The average everyday

Crazy couple of weeks

2011-02-25T23:56:00.002-06:00

Little did I know what was going to happen just 36 hours after my last post. Got up and went to work as I usually do. After taking a few calls and just going about my day, I check my email and notice I have a meeting notice from a manager that I spoke to back in December. Let's go back in time, shall we. We shall

Picture it; October 2010. I have applied for yet another position. This one would have been a pretty big stretch to go into but I would have loved the work as a business analyst. I had a meeting with the hiring manager (Director of IT for Transportation; deals with the cargo ships and other areas for the company). By the end of that call (he is in Houston; I'm not) he tells me to expect a meeting notice from one of his employees here where I live. I met with him just 2 days later and he was only meeting 2 people from here (so me and one other). It came down to me and one other person; I didn't get the job. The guy I was against was already doing about 40% of the job already and is there in Houston (this would have relocated us). But I impressed the manager and his employee (who are both tough customers) such that the manager has now become my career mentor.

Shortly after this interaction, he had me get in touch with a manger where I live, which turns out to be his brother-in-law. I met with him in November and he suggested that I meet with 2 of his supervisors below him because they will need people "next year". Now I have heard that before and that usually means mid to late year. So I didn't act on those secondary meetings immediately. About a month later I get an email from the senior manager here stating that a position was just posted and that he was not aware that I had met with his supervisors yet and that they are filling 8 position from that one posting. I read between those lines and quickly made the meetings. About a month after those meetings, I received a call from one of the supervisors stating that they cannot get my employee profile to come down and if I could send it to them. I did so and didn't think about it again.

So I opened the meeting notice and all it said was "Corp Staffs job" for the subject and nothing else. So I just assumed that it was an interview meeting. I was wrong.

The supervisor comes in and we chit chat a few minutes and then she says "I am offering you the position" and mentally I thought, "Huh?" Seriously. The fact that she was offering the position was not even on my radar. So after I agreed to say yes (LOL!) I was informed that starting the next day (Feb 8) I was going to start working 1/2 day in my current position and then the other 1/2 of the day in her group until the new pay period started (Feb 16th) and then would be full-time in her area. And the reason for this is that the person I am taking over for is retiring at the end of the month.

I also learn that one of the applications I will be now supporting is currently in a major upgrade project. Needless to say that the last 2 weeks have been fast, furious, and mentally challenging/exhausting because I have had to pick up on applications I have never seen and the upgrade project is not going so well. And I am thankful for the opportunities that come from it and from whom they are coming from.

So I have moved into my new office. Who knew an office had color from wood grains and wasn't just slightly lighter/darker than the same shade of gray? I have the option to NOT pick up my phone if I am in the middle of something. I have a company card now for travel (and having to submit expense reports)as well as a company provided phone (OK, OK it is a Blackberry. And I like this one far better than I did Heather's when she got it). Now to some these things are not that big of a deal. But when you were not sure if an opportunity to move out of entry-level jobs and into one that has all of this, it is.

I think this is a funny situation:

5 phones; 4 members of the house; 3 old enough to have a phone; 2 each of a Blackberry and iPhone for the adults = 1 confused 6 year old on why one of these isn't hers

It's about to get interesting in here

2011-02-05T23:24:00.002-06:00

We have recently started watching a show in Hallmark Channel called Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn (www.madhungry.com).

Lucinda is not just someone who loves to cook and got a show. Not by any stretch. She is the Executive Editorial Director of Food and Entertaining for Martha Stewart's empire.

We have really gotten into how and what she cooks. Everything in moderation and nothing is off limits. Yet her food is easy, approachable, and can uses ingredients that be found in most (if not all) grocery stores. Seriously. For example. Her Basic Tomato Sauce is:

2 T olive oli

2 cloves garlic, minced

A pinch of red pepper flakes (or more if you like some spice)

1 28-ounce can of low-sodium (or organic) whole plum tomatoes

In a blender (or using a hand blender), puree the tomatoes to the level of chunky or smooth you like. Get the oil hot in a pan and then throw in the garlic and pepper flakes and cook just until you can smell the garlic (about 30 seconds). Pour in the tomatoes and bring up to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Now I add 1 teaspoon sweet basil in the last 5 minutes of cooking and that is it. Now a tip I learned from her is when to add the herb. If you put the herbs in right at the beginning, you will cook out all of the flavor. Instead, add it at the end and then the flavor will perfume throughout the sauce. Huge thing to learn and makes a difference.

Anyway. I was watching her show on DVR, as my wife and I do every day, my 11-year old son came in and sat down about 3/4 of the way through. He was quite intrigued by what was being made. He grabbed the remote to see what the theme was. You can only imagine what his reaction was when he saw that it was an episode on bacon.

Shortly there after, he restarted the episode and watched it completely. Once the show was done, he went into the kitchen and grabbed my copy of her book (http://amzn.to/hTbkVg).

Studying Lucinda's book quite intently

So when making the grocery list this week, he informed us that he wanted to make everything in that episode. So for breakfast - Bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich (http://bit.ly/gdAaZq). And we are teaching how to properly clean the cast iron - now that we own some.

Making the eggs for the sandwich

The completed product

Dinner was Pantry Bistro Salad (http://bit.ly/fqGgiJ) and the Spaghetti Carbonara (with whole wheat spaghetti - http://bit.ly/e9dWFA). I believe I could eat this salad with her tomato soup (http://bit.ly/eLdMkV) every day for lunch. Without question! This was a really good dinner. The recipe says that the salad is 4 servings and the pasta is 4-6. For us, the pasta is probably about 8 servings. But I ate quite a bit of the salad (which has a poached egg on it - part of the recipe).

The end results for tonights dinner

Even my 6-year old asked to try the salad and she does not do salads. I now need to get her other two books!

How Photography Can Make A Difference - Jen Lemen

2010-08-01T19:51:00.000-05:00

I have really been working on my photography (with help from OKStrobist) and feel like I am making progress and getting more comfortable giving direction and how to make what I have work. I am getting stronger in Photoshop, etc, etc, etc. And I do think that becoming a "legit" photographer is still a reality. I may not have a BFA or all of the mastery of other togs, but I love what this message had to say.

"Oh, that boy" or "You suck Dad!"

2010-05-30T14:23:00.004-05:00

So yesterday I took the kids to the new pool here in town.

Going to the pool, I stopped to get drinks and lunch at Sonic. When we got there, I put the food in my gym bag because it was going to make it easier to carry and we carried in our drinks.

Well, Jackson saw on the wall a rules list that had "No outside food or drink" listed on it. When I went to pay our entry fee, the guy didn't say a word even though I had set my drink plainly in front of him. Well, I never saw the sign.

When we got in and got settled, and I started to had out our lunch. Reid munched along happily. But not Jackson.

I asked Jackson what was wrong, and he didn't answer. I asked him if he was going to eat or not because if the answer was no, lunch will not wait long on in the sun (even though it was chicken strips).

Turns out, Jackson was so conflicted that he didn't want to eat. I mean, he was sitting practically in the fetal position on deck chair. His response "Dad, I don't want to knowingly break the rule and also turn around and do it in their face." I replied "Jackson, the clerk didn't say anything about it when I set down my drink" He fired back, "Just because he didn't enforce the rule doesn't make it right because it is posted." I was 1/2 way through my sandwich by this point and about choked. Nice.

I didn't make him eat. But an hour later, his tune had changed and he was ready to eat the canopy. You have to give the boy his convictions and principles.

More later...

More playing, but completely inspired

2010-04-16T00:22:00.001-05:00

This last weekend I was able to attend a workshop in downtown Tulsa, and I was on a high the whole time. The purpose was to learn how to work with studio strobes and other flash units off of camera. I had a great time the whole 5 hours it went. I cannot wait for another one. Here is some of what I took (giddy grin):

Part of why I was so excited is that I have this idea (maybe a dream) of setting up a side photog business. I have been really frustrated and fed up with my job and the lack of opportunities to move. And I have had this idea for a while but have not felt very good about how to go about it and had given up on it because my efforts to get help were coolly rebuffed. I really have been struggling with all of that.

After this weekend, I learned that what I thought could never happen is still a possibility. I learned where my weaknesses are but that Corey, Richard, and the rest of the group can help me with that. That is what they want to do. I'm going to use this as much as I can. I learned that while natural light is great, flash units and natural light can work together. Very, very well. I need to get through the next month with the children's choir, but then I want to put this into motion. If I can get this going, then I will find a satisfaction that can carry me through my current position until the next opportunity comes along.

I got to play...

2010-03-02T00:05:00.000-06:00

This last weekend was busy. Jackson had a swim meet and I was able to play with my new toy. Yes, another one. But this one was sanctioned by the wife. Even better.

What was it? My new camera - a Nikon D300s. This thing is fast; it focuses quickly and shoots 7 frames/second. Perfect for swim meets. I am very happy with it. I should be for that price.

I have been making myself shoot in manual mode and I have gotten pretty good with it I think. Here are a few images from the meet. I'll post more later.

I have been reading Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and tried to put that to use. These were shot using a Nikkor 70-300 f/3.5-5.6 VR lens at f/5.6 & ISO 1600. I made some minor adjustments in Photoshop but very little. I love how clean they are at such a high ISO and have figured out that the lens is really not a bad one (I had gotten to be a little snobbish to any lens that wasn't a f/2.8). Now this pool has huge windows and allowed in a a fair amount of natural light but also had the indoor lighting. Shooting sports is hard. But I had a good time learning my camera.

