Poltergeist Star Dies

Zelda Rubinstein, the star that played the spirit medium in the movie Poltergeist died yesterday from natural causes. She was 76 years old. Now, why is this significant for me? Well, the movie Poltergeist scared the bojangles's out of me when I was a kid. The movie came out in 1982. I was ten years old. Around that time, my parents felt that I was old enough to be left at home alone from time to time. I remember hating being alone, especially at night. I would turn on all the lights and turn the television on so that I had human voices to comfort me. Well, inevitably, when I was left alone, the commercial trailer for Poltergeist would come on the television. The little blond girl would appear on the screen with her hands pressed against the fuzzy television set and she would eerily say "They're here!" Now, I didn't know who "they" were but it still scared the crust out of me. I would jump up and turn off our cable box and wouldn't you know it...the screen would go fuzzy, just like in the movie. This scared me even more. It severely damaged me as a kid. Now, I don't remember when I actually saw the movie for the first time, but there were a few scenes that really stuck with me. For instance, the chair scene (see below). I still don't know how they filmed that since it was one continuous shot, but wow! It was scary in a simple and innocent way...which makes it scarier. Last night I was watching television and there was a "Scariest Spots on the Planet" kind of show on and Zelda Rubinstein was narrating it. Just hearing her voice freaked me out and I had to change the channel and explain to my wife how the movie Poltergeist really freaked me out. Yikes! This is precisely why I won't see movies like "Paranormal Activity" or "White Noise". I already know these would damage me even further. I already hear voices in white noise. I already feel insecure when I'm in the shower washing my face (knowing that in horror films, this is when the innocent person in the shower gets attacked). I have a very good imagination and sometimes it gets the better of me. Anyway, there is a small glimpse into how I was damaged as a child by movies like Poltergeist. Thanks a lot, Zelda! I'm not sure how I feel about you being dead. In most horror films, being dead is where you become the scariest. Oh boy...I'm in for it now.

Beatles 3000

I don't have time to write a long blog today, so I'll leave you with this funny video that I found a while back. It makes me laugh...being a Beatles fan and a fan of history and archeology. I wonder what else historians are wrong about. This is what it would look like if we were to look back in the year 3000 and wonder who the Beatles were and what their influence on society was. Enjoy!

The Blubby Chin

There is a certain facial characteristic that comes from my mom's side of the family. We've called it the Longtin Chin for years and years. My Grandfather had it, my mom, aunts, and uncle all have it. I've got it (although mine if hiding under my beard). I passed it on to my children. Garrison in particular has a very pronounced Longtin chin (see picture). But, I noticed that all my kids have it to one degree or another. Anyway, my nephews on my wife's side like to come over and play with my kids. They are older than my children, but still enjoy playing together. Josiah, the oldest, likes to grab Garrison's chin, shake it, and say "I love your blubby chin". He's not being mean. He really likes it. I hadn't seen him do this but the other day when we were driving in the car I heard of of my boys refer to the blubby chin. I asked Joi what that was all about. She explained the story to me and it made more sense. "Blubby" is short for "blubbery"...a term that Josiah made up to explain the chin. It's not that it's fat. It's just that there is a small, round, bulb of flesh that sticks out in a circle near the button of our chin. So, I explained to my boys that the blubby chin is actually the Longtin chin and that it was handed down from generation to generation from the Longtin side of the family. It's a distinct characteristic that those of us with Longtin blood have passed down through our children. I have it. So does my sister, Sarah. I also have the Copeland nose, but that's a different blog. Anyway...it made me laugh to see my boys grab each others chin blubber, shake it, and say to each other...."I love your blubby chin!" I love it, too. It's very cute on them.

Nothing to Say

I have nothing much to say today. I heard that President Obama was called in for jury duty on the news while driving in to work. He's going to dispute it. Made me laugh. Work is busy. The weather is dry but with a cold, cold wind. My wife is making homemade meatloaf. I love leftover meatloaf sandwiches for lunch the next day. I can hardly wait. It's my brother Robert's birthday today. Happy Birthday, Bro! Wish I could be there! Saw my cousin, Ted, this weekend. He came for a weekend trip to visit his Mom in Colorado Springs. We had Papa Murphy's and chatted for a couple of hours. He seems to be doing good. Found a girl he wants to settle down with in a couple of years when she is done with school. Making loads of money as a sysadmin in the Bay Area of California. I like Ted. He's a good guy and I'm glad he's doing well. We joined the Greeting Ministry at our new church and greeted for the first time on Sunday. It was nice. Also, we joined a Life Group and attended our first session with them on Sunday. Seems like a good group. I am looking forward to making friends with them. Our kids even had a blast hanging out with other kiddos their age. We are hoping that they will make some good friends, too. I certainly can't complain. Life is good.

