You are now a Grandfather!  We have another addition to the blogging community thanks to you.

Dave now has his own blog!  I think he got tired of me talking about him and not being able to have a say.  HA  This could get scary! 

If anyone wants to check out Dave’s new blog, click the link to the right of my screen, or go to www.threenails.wordpress.com.  Things could get interesting….

Getting up in the morning and deciding what to have for breakfast is usually enough decisions for me for the day…but lately - all this stuff with the presidential debate has really got me thinking…I am starting to get a little confused about who is for what.  I mean, I know the candidate I am going to vote for, abortion is high on my list of priorities to get banned, no candidate for that will EVER get my vote, and there is the mere fact NOBAMA is friends with an ex-terrorist…(is that a similar recovery as if he was a recovering alcoholic?, how do you become an ex-terrorist?, and if he was in fact a terrorist, how come he is not in prison?)

Anyhow, I was looking at my headlines on my emails this morning, and one read “Angelina Jolie has announced whom she is backing as a presidential candidate”  OH BOY, I just had to know…I mean, doesn’t everyone base what they’re going to do on what SHE thinks?  I mean after all, she IS a Goodwill Ambassador…HA  - I am guessing because she adopts kids, because you don’t get that title for being a homewrecker…on that note, shouldn’t Dave and I be titled “Goodwill Ambassadors” also hmm…

Well, I decided to click on this link to really confirm my thought….and yep, you guessed it, she is voting for NOBAMA…I was not surprised, but then again, a little surprised…Even though I know typically the celebreties always seem to back the Democrats, she is SUPPOSED to be for adoption…which SHOULD lead to PRO-LIFE, wouldn’t you think?  How can you back a candidate that supports abortion, and act like you are the savior to orphans…doesn’t quite make sense to me.

Anyhow, since I am no longer “The Intimidator” Maybe everyone can just refer to me as “Mo, the Goodwill Ambassador”  I think that has a nice ring to it!

We try to establish a “family movie night” as often as we can.  This consists of picking out a movie, usually at BB, all actually sitting down (aka, me NOT cleaning while watching) and popping some popcorn and enjoying a flick together. 

Lately, it has become increasingly hard to pick out a “family friendly film” to watch.  I know some would say I am a little too over protective with my children, we don’t let them watch a lot of the “cartoons” on Cartoon Network, Shrek is STILL a no-no, and absolutely NO “T” rated video games are in my household.  I guess we are trying to keep them innocent for as long as possible.  Lord knows they’re going to be subjected to things we’d rather them never see or know far too soon as it is.  I think most of the time, it’s parents that don’t want to really deal with their kids, so they buy them anything to get them in front of the TV no matter what they’re playing on it or watching….but that can be a whole other blog….

Anyhow, back to what this blog was supposed to be about…we went to the Library the other day, and I noticed the movie “FLY AWAY HOME” - I remembered seeing it on TV, a really cute, true story, and without a doubt, something the kids would enjoy seeing.  We got it home, assumed our positions and proceeded to watch.  Then, there it was, a couple of the “smaller” curse words, that I wish I would have listened to my moral compass and turned it off then, but I thought, no, no one really noticed…until a big one came out - a Holy with a S followed by it…I let out a gasp, which caused my 5 year old daughter to realize he had just said something that was a no-no in our family, so she asked out loud….”What?, did he say HOLY S..?”  But she actually said sit…THANK goodness! 

It made me pretty mad.  Those few words ruined our family movie night…now when they made this film, did they really think parents would go out and see this without their children?  These so-called cartoons they are making these days, with little trashy hints here and there…don’t they know this is going to attract kids…can’t they keep it completely clean?  What is wrong with these people?  We can’t feel safe to take our kids to almost any movie anymore unless it’s Veggie Tales!  Even The Chipmunk movie had some questionable things in it that caused me not to take my kids to see it.   Do they not feel a movie is any good without the curse words and sexual innuendo’s?  If that’s the case, they need to re-think their script…whether or not it’s really any good, because if you HAVE to put those things in to attract people, it probably isn’t.

That said, I really think us Christians, should really try to go out and support these Christian - and family friendly films that are coming out.  It seems they are “testing” the waters with these and seeing what kind of crowd it draws.  Let’s support these films so these filmakers know there are people who still have morals and won’t take their kids to see any other trash out there.  And don’t be fooled by the “Cartoon” look…you can investigate a movie BEFORE seeing it (wish I would have done that this week) by going to www.kids-in-mind.com It will tell you everything that is in that movie, so you can decide whether or not your kids should be watching it or not.  Next idea, put blinders and ear muffs on our kids til they’re 30!

Sonic the Hedgehog

My son Austin is just so smart!  It’s scary that he seems to already know things that I don’t know at 36!

