats! Hope your guesses are going well!

Some Photography

It is getting pretty late, so I am not going to get a chance to get the burger and ice cream pictures off my cam to post them today. I promise to get them up some time tomorrow. For now, I am going to show you a few pictures I took recently. They were on my computer already so it was no problem to post them.

Remember the picture I took of the orange that I posted the beginning of February? If not, check it out! It was one of my favorite pictures that I have taken. http://manuelsview.blogspot.com/2009/02/quick-post.html

Well, the other day, I was messing with the picture in my photo editing program and came up with this; everything in black and white EXCEPT for the orange.


This next picture I took during a rainy weekend afternoon. I wanted to focus on the raindrops on the window while blurring everything that was outside. I think I mostly got what I was going for.



This final picture was something I came up with out of the blue. I saw the poker chips on my table and thought they looked liked towers, so I put my little Captain America figure in the middle of the chips so it looked liked he was hiding. This picture made me laugh.

Time For A Makeover

Hello again! Well, it is a new week and am hoping this will be the first week in a long time without bad news. I also hope I didn't jinx myself. That being said, for now, I feel good enough to get back to regular blogging and blog reading.

Jess and I have been thinking for a while (well, her more than me) about redoing our bedroom and this past weekend, we finally started. We decided a few weeks ago to actually do it, but wanted ot wait until we did our taxes. Then, we were hit with the news of Jessica being punished and we wanted to wait until we made sure she wasn't fired. With her punishment coming down Thursday, we knew we were good to go and we got underway on Saturday. I've been taking pictures, but it is almost easier to explain with videos, so here are three short videos of our progress.

Day 1



Day 2



Day 3



So, the plan is to get all the painting done by the weekend and then do the floors on Saturday. Wish us luck!

Tomorrow, burgers and ice cream update.

So What Happened...

Ok, so here is the explanation. I started the month trying to blog every day in the month of February in honor of my wife's birthday. In fact, I enjoyed it even though I was having my health crisis. Well, as you probably all know by now, that all turned out to be a ok in the end. However, last Tuesday, we were hit with yet ANOTHER thing to have to worry about. Unlike many of the other problems, this wasn't going to kill someone, but it was almost just as bad.

Remember how the neuro office was really dropping the ball with me and I kept falling through the cracks? Remember how I had Jess look up my records to make sure I was being taken care of and to make sure if there WAS something bad happening, I was finding out about it?

Well, someone at Jessica's work, a coworker, ratted her out and it was brought to the attention of her supervior who reported it to human resources. Yeah, technically, what she did was illegal. She was doing for my benefit and basically, because she thought I was at risk, but it didn't matter as they see it as a black or white issue.

So, Tuesday she was called into the office by HR and was told she was in trouble. In that meeting, she was told it would go under review, and depending on what they decide, she would either be suspended or fired. Yes, she could lose her job because she was trying to protect her husband. Not check out a random person's file, but her husband, who she was trying to make sure wasn't going to die from neglect. She was told in that meeting she would know the decision by Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, until that time we were a wreck. If she lost her job, it would obviously be devasting. Not only are jobs scarce, but if she did find an opening, she has this major violation on her record, a violation she was terminated for. If she can't find a job, we don't have a way of paying the mortgage. So, needless to say, this was bad.

So, Thursday came along and nobody came by. She called at the end of the day asking if she could know the next day as she didn't want to worry all of her birthday weekend. But, alas, Friday came and went. Luckily, she took a fuck it approach and just enjoyed her weekend. Monday came along, nothing. Tuesday, a week after being notified, nothing. Finally, today, we got word she would have the meeting in the afternoon. I was nervous all day. At 3:45, she got the final word - a three day suspension.

This is a huge sigh of relief for us. A suspension without pay for a few days we can handle. Loss of her job, we would not be able to. So, that is where I have been. I didn't want to really say anything until it was all done, but I also didn't feel like faking my usual happy posts when I/we were clearly not ok. It just makes me mad that she got in trouble for protecting me because of by the numbers laws. It makes me mad that the person at fault, the person who could have risked my life, will most likely not be punished at all. How is that fair? What is worse - looking at your husband's record to make sure he is being cared for properly or neglecting a patient? But in the end, it is now over.

I am probably not going to post for a few days, but when I come back, I'll be back with force. I actually enjoyed posting everyday and I will do my best to post as much as possible. I also promise to start visiting your blogs again. With my health issue on top of this new issue, I haven't really been in the mood to read blogs. But, it is all behind us now. The way our last 6 months or so have gone, hopefully, this is the last thing we have to deal with for a while...

The Oscars

First of all, sorry it has been a week since a post. Something has happened that has really not put me in the mood to post, but I will update you all as soon as it is over. It should be soon. It is not health related, so no worries there.

Secondly, I want to wish a Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife! Happy birthday my love.

As you all know, Jess and I are big fans of the Academy Awards and we always see all five movie nominated for Best Picture and have done so for over 10 years, close to 15 actually. This year was no different and in fact, it is kind of cool that the birthday celebration and the awards show are on the same day!

So, here are my thoughts. When the nominations were announced, here is the ranking of how much I was looking forward to each film. I had already seen Benjamin Button and loved it, so I put that at number one simply because I loved it so much.

#1 Benjamin Button
#2 Slumdog Millionaire
#3 Milk
#4 Frost/Nixon
#5 The Reader

So now, after seeing them, in what order did I like them?

#1 is still Benjamin Button as I simply loved the movie. You can read my review here:
http://manuelsview.blogspot.com/2009/01/manuel-on-movies-10.html

#2 Milk was a really great movie. I thought I would like it as I do enjoy biopics, but I didn't know I would enjoy it as much as I did. The story of Harvey Milk is very touching and moving and Sean Penn was excellent. In fact, the whole cast was excellent and the film really captured the mood of the times. I love films where I can be entertained, enlightened, and learn a few things I didn't know all in one sitting. I almost put it ahead of Button, but in the end, I put it at #2 because it WAS just a biopic, and was simply retelling a story, whereas Button was something original (although based on a story) and just felt like something special. 9 out of 10

#3 I ended up liking The Reader a lot more than I figured I would. In fact, you can see it was last on my list of anticipation. But, this movie really surprised me, especially because I had heard so many bad things about it and heard outcry after outcry over how it was included and the overrated Dark Knight wasn't. But this was a very good movie. I thought it started as a great story of this older woman seducing a younger man, but once you find out the woman has a past and the secrets start to come out halfway through the picture, it gets even better. It is an emotional movie with some real moral questions. I ended up being really torn on some things, but I can't really say why without giving too much away. Kate Winslett was AMAZING in it and this is really her movie. 8 out of 10

