Sunday, June 29, 2008
My big mouth (what a shock)
So, yesterday we were talking about what we thought should happen to mom's backyard. You see, over some recent years the flower gardens back there have gotten quite.. hmmm, how should I put this... overwhelmed? Flowers have become ginormous, and weeds have become weenormous. I mentioned to her last night that a carpet bomb would do nicely (you know, it would turn the soil and all, let her start from scratch). While we were proudly giving advice on her flowering techniques (as ours are so wonderful and all... I'm surprised anything out there is still alive. It's all limping along, if you even call that living), we talked briefly about her "filing" system in the computer room. It all began when Leslie mentioned...
"I should talk, I'm the world's worst at piling stuff."
Now, before I continue, let me tell you what was going on in my head, because I know you know where this is going. But before I show you that you indeed know where this is going, and that I know that you know where it's going, I at least want to share a glimpse of my thought process, so even while you are shaking your head while reading this, thinking, "Seriously Pete, do you ever get it?" at least you can see my perspective on things... Not that it will matter any, mind you, but I figure, why not try?
I have lots of... quirks... Most of them are harmless, but a few are downright annoying, if not more so. I know them, Leslie knows them, my family knows them, every person who's ever come in contact with me knows them. So, that being said, there's no REAL reason to go into them here, right? Good. I'm working on them, so that should count for something :) So, anyway, I have mine, and Leslie has hers. I figure at this point in our lives, she's either accepted all my nonsense, or learned to ignore it, or whatever, so everything's good on that side (big assumption - hope springs eternal). Since her quirks are so minuscule compared to mine, it's been extremely easy not worrying about those. In fact, I'll veer off a bit and share with you a conversation I had with Chebon in our first year of marriage (no, not with him, with Leslie, but the conversation was with him). The best part of this little story is that you'll get to see one of my really annoying quirks in there, and how good people have gotten at... working around them:
Ahh, I remember it as if it were yesterday. I nice Sunday afternoon, back when we both loved Molly (hardly remember that time...), there was no Emily nor Benjamin (very strange to think about that by the way), our Bald Eagle house... hmmm.. that's not right... As I remember it, it was our first year of being married, but that would but us at Natchez. Oh well, I like the memory better at Bald Eagle, so I'll keep it there. Anyway, Chebon called me up:
"Hey, what are you up to?"
"I'm folding laundry, and cleaning. Again."
"You don't sound too thrilled about that."
"Well, to be honest, I'm getting pretty sick of it. I feel like a lot of what I do around here is just cleaning, picking up, organizing, laundry, whatever."
"Well, that's part of being all growed up with your big boy pants on."
"Yeah, yeah, but I mean I'M doing it. ALONE."
"Really? I was over there yesterday while Leslie was clean---"
"Never mind that, I'm doing all the cleaning around this place, trying to organize stuff."
"Last week Leslie was organizing the kitch---"
"You're not seeing my point, Chebon. At least when I put stuff up, I put it up in an organized [OCD - read: unhealthy] manner."
"You mean when I saw Leslie putting away all of your clothes the other da---"
"Okay, I'm done with this conversation."
"Okay, before you hang up, let me offer this to you [this is the part where he's learned to deal with my issues]: You enjoy cleaning, right?"
"Well yeah. I love it."
"You like organizing stuff, right?"
"Yeah, love that too. I know that if I come home and the house isn't picked up, to pick it up is almost like therapy to me. I feel a TON better when I'm done."
"Okay. Now, ignoring the fact that you BOTH do a lot of the work around here, which you seem to be ignorning right now, let's take this: Leslie doesn't really like to clean all that much (even though she does it), you LOVE cleaning. Is there really a problem here?"
"..."
"Okay, try this: you HATE to cook. Leslie doesn't mind it. You NEVER cook, she always does, but you enjoy cleaning up after. Is there a problem there?"
"..."
"Good. Talk to you later."
-click-
I loved that conversation. From then on I've always enjoyed cleaning, because I've realized, well, I love it! Who cares that she doesn't like it, it just so happens that this works out really well because I love doing something that she doesn't! Again, never mind the fact that she shares equally the tasks around here, it's just that wonderful wrong perception of mine that fueled those early days.
"I should talk, I'm the world's worst at piling stuff."
"Well, I wouldn't say the WORST. I mean, you're definitely in the top 10."
Now, work with me here. I've just explained all that stuff up there about understanding and loving each other for the quirks, so this is harmless. This is harmless I tell you!
"ha..ha.. Yeah, probably."
"I mean, the laundry room, your cabinets, the office, your side of the bathroom--"
"YEAH." --I missed the hint--
"You're closet, I mean wow!"
Now, before we go on down this merry little path we're going, let me just share with you my complete lack of understanding of where this conversation is at this point. In my mind, there's nothing wrong with any of those places in our house... As anybody that comes over knows, we keep it pretty darn tidy around here. I just thought we were being funny, so when we're funny, I always like to excel...
So, I get dropped off at Terry's to watch Ryan while she and Abby go to the Sound Of Music. Leslie, Emily, and Benjamin all head home for nap time. I hang out over there for a bit watching Wimbledon, snoozing a little. When Leslie comes to pick me up, I was hoping she got some rest at home.
"Did you sleep much?"
"Nope."
"Why not, did they keep you up?"
"No, I was cleaning out my closet."
You know those moments in the movies where the entire world seems to spin around the character in a great big whirlwind, as the end is nearing? Yup, I was there.
"What are you talking about? Why did you do that?"
"Well, you know, the top 10 and all."
That's the point in the movie when whatever horrible thing that was about to happen, well, happens.
Now, to put this all in perspective, I don't think any of this yesterday was a huge deal (although, reading through it now that I've put it down puts it in a slightly different light), and Leslie, through my stupidity (again, one of those lovely quirks), I think (hope) knew I meant nothing by it, but I sure did hate hearing that she took some very precious relaxing time to do that.
I'm still amazed at how she puts up with me, on a daily basis. Those of you that know her know that she is much too good for me. I remember a whole lot of my quirks evaporating shortly after Emily was born. It became very clear to me then what truly mattered to me. As long as Leslie, Emily, and now Benjamin are okay, I can handle just about anything.
So, I knew you'd enjoy seeing my foot lodged squarly in my mouth with this story, but if you could just help me get it out now :)
"I should talk, I'm the world's worst at piling stuff."
Now, before I continue, let me tell you what was going on in my head, because I know you know where this is going. But before I show you that you indeed know where this is going, and that I know that you know where it's going, I at least want to share a glimpse of my thought process, so even while you are shaking your head while reading this, thinking, "Seriously Pete, do you ever get it?" at least you can see my perspective on things... Not that it will matter any, mind you, but I figure, why not try?
I have lots of... quirks... Most of them are harmless, but a few are downright annoying, if not more so. I know them, Leslie knows them, my family knows them, every person who's ever come in contact with me knows them. So, that being said, there's no REAL reason to go into them here, right? Good. I'm working on them, so that should count for something :) So, anyway, I have mine, and Leslie has hers. I figure at this point in our lives, she's either accepted all my nonsense, or learned to ignore it, or whatever, so everything's good on that side (big assumption - hope springs eternal). Since her quirks are so minuscule compared to mine, it's been extremely easy not worrying about those. In fact, I'll veer off a bit and share with you a conversation I had with Chebon in our first year of marriage (no, not with him, with Leslie, but the conversation was with him). The best part of this little story is that you'll get to see one of my really annoying quirks in there, and how good people have gotten at... working around them:
Ahh, I remember it as if it were yesterday. I nice Sunday afternoon, back when we both loved Molly (hardly remember that time...), there was no Emily nor Benjamin (very strange to think about that by the way), our Bald Eagle house... hmmm.. that's not right... As I remember it, it was our first year of being married, but that would but us at Natchez. Oh well, I like the memory better at Bald Eagle, so I'll keep it there. Anyway, Chebon called me up:
"Hey, what are you up to?"
"I'm folding laundry, and cleaning. Again."
"You don't sound too thrilled about that."
"Well, to be honest, I'm getting pretty sick of it. I feel like a lot of what I do around here is just cleaning, picking up, organizing, laundry, whatever."
"Well, that's part of being all growed up with your big boy pants on."
"Yeah, yeah, but I mean I'M doing it. ALONE."
"Really? I was over there yesterday while Leslie was clean---"
"Never mind that, I'm doing all the cleaning around this place, trying to organize stuff."
"Last week Leslie was organizing the kitch---"
"You're not seeing my point, Chebon. At least when I put stuff up, I put it up in an organized [OCD - read: unhealthy] manner."
"You mean when I saw Leslie putting away all of your clothes the other da---"
"Okay, I'm done with this conversation."
