we've got a heartbeat

Hmm. Maybe I will wake this blog back up. It's something to think about.

Happy Birthday Sam!

A HUGE Happy Birthday to our wonderful daughter Sam!

Words can't express, so I won't here, but she means the world to us and we've loved seeing her grow up to be the little lady she is and look forward to the woman she'll become.



We love you! Cake for all!

More questions...

1. You have 10 dollars and need to buy snacks at a gas station, what do you buy?
2-liter of Barqs, bag of cool ranch doritos, and green pack of starbursts

2. If you were reincarnated as another creature, what would you be:
An eagle would be nice

3. Who's your favorite red head?
Christina Hendricks

4. What do you order when you're at IHOP?
French toast with a side of crispy bacon and white toast (maybe with hashbrowns too)

5. Last book you read?
"Greater Than the Sum"

6. What is important in a relationship?
trust

7. Describe the last time you were injured?
Most painful thing was standing up into Sam's ceiling fan.

8. Of all your friends, who would you want to be stuck in a well with?
Van, because he's so small I might be able to launch him up and out to get help.

9. Rock concert or symphony?
Depends who's playing

10. What is the wallpaper of your cell phone?
Sam in her car seat having fun

11. Soda?
Barq's root beer

12. Cranium or Monopoly?
Monopoly any day

13. One type of transportation for the rest of your life?
Train

14. Most recent movie you've watched in the theater?
The Dark Knight

15. What's your favorite kind of cake?
don't like cake

16. Name an actor/actress who you think is hot:
Sarah from "Chuck"

17. What did you have for dinner last night?
shake and bake chicken, baked beans, mashed potatoes, and biscuits

18. Look to your left, what do you see?
The Hatch diorama from "Lost".

19. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
almost never

20. Favorite toy as a child?
my GI JOE guys

21. Do you buy your own groceries?
Yes

22. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?
Probably

23. When's the last time you had sour gummy worms?
A while, but I do like them.

24. What's your favorite fruit?
Pineapple

25. Do you have a picture of yourself doing a cartwheel?
No

26. How do you feel about long distance relationships?
Glad they're over with

27. Have you ever eaten snow?
Sure

28. What color are your bed sheets?
Don't remember

29. What's your favorite flower?
Don't have one

30. Were you or are you in ballet?
Nope

31. Do you listen to classical music?
At times

32. Do you have a "wacky noodle"?
No clue what that is

33. Do you watch Spongebob?
gah, no

34. Last food you ate?
dinner, hamburgers and chips

35. Do people consider you smart?
If they want to

36. What time is it?
9:00pm sharp

37. Is your away message on?
I don't IM

38. Have you ever tried gluing your fingers together?
No, but when I make models it happens all the time

39. What curse word do you use the most?
damn it

40. Do you own an iPod?
Yes

41. What time is your alarm clock set for?
7am

42. What CD is currently in your CD player?
Disk 2 to the "The Empire Strikes Back" soundtrack

43. What movie do you know every line to?
The Original Trilogy, Star Trek II, The Last Starfighter, The Princess Bride

44. What is your favorite salad dressing?
Ranch

45. Would you ever date someone covered in tattoos?
Never

46. How old will you be on your next birthday?
31

47. Do you enjoy giving hugs?
I guess

48. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
Changing my first explosive diaper

49. What's the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name?
They don't

50. How much money do you have?
In my money clip? Probably $40. In my wallet? A 1977 dollar coin, a 1977 quarter, and an Alaska quarter for Court.

A meme

1. How old will you be in five years?
35

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?
singularly, nobody

3. How tall are you?
5 feet, 11 1/2 inches.

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?
Sam's Birthday

5. What's the last movie you saw?
The Dark Knight

6. Who was the last person you called?
Court, yesterday

7. Who was the last person to call you?
Court, today

8. What was the last text message you received?
Psych

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail?
My Mom

10. Do you prefer to call or text?
text

11. What were you doing at 12am last night?
Reading

12. Are your parents married/divorced?
Divorced

13. When did you last see your mom?
Last Tuesday

14. What color are your eyes?
Brown

15. What time did you wake up today?
7:18a

16. What are you wearing right now?
Green shirt, khaki dockers

17. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Jingle Bells?

18. Where is your favorite place to be?
Home

19. Where is your least favorite place to be?
A restaurant where I know there's nothing I'll like

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
I'm fine here

21. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
Probably the same job, maybe in a different house if we move.

