Christmas Time

Well, there was no way this blog thing was going to last. It's been 2 months since I posted anything, two very full months. Maybe I will try to scatter shoot all of them here:

1. Thanksgiving - This year was probably one of the saddest Thanksgivings for us. I love a big full house with lots of friends and family. My folks are in DC, my sister went to France, my brother does Thanksgiving with his in-laws, and Carrie's mom was in El Paso. We had a very nice Thanksgiving with a friend. The three of us ate turkey and watched the games. I was still very thankful for the year we had and I was thankful for the all that we have been given, but I would have enjoyed sharing that day with more people. That being said, if you don't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving 2010, please let me know. Carrie and I will welcome anyone over to share.

2. White Rock Marathon - Well, I was on my 18 mile training run and started feeling pain in my right knee. By the end of the run, I couldn't walk, and the next day was worse. This continued and prevented me from running any distances over 6 miles, so the White Rock will turn in to the 2010 Cowtown Marathon!

3. Christmas - Again, not as expected! Our tradition has us spending Christmas Eve at the Weaver family, and Christmas day, we fly out to El Paso for the Coffin/Williams family. The snow and ice made travel a nightmare. Our flight was delayed 2 hours, which was OK, but we arrived in El Paso in the afternoon (Christmas presents should be opened Christmas morning!). Then when we arrived, our bags were nowhere to be seen. We made a cost decision to pack our Christmas presents in luggage and pay the luggage fee vs. shipping them (oops). By the way, did you know on American Airlines, you have to pay $20 to check a bag, and if they lose it, you don't get your $20 back! That said, all of our Christmas presents and Emily's clothes were in the checked bag, so we couldn't open presents if we wanted to. Finally, later Christmas day, we got our luggage and we were able to open presents at 9:00 Christmas night.

4. Emily - she is the perfect baby with imperfect health. It seems that she is always fighting a cold or congestion, or a cough or something. The poor baby just can't get well, but she has an amazing attitude toward things. She will smile and play as she is coughing so hard she can't breath.

5. Fantasy Football - I am currently in two fantasy football leagues. (It seems as though I have a pronoun problem. I often refer to the teams as "mine" instead of "ours", but I challenged Carrie to name three players on either of "our" teams, and she couldn't, so it's mine!) In the Southlake league, we won! Our team was not that great all year, but we ended up winning when it counted. I am in the finals of the other league. Maybe, I'll quit my job and become a fantasy football expert!

Look for more updates.

See Just Be Thankful

Things have definitely changed since my last post. Baby Emily was given some medicine to help control her reflux and she is a different baby! Now I bet she doesn't cry 30min./day total, and usually it is because she is hungry or lonely. All because of me! I decided not to complain about it, so I was rewarded!

She really is the happiest baby. I'm convinced that she is the best child ever. She just past the 2 month mark and we really intend to keep that going, but we are going to need some help from the general public. By that I mean. Quit taking your sick kid to the church nursery. Don't let your coughing little girl hover over my baby at the Sprint store. Don't rub your nose then ask if you can hold her. It's weird that you would need to write such things, but in general people are not considerate.

On a separate note, Carrie entered the last year of her life in her 20s. I wasn't able to give her the happy fun birthday that I wanted, but I know that I need to make it up to her. Maybe we will do something super happy fun for Christmas? or our anniversary? Ground Hog Day? Or just maybe, there doesn't have to be a special day to do something for someone special, but they are good reminders.

Hope everyone has a fun Halloween. I will be staying home and passing out candy, so no pranks at my house. Last year we had about 10 sets of trick or treaters. Unfortunately, our neighborhood is poorly lit and doesn't have sidewalks. Just remember you MUST say "Trick or Treat" and you MUST say "thank you"

Crying Baby

Well, Baby Emily has colic and reflux, and she cries and cries and cries.

I got to thinking last night as I held a screaming baby. (anything to divert my attention from the little scream machine) I thought how awful it was that she is in pain and there is nothing I could do about it. I even thought about registering a complaint. Then I realized, I've got a great baby, and several years ago, I lost a cousin to childhood leukemia. I know my aunt and uncle would go to no end to hear him cry again. Is a crying baby really that bad?

Then I was reading through Facebook at all of the status updates: headache, lack of sleep, I hate Monday, problems with kids at school, etc. We sure do complain a lot. It's ironic that someone sitting at home in a nice home, typing on a computer with internet connection, while watching a plasma TV in the air conditioned room would be complaining about anything. What percentage of the world's population would love such "problems"?

