Hey Little Isla

Isla and her guitar

2011-09-19T08:17:00.000-07:00

I love that Isla was so interested in this and actually figured out how to strum the guitar strings.

Gotta get back on track!

2011-09-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that my last post was August 11th (July post)....and I can't believe that I just wrote that...AGAIN! I am so glad that Heather is doing her blog for Isla because she is so good at keeping up with it. Me....not so much. Heather and I just recently started our Financial Peace University classes and I was classified as a "free spirit". That is how I feel with my blog so far and I need to change that. I feel like I get so easily distracted by life and that I always need to be doing something "new" (which most times I wish would include my router, but alas, I have yet to use it after about 9 years- I wonder if it still works??). So it's time to buckle down, get back on the horse and do any other cliche sayings. So let's look back and see what all went on in the "Campberson" house over the last few months....

Isla decided that crawling on her hands and knees was too passe, so she went for standing instead. She's gotten VERY good at using any little thing around to pull herself up so she can get to whatever she isn't supposed to have. We still have much baby-proofing to do and recently both mine and Heather's computers died. We were able to borrow a computer from her work, but we had to drape a 25' ethernet cable across our living room floor - not ideal. So inevitably, every time Isla was on the floor she would make her way over to the cord and promptly shove it in her mouth. We have been choosing to let her figure some things out on her own, but making understand that things like cords are forbidden. I don't think she quite understands yet, because every time I tell her "Isla, NO!", she looks at me very seriously for about two seconds, then gets a HUGE grin on her face....how am I ever going to resist not getting this little girl anything she wants?

The big 6-Mo.

2011-07-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

I still can't believe Isla is going to be 6 months old on Friday. If she could have held off being born for 1 more day, she could have had her 1/2 birthday on her mom's birthday. That would've been fun. But I love that she'll have a day all to herself. We had our favorite photographer, Mala Hyder, take photos for Isla's 6 month. So far we have done newborn, 3-month and 6-month sessions with her and they have been the best pictures EVER! I wish we could just have her follow us around all the time and take pictures....you know, just throughout the day, standing over in the corner just snapping away. But I guess that would take away from Heather getting any practice in with her camera- which she is getting REALLY good at!

Heather also got her necklace from Colleen Berg, and it turned out so great! I don't have a picture on the computer yet, so I'll put one up later. We had one made before this recent one and we were a little disappointed in how the fingerprint turned out. Colleen was great enough to not only send us more molding material, but she redid the entire necklace and we couldn't be happier.

We also realized a couple days ago that our little bugger is right on the verge of full-on crawling. If she can grasp the concept of keeping herself up with her arms, look out world! I can't believe that she is going to be walking before we know it. I'm excited and I can't wait, but it scares the livin' bejeezus out of me too.

My how time flies...

2011-07-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that our baby girl is almost 6 months old! We've been so caught up with going home to Michigan for my brother's wedding, and finding fun family stuff to do, that I had all but forgotten about my blog...oops. So now it's time to try to get back on track. Right now, Isla is a rolling fool. It's either that she loves rolling around, or just can't decide whether she wants to play on her stomach or her back, but she is rolling all over the place. And she's getting sooo close to crawling! It's starting to get a little frightening, thinking about her being mobile, but I'm excited for her to be able to explore her surroundings.

I am hoping that Heather and I can take her to the zoo for her first visit soon. We spent this past weekend (4th of July) hanging out and we took her swimming for the first time...well, it was my first time with her at the pool. I can tell she's going to be a little fish. Unfortunately we were only there for about 10 minutes before we saw lightning, so we had to pack it up and head for home. We also got to celebrate Father's Day (I was at my brother's bachelor party on the official day). Heather and Isla made me a AWESOME coffee mug and I can't imagine drinking out of anything else....ever. So with the exception of the rain, I had an incredible weekend with my girls.

