Winner!

The Jockey Staycool giveaway has ended and the winner is….

#29 Jeremy! His tweet won him some undies!

The winner has 24 hours to respond! Thanks to all that entered.

July 23, 2011 | Filed Under Giveaway Winners | Leave a Comment 

Here Comes the Bride

It has finally come down to that time where I have to experience one of my own siblings walk down that aisle and link up to that ol’ ball and chain. My sister who is twenty one and fresh out of college is now engaged. I didn’t think I would ever be ready for her to utter anything having to do with dress styles and/or ring settings. I think that since we are ten years apart and I was so much older when she was born I have always been more protective than I probably should with her. I have really slacked off though since leaving home and saw how very responsible she was in making good decisions in her growing up. I was very pleased though that she never decided to get too serious with some of the d-bags that I had previously met.  I did meet one that I did like and they are now engaged.

They are a really good match and I think they compliment each other very well. They both seem happy and they plan to tie the knot sometime in 2012. So now comes the really grueling part of them picking the place to have it, going to bridal shows, endless dress try-ons, cake and food taste testing, drooling over all of the Since1910.com engagement rings, figuring out where to go on a honeymoon, and then where are they to live. Seems like a ton of stuff to do…thank the Lord it’s not me! My mom says that the experience is really grounding them though on the price range that stuff can cost and what really seems sensible. All in all I think that they will be fine as long as my sister keeps her temper under control and my future brother-in-law doesn’t get an attitude with my sister when she texts him and wakes him up from an afternoon nap. Dude..put your phone on silent if you do not want to be bothered! Remember, a happy wife means a happy life.

July 23, 2011 | Filed Under General | Leave a Comment 

The Ramp Up to Back to School

This year we will have two kiddos in school! Taylor will be going to the third grade and Rylan will be making his maiden voyage into the magical land of Kindergarten. Taylor has been the best student in the past couple of years. She has made straight A’s and hasn’t faultered or had a major meltdown so far. Now as for our meltdowns, that is a different story in and of itself.

I’m going to really honest here. I am really worried about my son starting school. He has not been in any sort of off-site daycare or had any sort of preschool that taught him the basics. He does however get along with other children (besides his siblings) in a public setting such as church or play dates. I am a little worried that he is going to bust out a “your not the boss of me” or “my daddy will beat you up” comment to the teacher or another esteemed member of the education system. His speech has not always been the best but has really gotten better over the years as he grows and his vocabulary grows as well. I know some parents who have said that they had had an issue with their children’s hearing had affected their speech. I ran into some ways that I could improve phonological awareness in him but I think that he should maybe actually start school first.

When thinking about the points and worries in this post and the times that my mind had wandered to think about it in the past I have come to the conclusion to just shut off my brain. He is a child. Taylor has turned out great and we worried the same way that we worry with Rylan. He will get it and we will be there to watch him climb to new heights…I just hope he doesn’t drag a teacher to that height and throw them off of it.

July 20, 2011 | Filed Under Family | 1 Comment 

A Big Mess for Clean Teeth

Why is it that my kids make so much of a mess when they start the several times daily ritual of brushing their teeth? They make such a huge mess and leave so much caked on tooth paste all over the sink that I really thought that I was going to have to rent some sort of industrial equipment to blast some of that stuff off. I have tried and tried to instruct them on the way to get this done in a more easy and neat manner.

I usually tell Taylor to go in there and get the tooth brushes ready so that they can brush, then potty, and then get into bed. I usually wander into their bathroom about two minutes later to finish them up and check to make sure they did a good job. This is when I find that that spit has been dribbled all down the side of the sink, tooth paste all smashed into the carpet, and some spittle up and on the toilet since someone thought it would be “so cool” to spit into the toilet since the sink was a little crowded. I really don’t know what to do. Some company needs to come out with some sort of conveyor system that starts from the very beginning of getting the tooth brushes ready and then being the system that facilitates the entire process without making a mess. Knowing my kids one of them would go into the process standing on their head and that would throw the whole thing off. I think that they will eventually grow out of it though and maybe I should save for their college instead of tooth brushing machinery. Then again I could take some of that money and invest in a couple of tooth paste companies since most of ours is on the sink instead of their teeth.

July 17, 2011 | Filed Under General | Leave a Comment 

Winners!

Two giveaways have ended and here are the results!

The first was the Super Diaper Baby giveaway and the winners are….

#26 Pauline M and #13 Teresa Young! Both who happened to vote for me for Camp Dirt and those comments won!

The second was the Outback Steakhouse giveaway and the winner is…

#300 Allison Wilson!

All winners have 24 hours to get back to me!

July 17, 2011 | Filed Under Giveaway Winners | Leave a Comment 

How’s the Air up There?

Most of you know that I was in a competition between me and other dude bloggers to see who could get the most votes to become the Official Camp Dirt Blogger. WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! Don’t close or “X” out your window yet! I am through with asking for votes from you guys and I did want to say thanks to all of you that actually did vote for me. I haven’t officially heard from them yet, but I did get an unofficial email saying that I should be getting and official notice by email that the contest was over and that I had officially won.

So, as I start to think about how it’s going to be I sit back and realize that this thing is in Colorado. When most people, that don’t live there, hear of the state of Colorado they usually think about all inclusive skiing holidays and a bunch of snow topped mountains. All I can think about is as long as I can remember I have always heard that the air is thinner there. What does this mean to a boy who has pretty much been in Texas his whole life? I really have never been that far from Texas. I will only be taking my second airplane ride at the end of the month when I fly to San Diego for the big BlogHer convention this year. I may need to look up about the whole “high altitude thing” as soon as I can. If I am going to be running around playing in the mud I need to know if there is a chance that I will be out of breath faster than normal. Also, do I have to follow all of the “high altitude” instructions that are on stuff like boxes of macaroni and cheese if I get a hankering for some grub?

