Prom Again

Well, after "The Best Day Ever" which happened this past Sunday, and involved the whole family going to the zoo, then the park, then going out to eat, and then to the movies - Lyndsay and I came to a decision. We are going to lose weight.

I've recently posted pictures of Lyndsay and I during our Junior and Senior Proms:

We were a lot skinnier then. I know that I've been guilty of saying that "we all get bigger with age," but I don't necessarily agree with that now. After seeing the pictures of myself from the Zoo, and comparing those, I'm making a change. I've started counting calories, and so far I've worked out once. Look for weekly updates on the Great Riggs Diet.

For a Mini-Update, the garage is probably going to be a partial home gym for quite some time, the stationary bike we got the other night led me on a 5.5 mile trip, and I'm assuming I'll see a lot more miles in the months to come. Thirty pounds in six months, let's go!

I Loved Those Pants

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book I Loved Those Pants.

That's my grandfather and me. We played checkers a lot. Every once and a while I would win, I'm sure that he let me win, but I never questioned it, because when I'd win, he'd ask for a rematch. Anything to keep playing checkers with my Pa-Pa. I have a lot of regrets when it comes to things I never did with my Pa-Pa, a good example is that after my first daughter, Victoria, was born, I did not take her by to see him at the Veteran's Hospital where he had been for the previous 5 years. I didn't take her because I was afraid that with all the germs there, my newborn would catch something. My reasoning was sound, I understand that, but less than two weeks after she was born, my Pa-Pa passed away.

It's a regret that I will live with all my life, no matter what. I'm not sure if I'm upset that he didn't get to see her, or that she didn't get to see him, no matter, I'm upset, and will carry that forever. Over the past four and a half years, I've accepted that I can't change the past, but it doesn't mean I have to like it, either. I've also come to realize that my Pa-Pa provided me with some of the best stories, better than ones I could dream up. Today I will tell you one of those stories.

You see, when my sister or I would be allowed to go over to my grandparents for a weekend, it was indeed a treat, for we knew that after that Friday night slumber, there were toys to be bought the next day. My grandparents spoiled us to the point of being ridiculous. I didn't mind. The routine for me was fairly usual. I'd get to go over around Friday evening between 6 and 7, depending on when Dad got home from work and after that, if I hadn't ate they would most likely order pizza¹. I would often ride with my grandmother to get the pizza because my grandfather was in a bowling league that played on Friday nights.

After we ate, I took my bath and got into my pajamas, if timing was right I got to watch a little of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I remember being away from the living room and hearing the theme from the show playing and I knew that I needed to hurry and get back so I could hear his monologue. I never understood half of the jokes, I was too little, but I knew that my Pa-Pa would usually laugh, and every so often there would be that one joke that would make his eyes water from laughing. As with most people, I was sad when Johnny retired because I knew that no longer would I get to experience those moments, but I digress.

When I was younger my grandmother (or as we called her, Ma-Ma) would lay down with me in bed and read me one or two Dr. Seuss books (she read Green Eggs and Ham especially well). Sometime after I fell asleep, she left me alone to dream. I remember when I was a bit older, either she didn't leave or I slept with my grandfather. They had stopped sleeping in the same bed due to the fact he would involuntarily kick during his sleep. I was lucky, I must have been too short, as I never got kicked. Upon waking, I would smell bacon, I believe there were eggs too, but I know there was bacon and biscuits. I would walk out of the back bedroom, into the living room and see my grandfather with his TV tray in front of his recliner. I can't remember for sure if he would have bacon and eggs, but the item I remember being there on the tray was a small glass (very small) filled with orange juice. He had an affinity for these small glasses that were previously jam or jelly jars, a couple of them had Tom and Jerry on them. I liked that.

After saying my good morning to my grandfather, I made my way into the kitchen to say good morning to my grandmother, who would reply with a hug and a kiss. She would tell me to go into the living room and she would bring me some orange juice. Even then I didn't eat breakfast, and they knew that. I'd go back into the living room and sit or lay down on the couch, my grandfather would get up and change the TV to cartoons for me. They still had a console TV that had to be operated by hand. I was often the remote, but that made me feel important so I was a little depressed when they got a cable box that had a remote. After a little while of watching TV, about the time I would hear my grandfather turn on his cordless electric razor, I would go change clothes. It took my grandfather and me all of 10 minutes to get ready in the morning. I love my grandmother, very much, but she always did one thing that I never understood, and neither did my grandfather - but he never said anything about it. She would get her hair perfect before we left the house, our destination was the beauty salon. Maybe it's like brushing your teeth right before going to the dentist. At any rate, after she was ready, we would leave.

We would all load up in the green Ford Grenada, which had a distinct smell, it was a combination of my grandmothers perfume and the freon which I suspect was leaking slightly. It was intoxicating, I almost didn't want to leave the car upon arriving at the local mall. This particular instance, my grandmother, before leaving us alone to go to the JCPenney beauty salon, gave my grandfather instructions that he needed to look for school clothes with me. It was weird, usually when they bought clothes for me (birthday, Christmas), I wasn't present, this was a first - and later we'd find, a last. As we walked into JCPenney with my grandmother, she bid us good luck and took a right at the jewelry counter, and we took a left, towards the boys section. After looking at a few shirts, pants and jackets, my grandfather, who hated shopping for clothes as much as I did, asked me if I found anything I liked. I did see something. My friend Tyler had a pair of pants that were multicolored, and I loved them. I thought I could pull off that look too, and to my surprise, there were a pair of long jean shorts - black, blue and yellow. I showed them to Pa-Pa, he gave me the green light.

After rejoining my grandmother and doing more shopping (I'm sure they bought me a toy, but this story is about the pants) we ate lunch at Grandy's. My grandfather was cutting my chicken fried steak and I vaguely remember a conversation about the pants. While my grandfather and I knew the pants were a great idea, my grandmother had doubts. Later that afternoon when my parents came over to pick me up and I showed them my pants, I believe the phrase "Are you kidding?" was spoken several times. It didn't matter, I loved those pants. I wore them until I couldn't squeeze into them anymore. I believe it was the next Christmas Eve, which were spent at my grandparents house, the topic of the pants came up. When questioned about why he bought the pants for me, he smiled and said "I liked them."

To this day the pants will come up in conversation. As with most legends, I don't remember what happened to the pants, I think they ended up in donation bin or a garage sale. The legend of the pants however, will be with me forever.

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1. I think they deliver to that area now, but for the longest time, all pizza places stopped delivering to that area after a pizza delivery man was shot and killed down the street fro my grandparents. Ironically I was working for that same pizza company for my first job. My grandmother was very happy when I quit.↩

Weekend Warrior? Not Close Yet

Well, this weekend we had plenty of visitors, so I didn't have much time to work on things, either around the house or with the site, so this update may not be interesting.

I'm always glad when we have company, and this weekend we had a lot, so I was very happy. Lyndsay's Mother and Step-Dad came from Mississippi to visit for a few days, and we had a great time. Friday night, Lyndsay's friend Lena and her husband John came over, and I'm glad to say, I think we have now made life long family friends. Saturday Night, We had a houseful for a little while, Lyndsay's Mom & Step-Dad, Her Uncle Bubby, Aunt Pat and cousin George, my mother and father and Lena, John and their son, Daniel. We just visited for a while, but it was a great time. I didn't take pictures (I know, not like me), but next time I will, promise.

Now back to all the work i didn't get done. Keep in mind the main project I'm working on is the Master Bathroom Remodel (which calling it a master bathroom is funny, it's small, yet attached to the master bedroom). Lyndsay has been noticing a little leak underneath the kitchen sink, last week she brought it to my attention, I tightened up a valve connection that I thought I traced it to, and went about my business. Yesterday morning Lyndsay brought it to my attention again, and I found that the cause of the leak was actually the faucet. Now this faucet was old and nasty, but it worked (even though it was white and didn't match the stainless sink) so I didn't see a need to replace it - until yesterday.

Lowes Trip - Got the New Faucet (which matched color as well), and a heavy duty scraper for removing the leftover adhesive on the floor in the bathroom (I already removed all the tile, except around the toilet).

Spent the next 2 hours after we got home installing the new faucet. Well, I spent 1.5 hours getting the old one out, and a half hour installing the new one. and isn't it beautiful?

Yes, it is. Working for 2 hours in a small cabinet with your hands above you wears you out quick, and it makes you sore for days. I didn't do anything to the bathroom Saturday, except test a small spot with the scraper, it worked, but i could tell that it was going to be a lot of work. :(

Sunday, Lyndsay's Mom and Step-Dad had to leave back for Mississippi, and a bit later, the kids were picked up by Lyndsay's Dad and Step-Mom to go to Church, so I figured that I'd take Lyndsay, head to Lowes and pickup the stuff she needed to "Paper Bag" the walls. Long story short, nobody there knew much about the process, and we hope we got the stuff that'll make it work. if not, I can always tile the whole wall (currently only plan to go up about 4 foot). The trip to Ardmore took a lot longer than expected, and I ended up buying some more Dungeons and Dragons¹ accessories.

Among the two Lowes trips Sunday I did buy a new doorknob (that locks) for the Guest bathroom. I wish I had did this before our guests were over, because every time someone would go to the bathroom, a curious child would often follow them in, or open the door at very inopportune moments. Isn't it beautiful as well?

Nothing fancy, but it maintains privacy, and that's very important.

Now, a breif update on the bathroom. Got all the tile pieces picked up, all the other debris vacuumed up, and started scraping up the remaining tile adhesive. almost done, but wow, it wears you out very, very quickly.

Trust me, on the "Paper Bagging" the walls, I'll include a lot of updates, as I'm curious myself how it's going to turn out. Hope Lyndsay does her research on that part. (Love you, Honey)

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1. Ok, I need to clear up the air here. Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is not a devil cult thing. It's basically a board game where you fight bad guys. It's like playing with GI Joes. Think of Cobra as the bad guys your fighting in D&D.↩

Remodel!

So I've started it, the remodel of our bathroom! Here are a few pictures... this is going to be interesting.

Looks like I'm off to a good demo, let's see how the new walls, floor, vanity, shower and toilet look after I'm done... :|

Procrastination

I'll finish this blog entry later.

Literary, Word.

I'm starting to get back into that feeling that I need to write, so you'll probably see a lot more blog entries soon, be forewarned. This desire, however, doesn't stop at just the blog, I've been continuing my short stories, and even have a book (I know, wow) in my mind and slightly in digital format.

Today was one of those days where I question how good of a father I actually am. My two oldest daughters and I were left alone while Lyndsay and the baby went to the school to work on paperwork. We had our ups and downs during that 4 hours, but Lyndsay has assured me that I did fine and that the girls are like that (you know, crazy) with her as well. All in all we had a good day, I was going to take them to the movies, but they both had some sniffles and coughs so I didn't want to chance them giving unto others. Plus they were crazy.

All in all good day, got very little accomplished, other than getting a few tiles up in the master bathroom, I didn't get anything done. I did watch enough Spongebob and Inspector Gadget (and even PiPi Longstocking too) to last me for a few months, although I know I'll get another dose very soon. Thanks Netflix.

Holy Crapola Batman, you're fat!

Well, I've finally realized it, thanks for all of you not telling me. I've gained weight. About 40 pounds (in a 10 year span), and I ned to loose about 40 of it.

I'm trying to decide how I want to loose it, but the obvious diet change is not one of my favorite options at this point. I've been toying around with getting a FitBit and tracking my foot intake from their site and going from there, but I'm not completely sure I'll stick to tracking all my food, so it might not be the best option. I've been looking at the Nike + iPod thing too, but i don't have a compatible iPhone\iPod so i'd need to by another, and you know - maybe that investment would make me that much more motivated to see it work.

One thing I'm going to do is post weekly progress photos, which should motivate me more than anything.

Looks like I'm going to break out the weight lifting set and the boxing equipment again!

Too busy, yet looking for more...