22. Do you tan or burn?
Neither, somehow.

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
hmm...nothing really.

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?
Probably Psych the other day...or something from Juno.

25. How many TVs do you have in your house?
2

26. How big is your bed?
King-sized

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer?
Both

28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?
With

29. What color are your sheets?
Don't remember which ones are on there.

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?
Two, but I hold the one.

31. What is your favorite season?
Fall

32. What is your second favorite season?
Winter

33. What do you like about Winter?
The Cold

34. What do you like about the summer?
Nothing, really

35. What do you like about Winter?
Uh...duplicate

36. How many states/provinces have you lived in?
Two

37. What cities/towns have you lived in?
Park Ridge, Elk Grove, Schaumburg, Bartlett, Hanover Park, Carol Stream, Orlando, Wood Dale

38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet?
Shoes.

39. Are you a social person?
No

40. What was the last thing you ate?
crackers

41. What is your favorite restaurant?
Le Cellier in Epcot...Wild Fire, here, I guess.

42. What is your favorite ice cream?
Chubby Hubby

43. What is your favorite dessert?
Apple pie.

44. What is your favorite kind of soup?
Tomato

45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich?
None

46. Do you like Chinese food?
yuck, no

47. Do you like coffee?
Nope

48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average?
3-4

49. What do you drink in the morning?
slim-fast

50. Do you sleep alone?
No

51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
Yes

52. Do you know how to play poker?
Barely

53. Do you like to cuddle?
sometimes, I guess

54. Have you ever been to Canada?
Yes

55. Do you have an addictive personality?
Yes

56. Do you eat out or at home more often?
lately, out, but mostly home

57. Do you look forward to your birthday?
I don't mind it but most of the time I can't remember how old I am.

58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
No.

59. Do you want kids?
Have a great one

60. Do you speak any other languages?
No

61. Have you ever gotten stitches?
No, but I probably should have because the original injury still hurts 10+ years later

62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
ridden, no. Been in one, yes

63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool?
prefer neither

64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seats?
either

65. Do you know how to drive stick?
No

66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
electronics

67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7?
wedding ring

68. What is your favorite TV show?
LOST

69. Can you roll your tongue?
Not sure

70. Who is the funniest person you know?
Sam

71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
No.

72. What is the main ring tone on your phone?
Depends who is calling - default is Modest Mouse's "Float On"

73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little?
maybe some stuff

74. What red object is closest to you right now?
Project 3000 bracelet

75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth?
Yes

76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
Open

77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees?
bees

78. Do you flirt a lot?
No

79. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
Ranch

80. What is your favorite food?
Tacos I guess

81. Can you change the oil on a car?
No

82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Man

83. Have you ever run out of gas?
Once

84. What is your usual bedtime?
midnight-1am usually

85. What was the last book you read?
Warpath by David Mack

86. Do you read the newspaper?
Online

87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
Consumer Reports and Time

89. Do you watch soap operas?
No

90. Do you dance in the car?
Only to amuse Sam

91. What radio station did you last listen to?
The Score

92. Who do you have in a picture frame near you?
Sam, eating my phone, and Sam, with her cat hat on in her walker

93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper?
Don't remember

94. What is your favorite candle scent?
None

95. What is your favorite board game?
Monopoly

97. When was the last time you attended church?
Regularly? Never

98. Who was your favorite teacher in high school?
Ms. Sindelar (sic) from Gym helped me out once

99. What is the longest you have ever camped out in a tent?
4-5 days

100. Who was the last person to do something extra special for you?
Court

Breaking radio silence...

The quiz made tears come out of my eyes, I was laughing so hard.

27

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Sites

And growing up is hard to do...

When you're a kid, you don't have money for all the toys you want, but you have room for them.

When you're an adult, you have the money for all the toys you want, but you don't have room for them.

And when I say 'toys' in a grown-up sense, I don't mean TVs and DVD players and that crap. I mean actual toys. Actual toys that purposefully remind you of the things you wanted as a kid but couldn't/didn't have. Of course, it being the 20th/25th/30th anniversaries of a lot of my favorite toys this year doesn't help.

Since this is one of my favorite GI JOE sequences...


I of course couldn't pass up this...complete with jetpack and American flag.

Teeth and the Teething Teethers with Teeth

After a few days of 'issues' with getting the little one to sleep in the new crib configuration without getting up every five minutes, things went back to the way they were and she slept all through the night.

Then the molars came.