Then, I remembered "Big John" in Sunday school a few weeks ago. Try praying and not asking for anything. It is almost impossible! We want more and more and more. My goal is to be at least twice as thankful as needy. That is, say thanks for at least twice as many things as I ask for. Here's a start

Complaint Change to
Baby Crying Thanks for the addition to our home
Lack of sleep Thanks for a warm bed
Bad Weather Thanks for all of the sunny days, and thanks for watering the Earth.
Headache Thanks for the ability to run and play basketball
Monday Work Thanks for providing me a job
Government/Taxes Thanks for freedom!

I'll leave you with a quote from the great Montgomery Burns, "I would take all that I have and gladly trade it in to have just a little bit more."

4 Weeks

I just got through reading my previous posts and realized that I haven't done anything on here in a while. My priorities have changed. I have the sweetest little girl now. Sunday night, she fell asleep on my chest while we were watching some TV, There is no chance the computer comes out to interrupt times like that.

Other priorities (Baby and wife are easily the tops)

1. Church - We are trying to get back into the swing of church. Part of our Sunday mornings involve picking up my grandfather and uncle and making sure they get to church. It is important to my family that we continue to care for those who cannot care for themselves and Sunday morning is the least that we can do. Also, we could all use a extra churchin'. (5 hours including lunch)

2. Running - I've already told too many people that I am going to run a marathon. I told Carrie a couple weeks ago, "maybe I'll just do the half marathon." She's a good wife because she wouldn't hear of it. I am now re-committed to running the White Rock Marathon. Unfortunately, if I was to follow my training schedule, I would have to run for 1 hour on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and about 2.5 hours on Saturday morning. That is 5.5 hours that I could be sleeping, playing with the baby, etc. Plus, running hurts!

3. Football - Auburn (1-0) is on Saturday. Carrie wants to take me out for a nice dinner while my folks babysit. That is 3 hours each week that I must see Auburn. This week, I'll record it and watch Saturday night after we get back. Then, you got pro games, that start tonight. Knowing me, I'll watch about 10 hours on Sunday and 3 hours on Monday. That means (16 hours of football).

4. Baseball - My Rangers are only a couple games back. I can't miss any games! I love the Rangers (2nd only to Auburn football) I will watch about 2-3 games/week. Call it 9 hours.

5. Others - I need to finish my baseboards, caulk and paint my baseboards, then install some quarter round - all from the flood. I need to Mow, trim the bushes, and re-stain the deck. I also joined a basketball league.

I don't complain, because these are the things that make me happy! I don't have to worry about boredom any time soon. As you can see, bloggin' ain't on the list. I can squeeze that in here at there. I just hope that everyone who reads this has such great problems, too many things that I enjoy are crowding for my time. I'm happily busy!

Sorry, got interrupted

I last posted at 4:30 on Thursday. As I'm sure you could guess, things really moved after that and I was not able to post anything new. Just a quick timeline:

6:30 - The Doctor came in a said the baby's head was poking through, but she wasn't dilated enough to make it. This made it an easy decision to go to a C-Section. There was sufficient pressure from the contractions to push the baby, but not enough dilation for her to be born.

7:15 - The doctors took Carrie and prepped her for surgery.

7:24 - I walked into the OR and the C-Section began.

7:31 - We heard baby Emily cry!

I don't really know the times of all the rest of the milestones, but most importantly she was born 7:31 on August 13, 2009, and we were discharged from the hospital and returned home Sunday just after noon.

We have the best family and friends. We had an outpouring of support from sooo many people. If you believe in "what comes around, goes around." then Carrie and I will have to turn into Mother Theresa to give back what we have received the past few days. Thanks to everyone.

Baby Day 4:30

Still nothing. Unfortunately nothing has happened to let us know that the baby is ready. She began contractions last night, but she couldn't even feel them. She still hasn't requested any type of pain meds. The contractions come about one every 1-2 minutes but they don't really hurt and not much else to report.

Hopefully the doc will be in soon to discuss options or give recommendations.

Baby Day!

The day is finally here! I was going to use this forum to document our day. We got in around 8:00 last night and not much else happened. They hooked her up to a monitor and gave her some meds that are supposed to "get things started." Carrie got a sleeping pill around 10:00 and was out. I got to sleep on a pull out chair - with no sleeping pill.

Today started at 6:00am with an IV and the meds have started. The contractions are very close together, but Carrie is not feeling them at all. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. Lack of pain is good, but it also may indicate lack of progress. Wish I had more to report. Right now, we won't see the doctor again until noon. Their latest best guess is 3:00 or so....we'll see.

An Open Letter

Friends:

We are about 24 hrs. from being introduced to baby Emily! A very exciting time for Carrie and me. As the time nears, there is a lot of planning and information that needs to be communicated. I thought an open letter to friends and acquaintances would be a good way to broadcast information.

