NEEDING YOUR HELP FOR AN A+

There are a few of you who remember this post from a year ago. Well, it's that time again and I haven't forgotten it. Now, if you come here regularly then you know 3 things about me... 1- I'm a father 2- I love me some Tishy 3- I'm the worst googler ever. It is with number 3 that I need your help. I am committed to getting myself and Aspen to an orphanage this holiday season along with a handful of children's x-mas books and spend an afternoon there reading and socializing with the less fortunate kids that find themselves parentless at this special time of year. The thing is, I tried last year to find an orphanage in this area and failed miserably. Neither the Real Yellow Pages nor Yellow Book have a listing for 'orphanage'. Any dear reader out there who can get me the name, address, and phone number of an orphanage in either the Charlotte, NC , Rock Hill, SC , or Fort Mill, SC area via your fancy web navigating skills you will have directly contributed to this little mission of goodwill. As soon as I get valid contact info for a nearby children's home (also not in the Yellow Pages!) I will call them and set the wheels in motion for completing this long overdue objective. And the best part is: YOU will get credit and be mentioned here on the front pages of The Rusty Nut Telegraph for your vital contribution to this humble act of charity. So, any takers???

FROM THE DESK OF THE EDITOR

"Ooops" That's what Aspen thought when she realized she was going to have to tell daddy the truth about what really happened on the playground the other day. Remember a few days ago she told me she was punched in the face by a bully? Unprovoked? Um, not unless you consider Aspen shoving the boy into the ground first 'unprovoked'. You see, daddy didn't get quite the whole story from Aspen when he first blogged about the incident. But today there was a confessional note in her bookbag that Aspen was instructed to write to me explaining the results of the teacher's investigation. It seems while Aspen was being bothered verbally by this boy it was actually she who made first physical contact... not he. His 'punch' to my daughter's face was not an action but a REaction to him having to eat dirt at the hands of girl. Well, daddy could not believe his ears. This was only the second time on record that Aspen had lied to him. He was not pleased. Aspen knew from her daddy's quiet and cold tone that she made a mistake. And her quivering lips and watering eyes that looked straight ahead told daddy that she knew that she regretted not fessing up at the time. Daddy told Aspen that for lying to him and her teacher there would be no dessert for a week. Then she was to miss 3 recess breaks at school for fighting. This was my idea since I knew the boy had already missed 2 breaks himself. It seemed only fair that she get an extra day since she made first contact. I wrote a letter to Aspen's teacher apologizing for Aspen's behavior and thanking her for seeing the incident through. Aspen has written a letter of apology to her teacher as well for lying and a letter to the boy apologizing for demonstrating just what he'll get if he messes with her again. Of course when learning that Aspen had hit first, this afforded me the perfect opportunity to say ... "Aspen, is that what Buddha would have done?"

TISH'S APPARENT WISH LIST

So we're all excited that Tishy is planning on moving down to my area in a few short months. She has talked to Mortgage brokers, has already been preapproved, been looking up job posibilities in the region and even has a meeting with a real estate agent this Saturday to look at some lake front property. Well, I'm hoping she'll look at some lake front property anyway. Are you there Santa? It's me, waterfront property-less Brico!! Anyhoo, Tish (and I) are excitedly looking ahead to how our lives will be enhanced once she is in the neighborhood. I guess it was in that looking ahead that this quote of hers from our phone conversation last night comes... "My first night in the new place, you'll have to stay over so I'm not scared" Hmmm, not even in town 24 hours and the leash will already be tightening snuggly!! How soon till the muzzle comes out baby?

