I Can't Help Myself

Most people that know me, know that I deal with change fairly well. Not all changes, such as getting older, finding gray hairs in places they shouldn't be, or changing jobs. But if you visit my home this week and then return within 30 days chances are the arrangement of the furniture will be different. I move the furniture on a regular basis. DJ says it's a good thing he is not blind.

Well I think that need to change things has transferred to my blog. As you can see I have yet another blog template. What can I say? I can't help myself. At least on my blog when I re-arrange things I don't loose things like I do when I rearrange the furniture.

I hope everyone had a great February, mine was pretty good. Looking forward to March and warmer weather.

Happy Birthday Baby

DJ is 26 today. It is so hard to believe that he was only a mere 20 when we met and immediately a connection was made. Six years later we are still together and more in love than the first day. I know it sounds corny but it is true. The passion, the respect, the intimacy, the attraction is still there. We went out to dinner together tonight at Olive Garden and of course we came home and had dessert!

We started celebrating his birthday Saturday. Actually not only his birthday but both his and his mother's who will turn 47 tomorrow. Almost his entire family went out Saturday night at BW3 and then we headed back to Mama D's house for drinks and kareoke. DJ had a great time, as well as his mother. I don't think in the six years that I've known him I've seen him quite as drunk as he was Saturday night. He even sang Kareoke, which he NEVER does. His mom thought she was Gladys Knight, and I was her Pips, as she sang "Midnight Train to Georgia" about 10 times!

This picture is DJ, this was after he already had enough to take the microphone, but had not yet started dancing in his mother's living room!

Sorry Babe, but you knew when I got the new camera I'd be posting pictures! I love ya!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Pre Grand-Baby Pictures

I stopped over at my son J1's house this afternoon for a short little visit. It was good to see him, he looked great and his wife is looking more and more pregnant with each passing day. They are both really excited about the baby and are planning a "Traditional Pooh" nursery. So I guess it is time for "gramps" to get to Babies-R-Us and get in some major shopping.

Here's a photo of my son and his wife and the future Justus Ryland. Don't she just look sweet?

A New Toy

I have really begun to move into the 21st century. A few weeks ago I finally purchased a cell phone, (which I mostly use to text DJ about how much I love him) and now this week I purchased a digital camera.

Nothing really extravagant mind you, just a small Kodak 310, but it does the job. It takes incredible pictures for such a small little camera. What I like most about it is that I never again have to pay to develop my pictures. I just pop the memory card in the computer, download them and Walla! Instant gratification. I know most of you are like, yeah Michael we've had them for years. But this is all new for me and I am excited so give me a break.

With the new grandbabies coming this year I am sure I will make good use of it, and of course inundate you with their pictures every other day or so.

Maybe now I can actually post some updated pictures for Half Nekkid Thursday!!

Women Age, Men Mature

I know it's Tuesday and I am just now posting about my weekend, but I'm sure you didn't miss me too much. I know that my life is so exciting and full that you are on pins and needles waiting for my next post, so here it is. Think you can handle it?

I had a kind of OSCAR weekend. I finally went to see Brokeback Mountain. I must say that I was pleased, but at the same time a little disappointed. Pleased as I read the short story a few years back, before there was ever any talk about a movie, and I was amazed at how much the movie stayed in line with the story. The screenplay adaptation was phenomenal. The movie stayed true to the story, with even adding a few things it didn't take away from it at all. The direction was superb, and the cinematography was outstanding. But how can you go wrong with such backgrounds to pull from in Wyoming, Colorado and even Texas. I also thought that Heath Ledger's portrayal was true to the story and character. Was his acting Oscar worthy though? It was good, very good, probably his best to this point, but Oscar worthy? In my opinion, not really. Jake was okay, but again not Oscar worthy. Michelle Williams did an outstanding job as Ennis's wife, hiding what she knew was the truth, but not wanting to accept it. Oscar worthy? I don't think so. I truly think Brokeback Mountain should receive an Oscar for best picture and Director, and I hope the Academy agrees. I was moved and drawn into the story. As Movies go I think it gets a 9 star.