"Okay, before you hang up, let me offer this to you [this is the part where he's learned to deal with my issues]: You enjoy cleaning, right?"
"Well yeah. I love it."
"You like organizing stuff, right?"
"Yeah, love that too. I know that if I come home and the house isn't picked up, to pick it up is almost like therapy to me. I feel a TON better when I'm done."
"Okay. Now, ignoring the fact that you BOTH do a lot of the work around here, which you seem to be ignorning right now, let's take this: Leslie doesn't really like to clean all that much (even though she does it), you LOVE cleaning. Is there really a problem here?"
"..."
"Okay, try this: you HATE to cook. Leslie doesn't mind it. You NEVER cook, she always does, but you enjoy cleaning up after. Is there a problem there?"
"..."
"Good. Talk to you later."
-click-
I loved that conversation. From then on I've always enjoyed cleaning, because I've realized, well, I love it! Who cares that she doesn't like it, it just so happens that this works out really well because I love doing something that she doesn't! Again, never mind the fact that she shares equally the tasks around here, it's just that wonderful wrong perception of mine that fueled those early days.
"I should talk, I'm the world's worst at piling stuff."
"Well, I wouldn't say the WORST. I mean, you're definitely in the top 10."
Now, work with me here. I've just explained all that stuff up there about understanding and loving each other for the quirks, so this is harmless. This is harmless I tell you!
"ha..ha.. Yeah, probably."
"I mean, the laundry room, your cabinets, the office, your side of the bathroom--"
"YEAH." --I missed the hint--
"You're closet, I mean wow!"
Now, before we go on down this merry little path we're going, let me just share with you my complete lack of understanding of where this conversation is at this point. In my mind, there's nothing wrong with any of those places in our house... As anybody that comes over knows, we keep it pretty darn tidy around here. I just thought we were being funny, so when we're funny, I always like to excel...
So, I get dropped off at Terry's to watch Ryan while she and Abby go to the Sound Of Music. Leslie, Emily, and Benjamin all head home for nap time. I hang out over there for a bit watching Wimbledon, snoozing a little. When Leslie comes to pick me up, I was hoping she got some rest at home.
"Did you sleep much?"
"Nope."
"Why not, did they keep you up?"
"No, I was cleaning out my closet."
You know those moments in the movies where the entire world seems to spin around the character in a great big whirlwind, as the end is nearing? Yup, I was there.
"What are you talking about? Why did you do that?"
"Well, you know, the top 10 and all."
That's the point in the movie when whatever horrible thing that was about to happen, well, happens.
Now, to put this all in perspective, I don't think any of this yesterday was a huge deal (although, reading through it now that I've put it down puts it in a slightly different light), and Leslie, through my stupidity (again, one of those lovely quirks), I think (hope) knew I meant nothing by it, but I sure did hate hearing that she took some very precious relaxing time to do that.
I'm still amazed at how she puts up with me, on a daily basis. Those of you that know her know that she is much too good for me. I remember a whole lot of my quirks evaporating shortly after Emily was born. It became very clear to me then what truly mattered to me. As long as Leslie, Emily, and now Benjamin are okay, I can handle just about anything.
So, I knew you'd enjoy seeing my foot lodged squarly in my mouth with this story, but if you could just help me get it out now :)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
New Blogger Draft features
For those of you not using the draft version of Blogger (draft.blogger.com), you really need to now. New updates from yesterday:
Today’s Blogger release is a big one for Blogger in Draft. Let’s lead off with the quick stuff:
Updates and Bug Fixes for June 26th
June 26, 2008 — permalink
- Google Gadget integration continues to improve, with better editing of gadget preferences.
- The new look for the Dashboard has seen a handful of tweaks, including a new button style that we’re trying out and, by popular demand, the “show all blogs” toggle is now sticky.
- The subscribe page element has been published to WWW.
- We’ve added a “Make Blogger in Draft my default dashboard” to the Blogger in Draft dashboard, so now you don’t have to remember to type “draft.blogger.com” instead of “www.blogger.com.”
- So you can easily keep up with the news, we’ve added this blog as a tab on the Blogger in Draft Dashboard.
- Webmaster Tools Verification. Turn this on to automatically add and verify all your blogs on Google’s Webmaster Tools.
- Star ratings. Add a 0–5 star rating control to the bottom of your posts so that your readers can rate them.
- Import / export of blogs. Back up all of your posts and comments to one Atom XML file on your computer, and import your posts from one blog to another.
- Embedded comment form. By incredibly popular demand, we’ve brought the comment form to your blog’s post pages, with support for Google Account and OpenID authentication.
- New post editor. We’ve completely revised the post editor, bringing in drag-and-drop image placement and better HTML handling.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Bible School!
Emily's been having a great time at Bible School this week. I managed to sneak in (well, not really, she caught me once...) and get some videos of her dancing. Be sure to click on the pictures to see the videos, they're great!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
My hopes...
1. Leslie will start blogging on this page. Why you ask? I get all the useless information posted just fine on here all by myself, you say? Well, all knowing people you are... I recently checked out the calendar on the fridge and noticed some stuff like, "first smile," "first real bath," etc., etc.. all the stuff I forget to post here that would be really good for the scrap book concept I've got for this thing anyway. I've made it REALLLLY easy for her, all she has to do is email it! Chances of this happening?
2. Emily keeps liking Star Wars. Today she asked me (okay, I asked her) to watch Star Wars. We started watching and she LOVED Darth Vader. I kept telling her he wasn't very nice, and she kept asking me, "how does he make that sound?" Then when I told her it was him breathing through his mask, she wanted me to make the sound over and over. After nap time today she wanted to watch again (her idea!) so we did. Same breathing conversation, but hey.. she's watching it!
However, during this viewing of Star Wars something very disturbing popped up. Every time something happened that involved lasers, "hooteeney!" followed by shooting, or large sticks waving in the air as the movie goes forward, then rewound, then forward again (okay, how many of you know what scenes I'm talking about???)she would ask me, "are they being killed?" ... What did my almost 4 year old daughter just ask me? So I'd reply, "You mean, who's getting hurt and getting owies?"
"No, are they getting killed?"
Not ready for this, not ready for this, not ready for this... [Really? Not ready? And you're watching... STAR WARS???] This kind of question can't just come up suddenly when watching Star Wars, where did this come from? School? Lemme find the kid.. lemme find the kid who put this in her head :) So I ask Leslie tonight what she thought. She reminded me to think of just about EVERY Disney movie out there.. Dumbo, Aladdin, Bambi, Lion King, and her favorite, Enchanted.. All involve killing or wanting to kill or something along those lines. Then I remember the stories I'm reading her, like Barbie's Princess and the Pauper, where Preminger wants to MURDER the Princess and become King..
Well, still not ready. So, from now on, no Disney movies, no Star Wars, no nothing. I'll just strap her to a chair in her room and sing "wheels on the bus" for the next twenty or so years.
One final moment of funniness that I couldn't pass up posting today. Benjamin is suffering from a little explosion of acne, which is really disturbing Leslie (obviously she didn't know me during my teenage years.. hahahah, wait till she sees THOSE pictures, even before the Klingon Gorches appearing on my nose in my later years), and Emily noticed them today.
"He's being silly, daddy."
"How is he being silly?"
"He's got polka dots.."
Classic. I don't know how comedies could be so bad in Hollywood. All they need to do is listen to some four year olds :)
2. Emily keeps liking Star Wars. Today she asked me (okay, I asked her) to watch Star Wars. We started watching and she LOVED Darth Vader. I kept telling her he wasn't very nice, and she kept asking me, "how does he make that sound?" Then when I told her it was him breathing through his mask, she wanted me to make the sound over and over. After nap time today she wanted to watch again (her idea!) so we did. Same breathing conversation, but hey.. she's watching it!
However, during this viewing of Star Wars something very disturbing popped up. Every time something happened that involved lasers, "hooteeney!" followed by shooting, or large sticks waving in the air as the movie goes forward, then rewound, then forward again (okay, how many of you know what scenes I'm talking about???)she would ask me, "are they being killed?" ... What did my almost 4 year old daughter just ask me? So I'd reply, "You mean, who's getting hurt and getting owies?"
"No, are they getting killed?"
Not ready for this, not ready for this, not ready for this... [Really? Not ready? And you're watching... STAR WARS???] This kind of question can't just come up suddenly when watching Star Wars, where did this come from? School? Lemme find the kid.. lemme find the kid who put this in her head :) So I ask Leslie tonight what she thought. She reminded me to think of just about EVERY Disney movie out there.. Dumbo, Aladdin, Bambi, Lion King, and her favorite, Enchanted.. All involve killing or wanting to kill or something along those lines. Then I remember the stories I'm reading her, like Barbie's Princess and the Pauper, where Preminger wants to MURDER the Princess and become King..