Well, I guess I had more to say than I thought.

January Thaw

We haven't really had any snow since a few days before Christmas. I'm kind of bummed. I miss the snow. My family and I were Skyping with my Dad the other day and he mentioned that it's normal for Colorado to experience what he called a "January Thaw". I guess this is what he means. We haven't had any snow and it's been pretty consistently around 50 degrees (occasionally reaching into the 60's). Most of the snow is melted. There are a few small patches of snow in shadows, corners, and ditches. But, otherwise, it's all gone. Even the crazy California storms aren't bringing anything northward to us. I guess the San Juan Mountains are getting some pretty heavy snow (measuring in feet, not inches), but that's Southwestern Colorado...where my Dad lives. It's bone dry and a steady moderate temperature up here in Northern Colorado.

The good news is that most of the snow in Colorado falls in the Spring. So, we expect to get more snow in February, March, and April. I'm looking forward to that. I love the snow. It's just not winter without it. Oh well, I guess I'll enjoy the thaw for now. At least it means that I can take my kids hiking in the Bear Creek Green Belt without worrying about freezing.

Fashion versus Function: Just An Observation

The students are back at my work. While I walk to and from my office, I notice them. I'm a people watcher at heart, so it's fun to see how people dress, how people act, and what this generation likes to do. I've noticed lately that there are a few girls who like to wear heels or other designer shoes that look anything but comfortable. In fact, most of the time, I watch them hobble around like they have two sprained ankles. They don't look comfortable. They don't look sexy or pretty because of those type of shoes. It's what I would look like if I tried to walk on four-foot stilts all day...awkward, clumsy, and uncomfortable. I just don't understand why women would do this to themselves. It doesn't make any sense to me. When I see a lady walking around like that, I think..."Ow...that looks painful!" and wonder why they do such things. It's like the old Chinese culture where women would jam their feet into impossibly small shoes because petite feet were the fashion. All that led to was woman with horribly deformed feet. Can anyone explain this phenomenon to me? I'm at a loss. I think my wife is beautiful in tennis shoes, comfortable fur-lined UGG boots, or slippers. It's not the shoes that make her gorgeous, it's her. She likes to dress up for me, but I always tell her that no matter what she is wearing, she'll be beautiful to me. I'm just glad that she doesn't go so far as to wear those torturous high heeled contraptions. Yikes!

Shannon Brown Can Dunk!

Shannon Brown, of the Lakers, has been wowing fans this entire year with his powerful, high flying dunks. Earlier in the year, Joel Myers, the Lakers commentator, started letshannondunk.com to get people rallied together to get him to the NBA All Star Dunk Contest. It was announced earlier this week that he will indeed be in the NBA All Star Dunk Contest on February 13th competing against Gerald Wallace, Nate Robinson, and a to-be-decided Rookie. Joi and I are very excited for him. He's definitely earned it this year. It's going to be exciting to watch him represent his Lakers during All Star Weekend. We can hardly wait.

Death Metal Rooster

I'm a big fan of chickens. I've used the word chicken to replace a word I can't think of. I used chicken as a nickname or a term of endearment for people very close to me. We even have a watch chicken that hangs somewhere in our house and watches over us (and we've had that chicken since early in our marriage). So, I have a radar that searches out chicken related items. The other day I found a video of a rooster doing an unbelievably long crow. It was amusing, and insane...but nothing worthy of posting on my blog. However, someone took that same video and the same unbelievably long crow...and put it to death metal music. Now, that's worth posting! In fact, this reminds me of some Christian music I used to listen to in the early 90's. Enjoy!

