Clarification...

..our new blog address is

mikeandkendrataylor.blogspot.com

not because I want a blog of my own, but because this one seems a bit one sided.. michaelbtaylor.blogspot.com does not bear the name of my dear wife and her name is mentioned only in the parenthesis of the title..

I'll start the new blog with a good story, right now.. see you there :)

Too Long

We haven't fallen off the face of the earth, we have just been rather busy in this new year. Exciting things are happening. Like, we started a new blog, so Mike can have his own back. It is Mikeandkendrataylor.blogspot.com. There is so much to say, but I have to get ready for my classes tomorrow, we are starting a new term! Woot!

I must go for now, but I will get back to you this week...hopefully

December is here already?!

Holy cow! So...I have been hiding from this blog because, well honestly I couldn't think of anything good to say. It is snowing, again in P-town. Little Boss loves it! I thought he would get cold and give up after then minutes, but he loved playing it. After he played in the cold snow, he was very appreciative that our heater works now. Yes, it has been a very cold two months. The heater has a poor work ethic. It works well for a day, then takes three days off. It is sad when it is colder outside than inside. Anycase, it is finals week for me, and its well unpleasant, but doable. I can't wait to find time to go snowboarding (woot woot!).

Mike signed up for a summer dish program somewhere. Which will make us lots of money...hopefully. He is totally excited, and I am too. I will get to work admin...I have always wanted an office job! Anyway, that is all...with the possibility of more exciting news next week!

Oh how fast October went...

So here I am and it is some how November already. School is wizzing by. That makes me sad, yet happy, and all at the same time nervous. Soon I will graduate and them I will have to find a grown up job. The problem is there is so much I want to do, but alas I supposwed I ought to use my teaching lisence. Then there is the problem of tenure. I am freaked out that whenever I start teaching I may be stuck there for the next 20 years! Holy cow! You might say I have commitment issues, my reume is proof that I haven't had the same job for more than 2 years...Teaching means I have to put down rots, but I am still young and if you look at my housing record, some places were less than a year...oh man. Sorry random tangent.

October was a good month. General confrence, and my primary program were awesome. As I sat there and lead the children in the songs, and listened to their testimonies I wondered how anyone couldn't feel the spirit in the room. And watching their cute little faces I thought about having one of my own. And in general conference I got that same feeling. But I now have a dog so I am at peace with my motherly desires at the moment. Bosco is growing fast. He goes in spurts, he gets fat then long and repeats. HE is a frisky puppy, he loves attacking your shoes as you try try to put them on. He loves playing in the leaves in front of our apt. I love this video it makes me smile everytime I see it!




We also hosted a murder mystery party. I was a blast an d I am a magician. For those of you who know just how small our living room is, I managed to fit three couches plus a table and a chest in the there with litk13 perople....I am glad no one was clostraphobic! ^_^





Thats about all thets new for us last month, so for now bye-bye and we will write soon! ^_^

BOSCO!

So we made the trek to Kingman to make my dream true of having a dog! And here is the little darling, Bosco!

Dag yo.

This is what I get for reading blogs when I should be doing laundry...

3 Names You Go By
-Kendra
-Ked
-Special K

3 Restaurants I Love
- Noodle & Company
- L&L Barbaque
- The place on top of the Stratosphere with the best steak in the world!

3 Trips to Plan on This Year

- Kingman to pick up my puppy!
- Whatever bowl game BYU gets into
- Where ever Christmas is going to be!

3 Things I Want Badly
- To be done with school! (please oh please!)
- A puppy
- To go on a date with my husband!

3 Pets I've had...How about 3 kinds?
- Horse (7 that I rode on a regular basis)
- Dog (6)
- Cat (3)

3 Things I did Yesterday
- School
- Work
- And too much homework :(

3 Things I Ate Today
- Ferrero Rocher chocolate things
- PB&J sandwich
- Hot pocket

3 Fears
- Scary movies
- Spiders
- Not being a good mother and wife

3 Things I Plan on Doing Today
3 things? I wish I had only 3 things I planned on doing.
- Laundry
- Homework (still more to be done)
- Dishes

3 Things I Plan on Doing Tomorrow
- School
- Homework
- Work

3 Favorite Holidays
- 24th of July (its the day Mike and I became lovers)
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas

3 Favorite Beverages
- Hot Chocolate
- Propel
- Apple Juice

3 People I Tag
- Julie
- Blair (thats assuming she has a blog)
- who ever is reading this right now.

Why...I'll tell you why.