The I decided to finally watch the Godfather trilogy that I purchased last week. I have seen all three movies before, but never in order back to back. (I know I have no life if I can sit through three Godfather movies one right after the other, but it was a long weekend for me!) As I watched these movies I was reminded of what Oscar worthy means. All three of these movies are still outstanding. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire and of course Marlon Brando are all some of the greatest Actors we have had the opportunity to see in our lifetime. Francis Ford Coppola did a hell of a job pulling these great books into a cinematic classic.

As I watched these movies and then looked at both Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro in their younger days in those first two movies (which were made 30 years ago) I also realized that they both were very HOT young men! Then I look at them today and wonder...
Will Jake Gylenhaal and Heath Ledger age as well as these two men have?












Thirty years and they both are still good looking men. I think Al has aged a little better than Bob, but hey who am I to judge, look how I've aged in 30 years! I haven't really aged, I've matured. But that is also a matter of opinion.













Does anyone else see a resemblance between me and Robert De Niro??

Open Mouth...

Went out to dinner last night at Wild Mike's, (a barbecue wings sports bar)with Budlite and Red, and DJ's parents. In attendance was one of Red's friends, Chris. I had never met him before and he came in after we had eaten and was having a beer. When he went to the bar I went over to ask Red who he was, and of course as I normally do I made a speculation about his sexual orientation.

Me: So your friend, is he gay?
Red: Oh, not at all.
Me: Yeah right
Red; Trust me on this Michael, he is not gay. You think everyone is gay.
Me: He "looks" gay to me

Unknown to me he had arrived back at the table and heard my last comment.

Chris: Hi, I am Chris and no I'm not gay but I get that all the time. Thanks for the compliment.

We hit it off after that talking about his recent divorce and his ex-wife and his two year old son. So the foot wasn't in my mouth for too long.
But I still think he's gay!

What Dreams May Come

Let me start off with saying that I have the most incredible husband on earth. I came home last night to a fantastic home cooked steak dinner with candlelight, and not one box of chocolates, but two! Thanks DJ, I love you, but we were supposed to wait until Friday or Saturday, so you better watch out this weekend!

I mentioned in a post last week about the strange dreams that I have been having of late. Well the last few nights have been no exception. Sunday night I dreamed that I was with child. Yes, I was pregnant! Now where that came from is beyond me, except I had spent Saturday shopping with Princess in the baby department of JC Penny's. But I didn't actually have the baby, I was just pregnant, and having labor pains. Yes, highly strange.

Then last night I had a dream of one of Silver's old friends. He was actually just an acquaintance of mine through Silver. I have not seen this guy is quite a while, and do not understand why I would dream of him. But I did. We were on a ski trip with him and his current boyfriend who happened to be none other than...

Jake Gyllenhaal.

Quite an adventure I may add. We were staying in a remote cabin in some mountains, and we ventured out on a little hike and got lost in the snow and ice. Suddenly Silver's friend (Who's name I can not even recall) began falling down the side of a cliff and Jake tried to save him, but he was lost. That left Silver, DJ, Jake and myself lost in the mountains. Finally Jake decided that maybe he could call for help by using his cell phone. Within minutes we were boarding a helicopter leaving Silver's friend behind. Not sure if he was dead or what, but we didn't even mention him to our rescuers. Once we arrived back to safety we each decided to shower and get dressed. That's when Jake and I got naked together and showered. That is also when the damn alarm went off and woke me.

Now I am pretty sure I dreamed of Jake because I think he is, well HOT. But why this acquaintance? Some one I have not seen in about two years and why did he fall of the cliff and we not report it to anyone? Maybe I am making too much out of the dream, but then again who knows. I think I will call Silver and ask him if he has heard from this guy. He may be stranded somewhere on some snow covered mountain!

