Monday, September 30, 2013

Fantasy Football Spanking

Over the last several months I have been reading blogs and finding out that there are lots of different types of spankings going on.

Punishment Spankings - BUSTED, you broke a rule or crossed the wrong line!

Love this movie!

Reconnect/Maintenance Spankings - Role affirmation, reality check and checking in with each other.



Erotic/Good Girl Spankings - Let's get it on!

Not sure we broke new ground here, but it is a first for me.....

Fantasy Football Spanking - You thought it was bad when they scored points against you... Let's see how you feel now that their points help turn your bottom red.

What???????

Some background points:
1. For those not versed in Fantasy Football, it's basically where you pick players from different teams that play particular positions and how they play earns them/you points.  You play in a league and are matched up hoping your players score you more fantasy points than your opponent's players get them.  The games are on Thursday night, Sunday (most the day) and Monday night. I am in three leagues and Thursday's game was really important for my overall chances of winning this weekends match ups. 

2. I might be just a tad competitive... 
3. This is my first week with the "No cleaning Thursday night prior to the cleaning lady that is coming on Friday morning".  



This is what happen....

The family was fed, the kids were on their side of the house and my husband was in his man cave... Freedom!

I decided to watch Thursday night football in bed and really live it up...

 - Rice Chips....  (I am healthy, this is my version of junk food.. Work with me!)
 - Vitamin Waters...  (I always drink at least two, so line them up.)
 - iPad with Fantasy Football application to show me the points add up... 
 - Remotes near by to alter sound as needed...

Ok, let the game begin!

So maybe I got a tiny bit carried away, but how are the players going to know what they need to do unless I tell (yell) them instructions? Maybe if I jump around a bit that would get their attention too!  Yeah, maybe a combination of both would even work better...  During the first part of the second quarter my husband came upstairs and walked into a mess. The quilt was hanging off the end of the bed, pillows were all over the bed and maybe one or two might have ended up on the floor in front of the TV.  Rice chips were just all over and my monster puppy was madly crunching away at them.  I was on my knees in important conversation with the players on the screen, so I didn't notice his exact arrival.  But I did happen to hear the door shut and the click of the lock being turned.  (It is amazing how one becomes so tuned into that little click sound over the years.. Maybe because that is usually the sound leading up to the smack, smack, smack sound.)

I watched him calmly walk over and pick up the pillows that had jumped (seriously, how else did they get there?) onto the floor and shut off the TV. He walked over to the bed and placed the pillows against the headboard, never losing eye contact with me... Then he made his move and within seconds he was sitting with his back against said pillows with me over his lap.  Down came the pajama bottoms and undies and up goes the shirt to my shoulders.  And then.... NOTHING.  I can feel one of his hands resting on my lower back and the other on my bottom.  Usually when I am in this position he is all action, so this was scary new.. 

Let the internal struggle begin... Should I say something or would that make this even worse... A joke, that could lighten the mood, change his mind... Um...Dang I can't think of one good joke. Ugh! 

In the end I decided to lay there and wait him out...  

Minutes go by... Not sure how many, but long enough for me to relax and start down a really bad line of thinking... Just how bad the kid's bathroom looked right now, because it looked horrific this morning...Oh and I know my oldest didn't pick his dirty clothes up either... Grrrrrrr.  Now I am not certain if he felt me tense even more at this train of thought or what but right about mid growl he decided to ask me a question.

Him: "What part of the house are you mentally cleaning right now?"

Me: "Sigh. Our Son's bedroom floor is just covered in dirty clothes, I just know it!"  

Him: "Is the no cleaning rule behind the scene I walked into?"

Me: "Um... I don't think so."  (I honestly didn't know, I mean it was in the back of my mind all day that I couldn't clean that night.  But was I freaking out over it???)

Him: "So why do you feel the quarterback on the 49ers team deserved to be called that really creative string of names?" (Yeah, I am really ashamed of that string now. Not one of my finer moments.)

Me: "Well he keeps throwing to the players of my opponent and not one of mine! I mean are they suppose to play favorites or spread the wealth? I say move the ball around and be an equal opportunity quarterback. But oh no, he has to target two guys out of what...like 10 out there and give them all the points!" (Insert a humph and dramatic crossing of my arms.)

Him: "So which two players seem to be racking up the points against you?"