Conference weekend is always a crazy time, mainly because no homework gets done. And I have alot of it! I really enjoyed this weekend. Joslyn and her parents came up to see the Sunday morning session. We hung out Saturday, went shopping, witched a movie, and went out to eat...good times all around. None of us got to sleep before 3:00 am. ^_^ So the next morining, Mike and I did not make the morning session. So the Sunday afternoon session could't be a bust as well. We drove up there with Mike's friend Sean. As we walked passed the protesters, very few on this cold rainy day, one man said something that made me think.

"Why would you want to be a Mormon?"

As we walked through the gates to the tabernacle, because we were too late for the standby seats, I looked up and saw the Salt Lake Temple. I got the warm fuzzies. The reason I want to be Mormon is because of that building. I know that my family will always be a family. I will always be Michael's wife. We are in it for the long haul, unlike many civil marriages that last until the romance or the money is gone. We are going to stick togther because that is our purpose here on earth.
Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to be a mommy. Sure my carreer choices bounced around, but nothing could sway my desire to be a mother. As a member of the LDS faith, I know that my family will be a family after death. The joy that is felt within the family is irreplaceable. The peace of being with you spouse in the temple is overwhelming. Nothing is more valuable to me than that knowledge.

"If you ask, I will tell you why."

Oh Pell Grant!

Well, things are looking up. As if they ever were looking down...My financial aide finally came through. Mike is making good money with his DNS job and Dish business. He has a new radiator in his awesome Isuzu Rodeo. I finally have found balance with student, housewife, and normalcy. It has just been a great week. I know that we haven't posted for a while...again, I just figured out how to balance it all. Last week I was working as well. I had a bit of a melt down because I could not do it all. I thought that I could, but if I was to work and go to school, the house would fall into disrepair. At least I think so. Ah well.

So our house has one major snaffoo...it is not spider proof. Over the last week I have seen on average, 1 spider about everyday...and these are not just any regular spiders, they are about the size of a fifty cent piece. And, all of them are the same kind! *shudders* The other day I was making dinner in the kitchen and one just mozied from the bedroom to the hallway. I was going to grab a shoe and squish it, but by the time I found an adequate smashing untensil, I could not find it. So I figured it left...oh no...I soon had to go to the bathroom, and to do so had to walk through that hallway. I searched that carpet to make sure he was gone, and them proceeded. As soon as I set my toes down, I felt it scurry under my foot...*shudders again*

Needles to say, I freaked out and was trapped in the kitchen until Mike came home to convince me that the spider was really gone...I did not believe him. So in a attempt to avoid the clever spider and his camoflage abilities, I tried to meneuver thr liveing room avoiding the carpet. On one such instince, as I leapt from the computer chair to te couch, the subwoofer attacked my toe. It left a pretty deep gouge. I thought. "oh its just a scratch," but as the blood didn't stop, I thought otherwise. And, of course, I have no idea where the bandaides are packed...now this may sound surprising to some of you because I always have bandaides because things like this are frequent in nature. So after minutes of bleeding we located the bandaides and taped up my toe. Now Mike says my cut looks like a halloween scar.

That is my exciting week...yup. ^_^

K-town or Bust

Ok so don't hate me, its just been a busy week trying to get ready for school and find a new car and get Mike a new job. We found a new '94 Rodeo. He is in love with it. We needed a new car, especially for his new job installing Dish for another company. But he is still an independent contractor so we can still work Dish on the side.

