Blognog...

Just checking in with my semi adoring public. So on with some quick-takes.

Why is this edition labeled blognog? No idea. I just kind of like the sound of it. Deal with it.

How come Mark Wahlberg always seems pissed off? I mean dude has a pretty sweet life by all accounts and I like most of his movies, but he always seems like the guy at the bar looking for a fight. I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Funky Bunch has irritable bowel syndrome. He always has that IBS snarl on his face. So please Dirk Diggler get yourself to a physician post haste.

When I am looking to get all jacked up for my afternoon workout no song is better than Kenny Loggin’s Danger Zone. Ok, not really, but I am going to try to work a Kenny Loggin’s reference in to all my blog entries from this day forward. Why you ask? Because Kenny Loggin’s is like musical butter… he makes everything better.

I wish I could play the Banjo. I just think it is cool.

Enough with the freaking vampires people. I like Trueblood and Salem’s Lot is one of my favorite reads, but really enough is enough. If I hear anymore about Twilight I am going to ralph. In my humble opinion the only thing more annoying that Twilight fans are Justin Bieber fans.

I miss the Hamburglar. Where did this little meat shoplifter disappear to?

I salute Hobby Lobby! It was recently brought to my attention that they already have their Christmas decorations out! Mr. Christmas Sean Reaves says that is well played Hobby Lobby! Well played indeed.

If Hollywood options my blog and decides to turn it into a TV series or movie (for the record I am open for either) I would like to be played by Don Cheadle. I think Don embodies my inner-coolness and dashing good looks.

I often feel the rest of the world is playing chess and I am play checkers.
Last but not least – Mad Men is back July 25! Oh Joan Holloway…

Reavo is Back! Again!

I have been gone for far too long. Instead of me making excuses for why I have not written (let’s be honest you have heard this all before work, kids, exercising, blah blah blah… Hey we all have life, well maybe you don’t as you are reading my blog) let’s just do some updating on my life. I mean you are here to read about my extreme awesomeness so let’s just get to it.

I have been on a six month heath/ lifestyle rehab program. A week before Christmas I got some pictures back of myself from a holiday get together and I was shocked to see that I was really effing fat. Not just a few holiday eggnog and Hickory Farms pounds but FAT! Not man that jacket is PHAT with the PH, but dude you can’t fit in that jacket because you are fat with capitol F. That coupled with some back problems were the straw that broke this fat arse’s back. I went on a strict diet and workout routine. I don’t want to get in to numbers because it is embarrassing that I let myself go, especially considering how freaking hot I am… me carrying around all that extra weight was like some vandal defacing the Mona Lisa! It has not been easy dropping the lbs but I feel much better than I have in years.

I ran the Mini again (took last year off, while I fattened myself like a Christmas ham apparently). It was tough and I saw some weird stuff, like a dude yakking after 3 miles (really dude 3 flipping miles?) and 3 chicks popping a squat to pee in a ditch but overall I am glad I did it. The 30 mph winds and cold were less than fun, but knowing I completed it is an amazing feeling. I am still not sure how people do a full 26 miles, 13.1 was plenty crazy for me.

I also completed my first Triathlon. I was wicked scared because unlike the Mini which you can just quit if it reaches max suckiness you’re in this till the end, well at least the swim part. I mean I guess you could give up and drowned, but that would kinda suck. I am not the strongest swimmer to start with due to the fact I am a 37 year old male living in Indiana, swimming opportunities other than the gym just don’t come unless I seek them out. I can bike or run anytime I like, but swimming takes a little planning. So I was pretty freaked out by this whole thing and I don’t think the US will be sending me to the Olympics to represent the Stars and Stripes anytime soon, but I finished and did not drowned or shart myself so I feel like I am a winner.

I turned 37 this year. I am grasping to my last bit of youth, but truly feel it slipping away like my hairline. Life is good in general and I am determined to enjoy the good and try not to dwell on the bad.

I am going to try to write one entry a week, I promise! So keep checking in! Hell, I am probably lying about writing once a week stuff, you and I both know that. So just enjoy this entry because I am pretty entertaining and if you get more be happy.