#4 Slumdog Millionaire is kind of an overrated movie. Prior to seeing it, all I heard was how great this movie was and I was actually excited about seeing it. It wasn't a bad movie, but it just didn't live up to expectations. I LOVED how they told the story, with flashbacks about different times in the main character's life. I thought that part of the storytelling was brilliant. But, I just wasn't moved by the actually story. I didn't really CARE about the characters enough to be moved by it. It was a good story, but nothing special in my opinion. I didn't finish the moovie with a big smile on my face as it seems everyone else has. In the end, I have seen it, it was good, but I feel no urge to ever see it again. 7.5 out of 10

#5 Frost/Nixon is a tough film because the director, Ron Howard, had to basically make the audience care and stay awake for a 2 hour film centered around some interviews that had to do with politics. Sounds like a snoozer, but it wasn't really that bad. Langella (Skeletor!!) was great as Nixon and Sheen was very charasmatic as the interviewer Frost. And in fact, I was never bored and actually cared about what direction the story was going to go and it gave me some cheer moments weirdly enough. But in the end, it WAS a movie, a biopic if you will, centered around a set of interviews and great acting could only take this movie so far before the actual subject matter took over. This was a good film. Not a great film. I learned some stuff I didn't know, but I am sure I won't ever be seeing it again. 7 out of 10.

So, after all that, what WILL win? My bet is on Slumdog. Everyone seems to love the movie and it has some amazing momentum. I don't quite get it and years from now, I think it will go down as one of the overrated movies that took off because of hype, but isn't THAT great once you take a step back from everything and analyze it for what it was, simply a pretty good movie.

Let's Get Physical!

So, I screwed up and forgot to post yesterday. Funny thing is, I wasn't even busy. I never even left the house. But, on relaxing days, you really don't feel like doing anything and blogging never even crossed my mind.

I bring you two things today. First was an article that I read about in the paper yesterday. If you feel that maybe your significant other is being a little too hard on you because of your weight, be thankful you are not married to Christine Newton-John. From the nydailynews.com:

An elderly Ohio man was "exercised to death" by his transgendered wife - who forced him to swim even as he gasped for breath, authorities said.

Christine Newton-John, 41, pleaded guilty last week to reckless homicide in the death of James Mason, 73, and could get five years in prison.

Cops said she was caught on video dragging her frail hubby around the pool in their apartment complex, stopping him from getting out 43 times.

"The man was exercised to death," Middlefield Police Chief Joseph Stehlik told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

"The video is bone-chilling," he said. "The whole case is very sinister. My personal feeling is that what she did was more intentional than reckless.

"This is a case that could just slip through the cracks."

It didn't because Stehlik's deputy became suspicious after Mason's June 2 heart attack, recalling that he'd investigated previous allegations of abuse.

A police officer noticed a surveillance camera above the pool and retrieved the tape - which showed Mason struggling to breathe during the marathon swim session.

A grand jury indicted Newton-John on reckless homicide, and she pleaded guilty Thursday.

"You can see the man struggling for his life on the tape, but there is no audio, so we couldn't hear what he was saying," prosecutor David Joyce told the newspaper, explaining why he didn't pursue a murder rap.

Newton-John's lawyer declined comment.

The suspect was born a male, named John Vallandingham, but underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1993 and took a new name in honor of singer Olivia Newton-John.

Mason knew Vallandingham's family for years. They got married in 2006 in Kentucky, which recognizes such unions as legal, officials said.

The marriage was troubled, authorities said.

"I think he was victimized for years by her," Stehlik said.

Before her arrest, Newton-John had the gumption to threaten the owner of the apartment complex with a lawsuit over Mason's death.

Peter Demopoulos, a private investigator hired by the landlord, said Newton-John is getting off easy. "Considering what she did, it seems like she faces a pretty light sentence," he said. "That tape is startling."

First, how horrible for the guy - knowing you are about to drown and having your wife there to help you and she keeps pushing you back in. I think she clearly knew what she was doing and was intending to kill him. And really, it is kind of clever because without a tape, it might have just ended up looking as a heart attack. She was probably going for the accidental heart attack or drowning death and almost got away with it. Just a horrible human being, but a noteworthy story.

Everyone remember the Christian Bale meltdown on the set of Terminator a couple of weeks back? Well, last night, as we lay in bed watching Family Guy, we were pleasantly shocked to see that the show did not waste any time getting in on the fun. Jess and I were freakin' hysterical!



I know everyone is spoofing it, but bravo to an animated show for getting on it so quickly. You know the show had to be already completed long ago so kudos for getting it in so seamlessly.

Quick Post

Just a quick post tonight as I was busy all day, although most of the time, it was busy doing nothing but relaxing with my wife. I want to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day. And, because I am an equal opportunist, and you are the type who doesn't like the day, Happy "I Hate Valentine's Day" Day. I don't like to exclude.

In honor of the day, here is a great love song by Weird Al (Fan made video):

Happy Friday the 13th!

I know, I know, Friday the 13th is supposed to be a spooky day. I don't really buy into that. In fact, I actually like the day. As a big horror fan, Friday the 13th is almost a day that you look forward to. I remember around 1999, when I was still in college, I started posting on a horror/toy message board and it was the first time I heard the phrase, "Happy, Friday the 13th!" I thought it was great. I mean really, it is just a day, so why not celebrate it? Tonight, to celebrate the day, Jess and I are going with a friend of ours to go see the Friday the 13th remake. Hopefully it is pretty good as although they are considered "classics," the original Friday the 13th movies aren't really my favorites in the horror genre. I could list off a TON of horror movies I prefer.

Anyways, I guess that is it. Have a good weekend everyone!

Oh wait, am I missing anything? Oh yeah...the doctor called and my CT was completely normal, so I have clean bill of health as far as that whole issue is concerned. Thought I should let you all know. Back to normal!

The CT

First of all, no, I don't have any results yet. I thought I would get that out of the way. I did have my CT scan today though. It was the first time I have ever had an IV put in, but that didn't hurt at all. Well, actually, I probably had an IV when I had tubes in my ears as a kid, but I don't remember it. They had to give me an IV because they had to inject a dye into me so they could see the CT scan easier. At the beginning of the scan, they injected the dye and I was told I would get a warm, burning feeling throughout my body. Well, I didn't get that feeling throughout my body.