I digress. So we went down to Kingman thinking we would only stay for two days and stayed four. Each day we found something to stick around for the next day. We got there on Tuesday and just hung out hoping that Joslyn could come up. But she wasn't allowed, so we rented a Jet-ski and played on the river. It was a blast! but next time we are going to have to get two, so we can race! So the next day Jared brought over his four-wheelers. Those little kids ride so fast! Little Landon was crazy! He jumps and tries to do tricks. That boy is just like his father! Anyway, the next day was Amanda's soccor game. She played hard, but didn't win. I fetlt bad that we couldn't stay to watch Landon play, he really wanted us to. Mike made good friends with them, he is now Uncle Mike. It makes him feel important. ^_^

So we left at about noon so we could go to the St. George Temple. We want to visit all of the temples in Utah. I can't wait until the two new temples are finished so we can go to the open house. I have never been to an open house, I am so excited! Yup! Nothing beats going to the temple with your spouse. It is such a peaceful and wonderful feeling. Even if you are mad or upset at each other it brings you together.

Anyway, have a good day all!

The Lake and Grumpy Old Men

Today Marissa invited Mike and I to go boating with her family. Neither Mike or I have been out on a boat in years. We got out on the water about 9 a.m. It was freezing! The wind was frigid and the water was colder. Mike was brave first and tried wake boarding. After some exhausting tries he made it up, but only for a few seconds. Next we tried knee boarding. I was the guinea pig this time. I struggled and ate it pretty bad a few times, but I made it up! But once I was up I had no idea what to do besides follow the boat...

Next Mike tried it. After a leg splitting tries he was on top of the water. He carved from side to side and even tried to jump the wake. He is my hero. After we lounged on the boat for who knows how long, somehow they talked me into wake boarding. I remember water skiing with my family and never making it our of the water....crap. But on about the third time something magical happened, I was up, then spun and down again...I have no idea how it happened. I was determined to figure this thing out. So I got up again (miraculously) but what do you do once you are up? No idea, so I hung on until I butt-planted it with a super water wedgie. Ok, one more time. I got up and was speeding along side the boat, but I wanted to carve like Marissa. And then, splat, another huge and painful water wedgie...I don't think I will be sitting for long periods any time soon.

We had so much fun, but got so burnt....It was worth waking up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday!

Later that evening....

We had a going away party for Marissa. We had a bonfire up in the mountins. We had hot dogs and smores, what more coud you ask for? A couple of people brought acoustic guitars and we were just chillin'. But we picked the wrong park. Never before have we been told about a curfew in the campgrounds where we always go for late night bonfires. But this one had a grumpy old man to enforce it. We were just listening to the three guys playing red hot chili peppers songs, roasting our mallows ang chatting it up. But thenm came the grumpy old man who informed us of this curfew. As we began cleaning up and deciding where to go next, it was only 10:30, he told us that if we didn't leave he would turn the srpinklers on. So we put the fire out and packed up....but I guess we took too long because guess what happened, the sprinklers came on! He didn't even give us ten minutes to pack everything up. Out hot dog buns got soaked as well as many of our faces...What a grumpy old man!

The bookstore

About 6 weeks ago (or so) I bought my books for summer term. I spent a whopping $290.oo. I almost never spend that much on books, but somehow there was no way around it this time. So I grudgingly put down my bank card thinking that at least I would get a decent return. Little did I know that they only would accept a certain number of the most expensive book back. So I wandered up to the counter thinking, "Boy I could go to Kingman on this money!" But as fate would have it, not only had they just barely met the quota for me very expensive book, but mine did not come with a cd. I didn't know there was supposed to be a cd. So needless to say I almost cried when the clerk told me it was worth $4. Yup, my $100 book was now worth $4. She asked if I wanted to keep it...was she nuts! It is not worth $4 to me. So from my original purchase of $290, I got back $113. They make a killing off of books...I got only a third of what I paid...and most of my books were new! Anyway that is my rant for the day. Two tests down, one to go! Wish me luck!

Nostalgia

So I somehow convinced Mike to go wait for two hours and then some for that new vampire book. The only reason we got it at midnight is that our friend is a manager at Barnes and Noble and put my name on the reserved list, and he asked us to come. Anyway, we decided to pass the time by reminicing our dating fun.

