Frissel

TOP 7 LIST #34586748

2008-10-30T12:37:00.003-04:00

In honor of Halloween, here are 7 albums i've actually paid money for in my lifetime...scary.

1. Nelson---I bought the debut cassette just before college. It was my last really, really, really bad music purchase.

2. Van Halen (Balance)---One of the worst CDs i've ever heard. I was shocked at how bad it was. I was working at music store and traded it back in for Neil Young/Pearl Jam CD.

3. Debbie Gibson (Electric Youth)---A bit more teeny bopper than her previous, it really didn't live up to...ahh hell....I had a weird high school crush on her that pretty much took on a weird cult following by everyone i knew. It became a joke so i ran with it.

4. Ace Frehley (Trouble Walking)--Ace has many, many bad albums but this one was just plain sucky. You're still me idol though, yo!!!

5. New Kids On The Block-- This was hanging tough and it was ROUGH ROugh rough.... I'm not sure why i bought this but i got it on CD too...which was rare for me back then.

6. KIX (Blow My Fuse)--What an awful, awful album. I remember listening to it while cleaning my room one weekend and actually trying to hurry and finish so i wouldn't have to hear any more of that garbage.

7. James Taylor ---I never officially bought any of this overrated, pansy's stuff but i'm sure i bought a blank TDK or Memorex tape that was used to record some of his bs music somehow on a mix tape somewhere. I swear i can't stand this *&@@)($.

:)

What recession?

2008-10-27T09:22:00.002-04:00

George Bush has said many times in the previous year that we weren't in a recession...and he may have been right. I say we're not in one now. Why? Because the fact of saying it or thinking it seems to drive markets down. If one starts a recession in their mind, then will not their body follow?

I also say this because we just recently had the Haverty's truck back up to our house and just empty out it's contents. Jenifer might give me a look on that one but it's furniture we desperately needed. We got a new sofa/chair set and Jenifer added new curtains and i think our living room is very stylish now... The only problem is that we have a dining room full of toys and neither of us wants to move them back in the living room. I sometimes wish we could pack up our dining room and make it our playroom. I don't think a single one of us will miss it and the kids could do some damage to that room and we could just sit in the living room sipping on rum and braiding each others hair....ok, where the hell did that come from? Colin got some new bedroom furniture and last night slept the entire night in his own room. APPLAUSE.
We also added a kitchen table that gives us more room for spilled and smeared oatmeal and leaky milk cups. Yes, America. We are driving this economy. Where the hell are you at?

The election is just a few days away and i'm pretty torn. I so desperately want to vote for one candidate because i just feel like it is the right thing to do but there are issues that i do have with him. The "other" candidate i also really, really respect but i just don't know if i want to go down that road. We'll see what happens when i'm staring both names down in the voting booth. Natalie is voting for McCain and one big reason is because we were in Fayetteville and were stuck in traffic for about 20 extra minutes due to Obama appearing there. You can't win for losing, Barack...

We ended the week with the State Fair and i must say that Disneyworld is not a ripoff or too expensive.

Quickies

2008-09-25T12:15:00.002-04:00

Here is a rundown of our life of late:

COLIN:

First off, the kids a star. He seems to be coming into his own. He has perfected the "fake cry" to where he makes funny/sad faces and boo hoos better than a bad actor. He loves the color blue (every color is blue to him except orange...which is actually sometimes blue). He now seems to love Choo-Choos more than planes. When we walk and see Dogs he just says "No." He loves finding the moon and pointing it out for you.

NATALIE:

She is on "vacation". It is track out time and right now she is in Fayetteville with Grammie & Granddaddy. Next week, she is scheduled to go to Asheville but with Buncombe County out of gas, we're going to have to figure that one out. When we talked on the phone she was getting her nails done and waiting to watch Dancing With The Stars. Grammy is spoiling her but that's what Grammies are for.

JENIFER:

Jenifer is working hard on finishing up her last class and accomplishing a goal that is truly remarkable. Getting your Masters online and getting constant compliments from professors galore should make her proud.

KEVIN:
Just working and trying to grow grass in the front lawn.