Well, still not ready. So, from now on, no Disney movies, no Star Wars, no nothing. I'll just strap her to a chair in her room and sing "wheels on the bus" for the next twenty or so years.
One final moment of funniness that I couldn't pass up posting today. Benjamin is suffering from a little explosion of acne, which is really disturbing Leslie (obviously she didn't know me during my teenage years.. hahahah, wait till she sees THOSE pictures, even before the Klingon Gorches appearing on my nose in my later years), and Emily noticed them today.
"He's being silly, daddy."
"How is he being silly?"
"He's got polka dots.."
Classic. I don't know how comedies could be so bad in Hollywood. All they need to do is listen to some four year olds :)
No movement...
Dragon's Lair is sitting in Des Plaines, Illinois... Hasn't moved in three days... I'm thinking about driving up and getting it myself.
Emily's been busy swimming, going to the library, and bible school. Benjamin's been busy grunting, eating, pooping, and sleeping. He's starting to look at me a little more lately, so we like to stare at each other. I keep telling Leslie she can have him until he's about 2 years old, she tells me that's good, because then I can have him :) He sure doesn't like swimming, you put his feet in the water and the mad screams come out. My "deaf" argument seems to be losing more and more footing... Yesterday we were upstairs watching Wicker Man (ugh) and Invincible (awesome), and every time something loud happened he spazzed. I'm still holding on to it as long as I can...
Emily loved the library yesterday, and came home with about four books. When Leslie walked in, I asked her how much the books were. I know you love the play-by-play recaps, so I'll do another:
"Free."
"Well then, how much was the card to get them?"
"Free."
"How in the world do they do that?"
Eyes roll. I guess it's been a while since I've been to the library. So, why would anybody buy any books ever? I don't get it? The madness I tell you!
Last night at bible school Emily started off again in the "big room," where everybody waits to go to their rooms. Lots of kids, and lots of noise - doesn't work well with Emily. When Leslie asked her to sit in her seat, she started freaking out, so we had to detach ourselves and get out of there quick. Sure enough, as soon as we walked out of the room, she did fine, dancing with the other kids. She works us well :)
In other news, our "commissioner" for our NFL Fantasy League re-opened the league the other day. I'm sure I don't have to remind anybody, but I WON the WHOLE THING last year. I don't mean to gloat or anything, but, it's hard work to be as good as I am... I can't wait for this year's, I'll come in last or something :)
Well, Leslie is off to school with Benjamin, and Emily and I are going to head over and swim some more. It will take me longer than usual, I can barely walk since we've started working out. This is day two of the "pact," and it's killing me.
Emily's been busy swimming, going to the library, and bible school. Benjamin's been busy grunting, eating, pooping, and sleeping. He's starting to look at me a little more lately, so we like to stare at each other. I keep telling Leslie she can have him until he's about 2 years old, she tells me that's good, because then I can have him :) He sure doesn't like swimming, you put his feet in the water and the mad screams come out. My "deaf" argument seems to be losing more and more footing... Yesterday we were upstairs watching Wicker Man (ugh) and Invincible (awesome), and every time something loud happened he spazzed. I'm still holding on to it as long as I can...
Emily loved the library yesterday, and came home with about four books. When Leslie walked in, I asked her how much the books were. I know you love the play-by-play recaps, so I'll do another:
"Free."
"Well then, how much was the card to get them?"
"Free."
"How in the world do they do that?"
Eyes roll. I guess it's been a while since I've been to the library. So, why would anybody buy any books ever? I don't get it? The madness I tell you!
Last night at bible school Emily started off again in the "big room," where everybody waits to go to their rooms. Lots of kids, and lots of noise - doesn't work well with Emily. When Leslie asked her to sit in her seat, she started freaking out, so we had to detach ourselves and get out of there quick. Sure enough, as soon as we walked out of the room, she did fine, dancing with the other kids. She works us well :)
In other news, our "commissioner" for our NFL Fantasy League re-opened the league the other day. I'm sure I don't have to remind anybody, but I WON the WHOLE THING last year. I don't mean to gloat or anything, but, it's hard work to be as good as I am... I can't wait for this year's, I'll come in last or something :)
Well, Leslie is off to school with Benjamin, and Emily and I are going to head over and swim some more. It will take me longer than usual, I can barely walk since we've started working out. This is day two of the "pact," and it's killing me.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Bottle feeding, second try
Well, this one went a little better. Today is my first day of summer vacation, and Leslie wanted to take Emily to the library, so I stayed home with Benjamin and watched... MY FAVORITE SUMMER TIME TV SHOW.... Wimbledon!
Now, for those of you that have known me for several years (probably needs to be at least 10), you know how weird I get in the summer with this. For those that don't, well, I never watch tennis... ever. I never play tennis... ever. However, for some reason, when Wimbledon begins each summer, that's the ONLY thing I can watch, for as long as it's on (usually 6AM to 2PM every day). I don't know what it is, but if there's a television within 50 feet of me during these few weeks, Wimbledon is on. This has been limited a little since I've been married, but she puts up with it most of the time :)
So anyway, Benjamin and I have been at home watching Wimbledon. Leslie wanted me to wait a while before feeding him, so I tried to keep him as entertained as I could for as long as I could, then fed him. Thankfully, the bottle didn't bust this time, so he got plenty of food. I particularly enjoyed the five belches in a row after feeding him :)
I don't really like the tummy aches that come after feedings, but, what are you gonna do?
I've attached some recent pics and videos. Be sure to check out the video of Emily singing her special song, I'm sure she'll take it to American Idol!
Now, for those of you that have known me for several years (probably needs to be at least 10), you know how weird I get in the summer with this. For those that don't, well, I never watch tennis... ever. I never play tennis... ever. However, for some reason, when Wimbledon begins each summer, that's the ONLY thing I can watch, for as long as it's on (usually 6AM to 2PM every day). I don't know what it is, but if there's a television within 50 feet of me during these few weeks, Wimbledon is on. This has been limited a little since I've been married, but she puts up with it most of the time :)
So anyway, Benjamin and I have been at home watching Wimbledon. Leslie wanted me to wait a while before feeding him, so I tried to keep him as entertained as I could for as long as I could, then fed him. Thankfully, the bottle didn't bust this time, so he got plenty of food. I particularly enjoyed the five belches in a row after feeding him :)
I don't really like the tummy aches that come after feedings, but, what are you gonna do?
I've attached some recent pics and videos. Be sure to check out the video of Emily singing her special song, I'm sure she'll take it to American Idol!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Bat Boy Liesenfeld
And that's not Batman's sidekick, either.. So today was the first day I tried to play softball with the league Brian asked me to play on. When he asked me the first time, I told him, "okay, so I've never played softball before, in fact, I don't think I've ever even watched it.."
"Aaah, we're just in it for a good time, you'll fit right in."
I was wary to begin with, but why not? Sounds like they're all in it, "just for the fun." uh huh, I should have known better.
Anyway, Leslie took Emily to bible school tonight, which runs for about a week. She showed up at my game and didn't look to good, she was worried about Emily, but needed to leave because she was the only mom there. Emily, of course, didn't want her to leave, but did fine after she left and got settled with her friends. One of her teachers for next year was there, so that helped, too. They played outside, in the water table, listened to stories, and had jello (green) and water.
Anyway, Jerry is on the team I was invited to play on, but he was on his way to China, so wasn't going to be there tonight. I called him while he was waiting in Los Angeles for his next flight to find out where I was supposed to go. Before I get there, though, let me go back a week when Jerry found out I was going to play with the team, and what he told me (after he stopped laughing uncontrollably for about ten minutes...)
"Okay, so if you're going to play, here are the things to keep in mind. 1. While you're in the outfield, ALWAYS take your first step back. 2. Always keep the ball in front of you. and 3. Always hit your cutoff man."
Well, I understood numbers 1 and 2, although I didn't have a clue what the meant, but I didn't appreciate him talking spanish on the last number, he should know I don't know other languages. So, of course, I asked him what all of that meant.. He told me:
"Okay, every instinct is going to be to try to run TOWARD the ball when you see it fly up in the air. Don't do it. It always goes farther than you think, so take your first step back, ALWAYS. Then, make sure you always keep the ball in front of you, meaning, run back fast. The third one means that there will be somebody between you and the base you are trying to throw it to, so always throw to that guy."
Simple enough, but then I asked, "why all these rules if all we're doing is having a good time?" (I should have caught that clue when he started rattling off rules, but then again, that is Jerry) "Aah," he said, "It's just good to know simple stuff like that." Simple? If you say so...