Me: "Gore and Boldin... Grrrrrr!"

Him: "You thought it was bad when they scored points against you... Let's see how you feel now that their points help turn your bottom red." 

Me: "What???"

Him: "I have your iPad right here and every time an additional point is made by either Gore or Boldin will earn your bottom a smack."

SMACK! SMACK!  SMACK!

Him: "You can thank Gore for those."

He has NEVER.. EVER.. EVER.. done anything like this before. I had no idea what to think and was speechless... After those three smacks he literally sat there and rubbed my back and kneaded my shoulders and would move downwards to my lower thighs and move back up... Every time the application alerted him to more points he would smack accordingly.  Now the smacks were just enough to get stingy but not like a bad sting which until last night would make ZERO sense to me. At one point I was rooting these two players on in my head!!!  

We stayed in this position for just over an hour until he was ready to remove his clothes and take some more invasive actions.  

In the end Gore had 41 points and Boldin 20!  My bottom was a lovely shade of red and I was in a very lovely place that got even better once my husband got his clothes off...  

I love Fantasy Football... Happy sigh.

   





Thursday, September 26, 2013

Kenzie's Spanking Survey


I saw this survey and it looked fun, only it has taken me days to get it done and out... Life just seems to get in the way of fun some times... :0)


1.) Was there a certain event from your life, that sparked the spanking interest? If so, feel free to share: 
We have always done DD, but he grew up watching I Love Lucy! So I blame Ricky!

2.) What do you most often call your HOH/Spanker? (Sir, Master, etc.)
Um...Out loud or in my head?  :0)
I have pulled Sir out once or twice, but I was in super big trouble.

3.) What does your HOH/Spanker most often call you? (Young Lady, Girl, etc)
Woman!  (Never goes too well with this one) Little one and Hun... (These two are pretty safe)

4.) We're building a big spanko bonfire, which one implement are you bringing to toss in?
Wooden Paddle...Hate it!!!

5.) We all know how many punishments there are to choose from; spanking, lecturing, corner time, etc.. but what about rewards? Do you have a favorite 'reward' that is used? If not, what's something you'd like used as a reward?

Hhhhmmmmm... We haven't really done the reward thing (but I am going to bring that up now, so thank you!)  I would love extra alone time with him...Maybe a romantic night out or away.

6.) What's that one phrase, that when it's used, you know you're in trouble?

"We will be having a discussion about that..."  or "That is a discussion point!" or pretty much any phrase that follows the "Woman!" exclamation.  

7.) What's something you'd like to cross off your spanking bucket list? Being shy is not an option here people. ;)

Um... Ok, so I am really behind the times and have just read 50 Shades of Grey... I have never been spanked for fun or used any kind of sex toy... So a combination of those would definitely be on my list to cross off.  :0)  

8.) Someone comes to you, and says they just started practicing domestic discipline. What's the biggest piece of advice you can give them?

Trust, communication and patience... Positive intent.  These are all key things to focus on.

9.) Where is the craziest place you've been spanked?

Elevator...  No wait, Mall bathroom!  Yeah, I think that one wins. 

10.) We talked about a spanking bucket list, now let's get a little more into it.. what about a BDSM style bucket list? What's something you'd like to cross off of that?

Hhhhmmmm.. Maybe a flogger experience.. Or very light bondage. 

11.) Is there a punishment you thought you'd never try, but ended up trying and finding effective?

Nope...  Not yet anyway.  :0)

12.) What is something you wish you knew before you started DD/TTWD?

That is had a name and more people still do this past the 50s.. I really thought my husband was born a generation are two too late.  

13.) If you could take a break from one rule, for one week, which rule would it be?

Well those following my blog know the actual rule list is new.. So not sure at this point which one is going to be the hardest and one to go for a week.  :0)  

14.) This might sound like a no brainer at first, but really think about it. If you could only have one sort of spanking in your dynamic, would you rather it be discipline or fun?

Sigh... Discipline, I am sort of a hand full.  (so can't believe I am admitting this.)

15.) If your HOH/Spanker messed up, and offered to let you spank them, would you? Why/Why not?

No way.. It would just be/feel WRONG.  

16.) What is your favorite form of aftercare?

Cuddle time.. I love to lay in his arms and cuddle in.  

17.) How was DD/spanking brought up to you, or how did you bring it up to your partner?