H.R. Pufnstuf

I am a fan of nostalgic movies and television shows from my childhood. As I'm sure you could tell from my recent blog post about my trip to Boulder to see the Mork and Mindy house. Anyway, I took my boys to the library the other day and I was delighted to find a piece of nostalgia sitting on the DVD shelf in the children section. It was an old show by Sid and Marty Croft that I used to watch when I was very young (Gavin's age or younger) called H.R. Pufnstuf. I recently bought the entire "Land of the Lost" television series (another by Sid and Marty Croft) and my kids enjoyed watching those (even if they were pretty cheesy). So, I checked it out and watched it with them this weekend. This show is a good example of my memory being better than the real thing. It was pretty lame. While it was fun seeing all of the old characters (with guest appearances from Mama Cass, of the Mama's and the Papa's and Martha Raye). It was just bad. Cheesy, awful, lame, and difficult to watch. I'm not sure how my parents were able to stand it while I watched programs like this. But, as a young person, I was enthralled. It was the coolest thing to me. I loved every second. Looking back now as an adult, I'm not sure why. But, I loved it. I could still sing the theme song all these years later. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed when my wife needed me to take a trip to the grocery store halfway through the full length movie to pick up a thing or two for the dinner she was making. But, my boys stuck it out and watched the entire 1 hour and 33 minutes. Afterward, I asked the boys what they thought. Garrison spelled out "L.A.M.E." Gavin said "Boring!" Gage said that it was "Good". Gage is a chip off the old block. He is just like me in so many ways. So, it didn't surprise me that he liked it. But, even I had to admit that it was pretty lame and boring watching it as an adult. With the amazing computer animation that we have now, it's pretty awkward to watch people in bad puppet outfits and bad makeup jobs hop around, smack each other with wands, and call each other "Dumb Dumbs". Oh well, perhaps I should have left this one in my memory.

What Are You Smoking, Pat Robertson?

My heart has been moved by the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti, as I'm sure many of you have been moved. It is good to see the worldwide movement to send humanitarian aid to Haiti in light of their disaster. It is also good to see the Christian groups that are sending aid and supplies, like Samaritan's Purse and World Vision. What disturbs me, though, are Christians like Pat Robertson, who say the stupidest things and again put Christian's in a bad light. I was flabbergasted by Robertson's comments about Haiti. He said that in 1791, while under the oppression of the French, there was a famous slave rebellion where the Haitians swore a pact with the devil. They allegedly swore to serve the devil if they were rescued from French oppression. He insinuated that this earthquake was God's judgment for that pact by saying that ever since that time the country of Haiti has been cursed. While it is a fact that Haiti has struggled with poverty and have endured many hardships, including this devastating earthquake, their struggles are not related to a legend of a pact with the devil. They endure these hardships, like everyone on this planet, because we live in a fallen world. God's design for this world was not to be pain, death, suffering, or sadness. God designed us to have communion with Him, all the time. To live forever. To live in his presence and enjoy our life. But, Adam and Eve turned from God, disobeyed his commands, and sinned. As a direct result of that sin, we all suffer. We all die. We all endure sadness. We all struggle to find our way in this world. It didn't have to be that way, but it is because our earliest ancestors sinned and turned away from God in a deliberate act. However, that is not the end of the story. Jesus came, died for our sins, and bridged the gap between us and God. We can now rest assured that if we accept Jesus, abide in Him, and serve Him...our sins are forgiven and we will once again have eternal communion with God. No, Pat, this has nothing to do with an alleged pact with the devil. This has everything to do with the state of the world because of what we humans have ruined. What makes me sad is that atheists and non-believers will look at Pat Robertson and his comments and will continue to find reasons not to come to Christianity. I don't blame them. If Robertson is an example of what it means to be a Christian, I wouldn't want to be one either. Atheists, please know that Pat Robertson does not represent Christians. He used very poor judgment in making this statement. My prayer is that Haiti can forgive him and by extension all Christians.