And now we begin the baby-proofing. We have already moved things off of our bottom shelves and now we need to start looking at baby gates, or a crate or something. It's amazing how easy it is when they can't move on their own and how you really do have to constantly watch them when they start moving....it's not just a saying that "you turn around for one second and they're getting into something". It actually HAPPENS! About 3 weeks ago, Isla was playing on the floor while I was working on my computer and I literally felt like I had only turned around for 30 seconds and she was about 5 feet from where I previously saw her. Just coo-ing away like there's nothing going on. Scary, but I'm excited to see her go through the stages.

So close!

2011-06-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

I think the greatest invention in baby gear has to be the Halo sleep sack. It has given me back what the first six weeks of newborn-ness had taken away...sleep. I spent several nights at the beginning rocking, singing, shhh-ing, dancing- you name it, I tried it. But it was all in vain. I felt like I was missing something. There must have been one key piece of advice that I missed during the pregnancy that would soothe Isla and allow us to both get a good nights sleep.

It wasn't until one random night that Isla was being extra squirmy that I realized the power that comes with the compression of a sleep sack. I'm sure it was around 2 AM when Isla decided that she didn't feel like sleeping any longer. It's not that she was crying, but just very awake. Even skin-to-skin (which typcially works like a charm) wasn't doing it this time. At one point she almost squirmed right out of my arms, so I had to hold her a little tighter. After she stopped squirming for a minute, I eased up on my kung-fu grip and tried to rock her to sleep. Within about 30 seconds she was back to flopping every which way. I tightened up again, and she settled down again. And then it finally hit me- she likes being held tight! Granted this was after about an hour and a half of wrestling with her and trying everything else, but at least I figured it out.

So we decided one night that it was about time to try out the sleep sack. I had hopes, but wasn't going to get too excited about it just in case it didn't work out as we planned. That thing was heaven-sent. She was sleeping 10 freaking hours! There were a few times that we would have to get up to put her pacifier back in, but for the most part she was out cold. I should've known that even things as great as this wouldn't last forever. As she has become better at rolling over, we couldn't really have her arms swaddled at her side in case she rolled over on her stomach during the night. So now we're back to square one and hoping that she will learn quickly how to sleep at night without her sleep sack. I have a feeling it's going to be rough for a little while.

- On a side note, the WubbaNub that she has in her mouth is also an incredible invention. The little stuffed animal helps keep the pacifier in her mouth and she also like to hold on to it.

Okey Dokey

2011-05-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

So, after much contemplation, I have decided that I'm not going to start from the beginning. I have too many things that are happening right now and trying to play catch-up is just not working. Maybe when I'm chillaxin' at the pool this summer I can find the motivation (and pictures) to work from the beginning, but at this point, we'll just go from the present day.

So the other day was Isla's first solid food- avocado. I'm not a huge fan of the veggie myself (unless in guacamole form and accompanied by a margarita), but it's easily digestible and doesn't seem to upset a baby's tummy too much. Avocados are so much less appealing when pureed to a point where they are unrecognizable as a food that used to be in a solid state. We mixed it with a little breast milk to thin it out and that made it a nice apple sauce-like consistency.

We should have known that it would be a piece of cake getting Isla started on solid foods. She has been so easy since the day she was born, how could this be any different. And it wasn't. With tiny spoon in hand, Heather put the first little bit into Isla's mouth. It was easy to get it in, because any time anything comes close to Isla's mouth, it's inevitable that said object will be going into Isla's mouth. So Isla opens and closes her mouth a few times expecting to get some sort of milk substance, I suppose, and then pauses for a second and seems to get a confused look on her face. She then continues to open and close her mouth while occasionally sticking her tongue out. No crying. No fussing. I know I'm biased about my daughter, but she has got to win some kind of award for being the best baby in the world. Does Guinness have a category for that?

So we got a few more spoonfuls into Isla's mouth and she just continued to chomp away and make a mess of her face. Afterward, she decided that she needed a little exfoliating in her "T" area so she smeared a little up between her eyebrows and onto her forehead. I wish I had some sort of "OMG, I can't believe she just did that!" story, but this is our life....a perfect little child. Sheesh. How did we get so lucky?

Holy smokes....