More later.

Sorry, long time no post

2010-02-11T20:16:00.004-06:00

OK. So I'm not good at doing this regularly. January has not been good and we are not out of the woods yet. Let's just say that homeowners insurance has been used, someone else's auto insurance is getting charged (all in 1 weeks time) and we are thankful for health insurance. I was off 2 days this week for part of the health issues and was able to get Reid's and Jackson's valentines made for school.

Reid's are flowers.

I figured out how to use Heather's Cricut to cut out the flowers. The pattern from the design has a hole in the center so we put a Dum Dum through the center. Pretty cute and goes pretty quick.

Jackson's were a little more intensive.

Heather has this pattern that will cut out a little popcorn box. So I cut out 26 of these. Heather felt good enough to glue them together. So this is what he is giving out. Thought it all worked out.

More later. Promise

Busy couple of months

2009-12-08T23:00:00.007-06:00

So I have talked about the dining room and the rest of the paint projects and meeting The Pioneer Woman. Once that all died down, it was time to decorate for Heather's party. Let the chaos ensue: a total of 7 trees.

First up: the living room

This tree the photo tree. It has wallet-sized picture frames hung with red ribbon on the branches along with 4x6 and 5x7 framed photos stuck into the branches. The small frames a silver and the larger frames are black along with red ornament balls.

Next is the dining room.

This tree has all of the ornaments that we have either been given, kept from childhood, or things the kids made that they want to hang. Heather calls is the Heritage tree. I call it the tree with all of the old stuff. Then in the middle of the dining room table is the wreath. We just pulled the table slightly apart and dropped the electric cord through. The cord is run under table and the across a small part of the rug with piece of plastic that is the color of the rug to hide it and for safety.

The other three trees are a set of a 5, 4, and 3 foot trees that we call our forest. Then each of the kids have one. Don't be that impressed.

So the day of the party this is how the room looked.

The jars on the table look like this:

You can thank Bakerella. It's all her fault.Heather made 30 of these. They weren't too expensive but you spend about $65 to make 30.

So after that not much happened. Heather went to OKC this last weekend to see Beth Moore along with Precila Shirer and Kay Arthur with several friends and had a great time. Sunday morning all of the kids in the children's choir had their performance and they did well.

Yesterday was Heather's birthday. So instead of trying to go out to dinner last night, we went down to Tulsa and went to Ted's Cafe Escondito. The place was very good. Until....

The waiter asked if we had been there before while Heather and Reid went off to the restroom. I answered "No, we are here for my wife's birthday". Heather and Reid get back and just shortly after getting our food, they came over and ...

began to sing. The sombrero was an unexpected, but welcomed side benefit. Shortly after I took this with my iPhone, Heather yanked it out of my hand and took this:

This way there was evidence that I was at least having a good time before the bodily harm started. They needed a way to ID the body. But no, Heather decided that I should pay in other ways.

My penance - purchasing her a

iPhone 3GS. 32 Gigabytes. Black. So her device has 4 times the storage and has some features that mine doesn't have. I'm thinking that her tactical maneuver was more psychological than financial. So much so that I actually had a slip of the tongue when were talking about her phone: I said "my phone" instead of "your phone". She immediately said "Excuse me?" Oops. Bad Damon.

The funny thing was as Heather was getting instruction on how to use the device, the kids were over at the iPhone display playing games that were on their demo devices. When we went to leave, Reid asks "Where's my iPhone? I want one!" I couldn't contain my laughter. Sorry dear Reid. Not any time in a future that you can comprehend at the age of 4 3/4!

I had another doctor appointment this week for some follow ups. I think I have just one more but we'll see. Heather gets an MRI Thursday for her knee. Looks like she may be having some repair done on her menisci on her left one. We'll just see.

More later.

What fun...

2009-11-01T15:15:00.003-06:00

The last couple of weeks have not been fun at hour house. Jackson got sick with the swine Flu. And just as Jackson hit rock bottom, Heather and I started down. Then I just ended up with bronchitis not two weeks later.

The highlight was Saturday night. One, the kids did all my work of gathering candy so I would have something to snack on. Two. I got to meet Ree - The Pioneer Woman at a book signing in her little town a mere 30 minutes away.

As it turns out, I've already known her (I say that loosely) for a while before Cathy Zielske's web page led me to Ree's. I used to work at the hospital in the town I live in, which is Ree grew up; just 50 miles from her ranch. Her brother Mike worked there and he would talk about his sister Ree. It finally hit me one time when I was reading her blog and she was talking about her brother. I thought that the person she was describing was the Mike I knew from the hospital. Lo and behold, she was.

Then. Jackson used to go to school with a boy at his old school who is now on his swim team. His mom, Vanessa and Heather are friends. Vanessa has an email address that is tied to her husband's business. Now I knew Vanessa's husband was in the cattle business, but there again was able to put 2 and 2 together. Just funny that way.

I snapped the above picture with my iPhone. I didn't notice then that she had her camera right there on the table.

So I waited in line and snapped the two pictures above. I changed the one to black and white using her actions. Not that she didn't look nice, but the B&W looks really good.

So when it was my turn, I took my books up to her and she was very nice. I told her about I knew Mike and Vanessa. She did think that it was funny that we could not get more than 2 degrees away (the whole 6 degrees of separation thing). I noticed her Nikon D3 on the table and commented on it. She then said "Oh, pick it up and shoot a few frames and see what you think." She then commented on my "old" Nikon D70 (which is what her first digital SLR was) and said that it is a great camera.

All in all, it was well worth making the little hop over there.

Done painting...for now

2009-10-19T16:44:00.000-05:00

So my project as of late was to paint the dining room while of course led to the entry and hall. Then of course led to trim and doors.

This this the dining room before:

It took me about a week to get it completely done. During that week this is what we tried to ignore (though it made the house feel trashed)

This is the final result:

I also painted the doors and trim in the entry and hall. They were just an old, stained wood door. They now match the trim in the bright white. My final project was the front door.

Nothing special. Just a green door. After sanding and painting, this is how it looks now.

One would think this is just a black front door. One would be wrong.

A little closer.

It is covered in chalkboard paint! We made the word stencil using Heather's Cricut and some stencil material you can get for it as well as a leaf stencil. We love the way the door looks. There is a downside; on the wood, even primed and sanded, it can scrape off if you press too hard and if the chalk has a point like a pencil. It really doesn't take much pressure to get the chalk on the door. For the words, I just rubbed a little chalk in the stencil and then used my finger to spread it around within the template. This was so worth the effort!

More later.

UPDATE: Heather got out one of her Stampin' Up! stamp sets and rubbed the white chalk on a stamp and filled it in with some orange chalk. Very cool!

More practicing what I learned in Dallas.

2009-08-28T23:45:00.000-05:00

So if the all-to-entertaining Sarah Goodman is reading this, I am so really trying to use manual more and more. I love how the images below (all shot in manual) really came out so much closer to what I saw with my eye. The color, the brightness, etc. None of these have been run
through Photoshop. All were shot on 400 or 800 ISO and auto white balance. I think I am getting there. Just more practice. And kids that aren't mine. I thought, "I'll let them be them for a while and then also get some of what I want" Yeah, no. Or not well. But that is not
Jackson. He was helpful. Now the 4 1/2 year old was a slightly different story.

Another problem is I am really finding that, yeah, the kit lenses do pretty much suck when you want natural light. I really wanted to argue with you and Candice Stringham, that indeed yes, you can get great images with a kit lens. But I am finding that the circumstances for
that have to be just right and I would really have lost that discussion. Oh well. I only have a wish list of about 3 lenses that are all constant 2.8 (I have a 1.8 50mm that someone is using).

Jackson one night noticed that I was looking at a camera and some lenses. The conversation went like so:

Jackson: What'ya doin'? Me: Looking at a camera and lens. J: How much it it? Me: $xxxx Jackson: Will that hurt my college fund?

We won't discuss what that will do to a college fund, now will we.

More playing with the camera.

2009-08-09T00:11:00.000-05:00

So tonight the kids were outside playing on their bikes and scooters.
So I took the opportunity to play more with my camera in manual mode
and the different metering modes. I think i horrified Jackson and
confused Reid when at one point I was laying down in the street at
they passed by.

I used my Nikon D70 and NOT Heather's D90; using the D90 make me want
the D300 worse because of the speed and it is going to be quite a
while before that happens. All images were taken with a NIKKOR
70-300mm Zoom AF-S f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR lens.

The Birthday

2009-08-03T00:58:00.000-05:00

So another year has come and gone. Jackson is now 10. I am actually having some issues with this. He is no longer my little boy, but at the same time he is. The evidence of him turning into a tween has been more evident over the last couple of months. Pokemon is still in full effect, but watching shows like The Suite Life, The Wizards of Wavery Place, and shows on Cartoon Network Real like Build Destroy Build. And (I love this), he has finally told me to stop doing something because I was embarrassing him. Only one more school year and he will be in middle school.

He had a good party at the ConocoPhillips swimming pool with several of his friends. His cake? It look like an Oreo thanks to a pan that we bought was Williams-Sonoma. After having his party we went to Red Robin in Tulsa for his dinner of choice. Of course, we had to get the Tower of Onion Rings. The rest of the afternoon he spent playing Will Sport Resort.

After having spent the last week in Dallas learning more on photography at the Creative Photography Retreat, I decided to put it to work. So I happened to be at Wal-Mart and saw this shower curtain and thought it would make a cool background. I look at the pictures above and, again it hits me that he is not so little any more. I'm not sure I can say that I have 2 young kids and that is strange.

