Hilarious

Peyton and Taylor are starting to get sick again. I think Taylor might have an ear infection again as well. He's having a hard time sleeping. Both of their noses are runny and are geting pretty stuffy at night, making it hard to feed them during the late hours.

Life has been a little bit stressfull as of late with everything from finances and mainly just being flat out tired. When we get home from work we just want to sleep. I think the cold and early sunsets have a lot to do with my mood as well. I feel like a zombie during this time of the year. I leave in the dark and come back in the dark.

I honestly just can't wait to get through the rest of the year.

Question about Blogger

Is there a way of knowing when someone has commented on one's Blog?

Brian Lee and His Orchestra Vol 1- Album Review

One word expresses my thoughts and feelings for this album, WOW!!! This is hands down the best album that I have heard all year. It is very rare that an album can come along and literally bring tears to my eyes. Brian Lee has the ability to draw you into his music and literally feel his emotion. Lyrically, Brian Lee is amazing and sings songs about life, waking up, the otherside, God, and to top it off, all this is sung behind the eerie sounds of the south blended with twangy lap steel guitars, southern church organs, choir synths, heavy toned/twangy distortion, and harmonies of hymns and blue grass.

I rate this album a perfect 5/5!!! This album has my stamp of approval. The awesome thing is is that the album is free!!! Keeping it free like it should be! I believe in free music, but I also believe in supporting artists whether it's financially or morally.

heres a preview of his lyrics for the "help me to hold on"

oh i ache i ache
oh i burn i burn
for the owner of this heart to return
you've been gone so long and i feel my strength is done
but i know you watching me watching me from over the hill

help me to hold on help me to hold on help me to hold on to you and i will

oh my hearts grown hard but i feel you still inside
would you bring me back to when i was a child
when they see your face every man will bow then sing
it doesn't matter how they feel about you now

babies

the boys have been doing pretty good. we took them to their first ever checkup and they did great. taylor is now taller than peyton. they're eating a lot more and are sleeping a bit longer during the day.

the last 2 nights were pretty killer. the boys were hungry every 2 hours and they were waking up on off hours. so peyton would wake up at midnight and then taylor would wake up at 1 and the cycle continued til the morning. anna and i are completely wiped out. yesterday morning i had to beg anna to feed the boys at around 5 am cause i had the night shift and i was going crazy. i'm sure that i'll eventually get use to the routine.

even though there's so much chaos with: late nights, feeding, changing dirty diapers, etc etc... it's so worth it. they are so cute!!!

paperwork is killer when you have a kid..in my case, 2. i'm running around work trying to add the boys to my health insurance plan, contacting my insurance for benefits info, paperwork for certificates, ordering baby items, etc etc.. i hope i don't miss anything.

on another note, my brothers and anna's sisters will be in town this weekend. thankfully, my sis-in-laws are staying at a hotel because our little apartment would be crazy packed. peyton and taylor will get to meet the many uncles and aunties that will soon be spoiling them.

what a shame

i served for over 5 years in the USMC with a combat tour in iraq and received numurous awards and yet some people think i skated out of the military at the end of my run.. even though i left with an honorable discharge (highest you can get in the miltary). i was suppose to get a medical discharge but my sgt major respected me and gave me what i deserved.

if your wondering, i got out a year early because of post traumatic stress disorder. i wasn't mentally capable of going back to iraq for another tour and the military thought it was better if i was released early. i came to minnesota so that i could be attached to another unit, but instead my unit in chicago decided to let me go early before my contract expired. that's why i was going back in forth to illinois last summer.

it's a shame that i served my country and yet people think that of me. i know that it probably hurts me more than the original person meant it to but to put yourself in the face of death and come home alive means alot and to have someone think that of your career is a slap in the face.

