Tommy Boy

Every now and again when I'm watching a movie a character does something and I think to myself, "that's exactly what I would have done!" Almost anyone can relate to that same moment when watching a movie.

There's a scene in the movie Tommy Boy that completely depicts how I would react. Watch Tommy (Chris Farley).



I've done that same thing so many times. I don't think it ever involved ripping off a car door though. I've even said what Tommy said. Whadd-ya-do??

Pictures and living room football

My sweet wife Becka got us a new camera as a pre-Christmas present the other day. We've wanted a new one for several months now. Last night I snapped my first good picture with it. Noah and Dad relaxing.



As I've mentioned a couple blogs ago, the boys and I spend a lot of time playing football in the house. Eric is the receiver, Timo is defense, and Becka has stepped in as the "backup" quarterback while I run the camera.




Eric has such a high voice, sometimes it's hard to understand him on video. Eric said, "face mask on Timo!"

Sugar cookies

Last night the family made some sugar cookies. The boys of course were more then happy to help. Noah, so proud of what he created. Isn't she sweet? Timo tends to get a bit carried away with the frosting. That's OK, the frosting is the good part. Ooooh, colorful. I helped some with the cookies, but I was mostly pre-occupied with Full Throttle. I would drink it in my sleep if I could.

Back online....finally

What in the h-e-double hockey sticks did I ever do for entertainment and information before the Internet forced it's way into our house several years ago?

Our cable (and internet) was shut off nearly four weeks ago thanks to us ignoring the threats from the bill collecting department at CableOne. We've had the cable shut off before but never more then a few days. Knowing this, I wasn't very concerned about not having the TV to provide me with entertainment. I was concerned about the internet. Think about how much you rely on the internet for information now. Here's a visual to remind you:




To fill in the time I would normally use to surf the net, I had to find some other things to do, like:


-Watch several movies (some of them twice, but not in a row)

-Started a great book (it's long with big words so I hope I finish it)

-Hooked up my playstation again (Before I could play it, I had to take it apart and fix it which was great because just fixing it took up about three hours)

-Me and the boys spent several hours playing football in our living room. I'm the quarterback, Eric is the receiver/running back, Timo plays defense. It's best that way.

-Doing dishes, although, I'm currently on strike. So, if anyone can donate some clean plates, bowls, and spoons it would be greatly appreciated. We still have an abundance of forks. I don't know why.

-Cleaned out our storage space/large closet in the living room. (No joke here, I was just proud I did it....but seriously, we need some spoons)

-I found my computer game Sim City 3000. I built the thriving city of "Rigopolis". When I was bored with my city I later destroyed it with tornados, earthquakes, and UFOs.





Becka and I also continued our quest to sample unusual foods. We ate baby octopus again and I gotta say, although we slightly burned it this time, I genuinely enjoy eating it. Becka likes the tentacles but she can't bring herself to eat the head. Every time she tries, it always results in her running to the garbage. It's awesome. I prefer to think the head is the best part.



We also tried a fruit called durian. This spikey fruit is imported from Asia to our local asian markets. This was the first food I was a little nervous to try. Saying this fruit has a bad smell is a large understatement. Once you cut into durian it emits a strong smell of stinky feet and onions. And anything else you can think of that smells horrible. Knowing this beforehand, both Becka and I knew the key was getting past the smell because supposedly it tastes good.




When you take the first bite of it's custard like texture you experience sweet fruity flavor quickly followed by the taste of those horrible smells I listed above. Me being a moron, I feel like I have to try everything at least twice. I took about 5-6 bites and I couldn't take it anymore. I can proudly say I've tried it but I'm never eat it again.



Another food Becka and I had been wanting to try was tongue. So we did. We had pork tongue. I've heard this is a delicious cut of meat if you can get past what it is. We cooked it in the crock pot for a few hours, then I seared it on the griddle. It was very good.

Eric said it best before we ate. Eric notices the crock pot and says:


"What are we having for dinner?"

Me: "Tongue."

Eric: "Human tongue?!?"

Me: "No, pig tongue."

Eric: "Oh....good."


I agree.