Randomness

I hear you loud and clear. I have not been blogging recently. I really don’t have a reason other than to say I have been blocked. I have started a few, but I just did not care for them, so I erased them. But my mother says that my fan club at her office is upset I have not written (Do I have blog groupies? Chicka chicka yeah…) so here goes, I can’t promise it will be stellar, but I will give it a go. Since it has been a while here are a few things that I have been pondering recently.

How freaking good are tater tots? Tater tots did not even come in to existence until 1954. Is the lack of tater tots in the world a possible cause of the Great Depression? Umm, I think the ansewer is a pretty clear, yes!1954 is also the first year the Polio vaccine was began being tested in the US… personally I think tater tots are exponentially more significant than the Polio vaccine. A world without tater tots is not one I am intrested in being.

Has there ever been a creation more stalker friendly than Facebook? I love Facebook, but its kind of weird to think of all the creeper - peepers out there.

Also with Facebook blowing up, is there anybody left on MySpace? Oh, and Facebook is officially played out, because my mother is now a member of the club. Time to find the next big thing people.

I have been very depressed lately due to the break up of Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush. If these to crazy kids cant make is there any hope for the rest of us?

Speaking of reality tv losers, it seems we have a new king of the losers and his name Jon Gosling. First off let me tell you, I have seen a total of 3 episodes of this retched show and I don’t blame this dude at all for leaving that hag Kate. I mean Kate seems about a fun as a high colonic with a fire hose, but still this guy seems to being working overtime perfecting the act of douche baggary. Dude its fine to go out and date or two, but maybe limit yourself to one ho a day.

Alright that’s it peeps… peace out and if you missed me, well you may want to get I life. Although it’s tough to blame you, because I am pretty effing awsome.

As Seen On TV

I love to buy stuff I see on TV. I am not taking about QVC type trash, I am talking about commercials and infomercial type stuff, the real good crapola. For example, I have a Snuggy and I freaking love it, when it can be wrestled away from Caeleigh that is.

Recently I got a Topsy Turvey. What is a Topsy Turvey you ask? It is an upside down tomato planter of course! Alas my Topsy Turvey has yet to produce any tomatoy goodness for me! I am serious, not even one little green sucker for me to fry up. It’s the equivalent of a Chia Pet that grows no plant like fur. I am distraught and praying to the gods of TV crapola to save my upside tomato planter.

Please loyal readers of my blog, pray for the Topsy Turvey! Also feel free to make donations you the Save Reavo’s Topsy Turvey fund, checks can me be made payable to me. Don’t let another day go by with out a tomato in my life.

Taint s'post to hurt!

I have a new passion in my life! Cycling. For years my good friend Chris has encouraged me to start riding and I always told him to get bent. So he moved away this year and I finally bought a bike, weird right? Last weekend I completed my longest ride of the summer a 46 mile ride through Hendricks County. It was a beautiful day for a ride and I had a wonderful time except for the excruciating pain to my… well let’s call it my undercarriage, after the ride.

When I purchased the bike it had a racing seat on it. My buddy I bought the bike from asked if I wanted the racing seat or the slightly more padded seat the bike had come with, padding please I replied. I also bought a padded bib overall riding outfit, which I must say is stunning on me to say the least.

So you would think with all this padding I would be well equipped for this ride. Ahhh, not so much. Instead I think the seat might have covered in razor blades the way my taint felt the night of the completed 46 mile ride. My junk was feeling like it had taken a round trip through a meat grinder.

Avid riders will say it gets better. I have just one question… WHEN?

I am back!

Ok I know I have not written since March but cut me some slack folks between work, the new baby, and the workout jag I have been on recently its been tough. But I will try to make this bad boy a little better than normal (yeah that will be tough) to make up for going all MIA recently.

So last Friday Sarah and I decide to load up the fam- damily and head out for a little bite at Rock Star Pizza in the Burg. Why Rock Star? They sponsor Caeleigh’s softball team and we have never been there so we decide lets throw them a few bucks for being active in the community… I know, how cool are we?