For me it is hard to accept help and harder to ask for it. I know that many people have offered many things. Food, support, babysitting, etc. I also read that it is advisable to accept all help offered. I would like to organize the help. I will be taking the next week off of work and will be able to spend 24 hrs. with my wife and baby. Then, I go back to work. She is taking 12 weeks off from work. Quick math. There will be 11 weeks where I am at work and Carrie is home. These weeks would be a great time to come visit, especially during the day if possible as Carrie will be alone.

Hospital visits: Carrie will be induced on Thursday morning. I think it is reasonable to expect the baby to be delivered Thursday afternoon/evening. After delivery, Carrie and I are going to want some time to bond with Emily. We will take at least an hour with just us and the baby. After that, we will start letting folks in the room. I expect Thursday to be a full day. We would prefer friends, if they want, to visit on Friday, or just come to the house Saturday or Sunday.

Finally, not to be too rude, but let's all be sensitive to Carrie and Emily's rest time, feeding time, etc. I think I'd like to keep the visits fairly short or as a minimum be understanding with mom and baby, if they leave the room for a while and you are stuck with just me!

Stay tuned to Facebook or the blog for updates, we will attempt to get pictures up as soon as possible.

Thanks,
BW

Almost A Dad

Well, Sunday came and went. I made a bold prediction that little Emily would be born on Sunday July 26, twenty-three days early. Just like most of my bold predictions, it was wrong. I still think she'll be early, and "yes" for all of you idiots out there who keep asking me if I'm ready/excited. I suspect Carrie of foul play though. I think she sat very still with her legs crossed all weekend in order to make me wrong. If you know Carrie, you know how sneaky she is.

There are (seemingly) three things in my life right now, work, baby and running. I ran 26.5 miles last week in four days and will increase that by one this week. I think I figured out the whole "runners high" thing. Idiots who run that far are on drugs! Or, idiots who run that far take drugs to relieve the pain after the run. I think I'm going to do both, before and after. Unfortunately, I'm in too deep to quit, so I have to keep running....and I gotta start getting high.

Things I've Learned:
Nobody is an expert! We went to the baby doctor last week to get a sonogram and a checkup. The sonogram lady took about a dozen measurement, then told us that baby Emily weighs 7lbs. and 9oz. That's a big baby after 36 weeks! Then, 20 minutes later, the doctor saw Carrie and said that the baby was 6 lbs. Which leads me to believe that neither of them have a clue, they just throw numbers out there. They have a machine that can see through the human body, but they have no idea how much it weighs and won't until she is born, which will be this week! (another bold prediction) I would like to amend my earlier prediction to say that she will be born the week of July 26th, not on July 26th. That is, unless Carrie does something to spoil it again.

Choices-All rants today!

I'll paraphrase a famous quote: "life is 1% what happens to you and 99% how you react to it."

I agree with this. Everything comes down to the choices that we make. People like to think that all of the bad things in their life are a result of other peoples actions. There is no self reliance. Fact is, my place in life is a direct result of the choices that I made. Not the government, or the rich, or the poor, or television, ME!

If I grab an umbrella and jump off the roof, it is not Mary Poppins fault. I'm the idiot that jumped. Unless of course Mary pushes me, but then why was I on the roof in the first place? HA, still my fault, unless I was fixing a hole in the roof. Then that is the 1% stuff from the quote.

My concern is when people make a series of bad choices, then expect MY help. We all have the capacity to make the right choice. Many people may be in a better position in life to choose the correct path, but we are all capable of it. My girl Octomom is a great example. In my humble opinion, she made some bad choices along the way, and somehow, my taxes are going to her. If you get the chance, watch 16 and pregnant on MTV. See if you can identify any bad choices in this episode:

16 year old girl (pregnant) and her boyfriend are living with her mom (pregnant), her boyfriend, and the single grandmother in a 2 bedroom house. Any chance there is some bad decision making going on there. 3rd generation illegitimate child! Way to carry on! - see my previous posts on sterilizing girls until they are bright enough to make good choices.

AHH what do I care, fantasy football is coming up, and I can demonstrate my superior decision making skills.

Let's change the order a bit

I'm just sitting here watching some of the Steve McNair coverage. Just some background, Steve was married with a couple children. He had a 20 yr. girlfriend and possibly another girl on the side.

As the story goes, our boy Steve was cheating on his wife with this crazy woman. Then, this woman hit some hard times financially (remember, she's 20!) Then, she suspects her married boyfriend of cheating on her with a 3rd woman. Well, this is clearly too much for a 20 yr. old to handle, so she decides to do what any sane person would do, go buy a gun. She waits a couple days and waits until Mr. McNair is asleep on the couch. (is there anything better than napping on the couch?) She shoots him in his head (1) then shoots him in his chest twice (2,3), then shoots him on the other side of his head (4). After four shots into her boyfriend (or at least her meal ticket) she puts the 5th and final bullet into her own head.

