Nevermind

Well, I kind of feel like I wasted my time because I didn't get either of the jobs. However that is going to go on the backburner because as you can tell by the creepy floating fetus, the baby is here tomorrow. That is my focus for this weekend. After that, I will hit the pavement hard.

Interviews

I have two interviews on Tuesday. One is for Westlake High, the new high school in Satatoga Springs. The other is for (shudder) American Fork High School. I wonder if it would be a bad move to wear my PG letter jacket to the interview. Oh well, a job's a job, right? I will let you know how the interviews went.

We Are So Bad With The Update Thing

So, here we are more than a month since the last post. A lot has happened, that's why thre was a lack of updates. We are quite busy. Aubrey is slowly going insane between school, cooking a baby, and busy season at work. I am waiting for the hiring freeze to thaw to see if I can work next year. Kimberlie is now 7 (as of today). And, we cleaned out the garage. Hopefully this covers all your update needs.

I Don't Want to Talk About It.

For a glorious five minutes yesterday I was in heaven. The Cardinals got a touchdown to go up by three, and all they had to do is stop the Steelers like they have done all during the fourth quarter. Then....disaster. They suddenly remembered that they are the Cardinals and fell apart. The only bitter taste I have in my mouth is that they did not review the last "fumble". If they would have taken as much time as they did with the other reviewed plays and deemed it a fumble, I would accept it and move on. However, they did not seem to look at it. What a bad end to a good game.

On to next year. I think as long as they keep the core of their team, Fitzgerald, Boldin, Breaston, Hightower, and the rest, they will do fine. Luckily, they play in the worst division. Getting to the playoffs again should be no problem. I look forward to it, and I will still be a Cardinals fan.

It's Here!

And I am wearing it to school today.

Go Cards Update

They did it! They are going to the Superbowl. This year I can actually care more about the game then the commercials. I am so excited, I already bought the NFC Champions t shirt. It is finally good to be a Cardinals fan!

Go Cards!

I have a shameful confession. I love the Arizona Cardinals. I have been a fan for about 8 years now. It started out as a joke. I would say, "someday I am going to put $1 on the Cardinals to win the Superbowl and make a million dollars." Since then, I always watch them when they are on TV (which is extremely rare because nobody likes the Cardinals.) In fact, for Christmas about 3 or 4 years ago Aubrey bought me a Cardinals hat. Which is totally funny because the guy at the store asked her, "Are you sure this is the team your husband likes?"

This year has been awesome! They are actually winning some games. In fact for the first time in my life, they won their division. Granted, the rest of the division decided to take the year off, but they won. Now they have a chance to go to the Superbowl. If only I had put some money on them this year.

Ironic

Perhaps it's the English teacher in me, but I hate Alanis Morisette. She has ruined the word "ironic" for me (dontcha think?) Let me explain. According to Webster:

iro·ny
Pronunciation:
\ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural iro·nies
Etymology:
Latin ironia, from Greek eirōnia, from eirōn dissembler
Date: 1502

2 a: the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b: a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c: an ironic expression or utterance

3 a (1): incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2): an event or result marked by such incongruity b: incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play —called also dramatic irony tragic irony

Long story short, when one says or does something and the actual thing that happens is completely away from normal. For example: A person who loves animals, is a vegitarian, sticks up for animals and has the bumper stickers and all gets eaten by a bear.

Morisette has changed irony to mean anything that happens that is not according to plan. For example, a traffic jam when you're already late. That's not irony, that's just bad luck. It would be ironic if the person was late because he was checking the traffic cameras to make sure there was no traffic jams.

In that song there are 2 instances of irony. One: the part where the guy dies in the plane crash and he says, "well, isn't this nice." Sarcasm is a form of irony. Two, the whole song, named ironic, is, ironically, not ironic. The name of the song should be "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

Most of the time the word "ironically" should be replaced with "coincidentally" meaning two or more things happening, in an unexpected, yet harmonious way. However, ironically, you are probably going to read this, laugh, and continue to use "ironically" in bad ways. Ironically, this post, which was meant to be funny will, in fact, offend people. Oh, the irony!

A Time To Update

Anyone who knows me knows what political party I usually go for. I started out as an independent and didn't declare, but recently with the way things have gone, I put that little "D" next to my name. No, my testimony in the church is not shaken, I am a Mormon Democrat. As you can tell, I am elated at the choice of president. History making aside, from what I can see is that things will start to go better for us. I don't want to start a firestorm or debate here. I have noticed, during this campaign season, the difference between the two parties.

