Since we have been confined to the house the last couple of days, and Kristin is now starting to feel the same way I did a few days ago, she decided to run to the store to get a few last minute things before the sickness totally laid her out too. Along with more medication, and orange juice, she thought she would pick up something fun for the boys to play while they are stuck inside yet another day.

Moon Sand.

“Moon Sand never dries out and can be used again and again for never ending fun! Cleans up easily and won’t stick or stain. Sand expands to twice it’s size out of the package.”

Now, normally I am not one to question my wife’s judgement, and in most cases this would have never slipped past her. Moon Sand? In our house? For a two and five year old to play with? Obviously Kristin truly isn’t feeling well.

The ad should go something like this: “You know that feeling you have in your shorts while you are riding home in a hot car after a fun filled day at the beach? You know the feeling of vacuuming your car a hundred times, and still there are streaks of sand in the carpet? Well now is your opportunity to bring that sticky, grainy, annoying texture right into the comfort of your own home, and let your kids throw it around. Available in all primary colors.”

Seriously. Who thinks giving kids sand to play with in the house is a great idea. Well. We did at first. Now we think it sucks. And you know the part about it not sticking or staining? Tell that to my two year olds green palms.

They played for about fifteen minutes. Then came the brushing off of the table for 10 minutes, because unlike normal sand, this sand “never dries” so yeah, it’s sticky. Then came the hand cleaning process, where layer upon layer of each boys skin was scratched back as I attempted to wipe the “fun primary color” off. The process was almost as if I was taking a piece of paper with sand on it and rubbing on their skin. Almost like… a sand paper of sorts. Then I swept…. and continued to sweep the entire kitchen floor because as the boys were running out of the room crying with sore hands the afternoon fun in the sand was sticking to their feet and trailing throughout the house.

My suggestion? Stick to Play Dough.

There has been 15 consecutive days of 99 degrees and above. This is unprecedented in the weather records at Nashville. Previously the record was eight set back in June 1952. Weather records in Nashville date back to Nov. 1, 1870, nearly 137 years.

Rainfall in Nashville so far this month has totaled 0.05 inches. The driest August ever was back in 1929 when only 0.51 inches fell.

- Read More

Okay. Seriously. I’m not really sure what’s going on, but this is pretty lame weather. And, by the way, having a fever for the last five days in this weather makes it more spectacular. I haven’t seen Al Gore’s movie, and I haven’t really looked into global warming at all, but what I do know is that I have been living in hot, sticky, muggy, nastiness for over a month now. And today is my day to hate it.

“Snapped together from a combination of modules, panels, and preformed structural frames, the Loblolly house, named for the loblolly pines here in the Maryland tidewater area, is a manifesto for a new way of building. Architect Kieran and his partner, James Timberlake, have long been known for their finely crafted and energy-efficient buildings and materials. But the Philadelphia-based pair wanted more than just high-profile commissions – they were looking for a breakthrough technology that would let them make smarter, greener structures that could go up quickly and cheaply…

In 2001, after studying how the automotive, aircraft, and shipbuilding industries had revolutionized themselves over the previous 15 years, Kieran and Timberlake realized that architecture needed the equivalent of an integrated circuit. They began to combine glass, drywall, pipe, and wood frames into finished units, each precision-engineered for cost, beauty, and sustainability. In the Loblolly house, the walls and floors are made of panels (some as tall as 21 feet) that were manufactured with wiring, insulation, plumbing, and ductwork already in place. And the main power systems of the home, including two bathrooms and the galley kitchen, were delivered to the construction site in preassembled, plug-and-play units. After the site was prepared, the 2,200-square-foot house took three weeks to assemble.”

Read More

I don’t really know why, but for some reason I have always had a weird fascination with the swamp lands of Louisiana. Maybe it’s because there is something mysterious about what is under that creepy water. Maybe it’s because I watched too many nature shows growing up. But there is something that makes me want to go exploring down there.

