god bless america
(and by america, i mean optimus prime)
((and by optimus prime, i mean jesus))

today is a day that we as americans are meant to celebrate being american, and what better way to celebrate being american than to pay homage to the self-sacrificing savior to all human beings, optimus prime. not really. what with the movie opening today (well, technically today, but really last night or monday), though, i truly wanted an excuse to put a badass picture of one of my childhood heroes up on my page. ergo, happy 4th of optimus prime everyone!!! eat a lot of bbq and ice cream, but leave an open spot at the table just in case the "reluctant warrior" is in your neighborhood.

for the rest of the post, i thought it might be interesting to take a look back at my new year's resolutions and see what kind of standing i am in now that half of the year is behind me. self-accountability. that's what it's about, folks!!! on we go...

1) don't get fat. so far, so good. returning from the beach has been somewhat freeing, considering i now know that i won't be taking my shirt off in public for at least another year. i no longer am shying away from the urban legend known as "trans-fat" and i am eating exactly what i want again. sarah helps me keep some of my wants in check considering most of what she cooks is at least semi-healthy, and i am still working out and playing sports too, so that helps. i am not fat...yet.

2) don't die. also, not yet.

3) be a better husband and father. you would have to ask sarah and hannah about this one, but i think i am doing pretty good. sarah and i have celebrated our fifth anniversary and seem very content and certain that we are in as good of a place, together, as we've ever been. hannah is also the line leader more times than not at school, which by my count, reflects my awesomeness in the ways of parenting. i am counting this one as successful too. three for three.

4) make you smile. the ball is not in my court with this call, but i feel pretty good most days about this one. i'll keep tracking it, though, and give you the final verdict at the end of the year.

5) decide on what i am going to do to with the whole church thing. that's been decided.

6) try and write more. this is going well too. i am averaging just over 7 posts a month and in the last week have made good on my promise to add some visual aids to go along with the words and links. still having a lot of fun with it. this will continue.

7) buy good music. uh-oh. my first slip-up. on my count, i've only bought seven records thus far in 2007. wow. just, wow. and my favorite so far? the format's 'dog problems'...that came out in late 2006. ugh. i haven't even purchased a large enough sample size to write a good mid-year in review post, which is really, really sad. there's plenty on the horizon, so my want for 25 buys is still within reach but looks very questionable.

8) go back to an alabama football game. just under three months away from college football season. this one's going to happen. it's a lock.

9) keep bad mouthing alabama basketball. has happened. will continue to happen. bank on it.

10) fool myself into thinking the braves will be back in post-season this year in order to enjoy baseball. you caught me on the wrong day since they've dropped three straight. since john smoltz is overrated. since bob wickman sucks and should freaking stop eating and giving up home runs to miguel freakin' olivo. since neither mccann or smoltz should be going to the all-star game. since tim hudson and the bullpen must hate each other because the bullpen doesn't care about his giving them leads. since andruw jones, in his flipping contract year, is good for one hit every two and a half games. other than that, i am fooled.

11) go back to a falcons game. bobby petrino...meet michael vick. love him. use him. he is the most wonderful toy you will ever be able to play with. i include the comments from january with this one because i can't figure out if i should laugh or cry at the first thing that entered my mind when i read this one. unless michael vick is in jail or suspended for killing dogs.

12) take a vacation. done.

13) see lebron. and steve nash. tracking.

so, what's the count six months in? seven "yays", one "nay", and five pending positive. not bad if i say so myself. i won't pat myself on the back too hard. they are called new year's resolutions. not new six month's resolutions, but i like the positive feelings looking back on them so far.

so, happy 4th of optimus prime to you all. do me a favor. when you are laid out on the couch from too many ribs and too much ice cream, think about that other self-sacrificing, reluctant warrior that can occasionally become repressed around this time of year.

god bless(es) everyone.