So yeah I posted a couple hours ago with my new year’s resolutions.  One was giving Jabloggy a new design.  Ta-da!  :)  Not bad huh?  Introducing the first “real n personalized” Jabloggy theme.  The new design allows me to change out the header / masthead image and the right column background images and columns quickly so I can change the basic look and feel based on season, mood, or whatever.

Note that some things are still being tweaked, so please bear with me over the next couple of days (or weeks) as I get things ironed out.  Feel free though to post your thoughts and feedback about the new look in the comments.

One resolution down, and it isn’t even 2008 yet!  Damnit!

Yay! It’s that time of year again where we make (sometimes false) promises to ourselves that we will try new things in the coming year. Here are a couple of my 2008 resolutions, and I encourage you to share some of yours in the comments below.

- Work on learning a new instrument (piano seems to be the weapon of choice, so we’ll see how that goes)

- Get Local Sounds going (finally, I hope! Holy Crap!)

- Make Jabloggy prettier! (ah ha! Here’s one I think I can manage for sure! New design coming soon!)

That’s not all of them, but it’s a good start. I’m sure I’ll think of some others throughout January that I’ll add to my list.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas break. Unfortunately, we now have to go back to the daily grind of our lives (so much for peace on earth, eh?). But just before that, at least we get to party tonight like it’s 2099! Downtown Madison is where it’s at, where all the college kids are still on Christmas break and the adults take over the bars and dance clubs!

Well, if you’re out and about in Madison this year and you have my “digits” (yeah I’m kinda cool, wanna make something of it?) give me a holla. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

What’s up you holiday nuts you?!

I wanted to take a few minutes here to write and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope you all are getting a chance to spend time with your family today (and Christmas Eve yesterday of course!). I am back up north (not the North Pole) with my family too, just chillin’, catchin’ up with family I only see this time of year, and overdosing on egg nog like I always do (hey, I’ve warned you before to call Egg Nog-aholics Anonymous, but nooooooo you didn’t listen!).

Well, I suppose I should get my butt back to the festivities here. Besides, It’s my turn to make sure Grandma doesn’t get run over by a reindeer again. You’d think by now either she or the reindeer (or Santa for that matter) would have realized this to be a yearly issue and try to avoid it. Oh well, by now I’m kinda used to it. Call it a new and odd tradition if you will.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Seasons Greetings all you happy people!

Well, today is the day that we have chosen (or have to) travel for the Christmas celebrations up yonder. We will be mounting the silver sleigh (Chevy Equinox) with all wheel drive later this afternoon to make our first stop at the Milwaukee airport to deliver toys to little girls and boys (and to pick up my aunt flying in from Vegas)! After that, we’ll soar over the land back home to pick up Lexi and her things (meowing cat, meowing cat, meowing all the way), and then be on our way to our final rooftop of the evening, the North Pole (Central Wisconsin.. home sweet home?). Anyway, until then, I get to pack and clean house today! Woo!

Thursday night we had our company Christmas party. It was kind of short, but a good time. A little food, a little air hockey, and a little Halo 3 on a huge TV is always a good way to celebrate the spirit of the season! I don’t know about you, but sometimes I think instead of Santa and his eight tiny reindeer, it should have been the Halo soldier and his eight tiny alien creatures. Doesn’t that just really warm your heart?

As a final thought, today marks the first day of my rest-of-2007 vacation! I am officially off of work now until January 2nd. Holy crap do I love this time of year!

That’s right!  Today’s post goes out to all of those hardcore Overlive fans that know what that means!  It also brings me to this point: my main rhythm section partner in crime, Mr. Chippie Man King is back from his term in the service for good and has moved to Madison!**

(**Mid-Post Foonote: For those unfamiliar, Overlive was the name of my high school band, and Mr. King was our bass player.  He and I extended the intro and some other parts of Chick Magnet by MxPx.  I wish we had a recording of it.  Rock out with your sock out. Woo!)

We’ve met up a couple times already since his return to the Midwest, but this weekend will be his first time at our Madison residence as our neighbor (across town).  He, his girlfriend, and a small group of friends are headin’ over to our shack for some Christmas cheer and some friendly Wii competition!  Bring it on you maggets! (er, I mean cool friends!)

