be_on_key

You know you’re neglecting your blog when you can’t remember the password…

Ah geez…

No words can describe my love for Alanis after seeing this…

I CANNOT BELIEVE that Sanjaya survived this week.

Can.

Not.

Believe.

Ah, well. Better luck next week. Or worse luck. Depending…

Now THIS is what I’m talkin’ about. Watch Bono’s acceptance speech at the NAACP Image Awards…

It’s been four months? Not good, not good. I wish I had something more substantial to post but, alas, I don’t. I DO, however, have a little post about American Idol’s Top 12…

Who is your fave so far? Who has to go?

Here’s my take:

Brandon – BUH and BYE.

Melinda Doolittle – LOVED LOVED LOVED!!! I actually teared up before Paula did. Must haave been the cough drops. Seriously though – PHENOMENAL. She got our vote(s). Five of them in fact.

Chris S – Let’s see how close we can come to Coldplay suing me for ripping them off. And while we’re at it, let’s have Ms. Ross sue me for effing up her song as bad as I did.

Gina – Dig her spirit but mediocre tonight.

Haley – The Little Mermaid BARELY squeaked by last week but did okay this week – kinda.

Phil – Too screamy.

Sanjaya – There are very few people I have met in my life, let alone those I have not met, that I would actually go out of my way to injure or just maim. ‘Nuff said?

Lakisha – Me likes, but me likes Melinda more…

Stephanie – Too Beyonce for me.

Blake – I know he’s not the best singer, but I love him! My favorite of the guys by far.

Chris R. – I admit it – I’m a Justin Timberlake-owning music consumer. REALLY like JT. Chris is just a bad copy of him. Can. Not. Sing. To. Save. The. Universe.

Jordin – Love her…I think she has a really good shot at winning…

Oh crap. The results show is starting. Gotta run…

You guys’ take? Gimmee…

A few weeks ago I met a man named Jody. He’s the brother-in-law of our friends Ben and Melissa. Jody is 31 years old, a loving husband and the father of a beautiful little boy about the same age as our youngest son.

The stark reality of life hit Jody and his family like a mack truck last week. During a routine adjustment at the chiropractor, he became short of breath. The chiropractor, sensing something was very wrong, urged him to go to the hospital right away. The doctors there discovered that Jody has stage four epithelial cancer, centered primarily in his lungs. The prognosis is not positive, as nine of ten people with his diagnosis do not survive a full year.

Jody, however, is not willing to accept such a fate. He believes in the healing power of his Creator, the Chief Healer, and believes that he will survive this trial as a testament to the faithfulness of God. I don’t think he would consider himself brave. Rather, he would consider himself a man who has put all of his trust in his Heavenly Father, leaning into the faith that can move mountains.

There is a website that people can visit to commit to pray for Jody’s healing. Please visit jodycaraway.com and join us in petitioning the Lord for a miracle.

We came, we saw, we scored enough sugar to put an elephant into a diabetic coma. Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, Frankenstein, SPD Power Ranger and Buzz Lightyear conquered the neighborhood with style…

There are a few things that float my boat like nothing else. Good food. Good music. Good sleep. I don’t mean a LOT of sleep. I mean GOOD sleep. Like the kind you get in a W Bed in a dark, cool, quiet W hotel room. Or like the deep sleep you get after a summer day at the beach, fresh air still pumping through your body, refreshing you to the core.

As you can imagine, I steer clear of things that interfere with my ability to achieve good sleep. Caffeine too late in the day. A hot bedroom. A hotel room too near the elevators. There’s a special category of disappointment for the times you think the planets have aligned for good sleep and some sinister event occurs to wrench the sweet dreams from your grasp.

Many times the promise of an extra hour of sleep is enough to hit the good sleep standard. Dana and I were very excited at the notion of having an extra hour of sleep Sunday morning. Jacob and Andrew, however, had other plans.

At 500A we were awakened by the booming pitter-patter of feet upstairs. I still don’t understand how a 6-year old and a 2-year old can walk so LOUDLY. It sounds as if they are wearing cement cowboy boots with lead soles. Sometimes I wonder if they should spend an extended amount of time with a Native American tribe so they can learn the art of being soft-stepped and sure footed. If they were Native Americans now, the whole tribe would die of starvation because any game to be hunted would be scared off by the trudging Clydesdale-esque tromping in the forest.

Not only did we NOT get our extra hour of sleep, we were ROBBED of an hour of sleep. How could it be? Now we have to wait another whole year for the gift of an extra hour.

And so it goes.