maybe if i told you that i saw and tried to help bloodied and battered children, who were in the middle of an improvised explosive device, who were going to die in seconds because of wounds so severe.. maybe you might understand what PTSD is. to see a peice of shrapnel the size of a football coming out of a little girl;s back who is crying and seeing her father praying to god next to her yelling at us and cursing us to hell.. maybe you might understand what PTSD is. to see peices of a man heads on top of a building after he's been blown to peices..maybe you'd understand. to shoot a man who was coming home with his father after a vacation and didn't know that if he crossed a certain line we were told to shoot..maybe you'd understand. to raid a family's home and take their dad in the middle of the night with no true intelligence and watching the women and children beg for us to stop. maybe you'd understand..to watch a friend kill an entire family with one shot out of a 240 golf machine gun because they failed to stop their car in time..maybe.. just maybe.. to dream dreams of my family dying and covered in blood.. maybe you might understand what i went through. don't think my career meant nothing and that i tried to get out of the military. you have no idea..

work sucks!

the weekend

the weekend was crazy long!

friday night, anna and i had to do some last minute shopping. we were running around all over town buying various items for the baby shower, that she would be having with her family the following day. we hit up 2 different grocerie stores, best buy, and the dollar store. we had to do all of this in under 2 hours because the in-laws were almost in town and had not eaten anything yet. anna's family is not shy about expecting food from you! lol we hurried up and then stopped at kfc to grab some chicken to feed the family. we were dead tired when we got home. we quickly set up dinner and then the family arrived. i played with my neice and nephew. one is a 4 year old boy and the other is a 1 year old girl and man did they hate each other. lol mad fighting! have you ever seen super nanny? yep!

on saturday i had to go into work for a few hours. it gave me some time to breath. when i got home we quickly prepared all the essentials that we needed for the baby shower and did some more running around. eventually, the entire family arrived at our place and we squeezed them in to our tiny apartment. 5 o'clock eventually came around and we headed out to the shoreview community center. we set up and ate. we were in a hurry cause we only had 2 hours. the ladies did their thing and the guys and kids went swimming. it was a blast! this is the first time i've been in charge of over 13 kids in a swimming pool. it was pretty easy cause the girls in anna's family are very well disciplined and did a great job with helping me. on the other hand, the boys are mad naughty. i had to keep a 1 year old with me at all times and chase down all the boys if they were doing something naughty..like climbing on things they shouldn't be. it was great to practice watching kids since my little guys are coming in just a few months. i've really opened up to children these past few months. i definetly was not a kid person until anna got pregnate. lol

after the shower the family went to my bro-in-law's place to play poker. we were invited but got stuck baby sitting some kids at our place. so were we really invited? just kidding! some of the in-laws wanted to go to myth so we baby-sat their kids. we missed church on sunday because they never came back for them. lol

after waiting around for some of my in-laws to recover from their hang over we were finally able to run to the store to go buy audrey's birthday present. we headed out to grand slam. it was a blast hanging out with everyone and playing some arcades. i haven't been to an arcade in so long. we got audrey some clothes, which came in handy, because she had an accident so our present was used right away. good call by anna!

we got home sunday night around 8:30ish. anna and i spent a good 2 hours on our favorite hobbies. she scrap booked and i jammed on my guitar. went to bed and i talked anna to sleep and annoyed her for a good 30 minutes before knocking out myself. i think it's in the "her" genetics to annoy their spouse. hehe

magic tourney from my eyes

all in all, it was a good weekend. i'm still kinda thrown off by daylight savings though.

the magic tourney was excellent. i think for the most part we did a pretty good job at hosting the event. i hope illy will provide an awesome tournament next year.

as much as i have been anticipating the event..i'm so glad that it's finally over. i can stop stealing from my babies piggy bank and start using all our money to finally finish the baby area in our apartment. it's time that i start dedicating everything to my two boys.

i think i played a lot better than i expected and a lot better than what most people expected. having probably the least experience of everyone there, i was able to take every match the distance. this is the first time i've ever played competitively so i had lacked tons of experience, but i was really impressed with my draft. heres what i can remember from my deck:

x1 bone splitters
x2 wretched banquet
x1 call to heel
x1 unsummon
x1 cancel
x1 infest
x1 goblin assault
7

x1 bloodpyre elemental
x2 sedraxis specter
x1 rotting rats
x1 bloodhall ooze
x3 brackwater elemental
x1 goblin razerunners
x1 shambling remains
x1 corpse connoisseur
x1 firefield ogre
x1 dreadwing
x1 vithian stinger
14