Her mood changed. Her sleeping patterns changed. What she wanted to eat, and when, changed.

Luckily, this (mostly) happened during a week we were both on vacation so the sleeping didn't really matter that much. If not, I think we'd have both been in rehab by mid-week.

There's nothing like seeing your daughter hold her hand up to her mouth while saying 'ow! ow!'

Things have gone back to normal once again, luckily.

bleary eyed

Let me just tell you that my daughter can STILL escape the crib whenever she wants, so the old "yeah, it's the middle of the night, she's crying, but she'll probably conk out any minute" thing that used to happen a couple times a month has now been completely transformed. Without relating the whole story, let me just tell you that I probably watched 3 Handy Manny's before 4am today. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

uh oh, here comes a milestone....

Tuesday morning (actually, like 3am) the little one was crying a little bit in her crib. We decided to see if she'd tire herself out so we just waited on it. Suddenly, the crying noise started getting closer and closer, and it wasn't coming out of the monitor anymore. The little monkey was walking down the hallway into our room. She'd escaped the crib.

I should just make "I'm not dead" a post tag.

Yes, I'm still alive. Let's have a few quick hits:

• I got a ticket Friday. It was a BS ticket for something I've probably done every weekday since my little monkey starting going to the sitter. So since that's probably 300+ times, I figure I've gotten away easy.


• I've stopped going out to lunch at work because the weather is so nice I just want to drive home.


• We took down the structure that was enclosing our hot tub on Saturday. Let's just say it was LONG overdue and keep it at that. There were ants involved. Hundreds of them.(ok, I didn't let that be that)


• Obama has won the Democratic primary, so we'll see how that goes.


• The Cubs are doing pretty well, so we'll see how that goes too.


• Some enterprising and intelligent people have updated MVP 2004 with the 2008 rosters since there's no real Baseball game for the PC anymore. My Cubs are doing well, and last night Carlo Marmol did something he does a lot in real life...give up a triple to the first batter and blow the next 3 guys away on strikeouts. Of course, the game seems to think Ryan Dempster is the Ryan Dempster we were all afraid we'd get in a starter (read: crappy) instead of the one we've really got (read: VERY strong).


• The monkey's current vocabulary: Mama, Dada, bob (bottle), yeah, no, elmo (for Elmo and Nemo), up, uh oh, whoa, juice (or something that sounds like that), ummm... (when thinking), and she also calls Hooper something nonsensical but consistent...I think it's na-na.


• Considering I put out a ton of garbage from the hot tub house for the garbagemen and the remains of a large bush we destroyed for the recycling/lawn bag guys, I'm sure both groups hate my guts right now.

More, as I think of it...

Household Political Endorsements

I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that I'm throwing my endorsement for the Democratic Primary Election (and the 2008 Presidential Election) to Barack Obama.

Hooper (our dog) is not yet old enough to vote. He really likes John Edwards though.

Boots (our cat) is the only Republican in the house. He's actually a hard-line conservative, and we have many arguments about this. Because of his hard-line stance, he's having some issues with McCain as the Republican nominee but he'd sooner choke on a hairball than vote Democrat. I haven't really investigated it (mostly out of fear) but I do believe he had something to do with George W. Bush winning Florida in the 2000 Presidential Election. I suspect he was an integral part of the Republican Political Machine down there.

Oba-mania? Barack the Vote? GOBAMA?

Crosscut Seattle - Here's one reason students Barack the vote: respect

Interesting reading.

Starting back up

A little hitting to all fields, and then the starting of regular postings soon.

• The sprout and I weathered a little over a week of Mr. Mom-age. Worked out well since it was so nice to spend so much time with her. We had fun.


• I want to go on the record as saying it has snowed about 6 times since I told my wife in January that I thought it was time to put away the snowblower until next Winter.


• GOBAMA baby, just GOBAMA


• Got the car washed yesterday...perhaps it will rain today.


• Pitchers and Catchers have reported...and there was much rejoicing.


• More of my TV shows are getting canceled. This can't be good.


• I think I have watched 20 episodes of Mythbusters in the last month.


• I think Iraq is what scares me most about people who say they'll jump to McCain if their Democratic candidate doesn't make it. Hello, the guy wants to keep us in Iraq!

more later...

Yes, I'm alive (again)

Question and answer time:

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My father and his father.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I got a little sad reading about what is discovered to have happened to that poor little girl, Baby Grace.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It's horrible.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Boiled ham.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yep, my little monkey.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? If I had to spend some time with me, yeah.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I guess I would.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Frosted Flakes

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES BEFORE YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no more than I have to.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? probably average.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their face I guess.