2011-05-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Been a little bit since the last post, but it's hard to figure out how to go back and start from the beginning by looking at the pictures when all of the pictures are on your wife's computer. I have been trying really hard lately to make sure that Isla is getting as much attention/stimulation as possible, so I haven't had a good chunk of time to sit down while I'm at home. I think in the back of my mind if I don't do this, she's still going to be crawling when she's 2 and won't say her first word until she's five. I know that's just me being an overly protective/cautious dad, but what if that's what really happens?! I would have to return the "World's Best Father" mug that I got for myself....no, I didn't really get that, but I did drop a few hints to Isla that I wanted that for Father's Day. I am going to do my best to get this blog rolling, but it may not be until the end of this month that I will have a little more time away from my high school that I can get on it. I'm going to put up a few recipes that I made for our picnic that we had for Mother's Day because they are just too good to keep to myself. So, until the next post when I give another excuse of why I haven't started....bon appetit!

This stuff is stressful!

2011-05-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

I never realized how stressful having a blog could be. I always thought they were a good way to relieve stress by having an outlet. I guess it would work that way for those who are prepared and organized...which is pretty much the antithesis of who I am. I bounce all over the place, feeling scatter-brained because I'm not sure where to start or what pictures to use. And then I worry that a day has passed and I haven't posted anything....not that it matters when there are only 2 people who look at your blog. And by this point, they've probably forgotten that they are following my blog and don't make it over here anymore. Hmmm...I'm actually making myself less stressed about doing this blog. If no one looks at it, then I'm really just doing this for myself. So I suppose I can stop worrying about my entertainment factor for the moment. That is, until I hit 600 followers, which, by my estimation, will be in the year 2057. Piece of cake....speaking of which, I could go for some ice cream. I know, random.

I suppose I'll just stroll back through my pictures and just jot down all of the memories of my days with my girls...so all two of you will just have to sit back and relax for a few while I get things situated.

Layout

2011-04-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

Not much happening this evening. Heather was tired and decided to crash a little early tonight. Isla has been asleep for a few hours. And the cheese stands alone (with the exception of a whiny dog). Just decided to jump on here and fiddle with the layout/background/etc. I originally created this blog with the anticipation that I would instantly have 300K followers and monetize the blog so I could quit my job and just be a stay-at-home dad. I think after the second day and having only one follower (myself....and that was an accident- not sure how you're able to *follow* yourself), I pretty much gave up on keeping up with the blog. I have now found a renewed sense focus that will keep me going (hopefully) and it's something that's very important to me- my daughter. <---so now that I've written that, I'd feel horrible if I didn't keep up with the blog.

So the layout...I decided that with all of the little "gadgets" that you have to put on your page in order to "monetize" it, it looked really ugly. I like the clean look of some of the blogs that I've come across and I think I like the non-commercialized look a little better. I'm sure I'll still play around with the background until I find something I truly love, but this will do for now. I have so much that I'd like to post, but I think I first need to sit down and figure out some sort of time line so my posts have at least a slight semblance of continuity. Feel free to leave a comment on what websites you thought were helpful in putting together your blog....and on a side not, I think I make one helluva lasagna.

Trying to keep up...

2011-04-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

I told myself that I would do my best to try to keep up with this blog. As my wife put it, it's going to be a record for our daughter and I don't want it to be a patchwork of memories. I am hoping that this will be somewhat continuous and flow easily (although I can't promise anything).

While I have to admit that there were some frustrating times after Isla was born, I think that was due more to a lack of sleep than Isla crying or being fussy. She is actually one of the most content little babies that I have ever seen. It was hard at first to get any real sleep, but Heather and I eventually figured out a schedule where I would get up during the night so she could sleep, and then after Heather left for work, I would get to crash for a few hours. Most of the time, with eyes barely open, I would make my way to Isla's room in the middle of the night (getting through our obstacle course in the apartment was a task in itself), feed her and rock her to sleep. Easy enough. It was the few nights in between all of the easy ones that would make it frustrating. It seemed that no matter what I tried, Isla would wriggle and squirm and cry. I didn't do anything different from any other night, so how could I be doing something wrong?