x17 lands

i think i'm missing 1 or 2 cards. i really liked my draft and i thought i could go far with it, but a few misplays ruined me. the best game i played all day was against isiah during the draft portion. we ran out of time so i thought whoever won the first match would get the entire game so i started to feel pressured and felt i had to win, now. i then started playing really agressive and ended up losing the match in game 3 even though i controlled the board for the majority of the match. that's a rookie mistake by me...not knowing the full rules of the competition. that ones gonna sting for a while. awesome game though! another match that hurt was against vipat. there was one card that ruined me against him. "Cumberstone"! totally destroyed me. it completely slowed me down and eventually i lost to a bunch of flyers. i totally wasn't planning on seeing a cumberstone. for some odd reason i thought cumberstone was a 10th edition card.

i played pretty well for the standard portion. i went 2-2... i had two bad matchups and two good matchups. i played kithkin and won against lhang's elf deck and Geu's UW control/Mill deck. i lost to jimmy's realm razer deck and obe's red deck wins. i could'nt beat blong's RR deck all week so when i found out i had to play jimmy i wasn't looking forward to it. i came close to beating it though. the first game i almost won but jimmy pulled a volcanic fallout on me late game. the second game i was one turn from winning and jimmy pulled a wrath of god and left me with 3 windbrisk heights that could do nothing. i had a path under one, an ajani under one, and a glorious anthem under one. that hurt me bad!!!! against, obe's...i pretty much lost to flame javelon both turns. that card is powerful! he sided in a moonglove extract which surprised me. i should of took blong's advice and sideboarded a lapse of certainty but thought that card was weak. could've saved me..haha

my kithkin deck:
x4 figure of destiny
x4 knight of meadowgrain
x4 wizened cenn
x4 cloudgoat ranger
x2 burrenton-forgetender
x2 ranger of eos
x2 thistledown liege
22


x4 path to exile
x4 spectral procession
x2 oblivion ring
x2 glorious anthem
12

x2 ajani goldmane

x4 rustic clachan
x4 windbrisk heights
x2 mutavaults
x14 plains

sb
x2 burreton-forgetender
x2 stillmoon cavalier
x1 mark of asylum
x2 celestial purge
x1 wrath of god
x2 oblivion ring
x2 moonglove extract
x1 relic of progenitus
x2 ??? i forget

i will consider this the end of my rookie season. after only playing for a year i'm pretty satisfied with how i'm doing in the game right now. i think next year though i will be a tougher and better player.

OCB for lunch

Yesterday, our department went out for lunch at Old Country Buffet and let me tell you...that was a terrible idea. Me and my co-worker stuffed ourselves to the max. I was already getting sleepy after I finished my last plate. The rest of the work day was rediculously tough. I was bobbing for apples all day. I even went to buy a pepsi in hopes that it would wake me up. nope!

I'm still debating on 2 decks that I want to use for competitive play. I have my UW control, which is a bit slow right now but mad expensive or my white weenie. My weenie deck is pretty fun to play and is pretty impressive. We'll see how things turn our after we playtest a bit more.

memoirs of 2008

January

I came home late one Friday from a long day at work to see that Anna had spent the entire day looking up puppies on the Internet. It seems that something had been missing from her life at the time. She felt as if she wasn't being loved enough so she wanted a puppy to mend that piece of her heart. Yes, indeed it was sad, but at the time I didn't know what to do so I was willing to give Anna anything she wanted. We left immediately to Brooklyn Park to meet up with the family that Anna had contacted earlier in the day where she found them on a google search. They were selling a couple of snorkie (yorkshire/schnauzer) puppies that were only 2 months old.

As we approached the house a nervousness had taken over my body. You see... the only time I had spent with dogs as a child was either being chased or bitten by them. Anna, on the other hand, had spent most of her life around dogs.