Among our favorites were:

Our first meeting. We went and played laser tag with a group of friends, then I tried to watch Casino Royal, but he just wanted to talk to me the whole time. When he decided to take me home, he forgot my name...I laughed ^_^

Our first date. He took me out to eat at his favorite place, Ruby River Steakhouse. He ordered a big steak and I said I would have the same. He was astonished, he thought I didn't know what he ordered. He thought I would get a girly salad....Where's the beef? Then he took me to BYU stadium. He re-enacted all of the famous BYU football plays. I thought he was nuts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug75diEyiA0

Longboarding down the KOA trail. As we skated down this awesome trail, Mike enjoyed looking at my bum. ^_^



Going to the tumbling gym. I still love to flip as often as possible. Mike decided that he wanted to learn. I took him out to a grassy field and taught him a backhandspring. Now he wanted to do more so we went to open gym at a gymnastics place. He learned a round off back tuck, almost.

Halloween in Kingman. We got all dressed up in as a basketball player and sexy refferee and went out with my family. The best part was during Mike's awesome rendition of Busta Move, Stephen was bustin' our sides with his equally awesome dance moves. ^_^

BYU Homecoming Dance. We got all schnazed up for the formal homecoming dance, all but our awesome matching Converse. We danced the night away to a live band!

...Just to name a few! ^_^

Running, how I hate thee.

So Mike and I decided to become more active, i.e. playing racquetball, hiking, and just getting into shape. I know my cardio strength is nearly nonexistent, but it is getting ridiculous. I have been jogging only a half mile in the mornings now, and I think I am getting worse! How is this possible? When I started, I wasn't out of breathe until 1/4 mile, now I can't even go 100 m with out losing it. Running has never been my forte, but come on people! I don't understand how my sisters can run half marathons and I can barely make 3/4 of a mile. Maybe you have some suggestions and pointers.

As good as sold!

So our landlord call this morning, and our contract for our wonderful apartment is sold. I am going to miss this place. We have worked so hard to make it our home. All the painting and all the scrubbing goes to $25 more a month for the next tenant.
It just feels like our home, but at the same time it is missing something. Maybe we are missing chairs for our "Malone" table (Mike thinks is tall enough for Carl Malone), or perhaps we are missing a side table...or just maybe it isn't furniture at all. I just feel like something is missing from our little family. But just as I begin feeling motherly, I called my mother and found out that Spotty is going to be a father! And the best part is, I get one of the puppies! But I am not sure I really want one (think of the training!). But that nagging void pulls me toward the animal shelters and pet stores. I miss having a four-legged cuddle buddy.

Now this poses a problem if we are moving to Hawaii. One-will we be able to have a dog? Two-how will we get the puppy to Hawaii? Three-What will we do with the puppy while we are at work?

Oh Man I really want a dog!

I love my husband! He did the grocery shopping, and bought me roses. He is so thoughtful. He set them up in our bedroom with romantic pictures set up all around. He really is the bomb, I can't imagine a better fit for me. I really love this man. But back to my original point. He too feels like something is missing. He likes the idea of getting a little dachshund to run around our feet, he also likes the idea of other little feet. I think I am getting more open to the idea. (wink wink!)


So many things are changing. We are moving. I might change majors. We might get a dog! I might transfer to BYU Hawaii...It doesn't seem like alot, but to me it feels like alot. Anyhoo that is all I have for now.

THE PLAN

10 AM.. I love my wife..

Yesterday, I went and helped my friend Vaughn with 'finish work' on his house for 5 or 6 hours.. He started building this house a while back and I've been there offering my help with the hard labor.. framing, roofing, and now finish work.. It feels good to help a friend out, but I also see this as an opportunity to learn first hand (from a reliable source) how to build a home.. I am learning everything I can.. not just the physical labor part, but the financing, legalities, and how to take bids for sub-contracting.. I love the idea of building houses for a living, and I am playing with the idea of having him help build my house..

