Our Persisting Memories

Married women will appreciate this and I suppose men will relate/understand. Anyone who knows BJ well enough knows how forgetful he is. I asked him to get me cream of mushroom and cream of chicken during his trip to the grocery store . He forgot his cell phone and failed to write the items down. When he came home he had the items I had asked for plus many other little surprises. He had forgotten while he was at the store what I had asked him to get . What does he do? Buys multiple items with the word cream in it hoping he eventually got the correct thing. What were the other "creams" you might ask? Cream soda, Cream Savers hard candy, sour cream, whipping cream, shaving cream, and Cream of Wheat. Keep in mind I have never made Cream of Wheat for us, I have never bought Cream Savers nor has he ever seen me eat them, and we already had cream soda in the fridge. A man's logic.....I will never understand it sometimes. However, I do give him credit for being sweet ...

10111 Only four weeks old and I had to have Sophia cry herself to sleep one night. She is almost continuously changing her nap schedule and how she chooses to fall asleep at night and I am trying hard to keep up with it. One evening in particular nothing was working.....well, long term at least. She would fall asleep while I was holding her but would wake up once I put her down. The pacifier, breastfeeding, and rocking weren't doing the trick. I knew she was absolutely exhausted too because she had only had cat naps throughout the day. She was in desperate need of sleep and Mommy was in desperate need of her to fall asleep. After 2 hours of battling with her I chose to just put her in her crib and see what happens. It is a difficult choice, I am sure, for many mothers whether to let their child cry themselves to sleep or not. It is a hard thing to listen to your baby fuss and cry and know you can make it better but that by doing nothing it is benefiting them. Luckily, s...

I had specific thoughts regarding Sophia's blessing and prodding from Spencer, Heather, and Adrian.  The first thought was a reflection of Sophia's name, from the greek sophos meaning wisdom.  She was blessed with intelligence and a thirst for knowledge.  She was blessed to learn and know of spiritual things and also the things in the world around her, so she might come to know the architecture of existence and thus come to know it's architect, and blessed to be able to apply that knowledge as wisdom.  Sophia was surrounded with 3 generations of Melchezidek priesthood holders, atsnding in a circle and blessing you.  Their souls would ache for her return to the celestial kingdom.  She was blessed to know that she was loved and thereby come to know the love of the Saviour.  She was blessed with empathy and compassion, so regardless of the bounty and blessings in her own life she might understand the difficulties and trials of others, and learn to feel the love the Saviour has...

This is awesome. It seems to be from the same people that brought you Matrix Ping Pong.

The day after the tool concert I had an interview in Austin. It's probably a good thing that I wasn't able to go to the concert. It was a panel interview with 7 people: 4 people who already had the position I was interviewing for, 2 managers, and a section manager. It was a little nerve racking, but it went well. Over the past 2 weeks I've been waiting for an answer, but the upper level manager who had to sign off on it was on vacation. Today I was called into my boss' office and was formally extended the offer. Needless to say, I was very excited. There have not been any formal announcements, but the only people who know about this website are the people who interviewed me, friends, and family. They still have to let other candidates know they didn't get the job and extend other offers, but I can breathe easily after 2 1/2 weeks of holding my breath. The best part is I keep my building pension, 401k, and seniority which grants me some decent vacation time. ...

I'm sure everyone who cared to purchase the album " 10,000 days " by tool already has, so my personal opinion as to the album's quality is relatively meaningless.  At the same time, I feel this album is one of the most approachable from a traditionally progressive-rock perspective.  Fans of Rush, King Crimson, and the late 70's prog rock movement would do well to pick this album up, or at least give the tracks a listen at your preferred online vendor/local store.  I've been a moderate fan of theirs since high school; back when they were angry and generally less appreciated, unless you were a black wearing, suburban, hate the world type, which I of course wasn't...... of course.  It's great to see a band truly progress through the years from something only teenagers care for to something my wife actually doesn't mind listening to.  I missed a chance to see them in concert but not for lack of trying.  The tickets sold out in about 30 seconds.  Immedi...

I received a flyer on my doorknob last week. I was instructed to join a local evangelical congregation so they could address the evils of "The Da Vinci Code", "Gospel of Judas", and a few other "evil perversions of modern thought". I can't claim to have read the Da Vinci Code but the basic premise has been explained to me. I honestly have a fear of plodding heavy-handed prose, which has kept me from reading Dan Browns best seller, however I find exiguous joy in the backlash among the protestant community. Since it only brings a wry grin to my face, I obviously can't be bothered to pick up the book or see the movie. I also understand that a fictional work can have a distinct effect on the mind of the consumers who partake of it. "El Caballo de Troya", is a fictional Spanish novel that caused a similar stir among the latin community. The basic premise is that aliens had a hand in the life of Christ, and these aliens were the cause o...

7379 I am envied. I made some ribs this past weekend. They cooked for about 5 hours on a low heat, over charcoal and mesquite chips. I basted some Atchley secret BBQ sauce on them (custom receipe) at the perfect time. Just early enough that it carmelized over the surface of the ribs, and left a crisp glazed exterior. You're jealous... Oh and HIT REFRESH I made some style updates to improve the integrated pictures.

7385 Oh, motherhood! What an experience. So far I feel very blessed with the baby I have been given. She has slept through the night the last 3 nights, only cries when there is something wrong (and barely even then), and eats well. My mother-in-law said it perfectly when she said that no matter what we do they survive us. Sophia had her two week appointment last week and it was the first time I was going anywhere with her on my own. Half way there I realized I forgot the diaper bag at home. In the waiting room she pooped her diaper and leaked out onto her clothes. Strangely, the office does not have an emergency supply of diapers but the receptionist had some newborn diapers in her car. What were the odds? I had her naked on the exam table wiping her with flimsy wet papertowels when she peed. In the end she got cleaned, dried and dressed again in a fresh diaper. It had me stressed out and wasn't the ideal situation and for those who know me really well know that I stres...