Okay, back to today, with me on the phone with him at LAX. He tells me where the team is: "look for the old guys who are just hanging out." Got it. That was easy. I walked up and found Brian and Kevin, and introduced myself to everybody else. I told them I had to borrow a glove from a friend, because I've never had one IN MY LIFE, and that my friend's wife practiced with me for a bit with a tennis ball (softball was too hard to practice with, she didn't want to hurt me I guess...). When I told them that, they said, "oh, so you're warmed up already.. This is our warmup" as they sipped their drinks :) So far, so good.
So, game time. As I watch the other team warm up, reality starts sinking in. Wow, they're throwing that SOFTball really hard at each other, and running rather quickly.. Oh, and, yeah, they are all like 19 years old and just came from the "300 Movie Iron Man Workout" Gym or something.. Not good. Then somebody says to me, "Pete, let's warm up..."
Warm up? I thought that was the lifting of the drink to your face earlier??? Guess not, so the pitcher starts throwing the ball to me. I do one of those duck-and-cover-for-your-life moves every time he throws it at me, while I raise my hand with my glove on it as high as I can and hope that the ball comes near it. I hear chuckles, but what do I care? I like my head on my body..
So, the game starts, and thankfully we have TOO many players there that night, so all I have to do is bat. I sit in the dugout through most of the game, but I notice something very strange as we begin... Suddenly the team I'm with starts talking Spanish like Jerry did, and they're getting pretty mad when things go wrong... Mad? What happened to lets have a good time? When did this become Major League? Oops, my time to bat. Which reminds me, Jerry didn't give me any rules on that one; for that matter, nobody told me ANYTHING about this part...
So, I walk up to the plate with the bat, look at the umpire, and say, "So, do I just stand here?" Whoah, interesting look from the catcher at that point. Yeah yeah kid, get off my lawn, daddy's here to play and just wants to know how the heck to hold the bat, and where to stand.. "Anywhere you want," replies the umpire. Great, that helped. Ooooh, and here comes the ball. "Strike."
Okay, looks like it's time to try swinging. Fortunately, these balls seem to be coming pretty slow, oops here it comes.. And I hit it! I run like crazy to first, and need to make sure that my foot stays on the bag, so I start slowing down, "Out."
My first base coach (and later, EVERYBODY ELSE, and later when I call Jerry, him too) tells me that I don't have to slow down when I run to first. Thanks, that was good news to know BEFORE I WENT TO BAT.. Anyway, to sum up the rest, every time I was up to bat, I at least hit the ball. I made it to first two or three times, never more than that. One of the last times, I heard some heckling from the dugout as I got out, "Hey, don't you run every day? We figured you'd be a little faster."
"Well, I run 10 miles a day, not 50 feet."
"60 feet! That must be why you keep slowing down! har har har, yuck yuck yuck!!!"
For a brief time, Leslie, mom, Randy, and Benjamin came and watched. The wanted to know why I was the ONLY one left in the dugout when everybody else went out to play. I told them I had to warm the bats :)
So, it was great, and I can't wait to do it again. I learned all sorts of stuff tonight, so I should be a little better next week. If nothing else, it will give the other guys something to laugh at for a while.
In other news, Emily's been busy swimming. She now swims all by herself with the floaties, and even jumps off the diving board with me helping! We're still working on the face in the water thing, but one thing at a time :)
And, the "pact" starts tomorrow, folks, so get ready. Nobody else responded to my last comment, so I'm assuming we're on for that plan.
"Aaah, we're just in it for a good time, you'll fit right in."
I was wary to begin with, but why not? Sounds like they're all in it, "just for the fun." uh huh, I should have known better.
Anyway, Leslie took Emily to bible school tonight, which runs for about a week. She showed up at my game and didn't look to good, she was worried about Emily, but needed to leave because she was the only mom there. Emily, of course, didn't want her to leave, but did fine after she left and got settled with her friends. One of her teachers for next year was there, so that helped, too. They played outside, in the water table, listened to stories, and had jello (green) and water.
Anyway, Jerry is on the team I was invited to play on, but he was on his way to China, so wasn't going to be there tonight. I called him while he was waiting in Los Angeles for his next flight to find out where I was supposed to go. Before I get there, though, let me go back a week when Jerry found out I was going to play with the team, and what he told me (after he stopped laughing uncontrollably for about ten minutes...)
"Okay, so if you're going to play, here are the things to keep in mind. 1. While you're in the outfield, ALWAYS take your first step back. 2. Always keep the ball in front of you. and 3. Always hit your cutoff man."
Well, I understood numbers 1 and 2, although I didn't have a clue what the meant, but I didn't appreciate him talking spanish on the last number, he should know I don't know other languages. So, of course, I asked him what all of that meant.. He told me:
"Okay, every instinct is going to be to try to run TOWARD the ball when you see it fly up in the air. Don't do it. It always goes farther than you think, so take your first step back, ALWAYS. Then, make sure you always keep the ball in front of you, meaning, run back fast. The third one means that there will be somebody between you and the base you are trying to throw it to, so always throw to that guy."
Simple enough, but then I asked, "why all these rules if all we're doing is having a good time?" (I should have caught that clue when he started rattling off rules, but then again, that is Jerry) "Aah," he said, "It's just good to know simple stuff like that." Simple? If you say so...
Okay, back to today, with me on the phone with him at LAX. He tells me where the team is: "look for the old guys who are just hanging out." Got it. That was easy. I walked up and found Brian and Kevin, and introduced myself to everybody else. I told them I had to borrow a glove from a friend, because I've never had one IN MY LIFE, and that my friend's wife practiced with me for a bit with a tennis ball (softball was too hard to practice with, she didn't want to hurt me I guess...). When I told them that, they said, "oh, so you're warmed up already.. This is our warmup" as they sipped their drinks :) So far, so good.
So, game time. As I watch the other team warm up, reality starts sinking in. Wow, they're throwing that SOFTball really hard at each other, and running rather quickly.. Oh, and, yeah, they are all like 19 years old and just came from the "300 Movie Iron Man Workout" Gym or something.. Not good. Then somebody says to me, "Pete, let's warm up..."
Warm up? I thought that was the lifting of the drink to your face earlier??? Guess not, so the pitcher starts throwing the ball to me. I do one of those duck-and-cover-for-your-life moves every time he throws it at me, while I raise my hand with my glove on it as high as I can and hope that the ball comes near it. I hear chuckles, but what do I care? I like my head on my body..
So, the game starts, and thankfully we have TOO many players there that night, so all I have to do is bat. I sit in the dugout through most of the game, but I notice something very strange as we begin... Suddenly the team I'm with starts talking Spanish like Jerry did, and they're getting pretty mad when things go wrong... Mad? What happened to lets have a good time? When did this become Major League? Oops, my time to bat. Which reminds me, Jerry didn't give me any rules on that one; for that matter, nobody told me ANYTHING about this part...
So, I walk up to the plate with the bat, look at the umpire, and say, "So, do I just stand here?" Whoah, interesting look from the catcher at that point. Yeah yeah kid, get off my lawn, daddy's here to play and just wants to know how the heck to hold the bat, and where to stand.. "Anywhere you want," replies the umpire. Great, that helped. Ooooh, and here comes the ball. "Strike."
Okay, looks like it's time to try swinging. Fortunately, these balls seem to be coming pretty slow, oops here it comes.. And I hit it! I run like crazy to first, and need to make sure that my foot stays on the bag, so I start slowing down, "Out."
My first base coach (and later, EVERYBODY ELSE, and later when I call Jerry, him too) tells me that I don't have to slow down when I run to first. Thanks, that was good news to know BEFORE I WENT TO BAT.. Anyway, to sum up the rest, every time I was up to bat, I at least hit the ball. I made it to first two or three times, never more than that. One of the last times, I heard some heckling from the dugout as I got out, "Hey, don't you run every day? We figured you'd be a little faster."
"Well, I run 10 miles a day, not 50 feet."
"60 feet! That must be why you keep slowing down! har har har, yuck yuck yuck!!!"
For a brief time, Leslie, mom, Randy, and Benjamin came and watched. The wanted to know why I was the ONLY one left in the dugout when everybody else went out to play. I told them I had to warm the bats :)
So, it was great, and I can't wait to do it again. I learned all sorts of stuff tonight, so I should be a little better next week. If nothing else, it will give the other guys something to laugh at for a while.
In other news, Emily's been busy swimming. She now swims all by herself with the floaties, and even jumps off the diving board with me helping! We're still working on the face in the water thing, but one thing at a time :)
And, the "pact" starts tomorrow, folks, so get ready. Nobody else responded to my last comment, so I'm assuming we're on for that plan.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Pics
Benjamin swimming, Captain Cupacard, some dancing to Enchanted, lots of goodies in this batch :)
I'm ready, anybody with me?