And the tradition continues

2009-08-01T01:12:00.000-05:00

Every year since Jackson has been born, we put balloons up around his
doorframe - one for each year. We are now up to 10! 10! How is it that
he is 10. A decade. I don't feel almost 40 and don't look it (I don't
think, HA!). But, even though I may run 15 miles a week, blowing up
one more balloon gets tough. Once he hits 12, I think a balloon
bouquet will just be ordered and tied to his door handle.

A little of Reid...

2009-03-24T18:21:00.000-05:00

I posted this on my Facebook but forgot to put this out on my blog. We had pictures of Reid taken where she got to wear a tutu and she was the only one to wear it. The photographer had a thing called Tutus for Wishes where the session fees were donated to the local Make-a-wish foundation. It was too funny.

Evidence here:

The reality of the economy

2009-03-05T23:35:00.000-06:00

I know that what is going on in the economy is nothing new for anyone but the reality of staffing reductions (AKA layoffs) is really killing me.

I work for a large global energy company that recently announced in the news that they are going to reduce staffing by 4% globally. So I thought, OK, globally that is not a large number out of 36,000 employees.

Suddenly, the game changed and now my company is laying off 4% in Bartlesville and one of my close friends was in that 4% and this will go on through March. That brought this layoff thing roaring back into our lives. We survived my wife's layoff in 2006 6 weeks after moving into a new home and came out of it fine, but the emotions of potentially losing a job are just alive and raw today for her. Just before her layoff, things in our lives were starting to really click along; new house, reducing debt, etc. And now here we are. After Heather's dad died, we have been able to pay off all of our debt other than my car and put a large amount of money towards the principal of the house. Again, things finally seemed to get into place for us again. Then yesterday happened. And here we are looking over our backs.

This is a new arena for me because I have never worked anywhere before where this was a ever a possibility. In my department, one employee asked to be laid off and she was granted her wish. There was another who I believe was blindsided.

So I has a sit down with my boss to just talk this out. She understands what has happened to us before and sees my perspective. What she could do was say was to think about 2008 and how my review went and go from there. I did have a very high score last year so that relieved me somewhat.

But, the potential is always there and the "what ifs" and "maybes" are just going to to make for the longest and possibly one of the most stressful of my life. Good thing I don't have high blood pressure issues cause this could kill me if I did.

New underwear

2009-02-17T11:01:00.000-06:00

OK, This may be a little much but too bad.

I am now down about 65 pounds and I finally had to break down and buy some new boxer briefs So I get dressed this morning and all morning I just field weird to wear clothing that actually fits my new size because the leg openings come up higher on my legs than they did in my Xl and XXL pairs.

Well, this morning, my daughter (age 4) comes in all concerned to my wife that I had thrown away my old underwear. My wife was in sorting laundry and she said, "Mom, Dad's underwear is in the trash. What is he going to wear?" My wife I tried to explain that it was too big and she said, "No, he isn't growing." LOL!

1 year ago today...

2009-01-09T11:39:00.000-06:00

1 year ago I had enough. Enough of being tired. Enough of hating how I looked. Enough of...enough. I was at my breaking point and was done.

I really think turning 35 in December of 2007 was a turning point. As I posted here, I have said for the last couple of years that I need to do something and was not going to be like this at 40. And I half-heartedly tried. At the time I meant it and started off well but in the end I just wasn't at my breaking point where I was totally committed to change. The "commitments" were temporary at best.

I found myself saying that I have 5 more years to get myself together. But then I realized that 5 years would essentially mean never going to happen. So I changed my statement to not be 36 and like this. I signed up on Jan 10, 2008. But this time was different and I knew it. My whole attitude about it was different and the reasons why were too. I was doing it for me. Not for my wife or for attention from other people, but for me. I was putting myself on the list of priorities. And it felt good. It still feels good to be on that list; everyday. And I have not regretted it.

So where am I at on this mile-marker of the road of life? Am I different now that I am 36 (commentary: how strange is to say I am 36; Shouldn't I be more "grown up" and responsible and in a higher level job making more and whatever else than I am?) Yes I am.

At this time last year:

I weighed in at 263 pounds
Wore XXL shirts and 44 waist pants
If there was any exercise, running lasted for 1 minute at 4.5 mph at a time (pathetic!)
Resting blood pressures were 120/80 and resting heart rate was in the 70 - 80 range
Meals consisted of my plate plus whatever my family didn't
Vegetable and fruit were hardly in the picture; unless it was lettuce and tomato on a burger.

There is a lot to say about the above picture, yet at the same time there is nothing that can be said. There is no way that I was that big, but there it is. What is the phrase, the camera doesn't lie? I didn't think that is how I looked. This is what 263 looked like and it wasn't pretty and wasn't happy. And I just didn't even know it.

And now:

I weighed in today at 206
Wear large shirts and 36/38 pants (mostly 36)
Exercise is at least 4 days a week and running lasts to where I can complete a 5K in just under 30 minutes and can last a boot camp style workouts.
Resting blood pressures are 80/40 - 90/50 and resting heart rate is in the 45-55 range (only 60 sitting here at my desk). I actually can get a little light-headed sometimes (not often) when I stand up.
I eat my vegetable and fruits first before the main course, but I still like my burgers.
My plate is my own; leave the others alone (98% of the time anyway)

My original intention was to be at my goal weight of 180 (now rethinking that for maybe 190) by this time. But as life has a way, it got in the way for several months. I got to 200 at the end of August, but family issues had me traveling every weekend and I put back on about 10 over 3 months (not too bad)and was able to maintain and am in progress of getting back to business. So even though I did not make my goal, I am still in a far better place than I was. I am happier and most importantly, healthier. My son asked me the other day when I was going to go run and I asked why. He wants to go with me. How cool is that? Who says I am the only one benefiting?

I watched The Biggest Loser the other night. While they were showing these guys their MRI compared to a normal MRI, all I could wonder is what had I done to myself all of these years. I am thankful God designed me so that my body tolerated as much as it did for so many years. I cannot ask to have been more blessed when I think about it and how he used those weaknesses about myself as a needle to supr my changes. I realize that even though I am a parent to 2 great kids (who are both under 10) and a husband to a very understanding but wonderful wife and have those responsibilities, I have to put time in the day for me. And it has to be more than just the TV. To think what I could possibly have missed or had to deal with had I not made changes just absolutely sickens me.

These are just ramblings and may not mean anything to anyone else who may read this. They are for...me to look back and see just how far I have come.

The Senility Prayer

2009-01-02T09:55:00.000-06:00

--- Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: "And
what do you think is the best thing about being 104?"
the reporter asked. She simply replied, "No peer
pressure."

--- The nice thing about being senile is you can hide
your own Easter eggs

--- Just before the funeral services, the undertaker
came up to the very elderly widow and asked, "How old
was your husband?" "98," she replied. "Two years older
than me." "So you're 96," the undertaker commented.
She responded, "Hardly worth going home, is it?

--- I've sure gotten old.! I've had two bypass
surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees. Fought
prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't
hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40
different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and
subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have
poor circulation; hardly feel my hands and feet
anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all
my friends. But, thank God, I still have my driver's
license.

--- An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and
told her preacher she had two final requests. First,
she wanted to be cremated, and second, she wanted her
ashes scattered over Wal-Mart. "Wal-Mart?" the
preacher
exclaimed. "Why Wal-Mart?" "Then I'll be sure my
daughters visit me twice a week."

---My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my
memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

--- Know how to prevent sagging?
Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.

---I'm getting into swing dancing. Not on purpose Some
parts of my body are just prone to swinging.

---It's scary when you start making the same noises as
your coffeemaker.

---These days about half the stuff in my shopping cart
says, "For fast relief."

---Don't think of it as getting hot flashes. Think of
it as your inner child playing with matches.

---Don't let aging get you down. It's too hard to get
back up.!

--- Remember: You don't stop laughing because you grow
old, You grow old because you stop laughing.

--THE SENILITY PRAYER : Grant me the senility to
forget the people I never liked anyway, the good
fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to
tell the
difference.

Thanksgiving lesson from a kindergarten student - Humor from the Internet

2008-11-24T09:08:00.000-06:00

This will probably bring back many memories to any of us having had experiences with small children's conversations. For most people Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what we've been given and to savor the scents of crisp autumn days and pumpkin pie, but for this woman it has a whole different meaning.

One November afternoon when my daughter was in kindergarten, I picked her up after school. She bobbed out to the car and crawled into the back seat. "What did you do today?" I asked. She couldn't wait to tell me. "We learned that boys are different from girls" she chirped.

Looking into the rearview mirror I could just see the top of her head. "My teacher told us that boys have a thing the girls don't," she added. "Well, yes they do..." I said cautiously. Then she piped up again, "That's how girls know that boys are boys. They see that thing hanging down and they know that he's a boy...".

I mentally calculated the distance home. Our five-minute commute already felt like an hour. "Did you know that when the boys see a girl they puff up?" My palms were beginning to sweat. "Um...well.." I was still searching for something to say to change the subject, when she asked, "Why do the girls like boys to have those things?" Well I didn't know what to say. I mean, what woman hasn't asked herself that very same question at least once?

"Oh, well...um...", I stammered. She didn't wait for my answer. She had her own. "It's cause it moves when they walk and when girls see that they know they're boys and that's when they like them. Then the boy sees the girl and he puffs up, then the girl really knows he likes her too. And then they get married. And then they get cooked".