Moral to the story:
Here's my opinion, I think killing folks is wrong. I think killing yourself is wrong. I believe that doing both is double wrong. Here is my solution! Kill yourself first! Once you are dead, if your problems aren't solved, then kill other people. This goes for the folks putting bombs on their chests or flying planes into buildings etc. Imagine if the Virginia Tech guy took my advice? His result is exactly the same, but there would be more innocent sons and daughters in this world.

The only ones in this story I feel sorry for are the kids. They are the only innocent ones. You want to say the wife, but she married a guy who was double cheating. He was cheating on his mistress! She had to know. Is there any chance that this behavior started recently, or is there a chance that he was unfaithful as a professional athlete? She knew, but chose to ignore his behavior for whatever reason. I am convinced that you know if you are married to a habitual cheater, but the poor kids didn't know. Now they have to see Dad on the news and not as the NFL co-MVP, but as a victim.

Lessons to learn for you clowns:
1. Don't cheat on your wife
2. Don't cheat with a crazy person
3. Don't cheat on a crazy person
4. Don't let problems in your 20s ruin/end your life
5. Kill yourself BEFORE killing others
6. Don't have kids if your husband is a habitual cheater.

June

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him; The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with Caesar.

That last sentence is funny to me. This couldn't be LESS true. Think of Michael Jackson. Everyone is remembering the good. The evil that he did seems to have been interred with his bones. (interred-look it up).

The one thing that I drew from all of this is how much people care about other people that they do not know. Why do you care about Michael? My life has changed ZERO because of his death. People are crying and wailing about his death the way they would a family member. Is there a small chance that we are putting stock in the wrong people? Just maybe? I'm not even focusing on his alleged "issues" with little boys. He is just a weird guy that hasn't been relevant in 20 years. Again, he died, and my life wasn't changed a bit. I still have my wife, my dog, my family, my house, my job. etc. Why would I let the death of a guy I listened to in 1986 affect me? Guess what, I'm not.

Grow up everyone. Miss his music, play an album, but tap the breaks on the tears.

Summertime!

I don't care what the moon and sun tell us, Memorial Day marks the start of summer, and since Memorial Day is over, summer is here.

To celebrate summer, and since I had the day off, Carrie and I visited Fredericksburg, TX. I highly recommend a trip down to the hill country if you are just looking to get out and enjoy some down time. There isn't a whole lot to keep you entertained, so you might as well bring the wife and dog. That's what I did. On Sunday morning, we climbed enchanted rock. Again, I highly recommend a trip to Enchanted Rock State Park. Banjo and I got to the top of the rock, and Carrie got most of the way up there. She pooped out near the top. We ditched her and went to the top.

Then Sunday afternoon, I went and saw Darrell. Just so you know, D is good. He's got 3 great little girls.

Rants:

While in Fredericksburg, Carrie and went to eat at an upscale German restaurant (my favorite). As a reference, our plates were about $19 each. (for Fredericksburg, that is four stars). A table full of folks came and sat down right next to us. I had the Cheese Schnitzel and Carrie had some other sort of Schnitzel. The other table ordered as follows:

1. broiled skinless chicken breast
2. Grilled chicken salad
3. Chicken fried steak
4. cheeseburger

Why in the world visit the best German restaurant EVER and order this nonsense? Go to chili's, Friday's, Black Eyed Pea, etc. Why not go to Texas de Brazil and order a hot dog. Go to PF Changs and get yourself chicken fingers. I'll go to restaurants and see out of place food and ask, "who orders that?" I guess I now know, these folks from Fredericksburg.

Been a while

I think the shine on the blog has worn off a bit! Maybe once the kid comes and I'll have more time! Other things going on, I'm training for a marathon. I haven't actually signed up for the marathon, but I joined a running club to train for one.

Carrie is officially in her third trimester. Just 3 short months from now, and I'll have a little girl. Just to answer the usuals (August 18, Girl, Emily Kate, almost done). If you're not sure what this is, it is the answer to all of the questions that EVERYONE asks.

Ranting:

I was watching a comercial and the question of "ideal weight" came up, so I got to wondering what my ideal weight was. I'm 6ft. 4in. .....205lbs. Currently I'm just under 230, according to this website, I'm obese. Not big or "have a few to lose" but obese! Kinda harsh. Oh well, It's my own doing.