Anyway I roll in with my entourage (read Caeleigh, Kasey Jo and Sarah) and get ready to hunker down for some good eats and the chick running the joint looks really familiar to me. It hits me we had Radio and TV together in high school. So I say hi and “yo we had radio and tv together and of course you will remember me I am Sean Reaves.” Dude she had no clue who I was. WTF!

Color me shocked people! Is it possible that I am not the center of everyone universe? In my mind (and apparently mine only) I make such an impact on all people I meet that I sincerely believe they must remember me for life, let alone 17 years. I mean for real, I am the shizz, am I not?

This was quite a blow to my ego at the time. However, I have since decided that this young lady might have suffered a serious brain trauma recently and is suffering from memory loss. That is a much more plausible possibility than the slight chance she could have forgotten the greatness that is Reavo.

Saturday Mornings

Saturday morning cartoons! I used to love rocking my footie PJs and grabbing a bowl of Lucky Charms or some other sugary breakfast cereal and plopping my arse down in front of the TV to watch the greats like Super Friends, Scooby Doo, The Littles, Fat Albert and many more. I weep for my daughter when I think of what she is missing out on. For the record she loves Hannah Montana and for the record I think Hanna Montana sucks big time.

Saturday mornings were a ritual in my life as a rug rat that I took very seriously. I would get up by 6:30am in the morning and then be bummed because real cartoons did not start until 7:00am. So at 6:30am I would watch the New Zoo Revue which was like some low rent Mr. Rogers / Captain Kangaroo rip-off with lame characters like Henrietta Hippo and Freddy the Frog. I remember watching this crapola in disgust counting the minutes until the true animation parade would start.

When 7:00am hit I seem to remember watching the Smurfs. Strange side note, I always thought Smurfette was wicked hot… is that weird? I am guessing that is, but I did she think she was a hottie back in the day. I even loved the breaks in between the cartoons, from NBC’s preachy The More You Know (drugs are bad!) to ABC’s hippy dippy educational Schoolhouse Rocks to CBS’s underrated and my personal favorite In The News which was a two minute news break aimed a kids but not dumbed down.

I liked all different kinds of cartoons from silly things like the Smurfs (although I secretly rooted for Gargamel) to the badassness that was the Super Friends. There was something oddly safe and comforting about Saturday mornings, watching animation with a bowl of cereal in your PJ’s. I think Saturday mornings made me feel older, as it was the one time I had control of the TV. I remember a sadness that would wash over me when American Bandstand would come on, as that signaled the end of cartoons on Saturday mornings.

Kasey Joann Reaves is in the hizzy...

Kasey Joann Reaves arrived Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 8:14pm. She weighed 8lbs; 2 oz. She was 20 inches long. "Kasey" comes from Sarah's mom's maiden name "Kasemeyer" and "Joann" is my mom's middle name.

Sarah and Kasey are doing great!

Where you been Reavo?

I know, I know, I have not blogged in forever. Sorry I have been MIA, but between work and Sarah’s medical dramarama (for details check on Sarah’s blog http://www.reavesfam.blogspot.com/) I have just not had time. So to catch up I wanted to give you a few thoughts and Reavo revelations on some current events.

• Octo-mom – I am the father of at least 3 of those babies.

• Toenail clippings are super gross, but I used to work with a chick that claimed to have kept all of hers in jar.

• I see a lot of commercials for food at Dairy Queen, for the life of me I don’t think I have ever eaten food there. I’ve wolfed down quite a bit of Ice cream, but food? Oh I don’t think so. Not for me.

• I recently got a cycling bike… Reavo in biking shorts… one word SEXY!

• Did we really need a forth judge on American Idol? Was there some earth shattering musical information that we were missing out on? Come on now with the mensa wonder twins Paula and Randy on the case did we not have our share of pointless feedback?

• While we are on the subject of AI let’s just give the title to Danny and be done with it.

• I am calling my shot right now… The Cubs will break my heart again this year.

• Me and my baby mama have chosen a name, but are not releasing it to the public yet. Rest assured it will not disappoint.

• Is there anyone left not on Facebook? If you have not played Tetris on Facebook you are missing out.

• I think Thai food is disgusting and if you would join a club dedicated to eating it you should have your head examined.