That last part confused me a bit, but on the whole I thought she had a pretty good grasp on things.
As soon as we got home she hopped out of the car, fishing something out of her school bag. "I drew a picture," she said. "...you want to see?" I wasn't all that sure I did, but I looked anyway.

I had to sit down. There, all puffed up so to speak, looking mighty attractive for the ladies, was a crayon drawing of a great big Tom Turkey. His snood, the thing that hangs down over his beak, the thing that female turkeys find so irresistible, was magnificent. His tail feathers were standing tall and proud.

She was a little offended that I laughed so hard at her drawing. I laughed until I cried. But I told her I loved it - and I did - and she got over her pique.

Who says church cannot be funny?

2008-11-13T13:18:00.000-06:00

How can you tell if a Catholic is driving too fast?

Moving on

2008-11-06T15:51:00.000-06:00

We are not coming back to church and we believe that we have been given the OK by God to go. Last night was Jackson and Reid's last night at Awana.

There is just not that sense of caring about others, overall, that there was 18-months ago. Because Steve is so self-centered and the cause of situations of conflict himself (as well as his wife), the flock overall has a tendency to follow the leader. That Wednesday night after the Heather's dad's service, very few said anything to Heather as to how she was doing, what is left to do, etc. when she was there for Prayer Meeting. Not even Steve. All he said was "Glad you're back." Only one person during that week sent her an email asking how she was. That whole week between getting home from the service and then turning around again that next weekend to go back was chaos. We needed to get to the store but had household things to take care of, work, kid activities, etc. That really was the week we needed supported but no one was around and that hurt. (EDITORIAL: that statement is not directed at anyone but just as a example of the bigger issue) To see what Steve has done to this church in just 18-months is incredible. Plus Steve has had another run-in with someone chewing them up and down over the phone and Donya talking down to Heather while yet saying she was sorry about the whole Angelia issue last summer when she should have been speaking in humility. It is not there. And when someone who has no ties to the church says "Oh, is that the one that is going Calvinistic like Highland?", that is not good either. The word is out.

I and others have tried to handle our conflicts as biblically as we could and came no where. The cold-treatment that we have been receiving by people because we have stood up combined with everything else just pushed the limit of tolerance. There are people who will not talk to us anymore! What is wrong with this picture? If it were just Heather and I, we would try to stick this out but we have to look at what is best for Jackson and Reid. Jackson is the only boy in his class and Reid is the only 3-year old. The last two Sunday's we have visited First Baptist and was just amazed at how distracted we had become and how nice it was to listen to a sermon that was teaching; not condemning. To have that weight lifted was huge.

This is not to say that there are not people that we still love and care about there and that we don't want to come back, but we just can't. It is bad when going through preparing for and dealing with a death is less stress than the situations we were in.

We are not moving our memberships for now. But it will take years to undo the damage Steve has done. And we don’t have the luxury of time to wait for the sake of Jackson and Reid.

More recent updates

2008-10-26T00:25:00.000-05:00

The last couple of months have been rough.

Heather's dad was diagnosed last year with lung cancer and there were some medical issues that came up as a result. We moved him to an apartment at a retirment village that could help him as he needed. There were issues along the way and the chemo (maintainence dosages) was conrolling the cancer but things really took a turn almost 3 months ago. We moved him from the apartment to the Assisted Living part of the facility because the facility stated that his capabilities had deteriorated to where he did not meet the criteria to stay in the apartment. About 2 weeks later, Heather received a similar call that his capabilities had deteriorated to where he needed to be moved to the nursing home care wing; could not walk on his own, they were having to feed or help feed him, etc, etc.etc. 1 week and 4 days later he was gone. It really seems that it was natural causes, not the cancer, that took him. Over that 3 month period we had been in Winfied, KS (where he lived) on weekends and home during the week. I may sound callous but it was a relief when he passed. His life over this last 6 months was not how he (or really any one) would have continued to live. And we could then quit wondering what the next phone call was going to bring. We miss him but he was not the same person for the last 6 months that he had been the last 78 1/2 years.
So it is weird being 35 (and 39 for Heather) and my dad being gone as well as both Heather's parents. Something is not right. I feel like Jackson and Reid are the ones getting short changed. Time will move on and there is nothing I can do for Heather about it but it still sucks.

So on to other things. Heather A. wanted a pic of the "new" car. And here it is. 2007 Honda Pilot EX-L.

I don't buy brand new cars; I cannot justify it. Yet. Once my kids are older, then we will talk. But this we could not pass up. The lady who owned it bought it brand new. She lives here in Bartlesville but teaches at OU. So she would drive to her apartment in Norman on Monday then back on Thursday afternoon and to get groceries. That was it. 32,000 miles of highway driving. She traded it in for a new 2009 Pilot Touring just because she could. Her loss, my gain. Price was $3000 better than I was finding in Tulsa for a similar Pilot LX (base model).

So today I took Jackson to get a haircut at a place called Kiddoos. This place is crazy. There are TV's with PlaysStations for when the kids have to wait and a TV playing a movie. Plus at each station, there is a TV and a PlayStation with a small selection of movies or games the kids can play while they are getting their haircut. And for the littler kids, there are 2 Powerwheels cars attached to the chair lifts that they kiddos can drive and stomp the pedal (the batteries are charged and wheels will spin). There is a Hummer and a Mini Cooper. Too darn funny. There is a Glamour Gals area where Reid (who is almost 4) can get a little manicure. For Reid a haircut and a manicure would be $25 or so.

Other than that, I cannot think of much else. Oh, yeah. We lost our minds today. We adopted a 8-10 month old chocolate AND yellow Labs. What were we thinking? Beethoven, our 11-year old daschund/basset hound mix, will just go toes up when Maggie and Lucy get here Tuesday. Maggie is the chocolate.

I'll post more pics when we have them both. It will be fine. We went to look at Maggie and saw Lucy and just could not make up our mind. Jackson was really wanting to name one Sparky but we kind of vetoed that. Just cannot do that. So now, I'll have a dog, or dogs, I can take running with me. Beethoven is thankful since he moves so little around the house that I am certain that his heart only beats a couple times a week just out of necessity. He is that pathetic.

Kids say and relate the funniest things

2008-10-20T16:06:00.000-05:00

So the other day Reid was getting out of the new car. As she is crawling down, she sees the door scuff plate.

She states, "Oh, Cheez-it's"

Look closely at the little items on the packge. How can you not laugh?

Sidelined again...

2008-08-13T16:07:00.000-05:00

So the ankle is acting up again. Guess the running will have to cease for a bit. Back to the bike. YUCK! Oh well.

So an update, I am 57 pounds down. I waiver between 206 and 207 and really have not budged much. In time it will change, but still sucks. I can just taste 199 and it kills me. That means that when I hit 200, I will still have like 20 more pounds to go; totally awesome on one hand because I am that much closer to goal but also it is like "I still have 20 more!!!?!?!?" Oh well.

Things with church have continuted to dicentigrate and I really think we are going to leave. Really do not want to but not sure there is any choice. "Tune in tomorrow for another episode of Days of our Church."

Jacks started 4th grade today. How is that possible? That means that DD will be starting Pre-K next year. That is more than wrong. How again did I get to be 35 and with a kid who is over half-way through elementary school?

Chaos and family...

2008-07-31T11:36:00.000-05:00

So things have been crazy. Swimming lessons every night, Heather's prayer group on Monday's, my bible study on Thursday.

Then Saturday was Jackson's birthday party. We showed up; the staff didn't. So while I call into work and try to get mobile numbers and end up calling the boss of the boss of wellness and fitness services. Give her the rundown all while standing outside and loading people back into their cars to come over to our house which was not clean. Dishes were in both sides of the sink. We punted and it has all worked out.

So in the middle of this, my grandmother passed. That morning. So while we are scrambling around with the party, my mother calls with this. OK, great. Nelda was 88 and was really in bad shape because of her dementia. In a lot of ways, it is a blessing. She had no quality of life. I feel bad for my uncle. He has had to do this by himself. He is the only one left. His dad, his brother (my dad), and now his mother are all gone. I think that would be hard at any age but Don is 56.

Now the family part. We drive over to Stillwater Monday afternoon (where my uncle lives). We get over to the house and talk a little bit with my aunt and uncle and all of her family. It was nice to be around all of them again. And then there were two conversations happening in different rooms of the house and we are sitting there feeling ignored. There was no way to get involved in these conversations. Now I understand that Polly doesn't get to see her cousins much but talks to her sisters all the time. We had not been over at the house for 5 years. Then there is all of these questions about how my brother is doing (he had surgery) on his knee. I said that I really didn't know because we really don't talk. I come away feeling like the bad guy because everyone cannot understand why.

Long story short, I want Jackson and Reid to have them involved and have that in their childhood (the family gatherings) like Heather and I did, but at the same time I don't know how to make it happen. Especially with them. It is like everyone gathered around Ryan when dad died and I got dropped and I really don't know how to talk to my uncle. There are some conversations that need to happen but I just don't know what to do about it.

It's an anniversary.

2008-07-10T08:37:00.000-05:00

Today marks 6 months since I made the commitment to change. Today is 6 months since I stepped on the scale for my first weigh-in. That is how long I have been getting my person in order. There have been successes, observances, and revelations.

There have been visible successes: 53.4 pounds gone, 6 - 8 inches off of my waist (from wearing 44s to 38s), large shirts instead of XXL, the ability to run 3 miles in 30 minutes over my lunch hour, resting blood pressure and pulse 90/50 & 45-50 beats/min instead of 120/80 & 70-80 beats/min (I am curious about my blood chemistry) and other things that come along with the physical changes.