Which brings me to this. Anyone/everyone who is overweight (including me) can blame it on one thing. Laziness. McDonalds is easier than preparing a healthy meal. Sitting on the couch is easier than jogging. You always hear this nonsense about glands, big bones and slow metabolism. Fact is, people who eat right and excercise are the healthy ones. If you have the above conditions, it just gives you a steeper hill to climb, but it's climbable.

Maybe I'll get back to blogging, by the way, the "I'll have more time once I have a kid" was clearly a joke. Those that know me, should have caught that.

BW

Weekend Fun

Well another in-law weekend in the books. Normally, I would use these lines to take cheap shots at the in laws, but 1. It's an obvious joke and 2. I really had a good time.

What I don't understand is baby showers. Why do we feel like we have to throw baby showers? and wedding showers? How many times in life do we send out invitations to friends and family knowing that they'll feel obligated to buy a present? Birthdays, graduation (HS, College, Grad School), wedding shower, baby shower. All that said, we are certainly appreciative for all of the gifts, but for me it is awkward accepting them. I guess you just deposit the gifts in a "virtual bank", then withdraw when someone else has a birthday, graduation or shower.

While the women were showering, Carrie's uncle Dean, took me and her cousin Patrick golfing. What a great time! I can easily forget the frustration of my 108 on the golf course (just 46 strokes from the course record) and enjoy spending a great day outside. It didn't hurt that Dean hit a 110 - what a loser.

Got a lot more to say, but I got to keep it short, chances are the folks reading this have trouble with big words and four paragraphs represents a month of reading.

Week 23

We are at 23 weeks. Only 17 short weeks to go, then we'll have a baby! At this point it is still not entirely real. I think Carrie would say different, but with the exception of feeling a couple kicks and tip-toeing through an emotional minefield, not much has changed for me.

Rants:

I was advised to bring back more anger to the blog. So many targets so little motivation to type. I've got strong (and correct) opinions on so many things. Maybe I'll scatter shoot them:

1. A fan was kicked out of Yankee stadium for not being respectful during God Bless America.
2. Miss USA has been criticized for vocalizing her opinion on gay marriage.
3. Texas can secede.

#1 The rule at Yankee Stadium is that you stand respectfully and don't mill about during God Bless America. If you don't like the rules, don't pay to go to the game. I'm ignoring the flag waving American defense, and I'm ignoring the freedom of speech angle too. What is wrong with following the rules, or paying the consequences? If you break rules, expect punishment. There are millions of things that you are not allowed to do in Yankee Stadium. You can't smoke. If you smoke, you might get kicked out. You can't wear a giant Indian headdress, or you might get kicked out. You have to be respectful during God Bless America or you get kicked out! Quit acting like an idiot. Besides, the Yankees suck.

#2 How can someone's opinion be wrong? It's an opinion! She was asked what she thought of gay marriage and she gets criticized. That's just dumb! I am pretty sure the gay rights folks are big on open mindedness. To call someone names for answering a question honestly is about as close minded as you can get! Those silly gays need to be more accepting of other viewpoints!

#3 Kinda fun to think about, but this is dumb. I'm proud to be an American.

How much did I pay?

I just finished my tax returns for 2008. It is amazing how much of my daily pay goes to taxes. Take that federal number, add in the homeowners tax I pay, then add 8% of every dollar I spend for sales tax and you realize how much goes to the government. You pay 30-40% taxes before you get it, then you pay 8% as you spend it! WOW!

I know taxes are a sensative subject, because it immediately becomes political. I don't mind taxes, just make sure that they are being used prudently. It is also a very popular opinion that the rich should have their taxes raised. I'll go a step beyond that, they should pay the taxes they owe now. Three of Obama's cabinet appointees had tax evasion issues. THREE! They are all rich. If we raise their taxes, they'll just avoid the raises too. Daschle was the former senate majority leader (the ranking democrat in the senate, also a rich guy), and he owed $140,000 in back taxes. If he was an athlete or an actor, he might be in jail. Let's not raise taxes on the rich, let's collect the taxes they already owe!

Fact is, as long as their are a million tax laws and tax shelters, it creates enough confusion that the super smart tax geeks can "hide" money or blatantly cheat and claim ignorance. Dallas' own Ron Kirk chose the second option. Meanwhile, I'm digging through files of paper trying to find the amount of money Carrie received for jury duty. By the way, it was $6, and I reported $6 in income. The rich get the mine, the poor get the gold, and I get the shaft!

It's a girl.

Well, just as I predicted, Carrie and I are having a little girl. The first thing we are going to work with her on, is proper lady like behavior! When I asked the sonogram lady how sure she was about our girl, she showed me. "Here is one leg, and here is the other. I'm sure." They were at opposite ends of the screen. Apparently my girl was spread eagle in there. That will be focus #1, no more of that. I will either teach her to properly cross her legs or I will glue them crossed.