ASPEN QUOTE #25

Aspen told me yesterday that a boy has been harassing her at recess for the last few months. Yesterday apparently, with his friends egging him on, he punched her on the right side of the face. I wrote a note to her teacher advising her of the ongoing and unprovoked confrontations. I asked to be advised what actions were going to be taken to correct the boy's behavior. I then told Aspen that she has every right to defend herself and that if he or any other boy hits or pushes or kicks her she needs to hit back... hard. She smiled, pleased to know she had daddy's support and permission in taking care of this boy herself. This morning, after having slept on it, I went into greater detail what she needed to do if the situation came up again. I told her that if he comes up to her on the playground she needs to stand up in his face (she is 9" taller than him) and stare down at him coldly. To look at him like he just hurt 'Lambie' and 'Kittie'. To clench her fist tight and grit her teeth and to wait for him to touch her. Then if he does push or hit her to use every muscle in her arm and to hit him in the nose as hard as she possibly can, then hit him a second time even harder until he is crying or lying on the ground. Then to stand over him silently glaring at him until he leaves. Aspen listened intently nodding in understanding. Then she asks... "Is that what Buddha would do?" A proud yet ashamed daddy took the only escape route he had "Buddha never had to put up with a bully on the playground."

MORE HOLIDAY FESTIVENESS

Tish left for home Sunday morning. She'll be back next weekend for Aspen's 8th birthday party celebration extravaganza. Shortly after Tish left Aspen's mother brought her back to me. She has been with her mother since Tuesday after school. They stayed up in Charlotte at the house of a friend of her new current live in boyfriend. Her mother was only in town for a week. The 2 of them left back to Arizona where she has run to. She told Aspen that she would be back in a few weeks. I presume this means for her birthday on the 8th (not to be confused with her party on the 3rd, a week earlier). It is Monday the 11th that the custody hearing finally goes down. If she is back in town for her daughter's birthday on the 8th, she will probably stay in town for the hearing. She won't answer me if she plans on fighting custody, visitation and/or the child support I seek, or for that matter if she'll even come to court or not period. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Does anyone else out there with kids get irked when parents don't RSVP to birthday invitations yet show up at the party like you should have known they were coming? There were 25 invites to Aspen's party and I have had 6 confirmations. If I get a small cake and 15 people show up... well, being polite and biting my tongue in situations like that is not my strong suit at all. Tishy, your job is going to be holding me back from speaking my mind when that happens. Like I'm sure you hold your tongue half the time you're with me.

HO HO HO! (speaking of Tish...)

What did you do over the holiday weekend? Me? Well, aside from reminding Tish 6 times in a 48 hour period just what she would gain if she lived closer, on Friday I took down the fall decorations and put up the winter holiday decor. This includes a mantel full of snow globes, stockings, nut crackers and scented candles, an eight foot holiday tree and all its trimmings, red and green colored towels, place settings, blankets & pillows, and oven mitts (yes, I have seasonal oven mitts... shut up!), wicker baskets of cinamon scented pot pouri, holiday music cd's, holiday classic dvd's, wreaths and bows for the doors, and 9 years of pictures of Aspen on Santa's lap all lined up in chronological order, along with all of Aspen's books and toys that only come out for the month of December. I had the Christmas music by Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and all those others going on all day with College football on in the background and the aroma of T-day leftovers filling the place. All the while, Tishy kept my couch and me warm for 4 straight days. Now, if you'll excuse me, it seems she is claiming to already have fogotten what her incentive is for moving out here so I need to remind her... again. Should I be concerned that she insists I wear the hat the whole time???

SHE SAID 'YES'!!!