I got the warm, burning feeling in my butt.

Yes, my ass was burning up, but all I could do was laugh. It wasn't a stinging burning feeling, but more or a real burn, as if someone had a lighter right in that area.

After the burning came a bit of nausea, and for a while I thought I was going to throw up. But I held it in and before I knew it, I was done. They pulled me out and I was itchy all over. They looked at me and right away asked if I felt like I was bitten during the procedure. Sure enough, I felt my face and I had a huge bump on my cheek. Apparently, I was allergic to the dye and I had broken out in hives. So, because of this allergic reaction, they wouldn't let me leave right away. They helped me to a seat (I felt fine) and took my vitals every 10 minutes for a half hour to make sure I was ok and not having any further allergic reactions. Again, I felt fine, but they were being cautious. By the end of the half hour, my hives had also gone down too. But, I learned I am allergic to Iodine dye today. And it makes my ass burn.

They told me I should be able to get results from the doctor by tomorrow afternoon. Good thoughts.

WHAT THE FUCK?!?

I am SO fucking done with this whole situation. Today, I woke up, and through postive thinking, allowed myself to have a good day and not try to dwell on things. My CT was scheduled, I would find out soon (maybe), and then we would go from there. That lasted maybe until 3pm.

I got a call a little bit ago from the place doing my CT, confirming my appointment. When I confirmed the location with them, the place I was told by that fucking MA from Neuro, they told me that was incorrect and it was in a completely different location. So, I asked Jess to look up in the computer (same company, albeit, a different location). All she showed was that the MA told me the location which was in fact wrong. But here is what else she found new in my chart. There was a note from the doctor to his MA that the next time a test result comes back that is urgent or critical, he would like to be paged right away. So, the report DID come back right away and the fucking bitch stalled on getting it to him. She saw it was urgent and instead, just set it on his desk for whenever he got a chance to look at it with the rest of the NON URGENT stuff. It was supposed to be brought to his attention right away and it didn't. PLUS, there is more.

As a back story again, Jess can look up everything in my notes from her computer at work. However, it is illegal. So, yesterday, Jess asked him why were not contacted right away if they saw this tear in my artery? He said that it was because the note only said it was a low suspicion and they are only doing the test for a precaution. Well, guess what, that is a lie. Jess has seen the report. I have seen the report as she forwarded it to me. NOWHERE, does it say low suspicion. It says, clear as day, we SAW this. Why would he fucking lie to her? AND, by him writing in my notes, "Next time something urgent like this comes along..." shows me it was NOT a low suspicion. It was FUCKING URGENT and he flat out lied to Jessica. Now, the bad thing is, Jessica can not call him on this because she did find out by doing something illegal. All I can do is sit and stew on it. I did call and leave a message with the Patient Advocate who Jess reported everything (except the illegal stuff) to yesterday. I called and told her to add telling me the completely wrong place for my CT to the pile of things. I am not going to stop until this bitch gets a suspension or something along those lines. If nothing happens to her, I WILL go in and let her verbally have it. I don't fucking care. I am at my breaking point. I have a huge headache now, I am angry, and I am done.

The Appointment

So, my CT scan is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. I wish I could say I will have my results by Friday, but that would be a miracle based on what I have experienced so far. Jess talked to the neuro doctor today finally and he said I could still do normal activity. She asked about treatment should it come back positive and he said it would probably be just anticoagulants for about 6 months. That is not what we have been reading so she asked if as a neuro doctor, this problem with my neck and carotid artery would fall into his scope of practice. He said yes, but if the test does come back positive, we will seek a second opinion on treatment. Maybe he does know what he is talking about, but we would like to talk to someone other than someone who specializes in brains. We shall see.

Well there ya go...

Here is an update on my headache situation. So, as you know, the MRI came back ok, but I had to wait for my ultrasound on my carotid artery because they fucked up and forgot to order it. So, on Friday the 30th, I finally got it and was told I would get my results in a couple of days or right away if it was something bad. Well, I waited a week, last Friday, and finally called because I had not heard anything yet.

I talked to the MA, the lady that has been screwing me over already, and asked about my results. She went and looked and said she saw they were on the Dr.'s desk and he would call me with the results. She said not to worry because if it was bad, I would have found out right away.

So, he didn't call me back Friday, but today I got a call from the MA again and said she ordered my labs.

Me: "Umm.....what?"

Bitch: "Your labs, the blood test you need to get first."

Me: "Before what, what are you talking about?"

Bitch(in an annoyed tone now): "Your CT!"

Me: "Um, I had an MRI and my ultrasound, where is the CT coming from?"

Bitch: "Hold on, let me get the doctor..."

So, I talked to the doctor. Basically, he told me what I feared. The ultrasound showed that they suspect that I have a carotid dissection. What is it?

Basically, I have a tear in my carotid artery, or more specifically, a tear between the inner and outer layers of my carotid artery. What is bad is that with the tear, blood can leak into this area between my inner and outer layer which can then clot up and then what follows is a stroke.

How did it happen? Who knows. Basically, from what I have read everywhere, it happens in one of 2 ways. One way is spontaneous or rather, it just happens and nobody knows why. The other way it happens is a trauma - a neck or head injury, or even something as simple as a violent cough or sneeze. I am sure I will never know and I have no idea how it is treated. Probably won't know until I get more results and see how bad it is.

So, the doctor ordered a CT scan to verify if that is indeed what I have. A CT is more accurate than the ultrasound. Jess called today see what my activity level should be until we find out more, etc, but of course, they never called her back today. So, it took over a week to get results that I was assured would have been ok or they would have called me sooner. And then I find out, the results were NOT good. Jess contacted the patient advocate and she was appalled at everything she heard so we are not letting this go. And if God forbid something is really wrong and they were just a little too late in catching it, they will have Hell to pay. We wait and see...

Burgers and Ice Cream

It has been a couple weeks since we did a burger and ice cream update so that is what this whole post will be dedicated to. I know, exciting stuff! Everyone checking their score cards?!? We were at 5 burgers for me and 3 ice cream treats for Jess at the last update so here we go. Again, sorry for the yucky camera phone pics.

