Photo Tales - Week 1

Alternate Title: New Meme to Join in On!

My friend Beth over at Laugh until you Cry is starting up a fun Meme that I have been thinking about for some time now. In my head I've wanted a weekly "Picture and a Thousand Words" type of thing, but as soon as I was ready to get it out the gate I started working a job with less flexibility on time - mostly the issue that I don't get home with enough "fun" time after work. Easier, now, to grab on to Beth's fun game!

The Picture:

The Story:
I took this picture at the end of a very wonderful afternoon of just Abby and I hanging out. I set off with the goal of taking the "perfect" Easter picture of Abby. This was before the official Easter Dress arrived in the mail, but just barely. Anny was off with friends for the afternoon touring a local attraction, so I got Abby to buy in to the picture-taking fun!

We had lunch at home and then posed for some just-for-Easter types of shots with some silly eggs we got the day before. They were filled with candy, and just perfect for that day. We took some pictures in the courtyard that were really fun, and then headed to the park. Abby insisted on playing a game of chase more than playing by herself, which turned out to be uber fun for me, too!

The day turned out to be hotter than I had expected, and by the time we walked home Abby was done, or so I thought. She discovered that the brick walls were cool to the touch, even on a hot day. I had put the camera away already, but pulled it back out. With a little coaxing, she let me have another three minutes of pictures - which was just right to get this shot. I really love the contrast of her bright dress with the dark wall, but I mostly love that it was the end of a perfect daddy-daughter time!

Somebody Likes Me!

I have received blog awards from my blogging friends a few times over  the last few years, and while I haven’t always managed to blog about  them and share the love with others, I have always responded to the  giver with a heart-felt thank you.  I always appreciate the  gesture and the thought, as well as the opportunity to gain some new  readers and make some new friends. 

Rebecca at The Bates Motel recently  nominated me as one of the recipients of this lovely award!  But with  great power comes great responsibility (or something like that). 

Here  are the rules of acceptance:

Here are the rules for the award:
1.  Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. Name the person who gave  the award to you and link to their blog (or hyperlink).
3. List 10  things that make you happy.
4. Pass the award on to other bloggers  and visit their blogs to let them know.

In no particular order, except the most important being first, here are 10 things that make me happy:

1. Abby.  It's no secret that she is the light of my life.  Every day she wakes up with a smile on her face and believes that she is a princess.  And she is, to me.

2. Anny.  We've just celebrated eight years of marriage.  I even got her flowers.  And made her dinner.

3. Thursday Dinner. Every Thursday we gather with my three aunts, my brother and sister in law and we have dinner and family time.  Every week.  It's awesome.  (Even though I'm going to miss tonight to go to a hockey game!)

4.Facebook.  It's an addiction, but it also serves as an easy outlet for my extroversion, which is helpful when I realize that Anny is an introvert and just wants me to shut up.

5. Spring weather!  I've gotten a lot of housework done in anticipation of our move, but we've also been able to spend some lazy afternoons outside kicking a soccer ball or having a picnic on the lawn.  Spring is awesome.

6. My camera.  I don't use it enough some weeks, but I really enjoy getting out place with Abby and firing away.  She's a ham and is usually willing to do just about whatever I challenge her to do, all in the name of silliness!

7. Extended family.  Anny and I are blessed with large and largely supportive families.  It's always helpful to have a great support system!

8. Our nieces.  Ellie and Ada are SO much fun. They have recently been joining us in Skype conversations.  Ellie is just so excited to see Abby and Ada is excited to see herself on the computer.  Ada and I make funny faces at each other for ten minutes straight.  Too funny.

9. My ability to put the camera down.  We have done a couple of events/activities that I have either forgotten my camera or decided to put it away after ten minutes.  I was able to just take in the wonder that Abby exuded from things like watching the dolphin show at the Aquarium. 

10. Food.  Though it is at the bottom of the list, remember that the list is not in order.  I love cooking food.  I love eating food.  I love trying new foods.  I love eating old food... wait, that's gross.  :o)  I have even recently re-found the peace and quiet that comes along with washing dishes after dinner.  Food is awesome.

So, that being said, here are my own nominees for this blog  award:

Amy at PrettyBabies - She's awesome as a parent (and her hubby is, too!) and recently she's been sharing some thoughts on weight loss, and kicking butt at that too!  Amy and I have actually met in real life!  (Strange for most of my web-friends, but mostly because I don't do BlogHer because I have boy parts.)