Tish came down for the holiday weekend (if you read The Nut with any regularity you already knew that). Since Aspen's mother came to town for the week and was spending it with her daughter I had Tish and my place all to myself. So I planned accordingly. Amongst those 'plans' was my proposing to Tishy... ...that she move closer to 'here' because 'there' isn't giving us enough eachother time. She had mentioned several times that she liked this area and she was planning on moving out of her place in a few months anyway so considering a move to this region made sense not just in the 'romance' department but in a practicality way of thinking as well. Or so I was able to convince her. 'But Brico' you say, 'Why is it her who moves closer to you? Why don't you pack up your sorry ass and move closer to her?' Excellent question. Aspen. While her mother may have moved away, everything else that helps create a stable and familiar environment for her is here. Her grandparents, her friends and school, her girlscout troop, her brother and 'ex' stepfather, her room and her pets. All the staples that a healthy 8 year old girl needs in her life to help her adjust to a suddenly absent mother. Tish in her infinite understanding knew that if we were going to live in closer proximity that her life was easier and less dramatic to uproot and change. So I made the proposal. And she said 'yes'. Yes that she saw enough promise in our relationship that moving her life 300 miles south east would be a worthwhile sacrifice. Do you hear that?! She called me a worthwhile sacrifice!! Woo HOO!! therefore, in a few months, providing I don't screw up in some catastrophic Michael Richards way, Tish, 2 dogs, 2 men and a truck will head east and settle around here where we can spend more than just the occasional weekend together. And from there? Well, we'll see. Now, if you happen to be someone who knows Tish personally or work with her (you know who you are) please note that this is not info to be shared with coworkers or her employer at this time. Thank you for your cooperation. Oh btw, there was a fire in my place today!

TEN THINGS I'M THANKFUL FOR

Yep, kinda cliche I know. In fact I'm surprised I didn't do the same thing last year. It's interesting to see what one has posted one year ago. Before I begin, I want to direct your attention to a program that will be reairing on The History Channel, Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of The Mayflower. I encourage everyone to look up the air times in your area and take time to watch this honest and no-holds-barred look at how the land now known as The U.S. was resettled by Europeans. You will learn something! Okay, off the soapbox... Ten Things I'm Thankful For 1- Fatherhood, and all that goes with it 2- Tish, and her friendship and acceptance. I don't know what she sees in me but I'm grateful she's dillusional enough to think she sees it! 3- My health, and another year of no doctor visits or prostate exams 4- My mother, and her help, patience and wisdom in difficult times 5- Miguel, cause a good drinking and hangout buddy that doesn't piss you off on a regular basis is hard to find 6- The Bill of Rights, and the fact that evil power hungry politicians and religious fanatics haven't yet found a way to totally abolish it despite their efforts 7- The 4 Noble Truths 8- Football, and a season where The Broncos defeat the Raiders twice. Ready to convert Dale? 9- MP3 Players. I mean comeon! How easy have these things made life? 10- Blog Friends, you know who you are. Thanks for your comments and support through the scenario. And if you know what I mean by 'the scenario' then you are who I am talking to. It's nice to know I'M not the one who is crazy or unreasonable.

ASPEN QUOTE #24

Aspen's mom came into town for the holidays... with Chris, the new boyfriend with whom she is shacking up in Arizona, the last in a string of affairs that resulted in the end of her 4th marriage, the current mealticket in her life. They picked up Aspen to spend the day with her. This morning as I took Aspen to school... Aspen (excitedly): "Chris taught me how to make a bomb" Me (confused): "Chris taught you how to make a what?" I wasn't sure whether I heard the word 'bomb' or 'bong' and I wasn't sure which word I was hoping to hear upon clarification. Aspen: "A bomb" Me: "Chris taught you how to make a bomb?" Aspen: "Uh huh, a waterproof bomb." Me: "And how do you do make a waterproof bomb?" Aspen: "You take a ball and put a hole in it then you fill it with gunpowder then stick a string in it then put wax over the hole then cover the whole thing in clay and let it get hard. Then it can blow up in the water!" Me: silence Thanks for the courtroom 'ammunition' Chris

AND THE WINNER IS...

Tracy at this site here * was the first to guess the name of Sissy B's new bundle of joy. The clues were 1- six letters long 2- almost a palindrome 3- featured in a patsy cline song 4- a hidden clue in the comments: the name of a george lucas movie Tracy's first guess was 'Dallas' which fit clues 1-3. Her second guess was WILLOW! (a stripper's name if ever there was one! but i have little room to talk, the name 'aspen' falls in that same category. little known fact: willow's father also has a daughter named aspen. now dad will have TWO pole climbers in a few years!) So again, congrats to Tracy for doing her homework and researching Patsy Cline lyrics. Oh yeah, and congrats to Sissy B and Soldier Boy too! *Tracy's site is password protected. Email her to request the password.

it's time for: SISSY B'S BABY NAME GUESSING CONTEST!