We start with a Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger for me from Carl's Jr(Or Hardee's for some of you). I worked at Carl's Jr. for a little bit in my teens and you know what, I still can eat there any day, any time. I know most people who work at a fast food restaurant say they could never eat there after. Not me...

Next is the Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger from Jack n the Box that I picked up on the way to go to Jessica's mom's house last weekend.

Finally, yesterday, we went to my Aunt and Uncle's house because they wanted to cook the turkey burgers that they make. It was a fun time and the food was delicious. I think they enoyed contributing to the the contest. To make her more of a part of it, I had 2!

This brings my total to 9 burgers!

Now on to Jess. Her first ice cream treat from this period was a mint Oreo shake when we went to Carl's Jr. As ice cream is in it, it counts...

Next, when we went to her mom's last weekend, she had a bowl of ice cream as they always have like 50 million types of ice cream in the house.

This past week, I think Wednesday maybe, Jess was having a bad day at work so I surprised her when she got home with a Heath Bar Blizzard that I went out and got. She was so happy!

On Friday night, Jess and I went out to Outback to use a gift certificate we got for Christmas from some friends of ours. The food was great, including this great dessert. It was whip cream with cinnamon croutons, vanilla ice cream with nuts and caramel and caramel apples around it. It was AWESOME!

Finally, when we went to my Aunt and Uncle's house yesterday, they also got Jess some ice cream so I wasn't the only one who added to my total. How nice of them!

Now Jess is at 8 ice cream treats! It is pretty close! Have a good week everyone!

Quick Post

The rest of the day from here on out is going to be pretty busy with house cleaning, dinner at my aunt and uncle's house, and poker. So, I need to get a quick post in for the daily post.

Here is a picture I just took of an orange from the tree we planted in the spring. We got a couple that grew, but none that were really edible. Probably better luck next year...

Dumbass

The above title says it all. Really, if that is what someone wants to do, so be it. I won't judge you. But when you are a public figure like that who a) kids look up to and b) has a LOT of sponsors now and coming his way in the future, it wasn't really the best choice was it, bub? But, you did it, you got caught, and now you have to deal with it. So, bravo to you. You get a big thumbs up!

This Man's a Collector

As I am blogging every day in February, I thought I would blog today about something that bugs Jess to no end. I have a problem with collecting. Rather, once I get one or two things, I feel like I have to get more and more of that same thing and if applicable, all of them. My collections just happen to be all childish in nature because, well, that is how I roll. So, I am going to try, as best as I can, think of everything I have collected over the years. Note: none of the accompanying pictures are mine:

My collection obsession probably has to start with the first toy I ever really got into: He-Man. I went crazy with these when they came out. Rather, my mom went crazy as she was the one actually buying them. In fact, she was one of those really crazy moms: going to the store right when it opened and going through the boxes looking for new figures before they were even on the shelves. For a couple of years, or what seemed like years, I got ALL the He-Man figures that came out. Not one figure hit the shelves that I did not have. I loved these things and I am sad I sold them long ago.

Not long after He-Man (probably while I was collecting He-Man), I started collecting Transformers. Although Transformers were definitely cooler and I loved them, I didn't go quite as crazy with them as I did with He-Man. I had a lot, but I didn't have all of them - I know that because I can think of plenty I didn't own. I sold these about the same time I did the He-Man toys and again, I regret it to this day.

A couple of years later, but still in my toys days, I started collecting two toys that I bought a ton of, and because they were cheaper, might have had even more of than Transformers. M.U.S.C.L.E were these cheap figures that looked like they could come out of the 25 cent vending machines as they were not posable, a single color, and about 2 inches tall. But, because of that, you could collect tons of them. And that I did. I had so many of these and well, because they were so small and cheap looking, I bet I sold over a hundred of these for like a buck. Stupid. I still find myself looking on Ebay for cheap collections of these.

I also collected BattleBeasts at this time. Although they were about the same size as the above, they were more in depth. They had articulation. Basically, they were animals, but animals that walked upright and had weapons. Like a shark with legs with a spear. The cool thing about these was that all of them had a sticker on their chest that you had to rub to reveal. All of them had either a fire, water, or earth (I believe) symbol and that was supposed to help you decide who would win when you had them fight each other. I loved these things.

Believe it or not, I really didn't start collecting comics until I was getting out of my action figure/toy phase. I had a couple of comics here and there as a kid, but didn't really start collecting comics until I was 10 or maybe older. Not much to say about them that hasn't been said before. I collected until I was around 13 or 14 and then started up again a few years ago. I am so glad I did.

The next collection is because of Jessica. When Jessica and I started dating she mentioned she had a little PEZ dispenser collection. It was small, maybe 10 or less, but a collection nonetheless. In my infinite wisdom, I told her that if you are going to have a collection, then you need to have a COLLECTION and go all out. I didn't know what kind of can of worms I was about to open. What followed in the next 5 years or more was collecting every PEZ we could get our hands on. We searched pawn shops, the internet, anywhere we could think of, and when we finally stopped collecting a couple of years ago, we had probably over 400 different PEZ. We had a bride and groom PEZ dispenser as our cake topper at our wedding. All the guests got PEZ heart PEZ with our name and the date of our wedding on it. We had so many and really, we stopped collecting because of Disney. What? Well, Disney got really involved with PEZ in the last few years and started releasing a line of new dispensers with every movie they released. That led to other movie studios releasing PEZ dispensers for their movies as well. It just became overwhelming and too much at one time. We still have them boxed up in the garage, but THAT was a collection.

In college, after a particular medical scare which turned out to be nothing, I ventured to a comic store (wasn't collecting comics at this time) to just spend money to make me feel better. I ended up buying a couple of figures called Movie Maniacs, figures of horror characters. I ended up loving them so much for how great they looked, I decided this would be my next collection. Up until pretty much the very end of this line, I collected every single one these figures. Characters I never thought I would get became figures in my living room and eventually office. I ended up selling these figures a couple of years ago and am actually ok with it. The collection started because I was scared/sad and I enjoyed collecting them, but I eventually moved on.

Also, around the same time, Episode 1, the Phanton Menace hit the movies. Right around the time the movie came out, figures came out for the movie. I was at Target one day and I saw all the figures on the shelf. I was in collection heaven. There in front of me was a Samuel L. Jackson action figure. I bought him right there and then spread the word that for my 21st birthday which would be in a few weeks, I wanted, well, all of them. And yeah, for my birthday, I got them all. They would release a few more waves of figures and I went out and got all those too, probably my first venture into searching the internet for rare figures. I would end up selling these a couple of years later. This is probably my greatest example of getting overcome with the collection bug. Maybe it was the hype of the new movie, but my decision to collect these happened faster than anything I had ever done.