Also, the tongue was the most fun food to play with. I apologize if I sent anyone "running to the garbage."




Take that Gene Simmons!

Christmas with the Griswolds

I anticipate this will be one of a few posts about Christmas until Christmas day comes. In a time when so many people dread the Christmas season, I'm one of the few that gets excited. There's no possible way I could ever truly express how much I loathe cold weather, but there's still a small part of me that gets excited when the weather begins to turn chilly. Only because that usually means Christmas is right around the corner.

One of the things I love about Christmas is, well, the movies. You can name some classic Christmas movies like:

It's a wonderful Life
A Christmas Story
Miracle on 34th Street
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
Elf
The old Rudolph and Frosty the snowman cartoons
The Grinch cartoon


A Christmas Story is probably my favorite. I've probably seen it no less then a dozen times thanks to TNT and TBS showing it for 24 straight hours on Christmas Eve every year. I also love Christmas Vacation, which I watched again tonight. The awkward Griswold movies are usually about things that go wrong with their vacations, or in this case, when family comes over for Christmas. Yet, by the end of the movie the moral of the story is still clear.

Personally, I like the slight raunchiness of Christmas Vacation. Clark W. Griswold is a bit of a nutball and, well...I think it's funny. I also love the rancor he has for his snobby neighbors. Take a look...if you like.




Ahh yes, if I could always be that curt.

Irony

Wow that paint job really pops out doesn't it!?! I love irony.

The King and I

Can you find Elvis in this picture?

This picture was taken atop The Stratosphere a few years back when we lived in Las Vegas. My handsome brother Brent and I were doing some sightseeing when we spotted The King. When most people look at this picture, normally their eyes are instantly drawn to Elvis. Not me. I can't stop staring at my extra chubby face. Oh well, it was still fun meeting Elvis at approximately 1,100 feet in the air.

Eric is 7!!

Today is Eric's birthday. I can't believe he's 7 years old already. The time has gone by so quickly. Before I know it, in another 7 years he'll be 14 and almost ready for high school. Weird.

As Eric gets older every year, it becomes more and more apparent to Becka and I how special he is. Eric has that special something about him. Eric is very in-tune with other people's feelings. When he gets older I'm sure he'll have the ability to "discern the thoughts of others", which is a rare quality he'll share with his dad and Uncle Brent. Eric is also very outgoing. He's not afraid to tell someone he just met about his latest adventures. Eric is so loving too. Our new Bishop came over to our the other night. When the Bishop was getting ready to leave, he stuck out his hand to shake Eric's hand. Despite this only being the second time Eric had seen our new Bishop, Eric ignored his hand and went right in for a hug. This of course lead to Timo and Noah hugging the Bishop too.
Eric is the perfect fit for being a big brother. He does a great job. He's learning to contribute around the house as well.

I decided to chronicle some pictures of Eric starting from one year old to seven. Here it goes:




Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Eric younger then one year old on my computer. In fact, I have hardly any of him being one. He's 1 right here but since you can't see him that well...



...here's a picture of Eric when he was 18 months old. This was his first time at a Krispy Kreme. This was in Issaquah, Washington. Thanks for the Krispy Kreme Uncle Brent!




Here's Eric on his second birthday. He was so excited when he was getting his picture taken.





Eric at 3. I remember a few months prior to taking this picture I realized how photogenic Eric was becoming.




At 4 years old, Boise State Football was already one of Eric's favorite things in the whole wide world. You should see him now, he colors every picture blue and orange. And I mean EVERY picture.



Eric at 5. Look at the cute face! What you can't see in this picture is Eric is playing with a pet turtle we had. When we asked Eric what we should name the turtle, he came up with the name Ian. Of course, named after Ian Johnson from Boise State.




Eric at 6. This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Eric. We were walking around in Las Vegas, then he ran up by that tree and told me to take a picture. He delivered one of his finest pictures yet.






And of course, Eric at 7. Eric lost his tooth just a couple days ago. He was so excited when it fell out because he knew he would be getting a dollar from the tooth ferry (talk about inflation). As far as his new Transformer toys go, he's playing with them right now, right next to me on the very desk I'm using as I'm typing.