When Kendra and I decided to get married, the plan was to have our house built before the winter set in.. Nothing huge, just a cute little 3 bedroom rambler in Springville.. I found a lot for 50,000, and since no one was buying, I talked him down to 42,000.. (boo yah) and I started talking with Vaughn about building our home.. I like the idea of Vaughn being my 'General Contractor'.. I trust him and I would pay him what he thought he was worth.. but the best thing, I would profit from learning.. While I'd work with Dish and Mona Vie from 3 PM - 8 PM, I would work with Vaughn in the mornings, and I'd have him teach me everything about building my house..

We would move into our tiny apt until the house finished construction, then live in our awesome rambler for 2 years while Kendra finished school.. After 2 years of appreciation and equity built up, we had the choice to sell the house, rent it out, or call it home for starting our family..

SELL IT: If we sold it, we could (conservativly) expect to sell it with 2 years of 7% apprectiation and pocket $40,000 equity we've put in it ($15,000 down for loan and $25,000 for 2 years mortgage payments @ 1,000 /month).. At that point, we'd start the whole process over again.. rent out a tiny apt for the summer and build a new home..

RENT IT OUT: If the market still sucks, we would refinance and rent it out for $100 / month more than the loan minimums would be.. that would generate an additional 100 / month cash flow for us and buy us time til the house would sell for what it's worth.. at that point, we would start building our 2nd home.. by refinancing, we'd get our equity out and would put that money down on a 2nd construction loan and start building a 2nd house..

the good thing about renting out the first home is that the tennant will be building our equity AND putting 100 / month in our pocket AND we take advantage of the 7% appreciation.. imagine if we rented that first home out for ten years.. 12,000 bucks residual income for us and another 120,000 paid off on our first loan.. if we do it for 20 years, then we own that first home, literally PAID OFF.. retired @ 40 ? that sounds ok by me..

MOVE IN: If we love our home so much, we'll move in and call it home.. We make the mortgage payments and build our own equity.. Realistically speaking, get into a $250,000 home while paying off a 200,000 construction loan.. there is 50,000 equity right there.. refinance immedietely and put it toward a 2nd home..

All options are good.. I love living in a 'recession' of a market.. The builders are literally out of work and will bid lower than usual because there is so little work going around.. while the cost of building the house drops, the actual worth of the house remains the same.. it may not sell for the actual worth, but that's fine.. we'll rent it out or live in it ourselves til the enonomy recovers..

So.. the plan is there.. why arent we moving on it right now? We do not have 10,000 to put down on a construction loan.. :( That's where Hawaii comes in..

In Hawaii, we'll have lots of things going for us, financially speaking..

First off, they pay for our plance ticket to and from Hawaii, housing, and $900 / month for food.. Our budget demands 510 / week here in Utah, while our Hawaii budget will be need 250 / week.. right there is a savings of 1100 a month..

I will work 40 hours a week for 10 / hr.. I am not looking forward to the construction-cleanup work, but if that's what my family and my future needs, so be it.. so there is 400 / week income.. Kendra will have to work for a week while we're out there so they will pay for her to fly her out there.. but after that, my friend Harold, who is the manager, will FIRE HER because she "simply isn't cut out for the work." Kendra gets a plane ticket out there and can either be a cute house wife and not work, or she can get a job at one of the resorts out there, or can do school via internet classes..

I do NOT like the idea of my baby working that job out there.. With my experience in construction, I know that is NO PLACE for my Lover and I WILL NOT put her in that situation..

I will also be taking my Dish Network business out there.. I be taking in between 350 - 450 for every account (depending on what bonuses we earn), because I'll be taking comission for sale and install.. by myself, I have been averaging 3 a week here in utah, and I plan on making minimum 2 sales a week in Hawaii.. It takes about an hour of knocking to find a sale, and I am going to be comitted to bringing in 2 sales a week..

I will also be taking my Mona Vie business out there.. this will have long term effects, whereas a few years from now I can come back to Hawaii to check on my business and call it a business expense ;) .. I'll be to the point where my Utah business is rockin, and my Hawaii business is moving.. and extra residual income will be nice :)

So here is why we are moving out there..