Carrie and I are very excited, now we are anxious to hold our little girl, and for goodness sakes, we don't have a name yet. I guess everyone feels like they have to ask the same questions as everyone else. Immediately after we announce that it is a girl, the next question is ALWAYS, "Do you have name picked out?" We've been pretty quick with information, and we will tell everyone when we decide the name. I'm sure by that time, the questions about the nursery will come. I just think that it is funny that almost everyone asks about the name, even the men where I work. What do they care? Most of them have never been to my house or met my wife. Why do they care about the name of my unborn child? They never asked for Carrie's name or my mom's name (also very important women in my life)

Enough baby stuff, I need to brag! Yesterday, I ran 7 miles in 69 minutes 54 seconds. That is a sub 10:00 minute/mile pace for 7 miles! My goal has always been to be able to maintain that pace, and yesterday the wind was strong, which never helps. I'm sure that there are many out there that can better that time, but I would say amongst 240lb. 35 year olds, I'm near the tops!

Check out the poll to the right!

Ouch

I am trying to get back into shape, but man I'm getting old. There was a day that I could play basketball all day, go to bed and play again the next. Now, I played on Thursday and today (Monday) is the first time that I can walk comfortably.

A friend a work told me that basketball is a jealous sport it won't allow you to play other sports. I laughed because he's an idiot, but in this particular case he was right. I have been trying to play basketball and jog. I got up to jogging 20 miles/week. Last week I could only go 4.5 miles because basketball knew I was cheating on it. This week, I've gone 5 miles, but I play on Thursday again. That might ruin me for the rest of the week.

I was really pleased with my performance on the court. I was able to score 27 pts. in a losing effort. (our team scored 39)

Rants:
How is it in this economy any business can afford to make their customers mad? I can think of one industry that has no concerns for their customers. Doctors! The last time I went to the doctor for me, I had to wait 1.5 hours to see the guy. Then, when he walked in, I unloaded on him at how unprofessional he was for not keeping a schedule. All doctors have the same excuse, "there was an emergency with another patient." This is genius because you can't argue. If there was truly an emergency, wouldn't they tell you when you checked in that the doctor is running behind due to an emergency. They won't because they don't care about you!

This brings me to the baby doctor this week. Carrie and I were supposed to find out the sex of the baby on Thursday. We set the appointment six weeks ago. The doctors office called yesterday to tell us that the lady that does the sonograms doesn't work on Thursdays. Do you think that this is something that they could have figured out in five weeks. Better yet, maybe they could keep a collection days and dates separated out into little boxes. I have a couple of these, I call them a calendar. They are good for tracking off days and dates. Now I'm fairly smart, but not doctor smart, and I already figured this out. Wonder if they will figure this out. Nobody tell them to see how long it takes.

Fact is, we are powerless versus the doctors. There are only a few that accept our insurance and are close and are seeing patients this week. They don't need you and they don't need me, and they act like it! I wish we shopped for doctor's like we shop for cars or houses, but we don't. Work gives us a list of approved doctors and we find the closest one to the house and never change. They know we will just take it where they shove it...now I got to check my list for a proctologist.

Brad'sa Buildin'

This week I thought I would take on a nice 'easy' project. As you walk into the house, there is some useless space. I thought I would add a wall unit. I copied this guy's idea. I copied it as much as I could, but I allowed Carrie to get creative with the bench seat. Sorry for the bad angle, there isn't enough room to get a good angle. Maybe you'll just need to come by and see it in person.

I learned a few things:

1. Small finish nails are easily bent - which means thumbs are in danger.

2. Don't use building materials as straight edges.

3. Quarter round is a life saver.

4. The only measurements that are critical are the trim pieces.

5. This house isn't square.

Check out Carrie's blog to get updates on the baby. She does a good job of tracking the kid. Don't get fooled by her use of pronouns. The website that sends us the baby info switches genders each week. We will let you know in two weeks. (did you notice, I posted a picture and two links, I'm getting good at this stuff.)

I told you this blog thing would slow down. I'm getting to that once-per-month level. If anyone wants more baby updates, then Carrie is really good about posting information especially on Monday evening/Tuesday morning. I do know that we are approaching the half way point pretty soon and I can tell you that we will indeed find out the gender of the baby on April 2. I don't know why that is the first question everyone asks. Here is how the conversations go (this is typical of 99% of all conversations):

Stranger: "Do you have any kids?"
us: "no, but one is on the way"
Stranger: "When are you due"
us: "2nd week in August"
Stranger: "is it a boy or girl?" - (There also might be an uninteresting story about who's birthday in their life falls in August. Generally people we do not know. Come to find out about 1/12th of the population was born in August?? Who would have guessed.)
us: "We don't know yet"
Stranger: "Are you going to find out"
us: "yes we go in April 2nd"
Stranger: (story about someone we do not know that did/did not find out gender.)