July 14, 2011 | Filed Under General | 3 Comments 

Episode 42 of Daddy Digest THE Podcast

Another one for you fine folks!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:36 — 20.7MB)

July 14, 2011 | Filed Under Podcast | 1 Comment 

Preserving Our Digital Life is Hard Work

Every once in awhile when I go over to my mom’s house she breaks out the huge photo albums and we sit there and reminisce about the good ol’ days. Today we all try to shoot as many photos as we can day in and day out. Then we take our extremely powerful cameras with ten times the photos that were in all my mom’s albums and put them all on a small memory card about the size of a stamp. Then what do we do? Well if you are like me, you end up sitting in front of the computer and edit pictures all day. I have literally spent hours in front of my laptop just messing around with one or two photos.

There are some great programs today that have made this a whole heckuva lot easier. Programs like Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro have made it easier though over the years. I am always worried though that what if all of my family’s history disappers in the form of a fire, flood, or my laptop getting stolen? I do backup every once in awhile but I don’t always do it regularly. I think what I am going to start doing is not spend so much time getting the perfect shot or touching up photos because the light was bad or there were pimples on someone’s face. In the past people took pictures on whatever they had and cherished them no matter how they turned out. I mean I have a picture of me and Spiderman and the original General Lee on old Polaroid pictures. I think that I’m going to just shoot life and let it be from now on. Spend less time editing life and spend more living it.

July 12, 2011 | Filed Under Family, General | Leave a Comment 

Z-Curve Bow & Zing-Shot Launcher from ZING

Summer time is the best chance to get your kids outside doing stuff. We have recently implemented a family outside time a few times a week. We have limited TV and game time in addition to the new outings. I have been working with the kids on stuff like soccer, plain old catch, and weight lifting. I do want to keep it fun for them though so it doesn’t feel like regular old exercise.

The folks over at Zing Toys sent me a couple of items to help me out with my task. They sent me a Z-Curve Bow & Zing-Shot Launcher. They are the ideal toys to get the kiddos up and active in the backyard and we have even taken them to the track lately to really let them fly far.

Kids can pretend they’re a modern-day, sharp-shooting Robin Hood with the Z-Curve Bow, the ultimate foam bow & arrow combo for indoor and outdoor entertainment. Hook the arrow into the loading zone through the patented loops system, pull back, then it’s Ready…Aim …Fire! Kids can work on becoming a master marksman by loading up their choice of a stick-anywhere ZARTZ® SOFTEK™ foam arrow for high-tech archery and target practice, or a long-range Red-X ammo soft-foam arrow for bounce-back action!

Ryan’s Rating: 6 out of 10!!

Pros: Fun and safe.  Kids loved them and pretended to be archers for hours when I first opened them.

Cons: The kiddos did have a problem getting the arrows and foam balls in the weapons quickly and I wish there was an easy way to purchase extra ammo.

 

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely that of the blog owners. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. I have been given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions in any freakin’ way.

 

 

 

July 11, 2011 | Filed Under Review/Giveaway, Reviews | Leave a Comment 

Jockey Staycool Review and Giveaway

Summer is hot. I know what you are thinking…you’re like “duh”. What are we supposed to do about it? Well, one thing that really gets me is when I have to go somewhere out in the light and heat of our solar systems biggest and brightest star and have no way to beat the heat. I have always been and undershirt guy and think I will be until I die. My father-in-law thinks I’m crazy because he says that I am just adding another layer of hotness. I only went into the discussion of benefits once and don’t have the energy to keep defending myself every time it is brought up.

We recently took a trip to SeaWorld and I decided to combat the intense heat of the sun against a Jockey Staycool undershirt. After a day of walking and sweating in intense over 100 degree weather I did notice that most of the day my torso did feel quite a bit more at ease and not melting like the other parts of my body. Jockey Staycool incorporates an Outlast technology treatment that uses phase change materials (PCMs) that absorb, store and release excess heat to maintain optimal external body temperature. The treatment is printed onto the fabric, creating an invisible microclimate of comfort between the skin and your garment by regulating temperature.

Jockey is the first company to market both women’s and men’s underwear treated with Outlast technology to the U.S. market, which was originally developed for NASA to help balance temperature fluctuations in space. Bottoms are sold 3/$22.50-$29.50. Tops are sold 2/$27.

Giveaway

One (1) winner will receive:

  • A set of new Jockey Staycool undergarments  (t-shirt and underwear).

How to Enter

Tell me the hottest you have ever been.

Extra Entries Available

After you have completed the first entry, you are eligible for additional entries. Make sure you leave a separate comment for EACH entry. Each counts as one extra entry unless noted otherwise.

  • Subscribe to Daddy Digest by reader or email.
  • Like me on my Facebook Fan Page.
  • Follow Daddy Digest on Twitter AND Tweet about the giveaway. Leave the URL to the Tweet in your comment. You can tweet once a day, but remember to leave the URL to each tweet.

This giveaway will end on July 23th at 10:00 PM Central time. Winner will be chosen via a random number generator. Giveaway is open to US entries. The winner must contact me in 24 hours to claim their prize. Good luck to everyone!
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely that of the blog owners. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. I have been given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions in any freakin’ way.

July 9, 2011 | Filed Under Review/Giveaway | 108 Comments 

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