Happy Birthday Eric!!!

New pictures, with updates!

OK, I fixed our camera...sort of. It's good enough to take some pictures at least. It just requires a little more patience...I'm working on that part.
Here's a some new pictures.



Here's little Timo. He's always full of personality as you can see in his smile. Timo is well rounded when it comes to his likes. At one moment he's helping Mommy make dinner, then the next moment he's playing football with his brothers.




Chunky little Noah. He's our little bowling ball. Always full of love and he already loves making people laugh.



Here's Eric, the oldest brother. Despite being a star athlete, he still has time to take pictures. Oh, and practice his penmanship.




The best Mommy and 7 month old Mikey. With Noah being 2 and Mikey at 7 months old, a future without dirty diapers is slowly becoming a reality.




To the untrained eye, that may look like a kids toy I'm holding over my head. If you look a little closer, you'll clearly see it's a halo.

Fight Club

Earlier today my six year old son Eric (he turns 7 this month) posed an interesting question to me. He asked, "Daddy, who would win in a fight between a shark and a rhinocerous?" I told him I didn't know, but that fight would never happen due to their different habitats. I also told him it would be an awesome fight to watch though.

Then I thought about how that's the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) started. Everyone wondered how a boxer might fair against a wrestler. A stand up fighter vs. a ground fighter. The Gracie family from Brazil wanted to bring their fighting style which consists of grappling, to the U.S. This discipline is known as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The Gracie's wanted to show people that a smaller man could beat a larger stand up fighter. So, with no weight classes, UFC 1 took place with Royce Gracie representing the Gracie family. The Gracie's proved exactly what they wanted, a smaller man could beat a much larger stand-up fighter with jiu jitsu.


Royce Gracie in some of the early UFC tournaments

Mixed Martial Arts was born. 15 years later, there's about six different disciplines used in MMA, providing fans all over the world with dream match-ups with different styled fighters. Over the years the UFC has changed dramatically and is much better for it. UFC 91 takes place next Saturday.


Between little Eric's question and me relating it to the UFC I began to think of some unlikely dream fights. Here's what I came up with:


1) Great White Shark vs. Rhino (Eric's idea)
2) Great White Shark vs. Hippo
3) Gorilla vs. Lion
4) Rocky Marciano vs. Rocky Balboa
5) Mike Tyson vs. Apollo Creed (Tyson in his prime, not the face tatooed rapist we know today)
6) Floyd Mayweather vs. BJ Penn
7) Brock Lesnar vs. The Incredible Hulk
8) Napoleon Dynamite vs. Urkel from Family Matters (see pic below)
9) Elton John vs. Eddie Izzard
10) Jeron Johnson vs. Ronnie Lott
11) Ike Turner vs. Bobby Brown
12) Forrest Gump vs. Arnie Grape (Leonardo DiCaprio's retarded character in What's eating Gilbert Grape)
13) Christopher Reeves vs. Brandon Routh
14) The PC Guy vs. The Mac Guy
15) Barack Obama vs. John McCain

There's the battles I've come up with so far. Although unlikely, the Floyd Mayweather vs. BJ Penn fight is the only match-up on my list that could actually happen. I would sell a kidney to watch that fight.

Feel free to add to the list.

Poop happens...when it does happen, don't look up with your mouth wide open

I've had the unfortunate luck of being pooped on by a bird three times in my life. The first time was on my bare shoulder. The poop was surprisingly cold. The other two times I was pooped on my head, one of those times I was wearing a hat. I threw the hat in the garbage right away.
I've been in a different city each time it has happened. I guess I'm a just a big target.

Despite my bad luck with bird poo, I've never had it as bad as this big dummy:

I'm back

In the month of September I posted 10 times on my blog. I was so proud of myself for showing such commitment by posting into the double digits. Of course this would be normal from now on. Of course I would post an average of 10-12 times per month.

In October I had 2.