Happy Heart Day

DJ and I plan on Celebrating together either Friday or Saturday, but however you and your significant other share this day, enjoy. Love Someone today!

Cell Phone Etiquette

I finally entered into the 21st century. DJ and I have purchased cell phones. They are prepaid phones, but it is a start. Most people that know me, know that cell phone users are one of my greatest pet peeves, so no I am not giving you a list of things that people should do when they are owners of a cell phone. But I am going to give a list of things that I refuse to do regarding my cell phone.

1) I will not talk and drive on my cell phone at the same time. This annoys me to no end when I get by a driver who is chatting away on the phone and paying no attention to driving.
2) If I am at home I will NOT answer my cell phone. Mainly do to the fact that I have prepaid minutes, so why waste them. So call my home number first and if no answer then call the cell.
3) If I am out at a restaurant, or being waited on in a retail store I will not answer my phone. That is rude to those waiting on me.
4) My phone is on vibration when at a restaurant as to not annoy the people at the tables around me.
5) I also will not answer the cell phone when with someone else while I am eating. Who ever I am with will get my undivided attention.

Those are my rules and I'm sticking to them.

Three Day Weekend

Well hello all you Blog readers out there. By the way if you read my blog, let me know. Put a comment in so that I know you care!

Today has been a good day. First of all today is my youngest son's 13th birthday. Yes "AT" is now a teenager! (this also means that I'm getting older) So today I went and picked him and his brother J2 up and brought them down for the weekend. What is so great about the weekend and why Friday has been so fun is the fact that I have a THREE DAY WEEKEND!!

Yes, you heard right, a three day weekend! Can I say it again? No, okay. (3 days! Off in a row!)
After a major burn out last week, DJ offered to work for me every other Saturday and possibly one other day in the week, and it happened that this week he worked Friday.

So tomorrow, AT, J2 and I are going to travel to Florence to see Princess and go shopping at Babies R Us, and to get AT's birthday present as well. Then we will have dinner together before coming back here for the rest of the weekend.

Other good news...We bought a new computer today! DJ and I went out and got a BIG one this time! Full of everything and has major Graphics Drive for my hours on SIMS2 (which I promised I wouldn't make him a SIMS widow again). So I'm back in the saddle, so to speak and no reason for no postings, right?

Well that's it for now I am going to enjoy the rest of my 3 day weekend and hope yours is as good as mine has started out to be!!

My Predictions

Well, I've given it a lot of thought and have decided upon my predictions for the Oscars. Now I only do the major awards, as those are the ones that are most important. (to me anyway). So let's see how I do come March 5th.

Best Actor:
Philip Seymour Hoffman
His portrayal was phenomenal.

Best Actress:
Reese Witherspoon
Reese has been around since a child and is very well liked in the Academy, I think that will push the statuette in her direction over Felicity Huffman, who I think deserves it.

Best Supporting Actor:
George Clooney
He has paid his dues and I don't see him getting the Director award, so he will have to get something this year.

Best Supporting Actress:
Michelle Williams
With all the fanfare about Brokeback Mountain, there should be at least one acting award.

Best Director:
Ang Lee

Best Picture:
Brokeback Mountain

See you March 5th

Eating Out

DJ and I don't do a whole lot of eating out, but over the past week we have eaten at Red Lobster twice. I love seafood for two reasons.

1. I love any kind of seafood, as it is wonderful. MMMMM Scallops, Lobster, shrimp..
2. It works like a major aphrodisiac (sp) on me.

The movie "Eating Out" also worked like #2 above on me. It was my first purchase from TLA Videos, and I must say I was disappointed in the movie. The plot was good, and Ryan Carnes (who played Mark Everhard, love that last name) and Scott Lunsford (who played Caleb Peterson, is there something phallic with these last names or what?) were just YUMMY.

Especially the sex scene and the full frontal nudity.