Okay, I've decided it's time to eat healthy and workout more consistently. I get these feelings every once in a while, and to be honest, this last "once in a while" was a LOOOONG time coming. When Chebon and I did it back in the day, we called it the "pact," and that's pretty much stuck ever since when I get going on one of these.. So, I'm ready to start again.
I figured on this go around, why do it alone? Here's what I'm thinking: a group of us (I'm hoping for at least ONE other..) figure out what our "pact" is going to look like, then we do it! Something like: workout so many times a week, eat healthy so many times a week, whatever, and then track our progress. It always helped having Chebon go with me to work out (okay, I'll be honest, it was the highlight of my day DRAGGING him there.. he was miserable! That made me happy :), so I figured on this go around, why not see if anybody else is interested in doing something together. We certainly don't have to try to coordinate workouts, runs, meals, etc., together, but it would be nice to keep each other honest week by week by sharing stories.
So, here's hoping for some help this go around. Any takers? Let me know on the comments, or email me. Let's get healthy!
I figured on this go around, why do it alone? Here's what I'm thinking: a group of us (I'm hoping for at least ONE other..) figure out what our "pact" is going to look like, then we do it! Something like: workout so many times a week, eat healthy so many times a week, whatever, and then track our progress. It always helped having Chebon go with me to work out (okay, I'll be honest, it was the highlight of my day DRAGGING him there.. he was miserable! That made me happy :), so I figured on this go around, why not see if anybody else is interested in doing something together. We certainly don't have to try to coordinate workouts, runs, meals, etc., together, but it would be nice to keep each other honest week by week by sharing stories.
So, here's hoping for some help this go around. Any takers? Let me know on the comments, or email me. Let's get healthy!
It's like waiting for Christmas...
Just ordered this from Amazon.. CANNOT WAIT! Every second of my time in Tilt (the arcade in the mall back in the dayz) was spent at this arcade. I remember begging may parents day after day to buy the arcade when it went on sale (yes, wishing big..). Now it's here on blu-ray! I knew there was a good reason to buy that PS3!!!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Book Club, Church Camp, Swimming, and more!
Wow, we've (Leslie) been busy! Emily signed up for the book club at the Norman Library, so she is on her way to read 60 books by the end of the summer! We're up to number 11 now, so we're moving fast!
She's also starting a church camp this Sunday night, which runs for a week for about two hours a night. I'm sure that will be lots of fun too! I'll miss her first night, because I joined a softball league... I think they needed somebody to carry the bats :)
The past few nights have been pretty busy with Emily and I swimming over at Mema Marge's. I've been trying to get her to swim on her own with her floaties, so the first night we tried the direct approach. I guess I should have figured by now with the will power stuffed in that little body there wasn't a chance of that working. So the past two nights have been more of the indirect approach: I start by holding one of her hands, then move to her elbow, then little by little take off my hand. Tonight was full of, "are you letting go?"
"No, I'm right here."
"Okay, are you letting go?"
"No. Right here"
"Okay, are you letting go?"
I should, again (and again, and again), give her more credit. She knows what's going on, she's just nice enough to play along.
Also, tonight was the first night I'd try taking care of both kids while she finally got to go spend some time with friends. We had milk all ready for him in a bottle for me to feed, so what do I do when it's time to feed? Bust the bottle wide open so milk goes everywhere...
I had to call her, she had to come home early so she could feed him. Way to go Pete. Dad of the year, AGAIN. man, that's a multi-award year!
She's also starting a church camp this Sunday night, which runs for a week for about two hours a night. I'm sure that will be lots of fun too! I'll miss her first night, because I joined a softball league... I think they needed somebody to carry the bats :)
The past few nights have been pretty busy with Emily and I swimming over at Mema Marge's. I've been trying to get her to swim on her own with her floaties, so the first night we tried the direct approach. I guess I should have figured by now with the will power stuffed in that little body there wasn't a chance of that working. So the past two nights have been more of the indirect approach: I start by holding one of her hands, then move to her elbow, then little by little take off my hand. Tonight was full of, "are you letting go?"
"No, I'm right here."
"Okay, are you letting go?"
"No. Right here"
"Okay, are you letting go?"
I should, again (and again, and again), give her more credit. She knows what's going on, she's just nice enough to play along.
Also, tonight was the first night I'd try taking care of both kids while she finally got to go spend some time with friends. We had milk all ready for him in a bottle for me to feed, so what do I do when it's time to feed? Bust the bottle wide open so milk goes everywhere...
I had to call her, she had to come home early so she could feed him. Way to go Pete. Dad of the year, AGAIN. man, that's a multi-award year!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Weight a second, what did you say?
Okay, so I've been trying to run lately.. I get going, run my ten miles, then try to the next day, and so on. I usually make it three days in a row then the curse hits and I miss.. When I miss, I usually then take two or three days to get started again, and the cycle continues.
Even though I've been missing days, I've been thinking to myself, "well, at least I'm running, I can have a little extra to eat now and then..." So yesterday, I was feeling quite full after my lunch, and Leslie asked me to weigh Benjamin on the scale with me, then me without him, so we could calculate his weight. I told her I didn't want to, because I knew I was pretty supersized from lunch, but I figured, what the heck, I've been running (most of the time).
194? I went from around 180 to 194 in like two weeks? Maybe because it's late in the day.. Yeah yeah, that was it. Maybe I had a lot of water to drink before getting on the scale, that too. I mean, it couldn't have been what I ate yesterday, right? So then I took a tally:
Breakfast
Breakfast Danish (from the package, you know the kind: 114 Calories, 6.4 fat grams
Boiled Egg: 155 calories, 11 fat grams (whoah, didn't know that one)
Lunch
The Service Station Cheeseburger with bacon and avacado: 905 Calories, 59 fat grams
Service Station fries: 520 Calories, 31 fat grams
Service Station Hubcaps (fried mushrooms): 320 Calories, 40 fat grams (I'm guessing on those, couldn't find it online, but probably something like that)
Dinner
Pot Roast with potatoe(Three servings... plus Emily's, plus a little more while I was cleaning up - probably 8 oz total): 700 Calories, 50 fat grams (Pot Roast); 110 Calories, no fat(?)
Wow, so... wow. I ran 10 miles yesterday (almost, Leslie had to pick me up because of the rain.. so we'll go with 9.5 miles) for about 1200 calories. Grand total calories eaten yesterday: 2824; total fat: 197.4
So there you have it... Maybe I should be looking a little more at what I eat... wow.
Even though I've been missing days, I've been thinking to myself, "well, at least I'm running, I can have a little extra to eat now and then..." So yesterday, I was feeling quite full after my lunch, and Leslie asked me to weigh Benjamin on the scale with me, then me without him, so we could calculate his weight. I told her I didn't want to, because I knew I was pretty supersized from lunch, but I figured, what the heck, I've been running (most of the time).
194? I went from around 180 to 194 in like two weeks? Maybe because it's late in the day.. Yeah yeah, that was it. Maybe I had a lot of water to drink before getting on the scale, that too. I mean, it couldn't have been what I ate yesterday, right? So then I took a tally:
Breakfast
Breakfast Danish (from the package, you know the kind: 114 Calories, 6.4 fat grams
Boiled Egg: 155 calories, 11 fat grams (whoah, didn't know that one)
Lunch
The Service Station Cheeseburger with bacon and avacado: 905 Calories, 59 fat grams
Service Station fries: 520 Calories, 31 fat grams
Service Station Hubcaps (fried mushrooms): 320 Calories, 40 fat grams (I'm guessing on those, couldn't find it online, but probably something like that)
Dinner
Pot Roast with potatoe(Three servings... plus Emily's, plus a little more while I was cleaning up - probably 8 oz total): 700 Calories, 50 fat grams (Pot Roast); 110 Calories, no fat(?)
Wow, so... wow. I ran 10 miles yesterday (almost, Leslie had to pick me up because of the rain.. so we'll go with 9.5 miles) for about 1200 calories. Grand total calories eaten yesterday: 2824; total fat: 197.4
So there you have it... Maybe I should be looking a little more at what I eat... wow.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Skipping and Star Trek
Not much to say right now, other than I've really enjoyed watching Emily the past week or so because everywhere she goes, she skips... I'm really hoping she continues that until she's... hmmm.. 95 or so :)
Also, as my "tweet" showed, I was flipping channels this evening and came across Star Trek, and Emily said (I didn't prompt her at all to say it), "Daddy, I want to watch this!" hahahahahah.. I loved it, if only Leslie knew :)
Anyway, we started watching together and every new person on screen she would ask, "what's his name? what's her name?" So as I told her, she'd repeat it back to me...