POLITICS:

Also, i'm not sure we have all figured out who should be president. I go back and forth but i think i've figured out who i want but i'm keeping it secret. Natalie is really paying attention to the commercials and gets the idea of two people running and how they will say anything about the other person. While imitating Pat McCrory the other day, Natalie says "My name is Pat McCrory and i want to knock Bev Purdue in the head." No joke. She gets it.

Sick Baby

2008-08-28T13:59:00.003-04:00

I'm home today. Colin is under the weather & when that involves a fever it's a mandatory sick day. When I realized I would be home with him I thought about all the stuff I could get done while home. Make dinner, clean house, do some reading for school, laundry, and maybe even make brownies. Now as it approaches 2 o'clock, I realize I was overly ambitious. As you can read, instead of beaucoup productivity, I am blogging. Since I'm so physically close to the dryer I guess I'll fold the towels. Dinner - it's in the crock pot. Also, I read books to Colin & we built a tower with a space at the bottom so we could roll the ball back & forth through the tower. So I guess I'm getting some things done. Looking forward to the game tonight. GO PACK!!

I may have killed the blog.

2008-08-21T19:40:00.002-04:00

Before we had our joint blog Kevin posted funny things on his individual blog. Sure, sometimes he let a little time lapse between posts... but he posted. Now it seems he does not post --bad news for loyal readers. We all know which one of us is the interesting writer of the pair.

Update. Natalie is adjusting to 1st grade. It definitely has a different feel to it than K'garten. Colin always wants to sing "bringing home my baby bumble bee" and I only know three verses. Kevin is running three miles almost every night and I want a bicycle. Similar to the treadmill that I thought would change my life, I believe the bike will do the same. The treadmill didn't work out as planned although it does fill the space in the corner of the bedroom. Let's hope I actually ride my bike.. when I get it.. which I hope will be soon.

Oh, and I hope Kevin posts soon too.

Learning Words

2008-08-10T22:26:00.002-04:00

Colin knows many words although he cannot say them all. All of a sudden, he seems able to say lots of words he couldn't before today. I think he's finally realizing the power of words. For example, he knows when he says "ree-ree" I will give him some raisins and when he says "be-be" I will fetch his trusty blanket. Words like trees, house, Colin, cook -- all came rolling off his tongue today. Tonight when I snuggled with him for bed, he threw a new one at me... "kus-kus"... and then he gave me a big smacker. Love it!

Good Friday

2008-08-04T21:15:00.002-04:00

Kevin worked late last Friday. I had everything planned. I picked up the kids, made dinner, cleaned a little bit (I'm always more productive when Kevin is working, not sure why), and was about to get the kids ready for bed. The night was going well until I heard the sound of a 30-lb 20 month old boy fall down the stairs. First I heard Natalie scream "Colin No!" Then a few thuds and thumps and finally some serious screaming.

There he was at the bottom of the stairs screaming in pain or fear - I didn't know which - and all I could do was tremble with fear myself and hold him, keeping one eye open for blood or swelling or irregular pupil dilation or broken bones. When things calmed down a few minutes later - and Colin was playing with Natalie - I called the pediatrician who recommended we get things checked out at the ER given the height from which he fell (about 10 steps high).

Inge kept Natalie at her house and Jim rode with me to the hospital. Thankfully all was well and we were out of there in less than 1.5 hours. That must be an ER first. Unbelievably, Colin doesn't seem to have any ill effects at all, not even a bruise or scrape. Someone was surely watching out for him on Friday... and I'm so very thankful.

We Got The Funk

2008-07-28T11:37:00.002-04:00

The tough thing about getting sick is when you ALL get sick. What's even tougher is when the parents get sick and the kids don't. We have a mixed bag of that. Natalie seems to be avoiding the funk we have but for how long? Colin is treading that line of

"does he have a fever?"....
"He seems ok."
"Give him some tylenol."
"Call me if he's acting fussy".....

