The big 50!

I've hit 5o posts! Woo Hoo!!!! It's been a long time coming (quite literally as I've been slacking on blog posts the last few months) but I've managed to hit a milestone with my blog. I thought I would take the time to share with everyone what I do in my spare time. A little over 4 years ago I received an invite to join an anthology called Pulp Legacy. I have a humorous anecdote involving said invite but it's rather long and I don't have the time to go into it (Let's just say that I didn't believe them at first and it took some convincing on their part). What is Pulp Legacy? I could tell you but I'd rather have you read it for yourself. Http://pulplegacy.blogspot.com

To the left is an old cover (it's the only one on hand I had at the moment) from a few years ago. Everyone involved with PL contributes everthing from covers to content to paying to publish the thing ourselves. Not much in the way of a money making enterprise, nor is there much notoriety (aside from the occasional shenanigans like creating a fictional member and contributing content from him for a year) but the one remarkable benefit of PL is that you meet some amazing people (one such person is Seth Jones, who I've mentioned in this blog previously. Seth is a wonderful friend, so much so that he was the best man at my wedding).

I hope everyone has enjoyed this little experiment of mine. I hope to continue for 50 more posts (or 500 more even!). I want to thank everyone who takes the time out of their schedule to read my blog. I promise to maintain the high quality (HA!) for as long as I'm here.

It's Mega Maid. She's gone from suck to blow

Sorry, that was a "Spaceballs" joke and I couldn't resist it. What we have here is my new vacuum cleaner. Our first vacuum cleaner broke after about 3 months of service and our second (second-hand even) vacuum didn't even last that long. So, to avoid borrowing my sister's vacuum every few days, we finally broke down and bought a new one. Went to every store in town that sold vacuums before we settled on this one. And it was on sale to boot! And just for insurance, we got the extended warranty for an extra ten spot. I didn't seek out any advice on getting this vacuum, not even from fictitious, secretly gay Mormon vacuum cleaner salesmen (there are about 20 people in the known universe who will get that joke, but it was so worth it) but this thing will suck start a Harley. Our carpet has never been cleaner. And that's a good thing 'cause Emma had decided that anything within her reach is fair game to put in her mouth.

Too cool for school, part 1

This is Brandi (as most of you know, I can't spell names for anything, so I'm hoping I got this right). Brandi is my cosmetology instructor. Fun, outgoing and always chipper (even at 8:30 in the morning), Brandi has been a definite confidence booster for me over the last week. Why, do you ask? Well, I'm a guy, going to cosmetology school, where they learn to do hair, make up and nails (among other things). And I'm at a serious disadvantage. Call it the "Penis Drawback" if you will. Because I've never had to fix any one's hair other than my own (and that's short hair to begin with) nor have I had to do a manicure. And I am woefully lacking in experience when it comes to all things cosmetology related. But Brandi, God bless her, has been a boon as an instructor. Even when I KNOW that I'm screwing up royally, Brandi is there with a pat on the back and word of encouragement. Case in point: We were doing Velcro roller wet sets (too long to explain if you don't know) and mine looked like ass, no matter how you sliced it. But Brandi kept encouraging me, which kept me from doing something vulgar to the mannequin I was working on. When I start rolling in the dough after I graduate, Brandi will surely deserve a percentage of my profits.

Sleepy Time

I know it's hard to tell from the picture, but this is Emma sleeping under my sister's bed. We were hanging out at her house Sunday afternoon (she has a big screen which makes watching TV that much more enjoyable) and Emma decided to take a nap after sucking down some formula. I hadn't heard from her in a few minutes so I went to investigate (now that she's mobile, you have keep tabs on her constantly). I searched the entire house to no avail. I was starting to get a little worried when I spied a tiny foot peeking out from under my sister's bed. I thought she was just playing or hiding even, but when I lifted the dust cover, she was sound asleep. Maybe she just needed to get away from it all.

Bush is an idiot

I know that I usually reserve this blog for family related information and such, but I simply cannot remain silent about something that has me pissed off. I have a public forum (such as it is) and I'm going to use it to get on a soapbox for a moment. The Democratic controlled Congress has discussed implementing a tobacco tax to provide additional funds for state sponsored health care for children in households that make less than 300% of the poverty level (about 23,000 a year for a single parent of two children and 62,000 a year for a married couple with two children). Bush, in his less than inspired wisdom, has threatened to veto this bill because it would place an "undue burden on the American people". Now, for those of you who know me, I'm as far from a Bush fan as you can get and still live in this country. But the sheer gravitas of the man continues to amaze me. Forgoing his disasterous foreign policy blunders, Bush is making a mockery of the office of the President. I could understand if he were opposed to tax increases that were arbitrary and unnecessary. But how can anyone argue against the benefits of health care for children? Both of my children are covered under state sponsored health care and both of them have benefitted from it. My nephew would not have been able to receive treatment for his leukemia without state sponsored health care.

