Tans gone wrong

I totally hoped I would be out of here before it got hot enough to get any sort of tan but sure enough I had the misfortune of having a weekend of fundraising in 90 degree sun (stop calling me a wuss behind my offline back, it was snowing 2 weeks ago and I am used to Northeast weather, why oh why am I going to mexico again?) Anyhow now I am not only sporting a fantastic car litnesser tan but on the 4 hour drive home it morphed into a winning car litnesser\driver tan. For the uninitiated the car litnesser tan is when your arms (depending on the length of your t-shirt) and neck (depending on how proud of your pecs you are to wear a v-neck) are a shade of purple that even Prince would be ashamed of, while your chest and abs maintain your original lily white color. This is not to be confused with the driver's tan (left arm twice the shade of your right), or the co-pilot tan (right arm twice the shade of the left). All time worst is the half assed car litnesser tan (that goes for the idiot who forgot shorts for an unexpectedly hot weekend and ends up with just forearms and neck burnt to a crisp, while the legs and torso are white enough to sear the eyeballs). Anyhoo it is wickedly hot here and I am wickedly tired and for some reason I feel like partying. 

Post Steal #1

I hate stealing Prom's thunder, especially when it is one of the rare times she actually puts a post up here and once again managed to make me look good in a picture, but I found the pics she took of Eryn and my little girl looks awesome so I need to throw some more pics up here of her. Without knowing her you have to know that Eryn is the coolest little girl ever. She just ties everyone around  her little chubby fingers and her sweet spirit infects you no matter how gray your mood may be. 

Updates in Pictures...

Bradyn turned 4 on February 26--he's such an awesome son!) and got to eat the biggest long-neck dinosaur cake ever! Happy Birthday Brady Boy!

An "Around the World" Dress Up Night

Michael and Joan's visit Bradyn and Ryan...

Little Eryn....

Here we are...

Managing Materialism in Kids

Managing money by managing materialism in kids
BINGHAMTON, NY -- According to market researchers Packaged Facts, families with 3- to 12-year-olds spend $53.8 billion annually on items for their children -- $17.6 billion more than parents spent in 1997. Twelve to 19-year-olds spent roughly $175 billion in 2004 or $53 billion more than in 1997, per Teen Research Unlimited.
"Our modern consumer culture encourages children to find fulfillment in shopping by creating a climate where not having the latest clothes, the most equipped cell phone, and the best of everything else is unthinkable," says Muscari. "This "have to have it" mentality and its associated self-definition in terms of possessions, may lead to compulsive buying to regulate mood and escape from self-awareness, a problem that ranks disorder status along with other addictions."
Parents strive to do what's best for their children but sometimes this drive can go off course, especially when it combines with guilt and vanished quality time. A common by-product of this problem is giving in to frequent materialistic whims, which can lead kids to think that wallets are bottomless.
"If our children are to survive financially tomorrow, they must learn about money matters today - especially in this economic climate," says Muscari.
What's a stressed-out, guilt-ridden parent to do?
Start by buying less. Exam your personal values. If you live by the maxim, "shop 'til you drop," and know the local UPS man's life history from his delivering packages to your home, you need to change as much as your children. Most materialistic kids have materialistic parents.
You can also:
• Turn off the TV. Encourage your children to read books from the local library. They're free of cost and commercials.
• If you can't turn off the TV, monitor it, and explain the rationale behind commercials, which are designed to make kids want things they don't necessarily need. Reality helps put things into perspective.

• Teach moderation. Children can't and shouldn't have everything they want, especially without working for it. Critical life lessons come from saving and working hard to achieve goals.

• If you don't have savings or money market accounts for your children, open them, and have your children contribute to them regularly.

• Reinforce the value of community service and responsibility.

• When occasions occur, give gifts with meaning. Make your own gifts (photo albums, customized stationery, potpourri, afghans, scarves); give philanthropic gifts (buy gifts from community charities, donate in a loved one's name); or give the gift of time.

• Ease up on the freebies. Let children work for what they want to create a link between effort and reward. 
* Learn to say, "We can't afford it," and mean it.
(Mary Muscari, associate professor in the Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University)

Back in the City

can't get enough the place, and besides the guys at the court are really warming up to me. Some of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, or maybe they just like playing against me cause I make them look awesome (my statue pose on defense does that). Trevor is getting quite the reputation there though, between his patented glove and his sharpshooting he is more popular there than I am.

Oh yeah the Canada trip was awesome, highlights included not having drinks with Mike, eating raw seafood, wooping Oli in Wii (awesomest game ever, I think I got tennis elbow after playing an hour), and being half of the awesomest scategories team ever (I contriguted in two categories, obscure sports stars and countries I think and Lainey filled out the other 12, but the important thing is we won). Although next time I need to work out staying overnight, driving from Markham to Scarborough at 3 in the morning and only going 45 is more tedious than you can imagine.

And Promise promises to post something here by tomorrow night, isn't that right?

Promise is late...

...psych, she just missed her flight from San Diego and is getting the next one tomorrow

...speaking of Psych, it is awesome, bestest show ever! For some reason it reminds me of JayDee

...speaking of JayDee, and I don't know why this reminded me of him, but I just realized height is totally overrated. Most of the coolest guys I know are short, except JayDee he is tall AND awesome, Devon, Tracy, Philly, Ruthie (not a guy but still cool), Steve (little stevie from wordstock), Phil, even Andre, all short all awesome

...speaking of awesome, limoncello and Vodka, aaaaawesome.  Although without ice it goes a smidge fast and hits you like a tank, a really really slow moving tank that leaves no trace in the morning (ok horrible analogy, NWO of mine)

...and not speaking of anything, that is what I really ought to be doing. I think it is well past time Promise took control of this blog so I can stop posting nonsense just to fill space on this wasteland. Bugger having my name attached to this silly thing, I feel obligated to fill the space and silly once I read it. Solution: don't ever bother rereading what you post. Yey ignorance!