It’s interesting to see some of the names that are being given to these little guys. There hasn’t been a John, William, Jack, Michael, Steve or Joe or any of the usual boy names that were so popular back in our day. But more like Brody, Tristan, Jaden, Jaxon and Colton, just to name a few that I can remember at this point. At least they haven’t been totally off the wall like some of the ones that are always being talked about on the Internet that today’s celebrities are giving to their off springs. These folks have really gone off the deep end and I feel so sorry for those kids that will have to live with these wacky names for the rest of their lives unless of course they go to court and pay to have their “unique” names changed.

Alicia Silverstone named her baby boy Bear Blu. And Kate Hudson named her son Bingham Hawn Bellamy. I’m sorry but I can’t help but wonder why these people think that this is a good idea, makes me wonder what they have been drinking or drugging to come up with such things. Don’t get me wrong, unique names aren’t a bad thing but I do think that so many of them have just crossed the line all for the sake of getting more publicity. But that’s just my opinion.

Anyway-  Happy Birthday to Ms. Barbie!  Hope my sisters read this.

Our retired neighbor that lives across the street is starting to get to work on his backyard swimming pool, since it won’t be long until people are wanting to take a swim and cool off from the heat of the day. He was looking at new swimming pool liners to use this season as well as a new pool cover. I haven’t talked to him in a while to see if he was successful in finding all the pool supplies that he needs and if he needs any help with anything to get it ready. He is a really nice fellow and always extends an invitation to the neighbors to come and enjoy his pool, which we have done a few times a years since he had it built. It is a very nice pool that he takes much pride in and he certainly deserves it after working hard in the E.R. in town for so long. We are certainly blessed with good neighbors.

After each meeting we all head downstairs for drinks, but Tim didn’t stick around for any social time, most likely because he had a 2 1/2 hour drive back home and the meeting didn’t end until almost 9pm. We are all curious as to why the surprise visit and are anxious to find out more and what we are up against.

One of the things that I’ve tried to do in regards to holidays like Easter is to reuse and recycle a lot of the “trimmings.” For example, the plastic grass, the plastic eggs, and the baskets themselves can be reused over the years. Just the thought of buying one of those cellophane-wrapped baskets that are intended to be thrown away a week later, filling up the landfills makes me cringe.

That is one of the things that I really admire about my mother, and about my wife; they are so creative and thrifty with their talents to be able to reuse and re-purpose items in such a way that it never looks like they are being “cheap.” In fact, some of the things that they re-purpose have turned into well-loved family heirlooms that will be in the family for-ever. For example, several years ago my wife took an empty plastic cool-whip tub and covered it with batting and fabric and turned it into a beautiful basket that was an Easter Basket one year, but now holds our remote controls in the living room.

Turned the television on in the hopes that I would be entertained somewhat while undecorating the tree. Found nothing on. How can we have over three hundred channels and find nothing interesting to watch? Something is wrong with that! Well, the tree is packed away, most of the decorations are packed away; there are a few stragglers that I need to chase down, but that can be done on a different day. At least now when people stop by the house they won’t be greeted by the fully decorated Christmas tree in the living room!

I should be getting a decent amount of cash back in the next couple of weeks from doing my taxes and I could use some of that money to buy a new wetsuit, but there are so many other things that I really need and want. So I think I should start watching what I eat and get off of my butt and get some more exercise, it seems to be the best idea all the way around.

Most of the people that I know would rather drink MORE beer, not less! I can’t imagine going to a barbecue picnic and only drinking one beer, it would not seem like a party to limit oneself to only one! After that one beer is gone and you’re thirsty again, then what would you drink? I guess this is the kind of beer one would order at a restaurant where you are only going to be there a short time.