There have been unexpected observances: being able to tie my shoes while sitting on the bed and not ready to pass out from being bent over afterwards, noticing that I cannot lie on my side with my knees together because it hurts (there is actually bone in there, who knew?) I practically bound out of bed in the mornings (once I do get up), how more space there is between me and my steering wheel (seriously) and that the body will do what it wants day to day. And there is the big one; keep reading because it falls as a observance and revelation.

And then there are the lessons learned (aka the revelations) along the way. Oh my, the lessons; where to start. Should I even start? Yes, I guess I shall because that ball is already rolling.

Cathy Zielske was making a comment about how she needs to be thinner. I understand the whole "I need to be thinner thought". I'd swear I had invented the concept. I have said for the last couple of years that I need to do something and was not going to be like this at 40. And I half-hearted tried. I meant it and started off well but in the end I just wasn't at my breaking point where I was totally committed to change. The "commitments" were temporary at best.

But this last December I turned 35. And I found myself saying that I have 5 more years to get myself together. But then over the next week or so I had a real conversation with myself realized that 5 years would essentially mean never going to happen. So I changed my statement to not be 36 and like this. I signed up on Jan 10, 2008. But this time was different and I knew it. My whole attitude about it was different and the reasons why were too. I was doing it for me. Not for my wife or for attention from other people, but for me. I was putting myself on the list of priorities. And it felt good. It still feels good to be on that list; everyday.

Also, I cannot believe how much I was eating before at a meal. While on vacation, each day I would start off with the right intentions but was off by dinner. One night I felt so bad because I ate so much at dinner that the only way I felt better was to go run a quick 9-minute mile at 10:30 PM in the hotel gym. By the time we left to come home I felt so bad physically from all of the eating out that I was ready to get back to the routine of home and my WW web tools. The experience has taught me that I have more than adapted to the plan and how much better I feel from the better food choices.

Lastly, I was looking through pictures on the computer the other night and found this:

There is a lot to say about this picture, yet at the same time there is nothing that can be said. There is no way that I was that big, but there it is. What is the phrase, the camera doesn't lie? I didn't think that is how I looked. This is what 263 looks like and it ain't pretty and wasn't happy. And I just didn't even know it. I though I was but was basing all my happiness off of others; if they were happy I was happy and if they weren't what was I not doing. I often wondered how someone can get up 300, 400, even 500 pounds and they not realize how big they are? Wouldn't they realize that they are wearing pants the size of a person (50- inch, etc). Oh, sweet irony we meet yet again. Here I was rendering a judgement yet I was 4-inches from 4 FEET AROUND and not too far from 300 myself. I have no explanations or justifications for my judgements because there simply are none. None. And nothing would be acceptable. If you are or were one of those persons, I am really sorry. You don't know me and may have never met me, but I'm sure you run into me everyday.

With that, this is a new chapter in my life.

(I know, bad picture.)

The previous chapters have been printed and are not available for editing. Not even if I wanted to. All that I can do is learn from the last 6 months and the years preceding, offer apologies to friends, my wife, and my kids and keep moving forward (onward and downward as the WW GoaDies would say). They are better than I have deserved.

Taking stock

2008-06-16T08:39:00.000-05:00

Church issues still are still going on that I won't get into but lets just say that several of us are not getting fed.

So I and two other men are working on setting up our own men's study. We are doing this for ourselves and not doing this as a church-sponsored Men's Ministry event, but we are telling people around church. If our pastor feel like he wants to be involved, then fine. If he wants to use Men's ministry money for this, then fine. But we are not asking for it. Then Men's ministry was kind of a mess and there are those who want to distance ourselves from it.

Yesterday during the morning message for Father's Day, I wasn't really following where the pastor was going, but one thing that he said was interesting. He asked can your childeren tell that God is a priority or important in your life? I thought about that.

So after church we went through BK and so I asked Jackson what he thought was important to me. We told him there is not a right or wrong answer and thta I just wanted his opinion. Honestly, I was a little nervous about his response because you don't know what will come out of a 9 year old. His answer was family and friends. That made me feel good.

Later Heather and I were talking and that I can see why he would not say God was important. For one, when I read, he doesn't see me do it. I do that after he and Reid go to bed. We are not good about praying before meals, etc. I can fully admit that am usually stagnate and not moving forward. My own issues and no one else to fault. But with this lesson, especially if I lead it, I have now where else to go but up.

Quick update

2008-06-13T08:33:00.000-05:00

As of this morning, I am down 44 pounds since January 10th. So that is about 2 pounds a weeks over the last 22 weeks. Go me!.

Renovations, vacations and other such nonsense

2008-06-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

So the other nonsense first.

I have taken 2 minutes off of my 5K run time and actually added distance. So instead of 34 minutes to do 3.1 miles, I can get up to 3.25 miles in 32 minutes and I can easily get that in over my lunch hour. So, I'm pretty stoked about that. I can also report that I am now down 43 pounds. So I'm on tract to be down about 80 pounds by my birthday in December. Awesome.

Now, renovations. So, 2 months ago we discovered water in our bedroom. Yes, water. Lovely when it is in the bathroom and more specifically, in the shower. But in the bedroom, not so much. Especially when it is running under a wall and soaking the carpet. Well, the shower pan cracked and that was the cause of the problems. So since then we have all been using the hall bath (aka the kids bathroom). Now here we are this week we are in the middle of the below scene:
Yes, that is tile you see on the ceiling. More to come after they finish that later tomorrow. So by next week after it is all grouted and sealed, we can have our bathroom back.

Now the cruel irony. We bought this house after it had been redone and all we had to do was move in. Yeah, now. Not so much. Tonight...we are standing in the master bathroom looking at the in-progress renovation/repair of our shower and decide with the new tile going in the wallpaper has to go, the floor in the bathroom really needs redone to match the new shower, and then, and then, and then. So we will see what we do next when we have the money to do so.
Oh my, this is the beginning of the end. Just shoot me now cause here we go.

So vacations. Vacations are nice. And so is this place: Great Wolf Lodge. Here is the outside:

This is is just the lobby: This place was just incredible, from the lobby to the water park to all of the details they take care of.

The room...

We had the Kid Kamp Suite and the kids had their own "camp" in the room. They slept in bunk beds in their "camp", had a little window, their own TV. one of the funnier things about the trip...throughout the day, at dinner, etc., you would hear the staff start a wolf howl, kind of like the wave in a crowd. One would start it and it would go all over the lobby, water park, etc. Our kids picked up on it and when they heard the wolf howl, they would howl. Reid's howl just too cute. In the end, the kids were beyond over the mood. More like over Saturn.

The Grapevine location had an 80,000 sq. foot water park (inside) and another water park area outside, something like nine water slides, a small kids area, a wave pool, a lazy river, hot tubs, a huge three-story water fort, and several other play pools. With our one night reservation, we were able to play in the water park for two days.They also had an arcade, restaurants (the spinach artichoke dip was to die for), an adult spa, a kids spa, and a thing called MagiQuest. You buy a wand for like 10 bucks and then go all over the hotel looking for clues to the Quest. There are pictures, treasures chests and crystals spread out throughout the hotel and when a kid would point their wand, the picture/chest/crystal would light up and give the next clue. We didn't have time to do it, but it was really, really cool.

That is about it for now.

I'm 40. 4-0, fourty, 4ty

2008-05-25T01:25:00.000-05:00

So, alot has happened since my last post. Get ready this will be long.

The biggest news is that I am officially down 40 pounds. Actually 41.5 pounds since January 10. That is about 2 pounds a week. Pictures will come later of before/current.

So my idea to run the Tulsa Run as changed somewhat. At the first of May, the Wellness-Fitness Services at my work sponsored a 5K run. So after enough people asking me if I was going to run it, I succummed to the peer pressure and registered for it. I ran it in 34 minutes. My overall goal is to be able to it in 30 minutes so I was pleased. I wished Heather and the kids would have come to it seeing how it was my first one. But earlier in the week Heather had said that while I did that the would hold down the beds. So I didn't push it but the irony was that as soon as I started to back out of the garage, everyone was up. So Heather thought about coming to it, but didn't know where it started and I didn't have my phone with me for her to call. Oh well. OK, back to Tulsa Run. There are just a lot of people that run that race. But the same month there is a run sponsored by the Tulsa Zoo. Less people and flatter ground so that is more my pace.

So the pains that I was having for the diverticulitis went away but then came back. So I got to have a colonoscopy about a month ago. You know that it is not a good thing when the doctor comes back and tells you that you are only the second case he has seen in his career in a patient under 40. How special for me. You know how a child draws Christmas lights on a house when they are drawing? Yes? Good. Take that and put it around both sides of my large intestinge and that is what his drawing looked like. Turns out, I have diverticulums (weaknesses) all along the whole run of my large intestine. He basically said that it was a genetic issue and that even if I had managed to eat worse than then typical American diet, this would not have occurred.

Jackson as started baseball. Jackson has gotten really good this year. The other night he hit a triple and also scored once and was on base 2 times of of three at-bats.
Jackson has also taken off the training wheels from his bike. He is doing awesome with that.