This is completely unofficial. Sissy B knows nothing about this. But she can't be mad because I sent her an awesome baby gift in the mail. HA! I aint giving any clues what-so-ever... Oh hell, okay, maybe one: her name is 6 letters long and it's almost a palindrome. Whoever guesses it first gets a free compilation CD, music genre of their choice, artists and songs mine. And if you already know it, then be cool and don't play! This is a guessing game already! Don't besmirch this beautiful event by trying to further enhance your own ego or blog rep... Jamwall!! P.S. The winner will also get to announce on their blog the birth of Sissy B's next child, which, if the past is any indication, will be 9 months from tomorrow!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Mega uber cyber congratulations to Sissy B! She gave birth Thursday morning at 6:28 am. 'Sprout' (not her real name) weighs in at 7 pds 14 ounces. She isn;t sure of the length yet. Baby and mommy and daddy are all doing fine. They will all be resting comfortably at home this evening. If you hadn't been in the loop, the nice part is that Sissy B was able to hold off on her delivery (despite many false labors) long enough for her fiancee to get back from South Korea where he has been stationed for the last few months. The timing was awesome. He will ship out again before too long but the important thing is that he was here for the birth of his daughter. Congrats and best wishes to all y'all!

ASPEN IS SICK

Not a very creative post title I know, but whadya want from me at a time like this? I got a call from her school nurse Monday at noon saying she had a 102 fever. Not liking the sound of that I hurried to pick her up. By the time I got there her temp had skyrocketed to 102.9! That's .1 degrees shy of seeing things that aint there! School nurse said there have been a number of cases of strept and the flu going around. Taking care of a sick Aspen had in the past been mom's responsibility. But now that she is living in Arizona and soaking up the sun by the side of her new boyfriend's backyard pool it has become my job. Not wanting to get her treatment wrong I took her straight to her family doctor. The receptionist said she would be able to fit her in but she had no idea how long that would be. 'Better than nothing' I thought, so we waited. Aspen fell asleep on my lap inbetween coughing fits. After 75! minutes I went back to the receptionist "Look, I'm not trying to be a problem. I know she doesn't have an appointment, but my 7 year old daughter is out here with a 103 (that's right! I exaggerated by .1 degrees. sue me!) temperature and has been waiting for over an hour..." Before the receptionist could tell me to be patient and that they would get to me the nurse standing behind her, having heard me, says "Wait, we have a sick child who's been waiting?" "Yeah, but she doesn't have an appointment, and we have these scheduled kids we have to get to." "Right but if there's a child with a high temp out there, give me her forms not one of our wellness appointments" she says as she flashes her an unfriendly look." Minutes later I had a prescription to treat her strept throat and a plan of attack in writing for her fever. She stayed home with me Tuesday reminding me every 4 hours just how godawful the grape flavored Tylenol and motrin taste. Today she went back to school (24 hours of treatment before re-attending is the rule). Her fever is now 99.2 under medication. Sadly, Tishy is now pretty sick herself. I can barely understand her on the phone inbetween all her coughing and wheezing. Please go visit her and remind her she is loved. It will do her spirits good. And Tish, if you go the doctor (as I know you wont!) stay away from the doctor who has my receptionist! She won't let the doctor see you until your heart has stopped apparently.

WEE, I'M A CELEBRITY!

On my own volition, not having been directed to this site by any blogger friend of mine, I came across this site that will upload your picture and match you with your celebrity look alikes. So I tried it out. Below are the reuslts... http://www.myheritage.com pretty accurate right?