"What's his name?"
- "That's Captain Picard."
"Captain Cupacard.. What's his name?"
- "That's Worf"
"Woof.. What's his name?"
- "That's Data"
"Dana..."
By the end, we had: Captain Cupacard, Woof, Dana, Riker, Deanna toy, Jordi and Wesley. I tried to record some of it, I'll try to post it, but by then she could tell how much I was enjoying her saying the wrong names so Captain Picard became Captain "Poo Poo" ... The little ham... :)
Also, as my "tweet" showed, I was flipping channels this evening and came across Star Trek, and Emily said (I didn't prompt her at all to say it), "Daddy, I want to watch this!" hahahahahah.. I loved it, if only Leslie knew :)
Anyway, we started watching together and every new person on screen she would ask, "what's his name? what's her name?" So as I told her, she'd repeat it back to me...
"What's his name?"
- "That's Captain Picard."
"Captain Cupacard.. What's his name?"
- "That's Worf"
"Woof.. What's his name?"
- "That's Data"
"Dana..."
By the end, we had: Captain Cupacard, Woof, Dana, Riker, Deanna toy, Jordi and Wesley. I tried to record some of it, I'll try to post it, but by then she could tell how much I was enjoying her saying the wrong names so Captain Picard became Captain "Poo Poo" ... The little ham... :)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Oh Deer!
Friday, June 13, 2008
New pics
Here's the latest batch.
We're finally starting to see Benjamin's eyes a little more now, so there are a few pictures of him actually awake. Speaking of which...
It was wonderful how little prince-poops-a-lot (on my shirt) managed to sleep from about 5PM last night until about 10:00, but we didn't so much enjoy the wide awakeness (and screaming, I'll add) for most of the night. It was one of those days that I literally giggled when I jumped into bed at about 8:30 last night saying out loud, "I never thought this time would come!!!" and almost immediately falling asleep, only to be jarred awake with the crying and Leslie holding him.
You know that feeling when you're DEEP asleep and you're suddenly awoken and when you try to speak or move, you feel as though some magical outside force is not allowing you to do either? Even speaking the smallest word seems to take more energy than... well.. a marathon? Well, I was there, but I tried my very hardest EVERY time I woke up and noticed Leslie UP (the whole night) with him by saying, "uhhhhhhhh... youwandmehdoholdhim?" To which she'd reply (every time), "I've got it, he's just got a tummy ache." Now my words may not have come out clear, but my thoughts sure were, especially when I was thinking about saying, "I think everything's okay Leslie, he just wants to sleep in the garage tonight." hahahahah, I chuckled last night thinking it, and even still when I'm wide awake this morning. I mentioned it to her this morning that I was thinking that in the middle of the night... Well, let's just say it was another one of "those" times I should keep my mouth shut :)
So, last night I was trying out Madden 08 (Thanks again Cameron and Lori!). I got Madden for the wii a little while ago, and Chebon and I tried our hardest to play it for about two hours. We gave up quickly. I figured it was the wii configuration that was giving me fits. Well, I learned quickly last night the wii had nothing to do with it. Rather, it was the me (not the wii) that apparently had gotten to dumb to be able to play games like this any more. Don't get me wrong, I will not be bested by a simple game, so I WILL lock myself upstairs until I figure this one out, but for the LOVE how did we go from this...
TO THIS?!?!?!?!
Just to show my age even more, I'll end with, "Hey you kids, get off my lawn!" There, I feel better.
We're finally starting to see Benjamin's eyes a little more now, so there are a few pictures of him actually awake. Speaking of which...
It was wonderful how little prince-poops-a-lot (on my shirt) managed to sleep from about 5PM last night until about 10:00, but we didn't so much enjoy the wide awakeness (and screaming, I'll add) for most of the night. It was one of those days that I literally giggled when I jumped into bed at about 8:30 last night saying out loud, "I never thought this time would come!!!" and almost immediately falling asleep, only to be jarred awake with the crying and Leslie holding him.
You know that feeling when you're DEEP asleep and you're suddenly awoken and when you try to speak or move, you feel as though some magical outside force is not allowing you to do either? Even speaking the smallest word seems to take more energy than... well.. a marathon? Well, I was there, but I tried my very hardest EVERY time I woke up and noticed Leslie UP (the whole night) with him by saying, "uhhhhhhhh... youwandmehdoholdhim?" To which she'd reply (every time), "I've got it, he's just got a tummy ache." Now my words may not have come out clear, but my thoughts sure were, especially when I was thinking about saying, "I think everything's okay Leslie, he just wants to sleep in the garage tonight." hahahahah, I chuckled last night thinking it, and even still when I'm wide awake this morning. I mentioned it to her this morning that I was thinking that in the middle of the night... Well, let's just say it was another one of "those" times I should keep my mouth shut :)
So, last night I was trying out Madden 08 (Thanks again Cameron and Lori!). I got Madden for the wii a little while ago, and Chebon and I tried our hardest to play it for about two hours. We gave up quickly. I figured it was the wii configuration that was giving me fits. Well, I learned quickly last night the wii had nothing to do with it. Rather, it was the me (not the wii) that apparently had gotten to dumb to be able to play games like this any more. Don't get me wrong, I will not be bested by a simple game, so I WILL lock myself upstairs until I figure this one out, but for the LOVE how did we go from this...
TO THIS?!?!?!?!
Just to show my age even more, I'll end with, "Hey you kids, get off my lawn!" There, I feel better.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Another day, another grunt
Days are coasting by... Lori and Cameron were nice enough to loan me some games for my PS3 to keep me away from my family even more :)
Benjamin slept pretty good last night, although when I woke up this morning his feet were in my face; had had somehow changed positions in his little bed (that we put between us when we sleep) and was hanging out. If he grunted all night last night, I guess I was too tired to tell :)
Emily can hardly wait every night to either go swimming at Mema's, or run around at the splash park, so that's how our evenings have been going lately. Tonight is Mema's, then back home, to bed. I think if I sat here for a few more minutes typing I may just fall asleep here at the keybo....zzzz.. just kidding.
Anyway, I've been getting some pictures of random stuff lately, when I get them on the computer, I'll post them here.
Which reminds me of a new gadget I've been looking at. Maybe soon when the price comes down a bit..
Benjamin slept pretty good last night, although when I woke up this morning his feet were in my face; had had somehow changed positions in his little bed (that we put between us when we sleep) and was hanging out. If he grunted all night last night, I guess I was too tired to tell :)
Emily can hardly wait every night to either go swimming at Mema's, or run around at the splash park, so that's how our evenings have been going lately. Tonight is Mema's, then back home, to bed. I think if I sat here for a few more minutes typing I may just fall asleep here at the keybo....zzzz.. just kidding.
Anyway, I've been getting some pictures of random stuff lately, when I get them on the computer, I'll post them here.
Which reminds me of a new gadget I've been looking at. Maybe soon when the price comes down a bit..
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Pictures, Leaks, and PS3s
Well, I've been able to muddle through the day in my haze after virtually no sleep, and actually remembered some of the stuff I wanted to share from this morning.
First off, yesterday.. I went to Wal Mart to see if they were going to honor that deal about the $100 gift card, and as I approached the guy at the counter, I realized that it didn't look like many PS3s were in stock. I asked him about it, and he told me yes, although he didn't think he had any more "in back." Uh oh, I thought, MUST BUY. So, I did.
About thirty minutes after spending this ridiculous amount of money for a new blu-ray player, Leslie calls and tells me there's a leak in the ceiling. Wonderful. I called Dusty, he came over and noticed that the wind had probably knocked a pipe loose, and that's where the rain was leaking in. I'm still amazed that almost a year after our warranty has expired, our builder is still willing to come over and check up on things for us. I know it's a hassle at times to get a new house up and running, but he sure has been great (now if we can get that driveway fixed... :)
Anyway, turns out things dried up okay, although now there's a small crack in my ceiling in our bedroom. We'll see how bad that gets over time.
We enjoyed watching the movie on the new player last night, since I didn't have any new games with the system. Little did I know until after everybody had gone home or to bed that I can DOWNLOAD games online to play... BIG MISTAKE to do so late :) I was up way too late on that one.
Anyway, this morning Leslie took Emily and Benjamin to get pictures taken, and they turned out great! I'll post later.
First off, yesterday.. I went to Wal Mart to see if they were going to honor that deal about the $100 gift card, and as I approached the guy at the counter, I realized that it didn't look like many PS3s were in stock. I asked him about it, and he told me yes, although he didn't think he had any more "in back." Uh oh, I thought, MUST BUY. So, I did.