Wrestling with my Boys

Yesterday evening, during halftime of the Laker game we were watching, I started reading a little more of the book my wife wrote (which is excellent, by the way). In the chapter I was reading, a family with a young son were at the park and they were playing together. Running, chasing, tickling, and rough-housing. This part of the chapter almost brought tears to my eyes. I love my boys and I enjoy playing with them. So, it was a sentimental moment for me in her book. When I looked up after reading that section, Garrison was sitting quietly reading a book (he has read 3 books in the last three days...he's a voracious reader), Gage was daydreaming, and Gavin was sitting quietly next to me playing his Game-boy. I decided it was time for wrestling. I grabbed Gavin and started tickling him. Then I quietly whispered that we should "get Gage"...so, as stealthily as ninja's, we crept off the couch and body slammed him with tickles and laughter. Garrison promptly put down his book and jumped onto our dog pile. He knew what time it was. It was Daddy wrestling time! I enjoy that time with my boys. It was easier when they were smaller. Now when they jump full force onto me, I can hear my ribs crack and my muscles scream out in pain. But, I wouldn't give it up for anything. It's fun to tickle them and make them all laugh hysterically. It's fun to collapse in a pile, breathing heavily, after a long wrestling session. It's fun to let them pin me at the end. I especially like it when we can get through an entire wrestling session without anyone getting hurt and crying. Smashed fingers and bumped heads sometimes happen in wrestling sessions. I enjoy being a Daddy. Someday, the boys won't want to wrestle with me. They'll want the car keys or money for a date. Then I'll have to wait until they give me Grand-kids, so that I can wrestle with them. But, for now, I'm going to enjoy every minute of being a Daddy.

OK GO and their interesting videos

The band OK Go has some interesting videos. I enjoyed their garden choreography and their treadmill dancing. Both were fascinating. I just saw this on Youtube today and again, it's simple but strangely mesmerizing. I don't know who does their videos, but it makes them seriously unique. Enjoy it here! (Embedding was disabled by request, so you have to go to the link to see it).

Going Gray

I'm going gray. It doesn't bother me. Actually, I like it. Gray is good. Some of my favorite things are gray. Gray was my favorite color in high school. Gandalf was called Gandalf Gray Beard. My wife sometimes calls me Gray Beard. It's a term of endearment. I prefer silver jewelry over gold. I like manatees. They're a grayish color. The bible says, "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life." That makes me smile. Besides, Sean Connery has gone gray and is much better looking now than when he was younger. My wife says that I'll be a sexy Sean Connery type when I get completely gray. Sounds good. Bring it on!

I've noticed it creep slowly into my beard over the last few years. Then it started to show up in my hair. I'd notice it during haircuts when my hair fragments would hit the black cape they make me wear. It was harder to notice in my hair which has elements of blond, brown, and reddish in it. But, now I can see it starting to brush lightly around my sideburns and around the sides of my head. It's cool. I welcome it. I'm looking forward to that crown of glory. Gray is nice. I'd like to think I earned every one of those gray hairs. Age doesn't bother me very much. I'm not hyperventilating knowing that I'm only a couple of years off from my 40's. I don't feel like I'm approaching the "over the hill" stage. And what does "over the hill" mean anyway? It just means that I can stop climbing and coast a little. Or maybe I'll find a new hill to climb, so that I can go over that one too. The point is, I'm getting older. I don't feel old, but I know it's coming. I'm the age now that I thought was ancient when I was a little kid. I wonder sometimes if my boys find me ancient. I'll have to ask them. Anyway, I'm graying. I like it. End of story. It's all good.

TV Wars: Obama vs. Lost and Conan vs. Leno

Some interesting developments have occurred lately in the world of television. First, there was the heavyweight match between ABC's Lost and President Obama's State of the Union Address. Both were slated to air on February 2nd. Of course, Obama's speech would bump the premier of Lost. Now, I'm a patriot. I care very deeply for this country. But, to be perfectly frank, the premier of Lost sounds so much more captivating than the President's speech. I'm none to happy about this administration pushing forward the health care reform bill using kickbacks and bribes. Also, as a right-to-lifer, I'm terribly upset that this bill will propagate abortion and will force me, as a tax-payer, to pay for the killing of innocent babies. But, I digress. Luckily for Lost fans, a White House spokesman has said that he doesn't "foresee a scenario in which the millions of people who hope to see a conclusion to Lost are pre-empted by the president."

Lastly, it has been announced that Leno's prime time television show failed and that NBC plans to move Jay Leno back to a late night spot, pushing Late Night with Conan O'Brien back to a later time slot. How terribly disappointing! I don't care much for Jay Leno. He's really not that funny to me. But, Conan O'Brien is freakin' hilarious. I've enjoyed watching him lately. Now that I am in Colorado, he is on at 10:35pm (and not midnight or later like when I was in California). Having kids has changed me from a night owl to a "early to bed, early to rise" kind of man. But, on the days when I am still awake at 10:35pm, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Conan do his thing. I will be quite upset if they push Conan back to a later time slot just to give Leno a second chance. I think it's a big mistake. Listening to the news this morning on the way to work, I heard that the public is upset about this, Conan is ticked off, and that the only person happy about this whole thing is Leno. Hopefully, NBC will see the error of their ways before making this move final.