• My daughter says “oh snap” all the time… I wonder if she is the next Joy Crabman?

• I am considering creating a wikipedia page dedicated to my greatness.

• I did not have a Big Wheel as a child. Instead I rocked a Green Machine. If you don’t know the difference, I am truly sorry for you for a Green Machine is the shizz.

• The Wire or Lost best show of all time? I can’t choose I love them both; I truly am worried I might die before discovering the secrets of the island. Is that weird?

• If I could only have one food the rest of my life, I think I would choose Fruity Pebbles.

That’s enough for now. I am glad to be back and I am looking forward to sharing my extreme awesomeness with you in the coming weeks.

What No Valerie?

What No Valerie?

I am an admitted addict to TV teen melodrama. From The OC to Dawson’s Creek. I love them all. But my favorite is the Granddaddy of them all… Beverly Hills 90210 (original recipe).

Now, the CW has rolled out 90210 2.0 a follow up to the 90’s classic with new kids and a few of the old favorites sprinkled in to try to draw in the old fans. So far both Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) and Brenda Walsh (Shannon Doherty) have made return appearances to 90210 Extra Crispy edition. There has been much speculation over what other possible original cast members will be popping up on the new show. Word surfaced last week that Tori Spelling will be dragging her gigantic head and alien eyes out of retirement to reprise her role as Beverly Hills vestal virgin Donna Martin. And to this I say WTF!?!

Who is running this new show? They are missing out on the greatest TV free agent pick all time. Tiffani Amber Thiessen. TAT (that is my little pet name for Tiffani Amber Thiessen) brought the heat to the zip code. Let’s face it Brenda was an average bitch at best. What 90210 needed in season 5 was new life and the true foil Kelly had lacked the first four seasons. Brenda could not hold Kelly’s jock, oops I guess that analogy does not work her. But really if Brenda had any heat at all would she have let Kelly wrestle Dylan and the show away from her?

But when bad girl Valerie Malone (TAT) arrived on the scene, playing against type of her goodie two shoes days on Saved by the Bell it was pure magic. Finally Kelly had an antagonist to bring out her inner bitch. These two hellcats took the show to new heights even as the storylines got utterly ridiculous.

In no certain order the following storylines took place during the Valerie - Kelly era –
• Kelly joins a cult.
• Dylan, Kelly, David, Donna all got substance abuse problems (the writers really love to play the drug card).
• Dylan and Valerie travel is some foreign land to get his money and kidnap his sister.
• Kelly gets caught in a fire at a lesbian house party.
• Andrea cheats on her husband (really? There are two guys in southern California that don’t find her like nails on chalkboard?)
• Kelly gets shot in a drive by (she is a BH gangster?) at LAX, no less.
• Multiple guys actually date Gigantor Martin.
• Valarie hooks up with, Steve, David, Dylan, Noah, Brandon and the LA Dodgers.
• Cranium Maximus gets tossed by down a flight a stairs by Ray Priutt, but somehow does not hit her football helmet sized head.
• Super hot hottie Clair dates douche bag extraordinaire Steve Sanders for multiple seasons.

But why did we buy into this nuttiness? Three letters people… TAT! So I implore you 90210 producers, bring back Valerie Malone. I don’t care if you have to fire some of those anorexic High School Musical rejects to get her. They are obviously not using their new found wealth on food.

Random Things

So I keep getting tagged on Facebook by people filling out these 25 Random Things notes, so I figured what the heck, I will fill mine out too... For all my friends who read my blog, but are not on Facebook (this means you Ted) here you go.

25 Random thought and things about me...Share

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right-hand corner of the page), then click Publish.)

1) Turning 35 was way harder than turning 30… 36 is coming on like a freight train.

2) I have been married 12 years, which means my wife is a saint.

3) I am at least on cordial speaking terms with almost all of my old girlfriends… which is odd because I was kind of a lousy boyfriend in general.

4) I am a hypocrite because I used to make fun of anyone with a blog and now I have one. Reavo.blogspot.com in case you are interested.

5) I have an unhealthy addiction to teen TV melodrama. I love 90210, Dawson’s Creek, Degrassi ect…

6) I love my new job (I guess it’s not new after a year and half), but miss my friends from my old job.

