DadJack.com Blog

I’m baking brownies and have a half hour to kill while I wait for them to be done, I so I thought I’d bake up a blog too.

I wish I had some good news, but things are about the same here… Still out of  work, still no real prospects.  I know economic indicators suggest things are getting a little better… But I have yet to see it.

Angela, Ethan, the Kids and I had the chance to go to San Diego last weekend which was really nice.   San Diego is such a great city, perfect for the young and single and the old and boring with kids (Like me!) alike.  The kids actually ran around in the shallow tide looking for seashells…. something you couldn’t do in much of the rest of the country in December.

Speaking of Angela and Ethan, Ethan’s one-man band, State Shirt, just released a new album… if you get a chance check it out.

We’ve been kind of busy so we haven’t had a chance to catch many of the family films released recently.  The kids want to see Arthur Christmas and Hugo.  We did see the Muppet Movie…  The kids enjoyed it, I thought some of the musical numbers seemed forced and the story stalled a little in places, but it wasn’t horrible.  The film the kids are really pumped for is the Lorax which comes out next year.

Timer just beeped, gotta check my brownies! Enjoy the Lorax trailer while I check on them:

And they are perfect… and the whole apartment smells like yummy brownies!

The Podcast continues on… we may be small, but we’re persistent.   We’re 5 years in… which means it’s been 5 years since we were all on the radio together.  That reminds me, Happy Belated Birthday Jamie…  Here B-Day was yesterday!   Those were good times on Star 98.7!

Here’s a couple holiday deals on Amazon today:

Air Swimmer Shark is $27 with free shipping
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever is $7
V-Tech Kidzoom Lightning McQueen Digital Camera is $25 (OK, it’s 24.99… if you spend a penny more you get free shipping!)

The brownies should be cool enough to sample by now!

Rock On (and Happy Holidays!!!) Jack

I really noticed it yesterday as the weather continued to be gloomy and cold… How depressing the winter is. (And we don’t really even get winter weather, I can’t imagine living someplace that really gets horrible weather)   There is a hope born in spring, the sun starts to warm, you get outside more, everyone seems more hopeful and excited… That starts to fade in the fall, as the colder weather takes over people retreat to their homes, a loneliness sweeps over the land.  I went for a bike ride yesterday and there were significantly less people out and it will only dwindle more as the last of the kids who have yet to return make their way back to school next Monday.  I’m not the kind of person who always needs people around… But I like to see people around (If that makes any sense… I don’t need to have someone with me, but I love to be out where people are).

Anyway, I’ve been in a mood for the last week or so, just ignore me!  We are headed out for an adventure this weekend!  The kids and I are headed to Legoland and to spend a little time in San Diego.   It will be a nice way to officially end our summer before it’s back to the first grade grind for Lucy.

If Bing was just a little older I’d be all over today’s Groupon, He’s so into cars and always gets so bummed that he’s too little to ride the Go-Karts!

Alina’s on the pod today… It’s always fun when she joins us.

I have been slacking this year… normally by this time I already have the kids Halloween costumes.   I decided to be Bing’s “Baby” blanket this year.

(That’s Baby above)

So now Lucy has decided to be her Blankie “Bo-Bo” (Sorry, no photo available)… So I need to figure that out!  And Bing wants to reprise “Bowling Girl”… And since he never seems to grow, all the stuff from last year still fits.  They’ve been known to change their minds (Many times over) before Halloween, so we’ll see what they ultimately end up being!?!?

On to the news:

I hope it didn’t mess up his pretty face! Summer is really over for him.  Congrats Florida idiot, you have sucked the President into your BS. It only took 49 dog years to get home.   Remember when working at McDonald’s was a joke?  What do you think: Funny or Offensive?  I don’t need this, I have Mike in GH to tell me!  Quick grab some butter, global warming is making popcorn!  Well this is kind of depressing.

Rock On, Jack

It’s my sister’s birthday today… So happy birthday, may you rescue a dog, see a whale or whatever else you enjoy today!