I came across this article on the Wall Street Journal regarding manufacturing and parts of Japanese and American automakers. There used to be a good excuse to buy American. You know, because it gives jobs to American workers. Apparently as Japanese auto makers move their manufacturing and parts facilities here, American auto makers are outsourcing. After hearing dealer commercials and Ford TV spots asking us to sacrifice our hard earned dollars on vehicles that are less American than a Nissan Titan, you find yourself wondering why you should deal with the hassle of a big 3 car. Hit the link Wall Street Journal Article

Wow, I was really used to that thar Tivo. I've already found an alternative. RSS feeds to a certain swarming protocol client gets me all the time shifting I could want. This downgrade on service comes in the wake of having a child, and realizing I was wasting 80 bucks or more a month on communication and entertainment services. This isn't so bad, but the cable tech managed to knock our internet out the same night. I find it funny that working in an environment where the primary contact with the customer is over the phone, has made me more critical of technical support/customer service/phone jockeys regardless of their pay grade. You would think I would be more forgiving cause I know what they go through, yet I'm less patient with their quick answers, and usually really blunt. It comes at no surprise that the tech couldn't come back out to correct the wiring the same day, but I was still a little miffed. I realized then that I was addicted to the internet. After a...

6114 She makes funny little squeaks while dreaming. Combine that with fluttering her eyes and smiling randomly, and you have the ingredients for an afternoon of "ooooohhing" and "awwing". This is only while she sleeps mind you. While awake she has a variety of actions and reactions. She furrows her brow when trying to lift her head and look at her surroundings. Sophia is ticklish. If you try to count her ribs she curls her feet up and tightens her stomach while smiling and sticking her tongue out. I have determined her ribs, underarms, feet, neck, and legs are ticklish. I believe it easier to count the places she is not ticklish. 443 Heather is doing wonderfully and much more mobile. She had been in a bit of pain for 5 days or so after giving birth. After witnessing what happens in the birthing process I'm surprised she bothers to move at all. Heather is much too nice to me. She tries as hard as she can to let me sleep through the night. She closes the door to t...

6162 As much as one could refer to a week with a new youngster sleeping 18 hours a day and being active 6 hours a night a vacation, my little vacation is over. With a job interview looming on Tuesday and paperwork to sift through tomorrow, there's a little pit of insecurity in my stomach. When you're away from work for a week and half, work has a tendency to build up, and any future I don't know is a future that greets me with slight trepidation. On a lighter note this website went up in about 5 days time, and I'm pretty proud of it.My greatest difficulty is knowing I can't look into my daughter's eyes at any given moment and see the beauty of new life. It's comforting to know that Heather will be home with Sophia for the next few months, but hard for a new daddy (me) to go back to the daily grind. This summer will be fine since I'm only taking one class, but come fall I'll have school four nights a week, not including study time. We have Grandm...

Thankfully neither did he. I just watched the entirety of Mr. Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents dinner. Click here to be taken to Google Video . No, I'm not in the camp that believes every wind of thought that floats across the minds of a "liberal", nor do I hardline the President's decisions. I do however enjoy knowledge, and making sure facts are known (and in that same respect knowing facts). Colbert's uncompromising satire gave me goosebumps, and showed me what the media should be doing. Everything should be questioned. People need reasons to believe things, and without those reasons decisions should be called into question. Perhaps it was uncouth of Colbert to launch into such politically charged commentary in a "respected" forum, even if it was satirical but it was the delivery that was genius. It separated him from Al Franken, Michael Moore, or any other popular critic of the Bush administration. To be completely fa...

After tweaking and editing, then realizing there were inconsistencies between the previous version of this theme and this current one, I can finally say I'm done.... for now. Now it's just a matter of pretending I have interesting thoughts that friends and family will want to read. I'm sure where I fall short Heather will be able to shine through with poignant thoughts about life and motherhood. 50 years ago diaries and journals were private. Now more people than ever record thoughts where everyone can see them, even manipulating search engine systems to encourage complete strangers to read their thoughts. Most of the time the only person who really benefits is the person doing the writing, while trackbacks, link rings, and comment spammers turn google into a carnival of SEO snake oil salesmen, where the only legitimate links were the ones you already knew, but you had forgotten the exact address. I feel sorry for real mesothelioma patients. While looking for a cancer...

572 Well apparently Heather doesn't share my opinion as to her true nature, so I got lectured. I'll draw her fire Sophia. You run while you can. Just kidding Mommy, because Daddy and Sophia love you dearly.

713 Heather just sent out an e-mail with a link to this site. I felt all her friends, acquaintances, and family should see Heather as I have come to know her. Love you sweetie.

The way her eyes roll in the back of her head when she sleeps. The sweet smiles she gets when she is sleeping. Her long, beautiful eyelashes. How she sleeps so heavily and quietly for her Mommy and Daddy. Her peeties (toes)! Her big eyes (can't wait to see what color they will be!). How she falls asleep so peacefully in my arms when breastfeeding. Her dark, silky smooth hair. That she is a perfect, wonderful combination of my sweet hubbie and me.

Little Sophia was born April 26th, 2006 and had a birth weight of 8 lbs 13 oz. Obviously neither her mother or I expected such a large child but you can see the trevails of childbirth on my face. I'm sure her mother can share more about the last few days than I can. I only know our little girl is wonderful. She sleeps and eats well, and even though she made us worry a bit with low o2 saturation, a little jaundice, and failing a hearingtest in her left ear, all has cleared up. She is now an eating and pooping machine, not only that but she looks like her mother.