WEIGHT WATCHERS 101 VS MARKETING 101

A few weeks ago in the grocery store I noticed prepackaged bags of cotton candy on an aisle end stand. Printed boldly on the bag was "0 grams of fat!" So I guess the cotton candy manufacturers feel they have a real potential in the health concious consumer market? Next, Mellow Yellow will be fortified with 9 essential vitamins and minerals. Seriously people... seriously!

WEEEE! IT'S ATLANTA. IS IT RUSH HOUR AT 1:30?

Sorry Bug, but I could not survive in Atlanta. Any place that takes 1.5 hours to drive 7.5 miles is not going to see me around too much. And that was in the suburbs! The traffic heading toward the city was even more gridlocked! Heres the story: Tish is a big Barenaked Ladies fan. They were playing in Atlanta and wanted me to go with her. I rearranged my days off, made other plans for Aspen, got the car an oil change and other essentials for a 4 hour drive. I wasn't thrilled to drive 4 hours, let alone into a metrolpolis but it was for my gf who does so much for me, plus I knew the BNL put on a good show so I was game. Damn shame they weren't coming closer to Charlotte though. So I get to the hotel ahead of Tish and notice they have a computer in the lobby. As I'm waiting I decide to check out my email. There is a notice from Ticket Master: "Don't miss The Barenaked Ladies" "What is this then?" I wonder? Tish had ordered the tix, how did they know I was seeing them in Atlanta tonight? I open it. Barenaked Ladies in Charlotte on December 17th. Tickets on sale tomorrow! "WTF!!! TISHHHHHH!!!!!!" I sit steaming away on the couch in the lobby for her to finally get unlost and find the hotel. She arrives. "Here!" I say "Let me show you something!" I lead her to the lobby computer and open my email. "What's that say?" She reads it. "Well.... they must have just added that show. It wasn't on their schedule when I looked." I stare at her coldly. "We'll, now we get to see them twice!!" she says excitedly. WTF??? But I decided not to say anything more since she was paying for the entire weekend, including the movie. We saw Borat. I still loved it, she thought it was "not bad, but i didnt think it was worth all the hype".After the movie we had time to take a quick nap before the concert. The concert was "not bad, but i didnt think it was worth all the hype" (ha! take that!). What made the show truly enjoyable was the group of 6 friends in front of us who paid $60 a ticket to go to a concert and then yell a 2 hour conversation to eachother over the sound of the music. I was flashing them angry trout looks all night to no avail, but during the encore they played a beautiful ballad and I had to struggle to hear the concert over these people's mindless yapping. I finally turned to Tish (who was aware of my agitated state) and yelled as lound as I could to her "Boy! This is a really good concert isn't it? I'm really enjoying listening to the show!" Two of the people stopped their shouting match with eachother long enough to look at me surprised and dumbfounded why someone would shout that out so loudly out of the blue. They got my point. After we got back to the hotel we tried to order pizza but every place was closed. Which confused me, if there are 2 million cars on the road at 11:30 pm in Atlanta, what restaurant are they coming back from? Cause I sure as hell coulnd't find one still open! Bummed that we weren't going to eat, Tish wanted to go right to sleep. I was wide awake and watched some TV... and did some other stuff. The first pic here is of Tish as she fell asleep. The second pic is my trying out the blacklight feature on my camera an hour later when I was finally ready to go bed. She sure is a sound sleeper. Thanks so much for a memorable weekend sweetheart. See you in 2 weeks!

DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT!

Rick Santorum and Donald Rumsfeld.... your bus is leaving.