About thirty minutes after spending this ridiculous amount of money for a new blu-ray player, Leslie calls and tells me there's a leak in the ceiling. Wonderful. I called Dusty, he came over and noticed that the wind had probably knocked a pipe loose, and that's where the rain was leaking in. I'm still amazed that almost a year after our warranty has expired, our builder is still willing to come over and check up on things for us. I know it's a hassle at times to get a new house up and running, but he sure has been great (now if we can get that driveway fixed... :)
Anyway, turns out things dried up okay, although now there's a small crack in my ceiling in our bedroom. We'll see how bad that gets over time.
We enjoyed watching the movie on the new player last night, since I didn't have any new games with the system. Little did I know until after everybody had gone home or to bed that I can DOWNLOAD games online to play... BIG MISTAKE to do so late :) I was up way too late on that one.
Anyway, this morning Leslie took Emily and Benjamin to get pictures taken, and they turned out great! I'll post later.
Sleep anyone?
First, I was up until about 12:30 playing with the new PS3. Then, Gary Grunts-A-Lot was up ALL NIGHT. Leslie took care of him all night long, and I finally tried to help out at about 5 this morning by just laying him down beside me in my arm. No more grunts... At least we got one hour of sleep :)
I know I wanted to put more in this post, but no sleep has resulted in no brain. Will post more later.
I know I wanted to put more in this post, but no sleep has resulted in no brain. Will post more later.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Running thoughts
Here I am again at my third day in a row running my ten mile loop. I have yet to make it four days in a row (I've been doing this now for about two months). Here's hoping for tomorrow :)
A few things while running this morning peaked my interest. First, while running past the new stuff coming up on 24th street (Super Target, Hotel, etc), I found two turtles trying desperately to climb the curb to get to the grass. I, being the good citizen for turtles that I am, grabbed them and helped them to "safety" (who knows how long before they hit another street. I was smart enough to grab one of them and almost put him in the median before thinking to myself, "hmmm, in about ten minutes he'll be right back in the same predicament"). I then started noticing a lot of roley polies (never had to spell that before, I wonder if that's right) traveling across the road as well. Then I realized that all of these creatures were heading the same direction: east. Is there some specific reason all these guys are moving east? In my infinite [non] wisdom, I determined that because the sun was rising in the east, they were heading toward the heat. Logical, right? Well, as soon as I hit another road, everything was going every which way, so either the road I was on had directionally challenged little animals, or that whole theory is a load of poo. I'd love to hear anybody's thoughts on that :)
Another issue which soaked up a lot of time on the road this morning had to do with a comment I heard yesterday about a recent political campaign. I won't go into any detail on this (not really the place to do that here), but I will say I'm amazed at the amount of misinformation that can come up during a race. It makes me wonder how much I'm hearing about ANY race (especially the presidential race right now) is true, half-true, not true, or misinformation brewing. I know I'm fairly uneducated when it comes to politics, but I'll tell you, it's disheartening.
Anyway, this morning Emily and I got to go to the splash park, then to Mema Marge's to swim, then we all went to El Chico to eat lunch. Emily's sleeping right now, because in just about an hour we're heading over to Robinson Crossing for Horton Hears a Who!
A few things while running this morning peaked my interest. First, while running past the new stuff coming up on 24th street (Super Target, Hotel, etc), I found two turtles trying desperately to climb the curb to get to the grass. I, being the good citizen for turtles that I am, grabbed them and helped them to "safety" (who knows how long before they hit another street. I was smart enough to grab one of them and almost put him in the median before thinking to myself, "hmmm, in about ten minutes he'll be right back in the same predicament"). I then started noticing a lot of roley polies (never had to spell that before, I wonder if that's right) traveling across the road as well. Then I realized that all of these creatures were heading the same direction: east. Is there some specific reason all these guys are moving east? In my infinite [non] wisdom, I determined that because the sun was rising in the east, they were heading toward the heat. Logical, right? Well, as soon as I hit another road, everything was going every which way, so either the road I was on had directionally challenged little animals, or that whole theory is a load of poo. I'd love to hear anybody's thoughts on that :)
Another issue which soaked up a lot of time on the road this morning had to do with a comment I heard yesterday about a recent political campaign. I won't go into any detail on this (not really the place to do that here), but I will say I'm amazed at the amount of misinformation that can come up during a race. It makes me wonder how much I'm hearing about ANY race (especially the presidential race right now) is true, half-true, not true, or misinformation brewing. I know I'm fairly uneducated when it comes to politics, but I'll tell you, it's disheartening.
Anyway, this morning Emily and I got to go to the splash park, then to Mema Marge's to swim, then we all went to El Chico to eat lunch. Emily's sleeping right now, because in just about an hour we're heading over to Robinson Crossing for Horton Hears a Who!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Hear no evil...
Okay, so Benjamin's SECOND hearing screening happened today. The nurse told me he can hear, the doctor told me he can hear, Leslie knows he can hear, everybody I talk to says he can hear.
My favorite was when the doctor clapped behind him and asked me, "so, did you see him when he just squinted his eyes?" I replied, "well yeah, but he didn't freak out or anything like he should!"
She responded, "okay, so you don't like it that you have a calm baby?"
While I'm still playing with the idea that he can't hear, I think I'm giving in to the concept that he can. Maybe I'll start talking to him now :)
My favorite was when the doctor clapped behind him and asked me, "so, did you see him when he just squinted his eyes?" I replied, "well yeah, but he didn't freak out or anything like he should!"
She responded, "okay, so you don't like it that you have a calm baby?"
While I'm still playing with the idea that he can't hear, I think I'm giving in to the concept that he can. Maybe I'll start talking to him now :)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
To make things even more difficult...
Being the great husband that I am, I was planning on getting Leslie a present next Monday. And being even better than you imagined, I figured what better way to give her this present than to have already worked out all the "kinks" in mine and give her that one!
Now, I know what you're thinking, why not just get her the new one? Well, obviously, I'm thinking about HER, because who KNOWS what problems the new one will have? Maybe the 3G won't work, maybe the new applications won't run... Too many variables! That wouldn't be nice to do, now would it?
But now, this is announced..
What am I going to do now?
Now, I know what you're thinking, why not just get her the new one? Well, obviously, I'm thinking about HER, because who KNOWS what problems the new one will have? Maybe the 3G won't work, maybe the new applications won't run... Too many variables! That wouldn't be nice to do, now would it?
But now, this is announced..
What am I going to do now?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The saga continues
But it's all good news with the saga! Just so I don't bore you with it more than I have to, she got on the potty today by herself, and pooped no problems! We may be through the worst of it finally!
The report I got from Leslie from today (she still refuses to post on this blog.. She says I do all the story posting, so why should she? I tell her it's her big opportunity to tell everybody in the world how big of a dork I am... She responds, "They all know that already." Fair enough) that they all went to her school this morning, Benjamin slept while Emily watched Enchanted and Leslie got some work done in her room.
They had McDonald's for lunch, took a nap, Emily danced a bit, and then... Big day for Benjamin, we went to our first restaurant with him! Our choice? Furrs!
That's right. With Emily, her first outing was to Olive Garden, but not for B.A.! I don't know if he cared all that much, he slept through the whole thing.
Benjamin's doctor appointment is scheduled for Friday morning. Waiting for confirmation of the deafness :)
The report I got from Leslie from today (she still refuses to post on this blog.. She says I do all the story posting, so why should she? I tell her it's her big opportunity to tell everybody in the world how big of a dork I am... She responds, "They all know that already." Fair enough) that they all went to her school this morning, Benjamin slept while Emily watched Enchanted and Leslie got some work done in her room.
They had McDonald's for lunch, took a nap, Emily danced a bit, and then... Big day for Benjamin, we went to our first restaurant with him! Our choice? Furrs!
That's right. With Emily, her first outing was to Olive Garden, but not for B.A.! I don't know if he cared all that much, he slept through the whole thing.
Benjamin's doctor appointment is scheduled for Friday morning. Waiting for confirmation of the deafness :)
Monday, June 2, 2008
Whew!
Well, we went over to my mom's house to swim, and while we were over there, Emily got out of the pool and said to me, "I have to go pee pee and poop." We went inside the house, and I could tell she was starting to regret telling me anything. I looked at her and said, "Emily, come on, you know it's not a big deal, just sit there and do it." And just like that, she was done! WHEW!
Now, what will tomorrow bring?
Now, what will tomorrow bring?
The Day After...
At about 8:15 this morning, after I had gotten to work (late, I found out.. VERY LATE.. Summer hours are 7:30 to 4:30.. oops), and told me how HAPPY she was that I had started this pooping thing the day before I went back to work.