Bush is opposing this tax increase on puring ideaological lines. There is no justification nor are there any rationalizations for his insistenance on vetoing this bill. Evidently Bush has no idea how much health care in this country costs. Nor does he seem to realize that it actually costs more money to take care of sick people (and children) with no health care than to provide them with subsidized coverage. But then, Bush has had practically everything handed to him since he was 18 by his daddy (read "Fortunate Son" by J.H. Hatfield if you want to know more).

I know that a great number of people (although that number is dropping daily) support Bush for his "war on terror", however misguided it is. But I don't really see how anyone can justify the President spending billions of dollars to prop up the Iraqi government and not be willing to support a tax increase that will bring in about 35 million to make sure our children won't go without health care. But then, these same people are probably the same ones who earnestly believe in the theory that WMDs are just waiting to be found in Iraq.

Family updates

We spent friday night at my mother's house. As usual, Emma screamed her head off when my mother tried to hold her. But then, Emma does that with most people. Much like Emery was at her age, she is extremely shy. But whereas Emery would simply turn away from someone he was uncomfortable around, Emma will let you know how much she doesn't like being uncomfortable, in a very loud voice. However, as is usual, by the end of the night, she was laughing and playing with mother in the floor.

Saturday afternoon, we took the kids swimming. Emery didn't get to swim last year because he had tubes in his ears and he hasn't had much time to play in the water this year (J'son has a kiddie pool that they play in when the weather is warm). However, he did enjoy himself immensely. Emma, however, took to the water like a frog. She was splashing and kicking her feet and laughing the whole time. A side bonus was that after an hour in the pool, both kids were exhausted and immediately went to bed as soon as we got home (maybe we'll go swimming more often).

I start school on Tuesday. I'm a bit nervous about starting school, considering my last foray into higher education ended on a less than positive note (Oklahoma State STILL won't let me re-enroll...let's just say that working in a bar is not the best way to succeed while in college). But this time around I'm determined to make a go of it. I'm getting my degree in cosmetology (yes, that seems about the most unnatural career one could imagine for me) and I should graduate in 10 months. So, hopefully, by this time next year, I'll be flush with clients and rolling in the dough (hey, a man can dream, can't he?).

J'son Updates

J'son is officially in remission. His latest batch of tests revealed no leukemia in his system. He is listed as being in the 90% of success rate. August 1st will start the second stage of chemo treatment. I think I've mentioned previously that he was on steroids but that has been stopped for now (and believe what they say about steroids causing mood swings. Man, this kid can be a terror sometimes). The most visible side effect of the steroids has been an extreme weight gain, as you can see by the picture. Take a look at some of the previous pics I've posted and you'll be amazed at how much weight he has gained. Still, everything looks good. Prolly by the end of the year he should be off the chemo and on his way to a normal life.

J'son Updates

J'son is doing well, as you can see by the pictures. The steriods they have him on have caused him to gain some weight, noticably in the face and tummy (I don't think we have to worry about him breaking any home run records any time soon though). He will undergo another round of therapy on Friday and will be re-evaluated in about a month to see if they need to progress to the next stage in the treatment. Emery, Emma and I came over yesterday (Heather had to work) and the boys played all day long. Emma managed to restrain herself from such "boyish roughhousing" and maintained a lady like dignity.

Emma likes grass

Not that kind of grass. Emma had her first experience playing outside. She loves the outdoors. Much different from Emery's first reaction to playing outside. Emery would scream bloody murder if he so much as touched grass. Emma plopped right down and took off. Here, she's playing with Emery's Spiderman ball (although I think she'll be a comic book fan too). She's crawling on all fours now, as opposed to the "Army Man" crawl she has been using. No real words yet, but she will lay in the floor and say "DA DA DA DA" all day long. And of course, when she does that, I come running. Yep, she's a daddy's girl in the making.

J'son Updates

J'son is still doing well. The doctor said the bone marrow aspiration had no sign of lukemia but we aren't out of the woods quite yet. He's still going to do a couple more rounds of treatment before we can uncross our fingers. As for right now, he's still undergoing weekly treatments. If everything still looks good at the end of the month, he will prolly go to treatments every other week. Keep up the prayers and blood donations.

Movie of the Year

I know that the picture is hard to see, but you MUST go see Transformers. A totally awesome movie, even if you didn't play with the toys or watch the cartoon as a child. A definate must see.

Random Emery Pic

Just a little something to make you smile!

Furniture Pics

Here are the pics of our new bedroom furniture that I promised...please forgive the messy room (at least the bed's made)

J'son Updates

J'son is doing well. He just got back from the hospital Wednesday night. He's had two rounds of chemo with more to come this friday. He's also had a bone marrow test and a spinal tap. He'll prolly have to do these tests and treatments every friday for the forseeable future. But he is in good spirits, for the most part. If anyone other than Nichole (my sister) comes near him, he screams "NO!". The one exception to this seems to be Emery. Nichole told me that the drugs they used to knock him out for his tests also make him loopy, so much so that he was hitting on his nurses. If you are interested in making a donation to help J'son and his family, contact City National Bank @ 580-234-8571. Tell them that you are interested in making a donation for J'son Hough (pronounced "HUFF") and Nichole Sweeten (pronounced "DORK") and they will fill you in on all the details.