7) I have a gift for telling a good story. I can take the most mundane event and turn it in to a epic tale of intrigue. Just ask my friend Ted who is often at the center of my tales. Let me be clear I do not lie; I enhance the real events to make better fodder for storytelling.

8) I am a horrble speller.

9) My High School girlfriend helped me cheat in advanced economics my senior year or I would not have passed; she went on to become a successful prosecuting attorney.

10) When I was in sixth grade I got everything I wanted for Christmas, then our home went up in flames four days later and we lost everything but the clothes on our backs. So now I have this little piece of me that hopes I don’t get everything I want. I fear something bad will happen if I do.

11) My mother is the strongest person I know to have made it through #10.

12) I love to gamble and I live for trips to Vegas. My #1 item on my bucket list would be to play in the WSOP, at least once.

13) I was a Camp Counselor the summer before my senior year of college (I guess I should say 4th year of college because I was way short of senior credits) and it was by far the best summer of my life.

14) My favorite Superhero is the Green Lantern, who I never felt got his props from the rest of the Justice League, oops I slipped into geek, sorry.

15) I love eggnog and could drink it all year long.

16) I wish I had a full size skiball game in my house.

17) When I was a kid I wanted to be a pro-kickball player. I really thought it would be a pro-sport one day.

18) I like mustard and ketchup mixed together with fries, I learned this trick for Sam Goldsmith in 7th grade.

19) My favorite food is sushi.

20) I am firm in my belief that the Justice League would kick the X-Men arse in a cross over comic, damn there is that geek again.

21) I really enjoy circus peanuts.

22) Generally people love me or hate me, there really is no in between with me.

23) I have written five chapters in a novel that I will never finish, but I do feel I have a better than average book in me.

24) I miss my grandpa Mark all the time and would do almost anything to have a good cup a coffee and shoot the bull with him, I got my storytelling gift from him.

25) I always thought Blossom was hot (in a weird way) and even dated a girl in college that I never really liked that much because she kinda looked like her… I guess

Reavo's Asked and Answered

Alright here we go with the inaugural edition of Asked and Answered. Remember if you would like your question answered you can e-mail me at reavo73@yahoo.com.

What's with The Wire spoilers?! – Sarah Tizzel

I assume that you are referring to me writing about Stringer Bell's death in the previous blog post. I hardly think you can call giving a fact about a show that has been off the air for over a year a spoiler. By the way Ms Tizzel if you have not seen the Sixth Sense… Bruce Willis is dead.

Do you think Wes is teething already? – Brooke Arnold

Well I am no doctor, but I spend all kinds of time on WebMD diagnosing my own illnesses (hypochondria anyone?). So using my mad WebMD skills I can tell you that it is my medical opinion that young Wes is indeed teething. You are in for some sleepless nights, sucks to be you.

What was it like to meet Chris Hansen? –Me (Hmmm who could this be?)

Well that question brings me to an interesting tale. I have a very good, yet disturbed friend. To protect his identity we will call him Theodore Softball, he is known for his wild behavior at parties and defiling the sanctity of a man’s kitchen. Anyhow Ole Theodore gave me a call a few years back and said he needed a ride as he had met a really cool chick online… well one thing lead to another and I had to testify in court against Theodore and that is how I met Chris Hanson who thanked for my help in the prosecution of this disturbed individual. I am happy to say after intensive therapy and relocation a differing state Theodore is doing much better.

That is it for this week’s edition of Reavo’s Asked and Answer.

Asked and Answered

I am starting a new weekly deal where you can e-mail me a question and I will answer it. You can ask anything, no holds barred. You want to know why I am so dope? Ask. You want to know the secret to being a fashion icon, like me? Ask. Want to know why Stringer Bell got killed on the Wire? Ask. Want to know how to make the perfect Whiskey Sour? Ask.

Questions can me e-mailed to reavo73@yahoo.com and put Asked/Answered in the subject line. You can also hit me on my Facebook with your questions if that is easier.

