Kids think their parents are the greatest until they’re, like 16, and then it all goes down hill from there.

Right now, Aryeh, my son, thinks that everything I do is cool…

So I’m gonna run with that.

I keep telling him, “Daddy’s the greatest.” I’ll toss a rock in the air about 15 feet. To anyone else, it’s really nothing special. But to Aryeh, it’s one of the best things he’s seen in his whole life (he’s 22 months).

So for now, I’m the greatest…at least until he’s 16 and realizes that he’s faster, stronger and, in his mind, way smarter than I

I wanted a big wedding…until I found out how much it costs.  So my wife and I decided to spend “a lot” on a few – quality over quantity (originally, her preference).  We wanted the people closest to us to be there.  For me, that meant my brothers, a few other family and friends.  VERY small.

The whole theory was that our wedding day was “1 day”.  So to blow $30,000 on one day seemed ludicrous.  The real fun and excitement was going to happen in the years after…and many of those days wouldn’t cost us anything, except time.

Nonetheless, my wife did a masterful job of containing costs (we wanted to pay for the wedding immediately; not finance it through debt).

Here are some of the ways we saved money (in no particular order):

1)  Invited a few people (about 60 people in all).  Since it was a destination wedding, only the people who really wanted to be there, would (barring health issues).  For that matter, we kept the wedding state-side (Florida) so it would be easier/cheaper for people get there (no passport issues, many flights available, etc.).

2)  My wife, Cerece, let me dress down for the wedding.  I really wanted to be relaxed and I wanted a suit that could double as business attire.  I knew I’d save money – I’d wear a suit more than a tux, for sure.  Even if I rented a tux, I wouldn’t save as much money over the mid and long-term.  Besides, being in a tux, outdoors in Florida in the spring was NOT my idea of relaxing.

3)  Cerece and her best friend, Kamishia Lee, made wedding invitations.  Kamishia is an art teacher and she did an AMAZING job on these puppies.  Man!  I wish I could scan one and post on the web.  She’s on Facebook, so if you want something nice, look her up.

4) Cerece got her gown used or at a discount place (I forgot which).  She got the dress she liked for a FRACTION of the price.  Neither of us expected to remarry (“some” people don’t), so her thought was, “Why should I blow a lot on a dress I’m only going to wear once???”).

5) Cerece hunted for flowers, decorations, etc.  She actually went to other places besides the ones the wedding planner suggested, and got MUCH better deals and a better selection.  Apparently, this particular wedding planner, got a finder’s fee if we used her people (maybe they all do it; all I ask is just disclose it).  The planner eventually got pissed and made up some argument about how we owed her more in fees.  I would NOT use her ever again.  So unprofessional.

The wedding was beautiful and both the bride and groom were happy and relaxed – Cerece did all her work upfront and was going to relax come hell or high water, and we did the math, I knew we got a $30,000 wedding for $16,000 (thanks to Cerece!).  I LOVE a good deal!!!

My wife, Cerece, was told that over 70% of fathers really want to have a break from being a father on Father’s day (another way of saying this is that the last thing fathers want to be on Father’s Day is a father).

Sounds harsh, I know, but it also sounds about right.

If you do it right, being a Daddy is a LOT of work.  I mean a LOT.

My wife and I work hard in caring for, teaching and guiding our 19 month old, Aryeh.

Judging by his progress and people’s reaction to him, our hard work is paying off.  I love it.  Like most things, yo get out what you put in.

And honestly, I don’t know where the patience is coming from.  Well, kind of.  It helps to know that reinforcement is key (like saying “Don’t touch the outlet” for the 1,000th time), that he’s looking at me in knowing how to conduct himself and that my wife and I work VERY well as a team (thank God for our couples counselors, Wendell Cox and Kristen Quigley).

But all that said, anyone who loves what they do and works extremely hard at it wants a vacation day every now and then.

And for 70% of fathers, that day is Father’s Day.

I love seeing Aryeh’s face light up when he sees me.  I love to play with him, teach him things…and on Father’s Day, I love to give him back to Cerece for the heavy lifting.

It’s like being a Grandfather for a day.

So let’s call it Happy Almost Grandfather’s Father’s Day!  It’ll be like Festivus.

One notable remark from “America’s Finest News Service”:

Analysts speculate that the sector-wide layoff was a result of multiple factors, including redundancies in the singing-songwriting division, rising rehab fees that have cost the group millions, and a 34 percent decline in jump-kicks since 2003. In addition, some of Aerosmith’s younger, more ambitious employees, such as Joe Perry, 57, are willing to sing and play an instrument at the same time, often for half the salary.

 Come on!  Gems, I tell you, these are gems.

Here’s the link to the article.

EA

It’s like the rich dude who keeps begging the cute chick to go out with him, thinking that with all his wealth and star-power, she should just say yes.  In this case, EA is the rich dude, and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) is the cute chick. 

Well, she’s ridiculously hot because she’s got one of the best bodies – the enormously popular Grand Theft Auto franchise. 

But after extending its offer for Take-Two, again (4^th time), EA’s offer was rejected, again.  Still too low for Take-Two. 

Initially, Take-Two wanted to wait until GTA had been officially released to see if it could drive increased sales and value. 

So far, not-so-good.  Sales are high, but since the debut of GTA on April 29, Take-Two’s stock has actually gone slightly down -.5%.  In the last three months, Take-Two’s stock is only up 4%, having fallen off quite a bit in the last few weeks.

So maybe EA is saying, “Look babe, I know you’re hot.  You know you have a killer body.  But you can’t pull any other dudes with my looks, intelligence and wealth.  So I’ll wait, but let’s stop fooling around and make it happen.”

Take-Two is giving EA the “It’s not you.  It’s me.”, routine.

It’s actually kinda funny.