GET OUT THE TOKE... OOPS, I MEAN VOTE (ELECTION DAY ODDS AND ENDS)

1- Tish and I meet in Atlanta on Thursday to see The Barenaked Ladies concert. It's funny, cause she's only gonna see 5 barenaked ladies that night while I plan on seeing 6. This will actually be the first time we've hooked up outside of my home so it will be weird for us to be in nuetral territoty... out of my comfort zone so to speak. 2- I'm tired of political tirades. I'm voting today but only on ballot issues. I have no confidence in any of the candidates in my area. They all come off as transparent ladder climbers seeking money, power and prestige. Not one of them convinces me that their primary interest is the public. And what really pisses me off is that the candidtaes make little effort in having their tens of thousands of little signs removed from every corner in the county. Can I get a 'hell yeah!'? 3- Saddam got the death penalty. Buddhists are anti death penalty, as am I, but I'm not loosing too much sleep over this one. I'd be willing to make an exception on our entire federal govt too (I'd even flip the switch!) if it meant we could start clean and get some term limits, the line item veto, as well as campaign and lobby reform bills passed for once. 4- Did anyone besides Melina see Borat yet? Come on people, it was the number 1 movie in The U.S. last weekend and even Miguel doesn't know what the hell I'm talking about. Can anyone testify for me please on the quality of this flick? Here watch this...

MOVIE REVIEW TIME

1- Borat: Cultural Learnings of america to Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakstan The movie is about 1 1/2 hours long. About an hour into it I had had too many good laughs to count. When I wasn't laughing I had an ear to ear grin non-stop. To say the movie was enjoyable would be an understatement. Then came 'the scene'. I had read in a review that the movie contained a lot of nudity, thus the rating. I had wondered where was all this supposed nudity. Well, it's there! In about a 5-10 minute scene that left my sides in pain, my stomach inside out, one eye wide opened and the other shut as tight as could be. This is a scene that I would have paid $50 to see. A scene that I would have paid $100 to never have seen. A scene that surely left Johnny Knoxville saying "Damn! That dude is crazy!" There are times in your life when an image gets frozen in your brain and it's there for the rest of your days. Sometimes that's good. Sometimes it leads to therapy. I urge all therapists to NOT see this movie. Otherwise, our nation is screwed! What good are we as a society when all of us go to a shrink and say "Doc, I can't get that scene from Borat out of my head! Help me!" and the shrink's response is "Tell me about it! I still have nightmares myself!" So, see this movie!!!! Unless you have your PHD in Psychology. 2- The Santa Clause III Why oh why couldn't they have left this series alone after the second film? I'll be honest, I think The Santa Clause and its sequel are pretty decent films. There is a nice family message to be learned in both of those. With this one... the only thing I walked away having learned was that some idiot writer thinks its funny to have reindeer farting in a Christmas movie. Baby Jesus would be so proud. I was hopeful. I keep wanting Martin Short (playing Jack Frost) to finally do another good movie (Inner Space and Three Amigos are great films thanks to him!). But this was certainly not it! I wondered up front why the head elf and the mom were played by different actors. Because the orriginal actors have a shred of self respect is why!!!! Do not see this film if you're just wanting to see something to get you in the holiday spirit. You're more likely to feel the joy of the season by seeing Saw III! The only reason you should see it is if your kid is hell bent on it. They may like it (Aspen did). She didn't care for Saw III though. Funny that.

SOME TIDBITS TO TIDE YOU OVER

1- Ed was named player of the year on his high school football team last week, the last game of the season. You can't imagine how vicariously I am living through him! 2- Ed, his friend Justin and I are off tonight to see Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakstan. Very niiiiice! I liiiiiike! 3- Aspen is staying over at her best friend's (I think she has 3) place tonight. That's a rare night off for me. 4- Aspen's mom and I have exchanged a few emails over the last 2 days. She wants to be able to take her daughter to the beach for Thanksgiving weekend. Ed said he would be willing to go, though he isn't thrilled to say the least. Since Ed is going I decided to allow it. Afterall, Aspen hasn't seen her in over a month. 5- Since betting Dale on The Bronco Raider game wouldn't have been a challenge this year I decided to place $20 on The Broncos against The Super Bowl champs Steelers tomorrow. Wish us luck. 6- Tish and I meet in Atlanta on Thursday to see The Bare Naked Ladies concert. I'm sure the Friday post will be very good! 7- Everyone have a good weekend!