Beth over at The Angel Forever - She's parenting two boys - OY!   She is currently fighting to keep her son's school open as the School Board is in the midst of budget woes.  On a brighter note, she and her family made a trip to Disney earlier this year and she and her hubby, TechyDad, have been sharing some of the fun experiences from that trip.

2009 Blog Review

I did this Meme a few years ago, and it seem a good way to review a year of my blog.  So, taking the first sentence from the first post of each months, here is my blog from 2009:
(Okay, now I see that I did several "Wordless Wednesday" posts on the first of the month.  I am skipping past those.)

January: "I guess I should start with Christmas and will blog about other subjects..."
February: "I am forbidden from making a "Things To Do Before I Die" list"
March: "At about six months [old] Abby had an obsession with putting things in her mouth - toys, coins, food, fingers... everything."
April: "In our house we are gearing up for a trip!"
May: "While I have neglected my duties just a little bit for Anny's special day, I wish all of you moms out there a Happy Mother's Day."
June: "I do not have official 24 month statistics just yet, we will have that appointment the week after school lets out, but last night I got Abby to stand on a scale and she came out at 29 pounds."
July: "Abby has successfully completed the "Bubblers 1" swimming class at the same pool that I took all of my swimming lessons at so many years ago!"
August: "Today I'm writing about our time in Iowa."
September: "There are lots of blog posts on the internet about all of the God-Forsaken quizzes you can take on Facebook, and trust that there posts about them for a reason."
October: "Yesterday was my six-month appointment with my nephrologist"
November: "We did something strange last year - we grabbed two [Halloween] costumes from another teacher at Anny's school at a very good price."
December: "There is almost literally no way for me to capture all of the awesomeness that was our Thanksgiving this year - Anny's parents came from Wyoming and Paul and Sarahlynn and the girls made the trek to our house too!"

2009 was filled with family and travel and enjoying the things we have, and wanting a little bit for the things we don't have.  The year started off with a bit of a downer, the realization that we did not have enough equity in our house to make selling it viable for a move to Saint Louis.  I am excited to say that Anny and I have decided to go ahead and pan for a move this summer!  We will list the house some time this spring and begin applying for jobs even sooner.  (Do you know how long it takes to get a government job?!?) 

Goodbye, 2009.  Welcome 2010 and all of the hopes and challenges that lay ahead.

Oh, and I didn't really tell the internet world, but on New Years Day last year I resolved to not eat a doughnut for the whole year.  I am glad to say that I stuck to that goal!  (And no, Apple Fritters do not count, they don't have holes but do have fruit. That's not a doughnut!)  We are going to a friends for a New Year's Brunch today, so my doughnuts will wait until tomorrow.  Watch out, old friends, I am surely coming for you!

Six Word Love Story

From the Washington Post, for Valentine's Day.  Some of theirs are much sweeter than mine.  I'll post mine here and see when Anny gets around to reading it.  :o)

Here's mine:
Oblivious, Empathy, Best Friends, Never Happier.

-or-

Through thick and thin, only you.

What would your six word love story be?

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(Please keep in mind that I do not tag people for anything - if you would like to participate and have not yet, go ahead. If you haven't and don't want to, don't. I'm not going to allocate time for your day, I'm bad enough about my own!)

1 - I love my wife more than anyone else in the world...
2 - ...except for maybe Abby, the light of my life.
3 - My medicines scare me, and smell gross. I don't think the smell helps the fear.
4 - Without my medications, I don't know what life would be like for me.
5 - I really enjoy reading other people's 25 Things Lists, but can't imagine why someone would read mine.
6 - I watch way too much TV, but will only go out of my way for Lost and Scrubs anymore.
7 - I have stopped wearing t-shirts in public since leaving my camp life. If you see me in a colarless shirt you are either a) in my home or b) seeing me in a very dirty work project at church.
8 - I have no desire to live in another country. I would like to visit Australia, but that's mostly to spend time with friends.
9 - I'm quite handy when I make the time for it.
10 - I love finishing a project, but rarely do.
11 - I really enjoy photography, but am not very good at it.
12 - I have esteem issues, particularly when I'm working on something that can be compared to others (like photography).
13 - My text messages are grammatically correct 98% of the time.
14 - I'm lazy, but I don't want to be.
15 - I'm a huge hockey fan. One year I bought the Center Ice Package and watched five or six games a week for the whole season.
16 - I get a bit jealous that I have been blogging for almost three years now, and there are people out there with many more readers and commenters than I get.
17 - I have started and killed three blogs for parents because I'm not brave enough to get support from others in such a venture.
18 - I want to be more involved in supporting others with FSGS (the kidney disease that I have) but I just don't have the time or energy to devote to it.
19 - I did several typing tests last fall in preparation for a job search and typed 70 words per minute with 95% accuracy.
20 - I'm secretly really excited about our trip to Casper, WY, this spring. It's a wonderful place to visit.
21 - I'm looking forward to all of the things that we can do with Abby this spring that were beyond her last year.
22 - It drives me completely nuts that Anny is practically unreachable during the day. I understand, but am still nuts about it.
23 - I really get into Toddler Tunes of all sorts. Right now I'm listening to Neil Sedaka singing "Lunch Will Keep Us Together." At work.
24 - I am very creative when it comes to food, and presentation tends to trump taste at home. When I'm out, it's the opposite. I eat the same things over and over and don't really care about how it looks.
25 - I'm ready for another snow day, even though I had one this week!