He flat out told me if I put myself in a dangerous situation he would put me over his knee and spank me... That was prior to us even dating, we grew up together and the man crushed on me for years without me having a clue.  Well and he is four years older than me, so he had to wait for a bit to take action on his feelings. He was just born alpha and I fell in love with him anyway. HA! 

18.) If your spanker could use only one implement from here on out, what would they use?

The wooden paddle I hate.... Sigh.

19.) Do you have a favorite pair of panties to wear when you know you're going to be spanked? If so, what are they?

Well... No.  Plus they don't get to stay on anyway so...  

20.) Unfortunately/fortunately (depending on how you look at it) mind reading hasn't yet been perfected. What's something you want your HOH/Dom/Spanker to know? (For example, don't be afraid to spank harder, or something along those lines.) Don't be afraid, spill!

Wow... This is a REALLY good question! :0)  When he is spanking me and he asks me questions, drives me crazy... Stop a second and let me answer hello, or don't ask me anything in that moment.. Because some times he wants an answer and other times he just keeps going... Way confusing and I have other things on my mind at that point...Like how my backside is on fire!!

My husband found Kenzie's blog and I saw this and thought it would be fun... Thanks so much Kenzie!!  

Irish Lucky

Change

So last week I had my chicken dance down to an art and got myself into a load of trouble... Sigh.  Not a good week last week....


I did give my husband some blogs to read, but it took a trip over his knee first.  I usually do change very well, but this possibility of change for some reason just really freaked me out.  I mean it is not like our marriage was broken and flapping in the wind or anything... So if it's not broke, why fix or mess with it was my point of view.  So once he got through my thick head it was not fixing but enhancing our relationship that was his/our focus, I chilled out.  I think since we just started our relationship with him taking me in hand, we just never talked about it... It was just the way it was/is.  So now actually talking about how our relationship works is very interesting and honestly I feel even closer to him now... Which I never felt far away from him before all this, but now we are just even closer, if that makes any sense.

My husband read the blogs I sent him and he got really ambitious and found several more.  He has actually turned me on to several more that I am having a blast reading!  So lots of reading going on in this house at night.  :0)

Change....

So we now have actual rules... Yes, we do!  Before it was just sort of a respect and safety thing, cross either line and we end up having a "discussion".  (He calls it that, not me.. I don't think me being over his knee getting spanked while he tells me why I am there is a discussion at all... Thank you very much!)  This came out in one of our talks last weekend, we had LOTS of talking last weekend.  Two way talking so in my opinion those were discussions.

Now we have some rules that we both agreed on together after LOTS of talking (negotiating).  We basically talked about what bothers me in our relationship or what he does that bothers me and then flipped it to his feelings on our relationship and my actions.  We both ended up with lists of things to work on and we are going to check in weekly to discuss progress.  Only a few things on my list turned into actual rules.... I think they are the ones that drive him most batty.. Like when I run through our house and clean the night before the cleaning lady comes drives him and the kids crazy.  He called last year and got me a cleaning service to lower my stress and take the burden off me.  Only it has created more stress because I run around like a mad person cleaning my house every Thursday night and screaming at kids to pick things up.  Sigh.. Yes, I am a nut!

He is also going to include some new consequences to rule breaking as well, which I am all for by the way. No corner time, we both agree I am way to hyper to stand still for any amount of time. But loss of privileges seemed like something that might be effective.  We shall see...  :0)

We are now going to have weekly "reconnects", we got that from a few blogs.  I have never been spanked other than for punishment so this is going to be interesting.  Not sure what to expect, will have to see this weekend what happens.  He is still reading blogs like a mad man, so more ideas may arise... But for now this is what we are doing.

So now to the really good stuff... Our sex life has gotten REALLY, REALLY and I do mean REALLY amazing in the last week.  We were just plain boring before, not that either of us knew that until this last week and stumbling into this AMAZING blogging community.

So from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all so very much for sharing your lives and experiences to help others like us figure things out!!!


Irish Lucky...

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Chicken dance....

Cluck, cluck, cluck...

I was suppose to send my husband the blogs that I have been reading yesterday... I didn't.  Instead I got really good at the chicken dance, because I totally chickened out.  Sigh..

I am still trying to figure out if he was on to something when he said that I wouldn't have thought we were not doing the DD stuff right, if something was missing in my mind. 