Last week Heather and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. Hard to believe that it has been that long. So we took the day off on Friday the 16th (anniversary is on the 17th) and went to Tulsa. We bought the kids some clothes, me some shoes and a new case for my iPhone, and some clothes for Heather. Then on Saturday morning, we drove over to Arkansas City, KS to go see Heather A, Price, and Emmerson. She is cute. We went out to eat and for what ever reason, Price had a melt down. I mean huge like I have never seen from him. So we brought Heather and Price their dinner because Heather decided that they needed to leave. Emmerson slept through the whole thing.

Really, the only other things are that we are going on vacation this week (Yea!). I haven't taken a whole week off since August and I can tell I'm burnt. Running to Dallas to watch Jonathan graduate and play at Great Wolf in Grapevine. We (OK, I) also bought Wii Fit. If you have not heard about it, it is an add on device and game that you use with your Nintendo Wii to work on strength and balance activities. Basically, it is a way to get people off of the couch and not realize that they are "working out". It has been pretty fun but it can be difficult.

See you all later!

Further reason to continue...

2008-04-01T09:06:00.000-05:00

So I am putting this out there so that I am accountable. I have made a goal to run in the Tulsa Run. Don't go overboard and think that I am going for the 15k course. Not gonna happen. Not this year (or maybe never). I'm thinking the 5k. We'll see how it goes.

I have had a couple of set backs lately.

3 weeks ago I couldn't walk really well. Turns out that I somehow irritated my Achilles tendon. So 4 ibuprofen 3 times a day and a week later. Things are better but I am really going to have to watch it and really stretch it.

Then lets back up to Sunday. Woke up not felling well but went about my business. The rest of the day my gut just didn't feel good. Like it was irritated and inflamed. So I stayed home yesterday and could not get into the doctor so I went to the walk-in clinic. Because of the type of pain and where it was located and the fever, they sent me to the ER.

So at the ER, they drew blood and examined a urine sample. The doctor came back thinking that it could be a kidney stone but the symptoms are not usual. He was open to doing a CT if I wanted to. I went ahead and did it. Something told me to go ahead. So he set it up. 30 minutes or so later and he came back in and said that it was not a kidney stone. Diverticulitis was my issue. OK...what?!?!?! You mean that thing that Heather's 93-year old grandmother has. That thing that you hear of people over 50 get. Heather tried not to laugh but she failed.

So I was prescribed 500 mg Cipro, 5 mg Lortab, and 500 mg Flagyl (another antibiotic). So I stayed home again today. I will probably go into the office today for a meeting and then come back home.

OK, so I cannot give Robin any grief about posting

2008-03-15T14:15:00.000-05:00

So, it has been longer than I thought since I posted. Lots going on: Heather's travels, kids swimming lessons, dealing with training new hires and the rest of my department. And of course toys.

Heather turned around and bought me a silver Nano. And I like it more than I thought I would. The smaller capacity makes me change up my music more often which is good for my runs. But now, let me introduce the newest member.

Isn't the box just pretty?

Hel-lo. Can we say crave-worthy? Do I like it? Yes. Do I like it more than a Blackberry (my other option)? Yes and no, actually. I love the way it works. It is just simple. I find that I probably will only use the iPod function when I take a break and am walking outside or the tunnels at work or when waiting at the doctors office. When I am out on a run, I will still either use the Nano or shuffle.

About the runs. I have taken up running again to help set patterns for my self and the kids as I reclaim my closet. I have actually gotten back to running a 12-minute mile. So I can get 2 - 2.5 miles in just over a 1/2-hour jaunt. I drove a path that I recently ran through our neighborhood and it was just under 2.5 miles and I ran it in just about 35 minutes (those darn hills). So go me!

So at church we are starting a discipleship program call "The Way of the Master." I have to tell you, we had the introduction last week and I think this is going to be really good. So Thursday night as Reid and I were driving home from swimming lessons, I was listening to American Family Radio. At 7 PM there is a radio program that is call Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah and the topic was Courage When Fear Dominates You. I didn't hear the first part but am going to go back and do so. But what I heard was very interesting. He was talking about how when you are putting your fears ahead of trusting that God has your back you are actually engaging in idolatry. That was really interesting and I intend to go back and listen to the two sessions. Very very interesting perspective. Let me know your thoughts after listening.

So I am reclaiming my closet...

2008-01-31T23:35:00.000-06:00

Sometime shortly after my birthday I decided that I have finally had it. I Had been saying that I am not going to be 40 and be this heavy; 256 to be exact (I can admit it). Then I realized that is 5 years to cop out which really means that it would never happen. I then changed to I will not be 36 and continue. Short term meant big motivitation.

So back in January, I signed up for WeightWatchers online. As of Friday (2/15) I was down to 243--15 pounds and 5 weeks--and can wear my 42-waist pants again. There are a few pairs that need a couple more pounds to be comfortable. But still progress is there.

In other news, Heather has been travelling to D.C. for her new job which has left me with extra time with the kiddos. During this time, Reid started going to bed with out me having to sit next to her bed for an hour and fight her to go to sleep. Heather A. can appriciate what we were dealing with since she witnessed it first hands several times. But for Heather's Valentine's Day present, I gave it to her before she left. Wanna know what it was? Do ya?

Yes, an iPod Nano. And yes, it is pink. This version of the Nano can play videos so I also bought the movie "What Women Want" for her to watch on the airplane without having to get out her laptop. She in turn, got me a silver one. So that makes a total of 6: my 20 Gig iPod (earlier than what is pictured), Heather's blue mini which is now Jackson's, Jackson's silver and my purple Shuffle, and then the 2 Nano's. OK so we like our iPods. But my purple Shuffle may have to go back to the Apple Store again because it either won't stay connected to iTunes or won't eject and this time I'm gonna ask to have it replaced. I want the red one but my credit card rewards did not have those.

My job at work is taking some interesting turns and so I have to make a few decisions on what to do because of a few other things that look like they could take place. More to come on that. But this week I will be starting training sessions that are 3 full days this week and a day-and-a-half next. But it was almost $900; sure hope it is worth it since it was charged to my department.

Other than that, not much is happening.

I'm a winner!

2008-01-18T22:47:00.000-06:00

Oh, but I am. See what showed up on my walkway Tuesday?

I was reading Renee Pearson's blog (she wrote this and this) and she was doing a Twelve Days of the Season Giveaway of things out of her scrapbook studio. Well she gets to Day 12. I think how cool would that be. That's $150 I would not have to spend (unless I move to an iMac sooner that anticipated then I'd be buying the Mac version). So I post a comment. Late the next day I was looking at her blog again and she had posted the winner. Needless to say, I was stoked. I'm sure Renee was given this by Adobe, but who am I to complain. It is a sealed box; not like she installed in and then decided to give it away. BRAND NEW. Why is this cool? Because for those that don't know, I do dabble with the digital side of scrapbook pages and other things (cards, etc.; the card example is the Christmas card that we never got out this year)

I also have had my 2007 performance review (supervisors have to get them done before January 31). Things went well and my review was better than I expected. Next month our potential bonus is announced, and because of my review, and whatever the outcome is I will have an additional 20% added. Nice. Then they just allocated stock to employees who participate in a savings plan and they matched $15.90 in stock for every dollar I contributed. Nicer. So a banner week. For those that know of me through Heather A and my wife Heather C. may not know that I work for ConocoPhillips. That's right; I work for Big Oil and no I don't get a discount on my gas. You can see my bill for the months of October through December with all the trips to Winfield (see the wife's blog for the ugly details) as proof.

Speaking of Winfield. So we were there just after Christmas (Dec 29and 30) to do the Christmas thing with Heather's grandma and Dad. Ever since Gary really became ill, I have watched Heather struggle with doing what she and her brother believe is right and the his girlfriend doing whatever she pleases despite Heather and Kemper's requests. The move was awful because of her. I had the idea to take a day off and drive up there to have a talk with Gary and the girlfriend about the current state of affairs. Didn't but thought about it. Well, Gary and I went to get dinner Saturday night. So we are talking and on the way back he makes a comment and I the opportunity to say something go. He says something else. I let it go again. Well, those who know me know that I cannot leave a third opportunity alone. So I simply tell Gary my side of what I see going on and how I be live this is affecting Heather and I am not going to let the girlfriend mistreat Heather and her authority with Kemper. I wasn't nasty, just honest. I think he was surprised about a couple of things because he really didn't know about what happened in the background when he moved. I later started a conversation with Heather of "Don't be mad" (probably was not the smartest move but oh well) telling her what happened in the car. I apologised and say I know it was not my business but I wasn't going to stand by and let her be mistreated. I think Heather was on one hand kind of mad at me but she said that she was glad I did because I don't think it was a conversation the she could have with Gary easily. But she told me not to expect much to change. Well, from what I can tell, I think the things that Gary can control, things are better. So, if she was a little mad I think it was worth it.

So, that is the current state at our house.

2008-01-01T16:34:00.000-06:00

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know.
You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems.
Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green.
Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

Total rant...

2007-12-20T11:04:00.000-06:00

Why is it that people find it totally OK to clip their fingernails at work? I mean, It is one thing if your tear off part of a nail and have to trim the rest off. I understant that, but all ten fingers?

For the love of Pete! There are other places to do such a thing! It doesn't even bother me so much at home. But the thought of someone else's DNS flying about the air near my desk with their dirt on it just sends me over the edge. It's not like they vacuum these offices (if they do, i can't tell).

The funny thing about this is that at my last job, there was someone else that did that and it totally drove me nuts then, too.

OK. Rant over

So what we have been up to this weekend?

