about a month back marty told the kids that they had to start thinking about my birthday present. marty no more than finished the sentence when bella said she knew what to get me. marty, playing along, asked what was that and bella replied, "well, when we were at aunt peggy's father really, really liked the homemade ice cream they made, so we could get him his very own ice cream maker!"

absolutely stupefying. no garfield ties for this dad cuz my little humans rawk! first serving will be ready for tonight's movie night. i also got a $50 credit with iTunes (thanks momz and popz) and a killer campfire popcorn maker which we're already two batches into via the fireplace which was at a four-log state all day thanks to the three inches of snow that was accumulating outside. which meant 5:00 sledding and 6:00 big V burgers. and because of those events, it wasn't until 9:00 that i noticed a card on the kitchen counter which contained the following ...





i do recall, vaguely, that trip peg, but not nearly as vividly as my big boy bank does. the card is already tacked to the wall of wonder.

i thank everyone who added to what amounted to a really spectacular day. i gotta tell ya, i'm floating.

I started watching Party of Five in its second to last season. Soon after, I made the immense error in judgment of telling some guys that I had a romantic dream involving Claudia Salinger (Lacey Chabert). At the time I was watching the show, she was getting ready to go off for college. What I didn't realize was that for many true fans who have been with the show from the start, these guys included, Claud started as a precocious whelp of like 6 who used to sleep in a tent in the living room. They mentioned this to me amidst guffaws but the actual import of their mockery didn't hit until I caught a rerun where she was in this tent-phase. I immediately grasped the felonious appearance of my tale and immediately sought them out to retract and explain away my earlier confession hence putting the legend to rest. But being friends of mine and possessing a wicked sense of humor, years later I opened a wedding card to find the following memento inside.

Approximately fifteen years ago I clipped and then pinned a funny article above my desk. Several weeks later, I added a tatseless photo of a friend, then a lift ticket and on and on until I had above my desk a mass of bizarre paraphernalia and eye fodder. To date this loose and mottled collection of chaff curiously and accurately chronicles my life. In eyeing some of the artifacts the other day, I thought it might be jolly to occasionally present this or that from the wall and share the item's history and import. So let's get the ball rolling with the following.

Shortly after moving to Saint Louis I, by chance, obtained the autograph of hockey superstar, Brett Hull. I mean how rare is it to be kicking through the local mall and bumping into a sporting legend. You know what's even more rare? To be kicking through the mall, bump into said sporting legend AND to be with a girl who thinks your name is Victor Carboni. Now given this slight caveat, I was saddled with the decision of getting a partially meaningful signature or come clean, ruining my chances with this young temptress, by revealing my true identity. So what did Victor do? (click here for answer)