I think conversation is like TV programming. There really isn't much original out there, so just recycle the same ol' thing. Right now, this conversation is reality TV.

2 Years

Today is our 2nd anniversary. Where does the time go?

I can clearly remember my friends and family nagging me about, "When are you going to settle down?" This question haunts single people once the turn about 20 or so. I was single until I was 33 so I got to hear it over and over and over (repeat). The answer is simple...now. I was single for 33 years because I had not met Carrie! God allowed me to wait a while before we met, but it was the most worthwile wait of my life.

Yes, two years ago today, Carrie, a few friends and family and I were on the beach in South Padre Island, TX. It was a warm windy day and we got married on a grassy lawn overlooking the beach and the crashing waves....and the bulldozers. I really feel like a small ceremony with a few close friends is the way to go. I wouldn't change anything about that day, except, I would have loved to have had the opportunity to meet Carrie's dad and have him walk her down the isle, but Billy (Carrie's brother) filled in and everything was perfect.

Looking back, I know that I married the perfect girl, not perfect, but perfect for me. Nobody ever fully appreciates the things in their life until they are gone, so I hope I can stop and appreciate her today!

BW

Been A While

I think I knew this blogging thing would be less and less frequent, but here it is!

Carrie is now 15 weeks pregnant. That puts us into the second trimester...whatever that means. I guess someone arbitrarily split pregnancy into thirds. Everyone still loves to say, "I hope you have a girl." I still don't get it. Is a girl a punishment?

I am running and running. I ran 8 miles on Saturday at a 10:12/mile pace. My goal is 10:00 minute miles. I am doing the Cowtown this weekend. (10K). In my head, I'm proud of myself for running and being able to run 8 miles until I heard that my friend's wife, who just gave birth to a baby boy a few months ago, is already out running me...pushing a stroller.

Rant:
I was just reading the scroll at the bottom of the screen on ESPN. I saw that a bunch of the evidence against Barry Bonds was ruled inadmissible for whatever reason. Why would any evidence be inadmissible? In my world, you punish the idiots for breaking the rules of seizing evidence, but it is still pertinent information. I just think that ALL evidence should be considered. All of it! If extra DNA samples help a guy go free, do it! If there is a smoking gun in the trunk of a car that was just used in a murder, get it! If the idiots get the gun without a warrant, then they should be punished, but the gun still was used in a murder! We are so worried that we might step on some one's toes, that we lose sight of the main function of our justice system...Justice.

Week 13

Monday was our 13th week! That makes the pregnancy 1/3 done. How great was that! Somehow, I am getting through it. It's weird how about 99% of my friends are goofy idiots, much like me, but when it comes to news and status updates about the baby, they (I) mature quickly. One observation, it is funny that everyone asks the exact same questions, "Are you excited?" I guess it is like telling someone, "good morning." You aren't really sure what to say, so you just rely on the standards.

Work Stuff: I got to travel to Kansas this week! I went there to support the big boss while he delivered a presentation. On the way back, he inquired about my career aspirations. I guess in a down economy, working for a company that just had layoffs and is heavily reliant on the auto industry, it is good to be asked about the future. I've been really happy with Ryder so far. My boss is great and the workload is fair. A lot better than some previous situations I've been in.

Rants:
I heard that people are upset that banks aren't loaning more money once they received bailout money. They are using the money to restructure their company and shore up their finances. I guess the masses think that the bailout money should be redirected into more questionable loans?? In my opinion, they should take the money as a loan, bridge the financial gaps caused by poor decisions in issuing credit, start making better decisions, then pay back the money! Bottom line, is being more liberal with credit the solution for an instition that is in trouble for being too liberal with credit?

Girls

Well, I am overwhelmed by the support that I have received about our announcement that Carrie is pregnant. No matter how tough you pretend to be, it is always touching to see how many people care about you.

One common theme was that many people thought that it would be funny if I had a girl. I guess I don't see the comedy. I would love to have a girl. Buddy had three girls, Darrell had three girls, Bryan R. had three girls, Brian H. and Shaun both had girls first (then both had boys next), my neighbor Jason has two small girls and an adopted son. I love little girls. I guess I don't understand the logic that somehow a little girl would be "revenge" or "Karma". I think naturally, boys would relate more to boys and girls to girls, but boy or girl, I am going to love my child. Before anyone wonders, I would be perfectly happy playing with dolls or having tea with a little girl. I would be the first one to decorate a room in pink and put a bow in her hair. If that seems funny to you, then maybe the issue is yours, I will dedicate my life to raising a great kid, girl or boy.