First.. it's Hawaii.. we'll be on the beach for every sunset we want ;) We have only a limited time where we can do this.. being young, newlyweds, and not having any kids means we can move on this awesome experience and remember for our entire lives..

Second, the finances simply line up.. our weekly income will be 400 from the job, plus 700 - 900 from 2 dish sales, plus Mona Vie money.. all together between 1200 - 1500 a week, depending on what kind of bonuses we get for our Dish sales.. Expenses will be 300 / week, so after it's all added up..

1200-1500 Income
- 300 Expenses
-----
900 - 1200 weekly Net Income
* 18 weeks (project ends on December 31)
-----
16,200 - 21,600 Expected Net Income from August 14 - December 31

and guess where that money is going to go ? It will be the down payment on our construction loan for our AWESOME NEW HOME..

The program ends in the dead of winter in Utah, and since it's not easy to sell Dish door-to-door in 2 feet of snow, I'd like to do a semester of school in Oahu before moving back to Provo.. Kendra wants to finish her school @ BYU where she is familiar with the program, but I do not like the idea of moving back to Provo in the winter.. I am sure that we will find a compromise of some sort.. :)

I have to run.. taking my baby to school and it's time to get some work done.. stay tuned..

PS- sorry to take up the last hour of your life.. I'll try to keep these things more brief in the future :) have a nice day

This week on

So I was told that we aren't posting enough. Seriously people, our lives are not that interesting. But if you really want the mundane then you got it.

This week has been flying by, I alone have two tests, a paper and wouldn't you know it, a talk in sacrament. But it will all work in the end. Tomorrow is my last day at work in Springville at Airtime Gymnastics (they don['t know I am moving and think its only till the term is over....they are going to be so mad!). Mike is excited because we wont feel like a house wife, taking me to work, making me a lunch, taking me to school and on some nights making dinner. He has it sooooo tough! (lol) Anyway, I will be able to do the Dish Biz finances in the mornings and know where all the money is going since it feels like it just disappears. All and all I will miss gymnastics and my three year olds, even though some days I feel like shooting myself after work.

So my new "job" will be managing the home, dish finances, and maybe even dabble in some Mona Vie work. Maybe I might even get excited about it....we will see. ^_^

But that is all for now. Wish me luck on my tests!

-Kendra Taylor

Hi! I'm the Wife!

Hey ya'll! My new name is Kendra Jean Taylor, and I love it! Sometimes I forget it. Anycase, onto the important stuff. We are moving to Hawaii! Isn't that exciting....until I think about moving. But that is a whole month away. Yeah, we are moving in August to Maui. Mike's business buddy got a job offer and is taking us with him. He will be the manager of a construction cleaning crew, and we will be the cleaners...woot. The most awesome part is that rent and food is paid for by the company plus an hourly wage of... are you ready for this.... $10/hour. I know what you are thinking, that sure is alot of money....lol. But in the long run it will set us up financially pocketing between $14,000 and $24,000, which will help pay for my education, especially because we were denied a federal grant (saddness). The only downside is that it puts my graduation off till April 2010...(again saddness).

I can imagine it now. Working from 7am-3pm five days a week (my first full time job) and then going to the beach in the evening....every evening. This is probably a once in a lifetime event for us, when else are we going to be able to live in Hawaii and be paid for it, without children.

With graduation so far away, Mike isn't happy about that because I said that I don't want to be the pregnant mother squeezing into the desks in the class room. But who knows.... ^_^

Right now Mike wants to stay in Hawaii and I would go to BYU Hawaii to finish. I want to come back to Utah and finish here at BYU with the teachers I already know and a course I am familiar with. But again who knows, we stay out there for a long while, or be back in January when it is freezing and feet of snow....

I think that is all for now on our lives. We will keep you updated!

Ahhh.... Married Life :)

I love it.. I love her.. Life is good :)

The sun woke me up about an hour before the alarm went off.. and it was awesome !! It sure is nice to wake up next to my best friend and cuddle with her in the sheets before starting the day..

