I don’t know how normal it is to receive so many little gifts from your parents on Valentine’s Day, but apparently, you are one lucky kid. Because before you even left for school yesterday, you got all your Valentine’s Day gifts from Mommy and me.
It was funny to me; I remember on your 2nd Valentine’s Day, Mommy asked me to pick out a little toy for you. This was a new concept for me. I had never heard of parents getting their kids gifts for Valentine’s Day.
I picked out an 88 cent Hot Wheels red monster truck for you. And since that day back in 2012, I have seen your Valentine’s Day gift selections grow a little bigger each year.
This year, you received a mini Hatchling, a stuffed animal ball, a bag of Trolli gummies, and an inflatable Hulk.
But looking back, perhaps it was slightly ironic, and definitely easily hilarious, that two gifts in particular couldn’t be more opposite:
But in addition to it being both ironic and hilarious, I also see it as perfectly ideal for you right now, as a 7 year-old, 1st grader boy.
While you very much enjoy action of any kind, including your now growing collection of HALO figures, as well as your obvious and, by default, fascination with super heroes like the Hulk, you still are very excited to receive a fluffy stuffed animal or another book from that lovable family from Bear Country.
You are a sweet and sensitive boy, yet I see those undeniable glimpses of you as a pre-teen, as well.
And really, this is exactly how I remember being, 30 years ago, when I was this age.
I think your Valentine’s Day gifts from Mommy and me were a perfect representation of who you are to us at this age.
Allow me to introduce you to the underworld of the Internet, where people earn passive incomes, thanks to the rest of the world constantly searching for answers on Google, products onAmazon, and education and entertainment on YouTube. These are the 3 forces that help sustain the modern day Tower of Babel.
I think of it as the perfect relationship between creators and consumers.
While it might make us uncomfortable to admit it, these 3 search engines combined serve as a man-made, all-knowing, instantly accessible, god-like entity with instant answers that people can literally see right there on the screen.
No praying required, no real faith involved here. Just type a few words and immediately become more enlightened.
It’s like we’re climbing the stairs to the top of the Tower of Babel, like finding our own way to Heaven; or at least to a more convenient version of life. But hey, if that thought really makes you feel bad; that in theory, we’re all participating in the the modern day Tower of Babel, just promise to never use Google, YouTube, or Amazon again.
Do you want to instantly know how to be cured of dyshidrotic eczema without depending on prescriptions from a doctor? Just Google it, and you’ll get to me.
Okay, so maybe you personally aren’t currently looking for answers to these questions. That’s okay. Because somebody else is. All the time. And I am getting a piece of the pie.
How so? This is a glimpse at the way it works.
Having an SEO rich website, for people to stumble upon while searching something on Google:
I own the equivalent of real estate here on the Internet. I have this blog you’re reading now, which has been around since May 2009, which contains over 2400 different articles, all of which contain a minimum of 300 words each. This serves as my dragnet to “capture” a decent portion of a great number of things people might be searching at any giving moment on the Internet. Every second of every day.
Because of this, and other secret reasons, my blog (this website) has good SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. Therefore, companies realize this when they themselves search for certain keywords (which I carefully implanted here on my website). They obviously want their product featured on easy-to-find platforms like mine, so they reach out to me; offering a free product and/or payment in exchange for being featured here on my “real estate”.
Having a YouTube channel with a decent amount of subscribers:
I have come to the realization that most people don’t realize YouTubers actually make money every time someone clicks on an ad that shows before a YouTuber’s video. With over 2,000 videos, and each one averaging at least 4 minutes long, I have a steady stream of newcomers landing on my YouTube channel each day.
The more who subscribe, the more views I get, the more money I make. From there, I make videos to coincide with certain blog topics that I write about here on my blog. That way, I can use both my blog and YouTube channel in connection with one another; potentially bringing my audiences together.
Having an Amazon Affiliate account to earn a commission from any items sold, from links I plant on my website and YouTube videos:
Fathom this truth… anytime you click on a link that takes you to Amazon and you end up buying anything, the person who put that link there gets a portion of that sale. The link you clicked may have been for a children’s booster car seat, but after clicking the link, you may have wandered off and instead, ended up buying organic vegan Ramen noodles.
It doesn’t matter. Amazon rewards people like me who have popular enough platforms to usher people over to Amazon and buy a product.
So obviously, in each of my most popular blog posts and YouTube videos, as well as most of my newest ones, there is at least one link to an Amazon product; as I capitalize on the fact I have a decent sized blog, with an accompanying YouTube channel.
Now knowing this about me, do you think differently of this family friendly daddy blogger?
Am I a sneaky guy who preys on unassuming people who are casually searching things on the Internet?
Or am I just another business-minded creative personality who understands how the system works; that consumers are constantly searching for answers and that I might as well be the one with some of those answers. I have just enough answers to get more than a thousand people to stumble upon my website and YouTube channel each day.
So the next time you Google something random end up on someone’s website, think, “I’m improving their power and presence on the Internet.”
The next time you need to learn something by watching a YouTube video and click on the ad that shows before it, think, “I just made that person a fraction of a penny.”
And the next time you click on a link on a website than transports you to Amazon and you buy something, think, “Somebody somewhere is getting a percentage of this sale.”
You now understand the basics of the business model of the modern day Tower of Babel.
A decade ago, I had just proposed to the love of my life. We hadn’t even been dating for a year yet, but I was already feeling at that point that my proposal was past due. That’s how much I knew she was the one.
I proposed on January 14th, and our wedding day was less than 6 months away, on July 5th. I suppose that’s just how our story goes. We didn’t need a long time together to decide to get married, nor did we require a long time to be engaged.
The entire year of 2008 is a blur to me. In early January we were just dating, and by early December, we had already been married 5 months. That really puts things in perspective now, in hindsight, what a big year that was for us.
