Lessons Learned in 32 years

1a.) The persuit of the simple life is extremely valuable. The fast car, huge house, or high-brand suit are not the problem, but the persuit of them is.

1b.) The appreciation of the simple life is extremely valuable. In compliment to (1a), you cannot put a dollar value on things like a good laugh, an embellished story, an army of songbirds in your backyard, or a crisp fall morning.

2.) Perserveriance and dicipline are much more powerful than brains. Doing something then doing it again taking in to account what you learned will get you more success than relying on knowledge alone. It's just like taking a walk down the road, you'll take many small steps to get there.

3.) God cursed work, but finding passion in your work surely makes it much easier!

4.) Don't get caught up in judging your friends by their "things" or accolades. I have been blessed with many friends who come from all different walks of life and are going in many different places. I just like having friends.

5.) When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. There are more fun things like strawberry lemonade or lemon icebox pie to consider.

5b.) Forget the pie or drink, lemons are a great addition to a nice blend. Try watermellon, spninch, and lemon. Note to self, if you are reading this years in the future and your Blendtec blender broke down, get a replacement. There is no second.

6.) Understanding the gospel is better than understanding high theology, but understanding high theology can be quite interesting.

7.) My strengths are my weakness and my weakness my strenght.

8.) Seeing a grandparent's love is cool. Sometimes annoying, but overall cool!

9.) T-Tom is my blog stalker and I appreciate that. Mr. Tom, I promise this will not be only an annual blog and I'll throw in a few posts through out the year.

10.) Writing down some thoughts from your past helps you feel really good about the future.

May, 2011

I'm sure you got the idea in the last post that I simply don't have the time to blog as much lately with the new not so new job. Anyway, I do embrace the opportunity to update the blog and let you know what's been going on in the Duffey household.

First and foremost, we have a superstar ballerina in Toddler O. She'd been practicing for months now at her school and as the recital approached, she ABSOLUTELY would not reveal her "moves". I also recall, that as the recital was getting near, that we were worried that she would clam up on stage and get stage fright. After all, being in front of a crowd is one of the most feared things possible to do.

I guess I assumed that she'd be scared because I was when I was younger. I remember even in high school band as the lead trumpet doing solos, my heart would beat literally out of my chest before the solo. Yeah, I admitted it to the world, I was a band nerd.

I digress... Back to the recital. Toddler O did great, and clearly was not fearful at all and worked the audience. Not only were her dance moves spot on, she hammed up the crowd with a few extras.

Great job O.

Questions about God.

Toddler O: Dad, do you like Auburn and Georgia?
Me: Yes.
O: Do you like Alabama?
Me: Well... The people who are Alabama fans are nice, but I don't pull for Alabama.
O: Okay.
Me: You know, you can pull for whoever you want... But, Mommy and Daddy are Auburn fans so that might be most convenient.
O: Is God an Auburn fan?
Me: What?
O: Is GOD and Auburn fan?
Me: Probably so.
O: Is He a Georgia fan?
Me: I'm sure he is.
O: Is He an Alabama fan?
Me: Well... You know, I bet he is probably a fan of theirs too.

On the topic of God. Toddler O, asked Hot Wife about His communication with us;

Toddler O: Mommy, does God have a cell phone?
Hot Wife: Hmm... That's a good question for Pastor Reeder.

Happy Valentines Day

As I look back on the month of February, the moment that fills my mind was Valentines day. There are two pearls of the Duffey archives that I'd like to share. First, I must brag on Hot Wife as she gave me something truly special. A blender. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear you sigh. You see it's not just any blender. This is a Blendtec blender - a blender with serious horsepower. Now I've been blending the basics, smoothies, whole food juices, and of course non-dairy ice cream, but if you are interested in all the things that can be blended in the Blendtec, check out Will It Blend. If you wish or are crazy enough, you can blend golf balls, an I-phone, lawn tools, etc. So the next time I want to have a strawberry-banana smoothie with a side of golf ball dust, I've got the right tool for the job.

Second, I want to share with you about my diva daughter's dialog on Valentines Day. Let me give you the background. Hot Wife has been telling me about how her dad, brought her and Aunt 'Tacy a single rose each Valentines day. A pink one for Aunt 'Tacy and yellow for Hot Wife. Anyway, I thought that was a good idea and bought Toddler O a pink rose (and one for Hot Wife and Momma Deb to boot). I am so excited and give Toddler O her rose and she says, "I only get one?"

