No tags, please...just throw money.

So a little while back, my beautiful old pal Deb over at Dirty Socks and Pizza had been tagged to take an impromptu picture of herself and then tag ten people to do the same. Only, in true Deb fashion, she changed the rules and tagged ME to post simply post 10 pictures of myself. But in tribute to you, my dear friend, I will be changing the rules again. Eat it. ;-)

Then, another hot mommy blogger Tena at My Therapy tagged me from a post of hers to say one nice thing to a male in my life, and name six ways I measure success in my life. (By the way, I wrote a guest post for Tena last year and NOBODY knew it was me...although many thought it was Blonde Cheryl..I was deeply flattered...)

So I rolled out of bed this morning and went down to the beach, much the same as I do every day. I asked a young lady to take my picture, and here it is...sorry for the quality of the picture, she was drooling and breathing quite heavily.



Then, with Tena's request in mind, I found my son and told him, "I will love you no matter what. Well...unless you turn out like your Daddy."

How do I measure success in my life? I will call this life a success if someone is better because they knew me. I call my blog a success if someone writes that what I said moved them, or made them laugh so hard they peed. Literally. I will call my marriage a success if my wife still wants to be with me after all I put her through. I will call this year a success if my Mom doesn't lose the sparkle in her eyes. I will call my career a success if I manage to keep my career despite all factors working against us. And if I make it through a day of Daddy Duty like today, I will call it a win if my kids tell me they love me at bedtime. And if they don't, I won't stop tickling them until they do.

Tuesday's Tribute Recap

Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.

The Inaugural Tuesday's Tribute turned out to be a roaring success. Deb and I wanted to thank you all for embracing this idea, and for being so creative...

We had some fantastic Tributes to family, kids, husbands...some heartfelt, some tongue-in-cheek. Also, some GREAT blogs surfaced as well that I am now following...two things are for sure: there is sure some great talent out there, and you need to share it with the rest of us!!

Now two posts were fantastic oddities this past week, and I point them out now because I want you to understand better about what Tuesday's tribute is all about. Deb did a very understandable post (considering what her family was putting her through at the time) about the beauty and healing power of SNOW. Also, Em did an unexpected and hilarious Tribute to...SHARPIES. Em in particular was worried that she had departed too far, and was off the TT spirit. She couldn't have been more wrong!! The post was fantastic.

The whole idea of Tuesday's Tribute is to talk about someONE else, or someTHING else...be it funny or serious, you all hit the nail on the head, and we hope you come back each Tuesday!!

My head has been spinning furiously all week for ideas for my own Tributes... My son has a birthday coming up, My Mom has a personal struggle, I've got some GREAT blogs to Tribute...and hell, this is the chance for me to do my Tribute to the Night-Time Pull-up that I have been sitting on...so to speak...And I have an old boss who I will be Tributing, just as soon as I figure out which door in Hell is his.

Use it as a chance to let your emotions flow...to celebrate someone one week, and call them out the next week. Do a tribute to Movie Popcorn, if you want...celebrate it's buttery goodness and admire it's speed from your mouth to your muffintops. Whatever you do, use Tuesday's Tribute as your own personal Hyde Park Corner.

We LOVE that you came out to play, and we hope to read you again on Tuesday. Remember...It's not all about you.

For more information on Tuesday's Tribute, or to grab a button, go here.

P...P...P...Put the needle in the bumper

So, click to enlarge this photo. Look close.



No, I am not a seamstress for Pottery Barn Kids.

We bought this crib bumper five years ago at PBK...my daughter used it, and then my son. Then one day last year, my wife was washing and changing his bedding when I heard her yell out in the next room. I ran in to find her holding this thing and saying "Look at this!!"

One of the $1000 per hour assembly gurus in a foreign manufacturing facility had been sewing away, only to lose their needle inside the bumper. And at that point, given their obvious attention to detail, they opted to leave that sucker in there, and simply grab a new one...all the while thinking, "serves you right, American Pig Dogs."