Apparently she started screaming about this at about 8:00 this morning, and didn't really stop until after I got home at about 5 this evening.
I went home at lunch to coax her some more into it, and got so frustrated with her sheer power of will that I had to leave the room before I destroyed something...
After work, I walked into the house, took off her pants, plopped her on the potty, and told her, "Emily, you need to go poop. Don't get off this potty until you do."
I figured I'd be there in Benjamin's room hiding out listening to her cry for six or seven hours. But then, about ten minutes later... Silence, then, "I pooped."
Sure enough, mission accomplished! Whew! PLEEEEAAAAASSSSEEEE be easier tomorrow..
Apparently she started screaming about this at about 8:00 this morning, and didn't really stop until after I got home at about 5 this evening.
I went home at lunch to coax her some more into it, and got so frustrated with her sheer power of will that I had to leave the room before I destroyed something...
After work, I walked into the house, took off her pants, plopped her on the potty, and told her, "Emily, you need to go poop. Don't get off this potty until you do."
I figured I'd be there in Benjamin's room hiding out listening to her cry for six or seven hours. But then, about ten minutes later... Silence, then, "I pooped."
Sure enough, mission accomplished! Whew! PLEEEEAAAAASSSSEEEE be easier tomorrow..
Day late...
Sorry it took me so long, daddy couldn't figure out how to embed my videos, but I think we've got it working now. He'll talk more later about what happened today with me, but here's my post(s) from yesterday..
Trouble and trouble...
Storm's brewin, and it's in Emily's tummy. Like we figured, she's trying to back out of her new deal with the toilet, so we're pressing onward to see what happens..
Also, Picasa has been funky with me uploading videos for the past two days or so. Trying again this morning, so you can see Emily's posts as well, but we'll see how that pans out.
While I'm talking about Picasa, I upgraded my google storage to 10 gigs, and it looks like I'm about to run out of space. So the question is: do I delete older albums (already deleted twice and then started thinking about it), or just increase my space? I'm thinking if this is going to be my "baby book" etc., should just probably upgrade space...
Also, Picasa has been funky with me uploading videos for the past two days or so. Trying again this morning, so you can see Emily's posts as well, but we'll see how that pans out.
While I'm talking about Picasa, I upgraded my google storage to 10 gigs, and it looks like I'm about to run out of space. So the question is: do I delete older albums (already deleted twice and then started thinking about it), or just increase my space? I'm thinking if this is going to be my "baby book" etc., should just probably upgrade space...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Operation: Poop - Success!
Well, it is a day of days! This morning, in my infinite patience, gave Emily yet another ultimatum that I could not hold firm to. I told her it was time to poop on the potty. Of course, she started throwing a fit, so I told her, "fine, you go pee pee on the potty, and I'll get your diaper."
I got a diaper of hers, and cut a hole in the bottom. I then went into her room, and quickly put it on her. I was just sure she was going to notice a draft or something down there, but no comment. I led her back into the bathroom, and told her to sit on the potty with her diaper to go poop. When she sat down, I asked her if she wanted anything while she went poop, she responded, "three pickles."
I responded, "okay, I'll go get some pickles, but do NOT get up from this potty if you are pooping..." I ran into the kitchen to start getting her pickles, and I heard her yell from her bathroom, "Daddy, I'm done pooping!"
Uh oh. I ran back into the bathroom, and sure enough, she was standing up... Frantic, I searched around her to see any.. well.. droppings, but nothing. I peered into the toilet and [insert angelic choir] there it was! She had not noticed what had happened.. as far as shew as concerned, she had pooped in her diaper. I quickly told her to get back on the potty. When she got back on, I told her very calmly, "okay Emily, now get up, and turn around and look in the potty..."
She eased herself off of the toilet, and looked in. Her eyes enlarged to about three times normal, she looked at Leslie and I, then quickly back into the toilet. Then, what I thought was her speaking in tongues became clear very quickly as she rambled almost uncontrollably:
"I can go swimming now! I can go to the splash park now! I can go to the yellow park and swim now! I can get my ball off the shelf! I can watch Enchanted! I can get my white dress, with my shoes and wand! I can get my princess towel!"
She repeated herself excitedly for about five minutes, hugging us and jumping for joy. It became clear to me then that perhaps she had been playing us all along... Just adding one at a time more goodies to her list, pulling us along until she hit the mother load..
Anyway, what do we do? Well, we head off the splash park of course! She ran and played, then we went to Super Target and found her dress and towel. We're now off to my mom's to swim. She's going to post here soon, since she can't type yet, she'll be doing video blogs :)
Now, the big question.. What happens next time she needs to go? Please oh please oh please oh please...
I got a diaper of hers, and cut a hole in the bottom. I then went into her room, and quickly put it on her. I was just sure she was going to notice a draft or something down there, but no comment. I led her back into the bathroom, and told her to sit on the potty with her diaper to go poop. When she sat down, I asked her if she wanted anything while she went poop, she responded, "three pickles."
I responded, "okay, I'll go get some pickles, but do NOT get up from this potty if you are pooping..." I ran into the kitchen to start getting her pickles, and I heard her yell from her bathroom, "Daddy, I'm done pooping!"
Uh oh. I ran back into the bathroom, and sure enough, she was standing up... Frantic, I searched around her to see any.. well.. droppings, but nothing. I peered into the toilet and [insert angelic choir] there it was! She had not noticed what had happened.. as far as shew as concerned, she had pooped in her diaper. I quickly told her to get back on the potty. When she got back on, I told her very calmly, "okay Emily, now get up, and turn around and look in the potty..."
She eased herself off of the toilet, and looked in. Her eyes enlarged to about three times normal, she looked at Leslie and I, then quickly back into the toilet. Then, what I thought was her speaking in tongues became clear very quickly as she rambled almost uncontrollably:
"I can go swimming now! I can go to the splash park now! I can go to the yellow park and swim now! I can get my ball off the shelf! I can watch Enchanted! I can get my white dress, with my shoes and wand! I can get my princess towel!"
She repeated herself excitedly for about five minutes, hugging us and jumping for joy. It became clear to me then that perhaps she had been playing us all along... Just adding one at a time more goodies to her list, pulling us along until she hit the mother load..
Anyway, what do we do? Well, we head off the splash park of course! She ran and played, then we went to Super Target and found her dress and towel. We're now off to my mom's to swim. She's going to post here soon, since she can't type yet, she'll be doing video blogs :)
Now, the big question.. What happens next time she needs to go? Please oh please oh please oh please...
You think you're so special?
In proper little brother fashion, not to be outdone by my older sister, I too have set up two email accounts. They are:
bliesenfeld@cox.net
baliesenfeld@gmail.com
I can tell you I was a little disturbed to find out that "bliesenfeld@gmail.com" had already been taken... I mean, who in the world would have that? Oh well, the longer I said "b-a-liesenfeld" to myself, the better I liked it. I mean, B.A., how cooler could I get?
So, email me!
bliesenfeld@cox.net
baliesenfeld@gmail.com
I can tell you I was a little disturbed to find out that "bliesenfeld@gmail.com" had already been taken... I mean, who in the world would have that? Oh well, the longer I said "b-a-liesenfeld" to myself, the better I liked it. I mean, B.A., how cooler could I get?
So, email me!
Email me!
My nerdy dad DID have an email address set up for me, but because he never let me check it, it was deactivated due to inactivity. Well, I've scolded him thoroughly for this, and I have reactivated it.
Also, just for good measure, I've set up my own gmail account, so now you can email me at two different addresses:
eliesenfeld@cox.net
eliesenfeld@gmail.com
Send me an email and I'll be sure to get back to you! (That is, of course, if my nerdy dad actually LETS me see the emails!!)
Also, just for good measure, I've set up my own gmail account, so now you can email me at two different addresses:
eliesenfeld@cox.net
eliesenfeld@gmail.com
Send me an email and I'll be sure to get back to you! (That is, of course, if my nerdy dad actually LETS me see the emails!!)
Tweets from Mars!!!
The NASA Phoenix lander has a twitter account, and sends messages from Mars! If that doesn't add Zip to your Doo-Dah, I don't know what will!
Dear facebook, is it really that hard?
I've been looking for over six months now to find an application that will publish these blog posts into the main news feed for my friends, so they can see when I update my blog. I've tried a dozen or so applications that promise to do such, but no dice so far. My search will continue, but I have a feeling that when it comes to announcing to the world that my friend has installed the "Tiger-Vampire-Blood-Sucking-and-Long-Tail-Quiz" Application, there is NO PROBLEM getting that out to the world, but when a friend updates their blog or other activities that I'M ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN, it will be impossible.
Thanks Facebook..
Thanks Facebook..
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