Lost: A 5 Season Recap in 8 Minutes

I'll be the first to tell you, Lost is very difficult to follow. I've been watching it since the first season and even I have trouble keeping track of all of the twists and turns. It's a fascinating show, though. I'm excited for this 6th and final season starting on February 2nd. I can hardly wait. I saw this little clip today on Digg and I thought I'd share it. It will help you catch up or at least remember everything that has happened in the last five seasons. Enjoy!

Going High Definition

Our family room television set has seen better days. From time to time, when we turn it on, the color set only shows back and white images. Or green images. We've already replaced some parts a few years back when it exploded. Recently, the power button somehow got pushed into the set. We can still turn it on, but we had to push our finger about 1/2 an inch into the hole until the loose button would engage the power. Probably not a safe thing for our kids to be doing. Joi and I decided to combine our Christmas money, Amazon gift certificates, and her birthday money so that we could purchase a flatscreen LCD HD ready television. I did lots of searching for the best set, for the best price, that would fit into our entertainment center. We eventually decided on a Sylvania LC321SSX 32-Inch HD Flat Panel LCD TV. We purchased it from Amazon.com for $329. We have Amazon Prime, so the shipping was free. It's on it's way. We hope to get it by Friday or Saturday, so that I can set it up this weekend. I can hardly wait to see the crisp picture. I'm excited that we are getting it before the final season of Lost begins. It's going to look awesome. Now, I'm thinking that I might ask for money for my birthday, so that I can get an HD LCD TV for upstairs, too. I'm afraid that once I see the picture on an HD TV, I'll be disappointed when I watch the set upstairs. I can hardly wait to get it all set up and running. Wii's going to be awesome on it.

Weird Al Interviews

I remember seeing these on MTV when they used to let Weird Al intercept the station for his own brand of comedy and do Al TV. The interviews are clever, funny, sarcastic, and well...weird. What Al does is, he takes original interview footage from real interviews, tapes himself in a similar set asking questions, and edits them together in hilarious ways. All of Weird Al interviews are pretty funny. You can find them on Youtube. I'll post one of my favorites, with Paul McCartney.

Natural Deodorant Failure

I'm not a stinky guy. I'm not prone to heavy sweat or body odor. In fact, most people tell me I smell pretty good. I can even go on weekend backpacking trips, not shower for the entire weekend, and come home smelling decent (or at least not too bad). In early September, I was reading an article that told me of the ill effects of Antiperspirant/Deodorant and the harmful chemicals that are in them. For instance, Aluminum chlorohydrate, aluminum zirconium, tetracholorhydrex gly, or any aluminum compounds are absorbed through the skin, accumulates in the body, and it has been suggested that there is an association between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. Parabens are known to cause reproductive harm. Talc is classified as a carcinogen. Propylene glycol absorbs quickly through the skin and is a neurotoxin that may also cause kidney or liver damage. I could go on and on. These are all common ingredients in your normal over-the-counter antiperspirant/deodorant. Besides causing potential Alzheimer's, reproductive harm, and kidney or liver damage, there are chemicals that are said to cause breast cancer in women. Also, blocking your sweat glans is a healthy no-no since our bodies release most of our toxins through our armpit sweat glans. That's why we have BO, from the toxins being released. Apparently, toxins don't smell very good. Anyway...long pre-story short...my wife and I decided to give the natural deodorant market a try.

We started our natural deodorant adventure in early September. Right off the bat, we tried the most common and seemingly popular brand, Tom's of Maine. Upon the first application, we noticed that it was wet going on and a little sticky. It was strange at first, but we got used to it. They have unscented, and lots of decent scents. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have more manly scents. Most were lemon-grass, Honeysuckle Rose, and Calendula. I was looking for Sport Talc or something a little more manly. The best that Tom's of Maine could offer a man was WoodSpice, which kind of smells like a Pine Scented Car Air Freshener. Anyway, after a few days I started to notice that my armpits were red, irritated, and burning. That's not right. Why would that happen? Perhaps I was allergic to the natural ingredients.Also, I noticed that I didn't really smell too bad during the day, but getting ready for bed at night, I would notice a slight unpleasant odor. Not horrible, just not fresh. I like to smell good, so this wasn't going very well for me.

