People

2 Comments Posted on funny, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

I Wonder If Some People Actually Think That Guy on the Campbell’s Go Soup Package is Me?…

A couple of days ago in the blog post where I announced I made the Top 40 Daddy Bloggers list, the thumbnail that showed up on everyone’s Facebook feed was the picture where I am holding up the Campbell’s Go Soup package; as I am impersonating the guy. I chose that picture assuming everyone knew the story, which I have explained before:

I am attempting to find and meet the guy on Campbell’s Go soup package. So therefore, I am not the guy. Instead, he is my doppelganger, my twin, my look-alike.

However, one of the comments I received on the blog post was this:

“Hey, I know that dude on the soup label and he is a GREAT Dad!”

The person who said this was assuming that I am the guy on the Campbell’s Go soup package. And that made me think, “I wonder if some people actually think that guy is me?”

Over the past several months, I’ve made a few videos on my YouTube channel and have published a few blog posts about my resemblance to the model.

Which, by the way, I take that as a major compliment. I turn 36 years old two weeks from today. The soup package is copyrighted from the year 2012. And I assume this guy is younger than me to begin with. So to imply I look like I’m in my late 20s, I see that as a compliment, for sure.

I think it is quite possible that in the ocean of information that washes up on the shores of people’s Facebook feeds every day, certain people saw the picture of me comparing myself to the Campbell’s guy and assumed it was a blog post or video announced that I was hired to be the model on the soup package.

But no, that’s definitely not me on the soup package.

If it’s in my power though, I am going to find and meet this guy- and hopefully, became his friend in real life.

 

1 Comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: You Just Love Getting All Dressed Up and Going Places

11 months.

Dear Holly,

A couple of weekends ago, we travelled to Chattanooga for my Aunt Rosa’s wedding. Fortunately, the dress you wore at your Uncle Jake’s wedding back in October still fit just fine. Mommy waited to put it on you until we got to the parking lot of the wedding venue.

As she put the dress on you there in the front seat of the car, you smiled and giggled, knowing that whatever was ahead, it was going to be exciting.

You were so excited as we entered the civic center where knew we half of the people there. And of course, they were excited to see you. For many of them, you were just a little baby the last time they saw you; now, you’re just a few weeks ago from your 1st birthday.

Something I am quickly learning about you is that you truly love to get all dressed up and go places. It’s not that you need a lot of attention on you, but instead, you just like to be part of the action.

You are so fascinated by life.

Even this past Saturday, you treated our day of running errands as a morning of entertainment. We stopped by Sprouts to buy some groceries, then several shoe stores, then Which Which for lunch, then Kroger for more groceries, and then Ross so I can pick out part of my birthday gift.

Each and every time we lifted you out of your car seat, you treated the new parking lot like a land of opportunities. You had the biggest smile on your face as you looked around, with such optimism.

Another way of looking at it is this: you travel well.

And that’s good, because at the end of next month for Memorial Day weekend, our family will be taking your biggest road trip yet- to Pensacola, Florida.

I am confident you are going to be thrilled by the experience.

Love,

Daddy

1 Comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Spring Break 2017 at Nonna and Papa’s House

6 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

For your first official spring break, you spent the week in Alabama with Nonna and Papa. The whole time, Nonna was sending me pictures and texts from her phone, to keep Mommy and me updated on what you were doing that day. Of course, we also called you every night, as well.

This made your 3rd time to stay with Nonna and Papa for a week. And you made yourself right at home. Here are the texts Nonna sent me…

Jack making his strawberry muffins.

Jack wants to know if these are go-bots or transformers. It’s cooking Transformers.

Time to wash Nonna’s car!

Boys just gotta have fun! (in puddle)

Darla has had so much fun with Jack this week. They are just like puppies!

Two peas in a pod.

Tonight’s Masterpiece (dragon drawing)

Lunch with Calla.

Jack cleaning.

Something really special that you were able to do was to visit your cousin Calla at her school; as she is also in Kindergarten. You met her for lunch, then got a brief tour of the school.

You also got to hang out with Darla, her sister, at Aunt Dana’s house.

I see that you apparently enjoyed doing some chores while you were at Nonna and Papa’s house; though I suppose there’s a certain amount of messiness that comes along with those chores.

You definitely have an independence about you that I didn’t gain until I was a teenager. That actually means me feel proud, as your parent. I want to know that you’re not afraid to live outside your comfort zone and routine.