I know this morning we got up late and that is never fun. With the time constraints we have, i don't do a good job of getting us off like we should. I felt absolutely horrible this morning. I'm in one of those fever hazes. Jenifer is still feeling ill but i'm not so sure how much better she is. I know she had a lot to take care of at work and we kind of didn't talk much this morning.

I really am proud of her though..especially her schoolwork.

She has mastered every class she's taken. She has gotten incredible feedback from the professors. Matter of fact, more than one of them has mentioned that she is the stand-out student.

I hope she remembers that as she wipes her nose raw today and fights back the scratch throat.

I hope she remembers that when she rushes off as quick as she can to pick up the kids like a superhero.

I just hope she remembers that there are many lights at the end of the tunnel...they flicker around even when your feeling the funk.

Working Mom

2008-07-23T22:10:00.004-04:00

I honestly can't believe we have a 1st grader. Somehow I feel like I'm missing everything. So much time spent at work and working here at home for school. In December when school is over I plan to change a lot of things. Mostly, spending more time with the kids and having a cleaner house.

I realized the other day that I must not be an official author of this blog because I don't seem to have the ability to post pictures and change layouts and such things. Kevin said I could sign on as him but then my posts would be signed "Kevin Alex" and that would be misleading and annoying. Until we work this out, my posts will have to be boring AND depressing!

I'll end on a cute note: Colin will now tell you "night-night" in a most cute voice. Today, he also walked over to give Natalie a voluntary hug after she had gotten upset over something small that nevertheless caused major six year-old trauma. It's fun to watch the two of them actually interact in these meaningful ways. I'm headed downstairs... I think Kevin has just about finished cleaning the kitchen so it's safe :)

First Grade Rulez

2008-07-23T09:51:00.003-04:00

Natalie started First Grade on Monday. She picked up where she left off. It was like she had done this before. Oh yeah, she had. My little girl is all grown up. We walked up to the school and she hugged her Kindergarten teachers and walked into her new life of First Grade. Things will get exciting because her new backpack hasn't even arrived yet. It's all the rage.

Photography by Natalie

2008-07-16T12:45:00.005-04:00

Natalie got a hold of the digital camera. I can see some art here!

2008-07-15T13:26:00.015-04:00

Dennis Wilson
(Pacific Ocean Blue)
Dennis Wilson had some things going for him. He was a drummer, he was a Beach Boy, he was uber genius-Brian Wilson's brother.

He also had some things going against him.

He was a drummer, he was in the Beach Boys, he was uber genius....you get the point.

Released in 1977, this record show that probably 90% of the talent of the Beach Boys was all in the Wilson family (sorry Mike Love). It is a beautiful record. It has been out of print and is now back in full force with a bunch of songs from the next unreleased record by Wilson. Wilson died in the ocean in the early 80s and was never given the recognition he deserved. Here's hoping that this record maybe gets bought instead of the new Pussy Cat Dolls record...but i doubt it because we live in a ridiculous world.

Mudcrutch (Mudcrutch)

Long story short, Tom Petty and Mike Campbell were in Mudcrunch. They got record deal, they got fired, a few of them became heartbreakers. Petty is back and in bluegrass, country rock force. This sounds like it might be the follow up to a Wallflowers album. Maybe that's what i thought on Monday. Anyway, this is a kicking CD and my favorite Tom Petty CD in a long, long time.

Hi Blog.

2008-07-13T13:57:00.002-04:00

Kevin and I now have our joint blog. So, I can now balance out his wit and humor with my serious tone and worrisome nature :). My only update for now is our current addiction to the Food Network. It's becoming a problem mostly because after watching hours of top-rated chefs create delicious & beautiful meals, we have to face the Old El Paso soft & hard taco kit, one of our staples. On the plus side, Kevin did grill a very good pork tenderloin last night.

2008-07-11T21:46:00.002-04:00

Dear Toothfairy,

I'm not really sure how things work out there but we're in a pickle. Our little girl, N, lost a tooth last week and then, low and behold, we lost that same tooth. We don't have a receipt for it but we promise it's gone. (we can provide a picture for reference) I can put the picture under her pillow or something if that will help.

Thanks

P.S.---What is the going rate for a front tooth?