I had an Ok long weekend… It was great to have four days in a row where I didn’t have to wake up crazy early!  Before I returned them, the kids and I got some bike riding in, went to the park with friends and celebrated Angie’s birthday.  After they left, I hung out with some old friends, went to brunch in Pasadena, did some cycling and had a breakfast with my Mommy.

I’ve decided to extend summer one more week since Lucy doesn’t return to school until next Monday.  We are going to Legoland and to hangout in San Diego next weekend… Then the white loafers get mothballed until next summer!

I’ve been in kind of a strange mood lately… Partly based on my own life and partly because of the state of the economy.  I have been more entrenched in politics and finance because of The Insana Show, and it has had me more worried, the more I know.  Although, it’s not all doom and gloom… but I think without a doubt job growth will be extremely slow.

On a personal note, I think it’s now really sinking in that this is the rest of my life… Not having my kids around everyday, spending over half my time alone, having to deal with someone I want out of my life.  I know no one truly has total control over their life, but it seems like the majority of mine is being controlled by outside forces… And the part I rule over is not that exciting.  Anyway, enough of my drivel, let’s get to some news:

Talk about having trouble finding an apartment… Do you smoke? Yes. Do you have a dog? Yes. Does your dog smoke?  I’ve had nightmares like this!  Seems very uncomfortable.   Japan does everything better.  1/3 of you are right.  You know the economy is bad when people can’t afford bullets.

Rock on, Jack

Monday marks the 2010 return of the Podcast (We are no longer doing the night show, so the only place to get J and S is on the pod) and we mentioned a bunch of stuff, so I wanted to post all the info for you.

So here you go:

1.

Check out my “ARRESTED Re-DEVELOPMENT” Play Parody/Staged Reading!
Written, directed, and produced by little ol’ me and performed by my big
TALENTED cast!!!
Saturday, January 9th – 8pm
The Colony Theatre
555 N. Third Street
Burbank, CA 91502
$5 donation – proceeds go to charity TBD!
Doors open at 7pm with the Alana Sweetwater Band (she’s my HOT cousin and her
band is AWESOME) and close with a special after-show
“surprise!”
SAVE OUR BLUTHS and come see this stage presentation based on the BEST tv show
EVER!!!!

To the new home of Jack’s blog, and Thank You to Myspace, without it I may have lost contact with many of you.  On it I have posted over 1300 blogs which were read over 5.5 million times, but it was time to move, so here we are.

Vacation was really fun, the kids and enjoyed ourselves!  We took the Amtrak to San Diego, which was so nice… way more relaxed than driving, we got to color and draw, play and look out the window at the ocean.  In SD we went to Balboa Park,  hit the museums and IMAX theater and visited an aquarium, which is a Lucy Fave.  All Bing cares about is the pool table at my Uncles… He would roll balls on it all day if we let him.  We also got in a bunch of swimming pool time, today is their last lesson and they have greatly improved… I’d say Lucy is officially a swimmer and Bing is very close.  We went to I.H.O.P. last night and it was good… Except we forgot Baby (Bing’s blanket), so I had to make an emergency run back before the CRN show to rescue him.  Bing was upset, but he was thrilled when Baby beat me home by a couple minutes and rang the door bell and waited for him to open the door and discover him… Lucy asked me, “Daddy, you put him there right?  He didn’t walk there by himself did he?”  I really feel the pressure now of finding a regular full time job… I keep hoping radio will start paying, but I can’t afford to wait!  Which leads to the question that has plagued me for the last year, what am I qualified to do?  If I figure it out I’ll let you know.  Anyway, we made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast this morning… I must highly recommend the Quaker Oat’s Oatmeal Pancake mix, it’s really good.

This is one way to get your kid to school! Blinds recalled!  Which clunker do I serve red in?  I like that he had a schedule. Fall Out Boy arrested. A new drinking spot? Don’t leave your wax kids here.   X-Rated Andy! They can get anyone.  The mayor is a panty thief!

You are a hero to your kids… No pressure!

Rock On, Jack