tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218229412024-03-07T03:47:54.763-05:00Really, I'm as Old as I Feel?I feel about ten years older than I'm supposed to, thanks to kidney disease! I will blog about my kidneys, my family, and other things in my seemingly ordinary life. Enjoy!Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.comBlogger504125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-10347366188447538822012-06-29T19:45:00.001-04:002012-06-29T19:45:14.050-04:00A Whole New WorldSo it has been six months since I have updated the blog, so what? I decided long ago not to apologize for things that are trivial, and that is one of them.
Next week we will celebrate two years of having moved out of the crazy hustle and bustle of life inside the DC Beltway and heading for the center of the country. So much has changed, and I am grateful for our leap of faith and the spirit of Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-91010148990576067862011-12-31T20:30:00.000-05:002011-12-31T20:30:47.997-05:002011 Year in PicturesEveryone else is doing it, so I guess I should too. Here is a year worth of pictures in one post...
January - First time Ice Skating! She considers herself an old pro now, but that first time was pure sugar-rush! (Pictured with Miss Karen, her teacher in life, and in ice skating!)
January (2) - Ready for dance class! I mostly posted this one for a comparison with the December shot later... Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-23269336877125179432011-12-06T07:56:00.001-05:002011-12-10T15:59:08.423-05:00Oh Christmas DoorAlternate Title: Another Year, Another Weird Idea from the Monroe's
Remember last year's Christmas "tree" from THIS post? Yeah, a tripod and some lights was just enough to wet my appetite for something more creative in our apartment at the holidays.
Again, we have many reasons to not have a tree:
Real: Expensive, Anny is allergic to pretty much any cut conifers, too.
Fake: It's fake, and takes Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-22618789108914830312011-10-31T22:11:00.001-04:002011-10-31T22:11:58.860-04:00Happy Halloween!Alternate Title: Movember Eve
Tomorrow I start my month of mustache, or Movember. My brother is spearheading a team as part of a massive program to raise awareness about men's health issues. You can find out more about that HERE.
You can donate to my 'Stache Plan HERE.
While we are still in October I wanted to knock out a quick blog post about Halloween! For Abby we started nine days ago Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-44374732778025312672011-10-28T22:55:00.003-04:002011-10-28T22:55:26.331-04:00Fall Colors!Alternate Title: Finally a Picture Post!
I keep wanting to get out with the camera without the focus of my shots being on people. I snagged a fun shot last weekend while pumpkin-picking, but that is one shot out of the last 30 days. Oy.
Today the weather was perfect and I had hours to burn off at work. Anny was also home from school, so we picked Abby up and headed straight for Lone Elk Park toRob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-73065285801649739222011-10-17T18:16:00.002-04:002011-10-17T18:16:48.286-04:00A Good Visit - Kidney Update
Alternate Title: Better than a Punch in the Face!
Last month I was afraid - genuinely afraid - of what I had done to my body over the last year by going off of my kidney medicine. I had not seen a doctor in over a year, and my first trip back made me fearful that a professional would not only give me grief, but would also want to punch me in the face for such stupidity. The thing about a Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-28671881813548862302011-10-17T07:02:00.001-04:002011-10-17T07:02:12.767-04:00Menu Monday for this WeekAlternate Title - Mmmm, food.
So yeah, it's been a crazy two weeks - I ended up going on a second retreat with church and finally caught up on enough sleep over this weekend that I am awake enough in the mornings to get a blog post or two written. Guess I'm not as young as I used to be - I remember bouncing back from a weekend retreat in like a day!
Anyway, since it has been a couple of weeks, Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-30228263031902731692011-10-05T08:06:00.001-04:002011-10-05T08:06:39.618-04:00Abby's First Tent Camping!Alternate Title: When Did We Get So Old?
(First off an apology - I did not get ANY tent pictures! When we set it up Abby was playing on the playground and I never actually saw her awake in the thing! Oy!)