I spent most of October in an apathetic (finally a chance to use that word) state of mind. I struggled just to post those two blogs, I practically forced myself.
A small part of my lack of interest in blogging for the last month has been my obsession of watching DVR'd episodes of "Entourage." Most of my blogging is done in the evening. Coincidentally I have to watch Entourage after the boys go to bed due to the shows "adult content." Call it a conflict of interest.




The majority of the reason I haven't blogged is me not feeling well.


Now I'm happy to report that my own personal storm cloud is beginning to lift thanks to some much needed help. I'm making a personal goal to post in the double digits in the month of November. Hopefully the substance doesn't suffer...I can't really promise that part. No more posts about how flies annoy me or how I was fantasizing about bottles of Prozac. Now I can strive to have my posts be a little more optimistic.




I made a list of positive things I can blog about:

1) How much I love my boys.

2) How blessed I am to be married to Becka.

3) My beloved Boise State Broncos are on their way to another undefeated season.

4) I haven't been pulled over in over 7 years (keeping fingers crossed).

5) I found out the other day I can consistently throw a football 70 yards (the football was barely larger then a baseball...whatever, it still counts)

6) My goatee finally grows in evenly on both sides.

7) In late October/early November and the temperature is still hitting 70 degrees (thanks to not being in Western Washington anymore).

8) My progressive hair loss over the past few years seems to have gone into remission (I'm actually assuming this since I can't see the top of my head...I don't need anyone checking for me though).

9) Before today I haven't drank a pop in about a week (this wasn't really a choice, I just couldn't afford it. Picture a meth addict the first day after quitting cold turkey...that was me all week).

10) After over a year of being MIA, I finally found the battery cover to our DVD player remote (few things make me cuss more then batteries missing from a remote...one of those being when the whole remote is missing).


OK, not all those are good blog topics but I've smiled and laughed several times in the last few minutes and that has been missing lately.

The message of this post is simple. In the words of Michael Jordan when announcing his second return from retirement through a fax:

"I'm back."

Flies in Nampa...yuck

A few months ago we moved our family from Tacoma back to the Boise area. Nampa to be specific. Most days I'm very grateful we moved to Nampa even though it's not quite Boise.

At first when we found out we were moving to Nampa I was excited but there was that small part of me that was a bit hesitant. Why do you ask? True Nampa is a suburb of Boise with a population of around 80,000. However, I found out we would be living only one mile away from the local and well known amalgamated sugar factory. Well known because of the disgusting smell that emanates from this factory. If you're traveling on I-84 it's easy to discern when you're passing through Nampa, you can tell by the smell.

After finally being here I noticed the smell isn't 24-7 like I anticipated. There's peak times when you can smell the factory from only 5,280 feet away. Usually it's late in the evenings. I can deal with that.



However, everyone neglected to tell me about the housefly problem in Nampa. They are everywhere!! The bad part is, there's nothing you can do to permanently get rid of them. Even if you keep all the doors and windows shut the dreaded flies find ways to get in and harass us. It's like in the movie Arachnophobia when the spiders are invading the house through the doors and the sink.

My spare time is spent swatting flies with intense aggression. Otherwise, when I'm sitting down I'm constantly swinging my hand in front or around my face like a crazy person. Poor little Mikey, our six month old baby obviously can't shoo his flies away. So there's moments when there's two or three flies on his head at once. It reminds me of those commercials that make you feel guilty for not paying 1 dollar a day to give a kid in Africa "a better life."

I've never been excited for cold weather before. Nor am I excited for cold weather this year. However, I sure will be relieved when the temperature dips a bit more and the flies finally disappear. I'm not sure what I'll do in my spare time when that finally happens.

Perhaps I should just be happy it's NOT spiders invading our house.

Not up to par

Ever have one of those days?

I'm having one of those months right now. Just picture me with baggy eyes, a longer beard, and a meatball stain on my shirt...and not caring...well, pretending not to care.

Ugh.

Redneck Swimming Pool

Summer may be over, but us rednecks swim purtnear everywhere.

Happy #2

Yesterday, our third little boy, Noah, turned 2. We've been lucky so far with Eric and Timo, so we don't really fear the "terrible twos." Although, Noah might be the first one to install that fear.
He's usually a good little boy. He always lights up our day with his love and infectious personality. Only he and Jack Black can make 50 different faces per second.