15. RED OR PINK? Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Not knowing when to just Stop.

17. WHOM DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My family who has moved to Arizona.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO FILL THIS OUT? If someone wants to they can.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Light brown pants and a navy blue shirt.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Dinner last night, Raspberry glazed chicken.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? training class call.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Brick red baby

23. FAVORITE SMELL? There's a smell that happens in the spring sometimes that takes me right back to growing up in Bartlett.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? on a conf call now

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON YOU STOLE THIS FROM? Sure

26 FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Baseball.

28. EYE COLOR? Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yes

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Shake and bake pork chops with mashed potatoes and corn.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy ending is fine.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Shrek 3 and then the first half of Ocean's 13.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Navy blue.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter, the colder the better.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? apple pie

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? not sending this out

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? not sending this out

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Star Trek - Titan - Sword of Damocles.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? At work, Cubs. At home, a black optical mouse pad.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? A Bones from a month ago (the Halloween episode) and then last night's Chuck.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Rain

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Beijing, China

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? None that I use for 'good'.

46. WHAT IRRITATES YOU MOST? People who are just ignorant or are so slaved to their way of thinking that they don't accept what's obvious.

Out of it for a little while

Ok, yesterday was my first day back at my desk at work in 3 weeks. 2 weeks of training, one of vacation. I learned a lot in those 3 weeks, but I also forgot a lot.

• How to wear my brown shoes which I wear to work. For some reason they now kill the backs of my ankles. Maybe because I haven't worn them for almost a month?


• How to wear pants. Yes, in three weeks, I did not, not once, wear pants. The fact that it was hotter than heckfire at home and in DC aided in that fact.


• How to drive to work. There's been pretty extensive construction cutting 53N down to one lane around 90. Stinks for me because my exit is the next one after 90. So I hadn't been taking 53 to work for a long time. Until yesterday, when I forgot all about the construction. Whoops.


• How to shave every day. Maybe some day they will invent a whole-face Nair that won't cause people to go blind. Then, I can just shoot that stuff on and be done with it all. The days of me with a mustache or beard (or both) are long done. I hate shaving with the fire of a thousand suns. I think it stems from the fact that for the first 5+ years of doing it I had no idea what aftershave was (thanks Dad) so shaving when I was in High School resulted in my fact getting all dried out and feeling like sandpaper.

So that's how dumb I've gotten. I'll post about the stuff I learned later, when I'm feeling a bit smarter.

Better know a country

1m 50s

Click here to try the quiz.

And we're back!

Hey! I'm NOT dead! Isn't that great?

I'll do a little version of 'hitting to all fields' now.

Am I becoming a flight snob now?

I've just recently returned from a one night (and next day) work trip to Miami. As expected, it was hotter than Hell. Work-wise, it went well, which is nice. I took an early flight back (yeah!) but first was full so no upgrade (boo!) but what are you gonna do?

I'll take that deal every day of the week and twice on Sunday

Since our sitter (who is great, btw) was on vacation last week, I took last week as a vacation week and watched the sprout all week long. It was a pretty amazing experience, spending so much time with her. I'm glad I did it. It only reinforced my thought that (if the $ were not an object...) I would be a stay at home parent, no doubt.

That smell on the DC Metro? That was me.

The week before that, I spent a week in SCADA training in Washington, D.C. Now, I've always wanted to go there and see the National Mall and all the memorials and all that. And this was the perfect occasion to do so. Training was Wed--->Fri so I flew out Tuesday morning and did some site-seeing for the rest of the day. I took the DC Metro from Vienna, VA, into the city. I walked around for almost 6 hours. It was hotter than Hell and I was major-league sweating. I'm sure by the end of the day, I reeked. It was so bad I washed the clothes at the hotel.

Now that everyone's grossed out...

I have to say, DC was amazing. I saw the Air & Space Museum, Capital Building, White House, Supreme Court, Washington Monument, FDR, Jefferson, and Lincoln Memorials. Vietnam Wall, Korean War Memorial, and the new WW II Memorial. I also saw the Holocaust Museum.

Someone with my same first and last name is on the Vietnam Wall. I plan to see what I can find out about him.

Since 9/11, all the areas around the White House are pretty locked down. You can't even walk up to the fence anymore. What a drag. I did take a zoomed in picture of some guys standing watch on the roof though, which was kinda cool.