So, this takes me to present day. I still collect comics and my other two current collections also have to do with comics. First, as I have talked about recently, I collect Mighty Muggs. Now, they make different kinds of Muggs, but I only collect the Marvel Superheroes ones. They even have Transformers and Star Wars, but I have to draw a line somewhere. I LOVE these things!

My final collection is my statues. These babies are basically works of art as they are simply beautiful. As the price is up there (over $20o for some of them), I don't have a TON of them. I would love to have a bunch because there are tons I want, but I have a good number, around 10 or so.

I wonder what I'll collect next...

Wordless Wednesday #28

What don't you fucking understand!?!

Ok, so I had a post planned for today, but some news came across my computer screen that had me cancel all plans until I posted it.

Hopefully, you all know who the actor Christian Bale is. Actually, I hope you knew who he was prior to the 2 Batman films because if you didn't, you are missing some great performances. Well, right now, he is filming/wrapping up the new Terminator films. Well, it seems someone on the set really pissed him off and well, Bale went balistic. Below is the link where you can listen to the long tirade where you can clearly hear Bale in need of a hug. Just in case you don't already know, this is NOT safe to listen to at work unless they don't mind "Fuck" multiple times. Again, this is audio only....

http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=11909

Pretty intense guy, huh? Here is an explanation of the event from Aintitcool.com

I'm getting slammed with assloads of people angry at me for not posting the Bale explosion from the set of McG's TERMINATOR: SALVATION. Well, first off - there's a real simple reason. It isn't news. And it certainly isn't cool news. It is a moment in a man's life taken completely out of context and most likely leaked to personally embarrass Christian Bale.

Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking... There's no excuse for a temper tantrum like that to ever occur and if you are going to act that way, you deserve to be embarrassed by your own actions.

Except, you want to hear the REALITY behind that clip?

I know this because I happen to be somewhere where someone that was there that day and for the shoot is. And this person isn't a publicist, nor are they invested in Bale's career. They're just someone that thinks it is absolute bullshit that this moment in Bale's life is being aired and that the real story should get out there.

The DP on TERMINATOR SALVATION, Shane Hurlbut, is a apparently a light tweaker. He's a fairly young DP and likes to fiddle with his lights on set during action, which is a big "NO NO" on most productions unless worked out in advance with performers. But apparently Shane was a pretty unrepentant light tweaker.

The scene in question, was a very emotional and tough scene between Christian Bale and Bryce Howard. A scene that required soul bearing and a deep level of immersive concentration. The sort of scene where everyone on set knows not to get in anyone's eye lines, and definitely not to move lights around while FILMING. You lock that shit down before the scene starts.

Bale had indeed warned the DP on multiple occasions about messing with lights while the cameras were rolling, and Bale was in the midst of a painful scene with Bryce, what was described to me as being the emotional center of the film and his character for the film.

Now, the reason I know all of this is because the person that was there, felt that it should be made perfectly clear that Christian Bale was the utmost gentleman and cool guy on se... most of the time. And the DP was doing something that professional DPs with experience just don't do. At least not during a performance.

You don't need me to give you a link, it's all over the internet, I just felt that you should know what really went down - and that this particular outburst did indeed modify the DP's behavior. For future DPs: Fuck with the lights before and after your actors are acting. Not during.


Well, because we live in the internet age, it would not be long before someone took this clip and made a funny video out of it. This video is HILARIOUS, but ONLY if you have heard the above sound clip.

Beautiful Music

I'm not feeling well, so please watch this video of an absolutely beautiful version of Stand By Me. This is from a documentary I am definitly going to watch, Playing For Change. The song gave me chills. Enjoy and see you tomorrow...

What a way to start

So, today begins my plan of blogging every day in February in honor of my wife. I wish this one wasn't so "crappy."

Jess and I are unexpectedly in the Bay Area this weekend after her mom was admitted to the hospital again. Again, this is her mom, not her stepmom. She looks like she is going to be fine and we did it mostly to take care of her stepdad who is pretty immobile with a broken ankle. To be a nice son in law, I mowed the lawn for them. But do this, I first had to pick up the dog poops.

Let me preface this by saying I have it pretty easy with my dogs. There is no grass so they poop on the cement. In fact, even when we did have grass back there, they would poop mostly on the cement. So, I just wait until it hardens a little and I just sweep them all up. Pretty easy work if you ask me.

Well, here, they have grass and it was long. Not able to use my patented sweeping method, I used a shovel and a rake. Well, on one particular excrement, the rake got tied up in the long grass. I pulled and pulled on the rake which had some, well, pretty loose stool on it. With one big tug, I freed the rake from the grasp of the devil grass. But in doing so, the rake flung in my direction..........and flung some of the runny poop on my face. Right away I stopped and said, "Please tell me I imagined that." Sure enough, I touched my forhead and there it was, smeared poop on it. Yes, my month is off to a pretty shitty start.

Way behind

This posting once a week thing sucks. I haven't been uninspired to write. Hardly. It has been pure laziness. Even when I KNOW I could sit down and write stuff, I am not. Gotta get better at that. In fact, since my wife enjoys it so much when I blog(she is such a sweetheart and tells me that all the time), I am going to blog every day for her birthday month. So, in February, much like I did last May for my birthday, I am going to have a post every day.

I took the MRI of my head on Tuesday and thankfully, everything came back ok. I wish that was the end of the story. If you remember correctly, I was also supposed to have an ultrasound on my neck. So what happened? Well, to put it in short terms, they forgot to schedule it. When they called and told me the appointment time for my MRI, I asked if it was for the ultrasound also. They assured me it was. I felt it was weird that I got an auth letter from my insurance and that too only had the MRI,. but since I ASKED, I trusted them. Well, I get to the imaging place and tell me about my MRI and I ask about the ultrasound. They know nothing about it and I call the doctor's right away. Long story short, they DID forget to schedule it. The apologized, but the next day when I finally was able to get a hold of someone who could tell me that yes, they dropped the ball. But on Tuesday afternoon, I was PISSED. I had been waiting and waiting and although one test was clear, to have to wait longer for the other was unacceptable. But, because I was pissed and they were in the wrong, they did a rush on my auth and getting the appointment so, tomorrow afternoon, I have my test.