Noah's 3 favorite things:

Cake (of course)
Showing off his round belly
Boise State

We start the Boise State brainwashing early around here.

Happy Birthday Noah!!


After a long day, Mommy and birthday boy need a well deserved nap.

Nice catch

I doesn't matter if your a football fan or not. Watch this sweet catch.

A shameless plug

Do you ever feel like blogging, but you're not sure what to blog about? Ever feel like you have something to say, but you're not sure how to say it?? Me too!!

Fortunately I came up with a solution...sorta.

Since I can't come up with anything good and I feel this ridiculous urge to blog anyway, I thought I would give my other blog a shameless plug.


A couple weeks ago I started my own Boise State Football blog. I thought I would be able to add some insight and maybe even some perspective on BSU football games....I'm not sure if it's working, but I enjoy doing it.
I try to give my own analysis on games and other BSU football news while adding a sprinkle of humor here and there.





If nothing else I add cool pictures and sometimes highlight videos.

You can find the link to my football blog right on "Jeremy's Forum!!" I know, I know, I'm all about being user friendly. The blog is called, "The Blue Turf" and it's under "My daily rotation."

If for some reason you need a Boise State Football fix, feel free to visit my site. I try to give my own two cents in the blog so you can also comment and tell me if I'm way off base. I'll probably disagree but that's part of the fun!

One warning before you rush on over there. I'm still a bit erratic when it comes to posting. I had the intention of posting 5 times per week or so. It turns out I'm even lazier then I thought....but I'm working on it!

Then came Eric....thank goodness!

Yep, that's me. Go ahead, laugh, it's ok, I'll wait.......there's a lot to notice about this goofy picture. First, I'm wearing adult cowboy boots, I have 80's hair, for some reason I'm sticking my fingers in both ears, you can see my mom's giant hair in the shadow, and I'm in my underwear, pee stained underwear mind you. I look at this picture and at the least smirk everytime.





Then I look at pictures of my boys, specifically Eric and realize how blessed I am they got Becka's looks. Phewwww!!
When I want to see a naked kid in cowboy boots with pee stained underwear jamming his fingers into both ears I'll look at my childhood pictures. I have a theory of why I was always plugging my ears but that's for another post....and maybe therapy.
Anyway, I'm glad Eric is turning into such a handsome little guy. He's always photogentic and I'm happily jealous.


He also throws a mean football!

Weekend visit

The four of us last year at Table Rock in Boise

This past weekend one of my best friends from my kidhood (yeah I made that up) came to visit Becka and I. My friend Justin and his pretty wife Kjerstin visited us for the first time since being back in Idaho.

We always enjoy their company but to me it was especially sweet this time. Justin is one of those people who "get" me.

Plus, my brother Brent and I, talk about how we "married up." Justin has definately done this with Kjerstin.  

Anyway, I was happy they were able to drive over from Rexburg this weekend to visit.

Oh yeah, here's a subtle hint.....

Becka and I wish Justin and Kjerstin would move closer to Boise.

A Cult Classic

We watch a lot of movies at our house.  I enjoy a wide variety of genres.  One genre I'm particulally fond of is 80's movies.  The movie at the top of my 80's movie list has to be "Rad."  

Don't fret if you haven't seen it.  It came out in 1986 and hasn't been released onto DVD yet.  Some type of copyright issue.  So, chances are if you haven't seen it on VHS or downloaded it off the internet you haven't seen it.  

Rad is a BMX movie, which wasn't quite mainstream yet in the mid-80's.  Watching all the tricks that could be done was amazing to my youthful eyes.  In the movie Cru Jones does a backflip with his bike and it was such a big deal.  In another scene, two of the main characters crash their school dance with their BMXs putting on some type of bike trick dance show for the crowd.  It's cheesy 80's movie euphoria!  

When I was younger this movie inspired me to become my own bike trickster on my yellow schwinn.  I still remember the first time I was able to pop my back tire.  That was big for me (I was only 8).  Unfortunately, I didn't get much better then that.  It turns out being able to perform tricks on your bike actually takes some athleticism.  I was, uh, husky to say the least.