2007-12-02T23:12:00.000-06:00

We have been busy little bees this weekend. We have spread out decorating the house over 2 weekends. So here is what happened last weekend:

So we set up the tree in the den and the moved on to the mantle hanging our Pottery Barn stockings. Then moved on to set up out "forest" in the dining room (just need some "snow" to complete it).

On our tree this year (and last), we bought a bunch of Making Memories frames and plaques (with a Christmas Tree shape) and we printed pictures from the year and put them on the frames. Finished the tree out with red ornament balls and red beaded garland. See the close ups:

In other fun, we drove down to Tulsa to go to Rhema Bible College to see all of the Christmas lights. Reid was beside herself. There is just a lot to walk around and see. Here are a few:

The lights to this bridgeway are timed and change with music.

So today we put up lights on the house. We promised Jackson that we would this year since we ran out of time last year. He was itching to help. Then he decided that playing in the leaves would be more fun than helping Dad with the lights (since he couldn't get the lights clipped on).

So, that is what we have done. Any one else?

There is still nothing like Mom

2007-11-26T08:08:00.000-06:00

So Jackson asks me for a hug. He says that he likes my hugs. But then he says he likes Mom's hugs; they're comfortable.

I agree.

A little behind

2007-11-07T07:55:00.000-06:00

OK. So I have been a little out of pocket. We have had to deal with Heather's dad and it has just gotten out of hand.

Some images of the last month:

So we have been in Winfield every other weekend for the last month-and-a-half. Heather's dad is not doing well. So it has been crazy because he was so out of it that she and Kemper (her brother) put him in a nursing home 1) because it was too much for Sue (his girlfriend) to do by herself and 2) because Sue was too much for Heather and Kemper. The whole discussion was they will do the home for 6 weeks and then re-eval. Long story short; Sue let a scenario occur even though she had been told what the plan was and didn' go along with Kemper and Heather and we wound up moving her dad.

So during October, Heather A and Price came down to go to the Pumpkin Patch. They all had a ball, as ususal. And of course there were wall-to-wall toys in our den. Price and Reid enjoy thenselves. And they both love to chase Jackson down.

The last picture is what Heather took to Jackson's school for his Halloween party. It is Ritz with peanut butter inbetween and pretzels for the legs. The eyes are raisins and have just a little peanut butter on it to hold them on.

Improving Conditions

2007-09-13T09:44:00.000-05:00

Again, fromHeather's blog:

The most important thing - Jackson is a new kid! I was looking at him today at lunch and noticed a brightness in his eyes. It is the only way I know to describe it. It sounds weird, but his eyes sparkled and I couldn't get over how much better he looked in his face. The rest of his body looks great too. He still has some redness and eczema on his legs, feet and hands, but he has cleared up everywhere else. The other change - he doesn't itch constantly. We sat through dinner last night for almost 45 minutes and he never scratched once. It has been a long time since that has been a reality for him.
The doctors decreased his soak/seal to twice a day this morning and eliminated one of the steriod creams. We met with the social worker again this morning and he taught Jackson some breathing techiques to use when he is itching and feeling bad. He taught Jackson one technique yesterday that Jackson is already putting into practice. He taught Jackson to put something (stress ball, stuffed animal, etc.) in each hand when he felt the urge to scratch. Wednesday a.m. we were working on his homework and he said, "Mom, I need my baby alligator (beanie baby)." I told him that we weren't playing, we were doing homework. He replied, "But, I need it. I am going to itch." So, he did homework with his pencil in one hand and baby alligator in the other. He never scratched. Way to go, Buddy!
The social worker also talked to me about working with the school district on a 504 Plan for Jackson. It is essentially a plan that acknowledges Jackson's health issues as a disability and requires the school district to accommodate Jackson when he needs support during times of illness. That support might be - allowing him to hold his two stress balls/stuffed animals to prevent scratching, giving him time out to do his breathing exercises, or giving him more time to complete work when he is having an episode of allergies/asthma/eczema. We will be working with the school counselor, his teacher and the social worker on that when we get home.
In some ways, today, I feel like we have let Jackson down in the last year. The solution to his major problem - eczema - is discipline to keep the skin hydrated, sealed and medicated when necessary. We haven't done his lotion after every bath. We tended to wait until he was in a flare to treat it. This trip, I have learned, the key is to keep up the routine, even when his skin looks good.
We finished all of our daily appts. at the hospital today at noon and had the afternoon off. We headed for the Denver National History Museum. Jackson loved it, especially the Space Odyssey exhibit. He wants to go back tomorrow. Tonight, we hit the pool, worked on more homework and we have now rented Meet the Robinsons. We have had a little relaxation time and that has helped our moods, immensely.
We are planning to come home Sunday. I expect the allergy/skin docs to release us Friday. The social worker wants to meet with us Monday and Tuesday, for one hour each day. But, the cost to change our flight and extend our stay is more than we are willing to pay in exchange for two hours of treatment. We will followup with a behavioral specialist when we get home. Plus, we are ready to get home and Damon and Reid are ready for us to come home. (BTW, yes we are)

God's Blessings

2007-09-13T09:43:00.000-05:00

This is taken from Heather's blog posts.

2 Plane tickets to Denver - $512
Being stuck in isolation and ignored by the nursing staff for hours- $Lots of money charged to our insurance company
Seeing God's painted sunset over the Rocky Mountains - Beyond Priceless
Jackson and I arrived in Denver yesterday afternoon, made it through the airport, to the rental car and to the hospital, all in good time. We were cruisding. We met with four doctors Monday afternoon and they determined Jackson needed to go into the Day Program, rather than the outpatient program, meaning we would spend all day at the hospital rather than just come in for appts. They also determined he needed to be admitted for one night to start the intensive soak and seal therapy on his skin, give him some medication to sleep, and monitor his oxygen levels for the night. Not a big deal. We did that the last time we were here. We also had to be isolated due to Jackson having MRSA bacteria on his skin. This bacteria is not a danger to people with normal immune systems, but it is a deadly to others with compromised immune systems - ie people in hospitals. We were prepared for isolation - came prepared with lots of entertainment.
The doctors have been great and were very good getting us the meds we needed, getting him set up to start the soak/seal, answering questions, etc. Then, there was the nursing staff. Let's just make this story short - the nursing staff has not only been lacking, but pretty much nonexistent. Our night nurse was fantastic, but during the day, we are largely ignored in our little kingdom at the end of the hall. If Jackson needs something (food, towels, meds), I have to call and ask. What is our schedule for each day - we get to guess. Tuesday morning, I lost it. I was tired - didn't sleep well in the hospital room. I was frustrated from the lack of information about what we were supposed to do that day. I was tired of calling and asking for everything. And, I was getting tired of being ignored. We hadn't seen a nurse in over 2 hours, Jackson's breakfast was MIA, and Damon and I were on the phone still trying to hash out the insurance coverage (it's still not all covered). I was done and I had my little mommy breakdown - first to Damon and then to one of the staff members. And, the response, I had a nurse come in and pretty much explain to me that I was pretty much overreacting. I love being talked down to! And, I was yelled twice - once for not giving Jackson his medicine on time and a second time for not coming out of the room with gown/mask/gloves on. Guess what...you have to tell me to put that stuff on and SHOW ME WHERE IT IS!
The rest of Tuesday didn't improve much, from the nursing care aspect. But, the good thing is Jackson is responding to the treatment and already looks much, much better. He also got through the worst testing - the skin scratch tests - and he did great. We also met the social worker, who was able to give us some tips on helping Jackson cope with the itching and the stresses of being chronically ill.
Tonight, we were able to check in to the hotel and get out of the hospital. That is a huge help. We hit the Super Target across the street, ate some dinner, and came back to the room. Jackson did his third soak/seal of the day and he is asleep. Tonight, I did bring out some of the get well cards I brought from people at church. He loved those! He just smiled and kept asking me to open another. I have more, but am spacing them out over the week.
Damon and I were talking tonight about...is this all worth it. Yes, I think it is. Jackson was able to get through dinner tonight without scratching; that is improvement. He also looks much, much better and by Thursday, I think his skin will be completely clear for the first time in over a year. I have also had a chance to refresh my knowledge of the soak/seal method, which is the single-most effective treatment for him. I also think our time with the social worker, tomorrow, will give Jackson some addtional coping skills.
More adventures tomorrow....

A dizzying day

2007-08-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

6:30 A.M.

Heather nudges (more like slugs; that's what it can take) me awake from my slumber. She says that she is sure that we need to go to the hospital. What she thought were Braxton-Hicks that had been going on since midnight-30 she is now convinced that they are so NOT. We laughed. This is August 1. Jackson could not really come on his due date. That is just rarely heard of.

So we get up and get dressed and head over to the hospital prepared to turn around and come home. We'll sure enough they say Heather is not in labor; she hasn't even dialated. But they want her to hang around a little while to watch her. OK, done this too.

We'll then shortly after that Heather says that she feels like she is going to be sick. The nurse turns and says "Oh, honey. your not going to be sick."Silly nurse. When Heather says that she is going to be sick, believe her. Sure enough Heather begins to get sick. That's when we knew we were not going home and back to bed. She went from 0 to a 3 like that.

Forward a while later and Heather is all happy with her epidural. I notice her lips are blue and her hands are cold. She is having issues from the epidural. Nice. So she in given drugs to increase her blood pressure. One problem. They cross over. So Jackson's pulse goes up higher than they want. They wait; we wait. They watch; we watch; Repeat. They come in and say "You're going to have a c-section." Heather was so happy; she was done with the whole labor thing. They go to page her doctor. No answer. They page again. No answer. They call his house. No answer. They call his cell. No answer. Turns out he went out of town for the weekend and did not check out. Nice. They take Heather in at 4 and 8 years ago at the time this posts, Jackson was out and making his presence known.