I can’t be too upset. I mean, just look at their sweet, well-rested faces…

The Pledge:

Okay. Here’s the deal. I miss writing for this blog with any kind of consistency so I’ve challenged myself to posting at least three times a week.

(Cue the “you’re ridiculous and you’ll never meet that challenge” soundtrack in my head.)

Anyway, I’m not listening to the soundtrack in my head. I think I can make this happen. Scratch that. I KNOW I can make this happen. I’ve already done one this week and this will be the second.

Hence, the Trial:

Because Lost is on tonight I thought I’d post something that is more interactive, like we’re all stuck on the island together and have some time on our hands to get to know each other better.

That’s a lie.

Because Lost is on tonight I thought I’d post something that won’t take a lot of time to write, like we’re all stuck on the island together and I’m lazy Shannon, just lounging and sunbathing all day. But without the bikini. Or the boobs. Or the quasi-incestuous relationship with my stepbrother. Or the Iraqi Republican Guard boyfriend. Or the fatal gunshot wound.

Following is a list of movies. Apparently “they” say if you’ve seen more than 85 of them you have no life.

Take a look through and post your list and score in your comment.

Here goes:

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
() Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
() Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
() Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane

Running Total: 6

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan: The Legend of Ron Burgandy
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
() Anger Management
() 50 First Dates
() The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Running Total: 11

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
() Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
() American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp

Running Total: 13

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
() Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch

Running Total: 19

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
() Robots

Running Total: 25

() Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
() KingPin
() Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
(x) King Kong

Running Total: 30

()A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
() Halloween
(x) The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber

running total: 32

() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
() Ghost Ship
() From Hell
() Hellboy
() The Secret Window
(X) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards

Running Total: 36

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
() Child’s Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
() Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
() Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
(x) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
(x) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask

Running total: 44

() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
() Ocean’s Twelve
() Identity
() Lone Star
() Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
() Predator II
() The Fog (old)
(x) Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George

Running Total: 47

(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) E.T.
(x) Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
() Frailty
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
() Rush Hour 2

Running Total: 53

() Best Bet
() How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
() She’s All That
() Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
() Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3

Running Total:61

(x) X-Men
() X2
() X3
(x) Spiderman
(x) Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Others
() Freaky Friday
() Reign of fire
() The Skulls
() Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2

Running Total: 69

() Swimfan
() Miracle
(X) Old School
(x) The Notebook
() K-Pax
() Krippendorf’s Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
(x) Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old-virgin

Total: 74

Me – hanging onto a life by a thread! I bet lazy Shannon saw WAY more movies than me…

…the mouse makes bad choices. Not bad, I guess, but not exactly wise.

My wife is away for the weekend and I am holding down the fort. All is well with the boys, but I am sleep deprived and bloated.

Why, you ask?

Exhibit A:
The kids were in bed last night and there wasn’t much on TV so I started the channel surfing. I landed on “The 30 Scariest Horror Movie Moments – Ever.” Let’s just say by 1230A Saturday morning I was afraid to take my feet off the couch and stand up to go to bed for fear of my Achilles’ tendon being sliced by a sadist with a rusty scalpel. Yet I was afraid to stay on the couch because of the possibility that someone was lurking behind me waiting for me to move so he can choke me with a length of razor wire. And let’s not forget the zombie cannibals waiting for me on the staircase and the deranged truck driver-turned-scarecrow-from-hell with a hook for a hand waiting to scrape off my face once I fell asleep.

Note to self. Do NOT watch scary crap when Dana is not home.

Exhibit B:
While I scared myself motionless watching gore on television, I needed comfort. So I shoveled spoonfuls of cookie dough ice cream into my trembling mouth. Heaping spoonfuls. Half a container later I realized that I was far too full to be able to run away from Rosemary’s Baby or any of the Children of the Corn. I was screwed.

Exhibit C:
I didn’t go to bed until 1230A. My kids wake up at 600A if they decide to sleep in. This morning they did not sleep in.

You can understand the relative fog in which I operated today, playing Blue’s Clues, building new train track configurations for Thomas and Friends and changing two “serious business” diapers. Thank goodness for Febreeze room deodorizer. However the initial shock of the smell did revive me like rotten, nuclear waste smelling salts would do.

Exhibit D:
Tonight I watched parts of An American Werewolf In London and Final Destination.

Exhibit E:
Polished off the rest of the ice cream. But there was no hot fudge or chocolate syrup in the house so I improvised. Semisweet chocolate morsels melted in the microwave did the trick. I ate way too much. Again.

Exhibit F:
It’s 1130P and the kids will be up in six and a half hours.

If I’m lucky.