Tag Archives: stay-at-home-fatherhood

Greta’s Dance Recital (2015)

I know I'm behind a bit in my blogging duties of late, but, let me tell ya, summer with a six-year-old who is used to the structure of a regular school day is definitely not for the weak of heart. Yikes…it's been one big, crazy event after another since school got out in May. Crazytown!

Anyway, in the spirit of finally getting back on track, here are some of the best pics from Greta's Father's Day weekend dance recital. Enjoy!

 

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Filed under Greta stuff, Holidays

Greta’s My Little Pony-themed Birthday Party (2015)

With an Oscar party a birthday party and a cloud of sickness hanging over our home pretty much all month long, as you can imagine, March was a total blur. And with April having been pretty much more of the same, all I can do is apologize ahead of time for the lag time between posts. Sorry!

As you can see from the pics, Greta's sixth birthday party — and her first party with actual school friends from kindergarten — was the coolest My Little Pony party in Equestria and even Canterlot for that matter!

There was Apple Jack cider, Rainbow Dash cupcakes, pony-tastic pepperoni pizza, candy, arts, crafts, pin the cutie mark on the pony games and a killer Pinkie Pie piñata for the ages! And best of all, thanks to the handiwork of the very talented Mrs. Yeti, each of the kids went home with their very own handmade My Little Pony on a stick. It was awesome!

 

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Filed under Food, Games, Greta stuff, Holidays

National Pancake Day (2015)

Yesterday was National Pancake Day at IHOP and like all good pancake-loving Americans, Greta and I celebrated the event in high style. For those of you who missed the freebie memo, National Pancake Day was launched in 2006 to support the Chilcren’s Miracle Network Hospitals and a host of local charities. Now in it’s tenth year, IHOP gives out free short stacks very March 3rd in the hopes that patrons will donate to the cause.

So, just like we did last year, Greta and I grabbed some friends, braved the lines of crazy teenagers just getting out of school and got our free pancake on. And as you can see from the pics, it was awesome! Thanks, IHOP!

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Filed under Daddy stuff, Food, Greta stuff

Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)

Most people knew him as Mr. Spock, but I'll remember Leonard Nimoy best as the host of the spooky-ass TV show In Search Of. Man, I can't even begin to tell you how many sleepless nights my brother and I spent watching that show. The creepy theme music and archival footage was scary enough, but it was Nimoy's voice that really killed us. Whew, that show scared the shit out of us, especially when we watched it on my Mom's old B&W TV. Terrifying!

The Bigfoot and various UFO episodes were probably the most memorable, but, it was the Bermuda Triangle episode that seriously haunted my dreams. I actually lived in mortal fear of being sucked into the Bermuda Triangle for years. In fact, I still get creeped out every time I fly over water. But, hey, don't take my word for it. Check out the clip and see for yourself! So scary!

I actually met Nimoy a couple of years back at the 36th Annual Saturn Awards. I think he was there for some sort of Lifetime Acheivement award or something. Anyway I took a picture with him afterwards and he was one of the sweetest, most gracious celebrities I've ever met. Which was kind of shocking considering that he spent most of his life no doubt hounded by crazy Trekkies and film geeks like me. Not only was he friendly, cool and totally down-to-earth, but Nimoy was genuinely nice to boot. I met a lot of cool folks that night, but he was my favorite.

Thanks for all the memories, Mr. Nimoy. You will be missed…

 

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Filed under Daddy stuff, Movie Stuff, TV Stuff

Oscar Ads (2015)

Forget the Super Bowl, man. This year’s Academy Awards telecast had three of the coolest, funniest and most heartfelt commercials I’ve seen all year. And best of all they came in one big beautiful clump up near the front of the show, you know, when people were still watching the Oscars! Here are my three favorite Oscar ads just in case you missed them. Enjoy!

 

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Filed under Dads in Ads, Movie Stuff, TV Stuff

Oscar Party Food (2015)

This year we had our smallest Oscar party ever with just three partygoers in attendance. Actually, if you count the Barbie and Monster High dolls Greta plopped down in chairs near the TV there were actually seven. Either way, it was probably my favorite Oscar party ever.

We had Oscar nominee crafts for Greta, loads of fun Oscar nominee-themed candy (my favorite were the Nerds Rope for The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game and the Whoppers for all the historical innaccuracies in the Best Picture nominees!) and a big bowl of taco salad to support all of the Mexican and Latino nominees this year.

That said, I must admit that we both loathed Best Picture winner Birdman with a passion. Oy, talk qbout art with a capital “A”…so annoying. And that score, my God, it was such a struggle sitting through that crap. And we watched it at home too! I can't even fathom seeing Birdman in an actual theatre. Yikes…

The worst thing is that if what Birdman director Alejandro G. Iñárritu said about good luck charms actually working is true, I fear that our taco salad may have had a hand in bringing that lunatic three Oscars last night. Guess we should have followed our first instinct and gone with all kid-themed food for Boyhood. Oh well…there's always next year.