But they could have done SO much more with this storyline. I felt the entire film was rushed, which did not allow any character development at all. But then I would consider this soft porn actually, so who needs a plot right? My favorite character was Tiffani, played by Rebekah Kocham. She was much better than Tori Spelling in Trick, that's for sure, but the same type of character.

But the movie did give me a little sexual appetite, but we didn't go out to eat afterwards...

Dream Crazy

I have been having some really strange, crazy dreams lately. Unfortunate they do not involve Tom Welling or Matthew Fox. But really odd dreams with the strangest of people in them. Not that the people are strange, but the fact these people are friends but not ones that I would think would be in my dreams. Like the one I had Saturday night, it was really crazy. I was dreaming that I was at church during a church service. Now that in itself is strange enough, but not only was I in church, but there in a jogging outfit, but with no shoes on. Sitting next to me is who I will call, "WIWG" which stands for Wish I Was Gay. This guy is a room mate of DJ's Sister, "Budlite". I name him that as he is definitely, boringly str8, but I think he wishes he was gay. WIWG was sitting next to me totally engrossed in the sermon, but also wearing a jogging suit and no shoes. Suddenly from the back of the church "Red" (Budlite's other room mate) comes running up the aisle, again in a lycra jogging suit and no shoes and sits down next to me. Then she exclaims in her typical loud voice...
"Let's get the fuck out of this shit hole now! I'm bored as hell!"

After her exclamation of course everyone in the congregation turns and looks towards us, and we get up and leave in our bare feet, and lycra jogging pants.

What is so odd about this dream is that "Red" would never be in a church, and she certainly wouldn't go in a jogging suit if she did. Same for me or WIWG.

Sometimes dreams are just plain crazy! I think I'll call Red and see if she went to church Sunday.

Hope you like the new look, a little more color is always good.

Six More Weeks

Thanks Phil...

Six more weeks of winter.

ARGH!

It's a Boy?

I am not sure how you can tell from this sonogram, but the doctors are telling my son J1 and his wife, "Lil Bit" that their baby is definitely a boy. They said that there were other sonogram pictures that made it more clear to tell. I will take their word for it. But it looks as though my first grandchild will be Justus Rylan, yeah that's what you heard, Justus. My daughter Princess is not quite far along enough to determine the sex of her baby, but I'm hoping she has a girl. That way I can have one of each and stop.
And by the way, keep up with my daughter's pregancy with her Baby Journal. The link is at the right with the rest of my links. It's titled Sarah's Baby Journal
I also made a step forward today. I did something I have wanted to do for YEARS. I have signed up for classes via online with the Art Institute in Pa. to work towards my degree in Interior Design. Who said being a grandpa don't mean you can't fulfill your dreams?

Brokeback Bandwagon

I am getting really perturbed about the fanfare that Brokeback Mountain is getting now that they have been nominated for 8 Oscars. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled, but all the media is speculating that the only reason they have gotten all the accolades is the fact that this is a "GAY" Movie...That really just pisses me off. On the local radio station I listen this morning they were going on and on about the only reason this movie was honored was due to the homosexual content. That's just bullshit. What about the direction of Ang Lee, a superb director and the actors, can they not get the attention due to the fact of their performances instead of because it's a gay movie?? Give credit where credit is due, not speculate that it's because of the storyline of the film.

This is not the first time a "gay" movie has been in the movie theaters. What about the Oscar winning X-rated film, Midnight Cowboy which starred Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman and was directed by a "known" homosexual. Or what about Dustin Hoffman, again in Tootsie, where he played a cross dresser.

Get off the fact that this movie is getting attention because it has a gay storyline and face the fact that it's a good movie, acted by superb actors, directed by an outstanding director. If anyone would read the book and go see the movie it's not about GAY people. It's about PEOPLE, and about the love that they have for one another and how that love changed their lives.

Honestly, I don't think that Brokeback Mountain is going to walk away with the statuette, I believe it will go to Good Night, Good Luck. But if I were a betting man I'd put my money on Ang Lee as Best Director. We will see. And no this is not my final prediction...