Chick Beer

Back in my fraternity days we debated a great many questions that faced society. Topics as varied as Nature vs Nurture, The Fall of the Roman Empire and Pythagorean Theorem were discussed with great zeal on a daily basis by the most impressive minds to ever step foot on the Indiana State campus. The one topic that was sure to cause the most heated debate was Chick Beer.

What is Chick Beer you ask? Well we were forbidden to have kegs at our parties so each member had to bring a case of beer for themselves and a case of beer for the ladies or Chicks (I know, how crass) before entry was allowed. Now where the debate starts is what constitutes a suitable Chick Beer? I enjoy a good Old Milwaukee as much as the next guy, but your average college coed seemed to prefer a lager with a little less after burn. So there needed to be a standard set for what is the appropriate bottom end for Chick Beer.

Our general rule of thumb was Busch Light or better. But there would always be a wiseguy (Rob Todd-- I am talking about you brother) trying reason that Rainier Draft (How do you call a canned beer draft?) was actually better than Busch Light?

These debates would go on endlessly. Was PBR better or worse than Busch Light? What about Keystone or Icehouse? To think of the hours wasted on this topic and yet never was an answer reached. One of the great tragedies is never having come up with a comprehensive charting of all beers…kind of like a “Terror Threat Level “ for beers. Yet again another idea for greatness missed.

Pops

So I am back baby! I am refreshed from a nice break and ready to rock out another kickin’ blog for my adoring public.

The subject of the day… my Pop.

Pop is not your average Ward Clever, Mike Brady type of father. Dude never helped me with my homework and seldom dropped knowledge on me that would have been helpful in class. This is odd considering the man has been a teacher for 30 years. But my Dad is not a Mr. Holland’s Opus type of teacher, he is more of a “hey this is a good gig and I get three months off in the summer type of teacher.”

But this not to say I did not learn anything from my old man, actually quite the opposite. He taught me all the most important lessons. He taught me life lessons that I use to this day. Pops schooled me on the art of point spread in football betting and staying away from the hook (which means a point spread with a ½ point attached to it… example a team needs to win by 7 ½ ). He educated me in the world of hangover recovery, showing me that a cold beer and greasy breakfast topped in A1 sauce is a tasty treat to cure a really bad hanger. Pops showed me his way with the ladies and whatever weak arse game I did run in college was all learned from him.

Hell he gave me my first Old Style!

Dude took me to at least 10 Cubs games every summer (CF bleachers baby) and got Colts season tickets so we could hang when I moved to Indy. We spent summers at Lake Michigan and Pine Lake, Saturdays in the fall watching college football at St. Joe’s Polish Men’s club (no Dad is not Polish. When I asked him why he was a member he said it’s cheap beer and you can cash checks there. So apparently before ATM and direct deposit you had to belong to a club to get money?)

No he is not perfect. He is not the traditional TV father, but he is mine and I love him.

The Origins of Sean and Sarah

Sarah and I have nearing hit the home stretch of the baby countdown (see the naming poll to your right) and I thought it might be fun to tell you readers (or reader… I am not sure I have multiple readers) a story about the beginning of the Sean & Sarah era. In the comic book world they call this an origins story.

Well after Sarah and I had been dating for about six months and about half of that being long distance (is Terre Haute to Indy considered long distance?) I decided that I might just want to marry this girl. Why? Sarah tempted me with promises of a life full of Fruity Peebles, Candy Corn-peanuts snake mix and Persimmon Pudding. With that knowledge in mind, I got a ring and decided to put together a plan to ask this lady to marry me.

I figured that since Sarah and I were still in college the best way to ask would be at her sorority formal. I know, I know, 13 years later that seems really lame. It seemed at the time to be hella romantic. Anyhow the week before the formal I was going to drive to Sarah’s hometown and ask here dad’s permission, but for some reason I could not get there (maybe work, I don’t really remember) so I had to call and do it on the phone. I still remember making the call and being really nervous, so when Papa Jim got on the line, I could barely speak, which does not happen to me often. I remember asking him for his first born's hand in marriage and I got what seemed like 20 seconds of silence. I thought for sure he was going to hang up on me and who could blame him? We had only been dating for like six months and Sarah was still a junior in college. Come to think of it, I am not sure what we were thinking? If Caeleigh’s future boyfriend tries to pull that stunt I will have to put my foot on his neck. Anyway Jim finally said he thought that it would be fine. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but I like to think that he has warmed to me over the years.