Other than that, not a whole lot is going on. So, let's end it with my favorite part: 2 new videos of my dogs...

Well I'll be....MORE updates!!!

This blog is turning into update central. I wish I could go back to more light hearted stuff on this blog, but with everything going on in our lives and how busy we have been, that is what it is turning in to.

Anyways, Fran, Jessica's stepmom, got the results of her CT scan and they were mixed. After 9 weeks of chemo, some tumors are bigger, some are smaller, and some are the same. So, since they weren't the worst results we could have gotten, she has decided to do another 9 weeks of chemo and see how it goes. It shows us she isn't ready to give up yet...

I have my MRI and Doppler test on Tuesday afternoon. My headaches are starting to lessen, but it is good to make sure nothing is wrong. I have also been going to physical therapy for my back. I think it could POSSIBLY be getting better...

Other than that though, not a whole lot going on so I thought it would be a good opportunity to update the hamburger and ice cream status. Sorry for the poor pictures; cell phone pics don't always come out the best.

This first one is an In 'n Out burger. Awesome...

The next one is a burger from Burger King. I always get the chicken sandwich so I decided to branch out...

The last one is from a VERY nice restaurant here in town that has quickly become our favorite - Crush 29. It is a great place that specializes in wine and the food that accompanies it. Both times I have gone, I have got the salmon baked in Rice Krispies, but I decided to venture out this time and the only thing that was sounding good was the burger. It was wonderful despite not being SUPER fresh as we took it takeout since Fran didn't feel like eating anywhere but home.

Jess also had some ice cream to add to her totals. The other day I made dinner for her and to top it off, I bought an ice cream sandwich.

We had some family in town from New York for Fran's party and we took them to get their first Dairy Queen Blizzard...

So, that makes 5 burgers for me, 3 ice cream treats for Jess.....

Finally, I just killed my drum set in Rock Band. Playing Hard and Expert levels on drums, your drums take a beating and I guess they couldn't take it anymore. Here is the aftermath. I guess it time to buy a new drum set...

Updates Galore

A lot to catch up on....

First, Jess and I have pretty much recovered from the miscarriage we had. In the end, we thought we never would get pregnant so really, we are really no worse off than we were before. I guess it does give us some hope, but we are still not holding our breath.

On the other hand, Orko's lump is almost gone now. The vet thought it was cancer and the dog oncologist was not certain and would require $700 worth of tests just to find out. We opted out of doing that because of his age. Since then, his lump, which at first was getting noticeably bigger, is now almost completely gone. He has also been rejuvinated and as back to his playful self. We hope all these signs are good signs.

Yesterday we held a birthday party for Jessica's stepmom. As reaching 60 is not a certainty, we held a giant 59th birthday party for her. It was a wonderful time with a ton of people and the amount of love and support shown by everyone was amazing. It was truly an amazing time and everything seemed to run flawlessly.

Tomorrow is the day of truth though as we get the results of her CT scan from last week. She has completed her 9 weeks of chemo and now the CT scan will show if it has done any good. So based on tomorrow's results, she decides her next course of action. If the tumor is still growing, well then, I have a feeling she is done with treatment. If it is around the same size, I have no idea what she will do. If it is shrinking, then I would hope she continues the treatment. The chemo seems to have been really hard on her so I have no idea what she will decide. All we can do is hope for good news tomorrow.

I visited the neurologist last week and talked with him for quite a while. He performed a bunch of tests on me and asked me a lot of questions. He was not quite sure why I was getting headaches. He sounded suspicious of migraines, but he is going to have me do an MRI on my head to rule out anything bad. He is also doing a dopplar test, like an ultrasound, on my neck to see my carotid artery and make sure I don't have something called carotid dissection, or a small tear in my carotid artery that can cause headaches and eventually stroke. So, hopefully everything comes back normal and I just have developed migraines. We shall see.

Wordless Wednesday #27 - My Dogs edition

Manuel on Movies #10

First off, thanks to all the kind words from you all in our difficult time last week. Yeah, that is about all I want to say on that. Let's move on...

Some more reviews for you including a couple from a couple of months ago that I forgot to do...




Zach and Miri Make a Porno - I love Kevin Smith movies. I have loved them from the first time I saw Clerks and wondered how they could get away with saying those kinds of things in a movie. Always riding that thin line between funny and obscene, his movies crack me up. When I first heard he would be making a movie about people making porn, I knew he would be taking it to the next level. Boy, did he ever! Now, like usual, I was never offended, but it was easily the most vulgar movie I had ever seen. It was funny as hell and some scenes had me rolling in my seat, but boy was it raunchy. I guess a movie about porn (although it is a sweet love story) was bound to be like that. Here is what did make me uncomfortable as we sat in the theater watching it. A couple of rows up from us were 2 kids, both no older than 10 years old. Yes, on the screen was full frontal nudity, simulated sex acts, and raunchy language, and there were two young kids there - by themselves. How did they get there? Well, when the movie started, they walked in with an adult woman who proceeded to sit them down, and then once they were situated, she took off for the back of theater, to do what or see who, who knows? The fact that they were sitting there by themselves made me very uncomfortable. Still, despite this, I loved the movie. Is was pretty much what I expected and that is good enough for me. 7.5 out of 10


Horton Hears a Who - Quite a difference from the above movie, no? I just saw this the other day as we were given the DVD for Christmas. Despite us being big Dr. Seuss fans as well as fans of Jim Carey and Steve Carrell, we never saw this in the theater. This was a cute family film and there were even a couple of scenes where surprisingly, I laughed out loud. The animation was great and there were like usual, a few in-jokes that probably only adults would get. I am glad we got to see this. 7 out of 10



Journey to the Center of the Earth - When this movie remake came out at the movies in the Summer, I thought it looked like it would be a train wreck and stayed way clear of it. The surprisingly, someone gave it to us for Christmas. You know, it wasn't bad. Not a masterpiece by any means, it was at least watchable and I could see myself watching it over and over if I was a kid. Almost like an Indiana Jones for kids under 10. In the theater, it was in 3D so watching it on DVD, you can clearly see where some scenes were set up for the 3D and it suffers because of this when watching it on DVD. "Why did he just hold that light right up to the screen like that?" Scenes like this give the movie an extra dose of cheesiness it probably didn't need, but in the end, like I said, it was watchable and kept my interest. 6 out of 10