I quickly knocked on the door to get in the house as fast as possible from one of the coldest night of the year. A nice gentleman approached and invited us in. The rest of his family was sitting around watching T.V. and playing with the pups. The man politely told us that we could choose any dog we wanted. The asking price was only $175 dollars since the only pups left were solid black. All the brown colored pups had been sold out at about $300 dollars a piece. The pups were jumping all over and nibbling at my feet thus making me very uncomfortable. Anna and I had decided earlier during the drive that we did not want a boy because...One, they tend to pee "at things" as oppose to "on things". Two, I was leg raped in the past by a previous dog named Arthur that my brother owned. Three, it would be way too hard to see him get neutered.

There was one puppy that stood out from all of the rest. Anna and I immediately noticed this pup because she had run to Anna first and laid on her knee. All the other pups were going crazy and jumping all over the place. She was a bit shy and had a glow to her that none of the others had. As all the other dogs would come and go this one stayed next to Anna the entire time. I picked her up and she just stared at me with a those cute little eyes. Now, how can I refuse that? I quickly paid the man and we headed out to Pets Mart to pick up a few supplies. I remember her being so cold and shivering so hard.

On the drive home, Anna and I debated on names for the little pup. We were debating between Jewels and Gracie. The only thing that stopped us from choosing the name Jewels was because Anna worked with a girl named Jewel and felt it would be weird to talk to her co-worker named Jewel about her dog Jewel. We decided on Gracie!

The first few nights with Gracie were restless for me. I had the fear that she would poop and pee all over the place so I would keep a close eye on her at all times. The moment she moved at night I would be up and following her around. Boy, was I ever paranoid.

February

I was awoken late one night to a "everybody wants kungfu fighting" ringtone in the late month of January. I was unable to pickup because the phone was in the living room. It was strange for me because at that moment I knew for a fact that something was not right. The only time one would receive a phone call at that hour is if something bad had happened or the news was very important. Moov had left me a voicemail letting me know that Grandma had passed. I also received a missed call a few minutes later from my brother Pheng. My Dad was the third person to call me. Finally, at this point I had made my way to the living room to get my phone. Dad told me that Grandma had passed and I immediately broke down in tears. I did one of those...you know when you half cry and breath in... Yeah, Dad told me that everything was OK and that Grandma is no longer hurting. I quickly gathered my composure and told him we would be in town asap.

The next day I approached my boss and asked her that I would be needing a few days off to attend my Grandmother's funeral. I nearly broke down at the moment, but I forced myself to stay strong.

Anna and I arrived in town on the 31st of January. We went to the funeral home right away. I slowly approached the casket and looked at her. She had lost so much weight before she passed away. Grandma was so tiny from the last time I had seen her. I looked around the casket and noticed that her Bible was lying next to her. I thought about the time I was looking through a bunch of old books in an old cardboard box when I was younger and I had found this strange book that looked like a Bible but the writing was in another language. I took it to Grandma and she knew how to read it. I was completely surprised because I thought Grandma couldn't read at all. I still remember seeing her face light up with a childlike smile. I snapped back to reality and burst out in a loud cry. I'm sure everyone in the entire funeral home heard me. So many things were running through my mind. I was a bit bitter, angry, sad, happy, etc...

On the first night of the service I sang a song for her. I hope she was proud of me. After I sang, Pheng came on the stage and read a letter that he had written for her. I cried...

We buried her in the month of February in front of all her friends and family. She was placed next to Grandpa in a prearranged site. Grandma had finally gone to Heaven and had escaped the pain and sufferings of this world. We were so happy for her.

When Anna and I had finally made it home to Saint Paul I realized that I had completely forgot that it was Anna's birthday. I had made a promise to Anna that I would make her birthday one to remember and I had completely forgotten. I felt so low and sad. I ran out of the house and went to buy Anna a few gifts and I used the top half of our wedding cake as her birthday cake. I tried the best that I could to cheer her up, but she understood that there were so many things that had just happened that were more important.

March

Anna put together one of the most daring surprise birthday parties that I could remember in recent history. She had put it together right under my nose. Anna had me convinced that she was in charge of getting the food for a family get together and asked me what I thought would be something appropriate for the occasion. I told her that spaghetti would be nice. Low and behold on the day of the party I arrive at Yij Vern's place and the party is for me. All the friends and family were there. What a woman she is!

Gracie is finally potty trained!

