A-"Muse"-ing Thoughts

Swine Flu

I saw this picture today and thought it was SO funny that I had to post it on my blog. (NOTE: No, I am NOT saying that the Swine Flu that is infecting people is funny, I am saying this picture and caption is funny)

Happy Valentine's Day Christianna

The "Maybe Baby" - the Play Room

My wife is absolutely amazing!!!  And you know the thing that is so wonderful, is it seems like every day I learn something new about her.  And sometimes those new things are things that surprise me.  One of the things that always surprises me (although it shouldn't surprise me any longer) is how incredibly creative she is.  She also has an amazing way of thinking outside the box.  I mean it... she is AMAZING.

Ok, so you want an example of my amazing wife... you got it.

A while back we were talking about the "play room" we have in our house and what we wanted to do with it.  Christi told me she really wanted to make it not just kid-friendly, but a place they would be excited about and like to spend time there.  One of the themes she considered for that room was an "underwater" them - with the ocean and fish and maybe a mermaid or something.  Now, before i go any further, I must admit, that when it comes to artistic nature - I'm a black hole - I have none.  In fact, I can barely draw recognizable stick figures.  So, with that wonderful non-existent artistic nature that I have... I simply could not picture how to make a room look like that.

So not too long ago when I was at work one day, Christi decided to paint the play room and get it set up with the underwater theme that she had told me about.  When I came home from work that day, the room was done... all painted and everything.  I walked up the stairs to see it and could not help but burst out loud with a "WOW... that is AMAZING!!!!  WOW!!!!"   I mean I couldn't believe how awesome it looked.  I couldn't imagine it in my mind, and this was so much more incredible than I could have even pictured.  And so, we have our put-together play room for the "maybe baby" and other kids. 

And given all of that description, I have to share her incredible artistic talent with everyone.  Check out these pictures of the room she did:

My Simpsons Character

Another fun one is found at simpsonizeme.com where you can upload your photograph and it will generate what your Simpson's character would look like.  Well, other than the end result being a bit too skinny (but it probably couldn't tell that from my head-shot picture only), here is what my Simpson's character would look like.

My Yearbook Pictures

Thanks to the wonderful feature at yearbookyourself.com, I thought I would share my yearbook pictures from over the years....  ENJOY.
1950

   
1952
 
1954

1956

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992


OK... here is the SCARY thing!!!  The 1990 picture looks almost 100% identical to my REAL Sr. Photo that I took in 1990 (for graduation in 1991).  YIKES!!!!   LOL

Jesus Junk of the Month Award

So I debated whether or not I should post this award now, since the item is not yet released... but I decided that it was so worthy of the Jesus Junk of the Month Award that I could not wait for months to share this gem with everyone.

So here you have it... Announcing... are you ready for this.....

Yes... your eyes are NOT deceiving you.... "SUNDAY SCHOOL MUSICAL"

But wait... it gets even better.  Look at this description for the movie....

"This original production currently being filmed in Los Angeles joins the library of successful family oriented musicals such as “Grease,” and the “High School Musical” films. The inspirational storyline centers around a group of teens who when faced with the news of their local church being torn down enter into a song and dance competition with the hopes of raising the money to save the building. "

Ummmm.... I don't know when the last time was that they REALLY watched or listened to the musical "Grease" - but that is not a musical that I would classify as a "family oriented musical".

So there you have it.  On Oct. 21st you can own this gem for only $19.95.  Don't let this pass you by as it is sure to be sung by all of your students for years to come.......ya... right!!!

A Favorite Holiday

Today is a favorite Holiday in the Nielsen household.  And it has been since I can remember as a child.  In fact, April Fools day is something we look forward to and often times scheme for weeks in advance what to do and how to get one another.  It has reached the point where most of our close friends, and our family, are so prepared for the day that you can't get one another.  For example, I tried to get my best friend Andrew today - and as soon as I started he said to me, "I have a calendar sitting in front of me Ryan and I know what day it is."  He also told me that on his calendar in his iphone he has "April Fools Day - don't believe anything Ryan tells you."  HeHeHe.  That's because he has been gotten in the past by me. 

Well, I tried to get a few people today.  Most of them failed because they have been well prepared.  But, I did get two people:  1) the financial secretary at work (yes, that can be dangerous because she controls my paycheck), and 2) my MOM!!!!  This one was a shocker, especially because she was expecting it all day long.  She told my dad and her co-workers that she was ready for whatever I would try and pull.  But, I was so convincing and believable and had the perfect set-up that I even got my mom.  She emailed me later and said, "you're good.  You win!!!"   

Anyway, as I was thinking about today another friend, Adam, reminded me of another GREAT nationwide April fools joke.

 

One of the biggest April Fool’s jokes of all time was brought to you by Taco Bell. In 1996, they ran the ad below in 6 major newspapers across the country announcing that they had purchased the Liberty Bell.

Taco Bell Buys The Liberty Bell
In an effort to help the national debt, Taco Bell is pleased to announce that we have agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, one of our country’s most historic treasures.

It will now be called the ”Taco Liberty Bell” and will still be accessible to the American public for viewing. While some may find this controversial, we hope our move will prompt other corporations to take similar action to do their part to reduce the country’s debt.

What was so great about this prank is that it was almost believable. News of the sale spread all over, thousands of people were calling to complain, and no one put the whole thing together. By about noon, Taco Bell let the cat out of the bag… it was a prank. With that the media went nuts… they loved it, everyone loved it, and Taco Bell goes down as the king of the corporate prank. 

What Book Am I?

Well, I don't know that I fully agree with the results of this quiz, but fun to take anyway....

You're A Theory of Justice!
by John Rawls
In the beginning, you lived in a town. The town had many problems! Rather than moving, you decided to come up with the idea for the best town ever. Going all the way back to the original position, you created the idea for the best town ever! Lo and behold, the best town ever looked almost identical to the town you lived in. You decided to stay in the town. Now you resent people mistaking your refined thought experiments for "the wall of stupidity" in high school debate rounds.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

iTunes Shuffle

I was tagged by Chris Day for this iTunes Shuffle.  So here’s the goal: to share the 10 songs that come up on shuffle in iTunes.

So here we go….
1)  "Not That Kind of King" by Michael Card
2) "The Last Supper" - Jesus Christ Superstar Soundtrack
3) "O Happy Day" - Sister Act Soundtrack
4) "I Still Believe" by Wayne Watson
5) "Heaven in Your Eyes" by 2dB Featuring Kym Marsh
6) "Sunrise" by Eric and Leslie Ludy
7) "You Are the One" by Keith Green
8) "One More Minute" by Weird Al Yankovic
9) "Corinthians" by Apologetix
10) "God Follower" by Steven Curtis Chapman

This is fun.  If you can't tell by this list of 10, I have very eclectic tastes in music. 

It seems everyone I know has been tagged by this... but if you have not and would like to do it, then consider yourself TAGGED!!!

Do NOT Click

As seen on Wimp.com