March Madness 2019 - Random Acts of Shifeness

• I think we all can agree - and we actually all did - that yesterday's post was indeed full of terrible ideas. Even Ms. Frizzle didn't want to look at them.

• The happiest of first days of spring to you. Hayden celebrated with a baptism in the crick or creek, depending on where you call home.  

• Here's a photo that I like to call Kyle on the rocks. Ha! I crack myself up. 

• Would this bother any of you? I either need to fill out that bottom row or delete a podcast. I can't have that 4th row all by itself. Now I need to decide which podcast to ax. 

That's all for today. Thank you for stopping by and being a friend. 

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - Terrible Ideas

I have a whole bunch of stuff that I never share with you guys because they are terrible.
But I went on a 3-hour-hike with Mrs. Shife and the kids today so my decision-making skills are not something to brag about currently.

Or maybe they are even worse than I am imagining.

I will let you decide.

Terrible idea #1
Nickelblack: An African-American cover band that only plays Nickelback songs.

Terrible idea #2
Movie idea. A remake of "Backdraft" with nothing but African-American actors and we call it "Blackdraft."

Terrible idea #3
Movie idea: "You Complete Me" is a story about a veteran with no legs who falls in love with a veteran with no arms at a VA hospital.

Terrible idea #4
Tell this joke to your significant other: I once paid $500 for a hand job. My brother said he really needed the money.

Terrible idea #5
Tell this to the judge during your trial: Have you ever seen the face of a sexually satisfied woman?

Thank you for stopping by and saying hi. I will talk to you tomorrow.

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - Photo Dump

Ms. Frizzle and her buddy Finn got into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day.
It made me think it was St. Patretriever's Day.

A few more photos from Mrs. Shife's birthday hike. Hayden is enjoying the view. 

Any guesses on what she's looking down at? 

Did I stump you?
That is a giant cattle farm so when the wind shifted on our hike it made things interesting. 

I told them this was the hard rock cafe so they had to look tough. 

This time I told them whatever they do, do not look at me. 

And, finally, after numerous delays, sickness and other interruptions, Kyle and I finally got to see "Captain Marvel." We decided to get a little bit of popcorn to help us enjoy the movie.
I will also never look at cats the same way again after this movie. 

Thanks again for being a friend. I will talk to you tomorrow.

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will keep moving forward. 

March Madness 2019 - HBD Mrs. Shife

While most of the world is celebrating St. Patrick's Day, we are celebrating Mrs. Shife in our corner of the world because today is her birthday so happy birthday love of mine. And thank you for the life you have given me. I hope I am able to return all of the joy and happiness you have given me.

Here's a photo of me and the lovely Mrs. Shife on the hike we went on today. 

Thanks for stopping by. I will talk to you tomorrow. 

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - Bunga Bunga

It might be time to change Kyle's nickname.

More details about the Bunga Bunga model

I don't know if it's common knowledge but we've called Kyle by his nickname Bunga for 7 years. 

One of the first cartoons he got hooked on was the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and one of the things the Turtles said a lot was the word cowabunga.

So Kyle Bunga sounds a lot like cowabunga and there you have the origins of Kyle's nickname. 

Well, it turns out bunga bunga means not so great things thanks to a certain Italian prime minister. 

If you have any suggestions for a new nickname for Kyle, let me know.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - A List

Any guesses on what the list of the songs might be down below?

• The best make-out songs in the history of the world according to yours truly
• The songs I like to listen to when I wear my beanie propellor and nothing else
• The songs I like to boombox outside my neighbor's window
• The songs that make me want to juggle teddy bears while breakdancing to the sounds of a dishwasher
• The playlist I crank up when I need to give myself a prostate exam
• The music that helps me get through my book of the month club selection. This month it was "How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art" 
• The jams that help me work on my Wine for Cats collection. I think I am really close to perfecting my Pinot Meow recipe.
• All of the songs I watched/listened to on YouTube one night a few weeks ago while staying up way too late enjoying a few adult beverages. 