All in all, it was a great trip. Even greater since I earned the certification I was there for in the first place. But what stays with me is the memorials to so many of the people that made this country what it is. I don't think they make people like that anymore.

question mark

60 questions...(and answers, by me)

1. What time did you get up this morning?
7:30am

2. Diamonds or pearls?
don't have a particular use for either

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Smallville

5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
Slimfast, on weekends, a bowl of cereal and some toast

6. What is your middle name?
Anthony

7. What food do you dislike?
eggs (just thinking about them now makes me want to wretch)

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Mostly listen to podcasts and stuff but probably the Superman Returns soundtrack

9. What kind of car do you drive?
2007 Toyota Camry

10. Favorite sandwich?
ham and cheese on rye

11. What characteristic do you despise?
lying

12. Favorite item of clothing?
sleep shorts, probably

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation?
New York

14. What color is your bathroom?
grayish

15. Favorite brand of clothing?
don't have one

16. Where would you retire to?
cabin somewhere in the woods where it was cool out.

17. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
don't remember

18. Furthest place you are sending this?
not sending it

19. Favorite saying?
"Come on, now" OR "Just think it through"

20. When is your birthday?
November 20, 1977

21. Are you a morning person or a night person?
night

22. What is your shoe size?
11 and a half

23. Pets?
dog and cat

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I don't have to go to China next week, which is nice.

25. Who did you want to be when you were little?
Fireman

26. How are you today?
Feeling good

27. What is your favorite candy?
California Starbursts

28. What is your favorite flower?
uh, no

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
October 2, 2007 (and 2008, and 2009, and 2010, and...)

30. What church do you attend?
Don't attend church

31. What was your pets name as a child?
We had two dogs, Chico and Meeko, boy and girl pekingese. They had puppies...Lefty, Right, Tattoo, Omega, and Maui (and I think another one). We gave Meeko away with the puppies and kept Chico. He died of dog cancer (I think) and I didn't have another dog for another 20+ years. We should have kept one of the puppies.

32. What are you listening to right now?
people jabbering about something

33. What was the last thing you ate?
Small piece of cheese last night while I was reading.

34. Do you wish on stars?
No

35. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Brick Red

36. How is the weather right now?
Pretty damn hot.

37. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
wife, and before that, wife, and before that, my Aunt

38. Do you like the person [from whom you got this]?
I read his blog, so I guess so

39. Favorite soft drink?
Barq's Root Beer

40. Favorite restaurant?
fast food: Chick-Fil-A, sit down: Chili's

41. Hair color?
Brown.

42. Siblings?
younger sister

43. Favorite day of the year?
Thanksgiving, probably, but Christ Eve is a close second

44. What was your favorite toy as a child?
GI JOE guys

45. Summer or winter?
Winter

46. Hugs or kisses?
depends who it is

47. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate

48. When was the last time you cried?
Don't remember

49. What is under your bed?
nothing, but sometimes a cat

50. Who is the friend you have had the longest?
A number of people whom I don't really talk to anymore, like my friend Doug. After them, my sister-in-law, whom I talked to regularly.

51. What did you do last night?
watched the last few episodes of Everest: Beyond the Limit.

52. Favorite smell?
There's a mixture of cut grass and a few other things that takes me right back to where I grew up in Bartlett. It doesn't happen very often but when it does, it's immediate.

53 What are you afraid of?
something happening to my daughter

54. Plain, buttered, or salted popcorn?
buttered and salted

55. How many keys on your key ring?
2, car and house

56. How many years at your current job?
a few months over 9 years.

57. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday

58. How many towns have you lived in?
Bartlett (IL), Hanover Park (IL), Carol Stream (IL), Elk Grove (IL), Orlando (FL), Wood Dale (IL)

59. Do you make friends easily?
I don't mind meeting new people and always try to be friendly to them when I do, but sometimes I'd rather be left alone.

60. How many people will you be sending this to?
Just posting it up

Stepping out, with my baby...

Big news yesterday. The sprout has taken her first 'real' steps. Before, she'd take a step or two and then plop down. Yesterday, she took about 4 steps right in front of my wife and I. The funny thing was, she did it just as we were discussing whether or not we'd actually witness her first steps. It was amazing to see.

Also going along with the title of this post, my wife and I are going out to dinner and also to see the latest Harry Potter movie.

Kids, just sneak in.