{such a sweet little girl}

It wasn't until at least several weeks after Isla was born that I had my "Ah-ha!" moment. After feeding Isla one night and doing my best to rock and sing every lullaby under the sun, Isla began her ritual of doing her best to break free. I have always been afraid of both letting her slip out of my arms and squeezing to tight, but when she attempted to escape, I held her a little more firmly and it seemed to calm her down. I couldn't believe something worked! I felt like I had to hold my breath and not make any sudden movements....it took all of five minutes to get her back to sleep from that point. And from that night on, I was the self-proclaimed master of getting our daughter back to sleep. And if you were to ask me what my favorite item is that we got for Isla, I wouldn't hesitate to say "The Sleep Sack!". It's an easy choice when, at 13 weeks, she's sleeping about 10 hours straight during the night.

Ms. Isla Mae

2011-04-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

My wife (Heather) and I went back and forth trying to decide on a name for our little angel. Throughout the pregnancy, I had in the back of my mind that she would either end up as "Ella Lou" or "Louella". We had had countless discussions about how much we both loved the name "Ella". But it seemed that as the closer we got to our due date, the more and more we discovered that "Ella" was quite a popular name. The name seemed to climb the "Most Popular Names" list faster than I can forget what my wife just told me to do. We were just glad, for the moment, that we weren't having a boy, because we had put about 0.003% of our combined brain power into coming up with a boys name. We wanted to give our daughter a unique name, and "Ella" was becoming less and less *unique* with each day that passed. While it was still on our short list, we both started to feel that we needed to find another name (it was sad to let Ella go).

I don't remember the exact day that it occurred, all that I remember is that I thought of the name :) While she is not named after the actress, I had always loved Isla Fisher's name. I liked how it was spelled and how it was pronounced. It wasn't until after Isla was born that my mom (through her genealogy prowess), found that my great great grandfather was from Scotland, and more precisely, from the island off the coast of Scotland, aptly named "Isla". So as much as I'd like to say "yes, 'Isla' is of historical significance to my family and that is how we decided on her name"....nope, it was the actress from "Wedding Crashers". There ya go, sweetie...a great story for the grandchildren. Heather asked me the other day if our daughter looked like an "Isla", and when she was first born, I wasn't sure. Now I couldn't imagine her with any other name. She is our sweet Isla Mae.

(such a doll)

Punkerdoodles

2011-04-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

My wife had the incredible idea to start a blog about being pregnant and all of the ups and downs that come along with it. It was not only so we could remember what we did and how we felt during those times, but also so our daughter could have a scrapbook of memories from us so she knew how very much we love her. So this is where my blog makes a turn from PA school (which I still plan on doing), to my daughter and how she has turned our lives upside down (for the good, of course!).

"Punkerdoodles"....no, I don't know where it came from. I just opened my mouth one day while holding Isla and out it came. My first reaction was "what did I just call you?". I easily amuse myself, so after a few more times of calling her Punkerdoodles and laugh to myself, it stuck. As I'm sure it would be so much fun to yell out "Hey Punkerdoodles! Over here, Punkerdoodles!" when she walks out of school with all of her friends, it'll probably just be our thing and I hope that it lasts.

3 1/2 more weeks!

2010-06-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know if my wife and I are going to be able to hold out the news of our pregnancy to our friends. For, what seems like the millionth time, my wife was almost called out in front of everyone because someone asked if she was pregnant. We are trying to wait until we tell our family before telling our friends, but each passing day (and each drink passed on) makes our friends more and more curious. And on top of all of this, we are going to a friends lake house for the 4th and that typically ends up being a 36 hour drinking game (with a few moments of clarity here and there). Hopefully I can distract everyones' attention away from my wife while we're there....I don't think we're going to make it another 3 weeks. My wife is going to be pretty upset if all of our friends here find out before we can tell our families. But even though she'll be upset, I'm pretty sure that she'll understand how hard it was to keep it from them....on to other news....