I tried another brand called Jason Natural Deodorant Stick with Tea Tree Oil. It didn't smell too bad and went on dryer than the Tom's of Maine did. But, ouch! More burning, irritated arm pits. Not good! And just for good scientific methodology, I wore no deodorant between trying new brands so that my armpits could heal. It helped that it was a very cold October through December in Colorado.

I tried the Tom's of Maine brand for "sensitive skin", thinking that it would help with the irritation. It did help. This one hurt me less than the others. But, now I was starting to notice that I was smelling a bit more than usual. Also, I was sweating more than usual. This didn't surprise me since I was finally NOT blocking my sweat glans and I was bound to sweat more. The odor issue I chocked up to the sensitive skin brand not having chemicals as potent as the other ones. Back to the drawing board.

I tried another brand called Herbal Clear. This one had a "Sport" scent, so my manly wishes had finally come true. It worked okay for a few days. In fact, I even wore it while I played a hard game of basketball and surprisingly, I didn't stink afterward. I was thinking that I had finally found my brand. Also, it was a lot cheaper than the other brands which ran around $5.99 each. Herbal Clear was a more wallet friendly $3.29. However, after a few days, BAM....red, irritated arm pits. It started to burn. It hurt so much that I remember not being able to put my arms down by my sides due to the pain and irritation. I was beginning to think this natural thing wasn't worth my time, pain, and effort. But, I was determined to find something that would work for me. I did hours of online investigation. I learned about homemade remedies and other options. I decided to try one of these homemade remedies.

I tried a simple recipe that made sense to me that I found online. It said to use sodium bicarbonate. Or for you non-scientific readers, baking soda. Baking Soda is a natural odor eliminator. That's why we put it in our refrigerators. It blocks odor causing bacteria from growing and also absorbs odors. This recipe said to use straight sodium bicarbonate with a few drops of water and make a paste. Then to rub the paste onto your armpits. After waiting a few days for my latest bout of irritation to heal, I gave it a try. I thought my previous bouts with burning and irritation were bad. This one took the cake. It was like putting pure acid on my armpits. Upon further investigation online, I found another recipe that said not to use it straight because it is too strong by itself. Oh...now you tell me! You are supposed to mix it with cornstarch body powder (remember talc body powder is bad for you...causes cancer). So, I tried a 50/50 combo of cornstarch and baking soda. It was like I was making a cake in my armpits. All I needed was sugar, flour, and eggs and I could stick a candle under my arms and celebrate my birthday. This one was yucky. Adding the water made this mud-like paste. It just wasn't going to fly. Upon further investigation online, someone else said to use it dry. Mix the cornstarch powder and baking soda (in a 50/50 ratio) into your favorite powder container and apply it dry after your morning shower. I tried this and for once, no irritation. It was nice. But, it didn't do much for the slight unpleasant odor after a long day. I don't want to be that guy at work who everyone avoids because I stink. Back to the drawing board.

I decided to try a crystal deodorant. This is basically a rock in a plastic deodorant container. It contains natural, hypoallergenic, paraben free and aluminum free mineral salts which block odor causing bacteria. You wet it down under the sink tap, and rub it on your armpits. The thought of rubbing a rock on my armpits sounded less than pleasant, but darn it all, I was going to try all the natural options. To the contrary, wetting the stone and applying it to your underarms was not unpleasant at all. The crystal was smooth and became silky when wet. So, it wasn't too bad. After a few days use, no irritation. No redness. I breathed a sigh of relief. But, on days where it was warmer (and we're talking the mid-40's), it didn't stop the odor. If it couldn't keep me fresh in the cool days of December, what was going to become of me in the 80 degree summers we have here? It's just not going to work. And with that failed attempt, I completely gave up hope and abandoned my search for an effective, non-irritating, odor inhibiting, natural deodorant.

A couple of days before Christmas, I took my old deodorants out of the pantry. I might get Alzheimer's, liver damage, cancer, and have blocked toxins swimming in my bloodstream. But, I won't smell. I won't have red, irritated armpits. For the record, my wife had the same issues and reached the same conclusion. She's back to her old "unnatural" brand.