April

ZzzzZZZzz

May

I was released of my duties as a reserve marine corp infantryman. It was a day that I could have only dreamt of. I served my country and I served it well with a combat tour in Iraq that lasted from September of 2004 to April of 2005. I was discharged with an Honorable Discharge, but was released early because I was no longer able to perform the tasks of an Infantryman. After serving overseas in a combat zone my Psyche had been ruined and I no longer had the drive or determination to continue. Because of my honorable service and the respect that I had earned I was discharged with an Honorable instead of a Medical Disability.

The old Kr3w of the past took a trip to Wisconsin Dells where we celebrated Xay's bachelor party. It was great to just hang out and talk about life before it got too far ahead. The conversations were amazing. It was like the good ol' days all over again. During our time there, we ended up hitting the town and doing everything that we could. We went to the casino and I watched Xay get on a roll at Russian Roulette and then I watched him lose it all again. We played mini golf at the best mini golf spot in the Midwest. We BBQ'ed and tried to act cool by drinking wine cooler type drinks.

Johan and Pajar got married as well as Nhia and Linda. Anna and I ended up missing Nhia's wedding because of monetary funds. Gas prices had risen off the charts and we were in a financial bind. We were able to make it to Johan and Pajar's wedding. It was beautiful and everyone that came had an amazing time. It was so awesome to see all the familiar faces just smiling and having a great time. All the ladies came dressed to impressed. The most memorable thing about the wedding was the picture booth and the dumplings. It was really fun!

We finally let Gracie off the leash and she runs wild jumping into puddles...

June

The Chicago Bulls won the lottery pick with the first overall pick in the NBA draft. They select Derrick Rose who is an absolute future all-star.

July

Anna and I planned to go to camping with everyone in Illinois, but decided to spend it in Minnesota since her sisters were coming to town for the Hmong Tourney. When Anna and her sisters get together we end up at the Mall of America. We ended up going broke that month because we bought tons of clothes and had lots of fun.

Xay and Lysa had their wedding on the 12th of July and Xay asked me to be his best man. It was truly an honor to stand up there with him as he watched his bride come down aisle. Xay and I had spent much of our teenage years hanging out and doing some pretty bizarre and dumb things. Anyway, the wedding was beautiful and I sang a song for the both of them.

August-September

My brothers came up to visit me and we hit up Mystic Lake Casino. It was hilarious watching Meng gamble because he would disappear without telling anyone.

Anna got pregnant... it was the best thing that could have ever happened to us. Anna and I had reached a point in our lives where we wanted something more. We began to question ourselves if this was "it".

October

Anna and I left for Appleton during the last week of this month for my brother-in-law's court trial. I had spent most of my time in Minnesota with him when we first moved up and I had grown close to him. We spent most of October praying and writing to him.

November

Anna's body begins to grow weary and the morning sickness starts to take a toll on her body. She no longer has the strength to work and I'm left to provide for our tiny little family. I took Anna to the ER for the first time and we're there all night. I watch as Anna lies on top of the hospital bed with IV needles running through her veins and I try my best to wash away the dried tears on her cheeks. I end up falling asleep on wooden chair from midnight to about 5 AM where we are directed to an ultrasound room. It is confirmed that Anna has been extremely sick because she is having twins. I watch as Anna wipes away tears of joy from her face and I just smile and let it all sink in. We take the ultrasound pictures home as prized possessions. I immediately start texting everyone at around 8 in the morning telling them the good news. We are overjoyed!

December

I take Anna to the ER one more time... She can't get through the night. I watch again as she cries because of the pain from all the needles going inside of her. I find a book in the hospital room with children's stories and I begin to read to her. It calms her down. The doctor prescribes new medication and we are on our way home. The new prescription that the doctor provides is starting to work and Anna is able to hold her food down easier.

The new year approaches and we spend our holiday season here at home. We are alone but we have each other. We tell each other that we don't have to get any presents this year, but I sneak off and get her some anyway. I surprise Anna on Christmas morning with the presents. She gives me back a smile and that's all I need.

We fall asleep early in each other's arms on New Year's Eve. I quietly whispered in Anna's ear, "Happy New Year".