The Best Things in Life are Free!!!

We have all heard the saying.....the best things in life are free.....IT IS TRUE!!

Take a look at the new addition to the family.

A Sony 51" Widescreen HDTV! We are the lucky recipients, due to a lack of space issue for it's previous owners.

Complete Opposites

I know that many of you have been concerned about Liz and her recent cholecystectomy. Before she went in for her surgery on Thursday I called her surgeon and told him that everyone would like to see what her gall bladder looked like when he took it out. He sent me this picture yesterday.

Now you can understand why it was causing so many problems. Congrats Liz on getting rid of a non-essential organ!

On another note, a couple of weeks ago I had the chance to smoke an entire turkey! If I do say so myself it looked great and according to the 4 helping of turkey Brooke's dad ate, it tasted good too!

MMMMMMM.......turkey!

Back Again!

I know that many of you were attempting to blog everyday in the month. Well, I had my own challenge......try not to blog for over two months!! I have to say it was difficult but I was committed to excellence. As for those of you who did not post every day in November, you could only wish to have the stamina and fortitude to finish things they way that I have. Anywho.....

Quick Rant:

Went to Wal-Mart this afternoon after work. Got what I needed and with my 2 items decided the self check-out was the way to go. Here is how this should have gone:
Get in line wait 5 minutes at most for the couple people in front of me to finish and quickly scan my two items, pay and leave.

Here is what actually happened:
All lines had a butt load of people. Got behind a couple that had a full cart but looked as though they had things going well. I was WRONG. They took 15 minutes to finish, then couldn't get find a credit card that worked (6th time is the charm). Finally it was my turn. My card is now being declined, after a few attempts the front end person comes over and says "Are you using a debit card? The self checks aren't taking any debit cards."

Derek's Guide to Self Check:
Fewer than 10 items only.
No fresh vegetables/fruits
You must be younger than 50 and older than 20
No Children scanning items
No Checks
If you think that it looks difficult it is, don't try it
Do you have trouble setting the clock on any device, don't try it
Have you ever had to ask someone how to use an All-in-One remote, let a professional do it for you.
Does it look like fun to scan your own items? It's not

In short don't use the self check lanes. That way I can always get out quickly!

Thanks

Your Vote Matters: Part Two!

Yesterday was the final day to have a hand in determining the fate of Barry Bonds 756th home run ball. The results are in, drum roll please.........Brand It! A resounding 47 percent of people chose to have an asterisk burned into the ball and sent to Cooperstown. Here is the proclamation, Vote756.

Your Vote Matters!

I am sure that very few who read this will actually care about this but I thought that it was funny.

Mark Echo, founder of the Echo Clothing line, has purchased the ball that Barry Bonds hit for his 756th HR to break Hammerin' Hanks record for $750,000. He has decided that he will let the public decide what should be done to the ball. This is your chance to make an impact on Baseball history. Here are your choices:

A. Bestow It: To Cooperstown to be preserved for all to see and appreciate.
B. Brand It: Take a branding iron of an asterisk and burn it into the ball before sending it to Cooperstown.
C: Banish It: Put it on a rocket and send it into Space.

Go and vote, then post what your vote was and why.

College Football Challenge

How about a friendly College Football Challenge? If you have listened to any sports radio show, they always have a Lock of the Week. Here is how it works:

You pick one game each week against the spread.

How do I do that you ask?

1.Take a look at a website such as Yahoo Sports. Below is an Monday Night example.

Monday, Sep 3
Favorite Open Today O/U Underdog
Florida State 3 3 45 at Clemson

Florida State is the favorite. They are favored to win by 3 points. Open is what it originally started at and after people have bet Today is what is has changed to.

2. Pick a team

If you choose Florida State -3, they have to win by more than three for you to be right. If you choose Clemson +3, they must not get beat by more than 3 points for you to be right.

How do you win? Pick the most Locks of the Week correct over the season.

Post your pick each week as a Comment and I will keep a running track for everyone. Please post your pick as "Team" + or - "Points". Good Luck!

Countdown to Kickoff

Licensure Exam!

The last few days have been a bit stressful for me. I was scheduled to take my Board Licensure Exam on Wednesday. This has been something that I had been putting off most of the summer, mainly for two reasons:

1. I just finished school, I didn't want to study anymore.
2. How can you study when you have a new addition to the family??

Okay, maybe there is another reason....... What if I didn't pass? I had spent the last three years of my life working to have the opportunity to take that test!

As you probably know, I don't really get stressed out about much of anything, other than OU football. See other post for Countdown to Kickoff. But this really had me freaked out. So much that I didn't study for it like I should have. It didn't help much that between the two practice tests they gave us in school and the three practice tests that came with my study I passed a grand total of ZERO!

I took the test yesterday, it only took me 4 hrs and 10 minutes. I left with my brain feeling like someone had taken it out and played with it like playdough. They told me it would be between a couple of days and a couple of weeks for find out how I did.

Just for the fun of it I decided to check the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure to see if they had updated my application. THEY HAD! The moment of truth had arrived pass....fail.....pass.....fail.....PASS!!!!! I will let you take a look for yourself. The right hand column where it says fully licensed, that means I passed.

To those of you who prayed, fasted, ate curly fries, etc for me on Wednesday I appreciate it.

I am a smoker now!

Through a series of rather fortunate incidents I have become the proud owner of a Bradley Smoker . This past weekend I had the privilege to cook up a couple of slabs of ribs. I have to say that this has become my new hobby.