He plays the piano and when the mood strikes him, can play a pretty good beat on his drum set!  But one talent, we noticed at an early age is his ability to draw just about anything he sees.

I took a picture of one of his drawings the other day that he was just doing while “messing around”  I liked it so much, I gave him art credit for it for the day and put it away to keep forever.  I hope he realizes his talents and uses what God gave him, and doesn’t ignore them like some people choose to do.

Here’s a picture of his “masterpiece”

I know this sounds silly, but if any of you drink Coca Cola OR Pepsi products, and if you don’t already use the codes that come on the boxes and tops, can you save them for me?  I am bigtime into this and since I don’t buy a whole lot of soda myself, I figured I could ask for help…since I think most people just throw that stuff away.  If you have some just email me and I will arrange to get them from you!  Thanks!!!

Ha, I know what you all are thinking with a title like that.  I just had to post today that I got gas in Zellwood today while taking Dave to work for $3.27!  AHHHH!!!  Shortly afterwards I noticed it a few miles down the road for $3.16!  OH YEAH!  I am excited!  I am taking my gas can for the tractor when I go to pick him up so I can grab some more!  Oh No….I have turned into my in-laws!

This morning we were off to Tampa, yet again.  Seems like I am always driving a long distance somewhere lately, and the gas is stinkin’ expensive!  We went to see my Aunt Sarah again, who has lung cancer amongst other awful things, and is bringing her health to an all time low.  We took her deviled crabs from Mr. Empanadas in Town and Country and had a nice few hours together.  This time, she seemed so much more lonely.  None of her kids were there to sit with her this time like they were the last time we visited her, and she didn’t seem to want us to go.  That made it harder to leave.  She is still a smoker, has been most all her life, just like my dad was.  She asked us to please pray for her that the Lord would take that addiction away from her and the desire.  She says she smokes because she is lonely, it fills that void for her.  I felt so bad for her, but agreed to agree with her in prayer. 

After our visit with my aunt, we decided to go by my old neighborhood again.  I don’t know why I do that to myself…I ALWAYS cry.  It makes me miss my childhood so much!  The simpler times, my old neighbors/friends, and just the memories of growing up in that house on Rosewood Dr.  I can’t believe how the old neighborhood has changed.  It doesn’t even look close to being the same, and that alone makes me sad.  We sat in front of that house I lived in from the time I was 5 til the time I was 18…and we were just quiet.  Flash thoughts running through my head of playing basketball late at night with the hook flood light hanging from the roof with my brother, Mike, having yard sales, playing in the back yard, Dave picking me up for dates and slipping on the porch in the rain, and the day my dad died in that house…I had to drive away when that thought came into my head.  Why do I do this to myself?, I ask!  Time to have a good time…..and make this day a better one…so….

We decided to hook up with Suzy and Jerry, Rachel and Felix since we haven’t seen them in forever.  We always love getting together with them, as there are always tons of laughs to be had!  We met for play time, dinner and of course, Starbucks!  It was a short visit, but a good one none-the-less. 

We finally decided the night had to end, got on the road just in time to be stuck in an hour + traffic jam on the interstate complete with drivers cussing at one another and the whole bit!  Glad I peed in Starbucks before we left! :)   Good times…

Okay, so we established a babysitter for the night, and double dated with our friends and finally went to see this movie.  We really liked it!  The acting wasn’t Oscar material…but the storyline and message were wonderful!  We laughed a lot more than I thought we would!  I encourage ALL couples to go see this movie.  If anything, you get a great date night out of it…we did!  I couldn’t remember the last time I went to see a movie that wasn’t animated!  End result, a big thumbs up for me.  I wish they’d make more movies like this!

Well, the dishwasher post caused quite the stir!  Emails and phone calls being made to me, it was surprising!  I didn’t know you people were so into your dishwashers! 

Well, after my amazing, wonderful, handsome, neighbor, Gary, called, I decided to give it a whirl once more.  He read in Goodhouskeeping magazine about how using the dishwasher as opposed to washing by hand could save you up to $30 a year.  “On what?” I asked.  Water, electricity, what did it save you on?  (We won’t pose the question to why a MAN was reading GH…that could be a whole other blog)  Anyhow, after some deliberation, I have decided to see if it makes my life any easier…so far, a little…maybe…only time will tell.

So a while back I did a post about my neighbors and their very loud motorcycles….waking me up around 5:30am each morning.  After mouthing off to him about it for a while, I didn’t hear it for a few days.  I then asked him why, and he told me he was walking it up the road - then starting it so as not to wake us.

Not too long afterwards, I started getting woken up again around the same time…I guess the honeymoon is over.  Bummer…  One of these days I am going to get a pic of the perpetrator and post him on here - it’s hilarious…driving a Harley with a polo shirt and some Dockers…not quite the Harley look.  HA