It's Been Such a Long Time. . .

When the titles to my blog posts seem to be almost the same, I suppose I really need to take Eric's advice and try to post more often. Yes, there has been quite a bit going on in the past two months, I just have a difficult time trying to find the extra moments to actually write.

Let me start with this year's version of the TSO show. The first half of the show was the same as in years past, which is what one would expect when going to this show. The good thing about the show this year is that they actually came here after Thanksgiving, which was more appropriate for the holiday season. During the second half of the show they played more songs off their "Night Castle" album, which they finally released after working on it for 6+ years. Additionally, they said they would be going on a Spring tour, which will be the first non-holiday tour for them. I think that will be interesting, and I'm sure we will go, although we may not take the kids that time. We'll see.

Last weekend we tried a new restaurant called Rock 'N Roll Ribs. The restaurant is partly owned by Nicko McBrain, who is the drummer for Iron Maiden. They have not had their grand opening yet, so when we went there, Nicko was there still hanging stuff on the walls and visiting with every table. I was in such awe because I grew up not only listening to Iron Maiden, but playing along with them when I was practicing my drumming. For those that don't care too much for the whole 80's metal thing, the ribs were fall off the bone good. Actually all of the food was really good. I didn't even feel the need for additional sauce on the ribs. We will definitely be back there, even if Nicko isn't there.

Lizzie, much like every other young girl, saw a commercial and told Brenda she wanted a Zhu Zhu Pet. For some reason this is the hot toy of Christmas. Enough so that people are waiting in lines, waking up extremely early and paying major money to get one. I told Brenda I would not go out of my way to get one, but if I had the opportunity, I would get it for Lizzie. Yesterday, I had to go to Wal-Mart to pick up a present we ordered for Shane and had it shipped to the store (Nerf Wii game for those that care), which we saved $20 from the price elsewhere. On the way to the "Site to Store" shelf, I had to go to the restroom. As I was walking to the restroom, amongst all of the whacko last minute shoppers, I passed by about 20 of these Zhu Zhu Pets. I took care of my business, then went back, and decided to buy two of them. Although I did end up going 10 feet out of my way, I got two of the "hot" toys, and spent a grand total of $16 to get them. I feel bad for all the schmos who went crazy for these things, no, actually I don't, they're idiots.

I hope everyone had a happy Festivus yesterday, has a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Here's hoping that 2010 is much better.