I reply, "yes dear, one pretty rose".

"I wanted more than one"

"Well maybe next time", I followed.

I didn't take that too personally coming from a three year-old and went on my business as she used her rose like a sword. And just a few moments later she jabbed me again.

"I wanted a red one!"

Argh, we've got a diva on our hands!

Christmas Recap

First you need to know that elves are HUGE this year. Our Elf on the Shelf, Barbie Love, has kept an eye on us all for over a month. For most of the nights when she went back to The North Pole, she was thankfully able to take a good report. Of course there were a few days that had their trials but I'm pretty sure the big guy overlooks the occasional minor slip of discretion.

While we are on the topic of elves, Toddler O has established many types of elves. Her favorite is the "Action Elf" which she is when she's busy doing stuff with Amy or Dede. You know how a few days before Christmas things get quite crazy. So in the mix of purposed chaos, Toddler O was quick to say, "Dede... Today we're Action Elves!"

Just in case you need to know... Aunt 'Tacy made Oreo Balls with Golden Oreos. Dang. They are so good they hurt your teeth a little. I'm not sure what the recipe is, but I taste Oreo, white chocolate, butter, and a little more butter.

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Issa's here!

We've visited Duff and CC in Georgia last week. Traveling is tough with a three-year-old but the visit was quite nice. Of course Michael and Cole continue to mature well and have turned into quite nice young men. The big hit at CC and Duff's was the Bitty Baby Twins (American Girl) O received. Toddler O, has faithfully played with them and taught them like the good "mother" she is.

Okay so that was one of my tangents... Back to Issa...

Issa has arrived and is a nice fixture in our home. Living many miles away in Florida, Issa has to re-acclimate to life in Birmingham. And by the way, when I say "re-acclimate" I don't mean the weather. Living with a three-year-old is not for the weary and requires a little adjustment.

So Issa is adapting to life in our home and of course Toddler O has targeted her to do everything. Issa MUST sit beside her at dinner, give her a bath, and of course put her to bed. Unfortunately Issa doesn't know all of the routine things that occur each night and just in case you don't know, a three-year-old will be quick to point out anything that is abnormal. Case in point, when Issa was putting Toddler O to bed, she made the mistake of putting all the books on the floor except the one that was being read.

Toddler O says, "Issa you can't do that! I need them [the other books] to read"

Issa, "I have the book we're reading right here."

O, "No, no, no. I need those books in my bed to read."

Issa, "Sorry, I just didn't understand."

Toddler O, proceeds to tattle to Barbie Love (Elf on The Shelf), that Issa was being "bad" by putting the books on the floor.

Issa responds, "like I said, I just didn't understand"

Toddler O then pleads with the big man himself and I don't mean Santa, "Dear God, please help Issa understand".

Of course that got a nice laugh from us all. We tell O to ask God to help her when she is sad, angry, hurt, maybe even confused, but never thought she would use God's power to help Issa understand our nighttime ritual.

I'm Back!!!

So after seven months of a sabbatical from blogging, I have made it back to hone my writing/historian skills.

For those few of you who have reminded me many times that I haven't been updating the blog, I truly have a good excuse. I have started a new career - career not job - and have been quite busy developing a new sales force. Is that an excuse, probably not, but I have been very tied up in tactical daily tasks.

So Sam catch me up you ask... Well Toddler O keeps growing and at age three, Christmas is especially fun this year. Fun (and not so fun) traits from both her mother and father are developing each day. For example she loves to have a good time like me and is a great caregiver like Amy. As well, she also can be pitch-a-fit like me and tends to be a little OCD like her mom. Oh well... Sperm meet egg.

I really don't have any great content today and I just wanted to warm up the blog from months of pause. And though I doubt I'll be able to post an update more than once a week, I'd like to have weekly increments of content to share with all you faithful readers.

Thank you for coming back to visit!!!

Toga, toga, toga

So I was just thinking... Isn't that how most blog posts begin? Our family has shared many special moments with numerous people we consider our "family". Every one of those moments or memories are special to us and I hope them too. However, as Toddler O runs around the house in a homemade toga, I am so proud to have a few moments just to myself for my owns selfish enjoyment.

Update... She just upgraded the attire with my brown dress shoes. Priceless.