Applephobia

Did this picture scare anybody else? As a child I was always worried about biting into a worm every time I ate an apple. To this day, I check my apples 3 times over for holes. If there is even the tiniest hole in an apple there is no way I am eating that apple!

Reverse Bucket List

Have you ever done a reverse bucket list? It is my birthday today and I started thinking of all the things that I've already done. I don't really have a bucket list, so I decided to d a reverse bucket list. After all, I am Dyslexic.

Things that should be on a Bucket List, but I already took care of that:

1. I've swam with Dolphins...kissed, hugged and danced with them. A magical experience

2. I got my black belt...4 of them

3. I've owned my own business...not fun

4. Been to Jamaica, and I will not go back ever again

5. I have a Master's Degree...and 3 credits plus a thesis short of a second one

6. I competed at the US Open Karate...3rd is sparing up 2 weight classes (those were some big girls!)

7. Lived in Florida (a dream from my childhood)

8. Went Paddle Boarding...no fun on the bad back

9. Went to a Miami Dolphin's Game in Miami (and they won)...another childhood dream

10.  Went to a Bon Jovi Concert...Best concert ever!

11. Went to an Aerosmith concert

12. Been to NYC

13. Been to Vegas

14. Been to the Bahamas...too many times

15. Been to Mexico

16. Was one of Murfreesboro's Most Beautiful People...that was fun

17. Been To Disney World and Disney Land

18. Been to Universal Orlando and Hollywood

19. I have kids...a lot of them. Okay, just 3, but that seems like a lot.

20. I wrote a play that was performed in front of an audience

21. I have 3 tattoos

22. Been to Busch Gardens Tampa

23. Been to Mammoth Cave, and I want to go back

24. I hold several state championships in several different states in a couple of different organizations for Taekwondo.

25. I hold several National Championships for Taekwondo

26. I've done Trapeze...that was scary!

27. I can't count the number of 5K races I have done, won, and beat PRs

28. I was a lifeguard

29. I've been snorkeling in the Caribbean

30. I've been to SeaWorld Orlando

31. Went to a Darius Rucker Concert...he was entertaining

32. Met Tom Arnold

33. Got married, have stayed that way for over 15 years

34. Been Baptized

35. I've been to numerous Pro-hockey games

36. I've been to Titan's games

37. I've been in a bar fight...with a certain pro-baseball player

38. Got Scuba certified...but then never went diving after certification

...this list could keep going.

I suggest doing a Reverse Bucket List. It is more fun than a Bucket List.

Reading

I should retitle this because I don't actually read books, I tend to devour them. It is an addicting habit for me. I love books.

 I will read just about any genre (not horror or anime) preferring anything with some humor. I enjoy stories. My favorite of all time is Memoirs of a Geisha. I don't know why I love it so much, but it has been my favorite since I was about 19. My favorite author, though, is Sophia Kinsella (think Confessions of a Shopaholic). She makes me laugh with her British humor.

I have over 200 books on my Nook account, but I prefer the real thing. I love the smell of books! I love the feel of turning a page and the ability to share real books with friends. The problem with real books is space. When we moved to Tempe this past summer I donated over half of my library. It was sad, but I intend to replace the books with new titles.

I just don't know what to read next, though. What are your favorite books?

Best Taekwondo Instructor

I've been pondering my martial-arts career lately (yeah, I'm missing it), and was just thinking back to all of the instructors I've had over the 21 years that I've trained.

I've had some pretty good ones, lots of them that I consider life long friends. Most of them were my heroes at some point, but only a few of them remained heroes. These men, and a few women, held a special place in my heart. They not only helped me to become a better martial-artist, but they made me feel like I was a better person.

But there is one instructor that stands out the most to me. I admire him so much in and out of the dojang. He has a heart of gold and he is such a good person. Master Scott Wisneski is probably one of the best people I know. Not only as a martial-artist, but as a person.

As a martial-artist he is pretty bad-ass. For a short white guy, he can do amazing jump kicks and he has no problem joining his students in class to show off. I've watched him do some amazing breaks, kicks, and poomse/forms. Most of all, he can kick my butt in a sparing match.

As an instructor, he is like a dad or big brother to all of his students. He makes each student feel important, even if they have zero talent in Taekwondo. Most of all, he knows his stuff. I've never seen an instructor that knows forms backwards and forwards like Master Scott does. For me, though, I appreciate that he is both fun and traditional. I never went to a class without both laughing and learning.
FMAC

As a person he is incredible. He is giving, open, and super nice. His marriage to Elizabeth Wisneski is inspirational. They are the best of friends and experience life together. He is so much fun to just hang out with. Even my kids adore him. Not to mention, he has the best dogs ever.

Silly, making fun of my car

With my daughter, Faith

Tempe and Tampa

After living in Tempe, Arizona for about a month I've found the differences between the two towns.

1. One has only E's as a vowel, the other has only A's as a vowel

                  DUH

A                                              E

2. One has lightening storms, the other has dust storms

3. One has beaches near by, the other has mountains nearby

4. One has not enough humidity, the other has too much humidity

5. One is surrounded by theme Parks, the other unfortunately has no theme parks

Otherwise, there isn't much difference 

Big Government = Big Problems

Republican or Democrat, Big Government is nothing but big problems. By Big Government, I mean that the Federal government has too much power. This is a problem because it means more government spending, which means more taxes. It also means that bureaucrats stick their noses in things making life more difficult.

It seems like with each new president, the government grows and so does its spending. The bigger it gets, the more it reaches into our pockets to support itself. The Big Government takes what we earn to run programs that we may not want and definitely what we do not need. The Government continues to take our rights to spend our own money how we want.

Instead of focusing on protecting citizens from outside threat, instead of protecting citizens' freedoms and rights, the government is taking tax money to limit our rights. Agencies such as the FDA, Welfare Programs, and sending money to foreign aid steals causes taxes to rise. This is how the Government steals our money and uses it for things the Government should not be focused on.

The Government does not need to run the Postal Service. This could be privatized. There are tons of these programs that could be run by private citizens. Tax money should not pay for welfare programs. Instead, non-profit or private agencies can raise money to help people in need. 

Besides spending money like crazy, Big Government wastes time and energy on efforts they do not need to be involved in. Big example is Gay Marriage. People should be able to marry whomever they want as long as it is a consenting relationship between two adults. The Federal Government should be focused on the basic protection of our rights and freedoms, and not focused on if Betty can marry Jennifer.

The agencies that see over medicine and food are my least favorite Big Government agencies at the time. Monsanto...look it up...google it. I'm not going into this monstrous Evil. I will discuss, however, how Big Government uses its agencies to stick its giant nose into my problems, limits my freedoms, and makes my life miserable. 

The Government does not need to be concerned with what types of surgery I want. Peyton Manning left the country to have surgery on his neck, but not all of us have the means to travel abroad and pay cash for surgery. I've heard of at least 3 procedures that could help my back pain. None of them are approved by the FDA, therefore they are not available to me.

I know people who could benefit from the use of Marijuana. It is not the Government's job to babysit us. If somebody wants to take the risk of using medicine or drugs, it should be their right! Sure, enforce driving under the influence. That protects other citizens. Other than that, it shouldn't be a Federal Government concern.

The Bigger the Government the less freedoms we have as citizens. The Federal Government needs to stop growing, and it needs to start shrinking!