1. Sam Outlaw – Trouble 
2. Bon Jovi – Bed of Roses 
3. Linkin Park – Bed of Roses 
4. Brad Paisley – Anything Like Me 
5. Angie Keilhauer – Born To Drive 
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication 
7. Lady Gaga – I’ll Never Love Again 
8. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Dani California 
9. Brian Fallon – Smoke 
10.  Red Hot Chili Peppers – Scar Tissue 
11. Brian Fallon – A Wonderful Life 
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside 
13. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Can’t Stop 
14. Brian Fallon – Painkillers 
15. Brad Paisley – Letter To Me 
16. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – Shallow 
17. The Gaslight Anthem – Here Comes My Man 
18. Three Days Grace – I Hate Everything About You 
19. Breaking Benjamin – The Diary of Jane 
20. Linkin Park – What’ I’ve Done 
21. Roxette – Listen To Your Heart 
22. Spandau Ballet – True 
23. No Doubt – Speak 
24. Radiohead – Creep 
25. Nirvana – The Man Who Sold The World 
26. Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box 
27. Martina McBride – A Broken Wing 
28. Lady Antebellum – Need You Know 
29. The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang 
30. Cross Canadian Ragweed – Alabama 
31. The Calling – Wherever You Go 
32. Clay Walker – This Woman and This Man 
33. Goo Goo Dolls – Name 
34. Motley Crue – Home Sweet Home 
35. Air Supply – All Out Of Love 
36. Guns N’ Roses – Patience 
37. George Strait – I Cross My Heart 
38. Roxette – Spending My Time 
39. Brad Paisley – He Didn’t Have To Be 
40. Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers – Love Is the Road 
41. Randy Rogers Band – Kiss Me In The Dark  
42. Easton Corbin – A Girl Like You 
43. Brian Fallon – Steve McQueen 
44. Seether – Broken 
45. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Snow (Hey Oh) 
46. The Refreshments – Mekong 
47. George Strait – The Chair 
48. Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams 
49. Weezer – Take On Me 
50. Train – Drops of Jupiter 
51. Five For Fighting – Superman 
52. Five For Fighting – 100 Years 
53. Jim Croce – Operator

I wish it was the jams that are helping me with the Pinot Meow but it's everything I listened to on YouTube one night when I stayed up way too late. 

Conservatively at 3-4 minutes a song, we are looking at about 159-212 minutes (2.65-3.53 hours) of Mr. Shife rocking out. 

Well, not necessarily rocking out.

There are a few power ballads on that list. 

It would be interesting to get all of my musical choices psychoanalyzed by a professional. 

Brian Fallon and The Red Hot Chili Peppers appear to be my favorites on this particular evening. 

Let me know what you think about me and my music.

Hope you are well. Thanks for stopping by and I will talk to you tomorrow.

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - Kyle and Hayden Memories

I am going down memory lane a lot this month. Good thing they are pretty good memories.
I was checking out some old blog updates and came across these gems from the blog on this very day 5 years ago, which would have made Kyle a 4-year-old and Hayden a 2-year-old. 

• Mrs. Shife sent me this funny text while I was at work: Guess who went poop in the potty like a big girl today??!!! (Hint, not me LOL).  I did LOL after reading it. 
• Hayden Ralph. A teacher at Kyle's kindergarten registration asked Kyle what his sister's last name was and he said Ralph. We have called her Wreck-It Ralph since she started walking because she has made a habit of destroying things. Well, nowadays we just call her Ralph when she powers up to destruction mode so Kyle politely explained that is why her last name is Ralph to the teacher, and Mrs. Shife and I did our best not to bust out laughing. 
• So the other funny and creative thing that Hayden said to me the other day went down like this … One of her favorite pastimes (if we let her) is to climb in the fridge. Every day there is an attempt to meet this driving need …  On Monday, the kids had just watched this UMI ZOOMI cartoon where the car "eats" different shapes and gets different superpowers. Well, in the midst of round 789 of snorting and stomping making her demands to climb in the fridge known, I hear her say, "COME ON SHOES, SUPERPOWERS, CLIMB!" 
  
  Do I applaud the problem-solving skills or be worried that my 2-year-old has seen too many cartoons? 
• And here's one of the other things Kyle and Hayden were doing back in the day to entertain themselves:

March Madness 2019 - School Pics

Kyle and Hayden recently got their class pictures back.

And you never know how they are going to turn out. 

You might get this:

Or this:

But we did alright this year: 

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. I will talk to you tomorrow.

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - Screenshots

• Below is the email I got from Pinterest today. I guess they know something I don't know. I'm glad to finally hear that I've got some workout options to help get my head out of my ass. 

• I don't post on Facebook anymore but I still like seeing some of the memories. 
  First up, we have an observation from your's truly about George Washington's brother.
  