The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Beautiful. Honestly, I could probably stop right there because that really sums up what I felt about this movie. I really thought this movie was flawless and didn't mind at all the nearly three hour run time. It felt like a fairy tale and was just so heartwarming, it made me become the most emotional I have had in a long time in a film. Pitt is wonderful and the special effects in this movie to have him at various sizes are simply astounding. The makeup was also great as well, heavy at first since he starts off as an old man, and then gradually getting less and less and he gets "younger." There are very few perfect films that are made. This is one of them. 10 out of 10





Saw V - By now it is just keeping up the tradition - end of October, I know I am going to go see a new Saw sequel. It's like clockwork. Like the other films, there are traps, gruesome deaths, and twists. Like the other ones, I was entertained. Not high art by any means, the continuing storyline of Jigsaw keeps me intrigued. Some movie franchises get destroyed by pointless sequel after sequel (see most 80s horror franchises), but somehow, the Saw series still keeps me entertained and anxious for the next one. Yes, many are people are done with this series, but I still eagerly await each one. 7 out of 10



Vantage Point - What a clever film. The actual storyline of the film is maybe 30 minutes tops. Everything that happens in this 90+ minute film happens within a thirty minute "real time" time frame. So, how does it fill 90 minutes? The story is told from the view points of the various characters in the film. We see a scene from the view point of a character and just when they are about to reveal an important clue, they start all over from someone else's point of view, basically teasing us by turning us the other way right as they are about pull the curtain for the big reveal. Focusing on an assassination attempt, bombing, and kidnapping, there is plenty to be revealed that is hinted at through the various characters but not fully revealed until the very end. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and intrigued. I quite enjoyed this film. 7.5 out of 10



Wall E - If I told you that I just saw a movie that was stuffed full of social commentary; an attack on the American way of life, you might think that I just saw a Michael Moore movie. You probably wouldn't think I just saw a Pixar film. But that is what Wall E is. Yes, kids can enjoy the film and based on how much it made, they did. But this movie probably goes right over the head of children as the messages, although too much for children to grasp, are there to smack you right in the face if you are adult. On the defensive are our lifestyles, our destruction of the environment, and even our tendency to drive out little stores in favor of a one stop fits all big box store. All this from a movie where the two main characters barely speak a word. Now, this is a brilliant film and visually stunning, especially on Blu Ray. The story is wonderful and touching. But this movie goes beyond touching and really drives home its point about the lives we lead, much to the chagrin of many I am sure.. I loved it, but this social commentary may turn off some people. Or, perhaps people won't even notice. Who knows. 9 out of 10



Wanted - I actually thought this looked kind of silly when it came out at the movies. It looked like the special effects might be cool, but that is about it. I rented it on Blu the other day and I LOVED it. Yes, the special effects were great. Not just great, but they were cool. Almost as if it was taking off where the FIRST Matrix film left off. But the story was great too. It had some twists I did not expect and the narration by the main character throughout the film was clever and witty. The action scenes were top notch thanks to the special effects, but it was definitely not an "action first and the script comes secondary" kind of movie(Not that there is anything wrong with those kind of movies on occasion.) They left it open for a potential sequel and I, in fact, hope that they will. I plan on buying this. 9 out of 10.

As long as it doesn't come in threes....

Today is quite possibly, the worst day of my life. Two bombshells were dropped today. First, I took my dog, Orko, to the vet today because he had a lump. As it turns out, the vet thinks it is a tumor and needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later. He said because of the location, size, and sudden onset, it will have to be done by a specialty surgery center. I called and for a rough estimate, it looks like everything might cost us around 3 grand. We might still go in for a consult, but it doesn't look good for our boy.

Not an hour after finding this out, we got results that we were dreading. As readers of this blog know, Jess and I have struggled with infertility for many years now. Well, surprise, surprise, Jess took a pregnancy test on Monday and she was pregnant. The blood work on Monday afternoon confirmed it. But, because of some slight bleeding, we were carefully optimistic as she might have been having some trouble. The only way to find out was to take a test 48 hours later and see if her numbers were going up or going down. Down, was of course, a bad thing.

Scared, but hopeful, we have spent the last 2 days as a couple who were expecting. We talked to it. We touched it. We gave it kisses, all the while telling it to not leave us and promising that we would be wonderful parents if he/she just stuck around.

A while ago, still reeling from the news of our dog, we found out that Jessica's numbers were in fact going down and had suffered a miscarriage. After trying for this long and to have our hopes that high, this is devastating. Words can't really describe what we are going through right now. We had an absolutely horrible 2008 for all intents and purposes and had hopes that 2009 would be so much better. On Jan 5th, we were on cloud 9. Today, January 7th, we see that the year we had last year is just continuing...

Burgers and Bigots

So, with 2009 officially underway, the contest for the burgers and ice cream guesses has now officially started. Thanks to all of you who made guesses and let the best person win. As promised, every burger or ice cream eaten will show up on this blog. So, 6 days in, how am I doing?

Below was my first burger of the year - a burger I actually did on the BBQ myself on Jan 1st. It was actually friggin' delicious as I can make a pretty damn good burger despite what Kelly #2 might tell you. I have a few more ideas for a BBQ burger so I am pretty excited to do it again soon!

This was the second burger I had this year, a burger from Chili's on Sunday afternoon. Yes, those ARE pieces of bacon coming off the side of it. They were the thickest pieces of bacon I have ever had and boy were they delicious! It also had some yummy onion strings on top. I had a lot of this burger, but I could not finish it. Oh well...

Finally, Jess is now underway in her ice cream total. Sunday night, I went and bought her her favorite, a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. She looks so happy!!!

So....on to a story I heard first on the radio about a month ago and since then, have seen all over the internet and the like. I am sure you have all heard the story by now, but if not, here is one of the many articles on it, this one from USA Today.com

It's not every day that a supermarket's refusal to print a child's name on a cake makes national news. Then again, it's not every day that we come across a 3-year-old named Adolf Hitler Campbell.

The Express-Times explains:
Karen Meleta, a ShopRite spokeswoman, said the grocer tries to meet customer requests but rejects those deemed inappropriate. "We believe the request to inscribe a birthday wish to Adolf Hitler is inappropriate," she said.
The grocer offered to make a cake with enough room for the Campbells to write their own inscription. But the Campbells refused, saying they would have a cake made at the Wal-Mart in Lower Nazareth Township. The Campbells say Wal-Mart made cakes for Adolf's first two birthdays.
A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart said the store won't put anything illegal or profane on a cake but thinks it's important to respect the views of customers and employees. "Our No. 1 priority in decorating cakes is to serve the customer to the best of our ability," Anna Taylor, the spokeswoman, said from Bentonville, Ark.