I opened a BIG can of worms here and I am scrambling to figure out how to get that lid back on and the can GONE.  Or maybe I am trying to decide how I feel about things changing before he decides... Ugh.. Does that make me wrong twice or just a bigger chicken in need of a larger dance routine?

Thank goodness he is a Vegan, or I could end up like this before all is said and done!


Monday, September 16, 2013

Wonderful weekend....

I had a lovely surprise on Friday afternoon...My husband called and told me to try and get off work early, as he and I were heading out alone this weekend!  Of course following the call all my work related focus was shot all to heck, so I pretty much shut everything down and ran for the exit. HA!

He had our teens tucked with friends for the weekend and his bag was by the front door when I got home... So he had this planned early in the week, sneaky ...  I love my man, but spontaneous and sneaky he is not...So that made this all the much better to me. I pretty much danced up the stairs and I did some amazing twirling motions in the walk-in closet... I even briefly wondered why I never took ballet, maybe I would have been good at it.  :0) Yes, dancing on air pretty much at this point.

We live where it is super hot 8 months of the year, so we went to a cooler climate.  I forgot how fun it is to be cold and wear layers. We ate way too much, drank just enough and cuddled (G rated word, I am working on the courage to get more detailed) more than we have in months.

Another thing we did tons of...talking.  He and I are usually really good at reading each other, so we sort of get lazy in the communication between us.  We are not perfect by any means either so some times our reading of each other can be totally wrong too.  I think lately we have been lazy and just TOTALLY WRONG! Sigh....  He and I both felt the disconnect, but he was calling us on it.  So we spent lots of time going back over some topics/events that have come up over the last few months... Wow, we were really on totally different pages.  I can't remember a time where we were so broken.  :0(  Honestly, this scared me once we got so far into our conversation and we started to see just how far we were from each other.

I also confessed to finding this wonderful blog world and how we sort of fit in as a DD couple.  His eyes got big when I delved into the topic of blogs I had been reading.  Interesting enough, he knew it has a name... So I was not amused he had not shared that with me before.  His come back was he didn't think I would care or was interested in "it" having a name...It is what we do, how we work as a couple. Period. 

I have been absorbing as many blogs and details I could in the last few months.. Worried maybe we were doing "it" wrong and freaking out about should I tell him or not.. I mean what if I did that and he wanted to change how we did things, would I be open to that... We have been married for 17 years, so this would be introducing some change... We aren't broken, so should we be even thinking of fixing anything..  You see I say we a lot in that paragraph but it was only me doing all this worrying and thinking, because I was too chicken to talk to him.  Ugh..

So this is our problem.. We are not openly communicating on things, big or small any more. We are single minded when we should be double minded. (That was what he said this weekend) I could have just smiled and said you got it babe, cause I knew what he meant.  But I have this problem where I take everything really literally.. So I was like how in the world would we ever finalize a decision if you had two minds to make up.. Honey it takes you forever to make up your first one.  :0)  Yeah, I had to go there... I am a fast thinker, fly by the seat of my pants in the moment lets move it type of gal.. He likes to look at all the angles, mull it over, make glue, knit a blanket... Ooops, ok maybe went a bit far there.. He likes to really think some thing through before deciding.  So this double minded thing just really had me stuck. HA!

So once he was done not being amused with me about the glue thing... :0)  We came up with some ways to make sure we check in with each other more and really communicate.  If we are reading signals we still need to check in with the other person and make sure we are right and not assume anything.

Oh and he wants to read some of these blogs I told him about.  Gulp.  Then he said we should sit down and talk about when and were I thought we were maybe not doing things right.. I told him we should probably just stick with his theory that how we do things is how we work.. Period.  But he said that I must have some doubts or I wouldn't think we are not doing it right and maybe those points should be addressed.  To that I said maybe I am not sure how I would feel if we changed things and he said we would worry about that later, but he wanted to take a look.

So after I post this I am going to start sending him some blogs to read... Double gulp..  I guess time will tell where this leads us.  
 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

The first time...

All names have been changed to protect the innocent.  :0)


I grew up in a small town and a wonderful neighborhood.  All the parents knew each other, as they all had grown up together.  This meant that the kids of the neighborhood could pretty much run free, as everyone looked out for us. If it was time to eat, we were fed and if it was getting dark we were sent home. 