Both parties have the best interests of the USA in mind. Of this I have no doubt. It is the manner in which they go to build up the country where they differ. Republicans feel that if they build up business and the top money makers, the country will prosper because they will create jobs for the little guy. Democrats believe in helping the little guy so that big business will prosper. That's all it boils down to. Those loud mouthed political pundits (yes I'm talking to you, Mr. Hannity) are just there to say my side is better. I tried to listen to the Sean Hannity show, when he said that "it is un-American to disagree with the president," I lost it. Excuse me, there is nothing more American than disagreeing with the president.Let's face it, it doesn't matter what team you are on, you should be happy to be in the United States where you can choose a team to begin with..

Off my soap box now. On to part two of the update. I have given up on the novel writing this year. There is just way too much on my plate right now to worry about writing 1,300 words every night. So there you have it. History made and my life becomes easier. Go ahead discuss.

The Latest Ramblings

I hate shaving. I do, I think it is a waste of time until the hair gets so itchy that I have to shave it. Dudes have an option, some people think facial hair is good looking. Chicks not so much. The areas that are normally shaved are not necessarily optional, unless you live in Germany. (Although I think that is a myth, they shave there too.) This has nothing to do with what I wanted to post.

I don't ever think these things out. I just look at the blog and think, "hey Bowden, you need a post," so I start typing. It ends up being random. Now I lost my train of thought so I think I will shower and go to bed.

Mikey Gets Tagged!

Apparantly this tag has rules. Bah!

* Link to the person who tagged you: This is here
* Post the rules on your blog
* Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
* Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
* Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
* Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

And here we go.

1. I am terrified of snakes. Terrified, like they scare the poo out of me. I gain super powers when I see one, that's how scared of them I am.

2. I am a published poet. Well, sort of. It's in a book where they publish anybody, but they put mine in there so, yeah, I am published.

3. I am a sandwich junkie. I love grocery store pre-made hero sandwiches.

4. I am full of semi-useless trivia.

5. I speak French fluently.

6. I am a self proclaimed dork! My wife finds it somewhat endearing.

I tag:
1. Mom
2. Derek
3. Brad
4. Brandon
5. Amy
6. Bobbi

A Rash of Tags

I have been tagged by two different people so I am going to cover them both in one post. First is the tag from Mandy:

The kitchen sink:



The Fridge:




The Washer/Dryer:


My Toilet:




My Side of the Closet:




My Favorite Room:






My Favorite Shoes:








My Dream Vacation would be Disneyland or Washington DC.



And a picture of my family:


There. For this one I tag Bobbi, Cheryl, and Lisa.


Now on to Bobbi's tag. Crazy 8s


8 favorite restaurants:

1. Tucci's
2. Los Hermanos
3. Bajio
4. That Mexican joint in Casper
5. Serrano's in Mesa
6. My mom's kitchen
7. My dad's kitchen
8. The buffet at Treasure Island in Las Vegas


8 Things I did yesterday:


1. Woke up (begrudgingly)
2. Went to Work
3. Trained the new secretary
4. Got kisses from Cameron
5. Closed a Tupperware party
6. Felt clothes getting too tight on me already
7. Fell asleep with all my jewlery on still
8. Drove the van to work instead of the merc.


8 Things I look forward to:


1. New baby
2. Clean house
3. End of semester (Spanish class)
4. Coming home to kids
5. Putting head on pillow
6. Visiting Casper again
7. Visiting Grandpa again
8. Putting feet up at home after work and school


8 Things I love about fall:


1. Cooler, but not cold, temperatures
2. Leaves changing color
3. It's the real start of the holiday season
4. Can bundle up with blanket on couch
5. Can start drinking hot chocolate again
6. My birthday comes
7. Warmer clothes (cozy!)
8. Caramel apples


8 Things on my wish list:


1. New house
2. Stay home with kids during the day
3. Not have to work anymore
4. No financial worries or stresses
5. New bedroom set
6. Lose 50 lbs and keep it off forever!!!
7. Baby #4 is a girl
8. Mom wasn't leaving me.


For this one I tag Mandy, Cheryl, Lisa, Judy

Weekend Update

Let's bring everyone up to speed with the Bowden house. Baby #4 has lost its tail. Look at it, no tail. On Friday Kimberlie and Aubrey went on a "date" while the boys and dad stayed home to watch the BYU game. The girls went to the Chuck-A-Rama for dinner. Kimberlie bit into her corn on the cob and suddenly got quiet and almost cried. She had a loose tooth. Which started the mealtimes from heck at our house. Apparently it is easier to chew bread than soup, but that is another story. Anyway, Sunday night Kimberlie brushed her teeth and the tooth fell out. Thank goodness, I was about to get out the blender and start pureeing her food.

Which brings me to my second point. What is up with the Tooth Fairy? My tooth fairy only gave me a nickel or a quarter depending on the tooth. Some kids are getting dollars, gold, new cars. I think there needs to be a uniform standard for the Tooth Fairy. I suggest that the smaller teeth in the front should only be a quarter, 75 cents for the incisors, and a dollar for any molars that come out, if they do, I can't remember.

