The 2014 Christmas Aftermath

Christmas 2014 was great, I really enjoyed watching Ava open her presents and I also came away with a few geeky sundries. Here are the highlights; enjoy and Happy New Year!

After almost nothing but rain we finally received a huge dumping of snow on Christmas Day!

Ava really got into Christmas this year. Her presents had an overall kitchen theme.

Santa told me he found this vintage 90's Disney's Snow White lunchbox with thermos at the DI for $1.50. The Jolly Guy can find some deals!

Santa find this little gem, Clue Little Detective, at the DI for just $2. Complete and in like new shape.

My wife got me a book that I've had my eye on for several years now, The Cult of LEGO! Maybe now I will finally join ULUG (The Utah LEGO User Group). Thank you Laura!

My siblings and I drew names for presents this year and Annie, the baby of the family, drew my name. She did not disappoint with her awesome gifts!

Annie gave me this awesome Hot Wheels logo T-shirt, along with a great Mario T-shirt!

Of course she also gave me some great little toys, these two Dino youngster you see above, as well as a beaver and a big old lizard. 

Lastly, my little sis gifted me a $10 iTunes gift card, which I used to purchase the animated mini-series Over The Garden Wall. It's AMAZING! I have watched 3 times already and I can't get enough of it!

Weeks before Christmas we went to the Festival of Trees and spotted an awesome Napoleon Dynamite Christmas tree. 

After Christmas steals:

This magnificent "white pine" cost me FIVE BUCKS!!! This tree may be my greatest bargain hunt EVER! A couple years ago I marveled at the beauty of Laura Hughes tree of Boo Bobby. Ever since then I have wanted a white pine of my own and now I finally have one! There will be a Valentine's Day tree this year for sure!

31 cents ain't bad for these fun vintage style Santa ornaments, found on eBay.

Next month is January, time to make resolutions! I will be going bat poop crazy with organizational and financial goals, culling down the old toy collection and making it look like a crazy awesome toy museum or something. Hopefully I will be able to find some new homes for my access goodies and make some sweet moolah in the process. Stay tuned!

Of Beards And Men

I've had beards on the brain lately and that eventually led to a beard on my face. Not the grizzliest of beards mind you, my facial hair has always been a bit odd. Half of my facial hair is blonde, despite my dark brown head of hair. I never could grow a decent beard, though I did grow the nappiest goatee you ever did see during the tail end of my senior year in high school. I've always been a bit like my fictitious hero, Napoleon Dynamite. I was always super jealous of anyone in high school that could grow a nice beard or mustache. I totally have beard envy.

LUCKY! (Source)

Jared Hess (Director and Co-Writer of Napoleon Dynamite) with actor Jon Heder

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From soul patch...

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...too full on beard! His wife, Jerusha, co-writer of all the Hess films, seems pretty thrilled about Jared's awesome beard!

On another note, I really like what Peter Jackson has done with the dwarves in The Hobbit movies. Each dwarf has a unique look with a unique beard to boot; proving that you don't need a huge honkin' 3 foot long beard to be considered a true dwarf. All you need is, at the very least, a few sprigs of facial hair. I may not have the fullest of beards, but by Jove, it's a beard fit for a dwarf!

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When I first read The Hobbit I couldn't tell Nili from Gili, or Bofur from Gofur for that matter. In my mind's eye they were all just a bunch of dwarves, all with the standard dwarfy beard. They're pretty much identical in the original cartoon as well. No donut beard experiment going on here.

Since my wife isn't the biggest fan of my new facial plumage, I'm afraid it'll just have to go. Soon I'll be back to my baby face self again and I can expect to be called "buddy", "hey kid", "young man" and I've even been called "sweetheart" and "little one". Please, never ever refer to a grown man with such terms! Unless that man is your husband or boyfriend these terms are just downright hurtful!

  "it's like kissing a bush!"

         

My sister Percie was recently wed to a wonderful bearded man. He's quite the musician, so be sure to check out Rob's band L'Anarchriste and their latest album "Giant" on Kickstarter!

Laura of Boo Bobby suggested I catalogue some portraits with my toys before the beard goes down the sink and is lost forever. What a grand idea! 

 Shave that face, human scum!

       

Real men take care of there own, beard or no beard.

The beard came off and I went just mustache for a day!

It's not a hotdog mirror, but it's close enough.