8 years later and the trials of asthema and allergies (and how many prescriptions along the way) and the the fun orWii and baseball/t-ball. Growing up, lost teeth, starting school and now in third grade (we'll just chalk 2nd grade up as a trial), getting up in front of the whole church and declaring your faith and being baptised. Many happy times.

Happy birthday little buddy. Happy birthday indeed.

Jackson update

2007-08-01T09:14:00.000-05:00

Heather took Jackson back to the infectious disease (ID) specialist today and almost all of immune system tests came back normal! Two weeks ago they went for initial visit and they did a blood draw on him--6 vials of blood. That is not a blood draw, that is a full-fledged donation. The kid didn't even get juice and cookies after that!

The one test that came back abnormal was one that we expected - the one part of the immune system that reacts to allergens. His level ere very high (930 and normal is 0-60), which was expected with his history of allergies/asthma/ezcema.

But the immune system tests that analyzed his ability to fight infection all came back normal!! "The soldiers are there and on duty," according to the doctor. In other words, his immune system is healthy and functioning as it should.

The doctor's explanation for Jackson's recurring infections is simply, if his skin has breaks in it, skin infections will follow. We must keep his skin healthy if we want to stop the cycle. The ID doctor said that he was glad we were are going to National Jewish Medical in September. He said the team at NJ can help us find strategies to keep Jackson's skin as healthy as possible.

More randomness

2007-07-26T22:40:00.000-05:00

OK, how can this NOT make you happy:

It's just a jar of pickles you might say. Oh wait. Look closer:

What a nice way to be greeted as you pillage through the refrigerator. Especially when you have a 2-year old in full-out melt down. The effect of something just this simple giving you a moment of pleasure is completely lost on her. Oh, well. Her loss.

On to scrapbooking. So last year there was a class that Cathy Zielske taught on Big Picture Scrapbooking called Did You Know. So I took it. Here is my attempt. This was a digitally produced page:

So today I was reading the random blatherings (her description of her posts; not mine!) of Cathy's blog today and she posted an item from her 2peas days. Looks relatively similar to what she taught us in her class. Coincidence, I doubt it. Only she will know. Maybe she'll see my comment on her blog and look. Wouldn't that be cool.

OK. Wii may now resume (bad thing to have bought--too much fun)

Wii will play

2007-07-19T22:37:00.000-05:00

Yes, we now have a Wii. If you have not heard about these, here it is:

This is really just a a cool thing. Depending on the game, you get you butt off of the couch and are actually participating in the game. The unit comes with a set of games called Wii Sports (you can see some videos from the Wii Experience here). Oh, my. The boxing can kick your butt. I stayed home with Jackson today, who was feeling a little under the weather, and wii (OK, I'll quit now) played quite a bit. Heather came home and said "How do I turn it on. I want to play tennis." Ten minutes later, she was sweatting. Shortly after, Reid wanted her turn. It was just too cute watching her try to swing the controller to hit the ball.

Heather and Jackson as set to go to Denver Sept. 10. He went to the doctor Friday and the took 6 vials of blood. That is not a blood draw; that's a freakin' donation. He didn't even get cookies and juice after that, man. I personally feel that he got the shaft on that deal.

Work is good. Employees who participate in a particular retirement plan today found out what our stock allotment was. All I'll say is I was suprised and thinking it was very cool!

Well, I guess I'll be off to bed here shortly since I do have to go to work tomorrow (darn it). We're off the Independence, KS to the water park Saturday and then to Wichita next weekend. Jackson wants to go to Kobe Steak House for this birthday. Pawpaw really opened a can or worms with that one. Kobe a japanese restaurant that cooks on the grill right in front of you. He is all over that.

OK, so maybe Kiddie Park is out

2007-07-10T08:03:00.000-05:00

OK, so things have been interesting around here. Water. Lots and lots of water. Get this:

May 1 – June 26, 2007 6th wettest period ever in Northeast Oklahoma and at least 33 days of rain since May 1 [normally we have 20 days of rain]. For the same May 1 - June 26 period, we have had 15.2-inches of rain. As a reference, we had 8.89 for the same time frame in 2006.

The picture is just on the outer edge of downtown Bartlesville. Kiddie park is less than 1/4 mile from here. Can we was water-logged? Oh well.

Now back in 1986 there was a flood that was far worse than this, but having never been through one it was interesting. Like taking 2 hours just to drive 5 miles because there was only one road in and out of downtown. Then seeing the coating of mud left on trees and such as the waters receded. Then there was the smell. Oh Lord, the smell. Fortunately it didn't last that long but still. Sacrificing gas mileage to keep the windows up and use the A/C in the car was worth it.

On other notes, Jackson and Reid have begun swimming lessons. Jackson started last night and Reid had to sit with me and watch because her lessons are only Tuesday and Thursday nights; Jacksons are 4 nights a week.

OK, I'm off to get ready for work. Showering may be a good thing.

I need a weekend from the weekend

2007-06-25T09:45:00.000-05:00

So, this weekend was busy. Heather's friend Heather A. came down from Arkansas City, KS with her boy Price. Reid loves it when Price is here. They are only 2 1/2 months apart in age so they both play until they cannot stand up.

Saturday we went to the Tulsa Zoo after eating at Red Robin in Owasso. That was really good. My Heather got the Teriyaki Chicked Burger and I got the Burger Parmigiana. Jackson has stated that he wants to eat there every time we are in Owasso. I guess that says something when the kid chooses that over Chick-Fil-A and anywhere that has a playground. We rode the train around the zoo and went in a few exhibits, but it seement to suddenly get really hot and sticky. We left after about 2 hours. Got some cute pics (I'll post some later). So Saturday night we decided to skip Kiddie Park since we were kind of wiped from the zoo and I from also mowin the yard. And it is not like the two little ones were going to notice. So, instead we went to Maggie Moo's (so darn good, too) after our dinner of steak and mashed potatoes.

So Sunday morning, we all got up and went to church. I swear, poor Heather A. Seems like every time she goes with us the Pastor's message is some verison of fire and brimstone. So after a simple lunch at home, we drove over to Claremore to Simply Scrapbooks. Came back home and then Heather and Price headed back to Ark City.

We had a good time but I think we were all zapped. Heather and Price will be back in 3 weeks. We'll get Kiddie Park in then.

2007-06-17T23:48:00.000-05:00

So last week sometime Heather bought the kids a Slip-n-slide. But this one has two tracks; one for each kid to race each other on. As you can tell, one slipped, one just played in the water streams. I even got into the act. Fortunately for me (and probably for you also) there are no pictures of the Great White Whale (me) going down the toy also. I was suprised when I was sore two days lated. There were parts of me that were sore that I didn't realize that could be. Oh well, the kids thought it was funny.

It is finally Friday!!!!

2007-06-15T14:19:00.000-05:00

Man, this week just seemed to take forever. OK, maybe just Thursday and today did. Here is a little funny for the weekend:

Survivor: Texas

Due to the popularity of the Survivor shows, Texas is planning to do a season series entitled, "Survivor-Texas" The contestants will all start in Dallas, then drive to Waco, Austin, San Antonio, over to Houston and down to Brownsville. They will then proceed up to Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Odessa, Lubbock and Amarillo. From there they will go on to Abilene, Fort Worth and finally back to Dallas. Each will be driving a pink Volvo with bumper stickers that read: "I'm Gay, I Love the Dixie Chicks, Boycott Beef, I Voted for John Kerry, George Strait Sucks, Hillary in 2008, and I'm here to Confiscate Your Gun". The first one to make it back to Dallas alive wins.

Thanks to Kenny for this one (got it from his blog)

Concerns

2007-06-12T13:08:00.000-05:00

What is it that a parent supposed to do when you have a chronically sick child and no matter how much you do or fight to be heard and it just doesn't seem to be enough?

My 7-year-old has allergies to anything that grows beyond anything most doctors have seen and has an infection that we are able to knock down, but not resolve. At this point, we are able to tell doctors what meds we know when and we are not questioned. And yesterday, his allergist that we drive an hour to see looked at the wife and said "I'm out of tricks. We may need to see a pediatric infectious disease specialist even though he is not contageous." That, and he as been on 4 or 5 different antibiotics since Thanksgiving.

All that we do doesn't seem to be enough and, frankly, I feel like I am failing the little guy as a parent because we can't get this cleared.

We may have to be going back to National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver (the place where the international-traveling TB guy is at; they are a great hospital). We'll see what comes. Just a really stressful time right now. We are just trying to be discerning about what to do and praying that His will be done (funds for travel, timing and duration, etc).

Off and running...

2007-06-11T16:30:00.000-05:00

OK. So I have practically driven myself nuts (and Heather in the process) of trying to get a blog going and get her to start as well. So she posted on her Xanga site to get me off of her back; I had not. Oops. Bad me.

I've been trying to decide what service to use. I'd really like to use Typepad because there are some things about it that Vox has that I liked (book and music linking with pictures) but didn't like all the ads and limited header options) But I'll save my pennies for that.

So, I was looking at Tara's blog. Damn. Even her picture of a dog is cool.I really want to spend more time in Photoshop and figure out how to do the shading so that it looks, you know, cool.

I guess I try to come up with something far more interesting next time around.

For those that I know who did not see this, The video below is Jackson's baptism. Happened on easter. Very cool. So proud of that bugger.