I'm sure I was going to blog about something more fun today than how the day turned out. But the day has been completely overshadowed by taxes. The day started out fine. I woke up. Blah blah blah. I sat down to Turbo Tax around 4:45 PM. Blah blah blah. Finally stopped talking money with my wife at 9:30 PM. Blech!
Suffice to say, we aren't quite as pleased with the outcome as much as we hoped we would be. Uncle Sam is dipping into our pockets a bit this year - at least seemingly so. We fudged a few numbers since we don't have W2s yet. Plus certain forms weren't available yet through TurboTax. Hell, state filings were even available yet.
So there is hope, I suppose, that in the end things will right themselves. We'll see.
4 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 175 lbs. | 17.18%
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Rest in Peace, Kobayashi
Pete Postlehwaite died last night from cancer at the age of 64. He was a talented actor (the best in the world according to Steven Spielberg) but will always be Keyser Soze's lawyer Kobayashi in my heart.
Kobayashi: Get your rest, Gentlemen. The boat will be ready for you on Friday. If I see you or any of your friends before then, Miss Finneran will find herself the victim of a most gruesome violation before she dies. As will your father, Mr. Hockney. And your Uncle Randall in Arizona, Mr. Kint. I might only castrate Mr. McManus's nephew, David. Do I make myself clear?
Kobayashi: One cannot be betrayed if one has no people.
He was one bad mutha. Sorry to hear he passed away.
3 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 176 lbs. | 17.18% (good Gawd, that weight has been shooting up!)
Kobayashi: Get your rest, Gentlemen. The boat will be ready for you on Friday. If I see you or any of your friends before then, Miss Finneran will find herself the victim of a most gruesome violation before she dies. As will your father, Mr. Hockney. And your Uncle Randall in Arizona, Mr. Kint. I might only castrate Mr. McManus's nephew, David. Do I make myself clear?
Kobayashi: One cannot be betrayed if one has no people.
He was one bad mutha. Sorry to hear he passed away.
3 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 176 lbs. | 17.18% (good Gawd, that weight has been shooting up!)
Sunday, January 2, 2011
2011 FFL CHAMPIONS!!!
The L'ville Hotspurs have unofficially won the 2011 Championship over ScatteredSmotheredCovered in the smorty71 league with an unofficial score of 88.12 to 49.9!!! Hail to the victor!
(this is where you hail, loyal reader)
See for yourself here...
sMoRTy71 Home - NFL.com - Free Fantasy Football
It's been a great ride this season. And since the Hotspurs have been around the longest (around 6 years - my other two teams are both in their rookie season) it's about damn time :)
2 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 175 lbs. | 17.18%
(this is where you hail, loyal reader)
See for yourself here...
sMoRTy71 Home - NFL.com - Free Fantasy Football
It's been a great ride this season. And since the Hotspurs have been around the longest (around 6 years - my other two teams are both in their rookie season) it's about damn time :)
2 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 175 lbs. | 17.18%
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2011 New Year Resolutions
Here are some ideas I'm kicking around in my head...
1. Pay off the Chase Visa this year.
2. Stay below 175 lbs. I started Biggest Loser last year at 188. I ended at 164. I've since put 10 pounds back on (it took 10 months so it isn't too bad but still a trend I want to reverse).
3. Finish (hell, begin!) work on my comic book idea. It will be a blast putting it together. It will be a huge accomplishment for me (that will more than likely never amount to anything other than points in pride). And Granny would've loved it. I'm thinking of a 4-part mini-series at 32 pages each. Woo... that sounds like a lot. Wish me luck.
4. Paint 50 pieces in 2011. That sounds crazy but I know it's doable. I've painted 100 pieces over the last few years and I've done it at a very leisure pace. If anything, it could get a wee bit expensive. However, I'm going to start off in good shape as I kick off this resolution with six pieces I'm finishing this week.
5? Blog more. I don't really know what that means. I was thinking initially everyday. But that's a lot. And I may even bore myself at that rate. Not sure on that one.
So I've made plenty of resolutions in the past not never amounted to anything. Let's see how we do, shall we?
I'm going to keep track of how we ("we" being me, my future self [hey buddy!], and whomever wants to come along for the ride) are doing by including the following coded footer after each post...
