A look into the mind of a crazy man...

So it's like quarter after 11 at night and my wife and son are asleep. Tonight we decided to have a cozy cuddly family movie night that was quite relaxing and enjoyable. It's freezing outside and we've been on the go for the past few days trying to Get Christmas shopping done so having a peaceful evening at home just seemed necessary. We did have a good time last night, it was quite a bit warmer outside so we went to "The Lights Before Christmas" which is one of the "must do's" during the holiday season in Toledo. It's at the Toledo Zoo which is always somewhere in the top ten list of best zoos in the world for those of you who like useless facts. It was a lot of fun but the best part was right before we left. We walked past a section where all the lights were synced up with Christmas music, real energetic stuff like Mannheim Steamroller, and Ben just started dancing and going crazy just running back and forth in front of the lights dancing his little heart out. People were cracking up and literally clapping and cheering for him! He was like a little tap dancer on Broadway or something! What a little ham! Susan and I were crying with laughter, it was one of the funniest things we've ever seen him do.

Anyways, back to tonight, we all put on our comfy clothes; pajama's, t-shirts that are too big for us, fuzzy socks, stuff like that. Susan made some pretty amazing Ghirardelli mocha hot chocolate. Then we all snuggled up on the couch together under a big warm blanket and we watched the best Christmas movie ever; Elf with Will Ferrell. Still cracks me up every time! So the movie ended, Ben wanted to cuddle with Mommy a little while longer, so I went in the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I came out and got Ben a small cup of water, told him to drink it up and then it would be time to go to sleep. I tucked him in, we did our usual bedtime ritual which is Daddy sings Jesus Loves Me, Above All Else and Step By Step, then I pray over Ben and hopefully he goes to sleep peacefully after that. Tonight he did, he actually was out before I was done praying. I come out of his room to find Susan totally asleep on the couch. I sit down with my laptop to check my email, my space, and now blog spot and I start writing this blog.

By now you're probably wondering why I titled this blog "A look into the mind of a crazy man..." well it's just simply because while sitting here typing I had this amazing idea that I could never actually do because it would cause way more trouble than it's worth. But just for your entertainment, imagine this:

I have a little digital video recorder called a Flip Vid. It's this cool little hand held video camera that can record up to 30 minutes of video and then it has a USB plug that flips out so you can quickly and easily dump the footage onto your laptop and instantly have Quicktime movies. What if I took that camera and got some video of Ben asleep in his room, then very quietly snuck into the living room to show Susan crashed out on the couch. Then I record myself walking through the kitchen, down into the basement where my extra drum kit is. I set up the camera on the coffee table down there viewing the drums, I then sit down on the kit and blast through a 5 second drum solo frenzy!!! Quickly I jump off the drums, grab the camera and point it up towards the doorway hopefully just in time to catch Susan charging through the door screaming at me, "What the crap are you thinking!?!" (in all honesty that's probably a touch nicer than what would most likely be coming out of her mouth if I did something stupid like that). 

Then, after I apologize for scaring her half to death and making Ben cry, I try to convince her that the footage will make for a hysterical video on my blog and everyone will love it. 

So yea, like I said, it would definitely be more trouble than it's worth. Susan probably wouldn't talk to me for awhile and Ben might have nightmares after an experience like that so I guess the video will have to remain a mere wild fantasy... for now...

First Official!

Well, here it is, my first official blog. I'm going to warn you all; I'm horrible with spelling, typing and grammar so these could be painful but bear with me, I promise it will be a fun ride! 

Well being that this is technically Dec. 22nd the word of the day is PANIC! Mainly because I don't think I have even half of my Christmas shopping done yet. It never fails, this happens every year and I need to not put myself in this situation next year cuz' it stresses me out and snags my joy during my favorite time of year and that sucks! Anyway, pray for me that between today and tomorrow I'll manage to pull off getting it done. The toughest part is just knowing what to get people that's not lame and hopefully somewhat original. 

Anyone ever read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman? Great book by the way, even if you're not married. In the book it talks about how different people show and receive love. Some people have the love language of giving gifts so that's what they do to show love for someone and then also that usually tends to be the way that they feel loved by someone. If they're given something, they feel very loved and cared for.

Well I think I'm learning something about myself here. I think I procrastinate at Christmas shopping and putting in the time and thought that it really takes to pull it off well not because I don't care about giving good gifts but more because I honestly don't care too much about receiving them. You see for me, when I took the Five Love Languages little test in the back of the book, receiving gifts was last place. So because I'm not one who NEEDS stuff like that done for me to feel like you care about me, I think I tend to forget that to others giving them a really thoughtful, "perfect for them" kind of gift might just mean the world to them. 

So yea, anyway, I better get to bed so I can think of some thoughtful gifts for the people I love tomorrow so they know that I DO love them and care about them. 

Also, if anyone reading this got me a Christmas gift, I will love it and appreciate very much! Don't get the wrong impression here, I do like to get gifts, I'm just saying you can still be my friend even if you didn't get me anything. Alright enough crazy talk, I'm going to bed.