It's only been a month, but I do not remember what single life was like.. I don't miss it either.. It's nice to have this kind of companionship.. the kind where we know that whatever we are going through, we are going through it together.. through the fun, and the not-so-fun stuff..

There have been rough spots.. For instance, we are getting used to having to cater to each other time demands.. We have only 1 car and quite often, we have to be in different places at the same time.. That has brought on some stress, and we have had a few petty arguments trying to convince each other that our agenda is more important, but we end reminding each other that we are on the same team and we work it out..

I've always been one to get excited about challenges and following my PDCA process til the challenge becomes a cake walk..

Plan
Do
Check
Adjust

I have found that any idea has to run through this cycle 3 times before success is a sure thing.. I have found the thrill in learning by experience.. while the consequences and results are real, and often more severe, the lessons learned are far more rewarding than anything.

I have to run off to work now.. this one was somewhat scrambled..
but have a nice day :)

Wedding Registry Shopping

Kendra and I are going registry shopping today.. we're going to hit the usual spots for kitchen things, towels, etc.. target, bed bath and beyond.. but I am looking forward to seeing what Best Buy has to offer :)

I have heard from my friends who have tied the knot that a super-nice $200+ vacuum cleaner makes the BEST wedding gift..

how is this possible ?

it's an overpriced vacuum.. all it does is clean.. it doesn't entertain, do any tricks, or do anything that a $50 vacuum can't..

I want a 42" wall mounted widescreen HD-TV w/ VGA port (computer's video card input).. I have this glamorous image of playing Company of Heroes or surfing the web on this massive screen.. the best part is that I can do so from the comfort of my couch with a wireless keyboard / mouse.. Another bonus, is I can install a Dish-722 to this monster.. HD-DVR Dual tuner.. I can get the programming for free cuz It will be my business' showcase receiver..

boo yah grandma.. boo yah..

So let's compare.. a super-duper vacuum cleaner who's claim to fame is that it literally sucks..
or my awesome TV that can split-screen Sportscenter AND my rockin computer games at the same time :)

I think if I ask my Special-K very nicely, she might let me scan one in today when we go shopping..

PS - This pic is completely irrelevant, but I thought it was the coolest thing ever..

I am the 'Evil Food Nazi'

I am the 'Evil Food Nazi', as my 10 year old brother Jacob has labeled me..

I suggest making him food almost every time I see him.. sometimes he is grateful and eats, but sometimes he take out his hungry frustrations out on me and call me the Evil Food Nazi..

But I don't mind the title at all. I like food.. nay, I LOVE food..

While I am not so much concerned with gourmet, extreme-quality kind of food, I have been known to be obsessive about eating vast quantities of good food every meal..

I love that 'cant-take-another-bite' / Thanksgiving Dinner / 'no thanks, I'm full' kind of feeling.. I love how food satisfies.. I like making 4 or 5 course breakfasts that IHOP can't hold a flame to.. Blueberry waffles, crunchy bacon, fluffy eggs, sausages, peaches.. yum..

I have come to grips with the fact that God decided to give me a body with an ultra-fast metabolism.. It may sound nice, but I have found that my mood / energy levels are unusually dependent on my diet. When I don't take in as many calories as I am burning off, I get frustrated and agitated much quicker than usual.. My temper is not as shy as it normal is, and I feel lethargic and uninspired when I look at my to-do list.. My thoughts drift off into negativity, sometimes even to the point of self doubt and self pity..

You may think that I am over stating the fact, but this is how I feel when I don't eat properly. I have also observed this behavior in my family and have found it to be a major source of contention in the home. These emotions, caused by a lack of food, promote misery, anger, and they interfere with life..

If fighting these negative emotions turns me into the 'Evil Food Nazi' that Jacob calls me, then so be it.. but I should note that 100% of the time, he has felt better and apologized after eating whatever this 'Evil Food Nazi' had to make for him :)

Let's hear it for food !!