Now, living in the litigious society we do, we sued that foreigner, their government, Pottery Barn, and several mommies in the courtroom audience who had simply come to support us...no we didn't. We aren't really the "suing type", and we have more money than God. (snicker)

We took this bumper back 4 years after we bought it, explained what happened to the $1000 per hour employee at our local PBK, who then tried to tell me that she would have to give me the clearance price as it was 4 years old.

I threw the calmest and yet most ominous hissy you have ever heard. I cited the following points:

This pin could have skewered my daughter's eyeball.
Or my son's.
My tone is deceiving. When I sound calm is when you should know how critically and post office furious I am.
We are not sue-happy people.
We came here first, not Channel 8.
I am relatively well-spoken, and wouldn't mind speaking to several hundred people in the mall today.
I am happy to wait while you find out how to give me full value for your death bumper.

We got our money back.



Related Posts:
Wordful Wednesday - "Watch Yer Mouth, Kid."
Wordful Wednesday - "Bad Dreams"

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Neurotransmitters for Dummies

So, I have ADD.
And, I'm fairly hypomanic. Much like many other bloggers.
That being said, I also have a heavy foot.
And, I have used my Deferred Adjudication AND Defensive Driving for the year. And so, I do this. You know, to remind me. Does it work? Maybe. Do I get strange looks from people who peer inside my car at traffic lights? Absolutely.
But do I care? Yup, a bit.
But do I want to pay for and take one more drug?

Not so much.

Do any of you have any secrets for dealing with your DNA shortcomings? Or do your drugs work? I'd love to hear...

WW - Putting the pieces together

I taught her how to do this. And she's scaring me now. I'm starting to see her, but not recognize her. She's the same baby who wouldn't sleep, and yet a whole new little girl I don't understand. I gotta be honest, my friend, you are really scaring me. I know I'm not the first Daddy to ever go through this, but it doesn't seem to matter. You are the first and only girl I will ever go through this with, and it is already happening too fast. WAY too fast.
It's ok if you want to go slow. I do too.

Thanks again to Angie
for another ragin' Wordful Wednesday...

Also Thanks to 5 Minutes for Mom for "Wordless" Wednesday...I always have such a problem being wordless...

Tuesday's Tribute - Inaugural

Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.

I think I've made it pretty clear that I am happy with my male status, as offbeat as I may be. But if I were to choose a woman to be, I think it might be...this lady. You know... fun, hilarious, pretty fair lookin'?



Or maybe this gal...amazing heart, giving...



But definitely if I had the chance to be TWO women...I think I might have to pick this pair. If you have been living under a rock for the past six months, Carissa and Jyl have exploded into our bloggy lives and developed a fun, energetic community based around contribution and giving back.

I met Carissa first, and was immediately astounded at how welcoming she was to a newcomer, as well as willing to show me the ropes. I modeled my "How-To" posts after her willingness to teach other bloggers new things, which I really admired and appreciated. Soon after, I met Jyl through her sweet comments and tweets, and was finally amazed when they encouraged me to come participate in Guys Girls Night Out (#gno) on Twitter.

But it didnt stop there...GNO became a rage success, and the sassy pair quickly discovered the power behind their rage..the ability to help others. They ran a hugely successful food drive in November, challenged everyone to perform and write about a random act of kindness in December, and are hard at work changing the world One Mommy at a Time. Take some time, look at their work, and think about getting involved...they make us all better.

So I dedicate this Inaugural Tuesday's Tribute to you, Carissa and Jyl. It is such a small thing to say, but...

Thank you.

Check out their work at the following links:

Jyl's Blog - Mommy Gossip

Follow Jyl on Twitter

Carissa's Blog - Good and Crazy People

Follow Carissa on Twitter

#GNO Website

#GNO Cares

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To participate in Tuesday's Tribute, Fill out a Mr. Linky below with your name and URL address to your Tribute. Need a details, or a button? Go Here.