1 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 174 lbs. | 17.18%
1. Pay off the Chase Visa this year.
2. Stay below 175 lbs. I started Biggest Loser last year at 188. I ended at 164. I've since put 10 pounds back on (it took 10 months so it isn't too bad but still a trend I want to reverse).
3. Finish (hell, begin!) work on my comic book idea. It will be a blast putting it together. It will be a huge accomplishment for me (that will more than likely never amount to anything other than points in pride). And Granny would've loved it. I'm thinking of a 4-part mini-series at 32 pages each. Woo... that sounds like a lot. Wish me luck.
4. Paint 50 pieces in 2011. That sounds crazy but I know it's doable. I've painted 100 pieces over the last few years and I've done it at a very leisure pace. If anything, it could get a wee bit expensive. However, I'm going to start off in good shape as I kick off this resolution with six pieces I'm finishing this week.
5? Blog more. I don't really know what that means. I was thinking initially everyday. But that's a lot. And I may even bore myself at that rate. Not sure on that one.
So I've made plenty of resolutions in the past not never amounted to anything. Let's see how we do, shall we?
I'm going to keep track of how we ("we" being me, my future self [hey buddy!], and whomever wants to come along for the ride) are doing by including the following coded footer after each post...
1 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 174 lbs. | 17.18%
Friday, December 31, 2010
2010 Ends Tonight... with a resounding MEH
What a year.
It started out with loss. It began with death. Granny passed away. The ramp was dismantled. Kelsey lost her braces. The Vikings lost the NFC championship. I lost a bunch of weight. Toby lost his damn mind and jumped onto a hot stove top.
Things leveled out a bit after that. I won the Biggest Loser competition at work. The fam went to Washington, DC and had a blast. The new Brinley.com launched (and I still like the look-n-feel). The World Cup was awesome. Work and art and life all balanced out.
Then things went up and down pretty wildly with more losses. I lost the Jeep... but the money from the sale helped pay for Kelsey's new car. I lost Brinley.com... but it turns out that I didn't really lose it and I was so happy. I lost consciousness at the doctor's office and went to the Cardiac unit... but it turned out to *not* be a heart attack. I lost track of the painting I donated to the Julep Ball... but "found" it when Michelle saw it in her friend's house outside Memphis. And I broke my damn pinky toe and then suffered a double-ear infection.
Things kind of turned around too. Jooj's dad responded well to treatment and the Cancer news (which really is never good) turned out to not be quite as bad as it could be. Kelsey got her license and yours truly had to drive a little less. I started the NFL season with three FFL teams. Little Babuke was rushed to Kosair's but it turned out to be nothing too serious. Will's football team and JV football both won their respective championships. Kelsey started the school year with a 3.9. The Halloween party was OFF THE HOOK!
Things got weird a little too. Bret Farve sucked. Randy Moss became a Viking again. Then he wasn't. And then being a Viking's fan just wasn't cool any longer. I shared by shoe neurosis with the world. I attended 4 midnight releases to buy the video games that Will wanted. I came out of retirement from soccer and never won a game after our first. Thank gawd that's over but I can't wait to play again. And my FFL seasons were just falling apart.
But the year ended with a bang (in a good way). Eric Brinley - Artist, LLC was born. I took down a tree and felt like a red-blooded man doing it. We refinanced and are saving a ton of money. Black Friday was cuh-razy! The Oil group is rocking and bringing in some serious $$$ for the company. I was nominated for Employee of the Year. We have a new kitchen (nearly). We have a new fence. We had a great Christmas. We even got a bonus check from some extra escrow laying around. The L'ville Hotspurs are heading to the Super Bowl (along with a year worth of bragging rights if I win).
Overall, I give the year a "meh". I'd like to spend this year out of the hospital (both as a visitor and a tenant). I'd like to continue paying off bills and getting ready for college and private high school tuition. I'd like to continue kicking ass at work. I'd like to see the Vikings play better next year. I'd like to see nothing but good fortune for everyone I love. And I'd like to continue being a good husband, a good father, a good worker, a good son, a good brother, a good uncle, a good artist, a good goalkeeper, a good budgeter (that's a word?!?!), and - most importantly - a good man.
Peace out, 2010!