No rant today...Maybe I'll save up some angst for next post.

The Secret Is Out

Today we went to the doctor and she told us that everything is going just fine. With that news, we are officially telling everyone that Carrie is pregnant. We've known since prior to Christmas, but have been very reluctant to tell the general public.

As I read through all of my posts, I noticed a glaring omission. Banjo! I am willing to say that I adopted the worlds best dog. She doesn't chew on anything other than her toys, she doesn't eat people food. You can drop a steak on the floor and she knows to leave it alone. You don't need a leash to walk her, and she will not leave the backyard, even if you leave the gate open for two days. When I got home from work today, I took her in the front yard to get the mail and play with a stick. Then she and I went on a 6 mile run. As I type, she is laying at my feet with her little head on my leg. I highly recommend going to the local SPCA and adopting a regular ol' mutt. They are the best dogs.

Brad's Rants...

I heard today that Roseanne is against what Israel is doing in the Gaza Strip. She expressed her disappointment in Bruce Springsteen. She wanted him to use his forum at the Super Bowl to talk in support of the Palestinians. I don't care that she has chosen sides, but my concern is this - Why in the world does anyone care what Roseanne thinks. If you are looking for political advice from Roseanne, then I'm going to ask that you not reproduce. On that note, why does anyone care who Tom Hanks, Ellen, Jon Stewart, Ben Aflac, etc. are voting for? Actors are famous for pretending to be someone that they are not. Do you believe that they understand foreign policy and economics. I'll guess that most do not. I'll just say this, if you are seeking political, religious or social advice from actors and athletes, then just maybe you're part of the problem!

Stuff and Things

What a great Super Bowl! I guess I was rooting for Arizona, but I'm not upset by the outcome. I really didn't have a horse in this race. Without any fantasy football implications or betting, football isn't as interesting unless your favorite team is playing.

Today marks the 12 week mark! We go to the doctor in Wednesday, and then we will announce to the world that Brad and Carrie are going to have a kid. Today, I got to wondering about the fret of pregnancy and the worry that additional responsibility brings. You have to go through morning sickness and weight gain, then the pain of delivery, yet couples have been doing it forever. I can only imagine the reward, if it is this much hardship.

When Brad Runs the world:
I think I am going to start going on rants at the end of each post...

Have you ever noticed that most stories of hardship and poverty all have a similar storyline? Somewhere in the story, there is mention of a bunch of kids. This isn't always the story, but often enough to be a concern. Carrie and I dated for almost two years before we were married, and we will be married 2.5 years before we have our first kid. Every decision we make is centered around a kid and our ability to care for it, financially and emotionally. Yet there are others that jump into parenthood or worse yet have un-planned kids. Don't we know by now how to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Once I run the world, people will be steralized at birth and then will have to apply for fertility. The approval process will be very easy and granted in most cases. Married couple, house, job...you get a kid! 15 year old girl...no kid. See how easy it would be for me.

Things that you need a license for:
Driving
Starting a business
Selling food
Selling liquor
having a kid (only when Brad runs the world)

Have a good week.

Ice

Well, today is a "work from home day" The weather outside isn't bad...yet. The dangerous thing about icy weather is all of the idiots out there who insist that they are the ones that can drive on ice. Fact is, nobody can drive on ice! Folks will claim that they are from the North and somehow that makes them a good ice driver. That arguement really makes no sense.

Back on the happier side of life. The baby is getting bigger and bigger...So is Carrie (haha). We have a Dr. appointment on Tuesday, then we will take off the gag order on the family. As each day goes by, it is one day closer to diapers, daycare, and sleepless nights.

Bloggin??

This is my first attempt at a blog. I can't imagine that I will be very diligent about updating it, but why now chronicle my life?

Currently, my life is being dominated by a tiny human, the size of a lemon or so, and the unpredictable woman carrying it. Carrie and I are having a baby and she's due in August. It is exciting times indeed. I don't know much about kids, but I know one big frustration is one's inability to help them at times. Nothing is more frustrating than a crying baby. You think of everything, food, diaper, burping, etc. but sometimes the little guy is going to cry. A pregnant wife is a good prelude. She feels ill or crampy and there is nothing that I can do to help.

Also, I am running and running. I am up to 5 miles 3 times per week. Not too bad for a 240lb. guy. My neighbor wants me to run a half-marathon with him. at the end of Feb. I can't imagine I will be ready for that long of a run in four weeks, but I'm trying. I went 13 miles last week in three days averaging about 10:10 per mile. My goal is to maintain a 10:00 minute pace for....well as long as I need to go.

Everyone have a good week and I'll look to update when possible.