Nothing else happened. Except Cameron Sunday night. He turned off the TV close to bed time. I think he pushed a button on the remote, anyway, after the TV went off, he folded his arms for prayers. Cute.

Web Wednesday

There is just about a blog for everything. I still love the cake wrecks blog. (See previous post.) Here is one that I am so glad I found. Aubrey will tell you that I get upset about stupid little things, I am glad to see I am not alone. This is the blog of bad parking!

http://badparking.wordpress.com/

So, enjoy the pictures of people who need to go back to driver's ed, and remember, I make no claims as to the content of any blogs I send the links to.

The Creepy Blob is Starting to Look Better

Look at it. It almost, and I mean almost, looks human. How fun! It has been an interesting week. I have found out that no matter how much I don't get stuff out if I don't actively clean the house it will look terrible within a couple of days. I have learned that kids do not like to clean so much. I now think I have a solution to these problems.

THE CLEANING IS MY RESPONSIBLITY.

Now, to my lady friends who read this blog, please don't expect your husbands to see the light right away. To the dudes--Read on.

As most of the faithful followers to the blog know (and a shoutout to whoever you are), Aubrey is currently going to school. We also found out (the first week of school) that we are expecting baby #4. Add to that her already stressful job and you can see the collision course with hysteria she is heading on. I have found that as Aubrey walks in the door her smile quickly disappears as she sees all the dishes, and laundry, etc. she has to do. She would be in a better mood if it was clean when she walked in the house. We all know this. I guess I'm upset because I just can't seem to get it done. However, my new pledge is to make sure it is done. I am not going to rely on the kids to do my dirty work anymore. This is revolutionary, this is insanity, this is the only way that the house will get clean. So, with all the readers of the blog as my witness, I am going to clean the house and make it stay clean!

It Must Be in Their DNA

I bought a fun machine a year or so ago called the FC twin. This little gem plays the old Nintendo games as well as the 16 bit Super Nintendo. It has been a lot of fun for me to relive the glory days of blistered thumbs. Recently my kids have discovered the fun of "old-school" Nintendo. If you remember the days of the first Nintendo, you surely remember blowing into the cart for it to work. (Most of you are smiling because you did it and thought you were the only ones.) It was the magic dust that made the games work. I find it hilarious that Conner will blow into the games to get them to work now.

It got me thinking, we all do some silly stuff to get things to work. (How many of you rub your cds or dvds before you put them in their players?) What do you think? Leave some comments about your superstitions, it will be fun to read them.

7 Years Ago Today Was The Last Normal Day

Do you remember the headlines? I do. Everyone was concerned about shark attacks on the east coast. Jim Rome was talking about opening weekend of football (the 10th was on a Monday) and how "W" flipped the coin. He said something to the effect of a president should be dealing with bigger things than coin tosses for football. Man, I miss those days. You know the days where you could go to the airport and walk around for a while watching planes land and take off. Go right up to the gate and welcome your family home. Heck, they would even let you on the plane if they had room. Good times.

The world changed the next day. I remember my personal "where you were" moment. I worked at Burton Lumber as a delivery driver. I rolled into work at 5:45 AM. My truck was loaded, but it was not centered so I had to rearrange the load. In the process the bands gave away on a bunk of lumber and it rolled. I had to restack and reband the order and get on the road by 6:15 or so. I remember thinking to myself, "this is going to be a bad day." I had a delivery to a house in Spanish Fork. I liked the early morning deliveries because you don't have to talk to stupid contractors. I undid my load and dumped it onto the ground. I got back in my truck and started to drive away. I was listening to Radio From Hell on X-96, and they did the traffic report. During the report Bill asked the traffic person if it was true that another plane hit the World Trade Center. My initial reaction was laughter, I'm thinking of personal Cesna type aircraft, not the jetliners that did hit. I thought, "idiot, didn't you see the first one?" Having only heard it on radio, I didn't know any better. So I turned the radio to KSL so I could get the news. What I heard was a live broadcast from New York City telling all firefighters to report for duty at their station. Then I realized the gravity of the situation.

I called Aubrey. She had just started working at a law firm. It was her 5th day. I told her to turn on the TV. She asked why, I said, "just turn on the TV." She asked what channel, and I told her I didn't think it mattered. Her reaction was, "oh my gosh!"

I was glued to my radio. I got off the freeway and started to drive back to the lumber yard. As I looked at the people driving I could tell those that knew and those who didn't. The ones who didn't know were happy, listening to their CDs, enjoying their last moments of normalcy. Those who had their normalcy stolen from them looked like they had been punched in the stomach. It was interesting to see the contrast from car to car.

When I got back to the yard production had shut down. We all had our trucks in the yard all tuned to KSL (a lot of stations redirected their broadcast to KSL) and sat and listened. We were there until the first tower fell. Then we had to keep working. The counter people had a TV on the counter with wire strung up in a make-shift antenna. Everyone wanted to watch or hear the news. People on my deliveries didn't talk much. We just kind of looked at each other in a knowing if we talk we might cry but we're men and don't cry type of look. We all felt helpless.