Had a student athletic trainer workshop allllllll day long. It was actually quite fun. This was the first time that I had to get up and teach something in a classroom-like setting. I don't think I did too bad. I usually get pretty nervous talking in front of large groups and end up with a bad case of the "um's" and "like's". I think held both to a minimum today and the kids seemed like they had a pretty decent time....I only saw one girl dozing off :o) It was really good to get something like that under my belt so I know how to improve it for next year and to work on my communication skills a little more...I just need to learn to be a little more concise when I talk- tend to ramble a bit when I get nervous. Hopefully this will be something else that I can put on my resume when I am interviewing for PA school....crap, just remembered that I have to take a picture of my wife's stomach tonight....I'll try to be more proactive with the whole "blogging" thing....not that anyone is paying attention anyways!

Big surprise!

2010-06-03T05:51:00.000-07:00

I figured I could post this on here since my wife posted it on her blog (which means I won't get in trouble)...we're pregnant! My wife thought it was going to take longer to conceive and I thought it was taking FOREVER! We found out about 8 weeks ago and have already been in to see the doctor and have our first ultrasound. We were able to see the heartbeat, which was an incredible feeling. When we took our first pregnancy test this time around, I wasn't too optimistic. We did the test at around day 10 - a little earlier than the recommended 12-15 days - but we were too antsy to wait any longer. Of course, I didn't see anything and went about finishing the house cleaning that I had started. "I see a line!" (wife) "Yeah, but it's BARELY there...you have to hold it at an angle to see it.." (me). Well, as it turns out, "a line is a line".

So January 15th is our estimated due date. I am so happy and thankful that we're pregnant, but at the same time I'm also bummed because we won't be able to go home for Christmas. We have never missed a Christmas with our families and it's going to be hard to accept that when the time rolls around. Maybe we'll get some visitors from back home to come down here, but I'm not sure if that will happen. I suppose we'll just have to make the best of it and think of it as our first Christmas as a family. We haven't told our families yet because we wanted to be able to do it in person. So next month we're flying home for my little sister's (my wife's little sister) graduation party. We're trying to think of a creative way to tell them, so if anyone has any ideas let us know! We have told a few friends, but I knew we would....unfortunately, I didn't think we were going to tell one in particular because she has close ties with the family and I'm not sure she can keep it a secret long enough....but she kept asking my wife if she wanted a drink, and after about the sixth time of my wife refusing, she asked if my wife was pregnant - to which my wife replied "...uuuhhhhh....don't tell ANYONE!" Haha. I think that caught my wife a little off guard. So, hopefully we can sneak around our friends for the next few weeks and then make it home to tell the family....a tall order.

PA school is already hard....

2010-06-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

...and I haven't even applied yet! I have figured out what school I would like to attend and what prerequisites I need to fulfill prior to applying. Because of certain circumstances (of which I will divulge at a later time), my wife and I are firmly planted where we live and I will be applying to just one PA school. Fortunately, it is one of the top PA schools in the nation- which makes me excited and very nervous at the same time. Who am I kidding, though? All I have is time and there is never a bad time to go back to school. What happens if I don't get in? I apply the year after. I feel like I have found a career that really allows me to use all of my abilities and also gives me the freedom to have a life outside of work.

As of right now, I think having that freedom is what is most important to me. Working as an athletic trainer is great, but continually having to give up your weekends and holidays is starting to wear a little thin. Not to mention that the pay is not all that great. So I guess I'm just going to keep plugging away for right now and get my stuff together so that I'm not scrambling around later when it comes time to apply.

PA school a strong possibility

2010-05-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well, after attending an informational session about a PA school that I'm interested in, it seems like a good possibility that I'll be able to do this. I think the thing that I feared the most about all of this is the financial burden that it would place on us. Fortunately, after speaking to a current PA student, the cost of living expenses are covered in the loans that I would be taking out. So now the question is am I going to be able to keep my sanity with the amount of time that I will have to devote to the program. Having classes from 8-4 every day and then having to study for a good 4-5 hours after is quite a commitment. I think I'm ready for this. I know I'm ready for this. And as long as I have the support of my wife, I think we'll both be able to make it through. We just have to wait and see how her job is going this time next year (when I'll be applying) and then I think we'll have a better idea of if I can start next year or if I'll have to postpone it for another year. We'll see....