Now days, I'm not into the X Games you see on ESPN but every now and then I catch myself watching BMXers perform on a halfpipe.  I know that goes back to watching Rad as a kid.  

A couple years ago I downloaded the movie off the internet and burned to a cd.  I found it again the other day.  I'm so excited to watch it again!  

So, if you love 80's movies and have a slight interest in bicycles you might want to see it.  

Oh yeah, and it has Lori Laughlin in it...you know...John Stamos' wife from Full House.  

I think Jeron Johnson enjoys hurting people

Going back to Boise State's last game, I finally found the video I've wanted to post since the game. Safety Jeron Johnson is a lethal hitting machine.
I'm pretty sure he should be illegal. He's obviously more dangerous then bullets. He should be required to carry his own permit to
walk around in public.
He may or may not kill someone before the season is done. If he doesn’t off someone, he sure will try.

Scrambling quarterbacks, bumbling running backs, and receivers going over the middle should be frightened. They will hear the footsteps before potentially getting plowed by someone who uses his body as a wrecking ball. He fears no one and only wants to inflict pain upon you as you dare to
gain yardage in his territory. Do not Enter. Feel free to watch with your mouth open and say, oooooooh.





I heard Russell Hill (the victim) broke his nose from the hit but I'm not sure if that's true. Either way, it was confirmed it was bleeding quite badly. To his credit he came back the next series and played ultimately finishing the game.

The moral of the story:

Don't get on Jeron Johnson's bad side.

Kellen Moore follow-up

Saturday night, as expected Boise State beat the crap out of in-state foe, Idaho State. Final score was 49-7. My pre-game prediction was 49-3. No applause necessary.
I'm going to avoid making this some sort of BSU post game analysis blog. Instead, this is more of a follow up to my blog that I posted a couple weeks ago. You know, the one where I was so excited Boise State announced their new starting quarterback, freshman Kellen Moore. Here is a picture to remind you:




Saturday, was Moore's college football debut and I dare say he exceeded expectations.

He was 14-19 for 274 yards, 2 touchdowns and most important, no INTs.

It was more then his stats even though they were great. Oh, I forgot to mention. Those stats were through three quarters! Anyway, he has great pocket presence and never panicked. He picked apart the defense. He dumped the ball off when he had to and even completed an 80 yard bomb to Titus Young which he took to the house. The long heave was an absolute perfect pass.




Forget that Idaho State is a lower level of competition. We're talking about his college debut in front of a Boise State crowd with very lofty expectations. He should have showed signs of nervousness. He didn't. He has ice in his veins.

Of course he will show what he is really made of over the next two games and ultimately the rest of the season. The next two games Boise faces Bowling Green (they beat PITT in PITT this weekend), then after that they travel to Eugene to play Oregon. One of the hardest stadiums to play in the nation. Eventually he'll make some mistakes. Even Bronco Nation knows that, but the signs of a great college quarterback are already noticeable.

Mark my words and live by them. He WILL and I believe it unequivocally, Moore will lead Boise State to another BCS bowl game before he leaves the Broncos. I would bet the farm on it without thinking twice. Right now the team is very very young but very very talented. It will happen behind the left arm of Kellen Moore.

Party On!

Ginger beef

Ginger Beefalicious! Unfortunately this picture is off the internet and not the actual dish we ate. Our camera is completely broke so this will do for now.



To continue my food theme here another day you can see Becka and I are still on an asian kick.
This time we had a dish called ginger beef and it was phenomenal. That's not a word I just throw around, I really mean it. The combination of sweet and salty for this dish along with a bit of a citrus flavor (hence the ginger) left me completely satisfied. Satisfied sounds so boring. It was a taste explosion! A party in my mouth! Anyway, I'll stop before this gets out of control.

The Chinese got it right when it comes to food. I'll let the communism slide a bit as long as they make my taste buds happy.

Due to popular demand our recipes have been requested. The only catch is we get the recipes off the internet then slightly alter it to our liking. One of my favorite places to go is epicurious.com.