What surprised me is how my body reacted to the "natural" ingredients I was putting on my skin. If it's natural, should it do that to me? Well, I guess even Poison Ivy is "natural"...but you wouldn't want to put it under your arms. Snake venom is "natural" but you wouldn't want to rub it all over your skin. Stinging Nettles are natural, but you wouldn't wash you hair with them. So, I've been using my old unnatural deodorants for about a week now. Wouldn't you know it? No irritation. No redness. No odor. I'm back to my unnatural self, but at least I smell good and I can keep my arms at my sides again.

My Wife's Birthday

Since I married my wife, New Years Day has all new meaning for me. My wife is a New Years baby! She was born shortly after the new year and missed being the first child born at her hospital by a few short minutes. Oh well, she's first in my book! On New Years Eve, the Ferris men came over (Steff had to work) and we enjoyed some cookies, a cheese log, and some chips and salsa. I had gone to the store with Gage to pick up some snacks and we bought Joi some "Crazy Daisies", a bouquet with lots of brightly colored daises to give her as a early birthday present. We played Wii and enjoyed a few tournaments and contests playing Wii Fit Plus and Outdoor Challenge. At 10pm, the Ferris men left so that we could put our kiddos to bed. After the kids were all tucked in and drifting off to sleep, I stayed downstairs to decorate with balloons, streamers, and gifts all piled up on the coffee table. Then I went upstairs and got settled down. Joi fell asleep fairly quickly and I watched the New Year ring in while watching Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve. The poor man looked and sounded terrible. That stroke really did some damage on poor Dick. But, I admire his courage and determination for fighting back and hosting his show with Ryan Seacrest. As I watched the ball fall in New York, I rolled over and kissed my wife telling her "Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!"

The next morning, Joi and I woke up and went downstairs. I made her some peanut butter toast (per her request) for breakfast. She's still watching points, even on her birthday. We woke up the boys and let Joi open her gifts. The boys had made her refrigerator magnets with their picture on it using Popsicle sticks. I gave her a wood tea/coffee serving tray, a sewing box, and some books that she wanted about adoption and writing/publishing. Also, I was able to find her a can of Graber Olives. Unfortunately, they were really expensive here, since they have to import them from Rancho Cucamonga. But, it was worth it to see her excited about snacking on them. We got showered, dressed, and then joined the Ferris family on a nearby sledding hill for some fun sledding. The top of the hill was covered with about 5 inches of solid ice, so it was really slippery. Joi and Steff decided to watch everyone sled for fear that the slippery ice would cause their knees to dislocate. Russell and I mostly helped the kids get set. They kept falling down or sliding down the hill before they could get situated on their sled. So, while holding on to a nearby fence, I helped hold the sled while they got in and situated. It was fun to see the kids have a good time. My ribs hurt from slipping and falling into the fence over and over again, though. Afterward, we picked up some Subway sandwiches and headed back to our house for more Wii fun, lunch, and a Diet Coke Birthday Cake (ask me later and I'll send you the recipe...it's only 2 points per slice and very easy to make). The Ferris' left early and Joi wanted some time to write her book. So, she graciously allowed the boys and I to catch a quick nap. When I got up, I started making her dinner: Chili Dogs with fries (she's so easy to please). We watched the Rose Parade that we had DVR'd earlier that morning and just hung out the rest of the evening. It was a very nice day and Joi seemed to have a good time. I'm glad she enjoyed it. She deserved a great birthday with lots of fun! I love you, my New Years Baby!

I don't say it enough, but I love my wife. During Joi's birthday lunch, I gave her the special plate. The "special plate" is a tradition that Joi started where we give someone during dinner a special plate (in our case, it's a Super Hero plate) and we all go around the table saying what we love about that person. Also, that person has to say what they like about themselves. It's a fun, family bonding experience. It wasn't hard for me to think of what I love about my wife when it was my turn to tell her the things I love about her. She has had such an incredible year. She has overcome so much, pursued her dreams, and grown in leaps and bounds. Our marriage is better now than it ever has been. She is an amazing woman! In this last year, she has written her first book and is working to get it published. She overcame some major anxiety attacks and left that period of her life behind her (which is no easy task). She lost 40+ pounds doing weight watchers and looks wonderful! She has become a better mom, a better wife, and grown more wise, more mature, and more beautiful than ever. I am thankful for everything that she is, everything that she does, and for encouraging me to be a better man. In this new year, I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for her.