Decisions

2010-05-05T05:21:00.000-07:00

So I have been thinking about going back to school. Jeez...I never thought I would actually say those words out loud and mean it. It's not that I don't like my current profession, because I really do. It's something new every day, I enjoy the people that I work with but I am probably the most bored that I have ever been in my life. I guess I should say that every day is different when something actually happens- I'm an athletic trainer and for the most part, we sit around and wait for an injury to happen. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that I don't have a lot of kids getting hurt, but I just don't feel like I'm being challenged enough in my current position....not to mention that I don't make a lot of $ doing it. And that would be completely fine to not make a lot of money doing something that you completely love- I would never want a job simply because of the money.

My next step is going to be trying to get into PA school, which I hear is very hard. I am hopeful, however, because I have already gotten my Masters and I have quite a bit of work experience in the healthcare industry. I am also going to wait about a year to apply to make sure that I have all of my ducks in a row, crossed the t's and dotted the i's (blah, blah, blah). But I have to admit that I am very nervous...not just about going back to school, but about what my wife and I are going to do. We made it through grad school ok, but I think this may be a little more difficult with the amount of time I have to put into studying. Add to that this wonderful economic climate we're in and you can probably see where most of my worry lies. Which is another reason why I need to wait a year to apply. I wouldn't want to apply now, get into school, quit my job and then 2 months later have my wife lose her job.

So I guess for right now I'll just get as much information as I can about school and then see where I stand a year from now. Hopefully everything will go as planned because while I may be really nervous, I'm just as equally excited about the prospect of having a career that will use my full potential.

Here is one of our fur children

Where do we belong?

2010-05-04T06:14:00.000-07:00

I am not trying to make this a philosophical post, but it's just something that I think about from time to time....

Most of us are trying to figure out where we want to be in five years, ten years, later tonight... or where we were last night. Job security in this economic climate has many of us nervously twitching, hoping that the clock will make it to 5:00 before the manager calls us into his/her office. What's more, is that we all-too-often strive to earn more money so that we can purchase things that will make us feel good in that moment. The sound your LCD makes when you turn it on for the first time. The sound and smell of the new leather interior in a car that just came off the assembly line. Looking at the new DVD player on your ride home and imagining how much 1080p entertainment is going to bolster your every moment sitting in front of your television.

There are so many things that we constantly have to worry about (education, finances, children, politics, etc.) that we never take the time to come up with an explanation as to why we need to worry. Lately I have been caught up in books and videos about the universe. Much of my fascination with the universe comes from not knowing. Not knowing what is beyond what I can see standing on my balcony. Not knowing why those things that I can see from my balcony exist. Only knowing that there has to be some significance to the enormity of the universe. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field picture was something that is almost too much to wrap your head around, and too important to ignore. In 2003, scientists decided to aim the Hubble telescope at a seemingly empty area of deep space. The size of this area is about the size of a dime that is placed about 75 feet away. (Obviously the area that the picture actually covered was much greater than that of a dime, but this is just to be visualize the amount of space compared to the entirety of the universe itself). Within this picture, scientists were able to isolate over 10,000 galaxies. 10,000!

I know I personally would think "yeah, I know the universe is big, but how big could it really be?". Think....no, look up how big the Earth is in comparison to the Milky Way galaxy. It's akin to pinpointing a grain of sand on a beach. We haven't even begun to chart the seemingly endless reaches of the Milky Way galaxy and scientists have discovered another 10,000 galaxies somewhere in the vastness of space. While looking through many websites, I've come across a few estimates by scientists that put the number of known solar systems in the Milky Way galaxy at around 70. These are the solar systems that have been identified thus far, but scientists believe that there could potentially be many billions of solar systems within the Milky Way galaxy. This is where it tends to get a little tricky to try to visualize the universe in it's entirety. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a couple Tylenol lying close by.