Young Adolf has two younger sisters. JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell will be two in February, while an infant named after Heinrich Himmler turns 1 in April, according to the paper, which says they live in a house decorated with swastikas and other Nazi paraphernalia.

So yes, you heard it right, the boy's name is Adolf Hitler. The sister is named Aryan Nation. I read another article later in which the father said people need to get over it and it is just a name. I believe he said something along the lines of, "I named him that because I knew he would have a unique name."

Gee, you think? The amount of looks this child and his siblings will be getting for the rest of their lives has to be considered some sort of child abuse in my opinion. What disturbs me is that growing up in this household makes me think he will be raised with some rather horrible view points and he might be taught to be proud of his name. Sure, a name is just a name, but I think this is just distasteful to the highest degree. It sickens me.

A little bit of this...

I apologize ahead of time as this might be all over the place...

I hope you enjoyed the videos from the last post of the New Years party. I thought there was another video of Jessica and Kelly #2 sitting next to each other during King's Cup, both unable to talk because of a rule, but apparently, I pointed the camera at them and taunted them, but never actually pressed record. Figures...

Tomorrow I get back on my diet/exercise plan that I have been doing with the Wii Fit since June. I haven't really been on any kind of plan the last few weeks and although I know I could just blame it on the holidays.........aw, hell, I am just going to blame it on the holidays. Yeah, yeah, I know if I just had will power, I could have spent the last few weeks eating no treats at all while everyone else ate poorly, but what is the fun in that? I actually have no problem getting back on the horse. The only problem is, my Wii Fit pad is starting to crack. I am curious what it will do when I step on it tomorrow. I need to get a hold of Nintendo to see if they have any kind of warranty, but then again, I have no receipt or anything. We shall see.....

I have a couple of doctor appointments coming up. I think this week is my first physical therapy appointment for my back. I have been having a bunch of lower back problems lately and sometimes, if often kills me to stand after sitting, leaning over, get up in the morning, etc. I mentioned it to my doctor at my physical and she thought it was because of my weight. I told her I have never had back problems and it didn't really manifest until I started losing this weight I have been losing. If I didn't have back problems 17 pounds (well, less now but will get back there) ago, why do I have them now that I have lost that weight? Her response - I think it is your weight. Well, I'll see how therapy goes. Is it BECAUSE of working out? Well, I could see if I was lifting weights or something, but the Wii Fit is pretty low impact. Who knows...

I also have my appointment with with the neurologist next week(?) for my headaches. Since early December when they were almost every day and intense every time, they have gone down in frequency and pain. However, I am still occasionally getting them and the fact that 99% of these headaches are in the same exact spot warrants a check up I think. My doctor asked if I was having depression and even asked the same question to Jess at her physical last week about me, but I don't believe I am. I don't know if Manuel is capable of depression, even in the worst of times. Am I? Angry, pissed, sad? Yes. Depressed? No, I don't think so...

I have another batch of movie reviews coming up this week as well as a few weeks old article I read in the paper that I just haven't had a chance to address, but will soon. Also, as it is 2009, it will be time to start posting pictures of burgers and ice cream. Yes, today is only the 4th, but pictures have already been taken. Next post on Tuesday...

Happy New Year!

Good morning(at noon) and Happy New Year everyone!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe time last night. We had a WONDERFUL time last night as we threw a party at the Valle household. We had a pretty good turnout - around 12 people or so. We had snacks, played games, drank, celebrated the ball dropping outside with noise makers, drank, and just overall had a really good time. The highlight was probably our two games of Kings Cup, a card game where what you draw determines what you have to do. There is a lot of drinking with this one. If you pull a Jack, you get to make a rule the table has to follow the rest of the night and well, I was having a hard time with that which made me drink and have to dance:




Why is it called Kings Cup? Well, if you draw a King, you pour some of your drink into a cup into the middle. The first 3 Kings pour whatever they are drinking into the cup - beer, tequila, vodka, etc. The person to get the last King? They win! Well, they win by having to drink the mixture in the cup. We played two games and here are the videos of the Cup being consumed both times...






Yeah, good times....

Holiday update and last chance to get your picks in...

Well, I am back! Christmas was great. We had 3 Christmas celebrations - my parents', Jessica's Dad and Stepmom's, and Jessica's Mom and Stepdad's. Food was great at each celebration and the gifts were generous and flowing! However, none of the celebrations were without memorable events - we had the salmon catching on fire at one event, my mother accidently, but TOTALLY innocently and indirectly calling Jess fat, and Jessica's stepdad breaking his ankle which required an ambulance ride and now surgery. Yes, we had all those, but overall, it was a wonderful Christmas. Well, maybe for everyone except her stepdad. I'll try to post some pictures in a couple of days.

As this will probably be my last post of 2008, I wanted to update you and give you one more chance to make your guesses for the contest I am running all year long in 2009. As I love burgers and Jess loves ice cream, I am asking you to guess how many times we will consume these respective foods in 2009. We will include a picture each time one of us eats the food. As an update, these are the guesses I have so far:

Burgers for Manuel:
Mom - 33
Nani - 75
Jose - 258
Alien - 254
Laura - 104
Sal - 120

Ice Cream for Jess:
Nani - 75
Laura - 156

Obviously a lot more burger than ice cream guesses so get them in. Already guessed and want to change your answer? Go ahead here. I will allow guesses until the end of the week so if you don't get them in by Jan 1, feel free to still guess (until Sunday the 4th.) The more guesses the better. There ARE prizes involved!

See you in the New Year! Oh yeah, I pick Tara to do the next Scavenger Hunt word pick.

Tamales

So, this weekend I got a handy dandy new mini video camera that I wanted. Because of the ease of using it and uploading to youtube on this new camera, you will probably also start seeing osme videos on this site too. Little video blogs.



With that, today was the annual making tamale day. We usually make them the day before Christmas Eve as we eat them at Grandma's on Cristmas Eve. I decided to make a quick video while there.

With that, have a great Christmas everyone. I will be out of town right after Christmas for a few days with no internet connection so I will be back next Monday. Have a safe Christmas and see you all later...