So the following weekend was the big Zeta formal in Terre Haute, yes I proposed in TH! I bought a sweet J. Riggins suit for the big occasion (nothing but the best for the big fella) and off we went to the formal. The Zeta’s have a little bit of a strange tradition, they invite there parents to their Spring Formal (nothing like getting sloshed and making out in front of Mom and Dad!), which I always thought was straight weird. But really, who am I to say anything? I was proposing at what is essentially a broken-down college prom. So Sarah parents were in attendance which was cool, so they could see the whole thing go down.

Well before the big candlelight ceremony (which is when I was going to drop the bomb on Sarah), the DJ called all the fathers and daughters out to the dance floor to have a father-daughter dance to kickoff the formal. Now this DJ was a kid we knew for school and he was about as sharp as a bowling ball. Let’s just say this kid lived on the 420 highway and leave it at that. So what song did he chose to play for said Father-Daughter dance? I’ll Make Love to You by Boy II Men! That was how the tone was set for the evening, nothing like a little musical suggestion of incest to kickoff the night I am going propose.

Well after that smashing start we did the candlelight. Basically all the girls standing in a circle and a candle goes around for each romantic event, lavaliere, pinning and engagement. The guys stand behind their dates as this is happening and the candle stops on the victim, I mean lucky girl. So once they announce engagement I whisper in Sarah’s ear “what sucker would do this here?” and her response “yeah, I know, how lame, right?”
Not exactly what I was looking for, but I set my set up for it.

So then the candle stops on her and I swear she thought it was joke. Her face had this “yeah right” look on it... but then I took her to the center of the circle and dropped to one knee and asked. Her answer? Of course she said yes, I mean, I was wearing a J. Riggins suit and no one turns down a J. Riggins suit proposal!

So 13 years later we have a house, two cars, one kid here, another on the way and a pet squirrel in the backyard. Yes we are living the American Dream.

A Very Reavo Christmas

I am a major Christmas freak… I love all things Christmas except the weather; bah humbug on you weatherman! But back to the good stuff, let me tell you just a few of the reasons I love Christmas so friggin much.

Traditional Christmas Carols sang by Today’s Entertainers – You have not lived until you have gotten your Christmas groove on to the First Noel by N’SYNC! Reavo fun fact -my favorite Christmas song is Baby Its Cold Outside by Dean Martin.

New Christmas Songs (meaning anything post 1970) – I have news for you horrible individuals who say you hate Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime, so listen up. If you feel that way you must be a child of Satan and there will be a special place in hell for you upon leaving this life. Don’t mess with Sir Paul’s Holiday tune! I also am a big fan of Step into Christmas by Elton John and Christmas all over Again by Tom Petty.

Hickory Farms – I love me some Hickory Farms! Christmas without a log of Summer Sausage is sacrilegious.

Eggnog – Best. Drink. Ever. Ok maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, buts let say it’s the best egg based drink of all time. Fun Fact - The origins of eggnog can be traced all the way back to the 18th century according to Wikipedia, so it must be true.

It’s a Wonderful Life- I hate NBC for rationing our It’s a Wonderful Life viewing! I loved the old days when It’s a Wonderful Life was on every channel on the dial at least once a day… curses to you NBC. I still love this movie. Is it mad hokey? Hell yes, but I still tear up every time an angel gets its wings. Take that old man Potter!

Mimosa’s on Christmas Morning – A Reaves family tradition that makes dealing with the family just a little bit easier by being tipsy. Also a fun side effect is when you have to put your kid’s toys together, being drunk up the difficulty factor by 10 and really challenge yourself. A few years back a Barbie Dream House took me 4 hours and 6 Mimosas to put together.

Shopping without a list – I love it when people give me a list of the things they would like for Christmas and I blow it up and buy not one thing on the list. Why? Because, I want you to be surprised and delighted Christmas morning! I don’t want you to know what you are getting, hells bells why even wrap presents if you know what you’re going to get!