My next endeavor will either be some quality pork tenderloin or maybe a some jerky. Any and all suggestions are invited.

History in the Making

I know that there are only a few who read this but I thought that I would quickly give you my take on the whole Barry Bonds HR record chase.

1. Do I believe that Barry Bonds has used steroids? Here is a picture of him his rookie year....around 185 lbs......And next to it a recent picture......around 240 lbs. As a rookie he was smaller than I am!!! People do naturally gain weight as they get older, but not 55lbs of muscle! In case you don't get the hint, YES is my answer.

2. Is it a big deal that he is breaking this record? YES, of all the records of all the sports, this is THE record. No other record has the same aura about it.

3. Does taking steriods make it any less? No but yes at the same time. When you look at the numbers, hitting 756 HR in a career is an amazing task. But the dark cloud of steriods and the poor job of handling the steriod situation by Selig brings it all down.

4. Should there be an asterisk next to his record? No, there is no way to tell how many other records were accomplished with "help." Second, performance enhancing drugs were not against the rules until recently. I know they were illegal, but baseball had not made their own stance.

Those are just a few of my thoughts. In case you are wondering I am writing this as the Giants game is being played I have the game on the TV and ESPN Gamecast going at the same time. Bonds is 0-3 and likely not to bat again tonight.

One last thing I have to say, when I was playing ball, if someone had come up to me and told me that I could have made it to the pros by doing steriods.....I wouldn't have thought twice about it.

Poor Maggie!

This afternoon during the Girl's "Book Club" (I use that term loosely), Nathan, Jacob and Josh (his nephews), and I took Maggie out and about. The Dog Park was the first stop, but that didn't last long because we were informed that the boys were not old enough to come inside the park. We then headed over to Hefner Lake and found an open dirt road that the boys could play fetch, tug of war, and throw stuff in the lake. A good time was had by all. After the lake a good bath was in order and we stopped at the Dog Wash. Oddly enough, the boys found the dog wash very exciting. Other than Maggie having the "squirts", as Jacob put it, everything seemed to great.



We went to church and when we came home Maggie was sitting on the couch whining and limped when she walked. I looked at her and found out that she had worn outer covering off of the pads of her feet. After a little online research and a quick call to the vet, we were told to put neosporin on them and buy some boots at PETSMART. Since they were closed the vet suggested that we put socks on her feet and use tape so that they would stay on (and no it is not on her fur). I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Free Bird!

My day in court finally arrived. Being the law abiding citizen that I am I showed up almost 45 minutes early. While waiting for the court house to be opened a crowd began to form. Near the door was a wasp nest, with three "guard wasps" on the prowl. It was rather entertaining to watch people swat at them and run off. Don't forget the wasps they will come into play later in the story.

Around 5:50pm the doors were finally opened and the Hundred plus crowd made their way in. Very much like a cattle shoot. Everything was to take place at 6 pm, however the judge did not arrive until almost 6:30.
Sidebar: If I had been 30 minutes late to court I could have been in serious trouble. Why does the judge have the right to show up when he pleases?

Back to the story....Things were getting started when all of the sudden a large black lady starts screaming and climbing over people. You guessed it....the wasp. She was causing a rather large ruckus, when all of the sudden a poor bystander got stung in the forehead. He had to spend the rest of the evening with an ice bag on his forehead.

After things calmed down, about an hour and a half later my name is called it is my chance to tell my story, show how I had been wronged. The judge looked at my stuff and promptly told me to sit down, asking one of the policemen to go and get some information. I was left hanging for almost another hour and a half while everyone else in the court room met their fate. At the end it was me and 5 other people, they were all wearing orange jumpsuits.

My name was once again called, this time I wasn't feeling as good about things. I had watched a few people get fines in excess of $700 for the same thing as me! I feared what Brooke would do to me if I called her saying that we owed another $300-400. He began looking through the papers and started to ask me questions. He kept saying that things didn't make sense and he couldn't figure out why. Finally, he had come to a decision....my future hanging in the balance....what was going to happen?

He quickly told me what I owed for the speeding ticket and then paused...seemed like another hour, and said that the Driving with the Suspended License was DISMISSED! WOOHOO, I screamed (in my head).

So those of you who laughed, made me shirts, poked fun......Justice has been served!

CHALLENGE!

This is your mission.....
Play the Sudoku game on the left hand column of my blog. When you have completed the puzzle post your time. The fastest time will win a prize! Here are a few quick rules:

1. The level shall be on easy.
2. Thou shall not use the Check Results Button.
3. Thou shall not use the Show Solution Button.
4. Sudoku Puzzle shall only be solved by a single person (No teaming up)
5. Thou shall not copy the puzzle down, pause the game, and figure it out on paper.
6. Thou shall not cheat in any manner.
7. Thou shall follow rules 1-6.

In case you don't know how the game goes here are the basics of it all.

There are nine rows, nine columns, and nine cubes all of which contain nine boxes. In each row, column, and cube you must put the numbers 1 through 9. However, no number can be repeated in a row, column, or cube.

Good Luck.

P.S. I finished in 5 minutes and 41 seconds.

My first blog!

I am sure you are asking, Why the heck does he have a blog? That's ok, because I am too. But here is the best guess that I have for an answer....Everyone else is doing it. And before you ask, YES, if everyone else jumped off a bridge I would too. So let me be the first to welcome myself to the world of blogging.


P.S. Look at the bottom of my blog.....I have a sports ticker. How cool is that?