We had one home that became the social hub, all of us kids would gathered there the most. It was right smack in the middle of the neighborhood and they ALWAYS had home made cookies on hand. They had 8 kids already, so maybe the theory at that point was what was a few more coming and going..  Naturally Marie became like a second Mom to most of us, since we were all there on a regular basis. I know this was true for me, as my BFF growing up was her son Jay. We are the same age and went all through school together.

Jay is the third oldest out of the eight and the runt.. But let me tell ya he stands at 6'2, so that tells you how the Smith boys are built. (BIG)  He and I together don't always make the best of choices, so we got into our fair share of trouble.  There is one particular time that I want to share....

We were sixteen, in his truck and just coming back from a party.  We had another one of our friends with us, Brad. So we were pretty wound up and it was getting late.  There weren't many cars on the road with us at this point and we were pulling up to a red light.  Jay was driving, I was in the middle and Brad was in the passenger seat.  I saw Jay look up into the rear view mirror and smirk, so I looked up too.  Jay is second nature to me so I knew what he was thinking before he even shouted it out... I saw we were alone on both sides and only a single pair of lights were coming so it was pretty safe.  So when Jay shouted "Fire Drill", I started giggling and sliding out after him. 

Ok, so for those of you who didn't do silly things like this in your youth.. A fire drill is where everyone in the car exits the direction of the person who initiated it and runs around the vehicle and back in that same side before the red light changes.

We made it all the way to the end of his truck before the very bright beam of light came on right in our faces.  Then we did the domino thing.. I hit Jay's back and Brad took us all the way down.  So we are now on the ground at the feet of the officer that has now come to the front of his car to tell us to get up and on the side walk... NOW!  He was a bit grumpy in my opinion.  His fellow officer was having a hard time keeping a straight face while we were lined up on the side walk.  He said if he only had a camera to take a picture of our faces when that light came on..

Anyway.. Officer grumpy ended up giving us a lecture on safety and pulling me aside to suggest that if one of those boys was my boy friend he was doing a very poor job of keeping me safe.  Jay got a ticket and we were sent on our way. 

The following Friday I was at Jay's baseball game and his older brother Alex sat down next to me.  Alex is the oldest of the eight and is four years older than Jay and I. At this time I always thought that Alex wanted to be my older brother and that bugged me to no end.  I already had an older brother that watched me 24/7 and made dating impossible.  So when he sat down and asked me about the party last weekend I was less than polite. 

The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Spare me the lecture, I know we were stupid and blah blah..." 

Him: "Oh honey I didn't come over with a lecture, just a promise."

Me: "A promise?"

Him: " I promise you ever put yourself in that kind of danger again and you will find yourself over my knee."

Yeah, that was the first time my now husband promised me a trip over his knee..

I asked my husband once when did he know I was the one.. He said remember that time when you were ten and I told you that you were short... (I was super short then and sensitive about it) You looked me straight in the eye and stomped on my foot and said "well I can  grow, but you are stuck being a boy so how are you going to fix that?"

Yeah, I sort of remember that happening.

He said that he just knew that feisty little girl was going to grow into one hell of a woman.. His woman.  :0)

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

I Could have...

Tap, tap, tap... ( his foot)

" I'm thinking!" (Actually I was, just not about what he wanted me to think about.)

Tap, tap, tap... 

Now with all the tapping his foot was doing it was very easy for me to lose all focus and jump onto another line of thinking...So in a way this next part was really his fault! No seriously... He was tapping really loudly! Sigh...

" Your night might have been better if you wore a different pair of shoes. Those are the ones you don't like right?"
(insert innocent eyes here)

Clunk, clunk, clunk... (Him coming towards me with a determined stride)

......That was last Friday night................

Things you should know dear journal, so you can wrap your arms around this less than wonderful evening.

1. Those shoes are a sore point and have now been destroyed. (She writes with a huge grin)
2. His family stresses me out...A LOT!
3. I had to let some one at work go on Friday afternoon and that always gets to me.
4. I don't like the word freakin.. Seriously, it bugs the snot out of me! My son learned this very quickly when he came home thinking that word was the bomb.

Ok, back to it...