A Blog Interview

Saw Amy at PrettyBabies do this on her blog, and thought it was a great idea...


The Rules:
1. If you want to participate, leave me a comment saying, "Interview me." (And your e-mail address, please.)
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

The Questions Amy Asked Me:
1. What is your biggest fear?

I honestly fear every single day that Anny and Abby will get into a massive car wreck and I will be helplessly stuck in traffic.  The route they take home is major highway to major highway.  Anny is a wonderful and safe driver, so I have no basis for this fear, but it's there nonetheless.  I can't imagine a tomorrow without them.
2. Who is your hero?
This is a hard one.  My grandfather worked his way up through the ranks at NASA, then when it was time to retire he did it right.  He has always made family a priority and has been there for most of the major events in my life.  He drove here from his house to be with us on the day that Abby was born.  He didn't monopolize time with her or us, but just wanted to be a presence on that special day. 

3. If you could eat only one food forever, without regard for nutrition, what would it be?
I'm boring - it would be pizza.  I did that one summer when I decided that I was never going to fit into 34-inch-waist jeans again.  I then discovered just how bad that much potassium is for a person with kidney disease, so now it's more of a treat.  I still eat it, but certainly less than before.  There is so much variety of pizza, and I think that's why I love it.

4. If I gave you $100,000 to go on a trip, how would you spend it? Would you spend all your time in one place, or would you go to as many places as you could? Where? What would you do when you got there?
I can not imagine spending that much money on one place, at least not just for the three of us.  I would probably spend more of it on being sure that my family and friends could be with us wherever we went than on the place itself.  As for the place, I think that Disney is only a couple of years off for us, but I can't ride rides anymore.  I would probably feel more comfortable renting out a camp ground with lots of things to do and lots of places to relax.

5. What are your dreams for Abby's future?
I really just want her to be happy in whatever she is doing.  I want her to take that one "dream job" at some point in her life, even if it means that she'll pay for it later.  Of course, I want that dream job to be all that she dreams it to be, but I can't control that!  I don't think that she has to be a wife, or a college student, or full time employee to be happy.  I want to encourage her daily in whatever she chooses for her own life.  I have people like that in my life, but they are not necessarily my parents.

The bottom line is that I want Abby to know that no matter what she chooses to do, or not do, she is valuable. 

If you want me to come up with five questions for you, drop a comment or an email.  Amy sure does know how to come up with good questions...

5 Things Meme

Amy at PrettyBabies tagged me for a Meme...

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
Attending Community College
Reconnecting with Dave H
Dating a good friend, whom I'm glad to say is still a good friend.
Working retail, and loving it!
Watching the Capitals play in the Stanley Cup Finals (the only time they have)

5 things on my to do list:
Clean the attic
Get enough together for this weekend's yard sale to make it worth our time
Leave work early to hang out with my ladies.....
Cut my neighbors grass as a repayment for when he cut mine a few weeks back
Remember to water the garden daily

5 favorite snacks/food:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

5 things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Tear down and re-build my home church
Build/Buy a compound for our extended family somewhere fun
Fund research for MS and Kidney Disease
Buy a matching set of Power Wheels for my kid and her friends
Pay off our debt and the debt of others close to us.

5 bad habits:
Biting my nails (better than it was before)
Crop Dusting my wife
Speeding when there is no need
Cussing around the baby
*Not using a turn signal
(*starred are not bad habits that I have, but they are bad habits that others have)

5 Places I've lived:
San Diego, CA (okay, I was an infant, but I lived there!)
Various North Carolina Cities
Current home
Manassas, VA
Current home (back to, obviously)

Tagging 5 people:
Sorry, folks, I don't tag. If you would like to play along, post it on your blog and comment below!