I don't know how much more of this I can take...

Today is opening day. Hope springs eternal (again) for Cubs fans everywhere. I mean, the Cubs' season preview show is called "Next Year is Here". This year is going to be different, though. Experts from all over the country have picked the Cubs to at least win their division, and other have been so bold to pick our lovable losers to win the World Series. Should the Cubs pull of that feat, it would be the first one since 1908.

I woke up all excited today. I wore my blue dress shirt and Cubs tie to work today. I even called a fellow Cubs fan at 6:30 this AM to remind him that the road to the World Series started today. I got to work, finished up my work, and cut out a little early to get home to catch some of the game. I had a few errands to run on the way home. I stopped at the Colonel on the way home and picked up some rations as watching Cubs baseball is demanding work. I had planned to watch my recording from the beginning without seeing any updates. I got all the way home without hearing anything about the game. I crashed on the couch with remote in one hand and 11 herbs and spices in the other. The game got started late and was further delayed by rain. I set an alternate recording to catch what would be aired after the regularly scheduled programming. I got all the way to the sixth inning on my first recording. I looked for my alternate recording and couldn't find it. I did, however, find out that I had lovely recordings of Law & Order and King of the Hill, both fine entertainment choices, but this is opening day!!!! I quickly change over to the game and what do I see???? The Cubs new addition, Kosuke Fukudome (KOES-kay FOOK-uh-DOE-may) has just tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a 3-run homer. I was all set to watch the whole game, let the tension build, and experience everything it had to offer, but I blew it for Detective Benson and Hank Hill. Then the Cubs blew it in the tenth and ended up losing 4-3. There's no game tomorrow, so I've got a day off from this unbearable stress. If the sun comes up tomorrow, it will be a minor miracle.

In other news, Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, was honored with a statue outside of Wrigley Field today. In addition to the governor, baseball greats Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Minnie Minoso, and even Hank Aaron were there. Who else belongs in that group? Don't know? Why, Rev. Jesse Jackson, of course. Evidently, he heard Banks was pretty good and knew there might be a camera there for a photo op. Cub Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins joined the group on the field for the ceremonial first pitch, and Jesse was right in the middle. I think I threw up in my mouth a little.

Anyway, Wednesday is a new day.....I'll be sure to leave my bad luck Cubs tie at home.

Gibbs 2, Hendrick 0

So, my driver has yet to win a race. Despite Tony's bad luck, both of his teammates have found Victory Lane. Yesterday, Denny Hamlin brought the FedEx Camry home in first for Toyota's second cup win of the year. Hamlin credits some of his success to an off-season fitness regimen that saw him lose 30 pounds and 50% of his body fat. I think I know where it went.

My Girls?

OK, 19 days without a post: that's not terrible, I guess. I lost my camera several weeks ago, so the inspiration I used to photograph in everyday life wasn't captured and subsequently wasn't written about....or something like that. I found my camera this week, got some fresh batteries in it, and pulled this picture out. It's got to be a couple of years old. I don't know why it has such a yellow cast, but it's got to be one of my favorites.

It's got to be a concern of any single parent, especially the non-custodial one, that his children will lose some of the identity that he has provided. I see my girls at least once a week and they spend every other weekend with me. This was my weekend with them. Back to that identity thing. Tonight, I was putting them to bed when my identity came shining through. They were trickling out of the bathroom after brushing their teeth, and we were all lying on the bed listening to the 'Sleepy Girls' mix on my iPod. I don't know if we were having a family hug or what, but Grace felt the need to let one go (fart, break wind, or cut the cheese). I've believed for a long time now that butt gas is always funny. I know these are my kids because when Grace farted, the room went up for grabs. Nora's laugh is so infectious. She laughs so hard and so loud; there's no job stress or financial worries in anything she does. I can't help but smile when she belly laughs like she did tonight.
Anyway, those are my kids; and I love them dearly.

Gibbs 1, Hendrick 0

Kyle Busch won the race yesterday. I thought this was a neat picture of him going to get the flag. His teammate, and my personal favorite, Tony Stewart, finished second, and had this to say about the race. I think this was my personal favorite, though. He took it a step further and said he would take the Goodyears off his personal vehicles and replace them with Firestones. You just don't get this kind of candor anywhere.

Weekend Entertainment

I saw this guy on the Apollo last week. The 2 things that impress me the most are how lost he is in his performance and how the crowd responds. We should all be so lucky to have people enjoy watching us do what we love to do.

If you're into Oprah moments and other "dreams come true" type moments (I am, BTW), check this out. If you can get through Tina's four and half minutes of babbling, you'll see he does a nice job.

America has some sense....

....this guy got voted off of American Idol last night after wowing us with his most flaming performance yet.

The Final Countdown

this is a test

I had been having trouble embedding videos from YouTube. I put this one up as a test, but it's actually not too bad.