Last weekend we went out to Mound Ridge for an All Church Retreat. Our first trip out there was last fall for the same event, but this is also where we went for summer camp last summer. BottomRob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-7756361646670193462011-10-03T21:21:00.000-04:002011-10-03T21:21:14.095-04:00Hot Date Follow-Up
Alternate Title: Filled 'Er Up and Turned 'Er In (Gross, I know. Sorry.)
LAST weekend I had my Hot Date with a plastic bottle. I managed to make the most of my day my doing laundry and making dinner, as well as taking in copious amounts of football. Remember the before picture of my bottle? Here is an after:
KIDDING! You gross weirdo. Why would you want a picture of my pee?
I did my Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-23107661909212902352011-09-26T04:56:00.000-04:002011-09-27T06:46:27.942-04:00Menu Monday
Alternate Title: Still at It - YUM!
Tonight we tried something new, by which I mean I looked at a recipe and thought "well, hell, I am not going to put all of that crap together, but thanks cookbook-man for the suggestion." I cut out all of the special-buy stuff and it turned out well.
I have said before that we plan our meals out a week at a time, and we cycle things in about once every Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-5285983108676707332011-09-22T21:01:00.000-04:002011-09-22T21:01:16.258-04:00HOT DATE!
Alternate Title: Someones Gotta Have All the Fun!
On Sunday my wife and daughter are going to join another family on a trip to the local Pirate Festival. Think Renaissance Festival without the frilly clothes swords and hoochie mama's rotten fake English accents boisterous kings and queens, replaced by boisterous pirates and wenches. It's a neat idea, and we have never been, so the girls are Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-72609080572362873032011-09-14T22:40:00.001-04:002011-09-14T22:53:54.912-04:00Abby's Wishful Thinking
Alternate Title: Growing Up, In Her Head
Abby is at an age where she is latching onto things for all that they are worth, and then some. At least once a week since her birthday we have had some sort of birthday celebration in our home. Please note that she is a June baby and Anny and I share a birthday in December, so there has really been nothing, but she had such a blast at her birthday Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-64191513549069237832011-09-12T18:21:00.002-04:002011-09-12T18:21:24.084-04:00Kidney Update - Updated!
Well, the good news is that I did not get punched in the face.
I had my first visit with my new nephrologist in Missouri, a little bit more than a year after we have moved. I told him the whole story of my life, or at least what he deemed pertinent to my health overall with a few snippets tossed in for fun.
I forgot how long it takes to get a specialist to actually show up for an Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-2069333952990453102011-09-12T08:23:00.001-04:002011-09-12T08:23:29.405-04:00Kidney Lack-of-UpdateThis morning I am a little excited, and a lot of nervous. I am mostly hoping that I do not end up in tears by 10 am. I've been keeping a secret that is going to either pay off or blow up in my face, and I will know by lunch today.
You see, last year we moved. Yes, I've written about that a dozen times, so clearly that is not bothering me too much. I am no longer nervous about that aspect of my Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-71688645446336150832011-09-10T19:02:00.001-04:002011-09-10T19:02:24.153-04:00Children are Funny v2Another three quick but cute stories about Abby!
Story One: Sharing is Caring
A few weeks ago one of my co-workers gave Abby a little heart-shaped, green "gem" ring. It is nicer than the others that we have because it adjusts down to the tiny size of her finger. Abby was so touched about the random act of kindness that she actually came home and handed me another one and said "Please take this Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-65776835280906803002011-08-29T08:04:00.001-04:002011-08-29T08:04:33.452-04:00Abby's First Baseball Game!Alternate Title: Technically, the Experiment Worked
(I am realizing that part of the reason I do not blog as often is that I include updates about Abby and myself over on Facebook. That being said, I am going to start to incorporate more of those updates here.)
From FB, on our way to the game:
Take me out to the ball game - take me out to the crowd!Pre-bought hot dogs and soda-pop, extra fun 'Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-8641772502902852992011-08-21T22:51:00.002-04:002011-08-21T22:51:59.957-04:00Abby in the St Louis Post Dispatch!Alternate Title: Do I really need an alternate title, Abby's in the paper?!