A Very Brady Christmas - One of the dopest (is dopest a word?) made for Holiday TV movies ever. Best of all the whole original cast got back together for this mess except Cindy (who was always my least favorite of the Brady's) . The role of Cindy was filled by the hot chick from Charles in Charge which may go down as one of the greatest TV free agent pick ups of all time. This is some of the worst writing and acting of all time, but I love it all the same!

Grandmas Biscuits and Gravy – No Christmas is complete with out Grandma Bonnie’s Biscuits and Gravy with a side of bacon and coffee.

The count down is on folks, 23 days till the fat man in the red suit goes on his world tour (skipping all Paul McCartney haters – coal for you!) so you better be good!

The Stand Comic Book

My favorite book of all time is The Stand by Stephen King. If you have not read this book you are missing out. Don’t give me that I don’t read horror novels baloney sauce because The Stand is hardly a horror novel. If anything it is adventure novel with some sci-fi elements. Think of it as Lord of the Rings meets I Am Legend. Well the good people at Marvel comics have created The Stand Comic book series and I have just finished the second of the thirty edition series. I can tell you that is a superior effort. The art is breath taking the story telling detailed with out letting the story drag. It is a must pick up for any King fan or comic book geek.

Blog-Worthy?

I have been MIA recently… Why? I am not really sure, I guess not much has happened that I feel is blog-worthy. Now I have recently been using the blog to pick football games (for entertainment purposes only). Unfortunately I was so bad it at picking games it got depressing, so I have suspended that for the time being (meaning forever). In other news my wife has started a blog (I know, what a copy cat right?) detailing our impeding arrival so feel free to take a gander if you are in need of a little sleep aid. Actually it is not half bad; however she does something called spell-check, which removes all the gritty realism of a blog like mine. Well feel free to give Sarah's blog a read if you like, but be for warned, she talks about be gassy.

http://reavesfam.blogspot.com/

NFL Picks Week 7

Oh my, how did we get so far off track? Last week should have been a good one. I made what seemed like at the time all the correct picks. But again the wheels came off and I had my worst week yet this season. Worst yet my season total dipped below the 50/50 mark. Lets see if I can pull this thing out of the crapper and make up some ground this week.

49ers (+10) at Giants- I like the G-men here. The trip from the west coast is tough and the 1:00pm game is even tougher. Its a big number but I think the G-Men cover.

Steelers (-9 1/2) at Bengals- While the Bengals have the worst record in football, they are not regularly being blown out which makes 9 1/2 a home versus a division rival troubling. I am taking the Bengals and home they can keep it close.

Titans (-9) at Chiefs- I am taking the Titans here in what should prove to be a ugly game.

Vikings (+3) at Bears- The Bears kill me every week. I think they are going to pull this game out, in what could be a struggle. Take the Bears and hope for a push if nothing else.

Chargers (+1) at Bills- How good did the Chargers look last week? This is a 1:00pm cross country trek for the Bolts, but I still like them here. The Bills will give them a difficult game at home, but the Chargers are starting a roll.

Saints (+3) at Panthers- The Saints seem to be clicking as of late and the Panthers are unraveling. I am taking the Saints here.

Cowboys (+7) at Rams- Will Romo play? Will Roy Williams play? Who cares, its the Rams we are talking about. Take a very mad Cowboys team.

Ravens (+3) at Miami- After watching the Ravens get trounced by the Colts its hard to pick them even getting points. I would never bet this game, but forced to pick a winner I will take the Phins.

Lions (+9 1/2) at Texans- This will be real nasty. Take the Texans and thank your luckily stars you are not a Lions fan.

Jets (-3) at Raiders- Jets... why? Because its the freaking Raiders.

Colts (-1) at Packers- The Colts will need to bring their A game, but I like them coming off of last weeks momentum building game.

Browns (+7) at Redskins- I like the rally after last weeks loss and cover here.

Seahawks (+10) at Bucs- Bucs... Seahawks are terrible.

Broncos (+3) at Pats- I like the Broncos to pull the upset here.