Blogger Relations

So I had a funny dream. My wife and I were eating in a Taqueria in Southern California. We never go to Taquerias. I don't even know if I am spelling taqueria correctly. I am standing in line getting my food and I look up and see whittakerwoman in line next to me. I say, "Hey you are whittakerwoman, ragamuffinsoul's wife." She responded "No, he is ragamuffinsoul, whittakerwoman's husband." We continued to have a conversation and I introduced myself and my wife and Carlos was saving a table and we dined together. It was pretty weird, since we never really go to Southern California, and they now live in Atlanta.
It got me thinking. Bloggers that post their lives on their blog can have tons of strangers reading their lives and in a way get to know them. It is almost celebrity status. These are two people that I have never met that I was able to create their personalities and dialogue for them subconsciously. That sounds kind of stalkerish doesn't it. Well I have friends that know the two of them from the dream. They laughed when they heard the story and said "That is exactly something Heather would say." I guess just from my daily blog scrolling my brain had enough input (a la Johnny 5) to think I know these people. That is weird. I read ragamuffinsoul as one of my daily blog reads, and it leads me to other great blogs. Being less than two months away from having a daughter I now cruise whittakerwoman to get all kinds of cool parenting ideas (and if you are reading Heather, I had In N' Out yesterday, so HA!).
I think it all came when I noticed whittakerwoman had posted a comment on my wife's blog. I was jealous because she had a comment from a blogebrity and I didn't. I don't have 8 trillion hits a day as ragamuffinsoul does, but I am proud of my 10 per day!!! Who knows, maybe someday I will become a blogebirty and have stalkers of my own!!! Hey, I just coined a phrase!!! Blogebrity.
(Oh, and this is the closest post to having a topic where I can use this picture of the sleeping monkey. Hopefully the resemblance is not too close!)

Great Dinner

Had a great dinner with Two Blonde Boys, his wife (he never blogs her name, so I won't), Stacey, and my wife. It was a "thank you" for the girls throwing Liege a baby shower. Patamo and I just tagged along because we wanted good food and good wine.
We went to Pangea (because Trelio was booked). It was my first time there and was pleased. The service was decent, but the food was amazing. I have had a vertical of Quintessa premier release through 2003 (1994-2003). I took along the 1996, as well as a Westbrook Wine Farm Viognier/Valdiguie, and we had a Kosta Browne Pinot Noir we ordered there.
Pat and I split a Macaroni and Cheese as well as a Ceviche dish to start. They were amazing. For dinner, Pat, his wife, and I all had:
Seared sea scallops with baby shiitake mushrooms,
tomato pan sauce & crème fraiche mash potatoes
Liege had:
Grilled double cut pork chop with crispy shiitake mushroom-vegetable chow mein & ginger plum sauce
Stacey had:
Grilled rosemary crusted rack of lamb with blue cheese potato cake,
sauteed tot soi, baby carrots & dried cherry port reduction

Everyone loved their food, and the wine was excellent as well. I decided to go with the Sea Scallops even though the Quintessa was too powerful for it. I didn't care, I enjoyed both.
The 1996 Quintessa is definitely the best I have had. My vertical only now runs 97-02, but it was the perfect occasion for it. Nice cedar and spice, floral notes, with heavy currant flavors. It was amazing. I think the later vintages haven' t been the quality they had in their first earlier years.

Oops, I said it again...

Do you ever have those moments??? Where it comes out of your mouth. You think that might be the most wrong thing you have ever heard. Then you realize you were the one who said it. And you wonder if you are going straight to hell for saying that???!!! Well if you know me, that happens a lot. Usually it only happens around the comfort of my wife and close friends where I know I am safe. But today, just in the presence of my wife thank goodness, I said a comment that if I end up in hell is sure to be the one that put me there.
No I am not going to tell you.

The Look!!!

Now I am less than two months away from father hood. I am worried about a lot obviously. My daddy to be books tell that is good because if I wasn't I would be a terrible father. Worried first and foremost about her health. Worried about getting into the new house in enough time for my wife to nest and be happy bringing baby home into a baby ready environment (which doesn't necessarily mean necessities, it means cute decorations). Worried about my adjustment from being able to do whatever I want whenever I want to not. Worried about being gentle enough. Worried about having a teenage daughter in 13 years that is going to want pants with writing on the butt.
Well I had one revelation in the middle of the night. Everyone's parents had a look. They did not have to say anything, do anything, all they had to do is give that look and the kid would straighten right up (maybe not a lot of current parents with children because most don't even discipline any more and let them behave however they want). My parents had a look. And in the middle of the night...I realized I had a look. Miles (our dog) was walking around. His nails on the hardwood floor woke me up. I sat up and glared something more serious than magnum or blue steele from zoolander and he went running into his kennel.
Am I prepared for fatherhood? No way!!! But I do have "the look."

Look what my wife did

I was trying to be good since I realize I pretty much dominate the blockbuster selection in our house. So I let my wife pick this last trip. She picked "The List." Although I watch movies ALL THE TIME I usually don't blog about them. The reason being is I can't even watch previews. I like to know nothing whatsoever about a movie when going to watch it. So I don't read reviews and I don't post them. However I felt the need to blog about "The List." It might just be the worst movie I have ever seen. The acting was terrible, the production was terrible, the directing was terrible, and it was overall terrible. The premise could have been good, but what they did with it was awful. I would like everyone out there to go watch it so you can agree with me how terrible it was.

Oregon Trail

So if you ever had an Apple II in your classroom at school you have played The Oregon Trail. I tought about it the other day and it led me to google it. I found THIS website. It has a binary program of Oregon Trail you can download and also an Apple II simulator for windows you can download to play it (and other old school apple II programs). What is your high score? No one hunts for food like I do!!! However my Apple II didn't have a color screen. The oregon trail was all in green...now in color. WOW!!! Oh the technology.

What Just Happened?

So today we went down to the Fresno Convention Center to an auction of nearly 100 foreclosed properties in the area. There is only one property we had in mind. We sat as it was 19th on the auction block. When the auction began on the house we were interested in and was over. It felt like .002 seconds. I am told it took more like 45 seconds. At the end, I was holding my sign in the air and the auctioneer congratulated me. I was speechless for minutes. We had a signed contract, opened escrow within 15 minutes. So we will be moving in about 3 weeks to a beautiful home for 40% less than what it sold for just 9 months ago. Wow....what just happened. Here is a pic of the house.

No Posts...Simple Reason.

VBS. That is all I have to say. It was a great week. Check everything out over at the New Cov Kids Blog.

Special Thanks to Weave, Patamo, and Josh for all their production work on the week.

Positive and Uplifting...

So the post well has been dry for the past week. I am here to tell you it will continue for another week. I am preparing (as many are this time of year) for Vacation Bible School. We are doing an Indiana Jones theme if you are one of my two readers who don't go to my church. So I have to put in my 10 hours a week (you know, that is all the guy who just plays the guitar and sings with the kids does). I had a moment today when I was on the phone with the IRS for a client getting audited, sitting in the baby dr waiting room, receiving text messages about SCUBA classes, and trying to send an email regarding VBS. So that is why I am absent.

So I never post about my real work. So today I will. A lot of accountants are looked at in a positive light because they usually tell their clients how big their refund is going to be!!! Well most of my clients are Self-employed so I usually bring the news of how much they owe. However, the reason they are with me is we get that number down as low as possible. So today I had a client that told me this:

"I had to delete your # from my phonebook because every time I see is scrolling through and I see your name is gives me panic attacks."

I am glad I can spread joy to the world like that where just the sight of my name sends someone into a panic and fills them with fear!!!