I would have never been okay, as a Kindergartner, with spending an entire week at my grandparents’ house, nearly 3 hours away.

But what can I say, you’re one adventurous boy!

Love,

Daddy

1 Comment Posted on car reviews, fatherhood, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized, vegan

I am Being Featured on CreditDonkey’s Best Dad Blogs 2017: Top Parenting Experts

This morning I was informed that my blog, Family Friendly Daddy Blog, was chosen as one of the Top 40 “Best Dad Blogs”, by CreditDonkey. It gives me great confirmation to know that my work as a daddy blogger stands out in the crowd, as it was noted:

“Family Friendly Daddy Blog is a site featuring reviews of everything from cars to toys, along with plenty of musings on parenting and the vegan lifestyle.”

As I scrolled down the list of fellow daddy bloggers on the list, I immediately realized that I personally know some of these guys, actually:

Back when I was the daddy blogger for Parents.com, General Motors flew me up to Detroit in October 2011 to promote their Traverse, I met HighTechDad.

Larry Mihalko during the Chevrolet Traverse Quality event during the Chevrolet Centennial media event Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at the General Motors Milford Proving Grounds in Milford, Michigan. (Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for Chevrolet)

But I especially hit it off with 8BitDad, Zach Rosenberg, while I was there. I remember him telling me that his own dad is a character actor, in Los Angeles. This whole time, 8BitDad and I have been following each other on Twitter. I hope I get to hang out with him again in person someday.

And I met Gay NYC Dad in October 2014 when I was invited by Toyota for their “Family Reunion” at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Pompano Beach, Florida; featuring the updated Sienna, Camry, and Yaris. I remember he and I had a fun conversation about how he grew up on a kosher diet, being Jewish, whereas I started about my journey of veganism when I switched to kosher (no pork, shellfish, or other bottom feeder animals) back on Thanksgiving 2008.

The fact that I made it to this list reminds me that while I may not be the most popular daddy blogger out there, I am good enough at what I do to make the cut; to be considered one of the most relevant.

It also shows me I’m doing a decent job on SEO (search engine optimization); meaning I’m able to create and maintain contain that is easy for people to find when they search a relatable topic on Google.

I am very grateful for all of my readers and supporters- and I especially thank CreditDonkey today for choosing me as part of their Top 40 daddy bloggers.

2 Comments Posted on fatherhood, funny, Nostalgia, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

That Moment You See an Old Photo and Remember the More Fun (Yet Less Responsible) Version of Yourself…

Earlier this week I received a Facebook notification that someone had shared a photo of me. I immediately found this odd, since I’m typically not in photos with other people unless it’s with my wife or kids, and it was my camera being used.

Then I looked and saw it:
“A little throwback for your Monday blues…”

Jeffrey A. Smith had shared a photo he had taken of me back in August 2005, from over 11 years ago, for my “moving to Nashville” photo shoot. I was 24 years old at the time. (See left.)

I immediately responded to his comment: “I don’t remember this guy! After nearly 9 years of marriage and raising 2 kids, I am far from the confused guy wandering out of the woods, ha ha!”

There’s something naturally funny about seeing an old photo of yourself, especially when it’s shared in real time like this.

To me, what is so humorous is not the long hair, the backpacker style pullover I bought while I was living in Thailand, or the really baggy jeans.

It’s not even the (angry?) look on my face which possibly seems to indicate I’m preparing to fight for my life in a Hunger Games scenario.

Instead, it’s the obvious reminder that who I was back in 2005 at age 24 is not who I am now in 2017, just weeks away from my 36th birthday.

I have been completely rewired since the day this picture was taken.

Sure, I do have vague memories of that guy in the picture. But that’s not me. I think of him as a guy I used to know back in the 2000s.

I don’t know, maybe I was more of a fun guy back then:

No real responsibilities. No real job. No family to support. Just dreams to pursue.

And now, nearly a dozen years later, I simply can’t relate to that guy in these pictures from that day in August 2005.

I am so grateful for how far I have evolved from that guy, actually. But if it weren’t for that guy, I could have never become who I am today. He had what it took to get me to where I needed to be.

It’s strange to think that people who haven’t been around me since high school, or college, or from when I first moved to Nashville, they knew that guy… not this guy.

I don’t know for sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

But I have to assume that most of us have a similar story. I have a feeling most people can understand how an old photo brings back memories of a former version of ourselves that immediately causes us to laugh- and to be grateful that we have been blessed with enough years to move beyond who we used to be, so that we could become who we are today.