I finally got a lunch break and drove to my parents house. That's when I saw for the first time. Mom and Dad were home, and Mandy was home too because she was at a call center for American Express, and their headquarters was in WTC #5, I think. They sent everyone home.

We were expecting Kimberlie at the time. I was thinking that I didn't want to bring a child into a world that was evil enough to do this. I'm glad we did. I was thinking about it today, Kimberlie has not lived in a normal world..actually, this world is normal to her. Her class will be the first who were not alive on September 11, 2001. What kind of world have we given them? I honestly think that we are still too close to the incident to tell. We know of the changes and inconviences that we have to endure now. I freely admit that I tend to be cynical about it, and I think that the terrorists won. Think about it, we can't roam around the airport, the government takes liberties in the name of defence, and everyone is suspicious of people who have darker skin than they do. Funny side note, once a guy wearing a turban walked into the lumber store, and the manager was eyeballing him and acting all suspicious. I asked her what's up and she said that the people who crashed the planes wore those. My response, "they probably wore underwear too, maybe we should look out for anyone wearing that as well."

About the only thing we can take from September 11 is that we need to love more. I hate the term tolerance, but if that's all you got, use it. I prefer acceptance. Just because their God has 8 arms, or a big belly, or was nailed to a tree is no reason to hate someone. Everyone has the right to live, everyone has the right to be free, everyone has the right to happiness. Let them enjoy those rights and the world will be a better place.

God bless...the world.

Some Changes

You may have noticed some small changes to our blog. First one is the title. I changed the name from "Those Wacky Bowdens" to "Bowden Bulletin." Please update your links accordingly. The other thing is changing my signing name from "MrBowden" to a more friendly "MB." I am still looking for ways to make the blog super-neat, headers, etc. I will let you know as I do it. Or, you will just see it--anyway.

On to bigger and better things. The saga that will become baby #4. It seems that everyone in the ward knows about the baby. We went to church on Sunday to a host of "congratulations" and "is it true's". We were baffled, we had only told one of our church friends about our news, and she isn't the type to broadcast. Apparantly Kimberlie took it upon herself to tell everyone that walked near our house, or looked at our house, or even thought about our house that we are having a baby. I'm happy that she is excited, but sheesh!

The First Day of School

It's my prep period and I am taking a break. I forgot how much I love teaching. This is the best job in the world. Is it me or is 1st period always, well, asleep? They never laugh at my jokes. Oh well. Second period was better. I am so glad to be back.

Kimberlie had her first day of 1st grade today. She started the countdown two weeks ago. She is so excited to ride the bus to and from school, and eat lunch at school. I packed her lunch last night, and yes, I did leave her a little note inside of it. I know I'm a cheezy dad. She got up at 6 and got ready for school. It will be good for her to have some mental stimulation other than the average retail price without going over.

The Last Price is Right

Dating back to the time when my family lived in Evanston, Wyoming the year ET came out for the first time, I have always loved The Price is Right. Call me campy, or sappy, or whatever, but it has always been a part of my summer vacations. We would watch TPIR every day and then work on our stupid little workbooks that mom made us do because she thought we would get dumb in the summer. It was always a sad day when we would watch the last TPIR for the year. Today was that day for me.

It's one of the reasons I became a teacher. My students ask me that all the time. B-diddy, why did you become a teacher? Each time I tell them a different story. Here is my list:

• Because I love Channel 1 and I want to watch it every day
• To watch TPIR all summer
• To find out what the teachers do on the last day of school when the kids leave
• So I can erase the board
• To stay young
• Three month vacation!
• Keys to the school
• So I can push that little white "push to call" button at the back of the room
• My standup comedy career failed and I needed a backup
• I already did my manditory sentence at Convergys

With normal life beginning next week (meetings and all) I am slightly reflective. This year I am a real boy, meaning I am not an intern, I really get paid (as much as a teacher gets paid) and I can really teach. I love teaching. I have wanted to do it since 8th grade. It is totally the best job anyone can have.

I worked my last day at my other school yesterday. What a blessing it was to work there. I was working with "troubled" youth. It's kind of a theraputic boarding school that parents send their kids to when they've been bad. They all have been in wilderness which is a nice way of saying, "camping during detox." These kids are awesome. I am bummed that I can't stay, but excited for the reason why. Aubrey is going back to school. I guess I may have inspired her or something, because she wants to be a teacher as well. Because of this, I get to stay home with the kids at night. I am excited to help out with Kimmie's homework, and teach Conner the fundamentals of stuff so we don't have to pay for preschool. Cameron will have to learn to talk.

This is becomming a long post. I suppose I will end it now.