At some point that year, my wife and I spent a day at Bed Bath & Beyond where we had registered for our wedding. When it came time to pick out the dinnerware set, she found a red set that she really liked.
Then we realized that for some mysterious reason, the same set in blue was half the price. So we went with blue.
Amazingly now, after nearly 10 years of using that dinnerware set, from Bush to Obama to Trump, and with two new smaller human members joining our family, all pieces of that set have survived other than a bowl and a cup. That even includes a move to Alabama and back.
Ten is a big number. Just a couple of weeks ago, my wife got to pick out new jewelry from James Avery for Valentine’s Day. That’s the only new jewelry she has gotten (or said she’s wanted) since her engagement and wedding rings back in 2008. So it was a big deal.
So while we’re in the spirit of my wife getting new things, in convenient accordance to our upcoming 10th wedding anniversary, we now have a brand-new set of dinnerware:
It was not a rash decision. My wife obsessed over, I mean, carefully studied, dozens of sets online through the course of a week.
She then requested my opinion, as well as our son’s, to give her further direction after she had finalized her selection to the top 3.
I have learned over all these years that often, when she asks which one I like the best, whatever the thing is I’m helping her to decide, my answer only reinforces her own decision; which is never the same one I chose.
Amazingly, this time it was different.
Even though she was leaning towards another set, our son and I both chose Melange Dinnerware, Nantucket Weave, and apparently we swayed the vote!
Now obviously, with me being a man, you can imagine that in the end, my choice in our new dinnerware set was not a passionate one.
But now that the new set is here, I have to say, I am very pleased with our decision!
It’s like a crossroads of both Country and Class, which is how I think of my wife. Yeah, she’s from northern California but she loves Country music and grew up on a 5 acre farm with sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, and rabbits. She’s arguably more Southern than I am, yet I was born and raised in Alabama!
Soon, when you see pictures of our kids eating at the dinner table, you won’t see the decade old blue cups and plates anymore; as we start phasing in our white wicker-looking ones.
I never would have thought that picking out a new dinnerware set would be worth writing about, and on your end, reading about.
Yet here we are.
Now let’s see, so far this year, my wife has gotten a new set of jewelry and dinnerware. Meanwhile, I’m still driving my 2004 Honda Element that I’ve owned since January 2006.
Hey, I wonder if I will finally get my Jeep Wrangler I’ve been wishing for all these years?
Nah, probably not. Old Hondas just never die.
By the way, if you’re reading this because you are already actively looking for the Melange Dinnerware Nantucket Weave set, just click here:
Exactly a month ago, I revealed to the free world that I had officially become an overweight vegan. At 5’9” and 176 pounds, I had a BMI of 26; which put me about 6 pounds past the “normal” or “optimal” BMI range.
Yes, this concept might explode in the face of some out-of-touch people who still assume vegans don’t get enough protein. By the way, I’ve noticed a pattern in which the same people who are the most vocal about the misconception that vegans don’t get enough protein, tend to be overweight men with onset diabetes or who are pre-diabetic. Perhaps that in itself is more ironic that the fact that a vegan can be overweight…
But as the video above proves, I have undeniably lost 7.5 pounds in the past 30 days. I went from 176 pounds to 168.5. I went from a BMI of 26 (overweight) to now a BMI of 24.5 (normal).
How did I do this? Starve myself? Go around hungry? Pay a lot of money to join a program to keep me accountable? Join a gym and slave away to intense cardio 2 hours a day?
Nah, that’s not my style. Instead, here are the changes I have made since a month ago:
I started eating 2 apples or 2 oranges every day; which provides natural sugar and fiber.
I stopped eating vegan ice cream and vegan candy bars at night after the kids are asleep.
Other than one Cliff bar each day as my only “treat”, I stopped eating any snacks that are processed; including whole grain waffles with vegan butter and maple syrup.
I also started drinking unsweetened “slumber” tea before I go to bed each night; to help keep my mind off of consuming any last minute empty calories.
For my salad each night with dinner, I only use balsamic vinegar; no longer any oil-based vegan dressings.
That’s it.
As far as exercise, there was one day the weather was decent enough that I went on a 2 mile run.
Obviously, this new regimen is working for me, so I will continue making this my new norm. My goal is to get down to the mid-150s for my weight; which at this point, is only 13 pounds away.
So a month from now, I will return with the newest update on my journey from overweight vegan to ideal-weight vegan.
In case you missed it, here’s the video from 30 days ago when I proved I was an overweight vegan. I want there to be no doubt in anyone’s mind I was indeed overweight just one month ago.
Your brother loves you very much. And you love him just as much. But there is no doubt that at least half of the time, the two of you require a mediator, or referee, to help keep down the chaos level in our house.
And that role goes to me.
In addition to the two hour window between you both waking up and your brother getting on the bus, much of my energy goes to helping remind your brother to leave you alone.
His way of showing you that he loves you tends to include him tackling you with a pillow or conducting the rowdiest version of “Ring around the Rosey” I have ever seen.
Most of the time, his activities result in you laughing. But that does mean that sometimes, and I never know when, the result will be you crying instead.
I do my best to let the two of you naturally play together without my intervention; or prevention of destruction. Still, I feel like a referee, or at least a Quality Control Manager.
But there are definitely times where the two of you get along so easily, that I feel that things are a little too easy for me.
It’s a regular thing for you just to hang out next to Jack while the two of you eat snacks. Neither of you show any direct attention to each other. You’re both just content to be sitting next to each other.
So when you’re just chilling out together, my role is not so necessary. But the moment you both get up to go play in the living room, I always have to think to myself:
“Is this going to be a time where they quietly just play Legos together? Or is this going to be where they potentially break furniture?”
Family Friendly Daddy Blog 