So it is clear that we like to take Abby out dancing, even more clear if you saw all of our Facebook status updates. If there is a free show we are there, especially if it is an outdoor show. This weekend we ended up at two - one massive outdoor festival and one local park-opening. Can you guess which got a picture of Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-88382679743274449182011-08-18T07:46:00.003-04:002011-08-18T07:46:44.143-04:00Daddy Daughter Dinner Picnic!Alternate Title: Making up for a Summer in an Evening
Remember two weeks ago when I posted about how great it was that my wife and daughter were headed back to school and our "normal" routine would finally come back together? (Here it is, if you need a refresher.) Bottom line is that I was jealous of the time they got to spend together every day.
I have had some opportunities over the last Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-61512191209183621222011-08-13T19:40:00.000-04:002011-08-13T19:40:01.137-04:00Meeting Our Moving Goals, Mostly
Alternate Title: Not All for Naught
Before we moved we talked a lot about when, why and how we would move. The "when" discussion lasted for about four years before finally pulling the trigger, including a brief plan the year before to move that was called off. Few people know this, but we were one interview away from moving to Missouri instead of Maryland when we left Virginia. We are both Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-54588143834152731952011-08-11T21:58:00.001-04:002011-08-11T21:58:50.829-04:00Back At It!
Alternate Title: ...It's the most wonderful time of the year...!
For starters, our heat wave seems to be a thing of the past. It lasted for the month of July, and then just long enough for a full ten day visit by the In-Laws. Once they fled back to Wyoming the heat went away. Coincidence? I think not...
I am confident that I only feel this way because Abby is not in *real* school Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-56416877233540050672011-08-06T22:30:00.000-04:002011-08-06T22:30:08.655-04:00Communication Brain LeakIn just the last week I have communicated with friends and family via:
Phone
Text
Facebook (Chat, Messages and Wall posts)
Email
Google+
Twitter
Google Reader
Commenting on friends' blogs
I have had opportunity but passed up:
Skype
Google Chat
Google Voice Chat
Good Reads
Nephspace (for Kidney Disease folks)
I never thought I could be one to fall to using terms like "information overload" butRob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-40918854794363670312011-08-03T17:42:00.002-04:002011-08-03T18:25:34.075-04:00Quick Bits
Another one of those annoying, bullet point blog posts. Oh well.
The bat from a few posts ago is back in our window, and has actually made a habit of staying in our window during the day. I've done some looking online and it seems that it is not something we should have concern about, so we are just letting him... hang out! A friend of ours said that if we saw it more than once we had to nameRob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-44400596793854384022011-07-24T15:24:00.000-04:002011-07-24T15:24:10.535-04:00Another Fun Way to Beat the Heat!This week has obviously been hot - hot enough to warrant a full blog post earlier. We have been to movies and the pool, to the mall and to the couch in our apartment where it is nice and cool.
Yesterday we went to a place that would easily be counted as the coooolest - a cave tour!
Missouri is known as The Cave State due to thousands of miles worth of caves. There is a really big, really Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-24165147673907986512011-07-20T22:23:00.000-04:002011-07-20T22:23:06.595-04:00It's Gettin' Hot in Here...While I do not practice the "taking off all my clothes" to cool down, we have been spending a ton of time at the pool. Abby and I have closed the pool down twice this week so far, and will likely do it again twice more! We love our local pool and have made great use of the family pass for the summer. There is a lazy river to float in, and little-little kid pool (deepest might be a foot) and a Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822941.post-15128121520024106662011-07-20T06:50:00.000-04:002011-07-20T06:50:27.208-04:00Animal Adventures with Abby!On Monday evening we were sitting at the table having dinner when I noticed something in the window - a bat! It was perfectly positioned between the storm window and the screen, with it's claws in the screen while sleeping! Abby was almost as excited as I was. I pulled out the video camera to capture Abby. This was her second time telling me about bats, so she trailed off a bit.
The bat was Rob Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213481414668281312noreply@blogger.com3