On an unrelated related note (huh!?), attention dudes and brothas!  Have you retired YOUR “chick magnet” status and proposed to that one special girl of your dreams?  Well, impress her even further by telling her you’ll be in charge of the wedding invitations and head on over to http://www.coquidesign.com!  These are starting to prove themselves as the best invitations in Southern Wisconsin.  Don’t get ones that bite!  Check out these awesome invites!  (lame rhyme alert; take cover Bert!)

Judging by the lack of good taste in those rhymes, I think it’s bed time (d’oh!!).  One more day of work before the weekend, and then I’m down to one more week before my Christmas vacation. 

To all a good night!

So this is really random and I’m not even really sure why I thought about it, but I wanted to share it.

In my opinion (or probably in most people’s opinion), today’s news sources suck.  Nothing is honest, nothing is really interesting anymore.  With all the sugarcoating and “last chance to cover up the world’s mistakes before giving it to the consumers / folks at home” mentality, I’ve only been able to find one true honest news source.  On an episode of Rocko’s Modern Life (if you were a cartoon-crazed kid or teen in the 90’s you know where I’m comin’ from!), the anchorman on the TV reported these few honest words that can summarize everything we ever need to know:

(in a depressed monotone voice): “Stuff happened today…”

Ain’t that the truth?

Tuesday night re-cap!  I’m full of crap! :)  Turns out the guitar battle with Tom Morello wasn’t so bad after all.  Then again, it was still in the Easy level. :P  I even accomplished the encore song that I got to play along with Tom on.  (so sad, this game may actually be addicting)

Anywho, it was overall a pretty sweet day.  It started when my boss called me at 7:30am and informed me that we had the option to stay home today due to the ice and snow storm that was about to rock our world.  So yes, I got to stay home today, but I still had to work some.  Oh well, it wasn’t all bad, and I got a bunch of other stuff done today too.  Yeah I know I rock! (Quick!  Someone pop my ego balloon!)

Also, if you’ve been following along with my holiday posts, I updated my .Mac web gallery today with more recent photos of our finished decorations.  You can check them out in the left column (Holidays > Christmas 2007 Gallery) or use the link in the other post titled “Christmas Pics”.

Don’t forget, only 14 days left until Christmas!  Time is running out to buy me something!  (even if it is just a fashionable lump of coal that has my name written on it in multi-colored glitter)

Well, at least up until this point. You see, we just got a Wii yesterday and Guitar Hero III last week. We started our first career play tonight and now we’re at a halt. The next time we start that baby up, we will experience our first face to face with Mr. Tom Morello, and from what I can tell from friends’ past misfortunes with him, that might be an interesting challenge!

Why the hell do we have to do this?!? Bite me Morello! BAH-HUMBUG you brainless, dickless, hopeless, piece of monkey s$#! you are! Hallelujah! Holy crap! Where’s the Tylenol? (Thank you Chevy Chase for your deep words. You truly are inspiration to us all)

Ok, I’ll take the blame for this one. The reason we went from Autumn to Winter in a couple days time is because of me. I blew it. The big guy upstairs finally got all my prayers (aka wishes in disguise).

Being a pure Wisconsinite (ya der hey) I grew up with snow all through December. Christmas snow is always the best. Well, the last few years have been almost on the verge of being a brown Christmas. True, it’s always snowed like a day before or the day of Christmas, but that was always cutting it too freakin’ close. I’m keepin’ my eye on you up there!! (as long as a snowflake doesn’t fall in my eye and blind me)

This year was apparently my year. I’ve been contributing to God’s Make-A-Wish Foundation for the last several years and he’s finally cashed in on my donations: instan-a-winter! We were blessed with a snowglobe effect between Thanksgiving and St. Nick’s Day. And guess what?! It’s still comin’ down like every 1-3 days!

Anywho, I guess the point of my post is that I finally brought back my childhood (in several ways) this year and have been reassured of having a white Christmas this year much further in advance than the last few years.

For those of you who hate the snow, feel free to blame me. That’s right! Go ahead! Stop talking to me out of anger! I don’t mind the peace (and quiet) on earth and good will towards me.

So it’s late, and I had a brain fart.  Why not be creative and run my own “retarded” version of Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy?  Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to present to you the first edition of Random Thoughts by Me!

“Have you ever had neighbors that you feel should be drug out into the street and shot?”