The lip brow

The walrus

Bearded Blogger Greats:
Cal
The Geek
The Nerd
The Trash Man
Lord of all Little Weirdos
Laura's Hubby of Boo Bobby (that kinda rhymes!)

If I didn't mention your blog then I don't know whether or not you or one you love has a beard. Throw in a link below and I'll add you to the Bearded Blogger Greats! Mustaches count!

Extreme Fighting Action Playset, CHAINSAW TO THE BOOTLEG!

I snagged me a new bootleg toy from the dollar store, an eXTreme Fighting ACTION PLAYSET. It's the hottest new thing!

Now, normally I would never buy a bootleg wrestling toy, but there was something very special about this "playset" that you may have noticed.

HE HAS A FREAKING CHAINSAW!!!! What kind of luchador (this figure is in the likeness of Mistico, by the way) carries around a friggin' chainsaw!? Extreme Fighting is right! Makes the Xtreme Fighting League look like a joke! I will most likely keep this one on the card simply because one would ever believe it came with a chainsaw if I ever opened it. Besides, the toy quality is so crapy that I might as well leave Mistico forever encased. Sorry buddy, looks like you'll never get to fight in the ring with your trusty, rusty chainsaw. It's a crying shame.

It kinda reminds me of the Thundercone in the Napoleon Dynamite Animated Series.

In classic bootleg style the card back is as plain and boring as can be.

Since we're on the topic of bootleg toys, I thought I'd show off Crypto 137, from the Destroy All Humans video game!

Those eyes! He really does want to destroy all those humans!

Big old screws in the back, a bootleg staple.

 This cute little guy came in a Goodwill grab bag along with my Playmobil mummy. He's pretty cool for a bootleg and he's creepy as sin! I wish I had the ray gun he normally comes with. Oh well, he'll just have to use his telekinesis or something to destroy all humans. You'll find a complete review of this "Alien Power" toy at Poe Ghostal's Points Of Articulation. "SAVE OUR PLANET"!

Sunday Reflections: How Do You Measure Success?

I have a dead end job and obviously it doesn't pay very well, and because of this I feel like I am very unsuccessful. I have a BS degree and I have been searching for a better job, but still nothing has turned up. I have a wonderful wife and the cutest little daughter. My job does suck, but it pays the bills, we're renting a nice house, and the rent is reasonable. Sometimes I just wish I could have a fancy pants job and make $100,000+ a year or something. This may be a fictional example, but Scrooge McDuck is swimming in cash and he gets to go on all sorts of awesome adventures. If I had gobs of money I'd go on some grand adventures with my family. I'd also be able to better help those in need.




Recently I have become more active with my blogging and I have met so many wonderful people within the blogging community, and that has made me very happy. Now I understand why my wife has been so into blogging all these years. She tells me I have caught "the blogging bug". Thank you so much to everyone that has followed, commented and read my little blog! It really means a lot to me! Every time I read a comment it's like getting a little note in the mail from a good friend. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So, is money really an adequate way to measure success? How do you measure success? I often feel like a failure because I don't make more money. Does anyone else ever feel the same way? How do you overcome that feeling?

Let your voice be heard in the comments below and have a happy Sunday!

The one that got away

Just look at him in all his derpy glory! But come on, $10!? That's daylight robbery, practically retail!! This is a thrift store, not an antiques and collectables shop! 

Well, I decided to let this one go. I thought maybe they'd drop the price later, but I wasn't surprised that Napoleon was gone a week later. Some Granny probably emptied her coin purse and bought him for her grand kid. I swear, so many elderly women go into the DI with money to burn on the darnedest things.

Will I ever see a Napoleon Dynamite Doll again? Probably not at the DI, but if I wanna pay top dollar I found several on eBay. But where's the fun in that? It's the thrill of the hunt that keeps me collecting; that holy grail of a find that's underpriced at a dollar. Next time Napoleon, you will be mine!

Did you ever see something amazing, but let it slip away? I wanna hear about, so don't be shy and tell me about it in the comments. 

Nappy D. Gear!

Official Napoleon Dynamite "Endurance" T-shirt complete with Napoleon's signature.  When I found this shirt I was all like,"Yesssss! SWEET! Freakin' awesome!"  Finding a Napoleon related item (at the D.I. no less!!!) was nothing short of awesome!!!! (I don't think there can be enough "!" in this instance!!!!!)

Total price: $2