I want to be on one of those flat boats with the fan on the back, I want to creep through spaces barely big enough for that boat to get through. I want to see crocodiles up close, feel totally out of place, and I want to hang out on an old rickety porch, drink some homemade beer and listen to someone play banjo and a washboard.

I have been to Louisiana before and even driven on roads that looked surrounded in swamps, but it just made me want to get out of the car and slush around in it. I don’t know anyone that lives on a swamp land, but if anyone has some suggestions about the coolest, most mysterious Bayou experience, let me know and I will put it on my list. Someday, I will make it down there and try not to get eaten by something bigger than me.

Foy Vance - Indiscriminate Act Of Kindness
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL8A-b9XZaI]

**These lyrics blow my mind**

I went to the doctor this morning after I woke up feeling like I had less of a fever, but still a pretty bad headache and sore throat. I hate going to the doctor, but after three days of feeling like garbage, it was time.

The nurse did the typical poking and prodding, and then took a throat swab. About five minutes later the doctor walked in, stuck her dry popsicle stick down my throat and said, “I don’t care what that test says when it comes back, you have strep. You win the prize for the worst looking throat of the week. That’s really bad.”

Neat.

I am apparently contagious for another three days while on medication so I am back in bed for day four.

I’m starting to envy those with cable.

And in unrelated news, does anyone else think it is funny when grown men, particularly those in professional sports, bump their chests together? I do.

It started the other night at Blue’s party. Throughout the corse of an hour, I felt a fever coming on, chills, sweating, sore throat, headache, and upset stomach. I tried to play it off as just getting too hot standing over the barbecue, but by the time everything was cleaned up and I was inside, my fever had reached nearly 103.

That lasted all night and into yesterday, with chills and sweating, and unable to sleep discomfort. My throat is really sore and scratchy, and my neck is really tense, to the point of making my head hurt to move. Fever, still 102.

I stayed in bed until about four in the afternoon yesterday, because I have an amazing wife who forced me to, but then realized I needed to get ready for this run of shows with Shaun.

Later that evening he called and said I wasn’t allowed to go. So here I am still in bed, still with a fever, and sore throat, barely able to move. I have only been this sick one other time in my life, and it sucked. This sucks too. But I appreciate the folks around me that force me to do nothing, and work on getting better.

I promised myself I would never “beg” for links and I never have. I’m still not going to. However, I did realize, there are several folks out there that are linking to me, and I have not reciprocated the generosity.

That makes me a bad blog friend.

I also realize that this is going to cause a lot of work for me. A lot of work. You know, work that requires sitting at a computer and typing, much like I am doing now…. wait.

So here’s the deal. I need to significantly expand my “Links” list over there on the left, and I need your help. If you have commented on here, link to here, lurk around here, let me know in the comments, and I will stick your blog name over there. Even if you stumbled on to this blog by searching “EL PASO TEXAS UNDER GROUND TUNNELS” or Mark Driscoll, and would like me to link to you, let me know and I would be glad to.

-The Management.

A five year olds birthday dinner. Untouched. Well… sort of.

Blue is my adventure.

He has the ability to make me madder than I have ever been, and in the next moment remind me how amazing it is to be his dad. Today he turns five. Five years, and we haven’t broken him, lost him, or significantly messed him up as far as we know.

He’s not like any other kid I have ever seen. He is completely fearless and resourceful. On his first birthday we had a pool party where he was jumping off the diving board and swimming around. We never taught him to swim, he just learned…when he was one. Then about a year ago we got him a “big boy” bike and he refused to let me teach him to ride it. “I will do it myself”, he said. And he did. He decided to learn and me made himself learn. He will argue with almost anything and is passionate about life.

He plays hard and sleeps hard.

I am excited to see what life has in store for Blue. He is a person who isn’t afraid to take on any task and achieve any goal. He’s opinionated and genuine.

Everyday I realize how much I have learned from him in the past five years. I have learned to take life as it comes, lean on people when I need to, and take a risk when life demands it. He is the most forgiving, loving, passionate person I know, and lives every moment fully. It has been five amazing, trying, wonderful years, and I am lucky to have him.

Happy Birthday Blue.