• Next up, we have a picture of me and Hayden when she was only 1 and it was also the last time I tried growing out my hair. It's hard to tell because I'm wearing a hat but the sides are longer.

• Another observation from me. Again, you're welcome for my brilliance. 

• Finally, a nice little joke. Seriously, you are welcome. I was a lot funnier 9 and 10 years ago.  

Thanks once again for stopping by and I will talk to you tomorrow. 

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - New Year, New Dude

Besides doing my monthly challenges, I have incorporated some other stuff into my life that is hopefully making me a better version of myself.

• Growing it out. I used to get my hair cut every 3 weeks because I like to keep it short on the sides. But I have decided to grow it out a little bit to see what I think.
  I got my hair cut the regular length on New Year's Eve and it's been growing wild ever since.
  However, my hair gets curly and wavy when it gets longer so it takes a while for it to get some length.  
• Mucho cardio. I have been going to the gym 5-6 times a week and really amping up my cardio workouts. All in all, I am doing about 3 hours a week. Thank the fat bassets for podcasts to keep me entertained while I am on the stair climber. 
• Mindfulness. I have attempted meditation numerous times but it never stuck. I just don't like sitting still for that long. I read about active meditation and this might work. You are just doing something you normally do but take a few minutes to focus on your breathing. For example, when I am walking from the parking lot into work I can focus on my breathing which leads to mindfulness and training my brain to focus on the present. 
• Caffeine pause. Instead of having caffeine first thing in the morning, I am waiting until I make it to the office. I don't get my chemical jolt until about 2 hours after being awake. I fuel up with a glass of water with some salt and lemon to start my day.

Thanks for stopping by. I will talk to you tomorrow.

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - Boring

10 days in and daily blogging is coming along.
I don't feel like it has been an easy process.
I am struggling to come up with interesting topics.
Maybe I am just not as fabulous as I think.

Or maybe I am a lot more boring these days. 

To be fair, we have been pretty dull lately. 

Mrs. Shife has been sick, Hayden was sick on Friday and Kyle was ill all weekend. 

Kyle felt so bad that we didn't even make it to the theaters to see "Captain Marvel." 

But Mrs. Shife was feeling better so I watched a movie with her, "Bohemian Rhapsody." 

It was OK. 

Didn't love it, didn't hate it. 

I think my ambivalence has to do with the fact that I never got into Queen the band. 

There are a few upcoming events that should spice things up around Casa de Shifley.

Mrs. Shife has a birthday next week, spring break is also next week and Kyle turns 10 at the end of the month. 

So that's the blog for the 10th day in March in the year of our Lord 2019.

Hope you're doing well.

I'll talk to you tomorrow. 

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - Car Talk

Do you have anything in your car that some people might find odd? For me, it's a 1983 Tiger Beat magazine with John Stamos on the cover, floss sticks and tweezers.

OK. I am kidding about the tweezers. 

OK. OK. I am kidding about the Tiger Beat magazine. 

I do have tweezers and floss sticks in my vehicle. 

I think the floss sticks make sense but the tweezers might make you do a head tilt.

When I am at a red light or stuck in traffic, I will occasionally look at the rear view mirror and it gives me a pretty good view up my nose. Sometimes I see a nose hair that I am not happy with so it gets evicted. I pull out the tweezers and send the offensive nose hair packing. 

Makes sense, right? 

Yes, I am well aware that I am a weirdo. 

Good night. Talk to you tomorrow. 

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

March Madness 2019 - Idahome

Thanks for a little patience with me the past few days.
Work has been a little crazy.
My boss let me know go home early today after I spent 2.5 hours on the phone with Google trying to fix a problem that still isn't fixed and has been escalated up the food chain until Monday.
Fun.
I took a 90-minute nap where I did get home.
I needed it.
Definitely felt fried this week.
But if this is the worse it gets at work then I can live with that.
I am pretty content with my employment and life in general.
Speaking of that, are you happy where you live?
I have lived in Idaho basically since 1985.
That's like almost 35 years.
It's definitely home.
I have thought about different places I might want to live but I think Idaho is it.
I am becoming less and less a fan of winter but not enough where I want to move somewhere else.
Yet.
You never know where life is going to take you but right now Idaho is where the heart is.

Thanks for stopping by. I will talk to you tomorrow.







I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream.