Humpty Day...

Hey ya'll! Well, Bibi and I made it back to Kville after an unbelievably relaxing weekend. We got to KC saturday, and hung out with Bibi's family and watched the World Cup game, which was cool. Then we played Vengence (the greatest card game ever) for a while. (I've gotten Bibi--and now her whole family addicted--thanks Dan and Matt for teaching me!)

We went over to my sis's house, and had a great time just relaxing and hanging out. We had good food, watched Memoir's of a Geisha, and slept in really, really late Sunday. (Ahhhhhh....) I wanted to wait and not watch the movie til after I'd read the book, but it was pretty good.

I took a book by Brett Easton Ellis with me, and--to be perfectly honest--could NOT get into it. I hate giving up on a book, but man...just couldn't do it. So, now I"m reading a biography of Paul Revere, which is good so far. (All of 3 pages.)

Sunday night we went back to Bibi's and hung out some more. We started watching True Romance with her fam, and man that's a great movie! Brad Pitt is freakin' GREAT in it. It's an excellent movie written by Quentin Tarrantino, so you should all check it out.

Went mini golfing with some friends in KC, and that was fun. Funny side note: anyone else ever witnessed a mini-golf accident that required the paramedics to come? I have. (c;

Monday morning we had breakfast with some other friends and then....Monday night...I got to see my very first Minnesota Twin's baseball game....it was GREAT! They, of course, kicked ass. (c; It was good times.

Tuesday, the fourth, Bibi's dad and I went to get fireworks for Bibi's little sister, and then we watched some more World Cup. I also got to read portions of a book that Bibi's mom is working on, which was absolutely excellent. It was neat seeing how she writes, and man does she have a knack for turning a phrase. It was absorbing, compelling, and fantastic story-telling. I'll let you all know about publishing dates so that you can all buy the first printing. (c;

Tuesday night we went to a park in Lee's Summit to watch the fireworks, and it was an unexpectedly great sight...the park was on a bit of a hill, which meant that we could see about 20 other major shows going on in the distance as we waited for the Lee's Summit show to begin. I've never seen something like that before...it was really cool.

Pet Peeve: Would someone please explain to me the logic in showing up hours before a 30 minute fireworks show, only to leave ten minutes into the program to "beat the traffic", and inadvertently (sp?!) obstructing everyone's view with your DAMN headlights?!

This morning Bibi and I woke up much later than we had planned and had breakfast with Bibi's dad and little sister. Then we got on the road, laden down with tubs of Cholay, (which if you haven't had, what the hell are you waiting for?!) some of the things we didn't have room for after the wedding and all the flowers from the wedding. Now we're relaxing and getting ready for some Chinese food. Mmmm....good times.

All right ya'll....let me know who's out there....it's the "My Life" role call....leave me a comment to let me know who ACTUALLY reads this damn thing. (c;

Oh....favorite "Knock Knock joke of the day"

Knock Knock.
"who's there?"
Madame
"Madame who?"
Ma' damn foots stuck in the door...open up!!!

And...
Why was Tigger digging in the toilet?

Answer:
He was looking for Pooh.

(c;

Thanks for reading everyone...

Tommy

Saturday...in the park....I think it's almost Fourth of July

Hey everyone!

Things are going well here. Bibi and I are leaving shortly to go to KC for a few days. My friend Dave got us tickets to see the Twins play the Royals. The Twins are my favorite team, and Bibi and Dave like the Royals, so it should be a good time. (Especially because the Twins are going to kick some ass.)

I don't really have anything else to report, except that....um, well, nope that's all.

Have a great fourth, and let me know what your plans are for the duration of the summer!

Thanks for stopping by...
Tommy

June 29th

Hey ya'll! Well, today has gone well so far. Last night, (and it went past midnight, so it counts as today) Bibi and I went to Superman Returns with a bunch of friends. That was cool....it was a good time, and a great movie. When we got back, Bibi and I played a card game for a while. (I've gotten her addicted to a game called Nertz, or "Vengence!!!!)

This morning my mom called to with me happy birthday pretty early. That was cool. Then, an hour later, my sister called to wish me happy birthday as well. That was also cool. And, when I got online, my other sister had left birthday wished at my myspace page. I got a cool present from my mom in the mail, and now I'm sipping coffee preparing for the day. Good so far, I'll say.

More later, I'm sure. (c;

Thanks for reading!

Tommy

...transitions...

So, I've got this theory. Kirksville, is a town in transition. As a college town, and one with a medical school to boot, Kirksville is a a very transitory experience. People coming and going like a busboy through the diner of one's life, and all that.

I've viewed this unique aspect of Americana for the past 9 years, with a range of emotions, although amused interest was the most prevalent.

However, it has become painfully obvious, in light of recent events, that my perspective has changed, entirely unbeknownst to me. Instead of seeing this transitory town from a transfixed position, I am now seeing it as one on the verge, the cusp, of leaving. And, I gotta be honest. It sucks.

There are aspects that are wonderful. I am SO blissfully loving married life. I'm really excited about our possibilities in the near future. However, somethings have become....different....they've changed. (Although, my beautiful--and wise--wife has pointed out that perhaps the "things" haven't changed, its' actually me that has changed....food for though to be sure....)

Karaoke.

I went tonight. As I always do. And, as Bibi and I sat there...at a table full of people...it dawned on me...that we didn't "fit". I realized that the people that we were sitting with...were not sitting with us. And, it slowly occurred to me that these people, who I've considered to be close friends, have become VERY distant recently. Just a few short years ago, karaoke was the one thing...the ONE thing that I missed most about Kirksville when I left town. Now? I'm looking forward to next week being out of town and the week after? Who knows what we'll be doing....but it won't be karaoke.

And, this sucks as well. Why? Not because I'm going to miss it all that much....but there are a few people that occassionally go that Bibi and I both really want to see. And, we're going to be going out of our way to set up time to see these people...but it's a new era in my life, and it's hard to enter into these times. Hmm.....prior to signing on and actually typing these words I had a rough idea of what I was going to be writing...and it included a great deal more cursing and more pointed discourse....but this is fine for now.

Huh.

Thanks for reading.

Tommy

The wedding day...

All right ya'll....here's the deal.

The day of the wedding...Bibi and I werent' allowed to see each other....(which WAS pretty cool) and I felt pretty good all day. There were no nerves....well, there were nerves, but never doubt. It was a very peaceful nervous....is that possible?

After the tuxedo mishegoss, (which will be detailed later)all my guys and I went to the site for pictures, which were really fun.

All of my guys and I went to a great little bar after pictures while Bibi and her girls had her pictures. When we left, it was raining...(we were supposed to have the ceremony outside)...and we got back to the site. It was still raining. We were all set up inside the barn, which was great...the congregation was positioned so that their view was of the rolling hills just outside the barn. It was beautiful. I greeted some guests, and found out that our CD player had been left outside...the CD that we had made was trapped in the now broken CD player. My friend, Brendan, who was there to play one song, thankfully agreed to play some music before the ceremony and while the wedding party came down the aisle. (Which was fantastic!)

As the wedding party started coming down the aisle, I realized that this was actually it....the moment I had been waiting for for almost a year....

I surveyed the guests and savored it all as I took it all in. It was so touching, having everyone there....it was beautiful.

Then, I lost it. Bibi and her father came out from the back hall...she looked....amazing....her hair, was perfect, the veil, her dress....she looked absolutely amazing....

She came towards me, slowly looking around at everyone, and then we locked eyes, and smiled. we clasped hands, and her eyes twinkled. Our officiant welcomed everyone (which was great, thanks to Bibi's mom) and the ceremony began.

We had our friends, Brad and Jeff, share a few thoughts on committment. Then our friend Jen, the minister's wife, spoke about marriage.

Our friend Brendan, (mentioned above) and Bibi's sister sang a beautiful song, entitled "Eternal Love" (no...not the Bengal's version). While the song was being played, Bibi and I gazed into each other's eyes, and sang the song to each other.

We shared our vows, (written by ourselves) and then exchanged rings. After, we were announced, for the first time, as "Mr. and Mrs. Estlund".

And, we kissed. (c;

That's enough for now. More later...
Thanks for reading...

tommy

Preliminary Update

Well, things are going here in the Kville. Bibi and I are enjoying married life, and setting up house.

The stories? Well, I lost my ring in the Aruban ocean. We were swimming in about 5 and a half feet of water, and my ring just slipped off. I started hyperventilating, freaking out, and totally spazzing....(listen, I've owned exactly ONE ring in my life, and it's my damn wedding ring, and I DON"T want to lose it!! So, I feel it's PERFECTLY acceptable for me to freak out and scream like a little child....oh, wait...I didn't scream like a little child....well, not much anyway....)...when Bibi--VERY calmly says to me, "Hon, go get some goggles, I'll stay right here." So, I found this guy who had some snorkeling gear, he loaned me the goggles, and Bibi dove down to look for it. And...um, found it. (First look, too!)

As for the ceremony and reception? Well, it's hard to describe perfection....it was absolutely amazing. Bibi and I talked about it alot afterward, and we came to the realization that it was TOTALLY different than we thought it would be...but it couldn't have gone better! Go look at the pictures....man.

Oh, and the parasailing was fun....Bibi enjoyed it, and I thought it was cool, although one of the carabeaners (sp?) wasn't entirely closed...so, you know that scared me a bit.

All right. That's all for now...oh, I'm reading an interesting book called "The Science of Superheros". It sounds cheesy, and I want everyone to know that I didn't read comic books, but the book is pretty good.

Oh, and I love my new iPod. It's cool....mkay?

Bibi and I are going to Kansas City next weekend for my birthday and possibly a baseball game. Good times...good times.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Sometimes kids say the wisest things...

Hey everyone! I've got more to post, much...MUCH more to post, but I'm going to do it in pieces...so, here's one of 'em.

My 7-almost-8 year old sister-in-law wrote a very special book as a wedding present to Bibi and I, and I'm going to transcribe it here for your reading pleasure...

Here it is,
"Marriage Is..." by Ami.

"Marriage is being together...
Loving one another...
Standing up for one another...
Discipline...
Taking care of one another...
Jobs...
Money...
Fun...
Sadness...
Joy...
Anger...
Work...
Generosity...
Celebrations...
Talking...
Plans...
Going new places...
and most of all Love."

We just think that is the coolest thing...and, we really wanted to share that with all of you. (c; So, hope you enjoyed it.

Oh, and our wedding pictures are now up on the web, for anyone who would like to go see them...

www.collages.net

Username: 061006
Password: 10799

(They look GOOD!)

All right...I"ll give you all the juicy details about the wedding, the ceremony, the reception, the honeymoon...losing my ring (in the ocean)...parasailing, plane rides, the MASS NUMBER OF HONEYMOONERS we met...and more....later. (c;

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

I'm Back.

(c;


More later....

break from posting...

Hey everyone...um...well, I won't be able to blog for the next week and a half or so. Why, you ask? Well....um...I'm getting married tomorrow. So, that's why. (c;

books...hmm...what are those?

Well, I realized that the roots of this blog--the books that I'm reading--has largely been ignored lately, and this post is an attempt to rectify that glaring transgression. (It's also an excuse to use big words.)

I finished a new book by Steven King a couple of days ago, entitled "Cell". It's about a frequency transmitted by cell phones that creates a new national terror: Zombie-like creatures. (Anyone who has stood in line at a grocery store lately knows that this isn't too far a cry from what cell phones actually do!)

The book was interesting...I found that it recalled King's greatest work (in my opinion) The Stand. A small group of survivors attempt to place some level of normalcy into their lives after some horrible tragedy (The Stand: A plague; Cell: Zombies) knocks out seeminly all of the much relied on infrastructure of our country. There is also a "bad" guy (Stand: The Trashcan Man; Cell: The Raggedy Man--also called The President of Harvard--I prefer the second name.) The similarities between the two books were striking, and I thought a little distracting. It was, in all honesty, a bit disappointing. I used to love King's work, and this just seemed to lack originality. All in all, I would suggest reading the Stand, and skipping Cell.

(One note, King did make use of the post 9/11 terrorist fear that has America in it's grip, and that was interesting.)

I just finished another book today, one entitled Amish Confidential, by Chris Burkholder. I found that my expectations for this book FAR out weighed the actual quality of the book. It was VERY poorly written, again, in my opinion. I was really interested in finding out about the Amish culture, especially from someone who has experienced it first hand, and found that it was very boring. The writing was very immature...it felt like it was being written by a fifth grader. He was redundant, and the book lacked any semblence of organizational structure. It was confusing and the lack of a logical flow made what should have been shocking revelations (beastiality, incest, sex, drugs, abuse) dull and lackluster.

Wow...I don't think I've ever written such negative reviews of books before, have I? Hey, Hadler, apparently I don't love EVERYTHING I read, do I? (c;

Just started another book, entitled "Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About" by Mil Millington. Only about 10 pages into it, but already I've laughed out loud enough times to frighten Buddy the dog. (Poor Buddy...he doesn't understand good literature.)

All right...that's all.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

HOLY TUESDAY BATMAN!!!!

Hey ya'll! Well, since I've arrived in KC, we've just had an amazing time. We had lunch with my mom, stepdad, and one of my sisters, and that was awesome. Great time relaxing, and my sister has a wonderful house, and it was just really nice and relaxing. Hung out with Bibi's family, and that was great, too. Good times abound.

Sunday night we hung out with friends, and that was nice. Yesterday, we got together around noon, and made our itinerary for the wedding, which was good. Every little thing we do that needs to be done before the wedding, seems like a symbolic huge step towards actually getting married, and I get more excited with each step!! I've had a perpetual grin/smile on my face since we got here. (And, even more importantly, I've had what an old friend used to call, a "soul grin" on the whole time. MAN I"M EXCITED!!!)

We also were able to line up someone to play the song that we really wanted to have played at the wedding, and that looks like it's going to go really well.

Oh, and along the excitement lines...
BACK STORY: Junior Year of high school, a Sunday in the spring, after church: I was absolutely stoked about joining the peace corps. IN FACT, I called them and asked about the possibility of joining before college. Realized, that wasn't going to happen. (They aren't that needy, they can actual limit volunteers to college grads (for the most part.))

FLASH FORWARD TO 16 MONTHS AGO: Bibi and I discussed how we had both kinda wanted to do the peace corps at one time. Conversation fizzles.

FLASH TO A MONTH AGO: Bibi and I realize that we want to wait to have kids for a couple of years, we are going to be in Kirksville until next year, but after that, well, the whole world is open to us. Why not? Why NOT?! Heck, let's go for it!! C'mon, when will there be a better time for us? So, yesterday we spent a bunch of time online researching and we're absolutly psyched about the whole thing. And, there is a conference in July about the Peace Corps in St. Louis, and we're planning on going. WHOO HOO!!!

All right...more later!

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Monday, Tuesday, Happy Days....

Hey everyone! I'm sitting here in our living room, typing away on my laptop--which is now internet enabled!!!--updating my blog. whoo hoo!!!

Bibi and I are leaving here in about 20 minutes to go down to KC for the rest of the time til the wedding. I. Can't. WAIT. !!!!!

Just had to pack for the next two weeks, as well as for the honeymoon. (THAT was awesome!!!)

All right....I"ll update from KC...hope everyone is doing well!!!

Oh, and Steven King's book, Cell, is really really good. More later!

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

...

Well, at last the day is here. I am done with school for another
year. It's always a bittersweet time. I'm going to miss these kids a
great deal. They're a good bunch, and I have a lot of fond memories. Good
times, good times.

Wedding plans are coming together. Bibi is amazing. She's really doing an
amazing job of organizing and situating, but I really feel like I'm a part
of the process--as much as I can be, before school is out.

Today is another one of those cool days where I get to play a fun song for
the kids...."School's Out" by Alice Cooper. Yeah, that's right. I'm THAT
teacher. (c;

Oh, and I found a HIlarious clip of the Peanuts Gang dancing to OutKast's
"Hey Ya", which I'm showing to the kids, too. (Thanks, Matt! It's
AWESOME!!!!)

Well, until later...God bless, and have a great day!

Thanks for reading...

tommy

Update

Hey everyone...

just wanted to drop a little note.

The year is winding down. Tomorrow we go on our major field trip of the
year. At 7:15, we (7 of 8 fifth grade classes) will board school busses
and ride two hours to Nauvoo Illinois, where we will spend our day touring
an 1840's village. Good times, good times.

We've gotten Bibi's things moved into our house, and she's leaving this
afternoon to go back to KC til the wedding. It's getting down to crunch
time, and we'll admit, it's a bit scary. (Not the actual being married
part--we're both cool with that--but the throwing of a huge major shindig
has us both a bit harried.)

On a much sadder and personal note...Kaya, my beautiful boxer is not doing
well. She's doing very poorly, actually. She's been incontinent for more
than a year now, and it's not gotten better, even with different
medications. I talked to the vet, and he told me that basically, at this
stage with her age, we can put her through an extensive and costly (+$2000)
set of tests, which will (given the aforementioned age) have slim to no
chance of providing helpful answers, or we can consider what no dog
owner/lover wants to consider.

She's been an amazing dog, and Bibi and I will miss her immensely. We
spent about half an hour last night taking pictures of our little girl and
I'm really not looking forward to the appointment tonight. Someone sent me
a really sweet poem/story today about the "rainbow bridge" and that was nice.

I'll talk to you all later, and God bless....

thanks for reading...

Tommy

greatest news today.

Knight Rider is being made into a movie. That. Is. AWESOME.

That is all.

greatest news today!!!!

Knight Rider is being made into a movie. That. Is. AWESOME.

That is all.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Testing

So, we're going to test this new-fangled thing out...so, this'll be short
in case this doesn't work.

My thigh is the color of a smurf. And, it hurts real smurfing bad.

Today starts the beginning of the end of the year for me. I've gotten
everything planned, everything scheduled and the end is in sight. So, I
got that going for me.

Oh, and seriously, if you haven't read "Lamb" by Christopher Moore...what
are you waiting for? It's ded-funny! (Oh, um...except, if you happen to
think that God doesn't have a sense of humor...then, um definitely DON"T
read the book. Yeah.

Karaoke tonight, looking forward to that. And, I'm taking requests if
anyone has one.

"Lost" tomorrow night. Wow, what a great show.

What About Brian? was great last night....left Bibi and I both SCREAMING
for another episode. (If you haven't watched it yet, check it out in
re-runville this summer.

That's all.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Hey ya'll!

So, just tried something, and we'll see how it goes.

Things are going well. School is gearing up/winding down, and I"m enjoying myself, and I believe the kids are, too. I'm getting married in less then 5 weeks, and I can't wait.

I'm in our new house, and I love it. Great location, nice time.

This weekend I had my bachelor party, and that was fun. My stepdad came up for it, and brought me his old bike. It's great! I rode it to school today, and promptly proceeded to run into a telephone pole on the way home. (Please--don't ask.)

The bike's ok. (The front brake needs to be checked out.) And, my thigh has a MASSIVE bruise on it. Yeah!!!! (Sarcasm.)

I'm re-reading "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." I LOVE this book. Absolutely hilarious and really interesting look at Jesus' human side. Good stuff.

All right, I think I've worked out so that I can post more frequently. We'll see.

Off to watch the Season Finale of What About Brian?

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Midweek Update, and a request...

So, things are going really well. The new house is awesome, school is fantastic, Bibi is great, and things are good in general.

I just finished up "Thank You for Smoking". Really good book. Very funny. I wanna see the movie now.

I took up "Assassins of Memory" again. It's about people who reject the idea of the Holocaust. It's very interesting, but really sad. Scary, too.

The request: Jim, you mentioned that I can post by sending an e-mail...can you send me an e-mail so that I can learn how to do that? Thanks!!!

Tommy

Hey ya'll. Just a quick note. Bibi and I moved me into the new house...and, it's awesome!!! I got out my record player, which I haven't had out for a while, and that was awesome. I put on The Who's "Baba O'Reilly", which, as my avid readers know, is my favorite. School's good, everything's great. My bachelor party is coming up, and I'm excited.

Looking forward to this weekend. Great band on Friday night, and I'm going home for the day Sunday. Good times.

Later...

Tommy