Oh, and by the way, Nerds Rope are ahmazing! So yummy! And they seemed to work a little magic last night for the nerd movies too, so, hooray for Nerds!

 

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Filed under Daddy stuff, Food, Movie Stuff

Happy Meal Sweethearts Plush

As if Red Velvet Oreos weren't already enough, with just a few days left to Valentine's Day, Greta and I stumbled upon these super cute plush Sweethearts at McDonald's! Cool, huh?

Available for a limited time in all “girls” Happy Meals, because you know, what boy would want something that celebrates love. So lame. In fact, one of the boys from Greta's class actually asked for the “girl Happy Meal” so he could get a plushy Sweetheart for his mom. Adorable!

Anyway, Greta and I liked them so much that we actually went back and just bought a heart outright, without the meal, so we could each have one come Valentine's Day. I wanted one that said Rock Star, but hey, I can live with Hug Me too. 🙂

 

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Filed under Cool toys, Daddy stuff, Food, Greta stuff, Holidays

Beck: “Morning Phase”

Alright, at first I thought this whole Kayne West vs. Beck at the Grammys thing was kind of funny and just further proof of what a total fucking idiot Mr. West really is. But after spending just about every waking minute since Sunday night listening and re-listening to Morning Phase — which I got for Christmas and is already right up there with Mutations and Sea Change as one of my favorite Beck albums of all time — I’m done thinking it’s funny. And actually, I’m kinda pissed.

Morning Phase is a gorgeous, shimmering piece of folksy pop/rock perfection. Seriously, I want to just close my eyes and dive into some of those songs, this is Beck on overdrive and this album is freaking glorious on every level. And for anyone, anywhere to even remotely suggest that this lush, sensual album for the ages is in any way not Grammy-worthy is just fucking crazy. Yeah, I know, I dropped two F-bombs in one blog post, sue me.

The other thing that really irks me is that Beyoncé (who, by the way, is totally blameless here. It’s not her fault Kayne is an asshat!) already has a staggering 20 Grammys to her name. In fact, she is the most nominated female artist in Grammy history and the second most honored female artist at the Grammys like, ever. Trust me, Sasha Fierce don’t need no more Grammys.

By comparison, Beck has won six career Grammys. Six! When Star Wars: Episode VII opens this May there will be more Star Wars movies than Grammys with the name Beck on them in the world. And as much as I love me some Star Wars, that is just plain crazy.

So, even though this will cost me another quarter in the swear jar at home, I gotta say it: go fuck yourself, Kanye! Whew, I feel so much better. Thanks. Now, if you haven’t already checked out 2014’s Album of the Year, get stepping. It’s amazing!

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Filed under Daddy stuff, Music, TV Stuff

Limited Edition: Red Velvet Oreos

Usually when I hear about some too-good-to-true new flavored cookies, candies or ice creams one of two things happens. Either the story turns out to not be true or, as is usually the case, the finished product is absolutely disgusting. Luckily this time, the rumors that have been swirling online for a while now are true and Nabisco's Limited Edition Red Velvet Oreos are on store shelves as I type.

But the better news is that they are freaking awesome! Stuffed with some sort of delicious cream cheese filling (I would not advise you to even look at the nutritional information on these little pieces of heaven!) the cookie itself is amazing. Crisp, flavorful and the perfect compliment to the filling. Yum!

And best of all, these little cuties are not too sweet. I'm pretty picky about my red velvet flavored goodness and these guys totally take the cake, or um, cookie. Seriously, it's red velvet perfection! And what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day?

The only problem is actually finding Red Velvet Oreos in stores. Apparently they weren't kidding about that “limited edition” tag line on the package. These things are impossible to find, so, if you see them, buy them. And if you hate them, send them to me. 🙂

Happy hunting!

 

 

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Filed under Daddy stuff, Food, Holidays, shopping

Trailer Thursday: “The Slap”

I know Trailer Thursday’s are usually reserved for movies, but, this upcoming miniseries “event” on NBC looks just too crazy and bad/good not to share. I don’t know much about The Slap except that it is an American adaptation of a UK miniseries that actually won some acting awards and shit. And since this version features a cast of heavy-hitters (Peter Sarsgaard, Uma Thurman and Brian Cox in a miniseries? On NBC?! insanity!) and is directed by Oscar-nominated writer/director Lisa Cholodenko, I figure it’s either gonna be really good or really crazy bad.

Either way, our DVR has been set for weeks. Enjoy!

 

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Filed under Date Night TV, TV Stuff, Writing Stuff