Last Friday we were to be across town by 7 pm to attend my FIL's birthday celebration. It was just after 5pm when I walked into mass hysteria! Literally! (At least at the time that is what I felt) My daughter was cradling a shoe to her chest and screeching (as only teenage girls can do) at our puppy. Looking down our little monster was happily chewing away at the less than fortunate partner shoe. My son is rolling his eyes and wanting to know yet again why his girl friend couldn't come to the family celebration. (We had covered this topic many times during the week already) Then my dear husband, who is completely unfazed by any of this asks me if I remembered to get gas on the way home. (Um, no thank you very much) Of course that is not what I said...

I started with the smallest first! "You! Drop that shoe...Bad puppy, go to your bed!" He left tracks on my carpet he moved so fast...(smart dog) Then I swiveled and pointed at my daughter. "You, suck it up! He has eaten more of my shoes than anyone else in this family. Go into my closet and find a pair of shoes that matches that outfit." (of course she was wearing one of my outfits anyway so why not just finish it off with my shoes too!!!) Then I went for the oldest, he had backed up a step at this point.  "I said NO and I mean NO now and the other millions times that we have talked about this.  One more word and you can spend the weekend grounded!" (I am so not ready for him to be taken from me, he is MINE little teenage girl)

I was on a roll.. Yeah, kicking butt and taking names later.  I would love to tell you my roll ended there.  But I had one more swivel in me and that put me pointing at my hubby.  He was no longer looking unfazed at this point, but I bet he had no idea what was coming next.  Instead of batting my eye lashes and letting him know I had forgotten to get gas and maybe could he run and get some while I changed...

"No, I didn't freakin get gas! So you can go get the freakin gas, while I go get freakin ready so we aren't freakin late!"  (Yep, four freakins in a row)

I went upstairs and shut our door and leaned back against it.... The look on my husband's face before I made my big exit, pretty much gave me a reality check.  (insert really large gulp here) 

We were only a few minutes late to the party and it was pretty fun.  The ride there and back was pretty silent.  My husband and I had been together all night, side by side with smiles... But we never once spoke directly to each other and the small crack between us felt like a full on valley by the time we got home.

Which brings us back to the start of my entry...

I could have told him how bad I felt about everything...

I could have told him about having to let some one go just before leaving the office...

I could have just straight out apologized and pleaded insanity...

But I didn't.. Couldn't actually.  It was just all stuck in my throat... I mean literally the words and emotions were stuck.  Honestly when it was all "discussed", I still have been unsettled.  Sigh...


Anyway, this has been rattling around in my brain since Friday.  Hopefully now that I have written this all out, it will settle down and let some thing else rattle for a while. 

Until tomorrow dear journal,
Irish Lucky

Monday, September 9, 2013

Getting it started...

I was told to consider starting a journal, that it would help me release pent up frustration and document my emotions. Not sure documenting my emotions is really wise, but ok doc you have the phd. Personally, I would like to go back to kick boxing...But since my back doesn't like that very much this is my attempt at another solution. Sigh.

Honestly, I have been following several blogs for almost a year now...I am one of those lurker types that love to read and get emotionally wrapped up in the story of another's journeys. The amount of wisdom and comfort I have gotten from these brave bloggers is incredible. So I figured it was time to give back or at least entertain those that happen to stumble onto my humble little blog.

So here is my start....


I have a very stressful corporate job that has me managing people around the globe.  My days are spent assigning work, managing technical designs and removing road blocks to productivity.  I can spend up to 12 hours a day on conference calls, which is lots of fun since I am an introvert.  Not even a low level introvert mind you but a top of the charts give me a book and glass of wine and leave introvert.

My kids (one boy, one girl) are teenagers, so naturally they know everything about everything.. So that makes my job easier... NOT!  Bless their little hearts, I love them madly but they can be a challenge. But I have had several years of mastering "The Look", so that helps turn things around pretty quickly when needed.

My hubby... What to say about him.  :0)  He is my exact opposite, which is why we fell super hard and super fast for each other. When they say opposites attract, we are the picture of the description.   This makes for interesting disagreements, since we do and approach things completely differently.  Most of the time I just tell him he is lucky he is cute.  Which in return I get his well mastered "Woman!" look...  Honestly, I think he should spend less time on that look and work on his look for the kids.  He could use some improvement, as mine seems much more serious than what he produces for them.  Just saying... 

Hmmmm.. Not bad for a start!  At least I have covered most of my bases and can say day one of my journal is complete. 

Until day two dear journal,
Irish Lucky