So with a small patch of sky revealing roughly 10,000 new galaxies and scientists estimating that there could possibly be billions of solar systems in our galaxy, how can anyone believe that there is not life beyond our solar system? Which I guess leads back to the title of this post: Where do we belong? Could we really be the first intelligent species to evolve from a singularity billions of years ago? I am not saying that I do not believe in God, because there is something far greater than any person at work. The fact that scientists have yet to determine the precise conditions just before the Big Bang occurred let's us know that we are missing something important....what that is may not be realized for many years after my generation has passed. But to think about all of the possibilities that could come to fruition from the research that has been accomplished to this point is what keeps the wheels churning in the science department.

For everyone else, it's back to the grind. Waking up early to make it to work on time, putting in your 40 hours (sometimes more) each week. Cashing your paychecks in order to make the car payment, the mortgage payment, the seven different credit card payments, and having just enough left over to put gas in your over-priced and continually depreciating vehicle (with the leather interior that smells oh-so-good) to make it back to work. I suppose a more appropriate question for this post is: Why? Why do we feel the need to work tirelessly each day? Why is the universe expanding and not contracting? Why have we found no other signs of life in the universe? Why have no other beings found us? Maybe it's all one big "Truman Show". Hopefully we can find some answers sooner rather than later.

The background, I suppose

2010-05-03T06:34:00.000-07:00

So this is my first blog. I don't know if this is typical of people who create their first blog(s), but I'm not sure exactly what to blog about. Maybe everyone has an idea in mind before creating their blog site and I'm the exception. So I guess I'll just start with my background and we'll see where it goes from there.

I am married to a wonderful woman who really makes my life better. While our personalities differ in some dramatic ways, I think that is what I love most about her. She is one of the most sensitive, creative and loving people that I have ever met. We had been friends for quite a long time, but never dated until college. I would love to say that it has been perfect ever since, but we have had our difficulties (big and small). We have, however, managed to stick it out through the bad times and it has definitely paid dividends. We are closer now than we have ever been and are very much looking forward to the future.

Our biggest issue these days (as I'm sure it is the same for most people), is money. With the uncertainty of job security, it has been a little more stressful than usual. My wife is amazing with organization and has created a spreadsheet dedicated to our finances. I tend to be a little oblivious to our finances, but we're trying to get on the same page and have been going over the spreadsheet together so I can understand where all of our money allocated. We finally made the decision to cut our cable and get rid of the Blackberry's [well, I have...I think the wife keeps making excuses as to why she hasn't canceled hers :) ]. In order to save a little extra, I thought I'd take it upon myself to make my own long-range antenna for our television. My advice...don't. While it only cost around $20 to build, it looks ugly and only gets about 3 more channels than my old-school rabbit ears. Plus, if you live in an apartment, there is really no good place where it can be hidden. So now, instead of saving money, I've spent $20 to find out that I need to spend another $70 (or so) to get all of the over-the-air channels. So I guess the question is: In the future, do you spend a little money and cross your fingers that your little contraption works, or do you suck it up and fork over your wallet to the stores?

Maybe I just want to believe that I'm a little handier than I truly am. I know that there are times that I just need to leave certain things to professionals, but the man-gene gets the best of me a lot of times and I just can't help myself.

A couple of my favorite hobbies, are chip carving and the guitar. Because the apartment doesn't allow me to use some of the power tools required to build things out of my carvings, I'm restricted to just carving for right now. If anyone has had this same dilemma and has figured out how to get around it, please let me know! I've been dying to actually build things like humidors, jewelry boxes and eventually some small furniture to start off with. The guitar is a little easier to manage, but I've gotten to the point where the self-teaching has reached it's plateau. So if anyone has a suggestion about how to advance guitar skills without spend money (on lessons), that too would be great.

I guess I'll end with that. I'm not sure how interested people will actually be in my background, so I don't want to go on forever, but I can add some more later on.....until then....adios!