The world is a beautiful place

My Kind of Store!

Originally uploaded by The Goat Whisperer

Okay, ummmmm..

Saw this in Conway.

I have a new Nephew!

Daniel Peterson

Originally uploaded by bmacmurphy

Daniel Peterson arrived on August 22nd at 11:04PM. His mother Melissa and father Matt are doing just fine (so far). His birthday is extra special to our family, as he shares the same birthday as our dearly departed Donald Monroe. Eloise didn’t have to wait long before she got a younger cousin! Now shes one of the big kids!

Snowbirds

I’m meeting Lisa, Eloise and Patricia here at my work this afternoon, then heading up to NH after work. We are going to spend a glorious day at the Harrison Hideaway. It will be great to have Grandma finally see the Harrison’s place on the lake in Madison. I’m really looking forward to spending the time together with Grandma.

Last night was a good night. It was really great to see her. She seems to be doing okay, despite her loss. I couldn’t get the feeling that something was missing out of my mind, and my heart, when we were together last night. Something was missing, my dear Grandfather Donald. I think there were a lot of brave faces presented, and some healthy distraction from our fussy little daughter. I cant help but feel that there should have been a little more emotion expressed. I never want to ignore the fact that the loss of my Grandfather has left a big empty spot in my heart. I really wish he could have seen Eloise, held her, adored her, as we do, before his passing.

The one thing I am truly going to miss, is the opportunity to have him give foolish little me some advice on being a father. I always loved my Grandfather, because he was loving, kind, funny, and always seemed like he knew what to do, and how to get what he wanted. I always admired those qualities in him, and I always wished that he would pass on his secret to me.

I suppose he is with us, in all the moments we think of him, and how he was. In that sense, he really was with us last night. I just wished he could give me a big hug (complete with prickley beard) and say “How’s my favorite Grandson?” like he always used to.

Pat and Don Anniversary party 1985

Hey! Could it BE crappier outside today?

I mean, look at this:

craptacular

And to top it all off, here is the muggy sky shot, complete with a totally unnecessary amount of traffic:

Come on people

and this is only 5PM! I’m NEVER getting home tonight.

(end whiny rant)

Häagen-Dazs!

IMG_0411.JPG

Originally uploaded by bmacmurphy

Hey everyone! Well, I’m 28 today. Another year older, and deeper in debt. Lets review, some of the major changes for me since last year are:
#1. Eloise (Oh my god, I’m a Dad!)
#2. House (Oh my god, I’m a homeowner!)
#3. Mortgage (Oh my god. Just, oh my god!)

Life has changed for a lot of those around me this year. Some for the better, a lot for the worse. Hard times for a lot of folks. I do really feel blessed with what I have been given, not just this year, but in my life as a whole. I owe everything I am to my family and friends (and those of you who are double-majors). I hope to never let any of you down, and to help any of you when I can.

Heres to another year in this crazy world.

Häagen-Dazs!
-Brian

Blogging while lunching

And she is SMS-ing. iPhone overload!

Wall•E

Wall•E was awesome.

Lisa and I decided to take Eloise to her first movie at the Mendon drive-in last night. We got there alittle late, but considering that it was on “screen 2″ and it was not opeing weekend, we were still able to find a good parking spot. This was my first experience at a drive-in, and i gotta say, it was a fun time. Before the show, its more akin to going to see the town fireworks, with kids and parents walking around, throwing footballs, and lawn chairs everywhere (not throwing the lawn chairs). There were the average troop of high school meatheads and their clueless cellphone obsessed girlfriends. Whats with the flat-bill baseball hat look nowadays? Do they all want to look like frickin truckers? (sigh) Stupid kids.

Wall•E was another Pixar masterpiece. This one actually had elements of live-action video mixed in (a first for Pixar) that was surpising to see from a company that had avoided any element of “reality” in all their previous films. Wall•E was, of course, cute as hell, and I instantly wanted to own the action figure. Those clever chaps at Pixar took elements of the beloved R2D2 and Johnny Five and packaged them into a lovable little cube with huge, expressive eyes. Good job Pixar, I’m sold.

The message of the movie was pretty blatant, and I can see how uptight conservatives might get upset. After all, there is not such thing as Global Warming. Pretty much, we are turning into convenience driven drones, and we are making one hell of a mess of our planet at the same time. Wall•E was left behind (along with what seemed to be a large number of robots like him) to clean up humanity’s mess, while they were away. Turns out the task was nigh impossible, and poor Wall•E is the last of his kind to survive, still diligently working along. Wall•E is apparently solar powered, and when he receives a full charge, he “boots up” and emits your standard run-of-the-mill Macintosh startup chime. I laughed every time he did this. Mac geeks everywhere, rejoice.

The animation, was fantastic, and the characters, even though most of them had little to no ability to actually talk, were very compelling and expressive. I wish there were more scenes in space, with stars, nebulae, planetary rings, etc. The few scenes of space travel with Wall•E exploring these new wonders, were really breathtaking.

My only grevience: Can plants be exposed to the vacum of space for short periods without dying? I’d think they would freeze up and die instantly. I just dont know. Its a robot kids movie, Brian, get over it.

Overall, it was a great night. We stuck around for the double-feature, Mamma Mia. Apparently a musical with Merril Streep and Pierce Brosnan, designed around the premise of a confused 20 yr old girl, three “cougars” and a whole boatload of shirtless male modles, dancing and singing around a small tourist town. Soething about a wedding, and eh, lots of unnesesary dancing. I dunno, Eloise and I though it was a snoozer, she took a nap on my chest, and I took a nap in my chair, symbiotic sleepytime. Lisa enjoyed it though, so thats all that matters, really.

Back online

dinner

Originally uploaded by bmacmurphy

Its been a crazy we weeks since the arrival of little Eloise. Some great memories, and some hard times for the whole family.

I am determined to get back in the saddle again, and post some more updates of the goings-on of our little family. More to come in a little bit, I promise.

Don Monroe

Don Monroe

Originally uploaded by bmacmurphy

Donald Monroe passed away yesterday. He was a great Father, Husband, Teacher, Musician, and Man. He was my Grandfather, and the world will miss him dearly.