Ok, so with all I've got going on, you know work, kids, wife, and the podcast, Lyndsay and I have took up RPGs, you know like Dungeons and Dragons, and it's great fun, but it almost seems as if we don't have time to sleep sometimes, and to top it off, we are now full force into remodeling our bathroom. I'l keep you updated on the status of all this, but I wanted to post a quick update about how much time i don't have. :)

Weird Dreams = Short Story Fuel

For the past few weeks I’ve been having really vivid, crazy dreams. Once in a while I used to have some, but by the time I got around to writing them down, I forgot them completely.

Lately the dreams stay i my memory very clearly, so I’ve been writing them down as I get a chance, and upon reading over a few of them decided that they would make excellent short stories, so beware world, I’m writing again!

Video Vlogging

I know the title is redundant, but I wanted to make a point. I guess. As I still will be updating my blog, I’ll be throwing in video blogs every so often.

I know that the podcast isn’t coming out every other week as planned, so hopefully this will help out with the Gaming Together fix I know all of you have (all two of you). :)

Time, she is a four leaf clover

Well, as I’m sure you’ve noticed from my lack of updates, time is a thing I can’t seem to find enough of lately. I did manage to squeeze in the completion of Uncharted on the PS3, but that was mainly because of the fact that Lyndsay got into the story and needed closure. I plan on making her watch me start Uncharted 2. :)

Episode 17 of Gaming together has been delayed because of babies and lack of time to record, but that’s nothing new, right? The good news is  there are some great changes to the podcast coming that allow for a better, more timely podcast. By Timely of course I mean at least every two weeks.

I find myself scrambling to get anything done lately, but from the rumors i hear, this will continue to get worse as the kids get older (and as I do too). Structure, that’s what my home schedule needs. Also I need a clone.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Girls

Three little girls, what am I going to do? Well, for now I’m going to enjoy my beautiful girls and later (teenage years) I’m going to forbid them to date. :)

The new big sisters are doing great, Victoria is being very careful, and Alexandria is blowing kisses from a distance and keeping people she doesn’t know away from her new responsibility. Lyndsay is worried that the girls will end up fighting over who gets to hold her, much like they do with their baby dolls now, but i think that somehow they know that they can’t do that, but time will prove me right or wrong.

New Baby Here!

Madison Christine Riggs was born on March 12, 2010 at 4:30PM. She was 7 lbs 6 oz and 19 1/2 in long.

Madison is currently asleep next to me and Lyndsay. Hopefully we will be released tomorrow afternoon, but all in all, it’s been a great start to spring break 2010. More to come, I’m going to sleep now.

The Waiting Game

Ready.. Set… Wait. Contractions have started, the induction medicine is in place, now… we wait.

On the bright side, Lyndsay and I are getting to spend a lot of quality time together, she has mentioned several times that she wishes we brought the Xbox 360, but I can see her holding the controller trying to see past the doctor’s head to play a game while in active labor.

I didn’t bring my psp, but I don’t think that Lyndsay would have enjoyed the two games i own for it. I’m spending most of my time blogging about our new baby, or taking pictures and video of Lyndsay – I think she’s getting tired of the cameras, but no matter, the show must go on.

Woohoo Process has started!

Well, we are in the hospital, waiting for the doctor to start the induction process. I’ll be updating sporadically over the next few days, but look for lots of pictures!

The Countdown

Well, Thursday we go in to start the induction, so hopefully by Friday morning we will have a baby! Well, a third baby. This will be girl number three. So, yeah. Lyndsay and I are on our way to the brady bunch, we just need the three boys.

I'm considering doing a live blog with the birth, well, as live as i can be (I've got to put the computer down at some point). I haven't ran it past Lyndsay, but I think it'll fly. :) Madison Christine is going to be here soon, so I better get all the cameras and lighting ready.

Progress

Well, for those of you that listen to Gaming Together, you know we are expanding, and so far things seem to be going well. There is a huge site update that I've been planning and practicing implementation for a while now, but I think I hit a brick wall the other day, a big enough wall to make me question the updates, so yeah, hello square one.

Lyndsay will be having our third child any day now, so it's quite the waiting game around our house. Three girls will be a challenge, but considering how much joy the first two have brought, I can't wait for the third. :)

Episode 17 will be out soon for Gaming Together, all that lacks is recording, editing and posting. :|

Till later

-James