AN ASPEN UPDATE

The custody hearing is in early December. York county (where I live) doesn't host a permanent family court judge so a traveling one comes through about once a month. I was informed that he was in town hearing some cases this week. Since they are open to the public I spent a few hours of my day off sitting in on a divorce/custody case over which he was presiding, just to get a feel for what lies ahead. And now I know it was worthwhile. It was a good refresher course in how to conduct yourself. I had forgotten just how much one is supposed to kiss the judge's ass every time you open your mouth. But he seems a level headed guy. Not a neo conservative overly traditionalist judge as I'm sure there are plenty of in the bible belt. Though to be quite honest, I am confident she doesn't stand a chance regardless of who the judge might be. But he is one I will feel more comfortable in front of. I guess that's it on that subject... I have to reschedule her b-day party which was going to be on December 2nd because I found out that that's the same day as a local parade in which her Brownie troop participates. I bought the new Who album. Verdicts still out on that one. I never like a new album when I first get it. Ask me again in a few weeks. Don't think I mentioned this before but the jeep was run into on the highway last week. Finally got the guy's adjuster to give me a claim number and paperwork. I was gonna just take the money since all he did was put a 9" tear in my rear bumper, but then I realized that I can't open the tailgate because of the damage, so I guess I gotta get it fixed now. Damn, that was gonna pay for the rest of Sea Weeder.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME... AND HAPPY PLAIN OLD HALLOWEEN TO EVERYONE ELSE

Despite Aspen's mom telling her she would do her best to be back out here before Halloween, there was no word from her. So we trudged on without her. No complaints there! Aspen met up with 2 of her friends and we went to a great neighborhood foir tricks or treats. She scored 240 pieces of candy, 7 plastic spider rings, a pencil and a little tub of play dough. ... A pencil???? As an official spokesman for the holiday I am thoroughly disgusted! Review the Trick or Treat Rule Book lady! Honestly, the day is not 'Trick or Back-to-School-Supplies'! Let me extend the warmest possible thankyou's to half the frickin blog world for joining in on Tish's little idea for a b-day present for me. If you missed it, these bloggy peeps came up with their very own top ten lists in honor of your truly. As I read each one of them, I felt a year younger. Thanks you guys!! And thanks to the lovely and considerate Tishy for organzing it. Top Ten Reasons Why Brico Is Similar To (Or Better Than) Other "Famous" Bald People by Exposed Ten (Alleged) Lies About Brico by Kev Ten Ways Brico Is Like A Trout by Rachel Ten Things That Make Brico A Great Uncle by Monkey Top Ten Ways Brico Is Getting Better With Age by Benjamin Ten Things About Brico's Blog by Mike Top Ten Reasons Why Bricotrout Is The Bees Knees Of Bloggers by Yeah, Him My Ten Favorite Brico Posts by Red Ten Absolutely Outrageous Lies About Brico That Could Be True, But Aren't by Kodijack Top Ten Names He Rejected Before Choosing Bricotrout by Osbasso Ten Things I Learned From Bricotrout by Just Thinking Ten Ways To Celebrate The Birthday Of A Bricotrout by Sis B Top Ten List Of Great Brico Trout Horror Masterpieces Of The Past by Jamwall Ten Reasons Bricotrout Deserves a Top Ten List by Belly Ten Of My Favorite Things About Bricotrout by Addict Ten Things That Fascinate Me About Brico, Keeping In Mind That I Am Easily Amused by Oregon Celtic Lady Top Ten Words That More Or Less Rhyme With "Brico" by Barry Top Ten Reasons I Celebrate The Birthday Of Brico by Mellissa And to think I was pondering leaving the blog world. You guys set me straight for sure! ps. I was ready to post a pic of Aspen out tricks or treating last night but blogger is f%#ed up again. Oh yeah, that's why I was thinking about quitting!