It started out with loss. It began with death. Granny passed away. The ramp was dismantled. Kelsey lost her braces. The Vikings lost the NFC championship. I lost a bunch of weight. Toby lost his damn mind and jumped onto a hot stove top.
Things leveled out a bit after that. I won the Biggest Loser competition at work. The fam went to Washington, DC and had a blast. The new Brinley.com launched (and I still like the look-n-feel). The World Cup was awesome. Work and art and life all balanced out.
Then things went up and down pretty wildly with more losses. I lost the Jeep... but the money from the sale helped pay for Kelsey's new car. I lost Brinley.com... but it turns out that I didn't really lose it and I was so happy. I lost consciousness at the doctor's office and went to the Cardiac unit... but it turned out to *not* be a heart attack. I lost track of the painting I donated to the Julep Ball... but "found" it when Michelle saw it in her friend's house outside Memphis. And I broke my damn pinky toe and then suffered a double-ear infection.
Things kind of turned around too. Jooj's dad responded well to treatment and the Cancer news (which really is never good) turned out to not be quite as bad as it could be. Kelsey got her license and yours truly had to drive a little less. I started the NFL season with three FFL teams. Little Babuke was rushed to Kosair's but it turned out to be nothing too serious. Will's football team and JV football both won their respective championships. Kelsey started the school year with a 3.9. The Halloween party was OFF THE HOOK!
Things got weird a little too. Bret Farve sucked. Randy Moss became a Viking again. Then he wasn't. And then being a Viking's fan just wasn't cool any longer. I shared by shoe neurosis with the world. I attended 4 midnight releases to buy the video games that Will wanted. I came out of retirement from soccer and never won a game after our first. Thank gawd that's over but I can't wait to play again. And my FFL seasons were just falling apart.
But the year ended with a bang (in a good way). Eric Brinley - Artist, LLC was born. I took down a tree and felt like a red-blooded man doing it. We refinanced and are saving a ton of money. Black Friday was cuh-razy! The Oil group is rocking and bringing in some serious $$$ for the company. I was nominated for Employee of the Year. We have a new kitchen (nearly). We have a new fence. We had a great Christmas. We even got a bonus check from some extra escrow laying around. The L'ville Hotspurs are heading to the Super Bowl (along with a year worth of bragging rights if I win).
Overall, I give the year a "meh". I'd like to spend this year out of the hospital (both as a visitor and a tenant). I'd like to continue paying off bills and getting ready for college and private high school tuition. I'd like to continue kicking ass at work. I'd like to see the Vikings play better next year. I'd like to see nothing but good fortune for everyone I love. And I'd like to continue being a good husband, a good father, a good worker, a good son, a good brother, a good uncle, a good artist, a good goalkeeper, a good budgeter (that's a word?!?!), and - most importantly - a good man.
Peace out, 2010!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Christmas Recap Haikus
Christmas came and went
Everyone loved their presents
Food was terrific
Lazy over break
Played video games galore
Up 'til two each night
Going back to where?
To Isle of Palms this summer
Fam'ly vacation!
Back to work today
Much too busy and too loud
For a quiet week
What'd we have for lunch?
Wednesday J. Gumbo's, of course
On the house... bonus!
L'ville Hotspurs won
Going to the Super Bowl
Go 'spurs, go 'spurs, go!
Mortgage escrow check
Wondering where it will go?
Six O Four Hatler
Everyone loved their presents
Food was terrific
Lazy over break
Played video games galore
Up 'til two each night
Going back to where?
To Isle of Palms this summer
Fam'ly vacation!
Back to work today
Much too busy and too loud
For a quiet week
What'd we have for lunch?
Wednesday J. Gumbo's, of course
On the house... bonus!
L'ville Hotspurs won
Going to the Super Bowl
Go 'spurs, go 'spurs, go!
Mortgage escrow check
Wondering where it will go?
Six O Four Hatler
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas Eve Eve
It's the Eve before Christmas Eve... and that means Christmas Eve at our house. Santa comes Christmas Eve morning at the Brinley/Bearden household. And what are the kids and I doing to celebrate? You'll probably never guess but we're watching South Park: Season 8.
The kids have some nice surprises waiting for them in the morning. We're looking forward to it :)
The kids have some nice surprises waiting for them in the morning. We're looking forward to it :)
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