The weblog for Broge.com. Nooz you need. Period.
A few days after the fat man arriveth and the house is still a nut house. Alysha's party is tomorrow (even though this will be dated the 28th making it 'today') and I've been running around like a fool trying to prepare. But let me back up a step here. Christmas day was great....the kids were showered this year so no wonder I feel so damn broke. They got new bikes, a computer (a rebuilt one from my office that's great for their games), Adam got his coveted Mario, Alysha and Adam both are overwhelmed. We spent the morning here at Mom and Dad's and then off to Maria's for the evening, more unwrapping, and food of course. Stupid me, somehow my gifts to the Wiedwald kids were left at home so they get them tomorrow at the party. Tom joined us, which was nice - and effectively left me the only adult without a date. ;)
Now, this party thing. Today, the 27th, is Alysha's birthday. She wanted Pokemon as the theme first and after some talking agreed to Scooby (Pokemon is not hip anymore). Scooby is abundantly available so no problems there. All night I've been baking cake, cupcakes, and Scooby snacks....stuffing goody bags...and I'm still not quite done so no sleeping in tomorrow!! We don't know how many will be here for certain, since not everyone replied - but it should be OK, and I expected that anyway. We've got the pinata ready to be beaten....food to be consumed....and some interesting games that should help things along. I may sound like I'm bitchin' about this (and I am) but it will be fun. And after it's over, look out sofa ;) here I come. For now, that's the little news - hope you all had great holidays with family and friends. Good night!
What can I say....it's almost here. Santa is coming tonight. Merry Christmas to you all, Happy Chanuka, or insert name of appropriate holiday here. We have the promise/threat of wintery weather here in the Ohio Valley tonight. Maybe, just maybe, it will be a white Christmas, the very best kind. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
Hey all, I have to tell you - the Two Towers is unbelievably good. Never in my life have I sat through a three hour movie and not lost interest....well, except for Lord of the Rings, but this is part of the same story. Yes, it's that good. The reviews are right. And there was a surprise, too - Strom Thurmond stars in the movie....as Gollum. :D I highly recommend that you get out and see this flick!
In slightly sadder news, Mr. Whiskers (my pictus catfish) jumped to his death sometime within the last 24 hours. I looked for him in the tank, and when I didn't see him moving about I got concerned. After some searching I found him, much drier than he should have been, behind the tank. Time for another trip to the pet store. I have to have a pictus in my tank. With any luck, I will get the section regarding the aquarium up tonight or within the next few days, and when the film comes back we'll see if my tricks for getting fishy pictures worked or not. Cya!
Testament to my laziness, at least with this weblog, I intended to get this posted Sunday night. And here it is Tuesday. Shame on me. Anyway, Sunday Dad and I took the kids downtown to see the
trains on display at CG&E (oops, Cinergy). This is actually the first time that I have been there with them - the kids have seen it before with Grandma and Grandpa, but this was our first time together. Since Adam is
really into the train thing right now, he was completely blown away. Typical Adam style, though, he didn't say much - just had these wide eyes. Alysha was a chatterbox the whole time. For some reason she was particularly enamoured of the people skating in Fountain Square. At around 45 degrees with a gaggle of amateur skaters tearing up the ice, it wasn't really an ice rink, more like snow.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent shopping with Mom, and the kids too. Finally, I'm done with nearly all of it and nearly broke in the process. The government should provide Santa Grants to single parents, I tell you. I also acquired some new plants for my aquarium, and the new angelfish that I got Saturday seem to like them fairly well. I hope to have some pictures of the tank itself soon, along with some close-ups of the fish that I've procured from the wonderful web, for the curious. For now, feign interest will you? :D
Joey and Shawn have suddenly taken a backseat to this congratulatory announcement to Mary and Yogesh: a warm welcome to
Anisha Therese Sharma, born December 1 at 8:44am! Anisha weighed in at 7 pounds even and is 19 inches long. Her weight is exactly the same as her older sister, Anjali Mary's - but according to mommy/Mary, she looked completely different than Anjali when she arrived. Mary and Yogesh will be getting little sleep for the foreseeable future, but don't feel sorry for them, this is a happy moment!
Now, about this Joey and Shawn thing: this past Saturday saw the first visit to the southern climes by my cousins from up north. We (Joey, Shawn, and I) managed to get in a little grinding with Tony Hawk 4 on the playstation, and made the rounds - lucky guys even got to see my office. That was really just an excuse to go out and blast the stereo in the car. We also trundled off to the pet store so I could put Joey's expertise in aquaria to work, I needed fish. My tank has been completely revamped with a new undergravel filter and there were only four fishies in there. I had picked up some black Swordtails but they weren't very healthy so back they went, and now I have four serpae tetras and two upside-down catfish. Those little buggers are fun to watch, swimming around upside down. Sadly, Mr. Whiskers passed away Saturday, cause unknown, but he was about three years old. I was sad to see him go. One of his cousins will be joining the tank soon, because Pictus catfish are just waaaaay cool. Joey brought the camera but it didn't get many miles put on it...he better be sending what pictures he
did take as soon as they are "developed."
We also got to take in the
latest James Bond flick at the Milford cinemas. If you're into action, or Bond, this is a recommended viewing. Lots of action, and
Rosamund Pike is quite the babe too. I know that doesn't appeal to the ladies but no one reads this blog anyway.
Too bad The Two Towers wasn't out when Shawn and Joey got here, but Bond wasn't a bad runner up. I actually don't remember whose idea it was to go see it, I think Shawn mentioned it first - he's getting the credit here anyway, so that's what counts. It's definitely a Bond movie: women that you will never bne lucky enough to date, stunts that are so fantastic only Bond could pull them off, and Pierce Brosnan is arrogant enough to convince you that he is indeed the debonair 007.
Santa's coming everyone....have you been good? Alysha finished her Santa list, and Adam's will be coming soon enough (like tonight), and I personally have had my fill of shopping malls full of people. But since I am not completely broke yet, I will have to brave the elements again. Ho, ho, ho. Cya!
